ChitChatNails

Hello Lovely Ladies,

I have another skittlette for you today.  When I posted my BIG Nail Polish Canada win, I asked you if there were any shades you particularly wanted to see.  Alexis from Mangling my Manicure mentioned Zoya Ziv.

So, Ziv became the foundation for my skittlette.  My goal is to let you into the deep-corners of my mind throughout this post (insert sci-fi spooky/intense music here) and show you the thinking process that goes into creating my skittlette manicures

So, like I said Ziv was my starting point.  I do not know why, but I always think “glitter/sparkle on my pinky” (that has one out of five fingers covered ).  Ziv, by the way, is a pleasant union between metallic and glitter.  It is a two coater with a general feel of a medium-toned gold metallic polish but when you look closer (for those who like to stop and smell the roses ) it has warm-toned gold metallic flecks which makes it multi-dimensional and very chic looking.  My friend Carolina also sent me a bottle of this gorgeous shade for Christmas, so I had two bottles (I gave my winning bottle to my sister ).

Next step : I always try to work in some studs; every since I was sent a bottle of awesome Nail Glue from Belissimo Nails ($2.00/bottle!!!) They stay on SOLID.  Without the stress of the studs falling off, they become a really pretty/trendy feature to a manicure IMO.  I knew I wanted to use some small gold square studs from the BornPrettyStore.  I like to apply my studs to a solid color which draws attention to them IMO.

It had been a while since I played with a soft pink (and pink sort of plays well with gold).  Essie Van D’Go was my choice for this look.  I thought about using black for the ring finger but that seemed a bit ‘stark’ and I have recently used a LOT of black in my posts… So, brown was the next best choice (soft pink and dark brown are quite complimentary IMO).  For complimentary colors look to your environment for inspiration (clothing, pinterest, home decor etc).

So, I had the gold and the pastel pink, and I knew that the studs would be placed against a brown (OPI Suzy Loves Cowboys).  Now it was time for a stamp…  I do have a constant itch to use animal print, but the main reason for choosing it this time was to be able to add a bit more Ziv to the manicure (by dotting the cheetah spots with it).  The plate I used is Mash-40 with Revlon Espresso.  My thumb was all brown to complete this look.

Now that you have been inside my thinking-process (weaving past the Dr. appointments, grocery shopping lists, house chore to do list, etc ) focusing on my how-to-skittlette thoughts, you will have gathered the following:

* start with one must-have shade to include in your manicure

* when in doubt, glitter on the pinky

* studs are cool too (usually on the ring-finger because that is my favourite nail – yes, everyone has a favourite nail… well, I do at least ).

* find one or two complimentary shades (contrasting work well also, but I tend to gravitate towards the complimentary).

* pick a stamp and Ta-Da…

Do you have any odd/quirky guidelines/rituals etc that you follow when painting your nails?

THANK YOU FOR READING!

Tags: AccentNail, Brown, Glitter, Gold, Mash-40, Pink, Skittlette, Studs