I'm TRY-angling!

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A few weeks ago, my sister was taking a road trip across the US with her boyfriend, hitting all the hot fishing spots between Michigan and the west coast. One of her stops was in St. George, UT, only 1.5 hours from me, so we met up for a hiking adventure with our hounds! Amongst the camping supplies, dog food, flyrods, and other miscellaneous stuff taking over the back of her Jeep was a couple of Nubar collections that she neglected to inform me that I had received (tsk, tsk!). However, it was like Christmas for me! (literally - she brought the Christmas collection! lol)

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Radiant LVXury

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So I feel like a total jerk. I've had these polishes for a while. I got them right before I went into the ICU at the hospital, and actually I used them for a design right away that I never got to post because I DID go into the hospital. These polishes are fantastic! Along with the LVX topcoat, the manicure I did when I first got them lasted over THREE WEEKS. (I was extremely impressed, and with good reason!)

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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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Talkin' About Blah, Blah, Blah

Ever have one of those days where you're super tired, and no ideas come to mind? Today was one of those days for me, but I turned it around– I found inspiration in NOT being inspired!

Here in India there are these little bastards called Indian Palm Squirrels. They squeak– incessantly. They also have little to no concept of time, because they squeak at night, during the day, and my personal favorite: at 6:00 in the morning. Now imagine that you have a dog that just LOVES his squeaky toy (I have one of those too-one who, much like the squirrel, also has little to no concept of time), and chooses to squeak the damn thing non-stop for hours on end. That's how it feels to endure the Indian Palm Squirrels, except there is no puppy-like cuteness to counteract the obnoxiousness of the squeaking. Never in my life have I ever wanted a slingshot more– I get precious little sleep, and if it's brutally stolen from me, I get mean. Damn squirrels.

Anyway, I digress. Today's nail art is literally kind of BLAH. (several kinds of blah, to be precise) I actually really like how this turned out, and I hope you do too!!

I used:

Light Grey: Nubar Marble Tower

Medium Grey: FingerPaints Stunning Stilettos

Dark Grey: Nubar Stronghold

Black: American Apparel Hassid

Topcoat: Seche Vite topcoat
Basecoat: Seche Vite basecoat

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Feeling Boxed In?

How was your Labor Day weekend? Mine was only 2 days, but I managed to get a lot done. I swatched a collection of polishes, watched all eight Harry Potter movies, crocheted about 2/3 of a sweater, and started a new book. Unfortunately, that stuff took up most of my weekend, so there has (obviously) been no post since Friday! But don't fret, my pets– there's a post today!! :D

I love optical illusions, tessellations, and all things nerd-arty. This simple optical illusion/tessellation was inspired by the fabric of a dress I saw on Pinterest. (Pinterest is the devil, but a great source of inspiration- nail art or otherwise!)

My apologies for the less-than-stellar photos, something is acting weird on my camera, and my in-house camera guru (Chris) can't look at it until after work. If I can, I'll post better pictures later. :)

I used:

Tan: Essie Brooch the Subject
Coral: Lotus Herbals Orange Alert (Indian brand)
Grey: Nubar Stronghold

Topcoat: Seche Vite topcoat
Basecoat: Seche Vite basecoat

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Get to the Point

Uh-oh. One of those nail doodles happened. This started out being inspired by a F*(King awesome pencil skirt that Divya wore on the show 'Royal Pains' (If I can ever find a photo of it, I'll post it!), but evolved after it looked too bland. I'm actually loving how it turned out. The colors were bottles I already had on my nail table from previous designs (save for the yellow), and it seemed like a natural path to get to the picture(s) below. :)

Are you ever nail art inspired by fashion you see on TV shows or movies?

I used:

White: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On
Yellow: China Glaze Happy Go Lucky
Grey: Nubar Stronghold
Teal: American Apparel Peacock
Turquoise: Zoya Robyn
Topcoat: Seche Vite

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It Was Elementary, Dear Watson! Nail Art Tutorial

What?! Another Back to School tutorial?! Dang, if I keep this up, you're going to be super ready for school days to start, and no apples for those teachers will be required! :D

Today I did a tutorial geared more toward the younger kids and the parents of younger kids- something you either loved or loathed - Manuscript writing! :D This tutorial is based off of the It Was Elementary, Dear Watson! design I did a while back.

What do you think? Is it teacher's pet material or does it deserve a detention!?

What was your favorite thing about the first day of school? I always loved wearing new clothes, and using new school supplies. *NERD ALERT*

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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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A Rebel and His Bike

Whenever I hear a certain song by The Champs, I can't help but think of one of the coolest guys from my youth. I think you ALL know who I'm talking about...a certain white-shoed, grey-suit, red bow tie wearing man who ALWAYS knew the secret word of the day.

Did you know that on this day in 1985 was the release of the Pee Wee's Big Adventure movie? How could I let that one slide by without a little nail art love? It's not perfect, the eyes ended up a tad wonky, but all in all, I totally dig the effect. I even like the suit pattern texture on the 'plain' nails!

I hope you guys like this one as much as I do! Sorry for all the pics. :) I got excited.

Who was your favorite Pee Wee's Playhouse or Pee Wee movie character?

I used:

Light Grey - Orly Mirror, Mirror
Medium Grey - Finger Paints Stunning Stilettos
Dark Grey - Nubar Stronghold
Brown - Zoya Codie
Flesh - Zoya Avery
Flesh Shading - Zoya Avery + China Glaze Mahogany Magic
Flesh Highlighting - Zoya Avery + Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On
Cheeks - Zoya Avery + China Glaze Life Preserver
Lips - Barielle Unraveled Rust + Zoya Avery + China Glaze Hey Sailor
Black - American Apparel Hassid
Topcoat - Seche Vite

Tequila!

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50 Shades of...

...grey?  more like 9. (At least in this manicure)

No, I haven't joined the 50 Shades of Grey craze, and am still undecided whether I want to bother. I hear good stuff and bad stuff, but more people that hate the series than people that love the series. I know that eventually, like all the other 'crazes', I'll end up reading them out of sheer curiosity. (Twilight, I'm looking at you) I'm so weak. WEAK. Why can't there be a craze over historic biographies? or maybe books full of bread recipes? I'd be on top of that shit. (I'd be a total book hipster and love that shiz before it went 'mainstream', ya know?)

Anyway, I digress. This manicure is dotting tool-riffic. As in, besides the base coat and cleaning up my cuticles, it's the only tool I used. I wanted to do a dot gradient manicure, and I originally planned to do it in color, but decided to scale it down... grayscale, that is. I figured after my Jagger-icure, I should do something a bit easier. Surprisingly, though technically 'easier', this took far more time than ole Mick. Funny how that works out, right?

What do you think- do you like seeing simpler manicures on here from time to time? Sometimes I feel 'weird' doing that, because I've set a precedent of doing wacky, weird, and detailed stuff for so long. Let me know, because I'm curious what you guys think!

I used (from lightest to darkest):

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On!
butter LONDON Billy No Mates
Zoya Dove
Orly Mirror, Mirror
FingerPaints Stunning Stilettos
Barielle U Concrete Me
American Apparel Factory Grey
Nubar Stronghold
American Apparel Hassid

Seche Vite topcoat

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