Last days of summer...

Summer is winding down and for the last month I've been going through my favorite brights like crazy! With the last couple weeks I'm going to try and finish all my summery untrieds before moving on to Fall, and Fall-inspired hauls. Yesterday I knocked 2 colors off my list with a fugly-yet-cute gradient mani. I used ALU's gradient method with Butter LONDON Chuffed layered on top of OPI Who the Shrek Are You? then topped the whole thing off with 2 coats of a sparsely dense flakie from Urban Outfitters. I got sick of it by mid-afternoon but it was fun for a little while!

G-Rated Lohanicure

Dear Lindsay Lohan,

You were once super cute. I remember watching The Parent Trap maybe a dozen times when I was a kid. You had talent and a bright future. You should really grow up, kick the addiction and take your career seriously again.

Best of luck to you!

Unless you've been living under a rock, I'm sure you've heard that Lindsay Lohan has to do some time in jail. As an aside, my heart weeps for the fact that this made the national news... seriously, Brian Williams? Must have been a slow news day. But her nails, while slightly profane, were seriously cute. She was wearing a pastel air brushed design with a secret message to the judge. I used that as inspiration this morning. I'm not much in to nail art so I didn't have a clue what I was doing, but I actually thought it turned out super cute! I used 2 coats of OPI What's with the Cattitude as a base, then sponged on China Glaze Grape Pop, Heli-yum, and a bit of Essie Pretty Edgy. I used Lincoln Park After Dark and a toothpick for the message.

And really, aren't puppies cuter than the F-bomb? (There's a Friends reference in there for anyone who's a mega-fan :D)


Can't wait to wear Cattitude on it's own, it's a really pretty color!

More Water Marbling

Here's attempt #2 at water marbling! I used Essie Mint Candy Apple, OPI Sapphire in the Snow and Dating a Royal. This time it came out really watery. I think it was maybe the polish combo that did it? Or maybe I used too much polish this time? Last time I used 1 drop of each and swirled, this time I was using 3 drops MCA to start, then 2 Sapphire because I wanted more purple and just 1 drop DaR for a little blue. On my index finger the polish started sliding down the sides and pooling on the tape around my cuticles, making the swirls I had so carefully made just a blob of color. It's pretty, but not what I made. All the designs came out really undefined, unlike with attempt #1. I still like how it turned out! I'm still to afraid to attempt my right hand, I'm way to clumsy, so I took this off to wear something glittery!

Water Marbling: Attempt #1

I've been seeing more and more water marbling manis show up, and they are SO awesome! You could use the ugliest colors from your stash if you wanted and it would still look pretty. So I had some spare time today, and after watching like 14 different tutorials on You Tube, I tried it out. It actually doesn't take that long, and it's SO much fun! I used China Glaze Grape Pop and Flyin' High and Sinful Soul Mate. Just did my left hand because I was afraid of taking on the huge challenge with my right! So here's what I learned:

1: Scotch tape around the cuticles works really well, but left little sticky bits on my skin when I peeled it off. I'm going to try something else next time, either oil, petroleum jelly or painters tape.

2: The first drop of color in the cup really isn't going to show up. It spreads all around the cup, loses it's opacity (check the green on my ring finger, it's kinda sheer), and if you try and swirl around the outside of it you break up the design. This makes it so you get a gap between swirls on your nail. I remedied this by putting in a drop or two of clear polish first.

3: If you put your nail flat into the cup and then pull it out flat, water droplets stick to the nail and leave a mark on the swirls (really obvious on my index finger and tip of my thumb). I got some advice on MUA to try dipping at a 45 degree angle, I'm going to try that next time.


Have you tried water marbling? Do you have any advice for me? I really like doing this but those little water bubble marks are driving me nuts!