Tangled Talons

When I was younger I would often doodle the same thing. I would draw a series of dots to comprised the outside of a circle, then I would connect those dots with lines, lots and lots of lines. Today's manicure is my interpretation of those doodles so many years ago. It kind of looks like tangled string to me a bit. :)

I used butter LONDON Billy No Mates as a base, with Essie Matte About You on top of it, then I used American Apparel Hassid and CND Anchor Blue to paint the line art.

The Kitty is Alive

Hello My Sweet Nail-Art Lovers
Today's manicure is a clone of one i did last summer and it involves hello kitty stamp.
This time i went with blue pallet again, but in my honest opinion kitty ended up looking a bit too blue, that would be a perfect drowned hello kitty :) Fortunately kitty is alive and manicure survived almost 5 long work days.
As a lot may wonder how i achieved this look - i simply stamped kitty first, and than put the glitter around the stamp using thin brush. I am thinking to make more manicures in this technique, i guess some flowers would look cool too.

The Results Are In!

After what seems like a zillion hours or counting and deliberating, I've got the contest results. One person in the competition was unfortunately disqualified to do two reasons, one being that she doctored her nail design in Photoshop (or other photo manipulation program), which was the main reason, but to add insult to injury, she was 'buying' votes by offering extra entries to her giveaway. I have to say that next time I will actually OPEN the photos before posting them next time, because the photo manipulating was quite obvious. Sorry to that entrant, but you should have known better.

This was TOTALLY not in the spirit of the blog or the contest, and to say I'm disappointed and irritated is a serious understatement. Giveaways on blogs (especially with this many entries) are a HUGE undertaking, and the time and money spent getting them up and running is considerable. The next giveaway will not utilize ANY voting by peers of entrants/readers due to the experience of this contest.

Sorry to be a party pooper with all that. On to the results!

The only votes that were counted (as stated in a later post) were votes from registered Google or OpenID accounts.

The winners!

First and second place are divided by just 2 VOTES!!

First place goes to....

THIFA!!

Second place goes to...

LINDSEY!!

Third Place goes to...

NALUMA!!

Thank you all for the great entries!!

Winners, please email me your mailing information to thedailynail@gmail.com!!

NOX Twilight Nail Polish Review

Check out the Daily Nail: Reviews site, I just posted swatches and review for 6 of the 12 polishes in the NOX Twilight nail polish collection!

For those of you who haven't visited that site, my reviews are based on how well a polish applies, how unique the color is, and how well it works for Konad and other nail art. :)

'Daily' Grind

Yeah, I totally went there. I knew at some point that I HAD to do the Daily Nail logo on my nails, it's pretty much a given. :-D Tonight I get to go to Frank Caliendo's show, should be a good time!! (plus, it's free, so it's a billion times better!)

I used American Apparel California Trooper as a base, with A Beautiful Life Poison for the logo. :-D I then sponged a tiny bit more of American Apparel California Trooper to give the speckled look of a stamp on paper. Topped it all off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Alessandro Go Magic!Twist

Remember those L'Oreal Star Magnet polishes? If I'm correct those are long gone and discontinued, but they still hold a special place in many nail polish fanatic's hearts. European brand Allesandro now hits the market with a similar concept.

Like the L'Oreal Star Magnets, The Allesandro Go Magic!Twist is a nail polish with a metallic finish that comes with a magnet. After you you applied your nail polish you take the magnet and hold if for 10-15 seconds over the still wet polish and a super fun effect is created. How cool is that!

Click here for a larger picture

The Allesandro Go Magic!Twist come in four shades:

• Bombastic Brown
• Blue Chip
• Wild Purple
• Queensberry

Alessandro Magic Twist Set costs € 15.95, available from October 2010

I'm pretty sure we'll struggle a bit to get our hands on these, I don't know which countries sell this brand but I've seen them mainly in Germany and Austria, and a smaller selection in The Netherlands. If you know more countries that sell this brand, please let me know!

Source: PinkMelon

Let's Go Disco!

In today's mail, I got some killer new polishes from the Twilight Beauty polish line. I'll be posting more about them on the Daily Nail: Reviews site tomorrow or the next day. They're really great polishes, honestly I was a tad surprised. For today's manicure, I used one of the polishes from the line, Nox Twilight Disco Darling, which is a holographic glitter polish.

and the obligatory blurred sparkle shot:

I used Nox Twilight Disco Darling as a base, with China Glaze DV8 sponged on the tips of the blue nails, and China Glaze TMI for the ring finger. I used Konad Plate m64 to apply American Apparel Hassid, then topped it all off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Ok, I'm off to bed, spent 4 hours at the taping of a 3-D commercial for Cirque du Soleil The Beatles LOVE tonight, then about 20 minutes in the Mirage parking ramp going absolutely nowhere because the cars weren't moving, with no air conditioning on in my car because the needle was below empty on the fuel gauge. :) I finally made it home though. :-D (obviously) On the bright side? I met a couple cool new people, and it was fun chatting and laughing with them while we all waited for the stage to be set, then performed, then reset, re-filmed, taken down, set with new stage etc... lol

How To: Feed your Nails

Hi guys! A lot of people ask about how to keep nails long and strong and I decided to do a little write up on the matter. There are many many products claiming obscene nail growth and strength but you can make a difference just by looking at your lifestyle.

