The Nightingale inspired

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The Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah is a gorgeous book, an absolutely lovely story. What inspired this manicure though, is the very pretty book cover. In most of my book inspired manicures, I try not to just have nail art that looks like the cover of the book, but in this case I couldn't resist. 

Favorite Books of the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge 2015

Pin It Throughout the past year, I participated in the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge 2015. If you followed along here, you saw that I devoted a couple of manicures to some of the 52 books I read. There were books I loved that I didn't honor with a blog post and even one of the worst books of the year made it into a post. Now, I want to mention the top books I read this year.

Mobtown inspired

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I read Mobtown, by Jack Kelly last month. It was"a book set in my hometown," Rochester, NY. 

Hogfather inspired

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Under the heading of "better late than never," here is a Christmas manicure . . . Well, technically it is a Hogswatch manicure.

Outlander inspired

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I have to post a three more book inspired manicures for the year. I have some ideas, but the time to do them, not sure. This is a mani inspired by Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon, which I read for the reading challenge prompt, "a book a friend recommended." The manicure looked a lot better in my head than it came out, but I wanted to share it with you nonetheless. 

The Wee Free Men Inspired

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I read The Wee Free Men, by Terry Pratchett to my daughter for the reading challenge, "A book with magic." It was a fun book to read and was the first book by Terry Pratchett I've ever read.

The Touchstone Inspired

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I read The Touchstone, by Edith Wharton earlier this year for the challenge, "A popular author's first novel." It was technically her first novella. The House of Mirth is one of my all-time favorite books, so I was happy to hear another of Edith Wharton's stories.

Earthsea Trilogy inspired

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The Earthsea trilogy, by Ursula K. Le Guin inspired this manicure. The three books, A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, and The Farthest Shore were published between 1968 and 1972.  The stories take place in the world of Earthsea, a place made of small archipelagos, separated by huge distances of ocean.

Last of Halloween with Anonymous Lacquer

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Last Halloween manicure with polishes from the Monster Mash Awesome Sauce Indie Box, but definitely not the last time that I'll wear these gorgeous polishes.

Awesome Sauce Indie Box Halloween Nails

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I know, I only post book inspired manicures these days, but I loved this quarter's Awesome Sauce Indie Box so much that I wanted to share. I am shocked that there are still boxes available for sale. See the link for purchase below.

The Far Pavilions inspired

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At one point, while reading The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye,  I said I felt like I was falling in love. It was just that immersive and beautiful. The book, published in 1978 tells the story of an orphan named Ash, the son of British parents, who is raised as an Indian Hindu by his nanny, Sita. Sita was in constant fear that Ash's British roots would be discovered and he'd be killed, so she told him that she was his mother. She also told him of a perfect valley in the Himalayas, where there would be peace. He shared this dream of a peaceful valley with an Indian princess named Anjuli. Anjuli was not accepted by most of the people in her home because her mother was Russian and, like Ash,  Anjuli yearned to escape a world of betrayal and murder.

"Ash did not know that he had been born within sight of those snows, or that he had spent his earliest years among the high Himalayas, falling asleep to the sight of them rose-dyed by the sunset or silver under the moon, and waking to see them turn from apricot and amber to dazzling white in the full blaze of the morning. They were part of his subconscious mind, because once, long ago, he had known them by heart as other children know the frieze painted on a nursery wall. But looking at them now, he felt sure that somewhere in the folds of those mountains lay the valley that Sita used to speak of at bedtime: their own valley."

-M.M. Kaye, The Far Pavilions

Audrey Hepburn, an Elegant Spirit inspired

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I read Audrey Hepburn, an Elegant Spirit, by Sean Hepburn Ferrer in April. Of course, like so many others, I have loved the works of Audrey Hepburn since I was a child. "Roman Holiday" still makes me cry every time I watch it. She was perfection in that film and "Charade" is such an entertaining ride.

Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones inspired

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I read Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones back in May. She also authored Howl's Moving Castle and a number of other entertaining young adult novels. Every one of her books that I've read is charming and magical. So far, Dogsbody is my favorite.

To Kill a Mockingbird inspired

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I had a very hard time creating a manicure for To Kill a Mockingbird. I love the book so much, but I wasn't sure how to represent that love. I reread the novel in March and throughout the reading, I said to my husband over and over just how astounded I was by how good it was, a perfect blend of heart and humor. 

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon inspired

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I read Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin out loud to my 7 year old daughter in February. It kept her attention, was full of lovely, magical stories, and made a teary mess of me before the end. It is an uplifting story with a message that we all need to be reminded of from time to time. I think my girl will want to and be able to read it independently soon too.

Cloud Atlas inspired

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I am a little bit behind in posting my book-inspired manicures and brief thoughts on some of the books I'll read during the year. I am participating in the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge. If I finish, I'll read 52 books in 2015. I love manicures that have a story, so once a month, I'll show a manicure inspired by one of the books I read. As I said, I'm a little behind, so I hope to post manicures for February and March very soon.

Novels and Nails

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Just a handful of the books on my reading list

I have been debating how I should go about writing my first blog post in over a year. I could come up with some big explanation, but there really isn't one. So instead, let's just start over and I'll pretend it hasn't been forever. . . 

BornPrettyStore Water Decals review

Pin It Hi everyone. I sit here in the middle of endless winter, although the last couple of days have been rainy and windy instead or frigid winds and snow, so maybe there is hope for beautiful days to come. I did take the opportunity to wear manicures with a touch of spring.

