L'Oreal Eva's Nude

Ohh L'Oreal, how I love thee, let me count the ways!!  Haha, although it is  true... I've said a few times that L'Oreal has to be my favorite drugstore polish brand.  The brushes are my ideal kind of brush, rounded to fit perfectly in the curve near the cuticle with little effort (squared off brushes always lead to either messy spots on my cuticle or extra concentration to make sure I don't touch the sides), the formulas of the cremes I have are lovely one or two coaters, and I am a big fan of the bottles themselves.  They're pretty and easy to store neatly, and I especially love the labels on the new Collection Privée!  Gosh, when did I get to be such a packaging junkie?!

Indoors, daylight bulb

Despite my usual scorn for "celebrity endorsements," I like the glamourous feel of this collection.  In high school speech class, we learned about advertising ploys and that was one of the biggest, of course.  "Buy this product and you too will be rich, famous, and look like said larger-than-life persona!"  Personally, it just rubs me the wrong way, for some reason.  BUT that said, I am really digging all of  Les Nudes polishes and even the looks of the lipsticks!  Check out L'Oreal's site for some lovely, drool-worthy photos. :)

Outdoors, full sun

Here we have two coats of Eva's Nude with Alcatraz...Rocks! as an accent and a heart. :)  You can probably tell I initially used a berry red polish (Julep Joan) but decided I wasn't feelin' it and went with this instead - right over the top.  I like!!!  For the heart, I took Scotch tape, made it almost unsticky by putting it on & pulling it off my palm several times, folding it so two thirds of the strip overlapped (leaving a tail so I could more easily pull it apart), then took a cosmetic scissors and cut out a tiny heart like I used to do as a kid to make paper hearts. :)

Outdoors, shade (aka the sun is behind a cloud!)

 Technically, Eva's nude is not the polish I should've chosen as I am not Hispanic and have decidedly white skin!, but I think I'm in love.  I'd been eyeing butter LONDON'S Tea & Toast, fancying a caramel-toned brown/tan/cream polish, and this has satisfied my craving!  It seems significantly lighter than T&T, but I like it - especially with that beautiful  rosy copper shimmer that is so evident in the first photo. :D  I think Julianne is actually the correct shade for me and I would buy it too (not to mention I like the actress whose name it bears) but I think my ChG Below Deck is quite similar.  Maybe I'll bring Below Deck on a rare field trip with me the next time I go to Wal-Mart and do a bottle comparison! ;)  hehe

P.S. just kidding about satisfying my craving - completely, that is.  I just now found Tea & Toast for $7 on 6pm.com!  Talk about coincidence... or fate!!

Another A-England beauty; Her Rose Adagio

This was supposed to be a tribute post of sorts, so I chose these polishes and the design with that in mind.  Said tribute post did not really work out, however I do declare the mani still deserves its moment in the sun!  :)  

And crazily enough, I just looked back at my first post; it happened to be on April 15th, 2013. So I guess that means today is my one-year blogiversary!  Haha!  Don't know how that one escaped me... I'll have to do an official post on that tonight!

Shade, indoors

Personally I was hoping that Her Rose Adagio really would be as peachy pink as some of the initial pics I saw of it made it appear, but to me it is a very  soft, pale pink with just a hint of peach.  And I love it as it is!!  A-Englands are just far too mesmerizing and ephemeral not to love!   Unfortunately I cannot tell you how many coats I used here because this mani is about a month old. :-/  Bad me, I know!  I believe it was opaque in 2, but I went for 3 to see if that would intensify the color. Fairly certain I used Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure topcoat (and my standard Duri Rejuvacote for a base...'cuz it makes muh nailzz GROW!!).

Indirect sunlight, indoors

No, I did not freehand the chevrons... I recently bought a set of Fingr's nail art tools/brushes at Wal-Mart and it had a sheet of chevrons, french tips, and straight lines, but they're about double the width I wanted them to be, so I took a cosmetic scissors and cut them in half both ways.  Then I made them slightly less sticky by putting them on my palm a few times. Careful positioning and a thickish coat of Home Run!, and VOILA!! Lovely chevrons.

LED flashlight on my phone :)  It brings out dee holo!!!

