40 Great Nail Art Ideas ~ Fashion

Hello Dahlings,

This week the Tarts are doing manis based on fashion.

I'm not a fashionable person.

I rarely follow the trends.

Hell, I wore mostly black & tie dye for 30 years

until I could get me some good neon colors

when the early 80's came back in style.

For some of you, the return of various decades

from the last century are retro fashion.

For some of us, they're a flash back.

Anywho, this week was a stamp camp prep week

& I didn't have the time or inclination to google anything,

let alone browse thru' fashion pics looking for something.

So I grabbed my fav shirt to show y'all some Inky Fashion.

 I found this sweatshirt at Costco in the Early 90's.

It was made with the fuzzy side out & was faux-acid washed,

like so much clothing was back then, so we could all be grungy.

I didn't buy much clothing after this, except some tie dye.

Being a stay-at-home mom, it really didn't matter what I wore

as long as it was easily washed & comfy.

 Meh. I don't hate it.

I matched the colors ok,

but I wish it looked more like the pattern.

This was take 2 as my 1st try was worse.

 The textured line up ~ Milani Shady Gray & Spoiled In Fuchsia,

Glintz Denim teal, Nabi L. Blue & Sally Hansen Sugar Fix.

I used a teeny tiny pointed dotter

to apply the polish over my franken base.

Texture polish doesn't get top coat

cuz that would pretty much ruin the texture.

>^. .^<

Ziggy says basic black is always in style!

Thanks for stopping by

& go see some real fashion inspired manis

done by the other Tarts!

~ Inky

An InLinkz Link-up

Grim & Glamorous Zombie Love Mani

Hello Dahlings!

The 4th week of each month is a busy mani time for moi

as I have 3 nail art challenges to post.

My weekly Tart's mani posts on Fridays as usual

plus I post the Hobby Polish Blogger's mani on Monday

& Wednesdays are for my Indie Inlinkz mani.

Um yeah...about that 4th Wednesday challenge mani?

Indie Inlinkz took a break in December & than again in January.

Ok, fine.

We chatted about what we could do in February,

but nothing was officially decided.

And nothing happened after that.

I know the admin is around on FB,

but nothing has been updated in the group.

So for now, I don't know.

We had thought doing a Zombie Love mani for Feb would be fun.

So I did this...

 I luvs me some Zombies!

I've been a solid The Walking Dead fan for year

& I watch most zombie movies that come out

plus have seen all the 'classics'.

I also read dystopian fiction that contains zombies,

oops!, I mean 'infected'.

When I saw a sale post on FB for Grim and Glamorous 

I went to see what they had

& ended up getting a bunch of minis.

This is what arrived...

Holy Freakin' Guacamole People!

I haven't gotten an order with this many extra goodies in a while.

Susan makes opening packages from her really fun! 

 The mini polishes I ordered ~ Harvest Hottie, Wicked Witch,

Glamour Ghoul, Zombae, Ice Pick Lobotomy,

Shake Your Grove Thing & Some Majestic Beast.

Y'all know I luvs me some dark humor themed polishes!

 The line up ~ Emori White,

Grim & Glamorous Glamour Ghoul & Zombae,

Sally Girl gitd,

Hit the Bottle A Rose By Any Other Name & Absinthe.

 I started my usual franken base then added 2 rich coats of Zombae 

on my pinkies, middles & index nails with a coat of white undies

& 2 coats of Glamour Ghoul on my ring fingers & thumbs.

I then added a coat of Sally Girl gitd & Orly Sec N' Dry.

I had no probs getting those chunky bits out of Glamour Ghoul!

I stamped using Uber Chic plate LE Zombie Love,

Hit the Bottle Absinthe & A Rose By Any Other Name

and both my new love, The Creative Shop Space Stamper 

to stamp the brains on the Zombae nails

& my old love, The Original Creative Shop Stamper

to make the painted in decals on my accent nails.

I sealed all the zombie goodness in with a coat of Seche Vite.

Brains are best when they glow-in-the-dark!

Nom Nom Nom!

>^. .^<

 Ciri isn't a zombie cat,

but he can be as persistent as a zombie after brains

when it comes to sharing his Paw's noms. 

 Is that...yogurts I sees?

Nom Nom Nom!

Ciri loves his fruit yogurt, especially when licked off My Inky's spoon.

P.S. I don't know what's going on in my neighborhood today,

but I was woken up this morning by a helicopter circling over my area

& a police vehicle in the cul-de-sac behind my house with it's lights on.

That was 2 hours ago.

The police vehicle has moved on, but the helicopter is still circling.

We aren't on lock down,

but they haven't found what or whom their looking for either.

Ode de joy.

Thanks for stopping by

& do yo'self a favor by visiting

Grim and Glamorous!

~ Inky

Hobby Polish Bloggers Present ~ The 1st Indie Brand I Purchased From!

Hello Dahlings!

This month's prompt of "1st Indie Brand You Purchased From"

was easy peasy, nice & squeezy to do!

My very first indie polish buy was from

Whimsical Ideas by Pam 

The very first polish from that 1st order I wore was...

 Peanut Butter & Jelly!

This is 2 luscious jelly smooth coats over my franken base

with a coat of Seche Vite to seal in all that gorgeous goodness.

I remember being so awestruck by how perfectly

this polish looked like grape jelly with peanut bits floating in it.

I'm still impressed nigh on 4 years later!

I wasn't blogging yet, so I don't have an original mani pic to show y'all,

but considering that I was still 'practicing' my basic mani skills,

y'all should just thank me now for not subjecting you to that. LOL

Whimsies are lovingly considered a "Gateway Indie"

in that they are many polish enthusiast's 1st indie brand.

I can whole heartedly recommend Pam's pretties

as a 1st & forever brand to buy from!

The formulas are always perfect,

the glitter combos (Pam's signature polish finish)

are unique with no bleeding or curling

& now she's branched out in creating

crème undies for her glitters that are beautiful on their own

& perfectly compliment her glitter toppers.

Just look at that red!

Starbucks Holiday Cup is Pam's 1st crème (released last December)

& is a perfect match for those familiar drink cups.

The holo accent is Yeah, Magnets!

This is Pam's one & only holo polish, but it's a must have too.

So if you're one of the rare peeps that haven't tried Whimsies yet,

I totally think you should & you won't regret it!

For sneak peeks & new collection release info

join the World of Whimsy Facebook Group 

>^. .^<

A few month's back, I was making the guest bed

cuz my mom was coming up for a visit.

Ciri decided I needed help...

 What's under here's?

 Da beds good nuf...pet me!

 Was dat over dere?

 Methinks dere might be something under those puffillows.

 Of course I knows what I's taking about!

 Dere it goes again...

...Curses it got away!

Thanks for stopping by

& please share the luvs with the

Hobby Polish Bloggers

& Whimsical Ideas by Pam!

~ Inky

An InLinkz Link-up

40 Great Nail Art Ideas ~ Red

Hello Dahlings!

This week the Tarts are showing you

40 Great Nil Art Ideas using red polish.

My pattern/technique this time is nude base.

So I did this...

I went with sticker stencils. 

I had a few small user error issues, but you get the idea.

 I started with 2 coats of L.A. Colors Mauve Glaze

over my usual franken base coat for my nude base.

This is a crelly-ish polish that isn't quite opaque at 2 coats,

but I knew the stenciled design would help hide the VNL.

It's a bit of a chameleon in that depending on the lighting

& your personal skin tone, it may look pink, peach or light tan.

I tried quite a few nude 'manikin hand' polishes

before I found this one that actually comes close

to my weird pale corpse skin with yellow & red undertones.

I had to putz a bit in editing this pic to get the polish color right

cuz my camera would only see it as tan

when my eyes were seeing as peach in the LED light.

My skin isn't usually that color.

 I used these test design stencils from She Sells Seashells.

I had a few spots where I dinged the polish while removing the stencils.

So I used a tiny dotter to fill those spots in

then didn't wait long enough for the patches to dry

& ended up smearing the design a wee bit.

It still looked pretty good at arm's length.

I used Carpe Noctem Cosmetics Classy As Fuck for my red.

This thumb swatch is 2 buttery luscious coats,

but I easily could have gotten away with just one!

It's from the Inspiration Collection currently available.

AND...when you buy $15+ now thru March 8th

at Carpe Noctem Cosmetics

& use the code ALLTHETHINGS

you'll get 15% off your order!!!

This includes not only Emily's fantabulous polish,

but her must have Reborn Balm, Castor Oil Hair Repair

& Coffee Clay Healing Mask!

Well? Go get some!

>^. .^<

I'se classy as fuck too! Right, Meowmy?

Thanks for stopping by

& please share the luvs

with the other Tart's!

~ Inky

An InLinkz Link-up

Weird Wednesday Comparison ~ Teal Glitter Toppers

Hello Dahlings!

This week I'm comparing four chunky glitter toppers.

What is teal?

Sometimes it's a blue leaning green.

Other times it's a green leaning blue.

I've even seen grayish blues called teal.

I think it's a color name like hazel is for eye color.

It can be whatever the namer wants it to be.

So I dug out 4 chunky glitter toppers

that fit the general concept of teal.

Plus a bonus swatch of a sort of tealish polish.

 The line up ~ Sally Hansen Dark Denim, Ruby Kisses Teal My Heart,

Milani Teal, Sally Hansen 3, 2, 1derland, Orly Mermaid Tale

& The Lady Varnishes The Fellow Varnishes

 This is one coat of SH Dark Denim

that I used as undies for this comparison.

STAINER ALERT!!!

