Day 31: Recreate your favourite challenge

Am not quite sure what Day 31 challenge is supposed to be about but here is what i chose to do...

Braided Nails

I used three colours to do this. I cleaned up afterwards.

Day 30: Inspired by a tutorial

NEWSPAPER NAILS

This was my first time doing this though i have wanted to do it for a long time. I saved it for the challenge and so here it is finally! I thought it would look really great but oh well, looks like i will be doing it again.

Day 29: Inspired by Supernatural

GHOSTS

I actually wanted to do 'flying saucers' and 'aliens' but somehow changed my mind and settled for ghosts. This was super easy! 

Day 28: Inspired by a flag

I was super lazy on this day and so i went for this...

The Japan flag. Am not even going say much about it.

Day 27: Inspired by Atrwork

Once again i'll put up multiple posts today. I finished doing the challenge and am so happy. It was beginning to get monotonous. After the day 31 post, i will share with you what i had on my nails yesterday so, read on...

Onto the mani. I did 'dripping paint' nail art.

 I decided not to do anything intricate because i feel that i have been churning out some horrible manis. Anyway, the wierd thing about this one is that the 'paint' seems to be dripping updwards o-O This was my first time doing this mani so next time i'll do it the other way. 

The purple colour i used on my little finger is the one i used in my previous (patchwork) mani (where it appeared blue in the pic)

Day 26: Inspired by a pattern

Patchwork - that's what this pattern is called. 

This was actually time consuming, or maybe  it seemed to drag on forever because i was not in the mood to do my nails. I loved the outcome nonetheless and even got compliments! I think i did a pretty good job especially since this was my first attempt at a patchwork mani!

I used Dodwell #21 as my base & top coat,  Luron #109 (hot pink), Luron #110 (yellow), Luron #52 (black) and B.O #17 (purple). In this picture the purple came off as a blue and the pink doesn't quite look like hot pink. But you get the idea...you can use whichever colours you choose.

I absolutely love this mani and will be doing it again.

Day 25: Inspired by Fashion

I chose to do the 'Ikat' design which is something like this:

Am sure you've seen it before but just like me didn't know what its called. It has some sort of tribal-native-south american vibe to it. Kind of what you would see on a Mexican's Poncho. Anyway, here's what i came up with:

It looks like i used stickers but the design is pretty easy to do, especially since it shouldn't be perfect with crisp lines. The idea is to make pyramid or diamond shapes...i failed to do this. I think a different colour combination would have been better but here's what i did anyway.

Day 24: Inspired by a book

Here's what i did for today's challenge...

Here is my inspiration...

There wasn't much to this really and am glad!

I haven't really started reading this book but i have read other books by Jeffrey Archer and i absolutely love them! Am actually in the process of building a collection of his books.

Day 23: Inspired by a movie

My inspiration was the movie: "Thor" from 2011

I drew the 'hammer of Thor' on my thumb nail because that's like the symbol of Thor, if that makes sense. I didn't want to do anything complicated but i knew this mani would make sense.

I. Love. This. Movie!

And Chris Hemsworth...his eyes just draw you in.

 #Avengers 

Day 22: Inspired by a song

HEY SOUL SISTER ~ TRAIN

This is what i chose to represent on my nails. It didn't come to me easily, i had a few other options but chose this one because 1) i absolutely love 'Train' 2) I love 'Train' 3) i love this song! But i love 'Drops of Jupiter' more...On to the mani:

On my thumb nail, i used that greenish colour to represent the shirt worn by that guy at the beginning of the video. He wears sunglasses too which i added to this nail . On my pinky i drew one of the numerous arrows we see floating across the screen every now and then in the video. 

There you have it. My mani inspired by a song. 

Day 21: Inspired by a colour

Am back! I have been keeping up with the challenge but not posting, so today i will share with you what i had on my nails this past week. Lets get into it:

I picked the colour green as my inspiration to create an ombre effect that fades across my nails. 

For this i used 'Luron #113' which is a lime green nail polish. (Using a different camera - hence the difference in quality)

On my nails i have five different shades of green, four of which i created by mixing the green with black and  white accordingly. The colour on my middle finger is what my nail polish actually looks like. I love this manicure because it looks like some sort of transition from a milky-creamy green (which is what the colour on my thumb nail looks like) to the deep jungle green colour on my pinky finger. I had not applied a top coat here.

TIP: If you decided to do this mani, i suggest picking a light colour, that way it will still be visible after mixing it with black. If you go with a darker colour, there is a chance you'll end up with the colour black on one or two nails.

Day 20: Water Marbled

I decided to use some pastel colours for today's challenge...

I first applied a single coat of white nail polish (Luron #FT201) then on top of that i applied a single coat of  sheer, almost champagne colour  (Zoe nail polish #101). This is actually what i used as a base for my animal print design.

I started off with my thumb nail (as usual), didn't like the colour combination so i decided to use white and a single pastel colour for the rest of the nails.

So, index (Luron #110), middle (Luron #112), ring finger (Luron #104) and pinky finger (Luron #103). I smudged almost all of them. Next time, i'll really take my time. Surprisingly i didn't have much clean up to do afterwards!

Day 19: Galaxy nails

Today's challenge is about capturing the beauty of space on your nails. Here is my outcome...

For this, i used a number of nail polish colours hoping to attain a cosmic effect. I first applied a single coat of black nail polish (Dodwell Nail enamel #79), Then sponged on the following colours: Luron #108 (green), Charm Max Blue, Luron #109 (hot pink) and finally Luron #FT201 (white) in that particular order.

