Shabby Chic: Color Club Clean Break and Pretty in Platinum

Hello ladies,

I decided to bring the Shabby Chic style to my nails. Today's manicure features roses and cameos on a silky grey background. I was imagining a tray of earrings and brooches sitting atop an old, whitewashed dresser. Jewels and pearls imbue a feeling of elegance to timeworn heirlooms.

I began by painting Color Club Pretty in Platinum as a base. With a Kolinsky Sable Brush size 00 from the art supply store, I mapped a fine, arching line with white polish. I then filled in the tips with Clean Break fractured polish. If you decide to use a crackle formula to create a funky french, I highly recommend having a guideline in place. Clean Break is on the thick side and it would be tricky to achieve the proper French tip. I tested this polish over the entire nail and I found traditional application to be simple. Clean Break offers well defined crackling. 

On the nails of my middle fingers, I adhered pale pink cameos with nail glue. I purchased these in a lot from ebay and I wish they were readily available! I would use them with abandon. I bordered the cameos with large pearls and gems. The grey and cream colored roses with pink and green accents are Art Club Petite Fleurs. These decals come on an adhesive backing with gold beads. I decided to build on the color palette from the roses to create an assemblage of finery by adding pearls of various sizes, and pink, green and crystal rhinestones. I first sealed the roses with topcoat and then placed the gems and pearls and added a final layer of topcoat. I varied the design a bit on each hand. 

Echinacea, purple coneflower.

Floral fireworks!

My right hand with smaller jewel clusters. 

Pretty in Platinum is a soft, grey pearl. This polish is completely opaque in two coats. It has a beautiful sheen and an easy to use formula. I recommend this polish to grey lovers.

What do you ladies think? Do you like the crackle tips and the vintage look?

Items in this post were sent to me for review. Clean Break is part of the Color Club Fractured Collection. Pretty in Platinum is from the Untamed Luxury Collection. Both are available for purchase at victoriasnailsupply.com. I bought the Art Club Petite Fleurs at Sally Beauty.

Happy painting, ladies!

Tattoos and Jewels: Diamond Cosmetics Moonsand

Hello ladies,

Philadelphia has been experiencing winter temperatures amidst the onset of Spring. I think the purple pansies and daffodils are as confused as residents downtown. My manicure today was also a union of opposites. I paired a tribal tattoo design with jewels.

Using black Konad special polish, I stamped the tattoo pattern from image plate T02. I alternated the stamping position every other nail. Large gems were placed on my thumb, middle and pinky nails. On my pointer and ring fingers, I used two rainbow rhinestones to border the image.

I am really loving the T series from chez-delaney. There are some adventurous designs that offer clean and easy transfers.

A charcoal grey foil, Moonsand can appear silvery in bright light. This is another beautiful foil polish from Diamond Cosmetics. There is also rainbow micro shimmer stirred in. I detect tiny pink and green sparkles. Two coats brought perfect opacity. Stunning!

I hope you enjoyed my elegant take on tribal tattoos.

Moonsand was sent to me for review. US residents can purchase this shade from diamondcosmetics.com. Visit boozyshop.nl for international shipping.

Image plate T02 was provided for my consideration. To shop the full line of nail art stamping plates and materials, go to chez-delaney.com.

Happy painting, ladies!

Snails!: Nubar Earthen

Hello ladies,

I am feeling at one with these tiny snails today. I am moving slowly, but am doing so while prettied up a bit. Don't these little snails look like they are on their way to a faery garden party? I hope they arrive in plenty of time for treats and festivities.

From image plate H20, I stamped the snails in brown Konad special polish. I added gold beads to the tips of their long antennae. If we were exploring anatomy, these would be the eyes. In the center of the spiral shell, I placed a tiny pearl.

The funky french was created by first applying two coats of the flakie polish Nubar 2010 followed by one coat of Dewdrop. This would be amazing over the full nail as well.

The warm tones from 2010 glow beneath the soft blues in Dewdrop.

The sunlight is catching the lovely pearl shimmer in the bottle of Earthen.

A pale grey with a tinge of beige, Earthen is stirred with white pearl shimmer. The polish appears like a creme formula until the light touches the shimmer, giving it a subtle luster.

Earthen applied beautifully. I needed three coats for opacity but I believe ladies with shorter nails would be satisfied with two coats. Dewdrop is a festive, glittery topping. The round glitter pieces are softly tinted in pale blue and green. It reminds me of a cool tone version of Nubar Tiara.

