The most enjoyable thing that I have been indulging in lately is something that I feel like I can’t even talk about right now. I feel like I have a gag around my mouth. I fear talking about it, but I learned long ago that if I do what I fear, I achieve more than I could have hoped for.

Every weekend, I have been getting a pedicure and a manicure. I found a lovely nail shop within walking distance of my home. It is family-owned and I love going there every week. The technicians don’t talk my ear off while they work on me, so I am able to relax and truly enjoy the pampering.

The reason why I have been reluctant to write about this weekly delicious pleasure is because of an entry I wrote long ago (Todd Oldham Update). In that post, I mentioned my pampered feet. Back then, I pampered my own feet, but I have to tell you that it’s much better to have someone else take care of me. That post is the cause of at least one email a month from someone wanting to get a picture of my feet.

They are polite emails, but they scare the bejeezus out of me. They scare me so much that I haven’t talked about my favorite weekly reward for months now. I never respond to the emails. I file them, hoping that the police won’t need them for evidence in the future.

The funny thing is that allowing that one gag into my writing makes the act of writing about other things harder, and I have many of those gags. I don’t write about my feet. I don’t write about sneezing anymore because one entry (Sneezing) attracted another group of scary emails. I don’t write about my full time job because I signed a non-disclosure agreement when I started there. I don’t write about my relationship with Mike. There are things that I don’t write about that I’m not even willing to mention the existence of.

With so many things gagging me, it’s a wonder I am able to write at all. Sadly, everything I write when I feel gagged feels like it’s not the full truth. For weeks I have enjoyed a happy ritual every Saturday morning, but I felt like I couldn’t tell you.

The truth of the matter is: no matter what I talk about, there are people who are going to get weird about it. There is no way to escape small groups of the strangely obsessed on the Internet. The world is so large that I can’t hide without removing myself from the blogging world and I’m not about to do that.

So, today I take off the foot gag. Today, I take off the sneezing gag (though I really have nothing else to say about sneezing, but if I wanted to, I could). Two less muffles stifling me. The other gags fill most of my day so I refuse to collect any more.

No makeup and a brush hasn’t touched my hair. It’s time for a shower, but first I need to post an entry for Self Portrait Tuesday.

This method uses face paint and latex to make a disgusting and realistic wound.

• Theater Effects: Lacerations

Back in 2003, I was “The Homecoming Queen’s Got A Gun” for Halloween. I have looked at the picture of my “wound” so many times that I can’t believe I didn’t post it here. Back then I didn’t work with photos and video much, so I guess that’s why. The wound was pretty realistic and I didn’t use any latex or face paints.

When I did this, I used the directions for the Super Scabs from this website:

• Make Your Own Halloween Make-up

I did a test run a couple of days before the Halloween party. It worked so well that doing it the day of the party was a piece of cake. Using a little corn meal and Jello, you can create a scarier wound and everything came off with a shower.

When you’re planning your Halloween costume this year, don’t stress out about the makeup. Do a test run and enjoy playing with the blood and gore. I sure did!

Via: Boing Boing: HOWTO: Make a realistic, grody wound

It’s summer. When it gets this hot, I sweat more than I do in the winter. Sweat makes makeup go away, so I’m not even bothering to put on face makeup right now. Since I’m running in the sun every weekday, I’m getting pretty tan.

I don’t believe all those cancer people. I think the sun is good for my skin. I break out less. I look better. Maybe the sun is bad for people who have less Italian blood running through their veins, but I think my body was made for the sun.

It heals me in ways I can’t describe.

This photo is from the building where The Salt Lake Costume Company used to reside. They took down a facade and these letters were revealed. It looks like the building is being rented by someone, but they haven’t opened for business for almost two years. They are just slowly building kitchen displays under my watchful eye.

Now, they’ve removed the facade to reveal long ago covered letters.

I know it’s wrong to covet, but I want that building. I want the building and I want the neon sign. As of now, they are relatively unharmed, but that won’t last for long, I fear.

Zombie costume? You need the makeup and it’s right there in your kitchen!

• dmJuice.com :: Juice-Videos – Zombie Makeup Tutorial

I used similar techniques for my “Homecoming Queen’s Gotta Gun” costume:

You can see more instruction here:

• Pick Me! » How To Make A Realistic Wound

I love to create a costume that has a lot of makeup effects. Sadly, this year, it’s a mask for me. Maybe next year I can make a gory wound.

