Purchased By Me / Gift / Giveaway Prize / Press Sample
Hi guys, I'm back with a TPB post. I actually finished the book this time, so hooray! Lol. Anyways, we read Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter. I have to say that it was kind of difficult to get through the book because it was pretty violent and graphic. That being the case, I decided to base my mani off the book cover.
I started off with a white base, then followed with a gradient which was done with acrylic paints. I added a layer of top coat over the gradient so I could stamp on my nails. The bubbles and water wave images came from 2 different Bundle Monster plates from their Sun Kissed Collection. I stamped on the water waves with a blue polish first, but it blended into my gradient so I used white so they'd stand out. To make the necklace on my ring finger I picked up an image from a Born Pretty Store plate and took parts of the image away with some tape, then I put top coat over the image on the stamper to create a decal. The heart locket took me a while to make, I took some heart studs and "glued" them together by putting a strip of tea bag to connect them, and sealing it in with top coat. Afterwards, I just painted it with the gold polish and added a final layer of top coat to protect the charm.
I'm so happy with how the mani turned out, especially since I created the little charm myself. It definitely looked much better in real life, but I still hope you liked it.
Close-Up:
Locket Close-Up:
Well thank you so much for stopping by, until next time.
-Ana
Products Used:
White: Sinful Colors "Snow Me White"
Gold: Elf Nail Polish "Pot of Gold"
Blue: Lavish Polish "Hydrangeas"
Top Coat: Love, Angeline "Topped With Love"
Bubbles Plate: Bundle Monster BM-505
Waves Plate: Bundle Monster BM-509
Necklace Chain Plate: Born Pretty Store item: #17267
Heart Studs: Born Pretty Store item: #7277
*Lavish Polish "Hydrangeas" and Bundle Monster plates were giveaway prizes; Love, Angeline "Topped With Love" was a Press Sample.
Hi everyone. I'm a day late posting my mani for The Polished Bookworms February book choice. The most voted for book for February was The Maze Runner by James Dashner. I was very excited when it was chosen because it's been on my to-read list for a while now. I did enjoy the story overall, but it did frustrate me quite a bit as well. Even so, I intend to finish the series. It's an interesting story and I want to know what's going to happen next. Although interesting, it was difficult for me to find inspiration for my mani right away. I kept going back and forth on various ideas, but I couldn't settle on anything. Anyways, this is what I came up with at the last minute.
I took inspiration from the maze walls. The walls were described as cracked gray stone covered in ivy. So to start off, I painted my nails gray with 2 coats of e.l.f. nail polish "Misty Haze". I applied some matte topcoat to have a smoother surface to paint on. I sponged on some white, black and gray acrylic paint to my nails; trying to get it to look like stone. Again, I applied matte topcoat over the sponging in case I made a mistake. Good thing too, because I ended up making a mistake. So afterwards, I painted on some cracks on the walls with black paint, and highlighted around them with gray. I added the ivy and moss last, but I added to much moss and had to take some off. I used a cotton ball with alcohol to wipe some of it off. To finish, I just added topcoat.
Glossy:
Matte:
To be honest, I didn't really like how they came out. The only thing I was probably pleased with was how the sponging looked, because it did look like stone. I think I should've painted the wall cracks with dark gray instead of black, they just look too harsh. Also, the ivy wasn't that nice looking. Hopefully, next month it will be easier to find inspiration and it won't be last minute.
Well thanks for stopping by guys, I hope you enjoyed this second post of The Polished Bookworms. Stay tuned for next month's read which will be Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. If you'd like to join The Polished Bookworms, you still can. I've added the links below if you're interested.
-Ana
The Polished Bookworms: Instagram, Facebook Group, Facebook Page
Acrylic Paints Used:
Apple Barrel White
Apple Barrel Black
Apple Barrel Melted Chocolate
Apple Barrel New Shamrock
Apple Barrel Lime Tree
Craftsmart Grey
