Autism Awareness Month 2013

As you know, April is Autism Awareness Month. I did this manicure a few days back but have been slacking when it comes to updating my blog. I'm working on improving that. :)

More importantly:
A dear friend of mine's son was recently diagnosed with mild autism, so this is for her and her family.

I used Essie Marshmallow as the base with L'Oréal Not a Cloud in Sight, SinfulColors Why Not, and Ulta Blue Streak for the gradient. I added Ciaté Glass Slipper for sparkle and Milani Silver for the glitter placement heart.

Like my most recent gradient post, I used a white polish as the base (Essie Marshmallow) so that the colors would pop without me having to put tons of layers of blue on.

Wondering how I did the glitter placement? I used Milani Silver because it has large glitter in a clear polish. I just dabbed the polish on a piece of kitchen foil (so it wouldn't dry too fast) and used a dotting tool to pick up individual glitter pieces to make the heart.

A Cotton Candy Fairy Tale rendered in Pastels

What is this? Pastel gradient? Cotton Candy gradient? Fairy-tale gradient? Can it be all three please?

I used Essie Marshmallow as the base and then SinfulColors Cinderella, Glass Pink, and Mint Apple for the gradient. I added OPI Pirouette My Whistle for an even softer/fairy-like look. 

I've gotten some questions on how I do gradients and, personally, it depends on what colors and formulas are involved. For example, since each polish (the blue, pink, and green) is really sheer, I used one coat of white (Essie Marshmallow) for a base so that the finish manicure would be solid (no visible nail line) and would not interfere with the actual gradient colors. 

I'm going to be trying to describe how I do each gradient from here on out.

L'Oréal Not a Cloud in Sight

Not a Cloud in Sight is a bright and sheer cream polish. I needed to paint three thin coats to cover any streaky areas. My bottle was very "fluid" which I guess is better than a thick polish, but when I painted just my nail, it would run onto my cuticles.

Oh well, this is three coats with no top coat.

L'Oréal Orange You Jealous

I recently went on a polish splurge and got nine new polishes plus a new Seche Vite top coat and, to try for the first time, CND Stickey base coat. Thank goodness I had a 30 percent of coupon from Ulta!

One of the polishes I have been wanting to try out is L'Oréal Orange You Jealous, as well as every other spring polish in the world.

This is three coats with no top coat. The color is a creamy orange and the formula is pretty smooth. It did take three coats to cover up any streaky spots, but I'm glad it didn't end up being thick.

New Poll for Nail Series

Hi my awesome followers,

By now I'm sure you've noticed the new poll feature on the right side of this page so here's a little info about it:

For the next few months, I will be able to support a regular weekly post (shocking I know because I've been so sporadic when it comes to doing and then posting them on here). I plan to run this segment from May to August.

Each month will have a different theme but I want to know what you, my lovely followers, are most interested in seeing so that you can get inspired. That's what the poll is for! Just vote for which theme you would like me to do for the upcoming month.

For example, this poll has the following options: Blue Monday, Purple Thursday, and Pink Friday. The first part lets you know the theme, and the second part tells you the day I will have it posted on my blog each week.

I kept it general for this first month, but my goal is to show at least a glimpse of all you can do even within those boundaries.

Please go ahead and vote for what you want to see by this Friday!

Papaya Nails

Clearly this is an older manicure because I have now gone back to square-shaped nails, but I knew I needed to try papayas out on my oval/almond nails before I changed it up again.

Papayas are my favorite fruit. However, my husband thinks they smell like feet and won't sit next to me on the rare occasion I eat some papaya. IMO, there is nothing like the refreshing, soft, cool, and sweet feeling of fresh papaya in my mouth.

So let's get down to the nitty-gritty on how I created this look:

1. I painted two coats of SinfulColors Hazard as the base.
2. Using the brush that came with the polish, I painted a thin layer of Ulta Cream on the Crop in an elongated oval in the center.
3. Topped it all off with Essie Matte About You.
4. Using a dotting tool and Essie Licorice, I made the "seeds."
5. With a dotting tool again and Seche Vite top coat, I randomly dotted on top of seeds to make them more shiny.

(To me, fresh cut papaya doesn't look really juicy but the seeds are slick and shiny.)