Happy New Year, Welcome 2019!

Happy New Year my lovely Society Sisters! I am so ready to start things over with a fresh new year. How about you? I was looking at my New Year's post from 2016 (here) and had to laugh at my goal setting. This year I'm feeling inspired to make bigger and better goals for myself. Resolutions sound a little too.. resolute.. and rigid for me right now. Goals seem to be a little more flexible and forgiving. Maybe that's just me. 

Rainy Days With Zoya

*purchased by me

Hello lovelies! It's been a lazy week spent inside watching the rain, wind, and lightning storms. All this wet Spring weather has put me in some kind of mood, and I've found myself reaching for polishes that reflect that with moody shades. I pulled together these four Zoya polishes that seemed to be made for each other and created some rainy day nail art. Before we get to that I wanted to show them each off individually.

Freehand Florals over Picture Polish Chillax

I have quickie post for you from the archives..

Nail Art Doodles With Essie (Brushing Up On Freehand Skills)

Hello my lovelies! It has been ages since I've done any freehand nail art. I've found that it's one of those skills that if you don't use it, you lose it. Not to say that I was in any way a master to begin with, but I could feel my abilities falling behind. So here's some nail art that I attempted with a detail brush. If it looks like I didn't have a plan going into it, that's because I didn't!

ABC Challenge: R is for Redo

Hey peeps! As I mentioned in my last post I went out of town this weekend, and I was totally stressed by all the preparation for it. I thought I had planned my blog posts as well as I could but completely forgot that the ABC Challenge was scheduled to start back up last Friday! Whoops. Thank goodness some of the participants were more on the ball, not only did I forgot my post but the linkup as well. I'm sorry this is almost a week late.. but here is it.

31DC2016 Day 25: Embroidered Denim

Hello again! Today's prompt for the 31 Day Challenge is "inspired by fashion", one of my least favorite of the whole challenge. I'm no fashionista by any stretch of the imagination. I have see so many awesome fashion inspired manis before, but somehow it just doesn't spark that much creativity for me. I do occasionally get inspired by my kids' clothing and that's what happened with this design.

ABC Challenge: P is for Paint

Happy Friday everyone! This is the last weekday before the kids start back at school! Where did Summer go?? Believe me, I'm not complaining. I'm so ready for Fall. I'm just trying to wrap my head around how fast time is flying. Moving on to the nails now..

ABC Challenge: K is for Kawaii

Oh boy, here I am again so late in the day getting my ABC Challenge post done! Last night I spent a good hour on my original plan and it was a complete bust. By then it was too late to start something else, so here we are. I can't complain because I am just thrilled with how my design came out! This was actually my first idea before the other plan came about, so I think it was meant to be. 

ABC Challenge: B is for Beach

Who's ready for week two of the ABC Challenge? I am! First off, I have to tell you how utterly annoyed I am at myself for forgetting something I had been planning on foreeeeever. Part of wanting to do the ABC Challenge was to do photos of hand poses in the American Sign Language alphabet (ASL interpreting is what I studied in college). I completely forgot to take photos for the first week, and only remembered after I removed my mani. Luckily I remember this time around, so here is the letter "B"! And it stands for...

Paint All The Nails Presents Pantone Color Of The Year

Hello lovelies! Today the ladies and I from Paint All The Nails are coming together once again for our monthly themed nail art linkup. Are you as excited as I am? Well let's get right to it! This month's theme is "Pantone Color Of The Year". This year there were actually two Pantone colors chosen. The colors are Rose Quartz and Serenity, otherwise know as pink and blue :P.

Cubbiful Inspired Polar Bear

Hello there! Today I have cute and wintry mani for you. If you don't recognize it already, this is recreation of Cubbiful's adorable Polar Bear Nails. When I saw her mani I fell in love with it with many audible "awww"s from me. I decided to be brave and try it myself. And while I still enjoy Mina's version better, I think my effort is commendable.

31DC2014 Day 16: Geometric Perfect Symmetry

Happy Halfway of the Challenge ladies! Only 15 more days to go! I just swept my floor, possibly for the first time in two weeks. I haven't showered yet today (yes that's where that smell is coming from). Probably 100 other things have been neglected (love you kids!), but I think it's been worth it so far..

I have another album cover art mani for you today. This time my inspiration was an album from probably my all-time favorite band, Keane. As I sat down to do my nails, the cover of Perfect Symmetry popped into my head. I realized that this had been on some mental mani to-do list a long time ago, and this was the perfect opportunity to finally try it.

I Love Nail Polish Wavy Dimensions Nail Art

Last month I found out that I Love Nail Polish is retiring some really fabulous shades that I've had on my wishlist. Since they were having a sale I had the perfect excuse to finally snatch them up. These are my first ILNP polishes and I am soo in love! I couldn't decide which one to try out first so I did some random nail art with all four shades.

Cheeseburger In Paradise

Hello everyone! Today is a special day for Jimmy Buffett fans! I first heard the song "Cheeseburger in Paradise" while listening to my roommate's Jimmy Buffett cd. I can't remember much more of that cd because I think I would just put this one on repeat.  It's so totally ridiculous that it's impossible not to love! I've been wanting to do this for a while now and when I saw that The Lacquer Legion's June nail art prompt was "On Holiday", I knew it was the perfect fit!