Are you ladies as charmed by these darling snails as I am? They make the slow route seem quite a pleasure.

The three polishes featured were sent for review. These are available for purchase at bynubar.com. Earthen and Dewdrop are part of the new Spring Garden Collection, promotionally priced at 39.95 for the set of nine polishes.

Image plate H20 was provided for my consideration. Visit chez-delaney.com to explore the full line of nail art stamping design plates.

Today is the last day to enter the Make It Fancy Giveaway! Head over to the giveaway post before the last time zone March 14th (this translates to 8 a.m. EST March 15th) for a chance to win 8 nail art stamping plates, the Gabrielle Faust Eye Shadow Collection, a ring from Ginger Kitty Designs and skin care from Reviva Labs. Best of luck!

Happy painting, ladies!

White Raven: Color Club Snakeskin

Hello ladies,

The story of Branwen in the Welsh Mabinogion has always captivated me. Enslaved in an unsuitable, arranged marriage and mistreated as a foreign queen, Branwen trained a starling to speak. She sent it across the water to give word to her brother Bran to come to her aid. Branwen has been called white raven because of her fair complexion and association with birds.

I admire her tenacity in adverse conditions and her union with animals. The story is an allegory of the tragedy that can befall a people who do not respect female sovereignty and maintain the balance between men and women. It amazes me how themes we associate as being modern are often woven through old tales.

I stamped the bird from image plate T10 using white special polish. I added a silver teardrop to the wing to correspond with Branwen's longing for her homeland. The duochrome in Snakeskin creates additional reflection in sunlit photos. In life, the bird stamping is very crisp, as in the close up. I appreciate the subtlety of the tattoo stamping designs. The image could just as easily be seen as a jeweled paisley.

I am wearing two coats of Color Club Snakeskin. This is an absolutely gorgeous metallic. In some lights, it resembles steel. In others, a greenish duochrome is reflected. The presence of fine gold glitter makes the color appear like jewelry. I imagine this shade would flatter a variety of complexions, with both gold and silver to bring out warm and cool tones. Snakeskin is a polish well worth owning.

I hope you enjoyed the tale of Branwen and her affinity with white birds.

Snakeskin was sent to me for review. This shade is part of the Untamed Luxury Collection, available at victoriasnailsupply.com.

Image plate T10 was provided for my consideration. To view the full line of nail art stamping plates, please visit chez-delaney.com.

Happy painting, ladies!

Black Swan: Cheeky Monkey Filthy Madame

Hello ladies,

Ever since I watched the movie Black Swan, I have wanted to create a manicure inspired by the haunting visuals. I chose reoccurring themes from the movie to decorate my nails: ballerinas, feathers, a swan, and lilies. I attempted different ways of embellishing the tips with red and bone white crushed shell.

I chose white Konad special polish for stamping. On my pointer finger, the cascading feathers are from plate M77. I added a mirror gem and a white pearl. The ballerinas positioned on my middle finger and thumb are from S08. My pinky has lilies from M36. I adhered a white pearl and a small rhinestone to highlight the flowers. The plates mentioned above are from Konad.

From chez-delaney P19, I stamped the swan on my ring finger. I placed a clear crystal on the wing. I used a striper brush with China Glaze Millennium to highlight the feathers, water beneath the swan and the lily stems. It is tricky to create clean lines with a chrome polish. I would recommend experimenting with a fine silver glitter instead.

Feathers, a ballerina, a swan, a lily.

I chose red crushed shell to embellish the tips on my thumb and ring finger.

A howlite crystal skull.

On my rather elusive and seldom seen right hand, I blended red and bone white crushed shell on each tip.

My right pointer finger.

Cheeky Monkey Filthy Madam reminds me of a black pearl. In bright sun, the color appears deep charcoal grey. There is a wealth of micro shimmer adding luster to Filthy Madam. Silver and rainbow particles are stirred throughout. Holding the bottle, I can easily distinguish green and pink micro shimmer.

The formula has a pearl finish. There are subtle brushstrokes during application that dissipate once topcoat is added. I am wearing three coats, but I think ladies with shorter nails could get away with two. The polish dries quickly with a lovely sheen.

When examining the different typefaces printed around the bottle, my friend Emily said: Filthy Madam? What about Filthy Mademoiselle?. I think that's a wonderful name to add to the Cheeky Monkey catalog!

I hope you enjoyed my cinematic nail art. For another manicure exploring the movie Black Swan, check out Deniz's version. She really captures the dark and violent feel. Are there any other Black Swan manicures I should see?

