take deux: pastel gradient nails

Guys, I'm in love.

Well yes, with Christian, my kitties, cooking, and Big Time Rush, but besides those.
I'm in love with gradient nails. Especially these. I mean, pat on the goddamn back, Clara. These are awesome.

I used the technique outlined in my last post but with a little twist. I first did 1 coat of my base color, the light pink, then sponged a gradient of light blue to pink on top of that. It made for a flawless, smooth, perfectly transitioning gradient.

Yes, I'm proud.

I'm dreaming up all the color combos I can using this technique. Mint to lilac, orange to purple, blue to red.... I'm excited! I used:

Color Club Take Me To Your Chateau
OPI Do You Lilac It?
Essie French Affair

Damn. These photos make my heart go pitter-pat. I think I'll go change my current mani right now...

update

Am I a horrible blogger or what? No need to answer... I have just been so busy with school coming to a close and work!

But I have some great news!
By popular demand, I have decided to make a Youtube channel for video tutorials! I should have it up and running within the next couple of weeks. Any recommendations for my first tutorial? :)

So this post isn't completely meaningless, here are some old (2 of them are from last year!) NOTDs.

Starting with my new favorite summer color!

Essie Splash of Grenadine3 coats. Delicious formula. Second picture I'm holding my new favorite lotion! I bought it at Walmart for about $4. Go get it!

All my flowers all doing so wonderful! If you didn't already know, I have a HUGE green thumb. I love to garden. These are my hanging fuschias.

From last year:
China Glaze Jolly Holly


Orly Space Cadet
over Orly Matte Vinyl

If you want some more frequent updates, follow me on Twitter! I post my NOTDs and FOTDs that usually don't make it to my blog. Feel free to leave your Twitter in the comments section- I'd love to follow you guys!


Thanks for looking!!

quick fotd

This did not turn out as I planned it... it was supposed to be a simple 3 shadow look... oops! I wore this to the nail supply to pick up some nail polish racks (pics soon!). They recently acquired Zoya's entire line, and they carry Remove +, my favorite remover, for $5 for 8oz and $10 (!!!!) for the 32oz. That's why it's my heaven on earth there!

face-
Maybelline concealer
translucent powder
Azalea Blossom

eyes-
concealer as base (because this look was supposed to be simple)
Vanilla pigment as wash
Soft Brown
Firecracker
Sketch
Solar White
W&W creme liner
L'oreal mascara




And a recent NOTD:Essie Turquoise & Caicos
Mmm, jelly goodness! This was 3 coats. What a gorgeous color. In terms of similarities to other nail polishes, such as China Glaze For Audrey or Orly Gumdrop, it's quite a bit darker than those. T&C is a jelly while the ChG and Orly are both straight up 2 coater cremes. Essie's Resort collection was a great collection. For any turquoise lovers, I think this is a must have!

2 (3?) NOTDs

Essie Playa Del Platinum
What a dumb name, but GORGEOUS color! I love this! 3 coats. Pretty good formula. What I don't like are Essie's dumb bottles, caps, and brushes. The cap feels weird to hold (and it feels cheap!) which makes it difficult to polish with. However, for this color, I will sacrifice comfort.

China Glaze Ruby Pumps
Yeeeeeeeeep.

with 1 coat Nfu-Oh 38
Wow! Sexy! It kind of looks like lava, and in the sunlight, it looks like magical lava... haha. Great combo. However, layering 38 over a red does not show off it's spectacular duochrome. It needs to be layered over black to really bring out its beauty.

Thanks for looking! :)

i think i've found heaven.

When I walked into this store, the clouds parted and Queen - Heaven For Everyone started playing...

Haha, but really. $4 for OPI, $2.50 for China Glaze, $2.75 for Orly, and $3 for Essie.
Oh my looooooooooooooooord.
So, of course, I got a little crazy.

Those nail swatch things were so much fun to do! Of course I didn't have enough...

Box 1.

Contents:Rainstorm - Meteor Shower - Happy Go Lucky - Frostbite - Ruby Pumps (back up) - Yellow Polka Dot Bikini

Box 2.

Contents:Wagon Trail - OPI & Apple Pie - I'm Not Really A Waitress - Fantasea - Here Today... Aragon Tomorrow - Seche Vite ($3!!!)

Box 3.

Contents:glass for acetone for cleanup - Fairy Dust - Petit Four (bu) - Bare If You Dare - Country Club Khaki (bu) - Absolutely Alice

Box 4.

Contents:Playa Del Platinum - Turquoise & Caicos - Splash of Grenadine - Lapis of Luxury - Jazz - Licorice


This was only $4:

Overall, I spent under $70.
Amazing.
I'm going to sleep well tonight :)

couple of notds

China Glaze OMG (click to enlarge!)
THIS POLISH IS FUCKING AMAZING. Ahhh. One of my favorites. It's way more holographic than my other holos from ChG. This is 3 coats.


China Glaze Emerald Sparkle
Very flattering. This is 2 coats, but it needed 3.


Essie Meet Balls
What an odd color. It's the gold shimmer that made me buy it.. I'm so partial to gold shimmer in nail polish. And I love the name! This is 3 coats.

Thanks for looking!