Guest Post: Hubby's Picks Ikat print (HP31)

*I'm still on vacation, but I KNOW you are dying for the reveal of Constantly Redone's Hubby's Picks. Did she succeed in combining her hubby's picks into a stunning manicure. Oh my did she! I love it!!!*

 

After ditching the initial urge to run with the Army theme I picked up in the polishes my military man chose, I spent some time pondering what manicure I should attempt.  I've been seeing a lot of the ikat manicure around, so I decided to run with it.  The first time I saw the ikat print, I honestly hated it - but a lot of my eventual loves start out that way.  Toms for example.  And Starbucks.  Mmm...coffeee.....*shiny eyes*

Sorry, I digress.  The base color is Zoya "Tao", a metallic pewter colored polish, and then I used my China Glaze "Matte Magic" to add some texture dimension to the look. I followed Kayla Shevonne's ikat tutorial found here (http://www.kaylashevonne.com/2013/01/nail-art-tutorial-ikat-print-design.html), which is excellently done.  Zoya "Purity" in all her stark white wonder worked perfectly for the base of the ikat print, and I think Zoya "Shawn" really pops as the only "color" in the look.  Finger Paints "Black Expressionism" finishes off the look - which I went ahead and fell in love with!  I added a bit of seche over the pattern itself, making sure to leave the background in all it's matte glory.  What's with this love/hate pattern to my interests anyhow?

 

As a nice bonus, this mani totally matches the view of my yard.  My grey porch and green grass were just made to be a backdrop to these photos.  I hope you enjoyed the look, and the guest post.  I know we all look forward to Candice's return - but I personally hope she has a great time on her vacation.  That, and avoids tornadoes, because I desperately need her to return so I keep what little sanity I have left.

xoxo

Constantly Undone (Frankie)

Pumpkin Patch Manicure

So back at the free shipping promotion I got Zoya Midori which was a long longed for color. Honestly I'm not impressed and it's probably going to leave my collection soon. Not sure what I was expecting but in person it failed to wow me.

There is nothing wrong with the formula or opacity - two coats here (stamped with Zoya Jancyn and Zoya Shawn). I just found the color to be lack-luster is all.

I LOVED this little gourd though! We had a great time, but kids are kids and when you go into their naptime this happens:

Ah the beautiful image of a late fall day ;)

Green with envy...

...that my nail art didn't work out that is. I picked up Sally Hansen Green With Envy a while and seeing it sitting next to Zoya's Breezi inspired me to swatch it then try a bit of stamping. For the record a lot of cream Zoya's will stamp to some degree - you just have to stamp them on a lighter shade. The problem occurred when Shawn siddled up and begged to be stamped too (honestly it wasn't my fault!). Well here's what happened:

 

First the swatch. Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Green with Envy paints out nice and evenly and becomes opaque with 2 thin coats or one generous coat and is this wonderfully vibrant, avocado with a slight lime twist to it. More of a yellow green then a blue green, but NOT a yellow green at all. I'm not a fan of the Xtreme Wear brush as it seems to shed every so often but what can you honestly expect out of a 2-3 dollar polish? By the way I picked this one up on a buy two get one free and use three 1.00 coupons for a grand total of 2.58 for all!

 

So I was going for art deco - I got it in a "paint splashed on my nails" kind of way. Basically a mess. You can see that I'm taking it off but thought I'd take a picture so you can see the mess I made. 

On another note I tried out the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Cleared For Takeoff. Take it from me - when you find your top coat stick with it. I love the brush but I do not like the results. Chipped in one day! So sad....The other polish is one I bought last night and intend to try it out today - I printed a coupon for it and got it for .99 cents - it claims to last 10 days - review to come!