Via: Craftzine.com blog: HOW TO – Halloween Zombie Makeup (Video)

I love makeup. It’s a little bit of art that I get to do every day.

I am the canvas and the beauty of it all is that the canvas is ever-changing from year to year and I am never left bored.

RE: One Word: Primp

Jeff Scott filmed himself while he applied his makeup for his character, Skitzo, and then sped it up to make the two hour process last five minutes.

If you watch this video closely, you can see Jeff scrunch up his face into a scowl. He does that to find the natural wrinkle lines and draw them in. Then he doesn’t have to scowl all night. His makeup does it for him.

If you are thinking of being some sort of scary creature or vampire this Halloween, this video will help you learn how to do your makeup.

These makeup kits from the company called Imagineering, were really popular when I was a kid. They were first released in 1979, but they were in stores for a LONG time. I remember something very similar just last Halloween, actually. It’s surprising to remember that at one time, these things were NEW. They were makeup kits that came with a thin plastic face that glued on and then you put makeup on it and your real face to blend it in.

When it comes to a Halloween party, it’s best to go rather simply with the makeup and special effects. Eating food and drinking drinks can make the best makeup jobs looks silly. Whenever I choose a costume, I always make sure that I don’t have too much on my face. I want to be able to see, talk and eat.

You’d think that it would limit my costume choices, but it hasn’t yet.

Photo via: Plaid Stallions : Rambling and Reflections on 70’s pop culture: Imagineering Introduces the Face

I was looking at the 1980 Sear’s Christmas Catalog on the Wishbook Flickr page when I found this toy set from Hasbro on page 548:

Here is the description:

Fresh ‘n Fancy Cosmetic Set by Hasbro

Create and explore the glamorous you! Everything you need to make lip gloss, eye shadow, cheek blush, nail polish, perfume. All ingredients are non-irritating, non-staining and non-toxic… they wash off with soap and water.

SET INCLUDES: Mirror, mixing tray, mixing container, beaker, funnel, gloss pots, tools, bottles for perfume and nail polish, instructions, folder of good grooming tips, labels, small decorative packages, jars, assorted ingredients.

$16.99

This little cosmetic set is probably the reason that I love makeup even today. Despite my feminism, I have clung to the daily ritual of makeup, mostly because it feels like a little bit of creativity that I can do every morning. I’ve talked about it here before:

• Pick Me! » Why I Love Makeup

My mom was always so good about choosing toys that fostered creativity. I was able to mix scents to create my own perfume. I could mix colors to create a nail polish. I could create lip gloss that came in a color that no one else could have. I absolutely LOVED this toy and used up all the ingredients long before I used up the lip glosses, fingernail polishes and perfumes that I created with it.

If I remember correctly, the fingernail polish wasn’t like “real” fingernail polish. It created a plastic coating on my fingernails that could be pulled off in one piece. I didn’t need fingernail polish remover, I just needed to pull it off. Of course, because it wasn’t like grownup fingernail polish, I hated it instantly, but it didn’t matter because there were only two fingernail polish bottles, so it wasn’t the main part of this toy.

My FAVORITE was the perfume. I could create a perfume that smelled like roses, gardenia or lavender, but that wasn’t really exciting to me. I liked mixing the scents to try to create one of my own. I remember making a scent that I absolutely loved and when it was all used up, I couldn’t remember how I made it. It was a very important lesson on keeping good notes. Even today, I take the time to document every art project, fix it job or “hack,” so I can recreate it and write about it here. That was a habit that Fresh ‘n Fancy taught me at the tender age of eleven.

I guess I should send my mom an email thanking her for the AWESOME Christmas present, even though the gratitude is thirty years old.

I love this costume. It looks like an 8-Bit rendering of her face. All it takes are some makeup skills and simple patches sewn onto a plain shirt.

I wonder how it looks when she closes her eyes. Excellent work!

Via: A Fantastic Halloween Costume: 8-Bit Low-Res Makeup And Shirt – #26035 – NOTCOT.ORG

This year, our Halloween theme is 60’s and 70’s. I absolutely LOVE this costume idea because it reminds me of the Roy Lichtenstein paintings in the Sixties.

This was created by a M.A.C Cosmetics artist for Halloween last year and I think it’s genius. They started by using white makeup on her face and then added the black lines to highlight the features.

Then they used a dowel twisted into red lipstick to create the red dots on the face.

