Snow Day

Today was the first day in a long time that I truly enjoyed a snow day -- no school! I am enjoying school, but I was really looking forward to a day to relax. I decided to do a snowy mani, because why not, it's the perfect day for one.  Plus I really wanted to try out my new Liquid Palisade that I won in a giveaway from Lace & Lacquers. 

I started off with a base of Fresh Paint "Firefly" which is a light light blue - almost white. I then applied the Liquid Palisade to my cuticles, and area surrounding my nail. I was impressed with how tiny the brush is and how easy the product goes on. 

I used a makeup sponge to create a gradient with the "Firefly" and Kleancolor's "Pastel Blue" and "Pastel Teal." I topped my gradient with Funky Fingers "Olaf" - a rockin' glitter topper made up of white glitters, a hint of iridescent microglitter, and even some snowflakes - very cute! I personally feel that Funky Fingers is an awesome yet under-appreciated polish line in the nail art world. (You can find them at Five Below stores.) 

 Finally I stamped a snowflake with Bundle Monster's #BMH01 plate, using Funky Fingers "Gesso." I believe this is the best polish I have used for white stamping as of yet.

 Now for the fun part -- taking off the Liquid Palisade! I used a pair of tweezers to grab and edge, and it came off much easier than I expected! I thought for certain that I would be picking of 4,5 or more pieces per nail, but they all came off in 1 or 2 pieces. As you can see in the picture below, I should have gone a little wider on the sides of my fingers with the LP, but still, look how much that reduced my clean-up!

In with my little ELF concealer brush I went, barely having to clean up polish around my cuticles. Happy Day! The first picture at the top is my finished result. 

I really liked using the Liquid Palisades. When I run out, I will most certainly be making a purchase. I am definitely looking forward to using it again -- I can see this making me want to do more water marbles. I also would like to try using it for other nail art applications. 

Have you used LP before? What were your thoughts?!?

Inspired by @narmai

Another recreation! I found this on Pinterest, and knew right away I wanted it on my nails!  I started with a base of ELF in "Thunderstorm" and sponged on Finger Paints "Sparkle and Snowflake" for a glittery gradient. For the leaves, I used Red Angel stamping plate #RA-121, and then went over the design with a striper. (Red, orange and  yellow polishes from The New Black "Runway" collection.)

New Bundle Monster Sun Kissed plates

Summer is not gone yet! I keep telling myself that. I decided a good beach-inspired mani would keep me in the summer spirit - plus I just received my new plates from Bundle Monster! You can check them out here. For a limited time you can get the set of 10 for only $7.99! 

Here’s the breakdown:

Pinky finger: Base is Essie “Blanc.” Stamped the gold tritons (you can barely see them) with ELF “Pot of Gold and BM-509. Directional circle is from plate BM-507 and Salon Express black.  There is a small black rhinestone in the center of the circle.

Ring finger: Base is a beige from The New Black’s Runway collection. I used the Salon Express black again to stamp the palm trees from BM-510.

Middle finger: Base is Kleancolor “Sheer Pastel Pink.” Shells are plate BM-505 and I used Salon Express white. I need a brighter white. 

Index finger: Base is Fresh Paint “Firefly.” Waves are stamped with Salon Perfect “Baby Blues” and BM-509. Mermaid is Salon Express black and BM-510. I added a few small pieces of glitter for “bubbles.”

Thumb: Used The New Black again, and stamped with Salon Express white. BM-505.

I am pretty pleased with how this turned out; I just wish the white shells would have shown up better. Guess it’s time to invest in a better white - but the question is Konad or Mundo de Unas? Also, I wish I would have used a small gold stud in the center of the directional circle, instead of the black rhinestone. You can’t see it.  You can, however, see the cat hair on my thumb in the last picture. That is Bullet’s contribution - he worked so hard sleeping next to me, I felt awful taking it off. Not really, but we have 8 cats, so hair is an accessory. Maybe one day I will do cat hair nails...