mermaid manicure month part 2: ariel in abstract

today's manicure is inspired by everyone's favorite mermaid- ariel, of course. these nails are in honor of those of us who can't draw (ahem). so abstract is definitely the way to go.

index finger: 1 coat wet 'n wild wild shine red red + cheeky xl b plate stamping (6th row, 2nd from L) in revlon copper penny

middle finger: 2 coats nyc fashion safari + born pretty store plate m76 stamping in l.a. colors color craze nuclear energy

ring and pinky fingers: 1 coat l.a. colors color craze sea siren + 1 coat l.a. colors color craze treasure island

aaaand my thumb-

base: 1 coat sally hansen xtreme wear mint sorbet + sinful nail junkie gradient

gold stamping: revlon copper penny

image plate: messy mansion mm21

 the red is supposed to symbolize her hair, the purple stamping is her seashell bra, and the sparkling teal is her tail! get it?? i showed these nails to my mom, and her response was- "how old are you?" well you should know, mom, you were there on my birthday. i think my reply was, "never too old for ariel." and there's nothing more true than that, at least in my book.

and since this is mother's day, i thought i would throw in a gratuitous picture of my baby dressed as a mermaid (this was actually for halloween, so she's much much bigger now!)-

happy mermaid month, and visit again for ocean creatures nails!

mermaid manicure month part 1: pearly shells

as promised, here's the first installment in mermaid manicure month~! i'm soooo excited to be painting and blogging again. i'm also (a little too) excited about these nails-

base color: 2 coats nyc mulberry street
gold stamping: revlon gold coin
image plate: cheeky xl b plate (4th row, last image on the r)
gold shells: daily charme

i looove this! i wanted my nails to look like shells and sea glass on a white sand beach. i was more than a little inspired by hana4's beautiful gem-encrusted designs. in fact, i think her manicures were the reason i wanted to do mermaid manicure month in the first place! and those gold shell charms. . . . you do not know how long i've been hunting those down. i finally found them at dailycharme.com, and i could not be happier! they are just too cute and easy. plus, did i mention gold is my favorite??

revlon gold coin, amuse midnight star, love & beauty turquoise, amuse starry purple, wet 'n wild fergie glamorous

nyc mulberry street

i thought the pearly base coat was a nice touch, reminiscent of oyster pearls from the ocean :P. so basically, i love everything about this. except maybe how long it took to place all those stupid shells and glitter hexes.

stay tuned for more mermaid madness~!

at long last. . . .

did anyone miss me around here? i'm back. . . . finally. it's not that i haven't had time to do my nails and post pictures exactly, more like i just haven't had the energy and willpower. but i've decided upon a fabulous way to get my inspiration and motivation going again.

introducing. . . . mermaid manicure month! that's may, by the way. a whole month of manis inspired by mermaids! is there anything better than that? i'm gonna go ahead and say no.

so don't give up on me yet, guys. fun stuff to come (maybe even as soon as tomorrow??).

maternity mani

i have to be the only woman in the world who's done a manicure inspired by maternity clothes. what? there was one shirt in particular that i wore over and over, because it made me look like less of a whale than other shirts, and it had a pretty grey, swirly pattern. it reminded me a lot of this stamp-

base color: essence grey-t to be here

white stamping: jordana white

image plate: pueen 33

it seems like i always smudge the image on my middle finger. why only the middle?? no idea. . . . but i was much, much too lazy to redo it. so the smudge stays.

see that pink shimmer in the essence polish above? well, i could never get it to show up on my nails, until i added a bunch of polish thinner for this manicure. it had gotten a little thick since i bought it, and the thinner really made the pink show up. you can see it a little on my middle nail. the hint of pink shimmer made the manicure just that much prettier.

peanut butter jelly time

soooo, after having a baby and everything, i have some extra poundage to get rid of. so i've been dieting (hate diets), and am consequently hungry all the time. so a manicure inspired by food that i can't eat seemed like a good idea.

1 coat nicole by opi purple yourself together

1 coat wet 'n wild fergie glamorous

1 more coat nicole by opi purple yourself together

1 coat love & beauty rust

i really like the look of gold, rust, and purple all together. and purple yourself together is the perfect sheerness to achieve a tasty glitter sandwich. i loved how this made my nails twinkle.

i love inventing glitter sandwiches. the only thing i hate about them, though, is that i always get shrinkage, either at the tip or the cuticle. sooo annoying. i don't know if it's the top coat i'm using, or just how glitter bases react with other polishes painted over top of them. probably the 2nd one. but i'll keep doing sandwiches- they're too much fun!

marine blue

this polish (one of the oldest in my collection) is called marine blue, but it's really more of a neon green. a lot like this one. and boy, is it hard to get a color accurate picture.

base color: 2 coats claire's marine blue

gold glitter: 1 coat salon perfect champagne toast

gold stamping: maybelline color show metallics bold gold

image plate: pueen 27

the last pic is the most accurate, even though my hands are a weird color. this is a pretty shade, but nothing new or innovative. so i had to jazz it up with 2 of my favorite things- gold and holo!

polish purchases: october edition

well hello, remember me? i know it's been a while. . . . i don't really have a good excuse, except that i've been really busy with baby, and have kind of lost interest in nails for a while. *gasp.* but i think i've recovered from my temporary apathy, and i'm back to show you what i bought last month-

opi gargantuan green grape, pinkdipsybulle indian ocean franken, hard candy so so sequin, sinful gilded

sinful gilded ($1.99)- i've been searching for this beauty at many a walgreen's, and finally found it at a rite aid. soooo glad! how beautiful and shimmery is this?

hard candy so so sequin ($4.00)- i need another silver holo glitter like a need extra baby weight, but while shopping at walmart, i was seduced by the sparkle. tale as old as time.

pinkdipsybulle indian ocean franken ($6 + $2.50 s/h)- i looove this polish. it's a gorgeous cornflower blue base with tons of magical magenta shimmer. can't wait to wear this one.

opi gargantuan green grape ($8.99)- wait, didn't i already buy this one? yes i did, but it was a total fake. not even close to the real (amazing) green shade that i wanted. observe-

l: the real gargantuan green grape, r: the imposter

the first one i bought was totally toothpaste, the one on the left is green gorgeousness. the perfect color.

GRAND TOTAL FOR OCTOBER: $23.48

i got 2 big-ticket items that i've wanted for a while, and 2 glittery cheapies that make me smile. all in all, a good month.