Skellie, skellie in my belly -- wait...

DDHalloween


It's the final day of the Digit-al Dozen Halloween challenge! I can't believe it's over already! But there will still be plenty of time for more spooky designs!  This one was so easy to do and it was so much fun to look at!! I got a lot of compliments on it!  I used Wet and Wild White On for the base and then used a Models Own Black Nail Art pen to do the stripes.  I used a dotting tool and Wet and Wild Black Out to do the eyes and noses and then stamped on the accent nail.  For a twist, I did the colors opposite on my other hand (so the background was black and the details were white).  I hope you all enjoyed the art work!! Look for my next Rehab Your Nails post this weekend! It will be cuticle related! :)  Perfect for the cooler months.

Don't forget to check out what my fellow challengers came up with for todays post!!

Did You Know...I have HOW many cuticles?!

cuticle care
OK so this is something I've wanted to address for awhile because it seems like when it comes to nail care, cuticles are the thing everyone is getting worked up about.  In a way, I can see why.  A great shaped cuticle compliments your nail art (or polish!) perfectly like a beautiful frame on a masterpeice.  But wonky, dry, mis-shapen cuticles draw attention AWAY from your work and not in a good way. So what exactly IS your cuticle? Well to start you need to know that you actually have TWO cuticles.


Say what? Yeah, TWO.  In a very technical sense, both your primary and your secondary cuticle are the same anatomical thing.  However, they are different and should be treated as such.  So let's take a look at them shall we?

Photo credit to Zadidoll.

 I tried to get a good picture of this but I keep my cuticles in really good shape for the most part and I just finished a series post for you guys so I have nothing really to photograph. The photo above does a great job illustrating this though. The reality is that, in the nail world neither of these things are REALLY a cuticle.  Because they are both cuticle.  The eponychium* shown above is commonly known as both the cuticle OR the primary cuticle.  This cuticle should not be cut unless it is absolutely necessary.  Many people nip them or have them nipped for aesthetic reasons but they're actually doing damage to your nails.  Your primary cuticle protects your nail from damage and also creates a watertight seal. You might notice that if you push too hard with your cuticle pusher, you end up with a 'gap' between the cuticle and your nail plate.  This means you have loosened the secondary cuticle. The secondary cuticle is also reffered to as the pterygium.  This is the cuticle which grows up your nail as the primary cuticle regenerates AND it's the cuticle you'll want to remove.  Think of it this way, removing your primary cuticle is a little like cutting your eyelashes off. You might think it looks really cool, but you're doing a great disservice to your eyes!  Removing your secondary cuticle is more like getting a trim every six weeks.  The ends are dead anyway and if you don't do it, you risk more problems and damage to your hair. See the difference?  So how DO you take care of your cuticles without nipping the primary cuticle?  Well that requires a good set of the right tools and a few great cuticle products.  I have a tools post coming up for you and since I've had some requests I'm also going to add a page which lists the tools and products I love to use at home AND when I work on clients.  So stay tuned for that!! Thanks for following!!


*Please note:  in the professional salon world it is common for the eponychium to be used to refer to live skin which surrounds your nail.  This is also eponychium BUT you should never ever cut it. You will bleed. It will hurt.  It's important to keep in mind that most people use the word cuticle to refer to it! :)

It's Alive!

China Glaze


It's day four of the Digit-al Dozen's Halloween week challenge and today I decided to go all out!  I wanted to use texture and color to create a sort of bleeding monster/zombie effect on my nails.  I thought this over for a few days in my head and I had several ideas of how to go about it but at the end of the day it sort of just came together. I started with a muted green base color, OPI Stranger Tides.  You can't see TOO much of it on the final design but you can see it just a bit.  After that I used China Glaze It's Alive and lightly sponged it randomly for a little bit of color and sparkle.  I topped that with China Glaze Lightning Bolt, a white crackle.  Then I sponged Zoya Dree on top of that to make it look greener in places and THEN finally, I used China Glaze Velvet Bow to add the 'blood' and sponged on some red areas.  No top coat because I wanted the red to stay glossy and the other to be flat and textured.  It sounds like a lot of work but it really wasn't that time consuming.  Don't forget to check out what the other ladies came up with for this challenge!!


Dripping with...

avery
 


We have arrived at day three of the Digit-al Dozen's Halloween theme week! Today I wanted to recreate a design that I absolutely adore. Last year I did this design with white and red for Halloween (although I think this year I did a MUCH superior job!!) and then again at Christmas time with OPI Holiday Glow and a jelly white. I don't know what it is I love so much about it but it's just fun!  This year I opted for a more flesh colored base and a deep crimson red.  The base color is Zoya Kennedy.  I went back and forth between Kennedy and Avery for awhile before I decided on this one and retrospectively I think  I should have gone with the latter instead. But oh well. You win some you lose some!! I topped it with drips of butterLONDON La Moss. Delicious, no?

Don't forget to check on the other Dozen's mani's for this week!

The bat's out of the cave...

batman


So here we are at day two of the Digit-al Dozen Halloween week challenge!!  I don't know why, maybe it's the new chill in the weather but I was super into the grey/black thing for the first few days of this challenge!! Here again we have a sort of monotone manicure. I really love greys and I hardly use them it seems like so Halloween is a great time to drag them out! But don't worry, I got more lively as it went on!!  So here is an interpretation of bats in a cave.  Obviously I could have used a different color for the inside of the cave but I thought yellow would be  too much and if I had used black for the inside and grey for the out I couldn't  figure how to get the bats on! I still really liked it though and I think the effect  is there!  I did a standard ruffian mani using Zoya Kristen and Wet & Wild Black Out to start this and then I used more of the black to add the bats in with a stamp. Easy peasy.  I love it when mani's look more complex than they are!! Also I free handed the ruffian but if you can't get it just right there are tons of tutorials on how to use various stickers, forms, and even office supplies to get it just  right!  Don't forget to check out how my fellow Halloweeners are doing!!


The Digit-al Dozen does...Halloween

DDHalloween


This is the first in a series of Halloween mani's which represent month number two for the Digit-al Dozen! In case you forgot, The Digit-al Dozen is a group of twelve lovely ladies (including myself) who take one week every month to do a theme manicure series.  For our preview week, we did Red and last months theme was Blue.  This week's theme is Halloween which is a bit early but apt for the month!  I didn't do this month like the last two where I had started with one manicure and transformed it into another.  I decided to just do five separate art designs this round since I love Halloween and there are so many things I wanted to try out!!  For today I've done something super simple!! Spiders!! I started  with OPI Skull & Glossbones which remains one of my favorite polishes of ever!  I used it last year for a sort of similar mani with mummies and spiders.  This time I kept it easy with a spider web and a little spider making his way across to my index using my Models Own nail art pen in black.  Then I used Nubar Black Polka Dots for the pinky and middle fingers!  Easy and fun!!  Don't forget to check out what my fellow trick or treaters are up to!!

What's the buzz...

buzz

Quick snippets of my day!

I'm in the process today of making a swatch book. I still can't decide how I want the polish swatched. I tried lines down the page, blobs across it...sigh. I'm too picky. But I added some of my art work to the pages for inspiration. I figure I can take it around easier when I do nail art for other people. What are you all up to today? Do you have swatch books? Any tips for me?

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