When I had my last nail break I tried a product by Herome: Nail Growth Explosion. I went as far as measuring the nails, applying it daily on the sad short nail. After 2 weeks I checked, and all nails gained the same amount of length! So it did absolutely nothing. Maybe it's because my nails are strong and already growing fast as it is, but most products like these have little to no effect on me.

A lot of people forget that a good diet is essential for overall (nail) health. A lot comes from within really. Biotin-rich foods can be really helpful if you want your nails to be in good shape.

Biotin

Biotin or vitamin H is part of the B-vitamin complex, and helps you metabolize fats and carbohydrates and is essential for healthy growth. The best food sources of Biotin are liver, egg yolk, yeast, nuts and beans. You can also take Biotin supplements, but be sure to do some research on this first, as it caused my skin to break out! On this note, just minutes ago Dermelect announced on Twitter they're working on an alternative for Biotin with less side effects, definitely interesting!
Foods rich in sulphur minerals like apples, cucumbers, grapes, garlic, asparagus and onions have a positive effect on your nails as well.

I'm not claiming to be a nutritional know-it-all, but I've read more than once that nails and hair are often a reflection of our overall health. According to Ezinearticles, these are some ways to listen to what your nails are telling you:

symptom	cause
brittle, concave, ridged, white half moons	iron / protein / calcium deficiency
separation of the nail bed	nervousness / hyper thyroid
bluish discoloration	respiratory difficulties
yellowish discoloration	bronchial difficulties (or a sucky base coat ;-) )
pale nail beds	anemia
peeling nails	vitamin A deficiency, dehydration of nails caused by wrong products
poor nail growth	zinc deficiency
thin, brittle nails	vegetable quality oils deficiency
washboard ridges	consumption extremes in diet (especially meats and refined foods)

So, if you're having some nail problems, it might be a good idea to look into this before spending $$$ on treatments that might not even work! Hope this was helpful..

With love,
Michèle

Ezinearticles and the book "Nutrition for Dummies"

I am the Last Barman Poet

I am the last barman poet.

I see America drinking

the fabulous cocktails I make,

Americans getting stinky

on something I stir or shake.

The Sex on the Beach,

the schnapps made from peach,

the Velvet Hammer,

the Alabama Slammer!

I make things with juice and froth,

the Pink Squirrel,

the three-toed sloth.

I make drinks so sweet and snazzy,

the Iced Tea, the Kamikaze,

the Orgasm, the Death Spasm,

the Singapore Sling,

the Ding-a-ling.

America, you've just been devoted

to every flavor I've got.

But if you want to get loaded,

why don't you just order a shot?!

Bar is OPEN.

-Brian Flanagan (Tom Cruise- Cocktail, 1988)

I LOVE this movie, and I think it's part to blame for my stint as a bartender (which I miss). Anyway, I saw it on TV today, and of course I stopped everything I was doing to be sucked into the horrible mess that is Cocktail. (such a sweet, sweet mess) Seriously, who can resist godawful lines like 'Champagne, perfume going in, sewage coming out'? It's a movie that you hate to love, or love to hate. :-D Today's nails are dedicated to this gem of a movie, specifically the poem he recites in the 'Cell Block' scene. I had that stupid poem memorized at one point, and no, I'm not ashamed to admit it. ;) I did the Cocktail logo, an Alabama Slammer, a Velvet Hammer, a Sex on the Beach, and a shot (of Jack). 

I used:

Thumb: Cocktail sign

Eyeko Indigo Polish for Sultry Nails as a base, with Essie Foot Loose for the logo.

Index: Alabama Slammer

Revlon Mad About Mango as a base, then mixed with American Apparel Summer Peach for the froth. Zoya Jancyn for the orange, and CND Electric Orange for the orange peel, then China Glaze Salsa for the cherry. Mixed Revlon Mad About Mango with American Apparel Pinto and American Apparel Summer Peach for the ice cube highlights and shadows, then used American Apparel Hassid for the background.

Middle: Velvet Hammer

American Apparel California Trooper as a base, with Essie Mink Muffs sponged over it. Essie Sag Harbor for the shape of the glass, and American Apparel Hassid for the background.

Ring: Sex on the Beach

Zoya Jancyn as a base, with a mixture of Zoya Jancyn and China Glaze Salsa sponged over it. For the orange, I used Zoya Jancyn, CND Electric Orange for the peel, and American Apparel Summer Peach for the pith. Again for the cherry, I used China Glaze Salsa, then I used American Apparel Hassid for the background.

Pinky: Shot of Jack Daniels

Mixture of American Apparel Manila and American Apparel Pinto for the liquor, then outlined the glass with Essie Sag Harbor. Background color was American Apparel Hassid.

Topped everything with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat

Coughlin's Law: Beer is for breakfast, 'round here, drink or be gone.



Disclosure: Eyeko Indigo Polish was sent to me for consideration by the manufacturer.

Contest Voting

Ok, due to the abnormally large number of ANONYMOUS votes, which could be the same person over and over, I am amending the voting to ONLY count votes from a non-anonymous source, meaning they have to be from a GoogleID account, or whatever you use to legitimately follow blogs on blogger.

Sorry to be a party pooper, but it's gotta be fair. If you want your friends to vote for you, they have to use their account, NOT anonymous, because I will NOT count them if they don't.

Thanks,

Melissa