31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day 11 - Polka Dots

I am ridiculously happy about this one.  Like, really, stupidly, unreasonably excited about my fingernails.  This turned out exactly like I wanted and the only thing I'd change is the placement of a few of the dots.

This is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out dotted with Hard Candy Beetle, Zoya Faye, Nabi Magnetic Candid (I think.  A lot of the polishes in the display were mislabeled.  This is a light khaki kind of gold) and China Glaze Passion.

One of my favorite parts of this manicure is Beetle.  Maybe it's just that I've been obsessed with duochromes lately. It's a dupe for Orly Space Cadet: a purple/green/yellow duochrome in a green base.  The photo below shows some of the color shift, but it's difficult to capture the awesomeness that is Beetle in a photograph.

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day 10 - Gradient

This is Color Club Rebel Spirit, Nicole by OPI Khloe Had a Little Lam-Lam, Nabi New Emerald, Sally Hansen Insta Dry Mint Sprint, L.A. Colors Treasure Island and Sinful Colors Nail Junkie.  There is some Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mint Sorbet on the tips, but Nail Junkie covered it up too much, so you can't really tell.

I've been wanting to use Nail Junkie in a gradient since I got it. This isn't quite as gradient-y as I wanted it to be, but it did turn out nice.  Didn't last too long, though.  I got my first chip within an hour of finishing.

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day 9 - Rainbow

 Totally not what I had originally planned, but cute nonetheless.

I used Pure Ice Super Star, Sally Hansen Stunning Scarlet, Wet n Wild Club Havana, Sally Hansen Insta Dry Lightening, NYC High Line Green, Sally Hansen Insta Dry Brisk Blue, and L.A. Colors Tropical Breeze.  The tips are topped with China Glaze Fairy Dust.

I lovelovelove the colors in the Insta Dry line.  There are a lot of crisp, rich brights and most of them cover in one coat.  They're the kind of colors that make me happy just to look at them.

So far, I've also been pretty impressed with L.A. Colors.  For a cheap polish (I find them at the Dollar Tree), the formula is pretty good.  The ones I've tried are a little on the thin side, but there's very little streakiness  and they cover in two to three coats.

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day 8 - Metallic

I'm not a huge fan of metallics so I wasn't really looking forward to this one.  This is Color Club VooDoo You Do tipped with Revlon Silver Dollar.  It actually photographed much nicer than it looked on my nails.  I did decide it was a little too simple, so because I can't leave well enough alone, I stamped it with some more Silver Dollar.

Still not thrilled.  As a last resort, I threw on a matte topcoat.  Ironically, I like this much better in person than in the photos.  

I really wanted to love VooDoo You Do.  It's a nice color, kind of a blue-ish gunmetal grey, and covered well in two coats.  I think for me it's more of a wear-by-itself kind of polish.

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day 7 - Black and White

Splatters are fun ^_^  Here we see the elusive right hand.  I like the splatter pattern better on that one, which is weird because my right hand never looks better than the left. Something about this strikes me as 80s modern, but I'm not entirely sure why.

I used Pure Ice Super Star and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out.