Inktober Day 11: Disgusting

Ready to be grossed out? By something truly disgusting for day 11 of Inktober? How about some raw meat with maggots on it?

 To get good blending and highlights on the maggots, I needed a LOT of colors, including:

• You're So Vain-illa (OPI)
• Aubrey (Zoya)
• Never a Dulles Moment (OPI)
• Chartreuse (Charlotte Russe)
• Hera (Zoya)
• Emilia (Zoya)
• And some unlabeled Color Club greyish-tan creme

Inktober Day 9: Throw

Today's Inktober prompt is "throw." I couldn't get "throw a dog a bone" out of my head, so I decided to just do a bunch of bones, in the spirit of Halloween and all. 

Color Club inspired this look today with Look, Don't Tusk and What a Shock!

Inktober Day 22: Ghost

Do you believe in ghosts?

If you do, do you think all ghosts are haunting for bad reasons, or do you believe that some are there for other reasons? If so, what are those reasons?

Do you think all ghosts are see-through? Could they be different colors? Is there any visibility to them at all?

The world may never know. Even with all those legitimate ghost hunters out there. We can only keep searching...and watching scary movies. Until then, here are my ghosts.

Inktober Day 22 - Ghost

I used this design as a template for the faces, and a variety of colors including Neon Green (American Apparel), as well as Look, Don't Tusk, Almost Famous, and 2 unnamed colors (purple and orange) from Color Club.

Inktober Day 16: Wild

"Wild" is one of the easiest prompts for me. I knew exactly what I wanted to do. So here is my menagerie of animals for day 16. I've got a zebra, giraffe, tiger, cow, and leopard.

Inktober Day 16 - Wild

I also used a menagerie of polishes for my polishes:

• Zoya: Chantal
• OPI: Get in the Expresso Lane, It's a Piazza Cake, A-Taupe the Space Needle, and Is Mai Tai Crooked?
  LVX: Sienna
  Color Club: Look, Don't Tusk
  INM: Black Hole

Inktober - Drain

Today's prompt, "drain," wasn't exactly the most inspiring one, but I actually do like what I conjured up.

When I was browsing my collection of colors to find something else for a different post, I came across the really interesting shade from Color Club, Soft Baked. The color has matte black glitter in a milky white base. It reminded me of a shower floor or a sidewalk. So I used that, then layered Marshmallow (essie) on top to dull the contrast a bit more. Then I used my OPI matte top coat to cover those layers.

The drain was painted next, using This Silver's Mine (OPI) for the chrome finish. The water droplets I drew freehand, then dabbed a regular, shiny topcoat in the center to give them shine against the matte finish of the shower floor.

Pretty interesting process for a not-so-inspiring prompt.

Tomorrow's is "expensive"...this could get glittery!

Color Club - Seven Deadly Sins Collection with Bold Bedrock Nail Art

If you're reading this, then nail polish is probably one of your biggest vices. Well today, you can indulge your vices and the other seven deadly sins with Color Club's Seven Deadly Sins collection.

These polishes are unique and gritty. They're all texturized, though I'm showing you them with top coat. I liked the texture, so I blended them to create this sort of bold bedrock look.

I dabbed the colors over each other with a cosmetic sponge. It started to look a little galaxy-esque, but the colors felt more marbled. Do you like this look, or does it look too muddled?

The polish I'm holding is Dirty Money, so let's take a look at it on its own.

Color Club - Dirty Money

Dirty Money (2 coats) is a white gold texturized polish with larger silver glitter pieces. These texturized polishes are all easy to apply and smooth out over the nail in two coats. Obviously they don't get completely smooth, because they're texturized, but they don't ripple across the nail.

Color Club Made in NY Swatches & Review

Did you know that Color Club polishes were born in New York City? It's completely appropriate then that their latest line of colors represent the city that never sleeps. Today, we're checking out Made in NY from Color Club (available here).

The collection includes 7 polishes - 4 microglitters and 3 non-sheer finishes (though I wouldn't call them all cremes necessarily). The microglitter shimmers each have their own finish, that when placed over black, shine and twinkle like diamonds. This inspired my nail art for the collection...New York diamonds!

Nail Art

See the subtle glint of each diamond? I wish I'd gotten you all a video of the sparkle in each action. I had a great time creating these, because each diamond is quite small, but my fine line practice paid off...in diamonds!

Swatches

First, let's take a look at the swatches of the non-sheer polishes.

Apple of My Eye (2 coats) is a great winter color. This is a classy, sophisticated magenta-burgundy with a little bit of shimmer to accent its shine on the nail.

Color Club - New Poptastic Swatches

Fans of the old Color Club recognize the brand by its square bottles with the little daisy symbol and cheap prices, often spotted (at least in the US) at bargain stores like Ross or Marshalls. You probably also recognize one of the brand's most popular collections, Poptastic. The collection features awesome bright neons (and was actually the collection that got me into Color Club in the beginning).

