February Day 4: Polka Dots

Please pardon the dot smears - that's what I get for doing this in 30 minutes (including top coat). Please pardon the glare - it was cloudy and rainy when I took this photo.

I used Essie Bond With Whomever and Licorice, L'Oréal New Money, Orly Instant Artist Jet Black, and Seche Warm Hearted.

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.)

Poll Winner - Cherries

The Cherry design was the recent poll winner, and when the time came for me to do the design, I realized I didn't have a true green for the leaves. The color I used is more of a dark sea green.

To start off, I used Essie Blanc and OPI Pink-ing of You for the base.

Then I used OPI I'm Not Really a Waitress and a large dotting tool (really it was the end of a eyeliner makeup brush) to make the cherries, Orly Instant Artist Jet Back for the stems, SinfulColors Rise and Shine for the leaves, and Essie Blanc with a small dotting tool for the polka dots on the thumb and with a small paint brush for the little shine on the cherries.