It's a Girl

I'm throwing my friend a baby shower tomorrow, and it's a girl, so we're doing everything pink. (I hate reinforcing traditional gender roles, especially before the kid's even born, but it's a cute theme.)

This was one of my more involved manis. I started with a base of Wet n Wild "Tickled Pink," and then used a sponge to create a gradient with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri "Love Train" on the tips. I almost left it like that because it looked so nice, but I went ahead with my original plan and used Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in "Slick Slate" to stamp a design from Pueen plate #59. The gray tones down the pink nicely.

Gradient Dots

Inspired by a few "dotticure" pictures I pinned on Pinterest, I decided to try a kind of gradient version. On top of a base of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri "Brisk Blue," I dotted Pure Ice "Black Out," "Kiss Me Here" (gray - that name makes no sense), and "Superstar" (white).

It turned out neat, but I'm not 100% happy with it. It took me a couple nails to figure out a pattern, and on the dark base, the white really sticks out, as compared with the black and gray.

Next I'd like to try a gradient base with a single color of dots on top!

Metallic Honeycomb

I had picked out the colors I wanted to use - Maybelline Color Show "Blue Blowout" with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri "Silver Sweep" stamped on top - but I didn't know which design I wanted to stamp, only that I wanted something geometric. I ended up using part of Pueen plate #54. I know it's circles, not hexagons, but it kind of reminds me of a honeycomb type design.

Swirls on Jade

I wore this Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear "Jazzy Jade" by itself last week, and liked it so much that I'm wearing it again this week. This time, I stamped some random swirly designs from Pueen plate #65 using Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in "Silver Sweep." It's my first time using this plate, and I really like the design!

I love the little stars scattered throughout!

Blue Skies

I was going to just paint my nails with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri "Blue-Away" and leave it at that, but it was like they were calling out for fluffy white clouds! So I grabbed my Wet n Wild "French White Creme" and a dotting tool and went to town.

This was the first time I tried this technique and I love how they turned out!

Concert Nails

I painted my nails for my concert band performance tomorrow. On a base of OPI "Russian Navy," I stamped the music note design from BM-411 using Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in "Silver Sweep."

Party Fingers!

I was going to a fancy party and since I was wearing a simple black dress, I thought I'd jazz things up with some fancy nails. Unfortunately, I don't remember the specifics for this mani! But, this is a background of two different Sally Hansen blues, stamped in black with a Pueen design. I love how they turned out! ...Unfortunately, they started chipping almost immediately!

Bright Butterflies

I was so excited about the spring weather, I wanted to do something with the allover butterfly design on Pueen plate #39. I did a base of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri "Love Train," which has a nice purple undertone. Then I stamped with Sally Hansen Instra-Dri in "Brisk Blue," which may have been kind of a crazy choice, but I was in the mood for something bright. Then I went one step further and used a dotting tool to add some details in Wet n Wild "Frosted Fuchsia," which was probably the craziest idea yet, but oh well...

Gray Butterflies

I have a busy week coming up at work, so I wanted to do something that wouldn't look bad when it starts to chip, haha! So I went with my much-loved Nina Ultra Pro "Spun Sugar," and stamped my ring fingers and thumbs with the butterfly design on Konad plate m20 using Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in "Grey Area."

I bought this and a couple other Konad plates when I first started stamping, and have barely touched them since, so it was nice to pull this one back out.

A Blue Streak

I tried two new polishes tonight. On a base of metallic Maybelline Color Show "Blue Blowout," I stamped Sally Hansen Insta-Dri "Blue-Away." I love this lighter color and would like to try it on top of a darker background so it can pop more, but overall I like the way this looks like subtle lace. This is the circle design on Pueen plate #24.