I receive some water decals from bornprettystore a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to try them all out so that I could share my thoughts with you all at once. Today I will tell you about Sweet Night View Oil Painting Stamped Pattern Nail Art Water Decals Transfers Sticker, the Cute Pussy Black And White Stripes Pattern Nail Art Water Decals Transfers Sticker, and the Vintage Simple Arabesque Pattern Nail Art Water Decals Transfers Sticker.

2 coats Cult Nails Grunge, Sinful Colors Pistache, Wet n Wild Glamorous, and Sweet Night View Oil Painting

First, let me tell you about using the Sweet Night View Oil Painting Water decals. I was the most excited about trying out these water decals. I found it easiest to hold my finger over the image and eyeball the size I needed to cut from the sheet. Once cut, I trimmed it to better fit my finger nail (slightly smaller than the nail, then soaked it for about 30 seconds in cool water. The decal was very forgiving to being moved around for perfect positioning. The only issue that I had with application is that I could only put one stroke of topcoat onto the nail before the colors would begin to blur. I found it easiest to use a rather thick coat of topcoat and gently coax it around the nail in just three strokes. Removal was just as simple as taking off a cream nail polish. Despite the need for a delicate touch with the topcoat, I would recommend these water decals. They are so pretty. I am wearing QQ-15.

Next up, I wore the Cute Pussy Black and White Stripes water decals with my Valentine's Day manicure.  I love the variety on this sheet of decals. Those black cats are so sleek and will be a great addition to future manicures. I had a really hard time choosing between the thicker stripes I actually wore and the thin zig zags right next to them on this sheet too. I love the addition of silver to these decals.

Wet n Wild Tickled Pink, Sinful Colors Folly, a-england Lancelot, and Cute Pussy Black and White Stripes

So on to the actual manicure, first of all, I want to thank Jen at The Nail Polish Project for inspiring this manicure. I've wanted to do a manicure similar to her skittles manicure for such a long time and this was such a fun manicure to wear! The stripes on my pinky are from the water decal sheet. They applied even more easily than the oil painting decals. I did have one minor issue, where a corner of one of the strips folded under a little bit, but I think that was user error. A light hand was needed with the topcoat on this too. Removal of these decals was a little bit more difficult due to the metallic stripes, but not as difficult as glitter removal. I think if you like accent nails, these decals would be a good choice.

Finally, I wore the Vintage Simple Arabesque water decals. I love little curly q's and these decals are such a shiny silver that they really pop. I wanted  very specific curlies from the middle of the sheet, so I had to be very careful while cutting the designs off the paper not to damage the rest of the images. It takes some caution, but it is possible to cut out small pieces without damaging the rest.

4 coats Cult Nails Charming, INM Northern Lights, and Vintage Simple Arabesque

I wanted a simple manicure to really highlight these decals. Because the decals are so shiny, they appear to be hovering above the nail. They do not smear at all with the addition of topcoat. I am still wearing this manicure, but I suspect that removal will be similar to the black and white stripes decals, a little difficult due to the metallic design, but worth it in my opinion.

All of the water decals removed from their paper backing after no more than a one minute soak in tap water. As long as the decals were kept wet, they all could be easily re-positioned until they were perfectly placed on the nail.

Sweet Night View Oil Painting Water decals are available for $1.99 for one image, but I would recommend getting a full sheet (11 different images) for $6.98 or even better, the two different sheets (22 different images) for $8.98.

Cute Pussy Black and White Stripes water decals Vintage Simple Arabesque water decals can each be purchased $4.99.

What do you think of these water decals? What kind of manicures would they inspire you to try?

I hope this review helps you find some great new water decals to make your manicures more exciting!

Take care.

~Alexis

**Products provided for honest review. Please be advised that I am not affiliated with bornprettystore.com nor was I paid to provide these reviews.**

Pantone Colors of 2013 and 2014 nails

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Happy new year! This year, my new year's manicure is pretty similar to last year, but I have a good reason for that . . . Apparently last year I was ahead of the times, wearing Lime Crime Lavendairy. Pantone has named Radiant Orchid their 2014 Color of the Year. Seeing as New Year's Eve is a last hurrah for 2013 and a welcome party for 2014, I decided to wear the colors of both years.

This is two coats of Julep Alice with Cult Nails Love at First Sight applied with Saran wrap to capture Radiant Orchid. I then applied a glitter gradient using my 2013 color Emerald, Orly Glam FX Mermaid Tale. And to add a little bit more to the party, I dabbed on OPI Which is Witch?

I very seldom wear Mermaid Tale but it is lovely and needs to make it into rotation more even though the year of emerald is over.

Well, as you can probably tell from my 10:30 posting, I don't have big party plans tonight, just the sparkle on my nails and babysitting nieces and nephews tonight, but the hubby and I plan to open a nice Proseco when we get home and ring in the new year! 

I hope you all have (or had, for my readers in earlier time zones) a spectacular new year. May this coming year be filled with many joys and beautiful nails.

I apologize for this, but it is necessary:  See you next year!

~Alexis

Born Pretty Store nail stickers and water decals

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So, the holiday season completely ran away on me. I only had the opportunity to wear three holiday nail designs and had trouble finding Christmasy inspiration for my nails. In come the 14 piece Luminous Glow in Dark Nail Art Stickers Delicate Christmas Ornaments Snowflakes Pattern from bornprettystore to the rescue! The nail stickers are adorable, with leaping reindeer and the sleigh loaded up with gifts is precious.