World Autism Awareness Day Manicure: Zoya Tallulah

Hello ladies,

In honor of World Autism Awareness Day, I painted my nails in vibrant blue. Part of Light it Up Blue, around the world nations adorned their monuments in commemoration. Today's manicure is a small part of the blue being shown as a reminder of those who live with Autism.

A client of mine has an Autistic child. I was really struck by his devotion to his family and the positive energy he offers his son. Through him, I was able to have a fuller understanding of what these special children can go through each day.

What we consider simple tasks can require consistent effort and months and years of trial for an Autistic child to master. He had expressed to me was how precious it was to see each success his son was able to win. I often think Autistic children have the same determination as Olympic athletes. To see the look on the face of an Autistic child trying to learn is to understand our place in the world is match their efforts with love and encouragement.

The subtle cobalt duochrome is visible in the softer light beneath the cherry blossoms.

With Konad white special polish, I stamped the filigree design from Born Pretty plate M08. I alternated the placement of rhinestones every other nail. I used royal blue and clear round gems as well as soft blue and clear Marquis jewels.

Tallulah was easy to apply and brought opacity in two coats. This polish has a faint cobalt duochrome that reflects subtly from the vibrant turquoise. A lovely and eye catching shade!

A special thanks to Jasmine from colourcoated.com for contacting ladies in the blogging community about World Autism Awareness Day. Her friend Jessica Scott is participating in Walk Now For Autism Speaks. Please stop by her donation page to learn more about her experience as the mother of a child with Autism and about the charity walk for the cause.

Please share your own stories in the comments. I am curious how many readers have had Autism touch their lives.

I purchased Tallulah from zoya.com.

Sent to me for review, image plate M08 is part of the nail art plate collection #518. These stamping design plates are available from bornprettystore.com.

Happy painting, ladies!

I Feel So Desert-ed.

Hey everyone!! Today's nails are an homage to the seemingly endless span of desert that surrounds the lovely city of sin, booze, hookers, and gluttony that I reside in. :-P No, those aren't bats, they're vultures- the Hunter S. Thompson/Fear and Loathing/Steadman nails are to come in the near future I think. :-D



I used Zoya Yummy as a base, with American Apparel Palm Springs for the desert, then mixed with Zoya Dea to shade. For the cacti, I used L.A. Girl Army Green, that I got at Urban Outfitters, Pure Ice Wild Thing to highlight, and Nubar Forest
for shadow. For the vultures, I used Zoya Raven. Topped everything off with Seche Vite top coat so it'd dry superfast, then topped off the sand portion with Essie Matte About You. :)

Note: No bodies are buried in the desert pictured, unlike the desert surrounding Vegas. ;)

I Feel So Desert-ed.

Hey everyone!! Today's nails are an homage to the seemingly endless span of desert that surrounds the lovely city of sin, booze, hookers, and gluttony that I reside in. :-P No, those aren't bats, they're vultures- the Hunter S. Thompson/Fear and Loathing/Steadman nails are to come in the near future I think. :-D



I used Zoya Yummy as a base, with American Apparel Palm Springs for the desert, then mixed with Zoya Dea to shade. For the cacti, I used L.A. Girl Army Green, that I got at Urban Outfitters, Pure Ice Wild Thing to highlight, and Nubar Forest
for shadow. For the vultures, I used Zoya Raven. Topped everything off with Seche Vite top coat so it'd dry superfast, then topped off the sand portion with Essie Matte About You. :)

Note: No bodies are buried in the desert pictured, unlike the desert surrounding Vegas. ;)

painted girl fingers and a ladies' brunch

Hello ladies,

Yesterday, I met with Beauty Judy for an afternoon of dining, horticulture and nail polish. We began with coffee and walked across Rittenhouse Square for brunch at the Continental Midtown. We chatted in a second floor booth with a perspective of the city outside and with a view of the giant modern chandelier inside, its spheres of light dangling from the ceiling. It often makes me think of textbook illustrations of chemical compounds. Other days it has a planetary vibe.

