Dexter Morgan - Blood Spatter Analyst v2

On a complete whim yesterday I picked up Essie's No Place Like Chrome and I wanted to figure out a way to incorporate it into a Halloween manicure. Since Dexter plays tonight I decided to do another blood splatter set, but this time using silver as the base so it looks like blood on Dexter's knife!

 

You can find my original version and a tutorial here.

A rare sighting of my right hand.

Okay is it just me or are these pictures turning out kinda fuzzy? They're clear on my computer until I upload them to Blogger. Anyway - I like it so much more with silver base! It gives it more of a "wow factor."

My tools and canvas.

Look how shiny the silver is with the flash!

The process looks so gruesome, I love it!

Essie No Place Like Chrome, before the blood bath. I used Revlon Valentine for the blood. I love the new Essie polish. It was very opaque, but I did notice that if I tried going over the same spot for a touch up while it was still wet the brush left even more bald spots. Overall though this is a 1-2 coater max.

I looooove getting to theme my nails, it makes the whole process so much more enjoyable (for me anyway). I'm looking forward to the sunshine coming back, it's been a while... and because of the hurricane will still be a long wait. Nail photos always turn out nicer in sunlight.

I have at least one more blog-worthy manicure planned before Halloween, see you soon!

Tutorial: Dexter Morgan - Blood Spatter Analyst

EDIT - October 28th 2012:  I've just done a second version of this manicure, view it here.

As mentioned in my last post, I've been obsessed with Dexter lately thanks to m'darlin, so I decided to do some blood splatter nails to coincide with Dexter's job and his "hobby." I took pictures along to way so others can try it out too! It would look really cool with other colours, it doesn't have to be blood after all! 

Things you will need:

• Base Coat
• Top Coat (Quick dry is awfully convenient)
• White/Off-White Polish (I used American Apparel Cotton)
• Blood Red Polish (I used Revlon Valentine. Kind of morbid, considering.)
• The outer part of a disassembled pen
• Vaseline-type jelly (Ultrabalm from Lush contains NO petroleum, win!)
• A sheet of paper to protect your surface
• Acetone for clean up
• Cotton swabs

Step 1:
Apply your base coat and your base colour.

Step 2:
Once dried, lay your sheet of paper down on your work space and surround the skin close to your nail with your Ultrabalm/Petroleum jelly. This will make your clean up much easier!

Step 3:
Take your hollowed out pen and your red nail polish. Brush the polish into the thin end quite thoroughly. You want to make sure there's enough in the opening to effectively splatter on your nails.

Step 4:
Aim the pen above your nail and blow really hard into the end (without the polish, obviously). Repeat on all your nails. The results should look like this:

Step 5:
Clean up! Pure acetone works best for this. You want to use a cotton swab rather than a cotton pad so you don't get fibers caught in the polish. Having used the Ultrabalm most of the polish should rub off with ease. After getting the worst off I used a thin angled paint brush to clean up around the edges close to the nail.

Step 6:
Pose with something menacing!

See how easy this was?? This was my first time doing it, it's a piece of cake (especially like me and you lack in the creative ability dept).

Hope it works out for anyone trying it!

NOTD: Dexter's Ice Truck Killer Nails

I've been watching Dexter with DBF (dear boyfriend) and I am hooked. In the first season the team finds a severed hand in a block of ice with each nail painted a different colour. Naturally I had to give it a shot! *edit* I realize now that I mixed up the middle finger with the ring finger colour. D'oh.

I love skittle manis (ie: multicoloured), they're so much fun!