I have returned!

I still don't have the best lighting set up... but I miss blogging quite a bit so I guess my readers will just have to suffer through my lackluster photos!

The big new I eluded to before.. I got married! Totally sudden and totally unexpected, but it was pretty much the best decision I have ever made. Mr.Nail Noise is not only quite talented himself (he sews, ladies! YEAH!) but he fully supports and even encourages my nail polish addiction. It's quite sad really -- I can't look at a polish at the store without him insisting that I purchase it! Awesome but dangerous for the wallet.

So first I have the nails I did for my wedding day. We didn't have a big ceremony, just a quick visit to the courthouse. I saw this design on heynicenails and figured it'd be simple enough to do to both my hands. For once, both my hands matched. This is a definite rarity for me ;)

Remember how I told you Mr. Nail Noise was very supportive? That might have been an understatement. Yeah, these are our matching nails - what of it?! We spent a day at the zoo and wanted something bright and animal-like, so this manicure was born:

Awwwwww

My hands even kind of match each other again! WOO!

I also have some manicures to throw in here at the end - not as professional looking, but I wanted to have a record of them anyway.

Pink Penguin by F4 and Nubar Black Polka Dot

 over a black and white gradient

Sally Hansen Garnet Lapis over Sally Hansen CSM in Petrol

Flash!

Lastly, I did a little stamping over a friend's acrylics - smeared with a top coat a little, but still looked pretty awesome if you ask me! 

Also she had awesome shoes:

GOLDGLITTERSHOESOHMYGOD

So that's what I've been up to -- married life is pretty awesome. 

Special note: I received a frickin' AMAZEBALLS franken from Ashesela over at ArtEvolve. It deserves its own post, though. And I'm disappointed that the photos don't do it any justice at ALL. You are the sweetest Miss Ash! 

Thanks for reading :)

Old (but FUN!) nail art

This is a few weeks old, but I never blogged about it. I saw design this on tumblr by JamboNails and I knew I had to try it. Of course it didn't come out anything like the original, but I am super pleased with the results anyway!!

The pink is Pool Party (ChG), the green is Kiwi Cool-Ada, and the orange is Knockout Orange I think... I don't have the bottle anywhere near me so forgive me if the name is wrong! I used a nail art striper for the black lines and dots. BAD LIGHTING IS BAD. I WILL be building a gosh darned light box soon! 

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend!!! 

More dots - with cheap but awesome Dawn

Sometimes you get super cheap polish and it sucks - more often than not this is the case. I was pleasantly surprised by this little lady that I got from Dollar Tree. While it takes a few coats to get opaque (3 for no VNL), I really liked the finished product. It had no name, only the brand Dawn. These photos are with top coat. 

I felt it was kind of boring on its own, so I dotted it up!

These are some bonus photos of my Mom's nails. She let me do random things to them! :)

These were done for my cousin for a wedding. I was working without all of my supplies for these projects... very sad, but I guess I made it work ok - she liked them!

I'm in the process of moving at the moment, so I'm not around my computer nearly as often as I'd like to be :( But soon... soon.... NAILS EVERYWHERE. 

Thanks for reading this insanely boring post :)

Dotty flowers

These are sort of flowers... I really love this color combination and just sat there knowing I would fail at water marbling... and then DOTS. Hah ALWAYS DOTS.

The base is Army Jacket by American Apparel. I really do love their formula. So smooth and thick...mmmm...

The dots are: Exotic Green (SC),  Arizona (Zoya), Mellow Yellow (Xtreme Wear), and Mahogany Magic (ChG).

All the bubbling is the fault of my top coat. I don't care what people say, adding thinner causes bubbling. Especially if you have to add it every time you use it. Does this happen with Seche Vite/Restore? Does it create bubbling? I am really considering making the switch. 

