Here’s an updated take on an old nail art technique known as galaxy nails. That’s basically beauty speak for “sponge a bunch of colourful polishes onto your nails in a nebulae-like fashion, top with tiny pinprick planets and GO!” But no actual “Guardians of the” in this post (wee confession regarding the movies: I no like) – just trying to guard these pretty galaxy nails from chips and general destruction. 🙂
Cinco de Mayo-inspired nails, just cinco or so days late. 😉 All of the beautiful design work, none of my pesky inability to draw skulls, even skulls with candy hearts for eyes.
Parenthetically, it’s been an absolute eternity since I’ve sat down with a random bunch of polishes and just gone to town on a super detailed design; I’ve missed it. I mean, Mickey nails are great and all, but sometimes you want a bit more than three dots in the shape of a mouse head. Why you’d want more than that I truly don’t know, but I think it’s pretty well established that I’ve got a wicked case of Disney Brain and can see nothing but three dots in the shape of a mouse head anyways. I think that’s why I like this manicure so much – a decided lack of Disney, will wonders never cease! Enjoy it while it lasts, folks.
If you’re standing there gobsmacked, jaw hanging open in amazement and bewildered confusion, no, wonders have not ceased and your eyes are NOT deceiving you – this is an actual nail art-related post on this nail art blog! I’d even go a step further and say it’s A post, period – I’ve been so remiss in providing any blogging updates that don’t involve D Who Shall Not Be Named, and for that I’m deeply sorry. I aim to do better (#bloggoals.)
And so what pretties do we have here? Well, three polishes – Polished For Days’ purple Fireflies, turquoise Willow and pink Unicorn – that broke my no buy fast, albeit via parentally-provided birthday funds. So from a financial perspective, we’re still ahead of the game, although can I tell you how odd it was to actually spend money on something as seemingly frivolous as nail polish? It felt weirdly illicit! Also totally unfamiliar, perhaps because these three polishes represent the first lacquer I’ve purchased in over a year. But heck of a way to break the fast, because this trio of polishes is stunning. I nabbed these lacquers at Harlow & Co., where you’ll find a number of other gorgeous Polished For Days products, including some collection mates of Fireflies, Willow and Unicorn that are just itching to join their sisters in this good and loving home. 😉
First, a quick word about my selections – they are all wildly different polishes! And that’s what I love about them, variety being the spice of life and all that. Typically nail polish collections feature just one or two types of polish (creme, holographic, glitter, etc.) in a range of different colours. In this case, the three polishes I chose are all completely different types that produce completely different effects. The end result is I feel like I’ve gotten a lot more bang for my beauty buck far beyond a trio of beautifully unique polishes.
Starting things off with my favourite of the lot, we have Fireflies, a soft, almost dusky periwinkle-to-rose-to-green multi-chrome holo laden with iridescent, colour-changing flakies. Phew, that was a mouthful, non? But what a wonderful polish, completely worthy of the overly long description. I’m particularly smitten with the iridescent flakies that flash in the heathered purple depths of this lovely lacquer.
Also – and this is a complete rarity with purple, blue and purple-blue anything – Fireflies as photographed presents exactly as it does in real life, so the colour you’re seeing right now – that lush, gorgeous grape – is exactly as it looks on your hand. The random colour-changing flakies also lend this polish a nebula-ish, intergalactic kind of look, perfect for those days when you’d like to rock a Guardians of the Galaxy manicure without two hours of prior toil with a dinky little detail brush.
Next up we have my least favourite of the bunch – one had to be in third place, right? – Unicorn, a shimmery pink holo glitter sprinkled with iridescent, colour-changing flakies. My issue with this polish is primarily one of consistency, in that I didn’t care for it – it applied thickly (though not unmanageably) and dried down to an almost textured-looking finish that, in combination with the not-so-flattering pink hue, reminds me of cheap polyester baby dresses, all crinkly sateen and crunchy lace trim. On the nail, it regrettably doesn’t look as it does in the bottle – there it displays as a fuchsia-leaning pink shot through with warm, golden orange shimmer. It was that unexpected (and unexpectedly gorgeous) colour combination that drew me to this polish in the first place, so it’s a shame that it all but disappeared once applied.
