Playing with Polish--Art Deco Jewelry #2

Here is your next installment of "art deco nail fails." This was inspired not only by beautiful jewelry, but also the color of the year (emerald).  Here is what inspired this manicure:

Source: http://www.langantiques.com/products/item/40-1-855 

And here is the resulting manicure...

Hahaha:)  This one is almost comical!  I think the bracelet is gorgeous, my manicure does not even come close!  I hope to continue playing with polish and trying out new designs from new sources of inspiration.  Not every manicure is perfect, wearable, or beautiful and that is why I have my "Playing with Polish" posts.

Does anyone have any suggestions for my next edition of Playing with Polish?  I cannot promise that they will turn out well, but I can promise that fun will be had:)

Playing with Polish--Art Deco Jewelry #1

Recently I decided to play with polish and started looking for sources of inspiration.  I ended up being inspired by the art deco jewelry that was popping up on my pinterest feed.  I decided to narrow down a couple of pieces to use for manicures.  Well, let's just say these were both "fails" in my book.  But I won't prevent you from staring at the trainwreck;)

Here is #1, which was inspired by this necklace:

Source: http://www.rubylane.com/item/443546-RL1451/Art-Deco-Pendant-Necklace-Rhinestones 

And this is what this ended up looking like...

Not bad, but not exactly what I was hoping for.

How often do you find something to inspire you, but end up wondering "what was I thinking?"

Metallics make me...

smile:)

I love how a good metallic polish can elongate your fingers and nails.  I think metallics are perfect for autumn and winter (but they're amazing year round as well).  I always struggle to find metallic looking polishes that are not overly frosty (aka. brush stroke madness).  EVERY company has at least one metallic polish (heck, Essie recently made an entire collection of them!) whether it is silver, gold, bronze, etc.

Among metallic polishes, gunmetal grey is definitely a popular/staple color.  I have a number of gunmetal metallic polishes that I adore!  My favorites include:

1. Zoya Freja
2. Revlon Carbonite
3. Barielle Granite Glitter

Here is a pretty shot of Barielle Granite Glitter...

The infamous non-swatching (left) hand!

What's your favorite gunmetal/metallic nail polish?

Time Warp Challenge--Day 8

This is sadly the final day of the "Let's Do the Time Warp" Challenge.  I think this was my favorite challenge ever.  It was so much fun and everyone participating was so encouraging.  Thank you to all of you for making this so wonderful.  And a special THANK YOU to Lindsay from Neverland Nail Blog for hosting and creating this challenge.

Today's challenge is... 

Let's do the TIME WARP again!

This challenge was basically to recreate a manicure of another participant.  This was such a difficult challenge.  The manicures were all so amazing and well executed that I was intimidated to recreate any of them.  However, when I saw the manicure created for Day 4 (Lights, Camera, Action!) by The Polished Squirrel I new that this was the one I wanted to attempt.  Stephanie was inspired by the classic fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses.  Here is her incredible manicure & a bit of the story if you're unfamiliar with it.

The version I grew up with was slightly different from the one Stephanie recounts.  The book I remember is this one:

I always loved the story, but the illustrations in this particular book were to die for.  They were so stunning.  The story I remember is different from the one Stephanie told in that the soldier in her story was a gardener in the above tale AND in the one above the princesses were under a curse.  To solve the mystery, the gardener was given a magical golden flower to put into his lapel that made him invisible unlike the cloak of the soldier.  Due to these differences, I changed the manicure ever so slightly to include the flower instead of the cloak.  Below are the trees of the silver, gold, and diamond forests with the magical flower on my pinkie.

 I adore this manicure.  Thank you so much Stephanie from the Polished Squirrel for your inspiration and your beautiful manicure.  I could never do it justice!

Polishes used: SinfulColors Black on Black, Barielle Granite Glitter, Barielle Gold Digger, China Glaze Champagne Bubbles, NfuOh 61, Barielle Green Opal, OPI Stranger Tides, and marquis rhinestones

That's all.  Thank you to all of you for your wonderful comments and support throughout this challenge:)  Here's a quick recap: 

Time Warp Challenge--Day 7

Today's challenge is... 

You're timeless to me!

Styles that have been popular both "then" and now were supposed to inspire this manicure.  Since certain clothing articles/styles have become part of the style cycle (aka. if you keep something long enough it *might* become stylish once again) and regained popularity, I thought this day would be a cinch!  Well, I had extreme difficulty translating what was in my head or on paper to my nails.  So I took the theme literally and used something that is timeless in more way than one...

Image from Fashion in Motion

What is more timeless than a Rolex anyway???  My husband was traveling when I was taking this picture so I didn't have an actual Rolex to use, but a bunch of other watches works, right?

