Another new month means another month's worth of manicures to share with you! I really enjoyed all of them this month - and I was especially into glitters! I also tried Ciate polishes for the first time, and expanded both my Butter London and OPI collections a bit - two brands I've fairly recently come to appreciate.
If you'd like to see, larger photos and names of the polishes I used will be under the cut!
I got some fun new beauty items for Christmas this year! Two Sephora by OPI nail polishes in fabulous colors and some of the Sephora makeup brushes! I can't wait to use these polishes in a manicure - they're very similar to the colors on my bedroom walls, so I think I'll try to combine them somehow. The brushes are so nice as well. The powder brush is absolutely enormous but so soft and fun to use. The angled liner brush is fantastic, and I always need more of them. I haven't used the stippling brush yet, but it feels really nice! If anyone has any usage tips for that one, I'd love to hear them.
Did you get anything beauty related for gifts this year?
Before I get into the manicure I did this year, I chose my favorite red and blue nail polishes that could be used for a red,white,and blue manicure. I don't have all of my polishes with me currently, so there are probably others I could have included, but these are really my favorites - that's why they're with me, after all!
L-R: China Glaze - Red Pearl, Revlon - Frankly Scarlet, China Glaze - Poinsettia
L-R: China Glaze - Frostbite, OPI - Swimsuit...Nailed it!, China Glaze - Dorothy Who?, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Pacific Blue
I didn't take a photo of it since I was sure you all have an idea of what a basic white cream nail polish looks like, but my favorite white is by far Sally Hansen Insta Dri in Whirlwind White. It goes on really opaquely in one or two coats, which makes it a lot nicer than sheerer or streakier whites, especially if you're using it as a base color and don't want to have a lot of drying time.
Of course, crackle or shatter polishes make really easy multi-colored manicures! I know there are red and blue ones available, I just don't have any of them. I do have white, though - and it's one of the polishes I used for my 4th of July themed manicure this year! I used China Glaze in Poinsettia for the red and Dorothy Who? for the blue glitter. The crackle polish I used was Sephora by OPI in White Blasted. I picked it up on clearance within the past few months. I also have the white crackle from China Glaze, which works too!
If you want to see another 4th of July themed manicure, the one I did last year is here! I used all China Glaze products - including the white crackle polish I mentioned.
Do you like doing themed manicures for holidays? I know I do - whether or not the holiday is something I really get into celebrating, it's hard to resist doing my nails for them!
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!
