If it ain't Baroque, don't fix it

Haha, classic. Today I have a Baroque-inspired pattern - I say inspired because I didn't do too much research before painting. I kind of just went for it. A random swirl here, dot there, leaf over here. I think they still turned out pretty (and probably took less time than if I had tried to painstakingly recreate a pattern), but they say more just vines to me than Baroque.

I started out with two coats of Essie Going Incognito. I CANNOT believe that this is only the second time I've ever used this colour. I mean, I remember liking it the first time, but I didn't remember it being such an amazingly rich and glossy and all-around gorgeous green! I am now seriously considering buying a backup bottle, I love it that much. I'd show you a swatch on its own, but I did these at a friend's house, so I didn't have my camera handy then. Next time!

The gold pattern is painted on with Zoya Ziv, another great polish. I used my regular medium length brush to draw the main path/shape of the swirl, then built onto it by thickening some parts and adding leafy extensions. I used a tiny dotting tool for the dots. Lesson learned: don't overdot. Too many dots makes it look cluttered.

Look, I was not lazy and actually did both hands this time!

What do you think, are these Baroque-y enough for you? You can really tell how much I know about the style, huh. Also, is it just me, or does gold look amazing with everything? I thought I loved turquoise and gold, but this combination is definitely giving some competition. Until next time!

Who needs silver and gold

When you have turquoise and gold! If there were any colours that were made for each other, it would be these two. What? Complimentary colours, you say? Nope, turquoise and gold trumps all.

This was my first attempt with striping tape, and honestly, I don't know if I'd use it again. This tape was so thin and fiddly, it took me forever to position and stick it down. Having said that, I don't think there's any other way to get such thin, clean lines. I was channeling a necklace that I recently bought from Forever 21.

Polishes:

Left to right: Joe Fresh "Sun Kissed", Essie "As Gold As It Gets", Essie "Turquoise and Caicos", American Apparel "Pacific Beach"

I did two coats of Sun Kissed, then one coat of As Gold As It Gets for a bit of extra sparkle (though it doesn't show up well). I worked one nail at a time, placing the tape down, one coat of Turquoise and Caicos, then two generous coats of Pacific Beach, and finally removing the tape while the polish was still wet for cleaner lines.    

 

Turquoise and gold bonus! You can tell this is an old picture because I didn't have proper lighting back then and I took all my pictures sitting at my desk. Now I take pictures in the bathroom. Progress.

This is three coats of Turquoise and Caicos, followed by one coat of Deborah Lippmann "Boom Boom Pow", then another coat of Boom Boom Pow, focusing on the tips. It reminded me of gold jewelery in a Tiffany box!

What do you think of these? Have you had any experience with striping tape? What is YOUR favourite colour combination? Thanks for reading! Until next time, friends!

Lazy Daisy

I didn't feel like breaking out the nail art brushes, so I turned to my good ol' bobby pin instead. These are inspired by my bottle of Daisy Eau So Fresh. I've been meaning to do a mani for this ever since I got this for Christmas last year! I love the scent, and I love the bottle.

Dark picture, I just liked the way the bottle looked lol

I used a bobby pin to dot on the pink daisies (the pink is a mix of Coney Island with white), then the white, then the yellow ones as accents. Then I used a smaller dotting tool for the flower centres. I really need more shiny golds in my collection, I didn't have much to choose from. 

Polishes:

Left to right: Wet n' Wild "Shield", Essie "Penny Talk", American Apparel "Coney Island", Sally Hansen "White On", "Mellow Yellow"

What do you think of these daisies? Isn't the bottle so adorable? What kind of manicure do you do when you're feeling lazy?