Blast from the Past: La La La La La La La La La La La ....

In honor of 'The Smurfs' movie coming out today, I though this blast from the past would be appropriate! :-D

Try getting THAT out of your head!! *muahahahahahaha* Ok, anybody who's ANYBODY knows who the Smurfs are, and how...Smurfy they are. :-D I remember many a Saturday morning growing up waking up and watching the Smurfs on tv, since I grew up in the boonies, we didn't have cable, *GASP* (yes, that's for REAL. My parents STILL don't have cable) so Saturday mornings were the only time that cartoons were on TV, so we definitely made the most of them, most likely eating S'mores cereal, maybe Count Chocula, or perhaps my dad's amazingtastical fried eggs. (I am 29, and I STILL can't make fried eggs as well as he can.) Ahhh, the memories....

Can I also mention that two of my friends (and readers) got married today!! Congratulations Len & Sarah! I wish you both all the happiness in the world!!

And now, on to the nails! I did Papa Smurf on my thumb, Painter Smurf on my index finger, Smurfette on my middle finger, Vanity on my ring finger, and Brainy Smurf on my pinky. :)

I used Zoya Yummy as a base, with Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud for the hats and eyes, Eyeko Saucy Polish for Naughty Nails for the tongues (when you see 'em, the stem and spots of the mushroom, and Papa Smurf's hat. For Smurfette's hair, I used American Apparel Manila, which I also used for the center of the flower on Vanity Smurf's hat. For the top of the mushroom, I used butter LONDON Minger, which I also used for the paint splatter on Painter Smurf's hat. For his paintbrush, I used American Apparel California Trooper as a base, with a mixture of Color Club Best Dressed List and American Apparel Manila. For Vanity's flower, I used Color Club Ms. Socialite, then I used a combination (not mixed, just whatever I picked up on my brush) of Pure Ice Wild Thing, L.A. Girl Army Green, and Zoya Shawn, and as always, I used American Apparel Hassid to outline everything.

I have to say, I think this manicure is pretty smurfy. the only nail I'm not loving on my left hand is Smurfette, she was the first one I drew before changing my technique, and she looks a tad wonky. Ah well.

Sorry, no Gargamel this time, perhaps when the Smurfs movie comes out next summer. :-D

FingerPaints Fall 2011

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

Today I have swatches of FingerPaints' Fall Fashionista Collection for Fall 2011, which will be available at Sally Beauty Supply in August in stores and online.  For the swatches, all are two coats of color over a base coat and finished with Poshe, which I allowed to dry for about five minutes before I took a picture in sunlight.

Fall Fashionista is a collection of nine cremes, and they're all incredibly nice to apply.  The formula is very smooth and even to work with, and it's so well pigmented that only two of the nine shades actually needed the two coats of color I used.  The remaining seven were even an opaque at one thin coat, but I added a second because I prefer the look of two coats on my nails (I have ridges, they don't show with the second coat).  However, for nail art stamping, layering, pretty much anything other than wearing the polish alone, one coat would be just fine for me.

Catwalk Queen is a weird-in-a-good-way sort of Dijon mustard colored creme, and it's one of the two that really needed both coats to achieve the color in the bottle.  My middle nail is not shiny here because my nails fogged up from the heat and humidity, and that went unnoticed until I was selecting pictures.

FingerPaints Catwalk Queen Nail Polish, Two Coats

Military Green is a really cool one - it's the same color as U.S Army uniforms, that green with a touch of grey mixed into it.  It's good at one coat, but here's a picture of two.

FingerPaints Military Green Nail Polish, Two Coats

To-teally Chic (that's the press release spelling, the label says "To-telly Chic," but it looks like a sample label, so we'll know which it is when they're at Sally's) is a vivid teal creme.  I believe this is the nicest teal creme that $4.99 will buy you .  Again, one thin coat was even and opaque for me, but the picture is of two coats.

FingerPaints To-teally Chic Nail Polish, Two Coats

Purple Pinstripe is a very pretty muted purple creme, and like most of the others, the color was great in one coat.  The second gives a little more depth and a lot more shine, so here's two coats of Purple Pinstripe (and I see the bottom finger's nail fogged up).

FingerPaints Purple Pinstripe Nail Polish, Two Coats

Haute Taupe is a soft light brown creme, a good basic polish.

FingerPaints Haute Taupe Nail Polish, Two Coats

Raspberry Taffeta, a really gorgeous berry shade, is one of my favorites.  A couple of months ago I was looking for an article of clothing, and in that process noticed for the very first time that at least half of my clothing that's not black or white at least includes this shade.  It seems I'm a big fan!

FingerPaints Raspberry Taffeta Nail Polish, Two Coats

Vintage Velvet is another contender for the Favorite position, a muted blue green creme.  It's an unusual, modern, very pretty shade.

FingerPaints Vintage Velvet Nail Polish, Two Coats

Stunning Stilettos, a grey creme, is the other one that really needed a second coat (so I needed two for Catwalk Queen and Stunning Stilettos, all seven others could have gotten away with one coat of color).  It's a good grey creme.

FingerPaints Stunning Stilettos Nail Polish, Two Coats

Last but very definitely not least is the one I am wearing, Cordur-Orange (I know the name looks silly, say it out loud and it makes sense).  It's a Fall orange that brings to mind maple leaves changing and apple cider for me, but somehow FingerPaints avoided doing to Cordur-Orange whatever OPI did to Ginger Bells because Cordur-Orange is pretty.  It's the one I'm wearing today.

FingerPaints Cordur-Orange Nail Polish, Two Coats

That's all of them.  My sense of the collection as a whole is that it's perfect for Fall, and several of the colors are an interesting take on a more ordinary shade.  The quality of the polishes is exceptional, and the application is amazing.  I don't have a favorite picked out yet because there are four battling for it, and since I'll change my mind about it tomorrow anyhow I haven't really put the screws to myself to sort that one out.

That's what I know about FingerPaints Fall Fashionista Collection for 2011, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!




*FingerPaints Fall Fashionista was sent by Sally Beauty supply for independent honest review.

I've Gone Public.

Public restrooms, that is. I honestly have no idea what spurred the idea for this nail design. I was driving home from work one night thinking (it's my best thinking time), and it hit me. I thought it'd be a fun, EASY, quick nail design that would be easily recognizable. :-D The irony? I detest public restrooms, seriously, I'd rather hold it 'til my eyeballs are floating than use a public bathroom. I'm not sure whether it is the fact that someone might *gasp* hear me, or germs, or whatever. Might be a combination of all things, I just don't like them. *shudder* Anyway...after that TMI moment, here you are... my bathroom nails. (Don't worry, I washed my hands)

Sorry for the grotesque cuticle injury - been stuffing DVDs into cardboard envelopes for hours (800 DVDs so far).

I used ALDO Sea You in Ibiza as a base, with Sally Hansen Lavender Cloud for the white symbols. Topped it all off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat for shine.

Konad Sky Pearl Special Polish & m63

Good morning, Dear Reader!

This morning I did a manicure that came to mind the other day when I came across my Konad Sky Pearl Special Polish, and it turned out really well.  Not perfect, but I like it well enough that I don't especially care that it's imperfect.

I started out with Orly Frolic, the lovely two coat purple creme, which I thought would look really cool with Sky Pearl stamped over it.  For the pattern to stamp, I used the swirly one from Konad plate m63 that looks a lot like water marbling.  Since I liked how it was coming out off the bat, I used a coat of Konad top coat to prevent any smudges prior to finishing it off with Poshe.  Here's Orly Frolic with m63 in Konad Sky Pearl in the sun.

Konad Sky Pearl Special Polish over Orly Frolic with Konad Plate m63

You can see the the pearl finish in the Special Polish is very subtle - this is in sunlight, and the shimmer doesn't really show otherwise.  What I like about the Konad Pearl polishes (Black, White, Sky, Violet, ...) is that they don't seem to smudge anywhere near as easily as the cremes and they make exceptionally crisp stamps.

That's all for today, Dear Reader, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!

What a Wallet

I've had this wallet for ages. I picked it up at Forever 21 at some point, buying it because I loved the retro look of the pattern. It's one of those hinged wallets that clasp shut. I never really use it anymore, but I was going through my stuff recently (I need to pare my belongings down) and came across it.

I used American Apparel Cotton as a base, with Nubar Milk Chocolate Creme for the oval, butter LONDON Minger for the orange, Barielle Aura Angora for the yellowy mustard color, American Apparel Pinto for the burnt red, American Apparel Cocoa for the taupe color, then American Apparel Raccoon for the darker brown. Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Sephora by OPI Nail Art Decals

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today's manicure seemed like a good opportunity to give you a closer look at Sephora by OPI nail art decals, so that's just what I have in store.