The finishing touches include a bright yellow wig, oversized earrings and a dress made from polka dotted material (which might be the most difficult part of making this costume).

One note of caution: if you are going to a Halloween party, this kind of makeup is VERY difficult to keep for an entire night. One touch to the face, and the image is ruined. Make sure you do a test run at least two days before your party so you can perfect your technique and practice NOT touching your face for the month before so you have a chance of living through the night without smearing your own makeup.

Via: Go Retro!: A Halloween Costume that Really Pops

Update: 08-15-13

Felicia Day did a similar look for Comic Con this year:

Why just paint your face to look like ONE of the members of Kiss when you can be all four. Check out this video from James Kuhn, face painting artist:

If you’re at a loss for what to do for a costume for Halloween this year, this idea is perfect. Just wear a black turtle neck, black pants, and spray your hair black and the makeup will do the rest!

Here is his version of Miss Piggy and Kermit.

This body builder job is AWESOME!

If you go as this Cyclops, you’ll have to walk around sideways all night at the Halloween party, but you’d be a shoe-in to win the costume prize.

With just a little bit of face makeup, you can be the life of the Halloween party! Make sure you do a couple of test runs before the big night so that you are able to do it without pressure. Good luck!

Check out these awesome makeup tutorials from Sephora! They make me want to run right over to Sephora and buy a bag of false eyelashes, glitter spray and black lipgloss!

What makes this look really pop are those red contacts she’s wearing.

Sephora has been posting videos like this for the last couple of years. You can see them here:

• Sephora Halloween Makeup Tutorials

Eve Pearl is a makeup artist who works at The View. Here is a clip showing how she transformed the crew into a bald biker guy, a Planet of the Apes character, Linda Blair from The Exorcist and Pinhead.

She used real nails for the Pinhead costume. I don’t think that’s all that safe, if you ask me. Can you imagine showing up in the emergency room and having to explain how you injured yourself by trying to make a really cool costume?!

Here are a couple of links to instructions on how to do scary makeup.

• Instructables: zombie makeup
• Gelatine recipies for normal prosthetics and zombie skin. – HauntForum

This year’s Halloween theme is Scary Monsters, Super Creeps, so I’m going as a mummy and I’m looking for makeup techniques that will look like I have thousand year old skin. Hopefully some of these links will help me.

Update 10-26-11: I tried to the liquid latex and toilet paper method. It didn’t look good on my first try and I probably could have learned how to make it work with a few more trial runs. Unfortunately, my face reacted to the liquid latex. It was itchy, red and sore for a couple of days afterward, so I abandoned that idea for my costume.

The directions for the liquid latex recommended that I do a test on my forearm before using it, which I did, but I didn’t have a reaction. My face, apparently, is FAR more sensitive than the skin on my forearm. Don’t be stupid like me. Do a tiny test on your FACE before spreading that stuff all over. Give it at least thirty minutes to see if there is a reaction at the test site before doing your test run for your Halloween makeup.

This postcard from PostSecret made me want to hug the girl who sent it.

It reads:

I feel that having a feminist for a mother deprived me of basic makeup, skincare and hair skills that seem to come naturally to other girls.

I envy you girlie girls sometimes.

My mom never really taught me how to do makeup or style my hair. I think she did it because she wanted me to stay a kid as long as I could. Pathetically, I stayed a kid until about ninth grade when I realized that I needed to get some makeup and hair skills or I was going to be ignored my whole life.

Seventeen magazine taught me a lot, but now, my favorite is YouTube. No matter what I’m trying to do, YouTube has a tutorial for how to do it. If you are in need of some makeup and hair skills, here some of my favorites:

Heat Free Dolly Curls from YaYaLifestyle: This has been my absolute FAVORITE hairstyle lately. So easy and it looks really good the next morning. The only thing I do differently is that I apply TONS of anti frizz (I used BioSilk) to my hair because my hair is a frizz magnet.

If you didn’t plan your hairstyle the night before, here is a tutorial how to curl with a curling iron. Skip to the 2:20 minute mark to get to the curling portion of the video:

I love the tutorials from Sephora’s YouTube Channel because they sell makeup sets and then SHOW you how to use them. If you want to go with your own makeup, they also have great general tutorials. I love this five minute makeup tutorial. They focus on making it quick and easy. Of course, I need to focus on blemish coverage (still have pimples, even at 42 years old!) instead of worrying about baggy eyes. My eyes are fine and mostly hidden under my glasses, so I would spend more time on hiding all my pimples.

