TIHC Oct 26: Witches

Today's challenge was a little, well, challenging. I didn't want to to paint ugly witches on my nails because I had to go to work and serve food. Instead, I thought of what makes up a witch, and came up with witch's brew!

For this manicure, I used the saran wrap marble method. I think it turned out pretty cool. 

After the saran wrap marble dried, I free-handed the black strip at the base of my nail, resembling a cauldron.

Last, I added iridescent flecks on top of the green part to give it a bubbly look, like there are chunks of awesome in the brew. 

For this manicure, I used Piggy Polish Lemonade 5¢ for the base. When that dried, I painted a thick and opaque layer of Revlon Nail Art FrenchMix All the Rage and used the saran wrap technique. Then I used Maybelline Color Show Onyx Rush for the stripe. Then I used China Glaze Luxe and Lush on top of the green.

You can view that upcoming challenges here.

witches inlinkz

TIHC Oct 22: Gradient

This is going to be a very quick post. I wasn't even planning on participating today, but decided that I could fit in something quick.

I originally wanted to do candy corn gradient, but decided against it. I figured several people would do it, and I was right.

I love the way the purple and black look together. It's very spooky!

(I'm really sorry about the lighting, the quality of the photos, and my really bad attempt to clean up my nails)

So, I don't know if you can tell, but all of my nails are gooooneeeee. It's so depressing. They all got in an accident over the weekend :( I was playing frisbee and figured out a bit too late that long nails are not meant for it. I broke 3 nails (and one of those I broke twice) and had to even them all out. They look so stubby to me..

For this design, I used Maybelline Color Show Onyx Rush as the base. Then I used China Glaze Coconut Kiss for the gradient effect. Once that dried, I sponged some Fantasy Makers Rest in Pieces right on top.


Wish me luck on my US1 midterm tomorrow!


You can view the upcoming challenges here.

TIHC Oct 19: Bats

When I think of the word bat, I think of the object I could use to chase my brothers around the house with. That thought inspired my design for today.

If you have younger brothers like I do, then you know that they can be ANNOYING, especially when they are both teenagers. Sometimes you just want to throw something at them! That's why I painted a baseball on my accent nail. It's the best of both worlds. ;)

For this design, I used China Glaze Oxygen for the base color. I used 3-4 coats. For the designs, I used Piggy Polish 6 Impossible Things, China Glaze High Roller, and China Glaze Mahogany Magic.

I hope you guys didn't think I was serious. I love my brothers (even though they CAN be annoying). My actual design for today is way cooler. Bats for me = BATMAN!!!!!!! This is the most excited I've been to do my nails since my last Batman design. Even more so because I finally got a break from studying. I'm smack in the middle of my midterms. I have 3 more next week.. Agh!

I hope these are worth it because of what little time I actually have to paint my nails now.

Instead of using the tradition Batman symbol, I decided to use the symbol that's in the Dark Knight Trilogy. 

(Don't you just love the awkward hand pose above? I had to hold the nail polish bottle upside down and rotate the picture the correct way when I was adding my watermark.)

For this manicure, I used Sinful Colors Secret Admirer for the base. Then I used Essie Marshmallow and Maybelline Color Show Onyx Rush. For my accent nail, I used Sinful Colors Kissy for the base. Then I outlined the Batman symbol with Piggy Polish 6 Impossible Things. Then I used Maybelline Color Show Onyx Rush and Piggy Polish Lemonade 5¢.

You can find the upcoming nail challenges here.

TIHC Oct 15: Zombies

Zombies are pretty cool. Anyone watch the Walking Dead? Anyone? Well, I don't, but everyone else I know does. I've seen a few episodes, and I think it would be really cool to be one of the zombies. So today, I took the first step in becoming said zombie. I made my hand look like one!

What I really wanted to do was buy fake nails and cut them up at the tips like a few of the people participating in this challenge did. Instead of buying those today, I went on a run in the rain instead. Crazy, I know, but it was totally worth it.

When I think of zombies, I don't really think of the pale skin. I think of blood and dirt everywhere, as you can see...

These nails are so gross. On the bright side, it was surprisingly easy to clean up considering that I didn't have mountains of nail polish on. I don't know if you can tell, but I let my natural nails show through on purpose.

For this manicure, I didn't use a base or top coat. I knew I wouldn't have this on for long and figured that the polish wouldn't stain my nails any worse than they already are. The polishes I used (in the order I layered them) is China Glaze Electric Pineapple, China Glaze Oxygen, China Glaze Dress Me Up, China Glaze Mahogany Magic, and China Glaze High Roller. In order to get this look, I let the polish dry slightly, took a cotton ball dipped in acetone, and lightly pushed the layers together while dragging away from my cuticles. I didn't care if I took of a little bit too much, since my natural nails are slightly yellow from a light green polish I used months ago without a base coat... Yuck.

So after I left my nails "dirty and bloody," I took the makeup kit I got so many years ago for Christmas that I never use (I'm not really an eye shadow person) and smeared it all over my hand to give it a grungy look. I just wish there wasn't a small amount of shimmer in it. Thank goodness my camera didn't pick that up! And instead of smearing red nail polish around, I used the red lipstick in the makeup kit.

Anyway, I took a picture of the kit in case any of you were curious. It's cheap makeup, and I don't even know if it's sold anywhere anymore.

When I take my pictures, I lean my hand against the wall so that there is less of a chance that they will turn out blurry. The makeup got ALL over my wall. Oy vey.

And here's a bonus picture! A creepy manicure needs a creepy hand pose.

You can find all of the upcoming challenges here.

I hope you enjoyed this manicure as much I did!

