I've got the blues.

Being sick for the past week has put a damper on my creativity. The fact that it's a respiratory problem and that the smell of nail polish aggravates it doesn't seem to help. At all. What's a girl to do?

I decided to break out the nail wraps. These are the Sally Hansen Sallon Effects that came out over the summer. I forgot I had them until we were packing to move.

The last time I used these, I had trouble getting them to stick, so I put topcoat on them. They didn't last very long.

This time, I decided to forego topcoat, even though it goes against all of my instincts.

I've still got a couple of spots that didn't stick so well, mainly on my right hand. The biggest problem with my left was that I had an attack of the static clingies as I was applying, and my ring finger and pinky both went on crooked as a result.

Just as before, I was able to get two nails done per strip, since I don't have tallons. I don't know that I'll be using the second packet that came in the kit, however, since I don't care for this pattern. I think the concept of denim nails is cool, but this just looks fake; I don't like the way the pattern was rendered, but I'm also a textile nerd. Just for the record, this pattern is called "Good Jeans."

I've been wearing these since last night, and took pictures this morning.

ETA: I have been to the doc and joy of joy, I have not just bronchitis, but a sinus infection to boot. I guess this means I won't be buying polish for a while. My meds+doctor visit cost almost as much as my rent this month.

Freehand Snowflakes

Real quick, since I'm writing this at 12:30 am when I have to be up in less than 7 hours;

That's "Ivory Skull" (Sally Hansen) applied with a dotting tool over the gradient I showed you on Monday.

Have a good one!

Insert Nail Art Here

I was going to have a winter-themed manicure for you today. I really was. I had my background all set, and was going to do the fancy bits as soon as I got off work. But I seem to have come down with the flu, and while I did leave work two and half hours early, the smell of polish is kind of making me gag at the moment. So later, then. In the mean time, I have a very (VERY!) subtle gradient for you, using Sally Hansen InstaDri "Blue Bye" and Brash "Blue Dream."

Here's hoping that by Friday I'm well enough to finish this one off: 

Pinterest Day

There were some awesome holiday manis floating around in the blogosphere this week. Here are a few of my favorites:

Source: canadiannailfanatic.blogspot.com via Sophia on Pinterest

Source: kaylashevonne.com via Sophia on Pinterest

Source: canadiannailfanatic.blogspot.com via Sophia on Pinterest

Source: canadiannailfanatic.blogspot.com via Sophia on Pinterest

Source: thenailasaurus.com via Sophia on Pinterest

Source: nightskynaildesign.deviantart.com via Sophia on Pinterest

I hope you all had a safe and happy holiday, regardless of what you celebrate, or just a nice few days off from work. See you Monday!

A Very Important Issue

Clearly, I need to go shopping. I've discovered I'm missing two very important colors in my polish collection: navy and green. Yes, I have navies and greens, but what I need are non-shimmery versions, and the green needs to be somewhere between true green and forest, whereas all of mine are either spring green or leaning more towards teal. Oh, the problems of polish.

For now, I will just have to suffer through with the shimmery navy blue that I got as a stopgap a few months ago, but is really closer to royal blue, which isn't the same color AT ALL.

Yes, I'm being ridiculous. I know. But the color just isn't right.

Which means, of course, that I simply must make my way to Sally's a some point this week. Oh, woe is me.

At any rate, here is the first of two snow-themed manis I have planned, using the substitute color:

For the designs, I used the dotting tools that my roommate got me for Christmas.
Colors used:
Revlon--I have lost the name of this one, sadly.
Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure "Ivory Skull"
Essie "Set in Stones"
Pop Beauty "Metallica"

I was going for a "gently falling snow" look, but I forgot just how densely packed "Set in Stones" is, and I ended up with a blizzard instead! I still like the way it turned out though--it's fun to look at.

Happy Holidays!

Peppermint Sticks

Just another quickie for the holidays.

Colors used:
Pure Ice "Siren"
Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure "Ivory Skull"
I just cut up pieces of scotch tape for the stripes. :)

Blessed Yule and Happy Solstice! I hope everyone is enjoying the "end of the world."

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

I can't believe I just used that as a post title. They've been playing that song twice an hour at work, and it makes me want to hurt someone now. Still, it's pretty apt for today's manicure:
 

I can't claim the idea for the Santa hats. Another nail blogger did them last week, and I thought I'd saved the image to Pinterest, but evidently I've been lax in my pinning. I only have one holiday manicure up.

I used Pure Ice "Siren," Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure "Ivory Skull," and a nail art pen for the black details. Since I used a Halloween polish on a Christmas manicure, does that make this the Nightmare before Christmas?

 

I'm so excited because all of my photos before now were taken in artificial light. But, with our new place we have so many more windows all over the house, and there's even a nice big yard, so I could use natural sunlight for the first time! Now if only our dryer would stop tripping the breaker, everything would be dandy. :)