May Collab - House M.D.-Inspired Manicure

When I saw that it had been determined that May's theme for the Glamazon collaboration would be inspired by a TV show or character, I figured I'd try to do something from one of my all-time favorite shows - House! It's the only show I own on DVD, even though I got into it pretty late in the game, and I'm disappointed it was cancelled, although glad it ended while it was still a good show. (I haven't seen the last half of the season so don't spoil it for me!)

I pulled the colors and design ideas mostly just from the title sequence. In case you haven't seen it before, here is the version from the seventh season:

To start off, I put a base coat of the colors I chose from the title sequence.

L-R: China Glaze - Stone Cold, Zoya - Stella, Zoya - Minka, Revlon - Gold Coin, Zoya - Minka with Wet n Wild - Club Havana sponged lightly over it. I wanted to incorporate an orange, but it was too vibrant on its own. In order to achieve a more toned-down look, I brushed the polish onto a torn cosmetic sponge and applied it that way over the nude color.

For the designs, I used two polishes from Claire's that have both a striping brush and a pen-like applicator option. For the veins though, I used a Sephora by OPI nail design pen since it gave a less opaque effect that seemed more appropriate. 

Here's a more detailed look at the designs - with and without the additional letters.

This was such a fun manicure to do! While I do my nails very often, I don't do much in the way of nail art or themed manicures, so this was a fun way to try something I haven't done before.


Don't forget to check out the other participants' contributions as well!

Emily at Southern Gorgeous - Irene Adler makeup look
Keri at Beauty is My Crush - Sookie Stackhouse makeup look
Laurie Ann at BeautyMakeupAndMore - Nina Dobrev makeup look

Nail Polish Collection & Swatches - Essence, Ulta, Claire's, Savina

Halloween!

Halloween is probably my favorite holiday. I decided to get all festive for the few days preceding the actual holiday.

Halloween themed nails! Very simple; just using the colors. Finger Paints in Original Orange and a Claire’s art nail polish in black.

I wore these awesome spider earrings from Claire’s very frequently throughout most of the month. I think they’re just so cool..I may keep wearing them even though Halloween season is over.

The Saturday before Halloween I decided to do candy-corn themed eyeshadow. I used corresponding NYX Jumbo eyeshadow pencils as a base for each color. I can’t remember which white I used, but the yellow is a matte yellow from NYX and the orange is from Jordana. I used Ardell fashion lashes #116, which are ridiculously long and awesome looking.

Nails of the Day : White and Black Dots

Here are my current nails! The base is 2-3 coats of Sally Hansen "White On" with Claire's matte top coat. 

I did the dots using the pen part of a Claire's two way nail art pen and brush in black. I decided to leave the dots shiny for a bit of texture contrast as well as the color. 

This is the second time I have used the Claire's matte topcoat, and I'm really impressed with it. It mattifies better than the Orly Nails for Males, and it lasts a long time without chipping. I would definitely recommend it. 

I found Essie's Matte About You at my Marshall's this weekend for $3, but I haven't tried it yet, so I can't compare it to the Orly or Claire's versions.