My nails are still stained. It's been almost two months, and they're mostly grown out, but the hideous yellow stain is still there.
What the heck, Zoya.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Shades of Grey
Uh. I may have made an error today. AN AMAZING GREYSCALE ERROR.
Last week I ordered a handful of colors from Zoya. Today while waiting for my car to get its oil changed (bleh @ being a grown-up), I bought a set of Ulta polishes. I got home, Zoya polishes were in my mailbox, I unloaded everything, and realized...
I think I have overdosed on the grey polishes. On the awesome side, I overdosed on grey polishes! And now I have TONS of options for neutral gradients and similar. Whee!
And of course, I had to try one of these on immediately, and I chose Ulta's Rock-a-Billy, which is a medium grey with a tinge of purple (the polish off-center to the right, front row, in the pic above).
It strikes me as very elegant, more 'winter' than 'fall', but I've never been picky about seasons. I was surprised when I applied it; I only needed one coat to be fully opaque, and it dried very quickly. Ulta has found themselves a new polish fan if the trend continues with the other polishes in the set.
Last week I ordered a handful of colors from Zoya. Today while waiting for my car to get its oil changed (bleh @ being a grown-up), I bought a set of Ulta polishes. I got home, Zoya polishes were in my mailbox, I unloaded everything, and realized...
I'VE GONE COLORBLIND
I think I have overdosed on the grey polishes. On the awesome side, I overdosed on grey polishes! And now I have TONS of options for neutral gradients and similar. Whee!
And of course, I had to try one of these on immediately, and I chose Ulta's Rock-a-Billy, which is a medium grey with a tinge of purple (the polish off-center to the right, front row, in the pic above).
Google says this is the only actual picture of Ulta Rock-a-Billy out there right now. Go figure. Also, Ulta Rock-a-Billy.
It strikes me as very elegant, more 'winter' than 'fall', but I've never been picky about seasons. I was surprised when I applied it; I only needed one coat to be fully opaque, and it dried very quickly. Ulta has found themselves a new polish fan if the trend continues with the other polishes in the set.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Blue on Blue
I wish I'd gotten a photo of a nail design I did a few months ago. Dark brown background, dark red and medium brown flower. It was subtle, and I just adored it.
Since I couldn't get that one back, I decided to try a totally different design along the same tack: Dark blue background with medium blue swirls. I wasn't sure how much I liked it at first, but it grew on me.
Creating the design took me way too long! Turns out, being right-handed and trying to use my left hand to create those delicate swirls is NOT EASY. The process itself is straightforward - Sinful Colors' Aqua for the base, Heaven's Honolulu Orchid for the design.
There is a little bit of glitter too, since I elected to throw on a layer of Zoya Snowsicle. Honestly, it was that decision that made me hesitant to like this design; it was almost overpowering, even though the glitter in Snowsicle is tiny.
In any case, I got lots and lots of positive comments for this (including one who was completely amazed that I'd done them myself), so I'm happy!
Since I couldn't get that one back, I decided to try a totally different design along the same tack: Dark blue background with medium blue swirls. I wasn't sure how much I liked it at first, but it grew on me.
I didn't realize until this very moment how similar the ring and pinky finger designs are. Whoops.
Creating the design took me way too long! Turns out, being right-handed and trying to use my left hand to create those delicate swirls is NOT EASY. The process itself is straightforward - Sinful Colors' Aqua for the base, Heaven's Honolulu Orchid for the design.
There is a little bit of glitter too, since I elected to throw on a layer of Zoya Snowsicle. Honestly, it was that decision that made me hesitant to like this design; it was almost overpowering, even though the glitter in Snowsicle is tiny.
In any case, I got lots and lots of positive comments for this (including one who was completely amazed that I'd done them myself), so I'm happy!
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Pink Marble
I think it's been established that I'm a fan of swirly nail art. I just adore abstract, and the swirlier it is, the happier I am. So when I was browsing YouTube yesterday looking for nail design inspiration and found a technique for mixing two colors for a marble swirl effect, I was ON IT. I've always loved pink and black together, so I didn't even have to spend much time considering what colors to try.
The process for making this design sounds harder than it actually was. I started out by doing two coats of pink to get a solidly opaque base. When that was dry, I painted black polish starting at about the 1/3 mark, then used a long, narrow nail brush to paint a smooth line between the transition from black to pink for a more professional look. Using a tiny brush typically reserved for eyeliner, I put little dabs of pink and black together on the black section of nail, then quickly swirled them together before they dried. Topcoat.
I was really worried after the first nail was finished, because it looked kind of weird. But I was resolute - I was going to finish this! The instant all the nails had the same swirls on them the effect became much stronger, and man, if it doesn't look awesome!
The biggest downside to this design is that the marble section of nail ends up with a thick slab of polish that takes a while to dry and is susceptible to smudging - and, surprisingly, chipping. I created this design last night, and by morning the polish on one nail had already chipped. I indignantly slapped a bit of black on there to keep it looking good, but it's been troubling me all day. I fear that, despite how much I like the look of this design, I'll have to remove it sooner rather than later. Phooey.
