It's a Marshmallow World in the Winter!

Meet my current holiday nails! I sat down to do a festive set the other night, but wanted to take them in a slightly different direction than the usual seasonal fare. I reached for the pastel versions of red and green and combined them with silver accents for a marshmallow winter set. I'm in love!

I used the following gels for this set:
Gelish Look at You, Pink-achu!
Gelish Do You Harajuku?
Vetro Silver Leaf
Akzentz Gel Play in Platinum Quartz
Akzentz Gel Play in White

Since I am still obsessed with all things Japanese nail art, this set is inspired by that style. I'm still working to master their eye for mix-and-matching, but I think I found a pretty good balance here that I'm happy with.

All of the details are handpainted, from the "PEACE" to the snowflakes! I also opted for a peace sign on my right hand, cause my left hand can't handle lettering (plus, it mixes things up a little more!).

I really love this set and my clients have been enjoying it, too! It's nice to feel festive without the traditional "rich red, deep green, glittering gold" color palette.

Crop Circle Inspired Nail Art

"Inspired by the supernatural" is another one of the challenge prompts that I'm not usually too enthused about. I started out today attempting a manicure depicting the Galactic Entity from Futurama, but quickly changed my mind (looked too much like my galaxy nails!). I decided to do some crop circle nail art instead, and boy am I glad that I did! I'm super pleased with these and hope you enjoy them too.

I started out by applying two coats of Essie - Mojito Madness as my green base. Then, I used the dry brush technique to add some swipes of Duri - Shocking Twist. If you're unfamiliar, you just wipe most of the polish off of your brush, and then lightly swipe it over your nails.

Then, I used LVX - Avenal to handpaint my crop circle designs. Many of them have geometric elements to them, so I chose to focus on concentric circles as well as lines and triangles.

I finished the nail art with a matte topcoat. I liked the look of it glossy, but to be honest, the reflections of the lights that I use for my photos on my nails made my linework look distorted.

See more of my supernatural nail art:

• Glow in the dark ghosties
• Glittering Edward nail art
• Phoenix feather nail art
• Raava and Vaatu nail art (Legend of Korra)

Crop Circle Inspired Nail Art

"Inspired by the supernatural" is another one of the challenge prompts that I'm not usually too enthused about. I started out today attempting a manicure depicting the Galactic Entity from Futurama, but quickly changed my mind (looked too much like my galaxy nails!). I decided to do some crop circle nail art instead, and boy am I glad that I did! I'm super pleased with these and hope you enjoy them too.

I started out by applying two coats of Essie - Mojito Madness as my green base. Then, I used the dry brush technique to add some swipes of Duri - Shocking Twist. If you're unfamiliar, you just wipe most of the polish off of your brush, and then lightly swipe it over your nails.

Then, I used LVX - Avenal to handpaint my crop circle designs. Many of them have geometric elements to them, so I chose to focus on concentric circles as well as lines and triangles.

I finished the nail art with a matte topcoat. I liked the look of it glossy, but to be honest, the reflections of the lights that I use for my photos on my nails made my linework look distorted.

See more of my supernatural nail art:

• Glow in the dark ghosties
• Glittering Edward nail art
• Phoenix feather nail art
• Raava and Vaatu nail art (Legend of Korra)

Electric Carnival Half Moons

Half moon day! I love half moons and every year during the challenge, I say that I'm going to wear them more often and then I never do. So here's my look for this year -- it started out in a different place than it ended up, which is some kind of mix of "electric carnival," "60s mod," and "old wallpaper." I dig it, but had one main issue, which we'll talk about below.

The base of this manicure is LVX Midori, this gorgeous yellow-green shade that I adore. Like, ADORE it.

However.

Midori has this tendency to seep through and discolor any other shades that are used on top of it (even if there's a coat of topcoat between them). It's worse with light colors, but Midori even altered the deep cobalt blue that I used in my stripes. I didn't remember this when I reached for it, and by the time I realized, it was too late. In this case it was okay, because the color palette ended up looking kinda cool and retro, but this was not originally what I had in mind.