How many of you ladies have seen Black Swan? What were your impressions? While I enjoyed the acting and found some of the images arresting, I felt the director could have been more restrained in letting the plot move more naturally and allowing the viewer to develop his or her own impressions. I knew how the movie was going to end within the first 10 minutes.

I also would have loved to have seen more original themes explored. The idea of ballerinas dealing with aggressive and predatory directors, overbearing mothers, competition among dancers, and anorexia has been examined. This isn't to say the movie wasn't worthwhile, but I think with fine tuning it could have been great.

Filthy Madam was offered to me for review. This shade can be purchased at cheekymonkeycosmetics.com.

Konad image plates M36, M77 and S08 were sent to me for review. You can shop the complete line of nail art stamping products at ocnailart.com.

Design plate P19 was provided for my consideration. Stop by chez-delaney.com to view the full assortment of nail art stamping plates.

Happy painting, ladies!

Grey and silver skies: Nubar Barricade and Organza

Hello ladies,

The past three days have been a gathering of snow, sleet, and rain. I decided to translate the chill weather onto my nails. I created a grey tone on tone manicure with gems and mirrors as icy highlights.

I formed pearl dots using Nubar Organza. This is my first venture with a dotting tool. I am definitely looking forward to experimenting further with this technique. I placed large rainbow gems, mirror circles, clear faceted and smooth rhinestones and pearls at random.

This manicure was tricky to capture. All of the dots are the same color on the nail. The sun seemed to highlight some more than others. If you squint a little, you can envision it.

Barricade applied easily, with the standard high quality Nubar formula. Two coats brought perfect opacity. I love wearing grey polish in winter. I feel like I am part of the atmosphere.

I hope you enjoyed my modern take on snow, ice and rain.

Part of the Fortress Collection, Barricade was sent to me for review. Organza, also provided for review, can be found within the Finest Silks Collection. Both polishes can be purchased at bynubar.com.

The dotting tools were sent to me for consideration. Visit bornprettystore.com to purchase.

Happy painting, ladies!

A blue and grey day: Color Club Soft as Cashmere

Hello ladies,

It seems like many of us have been greeted by icy winds today. I was thinking about the grey overtaking the blue sky. Ashley, my favorite cafe barista, said my manicure reminded her of the ice thawing in Spring and the flowers coming out of the earth. Perhaps my internal optimism was at work in creating this look.

I began with Color Club Soft as Cashmere for a base. From Konad plate S9, I stamped the flowers in blue pearl special polish. I chose turquoise rhinestones from Bundle Monster. These are slightly larger than the size that typically appears on my nails. I created a curved glitter French using Covered in Diamonds. I followed the shape of the stamping design along the side of the nail.

White poinsettias and blue hydrangea at Longwood Gardens.

Soft as Cashmere required three coats for opacity. The color is a pretty, warm grey with beige undertones. Covered in Diamonds is a must have for those who love layering notes. Its icy sparkle is perfect for winter manicures.

If you are in Australia, feel free to share stories of your warm temperatures. It will be like wrapping around an extra scarf.

Color Club Soft as Cashmere and Covered in Diamonds were sent to me for review. These polishes are part of the Untamed Luxury Collection, available for purchase at victoriasnailsupply.com.

Happy painting, ladies!

Trousseau

Hello ladies,

I was thinking today about vintage bridal trousseaus. I love the idea of a hand carved trunk overflowing with embroidered linens and exquisite gowns. I wanted to create a manicure of soft colors and old world details.

With brown Konad Princess polish, I stamped the creeping floral vine from plate M31. I added blue and silver beads along with pastel blue pearls to highlight the flowers. The floral pattern makes me think of filigree.

Wild Orchid reminds me of moonlight.

A pretty little tree in Fitler Square.

Wild Orchid is unusual. It's a lavender tinted grey with multihued shimmer. I painted three coats for perfect opacity. Those ladies with shorter nails would likely be pleased with two coats. The application was great with this color.

I hope you enjoyed my heirloom inspired manicure.

Wild Orchid was sent to me for review. Part of the Untamed Luxury Collection, this polish can be purchased from victoriasnailsupply.com.

Konad plate M31 was provided for my consideration. To explore the full line of Konad products, stop by ocnailart.com. For the chance to win eight nail art stamping plates. Head over to the Ladies' Choice of Eight Plates Giveaway! The contest ends November 24th, so get your entries in!

Happy painting, ladies!