Saturday, March 27, 2010

Nail Polish; or My Pretty Nails

Anybody who gets to know me will find that I'm quite enamored of nail polish, and am willing to spend time nearly every day painting my nails, and making them look pretty. It's an indulgence that I wouldn't want to give up, as it's one thing that can look pretty, no matter how cruddy I look otherwise. My psoriasis is not attractive (yeah, duh), and affects everything. Because my skin is so sensitive, I have trouble with makeup. Because my scalp has so many spots, I have to try to cover bald patches, and my hair doesn't exactly style easily. Because it hurts to even move so often, I'm overweight, so fashion isn't really doable for the most part. But my nails, they can be pretty with just a little effort.

So, today I'm going to start with a few of my favorite manicures ever.

First up, Purple Medallion. I love the sparkly colors so much, and am pretty sure there is no such thing as too much glitter. I adore the way it twinkles in all the different colors. Even in low light, it just pops. I'll post plenty of color pictures like this over time.
 Next, a special polish that I spent a long time looking for. OPI Mount Redmore, which is a great classic color. While I'm not a creme queen, I do like them, and this one is pretty exceptional. It's old formula OPI, which means it's not Big 3 Free, but I've never been one to worry about the chemicals anyway.

Oh this one, I love so much. It's Nars Zulu (which was acquired for my by my best friend), with a konad design in holo silver. I really like holo polishes in general, and they make for some really pretty designs with the konad stamper. I just got several new plates, so I would imagine I'll be stamping a lot in the near future. 

Before I discovered konad, and other inspirations for nails, I did cow nails. I didn't have any thin paintbrushes, or any tools at all at the time, I just painted them white and added black splotches, and I loved that manicure so much.
The next one is another favorite, because though it was stark black and white, the effect was still a soft one, and I felt pretty creative. I bought rub-on transfers at the craft store, cut them to size, and slapped them on over white to create musical nails. I'd like to find more rub-on transfers to do this kind of manicure again.


I love creating designs and artsy nails for holidays. While the konad stamper makes for some really awesome designs, sometimes painting designs myself is important to me, and this was one I did for Christmas. It reminds me so much of a Christmas tree that I can't help but smile when I look at it. 

Okay, the last one I will share today is a graduated manicure I did with Essie Night Cap, which is quite sheer. I started with a white base, and then built up the color so that it gradually went from light to dark, and the effect was one I've used a few times since. In this case, I went outside and took pictures against our snow-covered shrubs, and I loved the way this looked. 
This was hard, there were SO many more I love, but I thought I'd better stop. This just gives you a basic idea of some of the things I do with my nails, and there are many more I will be sharing as I have time. I'm not going to claim that I'm the most creative person, or that my nails are the prettiest in the world, but I really do enjoy them, and I love to find inspiration for new designs and ideas everywhere.

2 comments:

  1. I LOVE ALL OF THOSE DESIGNS AND COLORS CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU THIS JUNE

    ReplyDelete
  2. WELL THIS MONTH

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