Paint It Black

For today's prompt, "inspired by a song," I decided to do some nail art inspired by The Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black." The song is about depression and loss, and wanting to paint everything black to match those feelings.

If you're familiar with the song, the obvious choice would have been do a red door and then put some black on it, but I wanted to go for something a little more colorful and (only slightly) less literal. I opted for a bright base, splattered and smeared with black paint.

I began with a white base to help the colors above it pop.

Then I cut off a strip of a makeup sponge, and painted swipes of my three base colors directly on to the sponge. I used China Glaze Too Yacht to Handle, Nicole by OPI Hit the Lights, and Girly Bits Hip Hoop Hooray.

For the big black swipe, I wiped most of the polish off of the brush of Salon Perfect Oil Slick, and then dry brushed it across my nails. I used a small nail art brush to add the splatters and drips, then finished with topcoat.

See how I've been inspired by songs in the past:

• Tik Tok - Ke$ha
• Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend
• Lose Yourself to Dance - Daft Punk
• Undone (The Sweater Song) - Weezer

Rainbow Pinwheel Nail Art

Ah, the rainbow prompt of the 31 Day Challenge. So bright, so happy! I've done some rainbow pinwheel nail art -- it also reminds me of the top of an umbrella, for some reason. I went for the brightest, most cheerful colors I could find, and freehanded the design over a white base.

Nail polishes used:
China Glaze You Drive Me Coconuts (pink)
China Glaze Sun Worshiper (orange)
China Glaze Yellow Polka Dot Bikini (yellow)
China Glaze Kiwi Cool-ada (green)
China Glaze Too Yacht to Handle (aqua)
China Glaze Sunday Funday (blue)
China Glaze That's Shore Bright (purple)

I started out with a white base, and then freehanded spiraling blocks of color. I rotated the block placement between each nail for more visual interest. Then, I outlined the sections with black and a small nail art brush. I finished with topcoat and that was that!

I didn't think I'd have as much trouble with this prompt as I did. Unfortunately, it was the first of my challenge stumbling blocks this year. Though I ended up with a design that I actually do like a lot, I tried probably 4 or 5 other manicures before arriving here! So frustrating at the time, but I feel good about it now.

This manicure photographed a little streaky, but of course it doesn't look like that at all in person. The struggle is real.

Taste the rainbow:

• Rainbow half moons with cloud French tips
• Rainbow gradient with black and white glitter
• Lady Rainicorn from Adventure Time