Midnight in Manhattan

I am not the biggest fan of black nail polish, but I absolutely adore this mani!  The black is Midnight in Manhattan by Color Street topped with Essie's Clearly Matte topcoat.  It give it a blackboard look.  The pink accent is Miami Beach, also from Color Street, topped with White Romance, a retired sheer wrap from Jamberry.  To me, this mani looks like a modern take on 80s rocker chic.  If you are in need of a Color Street or Jamberry rep, please comment below and I'll hook you up with some great ones.

Midnight Snake

Inspiration: Color

Products: Rainbow Honey My Midnight Garden, Essie Sleek Stick Sneek-e

Thoughts: I needed something to go with a navy and silver dress for a special event, and these nail wraps layered over My Midnight Garden where perfect.  These went on pretty well, and definitely have staying power.

Ombre Dots

Inspiration: Ombre Dots on page 75 of the September/October 2014 issue of Nail It!

Products: Color Club Insta-This and French Tip, Essie Bobbing for Baubles, Rainbow Honey 488nm

Thoughts: The tutorial said to use a bobby pin, but I had a dotting tool, so I just went with that.  I must have done well with my dots because my husband asked if it was "one of those stick on thingies" and was surprised when I said I had done them myself.  I did forget that 488nm looks different on my nails than it does in the bottle and on my swatch wheel, so it was more teal than I wanted; I probably could have used Julep Annie for a truer light blue, but I do like 488nm better.

Bikini Beach

Inspiration:  Color

Products: Essie Bobbing for Baubles, Square Hue Wailea, Finger Paints Art Nouv-Yellow, Deborah Lippmann Defying Gravity, Julep Olivia

Thoughts: These muted hues made for a rather fun summer look - a good alternative to bright neons.  I do have to say, though, that I am very disappointed with this Square Hue polish (the tan).  This was my second time using it after getting it last month, and the polish in the bottle is forming an wonderful gradient as the dye all sinks to the bottom and it won't mix no matter how much I roll it.

Malibu Skittle

Inspiration:  Color

Products: Essie Bobbing for Baubles, Julep Monaco, Bess, and Harriet, Color Club Silver Lake

Thoughts: I have been wanting to try a skittle mani, but couldn't figure out what colors to use.  When I saw similar colors to these paired together, I decided to go for it.  I love how the fingers for a gradient with a pop of guava on the thumb.

Brazilian Brights

Inspiration: J-Lo's Brazilian Brights on page 44 of the May/June 2014 issue of Nail It!

Products: Julep Sunny, Essie Hide & Go Chic, China Glaze Gaga for Green

Thoughts: This was my first attempt at watermarbling, and while it didn't turn out right, I kinda like how it looks.  The blue didn't really show up though, even though I used the one from the tutorial.  Where it does show up, though, the trio of colors really pops.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Inspiration:  Flotsam and Jetsam on page 113 of the May/June 2014 issue of Nail It!

Products: Essie Bobbing for Baubles, Indie Polish Joni, Art Club Nail Art Duo White, Color Club Look Book, and Finger Paints Wild for Art

Thoughts: The current issue of Nail It has a some nautical themed ideas, including some tutorials.  I skipped the last step (which was to outline in black), but I think these turned out cute.  I do need a better gold striper, though.

Gaga for Flowers

Inspiration:  April 2014 INN Box

Products: Essie Style Hunter and Hide n Go Chic, China Glaze Gaga for Green

Thoughts: I always do the Surprise Me option for the INN Box (Inzuri Nail Nation), and this month I got the Petal Power set. (I also got some Burt's Bees cleansing creams and a set of the Revlon Marchessa nail wraps!)  Even though I had some problems receiving my March box (should be on its way finally!), I highly suggest you check it out as this is my favorite nail subscription box as the curated sets of different brands always work so well together. I've been wanting to try flowers with my dotting tool, so that is what I did with this month's Essie colors.  The China Glaze ended up being my favorite as I love the bright pop of this spring green.

Like a Rock

Inspiration: Color

Products: Julep Monaco, Essie Lots of Lux, foil in White Marble

Thoughts: This amazing blue is based on one of Pantone's top colors for Spring 2014 - Dazzling Blue.  Since April is Autism Awareness month and blue is color for it, I decided to use Monaco to make a mani to show my support for those out there who are "like a rock" to those on the autism spectrum.  My foil did not go on as nicely as when I just do splotches, but I think the spirit of this mani still shines forth.

Go Bloom

Inspiration:  Runway Nail Art How To: Go Bloom! on page 36 of the March/April 2014 issue of Nail It!

Products:  Ruffian Ruffian Cire Noir and Delirium, Art Club Nail Art Duo White, Essie Jamaica Me Crazy, Finger Paints Art Nouv-Yellow and Art Hue Serious?

Thoughts: This ended up being a little easier than it looks, but I did end up not putting the final black outlines and dots on because I simply had no room.  In the picture, Delirium looks blue, but it is really the most awesome royal purple.  And I'm not sure why my non-accent nails turned out so bubbly.  My mom was watching me paint it, and it wasn't until the end that she understood it was a flower, not a starfish, but now I'll have to try a starfish over the summer.

Cherry on Top

Inspiration:  Feburary 2014 INN Box

Products:  OPI Black Cherry Chutney, Essie Jamaica Me Crazy, China Glaze Your Present Required

Thoughts:I always do the Surprise Me option for the INN Box (Inzuri Nail Nation), and this month I got the Love Hurts set. No bonus beauty items this month - BOO! - but that's probably because the INN Box is going through some changes.  They are going to a three-tier subscription model where you can choose to receive two or three polishes.  I highly suggest you check it out as this is my favorite nail subscription box as the curated sets of different brands always work so well together.  I always reflect on the three I get until inspiration strikes in a way to use all three together.  This month, the name of the OPI one made me think of ice cream sundaes, so I did an accent nail that is reflective of that.

Encounter

Inspiration:  January 2014 INN Box

Products: OPI Liquid Sand It's Frosty Outside, Essie Lux Effect Jazzy Jubilant, Orly Risque Encounter

Thoughts:I always do the Surprise Me option for the INN Box (Inzuri Nail Nation), and this month I got the Resolution Rebel set.  I also got the Kashmir shampoo and hair mask, which are wonderful!  Anyway, with the polishes, I decided to try some freehand nail art for the first time, and discovered I am not very good at using a fine-tip nail brush to paint with either finger (lines I can do, round objects, no so much).  Since I am hanging out with my nerd group most of the weekend, I decided to go with a UFO, but it kinda looks like a cloud and rain.  Oh well, the nail polish is nice!

Mirror-Image

Inspiration:  Kate's Mirror-Image Mani on page 56 of the January/February 2014 issue of Nail It!

Products:  Essie There's No Place Like Chrome, Color Club French Tip, Art Club White, Orly French Manicure Tip Guides (not pictured)

Thoughts:  When I saw this, I knew I had to try it because I had all the colors needed (the article uses gel polish, but says it works fine with nail polish, so that is what I did).  I only did the chevron as an accent nail because I was not sure how well I could use the striper brush in the White with my left hand.  I have to say, my right hand turned out almost as well as my left (except for a bad smudge on my middle finger, which is why I didn't take a pic).