I started out with the intention of a hot weather manicure, and the first polish that appealed to me for that was Misa Sandals, Flip Flops and Hip Hop, which is kind of an red-pink-coral neon creme.  It took three coats of color, which is pretty good for a neon.  It's really pretty on its own, but just a bit plain, so I went looking for something to spruce it up a bit and ran into my Sephora by OPI Hello Kitty nail art decals.  I specifically recall how impressed with their quality I was when I last used them, and since I see Sephora is offering a greater variety of nail art decals now, I thought I'd show you just what I found to be so impressive about them.

I used a total of three decals from two packs on an accent nail, which is a little much, but this manicure really turned into a decal demo.  The three I chose were a rhinestone flower, a butterfly with a trail of tiny rhinestones behind it, and a plain Hello Kitty Face, and I chose those three to have one of each type (only rhinestone, with rhinestones, no rhinestones).  To apply them, for each I loosened the decal from its paper backing by bending the paper to expose an edge, used an orange stick to lift the decal up by the just-freed edge, lining it up just above the nail, then placing it with the orange stick and patting it down.  The last step was to gently press each down with a right-hand finger, then I sealed them with a coat of Revlon Color Stay Top Coat and one of Poshe.  I took close-up pictures from several angles that are really not the most flattering of either my nails or the manicure, but their purpose is to illustrate how perfectly smooth the decals lie on the nail, so that's what we're looking for here.

First, the whole manicure.  Here, you can get a sense of how easy the Sephora by OPI decals are to work with - they don't stick to things or get bent when I remove them from their backing, and they're very, very thin so they shape to the nail nicely when they're placed.

Sephora by OPI Nail Art Decals over Misa Sandals, Flip Flops and Hip Hop Nail Polish

Here, the accent nail is pointing at the camera so you can see how flat the decals lie across a curved nail, so they don't catch or snag on anything.

Sephora by OPI Nail Art Decals Lying Very Flat

These two side views illustrate the same point with a better view of the rhinestones, which are often problematic in decals and are not here.

Sephora by OPI Rhinestone Flower and Hello Kitty Nail Art Decals

Sephora by OPI Rhinestone Butterfly and Hello Kitty Nail Art Decals

I have no idea why I didn't notice that the last picture was 90° off from the others until this very moment, maybe because my finger's going in the opposite direction.  That's okay, I trust that it shows the same thing...

I bought these because, well, they were $5 and had both rhinestones and Hello Kitty .  When I opened them, I felt a little ripped off at the little sheet of decals for $5, and how having used them twice, I've completely reversed that sentiment.  Most decals (with the exception of Konad's, which I've mentioned how much I like)) are a fight for me to apply without messing up a nail, then about 90% of the time the decal flattens back out and the edges of it pop up off my nail after top coat and before they're dry, so all they accomplish is completely destroying a manicure.  I haven't shown you many (if any) stick-on decals in almost three years, and I have used them a handful of times only to have such a complete failure that I didn't leave it long enough for a picture.  So for me, that means for my $5 I can have five larger packs of decals that don't work, or one small packet of decals that are very easy to apply and wear.

More Sephora by OPI Nail Art Decals are on my wish list because they're such a handy little addition to a manicure, so when the day comes that I have others, I'll give you a look.  Until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

Konad Olive Green Princess Polish

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I like my Sally Hansen Creamy Olive manicure so much that I just added to it today, and I used plate XL A with Konad Olive Green Princess Polish to do it.  My stamping job wasn't perfect, nor was my cleanup (I erred on the side of removing too much), but I figured I'd give you a look at Konad Olive Green just the same because it's a great Fall shade and seems to lend itself to stamping over a lot of the Fall cremes.

Here, I stamped using the regular Konad stamper (I keep meaning to break out the XL one for another try, but never remember until I'm tidying up a spot that the regular stamper missed) and Konad Olive Green Special Polish, then sealed the stamping with Konad Top Coat and then a coat of Poshe to dry it.  Here's the finished manicure in the sun, and my pinky nail is the best one to really show stamping.

Konad Olive Green Princess Polish over Sally Hansen Creamy Olive Nail Polish

The places where stamps overlapped and the over-cleaned spots show up clearly here in a blown-up picture, but just walking around it looks fine.  Frankly, these are the ones that drive me nuts because the picture shows a pretty jacked up manicure while it looks cool when I look at my hands, which is why I suggest using the pinky, the only one with a completely clean stamp, to evaluate how the polish and stamp really look when properly executed.

I like the two colors together quite a bit, but I think the pattern is a little too small and busy for this particular combination.  I recently broke out quite a few Konad polishes that have been out of rotation for a while, so that might just bring about more Konad manicures in the coming weeks.