Last year, I bought this palette and I loved this video because it showed me how to actually USE the makeup I bought.

Honestly, all the skin care tutorials just talk about products and I have never found a skin care routine that has worked for me, so I have nothing to share there. Here’s a good tutorial for how to shampoo your hair, though. I don’t use the turbo turban. I find the towels at Ikea work the best.

That girl who felt like she never was taught how to use makeup by her mother just breaks my heart because I felt the same way. Fortunately, there is an entire ARMY of people online willing to teach me how to be a girlie girl.

PostSecret‘s beneficiary is the National Hopeline Network. It is a 24-hour hotline (1 (800) SUICIDE) for anyone who is thinking about suicide or knows someone who is considering it.

I’m feeling a little excited about my patriotic fingernails I did today, so I wanted to share them with you.

If you’d like to read how I did them, there’s more after the break: (Continue Reading…)

I redid my nails last night and I’m pretty pleased with the results.

I took Sally Hansen’s Commander in Chic polish and put on two coats.

I used the Konad black polish for the stamp.

I used the Konad stamping plate #M24 for the stamp.

I’m surprised at how good it looked and I hope it lasts as long as my last manicure.

My Commander-In-Chic Manicure lasted almost two weeks, but it was time to change my polish. I call this one Flowers in the Quicksand.

Matching Pedicure:

Continue reading for the tutorial: (Continue Reading…)

I did my nails last week and never posted the picture. I’m quite proud of how well it turned out. I call this manicure, Hibiscus and Tulips.

Here is the matching pedicure.

I used the OPI 2012 Holland Collection, Kiss Me On My Tulips nail polish as the base and the Bundle Monster Plate BM-313.

I love how well it turned out and that it has lasted over a week without major chipping. A perfect manicure for the end of the summer!

I wanted a simple manicure after all the fancy stuff I’ve done lately.

For a base, I found this Wet ‘n Wild Megalast polish called On a Trip (213C) and I have been VERY happy with it.

I am SO impressed with this polish. It was only three bucks, had a nice, large brush inside and the coverage is wonderful. This polish is as good as the Sally Hansen Salon polish. In fact, I liked it as much as OPI polish and has lasted just as long.

Even though the polish looks great all by itself, I wanted a little pizzaz, so I put on one coat of the Jordana Glitters polish in Celestial (12).

I expected this polish to be pretty subpar because it cost less than a dollar at Kmart, but I am so happy with it, I’m going back to buy the other Glitters polishes. I love the different sizes of the glitter. It makes it look VERY textured.

Here is the matching pedicure.

This manicure has lasted me a full week with very little chipping. I’m beginning to believe that I can make ANY manicure last two weeks as long as I have two coats of the OPI top coat.

I also bought the Wet ‘n Wild Megalast I Need A Refresh-Mint (218A). I can’t wait to use it on my next manicure!

My manicure this week is pretty simple. It’s called Rusted Bronze.

I did a base coat of Bronze by Love & Beauty at Forever 21.

Over the top of that, I put one coat of Rust by Love & Beauty.

Here’s the matching pedicure.

Despite two coats of OPI Top Coat, I had chipping on the manicure within a couple of days, so I guess the OPI Top Coat isn’t quite the miracle worker I thought it was. The polish HAS last almost a week with touch ups, so that’s pretty good for a three dollar bottle.

I have been shockingly pleased with the Sinful Colors Black on Black nail polish. It goes on well and covers much better than an inexpensive polish should. I bought it at Walgreens for only a couple of dollars, so I expected far less from it. It looks especially good highlighted on the tips with the Jordana glitter polishes.

I really did this manicure as an experiment. I was going to try to do a matte black with shiny tips, but at the last minute, I chickened out and just did glitter tips instead. I’m glad I did, because I’m really pleased with this manicure.

Black is such a hard color to work with and if I mess up at all, it’s really hard to get off my cuticles and skin. I think I’ll try this kind of manicure with a softer color and see how it turns out.

I’m surprised at how fun just playing with fingernail polish can be. It feels like a little bit of art that I get to do and enjoy for the brief moment before it is obliterated by all the physical things I do with my hands every day.

Sorry, no matching pedicure this time…

I love to see how much of a costume can be made or broken by makeup.

All of these makeup jobs are AMAZING, but I wonder how long they would last.

Remember, when you go to a Halloween party, the makeup needs to last all night, through Red Solo cups and lots of yummy food.

