Playing with Polish--Contemporary Color Block Edition

Yesterday Zoya announced a new feature on their website, a trend guide. I was very excited since it also boasts of tutorials for each trend. The trends are inspired by none other than the runways of New York Fashion Week. While perusing this new feature I was intrigued by the "Contemporary Color Block" manicure mentioned. I began conjuring up other fabulous trios to try. Below you will see three other ideas (along with the original color suggestion). I came up with a red, mint/sage, and ivory/neutral version. I haven't decided which one to wear for a full manicure yet. I might just have to try something new! I could have created so many other pairings, I might have to have a sequel to this post sometime!

Polishes used: (base, moon, stripe)
Index: Neely, Bevin, Vespa
Middle: (original) Genevieve, Ryan, Dahlia
Ring: Jacqueline, Jules, Bar (Godiva or Tomoko would also look gorgeous with this. I had trouble deciding)
Pinkie: Livingston, Pepper, Oswin

I do realize that I forgot to make the "moon" portion curved, maybe next time:)
What other combinations would you like to see? What do you think of this trend?

Check out Zoya's new Trend Guide for Fall 2014!
Also check out their new promotion/sweepstakes #MyNameMonday

Playing with Polish-- My First Striping Tape Manicure

So a while back I got striping tape for the first time (crazy, right?). I sat there staring at it trying to decide what to do first. I decided to use it as painting guides for a chevron design on a well-worn manicure. This was simple and ended up turning out pretty well. I am still trying to get the hang of placing striping tape, making sure it sticks well on the edges, and removing it at the perfect time.

Not too shabby for the first try at using striping tape to help with nail art. I would love more ideas or suggestions for using striping tape. Thanks, loves!

Polishes used: SinfulColors SinfulShine Rendezvous (week-old, chipped manicure) and Zoya Purity

Playing with Polish-- Playing with Patterns

Occasionally I decide to pick out a few polishes, browse my pinterest boards, and become inspired. I usually have one of two intentions: try something new I might like and practice the muscle control of doing nail art. This rendition of "Playing with Polish" is no different. I don't really recall what inspired me other than a variety of runway pictures including monochromatic ensembles in various patterns. I did not want to use black and white, so I chose two more subtle shades that still give a nod to the trend.

A lot of imrprovement can be made, and practice is necessary to gain better control. But it's always fun to try:)

Polishes used: Zoya Jacqueline and Natty

Do you every play with your polish just to hone your skills and try something new?

Playing with Polish--Light Pink PixieDust???

It is no secret that I do in fact enjoy the texture trend. The crackle, I couldn't do. Pretty glittery texture? Count me in! I love the Zoya PixieDust Collections. The Original, Summer, and Fall editions have been such lovely colors. While I look forward to the Fall Edition coming in the mail, I will wait by playing around with polish.

I REALLY wanted to wear a light pink/light coral PixieDust but since Zoya does not make one, I thought I was up the creek. Fortunately, I realized that I can layer PixieDust polishes!

Here is one THIN coat of Miranda topped with one THIN coat of Godiva. It looks pretty without or with a top coat.

What other combinations should I try?

Playing With Polish--Ugly Tribal/Easter Egg

Okay, so I had this great idea that I would create a pastel tribal pattern on my pinkish manicure. Little did I know how positively hilarious this would turn out! See for yourself...

This was definitely a "miss" in my book. The manicure which was supposed to be a pastel tribal, ended up looking like an ugly Easter egg! Oh well, here is to next time! *cheers*

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?"

Playing With Polish--Beach Towel Inspired

I know what you're thinking, a weekend post?!?!?! Yes my friends, a weekend post:)

Before heading out in my Caribbean adventure, I had a blast getting outfit ideas, browsing Pinterest, scavenging blogs, and shopping for my trip. I unearthed my summer attire and swimwear, got out my floppy hat and broke my sunglasses. All the while I was inspired by airy fabrics, bright colors, and days full of sun.

I channeled this inspiration by playing with polish. I guess you could say this is beach towel/bag/swimwear inspired. It's really just a bunch of patterns as fun skittles on the nails.

I used a base of Essie Mint Candy Apple and painted designs using Barielle Surf's Up. The glitter accent nail is a layer of Barielle Star Dust over Essie Mint Candy Apple. My favorite is definitely the glittery nail. I'll have to try this on its own. Without my playing with polish I would never have thought to combine these two.

Hope your day is fabulous!

