A 'Bone to Pick

Herringbone that is. Today's nail art is my interpretation of a herringbone pattern. I actually even frankened the base polish myself- it matches the wall pant of someone I know perfectly! I loved the color so much on the wall (I picked it out, natch) that I had to create a nail polish for my very own. :) I used a mixture of equal parts American Apparel Manila, American Apparel California, and a few drops of L.A. Girl Army Green.

It matched my shirt (unintentionally):

I used my franked polish, which I'm still undecided on calling, with MAC In the Buff to paint the lines to make the pattern. Topped it all off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

About the job:

I am now working for a real estate marketing company as a graphic designer! :) First day went great, other than freezing. Everyone seems really nice so far, too! :)

OMG!! Check out all these colors!!!

This seriously might be my fave mani to date! It's SH Prisms, Turquoise Opal

Oh and ignore the nick on my pinky :( Too lazy to fix.

Thanks for looking, hope everyone has a great day/night :P



Review: Fast Forward with China Glaze

China Glaze's Quick Drying Top coat - Fast Forward

The perfect quick drying top coat. I haven't found it yet. I've tried some, but I didn't really like the finish of OPI RapiDry, the cracking "David" caused, the shrinkage I got with Seche Vite and Nubar Diamont is clearly having an identity crisis because it isn't behaving as it should be. So, I decided it was time for some fresh meat!

The good.. and the bad?

I realize I'm a bit overly critical and picky when it comes to a top coat, that's probably why I haven't found my perfect match yet (Gee, this reminds me of why I'm still single). Anyway..! I want my top coat to be quick drying, manageable, glossy, smooth as glass and chip resistant. Fast Forward actually scores quite good in these departments. It dries fairly quick (not as fast as Seche but still FAST). It does an awesome job at leveling, I'd really recommend using this over gritty glitters and stuff like that. The finish is the thing I love the most, it's glassy, stays that way too and it just feels very smooth. I haven't experienced unusual cases of chipping, cracking etc. But, is it all that and a bag of crips?

Application

Application is super easy. It isn't thick or thin, it's easy to handle and almost applies itself. I'm not even halfway the bottle though so I don't know if Fast Forward tends to thicken up after a while. Also, it doesn't get streaky or bubbly, sounds good right?
There is one thing though and that's the smell. I don't mind strong smells but if you do, this is not your guy! The very strong smell of Fast Forward reminds me of peppermint candy with acetone icing. While Fast Forward is b3f, it still smells like a chemical explosion.
Unfortunately I have experienced some shrinkage too. Yup, it's there. Not always, it depends on the polish you're painting over, but yes, it can happen.

Overall

I'm really happy with this top coat and if it wouldn't cause shrinkage, I'd be in love. It's glassy, sexy smooth and stays put rather well. I'm pretty sure the smell will be a problem for some, but if you can handle it and you're still looking for a decent top coat you might want to give Fast Forward a shot!

You can get this top coat at eBay, TransDesign, Head2toebeauty and other etailers. Prices may vary - starting $3.

Lunchtime Mani. Funky French

So I switched things up a bit, and didn't do a black tip!!! Woo hoo, lol.The tips color is SH Inst-Dri, Grape Going. I love this color uber much!

My first Frankening Attempt....

So last night I attempted to franken for my very first time!!! I had alot of fun doing it, and even my hubby loved the results.

This is actually the 2nd franken I made, and my fave!
Here is what I used. Well the 2 on the left didn't get added till later, but you will see...



Before the teal & gold glitters.

With the glitters added

Here is my 1st franken. I fogot to take a pic of what I used, this is a mixture of a blue & pink medium sized glitters from Funky Fingers, with WnW Black & some of the bad batch of ChG BFF. In this pic you can kind of see the holo from BFF

Here you can see more of the actual glitter

I can't wait to try this last one in the sun, and maybe I will like it better. This was a lot of fun though, and I can't wait to do more.

How to : My French, Funky French and Other Nail Designs

Many times while on MUA, I will post pictures of nail designs & TONS of funky frenches. I often get asked just how I do it. So here is my step by step for you guys.

Here is the mani, I will be showing you how I did.
The colors I used are Finger Paints - Tough Art to Follow & Savvy Green with Envy.



First you paint your base color, this can be ANY color you want. You need to make sure it dries though.



Then, I take scotch tape, and stick it to my palm. You will see later why I prefer scotch to painters tape. I stick it to my palm, so it takes away some stickiness, and doesn't pull up the base color.


Then I tape it onto my nail, in the desired design, here it is my diagonal design.
If you notice since the tape is clear, I can tell whether or not it is completely taped down correctly. So I don’t get any leaking underneath the tape. This is what it will look like –


Once you have it right, you paint your nail the other polish color –
Remember to do 1 nail at a time, otherwise the 2nd polish can dry to the tape, and pull up.



Once you're done, painting the nail, just slowly pull the tape off. Then do this to the rest and Ta-Da, you’re done.

I hope this helps, and is easy to understand. I'm not the best at explaining the process. If you look back at some of my past manis, you will see I use this technique a lot. I love my funky frenches, and for them, you just tape the nail off, leaving the tip open and free to paint the color of your choice.