The food was as delightful as the atmosphere and the company. I ordered a Big Daddy Mac, the high end vegetarian alternative to a Big Mac. Judy was more up for the breakfast side of the menu with pancakes and fresh fruit. She brought a little gift for me, a bottle of China Glaze Free Love. It's a rusty orange with gold shimmer. I am saving my first wear of this polish to coordinate with autumn leaves. It was a very sweet and much appreciated keepsake of the day.

We ventured across town to the Navy Yard for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society member's event. My friend David gave us his household membership card for the day. I gathered a collection of little rose shaped cacti from various booths. Judy discovered a snaky cactus with lady fingers in the name. That accompanied me home! I am going to arrange these in a container once I purchase some potting soil formulated for desert plants.  I will share photos then. I do wish the sun had been out for us. I did get a picture of my dessert from Sweet Endings, a frozen yogurt establishment. 

After the plants came the nail polish! We returned to center city on a drug store hunting expedition. Judy noticed all the Wet 'n' Wild Crave polishes were stocked at our second Rite Aid of the day. I was so excited to finally behold the collection! The cylindrical bottles are even more adorable in person! I helped her choose some Brucci polishes. At CVS, together we stormed the Milani Black Magic display. We didn't purchase every shade, but the display showed evidence of our zeal when we departed for the register.

It was a pleasant ladies' day out. I thank Judy for her good natured company. I am certain we will be meeting up again soon. 

I decided to create the most girly manicure possible for the afternoon. I am wearing Zoya Emme from the Ooh La La collection with a funky french in Strobe Light from Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear. There is a profile of girl with a ponytail along with a ribbon from Konad plate M71. I stamped these designs using white Konad special polish. I thought of her as representing a French girl, but the similarity to the Barbie logo was pointed out to me. That furthers my amusement. 

I am so glad the sun was out today in the garden to highlight my ten girly nails and these two bees. I love how one has open wings and the other bee has snug wings. 

Here is my dessert from Sweet Endings. In my cup, there are two kinds of frozen yogurt: sesame and french vanilla. I topped it with fresh mango pieces, strawberries and whole raspberries. Then I drizzled honey over top. It was healthy and decadent at the same time.

Zoya Emme was a little tricky to apply. I wish I had used Get Even as a base on all ten nails. I noticed the color was far less streaky to apply when painted over a base. My manicure shows three coats. I had some bare patches after the second coat I fixed by adding a heavy third. Brushstrokes appeared when the color was wet, but they lessened as the polish dried. For serious devotees of pink, Emme would be worth a purchase. Though the color has a seashell beauty, I don't think it's wholly original. I do appreciate the trademark Zoya shimmer. 

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Strobe Light didn't boldly read as pink on the nail the way it seemed it would from the appearance of the bottle. I loved the application for a funky french. It was easy to control for a glitter formula. It was neither too runny nor too dry. I think Strobe Light would coordinate well with any blue based polish. 

I hope you enjoyed hearing about my time out in Philadelphia with Judy. I am going to be showing some colors from the Nubar Royal Gems Collection this week as well as rolling out a new contest. 

Happy painting, ladies! 

Apothecary: Zoya Remove +

Hello ladies,

Today I wanted to share my daily process occurring with my favorite polish remover: Zoya Remove +. My friend Lisa and I found a delightful bottle holder in the garden next to the Mutter Museum. It's a shame I can't transport the Remove + bearer to my apartment. Of course she must remain in the garden so that others can take her picture with their most treasured nail polish remover. It's essential to retain the sense of community, especially in city dwelling.  

Remove + is the first step of the Zoya Colorlock System. As a polish remover and nail prep, Remove + can be utilized as part of your current nail care procedure regardless of which treatment products you use. I believe it's the mark of a quality product when it can be separated from a line and still achieve excellent results. 

I feel choosing a quality polish remover helps maintain nail length and reduces damage that can eventually lead to breakage. Even if I purchase drugstore polish, I will still take it off with Remove +. Using a polish remover that typically requires a scrubbing action to be effective can cause the nail to slightly twist at the sides. This motion ultimately weakens the nail and can form tiny cracks that grow into tears or splits.  

