Sweet Baby Octopolish!

Partway through Season 2 of our Star Trek The Next Generation rewatch, my next nail inspiration became clear:  the distinctive asymmetrical curved V neckline of Counselor Deanna Troi's turquoise dress. outdoor, shady/overcast daylight The obvious choice for Troi's out-of-this-world dress was Literary Lacquers Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster , a pretty perfect bright ocean turquoise that's both a sparkling linear holo as well as one sprinkled with holo microglitters.  I considered using a neutral polish on the fingers with the negative-space areas, but instead let my slightly milky base coat, Nail Tek Formula 2, carry that job solo, and it turned out completely lovely.  window-filtered sunlight To get that neckline just right, I used the doubled arc and straight line designs from Lina Feeling Shapely 10.  I stamped first in PGGB to mark where I wanted the design to be, then painted my nails from that point outward.  When I was done, I stamped back over in...

The real reason I had to try out Sally Hansen Denim this week is that we've been on a huge Star Trek The Next Generation kick at our house and I have for sure found my nail art inspiration for the next while.  Many beloved things from youth end up aging quite badly, but this show is still a huge winner and has become our ideal quarantine entertainment.  It's fun, adventure-y, and smart, with occasionally brilliant/hilarious costuming choices, and I'm in utter love with the old-skool matte painting backgrounds for alien landscapes.  But the thing that's surprised me most, in a way I certainly did not appreciate as a teen, is how breath-of-fresh-air healthy it is.  People make huge mistakes with devastating consequences, the crew has to work around some utter jerks, there's loss and grief... but the mis-steps never get twisted into petty vengeance, and people successfully work through their issues like adults.  outdoor, overcast daylight Of course I had...

Not too long ago, Suzy was wearing a truly amazing blue in a pic she sent, and I immediately jumped on ebay to grab a bottle or two. indoor, CF lighting Sally Hansen released Denim along with a dozen or so other Insta-dri colors in a tie-in with Crayola.  It's a deeply saturated, true cobalt blue that's fully opaque in one easy coat. outdoor, shady & overcast light There's a whole rabid fan base around a different Sally Hansen blue crème, Pacific Blue, supposed to be a smooth one-coater with a drop-dead perfect formula, much mourned when SH felt the need to change to a totally different polish with the same name a handful of years ago.  As far as I can tell, Denim is just a tiny touch darker than Pacific Blue, so this may scratch that itch if you don't want to pay crazy HTF prices for the original.  The other blue in the Crayola collection, Cerulean, appears to be a touch lighter than Pacific Blue, and I'm trying to convince myself I don't need b...

I'm finding inspiration in a lot of unusual places lately, instead of simply picking something on my own.  This time, from an ad, while trying to convince myself to not buy more stamping plates.  indoor, CF lighting One of my fave plate makers sent me an email this week announcing some new releases.  The featured mani was a plain nude crème stamped in black and gold with a mix of graphic shapes.  I thought there were a few plates already here that would soothe that need, so I instead put together a variation on that look. outdoor, overcast daylight I've started with a base of Bee's Knees T-Virus, a very sheer rosy pink jelly base that is absolutely filled to the brim with both very delicate translucent iridescent flakies and a boatload of metallic shimmer that shifts green to gold to pink.  indoor, CF lighting The shimmer usually steals the show, making this sheer polish appear opaque in just 2 coats.  In soft, diffuse lighting that d...

The man picked "blue, but a bright blue, not like navy" when I was stumped on a polish pick this week, and it's been rainy and overcast enough that I figured a duochrome was in order. indoor, bright CF lighting What's Your Damage? was Nvr Enuff's contribution to last year's 80s themed PPU, with the name being the most frequently quoted bit from Heathers.  I'd lent the movie this week to a coworker who'd never seen it (!!) so this all seemed to come right together. outdoor, overcast daylight While I love this movie and I love this color, I'm gonna have to say the two have nothing to do with each other.  I really don't see anything of Heathers' color scheme in here, more like that of a smoky cyber punk tale. outdoor, bright sunlight WYD starts with a violet base somewhere between lavender and faded blue jeans.  On top, we have a very metallic, very flashy, subtly shifty shimmer that goes from pale aqua to electric neon bl...

Recently, a random inspiration post from last year got bumped in a FB thread, and instantly I knew what I wanted to do for my next mani. indoor, bright CF lighting Bikini Bottom was one of the finds in my discount Rescue Beauty Lounge destash haul, and I knew going in that it was a super sheer jelly, but I was not prepared to be so thoroughly in love with it. outdoor, overcast daylight I've started with 2 coats of Bikini Bottom here, just enough for a light wash of barely-milky blue, which I liked a whole lot more than the clear or white background in most of the inspo pics.  This jelly was flawlessly self-leveling with no streaks at all despite how translucent the final look is.  outdoor, overcast daylight The goldfish designs are from HeHe 037, and when I saw the pretty little dragonfly on that same plate, it had to come along for the ride.  Esmaltes da Kelly Joanna makes a perfect goldfish color, with a decidedly orange lean to this red.  in...