Note: My absence was mostly due to some new coolness in my life that I can't discuss on here just quite yet, but it is AWESOME. I am going to try to post 3 times a week from now on. I'm not going to attempt every day because I know it won't happen. I am thinking of also having a couple guest posts just for no reason other than I'd like to showcase some cool blogs, new blogs, or just talented artists. If you have any interest, feel free to send me an email at mantislawyer@gmail.com -- You don't have to be a blogger!

I hope everyone is well, and I thank you for reading :)

Guest Post over at Mixed Mama!

So there's this super beautiful (GREAT HAIR for serious) and talented lady over at MixedMama who allowed me to do a guest post for her blog! I used a lot of green. Are you shocked?!  You should head on over there to check it out! Remember, I used this as a base:

EPIC NAIL MAIL AND SWATCHES!

You all might remember that I mentioned the lovely Jen AKA The Polished Zombie... turns out she's not only beautiful, talOnted, and hilarious, but also incredibly generous! She put together a package full of green and badassery for me that honestly just blew me away. Even my dad had to comment about what a sweetie she was :)

Here are all the goodies!

That little mini is none other than Pink Penguin by F4. I immediately had to test it out, but didn't want to use much so I swatched her on my pinky.

Droooooool

Personally I think it looks a lot like girly TV static - I can't describe how awesome that is!!!

I also swatched the Maybelline Express Finish Go Go Green. Usually something this frosty isn't my style, but WOW does this polish look stunning in the sunlight!

One of my other favorite shades of the bunch was a wonderful neon granny smith apple color by Cosmetic Arts. They really should name their polishes. I'm naming this one Goblin Jizz. 

To see what nail art I threw on top of this, check out Mixed Mama tomorrow for my guest post!

JEN YOU ARE AMAZING - I LOVE YOU - AND IF YOU WANT TO MOVE WHERE IT'S LEGAL AND GET MARRIED I'M TOTALLY DOWN! :D 

Thanks for reading!

Hospitals and Starfish

So I had to go to the hospital again and they admitted me and did tests and found out I have some acid issues. Not good. I have some different meds now, though, and hopefully I can get it under control soon.

I have some gross pictures of my stomach and intestines that I thought about posting, but not sure how that would look so.. haha YEAH! My arm got all messed up from the tape and IVs. That I can show you:

Ouch

The IV wasn't in my inner elbow, all that bruising is from the tape! The IV was on the side of my elbow where all the littler dots are. ANYWAY... 

Before all of this happened, I saw these cute nails on tumblr and decided I had to recreate them. I didn't stick to the exact design, and I definitely like how they turned out!

I regret not sponging down some gold glitter first, but they're still pretty beachy and fun! Started off with a base of Revlon's Sheer Nude. The blue is Towel Boy Toy (China Glaze), the green Kiwi Cool-Ada (China Glaze) and the pink is Make Some Noise (shockingly, China Glaze). 

I used NYC's Extra Shiny Top Coat because I liked the shine it creates, but I wanted to warn people against this top coat in general. Had I intended to wear this for more than a few hours, I would NOT have used Extra Shiny Top Coat. It cracks HORRIBLY. The first time I used it I had no idea and when I woke up the next day my design had literally shattered. 

I hope everyone is having a lovely and a less hot and humid week than me! Thanks for reading :)

Blue Year's Eve! Not out of season at all!

So I was really sick for a few days, ended up getting some hospital treatment for dehydration and vitamin issues, but all is well now (so far!) and I can resume normal posting!!

Today I have this absolutely freaking stunning polish by China Glaze - Blue Year's Eve. It really didn't look like much when I first got it, just another pretty blue. Then I noticed that it was a bit duochrome! It shines purple occasionally!! None of my pictures really capture this very well. I blame cloudy PA weather.  It's still gorgeous even without the purple tint though.

I absolutely freaking adore the way my camera captures blues. They're always insanely color accurate no matter the lighting. Darker blues, anyway. 

Application was a breeze - two coats for full coverage and this is with NO TOP COAT. Yeah. Shocked? I was. So if you're a blue person, this is a polish you for sure want to pick up!!

Thanks for reading :)