Sexy Gradient Nails

I wanted to do something a little more sophisticated for my next Halloween nail. Not everyone likes little pumpkins or spiders on their nails and I wanted to do something that could be worn to work (albeit not a super conservative workplace) and be festive but not so literal.

Thus, I give you- sexy blood red gradient nails!

Can you imagine how cool this would look with a vampire costume on Halloween? My nails are kinda short right now but it would look even better on long nails.  If you're wondering how many hours it took and that it must be a super difficult technique- fear not! It's so easy to do!  It took me maybe 15 minutes per hand and I got the tutorial here:

I'm so happy with the results. My nails look so cool, I hope you guys agree!  My skin and cuticles on the other hand... well combined with the dry Calgary weather and lots of attempts at figuring out something sexy and wearable have wrecked my hands. As soon as this is posted I'll be slathering on the moisturizer.

Here's a list of the polishes used:
Essie Lollipop (bright red creme)
Essie A-List (medium dark red creme)
China Glaze Midtown Magic (shimmery brown)
Essie Licorice (black creme)
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Red Carpet (red shimmer)

These nails. So hot right now. Hansel. I mean...These nails.

Sondra

Essie Private Bash

Essie Private Bash is a red berry creme polish I picked up several years ago.  I'm glad I rediscovered it because it is just oh so fall!  The application was nice enough, very opaque on the first coat. However I did notice a bubble or two.  I don't know if that was because of the formula, me or because the polish is 3 years old.

Are you excited for Fall? What's your favorite part about Autumn? I love hot apple cider and beautiful scarves but most of all the changing of the leaves.  Unfortunately we don't get the amazing display here like back home in Upstate NY.  Fall is gold and brown which is quickly followed up by snow here. ;)

Sondra

Essie Turquoise & Caicos + China Glaze White Cap

China Glaze White Cap is a milky gold color that looks amazing layered.  Today it's layered over Turquoise and Caicos from last post.  The result is beautiful mermaid-esque nails! I'm so excited to try White Cap over lots more colors.  I'm not feeling super verbose today (I'm still recovering from my really fun and really busy 1st wedding anniversary yesterday!) so I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.

s

Sondra

Essie Turquoise & Caicos

Essie Turquoise & Caicos has been my pedicure color of choice for 90% of the summer. It's a gorgeous feminine little turquoise color that verges on Tiffany blue. Maybe a little greener but hey- I actually prefer the greener shade and it's a much more affordable option than what comes in Tiffany boxes!  I've always been a sucker for turquoise.  When I was 14 I painted my childhood bedroom a robins egg blue color very similar to this.  Turquoise has a long history of impressing. The French were so taken with the blue color that adorned Turkish tiles that it became named after the Turks.

*sigh* This color never fails to lift my spirits. So pretty! Oh and it applies oh so beautifully. Posted here is just two thin coats.  This is just the icing on the cake but I'd still wear the color tons even it the application was terrible.

Sondra

Essie Lollipop

Essie Lollipop is a bright red creme that has a vintage-y vibe to it.  It's glossy and beautiful!  While it was part of a Christmas collection I think it's perfect for any time. Classic and beautiful.  The application was nice, I needed two coats for a full opaque finish.

I love the name "Lollipop" too, it's cute and fitting for the color. It also make me think of this-

Essie Lollipop also makes for one of my favorite pedicure polishes. It reminds me of 1950's pinup girls.  It's so fun to wear!  However while Lollipop finds its way to my toes, it hasn't been there for most of the summer. What has? You'll have to wait for my all time favorite pedicure color next post. :)

Until Then,
Sondra

Essie Sexy Divide

I have a feeling Essie Sexy Divide is going to be on my nails a lot this fall.  It's glossy, shimmery purple perfection. Dark and vampy but not so dark and vampy you can't tell it's not purple. Some polishes are like that. Like OPI's William Tell Me About OPI. Appears promising in the bottle to walk the line of color and black but once it goes on the nails it appears black unless in the brightest of natural sunlight.

Essie Sexy Divide in natural light

Shimmery Glossy Goodness

I wonder if I'll ever come across an Essie nail polish I don't like?