Frankenstein French and Simple Stitched Moons

Happy Halloween! I was still rocking my flannel nail art yesterday, and was going to leave it on today, but I couldn't let the holiday pass without doing some festive nail art. I did this quick manicure last night, and love the simplicity! It's like a deconstructed Frankenstein's monster, and took maybe 10 minutes to do each hand.

Flannel and Lace - China Glaze Twinkle Collection Nail Art

Tough, rugged flannel meets soft and sweet lace! Though I know it's not even Halloween yet, this manicure feels perfect for winter. The Christmas-y plaid with the silver accent has me thinking cocoa and fireplaces. Meanwhile, in the real world, it's still 95 degrees here in the good old desert. Ah, a girl can dream.

Textured Ruby Stars

Today is The Lacquer Legion post day and this month's theme is "after dark." I've got no shortage of Halloween nail art, so I've gone with something in a different direction this time. After dark... the stars come out! (But still kind of in a Halloween-esque color palette. Can't help myself.)

Are You Afraid of the Dark? - Spooky Eyes Nail Art

There's still time to squeeze in a few more Halloween nail art looks! This look is reminiscent of my Simple Spooky Eyes design from 2011, but with a bit more complexity added and a few twists. Not to mention, quite an upgrade in quality! This is also serving as my entry into the JINsoon Halloween nail art contest.

Giant Leopard Moth Inspired Nail Art

As a person with a desk job, I often find myself browsing Reddit on my breaks for sweet photos, interesting news and makeup inspiration. Recently this photo of a giant leopard moth from user /u/Toblerone44 made it to my front page, and I loved it so much I had to try to replicate it on my nails. It's such a crisp pattern, and looks so delicate and beautiful but graphic at the same time.

CND VINYLUX Gilded Dreams for Holiday 2014

CND's newest release is their Gilded Dreams collection, a trio of three holiday-appropriate shades that are described as "Marie Antoinette meets Cinderella." My swatches show the VINYLUX shades, a gel-lacquer hybrid system (including topcoat) that claims week-long chip free wear. The holiday release also includes matching Shellac shades, as well as Additives and new holiday Scentsations lotions.

Black Blooms Floral Nail Art

Though this design isn't explicitly Halloween, it is pretty morbid/somber and definitely seasonally appropriate. These black roses are a variation of my sweet rose floral nail art that I shared during the 31 Day Challenge, with a monochromatic twist. I paired the black blooms with ugly/pretty chartreuse leaves for a pop of color.

Nailbox Pre-Fall '14 Trendbox Geometric Gradient Nail Art and Giveaway

As you may recall, back in August I showed off the Nailbox Pre-Fall 2014 Trendbox, which I curated! The box includes four nail polishes plus a matte topcoat, and I've used all five bottles in my nail art today. Nailbox has also given me the chance to offer a giveaway for the box, so head to the end of the post to enter to win!

Color Club Seven Deadly Sins Collection Swatches and Review

One of Color Club's newest collections is called Seven Deadly Sins. It's a collection of seven textured nail polishes in indulgent shades. The textures are very low profile (read: not too rough) so if you are a fan of texture but don't like 'em scratchy, these are a great option for you. There are a few winners here and a few I'm not crazy about. Let's check them out!

Cirque Colors Metropolis Collection Swatches: September and October (Glossy & Matte)

Cirque's newest offering is their Metropolis collection: a series of creme nail polishes inspired by New York City. There are new polishes added to the line every month, and today's swatches cover the September and October releases. These polishes are all normal glossy cremes, but since I'm obsessed with all things matte, I wanted to share the shades with a matte topcoat as well. I think they all translate beautifully to matte.

The Chalkboard Nails Halloween Nail Art Rewind

I've done my fair share of Halloween manicures over the years, for sure. It's fun to get into the spirit of the season with spooky nail art, and there are just so many ways to interpret the theme. Take a trip with me through the Chalkboard Nails Halloween nail art graveyard to visit with the ghosts of my favorite manicures past.

Glam Polish Welcome to Storybrooke Collection Swatches & Review

Glam Polish has a new collection out, Welcome to Storybrooke, inspired by ABC's TV show 'Once Upon a Time'. I personally watch and enjoy the show; not only am I a sucker for fairy tales slash anything Disney related, but there's lots of good eye candy for both ladies and the fellas. Speaking of eye candy, let's take a look at these Glam Polish shades!

Hugs for Emily - Neon Blocked Ikat Nail Art

Today's nail art is inspired by the talented and kind Emily from Very Emily. Emily has been going through a tough time lately, so a few of her blogger friends got together to show our support by taking inspiration from one of her manicures. Though I wish I could do more from across the world, I wanted her to know that we all care about her and will be there for her.

For my look, I was inspired by Emily's Summer Ikat Nails. I added a twist to it, doing my neon blocking horizontally rather than vertically, and throwing in some black and white splatter studs.

TUTORIAL: Midnight Smoke Nail Art Inspired by The Sorcerer Heir

I'm happy to be a participant in the World of Weir Blog Tour today, leading up to the release of Cinda Williams Chima's new book, The Sorcerer Heir. Not only do I get to do some inspired nail art, but you guys get a new video tutorial! This magical, eerie smoke effect is really much easier than you might guess.

Grey Herringbone Nail Art

After posting my first metallic herringbone nail art, I felt compelled to do another herringbone pattern! This time, I wanted to do my lines a bit smaller, thinner, closer together. I paired a light and dark grey, and after I had finished the pattern I decided it would look nice if I filled in some of the spaces with more colors.

