Girly Girl Nail Art Challenge - Day 5 (and Day 6)

Day 5: Gotta Love Chick Flicks 

and

Day 6: Who Inspires You?

I decided to do a two-for-one today. 

For the 'chick flick', I chose Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.  During one part of the movie, James Garner's character is talking to his daughter, Sidda (played by Sandra Bullock) and calls her the 'Patron Saint of Sunflowers'.  Granted, the flowers on my nails aren't sunflowers - but they're what I picture everytime I see that scene. 

The person who inspires me: my mom.  I know, I know - cheesy and overdone.  In all honesty, however, she does inspire me.  She has never once thought I was crazy for making some of the choices that I make, but will not hesitate to call me out if she thinks I'm acting a fool.  I didn't really get along with her until I was in my late teens.  We still have our minor disagreements to this day, but Mom is definitely someone I'd want in my corner at any given time.

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood is one of the first movies I remember going to see with just my mom.  We do not live as far south as the women in the movie, but we do like to keep in touch with our country roots.  As it is one of her favorites (and mine), I'm also using this manicure for Day 6.    

Base color: Essie "Barefoot in Blue" (Free, won in a contest)
White dots: NYC Long Wearing Nail Enamel "French White Tip" ($1 from local Wal-Mart)
Yellow dots: Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Nail Color "Lightening" ($2 from local Wal-Mart)

Check out these other awesome bloggers who are/were participating in the Girly Girl Nail Art Challenge:

Robin, Erin, and Anna - Polished Cousins
Ashley - Follow the Yellow Polish Road
Jodi - Captivating Claws
Danielle - Rock N Polish
Elly - Polishable
Olivia - Unprofessional Nails
Kate - This Charming Kate
Bethany - A Plethora of Nails
Lizzy - The Do It Yourself Lady
Eugenia - Talon-ted
Johanna - Neues vom Kellerkind
Amanda - Nox Nails
Ashley - Smashley Sparkles
Sarah - See Sarah Swatch
Emily - The Lacquerologist
Jess - LuvMyLacquer
Tressa - O' Natur Nail
ChiChi - I'm just me...ChiChi
CR - Color Me Silly
Amanda - Berry Polished
Bonny - Over Stuffed
Taylor - REJOICE!
Jess - Nearly Natural Nails


ALSO: Big shout-out to Lacey from Lace & Lacquers for 'awarding' me the Liebster Award :)

 

Three Colors and a Glitter

Three colors and a glitter

Purple Gradient

*While not shown, I start every manicure with my Sinful Colors base coat (found at Walgreens for $2.50).  For this manicure, I used a Sally Hansen Hard as Nails top coat ($1.50 at Dollar General)

For the 'base' color, I went with a very light shade of purple.  I can't read the name off of the bottle, but it was purchased at Dollar Tree in a 2-for-1 combo pack.

Pros: It comes with a nice brush, albeit thin, that makes application quick and easy.

Cons: The polish is really sheer, so you'd need many (3-4, maybe more) layers to get the full effect of the color.

Using the end of an eyeshadow application (the kind that typically comes with a new eyeshadow), I applied a thin layer of NYC In a New York Color Minute (in "Prince Street" - $1 at Walmart) from the tip of my nails to about 3/4 of the way down.

Don't worry if it's not perfect.  That can be fixed later by the glitter layer.

After the second layer has had a chance to dry a bit, you apply the next color.  The third layer should be the darkest of the nail polishes.  I choose a deep, rich purple; Wet 'n Wild's Wild Shine (in "Eggplant Frost" - paid $1 on amazon.com). 

Pros: It has a metalic-y (and that's the technical term, lol) sheen to it that sets it apart from other dark purples.  One or two coats would be enough.  The color goes on smoothly, and with a consistency that is not too thick and not to thin. 
Cons: I have nothing bad to say about this polish.

Again, don't worry if it's not perfect.

To finish off the look, I added a glitter layer for the little extra 'oomph'.  This step is also to help blend the three colors together and make the differences not-so-obvious.  I used my current favorite, Sally Hansen's Gem Crush (in "Bejeweled" - paid $5 at Walgreens).

No two gradient manicures will look the same; That's half the fun. 

Final Verdict: For less than $10, you get a manicure that is both pretty and unique to the person wearing it.  It's my newest favorite design. 



Sally Hansen - Hard as Nails Extreme Wear - Blue Me Away **and** Sally Hansen - Gem Crush - Bling-tastic

The longer you follow this blog, the more you will learn about my 'obsession' with Sally Hansen nail polishes.  They're cheap, and one of the most available polishes in my area.  I'll use them the most, even if that's the only reasons.

I love blue, so I chose to do a bright blue nail with some sparkle flair.

*while not shown, I start (and finish) every nail manicure with my Sinful Colors base & top coats. 

Out of my blues, I chose Blue Me Away, part of Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails - Extreme Wear line. 

Pros: It is a 'fatter' angeled brush, making for an quick, yet easy, application.  The color is such that you could really get by with using only one coat.

Cons: Not really a con, but the color is rather bright for some people.

I liked it, but felt it could use a little oomph.  For the sparkle, I used Sally Hansen's Gem Crush in Bling-tastic.

Pros: It has both little sparkles and the bigger, almost flake-sized sparkles.  One application is typically enough, though most will prefer two.

Cons: There is a possibility that one nail may end up with all little sparkles, and none of the bigger, leaving your nails looking uneven.  Another issue, at least with my bottle, the consistency tends to get 'goopy', as if the polish is drying up.  I kept the lid on tightly when not in use and this still happened.  I'm waiting on a response from the Sally Hansen people on why that is.

You can't see it very well in this picture (Me, my camera, and this sparkle nail polish went a few rounds.  As you can see, my camera and I lost), but it is actually a nice mixture of the blues. 

Final Verdict: (roughly) $3 for the bottom layer and almost $7 for the Gem Crush (both from a local Walgreens).  I would do a combination of these colors again, but not if I had an important, professional event to attend.