Unicorn is a nice enough polish and it will see some nail art use, but this one kind of annoys me – I’m loathe to spend money on stupid things these days, and this impulsive, not particularly inexpensive last minute choice (initially I was just going to go with Fireflies and Willow) has proven to be a poor one. Lessons learned while I’m sitting here with nails that look like an electrified pink poodle?
Finally, we have the showiest polish of the bunch, and a serious challenger to the Fireflies throne, turquoise-to-purple holographic micro-glitter, Willow. Wowza, this polish is absolutely gorgeous, and photos are definitely not doing it the least bit of justice. There is so much depth to this polish – streaks of purest ultraviolet and aquamarine flash with every twist of your hand. It’s dazzling. Definitely one of those “Don’t stare at it too long or you’ll go blind” kind of polishes. 😉
And so there we have it, a trio of beautiful birthday treats that should keep me in well-polished spirits until next year! Although hopefully I can manage another nail post before then, yes? Absolutely!
So the weather has returned to its previous state of icy terribleness and I needed some pretty nails to remind me that one day this will all end. I mean, not ALL of it in that sense – too bleak! Just the weather. The crap weather can totally end, right now. Bring on the spring. Until then, nail polish that looks like bubblegum ice cream, Delush Polish’s 50 Shades of Yay. Or just bubblegum straight up trapped in ice. Hey, welcome to the club, bubblegum – we’ve got (warm) jackets.
Being of a slightly superstitious mindset, I believe that Mr. Finger Candy and I may have inadvertently cursed us all to this extended bout of wintertime crappiness – we were JUST remarking the other day (a bit smugly, I might add) that the handful of days we spent down in balmy Florida over the Christmas holidays seemed to make all the difference in our tolerance of the rest of the winter. The whole snowbird thing has been making a lot of sense lately.
But then winter had to come roaring back for a completely unappreciated second act, and it’s definitely not all our fault, but maybe we jinxed ourselves a little? Can’t ever get too cocky about the weather when you’re a Canadian. Or a climate change denier. And good heavens, what if you’re BOTH?! No amount of pretty nail polish in the world is gonna fix that. Anyhow, hunker down, friends, this too shall end.
Alright, now this is a bit more like it. Last post I was attempting some floral nails that reminded me of Pandora: The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, only they wound up looking more like the ultra shiny wallpaper your mom papered the rumpus room with in 1983. I think it was the pastel hue I chose as the base polish – a lovely colour to be sure, but it really obscured some of the free-handed and glittery details, all whilst making everything extra super SHINY.
So I said at the time – you know, two whole days ago – that I’d try this design once again, only this time over a dark base. And here we have her, this time over top of another sparkly holographic, Lilypad Lacquer’s charcoal grey Rainbows in Space. I don’t think the design is any more clear this time – if anything, all those rainbows in Rainbows in Space are covering up some of the details – and it might be even shinier than its predecessor, but it definitely looks more like Pandora, or at least one of the rides in Pandora, Na’vi River Journey. It’s an awesome, awesome attraction – a tranquil dark boat ride through a neon alien jungle. And it all culminates with one of the most spectacular – and nightmare-inducing – animatronics you’ve ever seen, one of those 11-foot tall blue kitty people who bids you adieu with a weird, warbling tune that you won’t be able to get out of your head for the next week and a half. Disney’s a weird place, man.
And why are those robin’s eggs – or this nail polish, which reminds me of actual speckled robin’s eggs – feeling bluer than usual? Because it’s April 4th and it’s bloody snowing AGAIN! Seriously, Mother Nature has until my birthday next week to cut this crap out before I start getting ragey (snowfall after my mid-April birthday always makes me apocalyptically furious; I almost take it as a personal affront.)
Anyhow, I hope any robins who have already returned to my city have dug their toques and mitts back out of storage and re-winterized their nests, because it’s also a chilly one out there. So lame.