Well with Color Club's new look comes 6 exciting new shades in the Poptastic collection, which I'm reviewing for you today! The new shades are all neons with shimmer. Absolutely stunning - and all in two coats (without any white beneath).

First let's check out the nail art I did for it. I'm calling this the "lava lamp mani", because the way the blobs run together without joining reminds me of a lava lamp.

Admit it...you had a lava lamp...and you wish you still did. Mine was red, which looking back, kind of reminds me of blood. Creepy...but I'd still turn it on.

I got the idea for this technique straight from a tutorial by My Simple Little Pleasures. She's calling it a "blobbicure" which describes it quite nicely as well. To learn how I got the look, watch her video!

Ok...let's look at the new Poptastic colors!

Color Club Safari Garden Collection Review & Swatches

Color Club's undergone a makeover, and to spur the excitement, they released a truly stunning collection of shades, called the Safari Garden collection.

I was immediately struck by the collection's cremes, particularly their off-white, Look, Don't Tusk. It's an amazing base, added to my favorite off-whites (among My Vampire is Buff, My Boyfriend Scales Walls, and others).

The safari theme inspired the nail art as well.

All the colors used are part of the Safari Garden collection, available here. For the swatches of each polish, follow the jump.

Diamond Nail Art Kit

I've got another fantastic nail art kit to share with you in partnership with Cult Cosmetics!

You may remember my diamond tutorial, and a sparkly look I created using it and some holographic polish.

Well now, we're bringing you a full kit to get the look yourself!

Check out the nail art kit, Katy's BFF, at the www.cultcosmetics.com!

Enter NAILEDIT for 10% off too. Diamond look without the diamond price tag. ;)

You'll get the holographic Color Club polish, Harp On It, another essie called In the Cab-ana, a black nail art pen, and an awesome nail art brush.

And don't forget to watch the video on my Youtube channel:

Color Society - Color Club Royals

Click the icon to visit the Color Society page.

Color Club is fast becoming a great polish brand for nail art. Repeatedly, I find myself grabbing their bottles for full, rich color in many of my detailed nail art ideas. One of my favorites is their fabulous yellow, Almost Famous. After tonight, I have two more to add to my list.

Here's some nail art to prove it!

The color shown is Bright Night, splattered with little white daisies done with a nail striper from Color Madric. Isn't it so rich?!

For its swatch, I used two coats of Bright Night. It's one of the best blues I own to date, walking the line between being dark, yet bright. It's not for those afraid of bold colors, that's for damn sure!

Its partner in this review is Abyss. It's more blue than a previous teal from Color Society's set of Color Clubs using Wild Cactus, shown here. Again, very rich, and needs only two coats for ultra opacity.

If you're looking for great nail art polishes that'll get you fabulous results without lots of retracing, I recommend diving into some of the Color Club creme polishes, like these two rich beauties.

Thank you again to Color Society for sending out wonderful polishes for bloggers to review. And remember, if you're interested in applying to be part of the Color Society, fill out the application here!

Click the icon to visit the Color Society page.

These products were sent to me by Color Society. The reviews are based entirely on my experience with the products and were in no way influenced by anyone.

Pop, Lock, and Drip It

Pop art, as it turns out, isn't given that genre name because the work usually 'pops' out at you. It's an abbreviation for "popular".

I like my more naive, childhood interpretation though, and took it quite literally here, with these 3D-looking pop art inspired drip nails!

This was fun to do. The base color is My Boyfriend Scales Walls (OPI). Then, I used Snap Happy (Essie), Carribean (Savina), and Almost Famous (Color Club).

If you're following me on Instagram, or you saw the colors in my feed to the right, then you knew what was coming. Is this what you were expecting? It's like the pop artist simply spilled all his paints, ruining the perfect dots underneath in a sort of perfect way.

Color Society - Halo Hues

Click the icon to visit the Color Society page.

Installment #2 of the Color Society series, and unfortunately, it doesn't involve the sunlight I wanted. Every chance I've had at sunlight have been thwarted, either by snow, rain, or work. All troublesome when you're trying to bring out the gorgeous holoness of the Color Club Halo Hues!

The Halo Hues shine like diamonds, and reflect a gorgeous rainbow across all your nails. What's more, they apply beautifully and completely in two even, quick-drying coats. It's really the best of all worlds, and they're all readily available!

To honor the diamond look they give, here's some diamond nail art, using my own diamond tutorial.

The base color is Pastel Teal from Kleancolor. The diamonds were created with the first color, Over the Moon. This is a vibrant and beautiful blue. It's not a dark blue, but it's not a faded silver. I love it, it's the perfect mix.

