Another Christmas manicure

Building off of my last Christmas manicure, this one takes it to another level. I wasn't 100% pleased with how this turned out - the white and gold should have been separated I think, and the jewels on the center stripe instead of the outer one. But overall this went ok, considering it's my most complicated look yet! Scotch tape helped keep the lines clean, and a bit of top coat dotted on my nails kept the gems from sliding around.

Sadly, I made a mess out of this on my way out the door and had to take it off :( I didn't have time to redo it, so I had to scrap the whole thing.










Colours:
Clear sparkly base: Sephora by OPI Bare to be Different, Sephora by OPI No-el if I Know
White: China Glaze White on White
Gold: Nicole by OPI Not a Gold Bigger
Red: China Glaze Ruby Pumps
Green: China Glaze Glittering Garland
Topcoat: Seche Vite

A haul, and a porcelain manicure!

I received one small package of nail polish today with a few China Glaze items, and then I stopped into Sally on the way home to pick up a few odds and ends. I ended up getting a few more China Glaze polishes while I was there, along with a few cheap Sally Girl samples.




Misc: Polish thinner & pure acetone on the left, nail gems on the lower right.

Polishes:

Top row: China Glaze Frostbite, China Glaze For Audrey, China Glaze White on White, Finger Paint Sparkle Top Coat

Middle row: China Glaze Icicle, China Glaze Glittering Garland, China Glaze Holly Days, China Glaze Tinsel Town, China Glaze Some Like it Haute

Bottom row: Three mini Sally Girl polishes, no names.


China Glaze For Audrey made me think about my lovely set of blue Nigella Lawson mixing bowls, except shiny while they're matte. So I hauled out my Deborah Lippmann Flat Top and did this:




Base: CND Stickey
Blue: China Glaze For Audrey
White: China Glaze White on White
Top coat: Deborah Lippmann Flat Top

Matting a manicure just changes it so completely, from a pretty shiny look to a sophisticated porcelain-like finish. I love this look so much! I'll definitely be wearing it again soon.

Christmas manicure, take 2

I love, love, LOVE how this turned out! So simple, yet so striking! Again, I used scotch tape to create the tips over a simple sparkly base, then accented with a small nail gem.






Base colours: Bare to be Different and No-el if I Know from the Sephora by OPI Glimmering Wonderland set
Tip: Nicole by OPI Not a Gold Bigger and OPI Wocka Wocka, plus a random nail decoration.
Top coat: seche vite

Multi layered taped look

This is pre-cleanup, so it's a bit of a mess.

This is OPI's French Quarter for your Thoughts, YSL Shiny Black (from the Duo Terriblement Noir), and OPI Designer, De Better. The layered effect was achieved with a little scotch tape and a lot of cursing when I messed up my thumb SIX TIMES and had to redo it.

With flash:




Without flash:

My first Christmas inspired manicure!

With flash:




And without:


OPI Wocka Wocka, tipped with Nicole by OPI Not a Gold Bigger. I know, horrible name, but oh my what a gorgeous gold polish this is! Opaque on my tips after one coat.

Excuse the mess around my cuticles and edges - I'm still new to polish and learning how to apply neatly! I used scotch tape to create the gold tips here.

My first attempt at a taped manicure!

After seeing the tutorial for taped looks at Reddit Laqueristas, I figured I'd give it a go! This was my first ever attempt at a taped manicure: OPI French Quarter for your Thoughts tipped with OPI Designer, De Better.



It's a bit messy, but not bad for a first try! I was surprised at just how easy it was to achieve those clean lines:

1) paint with base coat and base colour, wait for colour to dry.
2) take a piece of scotch tape and stick it to your hand a few times to make it less sticky (if it's too sticky it'll take the polish right off your nails!), place over your nail however you'd like the design to go.
3) Pain your tip colour, remove tape before the paint dries.

I really need to do a full taping tutorial. I've figured out a number of tips and tricks and I should post them!