I have to praise Zoya for creating, to my nose,  the best smelling polish remover on the market. I have a finite sense of smell. I love natural perfumery and for me to praise the scent of a polish remover is nothing short of miraculous! Zoya describes the scent as being lavender based. To me, it smells like a light floral expanse distracting from the effective ingredients. The list includes: 2-Propanone, water, glycerine, fragrance and D&C violet #2. The color is light purple and looks like it is a lavender scented product. That information doesn't relate to my olfactory senses. I smell a giant mixed bouquet tossed over 2-Propanone. 

The method I use to remove polish begins with cutting up rectangles of white felt from the craft store. I size the pieces slightly larger than each nail.  I position the piece of felt over the holes under the flip cap and pump once. This should saturate the felt and leave a little extra remover that can be absorbed by the next piece. I gently press the piece of felt to make contact with the entire surface of the nail. I wait for about 20 seconds, then wipe. I use the same method with glitter polishes. Usually glitter will require a second pump of remover. I use one small piece of felt per nail. For regular polish, you can use cotton rounds if you prefer. I have found felt to be so economical I use it to remove every type of polish I wear. As a bonus, less product is required when working with felt.

The Big Flipper bottle seemed a little awkward to me the first couple times I tried it. You'll find the most comfortable pressure to dispense the amount of polish remover you require. A 32 oz. refill bottle is available. There is also a 2 oz. trial size. I would advise skipping that and moving to the 8 oz. Big Flipper. 

Remove + also works beautifully as a nail prep. Directly before I polish, I take a felt square similar in size to a cotton round and go over all ten nails. This will take off any oils that can keep your base coat from throughly adhering to the nail plate. Touching your face, pushing back your hair, or petting your dog or cat can transfer imperceptible oils to the nail that will cause polish to chip. Base coat can't thoroughly adhere to oil. Giving my nails a final swipe with Remove + is the final step before I begin painting. It assures the nail plate is clean and ready for base coat. 

One of the points necessary for maintaining nail length, to whatever degree suits your sense of aesthetics and lifestyle, is consistency. I use Remove + exclusively for nail prep. There are other removers I find work effectively to take off polish and I will be sharing those with you as part of the apothecary series.  

Happy painting, removing, and painting again! 

Rhinestone flower girl

Hello ladies,

Today I have pinwheel flowers from Coraline Kit A. I added pink rhinestones to the center of the larger blooms and gave two fingers and my thumb on each hand a rhinestone beauty mark. The base for this invention is the neon Zoya Dita from the La Di Da collection. I added two flower ring pictures to better illustrate the placement of jewels and stamping. In the last photo, my elusive right hand makes it's debut. 

Clicking to enlarge will make the design more crisp. Neons are tricky! 

The pinwheel flowers are from Coraline plate C01. I used Konad special polish in black. After the smaller flower migrated during stamping four times between two hands, I decided to work it into the design element. I applied a clear rhinestone with a rainbow reflection to form a triad. I love to include flower rings because they are fun to wear, but also holding them shows the centering of the stamping more accurately. Bending fingers over a polish bottle can alter the visual of my nail length and cause the designs to appear like they are shifting off center. 

I had some trials with rhinestone application. Applying nail glue directly against special polish will cause your design to dissolve into a sticky Rorschach inkblot. A better method is to apply your rhinestones a few minutes after using Konad top coat. Gently press them into the top coat. Skip the glue. Seal the look with your favorite quick dry treatment.

Zoya Dita, along with America, is among my favorites from the La Di Da collection. It's a hip, bright take on all the berry cremes we have been seeing. It's eye catching and classic at once. Dita could be worn to recreate the look of an old time movie starlet. I wish neon polishes photographed true to life, as this color is stunning in person. It's worth an add on to a Zoya order. I think this shade could work well into the fall.   

I hope you like today's creation. Happy painting, ladies!   

Inspired whimsy: Paz the polish meets Paz the cat

Hello ladies,

I have more inspired whimsy for you! I was so thrilled when Zoya released Paz since the color shares a name with my friend David's cat. I decided to do a manicure interpreting the essence of the feline Paz utilizing his namesake in polish. My friend Lisa accompanied me on this sweltering day to the physic garden next to the Mutter Museum to capture Paz with yellow flowers. Her assessment that they resemble giant buttercups seems thoroughly appropriate to me!  

