52 Week Pick n Mix Challenge - Zig Zag + Dark and Grungy

Oh my goodness, it's the last mani of the 52 Week Pick n Mix Challenge! I can't believe it has been a whole year since it started, and I really can't believe that I managed to finish! I have another challenge coming up with the wonderful Nail Tarts, so things won't be changing much around here. This one is going to be totally awesome, and I am just so excited for it, so stay tuned. For this week's challenge, the prompts are zig zag and dark and grungy. I grew up in the 90s, so grungy is not hard for me lol. Although, I was determined to use and unswatched polish in the manicure, so that added a little bit of a challenge. I'm still trying to get rid of my neverending pile of untried polish!

I wound up using The New Black Elephant Hide for my base. It is from their Safari collection and is a black base filled with gold glitters. After that, I used my Loki's Nail Vinyls to create the zigs (not so much zag here lol), and painted over them using another untried polish, OPI Just Spotted The Lizard. I have had this polish forever and have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to use it. This seemed lime the perfect chance.

It's a little dark, grunge, AND glam haha. Here is what The New Black Elephant Hide looks like on it's own. I used two coats here with one coat of Out The Door topcoat.

Thank you so much for checking out my very last 52 Week Pick n Mix post. This challenge has been an absolute blast and I really enjoy seeing what my fellow Nail Tarts come up with each week for the prompts! Make sure you check out what everyone did for this week!

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52 Week Pick n Mix Challenge - Red and Gold Chevrons

Good evening! I'm getting my red and gold chevrons in at the last possible second over here...as usual. :) I totally love how Christmas-y these look. I used some more of the vinyls I received from Loki's Nail Vinyls for this, and man am I in love with these. They make everything so easy.

So, I started off with two coats of Estee Lauder Le Smoking, which is an awesome bright red cream. I added my chevrons using China Glaze I Herd That. I love how sparkly this is.

Here is what Le Smoking looks like by itself. It is a perfect classic red. My dear friend Anna gave this to me last year for Christmas and I love it. ;)

Thank you so much for looking - make sure you check out what everyone else did for this challenge.

An InLinkz Link-up

Golden Oldie Thursday - Chevron

Today's post is not my best work, but it's all I can do and still keep up with this challenge. You would think I wouldn't have trouble managing only one mani a week! This poor manicure was just riddled with problems and finally I just accepted the imperfection. I started out with high hopes, too. First, I shall show you the polishes I decided to pair up for this.

This is China Glaze Prey Tell and L'oreal The Temptress' Power. In the bottles next to each other, this looked like a great idea to me. Unfortunately it did not translate so well onto the nail. :( Wahhhhh! I started off with two coats of Prey Tell. Then I pulled out a cutter that I bought for scrapbooking to make my chevrons only to find that what they referred to as zigzag was actually just wavy. Grrr. So then, I thought I would just cut the tape by hand. About ten minutes in, I gave up and decided to just freehand it. That is when I discovered that once painted over Prey Tell, The Temptress's Power lost all of it's tan/gold color and became very green/almost yellow. By then it was about 7pm, and since I wanted to get this in before midnight, I just went with it. So, here you go. I'm going to have to do a proper chevron mani with colors that actually look good together at a later date. haha

Here is Prey Tell all by its self. It's a beautiful, rich, warm brown cream. It makes me want chocolate. :) And, like every China Glaze polish I own, it goes on like a dream.

Alright, well that post was a bit more complain-y than I intended, but it's past my bedtime and I need my beauty sleep. I hope you all have a great night and a happy Friday since most of you won't see this until then! Make sure you check out what everyone else did, too!

An InLinkz Link-up

10 Day/Week...OK MONTH! Challenge - Favorite Freehand Nail Art Design

Oh man, I'm starting to worry I won't finish this in ten months now. What a disaster! I just get so distracted with other things and don't want to follow what this challenge tells me to do. :) But, I was actually really excited to do this one because it was inspired by one of the first bloggers I ever read religiously - Little Nails! I am so impressed by her skills with a striper. Her lines are so straight, its insane. I had to wait for my hand to stay steady for me, but I think it worked out.

She did this awesome little mani a while back featuring chevrons, framed nails, and hearts. Oh my! It looked great, so I practiced my striping and chevron-making skills, so that I could pay my homage to it. I used different colors because I like to pick colors that I have never had the chance to use yet. So here it is!

I used Spoiled Black Mamba for my base color, and then added my frames with Zoya Dannii. After that, I made my chevrons and hearts using L.A. Colors Atomic, which I really love. It is a fabulous teal. :) Here is Spoiled Black Mamba by itself.

So what do you think? Mine isn't as perfect as hers, but I'm sure with more practice I will get there. Thanks for looking!