Polishes used: Barielle Granite Glitter, SinfulColors Black on Black

What timeless style/article would you have chosen?

Summer Fun Challenge--Days 1 & 2

Lindsey at the Neverland Nail Blog is so incredibly creative.  I love her blog so very much and about 3 weeks ago she announced a fun summer challenge.

I was immediately thrilled to participate and I actually went to work right away trying to create manicures for the 8 themes.  Unfortunately I lost my camera's USB cord so I could not upload, which meant I couldn't pre-plan the posts despite the preparation I put in:-\  Anyway...I found my camera's USB cord on Sunday.  Therefore I am a little late to the party, but I will continue to add 2 posts per week that follow the themes.  

Here's a little catching up...

Day 1: GRILL MASTER

 I took this literally.  I was not crazy about putting meat or veggies on my nails, it kind of weirded me out. I decided to create a grill on my fingernails.  I really loved this.  I used a base of Sinful Colors Black on Black then I carefully sponged Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby and Dr. Remedy Tranquil Tangerine to create flames.  This glowed, a lot!  For the grate I used Barielle Granite Glitter and a nail art brush.

Because I was too late to the party & unable to add my link, check out the other Grill Master inspired nails here or here:


Day 2: Summer Lovin'

All I could think of is Grease.  I was stuck & without ideas.  So I recalled one of my favorite summers, the summer my husband proposed.  We were at the beach (but I really didn't want to do beach nails) and there were beautiful clear skies all week.  My father-in-law was really sweet to take pictures of the whole thing from a distance (so I wouldn't know it was happening, so I wouldn't get frazzled, etc.).  So this was my inspiration.  I used Essie Barefoot in Blue for the background then I sponged Zoya Purity to make clouds (and a heart-shaped cloud too!).  The rest of the details (including polaroid style pictures & silhouettes) were created using Zoya Purity, Sinful Colors Black on Black, and  Barielle Granite Glitter.  I'm not thrilled about how this turned out, but my other attempt at a Summer Lovin' manicure was worse.

Check out the other Summer Lovin' manicures here or below.

Barielle Gem Stone Earth Collection

Press Samples

The latest collection by Barielle is the Gem Stone Earth collection.  It is made up of 5 beautiful earthy hues.  This collection features creams, metallics, and even a touch of sparkle.  They are perfect for any season and overall are very versatile, neutral colors.

Let's take a look at these beauties...

Pink Quartz is described as "opaque baby pink." This cream finish polish is my perfect pink.  I have been searching for a creamy pink just like this.  Pink Quartz is not milky, streaky, or orangy which makes it that girly pink perfection.  This Barbie-esque pink was opaque in 2 thin coats.  Pink Quartz was the easiest of the bunch to apply.

Granite Glitter is said to be a "metallic silver marble." Although the name contains the word glitter, there is no noticeable glitter or flecks in this polish.  This smooth metallic polish was opaque in 2 thin coats.  The formula of this polish was thinner, but not runny.  Granite Glitter is the perfect cool grey with minimal brush stroke visibility.  It is smoky yet it has a glowing quality at the same time.

Amber Sparkler is called a "metallic bronze w/ silver swirl."  This frosty metallic is rightly called amber.  This color is beautiful and takes on an almost rose gold tone.  Initially I was worried that this would not be flattering against my skintone, and was I wrong or what!  Although this is my favorite color of the bunch, I do wish that it was not as frosted (with visible brush strokes).  I would LOVE to have this color as a foil or a glitter!  This was 2 coats.

Back to Nature is deliciously named a "creamy cappuccino."  It actually seems like a light terracotta nude to me. It looks a tad orangey against my uber pale skintone.  It was opaque in 2 coats and was not milky or streaky.

Green Opal is best defined as a "metallic olive marble."  This golden olive metallic is not as smooth (not as in texture, this one has somewhat larger metallic particles) or frosty as Granite Glitter or Amber Sparkler.  Green Opal actually contains extremely fine flecks which flash a multitude of colors from gold and green to blue and red.  This is the most stunning polish of this collection.  It's gorgeous & I could not get a picture that does this beauty justice.

The Verdict:
Although these aren't the most unique polishes in the wide world of polish, they are all great staples to have in your collection.  I love how wearable these shades are.  My favorites in this collection are Pink Quartz and Green Opal because I do not have any other colors like them.  Granite Glitter & Amber Sparkler were tricky for me to apply, but were still beautiful.  And Back to Nature was a touch too warm for my complexion.  I think it will be more flattering on me in the summer.

This collection can be found at the Barielle website and retails for $25.00.  You can also purchase the polishes individually for $8.00.

Disclosure: The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR company for consideration.  For more information please visit the tabs below the header.