HANDS, NAILS, ETC.

http://saramlyons.tumblr.com/post/25877662870/diy-eyelash-extensions

Dang, putting on mascara every morning seems easier than putting on all those lashes every three days. That looks fun for special occasions, though.

She's got super rad eyebrows, though.

She does. Argh, stop smirking though!

Got the nail art bug bad, going to Ricky's after work for a matte topcoat and some new colors: flat red, flat white, flat blue-green. If it's going to rain all weekend (and it's supposed to) I am going to spend it doing ridiculous things to my nails.

I want you to do French manicures with the flat/shiny parts like the black mani on the makeup thread. And take pictures!

I'm going to look for the essie Matte About You topcoat for that exact reason!

Be sure to get the french manicure tip guides too! They're little stickers.

Ricky's, the best beauty supply chain in New York, had only one version of matte topcoat and it was $16 so I didn't buy it. I got a white crackle finish, though, which is...trippy. I put it on alternating nails. You definitely have to apply the same weight of coat to each nail or they craze differently. And don't do it in front of a fan, either, because it makes it go so fast you can't even get it on the nail. Not sure this is my favorite technique, but it definitely is low-stress because the smoothness of the finish doesn't matter, you can just slap it on there.

I miss Ricky's! I used to go to the one on Broadway near where Antique Boutique and the old Tower Records used to be all the time. I think that's where it was at least. Sad about the matte topcoat. Maybe order online?

It doesn't look like there's one there anymore but I'm sure there was at one point. Union Square too iirc.

All right, here's the first experiment. Wanted to play with the crackle coat more and see if I liked it better over other colors (other than the bright orange I had on last night).

I don't have a camera that will focus this closely so sorry about the quality & lack of detail:

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e66/LimitedLiabilityGirl/Hand.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e66/LimitedLiabilityGirl/Nails.jpg

That's base coat + 2 coats of A England "Princess Sabra" + 1 Seche Vite to seal it + cheap shit crackle coat Mattese Elite in White + 2 more coats of SV to smooth it out.

I've been tempted by that crackle stuff. Maybe I'll try it.

Princess Sabra is a gold-green glitter polish in proper light.

http://passionforpolish.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/a-england-Princess-Sabra.jpg

Whoops!

http://passionforpolish.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/a-england-Princess-Sabra.jpg

I think the crackle coats are kind of one-note? But interesting, and super fun to watch!

That's the nicest colour combo I've seen! My work sells one crackle but it's a sort of auburn shade, meant to go over yellow and look giraffe like. :P I have the yellow but didn't bother with the auburn!

If you put a thick gloss coat on top of the base color before you add the crackle, you get a nice depth effect with some separation between the layers. Subtle, but I like it.

i have a bottle of white crackle coat that i found in a bag i bought from a thrift store - haven't tried it yet, though

I normally really don't like the crackle stuff at all but I think that looks pretty neat and I LOVE the color underneath.

Okay, now the right hand. I want to do a three-color job like this:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zibuiozm95c/T4hf03QB4VI/AAAAAAAAE2U/rQ4PnOwE-Ds/s1600/color+block+mani+with+holland+collection.jpg

(From lucysstash.com, a great polish and nail art blog.)

The first base color I tried is a cheap mini yellow I bought yesterday. It might be good for art elements, but as a basecoat the coverage sucks. Tried up to 3 coats then took it all off because it was still streaky and uneven.

Second attempt: Used Princess Sabra as the basecoat. Tried to freehand the first swipe, using Essie "Blanc." Remind me never to play Operation. A mess. Took it off again.

Third attempt: Princess Sabra as the base, going to dry thoroughly and then use Scotch tape to form the swipes, instead. Updates as events warrant.

Mind you, in order to touch acetone with my LEFT hand, which is all done already, I have to wear a latex cleaning glove, so I'm stumping around my apt in old Crocs and one yellow glove, swearing at these cheap brushes and the pint of coffee I drank after breakfast.

Well, tape works great but the underlayer has to be REALLY REALLY DRY. Mine was not.

Crackle-coating the right hand is looking pretty appealing right about now....

The blurriness of this photo is obscuring the fact that I did a truly terrible job on this one. Also my colors aren't quite...right. Obviously I need more shades of nail polish to choose from.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e66/LimitedLiabilityGirl/Colorblock.jpg

I think that turned out really cool though!! I'm jealous. I like the translucency of the red.

In nail news, I feel fully empowered to wear (my favorite) grey/blue/slate shades to work now that the freaking first lady wore them, love her

http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/17y6cv7zqkwikjpg/xlarge.jpg

It's Essie "Really Red" if you want to pick some up!

The internet has been going crazy for the FLOTUS' "greige" polish, eh?

It's a color my friend has long called CORPSE NAILS whenever I wear it.

I love Michele Obama. First bare arms, then no pantyhose, and now gray nail polish... she is awesome. (Well, except for the fat shaming kids for their own good, but nobody's perfect.)

What I did on Sunday.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e66/LimitedLiabilityGirl/BlackFrench.jpg

Yeah yeah the nails look great but OMG BRACELETS.

I tried to photo them in this light but they don't come out. One is plain white, one is a twisted rope design in dark grey-green, and one is a wooden square.

<3

I wore a square wooden bangle today. :)

ooh your nails look awesome! i want to do that! how to do?

i know it's not rocket science, but i don't actually understand how french manicures work

i guess i could it up on the internet

Paint black. Either wait half a day for it to be really, REALLY dry, or use a quick-dry topcoat and wait like an hour at least.

Then apply normal Scotch tape leaving the tips free. Dab with white polish, not too thin or too thick (this is where I need practice). Pull off tape as soon as you're done with the painting; if you let the polish dry with the tape, it'll chip when you lift it up. So you only get once chance to get the tips right. Once tips are done, let dry and seal with topcoat.

I have straight-across nails but if yours curve more, Erica has suggested those large hole reinforcing grommet sticky things, from stationary stores. You can use those for half-moon manicures too, just put the sticker at the base of the nail instead of the tip.

Oh that looks GREAT! I love it!

Thx for instructions! Will try!

Scotch tape! All these years I thought everyone just had better fine motor skills than I did.

Tape works wonders when it comes to nail art!!

That's not a real French manicure, btw. That's just creative nail-painting. Real French manis involve whitening pencils and stuff.

Reversed that mani this week, white with thick black tips. Getting better at the taping.

Also have discovered why people create nail polish blogs: because you have to tell someone and no one except the internet cares. I got two new shades of polish in the mail today and can hardly stand it!

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NCgSiQE2a-U/T7z3rhFUTOI/AAAAAAAANZk/mHIbOzkiL_4/s1600/I%2527m%2BNot%2BLion%2BSwatch.JPG

My goal was/is to recreate this look, more gorgeousness from chalkboardnails.com:

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m72eewOLtI1qmxbvdo1_500.jpg

Oooh! I found leopard spots to be a lot easier than I thought they'd be. Post after pics.

Last week I had an awesome flat grey color (Berlin there Done That from the OPI Germany collection) on top of which I painted black french tips. I meant to take a pic but forgot and yesterday got a gel manicure just cause I have a couple busy weeks coming up and don't want to have to think about them for a bit. It's a very nice deep wine color.

If I paint mine a solid traditional color I feel like my boss and every other aging Midtown lady. It's too much. I may have to stick with the nail art and strange shades.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e66/LimitedLiabilityGirl/Whitefrench.jpg

Love!

the nails are super cool but your head and dress also: SUPER COOL
agl all around, incl balmstain