Chaotic Graffiti Nails

Sinful Colors Snow Me White, China Glaze That's Shore Bright and Goldie But Goodie, Sally Hansen Blue Me Away!, Wet 'N Wild Candylicious, and L.A. Colors Circuits

 Here's the story behind these nails: I had done this beautiful matte color blocking manicure, and I COULD HAVE SWORN that my nails were dry, but because there were so many layers of paint on my nails (from the top coat between tapings), they ended up looking like crap by the end of the day.

So I scrapped those nails, and decided to try something different. I saw this Chalkboard Nails tutorial, and decided that I wanted to give it a shot (it looked very doable, and I didn't have much time).

I love how they turned out, though they're not quite what the tutorial called for. I just loved layering the colors, and the barely-any-polish-on-the-brush technique.

My mom said that they are "beautiful and absolute chaos," and I have to agree.

Deconstructed Roses

Essie Devil's Advocate with China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy and That's Shore Bright, Wet 'N Wild I Need A Refresh-mint

 This design was inspired by a post at Paulina's Passions, one of my favorite blogs to follow. I was so intrigued by the kind of abstract rose that just seemed to form on the nail. I also wanted to practice painting my nails a dark color. Normally, I stay away from dark base colors because I always seem to mess up and stain my cuticles and it's an absolute nightmare. But practice makes perfect! And this was a relatively painless experience!

And it definitely helped that this is probably the best very dark plum/not quite black color ever! Devil's Advocate is so rich, and much warmer than plain black polish. It can pass for black without being so harsh. It was very smooth, and almost a one-coater, but two quick medium coats do the trick!

Serum No. 5 Pink Lantern

Let me just start off by saying that this polish in UNREAL. I had seen Serum No. 5's Dayglow all over, and it looked cool, but I didn't think I'd use the polish very much. But then! I was so moved by this Chalkboard Nails post that I immediately ordered Pink Lantern for Halloween, and didn't look back!

I love that it's a very wearable baby-doll pink in the light, and has such a warm glow in the dark. With only minimal charging (<30 sec), the glow was so bright, and lasted a long time. I charged them for about 2 minutes under my bright desk lamp before going to a Halloween party, and I came home 4 hours later with still-glowing nails.

I'm such a fan, and I will likely order again from Serum No. 5 (and not just for glow-in-the-dark polishes)! 

Simple, Yet Jazzy Tape Mani

China Glaze Nude and That's Shore Bright!, Essie Devil's Advocate

I think it's safe to say that I love these nails! I am such a fan of the color combination; I feel like any base color besides nude would be a bit overwhelming. I used scotch tape to get clean lines (and I pressed the tape strips on my hand a few times before applying to the nail, so that it did not pull up the base) with That's Shore Bright, and was initially going to leave them just two-tone.

But I got the bright idea to add some dots where the colors meet, and I'm glad I did! I feel like they really tie everything together, and make the mani that much more sophisticated!