The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Nails feat. Hex & Covergirl

I really underestimated how much adjustment my new work schedule was going to need. I am literally waking up when I used to go to bed UGH. I apologize for my unplanned weekend off from posting anything. I lamely tried to get people to post on my facebook page but that appears to be a fail as well. Then I had a bad break and my nails are beyond nubby at this time.... I have some ideas for nail care this week though which I hope will help everyone with the dropping humidity!

So who hasn't seen Catching Fire yet? I went on Saturday with a friend and of course I needed some appropriate nails. They needed to be quick though because that is the story of my life... I wait until the night before to figure out what I want to do hehe. I have two new-to-me brands which I purchased and received at just the right time to inspire this quick look!




For these nails I used:
Undies--Sephora by OPI Hi-Def
Covergirl Rogue Red from the Capitol Collection, 3 thin coats
Gold Studs from Born Pretty Store
"Free Bird" Gold Charm Hex Nail Jewelry

Rogue Red is a foil-metallic polish made up of red, orange, and golden-yellow flakes. I had swatched the Covergirl Capitol Colors on a piece of paper and they are very very sheer. Plus the undies make the polish super bold and they literally look like an ember's glow!
 

Let's talk about the bird charm. I am in love with Hex Nail Jewelry and I am going to be ordering more for sure. I stuck on my Free Bird with a dab of nail glue a couple hours before I left the house, which is important so the glue is good and dry. I did make sure I was careful when wearing it and it stayed on well even through mitten changes (it went into single digits that night, brr!). When I went to remove the charm I found it popped off fairly easily and I was able to peel off the glue without damaging the polish. I was able to stick it back on the next day, but I wasn't paying attention and it popped off when I opened a cereal box... luckily it just fell into the box and I didn't lose my bird!

Oh, and Catching Fire was amazing and even better than the first!
You can purchase Covergirl Capitol Colors in most drug stores.
You can purchase Hex Nail Jewelry from their website. They are very affordable!
Cuticles should never be on fire, sooth them with some moisture today.

Picture Polish Majesty--Part Two & Stamping!

I finally crashed early last night and got a full night's sleep for today, yay! I swear my brain still does not want to function so early in the morning though. The woman I'm shadowing is basically having me do her job with supervision (which is totally awesome) but right after I got in at 8am I could not completely compute what she was telling me about a form.

Anyway here is my lovely stamping I did over Majesty! I wore Majesty for THREE days, which is unheard of for me. I really really think I should invest in a back-up bottle--it's that perfect.

To see Part One and swatches of Majesty, go here.

I decided to stamp over Majesty with a pretty floral design from Nailz Craze plate NC 03 (you can see the plate's images here). This was the first time I used a Nailz Craze plate and I was very pleased! The images came out nice and crisp after scraping and transferred beautifully--note that a gift card or credit card is the best scraper you can use.
 

The stamping is definitely... subtle. I really wanted a brown polish but I had no browns that would have stamped. I settled for Konad special white. Must invest in more stamping polishes...

Here is a different angle and lighting so you can see the pattern. It is really very pretty without being too much like grandma's doilies on the couch. I turned the pattern and stamper around a bit to get a different look on each nail. There was no way I would get them to look uniform so I went for randomness.
 

One last shot with adjusted lighting. I used to have this reverence of indies and only wear them in their true state, like it was blasphemy to alter their beauty with art. Obviously I was mistaken! I think the stamping really adds to the polish and I love it.


You can purchase Nailz Craze plates here.
So did you buy Majesty yet? Have you tried Nailz Craze?
Winter skin is thirsty skin, make sure you moisturize!

Picture Polish Majesty--Part One

Today was my first day at my new job, yay! The first day is always the longest and most boring though.... benefits, rules, safety, blah blah blah. I've been thinking about how much I should disclose about my job and I think all anyone needs to know is I am a social worker (holla at my social work peeps!) and my nails needs to be work appropriate, although from what I saw today I have a bit of leeway. I think as long as I don't stamp skulls over neon green I'll be fine. It will make me explore softer colors and delicate stamping though which I can totally dig.

I decided to pull a truly stunning Picture Polish out of my untrieds for my first day--Majesty. Work appropriate but with a twist! I love PP's blogger collaboration shades and Majesty was made with direction from Sahriah Adeel (view her blog here!). PP tells us that she wanted a universally flattering shade for any occaison. I think they achieved that!

PP can be a bit pricey for me, but when a color is this beautiful and unique I am more than happy to spend my money on it. I took lots of pictures to bring out this tan pinky-nude with a pearly-gold shimmer and plenty of holographic sparkle. Pictures describe this polish much more easily, it is a true chameleon!

I used three thin coats--here you see the best of both the shimmer and the sparkle!

Focus on the shimmer

Adjusted lighting to show off the holo sparkle

Here are some photos to show off the shifting shimmer and holographic sparkle. This polish changes to much depending on the angle and lighting. I literally found myself staring at this polish throughout the day and moving my hand all around. I hope no one noticed.

I can't even take it, Majesty is so perfectly gorgeous. I will be defaulting to this one a lot.
Check back mid-week to see my Part Two--I am feeling the need to stamp this :-)

Visit Picture Polish's website for purchase information and their international stockists.
Remember to moisturize!