31 Day Challenge - Day 14: FLOWERS!

Welcome back for Day 14 of the 31 Day Nail Challenge, sponsored by Kimber of Kimber's Lacquer Korner! I thought that I would approach today's challenge from a different perspective than my past offerings. Today you get a 3-for-1: Challenge Post, Tutorial, Review. This way, if you so choose, you can follow the directions at home. Brace yourselves, it's about to get intense!!!!

Flowers!
Oh man, it's so intense already.

Spoilers, Sweetie!

Alright, before I go any further, let me weave you a tale... many, many moons ago (last month, I think...) I was at Ulta and noticed that by the ORLY polishes they had a display featuring "Instant Artist" nail art tutorials. Being the polish fiend that I am, I quickly took one of each card and ran off into the night (after buying a few polishes... because... really... it's a given if I'm at Ulta). One of those cards was floral inspired, and I thought that it would be perfect for today's challenge.

"Easy to follow instructions" you say?!?!?!?!

Tiny font, multiple steps... it's looking less and less easy as this adventure goes on.... just sayin'...

Before moving on to the instructions, the card outlines the necessary tools and polishes. You should have a dotting tool (check!) a detailing brush (check!) and paper to use as an "Artist Palette" (check!). ORLY also suggested using the following polishes: ORLY - Fiery Red, ORLY - Sunshine, ORLY - True Blue. Immediately I noticed a theme... I owned none of these polishes. Luckily (I reasoned to myself) I have a collection full of gorgeous colors, so I would be able to find similar shades easily.

Close enough (OR SO I THOUGHT?!?!!).... (dun Dun DUUUUUUUN!!!!!)

I raided my stash and came up with the above polishes. ORLY - Dayglow, ORLY - Shockwave, Sally Hansen - Mellow Yellow, and Finger Paints - Curator's Crimson. I would like to point out that a white polish was not listed in the supply list. Minor gripe.

Because this post is extremely picture and text heavy, please continue after the break...

31 Day Challenge - Day 13: ANIMAL PRINT!

Welcome back for Day 13 of the 31 Day Nail Challenge, sponsored by Kimber of Kimber's Lacquer Korner. Today's challenge is something that I have been waiting for since the first day we signed up...

Animal Print!
Let's get WILD

Let me preface this post be explaining that I am not one of those people that really loves animal print. I prefer animal print when it's on animals instead of my clothes or nails. Usually, the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to animal print is zebra stripes or leopard spots. I decided to use my love and knowledge of animals to come up with something that is slightly outside the box.

I looked no further than my own fish tank for inspiration. Why not do a manicure that displays fish scales as a pattern? With a lot of sparkle and more than a little bit of influence from The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister, I came up with this manicure. Granted, I am biased, but I LOVE this!

For this look I used two coats of Festival by Ruby Wing as a base. Has anyone else used the Ruby Wing polishes? I found a display recently at one of my local nail haunts, and apparently the colors change in the sun. I didn't notice a huge color shift with Festival - I attribute that to the fact that the glitter was TOO INTENSE FOR LIFE. Before I went any further, I smoothed out some of the glitter's roughness with a hearty coat of Seche Vite.

I used the Sharpie marker (pictured above) to draw the fish scale design. It took a steady hand, but I found that it worked amazingly well. The oil-based paint made sure that the paint applied smoothly and evenly. Now, this is where the fun came in - I pulled out my dotting tools and filled in some of the fish scales with different shades of purple polishes. Specifically, I used  Zoya - Daul, Zoya - Mimi, and Hard Candy - Beetle.

One of the things that I really love about this manicure that it is reminiscent of stained glass. The glitter from Festival shimmered through the purple shades. This was absolutely, unbelievable, ridiculously gorgeous in the sunlight. Unfortunately, it was too much for my camera to handle.

I hope that everyone else had as much fun with the animal print as I did. Let's all check them out and see what they were able to come up with!!!

Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Mari at Nailista
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance 
-Me, Myself, and Polish 

Thanks for stopping by!

31 Day Challenge - Day 12: STRIPES!

It's Day 12 of the 31-Day Challenge, and that means it's time for...

STRIPES!!!

Kudos to the true artists out there. I'm not one of them.  As you may already know, drawing one stripe on each nail is plenty enough challenge for me. What to do?  I reached for a spool of transparent tape, and then assembled the remainder of my supplies....

