Crumpet's 52 week challenge - Week #5

Week #5 - 80's and/or 3 dark colors

I'm back with a short post.  This past week has been just awful, and I barely have time to breathe, let alone do a manicure.  I somehow managed to get this done before 8pm, which meant something last week, but not this week.  More on that in a minute.

I decided to do the 80's portion this time.  I like to combine the prompts, but there is no way dark colors and 80's can be said in the same sentence.

NOTD for Tuesday 2/25/2014: Orly Androgynie

Going from bright and sunny yesterday to dark and sparkly today.  Like day to night...  This is an Orly polish that I really like, but I am a *little* disappointed with it.  All the gorgeous glitter you see in the bottle does not look the same on the nail.  That black jelly base swallows up a lot of it, but there is shine that still pokes through on your fingers.  I just wish there was more:

Spotlight Saturday 1/04/14: China Glaze Whirled Away

Morning everyone!  I'm caught up now, thankfully!  This is going to be a very quick post, because I have to get my house ready for the deep freeze that will be the next 72 hours of my life, and start prepping for school starting again Monday.

GAME DAY - Blackhawks 12/27/2013

Hawks are back on the ice tonight after a short Christmas break...yeah baby!!!!

GAME DAY - Blackhawks 11/17/2013

All hell is broke loose here today, and I gotta tell you, it freaked me out a little.  More than a couple tornados were touching down in towns not too far from me today, and one of the potential storm tracks brought that super-cell over my town.  It didn't happen, but I was holding my breath for a couple of hours today.  It got so bad, they evacuated Soldier Field and delayed the Bears game - when was the last time you heard of something like that?  Football plays in anything!  Scary stuff in the middle of November.

Anyway, Blackhawks game day - another back-to-back weekend for them.  I hated to take off my Spotlight Saturday manicure.  I will definitely be wearing that again.

T.I.O.T. (Try It On Tuesday) - 10/15/2013

Wow, another TIOT already!  Gini @ SassyPaints sponsors this laid-back weekly "challenge" to give some of our untried polishes a little time in the limelight.  This week is one from Dollish Polish that took me more than a couple of re-stocks to get my hands on, and it is well worth the wait.

Spotlight Saturday for 10/12/2013

Today is neutral day with my manicure.  Grey base polish with a black-and-holo microglitter in a clear base  topper.  It is so sparkly! I apologize for the photos - I took them in direct sun a couple of days ago, and didn't notice until now just how washed out they are.

GAME DAY NOTD! - Blackhawks 10/9/13

It's fall, and that means HOCKEY season!!  There's football too, but nothing beats hockey for me. Tonight's game is against the Blues, so to commemorate tonight's game & the beginnings of the hockey season, here's my game day mani:

Mish Mash Challenge #7: Least Expensive Polishes

Hi all!  Another Mish Mash, and this week it's our least expensive polishes.  This is going to be quick - I pinched my sciatic nerve, and if you've done that, nuff said.  If you haven't, it can range from dull to excruciating pain, to no pain at all.  Clean up job isn't the greatest, and neither are my lines, but I feel better with something on my fingers right now.  Small victories...

These particular polishes were on clearance at Ulta for $0.99 each about 3 months ago, and with my birthday coupon they sent me for $10.00 off any purchase, they ended up being free.  Can't get less expensive than that!!

My first review! - Part 2, Orly Secret Society collection

Yes, you read the title correctly - this is Part 2 of a review post.  And again, these products were purchased by me, so nothing to disclose. 

Here is the complete Secret Society collection:


Picture from NailCandy101.com

Mish Mash Challenge #6: Hot

I can't believe we are up to week 6 already!  This week is "Hot" - I was going to go with the literal on this challenge, and I had done a red-orange-yellow manicure with some glitter, but it just wasn't clicking...and when a friend of mine got a quick glance at my nails and thought I did a Halloween theme with candy corn, well...yeah, they had to come off. 

So, what to do, what to do...I decided to not do the literal, and chose to treat "Hot" as "Sexy".  Once I made that choice, a song popped into my head - "Computer Blue".  And then  "Darling Nikki", "When Doves Cry"... Hopefully you figured out who inspired my Hot-Sexy mani this week, but if not, I won't hold it against you.  FYI - purple is NOT color correct.  I took too many photos, and it just would not photograph; it is a red-purple in real life.