I am not as happy with these photos as I would like to be, but I still think the overall effect is quite pretty.  I hope you can forgive the imperfections, oddities, and some shoddy cuticles (daaarn warehouse!) and enjoy a bit o' beauty!!!  It might be elusive this time of year (we are having a muddy, chilly, dismal "spring" that feels like winter), but I still see plenty of beauty in the smiles and laughter of my friends, the occasional blue sky, and of course; MY STASH!  :D  hehe
Try to find some beauty today, and help someone else to find it too. :)

Challenge mani #4: Pastel blue

What a RANDOM inspiration, if I may say so myself!!  And I only own one pastel blue.  I'm actually rather embarrassed to show you this mani as although it was a very cool idea in theory (a dear friend of mine sketched nails with cute little wine glasses, martini glasses, and champagne flutes) but my execution was seriously lacking!

Those darn striper brushes are not as easy to use as they may seem... or maybe it's just me. :P   But on a positive, warm fuzzie note, the "darn" silver striper brush was a surprise gift from said dear friend.  When I asked her: "Why on earth did you do that?!" (buy a 3-pack of stripers she didn't need), she replied: "Because I love you!" AWWWW! ♥

Not so awww; this is my feeble attempt at some "light blue" nail art:

2 coats shown here, most people would've probably needed 3 to be happy

Uhh yeah, those are supposed  to be olives...with pimentos... and that's a skewer, not a knife in the glass... Uffff.  Not one of my best days!  Speaking of my LACKINg execution, I give you some fabulous humor:

Hopefully that helps make up for this pitiful post! LOL

And I believe many of you might not have been around waaay back at the beginning of my 'lil blog when I did this mani, also including NYC Skyline Blue, so I figured why not show it again?  Especially since it "goes" with martinis. :)

Aaand I believe I will take this opportunity to remind everyone that in 35 days, 8 hrs, and 30 mins, I and a group of friends will be on a plane to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico to stare at a view much like what is on muh nails here!!! Woot woot! :D  

G'nite all!  I pinkie promise I'll have something better for you tomorrow. ;)

Challenge mani #3: Pattern

Well well, as you can see I am clearly late on this one. :-/  Apparently even though this is the "Totally Doable I Have a Life Challenge," I must've had a little too much of a life for it! hehe
Again, I had a couple ideas for "pattern" inspired nails; my first was a white base with rainbow chevrons, but I forgot to look for a small enough brush and wasn't going to head back up town.  SO, I pulled out my trusty dotting tool set and with a mani I'd seen earlier in the week (and now cannot find even after scouring my history!) in mind, I set to work. :)

Found a scarf at Maurice's that echoed the Mexican/Spanish vibe & my dear friend took a couple shots for me with her Droid. :D  Gotta love it when friends "get" your blogger tendencies!

The base color is two coats of L'Oreal Orange You Jealous?, then using my largest dotting tool, I added a towering arch of dots in Cult Nails Tempest (which even after this tiny bit of usage, I firmly believe it to be the best opaque white creme!), then filled in the dotted area to the tip of my nails using the polish brush.  Let dry, and repeat with NYC Tudor City Teal, which might be the worst  teal creme in terms of opacity. :(  I love the dusty teal color, but wow was it sheer!  I'd definitely call it more of a crelly.  See?!

Orange You Jealous? is a bit of a misnomer because it's really NOT this orange!  It's much more of a pinky coral, and not this bold either. :-/

I love love love L'Oreal's cremes for their smoothness, shine, and opacity in two coats and am definitely eyeing up a rich dark teal in their new gel line.  Should've gotten it today, actually.  Also, the L'Oreal brush makes application a breeze; these lovely half-moons with no cleanup are thanks to their slight half-moon shape at the end of the bristles. LOVE!  It's so nice when they make it easy for us to have clean cutes!!

Although I could've done the same on my other hand, I wanted to play with an actual polka dot pattern on the whole nail simply because I'd never done it.  I know, right?!  Simple polka dots and I've never done them.  As Vizzini says: INCONCEIVABLE!

After doing the Tempest dots, I also remembered the "off-center double dots that kinda look like holes" effect and gave it a shot. :P


And for a little bonus, this is what my pattern manicure reminds me of:

These were both taken in Spain; this style of arch is called an "arco de medio punto polilobulado," and is very popular in the Mudéjar (essentially Arabic) architecture.  Little did the Arabic artisans know it would also be very popular with pidgeons!!! LOL  ;-)

I challenge you to...a CHALLENGE!

