Freehand Nail Art: Cloudy with a Chance of Rainbows

My first attempt at utilizing the sponging technique. I LOVE it. I think sponging is one of my new favorite nail art techniques. I love the way it turns out and the amount of control I have. I had started out with a grey polish and was going to do some dotting (inspired by this tutorial) but when it took FOREVER to dot just one nail, I decided to do a cloudy sky look on the rest of my nails but it looked weird with just white and grey so I sponged some blue around the white and then sponged some more white to make it look "fluffier"/more cloud-like and voila! I got so many comments on these nails. I ended up sporting this mani for almost a week (I usually can't go more than a day or two between manicures)!

Polishes used (L to R): SH Insta-Dri Blue-Away & Whirlwind White (sponged clouds); SH Insta-Dri Rapid Red, Borghese Capri Coral, SH Insta-Dri Lightning, Revlon Posh, SH Insta-Dri Brisk Blue, Borghese Palermo Plum (rainbow dots)

I redid my accent nail so the dots would be smaller.

For the sponging I just used some generic (walgreens' brand I believe) cosmetic sponges that I tore up into bits. I'd describe the process of sponging but there are already so many great tutorials out there, like this one @ Nailin' It.

A Year's Challenge: Week 3 - Color Block Mani

I had no idea what color blocking was before this challenge! I googled it and after reading a couple articles and searching images, I had somewhat of an idea. So here is my interpretation of a color block mani, inspired by this photo of Rihanna (photo from teenvogue.com):

Left hand, natural light.

Right hand, natural light.

To create this look I used lots of tiny slivers of masking tape (any low-adhesive tape would work though), small paint brushes, patience, and the following colors:

• Essie - Case Study (base)
• Revlon - Plum Seduction (fuschia)
• Borghese - Capri Coral (orange)

I might have taken the term color blocking a bit literally! I like how it turned out though and I learned something about current fashion trends in the process! :D

To check out the details of "A Year's Challenge" and see how others participating in the challenge interpreted the Color Block manicure, go here.

My Polish Collection Swatches: Part 1 - Nail Wheel 101

To inventory my polish collection, I've swatched every polish I have on nail wheels for easy reference. Here they are, in case you are interested. Starting with wheel 101, the following entries will include pictures of the swatches under different lighting environments. I will add one entry for each wheel instead of one SUPER pic-heavy one.

The numbers correspond to the list, which indicates the brand, polish name, line/collection/edition (if applicable), and bottle number.

Natural light (outdoors), white background

Nail Wheel 101

1. China Glaze Admire 695- Romantique Collection*
2. Borghese Plumaggio Purple 350
3. Borghese Patina Pearl 130
4. Borghese Palermo Plum 325
5. Borghese  Mezzanotte Blue 360
6. Borghese Milano Taupe 330
7. Borghese Capri Coral 215
8. Borghese Belissima Rose 310
9. China Glaze Metallic Muse 844 - Khrome Collection**
10. China Glaze Inner Beauty 616
11. China Glaze Golden Meringue 072
12. China Glaze Go Go Pink 546
13. China Glaze For Audrey 625
14. China Glaze Emotion 689 - Romantique Collection*
15. China Glaze Delight 688 - Romantique Collection*
16. China Glaze Chiaroscuro 102
17. China Glaze Cherish 693 - Romantique Collection*
18. China Glaze Awaken 691 - Romantique Collection*

Indoors w/flash, black background

Indoors w/flash, white background

  If anyone wants to see a full swatch or manicure with any of these colors, just leave a comment letting me know. I like it when people pick my polish for me (I'm too indecisive so it takes me forever!).

* = Discontinued

** = Discontinued and hard to find (HTF)

*** = Discontinued for ages and VERY HTF