Camouflage Nails

I'm way overdue on this post - sorry - but I finally have time to share an awesome camo mani I did!

I did this freehand with the regular polish brushes, plus a fine tip paintbrush I have, and also a pin. A real dotting tool would have been better, but I don't have one yet. The colors used were:

• OPI "A-Taupe the Space Needle" (tan - base, then a few details)
• OPI "Get In The Expresso Lane" (dark - details)
• China Glaze "Westside Warrior" (olive - details)

I think that more than 3 colors starts too look too "busy", especially on such a small canvas, so I stayed with three. The secret here is layering - put a little more of the olive on than you like, then a little too much of the dark, then cut in with some tan, revisit the olive, and touch up the dark.

What you don't want with this design, is little islands of olive or dark, floating on a sea of tan - so try to bridge the gaps and break up longish runs of any color. Beyond that, there is no "wrong" shape for camo - it's supposed to look random... so if you find yourself wondering if it's "too much [this]" or whatever, know that others won't see it that way.

Anyway, this is what I ended up with...

If you look closely at my ring finger, you can see a "river" of tan from side to side and tip to 80% back - a screaming defect to me, but if you didn't notice until I mentioned it, that proves my point about not sweating it too much.

I didn't get a lot of compliments on this one, because I think people just couldn't see them (camo... get it? ;)
No, seriously, this was very well received, and I was very pleased with the result!

I never wear black. But today, nothing else will do.

I promised that this blog would be my "adventures with nail color". To me, that means the good and the bad. Today, I am absolutely despondent about the outcome of yesterday's election. I'm not too upset that I lost my race for the Ohio 14th Congressional District - I had a campaign budget of $85, which covered the filing fee - but the outcome of the Presidential race, and the whole lying, stinking, foul, corrupt process that led up to it, has me literally beside myself with grief. It turns out that "HOPE" is a finite resource, and I feel like my hope has been taxed to extinction, to be redistributed to those who support Mr. Obama. I see no way for America to avoid fiscal emergency and a prolonged, painful period of economic catastrophe and unnecessary decline. And, I believe that as the problems worsen, as the promises CAN'T be kept and people's hardships increase, they will increasingly look for MORE impossible, illogical promises from Uncle Sam for their salvation.

I am in despair. And, the only color that fits my mood, is black.

I wanted to wear my ManGlaze "Matte is Murder", but I had given it away last Summer when I was feeling particularly hopeful. So, the best I could do on short notice was NOPI "Razzle Dazzler". I wasn't happy with the application, it was a bit thick and hard to apply evenly - but I've had this one untried for about a year, so it's probably just age. Anyway, here it is:

Also, on Monday, I ripped off half of the tip of my index (pointer) fingernail, right own to the quick - bleeding and everything. Sorry for the uneven length.

Anyway, if you're happy with the election result, congratulations. If you're unhappy about it, know that you're not alone, and that nothing lasts forever - this too shall pass.

NOTD - CG "Electric Beat" (fingers), Gradient (toes)

Hello friends!

Just checking in to share my latest mani & pedi..

First, on my hands, I'm wearing CG "Electric Beat", with an accent of Ludurana "Magnifica" holo. The CG went on smooth, covered in two coats. It reminds me of Zoya "Breezi" but just a little less saturated, which makes it feel more "Fall-ish" to me. For the accent, I applied one coat of the Magnifica, then when it was completely dry, I buffed with Layla's special pink/white buffer, then applied a second coat of Magnifica. No top coat on these, but I'll update this if I add a topcoat. I'm also toying with the idea of adding Orly "Glowstick" to this to make a gradient - if I do, that will be a new post.

On my toes, first I wore CG "Beach Cruise-r" for about a week.Then, I decided to do a gradient, so I sprayed a blue (Zoya "Breezi", I think) at the nail root. People have asked if there's a lot of overspray from the airbrush, so I'm posting before and after cleanup photos so you can see for yourselves. This is very much like the last gradient I did on my hands, but that one used grey on the roots instead of blue. (I think that next summer, I'll try a "Bleach Blonde" gradient - yellow with a thin brown root.. ;)

Not too much overspray here - and when I use the airbrush, I start by putting Chapstick or another brand of lip balm all around the nails, so the overspray peels right off.

Cowspots and another gradient

Ok... I know I've been lazy, and I'm sorry!

Today, I have two manis to share. I did the first one on Tuesday for Wednesday's "Chick Fil-A Appreciation Day". I went there to support the First Amendment and to protest the mayors who threatened official retaliation for what was an exercise of First Amendment rights. This is what I wore:

This was cute, but a little busy for me. I used OPI "Alpine White", then just dabbed on some random splotches of Sally Girl black. No close-up here, because I was in a hurry and a little sloppy. I got a few nice compliments though, and the CFA crew loved it!

Saturday, I got tired of cowspots, so I tried a new gradient.This one was inspired by Lindsey at "Neverland Nail Blog" - look at how gorgeous her nails are!

Pink is not my color. But I thought this would look good with purple, so I picked up CG "Flying Dragon" and OPI "My Pointe Exactly" and fired up my airbrush. I learned something with my last gradient - I was painting the whole nail with the root color, then spraying on the tip color. When I got tip wear, it made a super thin line of root color right on the tip, which I didn't like so much. Touchups on a gradient are terribly difficult too. So, this time, I painted the tip color 2/3 of the way to the root, then sprayed the root color on top, then sprayed a final thin dusting of tip color. After a clear topcoat, here's the result:

I would ask whether you like mine or Lindsey's better - but I think there's no contest, her mani is what I think angels wear in Heaven! I like mine, but I love hers! Then again, I've said before that Lindsey can do absolutely no wrong with her nails - I'm simply in awe of her skills and her gorgeous hands!

Another Gradient

Today, I fixed my airbrush... the old hose had split, so I had to find a new one. Of course, each airbrush maker uses a different size fitting, so Iawata hoses aren't compatible with Paasche airbrushes, etc... bigger pain in the butt than it should have been....

But I got it done!

To celebrate, I did another airbrush gradient. This time, I used OPI "Here Today, Aragon Tomorrow" over China Glaze "Entourage". Here's the result:

If you haven't tried an airbrush, you really should - this is such a cool look!

Malware warnings

I just heard that people are beginning to see malware warnings when looking at blogs. I only use the standard Blogger widgets from Blogspot, so mine should be safe unless the virus has gotten into the blogspot.com servers.
One thing that happens is that a single infected blog can cause malware warnings on any OTHER blog which lists the infected one in its blogroll. So, to be safe, I've temporarily removed my larger blogroll. I'll keep the "men's blogs" list, because it's small and hard to rebuild.

Airbrush Gradient - Roadhouse Blues over Zoya Breezi

Hello Lacquerheads! Just a quick post today to show you a gradient I did with my airbrush. This was an experiment, so I decided to try it with my 4 day old Breezi mani - I've had bad luck with the airbrush before, and I expected to be removing another failed attempt. So, I didn't fix-up the Breezi base, I didn't buff anything or worry about scratches or tip wear. But... this time, it worked! I think the difference was solvent... the airbrush needs a very thin paint, watery consistency - and I had tried before to use acetone and MEK. This time, I used polish thinner - ethyl acetate and butyl acetate - and the airbrush liked these much better. Anyway, I like this enough to keep it a few days. This is just a coat of OPI Roadhouse Blues, thinned about 2S:1P, then dusted over the tips on top of a Zoya Breezi base, then topped with OPI topcoat. Here it is: