Green Snakeskin: Rescue of the Swamp Nails

I wish I could say this manicure was my master plan all along and that I didn't end up with this as a way to try and cover up a massive fail, but that's exactly what this was, a complete rescue mission of a stinker of a manicure.  In the end, I absolutely loved this look.  So much so, that 3 days later when I noticed it starting to chip, I took it off and did the same thing over again!  My stamping on the second round of this mani was actually much straighter and more centered, but I didn't get a chance to take any pictures so these are all from the original manicure.

So, what exactly was the fail that started it all?  I was working on some ideas for the Matte Magic part of the April Showers Bring May Flowers Challenge (which I still have yet to do) and one of the ideas I thought of was to recreate a manicure I've been meaning to do for several months.  One of my absolute favorite bloggers is Amy Grace from The Polished Perfectionist.  Check out her site, but be warned, it will make you jealous!  She was blessed with perfectly shaped nails and has an unbelievable artistic talent for not just nails but also cake making.  Pigs in the Mud...too cute for words!  Anyway, I saw this manicure she did back in October...I know, going way back there Sarah, but this was the post that taught me all things Kleancolor Chunky Holo Black.  I've since gotten the entire Kleancolor Chunky Holo collection thanks to my sister getting the set for me at Christmas.  So even though I had this since December, I had yet to try this particular manicure of Amy Grace's, Chunked Shawn.  It's weird but beautiful weird!  I love all things green and for some reason I especially like the weird shades of green, so this was right up my alley.  Even months later after first seeing it, I can't stop staring.  Unfortunately, my attempt at this simple manicure went south quickly.  In Amy Grace's manicure, the wonderful green base of Zoya Shawn still shows through, but on my nails, I ended up with a brownish-green, swampy mess.  Ewww!

I attribute this to two things basically, one is that even though I only used one coat of Chunky Holo Black, I think I slathered it on way too thick in an attempt to get the glitter just perfect.  The second thing is that I think my bottle could use a few drops of polish thinner.  The base in Chunky Holo Black is this weird brownish-red-olive jelly like color.  So I think the combination of a thick layer of already thick polish is what did me in.

I actually did wear it like this to work last Monday because I just didn't feel like starting all over Sunday night.  But I felt like I wanted to just hide my nails all day long, that's how disappointed I was.  When I got home from work that day, I was trying to figure out what to do and I just kept thinking about how swampy my nails looked.  At some point, my brain made a connection from the swamp to snakes and that was when I remembered the snakeskin pattern in one of my Bundle Monster plate sets.  I decided to stamp using Sally Hansen Color Quick Nail Polish Pen in Green Chrome.  The snakeskin image is from Bundle Monster plate BM-215.  Then I added a layer of Seche Vite top coat to finish.  I love the way the holo glitter flashes in shades of copper and green through the chrome stamping making it look all scaly and reptilian.

So for the past 7 full days, this pattern has been on my nails, including a do-over on Thursday since it was chipping but I couldn't bare to part with it just yet.  I was planning to take it off today, but was feeling lazy and decided to wait until tomorrow.  So this will be a record 8 days for me with the same design.  And some day, with polish thinner by my side, I will attempt Amy Grace's Chunked Shawn again!

Mini Hauls, Part 1

I was writing this post Thursday night and it started to take on a life of its own.  So I decided it would be better to split it up into two somewhat smaller posts, so as not to bore anyone to death!

I did a little bit of shopping this past week, starting with last Friday when I went to Wal-Mart to pick up Nicole by OPI's Fabulous Is My Middle Name.  I saw swatches of it on The PolishAholic's blog while at work.  So when I got out of work, I ran straight to Wal-Mart to pick up a bottle!  And I never go to Wal-Mart, so this is how I've come to realize that my little polish obsession had severely grown since last summer.  I used to like my local Wal-Mart but then they had to relocate the store and the second location...it's just a mess.  From bottle necks at the single entrance to the parking lot right to the harsh lighting and tiny aisles that are constantly a mess...I'm just much happier shopping at Target.  So when I saw Jen's swatches and realized it was a Wal-Mart exclusive color, I was a little bummed at first.  But I said screw it and drove over, got in, grabbed the polish, paid and got the hell out of there!  I also grabbed Have A Heart.  I already had Love Your Life, which is pink heart glitter, so I decided to grab Have A Heart to have some matching red hearts.

The next day, Saturday, I decided to trek to Ulta.  The closest Ulta to me is about a 30 to 40 minute drive down the highway.  I don't mind the drive actually, but fuel efficiency is not my friend when it comes to this trip!  And on this day, it really ended up being a waste of gas because they didn't have any of the OPI's I wanted to get in stock.  Everything I did get I could have just ordered online and used the free shipping code that was available.  But oh well, at least my Ulta is in a pretty decent sized shopping district, so there are tons of other stores around Ulta to hit while I'm there.  From Ulta I picked up two butter LONDON's from the Spring/Summer 2012 Collection, Slapper and Bossy Boots.  A friend had picked up Knackered for me a few weeks ago, so now I just want to get Trout Pout, which Ulta was out of when I was there.  I'm not sure yet if I want Disco Biscuit, which would be the only other color from the new collection I don't have.

I also got a few polishes from the Orly Cool Romance Spring 2012 Collection, Faint of Heart and You're Blushing.  And since I've been meaning to try both, I grabbed Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover and Orly Cutique cuticle and nail stain remover.

I plan on putting up part 2 sometime Saturday.  After last Saturday's trip to Ulta, I didn't do any shopping until Thursday, when I ran in to Sally Beauty Supply and finally was able to buy some of the China Glaze Capital Colours polishes.