Polka Dots & Dance in the Rain

Happy 2015, everyone! After an extended hiatus, I am officially back in action and excited to get my blogging groove back! As I'm sure you'll notice immediately, the holidays, my crazy semester at school, and lack of sleep due to hours spent on my thesis have taken a serious toll on my talons. I am reduced to the shortest nubs I've had in over a year! But this is all part of being a polish head--breaks happen. I'm going to work on a series celebrating nubs and maybe even some tutorials (!!!) with ideas for ladies that rock shorter nails all the time.

I thought it would be best to re-enter the blogosphere with a simple, colorful look that complements my new shorter style. I started with two coats of OPI - You're So Vain-illa on my index and middle fingers, then used a small Bundlemonster dotting tool to add polka dots in OPI - Hey Baby (pink) and China Glaze - Wait N' Sea. For my ring finger and pinky, I started with a base of OPI - Love.Angel.Music.Baby, and dabbed three-ish coats of Lumina Lacquer - Dance in the Rain on my ring finger.

Juliet Inspired Florals

Do any of you use the app Timehop? If you don't, it's this app that you connect to your social media, then every day you get an alert of things you posted that day in past years. It's a really funny way to be reminded of how far you've come (or how old you are!) Today, I got an update that it has been SEVEN YEARS since I performed in a local theater company's production of Romeo & Juliet. I really loved theater in high school, and playing Juliet during my senior year was a great way to end my "career." 

In reminiscing back to my glory days, I realized that I, appropriately, just received Juliet by Polish Addict Nail Color in my recent order. So, I decided to use the polish and the the play as inspiration for today's mani!

This mani started with a base of Polish Addict Nail Color - Juliet on my middle and ring finger, and China Glaze - Spring in My Step on my index and thumb nail, two coats of each. Juliet is a pretty, white crelly with small gold, rose gold, and holo glitters throughout. Formula and glitter spread was ideal! The China Glaze was another story, though...application was splotchy and difficult. Without a generous coat of HK Girl Topcoat to smooth it out, it would have been a total loss. The color is certainly very pretty, though! This light, feminine color pallet set the stage (get it!) for the rest of my Juliet-themed mani.

Cracked Confetti & Jelly Spots

Today I have a super bright, summer inspired mani! I've seen this sheer jelly over polka dot design all over Instagram and have been wanting to recreate it for awhile, but I also wanted to put my own twist on the design. These colors just make me want to crack open a summer ale, put on a comically large pair of sunglasses, and lounge by the pool all day!

With Sinful Colors - Endless Blue, I used a Bundlemonster striper brush to outline my nail, and a large dotting tool for the polka dots. Then, I applied a single coat of L'oreal - Miss Pixie to give a sheer layer. These two polishes went together perfectly! I'm really loving all of these jelly L'oreal polishes in general. Sheer seems to be a huge nail trend right now, and I found them all on Amazon for about $3 each. 

For the accent nail, I started with two coats of OPI - I Just Can't Cope-a-cabana from the Brazil collection. I have to say, I absolutely adore this yellow. Perfect full coverage in two coats, no undies required?! It also seems to flatter so many skin tones, which is really hard with yellows.

For the glitter gradient, I used Pinwheel Polish - Cracked Confetti. OMG! This glitter bomb is amazing. Check out the macro!

So many colors and shapes, and very festive! I think it really tied the entire thing together. For some reason, I always associate royal blue and yellow with summer. What are your go-to summer shades?