The supplies I used....

1. nourishing base coat (Palladio)
2. two coats black lacquer (Orly's Liquid Vinyl)
3. "stripe" of an untried glistening gold (Butter London's West End Wonderland)
4. glassy top coat (Seche Vite)

The steps I took....

Orly's super glossy Liquid Vinyl is a black almost-one-coater.  It slipped easily over the moisturizing Palladio base coat. I went with two layers of this shiny black, to reach full opacity.  Then, I applied a layer of Seche Vite fast dry top coat.  Two strips of tape were next applied to each fingertip, spaced approximately 1/8" apart, creating a canvas for our stripe.

From the stash, I pulled one of my untrieds:  Butter London's West End Wonderland, one of the lovely lacquers Liz gave me last Christmas. I set about using this pretty polish to paint "between the lines."

West End Wonderland is positively packed with tons and tons of gold, bronze, and copper micro-glitter. The application is fluid enough to be without drag, while still being uncommonly smoooooooooth and flawless.  I slipped on two thin coats and it is truly as smooth as glass.  And....it sparkles like jewelry!  Love.  Love.  Love.  I'm already thinking about buying a backup.

 

But wait...

Because I can't leave well enough alone, here's the same mani with one sweet swipe of Nina Ultra Pro's Holographic Topcoat.  Pretty cool, eh?  I'm thinking New Years Eve.

Well, there you have it...a couple of black tie gold-striped manis!

I thank you so much for dropping by.  It means a lot that you've taken the time to visit.  Here's hoping you have a wonderful weekend!


Until next time (Liz is next up with Animal Prints on Day 13), be sure to check out the goings on with our talented co-challengers....

Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Mari at Nailista
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance 
-Me, Myself, and Polish 

Thanks for stopping by!

31 Day Challenge - Day 11: POLKA DOTS!

It's Day 11 of the 31-Day Challenge, and today, we're talking...

POLKA DOTS!!!

They're all the rage, you know, and best of all...

For the at-home nail enthusiast, polka dots require few technical skills, and offer a whole lot of  beginner satisfaction!

Bottom line:  You can't go wrong.

The traditional polka dot pattern - which some say gained popularity in the 1920's, thanks to the keen fashion sense of Minnie Mouse -  calls for same-sized filled circles, spaced equally apart, against a contrasting plain background.  More modern takes on that classic scheme have produced attention-seeking dots in all manner of sizes, positioning, and colors!  Listen, I have trouble drawing stick figures, but even I can give myself a dotticure.

For this challenge, I decided upon a traditional and symmetrical polka dot pattern, and began with two coats of Sinful Colors' Mint Apple.  This polish is a glassy mint green, shot through with subtle silver flecking.  It applied smoothly, and without problem, and I was opaque at two coats.  While wet, I brushed on a layer of Seche Vite.  As for the sparkly dots, I cracked open an untried: Revlon's Silver Dollar (the formula and application on this liquid silver knockout is a dream!), and proceeded to lay out alternating rows of 3 and 2 dots.

Another layer of Seche Vite sealed the deal.

Here's the tonsil shot...

Silver Dollar is a must-have polish for your lacquer collection!

polka dots are all about fun!

oops!  sorry about that thumb smudge!

how long did it take to dot this mani up?  five minutes, tops!

Feel up to creating your own professional-looking "dotticure"?   All you need is polish and a dotting tool.

No dotting tool?  No problem.

Grab yourself a pencil and a straight pin.  By inserting that straight pin, directly into the center of that pencil eraser, you'll have yourself a home-made dotting tool.  Yay, you!


Well that's all she wrote for today, folks!  Until next time, I thank you much for stopping by, and wish you a sweet and happy day!


Hey, don't forget to check out what's up with our very talented co-challengers, on this here Day 11 of the 31 Day Nail Challenge...

Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Mari at Nailista
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance 
-Me, Myself, and Polish 
- Robin Sparkles

31 Day Challenge - Day 10: GRADIENT!

Welcome back for Day 10 of the 31 Day Nail Challenge, sponsored by Kimber of Kimber's Lacquer Korner. Today's challenge was something that honestly made me feel a little intimidated....