I trailed Paz around David's house yesterday with the camera. Paz spends much of his existence in a state of floofy confusion. I typically greet him by picking him up and leaving a lipstick print on one of his white cheeks. He will roam about with evidence of the kiss emblazoned on his face for hours. The first picture shows Paz in contemplation before a Buddhist thangka or painted scroll. His compassion did not last much beyond the kitchen door. The second picture illuminates Paz in the backyard chomping on bamboo leaves. That was his zen moment for the day. Evidence appears in the shape of a shredded leaf protruding from the corner of his mouth. Per usual, you can enlarge my pictures, this time however, to detect Paz's habit. 

I ordered a bottle of Konad princess polish in light gray in anticipation of the homage. The color arrived appearing more like a dusty lavender. Very pretty, but not auspicious to embody Paz. I decided to stamp Konad special polish in white and do a silver funky french to add a grey tone. The tips were painted with Wet n Wild Kaleidoscope. If you are nervous about attempting a french, try using a glitter top coat. It's a more forgiving method of practicing freehand. The only caveat being the clear polish in the base is less viscous than white. It can be runnier. Angling your tips down slightly as you paint will prevent straying polish. The cat design was from Coraline plate C02 from set II. While I really enjoyed the movie in the theatre, my fascination with these two Konad sets is central to the designs. 

Zoya Paz had a decent application. I did three coats over Get Even ridge filling base coat. As with most neons, the dry time is speedy. The polish is sheer and amazingly bright! You'll have to amp the color that appears in front of you to match the fluorescent vests worn by construction workers at night. I find the Zoya La Di Da Collection to be incredibly wearable despite the bright shades. They appear cheerful and fashion forward on the nail, not at all garish. 

Tonight is the last night to enter the NYC Molten Metal contest. It's open to followers and subscribers worldwide! I am currently working on the next contest, which will celebrate the first fifty followers arriving. We are almost there. I will be making an announcement soon!  

Thanks ladies. I hope you enjoyed Paz! Happy painting. 

Apothecary: Zoya Get Even

Hello ladies,

There's a question I am posed in some variation almost every day: "How do you keep your natural nails so long?". Interspersed with polish, nail art and product review posts, I am going to be featuring treatments I use regularly.  I believe these contribute to my overall nail health and maintenance. Whatever length you enjoy keeping your nails, I hope these recommendations will be of benefit and present additional options for consideration. I also endeavor to demystify the process of nail care. There are so many faulty products with convincing packaging. All you really require are a few dependable ones. 

I brought my bottle of Zoya Get Even, ridge filling base coat, to the park with me and positioned it upon the wrought iron fence. Such a good model!

Get Even is the second step in the Zoya Colorlock System. While I only occasionally use the full five steps (the sixth item is polish thinner), Get Even is a part of almost every manicure. The reason Zoya Colorlock isn't for me much of the time is my use of the Konad. Colorlock features drops as the quick dry agent. These leave a residue on the nail that is incompatible with stamping nail art. One of the benefits of Get Even is it performs spectacularly outside of the Colorlock System. I use it most often with Creative Nail Design Stickey base coat and Air Dry top coat. 

I apply Get Even for three main purposes: strengthening a damaged nail, concealing a wrap or as a primer under sheer polishes. For the first two instances, I only paint Get Even on the affected nails. I use one to two thin coats over my base coat. To insure opacity with sheer colors, I only require one coat after the base.  

Get Even has a thin consistency. It leaves a milky wash of color over the nail. It doesn't cover uniformly, but this is purposeful. The product will smooth over areas of texture and create a level foundation for painting color. Get Even dries far faster than standard polish. Applying it under sheer colors will save dry time and avert the need to paint additional coats of polish. Get Even will quell those four coater nightmares! 

If you ever have a small crack or peeling, Get Even contains a dense fiber-like compound and polyurethane for strengthening properties. I find it most useful in keeping dark or bright colors from settling into uneven areas and adhering to the nail plate in a way that even 100% acetone can't penetrate. In nurturing a damaged nail, providing a white base can circumvent issues with staining that would otherwise make wearing lighter colors unsightly until the area has grown out. 

