Nail Art Technique You Love: Gradient and Nail Vinyls

Hey everyone, today is the beginning of a five day challenge from the ladies at Challenge Your Nail Art and the theme is Love is in the Air!

But hold up, that means this thankfully isn't five full days of Valentine's nails, a lot of it is just things we love. And today, we start with a Nail Art Technique You Love. This was an awfully tough one. I love stamping, I love nail vinyls, I love a lot of things. But I decided to combine two things I love for today's challenge.



For this challenge I combined nail vinyls with gradients. I just absolutely go ga-ga for gradients. I'm not super great at them but I just love how they look every time.



Now I had to throw a heart in there because it is Valentine's week, but truly this does represent two nail art techniques I love! For the gradient I used KBShimmer Shore Thing and Zoya Edie and then topped it with a coat of China Glaze Fairy Dust, because I can't do a mani without some sort of rainbow reflection!

I used chevron nail vinyls in a pattern I hadn't tried before, angled, and I really like how it turned out. Different from your typical chevron look!



I created the heart using my freehand (definitely not a skill I've mastered or favor on my nails at least!) and added dots of Zoya Rocha, because I liked how the coral contrasted against the bright blue/green chevron!

I hope you like this look! What is a nail art technique you love?! Don't forget to check out the other fabulous ladies of this challenge, listed in the inlinkz below!
   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Thanksgiving Chevrons

I'm not going to lie everyone, Thanksgiving has never meant all that much to me. Because of all my various food restrictions, I've never been able to eat the turkey, stuffing, gravy, pumpkin pie etc.

But it has never really meant much to me anyway. I'm usually working for my mom that weekend, so I spend the day watching the parade (alone while my parents are setting up the show and my husband is visiting with his family out-of-town) and then have some low-key set up with my parents.

So this year I didn't really feel much in the mood for Thanksgiving nails, also because I don't think I could top last year's nails.

Oy my photos skills were so bad back then!

Those were some super cute nails. And since I did so many fall leaves manicure, which is really my favorite part of this season, I was getting a little tired of the warm color motif. But try I did put something together last night, because I couldn't not do something this year.



I'm still not excited about this design, but I showed it to my MakeupAlley friends and they were super sweet about it. Calling it turkey-reminiscent without actually being a turkey. One person said it was like a sweater design for a turkey.

If you haven't joined the MakeupAlley Nail Board community, I suggest you do. They are all so nice and supportive and helpful and sweet! So this is definitely a shout-out to the sweet ladies over there!



I started with two thin coats of Zoya Dove and then used chevron nail vinyls and added a coat of ORLY Rockin' Rocket (seriously the only thing close to a brown I own), Zoya Channing and Zoya Goldie for the colors chevrons.



Then because I thought the grey was too overwhelming, and not super Thanksgiving-esque, I added the black designs. I think this sort of gives it a more Native American vibe as well.



So what do you think? Like I said, I'm still so-so on it, but it's what I'll have on for the weekend show with my mom. I know you're all probably a little curious to why I am doing this so far ahead of Thanksgiving. Well by Thanksgiving I'll be working my mom's show again, and that will be definitely time for some holiday nails, so this is the last of the fall/Thanksgiving nail art for the year I'm afraid.

And because I think sweater shots just make every manicure look cozy and nice, I'll add one more shot!



Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Please sign up for my giveaway, it doesn't end until Dec. 1!

What I'm wearing on my nails TODAY

It's not often I share with you my manicures in live time, but I am so in love with this new color I got from Literary Lacquers, I couldn't resist showing you right away.



This is Literary Lacquers Je Reviens from Literary Lacquer's Rebecca collection, inspired by the novel by Daphe de Maurier. The polish is a darkened teal holographic polish, with a linear holo finish with larger holographic pieces scattered throughout!



Here is what maker Amy wrote about this beautiful shade:

The buoy was just opposite, about thirty feet away. There was something written on it. I craned my neck sideways to read the lettering. “Je Reviens.” What a funny name. Not like a boat… “Je Reviens” – “I come back.” Yes, I suppose it was quite a good name for a boat. Only it had not been right for that particular boat which would never come back again.

Rebecca was assumed to have drowned in her little sailboat, Je Reviens, despite being known as an excellent sailor. Je Reviens means I come back or I return, is it ironic that the boat is named such? Has the boat disappeared beneath the water for good or does the name herald future events?

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier is a suspenseful novel told in the form of a flashback. I struggled with these descriptions because I don’t want to give too much of the story away. This collection is dedicated to Rebecca, the book simply throbs with her presence, but yet we never meet her alive.



I think it's pretty appropriate that Je Revins means "I come back." Last night, I took off the above manicure (you'll notice the manicure above has wavy lines and the manicure I'm currently wearing has chevrons). After redoing my nails, I literally missed Je Reviens so much I put the manicure back on, this time with chevrons instead.

I know that is pretty silly sounding. Literally taking a manicure off, redoing my nails to something I didn't love as much, and then recreating the manicure I took off. I guess that is love though!



The polish I paired Je Reviens with is Essie's The Perfect Cover Up, from their fall collection, which is a lovely muted teal that just pairs with Je Reviens perfectly!

Application: The application of Je Reviens was flawless, goes on completely smooth, but is a little sheer. I did three coats for this opacity, but you could probably get away with two coats just fine.

Where to purchase: You can purchase Je Reviens from the Literary Lacquer Etsy shop. I purchased this polish for $12.

Anyway, Amy's words above had me so intrigued I've decided I must read this book! So I'm off to go start that now!

I'll leave you with a photo of my cat Patty – I've named this shot "Patty the Polish Protector!"

Emily De Molly Monet's Garden

This sparkle polish is amazing! Created and named for Monet's Garden in France, this polish is such a beautiful homage to Monet's beautiful garden!



The polish consists of green, lime, neon green, purple and blue glitter suspended in a green jelly base. I could not keep my eyes off this glitter! It was so beautiful. I'll show it in a variety of lighting so you can get a feel for it indoors and out.





Since I was so drawn to the neon lime pieces, I thought I'd add some chevron accents to highlight the neon green glitter in the polish.



The polish I used for the chevrons is Essie's The More the Merrier. I used nail vinyls to create the chevron look.





Application: I was so impressed with the application of this glitter. It went on in two coats and was not difficult to apply. No dabbing needed and the application did not drag the glitter. It was the best experience I've ever had with glitter application. Unfortunately, I really loved this polish and wore it for several days – took 30 minutes to remove! Curse you beautiful glitter!!!

Where to Purchase: Emily De Molly is an Austrailian nail polish brand, so I turn to her USA stockists to purchase. I purchased this polish on Llarowe for $13. So word on the street is the creator is currently taking a maternity hiatus from creating the polish, but should be back. So keep an eye out for this amazing polish!