Gradient!
(dun, dun, DUUUUUUUUUN)

Before I go any further with my post, I would like to apologize for being MIA this week and for being late for today's post. It was my last week at my most current job and the stress was high enough where I would go to work, come home, pass out, and then drag myself out of bed long enough to start the whole cycle again. Tomorrow I start working with a new company, and I am very excited about the oportunity. I am also excited about working a 40 hour work week instead of a 50-60 hour work week (more time for nail polish and blogging... and a life)!!!!

Enough about my personal life - let's talk about nails. More importantly, lets talk about the fact that this is the first time that I have come close to creating a proper gradient effect on my nails. Very cool.

For a first time, I don't think it's too shabby.

 I picked up the polishes for this manicure during my fun weekend home with the folks last month. One of the places that I went with my mom was Sephora, and I was very excited to see that they were carrying the Illamasqua Rubber Brights collection. Eventually I would like to write a post focusing on the colors that I picked up (Aorta, Devotee, and Serenity). For now, I'll just say that the polishes are a lot of fun. As cool as the rubber finish is, I knew that I wanted to use Serenity as a base for my gradient manicure.  The heart wants what the heart wants... and my heart wanted blue. So I looked through the rest of my family weekend stash and picked out Nails Inc. Baker Street for the second half of my gradient. I also decided to do an accent nail with Baker Street as a base and OPI's Last Friday Night on top to add some much needed glitter. Really, when do you NOT need glitter?

Psssh. You ALWAYS need glitter.

 After applying two coats of Serenity, I sponged on Baker Street until I was happy with the outcome. I have attempted gradients before, but I have never come close to the quality of this manicure. I think that the main difference was the kind of sponge used. In the past I had tried using facial make-up sponges. In retrospect, they probably weren't porous enough to give a good sponge effect. This time I ended up using a "natural" bath sponge.While I don't think this gradient is perfect, I was very happy with the overall effect and ended up wearing this manicure for a few days. It recieved a ton of compliments and most imporantly it was very, very pretty.

I'd go as far as to say that it was SUPER DUPER pretty.

 All right, now you know what I did for day 10 of the 31 Day Challenge. I invite you to join me in checking out the other challengers and their gradient offerings. See you there!

Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish 
- Robin Sparkles  
Thanks for stopping by!

31 Day Challenge - Day 9: RAINBOW!

Welcome back for Day 9 of the 31 Day Nail Challenge, sponsored by Kimber of Kimber's Lacquer Korner. Today's challenge....(drumroll, please)....

Rainbow!!!

Oh man, who doesn't love a good rainbow? The only thing better than a rainbow is a DOUBLE rainbow... but alas - I was in short supply. A rainbow manicure is the next best thing.

So many colors, so little time!

Let me tell you, it was perfect timing for a colorful mani because the weather here in NY the past few days has been less than stellar. Rain, wind, clouds. Sigh. At first my mind was spinning with all the ideas that I could do from the simple (skittle nails) to the intense (a homage to double rainbows). Luckily I think that I was able to compromise so that the result was adorable and simple. Great combo!!!

DOTS.... WOOOOOOOOOOOO....

This manicure was super easy to throw together, and personally I fell in love with the whimsy that it supplied. My fellow polish-fiends in the office enjoyed how fun and bright my nails were, and it was great because I believe that I am slowly bringing them over to the dark side. Everyone wants a set of dotting tools now. It's times like these when I feel like there is some validation for my love affair with nail lacquer.

"ROY... G.... B- hey Liz, where the hell is the IV?" - My Coworkers

"You rang?" - My Thumb

I started off with three coats of OPI - My Boyfriend Scales Walls for a base. At first I wasn't sure if black or white would work the best to showcase the rainbow dots. The end result was all impulse, but I like how my nails turned out. Bear with me a second and I will break down the colors for the dots...

Red: Zoya - Nidhi

Orange: Sephora by OPI - Hi Def

Yellow: Milani - Yellow Whiz

Green: Orly - Lucky Duck

Blue: Nails Inc. - Baker Street

Violet: Essence - Oh My Glitter!

Making a sensation among office workers EVERYWHERE!!!!! (probably)

I ended up using the largest and smallest dotting tips in my dotting set, and I really had a lot of fun working the rainbow from one nail to another. Anywho, enough about me and my nails. If you really want something exciting, you should check out the rest of the bloggers that are participating in this challenge!

Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Mari at Nailista
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance 
-Me, Myself, and Polish 
- Robin Sparkles

Thanks for stopping by!

