Challenge #6: GRAYdient (aka FAIL!)

When I saw "gradient" was one of the inspirations for this challenge, I cogitated for awhile, mentally pouring over all the different creme options I had, or maybe even a holo gradient, but I kinda already did that this past summer... And then KABOOM!, outta the blue, I knew exactly what I should do: a GRAYdient!!!!!!!  Puns and plays on words are totally my thang, so don't that just beat all! :D  LOL

I laid down two perfect, smooth, shiny coats of Cult Nails Tempest.  Seriously, I was rubbing my nails ALL DAY.  Now that I've used it for a full mani, I would recommend it as the  ultimate white creme. PERFECTION!

And then I grabbed my grays; note that the night before I did this, a perusal of Wal-Mart's beauty aisle endcaps rewarded me Pure Ice's Kiss Me Here, which I'd been looking for since I saw it on my friend Essie's blog last spring!  Who woulda thought that a Pure Ice polish would be so stinkin' hard to find?!  Well it was, and it also happened to be the perfect gray to complete the GRAYdient!  'Twas meant to be!

Or NOT.  Uhhhh...NOPE.  Just no. :(  THIS LOOKS AWFUL!

Why did mine look more like color bands than a smooth, melty blend?! And patchy and ugggh... Well, for some reason I thought you were supposed to take a tiny piece of sponge and sponge on the colors one at a time.
After some research & consulting experienced nail art blogs, I discovered you're supposed to use a wedge makeup sponge & paint all the colors on in strips and use it rather like one big foamy stamp! DUH.  Oh well, I am now "in the know" for the next time I attempt a gradient.  But for now, I'm going to chalk this up as a learning experience and move on to the next mani!

BUT first... 

after that horror, I will give you a nice gray to feast your eyes on:

GRAY HOLO!!!  :D  This is Hit Polish Pewter Goblet.  Not a strong linear holo, but very purty nonetheless, and it satisfied my desire for Too Fancy Lacquer's Silent Night at a much  lower price!  Unfortunately, Hit Polish closed up shop as of a couple weeks ago due to a new business venture for her & her hubby.

This is one coat Pewter Goblet over two coats Kiss Me Here.  PG is a tad sheer on its own, and KMH really is the PERFECT MATCH to go under it.  Polish serendipity, I tell ya!  These photos are without topcoat - it's just that shiny. :)  PG actually felt a bit thick and gloopy to me, but a thin-medium coat was perfect, dried fairly quickly, and obviously, produces a nice holo effect.  

And I happened to be wearing a gray sweatshirt, so hey, why not do a good ol' Essie "sweater shot?!" :D  Except I'm clearly not her, so it didn't really turn out... I'm blaming it in part on the fact that I was operating the camera with my non-dominant hand! lol

Skittles for Essie - A tribute

As many of you probably know, Essie of iHeartPrettyPolish has announced that she is stepping away from blogging, possibly forever. :(  HUGE sad face!  But I'm also very proud of her for making a hard yet necessary choice, for her well-being.
In honor of her fabulous style and famous skittlette combinations, some of her blogger buddies and I (Melissa of Lacquer Reverie, Christine of Polished Marvels, Liesl of Liesl Loves Pretty Things, and Dani of From Polish, with Love), inspired by her manis, hatched a secret plan to create our own skittlettes to celebrate & appreciate her & let her know she's loved - whether or not she is blogging - and will always be an inspiration. :)  So here's to you, Essie dear!!!! :D

Each polish used in this mani has a story.
Thumb: Zoya Reagan
I first saw it in one of Essie's posts, and was convinced it was the perfect raspberry creme. It is.
Pointer: Essie Sand Tropez
This is especially special - the polish that started my & Essie's friendship. :)  I had commented on her post about this polish, saying I was looking for the perfect nude, and she graciously offered to just send it to me because it wasn't right for her skintone.
Middle: Butter London Victoriana
A brand-new acquisition as of yesterday, highly recommended by Essie as one of her all-time favorites.  I can totally understand why!
Ring: Julep Trina + Hit Polish Retro Chic (now d/c & 40% off, fyi!)
Essie included this one as a little surprise when she sent me Sand Tropez, which was unbelievably kind...my first introduction to what a great group nail bloggers are!  I topped it with Retro Chic because in her skittlettes, she usually did a blingy accent with a Shimmer polish.  Having none, I improvised & I think the colors of glitter in RC go well with the cremes. :)
Pinkie: Essie Mojito Madness
Another one I saw in an old post of hers.  I fell in love with the shade, and despite my trepidation towards greens, I had to have it.  Boy, am I glad I saw that post!  This polish transports me to a tropical isle every time.

