The Lacquer Ring: Spooky Nails

Purchased By Shelby Lou

Last time I posted I was talking about getting started with the KonMari Method. While I haven't done it all completely properly, I have managed to rid my house of tons of clutter. I still have a lot to do but I am enjoying my home more and more. I have also done some massive nail polish purging, check out my Blog Sale if you're interested in acquiring some new pretties yourself!

Today's mani is "Spooky" and will also be my Halloween mani this week. I have been wanting to try the smokey nail technique and went for some spooky fog, or perhaps supernatural mist if you will. I used Chalkboard Nails' Midnight Smoke Nail Art Tutorial. It was the first search result and ended up being all the instruction needed!

As I tend to do, I wore my black base of Cult Nails Fetish (topcoated) for a day before doing my art. Chalkboard Nails used a pale green polish for her smoke, so I used Polish My Life Green Bikini for my fog. Then I lightly sponged on the smallest amount of CND Jade Sparkle for a little more dimension. I can't help it, I love gloss and sparkle on my nails.

Shelby Lou Nails & The Lacquer Ring
"Spooky" Smoke Nail Art

The brush I used for the acetone step was very square and not very flexible so I didn't end up with the swirls I really wanted. I'm still diggin' it though. So much easier than I thought! I'd love to try some turquoise nails with this technique. I also have to make a shout-out to Baroness X Swatcher's Balm for moisturizing my nails perfectly without making them greasy for my pictures!

Shelby Lou Nails & The Lacquer Ring
"Spooky" Smoke Nail Art

What do you think, spooky enough? It's reaching, but I'm not really into the spooky part of Halloween--I'm a scaredy cat. Anyway, I love now The Lacquer Ring makes me try out all the nail art I have been admiring. Check out the other spooky manis today. Happy Halloween!

Have you loved your cuticles today?

An InLinkz Link-up

It Starts: Valentine's Day Mani with Love, Angeline & Vivid Lacquer

It's time for Valentine's Day manis! I love enjoying pinks when the doldrums of winter start to set in--where I'm from it's been known to snow in April. My husband and I never really celebrate this holiday. First of all, we are usually working. Cats would eat our flowers, at the very least knock them over and make a mess. We used to do cards but I've banned those this year because they are just way too freakin' expensive. Would it be wrong to order in and watch Shameless? Clearly I am not the romantic one in this relationship teehee.

So here's what I wore today!

Love, Angeline Ta-da!
Butter London Trout Pout accent with image from Vivid Lacquer 009

White Base: Cult Nails Tempest
White Crelly: Love, Angeline Ta-da!
Accent Nail: Butter London Trout Pout with image from Vivid Lacquer VL 009 stamped with Konad Special White

Love, Angeline is a new-to-me indie, and I might be in love. Ta-da! is a perfect white crelly with pink and gray glitters in a variety of size, shapes, and finishes. I did a little fishing and dabbing, which I figured I would need to do so I used a base of one coat Cult Nails Tempest (a great one-coater white for undies). I topped it off with two thick coats of KBShimmer Clearly On Top for a glassy smooth finish. I have one other Love, Angeline polish to try right now but I'm sure it won't be my last!

You already know how much I love Vivid Lacquer. When stamping a fine line image like this I paint the whole image with the polish to make sure it's all filled in.

Selected Products:
Love, Angeline
Vivid Lacquer

Have you loved your cuticles today?