Less lame is this beautiful lacquer, Enchanted Polish’s March 2017 mystery release. I think robin’s eggs are some of the most beautiful things on earth – the matte texture, the pastel hue, the tiny brown speckles. What wonderously lovely little treasures, and darn useful in creating other tiny robins as well. 😉 I suppose the one thing this polish has up on actual robin’s eggs is that nifty purple micro-shimmer that adds so much depth and dimension to your manicures. A gorgeous one to wear simply on its own, no add-ons or adornments needed.
She says as she’s stuffing her face with a lunch full of tacos. 🙂 Happiest of Sundays, friends; hope your Sunday suppers – even if they’re of the pizza-type variety – are dee-licious.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! To those celebrating this afternoon, tonight and early tomorrow morning, I hope you have a wonderful time, but please remember to do so responsibly. Hail a cab, call a ride-sharing service, buddy up and walk your drunk butts home (the exercise and fresh air would do you some good!) – anything but behind the wheel of a car, okay? This has been my yearly St. Patrick’s Day PSA; thank you for listening.
Really, though, a weekend St. Patrick’s Day in my any-excuse-to-tie-one-on hometown is cause for alarm. I actually don’t plan on even leaving the house today – I’ll just binge drink at home like a proper Irish Canadian woman (joke, joke!)
No matter my plans, however, my nails will be looking festive and fly in this old school KB Shimmer polish, Get Clover It. I’ve had this polish forever, and it’s a favourite – I love its clear, dark green jelly base, lit from within with micro-glitter like the world’s most beautiful pickle, and its lush mix of metallic circle glitter. Heh, pickle. Anyways, stay safe, party peeps.
Yup, it looks like the sun is rallying to make an appearance today, for the first time in about a week. I mean, it’s still minus 8, but hey, we just might see a sunshiny day! Yay, Vitamin D.
I dig this polish, KB Shimmer’s Make My Gray, out of storage every year around this time. There’s just something optimistic about the bright turquoise and flamingo pink glitters bursting through the pale grey base and gunmetal-hued accents. But oof, she’s a temperamental one in terms of consistency. I think if I’m really looking for a reason why I only use this polish once a year, it’s probably because using it is a lot like trying to paint your nails with lumpy pudding. Mmm, lumpy pudding! It’s a pretty jerk, that’s for sure. All the same, it’s nice to see it show its face at least once a year – hey, just like the sun!
As in Polish Me Silly’s fun Mr. Bubble glitter bomb over top of my frozen, lacquered fingertips. ‘Cause it never stops snowing. As I may have mentioned once or twice or 20 times over the past two days. Fur real, though, it’s the middle of MARCH. Time to wrap this up for the year, Earth! Besides, there’s only so much time left before we all switch over to griping about the heat and humidity (also a thing in my in-a-valley city.)
Heh, that reminds me of a cute interaction I had with a reader years ago. I had mentioned in a post at the time that my city sits in a valley, as in the Ottawa Valley. If you’ve been to Ottawa, you know it has its lovely qualities, but it’s also a major (bureaucratic) city, with all the attendant ugliness that goes along with that descriptor – old, crap, perpetually breaking infrastructure (sinkholes!), sprawling, high density suburbs (vinyl!) and a death trap of a 400 series highway that cuts through the entire city like a gaping, infected wound (but tell us how you really feel, Sandra.) Anyhow, this reader, who I believe hailed from the Philippines, left a sweet comment on my post to the effect of “You live in a valley?! How wonderful, it must be so beautiful and magical!” It was adorable, and I laughed for about five solid minutes afterwards at the thought of this girl thinking that I lived in freakin’ Fern Gully. I tried to be as gentle as possible as I explained that no, Ottawa was your pretty typical metropolitan mess, and how its valley-ness manifested itself was mostly in poor weather conditions that would settle into the divot and then not move off for the next 10 days. That’s kind of what we’re in right now – a snow cycle that’s trapped down here “in the Valley.” No place like home, eh? 😉
Finger Candy 