Get Even is wondrous at covering nail repair patches. Depending on the thickness of the patch, two coats may be necessary. After much experimentation I found I prefer cut pieces of tea bag and brush on nail glue to professional silk wraps. The problem with tea bags is they sit a little higher on the nail and don't tolerate the same degree of buffing. Get Even can obscure them effectively.

The product level in the photo is deceptive. I turned my bottle over to coat the glass. It's about 30% down at the moment. I can't imagine having a full bottle of Get Even for very long. 

Thanks ladies and happy painting!   

Coraline is one with bumblebees and monarchs

Hello ladies,

Today my friend Sarada and I took a walk at Silver Lake Nature Center. Since she loves yellow nail polish, I thought I would oblige with Zoya Pippa, a neon from the La Di Da collection. The face of Coraline was added in Konad special polish gold black. Coraline with a button eye is from plate C01. In the first picture, she is set before a cluster of black eyed Susans. 

Isn't the view lovely? There was a walking path built over the water. A profusion of wildflowers and sunbeams were welcoming. All three pictures can be enlarged. Please excuse the condensation on a couple of my nails. I was carrying a bottle of water. Perhaps Coraline needed some refreshment as well. 

This is the first occasion I have used a character stamp from either of the Coraline sets. These seem to be the most popular of the designs offered based on what I have seen pictured on other blogs. Partial to the insects, flowers and flourishes, I decided to give Coraline's disembodied head a whirl. I wanted to show her in a dark color so the details would be crisp. I was hoping the gold shimmer would be more prevalent, but the neon reflection overpowered the sparkle. It came out starker than I had intended, but Coraline kept company with the bees and monarch butterflies.   

The application of Zoya Pippa was ghastly. I decided to add a new category, horrors, for such moments. I used Zoya Get Even ridge filler over Creative Nail Design Stickey base coat and applied three coats of Pippa. If Zoya ever decides to expand their health based product line and add swiss style yogurt, they have the perfect consistency with Pippa. It managed to be both unbearably thick and streaky simultaneously. Imagine trying to paint your nails with the back of a spoon dipped in La Yogurt and you will have a mirror of my experience. 

I had a couple creepy instances with Pippa. The first involved rolling the Konad stamper across my pointer finger on my left hand. Wet polish shot out from beneath the sealed top coat. It exited at the side of my cuticle. When I pressed against the top of my nail, the edge smoothed out and fused in place. I didn't have to redo the stamp or the polish. I can't decide if I should be thankful or terrified. The second oddity was exhibited after I washed my face before bed, hours after finishing the manicure. The polish on my right hand wrinkled at the tips. I was so disturbed after wrestling with Pippa! I went to sleep lamenting my ruined manicure and awakened to find the wrinkles had smoothed out overnight. This process was repeated for Sarada at the movie theater with a thorough hand washing. She saw the polish crease and iron itself out when dry. Are you afraid? I am.

Pippa is the first nail polish that has actually given me nightmares. I dreamt it turned purple on my nails and the polish cracked to reveal striations of opal. This was exquisite until Coraline's face starting melting down my nails. I awoke feeling assured that my nails were still yellow. Then I realized all the odd wrinkling had self corrected in my sleep! A strong cup of coffee from the French press helped me reconnect. The black eyed Susans and the good company returned the cheer to my manicure. 

I hope you enjoyed sharing my adventure. Happy painting!

Inspired whimsy: The Black Apple

Hi ladies,

Today, I am bringing you inspired whimsy. This series will showcase the result of channeling a point of interest into a finished manicure. This look began with my friend David telling me a letter was waiting for me at the coffee shop. I have pen friends abroad and in the US. Most of my personal mail gets sent to the shop lest it be crammed into the old metal mailbox in the hallway of my building. I treasure my letters. I don't fancy them crumpled! In my stationary drawer, I have flora and fauna postcards from the black apple on etsy. I adore her aesthetic.  

