Nail Art: Back to School

Sorry for the delay in a new post, but with Hurricane Irene coinciding with my move in at Rutgers and a return to LSAT prep, free time has been at an all-time low. But now that I'm settled, posts will be coming more often as of next week.

Also, since I've been reunited with my roommate Cynthia, as well as my other girlfriends at Rutgers, I'll have plenty of extra hands to use for swatching. I might actually have to build myself a lightbox!

Anyhoo… this manicure is one that I did in honor of my return to classes this week. I didn't want to do Rutgers-themed nails yet (I'm saving that for the football game), so instead, I opted for the traditional images associated with a return to school.

Below, you'll see the full set:



(From left to right) Pinky (locker) - Revlon Silver Dollar, Ring finger (chalkboard) - Zoya Suvi, Middle finger (ruler) - Revlon Blue Lagoon, Index finger (books and apple) - Zoya Suvi, Thumb (Marble Notebook) - Zoya Snow White

In the above photo, it's kind of hard to see the thumb nail, so I did a close up on the thumb below. It's actually really easy to do the marble notebook and anyone with a crackle polish can do it. I added in a pencil so it was more easily recognizeable, but it's not required.



For the notebook, I painted black crackle from left to right instead of from bottom to top to get the sideways marble effect. I left a rectangle in the middle in order to act as the label for the notebook. If you find you left too little room, like I originally did, you can use white polish to extend your rectangle.

I'm a big fan of the Art Club nail art polishes (an extension of Color Club), so I used a lot of those paints in this look. I also use Art Deco by LA Looks, Kiss Nail Paints, and a host of others I find in different dollar stores.

But the great thing about nail art like this is that you can use different colors from what I used, based on what is available to you, and still have an awesome outcome. Cause really… who didn't have a pink or purple marble notebook because they got sick of black?

I hope you're all enjoying your first week back at school, work, or just your day in general. I know these nails have been the hit of my campus and I hope they will be for you too!

OPI In the Spot-light Pink

I went to my local salon for a manicure a few days ago so that my nails would get the TLC they needed before the Maroon 5 concert. (Which was AMAZING, by the way.) I had planned on doing this really awesome gradient manicure that faded from deep maroon to a medium pink color. Needing a base color to ensure complete coverage, I decided to go with a really pale pink that would be easy to build on and chose OPI In the Spot-Light Pink from the Femme de Cirque collection.

But a funny thing happened shortly after I returned home…

I fell in love with the color.



As you may have figured out by now, I love cheery, sparkly polishes or dark, vampy hues. But rarely do I wear pastels, let alone those of the "barely-there" variety.

In fact, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that this is the first time I've worn this kind of natural-looking shade that I can recall.

There is something very classy about this color, even in its sheerness. It's glossy without a top coat, but with one, it's a true stunner.

If you're in need of a polish for a french manicure, I'd highly recommend In the Spot-light Pink. It's a great neutral tone without a streaky application.

OPI Let Me Entertain You

Last winter, OPI indulged my love of all things sparkly with their Burlesque holiday collection. I decided a few weeks back to bring out Let Me Entertain You, a glass-flecked bright pink polish. You can also see a hint of blue sparkle in the second picture.





The application was nice and smooth, with two thin coats. I love OPI's glass flecked polishes because they're never thick and goopy like other brands. This one was no exception to the rule.

And even though I wore it a full eight months after I first purchased it, the polish was perfect for summer.

Please note that while this was not a dupe for MAC Bad Fairy, as has been falsely spread around the interwebs for months, I will be posting swatches of the dupe shortly down the road.

Hard Candy Beetle (MAC Mean and Green, Orly Space Cadet dupe)

I'd been coveting MAC Mean and Green, as well as Bad Fairy, ever since the Venomous Villains collection came out last year. But as a college student, I couldn't justify spending $14 on a nail polish (I have a hard enough time justifying $5 for OPI on clearance!). Even when Orly's Space Cadet came out and was a dead-on dupe, the $10 price tag was just too high.

Enter Hard Candy Beetle, from the 2010 Holiday collection exclusively at Walmart. Not only is Beetle another dupe, it's a cheap one at $4. I had a hard time finding it by school, but when I ventured to the Freehold Walmart to pick up some things for the upcoming semester, I found it laying all by itself. I knew at that moment the stars had aligned... and I needed that polish.



Beetle is definitely a duochrome, flashing green, gold, and purple. And boy is it a STUNNER!

Below, you can see a little more of the green and gold.



Check out these three bottle shots... they almost look like entirely different polishes!





So what are you waiting for? Go out and get Hard Candy Beetle already! It's the only Beetle I'll ever be happy to see on my desk.