I've never tried my hands (hehe!) at a blogger challenge before, but maybe now is a good time to start... it is  a new year, after all. And I just happen to like the subtitle of this challenge. :)  So today I have for you my take on the "fresh" mani.  Yes, I know it's a day late, but I worked 'til 6 last night and then had to pack up and drive to my parents' house in some mighty treacherous weather.
Side note: this also happens to be the first mani in a LONG time that I've even bothered to photograph & been excited to share on my blog, despite some imperfections.  The posts from this past week were all manis from months ago.

Using Zoya Godiva and L'Oreal Eiffel For You, I applied two easy coats each, then decided to add one extra coat of Godiva for maximum opacity and sparkle.  To me, these lovely nudes/neutrals classify as a "fresh" look.  I don't know, maybe I'm waaay off!  But alas I don't really know what Californails had in mind when she said "fresh."  So I'm using my imagination!

Please be kind - my cutes got trimmed against my will & I'm having a heck of a time reconditioning them. :(

What, you might be asking, is that fabulous stamping image?!  I know I always  ask myself as soon as I go to a blog and see what must be a stamp used in a mani.  This gem is from MoYou London's Pro Collection plate 04, stamped with Color Club Revvvolution.  Side note: they also have an XL plate with this script image for those of you with bigger nail beds.  Unfortunately, I'm not lucky enough to be blessed with 'em!  

Ok, this is an unconventional shot, and maybe it's not "okay" to do this on a polish blog, but I thought it might be fun to play with the exposure and make it look all softened out and glamorous, perhaps?  Oh, and check out all that silver microsparkle that becomes fabulously obvious in the bottle?!  Gosh I love Zoya's Pixie Dusts!  I scored this baby during one of their December flash promos.  :)  Pardon the fuzzy on my pinkie nail... Disclaimer: no fuzzes were harmed in the photographing of this mani.

 I purposely included this one to showcase the glorious Godiva sparkle!  So, so nice.  At first I was a bit dejected that it didn't have the golden crumpled tin foil look of Tomoko, but now that I have it on, I absolutely love it, as do my roommates and a couple friends. :)  Dry time is so nice and fast for the Pixies, compared to how long I have to wait to ensure my cremes don't bubble upon application of the second coat.  And it's especially nice that textures are supposed to be...well, textured!! lol  Can you tell how sick I am of bubbles in polish that is supposed to be smooth?!

Thank you for taking the time to peruse my humble blog, and feel free to jump in on the challenge with me!!! :D

Good gold, you blue me away!

As the title implies, this post will feature some blue and gold goodness that again, I did months ago when my nails were still "leggy & fabulous." ;)  Looking at these again, I must say I'm loving how it turned out, especially those hard to achieve perfect half-moons and clean cutes!  

So where, you might ask, did I get my idea for this mani?  Well my answer would be one of my many favorite TV shows.  Namely, Criminal Minds and specifically, Chief Erin Strauss's uncharacteristically casual outfit in the episode "Carbon Copy" from season 8.  As soon as I saw her multi-tiered gold necklace & dark blue shirt, the wheels started turning and China Glaze First Mate came to mind, as well as a new untried, Sally Hansen Resurrection, and I came up with several golds that I could have fun with and do a sort of skittles mani, all the while highlighting Erin's fancy yet casual necklace.

This is the inspiration:

And this is what I did with it:

Pinkie & thumb: 2 coats Resurrection, 1 coat OPI OY - Another Polish Joke! 

Ring: 2 coats ChG First Mate, lines in OY, and individual gold hexes from Essence Make it Golden

Middle & Index: 2 coats Resurrection, 1 coat butter LONDON West End Wonderland

What I used :)

 I also wanted to do this mani as a bit of an homage to one of my favorite TV characters/actresses. **Spoiler alert!
Chief Strauss was killed off in such a sad, awful manner at the end of part one of the two-part season 8 finale.  The above still was one of her last appearances in the series. :(  Her character only appeared from time to time as a bit of a "jerkface boss," but once you got to know her story, you could really start to see where she was coming from and empathize with her.  Jayne Atkinson has also played a similar role in another favorite TV series of mine, 24.  She's pretty fabulous there too as Karen Hayes.  Oh, and I recently discovered this tidbit (& subsequentely flashed back to about age 10): she played the foster mom (Claire?) on Free Willy. :)

This pic is making First Mate appear much brighter than it actually is.  Darn that powerful daylight bulb! lol  Both blue cremes had a fantastic almost one coat formula; in fact, now that I think about it, maybe I did use only one coat, not two.  I do however distinctly remember having to re-do my accent nail because for some reason I reached under the table, and as I was pulling my hand back up, I caught the edge & scraped a giant section of the semi-dry polish right off my nail. GAH.

