Purple Cameo

Hello girlies. I was set not to post today as I was supposed to be in Connecticut by way of New York and the Statue of Liberty but those plans have been put off to a later time. So, I bring you what I think of as Vintage Inspired: Take Two.

I bought Sally Hansen's Lacey Lilac for my Mother's Day nails, but I've become pretty taken with it. It's such a great shade of light purple, exactly the shade I reach for when I go for a lilac. Everything loses its shine after a time, so using NYC's matte top coat, Matte Me Crazy, really turns these nails vintage.

The cameo is hand-painted using the 'DIY nail art stickers' method. It's something I found on Youtube a year or more ago but only used a few times. I prefer hand-painting straight onto my nails but with something like this that needs a lot of precision it's a good fallback. I definitely recommend it if you have trouble painting your non-dominant hand or even if you're not too artistic, because you can print out a small design and trace it with this method.

The peals used in this mani come from the Born Pretty store. This is where I buy most of my nail art 'pretties': things like pearls, beads, studs, and rhinestones. My very first order through the store included these pearls. They are great because they come in three sizes: 4mm, 3mm, and 1.5mm. The pearls used in this design are the 1.5mm pearls. You can also buy a wheel of 1.5mm pearls in various colors. I have yet to try them, but they look so pretty! The Born Pretty store doesn't just carry nail art decorations or even just things dealing with nail art either. You can find cosmetics, really awesome contact lenses that I intend to buy at some point, hair decorations, jewelry, and much more. The prices are stunning and all with free shipping!!! If you haven't checked them out yet I definitely recommend taking a browse through. I'm sure you'll find something you just have to have. I know I do! So much that I keep a list of things I want between orders so I don't forget something.


Be sure to check out their specials for sales. Also, look into their Rewards Program. You earn points for each order, posting reviews, and uploading photos. These points translate to money that you can use in your orders. Use up to 1000 points ($10.00) with each order. Depending on your order you might just get it completely free!!

The Mommy Mess

Happy Mother's Day  to the mothers out there. Today's post is for my own mommy.

I thought long and hard about this design. I didn't want a generic Mother's Day design. What I really wanted was something personal to my mother. Well, my mom's favorite flower is the lilac. Best of all? Her favorite color is also purple! Talk about perfect.

Sadly, I found the lilac flower almost impossible to recreate into something people would look at and think, "Oh, that's a lilac!" In my opinion, it's a bit of a mess.

However, my mom was kind enough to point out that her knowing what it was was all that should matter. This mani was created for her after all, and she loves it.

I started with these nails. I'm not usually one for a French mani. I always end up with streaks when using a 'natural' polish, which was no different with this mani. But I became pretty fond of these. I used two coats of OPI Bubble Bath with one coat of OPI Alpine Snow on the tips. I was feeling very steady handed that day so I went ahead and free handed the tips.

These last two pictures are of my left hand. This is the hand I usually use for my pictures, but I found myself liking the nails of my right hand better. But, I guess the lack of precision worked better for this mani. Go figure.


Polish Used
Borghese - Brilliante
OPI - Bubble Bath
OPI - Alpine Snow
OPI - Uh-Oh Roll Down the Window
Sally Hansen - Green with Envy
Sally Hansen - Lacey Lilac
Pure Ice - New Lilac
LA Colors - Purple
Sally Hansen - Insta-Dri