Christmas Feathers

Moral of this story?  Don’t try a feather mani with my left hand.  Cutting off the excess feather with my left hand (using right handed scissors nonetheless) didn’t end well.I think this could have been pretty amazing, but I’m just not happy with it.  In fact, I was so unhappy that as soon as the pictures were taken, off it came.  I did a very similar mani way back in February, Feather Skittles, and loved it.  I’ve been wanting to play with feathers again ever since, but just hadn’t gotten around to doing it.

Using my non-dominant hand was my first mistake.  My second mistake was using red feathers over green polish.  The red feathers are too dark to really see the green underneath.  I think the green feathers would have allowed red polish to show through more had I done the opposite.  Another lesson learned.

Not that you can really see it, but under those feathers is a white and green Nailside cloud done with China Glaze White on White and Sinful Colors Happy Ending.  I used a variety of top coats in order to stick the feather on, then seal it and achieve a smooth finish.  My final coat was Jordana Quick Shine top coat.

According to me, this was a feather failure.  Do you concur?

Baby Blue and Gold Cloud

It’s been a while since I did a cloud mani.  I still need a little practice doing it with my left hand.

Stephanie emailed me asking about combos to do with NOPI Disco Dolls.  I don’t have Disco Dolls, but from googling it my Milani Gold Glitz was a good substitute.  Black is always the first color I think to pair gold with.  I love the contrast, but it is quite bold and dramatic.

Pairing Gold Glitz with Essie Borrowed and Blue is a much softer look.  I actually grabbed several different colors from my stash that would go great with this flashy gold glitter.  Purples and blues are pretty safe bets.

What do you think of this baby blue and gold combo?  While I think it works for every day wear, it could also pass for a prom or wedding look.

Twinsie Tuesday: Go To Mani

It’s Tuesday again!  They just keep coming, don’t they.  Today we’re posting our go to manis or polishes.  I honestly say I don’t have really have a go to.  There are one or two designs I tend to gravitate to when I’m looking for inspiration.  The Nailside Cloud is one of them.  I’m always putting color combinations together, but don’t actually do them very often or that’s all I would be posting.

I have to say right off the bat, I apologize for the oily look I’m sporting in these pictures.  I swear I wiped my cuticle oil off.  Ugh!  Sorry.  Anyway, I just love Jane’s cloud design.  It’s so simple, yet so stylish and makes such a statement.  This color combo was inspired by my kitchen; light greyish-blue and a little red.

A month or so ago I decided that Zoya Kristen would be the perfect color for my kitchen and wouldn’t you know it, Sherwin-Williams Windy Blue is pretty much a dead match.  I know Kristen is described as a grey-blue, but to me it’s definitely blue with a bit of grey.  I do think the grey comes out more depending on what color it’s paired with.  With Color Club Reddy or Not layered over it, Kristen is totally blue.  I loved this manicure so much I actually wore it on all ten fingers for three full days.  Whoa.  That’s like, forever in nail polish land.

Be sure the check out all the other tried and trues 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
Jenn of All That is Gorgeous
Jenna of I’m Still Thinking
Katherine of Haul of Fame
Marisa of Polish Obsession
Meredith of Polish and Charms
Nory of Fierce Make Up and Nails
Sarah of See Sarah Swatch

Nailside Cloud Skittles

More rainbows ala Nailside clouds!  I did these nails last week with my feathers.  I was shooting for a full feather mani, but after I finished the feathers on my left hand, I just didn’t want to do my right hand.  I had already done white clouds on all my nails, so I added bightly colored clouds to coordinate with the feathers on the other hand.

I just love how colorful they are.  I’ve been using these same colors a lot lately.  Bold, primary colors are definitely a must in any stash if you plan to do nail art and even if you don’t.  And I just can’t get enough of the cloud with some naked nail peeking through.

The polishes I used for this mani were China Glaze White on White, Kleancolor Green Grass, Color Club Reddy or Not, Sinful Colors Savage, Sinful Colors Pull Over and WnW Buffy the Violet Slayer.

Feather Skittles

I did my first feather manicure months ago. I only did one accent nail.  It turned out pretty good, but I never took a picture of it.  I’ve been wanting to do another one ever since.  I picked up some fun colorful, polka dot feathers at Michael’s and was eager to get to work.I started with a white Nailside cloud on each tip as a back drop.  I put on a coat of Jordana Quick Shine top coat and while that was still wet, stuck the feather to it and pressed it down a bit.  Once it was stuck I trimmed it up with some scissors and topped it all off with Seche Vite.  I had to put on a couple coats of Seche Vite to smooth out the rough edges.

I love the blue feather, but think my index finger turned out the best.  I love how that yellow feather fanned out.  So much fun and so unique.  Hopefully it won’t be too difficult to take off.

The purple feather on my thumb was really dark (almost looked black) and didn’t fan at all.  I was disappointed in my thumb.  Oh well.

What do you think of feather manicures?  Have you tried one out for yourself?