Haunted Nighttime Nail Art

Hello lovelies! I'm excited to bring you my very first Halloween mani. I did this one for the 1st and I'm sad to say I only managed to get one good pic and it's not completely color accurate. :(

I started with a base of Crisp Morning Air from my 2014 Fall Collection and used an eyeshadow applicator to dab a few splotches of Autumn Sunset. Autumn Sunset is a gorgeous purple polish with a blue shift and that just doesn't show here. It created such an amazing nightime-y effect for this creepy Halloween scene. :( If you're like my mom and you just don't see it ... my index nail has a spindly tree, bats on my middle finger, a haunted mansion on my ring, and a graveyard on my pinky finger with Happy Halloween written on my thumb complete with a raven perched on it. :)

I topped the sponged base with a coat of Seche Vite top coat and once the whole thing was completely dry I used some homemade Halloween vinyls to create the designs. Unlike my maple leaf nail art I used the outlines of the images this time and dabbed them with black. I apologize for the horrible camera quality pic but this is what I'm talking about when I say outline. I simply dabbed black into the outline and peeled the vinyl off leaving behind a perfect design ... so much easier and less time consuming than trying to hand paint everything. A time and place for everything, right? Be sure to get into the edges of the outline though for nice clean and crisp lines.

And for the thumb I simply used the vinyl image itself, sticking it to my nail and painting over it with two coats of top coat to smooth it all out.

If you want to see these colors as close to accurate as I think pictures can possibly capture head over to Painted Nubbs' blog post on the 2014 Fall Collection. She has some truly stunning swatches.

What kind of nail art are you most looking forward to seeing or trying this Halloween? Let me know in the comments. ;)

Until next time,
Ashley

Fall is Here with Maple Leaf Nail Art

*Some products were sent to me for testing and review, completely complimentary, from Barielle. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hello lovelies!! More nail art? Yes, I'm really trying to get back into doing my nails and how can you possibly paint nails without doing some pretty nail art?

I bring you maple leaf art for fall. I actually did these on the first day of fall but things have been busy so this post got pushed back.

I was given the opportunity to test and review a few Barielle products. At the time, I had this idea in my head for a fall mani so I requested Dinner at 8 (red), Hawaiian Sunset (orange), and Lemondrops (yellow). All perfectly beautiful fall shades!

I started out with 2 coats of Lemondrops and used some cheap Dollar Store bought eyeshadow applicators to lightly sponge on some Hawaiian Sunset, Dinner at 8, and some green China Glaze Holly-Day. Build lightest to darkest as you don't see the lighter colors as well over dark as you do the other way around! In some places I sponged and then used a clean side to sponge over it again - especially the green as this gives it a slightly watercolor smudged look that works perfectly on the maple leaf idea. A little clean up and you have a perfect base for this mani.

I applied top coat over this and waited for it to dry completely.

While I waited (and being extra careful not to ruin my mani) I used my Silhouette cutter and some handy sticker vinyl to cut out some maple leaf shapes in various sizes for my nails.

Once my nails were completely dry - I repeat completely dry - I applied my homemade maple leaf vinyls. I positioned them much like choosing the swirl in a watermarble ... over the best sponging. ;) Once I had them where I wanted them I painted over the entire nail with China Glaze Holly-Day. If you aren't comfortable painting over the entire nail you can simply sponge the green over the entire nail and clean up any mess. Just be sure to get in good around your maple leaves. You want nice, sharp lines. Also, if you really don't feel comfortable doing peel off vinyls you could totally leave the vinyls on and simply add top coat over them.

It was much simpler than I thought to use a pair of super sharp tweezer while the green was still slightly tacky, grab a leafy corner, and peel the vinyl right off leaving behind a perfectly fall colored maple leaf on each nail.

Add a layer of top coat and you are set. ;)

A note about wear - it was excellent! I did this mani Tuesday and loved it so much I wanted it to last until Saturday so I could wear it to the local potato festival. I honestly didn't hold much hope because polish just doesn't wear well for me anymore. Mixing polish and running Spellbound Nails opens up a ton of chances for me to get splattered with polish or chip a brand new mani. BUT! This mani lasted not just until Saturday but with only minimal tip wear (and one minor splatter on a thumb). And I reallllyyy didn't go easy on them either. I mixed polish as usual, put together a new entertainment center, did some major fall cleaning, and went about my business. Seriously, forgive the phone pic (taken this morning before heading to the festival) but just look at those tips. A little touch up and another layer of top coat and I could wear these for at least another few days if not longer! Many thanks to Barielle for letting me try their must be magic polishes.

Links to Barielle

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Instagram (because what is life without Instagram?)

Until next time,

Ashley

*Some products were sent to me for testing and review, completely complimentary, from Barielle. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Spellbound Nails Fall Polishes 2013

Hey everyone! I'm so excited to tell you about 6 new fall polishes being released Monday (that's September 9th!).

This release will include a duo, Falling for You (seen top and bottom in the middle), sold only in mini bottles. The supplies for one of these polishes would have made it either a very limited limited edition or greatly increased the price to sell (to about $10-$12 a bottle + shipping). It was decided pairing it with a less costly to make polish and selling them together would give everyone the best possible price. :)

In addition to the duo you'll find Under the Harvest Moon and Mocha for Two, two very lovely glittery bases. As well as Autumn Vixen and Fall in Love, both sparkly glitter toppers.

Visit Paint Those Piggies to see these beauties in action. Seriously, you don't want to miss this post!!

* Reading her review you will find that Forever Green was too sheer to be used how I wanted and had to be reformulated. I leave you with these two pictures of the since updated polish.

This is 3 coats of Forever Green, with top coat, in the sun. I use thicker coats and could have worn this with 2 coats, but 3 is optimal if you are a weirdo and somehow manage to use thinner coats. ;)

This is 3 coats, with top coat, in my lightbox. If you look closely at this one you can really see the flecks of purple and green shimmery glitter.

Can I just end with how much I hate sun pictures? I have my lightbox and my camera all set up for the perfect skin tone and 'blurring' capabilities ... and the sun hides nothing! :p