Turquoise

 I really like how these turned out! I decided to try matching a piece of lumpy turquoise I had in my collection.

 I began with two coats of ORLY Viridian Vinyl. I really love that polish, and I love the matte quality. I was almost sad to start on the next step!

 Rather than using polish, I decided to go the lazy route and just doodle with a sharpie. I was rather pleasantly surprised that the reddish overtones on the sharpie disappeared once I added topcoat! Some of the photos were taken prior to topcoat, and the difference is surprising!

 To finish the shading, I first added highlights of NYC Cool Breeze, which is a light robin's egg blue. For a last highlight, I diluted a touch of NYC Pinstripe White in acetone and touched that to some sections.

 Colors Used:

ORLY Viridian Vinyl

 NYC Cool Breeze

 NYC Pinstripe White

Amethyst

 These didn't turn out as nicely as I hoped, but maybe I'll try again in the future and see if I can get a better result. I grabbed out some polished stones for inspiration, and for this I was trying to emulate a banded amethyst.

 I started with Sinful Colors Enchanted, which is a nice dark purple. I then sponged on highlights using Color Club Lavendarling, a warm mid-tone purple.

 Next, I added the bands and striations using a small brush and Essie To Buy or Not to Buy. It's a very pale lilac that almost appears white on top of all the dark purple.

 Lastly, I added rough 'tips' in NYC Pinstripe White to reflect the white edge to my amethyst stone. I didn't make them perfect french tips; rather, I wanted them a little lumpy and organic.

 Trying to pose fingers with a rock is rather challenging!

Colors Used:

Sinful Colors Enchanted

Color Club Lavendarling

Essie To Buy or Not to Buy

NYC Pinstripe White

Frozen

 Finally catching up again! I was challenged to do nails inspired by Frozen, so I decided to try to replicate the swirling magical snow effect. I do like the end result!

 To begin, I started with two coats of China Glaze Eyes Like Sapphires. I love the deep not-quite-metallic blue, and for bonus points it has a subtle dusting of silver glitter. The snow on the ground was done by first painting a layer of Sinful Colors Lavander, then adding a touch of Essie Bikini So Teeny. I then used a toothpick to define random swirls on each nail using more Essie Bikini So Teeny and a touch of NYC Pinstripe White.

 I used parts of a design from Bundle Monster 323 for the snowflakes. On the large snowflake on my ring nail, I also embellished with a few more tiny dots of white on the points and around the middle, just to make it pop a little more. As a final touch, I added a thin coat of Sally Hansen Glass Slipper, which is a clear flakey polish, to the snow banks on each nail.

Colors Used:

China Glaze Eyes Like Sapphires

Sinful Colors Lavander

Essie Bikini So Teeny 

NYC Pinstripe White

Sally Hansen Glass Slipper

BM-323

New Year's Fireworks

 The neighbors were setting off tons of fireworks to celebrate New Year's, so I figured it was as good of an excuse as any to go overboard with glitter!

First, I put on Morgan Taylor Regal as a Royal, which is a lovely blurple glitter. It's warm purple in some lights, blue/indigo in others. I figured the best way to make ridiculously glittery nails is to have glitter on top of glitter!

 The fireworks were done in a myriad of different craft store glitters. I used a soft brush to pick up the smaller glitter and dab it into place, and a toothpick to place bar glitter. I think the end result looks almost like foil nails from a distance!

Colors Used:

Morgan Taylor Regal as a Royal

Craft Store Glitters

Flash of Glitter

 I'm trying to experiment more with glitter this year, as I have plenty of lovely glitters that I never use. This one is a bit simple, but I only had time for a quick one.

 I started with two coats of Sally Hansen Teal Tulle. I'm definitely in love with the Satin Glam line, and was just looking for an excuse to try this color.

The glitter is FingerPaints Peacock Portrait. I've had this glitter for a while and have always wanted to use it. It's hard to capture on camera, but it's a lovely mix of large teal hex glitter, smaller indigo and yellow glitter, and holographic microglitter. I think this is one of the most intense holographic microglitters I've seen in person. I love it! I used three coats on my ring nail, and one coat on all other nails.

Colors Used:

Sally Hansen Teal Tulle

Finger Paints Peacock Portrait

Starry Skies

 My friend, Garnet of The Nail Rainbow, was awesome and gifted me some amazing nail polish this Christmas. Of course, the first thing I had to do after taking off Christmas nails was to give new polish a try!

 The base for these is Zoya Indigo, which was one of my Christmas presents. I love how this is pretty much a one-coat polish. The holographic glitter is pretty sparse on the nail, so I don't think it showed up in these pictures. Either way, I do so love blue in all its shades

 I then added one coat of Icing Galaxy, which is a lovely splatter polish. It's a mix of metallic royal blue with matte white. It's so aptly named too, it's like instant space nails in a bottle when put over a dark color!

Colors Used:

Zoya Indigo

Icing Galaxy