I chose Zoya America from the La di da collection. I honestly didn't believe this was a true neon until I viewed the pictures. Here, the color leans more towards pink then the retro style red it appears on my nails. I understand why bloggers so often become vexed when photographing neons. I esteem the imagination of readers to handle adjusting the color and amplifying the brightness to a truer form than any camera can capture. I can't even begin to express how glassy this polish is when top coat is added. These photos were taken close to 6:30 p.m. They were shot in sunlight, but nothing compared to the brightness of mid afternoon rays. 

The application of this polish was fair and workable. The consistency seemed a little thicker to me than other Zoyas. It wanted to run towards the side of my nails. I had to be feisty with my brush to keep the polish behaving! I am more accustomed to their shimmers, glitters and metallics, which I find easier to apply. 

The Konad apples are found on the fruit plate M55. The strip of lace is from M71. It was my first time attempting a design that follows a straight line across. I am pleased with it and I want to try others. I used the Princess polish in Gold Black for stamping. I love this color over red! It's a little more subtle with the gold metallic than special polish in black. That bit of sparkle offsets the red creme finish nicely. Try clicking on the photos to see the shimmer. 

A daily reminder for new readers: Please don't forget to enter the contest to win a bottle of N.Y.C. Nail Glossies in Molten Metal. The contest is open to followers and e-mail subscribers worldwide!

I hope you enjoyed the black apple manicure and had a chance to visit it's place of inspiration. 

Goldie and a plague of frogs

Hello ladies,

Today I have a fanciful manicure for you featuring Zoya Goldie from the Ooh La la collection. I spend the late morning and afternoon with my friend Alicia. I decided to find the silliest Konad stamp imaginable that would entertain us on our shopping errands. That frog definitely looks like he is up to something. Watch out! The weather verged on rain for many hours. I managed to get a partial sun picture taken over the fountain water in Rittenhouse Square. 

The picture above resulted from acts of boldness and hilarity. It also served to illustrate that once in the suburbs, people don't care what you do in a retail environment. I was looking at the Ott lights in Michael's craft store. I wasn't planning on buying a lamp today, but I was curious to see if their reputation for creating natural light indoors would serve my purposes. Alicia and I set to work finding a suitable background for my hand modeling. In the scrapbook supplies area, she discovered a book of papers entitled So Girly. Perfect. She held the green floral paper behind my nails to camouflage the unsightly power strip, littered with plugs to every sample light fixture. When the reality dawned on both of us that we were standing in a craft store taking pictures on the sly of my frog stamped nails, we were giggling uncontrollably.  I am pleased with the quality of the Ott light photo and also the covert activity executed to obtain it.

Zoya Goldie has rich pigmentation for a metallic. I achieved full coverage easily in two coats. Having a thin consistency, Goldie isn't the most forgiving polish. It will show the outline of silk wraps or any major imperfections even over Zoya's ridge filling base coat. This makes sense since the metallic is so glossy and reflective. My skin tone is neutral. This is not the gold for cool toned ladies. It's more of a burnished gold in tone, yet it's still bright. 

Goldie is classy. It's a color suited to complement an evening gown. The fact that I stamped frogs over it and went galavanting to beauty supply stores says a bit about me. Again, I used Coraline plate C05 from kit 1.  Konad special polish in green comprised the stamp. 

Thank you for stopping by my blog. I'm not sure if it need be mentioned: Despite the continued use of the word lady in different forms, men are invited to read and comment respectably. I'm not sure how much testosterone could have made it through this post, but guys are indeed welcome. 

I want to thank everyone who has been reading, adding painted Lady fingers to their blogrolls, becoming followers, and commenting. It's been a real treat for me. I will keep the posts coming. 

 

feathery and ooh la la

Hello Ladies,

Today I have Zoya Midori from the Ooh La La collection. I know I have been showing you a lot of Zoya to start. During a Twitter promotion, I ordered both the Ooh La La and the La Di Da lines. With the weather verging on oppressive in Philadelphia, even under a parasol, I feel compelled to wear bright and fresh colors. I choose polish more by whim than weather, so you may encounter a vampy shade despite the 92 degrees F.