31 Day Nail Challenge - Day 8: METALLIC!!!

Welcome to day 8 of the 31 day Nail Challenge, sponsored by Kimber's Lacquer Korner.  And today's challenge is (drumroll, please)....

METALLIC!!!

I think of nail polish much the same way as I do jewelry:  One can never get enough color and sparkle.  And when the lacquer is a metallic, well, I'm a a goner.  What can I say?  I'm a sucker for a good metallic finish.  But here's the thing:  The good ones, like most good things, are not easily come by.   That's why I'm so excited about today's challenge:  While recently cruising the aisles of the local A&P supermarket (!?!), my eyes were drawn to the glimmer and light of a new collection of metallic nail polishes, prominently displayed.

Be still my beating heart.  You gotta know, I live for such occasions. 

And here's the mind blower...

This line of lacquers comes from Wet 'n Wild, and can be yours for less than $2 per bottle.

In the event you aren't paying attention. or your math Sucks Big Time, the entire six-bottle jewel-toned collection will run you under $12. All this, in a deeply pigmented, non-staining, smooth and easily manipulated formula.  Plus, you're gonna get a kick out of the killer (wink) names Wet n Wild has come up with for these pretty jewels.

Check out this contact sheet of  MLT (my left thumb) shots...

But back to the challenge....

I selected Venomous Vixen for the base color, and Deadly Dose for decorative dotting. 

• Venomous Vixen - Love it.  This super-glossy smoky gray (leaning purple) rests in a jelly-ish formula that's been spiked with a smidgen of lavender and aqua micro shimmer. Because of my lighting, the shimmer is very evident in this shot.  Remember that under available light, the shimmer is not nearly so blingy.  This is a lovely and complex polish.  NOTE:  Since it's a bit on the sheer side, I went with three thin coats for opacity. Yeah,  I could have gotten away with two coats, if I'd chosen to layer the lacquer on a bit heavier. 

there was a bit of polish "lift" at the cuticle, easily remedied with a quick wipe of lacquer

• Deadly Dose - Just imagine liquid 24 karat, and you've nicely approximated what we've got going  on here.  This exquisite molten gold was used for some really fast dotting (5 minutes, tops), over which went a coat of Seche Vite.   Gosh, I do love me some gold dotting.  Oh yeah.  Mmm, hmm

goodness, that makes me smile

forgive the nail porn.  i'm just really digging these colors.

don't know about you, but I'd as easily wear this manicure with jeans, as I would all dressed up.  fun.  fun.  fun.

if you like metallics, I recommend you grab up this collection.  if  you're not into Wet n Wild, you might reconsider

Well that's it for today, folks.  Be sure to drop me a line in comments to let me know your thoughts.

In the meantime, I thank you bunches for stopping by, and wish you a fun and happy day!

Hey, don't forget to check out what's up with our very talented co-challengers, on this here Day 8 of the 31 Day Nail Challenge...

Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Mari at Nailista
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance 
-Me, Myself, and Polish 
- Robin Sparkles

Liebster Award

Hey, we've been nominated for the Liebster Award!

Thanks so much to Patty, Lariesa and Laura!

See that pink badge over there? It's an electronic "thumbs up", from one blogger to another.  It's about discovering, recognizing, and sharing new voices in the community.  And it's also about smacking a crazy-cool gawjuss pink badge on 'yer blog.  I mean, seriously - decor is good.

31 Day Challenge - Day 7: B&W!!!

Welcome back for Day 7 of the 31 Day Nail Challenge, sponsored by the very talented (and equally sweet) Kimber of Kimber's Lacquer Korner. Today's challenge....(drumroll, please)....

BLACK & WHITE!!!

Oh, yeah!

At first, I played.  Because that's what I do when there's a deadline....

doodle nails over Essie Marshallmallow

I love black, and no more so than when paired with its brighter counterpart:  white.

For this challenge, I veered from the stark white-washed polishes that occupy much of my blanc collection, and went instead with Essie's  Marshmallow.  Here's a fluffy sheer (but build-able) white, that's acted as a base on four of my five fingers.  Marshallow, by the way, is advertised as a terrific shade/formula for French Manicures, something I wouldn't know first-hand (no pun intended), since that's not a style I favor.  My experience?  A couple of coats brought me to near-opacity, which for this project, was enough.

On my ring finger, I painted Wet n Wild's glossy Black Crème, as accent, and then topped the entire manicure off with one layer of Essie's  Pure Pearlfection, a shimmery "luxe" top coat.

