Fifty Shades of Gray or Grey

Do I have any intention of seeing, let alone reading Fifty Shades of Gray?  No, I don't.  It is not really. . . my cup of tea.  If you want to see or read it, more power to you.  What is my "cup of tea," is the plethora of gray manicures that have become popular due to its eminent cinematic release (Now there is 100 dollar phrase if I ever saw one).  I saw one released by OPI (Which I now can't find), and I thought, hey I could take that up a notch.

Since I don't have the original design you can't see how took it up a notch, but trust me I  did.  The original design had all solid colors, but for my design I used Betina B-07 to get the heart design.

I don't own the OPI colors, so I made use of what I had.  The colors are, in no particular oder, Julep Braiden, Sally Hansen Big Smoky Top Coat, Konad Special Black, China Glaze Concrete Catwalk, Elephant Walk, Merry Berry, and Pelican Gray.

Julep Braiden is a matte texture polish, but it doesn't soak up top coat like other texture polishes do, so when I put a top coat on it the cool difference between it and the shiny red heart was no longer apparent, so I used Essise Matte About You to make it matte again and then put top coat only on the heart.

I hope you like my Fifty Shades of Gray manicure.  It is simple, but I love it anyways.

Tootles!
Fitz

My Five Year Old Client

Have you ever had a five year old client.  Not only is it had do their nails because they have small nails and are wiggly, but they are also very particular, well at least Sue is.

I used Julep's Plié Wand to create the stripes.  It took forever for her to pick a stamping design.  I tried to to limit the number of plates and she didn't want any of them.  Finally I got out of her that she would like a butterfly and I showed her Betina B-10 that had two butterflies to choose from on it and she picked that one.

The polishes I used were all Julep.  The names are Emerald City, Marjorie, Tamara, Linden, and Catrina.  Oh, and Konad Special Black.

It is also difficult to snap pictures of nail art on a five year old, hence the funny pictures.  The design lasted a couple of days, but she loved it, so that is all that really matters.

Tootles!
Fitz

Orange You Glad Halloween is Almost Here?

How do you come up with a good blog post tittle for a manicure inspired by the colors black and orange?  You go the cheesy route.

This design is from the vault, but there was wear on the tips and I felt like I could do it better, plus it was the best way to know what polishes I actually used.  Plus it is perfect for the Bundle Monster Halloween challenge!

The polishes I used were China Glaze Liquid Leather, Julep Mariska, Tia, Konad Special White, and Special Black.  The plates were Bundle Monster BM-411 and Betina B-10.

I layered two thin coats of Tia over LL because I was a bit impatient to wait for opacity since it is a jelly (Which I will explain in a post reviewing my October Julep box).  Mariska has some shimmer to it, which you can see in the bottle, but the shimmer gets lost on the nail.  I will say it is a neon, albeit subdued, so you do have the wretched neon formula to deal with.  But it is a pretty color, so I deal with it.

Well I hope you all liked this manicure.  I know there are not as many pictures as usual, I accidentally deleted one off my SD card. . .  Opps!

Tootles!
Fitz

Be Sure to Bring Your Death Certificate

Have you realized I love Halloween yet?  You haven't?  Can't you read between the lines?

So for the Bundle Monster Halloween Nail Art Challenge I did this. . .

The challenge is Trick-or-Treat and the best part of Halloween is being scared. . . and costumes. . . The best thing about Halloween is costumes and being scared.  Okay, so, that means that this manicure is meant to be scary.  Boo!  Did I get you?

I think I might a bit tired, so that me be why this post it bit all over the place. . .

Back to the manicure!!   I used Julep Mary Lee, Maybeline Color Show Clearly Spotted, China Glaze Millennium, and Konad Special Black.  The nail stamping plates were Betina B-19, Bundle Monster BM-413, and BM-H07.

I hope you didn't mind my weird post and you liked the manni!

Tootles!
Fitz

Sunrise, Sunset

Today's Sunday Stamping topic is Skyline.  I have been wanting to do a tropical skyline for a while now and when this prompt came up I decided it was time to try it.  The problem was I didn't want to do the typical bright colors, I wanted something a little different.  Then the light bulb got turned on.  I would base it on a sunrise rather than the sunset.

This took a few colors; Konad Special White, Julep Bess, Roc Solid, Clara and Liz.  The plates were Betina B-19, Bundle Monster BM-312, and Gals GA12.

The background was done with the sponging technique.  I really like how the colors came together.  Although, please ignore pre clean-up photos, I really wanted to snap a photo of just the colors.  I thought they were so pretty together.

This really reminds of the beach.  In truth it specifically remonds me of my cruise I took with my family a year ago.  I think I may want to go back. . . now!  Mmm!  So relaxing and wonderful.  If you have never been on a cruise, I suggest you make it a goal to go and if you have I suggest you make it a goal to go again!

One last picture for you in the shade.

Tootles!
Fitz

Inspiration From a Sweater

One of my co-workers showed up in a really cute sweater a couple of weeks ago and I loved the color combination.  So I decided I needed to do a manicure inspired by it.

In person the sweater was more turquoise than the picture leads you to believe, so I picked Essie Where's My Chauffer and then stamped with Konad Special Red.  I also used some small loose red heart glitter to give some sparkle and a a different texture on one nail.

For my stamps I used Betina B-10 and Winstonia W102.

A view of my thumb.

I really like how the color look together.  I think it is a bit quirky an a step out of your traditional valentine look.  I am really happy with how this came out.  It is not exactly like the sweater, but you can definitely see the inspiration.

My right hand turned out really good too.  I kind of like how the stamp placed on ring finger better.  You can see the heart design more clearly and not as abstract.

Tootles!
Fitz

Jelly Time!

So I had a jelly stamp sandwich manicure in mind, but I also wanted to do something with Julep Bette.  When I started this manicure I didn't realize Bette was a jelly.  I am glad it is, because I love what I came up with.

I think Bette looks great Finger Paints Winter Sky topped with Julep Esmerelda.  This look is probably more summery than winter, but I love the colors together.  Esmeralda is filled with teal micro and medium hexagon glitters.  Teal always reminds me of my Aunt and Ovarian Cancer, so I feel like I am honoring her each time I wear it.

For the stamping I used plates GA15 by Gals and B-19 by Betina.  I used Konad Special White for the stamping polish.  Then I added another layer of Bette over the top.  This creates the jelly sandwich.  Most people do sandwiches with glitters, but I really like stamping.  It gives a more subtle stamp.

Well, I hope you like this non-New Year manicure.  I hope you have lovely day celebrating the hope and possibilities 2014 will have in store for you.

Tootles!
Fitz

There Ain't No Doubt I Love This Land

Today is Independence Day and I want to take a moment to thank all those who have made it possible for me to live in country where I can question my government, where I can choose who I want to be, where I can vote, and where I can worship how I want.  These are a few of the privileges I am awarded and I strive not to take them for granted.

To honor and celebrate I have another 4th of July themed manicure.  This was rather simple, as I did it this morning.  However I feel the Old Glory is well represented.

I used Essie Butler Please, Leading Lady, Konad Special White, and Nina Ultra Pro.

The stars were done with Betina  plate B-08.

The stripes were done with striping tape.

I hope you have a wonderful Fourth surrounded by family friends.  Enjoy good food and laughter, but spare a moment and remember the price that was paid.

Tootles!
Fitz