NOTD: Betsey Johnson Inspired/Leopard Accent

Hello lovelies,

Here is a fun nail of the day with one accent finger in a combo of my two latest obsessions: a half moon manicure and a leopard print. I know, I know, you're shocked. Well get over the palpitations and take a gander at THIS:

Whoops, nope, that's a picture of my puppy Izzy.

Here's the nails:

Hope you enjoyed!

My foray into nail art. Be gentle.

Today's NOTD is a super cute takeoff of something I've had in my head for a while. Do you ever have that happen when you picture exactly how you want your nails to look, what colors/designs you want to have and then it comes time to actually do it and you don't have the EXACT color you pictured and your inability to draw a straight line mocks you mercilessly while you tremble, nail art brush in hand.

So, after all of that drama, I decided I needed to stop with the half-moon manis (I know you were sick of them too,) and try something a little funkier than that. I picked up Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Lively Lilac and freehanded a tip and line in China Glaze Midnight Mission. Here it is for your enjoyment:

Looking forward to trying more along these lines. Hope you enjoyed!

An explanation of sorts

So in the past week, I've been working like a dog at changing career paths/venues. I'm being considered for a pretty major blogging gig with a very reputable establishment. I'm told that can lead to a ton of exposure and the chance to "create a following" for myself and my beauty pursuits, along with random ramblings about my life, neighborhood, and what it's like to be me.

I've been kicking around a few clever names for what this endeavor will be called and I have to say that this is the scariest thing I've done in a long time. In my current field, I have a ton of experience which translates to a general feeling of badass-ness and confidence that can be backed up with skill and a track record of success. In the field of blogging, creating a social media following for myself, and using said media to hype my blogging efforts is definitely something I could do, but the thought of it is scary has all heck.

I'm really looking forward to the challenge, (provided I secure the job, of course) and the opportunity to wax poetic on such topics as parking meter fare hikes, local events, the coffee shop down the street's snarky manager, and bien sur, my current nail look.

Here's today's hopefully good luck mani featuring Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Coral Fever and Barracuda from the 2011 Tracy Reese Spring Collection.

Holler if you love the lighting at Starbucks!

Alright kids. Tell me in the comments if you have a good luck manicure, or what you would wear to an interview where you would want to be perceived as trendy... Let it rip.

Hope you enjoyed!

NOTD: China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy

Nail of the day today is China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy with China Glaze Liquid Leather tips. I wore this combo a few weeks ago, and as the bright bright bright color started to grow on me, I wondered how a tip color would look under Black Shatter. 

  

Guess we found out! To borrow a line from Tim Gunn, it's a lot of look, but still pretty eye-catching and summery.

NOTD: May 30, 2011

Picked up Orly "Green With Envy" on a whim from Ulta last week. I"m pretty sure I've looked at it a hundred times. Not sure what made me pull the trigger this trip, but I've paired it here with a Revlon Nail Enamel in "Minted."

As you can tell, I'm a fan of the half moon manicure lately. For whatever reason, I can't just do a plain one color mani right now.

Here's the application details in order over bare natural nails:

Sally Hansen Hard as Wraps
Two coats of Minted, which is a thin, semi-opaque creme with no shimmer
One medium coat of Poshe, which I let dry for five minutes
Applied nail tip guides onto space where I wanted Minted to show through, making sure the corners were well adhered
Three coats of Green With Envy, which was a VERY thin, translucent creme with no shimmer
One medium coat of Poshe over semi-dry nails

 

The first picture in natural light makes it look very blue. The picture on the right with the flash is much more true to life.

This is one of the only Orly polishes I've tried, and I have to admit that I was a little taken aback by how thin the consistency was. It would definitely suit the nail artist who likes to do several thin coats to build up opacity, but I don't have the patience for that. I do, however, love the color. I'm really drawn to blue greens lately and have been eyeing a similar color from OPI for a while now too. Stay tuned!

Hope you enjoyed!