I fell hard for the dusty periwinkle-ish blue that is Resurrection.  I first saw it in a Walgreens for like, $8 but was NOT willing to pay that much, so in a rare exercise of self-control, I put it back on the shelf (after taking a bottle shot to remember it by) and lo & behold, was rewarded by finding it on a blog sale a month or so later!  I love it with a topcoat of WEW, but it was beautiful on its own as well. :)

I really wanted to do a glamour shot with this Lia Sophia Journey ring, a la Melissa, but I could NOT figure out how she positions her hand to include her lovely rings! My contortion attempts were pretty funny though. lol

The accent nail was pretty simple, but would've been better if I'd had a striper brush with which to do the "chains."  I believe I used a stick pin, but it still didn't give me the precise lines I was hoping for. :-/  The gold hexes were taken off the brush & placed using a toothpick.  One seemed too small for all the tiers, so I used one at the top, then two, and a cluster of three or four on the 2nd chain from my cuticle.  I decided to leave the last one plain because there wasn't room for more hexes and not all of the chains in her necklace had the gold circles anyways.  Actually, I would've liked to intersperse more plain ones, but my nails just aren't (nor will ever be!) long enough for that because of my short nail beds.  I can't have a long enough free edge to compensate because I type all day long & usually chip off the sides of my nails.

I didn't take any pics with OY - Another Polish Joke! because all I have is a mini bottle, but West End Wonderland is some amazing gold and copper glitzy goodness!  A friend passed it on to me during a destash, and at first I wasn't too sure about it either, but now I know it's a keeper. :)  As is OY, a lovely ultrafine flaky golden/green shimmer in a clear base.  For more OYsomeness, check out Liesl's post - she has a hardcore crush on that one!

Thank you for stopping by, and the happiest of New Years to you and those you love. :) ♥

A SWEET fall treat!

After waiting for what seemed like eons - in reality, about 3 1/2 weeks - I FINALLY got my shipment from the Born Pretty Store on Friday. :D  YAY!  Because of their low, low prices (hmm kinda like another store we all know!) I purchased all sorts of goodies: 4 different packs of water decals, a set of dotting tools, a bracelet, a BPS holo, a 4-pack of BGirl crelly glitter polishes, and what I shall show you here today; Sweet Color S080!  What a great name, huh?! :P  Darn those Asian polish brands and their propensity for using numbers instead of names.
And I owe that haul to Wendy from Wendy's Delights, whose post about S080 made me immediately head over to BPS and throw it in my cart. :P

Mmm!  Isn't this positively delicious?!  Just because I want to, I've decided I'm going to call this polish Sweet Pumpkin Spice, because IT NEEDS A NAME.  And I ♥ Starbucks' PSL, which this makes me think of, however since there are at least a few polishes officially named Pumpkin Spice, I'm adding "Sweet" to my moniker.  Betcha can't guess where I got that ! LOL  I know, I know, I'm just SO  creative!

I used Tea Beauty Cherry Blossom (yes, it does smell fruity!) on my accent nail because I *thought* it would make a good base for these water decals as it matches one of the flower petals exactly... however I did not realize the decals are actually translucent, so alas you can barely see the true colors. And the small details were lost completely.  :(  Guess I need to put them over a light color!  However, the glittery center is still pretty nifty as you can see. 

Despite the misleading packaging, they are  in fact water decals not stickers, although I had a minor freak out during my initial perusal of the goods! ALL of the water decals I got are labeled as "stickers." -_-

Sorry about the flash, by the way.  I couldn't get a good pic of the colors otherwise.  Stupid "yellow" kitchen lights!

Aren't they super pretty?!  I can't wait to try them over ChG Light as Air, for example. :D  Application was very simple: soak in warm water for 10 seconds, carefully slide it off the paper backing, and lay on your polished nail! VOILA.  Then throw on a topcoat. :)  I actually cut one design in half because my nail beds are pretty small.  My plan was to do that all along to make 'em last longer too.  I believe this pack was only $2.86 though?  

