Saturday Nail Art - Chevrons

So, against all odds, the nail art I made from this week's polishes turned out...kind of OK?

 Nina Ultra Pro Art Walk, if you recall, is a hot pink creme with bright blue microglitter that just doesn't look right. Revlon Artsy has quite noticeable large bright blue glitter, and it seems like the colors actually go together (in a tacky sort of way). The subdued pink of Astra separating the two saturated colors ties it all together. I actually kind of like this.

I didn't remember to do a step-by-step for this art, but basically, I started with a base of Astra and then I used Scotch tape. Pretty simple. Join me next week when I finish up the A's!

Nina Ultra Pro Art Walk

Today's polish is incredibly ugly. It's...just look at it!

I paid I think $2.79 for this, and I want my money back. Nina Ultra Pro Art Walk is a bizarre hot pink with electric blue microglitter scattered throughout it. It looks strange in the bottle and appallingly ugly on the nail.

OK, so maybe I am being a little harsh on Art Walk. The above photos are without base and top coat, and I don't usually wear anything without base and top coat (except maybe Zoya Pixie Dusts). Let's see if Art Walk is redeemed by a coat of Seche.

It's actually much better with top coat. The blue glitter just comes off looking kind of like dirt in the base color, though. I can see why someone would think this combo would work, it sounds like it would have a 90's sort of lovable neon horribleness. I don't know if the base of this polish is too thick or if it's something with the glitter itself, but either way, this has a KBShimmer A-Blazing-esque resistance to sparkling.

If it sparkled, that would be different. I'm not doing this project with any intent to destash anything, but I am assembling a mental garbage pile as I go along, and right now I'm imagining myself throwing Nina Ultra Pro Art Walk into it. It's too bad, because hot pink is one of the few varieties of pink that I like on me. Come back on Wednesday to see another dud...uh, I mean, another interesting polish.

Saturday Nail Art - Marbled Marble

Have I mentioned how much I love my Simply Neat mat? Well...I love my Simply Neat mat. For today's nail art, I used it to make some dry-marble decals.

I marbled Cirque Acid Wash, Nina Ultra Pro Ahoy Matey, and Essie All Access Pass together using a small brush, and sandwiched the marble between coats of Wet N Wild Clear Nail Protector. When I make decals, I always make a few extra because I know I'm going to screw up some of them. I only needed four usable ones, and here they are.

The one thing I don't love about making decals is cleaning up. I need to get some of those little curved scissors so I can trim the sides, because dissolving a large amount of decal with acetone is gross. I put down a peel-off barrier to mitigate the dryness, but I still always end up with a goopy mess on my fingers. 

I wasn't sure that All Access Pass would look good with the other two polishes, since they're blue, but I think it turned out surprisingly nice. I also did some stamping over this art, check out my Instagram if you want to see it.

Nina Ultra Pro Ahoy Matey

Ahoy, mateys! Today's polish is a runny blue creme from weird brand Nina Ultra Pro!

I found this polish randomly at Sally on clearance. Sally Beauty Supply is the only place I have ever seen this brand, so I have just a few of them.

3 Coats

 I haven't been blown away by any of the ones I have, but I am impressed by the ginormous brush. I love a wide brush (like the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure, Wet N Wild Megalast, or Baroness X brushes), but this one is as wide as a Swiffer. 

I needed to use three coats, because the formula is quite sheer. It applied well, though, and it's a pretty dusty blue. Aside from the enormous brush, there's not much to say about this brand or this polish.