Mish Mash Challenge #5: Music

Ah, music...I wasn't sure what I was going to do for this week.  I got a stamping plate from Cheeky that I wasn't expecting for a couple more weeks, so I was going to do the music notes, staff, instrument thing, but then...the VMA's happened (and just an FYI - this is one of the rare posts where I have video's embedded; with this challenge topic, I couldn't pass up the opportunity).  For those that don't know, MTV has an annual Video Music Award program, and no, it is not Miley Cyrus inspired.  That would have been a nude colored polish with a mouth and tongue accent nail...oh yea, and a foam finger worked in somewhere...

Mish Mash Challenge #3: Metallic & Giveaway Winner Info!

So, do I do my challenge manicure first, or do I do giveaway info?  Hmmm,  I think I will do the manicure first.  This week is Metallic, and I have some Kleankolor metallic polishes that are just perfect.  They really do need to do a collaboration with a company that sells gas masks, cause these are just freakin' awful smelling!! 

I got a little delayed in getting this manicure done because my cat, who has been sick for some time, is tearing through the house in hyperactive mode.  All she wants to do is play, and she hasn't been like this for a few months.  I finally finished, but cleaning up from the technique I used is really drying out my fingers, so I gotta take a break.  If you see some tinges of color or sparkle on my cuticles, just disregard it.

T.N.C.C. - Flowers #2

I amazingly enough have my second manicure for The Nail Challenge Collaborative July challenge.  I definitely like this flower manicure better than last weeks, if only because it is supposed to be sloppy and cartoon-y.  I had a lot of fun with this one, especially since I chose to do it with neons.

My News Feed on Facebook popped up with the latest tutorial from cutepolish, and this technique was it.  If you want to see her video, it is called Floral Doodle Nails, and I love it.

ABC Challenge - "Y" is for Ya Freak!

Last catch-up post!  Yay!!  So relieved.

Last couple posts detailed state of my hands....yadda yadda.  Long story short - they are in bad shape.  You will see cuticle oil in the photos.  Bad, bad blogger, I know. 

ABC Challenge - "Q" is for Queen of Speed

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Hello all!  I got very lucky this week.  I had this "Q" in my stash that was my fallback in case I didn't think of anything else better, so I didn't feel too pressured trying to figure out what to do.  And best of all, it is the perfect base for my themed manicure that fits right in this time of the year.

Before the photos, let me just tell you two things:  1) I live near Chicago, and 2) I am a rabid hockey fan.  So, regular season just ended on Saturday 4/27, and the best team in the NHL is...drumroll, please...the Chicago Blackhawks.  But the post-season is just beginning this week, and everything basically resets to zero.  It doesn't matter what they did anymore, it's what they do from here on out.  **UPDATE - And all they did was win game 1...in overtime.  YAY!**  So to show my appreciation for the best professional sports team in the city, I did a little Blackhawks inspired manicure.  Oh, and the team colors?  Red, black, and white.

Queen of Speed from Color Club is a VERY sheer red - it would have taken a lot of coats for full opacity.  I was not willing to wait that long, so I used a coat of Wisp underneath, with two coats of the Queen.  It made this polish a very bright red.  PERFECT.

Not sure why pointer finger looks so orange...
doesn't look that way in real life.

For my thumb, I did a base of Wisp, and sponged on the red, green, yellow and orange (these are the colors in the feathers in the logo).  Is it a little messy? Yes; my transfers weren't the best, and my lines...looks like I was a little drunk when I drew them.  Unfortunately, I was not. 

Colors used:
Black striper
Midnight in NY (black shimmer) - Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure
Wisp (white) - Sinful Shine
Queen of Speed (red) - Color Club
Fresh (green) - Orly
Let's Meet (yellow) - Sinful
Drive Me Crazy (orange) - Pure Ice

And here is my inspiration:

I used Lisa's at LOZLOSA newspaper technique (yes, again), for the tomahawks and the Indian head logos.  My only issue:  they are backwards on the nail (obviously).  I think I know how to correct that, so with a little tweaking and playing with my software, I can get these images flipped before I print, so they transfer correctly.  **UPDATE - found a free online flipping tool, and have reversed images in less than 2 minutes.**

I had a little bit of trouble this time, because I was TOO DAMN IMPATIENT.   I wanted this manicure on my nails, RIGHT NOW, and they are messy.  I don't feel as bad as I should - work has been brutal on my hands this past week, and they are already looking pretty sad.  I'm going to have to redo them, but as long as the Blackhawks are in the playoffs, I'll be sporting some version of this.