TIHC Oct 12: Jack-o-lanterns

I don't want you guys to think that I forgot about today. I didn't. I painted my nails today and I love them, but I hate them all the same. Since I have work, I won't be able to redo the design the way I want until later tonight. So, be patient! I'm just going to edit this post later when I have my pictures ready. Check super late tonight!

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It's finally later! I redid my nails after work and LOVE how well they turned out. I'm so excited to show you guys!

So, I actually got this idea from a fellow blogger. You can find the link to her design here. What I didn't realize until after I finished was that the girl had stamped the pumpkin faces onto her nails, and didn't freehand them like I did. I was a little taken aback about it at first, but then became proud because they turned out super well.

I probably should have saved this for my gradient design, but I was way too impatient. I had to show you all! Good thing I have something else in mind for that.

I've never been good at making my jack-o-lanterns look scary. Did I do alright?

I love how creepy they look. It's like they're waiting to freak you out.

For this design, I used China Glaze Riveting as the base. Then I used China Glaze Harvest Moon and Maybelline Color Show Onyx Rush to make the gradient. Last, I used Piggy Polish 6 Impossible Things for the creepy faces.

The link to future prompts can be found here.

Here are the other challengers. Add your link if you are joining in!

TIHC Oct 8: Ghosts

Ghosts are meant to be scary. Let's face it, though. Mine are anything BUT scary. I wanted to take a different approach to today's challenge. I didn't want to do just any old ghost. That's boring! I came up with the idea of making the ghosts from Pacman, and then adding a little twist.

If I was going to do just Pacman nails, I would have done Pacman himself on my thumb. Since I was focusing on the ghosts today, I added the "dead" ghost instead.

I really love how this turned out even though the colors I have aren't the best. I realized that I do not own a cream red or orange, so I was stuck with what I had.

One thing I'm a little upset about is Inky's eye (The light blue ghost). When I put a coat of clear on, it smeared. So much for being careful!

By this point, you're probably wondering what the twist is that I mentioned before. It looks like a typical Pacman design! Did I lie to you?!

I did not! What makes this manicure 10 times more amazing is the fact that the ghosts GLOW IN THE DARK! The best part is that you can't even tell I have glow in the dark polish over the ghosts. If you guys were paying attention, I'm holding the bottle of glow in the dark nail polish in the first couple pictures. I found it Saturday night after I went on a haunted hayride, through a house of terror, and lastly guided my friends and I through a haunted corn maze. It was a pretty good night.

 But pretty neat, huh? I'm in love with these ghosts.

For this manicure, I used Maybelline Color Show Onyx Rush for the base.

Ghosts (starting at thumb, left to right)

"Dead" ghost: Piggy Polish Never Mind, I'll Find Someone Like Blue and Sinful Colors Aquamarine

Clyde: Piggy Polish Damsel in This Dress

Inky: China Glaze Aquadelic

Pinky: China Glaze Dance Baby

Blinky: China Glaze High Roller and China Glaze Wicked Style

For the eyes, I used Piggy Polish 6 Impossible Things and Maybelline Color Show Onyx Rush

To make them glow in the dark, I used Fantasy Makers Glow in Dark by Wetnwild

As I was looking through everyone else's posts from today's challenge, I realized that I'm not as original as I had thought. A lot of people did Pacman. You should go check them out!

You can view the upcoming challenges here.

TIHC Oct 5: Water Marble

Today's challenge is water marble! I was a little nervous to do this since I've never tried it before. I was right to be nervous. I redid my nails 4 times and I still didn't get anywhere near what I wanted. At least it kind of looks cool..

Alright, it looks really cool. It just wasn't how I pictured it.

The nail polish I kept using wasn't exactly great for water marbling. It kept separating and let a lot of air pockets in. It still did towards the end, but I had given up by that point and let the bubbles stay.

The look I was going for was to make spider webs out of the marble. You can kind of see it because of the shapes I made, but it didn't turn out well at all according to what was in my head. The two closest are my middle and pointer finger.

For this design, I used Maybelline Color Show Onyx Rush for the base, and then used Essie Marshmallow (Fitting, right? :P), and Sinful Colors Secret Admirer.

Maybe I'll have better luck with my next attempt.

You can find a list of all the challenges here.

TIHC Oct 1: Horror Movie

So, I'm already late with this design, but I finished it before October 5th's. Whew! It took me so long because I really did not want to do this one. At least it was first. Now it's out of the way!

Anyway, this is my least favorite design ever. It's probably because my heart wasn't into it. I don't really watch scary movies, so even choosing one was difficult. I ended up going with the first scary movie I ever saw, which was "The Ring." I didn't depict everything on my nails, like the little girl. I'm bad enough at drawing people, so I skipped over her. Apparently I'm just as bad at flies.

I keep laughing every time I see the fly. I'm usually okay with my work, but the fly is so bad that it's funny.

However, I really like how I wrote "the Ring." When I googled a picture of the title, it was written creepily. I think I at least pulled that off well.

Up above is the ring. Yes, I literally took my brush and swirled it around in polish that was drying. I should have picked a less opaque white.

For this manicure, I used Maybelline Color Show Onyx Rush, Essie Marshmallow, China Glaze Long Kiss, China Glaze Oxygen, Piggy Polish 6 Impossible Things, Sinful Colors Aquamarine, and Rimmel London Steel Grey (Which isn't grey, so I don't know why it's named that...)

And you can find a list of all the challenges here.

"This is Halloween" Nail Art Challenge

I was browsing the internet when I came across this amazing challenge a few minutes ago. I'm a day late, but that's alright. I'm totally hopping on board for this. It looks like a lot of fun. Hopefully in between everything I'll have time to do other designs too!

And the credit for this challenge goes to Lacquer Dreams. Thanks! I can't wait to start it. :)