Side note: I only say "make 'em last" because I don't really plan on ordering from BPS again due to the extended time in transit and I'm a bit wary now that my roommate reminded me of the VERY high incidence of credit card fraud in Singapore.  Not saying they're  guilty of it, but working in international sales, we do see a lot of fraudulent activity related to Singapore.  Anyhoo, back to the mani!

I love this copper because it's so dark and sexy, and in some lights it looks more golden & others, more of a true warm copper.  For some reason I could not capture the warmer side of this polish. Grrr.

Application was flawless, 2 coats is all you need and really if you're in a hurry, one would  suffice!  I did actually do 3 by the time I took these photos because I had some tiny nicks & sheet marks so I needed to get rid of those post haste!  Other than that, there was no reason for a 3rd coat.  Also, IMO, topcoat is not necessary, but I do have Sally Hansen Salon Manicure/Ultra-Wear top coat on here.  Probably because I put it over the decal & just kept going! :P

Inside, under a lamp using my "daylight" bulb... for some reason Cherry Blossom kept photographing more orangey than the lovely pinky red that it is (emphasis on the pink)!  This polish is special to me because I got it at the Walgreens down the street from my best friend's former home in Chicago when we were there in June to get the house ready for renters. :)  I wish that I'd gotten the minty one too.  It was a VERY pale bluish mint creme, and the formula on this one is so nice, it's giving me some serious regrets right now!  The scent is pleasantly fruity, and obvious if you get your nails within 5 inches of your nose, but with topcoat, I can barely smell it.  Yup, just checked again!

Oh btw, the fun floral cap design was one of the main reasons I wanted one of these polishes - yes, I'm a semi-sucker for packaging.  Hence why I put tape around the cap...I'd heard the design rubs off kinda easily & I wasn't about to take any chances!! 

Today I had the idea of mattifying Sweet Pumpkin Spice as I figured it would up the cozy fallish factor of the polish - YUP I dare say it did. ;)  Honestly, I don't really *get* the need for the suede polishes or whatever, because all you need to do is add matte TC to a shimmer polish like this one for the same effect.  Or that's my personal opinion anyways!  I'm also partial to the money saving element of my method... this is NYC Matte Me Crazy for which I paid $1.72 and I can use it on anything my heart desires. ;) lol

My final assessment on this mani: I LOVE this rich copper for fall, the water decals are super fun and don't sink into the base color like stickers always do, and Cherry Blossom is a perfect creme. ALL good things; BUT Sweet Pumpkin Spice (aka S080) has already chipped.  Badly. :(  So it's coming off after only about a day and a half.  Don't be sad!  I loved it while it lasted and am VERY excited to try out the BPS holo I got!!! :D  I might have to try it with Orly Bonder next time instead of over Seche Rebuild.  That could've very well had something to do with it.  I will let you know! 

As a parting shot, I wanted to show what else I was up to today: wearing false eyelashes for the very first time! :D  I kinda love 'em!  This could be the start of another fun beauty addiction. ;)

Again, stupid "yellowy" incandescent bulbs! -_-

Goodnight lovelies!!!  I hope your work week gets off to a good start!

Shark's Cove chevrons

Hello lovelies!  Awhile back - too far back, I'm ashamed to admit - a dear, sweet blogger buddy sent me a total surprise package with not only one of the Julie G Gumdrops polishes I'd been desperately wanting, but also Julie G Shark's Cove! :O  I could NOT believe it!!!  Melissa (a la Lacquer Reverie) is seriously amazing - and so incredibly thoughtful! :D

Ever since I received that sneaky surprise package, I'd been wanting to use both polishes as they're seriously beautiful, but you know how it goes...we addicts are constantly getting nail mail and sometimes without an inspiration to use a certain polish, it gets lost in the stash!  Well, I finally had some sort of epiphany last night, because I decided how to use both Julie G's AND Julep Nan which I just got off eBay.