After i was done with the sponging step, i drew some white stars on my accent nails (which you can't see very well here) then applied a coat of fine glitter nail polish and sealed everything with a top coat. The mani may not look like much till you add glitter (and look at it from a distance). 

NB: I went overboard with the glitter. I think it would have looked more realistic if i had not used it on the sponged areas. Also adding just one holographic nail polish to the mix is an awesome idea especially if your going to be out in the sun.

There are so many variations of this spacey-mani using other different colour combinations so you can be sure i'll do it again.

Day 18: Half Moons

Two posts today!

This is my first half moon mani and am in love! Can you believe that this is actually a vintage nail design popularized in the 1930's and 40's? Yep! On to the mani...

I couldn't figure out what colours to use at first but decided to go with these two because both of them really stand out.

What do you think? Yay or Nay?

Day 17: Glitter

I did this mani yesterday but didn't have time to post it then, so am doing that today. 

For the day 17 challenge, i decided to do a jelly-glitter sandwich. 

I had initially applied a rosy pink-coral coloured nail polish thinking it would give me the jelly-like finish but it didn't (since its a creme polish) so had to take everything off. I then remembered hearing about jelly nail polishes a few days before and realized i actually own one! I had never used it before because it appears somewhat clear and the consistency is different from any of my other polishes. I thought i had wasted my money on poor quality nail polish but turns out i just didn't know how to use it!

Anyway, i also used chunky glitter nail polish. I am beginning to hate glitter nail polish. I love the results (am actually thinking of buying 2 new bottles) but hate the process of taking it off. I know about using foil and what not but those extra seconds spent taking it off....agggrrr!

Day 16: Tribal print

Let me start by saying that i had no idea what i was doing today. I made up this design as i went along. Other people who have done it say, "its not complicated, just lines and dots". True. Because that's all i did. Anyway...

I initially wanted to use just 2 colours but i thought i should step out of my comfort zone, so i grabbed these colours and sat down to do my nails. Its a good thing i was dressed in all black, so the colours kinda worked with my outfit. 

Can't wait to do this one again! 

Just to be clear...

You may (or may have not) noticed, some of my pictures have been watermarked  with the name 'Joy's world' and others, 'nailpolishjunkie2012'. Yea...they are all mine :) 

Anyway, i keep track of my hair journey on my other blog (hairjunkie2011) so the names kinda follow the same pattern. Why 2011 and 2012? Well, because those are the years i got super interested in hair care and nail art respectively.

Day 15: Delicate Print

Am not sure what my feelings are for today's manicure...

I knew from the beginning of this challenge that i would do a black lace print today so i yea, thats what i did. It doesn't look as dainty as i wanted it to, so i think the next time i do this, i'll go for white lace-y nails which would look elegant...kind of like a French manicure (now there's another idea for a delicate mani) does.  I actually did a replica of something i saw on Youtube so am not going to claim ownership of this design.

This design isn't as complicated as it looks, its quite easy to do. I didn't like it immediately after i was done but as the day wore on, i started to like it...but am pretty sure am not keeping it for one more day. Thats all i have to say about it.

Day 14: Flowers

I am so happy with how today's mani turned out. I have done a flower mani before, but that was a disaster. I am sure i made up my mind back then to never do it again but thanks to this challenge,  i get to do it once again.

I started off doing my left thumb and index finger and then i realized how messy and not cute it looked. I wanted to have as many flowers on each nail as i could possibly place, but that just looked like a cluttered mess so after those two fingers, i decided one flower on each nail would suffice...and i was right.

 My right hand looked much better...cute, simple and neat

At first, i didn't know what colours to use for this challenge, but after taking a shower and getting dressed, i noticed how well the colours on my T-shirt came together and used those as my inspiration. What do you think?

 What i used : Luron Nail Polish in Green #86 , a yellow neon colour #111 *the brand name rubbed off* , Charm Max in neon orange , Charm Max colourless nail polish as my base and top coat.

I chose to go with the neon colours because i wanted the flowers to stand out. I applied just one coat of the green as a base because that particular green is too rich/deep.

EDITED TO ADD: My Mum loves this manicure!!! She said that i will be doing her nails. Am quite chuffed!

Day 13: Animal Print

I woke up pretty early this morning but didn't feel like getting out of bed so i got my nail stuff and did my nails...in bed. Am quite pleased with the results. They are not perfect and i hadn't even cleaned up when i took this pic:

I thought this mani would be difficult so i kept putting off doing it. I also didn't think i had the colours to pull it off but turns out i did! I used a very sheer almost clear color as my base. I have never used it before because it is soooooo sheer. I applied two coats of that. For the spots, i used a nude colour that i also never use because it can't really be seen...nude. I think its safe to say that i love having something noticeable on my nails. I also used black as you can see. I should have added black spots to fill in the gaps and make it stand out more (sigh!)...next time. Next time.

I really love this mani and i can't wait to try it again, but tomorrow, its coming off.

EDITED TO ADD: I kept this mani for one more day during which time i was with my Grandma who had come to visit. When she saw the above mani, she asked if i got it done at the salon! Lets just say that made my day :)

Day 12: Stripes

What's a festive season without 'Candy Cane' nails? Ok. ok...am in Kenya and i honestly couldn't care less about candy cane. That's a Western thing, but these two colours go so well together, wouldn't you agree?

Yea...i took the picture right after i was done, hence the nail polish on my palm (i don't have any idea how that got there). 

I used a different shade of red on my ring finger...its a deep colour, think vampy/gothic/blood/berry red. I'll do a swatch for it soon.

I have done 'striped nails' before, and i love them so look out for other colour combinations in the future.

I must add that this mani was pretty easy and quick to do.