Past the hugs from friends and the unintentional touches from your own hands and fingers.

You even have to worry about your costume rubbing it off.

I ALWAYS do a test run with my costume AND makeup to make sure that they will last the whole party.

Remember, with all of these photos, you just need to click them to go to the original websites where they came from.

Happy Haunting!

When I saw this Eyeballs Halloween Manicure Tutorial, it looked so fun that I thought I’d try it.

Of course, so did Pintester. When she tried it however, it didn’t quite turn out like the video. As she said, she should have stopped while she was ahead. In her own words:

And then I went off-book. Because I’m a rebel. And occasionally Goth. That’s right, people. I found a bottle of glow-in-the-dark nail polish and decided that this whole get-up needed a top-coat of spooky green glow.

I was wrong.

Also, I feel I should tell you that it didn’t really glow that much, which would have made it less of a fail, I think.

Here’s what happened, comparing what it SHOULD look like with what it actually looked like:

If you’re planning on doing a spooky Halloween manicure for your costume this year, make sure you do it the night before so you have plenty of time to redo it if you run into problems.

I got a bottle of Ulta’s Army of 1 nail polish in a free makeup kit that I received because I spent a certain amount of money at the store.

I’ve never been particularly impressed with Ulta products, but I ADORE this polish.

I’ve never even been a big fan of creme polishes, but this one goes on so smooth and buttery without streaking.

I also love to use it as a base for more sheer colors. Tune in tomorrow for an example of that.

I absolutely adore the look of this manicure. I started out with a base of two coats of Ulta’s Army of 1 nail polish.

Then I added two coats of Beetle by Hard Candy.

This manicure looks so good. I love how Ulta’s Army of 1 is a great base coat for Beetle.

The camera can’t fully capture the iridescent hue of Beetle and how it reflects green, yellow and purple depending on the angle of the light. Gorgeous!

How I wish I had left well enough alone with this manicure, because what I did next completely RUINED it. Tune in tomorrow to see what happened.

This manicure is an example of “Leave Well Enough Alone.” I started out with a base of two coats of Ulta’s Army of 1 nail polish.

Then I added two coats of Beetle by Hard Candy.

After that, I added one coat of the second step of Revlon’s Moon Candy Orbit.

Even though it was only one coat of that polish, the pretty mylar pieces made the manicure feel thick and lumpy.

I hated the result so much that I took the polish off within a half hour of it drying.

I had no idea that the FEEL of a manicure is so important. The jagged and lumpy mylar pieces were gorgeous, but they made this manicure feel scratchy and unpleasant. I should have left well enough alone…

For years, I have looked for a nice, chocolatey creme polish to replace my aging Revlon Java Bean polish that I loved so much. I didn’t want any glitter, even though I’m a fan of glitter. I didn’t want any metallic, even though I’m a adoring fan of metallics. All I wanted was a creamy chocolate brown for my nails.

I’ve finally found it with Essie’s Mink Muffs polish.

Although not exactly the same hue as Revlon’s Java Bean, it is very close and looks very good with my skin tone.

It takes two coats to fully cover the nail without streaking.

I’ve been pretty happy with this color and how it looks as a base for stenciling.

Tune in tomorrow for the Fall Foliage Manicure that uses this polish as a base.

This manicure didn’t last me very long because the stenciling at the tips wore away quickly, but while it was here, it sure was pretty, very much like the changing leaves in Fall.

I started with two coats of Essie’s Mink Muffs.

Then I used the Bundle Monster Stamping Plate #BM217 and the Konad Special Polish in Green.

I was going for an autumnal sort of feel with the leaves and the brown.

I particularly like how good the two colors look together.

The stamping wasn’t quite as clean as I would have liked, but it turned out good enough.

Whenever I’m feeling down, it’s always a pick me up to do my nails. When they turn out as well as this manicure, it makes me even happier.

After the failure of Pick Me! » The Leave Well Enough Alone Manicure, I took it all off and tried a new one. I started again with two coats of Ulta’s Army of 1.

I had seen something on Pinterest about making my own glitter polish, so I decided to try it. Here is a link to the tutorial:

• Lexy Levin – DIY: GLITTER POLISH

I bought an inexpensive bottle of clear polish and some glitter.

The two kinds of glitter are different in size, because I wanted the polish to be REALLY glittery.

I dumped out 1/4 of the bottle and kept adding glitter until it was full. The bottle looks like this now.

