OPI Stranger Tides & China Glaze For Audrey

Here we have another phone camera shot. This was taken sometime early summer (maybe late spring) and was honestly one of my favourite manis of the summer. It was just so beachy, it reminded me of sand and the sky. I was really feeling softer colours and pastels for a few months there, which I normally find incredibly boring so I assume that's part of why I didn't bother blogging any of it.

I like that they're alternating but that the difference between the two colours isn't overly dramatic. Creme finishes are by far my favourite so overall this mani was a 100% clear winner in my books.

China Glaze Below Deck Gradient Tutorial

Hello again my fine feathered friends! This week I've had a string of job interviews and I happen to have an "interview polish" that brings me luck, class and an air of professionalism whenever I wear it. No joke. I had mentioned in my first interview on Monday that I occasionally blog about my nails, so for the second interview (which I had this afternoon) I wanted to spice things up a little bit.

Initially I was wearing China Glaze Below Deck, a muted sort of brownish greyish purple, and I wanted to turn it into a gradient mani. This is sometimes also called fading.

To achieve this look you need:

• Any colour of your choice for the base, obviously in my case it was Below Deck
• White polish
• A shallow dish of some sort
• A toothpick/bobby pin
• A make up sponge
• Top coat
• A brush and acetone for clean up

Step 1.
Paint your nails with the base colour and allow to dry completely. I like doing this on a mani that's already a couple of days old.

Step 2.
Drop some of the coloured polish into the dish along with about 2-3 drops of white. You don't want the shade to be too far off just yet. Mix it up thoroughly. 

Step 3.
Use your make up sponge to dab some of the mixture onto your nail, starting at the tip (just in case the sponge is too saturated) and work your way to about 3/4 down. Do this to the nails on both hands so you don't have to re-mix your polish and risk not getting the same colour results.

Step 4.
Add 2-3 more drops of white to your dish and stir it up until it's well blended. Once again you're going to use your sponge  to go over every nail but you'll only be going 2/3 of the way down your nail this time around since you want to leave some of the new layer exposed.
Repeat this step two or three more times, adding more white to the mixture at the end of each round and covering less of your nail as you go along.

Step 5:
Apply your clear top coat. This is important because this sponge makes the polish look rough and bumpy, not a good look! 

Step 6:
Use your brush and acetone to clean up the edges and voila! Beautiful gradient mani.

If these instructions are in any way unclear or if you want photos of the step-by-step (or even want to see it in a different colour) please let me know. 

Later in the week I'll be trying a new formula to achieve the gradient look, I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.

Past NOTD: OPI My Private (Original Holo Version)

This was the result of a swap through Makeup Alley with a lovely lady named Ashley. My Private Jet is an infamous polish known for having two released versions: a FABULOUS holographic one which is really hard to find, and a really boring dud version that doesn't have the rainbow-y goodness of the first. Luckily for me, Ashley sent me pictures of the polish beforehand to ensure that I was indeed getting the real deal.

So MPJ is a brownish greyish polish absolutely riddled with linear holographic sparkles.

Look at all the rainbows! YAY! Best swap ever. Sorry for all the pics I just got so so excited :)

NOTD: OPI Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous

I've been passing this bottle at the mall almost every time I work. I stop, I pick it up, I change my mind and I walk away. I finally decided last month to make the purchase and now with all this Chanel Graphite talk I just felt like finally giving it a whirl. I know it's not the same as Graphite but I like a darker grey anyway. After all was said and done, turns out this matched the dress I finally decided on for the day so it worked out wonderfully in the end.

This polish was from the Swiss collection for Fall 2010.

Sparkly goodness!

Sweet Potato Chips & NOTD

Wow, long time no blog! I've been pretty uninspired lately in terms of nail polish.. being broke has a really big impact on  the excitement levels I feel towards .. well, pretty much everything. However, I couldn't resist photographing the snack I made today so I took a quick shot of my fingernails too.

Anyway - Sweet potato CHIPS. That's right. They were simple enough to make, all I did was sliced the sweet potato,  lay it out on a baking sheet, sprinkled with a bit (too much) sea salt and bake for an hour or so. It turned out so-so. The trick here is to make sure to evenly slice the chips so they all cook at the same rate. Some were too chewy, some were perfectly crispy. I also ended up putting WAY too much salt without realizing, so that wasn't too nice either. Overall the experience was "meh" but I'm willing to try it out again sometime soon.

They cooked for just over an hour at 250 degrees.

And my nails!

I alternated between Rimmel's Grey Matter and China Glaze Secret Peri-Winkle.

Sorry for the long silence! <3