Playing with Polish--Subtle Fancy Accent Nail

I am aware that many of my "Playing with Polish" posts consist of me dressing up an old manicure. I know that I gravitate toward accent nail designs and glitter.  Someday I will be more adventurous and creative, but that day is not today;)

This lovely manicure was Barielle Soho at Night.  I got REALLY bored with this one, probably  because I wore this medium/dark purple twice in one month for who knows what reason.  I guess I got a little purple happy?  To dress it up I took my dark, nearly black, plum (Revlon Plum Night) and just painted a random loopy, scroll and dots design.

I had just put cuticle oil on & could not get it off my nails so they look smudged.  Also, please forgive the tip wear:)

I love this!  I love how subtle it is.  I adore the elegance.  I think I need to try this in other colors.  Maybe next time I should do this to all my nails!

Playing with Polish--Purple Glitter Gradient

I recently had my nails painted a deep purple (Barielle Soho at Night) and needed to either, 1.) change my polish, or 2.) update my mani with nail art to cover up the tip wear.  I chose choice 2.  I decided to go for an ever popular glitter gradient using Barielle Purple Hearts.  It was fast and simple and did the trick:)  Here's a peek...

How do you like to fix/update a manicure?

Playing With Polish--piCture pOlish accent nail edition

At the end of July, I was fortunate enough to have been chosen to take part in piCture pOlish Blog Fest 2012.  The polishes I was given to try and showcase were beautiful.  I still take them out and stare at them.  Sometimes I even leave them on my desk because they're so lovely!

I recently wore Orbit again.  I put it on and was mesmerized by its beauty.  Then I felt as though I needed to wear Mirage again too.  So I swiped it on to my accent nail.  I used 2 coats of Mirage which gave me better more even coverage than my original swatches.  Take a peek at the gorgeousness... (in sunlight& shade)

Look at that pretty duochrome...*sigh*... :)  This is just lovely.  I'm loving this combo!

What is your favorite way to dress up a manicure?

Playing with Polish--Little Black Bag Inspired

Recently I was hitting a wall and unable to find nail art inspiration.  I decided to poke around on Pinterest and ended up looking at recipes instead.  A few days later I was looking for a new handbag for the fall.  I ended up on Little Black Bag and suddenly inspiration hit and playing with polish commenced.

Here are 3 manicures inspired by handbags at Little Black Bag.  Some were more successful than others, but that's the fun of playing with polish, it's just for fun & can be removed if it looks wonky:)

My nails were already orange so I decided to conquer the Street Level Cut Out Top Handle Satchel as a manicure:

Next, I fell in love with this BCBGeneration Straw Patterned Tote.  The manicure however, fell a tad short:-\

Finally, I oogled the Street Level Ruched Vintage Shoulder Bag.  I would die to have this!  This needs to make its way into my wardrobe:)

Overall, this was a lot of fun.  I love looking for inspiration in different places.  

If you haven't already heard about Little Black Bag you should totally check it out.  It's social shopping and trading website that specializes in accessories and handbags.  It's $49.99 (usd) for a monthly subscription or $59.99 (usd) for a one time purchase.

What do you think of my inspiration?

Playing with Polish--piCture pOlish mirage

Ok, so every now and then I go a little crazy playing with nail polish.  Sometimes I'm testing out nail art ideas, other times I'm playing with layering or testing out "effects."

This episode of Playing with Polish, is no different.  I recently swatched piCture pOlish mirage for Blog Fest 2012.  I fell in love with it even though I could not master its application for the life of me.  Every time I swatched on a dark color like navy or black there was balding at my tips and cuticles. Besides, it was almost as if the polish shrunk after application.   I could probably use more layers, but I didn't want my nails to look thick with polish.  I was determined to master mirage.

I decided to play with it.  I layered it over a medium teal polish.  It was stunning, see for yourself!

See?  MUCH prettier than over a SUPER dark color:)  Even the duo chrome is prettier!

I know what you're thinking "what's with the dots?" well I put them there so you could see the color that I put underneath.  Also, I was just playing around;)

Have you tried out anything lately while playing with polish???

Playing with Polish--Citrus Print Manicure

This season, beautiful citrus shades are everywhere.  I love citrus and have a soft spot for anything citrus.  It should be no surprise to you then that Stella McCartney's iconic citrus print from Spring/Summer 2011 caught my attention the first moment I saw it.

Source: blogcdn.com via Ceanna on Pinterest

I decided to create a less detailed spinoff of the print for my nails.  First I painted my nails with 2 coats of Zoya Purity to create the white background.  Then I pulled ALL of the citrus shades I owned and decided which shades to use.  In the end, I used all Zoya polishes.  I chose Zoya Elise, Paz, Coraline, Kate, and Belle and painted round shapes piled at the tips of my nails.  I finished it off with a few leaves of Zoya Edyta.  Check out the final result:

I apologize for the shadows & poor lighting:-\

I think it turned out pretty well, especially since I was in a bit of a rush--oops;)  If I try this again, I will hopefully have more time and I can add more details and incorporate more deep pinks (grapefruit) and yellows (lemon).  Overall, I'm pretty happy with the result.