LOL UR NAIL SHAPING
The process for making this design sounds harder than it actually was. I started out by doing two coats of pink to get a solidly opaque base. When that was dry, I painted black polish starting at about the 1/3 mark, then used a long, narrow nail brush to paint a smooth line between the transition from black to pink for a more professional look. Using a tiny brush typically reserved for eyeliner, I put little dabs of pink and black together on the black section of nail, then quickly swirled them together before they dried. Topcoat.
I was really worried after the first nail was finished, because it looked kind of weird. But I was resolute - I was going to finish this! The instant all the nails had the same swirls on them the effect became much stronger, and man, if it doesn't look awesome!
The biggest downside to this design is that the marble section of nail ends up with a thick slab of polish that takes a while to dry and is susceptible to smudging - and, surprisingly, chipping. I created this design last night, and by morning the polish on one nail had already chipped. I indignantly slapped a bit of black on there to keep it looking good, but it's been troubling me all day. I fear that, despite how much I like the look of this design, I'll have to remove it sooner rather than later. Phooey.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Hmm.
I'm beginning to wonder if minor nail damage is just part of the deal with using nail polish more frequently than once every few months. I have a nice nail oil and cuticle cream that I use, but between polish coats, little bits of nail surface still peel away. It really doesn't help that my nails are STILL stained that awful yellow-green, so I can't just go bare to give my nails a break.
Any thoughts or suggestions?
Any thoughts or suggestions?
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Polish Review: Zoya Envy
I'm just going to say straight out, Zoya Envy is a beautiful color. It's like distilled swamp, without the smell and a whole lot more class; a deep, fluid green with just a touch of brown. So dark it's almost black, unless you're in the right light.
I wore this for three or four days, and was disappointed to have to take it off. But when it was gone, I was horrified - it left behind this sickly yellow-green stain that has now lasted well over a week, though multiple applications of new color and cleanings. There is clearly visible definition between the stain and the pink of new nail.
It's completely maddening, because I can't use any transparent polish, or even go natural. It looks terrible. I'm so disappointed in this color, because it's so pretty and I would love to wear it frequently, but the stain means that it's relegated to accents on top of other colors. Either that or I get a steel-strength base coat, and even then, I can't be sure.
:(
Just two coats! Goes with most of my clothes! LOVE!
I wore this for three or four days, and was disappointed to have to take it off. But when it was gone, I was horrified - it left behind this sickly yellow-green stain that has now lasted well over a week, though multiple applications of new color and cleanings. There is clearly visible definition between the stain and the pink of new nail.
It's completely maddening, because I can't use any transparent polish, or even go natural. It looks terrible. I'm so disappointed in this color, because it's so pretty and I would love to wear it frequently, but the stain means that it's relegated to accents on top of other colors. Either that or I get a steel-strength base coat, and even then, I can't be sure.
:(
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Mondrian Abstract
Artwork by Piet Mondrian is oddly divisive; his work is the type that most people refer to when they say they don't get modern art. This kind of stuff:
Bold lines, sharp angles, seemingly random colors and placement. It's aesthetic, to some. Personally, I'd never hang this kind of artwork in my home, simply because it's not my thing. I can appreciate it (kinda?), but overall, meh.
This kind of artwork on nails?
Works a whole lot better!
It was surprisingly easy to do. I painted Zoya Jolie in a wide swath down the right side of the nails, ensuring I didn't cover the left third at all, and that the line between then was relatively straight. When that dried, I painted Zoya Goldie starting at about the third mark away from the cuticle, maintaining the side line. There was room for minor error since the black would be covering it, but not too much room. The dots are there because dots are awesome, obviously. Not that Mondrian ever actually included them.
Layer of top coat, and it's done. Obviously, any two colors would work great instead of the Jolie and Goldie, so long as the second color is opaque enough to cover the first - and maybe not even then. Lines can be rearranged, colors added. This is super versatile.
And probably one of my favorite designs yet.
Maybe it's so utilitarian because it was the Great Depression? Imagination is expensive.
Bold lines, sharp angles, seemingly random colors and placement. It's aesthetic, to some. Personally, I'd never hang this kind of artwork in my home, simply because it's not my thing. I can appreciate it (kinda?), but overall, meh.
This kind of artwork on nails?
Works a whole lot better!
The lines are... mostly straight.
It was surprisingly easy to do. I painted Zoya Jolie in a wide swath down the right side of the nails, ensuring I didn't cover the left third at all, and that the line between then was relatively straight. When that dried, I painted Zoya Goldie starting at about the third mark away from the cuticle, maintaining the side line. There was room for minor error since the black would be covering it, but not too much room. The dots are there because dots are awesome, obviously. Not that Mondrian ever actually included them.
Layer of top coat, and it's done. Obviously, any two colors would work great instead of the Jolie and Goldie, so long as the second color is opaque enough to cover the first - and maybe not even then. Lines can be rearranged, colors added. This is super versatile.
And probably one of my favorite designs yet.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)