Claws of Gold

Fingernails are protective gear, tools and weapons, all in one. I've been using them for decoration for years, so I haven't been using them as tools or weapons, in order to preserve the decoration.

It just occurred to me that it doesn't have to be one or the other. I can decorate my nails and then use them as tools or weapons. That's why I haven't cut them. They're so long now.

Isn't the gold just stunning? Well, in this picture it isn't as impressive as it should be, but imagine it more bright and sparkly. It's tiny gold glitter particles suspended densely in clear nail polish. Two coats makes it totally opaque. It looks like I have claws of gold.

Unlike gold, though, my nails aren't soft. They're hard and strong. Ideal to use as tools or weapons.

Just For Toes Nail Art Contest

Nail Art Express is a blog that chronicles a girl's nail art learning journey. She's learning to be a professional nail technician, and shares every step of her journey with us. Her nail art designs are original and inspired, done with old-school techniques, not using scotch tape or stamping plates like noobs (such as me). Nail Art Express has become one of my favourite nail blogs.

She has organised a nail art contest that I have entered. The theme of the contest is "Take A Walk On The Wild Side." I wanted to make full use of this motivation to create, so I decided to submit two designs. I painted them on fake toenails because I don't have the flexibility to bring my toes close enough to my eyes to be comfortable, and touching other people's feet is disgusting. Plus, I can keep these plastic toenails forever!

So, check it out:

1. Animal Eyes
I love eyes of animals. That includes human eyes, too. They come in so many different colours. In fact, my favourite colour of all time is the bright, sharp, deep yellow of my cat's eyes.

I can't tell you how long it took me to paint this. Really, I can't, because I lost track of time. It took so long to paint every layer carefully with arcrylic paint and nail polish, wait for it to dry, then paint the next layer, applying top coat between each layer to prevent the colours from mixing. I know it's not perfect, but it's good enough for me. I didn't have special nail art brushes, so I used an eyeliner brush which I'd never used, that came in a makeup brush set I bought.

In hindsight, I can think of so many ways to improve this design, but it's too late to change it, now. Maybe I'll do an improved version on my finger nails when I have enough time and inspiration.

On to the next design:

2. Cosmic Toes

Yes, I know you've seen this before. It looked awesome on my fingers, and I thought it would look even better on toenails. I think it does, don't you? 

I love that I was able to put two rhinestones on the big toenail. Two planets. It makes me so happy.

It makes me happy just to have created these designs. I don't even have to win, I have these fake toenails as souvenirs.

Now, I won't ask you to vote for me just because you're my friend or a reader of my blog. Go see all the entries of the nail art contest, and if you think that my designs deserve to win, then vote for them. No matter how much I want to win the prize (loads of free nail stuff), I want to win it fairly. So, vote for whichever designs you like best, be they mine or others'.

:D

Sari Stripes

I saw a woman wearing a stripy sari in these colours and I couldn't stop looking at it. So of course, I had to put it on my nails. Pretty, isn't it? The colours are spot-on because I just happened to have them in my collection. I love my nail polish collection. 

And yes, the black lines are jagged. I used a thin brush which I'm not used to yet. Maybe I should have just used scotch tape. And if you think those lines are uneven, take a look at the nails of my right hand:

Oh, man. I need more practice.

And why am I holding an orange? I was about to eat it, and wanted to take a picture of my nails before I use them to tear away its skin. Loodie Loodie Loodie has a helpful tutorial teaching us how to peel an orange with a spoon, so as not to ruin nice nails, but I just can't be bothered to do all that. My nails are always protected with thick layers of top coat hard as glass, anyway. No orange peel can hurt my nail polish.

Nightmare Eyes

Ever wondered what a nightmare looks like? Well, that depends on the content of the nightmare, actually. This is what a certain nightmare that kept disturbing me looks like. It was about rejection and abandonment and emptiness. Purple for rejection and abandonment and white for the emptiness. Pale blue for loneliness, and the bright blue just to hold it all together.

I applied mascara only to the lashes on my upper eyelid and didn't comb them so that my eyes would look shocked and afraid. I used purple eyeshadow instead of black eyeliner because there was nothing bold or bright in the dream. It was all pale and cold and almost dead. But not dead, just empty.

School Girl Sassy

School Uniform Blue & White 

Recently, I got back in touch with a friend from secondary school on Facebook. That reminded me of the five long years I spent in a uniform.

You know, I sometimes miss those days, when I had 2 sets of the same outfit to wear to school. Now, there are so many decisions I have to make in the morning. I can't wake up, throw on a uniform, chuck some pens and files in a bag and leave for school (late) any more. I have to decide what to wear.

