Tequila Sunrise Mani!

It's been raining pretty much non stop here in Boston since Sunday, so I decided I needed to perk up my nails a bit. Since we are nearing summer and I have tropical things in mind (even if I'm not going anywhere tropical this summer), I wanted to do a tropical drink mani. I then realized this could be a good series for me! So here's the first in my series of tropical drink: Tequila Sunrise!

I used Sinful Colors Unicorn, Island Coral, and Hazard to create the gradient (using the make-up sponge method). I sponged the colors over a white base to really help the colors pop and added my favorite topcoat Nfu Oh #61 to make the nails sparkle. I then topped off my accent nail with a (fimo) lime slice just like the drink! Unfortunately, I didn't have any orange juice to make a tequila sunrise while doing my mani, so I enjoyed a Blue Point Toasted Lager instead. Close enough!

First Attempt: Halftone Gradient

I tried a new manicure style last week and finally got around to posting it. I attempted a dot gradient with Nfu Oh 61 and Tarina Tarintino Empire. I started with a base of 61 and then tapped diagonally with Empire.  The tutorial I used was by Pixel's Polish and can be found here: http://pixelspolish.blogspot.com/2012/01/gradient-dot-tutorial.html

I used actual dotting tools, which can be purchased cheaply on Amazon. This is the set I have: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005E56EJC/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00. However, you can use a pin head. To make the pin head easier to use, just stick the pin into the eraser on a pencil. The only reason I didn't use this method is I didn't have any pins. Haha.

As you can see, this manicure is far from perfect and these pictures are just the ones done with my dominant hand. The nails on my right hand are very sad and not worth showing. I definitely need some more practice with the dotting tools. It definitely didn't help that this was my First time using the dotting tools as well. On the positive side, this design was a lot easier to achieve then I expected! 

More Gradients

Since my first attempt at gradients, I've become obsessed. They are so easy and pretty! For this one I started with a base of CG Purple Panic.

I then used a make-up sponge to sponge on Nfu Oh #61 on top. It worked wonderfully. Looks like I found a good use for NO #61! 

I chose not to use a topcoat on this manicure since I didn't want to ruin the holographic effect. That was definitely a good choice! I love the flat purple combined with holographic silver!

Holographic Horror!

So I finally got a hold of the fabled and impossible to get Nfu Oh #61. I tried it on a color wheel first to sample it and it was the most perfect holographic polish I have ever seen! I could understand why it's $12.50/bottle and extremely hard to get. Then I tried to put it on my own nails... all hell broke loose. It was horrible to put on. It does not coat evenly at all! I had to put 6 coats on some nails to full coverage. That's ridiculous for an expensive polish. However, once on it did look pretty and has a very strong holographic effect. 

Then I put a topcoat on to protect it... it completely ruined it. In the picture below, the left finger has the topcoat and right is without.

Here's another angle showing just how much the topcoat ruins the holographic effect.

This polish can't even be worn without a topcoat. It started chipping and cracking about 10 minutes after it dried. This polish is so not worth the money. As you can see, I didn't even bother to clean up my nails because it's not going to last. This was such a disappointment.

First Attempt

 Ok, so here goes my first attempt at creating nail art. I started and ended with Orly's Top 2 Bottom base coat/top coat. This was new for me. I have never in my life used a base coat. A sin, I know that now. Sorry. I then decided to try two layers CG Agro since I don't really like green and I'm trying new things. It was absolutely stunning alone. I should have taken a picture. Oh well, lesson learned for next time. I then added 2 layers of Nfu Oh #39 on top since it has green flakies. This was definitely a good idea and I did take pictures this time.

These first 2 pictures give you a better idea of what the CG Agro looks like even though I have the flakies on top. There is a definite learning curve to photographing nails. 

After some trial and error I finally got a shot where you can see the flakies somewhat. This picture still doesn't quite do it justice. The final finish almost reminds me of fish scales with the dark metallic background and lighter, shiny flakies.

Obviously I still have a lot to learn, and my cuticles are in HORRIBLE condition, I don't think this is a terrible first attempt. :)