All of these polishes have top-notch formulas, easy two-coaters (some only one: Reagan, Trina, & Mojito Madness), and they dry super  shiny!  I only put Seche Vite over the glitter accent nail.  For real!!
*Note: I did use two coats of all except Trina & Retro Chic simply to ensure the highest quality for this post.

My blog would probably not exist were it not for her.  Here's an email excerpt of her prompting me to start one: "Well maybe you should have a blog. :) Let me know if you need help starting one! I'll be your first follower. And awesome that you are in Minnesota. That's another reason you need a blog, I have no other bloggers in MN that I know about. :( I'm lonely."
Once I decided to take the plunge, she gave me SO much support & countless helpful tips, like turning off the word verification thing for comments, nail & cuticle care (including her own routine), and a helpful guide to painting your nails neatly when she saw how frustrated I was getting with it. :)

I want to thank you SO MUCH for being a part of not only my hobby blogging life, but also a real-life friend - even though we've never met.  You're a wonderful person whom I feel so privileged to know.  I wish you all the best in life & in blogging, should you ever decide to come back. :)  ♥

Cheap Thrills, part 2 -- Nail mail? NOPE. Nail fail.

Oi.  I hate when what seems like a great mani idea in your head turns out to be a total wreck.  That's what happened here, unfortunately.  At the time I bought it, I obviously did not know that one of my three Fing'rs Heart 2 Art polishes had the consistency of quik-set cement.  Nor did I have my Seche Restore at that time. SO this is what came of it:

What you see here is Fing'rs Set in Rhine-Stone, Sinful Colors 24/7, and Hit Polish Companion Cube on the accent nail, plus a sticker/decal thingie from the Heart 2 Art Travel pack.  

Set in Rhine-Stone was just so messy & unmanageable...it was nearly impossible to do a thin coat, because giant gobs of polish kept sliding down the long brush stem (remember the bottles are almost identical to Julep's), and when I did get a thin coat, it was insanely patchy.  

Also, it felt like it dried super fast, but yet, it took FOREVER once the nail was covered.  Maybe it's more accurate to say it got tacky really fast, which made multiple brush strokes & self-leveling out of the question.  Hence the strange ridges & layer-y looking areas. I didn't even bother to put on a top coat on all my nails because I knew this would be coming off later that evening.  I'm sure a TC would have made things look a lot better, but I was so disgusted I couldn't even make myself give it a try.

24/7 was nice & easy to work with, and holy moly is it ever an amazing neon pink!  I love it!  It's more of a light, chalky yet very TRUE neon pink.  I really should show it next to Kleancolor's Neon Pink.  24/7 it what I really wanted all along; I just didn't know it.  Of course though, true to form for neons, it is not photographing well.
-_-  Grr.

I thought the sticker thingies were actually going to be more like those water decals I've read about on misc. blogs, but alas, they're more of just a standard sticker which have never worked for me in the past.  However in the past, I did not know what a top coat was, let alone that such a thing as Seche Vite existed.  So I slapped on a heavy coat of SV, and what did I get?  A sinking sticker.  And a bubbling glob of SV that wasn't so "vite" any more, apparently, since I mooshed it on something which only added to the failing mess.

Oooh!  Here you can get a better idea of the awesomeness that is Sinful Colors 24/7!  And the fact that my nails are all long, shapely, and the cutes are neat & moisturized.  Ahhh I miss those days!  My nails seriously ARE NOT GROWING now & despite a million cuticle oil and balm applications a day, they're still dry & hangnail-y. :-(
P.S. I really debated about this photo because it's an awkward pose, but meh, whatevs!  If it disturbs you: look away!!! ;-)

Hit Polish's Companion Cube was a fun grey jelly with pink hearts, medium silver holo hexes, & medium matte black hexes.  This was one coat, with a bit of the dab & spread method.  Hit Polish seriously has a TON of amazing polishes with more creations being added all the time.  I have a few others (like Lullaby) that are just gorgeously fun, and Concrete Jungle is on my wishlist.  Check out www.hitpolish.com for all your bank account draining needs! ;-)

So, there you have it, ladies.  I gave it an honest-to-goodness try!  And now I have to go to bed because reliving the ishyness has worn me out.  And I do have to get up for work in about 5 hours.

Goodnight!!  And SMILE! v  :-D