Milani One-Coat Glitter Leopard

Milani's Blue Flash and Purple Gleam with Dou'ble Art's black pen:

China Glaze's Below Deck with Leopard

Here's the latest victim of my chronic leopardization. Two coats of China Glaze's Below Deck (Anchors Away, Spring 2011) with Dou'ble-Art black leopard spots.

Formal swatches of Below Deck are coming soon! (with Sea Spray and First Mate)

OPI's Extra-Va-Vaganza [Burlesque Collection]

I'll admit, I was excited about OPI's Burlesque Collection until I saw the actual swatches. At best, the glitters seemed kind of arts and crafts-y. However, I completely changed my mind when I saw the bottle in person as I unwrapped a gift on Christmas. It's just so festive that it's hard not to love! So, here's Extra-Va-Vaganza (2 coats, pre-cleanup, no top coat):

It's a mainly orange glitter, with some gold and green thrown in. It reminds me of rose gold.

Of course, I had to throw some leopard (Dou'ble Art's black) over it for New Years!

Miu Miu Inspired Mani

Everyone's doing it, Miu Miu inspired nails.

Base: China Glaze's Something Sweet

The swallows (I believe?) are freehanded using Dou'ble-Art black nail pen for the outline of the bird, and Flexbrush's black was used to fill them in (so I wouldn't waste my awesome pen polish!). I only wish I could do the swallows smaller so I could fit four or five on each nail. I might try that next...

This glitter pieces were stolen from my Christmas tree skirt. Work with what you've got, people! They're a mixture of sizes in gold and silver.

Update: Faux Airbrush Now with Leopard

Here's an update on this post.

Just some hand-done Dou'ble-Art black leopard over my faux airbrush mani. Holy wow, do I love this look! True, I'm a leopard addict, but this is on a whole new level.

My First Essie... and some lace... and leopard

My local Target had 3 Essie polishes on sale in one of their random clearance sections. It was one of three polishes (and two colors) and only $2 off, but I liked the color so I got it.

Essie's Bordeaux underneath fabric lace and Dou'ble-Art black leopard (Dr. Venture's still chillin' out):

There's a lace tutorial somewhere in the archives...

It's a nice blood color with a wine-vibe to it. I used two coats, but if you were in a pinch you could get away with only one. This polish has a smooth consistency and overall it's dreamy to apply. I want to say it's got a jelly feel to it, but I don't know if that's an appropriate way to describe it. It's more fluid than OPI (much more than China Glaze), but I don't know if I can make that generalization to the whole brand yet.

I think I'm going to get some of the colors in the Winter and Fall 2010 collections now that this was such a success for a first time use.

Venture Bros. Nails [Set #2]

My second attempt at Venture Bros. themed nails in honor of the epic one-hour season finale this Sunday at 11:30 on [adult swim]! Apologies for my bizarre creative interpretations of these beloved characters. Dean is kind of melty, Dr. Venture is totally giving you the side eye, and The Monarch kind of looks like a monkey, but hey this was my first detailed attempt! (See below for the leopard)

**All likenesses/images belong to [adult swim], Astrobase Go!, and Bif Bang Pow!

Base - China Glaze's Sun Worshipper (Poolside collection Summer 2010), 3 coats. Does this color turn out matte for anyone else?

Flesh color - Flexbrush's water-based Light Peach

Brown beard, hair, freckles, and eyebrows - Flexbrush's water-based Brown

Yellow crown and accessories on The Monarch- CM Nail Art's Yellow

Base - China Glaze's Sun Worshipper (Poolside collection Summer 2010), 3 coats. 

Spots - China Glaze's Sugar High (Up & Away collection Spring 2010)

Black outline was done with a Dou'ble-Art pen.

No clear/top coat.

Here's the backstory on the Dou'ble-Art pen: Transdesign has them for only $3, and I needed a new black color for nail art, so I figured it was worth a try. The pen has a pen tip and a thin brush so I knew if  the pen didn't work I would at least have a brush to use. The pen is AWESOME. It is so easy to use, very opaque, and hardly has any application problems except for the occasional bubble. It even comes with a long needle-thing to keep the flow of polish clog-free. If you want to do a leopard print, this is the product to use. I will definitely be buying more pens. Oh and take note, that picture is of my right hand... that's right, that hand looks pretty darn good for not painting with my dominant hand--that's how easy this pen is to use!