The result was a REALLY glittery polish. This is ONE coat of the polish.

Unfortunately, the polish is really thick and difficult to apply evenly. Look at how much it pops up on the nail.

In the end, I’ve decided to leave glitter polish crafting to the professionals. They do so much better than I do.

I was shopping at Target, when I found this 14 piece nail polish set from e.l.f. I have NO need for more nail polish, but it was so cheap (only 10 bucks!) and I liked so many of the colors that I bought it. I am so glad I did, because I ADORE this set!

You can find it online here:

• e.l.f. Nail Polish Cube – 14 pc : Target
• e.l.f. Nail Cube 14 piece Holiday Set

All the colors are VERY pigmented, and I put only ONE coat on my nails for these photos. They were as buttery as Essie polish and covered without streaking as well as OPI polish does. Best of all, the entire set cost less than two bottles of Essie or OPI (as cheap as one bottle of OPI if you don’t know the good places to shop).

This set would make a great Christmas present to anyone who needs the basics. There are a bunch of wonderful neutrals in it and the colored polishes are perfect. Every woman needs a good red, a good neutral and a good edgy color. This set has a great selection of all three, so if you think it might be a good present, IT WILL!

I have only two complaints about the entire set. Firstly, the lids are asymmetrical, so it’s difficult to get them back on the way they were when I bought them. I hate how they will be sideways on the bottle and I’ve never figured out how to get them back on properly. Secondly, the glitter polishes aren’t quite glittery enough for me, but if you’re conservative with your glitter, you’ll love them.

My absolute favorite in the group is Glamor Girl. It’s a creamy neutral, but when you catch it in the right light, there is a pop of glittery gold that makes it stunningly glamorous.

Glamor Girl is just one of 14 beautiful colors in that set and I can’t believe how much I love them ALL! You can see the rest of the swatches after the break… (Continue Reading…)

I have been wearing this manicure for the last few days and I have been quite happy with it. I call it: Shannon’s Violet Velvet Attitude Manicure.

More photos and how I did it after the break… (Continue Reading…)

I was feeling in the Christmas mood, so I did a Christmasy manicure called, Christmas Camping. You can see it here:

Click to read how I did this manicure and for more photos: (Continue Reading…)

Here is a shimmery manicure that is great for a Christmas party or any wintery day.

You can see how I did it after the break… (Continue Reading…)

I absolutely LOVE my latest manicure and couldn’t WAIT to share it with you! I call it Javablue Snowflakes and it’s so Christmasy!

You can see how I did it here after the break… (Continue Reading…)

The incredible NakedJen picked up these Loreal Nail Lingerie stickers for me at Sundance in January. I love them so much that I refuse to USE them. I have literally looked at them, planned on trying them out and deciding to “save” them for a special event at least three times. It’s not like I have a special event planned anytime soon. I just think they’re too pretty to just put on for the fun of it.

Instead, I made my own manicure, imitating the style. I used OPI’s My Very First Knockwurst for the base coat.

(Continue Reading…)

I love this video from Lancome about how to do eye makeup. For a girl like me, who LOVES makeup, but feels a little behind, videos like this are a godsend.

After I watched this video, I immediately thought that I couldn’t possibly do this without that fancy eye shadow from Lancome. The cheapest I could find it was for 38 bucks at Amazon, by the way.

• Lancome Color Design Eye Brightening All-in-one 5 Shadow & Liner Palette ~Midnight Rush~ at Amazon.com

The more I looked at the palette, however, the more I realized that I HAVE all those colors in my Sephora Makeup Kit, which ironically costs about the SAME as just one set of eyeshadow from Lancome. I can’t wait to try this out with my own eyeshadow!

One of the first manicures I ever pinned on Pinterest was this one from normandlou:

• Lots of Dots – normandlou

I finally tried one on my own that looks awesome for spring.

Here is a close-up of one of the fingers.

For the base coat, I used On A Trip by Wet N Wild. It’s a lavender hue, even though it turned out almost blue in the photos.

For the dots, I used:

• I Need a Refresh-Mint by Wet N Wild
• OPI Flashbulb Fushia
• OPI On The Same Paige

I had a lot of fun doing this manicure and although it was twice the work of my Faux Nail Lingerie Manicure, I like it even better.

I watched a video from Polish and Pearls the other day and was inspired to try one of my own. I did the rosebud manicure.

Here is a closeup of the rosebud:

I used the following polishes: (Continue Reading…)