The other color in the society is Beyond. A black holo, with its own charm, but not quite as stunning as Over the Moon. I'd love to see it used as a gradient with a neon pink! It's like oil, with it's blackness and rainbow beauty.

Interested in applying to be part of the Color Society? Fill out the application here to apply!

These products were sent to me by Color Society. The reviews are based entirely on my experience with the products and were in no way influenced by anyone.

Color Society - Color Club Brights

Click the icon to visit the Color Society page.

Did you know I'm a member of the Color Society? This network of bloggers is sent out monthly samples of Color Club and Ruby Wing products to review, test, and share with everyone. Over a month ago, I was sent my first sample, which included six polishes, two of which I'll show you tonight. The other four need sunlight, so my usual 11:00pm posts won't cut it for those.

These first two colors are both creme polishes from Color Club: Wild Cactus and Flamingo. The Color Society knows what's up, because these colors rock and they complement each other perfectly, which bodes well for my nail art, which I have to show off first.

I added some neon yellow (Funky Yellow from Kleancolor) to the look to really make the two colors pop even more loudly than they do solo. Everything was done freehand, mixing up the sizes, colors, and directions of the triangles and their color blocks to keep it interesting.

On their own they're stunning as well, and their coverage was great! I have Flamingo on my toes, but let's not start sharing more pictures than I need to or you want me to.

Let's take a look at them on their own.

Flamingo is a neon pink, but it's not a hot pink. It's more of Barbie's shoes, which may be why I was inspired to put it on my toes. It's got fantastic coverage, getting the job done with just two here.

Wild Cactus is a dark teal leaning more green than it does blue. This also covered in two simple coats.

So that's the first installment of the Color Society posts. I've got some glitters and holos coming as well, plus who knows what else in the future!

Interested in applying to be part of the Color Society? Fill out the application here to apply!

These products were sent to me by Color Society. The reviews are based entirely on my experience with the products and were in no way influenced by anyone.

Summer Vegas Nails

This weekend was a whirlwind. I spent it in the warm summer Vegas sun with good friends. Knowing I would be in my bikini all weekend, I wanted some super bright summer nails.

I snapped an Instagram picture before the chlorinated pools destroyed most of the look.

I used Funky Yellow (Kleancolor) and Jackie Oh! (Color Club) on top of My Boyfriend Scales Walls (OPI). Then I striped with a black striping polish.

Now I just have to track down the sandman, I'm sure he's mad at me for this weekend's lack of sleep!

Holographic Holidays: Belle of the Ball Drop

New Year's Eve is one of the nights I always look forward to all year long. Everyone's celebrating, everyone's happy, and it's a good excuse to get dolled up.

Tonight, the last day of Holographic Holidays, I dolled up my nails quite a bit. What an appropriate way to celebrate this shining week...with the most ridiculous mani I've done so far this week.

I give you....New Years Disco Ball!

For this, I used Blue Heaven (Color Club) and black matte hexagonal glequins. It's just too much glitter to deal with, but you better believe I left this one on as long as I could.

It's been a 'holo' of a week, but I'm glad I got to share these manicures with you!

If you haven't already, go check out Lindsey's New Year's Eve festive fingers at Neverland Nail Blog. Thank you for doing this with me Lindsey! It's been a blast!

Holographic Holidays: Sweet Treats

The taste of peppermint isn't nearly as appetizing as the design of it, wouldn't you agree?

Here's a 'spin' on the classic pinwheel design of peppermints, using Halo-graphic (Color Club) and Toni (Zoya).

You can get in on the holographic sweetness too, by adding your design to the InLinkz tool below. (To add the tool to your own blog, go here.)

Be sure to check out the sweet treats brewing at Neverland Nail Blog by the masterful nail-chef Lindsey!

Holographic Holidays: Merry Madness

There are so many grumpy Christmas characters. There's the old standbys like Scrooge and The Grinch.

One of the less remembered but certainly no less memorable characters is The Old Man, from A Christmas Story. The loveable father that tries so hard but fails so often. From the clunky furnace to the flat tire, he just can't seem to catch a Christmas break.

This post has spoilers to that movie, so if you want to see it unspoiled, do not continue reading.

Bad luck and stupid decisions plagues this holiday classic from 1983, and I've gotten a few of those classic moments into nail art, beginning on my thumb with one of the most memorable parts of the film.

One of Ralphie's (the main character) friends, Flick, is double-dog dared to stick his tongue to a flagpole. He swears it won't stick, calling the whole idea stupid. Lo and behold, his tongue gets lodged to the flagpole upon contact, and his entire class watches on as the fire department and practically the entire town shows up to free him. Poor Flick.

