Hex Nail Jewelry/Abstract Floral Mani

Hi y'all! I'm so excited about this mani I could explode:

How gorgeous is this?? That pretty lil' bee is Hex Nail Jewelry's Bee No. 1 and I'm obsessed. I got my order in last week and I cannot wait to try out the other ones...but I love this one so much it might take me a bit to get to the others! The floral is Monet inspired and was SO easy. From the bottom up I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out, Julep Popova, NYC High Line Green, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Lacey Lilac, Breezy Blue, Coral Reef, and White On. I got the brushstroke-y look by dragging my topcoat instead of floating it (INM Out The Door) while it was kind of wet.

Kiwis Make Me Cheerful

So this morning I was eating kiwis for breakfast, because I love them, and when I looked at them they made me want to redo my nails, which have been suffering with a failed nail art experiment. A few coats later and an awkward attempt with a dotting tool, ta-da!

Now I have cheerful little kiwis on my nails, and every time I look at them it makes me happy. I really like kiwis. 

Colors used: New York Colors in High Line Green, Sinful Colors Call You Later (glitter!), Julep in Annette, and Sinful Colors in Black on Black

A Fading Pink, the Color of Wild Roses

A Stephen King quote might be a little dark for this light of a mani, but I just reread Hearts in Atlantis and the line kinda stuck with me. I used this tutorial from Beautylish, substituting my dotting tools for a brush.

I really, really like this. Sure, my roses turned out a little more...abstract than I maybe would have liked, but it worked! I used (from the base coat up): Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Lovely Lilac, Julep in Georgia, Julep in Mischa, and NYC Colors in High Line Green. 

Yay America!

So this past 4th, I was lazy and didn't go through the effort of a patriotic manicure, so I finally took my Julep America for a test drive, on top of an old NYC Glossies red and Sinful Colors All About You, and just did a simple accent nail for Olympic spirit and all. I was planning on going a little fancier, but my dad and I are going fishing tomorrow and it feels a little bit like a waste, considering how rough it's going to be on my nails, you know?

I'm also trying out a new top coat this week-the two I had were failing me and I had heard a lot of good things about inm Out The Door, so when I saw a Sally's yesterday I popped in and came out with the biggest bottle of polish I've ever owned. 

LOOK AT THAT SUCKER. I think it was a little less than $11 for 2.5 oz, and almost $6 for .5, so I decided, what the hell, and went for the big bottle. In just the day I've been using it I'm pleased. It has a super thin formula, so I did end up using my Sally Hansen on my glitter nails. I'm interested to see how well it holds up-so far only one nail is chipped, and that's only because that nail decided it wanted to peel. It is also extremely quick drying like it promises, which is defs a plus in my book.