Click the pictures and watch them grow. Delightful!

Application was like a magic trick. Midori went on with brushstrokes, which disappeared after drying. I really love the gold reflection in this aquatic green. It makes me think of lily pads and duckweed, which I renamed lacy algae on one of my many nature excursions. Now with a little research, I discover it's not classified as algae. I am ever the confused naturalist. 

The Konad design is from Coraline plate C05, found in kit 1. It makes me think of stylized feathers. I used Konad special polish in white. Stamping across the area of my nail above the free edge made me a little nervous. I didn't feel entirely comfortable with the sensation of rolling the stamper over that bit of length. I'm accustomed to the more solid feel of pressing the design to the center of my nail. I really do favor the visual of the placement though. I think vanity will win over discomfort in this instance. I hope you enjoyed seeing more from the Coraline set. Some of my favorite Konad designs are in those two kits. I will share them with you over time.

For new visitors to my blog, please let me know in comments if you have a nail blog. I would love to see what you are up to and add you to my blogroll. Look forward to more whimsy tomorrow! 

Pink butterflies and white frosting

Hello ladies,

Today I have another Zoya for you, this time from the Ooh-La-La Collection. Behold, Ginessa. I added some Konad butterflies from plate M20 with Konad Special Polish in Psyche Pink. My Virgo self never tires of centering medium size designs or positioning them to my fancy. Little details calm me. You may wonder a bit about my lack of bottles in the photos below.  I simply left them at home. I hope the substitute pink impatients will do. The flowers are a dupe to Psyche Pink. I took these photos in the backyard garden of my favorite coffee shop. I temporarily confounded a barista until he decided it would be really cool if I used his bicycle as a prop for polish photos. If I forget my bottles again, this may indeed happen.  

Click to enlarge. 

Please excuse my hand positioning in the second photo. I was trying to be careful with the petals. Zoya bottles are far sturdier. I did three coats of Ginessa. Two would suffice for most people, but opacity is almost a religion to me. The application of Ginessa was most interesting. It was thick and smooth. It really made me feel like I was brushing white frosting across my nails. There are tiny glitter particles that give the visual sense of texture while the polish remains even. I love the shimmer in this. It would be a very pretty shade for brides or for guests at a wedding. It would be a festive alternative to sheer pinks and nudes. I must praise Ginessa for being incredibly wearable. My skin is quite fair and I didn't feel like a mime. 

Oddities: wee beetles

Hello ladies,

Welcome to painted Lady fingers. For my first post, I am going to show you Zoya Ki with Konad special polish in green. I have the little pincer beetle from Coraline plate C01. I am charmed by both Coraline kits. The beetle is from Kit A. I am reminded a bit of Common Stag Beetle when I look down at my nails. I took some liberties here with color as this particular beetle is dark red or brown in nature. For those who find beetle embellished nails a bit startling, I can assure you these beetles dine on sap. The mandibles on the male are generally reserved for male on male fighting when it comes time to woo a female Stag Beetle. I consider myself wooed. 

I will warn you ladies this is the first occasion I have ever used a digital camera other than the times when a tourist will hand me their camera with a smile and a plea. These were test shots I took while on a walk with my friend David along the Wissahickon today. David stood by bemused both at the fact that I was taking photos of my nails and also being privy to the negligible skill a man was demonstrating while tossing a frisbee to his dog in the water. The man had a back up frisbee. I thought at first this spoke of the dog's catching abilities, but no. I give him credit for the foresight to bring two frisbees. Let us now focus on my troubles on the wooden bridge and not his below. The sun was bright on the bridge and I had some difficulty seeing the screen for practice shots. Here is my first attempt at photography since I had my last camera, which loaded film. 

Please click to view full size.

Above is a shot of my left hand. The ring I am wearing is a silver owl. It occasionally gets mistaken for a fish or a pineapple. The picture will give you another view of the green duochrome in the purple shimmer wonderland that is Ki. My silver band, which is unfortunately turned a bit, reads lumen, which is latin for light. 

I hope you enjoyed my first post. I have a sea of untried polishes to photograph, lots of Konad to enchant you and as always a bit of whimsy.