Ta daaaa!! :D  It'd been awhile since I did some legit nail art, so it felt really good to do this.  And I really love this combo, if I may say so myself.  I did two coats of OPI Nail Envy (the original stuff?) that was a gift from another friend who no longer uses it, two coats of Shark's Cove, a thin coat of Seche Vite, and then I used scotch tape to make the "main chevron," and finally, freehanded the tiny bottom and side triangles.  Thanks to Liesl, I seem to have a thing for double accent nails, so I showed the chevrons some lovin' with hearts using Julep Nan & a bobby pin. L♥ve 'em!! ;)

The bottle didn't really catch the light in this pic (shoulda paid more attention, Emily, tsk tsk), but Shark's Cove minty green base is positively packed with silver microflakie shimmer!  Yummm.  The first coat was quite sheer and had a tendancy to get bald patches (at least it did over the Nail Envy base), but a second coat covered everything quite nicely.  I really can't speak about the dry time, because the humidity here is still  making every mani take a million years.  For real.  It's a good thing today was Sunday & I had no plans, because I did this at a snail's pace.  -_-

No offense, teensy tiny nail snail!

Julie G Gumdrops Blueberry Fizz is positively amazing in my book!  I like it much better than any of the other blue texture polishes I've seen, and I really love that it has so much silver sparkle and even small silver hexes in it.  The name is quite perfect, I think. :)  Like most texture polishes, it dried within about 5 mins, which was a nice change from waiting and waiting and waiting for SC. (Shark's Cove, that is...not Santa Clause)
And I actually managed to get a good bottle shot in the sun to showcase all of that happy sparkle! ;D

I did put another thin coat of Seche Vite over the pinkie and ring fingers, but opted (for now) to leave Blueberry Fizz in all its textured glory.  I might decide to SV it in a couple days because I've never done that before, but have seen many swatches that show them both ways, and they're sometimes more amazing with a top coat.

I really need to start doing tutorials for my nail art...then again, there are SO many already out there!  I actually used this one, not because I had no clue how, but because I usually do better with a visual aid as a reference.

Ohhh Julie G (by Jesse's Girl Cosmetics), how I wish you were available in drugstores near me!  :(  I live in NW Minnesota, and apparently this brand is moreso in SE and NW United States regions/drugstore chains like Rite Aids and such.  Ahh well...that's what our amazing fellow bloggers are for, right?!  I think we'd all go to great lengths to help eachother get polishes we're not able to get ourselves. :)  I know I would be willing to help a girl out!

As you can probably tell, this is in the shade. ;)

And finally, we have Julep Nan.  I don't know exactly why, but this Nantucket brickey terracotta orange-toned red just spoke to me from the moment I laid eyes on it here.  Reds are usually something I shy away from because of their horrible tendency to stain and simply because they don't do much for me.  It's like, oh, a red...meh. ;)  But I REALLY like this one!  I'm SO glad I found it on eBay with the make an offer option, because I got it still sealed for half the price, shipping & all.  My momma taught me to be a bargain shopper whenever possible! ;)

At the moment, I can't say much about the application nor the dry time of Nan because I just dabbed & spread it on with a bobby pin.  I assure you, I will be wearing it as more of a full fall mani very  soon!   

Well, since I can't seem to get snails off my mind, I give you the requisite parting humor photo:

BAHAHAHA! :P  Hopefully you'll be thinking of this guy while getting up for work tomorrow & he'll make your Monday much more tolerable. ;)

~ ♥ Em

100% dotticure, 100% fun!

I have played around with dots before (some of you might remember this mani & this mani), but I've never done a full-on dotticure.  So the other night I busted out a bunch of fun, vibrant cremes and a super sparkly foil and just went for it!  I thought the colors looked awesome together in the bottles, but I wasn't such a fan once they were on my nails in tiny dots. :-/  I'm not entirely sure why...maybe it just felt too kiddish for me?  My inspiration was this dotticure from The Polish Playground, and I think I like her color palette much better.  Feels more grown up & refined!

I used one coat of Sinful Colors My Buoyfriend on all but my ring finger, which is two coats Sinful Colors 24/7 (no undies) which I will again tout as the perfect chalky neon pink!, then used Zoya Arizona, Essie Mojito Madness, My Buoyfriend, 24/7 and Skinfood Glipop Pedicure Sparkle 05 (annoyingly "named" yet gorgie South Korean polishes!) for the dots. :)  All sealed with some Seche Vite.

In an uncharacteristic move for me, I'm only showing you one photo of this mani, simply because I didn't really love it.  I think it might have to do with the fact that the first thing that popped into my head once I had it all done was: Día de los Muertos sugar skulls.  e.g.:

Yes, this is a cookie, but you get the idea.

I hate skulls.  Can't even believe I'm putting this on my blog! :P  Anyhoo, maybe some of you will find this super fun and awesome...  if anyone wants a dotticure for Día de los Muertos, come see me!