What do you think of this fashion inspired manicure?

Playing with Polish--Hydrangeas

I love flowers.  I also love arranging flowers.

Fun fact: I arranged all of the flowers used for my wedding without having any prior experience.  It was so much fun.

One of the many types of flowers I used were hydrangeas.  Their little flowers are so lovely all clustered together.  I was looking at flowers on pinterest recently (for no real reason) and became inspired to try some hydrangea nail art.  Here it is...

I used Zoya Megan as a base and then carefully painted delicate overlapping blossoms on my ring finger in a white polish.  I then included some drifting individual blossoms on my middle and pinky (my thumb looked similar to my ring finger, but with the flowers clustered more toward the tip rather than the nail base).

This is so springy to me.  I actually really like this manicure and I cannot wait to try it again:)

Playing with Polish--Tribal

You get a BONUS post for today:)

This is what happens when I take on a challenge, I get messy and crazy!

This week Barielle is hosting a mani-pedi contest on their facebook page (something they do often).  So I figured I'd give it my best shot & enter.  I racked my brain and came up with this random tribal print.  This manicure is 2 coats of Back to Nature as a base coat.  I followed that by making stripes with Eli's Magic and other paint blobs and lines with End of the Rainbow.  I outlined and added details with Berry Blue and finished it with some Gold Digger details.

It's a bit messy and a tad crazy, but it was fun.  I entered and so far I'm one of the only entries that isn't just a solid paint job or layering.  And the down side to their facebook contests is that they're popularity contests so usually the first entry or the person with the most followers wins.  *sigh* Oh well, this was still a BLAST:)

Have you tried a tribal print manicure?

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.

Playing with Polish--Summer Safari

For this round of playing with polish, I was inspired by this picture:

Source: lucidream.tumblr.com via Zoya on Pinterest

I LOVE giraffes.  So I was on a mission to recreate this bright giraffe print into a summer safari manicure.  Here is how mine turned out...

It's not too bad.  I couldn't decide what colors to use, so I stuck with a bunch of random Zoyas.  The accent nail includes Zoya America, Paz, Wednesday, Edyta, Vanessa, and Ali.  My other nails have 2 coats of Paz topped with 1 coat of Coraline.  This was a lot of fun.  I love drawing direct inspiration from pictures or objects I have.  After looking at this picture for a bit, I'm not sure if it looks like a giraffe or just stained glass.  Whatever, it's fun:)

If you'd like me to attempt to turn a picture or object into a fun nail art attempt, let me know.  I love the challenge!  Have you ever drawn direct inspiration like this?

Playing with Polish--Peacock

I've had this edited for a while and I've just been waiting for the right time to publish this.  Due to my lack of posts this week (*cough* grad school *cough*), I figured the least I could do would be to show you some lovely nail art:)

Here is my peacock feather accent nail:

Polishes used: 
base color: Pro 10 Moonlight
feather nail art: Diamond Cosmetics Don't Teal My Heart Away, Barielle Gold Digger, NOPI Turquoise Shatter, and (I think) essie Bobbing for Baubles

Thanks for checking it out:)

Playing with Polish--Nautical

When boredom strikes, classy gals play with polish!

The other day, I was just playing with navy blue & white nail polish.  I enjoy nautical themes & inspiration in the spring, so I decided to play around a bit.  I love just having fun and painting whatever you want, regardless of the result.  Here it is, "nautical" nail art:

I love navy blue and white.  It's one of my favorite combinations.  It just makes me smile:)

Playing with Polish

My husband has crazy work hours at times. Like yesterday, his birthday, he left home at 6:30am and got back at 11:30pm. The result was birthday cake for breakfast:)

It's times like these where I find myself experimenting with my polishes. Yesterday, while staring down Dr.'s Remedy Tranquil Tangerine and mustering up enough courage to swatch it, I became inspired. I'm not someone who owns much orange, personally I do not find it flattering on me. And when I see orange I think Halloween or pumpkins & changing leaves.

Halloween?

In AUGUST?

I know, you're probably annoyed with seeing mountains of candy for trick-or-treating before Labor Day. Haunted houses will be popping up and costumes will occupy commercials & storefronts.

BUT in my defense, I was bored. REALLY bored. Here is the result of playing with polish:

I'm not sure I would ever wear this for more than an accent on a finger or two, but it's fun.  The spider was the hardest part, by far.  I think I might have to try putting a web on an entire finger next, but maybe I'll wait a little longer for that.

What seasonal manicures are you looking forward to in the upcoming weeks/months?