South Park

Hello there! Today is a post I would like to dedicate to my boyfriend. Last week was our 1 year anniversary together. He has been very supportive of my blog and has given me many ideas for designs (this one included) so I just want to say thank you by doing a post about something he adores.

Blake LOVES South Park. He will go on and on about anything that has to do with South Park. He talks about Trey and Matt, the creators and Primus, which is the band who does the theme song. It's rather cute, so I listen but I have admit I use to hate the show. In fact I use to actively refuse to watch it because I thought it was immature and highly inappropriate. I've now watched almost every episode and I find myself wanting more... Once I gave this show the time of day, I realized how smart it is. Sure it has it's highly inappropriate moments and moments where I find myself saying "Oh god why?!" but Matt and Trey have found entertaining ways to poke fun at people. And I mean all people (no one is left out.)

I recently saw an episode where they made fun of forgetting to put down the toilet seat (and the harmful effects this action can have). They showed how both genders saw the task as simple, yet refused to do it themselves because it wasn't a big deal. A classic issue I have with Blake, haha. So event takes place that I will not name, as to not give any spoilers if you have not seen this episode, and the TSA gets involved. This TSA stands for Toilet Safety Administration rather than Transportation Security Administration, but goes into the issues that the Transportation Security Administration has brought into the public eye. I thought this was a clever and humorous way to illustrate real life controversy, which is why I now have to admit how much of a South Park fan I have become. With that said, here is my design-- South Park nails!

Kyle, Stan, Kenny, Butters and on the thumb, Cartman!

I am so happy with the way my nails came out! I wanted to use all of my favorite characters, which I was able to do.  So on my left hand I have Kyle, Stan, Kenny and Cartman, who are the four main boys of the show. And on my pinky nail is Butters, who is just adorable! He is the most "innocent" character on the show, despite always getting grounded, "Oh hamburgers." haha.

Ike, Wendy, Randy, Mr. Garrison, and on the thumb, Mr. Mackey!

On my right hand is Ike; who is Kyle's brother, Wendy; who is Stan's love, Randy; who is Stan's dad, Mr. Garrison; who was originally the boys' teacher, and Mr. Mackey, the school counselor, "m'kay." This is the first time I used acrylic paint on my nails and I must say, it was much easier to work with than nail polish. So if you are planning to do characters on your nails, I recommend acrylic paint (over a base color, of course.) You can't really tell but I did use a base color on all of my nails, it's more visible on my right hand. I used essence You Belong to Me and acrylic paint I got at Michaels.

I hope you enjoyed my post! If you have never seen South Park, I recommend you do so (as long as you have a crude sense of humor haha.) It's definitely not a show for everyone. You can find episodes on Netflix or on the South Park Studios website!

Until next time,

☮Erin

Feelin' Fishy

Hello all! As the title indicates, I'm feeling fishy today! Haha. I was mulling over what to do for my nails and after a long thinking process (and inspiration found on Pinterest), I went with fish! I think they came out really cute and I have come up with more fishy ideas for the future, so stay tuned for that. Here are the fishes that I came up with for today.

Left hand

With my lack of a lighter, more water-esque blue, I went with essence Let's get lost, which is a blueish teal with a cream finish. I think it works. What color polish would you use for water? For the fish I went with essence Lime up! and Sally Hansen's Sun Kissed. Sun kissed was a PAIN to paint! Man, it was frustrating, that's why some of the fish have wonky tails haha. Speaking of frustrating...I have been searching for a light sky colored blue polish, does anyone have a recommendation? I've been looking into OPI's Cattiude but it's hard to find since the collection is older. It's pretty much been impossible to find a sky blue, especially with a cream finish. Such a disappointment, so I am turning to you, my awesome readers for help. Where can I find a light blue color with a cream finish???!!!! Ahhh!! I would really love to find one. 

Right hand

What I used:

Base coat: Essie Ridge filling base coat

Base color: essence Let's Get Lost

Fish: Lime green= essence Lime Up!

Orange= Sally Hansen Sun Kissed.

Eyes and bubbles: White and black nail polish, dotting tools

Top Coat: Seche Vite

Overall I was really happy with this manicure. I got this idea from The Nail Trail, who I think has some really cute designs. Check her out! I think the fish are so cute and they were pretty simple to created. I just painted a circle with the polish for the head and then a sideways V for the tails. I realized after I applied the top coat that I forgot fins but oh well! I think the next time I am in a fishy mood, I will add fins and scales, should be fun. I hope you all enjoyed my post for today.

Until next time,

☮Erin

A Stranger...from the Outside. OOOooo!

Hello! I have a cute mani for you today. Inspired by the oh so adorable aliens from the Toy Story movies, these quotable little things are just so cute but not so easy to do on your nails. I hope to try this mani again and have better results but for now I hope you all enjoy!

As you can see, though adorable, the aliens came out a little smushed...I think what my problem is, is that my nails are to short. I don't know why but a couple of my nails keep cracking and peeling at the tips, which is making me have to shorten them. Does any one know how to avoid this? I always use a base coat, I just don't know what's up with it...but ya anyways this means I have to keep shortening my nails, which leads to certain designs being difficult. Thus why the poor aliens mouths look whack. Also their little pizza planet sigil came out to look more like blobs rather than the little plants they were suppose to be...

So I first painted two coats of essence Lime Up! onto my nails. This essence shade is only $1 at Ulta and it reminds me a lot of the OPI color, "Who the Shrek are you?" It's a really cool color but it looks awful against my skin tone by itself, so this will be a color that I use for stamping and sponging and what not. Then I painted half of my nail with the essence polish Let's Get Lost. This is a fantastic blueish teal. Just love this color. I wanted the suits of the aliens to have a little more shine however, so I wanted a layer of Julep Megan. I used L.A. colors Fun in the sun as the purple collar and essence Hard to resist as the belts and shoes. The sigil was Sally Hansen Mellow Yellow and the mouths were OPI's Jade is the new black mixed with white. 

Here's an outline of what I used:

Base coat: Essie Ridge filling base coat

Base color: essence Lime Up

Bottom half of nails: essence Let's get Lost, with one thin coat of Julep Megan

Purple collar: L.A. colors Fun in the Sun

Navy belt/shoes: essence Hard to Resist

Mouth: OPI Jade is the new Black mixed with white polish. 

Pizza plant sigil: Sally Hansen Mellow Yellow

Eyes: black and white stripper polish with dotting tools. 

For the most part, I think the aliens came out cute. They were definitely a challenge but good practice with my nail art brushes. What movies or characters inspire you? I hope to have a segment on my blog where, at least once a month, I have a movie inspired day. I think that will be fun. I've purchased a few bottles of acrylic paint, so creating characters will be a bit simpler. Practice makes perfect right?

Enjoy this clip from the movie that inspired this manicure!

I hope you all enjoyed my post for today. Also, just a reminder, please choose a reaction to my post! Thanks!

Until next time,
☮Erin