That's my olive green manicure and just about all I have to tell you about this morning, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle Creamy Olive

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I'm still not ready to face another Fall color head-on, so today I chose one that kind of lets me ease into the idea.  Creamy Olive from the Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle line is, as the name indicates, a very washed out olive green creme.  The olive nods toward Fall, but the very pale shade lets me believe that the heat index really is 105° again.  Remember in February when I was complaining of being snowed in during dangerously cold conditions?  I just did and began to question why the heck I live in this area...

Back to Creamy Olive, which is an overall good polish except for the gargantuan oddly shaped brush (I think it's the same as that in the Insta Dri line).  After starting with base coat, the first coat of color was super sheer and blotchy then the second magically evened it all out for me.  I finished this one with Poshe because I somehow got some microglitter bits into the Diamont bottle I've been refilling, and Creamy Olive dried in good time and to a very glossy finish.

Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle Creamy Olive Nail Polish, Two Coats

One thing I particularly like about Creamy Olive is that despite how pale it is, there is no chalkiness to its overall look when dry, which is sometimes kind of a problem.  This is my second polish (I think, maybe third) from this relatively new line, and I absolutely love the polish and absolutely hate the brush, so replacing the brush looks like a good option here.

That's the update for today, Dear Reader, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!

Chanel Enthusiast

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I have another non-Zoya Smoke manicure, Chanel Enthusiast, which is a bright red creme.  My impression is that it is an LE from a few years ago.  It was the pick of the day because I have something later for which I wanted to just go with red, and I was really drawn to this one when I went to select a shade.  It just seems like a very summery red to me, very vivid and cheerful.

Enthusiast, like Chanel Dragon (another wonderful red) is even and opaque in one coat, but the second coat makes it really glossy.  That doesn't show well in today's picture - it's so hot and humid out that my nails kept getting fogged up when I'd try to take a picture.  It's not awful here (I just kept cleaning off the fog between pics!), but the amazing shine of Enthusiast will be lost in my pictures until it cools off a little.  Here is Chanel Enthusiast about 12 hours after application.

Chanel Enthusiast Nail Polish, Two Coats

So that's Enthusiast.  I Googled it to find the release date, but I got distracted before I arrived at that information by seeing it on Ebay for $70 and decided to address to matter of hunting for it instead.  It's a good red nail polish, but for me a $70 red is nonexistent, so if you like this one, my vote goes to calling Chanel to ask what current color is the closest match (their Beauty customer service is normally excellent).  The Chanel reds that I have are amazing, markedly nicer than any salon brands, and paying retail for them was bearable, but I'd feel kind of ripped off if I'd paid a nickel over retail for Enthusiast.  I'm on a mission to prevent a case of buyer's remorse here!

That's just about all there is today, Dear Reader, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!

Revlon Just Tinted in Desire

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I decided to try out a Revlon Just Tinted nail polish, Desire, for today because although Zoya Smoke is lovely, with a heat index of 105° it's difficult to get enthusiastic about a Fall color so I took a Return to Summer break.

Revlon's Just Tinted line is rather lightly pigmented jellies, and I'd eyed a couple a few times before finally getting them during a sale for the day when my nails would be short enough to wear them.  Lo and behold, that day has arrived.  The shade I chose for today, Desire, is a very bright pink, perfect for summer.  I needed three coats of Desire to make the color even, and it seems to be drying well with quick dry top coat.  This manicure screams of Summer.

Revlon Just Tinted Nail Polish in Desire, Three Coats

I like it because it's so summery, and it's a really nice one for the current length of my nails.  It makes me want to feast on seedless watermelon.

That's all there is to my Revlon Just Tinted Desire manicure, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!

Zoya Anja

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I'm still working my way through the Zoya Smoke Collection, today with Anja.  While I was at it I removed that fake tip I've been wearing, which meant losing more length than I care to, but it's nice to have even nails with no repairs again.  After taking care of that I put on Anja, which Zoya accurately describes as "smoky palatinate purple cream."  It's really nice to apply and one coat was almost good enough, so two made it perfect.  I finished it off with top coat, let it dry for a bit, then took a picture.  You'll see Anja darkens a bit as it dries.

Zoya Anja Nail Polish, Two Coats

It's another very nice, updated, very Fall appropriate shade.  That's the news of the day, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!