Tutorial: Wild Zebra Hearts

New Kids On the Block Party

Suddenly this week, I am ready for summer. I may not be ready for the heat in the days ahead, but I've got a craving for barbecues (if you have a grill, please invite me over), watermelon, and ice cream. I'm ready for long days, warm nights, and not wearing a single pair of socks. Best of all, I am ready for summer nails! Bring on the bright colors and bold designs.

"The crazier the better is what I say." -Gonzo

Royally Pink and Gold

Happy Friday everyone! Some exciting news for me- Nail Polish Society is finally on Instagram! I'm still working on uploading photos and such. Feel free to start following me now because tomorrow I have a special surprise! Okay, I'll spoil the surprise... I'm having another giveaway! To celebrate finally getting on the IG bandwagon I've got one super duper prize. You won't want to miss it. Seriously.

These Are But Wild And Whirling Nails

I think about my nails and my blog A LOT. When someone catches me lost in thought and ask what's on my mind, more often that not I have to admit, "Umm... my blog". It's a little embarrassing that I seem so obsessed, but honestly I'm grateful to have a "safe place" for my mind to wander back to. In that last few months when life has gotten rough, I have had something positive to focus on, and help push out negative thoughts.

My point in this brief exposé will eventually get to this mani. As a result of nails being constantly on my mind, I often come up with ideas right as I'm falling asleep. I love getting those creative surges, but sometimes when I wake up in the morning, I can't remember my brilliant revelation! I used to have an excellent memory, which my kids have sneakily stolen from me. So when I actually remember something, it's a moment of pure joy! And when that memory actually ends up being something cool, and not a sleep-filled idea that turns out to be pure crap, it's even better. As promised, my point: this spiraling dotted swirl was one such idea I had the other night. It's pretty cool, don't you think?!

As happy as I was to remember this idea, and that it turned out so neat, I was really annoyed that it took soooo long. I'm talking hours here. I usually enjoy the zen-ful peace I get from the tedium of nail art, but this was a stretch for me. I've been wearing this for three days now to balance the time-creating/time-worn ratio. Plus, when I am feeling stressed out, I can just look at the swirl and hypnotize myself into a calm trance.

So as usual, it was worth it in the end. But I can't say that I have a desire to ever do it again. Then again, I can't promise I won't... ;).

For my index and middle fingers, I started with a white base color of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls. Then I used my DRK-A Large stamping plate with Sephora by OPI I'm Wired to add the coral swirls.

On my thumb and pinky, I have a base color of Zoya Caitlin, and stamped with Konad Special Polish in white. I tried doing the white swirls with MBSW, but it didn't show up as well.

For my accent nail I used a rhinestone picker-upper to add dots of MBSW, Caitlin, and I'm Wired. I alternated the colors starting in the middle, then overlapping them in an outward swirl. This took me a few hours because I had to wait a little in between each dot so the colors didn't all smush together.

I finished off each nail with a Seche Vite top coat. 

What I used:
OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls- white
Zoya Caitlin- gray purple
Sephora by OPI I'm Wired- coral
Konad Special Polish White
Seche Vite top coat
DRK-A Large stamping plate


Do you like it? At what point does a manicure take so long that it's just not worth it anymore? Don't want to miss any of my future half-unconscious inspired posts? Please follow me on facebook, bloglovin', or twitter!

xx Emiline xx

Puzzle Piece Nails Autism Awareness Day

I think puzzle piece nails look so cool, I'm glad finally tried them! As many of you know the puzzle piece is a symbol used by various autism organizations. Since today is Autism Awareness Day, I figured it was a perfect time for it. 

I always feel like my manicure was a success when my two-year-old recognizes the design without any assistance. :)

I always forget how bubbly my manis get when I use Sally Hansen Insta-Dri. I would be annoyed, but it's really not noticeable in person.

What I used:
Barielle Banana Drop- yellow
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Brisk Blue- medium blue
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Blue-Away- baby blue
Sephora by OPI What's a Tire Jack?- black

What do you think? Have you tried this look before?

33 Day Challenge Day 26: Something From Pinterest

I saw this "fall mosaic" mani on Pinterest and fell in love! It was done by Whitney from Dressed Up Nails. Her blog is just awesome. I am amazed by her nail art! Sadly, the most recent post is from June. I really hope she comes back and gives us more!

I loved this mani so much I wore it for two whole days! I got a lot of compliments on it too. (Making an effort to talk with your hands more helps people notice your nails.)

And now for something totally unrelated..
So I got my (expired) driver's license renewed today! Woot! Now I don't have to worry about it again for ten years, I think. All the employees at the DMV were super nice and helpful. When did that happen? Not that I was disappointed that I didn't deal with a Selma or Patty. It just felt a little Twilight Zone-ish.
The lady who processed my application asked me how my birthday was, and I told her about my party. She even complimented my hair. I remarked that we had the same hair color (I was going to say something about hers, but she beat me to it) and she said yes, we have same birthday too! It was a special moment.

I really liked it from far away too.

What I used:
Ulta Salon Formula High Roller- base color
A whole lot of other colors- just ask me if you'd like to know about them!
Seche Vite top coat

What do you think? I wish I had the polish that Whitney used (China Glaze I'm Not Lion), but I think mine turned out pretty good!