The process for these is pretty easy. I put down two coats of Midori plus a coat of quick dry topcoat. Once it was set, I used half moon nail vinyls to block off the moon area, then painted freehand stripes with JINsoon Cool Blue and Deborah Lippmann Whip It. As you can see, Midori turned Cool Blue into "Cool Teal" and Whip It into coral. Oh well!

Next, I removed the vinyls, and added the arcing stripes in the open moon space. The final step, of course, is to finish with topcoat. Carnival chic!

Here are my half moon manis from the past four years of the challenge:

• Sweet and girly leopard half moons
• Retro striped half moons
• Delicate lace half moons
• Autumnal gilded half moon stamping

Wasabi and Caviar - An Exercise In Linework and Patience

Today is my birthday, and if you can believe it, my nails are actually naked right now! THE HORROR! I'm hoping to put something fun on them after I get home from work, but for now, I wanted to share a manicure I spent a lot of time on recently.

I am calling it wasabi and caviar for reasons that I hope are obvious! This entire design is handpainted with regular nail polish. It's some of my best linework to date, I think. Hooray for improvement there!

Nail polishes and products used:
LVX Midori
Formula X Dark Matter
Sally Hansen Stud Kit

If you want to attempt a design like this, I've got some tips!

1. Get a small brush. I can't tell you how long I used a thicker nail art brush, cursing my lack of talent rather than the tool I was using. Once I got a thinner brush, it helped me immensely. I still had to keep practicing, but my old brush was definitely part of the problem. Trim down an old brush with cuticle nippers if you don't have a super thin one.
2. Keep it clean. If you're using polish (instead of acrylic paint or gel), clean your brush frequently with 100% acetone and regularly put down more polish onto your palette. Polish dries quickly and can wreck your fine lines if it isn't the right consistency.
3. Small mistakes aren't the end of the world. You can use a clean nail art brush dipped in acetone to gently "erase" small mistakes from your work; just be careful not to go too crazy or it will eat through your base color. In this case, I put a layer of topcoat between the wasabi shade and my black linework for extra protection.
4. Be patient. This shit isn't fast. When you factor in my previous tips and the detail of the work, you just gotta know it's not going to be easy to bust it out in 45 minutes. I like to put on Netflix and take breaks every so often to stretch out.

I just love this kind of strange green color, and the thick blingy stud nail is just the right amount of "odd" to go with it.

Glam Polish Welcome to Storybrooke Collection Swatches & Review

Glam Polish has a new collection out, Welcome to Storybrooke, inspired by ABC's TV show 'Once Upon a Time'. I personally watch and enjoy the show; not only am I a sucker for fairy tales slash anything Disney related, but there's lots of good eye candy for both ladies and the fellas. Speaking of eye candy, let's take a look at these Glam Polish shades!

Hat Trick is a multichrome holographic that shifts from a pink-rose to copper to green. I've chosen to layer my swatch over black, because that's how I would wear it out into the world.

The Thing You Love Most is a multichrome holographic that shifts from violet to pink to orange. Again, I've layered one coat over black for my swatches to amp up the multichromatic effect.

A Land Without Magic is a teal-leaning emerald green holographic with iridescent microglitter and shimmer. I used two coats.

Desperate Souls is a deep, blackened purple with a holographic finish. It has a pretty green shimmer to it that shifts to a warm pink when seen at an angle, though unfortunately I had a tough time capturing it in my photos. Two coats.

Fruit of the Poisonous Tree is a deep, plum colored holographic with a magenta shimmer to it. This is by far and away my favorite of the shades I received to swatch, which is not to say the others were bad! This one is just that good. It's fully gorgeous and luxe. Two coats.

Second Star to the Right is an indigo holographic with blue glass flecks (I called them "sparks" in my notes) that shift to pink/violet. It leans more purple in person; my second photo is most accurate. Two coats.

So, what do you think? My top picks are Fruit of the Poisonous Tree, A Land Without Magic, and Hat Trick. All of the shades had great formulas, and dazzled with their complex finishes. No duds here, it all comes down to your personal color preference.