I had a wee bit of a sloppy moment when painting my ring finger

& had a hell of a time getting most of this dark blue jelly

with a fine scattering of blue glitters off my skin & nail bed.

I have a bit of skin along the edge of that nail that's still blue.

I really hope I don't end up with blue stained nails on one hand.

 Now for the comparison...

All nails got one coat of Dark Denim,

then one coat of glitter applied with a full brush dabbing

then spread out using the bottle brush,

followed by a coat of Orly Sec N' Dry.

Pinky ~ Ruby Kisses Teal

The only polish I'd call 'teal' in the bunch.

It's a mix of metallic bluish green small hexes

& fine glitter bits in a clear base.

Not overly exciting, but actually teal as I see it.

Ring ~ Milani Teal

Why do mainstream polish makers cheat by combining green & aqua

& then calling it teal? The world may never know.

It has a mix of small metallic hexes in green, aqua & silver

with fine aqua bits that fill in between the larger chunkies.

Middle ~ Sally Hansen 3, 2, 1derland

Another green & aqua blend.

This one has small metallic green & aqua hexes

with fine green & aqua bits filling in the gaps.

Index ~ Orly Mermaid Tale

This one almost doesn't count as teal.

It's really bright green small holo hexes that flash blue

with fine green bits. It does have bling factor going for it.

All of these work just fine when dabbed on, dry flat 

& would be perfect for a mermaid themed mani.

For your bonus swatch I chose

The Lady Varnishes The Fellow Varnishes

It has both dark blue hexes & light blue holo hexes that flash green

with scads of fine silver that will build to a glitter bomb in 2-3 coats.

This is part of a LE set made available to The Lady Varnishers on FB

when Kirsten announced that she & Mr TLV

are expecting their 1st mini varnisher later this year!

If you want sneak peeks & occasional discounts

join the Facebook group.

>^. .^<

Shhhh! I'se hiddin' from da birdies.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky

My Birthday Nails & Noms

Hello Dahlings!

My birthday was last week,

but Mr Inky was out of town on business,

so we did b~day stuff on Saturday.

1st we went to see Dead Pool.

I knew I was going to love it as soon as I saw the opening credits

& I did as it was MOST EXCELLENT!!!

I won't say anything more about it so those who haven't seen it yet,

don't send out an Inky lynch mob for leaking spoilers.

After that we headed into Seattle to my fav restaurant.

More on that later.

So last September, Mr Inky & I went on an Alaskan cruise

& spent a couple days in Vancouver, BC before driving home.

I was on the hunt for polish I couldn't easily get at home.

I know Louboutins are available in my area,

but not in stores I usually got to for polish.

So Mr Inky bought this polish for me as my official 25 Anniversary gift.

I've been waiting since then to wear for my birthday.

Here are my birthday nails!

 This is 2 coats of Louboutin Scarabee II.

Yes, you read that correctly.

This pic shows the teal green & steel blue.

 This one is taken in indirect light

& shows the dusty purple around the edges.

The 1st coat went on a bit streaky,

but the 2nd smoothed it all out.

A coat of Seche Vite & I was good to go.

I couldn't post this mani without a full bottle shot.

While very cool to look at,

that long handle is heavy & takes getting used to while polishing.

At $50US this brand is rather expensive

& the formula wasn't as good as one would hope

from an expensive couture brand.

This one is special & I don't regret getting it,

but I doubt I'll buy anymore of them.

For noms we went to The Bling Pig Bistro yet again!

I would go there more often than twice a year,

but I'll gladly take what I can get.

This is the Chocolate Creamaux dessert that I call the Chocogasm.

It's not a mousse, pudding or ganache,

but rather something between them all.

This version came with chartreuse oil, brownie crumbles,

rich whipped cream & a chocolate caramel tuile.

I actually got the pic BEFORE I dove in this time. LOL

I can only blame being rather stuffed

from the V~day tasting menu we had consumed.

>^. .^<

 I bored.

 What's dis?

Yummy crunchy bug!

What? You hoomans eat weird stuff all da time.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky

40 Great Nail Art Ideas ~ Love

Hello Dahlings!

This week the Tarts are showing you 40 nail Art Ideas for love manis.

I did this...

 I started with a coat of white undies,

then added 2 coats of Cuttin' Edge Poison Sugar

& a coat of Orly Sec N' Dry.

Yes, I know I linked y'all to Cuttin Edge & they aren't currently open.

Sara WILL be reopening her shop later this year!

I stamped using Hit the Bottle Snowed In, 

 Fab Ur Nails plate Fun 10

& my new love, the CSS Space Stamper.

I sealed it all in with a coat of Seche Vite.

Yes, My Online Shop is also closed at the time of this post going up.

Duh! LOL

>^. .^<

What, Ciri, my kitty luv?

I luvs you, Meowmy!

Thanks for stopping by

& please share the love

with the other Tarts!

~ Inky

An InLinkz Link-up