FingerPaints Fall Fashionista

Swatches of FingerPaints Fall Fashionista Collection for Fall 2011

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I just got an email from Sally Beauty Supply with a promo image of their FingerPaints Fall 2011 limited edition release, Fall Fashionista, and some of the colors look really cool so I thought I'd give you a look.  If the font is too small for you, clicking on the picture will open a full-sized version in another tab.

FingerPaints Fall Fashionista Collection for Fall 2011

I just wanted to pass that on, so until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!

Zoya Dree

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Continuing with the Zoya Smoke Collection for Spring 2011, today I have Dree for you.  Before I move on to Dree, I had one quick note about the removal of Zoya Cynthia to pass on to you.  You know how dark blues often leave Smurf fingers in their wake?  Well, I removed Cynthia with the pink Beauty Secrets acetone-based remover, and there was literally zero staining of my skin or nails, so that's a huge plus for a dark blue.

Back to Zoya Dree... That's the olive green creme in the Smoke Collection, and my initial reaction was not particularly thrilled just because I have olive green cremes.  Once I started applying it, I became far more enthusiastic about it for several reasons.  First, the shade is a good one - it's not as yellow as RBL No More War nor as washed out as Chanel Khaki Vert.  The application is very good, although a little bit slow for me since the brush is small and my nails are not, but that comes down to making the color change take 14 minutes instead of 8-10, which is completely reasonable.  Dree's dry time is exceptionally good - when I was painting the seventh nail, I bumped the freshly painted third nail and only made a tiny fixable mark in it, and it was completely dry very fast using everyday base and top coats for me.  The polish is very pigmented so two thin coats were all that I needed and it dries very shiny.  Here's Zoya Dree with base and top coat in the sun.

Zoya Dree Nail Polish, Two Coats

That's what I know about Zoya Dree.  So far so good on the Smoke Collection, and I'm looking forward to the other four.  Until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!



*This polish was provided by the manufacturer for review, that fact has no bearing on the review itself.

Zoya Cynthia

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I'm wearing Zoya Cynthia today  because I swatched Zoya's Smoke Collection for you at the same time that I swatched Zoya Mirrors, but  in the time it took me to swatch twelve polishes the light changed and I wasn't pleased with the swatches so I figured I'll just show you the Smoke colors one at a time this week.  Why not start with Cynthia...

Zoya's description of Cynthia is that it's a "smoky Prussian blue cream," and that sounds just about right.  Cynthia 's application was very good, and two coats were plenty to make it perfectly even and opaque.  Here it is after the manicure dried (two coats of color with base and top coats).

Zoya Cynthia Nail Polish, Two Coats

I like Cynthia - it's like an updated navy blue and it's nice and shiny.

That's the beginning of Zoya Smoke and just about all I have for you today, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!



*This polish was provided by the manufacturer for review, that fact has no bearing on the review itself.

Zoya Mirrors Collection

Good morning, Dear Reader!

After I thought I was all done yesterday, a set of Zoya's Mirror Collection sent for review arrived, and I have swatches of them for you today.  This is a really cool collection - each of them applied really beautifully, the one I'm wearing dried well in reasonable time, and they're fun to look at.

All of these are base coat, two coats of color, and top coat, and I let each dry for a few minutes before taking a picture in sunlight.  There's no real significance to the order of the swatches.  Now that you know all of that, let's look at pretties.

Tao, which Zoya describes as "smoky slate gray metallic", is what I'd call a light gunmetal shimmer, and a good one.

Zoya Tao Nail Polish, Two Coats

I'd agree with Zoya that Marina is "smoky steel blue," but I say it's a shimmer and not so much metallic.

Zoya Marina Nail Polish, Two Coats

Nimue is called "smoky rich thistle metallic", and and strange as it sounds, I think "smoky thistle" is the best description of Nimue, a shimmer.  A technical difficulty resulted in less nails swatched for this one.

Zoya Nimue Nail Polish, Two Coats

Zoya says Neeka is "sparkly amethyst purple  metallic," it's a bit deeper purple than Nimue and has little gold glitter.  Neeka is right along the lines of Sally Hansen Salon Arabian Night from a collection Tracy Reese did with them a few years ago.

Zoya Neeka Nail Polish, Two Coats

The other with glitter just like that in Neeka is Yara, where it's in an olive green shimmer base.

Zoya Yara Nail Polish, Two Coats

These five are all lovely, but I think almost any polish would pale in comparison to Zoya Jem.  It's described as "sparkly fandango pink metallic," but mine's nothing like fandango pink at all.  It's a fantastic red plum shimmer, and there's something about the shimmer in it that makes it look just like cool custom car paint.  It makes me think of a neighbor I had when I was a teenager who was terribly proud of his IROC-Z.  The custom paint job even included his name on the driver's door - too bad it was spelled wrong... Anyhow, this is Zoya Jem - see if it transports you back to the days of watching a whole bunch of guys trying to construct an entire car out of Bondo.