So, here is my weekly shout out to Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner, the master of ceremonies to this little challenge.  Even though we are (quickly) coming to the end of the alphabet, there are still 9 weeks left...plenty of time to join.  And just because the alphabet will be ending, doesn't mean that the challenges will be over.  If you are interested in jumping in, it is a closed group.  You will need to click on the ABC Challenge tab on her web page, and shoot her an e-mail to request to join.  Simple as that.

Now, onward.
Liz

ABC Challenge - "N" is for Nicole by OPI

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Hello everyone...only 4 days late on the post.  No inspiration this week - work has me beyond aggravated, and when I finally got home each night, I had no energy or will to polish.  It's unthinkable, isn't it??  Finally, I am ALMOST caught up, so I feel like I have some breathing room, and my creativity is coming back.  I was a little nervous there...crazy as it is to some, doing my manicure is soothing and fun to me.  I figure if you are reading this, you feel the same way.

Soooo... N. Had no idea what to do.  Neon came to mind - too quickly - and I figured it would be an obvious choice this week.  That made it a pass.  I assumed (rightly so, seeing the posts up already) that others would do it much better than me.  So, here is my contribution this week for N:

 

 

This feels a little like Barbie goes Goth...The pink dries matte, which I why I bought it.  There is a shimmer in there that gives it a little 'something' that I can't really describe.  The black has a shiny glass flecked finish to it.  I like the combo - and the scrapbooking scissors design when I taped it off gives it just a little bit of an edgy look.

What didn't I like?  A couple of things.

1) I can't topcoat this sucker.  I did put an extra matte top coat on the pink first before taping off for the black (it did not change the finish - polish looked pretty much the same with and without it), but the black is kind of left on it's own.   This is one day - a rough day, albeit - but only 1 day.  Already seeing tip wear.  

2) The formula on these sucked.  I swear half the bottle stuck on the brush.  It was thick and goopy.  Both applied very streaky, and felt like it dried on the brush as I was polishing.  I could deal with it with the pink, since I was polishing the whole nail, but the black - had to do 2 coats to get full cover.  Not ideal when you have tape to remove.  I had to make the second coat pretty thick, so it would soften up the first enough for me to pull of the tape relatively cleanly.  Because of this, it took FOREVER to dry.  Definitely need to introduce both to some thinner before I use again.

Colors used:  Nicole by OPI  "Still Into Pink" and "Totally in the Dark"

 

 

Now I have to get ideas going for "O".  What to do, what to do....Until next week.

 

As usual, a shout out to Kimber @ Kimber's Lacquer Korner for starting us off.  We have a new person joining the group, so it goes to show you - it's never too late.  Go on over to Kimber's page, click on ABC Challenge tab, and find out how to join.

 

And, check out all the other "N" inspirations.

ABC Challenge - "D" is for dots!

Another week has flown by; can't believe how fast it's going!!

So, for this week I decided dots.  I liked this idea, but I had a little trouble with the execution.  I don't have anything in my supplies that gave me a nice clear dot - and I tried a couple of things.  I looked for a dotting tool, but nowhere near me had any - can you believe it??  I ended up ordering one on Amazon, and would you know, the FIRST time ever that my package is in limbo...

So, they look more like blobs than dots, but hey - what are you gonna do?

I used Maybelline Onyx Rush - the bottle says "New Shade", but it isn't.  I was too lazy to take the label off.  I wanted to try a matte finish against the dots, and I used Essie Matte About You.  Love it!  I think I will be doing more matte topcoats.

For the 'dots', I used all 6 of the colors in the China Glaze Bohemian Collection - Deviantly Daring, No Plain Jane, Rare & Radiant, Swanky Silk, Unpredictable, and Want My Bawdy.

Again lighting and camera issues.  I was ready to take pictures today at work, but massive thunderstorms and dark clouds all day long.  It was 7pm dark at about 2:30pm today.  So, I only have 1 workable photo. 

I don't think I could ever do this on a permanent basis - I have SOOO much respect for the women that keep these kind of blogs.  It is crazy time consuming, and the work involved in getting those perfect macro shots of hands...wayyyy to much work for me right now. 

So, hats off to them.  Sending a big thank you for letting an amateur like me play in the majors!!
Check out the other fantastic ladies in this fun challenge below.

Good night everyone...until next week!!