"And I miss you most of all, my darling...

...when autumn leaves start to fall."

What a beautiful song... do you know it? It's a translation of a French classic called "Les feuilles mortes". It conveys the nostalgia and melancholy that comes with the grey, cold days of fall so well.

This is a fall mani that I posted on another blog before, but it was a French speaking blog and it didn't get so much attention, so I am posting it here for all to see. I love the effect of colourful designs over a clear glitter base. I think it's so pretty how it shows the natural nail colour underneath while hiding its irregularities. I've often searched for a pink nailpolish that would emulate the natural shade of my nailbed but haven't found anything yet. To hell with opaque bases, I'll just go naked! Oh, I'm so indecent.

I have a confession to make: I didn't paint these lovely autumn leaves freehand. Just look at them: they're way too regular for that, aren't they? They're not stickers either - they're homemade decals. More detail to be found at the bottom of this post!

Here is the overall look of the two hands.

 

If you look closely, you'll see there are actually some pale gold dots and a faint gold glitter as a base.

I especially love the thumbs. Since the nailbed is much bigger, it offers a nice canvas to make more elaborate designs. Here are two pictures that show off what I did with them.

I'm quite proud of these, but I find it difficult to make interesting designs when working with homemade decals. You have to work so fast it doesn't leave you much time to think, and there's no room for error.

Oh well. I'm not about to stop practising, so I can only get better, right? :)

P.S. Don't forget about my upcoming nail art contest!

Veggies need love too

I've seen tons of fruit manis around. Strawberries, watermelon, kiwis, citrus... But what about veggies? Is there no love for veggies on our nails?

Here are pics in artificial light.

And now some pics in natural lighting.

Here are pics of each separate nail. Can you identify all of the veggies?

My left hand:

My right hand:

And before any of you object... I know, I know... Technically, tomatoes are fruits... But if you can't eat it in a dessert it doesn't count, so there! Hehe.

I'm so stoked with this mani! Every nail has its personality. Besides, I could definitely use more veggies in my diet... maybe these will serve as a reminder!

Also, I wanted to remind you that when my blog reaches 20 followers and 10,000 pageviews, I'll host a contest with a sexy nail art prize!

I actually know what the contest will be already, but for now it's a surprise! :D Dontcha love surprises?

Valentine's Day in October

Why the heck not? No need to wait until the dead of winter to sprinkle a little romance on your nails ;)

I really like the effect of this design when looking at the whole hand. Each small painted heart gets lost in the multitude. This mani has existed in my head for quite some time now! I'm happy with how it turned out, especially how the lines and hearts dissolve into the red tip of the gradient.

As a bonus, here is the gradient before I added the stripes and hearts.

A reminder:

When this blog reaches 10,000 pageviews and 20 followers, I'll host a contest/giveaway!

I think I already have an idea for what the guidelines will be :)