Zoya Gem Nail Polish, Two Coats

I think the whole Mirrors Collection is excellent (Zoya's really been making great colors), but Jem put it over the top.  Jem is one amazing nail polish.

That's what I know about Zoya Mirrors, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

Sephora by OPI Rock His World

Good morning, Dear Reader!

This morning I changed my polish to Sephora by OPI Rock His World, a deep red vampy creme.  I'd planned to add on to Orly Frolic, but I used my nails to pry something yesterday and chipped the polish on a couple of them when I did it.  I don't think it was the polish - the only two nails with any chips or wear were the two I pretty much pried chips off of, so please don't let that put you off to Frolic.

I chose Rock His World because I have something early in the day tomorrow for which I want my nails to look nice, and while I have no reason to downplay them I also didn't want to go over the top, so a standard shade seemed like a good choice.  In the bottle, Rock His World looks like a kind of dark brick red, but once dry on the nail it's darker and less brown than in the bottle.  It applied really, really well (as the picture shows - there was no cleanup after application), but it did require three coats to completely even it out.  That's not unexpected - I associate shades like this with being kind of blotchy unless care is taken to keep them even.  This is Rock His World in sunlight after drying with a coat of Nubar Diamont.

Sephora by OPI Rock His World Nail Polish, Three Coats

Although nothing unique or unusual, I like this color quite a bit.  I was fine with the bottle color, but I'm far more enthusiastic about Rock His World after it's had a chance to dry on the nail.  Given how it applied, whenever I get around to weeding out duplicate colors, I'll be keeping Rock His World.  It's just a really good version of a solid basic color, and you can't go wrong with that.

That's Sephora by OPI Rock His World and just about all there is to tell you about today, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!

It All Ends 7/15.

I’m totally writing this blog post in the theater waiting for the Harry Potter movie to start. I’m sitting on the stairs next to the wall because my laptop is too low on battery otherwise. As you might have surmised from other posts and if you follow me on Twitter, I am a 100%, bonafide, Harry Potter dork. No, I don’t dress up for the midnight showing, and some might argue that negates any credibility that I had as a Harry Potter enthusiast, but I tend to disagree. I wear my robes on the inside, and my insides are hearty shades of crimson and gold. I’m SO excited for this final chapter in the Harry Potter series, but it is, as is it for many of you, bittersweet. I think, as disturbed and sad as it may sound, that I’ll feel a little hollow (no, not Hallow), as I did after I finished the last page of the final book. A twinge of sadness, knowing that there won’t be anymore to read or watch of the adventures of our dear Harry Potter, Hermione, and Ron. I’m SO looking forward to Molly Weasley screaming the line we’ll not shortly forget, departing from her usually jovial, friendly self to take her revenge on Bellatrix. (If you’ve read the books, you know what I’m talking about) It’s going to be amazing stuff.

For today’s nails, I knew that I had to do something to say goodbye to the series, since this is the last midnight showing that we’ll get to partake in for our beloved Harry Potter movies. I wanted to do something that I haven’t seen someone else do, something that I myself haven’t done either. I settled upon the amazing poster design for this 8th and final installment, with Harry and Voldemort head to head, with only the elder wand to separate them. I also did the Deathly Hallows symbol on the pinky, as well as the HP of the Harry Potter logo on the thumb. I photographed them, then splattered red polish on the ring and thumb to simulate the blood that was splattered on the series of posters, then photographed them again. :)

After the movie edit: Holy crap. That movie was incredible. 

I used CND Oilslick as a base, with China Glaze Millennium for the silver in the HP and the Deathly Hallows. For Voldemort, I used American Apparel Cotton, Nicole by OPI My Lifesaver, and A Beautiful Life Poison. For Harry, I used American Apparel Cotton, CND Oilslick, Zoya Helen, A Beautiful Life Poison, and American Apparel Raccoon (for hair). For the background on the Harry, Voldemort and Wand nails, I used Nicole By OPI My Lifesaver in different opacities, as well as American Apparel Cotton. For the Wand, I used American Apparel Raccoon, the CND Oilslick and American Apparel Cotton for the hands at the base of the wand. For the blood splatters, I used A Beautiful Life Poison. Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche vite top coat.

NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!