Proof of Concept(tion)

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Holy cow. Today I celebrate the 12th anniversary of my 21st birthday. In other words...I'm now 33. Woah. Were you like me all those years ago as a dorky girl in my early teens looking up to those 30-year-olds you knew, thinking how impossibly cool (and old) they were? Yeah, now I'm beginning my 4th year of BEING one. Lucky for me, I don't feel my age...unless you count the tendonitis in both of my elbows from serving, and the fact that when I move (anything), I make a cacophony of creaks and cracks.

Anyway, to celebrate this blessed? day... I decided to do a non-conventional design on my nails...I really went back allll the way to the beginning...you know, somewhere in Aug/Sept 1980. :-D

Please excuse my thumb wound, Homer the Land Shark got me while we were playing...

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The Daily Nail is MOVING! (again)

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I'm seriously so excited to tell you the REAL reason I moved back to Michigan instead of moving back to Las Vegas when I came back from India. I needed to acclimate myself to a cooler climate because I was selected to be part of a group of 'normal' people to participate in an experiment in Antarctica to study how super chilled climates effect the average person so scientists and researchers can better prepare for global climate change. Exciting right?

Not to worry though, I did get permission from the head of the study to continue writing on my blog and posting pictures. However, there is one little catch...

I hope you all are ok with this method of showing my nail art!!!  On the bright side, I no longer have to concern myself with cuticle care. BONUS! :D

I'll post better pix later tonight- I couldn't get the darn colors to come out right, and I ran out of time before work!

Here is a picture of the nails by themselves. A little rough on the edges, I'm not used to painting falsies!

I used:

Grey: Nubar Fashion is Forward
Aqua: Nubar Dreamy Moss
Violet: Nubar New Mood
Pink: Nubar Spring in Her Step
Pink-toned purple: Nubar City Self
Bright pastel coral: Nubar Succulent
Bright pastel orange: Nubar Wildflower Blooming

Topcoat: Nubar Diamont Top Coat

Disclosure: Products in this post were provided for review by the manufacturer. See the legal page disclosure for more information.

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Bright Meets Blah

Sometimes I just start a manicure with a color scheme in mind, and let things develop as I paint. Sure, manicures like this generally take way more time than even some of the more complicated ones (surprising, right?), but I like to do them every so often because it's fun to see what happens. I hope you guys don't mind! :D I actually really like how this turned out- and I think I might do a full manicure of just mix-and-match half moons.

Chris and I went to Mahabalipuram this weekend to grab some gifts for him to take home when he visits, and on the way, we stopped to talk to his surfing buddies in Kovallam. I'm pretty excited, when my sister comes, we're both going to take surfing lessons! (I'm also slightly terrified because neither of us can swim) How cool is it that we're going to surf for the first time in the Indian Ocean?! I'm pretty stoked, its going to be an amazing experience! I'm also pretty excited for all the other things that we have been planning to do when she gets here- we're going to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra, stay at an elephant preserve in Jaipur, and tons of other stuff we haven't decided yet! I'm excited to finally see the country I've been living in for almost the past year. I'm totally going to pick up one of those curly toed pairs of leather shoes (and probably a million other things!).

Anyway, the nails. Yes, the nails. I have an array of half-moons, stripes, and dottiness in a bright-meets-blah color scheme for you today!

I used:

Dark Grey: Nubar Stronghold
Light Grey: Nubar Marble Tower
Yellow: CND Bicycle Yellow
Turquoise: Zoya Robyn

Topcoat: Seche Vite topcoat

Basecoat: Seche Vite basecoat

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Spotted!

After some of the recent designs I've done, I wanted to keep it simple today. Super simple. This design was inspired by an interesting invitation fold where 4 semi-circles come together to make a cool looking center. The best part about this design is that is entirely done with a dotting tool! But wait–you don't have a dotting tool? How about a toothpick? Maybe a pin? A nail? Anything with a small, round tip can work! Easy stuff.

Another thing that is nice about this design is that it can be done in a zillion different color combinations if you don't like grey, purple, lime, hot pink, and turquoise! :D (But, let's be realistic- who doesn't like those colors?! Maybe not necessarily in this combination, but still! :-D)

I used:

Grey: Nubar Stronghold

Purple: American Apparel Imperial Purple

Lime Green: Sally Hansen Grass Slipper

Hot Pink: Zoya Lara

Turquoise: Zoya Robyn

Topcoat: Seche Vite

Disclosure: All Zoya links in this post are Zoya Love links, and points earned when you click on them, start an account, and make a purchase go directly back to you— as Giveaways!! :)

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That's a Wrap!

First off, thanks for the suggestions (and compliments) for my tutorials! I'm glad that you guys are liking them. I'll do everything I can to take your suggestions and use them to influence my future tutorials! Keep those suggestions coming though- don't be shy, I can take it! Don't forget- there's something in it for YOU too! :)

I work in an office, and our dress code by U.S. standards is pretty casual. Common attire is polo shirts and jeans, though the women usually wear kurtas (a type of tunic) with leggings or salwar (loose, pajama-y pants). I often wear kurtas with jeans, but when I don't, I wear cute, work-appropriate tops. Today my top, though bright-colored, felt a little plain, so I threw on one of my favorite scarves...I've had it for years, and it made the trip to India with me. I initially bought it because of the bold graphic print and the color combination, but it's grown to be somewhat of a frequent accessory in my wardrobe. Anyway, when looking at it today, I felt the desire to do a nail art design inspired by the print of the fabric. It's not the same, but it uses similar colors and patterns. The best part about this design? It almost exclusively uses a dotting tool to make the design, I only used the nail art brush in a few places!

I used:

Brown: Zoya Codie
White: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On
Pink: Zoya Lara
Turquoise: butter LONDON Artful Dodger
Green: Sally Hansen Grass Slipper
Topcoat: Seche Vite

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