The holographic color used for Flick's follies was Harp On It (Color Club). In addition, I used Tasmanian Devil Made Me Do It, Jade is the New Black, Get in the Expresso Lane, and Sparrow Me the Drama from OPI, Movie Star from Essence, and Farah from Zoya. The base for each of my nails and all the black details were done with Purity (Zoya) and Black Onyx (OPI), respectively.

Ralphie's family is nothing short of hilarious. Even his strange relatives that never make an onscreen appearance have their moments. One such moment is when his Aunt Clara sends him an adorably terrible pair of bunny pajamas. Pink bunny pajamas, with little bunnies on each feet, staring up at him with their beady eyes. I had to immortalize that awful moment. Poor Ralphie.

The holographic color used for the bunny blunder is Electra Magenta from China Glaze. The other colors include Shelby and Farah (Zoya) and Desert Sun (China Glaze).

Swearing in Ralphie's family is a huge no-no, especially the F word. And no...it's not fudge. Dropping the F-bomb will land you a bar of soap in your mouth. And not Lux, Ralphie's personal favorite, but Lifebuoy, which left no piquant after-dinner flavor. Poor Ralphie. And poor Schwartz.

The holographic color used for the Lifebuoy soap is Halo-graphic (Color Club). The letters are written in Purr-fect Plum (China Glaze).

Now this next nail certainly isn't bad. It may be the only moment during the whole movie The Old Man is happy. After receiving a letter promising him a major award, he fantasizes about what it could be. Perhaps a bowling alley. When a "fra-geel-eh" box arrives and he pries it open, the look on his face is priceless. Perhaps more priceless is his dear wife's reaction when the prize is pulled out. The prize? A sexy lamp in the shape of a woman's leg, complete with black pumps and fishnet tights. The glow of electric sex was too alluring for me not to use for this challenge!

The holographic color used for the leg is Mega Bite (China Glaze). The shade is Solar Power, also from China Glaze.

Wrapping up the hand is the pièce de résistance. The one thing Ralphie dreams about throughout the whole movie. A Red Rider BB Gun. Well technically I'm showing you what happens after he gets it. Too excited to contain himself after finding his last present behind the tree, he dashes outside in his PJs to test the gun, and promptly knocks himself on his ass, losing his glasses in the shock. Blind as a bat, he goes searching for the missing spectacles, and is greeted instead by an unmistakeable crunch. His glasses lay shattered on the ground. Poor Ralphie. (Don't worry, an icicle acts as the scapegoat and he gets off clean.)

The holographic color used for this nail is Harp On It again, and the rims are done with Get in the Expresso Lane (OPI).

I absolutely loved this movie, and almost chose it as my Holiday Tradition post, but it seemed so fitting for the Merry Madness day.

What other kinds of madness give you the holiday willies? See Lindsey's at Neverland Nail Blog, and feel free to add your own using the InLinkz tool below. You can get the code to share it with your readers here.

Holographic Holidays: Christmas Song

 Everybody pauses and stares at me

These two teeth are gone as you can see 

I don't know just who to blame for this catastrophe! 

But my one wish on Christmas Eve is as plain as it can be!

All I want for Christmas 

is my two front teeth, 

my two front teeth, 

see my two front teeth!

Gee, if I could only 

have my two front teeth, 

then I could wish you 

"Merry Christmas."

It seems so long since I could say, 

"Sister Susie sitting on a thistle!" 

Gosh oh gee, how happy I'd be, 

if I could only whistle (thhhh, thhhh)

All I want for Christmas

is my two front teeth, 

my two front teeth, 

see my two front teeth.

Gee, if I could only 

have my two front teeth, 

then I could wish you 

"Merry Christmas!"

Have you ever heard "All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth"? I remember singing that during our elementary school plays. I loved it because I had some interesting dental problems as a kid, with two big ole' front teeth I couldn't wait to lose! Unfortunately, my teeth also made me require braces, so I mixed these two childhood memories together for the Christmas Song day.

The holographic color I chose to use was Harp On It (Color Club).  The base for the 'teeth' is Marshmallow (Essie), and the base for the 'gaps' is Black Onyx (OPI). I also used that for the braces details. The bands on the braces were done with Hey Sailor (China Glaze) and Just In Lime! (Sally Hansen Insta-Dri). 

Don't forget to see Neverland Nail Blog's Lindsey's post for day 1 of the Holographic Holidays challenge, and please feel free to add your own using the InLinkz tool below!

You can also embed the code in your own entry by following this link.

Frankendrip

Happy Halloween folks!

Remember my bleeding gradient tutorial? It's the perfect technique for some awesome Halloween colors.

The colors I used here were Neon Yellow (Savina), Pucci-licious (Color Club), and Black Onyx (OPI).

Reminds me of Frankenstein's monster's head.

Have a spoooooky night!