Twinsie Tuesday: Regional

I think I say this almost every week, but this was a tough one for me.  A regional polish.  Something that either comes from your area or is only available in your area.  I did some light Googling and came up with nothing.  I also had a bit of a privacy dilemma.  I’m very grateful for all my readers, but didn’t feel the need to divulge where I live to everyone.  Sooo…

I picked five states in my general area and repre;sented each one on a nail.  I may or may not, live in one of these states, but will admit that I do live in this region of the United States.  Is that vague enough for you? 😉  On my thumb we have Wyoming, nicknamed the equality state.  My nail is split right up the middle; two equal parts.  The two polishes I used are OPI DS Classic and Opulence.  My index finger is representative of Utah, the beehive state.  I used Sinful Colors This Is It and Nirvana to create a honeycomb design.

My middle finger represents Idaho, the gem state.  I used multifaceted Orly Space Cadet and stuck on a few rhinestones to act as my gems.  My ring finger is representative of Arizona, the Grand Canyon state.  I did a multi-bordered design that got darker with each color to try to show depth, a hole.  I started with Jordana Chiffon, then Sinful Colors Nirvana, Finger Paints Sketchy Character and finally China Glaze Liquid Leather.  My pinkie was the easiest.  Nevada is the silver state.  I didn’t even try to get creative with it.  I simply brushed on a couple coats of OPI DS Radiance, a gorgeous silver foil.

This ended up being a fun theme because I had to get very creative and put a clever twist on it.  My favorite designs are Utah and Arizona.  I want to try Arizona in other colors sometime.

Be sure the check out all the other manis today:

Amanda of Amandalandish
Anna of Going to the Showing
Anne of Grape Fizz Nails
Ashley of Art Evolve
Brandi of The Collegiate Nail
Chelsea of Nailed Blog
ChiChi of I’m Just Me…ChiChi
Cordia of Srsly Swatched
Jenn of All That is Gorgeous
Jenna of I’m Still Thinking
Katherine of Haul of Fame
Maribeth of Obsessive Cosmetic Hoarders Unite!
Marisa of Polish Obsession
Meredith of Polish and Charms
Nory of Fierce Make Up and Nails
Sarah of See Sarah Swatch
Tara of Polishy of Truth

Black and Gold Mish Mash

I LOVE THIS MANI!!  I seriously can’t stop looking at it!  And it photographed so well!  Monica was looking for some ideas for black and gold combinations.  This is what I came up with.

I’ve got five different ideas to show you here.  First, on my pinkie, how can you go wrong with a gradient?  My black is China Glaze Liquid Leather.  Then I sponged on Sinful Colors This Is It and a little Milani Gold Glitz.  On my ring finger, I started with a base of Sinful Colors This Is It, then with a fine striping brush on some feathery, grassy stripes with Liquid Leather, then a few stripes of This Is It on top of the black.

On my middle finger, I used some craft scissors to cut a fancy edge in some tape, then polished This Is It over Liquid Leather.  Then sponged on some Milani Gold Glitz to help bring out the gold.    On my index finger, I started with Milani Gold Glitz then free handed “the claw” design.  Just in case anyone was wondering why I call this “the claw,” it’s because the colored part resembles a talon to me.

My thumb is my favorite!  I seriously couldn’t stop looking at it!  Again, the black is China Glaze Liquid Leather, but I cheated a little with the gold.  It’s an acrylic craft paint.  It’s a gold metallic and it’s fantastic!  I used a small striping brush just like on my ring finger, but started from the side.  I might have to do a whole mani like this.  So pretty.

Flames with Lynnderella Cauldron Drippings

When I first posted Lynnderella Cauldron Drippings, someone commented that it looked like glowing embers from a fire.  I agreed and have been wanting to play with that idea ever since.

These turned out a little more rainbow/striped looking than I had intended.  Oh well.  I started with a yellow base of Sinful Colors Pull Over.  Then free handed in each color after that.  I was doing it with my non-dominant hand which I feel like added to the organic shape of the flames.

A simple thing like flipping a picture up side down will really make it look odd.  Strange really, but I wanted to show you the right side up view of the mani.

My orange is Jordana Orangesicle and the red is China Glaze Phat Santa.  I added in some Jordana Smooth Blue since flames really do have some blue in them, but it looked dumb to me.  So I quickly threw some China Glaze Velvet Bow on top of it to hide it a bit.  It helped, but the damage had already been done.  Again, oh well.  Lastly, I free handed on some China Glaze Liquid Leather and added my Cauldron Drippings.

Honey Nut Cheerios

For once, when I asked my husband what he thought inspired this design, he got it right! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, inspiration can strike any time, anywhere.

I was getting my daughter breakfast this morning and there it was; a bowl of Cheerios.  Honey nut to be exact.  She prefers to eat hers dry, but for the purposes of art, mine are in milk.

I’m sure no one would look at this mani and say, “Hey!  That looks like a bowl of Cherrios!”  Good thing art is subjective.

I intentionally used a milky (no pun intended) white with less than desirable coverage for this mani.  NYX Girls White would generally require 3+ coats for full coverage, but I only used two hoping the less than perfect opacity would traslate as milk.  My Cheerios are Jordana Chiffon.  As is becoming routine, I slapped on a quick coat of Cult Nails Wicked Fast, then finished things off with Jordana Quick Shine top coat.  I think this is a really cute, fun design.  It makes my happy and hungry.

Matte and Glossy Fun in Black

I don’t often paint my nails full black because it can be so hard to get off.  It sure is pretty though.  A black nail is so dramatic; it commands your attention.

I realized it had been a long time since I’d used a matte top coat, so I decided to play with one today.  I started with Cult Nails Get It On base coat.  I NEVER polish with black without a base coat.  It doesn’t always guarantee that there won’t be any staining, but it definitely increases the odds.

My black is China Glaze Liquid Leather.  I was very, very careful with my application so I wouldn’t have to do any clean up.  I hate trying to clean up a black polish.  It stains my cuticles sooo bad, which in turn makes my pictures look awful.  To clean up necessary today.  I applied this in slow motion.  The top coat I chose was NYC Matte Me Crazy.  This was the first time I’ve used it.  I’m not blown away by it, but it got the job done.  I felt like I needed two coats to hide the brush strokes though.

When the Matte Me Crazy was dry enough, I applied my tape.  My thumb, index and pinkie fingers all have a chevron french tip, while my middle and ring fingers have what I call a dart.  Has anyone else heard a better name for this design?  I really can’t think of anything else to call it.  I like my darts the best.  Playing with matte and glossy finishes is a fun way to have a bit of a peek-a-boo effect with your nail art.  It’s there, it’s subtle and may go unnoticed, but that doesn’t lessen the dramatic impact.