Essie Pure Pearlfection (blingy top coat), Wet n Wild Black (accent nail) , n Essie Marshmallow (base)

Painting finished, it was then time to move onto the stamping...

I selected the feather pattern from Bundle Monster's BM-214 image plate. It's a nice deep engraving, and the image transferred cleanly to the stamper, and then onto the nail.  I mention this because some of Bundle Monster's images are not nearly so engraved, and can be a challenge to work with.  FYI:  It's my understanding that the folks at Bundle Monster are terrific about swapping out problematic plates, so I'll soon be doing that for my few duds.

Konad black polish, Konad double-end stamper & Bundle Monster image plate

And here's the result....

feathery, isn't it?

This is such  a quick and fun mani, and it's all thanks to one little Bundle Monster image plate!  In case you haven't already figured:  I get an instant-gratification kick out of stamping.  In fact, lately, I've found myself lusting after image plates much in the same way I drool over nail polish and swatches.  FYI:  My wallet's getting all spooked out over this development. When the new plates come in (ordered two from Konad this weekend), I'll share the joy in .jpg

Until then....

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I sure hope that you have a great day and a lovely weekend!

Hey, don't forget to check what's up with our very talented co-challengers, on this here Day 7 of the 31 Day Nail Challenge...

Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Mari at Nailista
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance 
-Me, Myself, and Polish 
- Robin Sparkles

31 Day Challenge - Day 6: VIOLET!

Welcome back for Lozlosa's take on Day 6 of the 31 Day Challenge (hosted by Kimber's Lacquer Korner), and the color is....drumroll, please...

VIOLET!!!!

Liz surprised me by coming downstate for the long Labor Day weekend.  And, as if that wasn't enough to get me all super happy, she brought this here Mom of hers a shoe box filled with polishes she'd not been using in Buffalo.  Holy Batman!  In one fell swoop, I added another bazillion polishes to my collection.

So.  Very.  Happy.

Among the many bottles of pretty was a Milani 1-coat glitter in "Purple Gleam", a crazy-beautiful polish boasting TONS, and I mean TONS of black, dark purple, fuschia, light purple, and silver microglitter.

It spoke to me.

It said, "Violet.  Call me Violet."

I love a polish that communicates clearly.

pretty pop o'color

I mean, it's not every day that nail polish introduces itself.  When that kind of thing happens, I say it's a good idea to listen.

Milani advertises this polish as a 1-coater, and they are true to their word.  Purple Gleam was, no kidding... a dream to apply.  It went on like butter (or "buttuh" if from these parts). No streaks.  No gobs of glitter amidst bare parcels of nail, and...one coat truly would have sufficed.

For someone less obsessed.

Since I'm not known for restraint, it should come as no surprise that I slathered on another coat of Purple Gleam.

Interesting thing:  this formula is smooth enough that it can handle two apps without the heaviness associated with other glitter polishes. 

Naturally,  I was a happy glitz-addicted camper.  For awhile

Loved the mani, but what if I added something....maybe,  bubbly....?

Ta da....

Martha's microbeads (from Michael's crafts).  aka "caviar", "fish eggs", "bubbly"

And so this site's contribution to the Violet Challenge, is thus....

come hither, you sexy, bubbly thing!  yes, i'm talking to the polish here.  like i said, we're communicatin'!

bling!

I ended up applying a Seche Vite top coat to the four Milani-only fingers, further highlighting Purple Gleam's explosion of glitter.  The beaded nail remained without, to keep the texture that of glass beads (no, unlike many who take on this challenge, I wasn't seeking the squishy texture of fish eggs.  yuck.).

Gotta tell you, I was a little concerned when it came time to clean up.  Experience with textural and glittery polishes suggested that this mani would be a serious pain to remove.  But it wasn't!

Dig this little funtoid: the beads actually help with the removal of glitter polish!  They kinda act like those toilet-cleaning Scrubbing Bubbles.  That is, if you, like me, are able to make such bizarre connections.

Gorgeous color.  Pearly bling.  I really got a kick out of this simple mani, and it's been fun sharing it with you.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Here's hoping you have a great day!

But wait...be sure to check out what our very talented co-challengers are up to on Day 6 of this 31 Day Nail Challenge...

Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Mari at Nailista
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance 
-Me, Myself, and Polish 
- Robin Sparkles