It's My Birthday!!

Yes, today is actually my birthday. I've had a bad week, so I decided to paint my nails to cheer me up. This is my first real attempt at a birthday nail manicure. Last year I attempted it, but it was so horrid I don't even think I took a pic of it. This year I'm much happier with it. After the jump I'll explain each nail separately.

How To Make Stamper Decals

Yesterday I mentioned Stamper Decals. Decals are images printed on some other substance that are then applied to the nails. There are all kinds of images you can buy online and in the stores, but here is a way to make some at home using your stamping plates. Using this technique you can color in the stamped images before applying them to your nails.

 Check out how after the jump.

Paisley Stamping Decal

Co-worker pointed out a card at work and told me I should paint my nails like that. I'll try and get a picture of it (Google isn't being helpful right now) but it was a pink and green paisley card. I decided to try a technique I read about a month or so ago called stamper decals. I'll write up a post about that soon, but here is my first serious attempt at stamper decals. Looks good, but next time I'll be more careful about getting it to lay flat, it wrinkled a little when I put it on. Base color is Sally Hansen "Straw-Ready" ( I really love this color for summer) and stamped with BundleMonster BM315 in Milani "White on the Spot". I then filled in the stamp with Sally Hansen "In Record Lime" and Sinful Colors "Hazard" a coral-y orange that unfortunately just looks like more of the base color. Other than a few mistakes, I really like this and might do the decal on ALL my fingers instead of just an accent, but the decals take a lot of time to make.

Fuzzy Coat

I saw this in the store the other day. Now you guys know my thoughts on the "textured" fad right now like liquid sand, but this seemed different. There isn't any information on it on the posters in the stores, but this picture was shown:

Photo from ConfusingCourtney

Looking at that photo I thought the Fuzzy texture would be soft. Maybe some company has finally figured out how to do nail polish and flocking powder in one! I was so excited thinking of velvet nails. Well...no. Its still a cool polish, but not for any of the reasons I thought it would be. As cool as it is, I'm still vaguely disappointed in it. See more pic's after the jump.

Nail Polish Lexicon ~ Crackle Polish

OPI "Gold Shatter", Avon Mosaic Effects in Black, Sally Hansen "Distressed Denim" and "Cherry Smash",
L.A. Girls Cracked in White, China Glaze "Haute Metal", "Cracked Medallion" and "Oxidized Aqua".

I love crackle polish. Yeah, I know, the fad is pretty much over, but that doesn't change the fact that I still like it. Last year it was all over the place and each brand was coming out with different colors all the time, but now? You can find it on clearance some places, but I can't think of any brand that carries one in its everyday line. I could be wrong tho. Any way, what is a crackle polish? A Crackle polish is special effect topcoat that when it dries cracks, allowing you to see any color polish you put on before it. Confused? Ok, well here is a close up of a finished nail with crackle on it.

I painted this nail with 2 coats of Orly "Liquid Vinyl" and let it dry. That's important. You have to let it dry or the crackle will mix with the under coat and either not crack right or the base coat will crack with the crackle and you won't see it below. The crackle I used with this nail is OPI "Gold Shatter". There is something about the glittery crackles that I adore, but don't freak out, they go on pretty sheer but as they dry and crack the color gets stronger. The solid colors are good in black and white, but the colored ones you have to be careful about what color you pair with it. Like this one...

This is Mystery Polish "Hot Rod" with Sally Hansen "Cherry Smash" Crackle coat over it. I thought it would make a neat Christmas polish, all green and red, but the dark green made the red look muddy and gross. So from now on I'll only use this red over lighter colors.

One other note on crackles, when they get old they get chunky and thick. I'm not sure how well nail polish thinner works on them or if it affects the crackle, but I don't think it hurts it much. When my white gets a bit thicker I'll give it a shot and let you guys know if it hurts it. Hmm, I didn't start out with the intention of making this a Lexicon post but it kinda turned into one :)

Mermaid Tail

I love the idea of the mermaid tail mani. A glitter blue green polish stamped over with a fish scale stamp. Well, problem is I don't have a fish scale stamp so I tried this 2 ways with different stamps. The polish below is Orly "Halley's Comet" stamped with Pure Ice "Silver Mercedes". The stamp above is on my left hand and is BundleMonster BM319.

On my right hand I used the same polishes but instead used BundleMonster BM209. I liked this one better but had some issues after I bumped it and scratched off the stamping on the end. Happens to my right hand all the time *sigh*. This one works better as a Mermaid's Tail but I'd like to add some chunky glitter to the polish before stamping next time.

Barbed Rose

Another attempt at layered stamping. I painted the nails with Orly "Mirror, Mirror" stamped with Sally Hansen "Straw-Ready" in BundleMonster BM323 roses and Wet n Wild "Black Creme" same plate barbed wire. On the accent nail I went over the roses with Sally Hansen Gem Crush "Cha-Ching". I also tested a different topcoat on my left hand and it smeared so badly and never dried well or smoothly. So as of right now Seche Vite is still my go to topcoat.