While I spent most of the five years feeling angry and left out, as stereotypical teenagers do in cliched television shows, there were high points. Like having friends who were just close enough, listening to the radio and goofing off instead of studying during free period, shocking my friends and developing some style by cutting off my hair, eating french fries and Snickers for lunch, eating ice cream and reading in the school library, trying to rebel by wearing a stud in my nose and six studs in my ears, and getting away with it so easily that it wasn't even fun. Going to school ridiculously late and sleeping during class, not doing any homework and playing games on my phone during lessons, and getting away with all of it because I got good grades and spoke well. Damn, those teachers were no match for me.

Also, I found a picture of myself in secondary school. Look!

Adorable, I know.

Red Points

Red Points

After I took off the black polish with red glitter, I still felt red. And a bit violent. Thus, the points. Haha.

I used scotch tape to make the points. I didn't aim right and hit the centre of my nails every time, but you get the picture. I love using scotch tape to get straight lines, it's just so easy. I've put a roll of it in my nail supply drawer. Speaking of nail supplies, let's digress for a moment.

I bought nail files online. Very pretty but second-rate nail files. Take a look:

I've got fifty of them! I won't have to buy new nail files for ages and ages. Which is good, because although I love buying nail polish, I hate buying accessories. Files, orange sticks, base coats, top coats. They're just so boring to buy. 

Anyway, back to the interesting part.

Red is one of my most favourite colours. I rarely wear it on my nails, though, because it's quite cliché. But when I do, I like it to be intense. When I use metallic reds, I use a red base colour to boost the redness. 

And even then, the cheap polishes I use may not turn out very red. That's when the expensive, quality top coat I use comes in. Look how much brighter it makes the red polish:

 Amazing, isn't it? It's like they're different colours. I had so much fun watching the colours change. From dull, subdued, pinkish red to bright, intense, orangey red. Yummmm.

Back To Black

Yes, I've done it. I've painted my nails black. But don't worry, I'm not trying to repress any feelings. The absence of colour is just as significant as the presence of it.

So what does black signify? Rage. I've felt so much anger the past few days, and I didn't have any other way to express it. All I could do was paint my nails a thick, flat, powerful, unyielding black. That's the colour of my wrath.

But I didn't leave my nails just black, because my fury dissipated immediately. Which was what I was hoping for, actually. I felt so relieved that I didn't even bother taking a picture of my plain black nails for this blog. They looked so boring, you wouldn't want to see them, anyway.

As you have already seen, I added red glitter to my nails. Red is for desperation. That's the other thing I've been feeling lately. And all my life. It glows among all the dark thoughts.

I didn't file my nails to shape them before painting them. I didn't bother to cover my nails fully with polish or try to be neat near the cuticles. I slathered my top coat onto them sloppily and let the polish shrink and chip at the edges. I got them scuffed while scrubbing cats' dishes  at the SPCA. They look dull and damaged and disregarded, which is how I'm feeling right now.

The feeling is passing, though. Come back to see how I feel next.

Ombre

According to Chloe's Nails, painting the nails of one hand different shades of the same colour, from the lightest to the darkest, is called an Ombre manicure. I did some research (i.e. googling) and found out that "ombre" means "shades" in French. As in different shades of a colour.

I liked the idea, even though the nails on Chloe's Nails were done in black, white and gray. I just can't do that. Can't. I can't live in monochrome. I don't even have any gray nail polish.

So I decided to do it in blue and pink. Blue on one hand and pink on the other. Because those colours look good on me and I had enough shades of them. Plus, lately, I had been doing nail art that involved a lot of work and wanted to just slather on some nail polish and be done, for a change. This is how it looks:

Ombre Blue

Ombre Pink

Looks cool, doesn't it? I'm getting bored, though. I might change my nails very soon. Or maybe stamp them or put rhinestones on them or something.

I need more hobbies.

Paddle Pop

Very picture-heavy, but I know you love it. Paddle Pop! Colourful, swirly butterscotch-flavoured ice cream. I never loved the flavour, but I used to eat it all the time because of the colours. The best part of eating it is looking at the colours. Lick, look, lick, look. That's the way to do it.

It got messy while I was trying to interpret the look of the ice cream on my nails. I put big, fat drops of nail polish on my nails and swirled them using a toothpick. Of course, the polish overflowed and stuck onto my skin. And the polish on my nails was uneven and bumpy. But I use a top coat called Seche Vite, which makes everything even. And when they're smooth and even, my nails look just like Paddle Pop. I'm always hungry now.

I've changed my hair colour, too. It isn't faded reddish-brown anymore. It's a deep, dark, purple-based blue, which online reviews say will fade to a primary blue. I love it. I'll post a picture if I ever manage to capture a good one.