Is It or Isn't It?

Here's a quick and simple mani, but the question is, is it a sponge gradient or a funky french?

This was done with a base coat of Gelous, two coats of Wet N Wild I Need a Refresh-mint, a coat of SV (I almost always seal nail art layers with SV so that I can rescue myself if my mistake isn't too big), the tips are Wet N Wild Bite the Bullet sponged on using a piece of a sponge roller, and then two coats of SV.  This is my first time sponging, and I'm pretty happy with 90% of the results.  That middle finger there looks a bit too solid of a line, but the other 9 fingers look great! 

Both of these polishes are in the Wet N Wild Megalast line and have "pro" brushes.  I'm not sure I really like them.  First, I had to trim a few strands on the I Need a Refresh-mint but that's probably more about the fact that it's a cheap brand than brush shape.  The bottle neck is too narrow, you have to be careful putting the brush in and there's no wiggle room for the plastic part, it seems like such an odd packaging method.  Also, I don't have a lot of experience with brushes shaped like this, so I may find them difficult just for that.  I find I press a lot harder with these so I am really bad about leaving gouges in my coats.  Total BLECH!

I'm really happy with the sponging method and I can't wait to try a true gradient now!  I used a tiny piece of sponge roller I tore off and I tapped a fairly dry brush to it.  I tried make-up sponges and picking up polish from a palette, but this is the only method that transferred polish for me or left me with a sponging and not a stamped looking mess.



Keep watching, my hair is currently up in pin curls I rolled using that new tool.  I'll be reviewing it soon!

Not Your Mama's Mani

I was having a conversation with a friend a few weeks ago and she mentioned that she's kind of in a rut.  She likes to do her nails sometimes, but she's not really into like I am, she's not a "girly-girl", and the only colors she really wears are red, black, and white.  So I figured I'd use her as some inspiration for some nail art.

2 coats of NK Really White

 A thicker coat of Sally Hansen Crackle Cherry Smash

And by accident (keep reading!) 2 coats of Wet N Wild Ebony Hates Chris

Topped by a thick coat of SV

My design process was that first that she's got two young boys and isn't into nails enough probably to spend much time on intricate art.  Plus since she's not too girly-girl AND has done a whole lot of kicking-butt and taking charge of the world, she needed something that was loud and demanding.  The crackle is quick and easy art, but it's getting tired these days so I added in some abstract shapes with the black, freehanded but no skill or too much time required.

Originally I had started with the white, added the black shapes, then the crackle coat. 

But the red crackle just didn't stand out enough and looked...ucky...yes, it didn't even earn a 'y'!  So I went back over the black again which is why it looks so thick.  If I did this same design  with these colors again, I would definitely put the crackle between the black and white to start, it would certainly be more pleasing if the black wasn't so thick on the nail. But if I were just doing the polishes together in a similar vein again, I would probably do white, red crackle, and then black funky french tips.  I'm definitely not totally satisfied with it as it ended up, but it wasn't designed with my tastes in mind, so we'll have to see what she thinks.


On a non-nail note, has anyone ever used one of these Curl Easy Pro Volumizing and Curling Tools??

I am a BIG fan of pin curls.  They're a fabulous way to get terrific curls, no hooks on the ends, avoid heat setting, and get a fabulous vintage look if that's your thing too.  My problem being that my hair is nearly to my waist and I got my Eastern European father's hair.  It's pretty thick and doing them the traditional way can take me a couple hours to roll up.  I had read about a Sculpture Pin Curler on a couple vintage hair blogs but I just can't pay $35 for a tool that I have zero experience with.  I just happened to be out at Sally's Beauty today and saw these, the pink one is the smallest, and it looks to be a tad larger than the Sculpture Pin Curler, but actually narrower than I manage to make my hand-rolled pin curls so I think it's a good start for testing the structure of the tool.  Stay tuned, I'll be posting my review of it soon!


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