The Welcome to Storybrooke collection is available now from www.glampolish.com.au. Shipping rates to the USA are $7.95 for the first polish and $1.00 for each additional polish.

National Flags of Avatar: The Last Airbender

Today's 31 Day Challenge prompt is "inspired by a flag," a prompt that no one seems to really care for. It's not my favorite either, but it does often get me thinking outside of the box!

I chose to do nail art inspired by one of my favorite cartoons, Avatar: The Last Airbender. For those of you unfamiliar with the show, there are four nations in the Avatar world: the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads. I represented each nation's flag on my nails, and put the flag of the Order of the White Lotus on my thumb.

Nail polishes used:
Misa Blueberry Blast
JINsoon Cool Blue
OPI Jade is the New Black
LVX Midori
OPI All I Want for Christmas (Is OPI)
American Apparel Hassid
Misa Great Grape
Polish My Life Stripped

All elements of this manicure were painted freehand. I have the Water Tribes symbol on my pointer, the Earth Kingdom symbol on my middle finger, the Fire Nation flag on my ring, and the Air Nomad insignia on my pinky.

I needed a fifth finger design, and the Order of the White Lotus seemed like a perfect choice! They transcend the four nations, and are good guys in the series. And um, hello, who doesn't love Iroh?

If you are a fan of the Avatar universe, be sure to check back in tomorrow! I've done some Legend of Korra nail art for "inspired by the supernatural." Consider it a double feature!

Previous "inspired by a flag" manicures:

• Racing checkered flag
• Arizona state flag nail art
• Textured American flag nail art

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Nail Art Blocking

In the 31 Day Challenge, some days you win, some days you lose. And you probably won't have the time or the energy to scrap a mani that you may not be crazy about! So here we are.

It's inspired by a book day, and I decided to get creative and try doing three distinct segments of nail art, all related to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. From top to bottom, we've got the Emerald City, the yellow brick road, and the poppy fields. I love the idea in theory, but my execution leaves a bit to be desired.

Nail polishes and products used:
China Glaze Happy Go Lucky
Dermelect Belle Epoque
Polish My Life Birthday Suit
OPI Coca Cola Red
Sally Hansen Going Green
Formula X Dark Matter
China Glaze Running In Circles
Painter's tape

So I'm calling this one "nail art blocking" vs. "blocking nail art" because I am actually making blocks of different nail art looks. Blocking nail art, to me, is when the blocking is the essence of the nail art. How's that for logic?

I started by painting my nails yellow and adding the yellow brick road detailing. Then, I added a coat of quick dry topcoat and waited for it to dry completely. I taped off the triangles with painters tape, and then added the Emerald City and poppy fields blocks. A final swipe of topcoat and the mani was done!

If I were to do this again, I think I'd try freehanding the sections instead of taping them. I'd also use a lighter color for the brick outlining.

Previous literary manicures include:

• Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk
• The Missing Piece by Shel Silverstein
• 1984 by George Orwell

Style Polka Dot Floral Print

This 70's style, fall-appropriate floral is my polka dot nail art for the 31 Day Challenge. It looks fairly complex at first glance, but it's simple when you start to break it down! I just combined dots together in different sizes and colors to create a simple floral pattern. It feels very vintage, don't you think?

Nail polishes used:
DIOSA Dime Piece (light grey)
Jessica Cosmetics NY State of Mind (dark grey)
Jessica Cosmetics Meet at the Plaza (olive green)
Color Club Je Ne Sais Quoi (mustard yellow)
LVX Roux (coral)
American Apparel Berry (burgundy)

This nail art was really very simple, it just took a bit to put all of the unique dot floral pieces together! I used four different dotting tool sizes: my large flat rhinestone picker, a large dotter, a small dotter, and a pinpoint dotter.

I was just about ready to mattify this, but I've been using matte topcoat on so many things lately. I decided to let it rock the glossy look.

Check out more of my polka dot nail art:

• Ladybugs
• Polka dot pyramids
• Punchy dot mix