Serum No. 5 Swatch Spam

I've been hoarding some Serum No. 5 swatches (and have even more to come at some point in the future) so today we're going to do a good old fashioned swatch spam! This little collage doesn't even show all of the shades I've got lined up for you, so hit the break and let's get going!

Bright-to-Vampy Sexy Pink Gradient

If you follow me on Instagram, you saw a shot of this manicure quite a while ago. It took me a bit to get it up on the blog because of the Challenge, but here we are! This girly-yet-vampy gradient was a huge hit when I previewed it, probably because it's hard to resist the moody gradient with a pop of color.

OPI Pink of Hearts Duo for 2014 Swatches and Review

This October, OPI has launched its 8th annual Pink of Hearts promotion for breast cancer awareness. Along with the release of the polish, OPI will also be donating $25,000 to the Susan G. Komen foundation. As October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, please be sure to follow these steps to give yourself a self-examination for the disease.

Metallic Herringbone Nail Art

Here's a pattern I haven't tried before: herringbone! I gave it a go with some metallic shades for a look that feels very "Gatsby" to me. If I had a black base it'd be pretty on the nose, eh? Halfway through the pattern, I alternated the way the herringbone was going for a little extra twist on the look. Is this a look you would wear?

The 31 Day Challenge 2014 Roundup Post

During the month of September, I tackled the 31 Day Challenge for the fourth time ever. As always, it lived up to its "challenging" name, but I successfully completed it without missing a single day! One of my favorite parts of the challenge is looking at the completed body of work, so here we have it, the roundup post! You can also check them out on my 31DC2014 Pinterest board.

All #HailTheNail With a Twitter Party For the Premiere of Nail'd It!

As I'm sure you guys know, there's a new TV show on the horizon and it's all about nail art. Nail'd It! is premiering at 9pm EST, Tuesday October 7th, on Oxygen, and you KNOW I'm gonna be all over that.

But that's not all!

To celebrate the premiere, I'll be joining a fabulous group of influencers to host a Twitter party leading up to the first episode! Join the conversation by following and tweeting with #HailTheNail, Tuesday October 7th, beginning at 8pm EST.

I'll be cohosting alongside All Lacquered Up, Julie G. Beauty, From Head to Toe, and Wet Paint. Judges Jan Arnold, Elaine Watson, and Tom Bachik will be joining in as well! We'll have tutorials, Q&As, and giveaways.

Giveaways? Oh yeah.

Throughout the hourlong chat, you'll have opportunities to win a prize package that contains:

• The 5 Borough Package from Fingertip Fetish by Adrienne Bailon
• A CND hand care set including Almond Hydrating Lotion and Citrus Nail Soothing Creme
• Oxygen goodies like a nail mat, mirrored nail files, pens, and a noteboook

When the chat comes to an end, I invite you to stick around and live tweet the first episode with me! I hope we'll see you there for the party, don't forget to mark your calendars! And if you haven't watched it yet, be sure to check out an exclusive first look at one of the Quick Dry Challenges from the show.

Disclosure: This post and my participation as a cohost of #HailTheNail has been sponsored by reps for Oxygen.

Congratulations 31 Day Challenge Finishers!

We did it! We made it all the way through the 31 Day Challenge. Congratulations to you, it's no small feat! The Challenge is intense, but many of you have conquered it. The #31DC2014 tag on Instagram alone has over 19,000 images! WHOA!

To celebrate your dedication and nail art prowess, I've commissioned some badges from the wonderful Ling Yeung. Grab one and display it on your blog with pride! I've included the HTML code below each badge, or you can save the image to your computer and upload it that way.

If you want to display a badge on your Instagram, click the following links for larger versions of the images that you can save to your phone and repost: Blue, Green, Pink, Orange, Purple, Red.

<p align="center"> <a href="http://bit.ly/31DC2014" target="_blank"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-XLov_qYX9NQ/VCwen7_cx_I/AAAAAAAAUSs/kALHzSY_sxg/s175-no/31-day-challenge_blue.png" border="0"></a></p>	<p align="center"> <a href="http://bit.ly/31DC2014" target="_blank"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-cMS-BhGb_mo/VCweoJJM6II/AAAAAAAAUS0/FvDZvr60hpw/s175-no/31-day-challenge_green.png" border="0"></a></p>	<p align="center"> <a href="http://bit.ly/31DC2014" target="_blank"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-aS8mjJRgp1M/VCweolUjviI/AAAAAAAAUSg/6dLYNy2FUNA/s175-no/31-day-challenge_pink.png" border="0"></a></p>
<p align="center"> <a href="http://bit.ly/31DC2014" target="_blank"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-es0lBebhCi8/VCweoBB3ndI/AAAAAAAAUSo/omcA1NVOEzA/s175-no/31-day-challenge_orange.png" border="0"></a></p>	<p align="center"> <a href="http://bit.ly/31DC2014" target="_blank"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-h8kmAdaAGDI/VCwepI9h1QI/AAAAAAAAUSc/xaV98hkYXJQ/s175-no/31-day-challenge_purple.png" border="0"></a></p>	<p align="center"> <a href="http://bit.ly/31DC2014" target="_blank"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-dySaQjyKvrQ/VCweptdldcI/AAAAAAAAUSk/L1JOmqQYuc4/s175-no/31-day-challenge_red.png" border="0"></a></p>

If you're still plugging away at the challenge (maybe at a different pace or a few days behind), feel free to come back and snag a badge when you complete it!

Stay tuned for my #31DC2014 roundup post, and congratulations again to all of you. I had a blast and I loved keeping up with everyone's work. Now to go take a hundred year nap.

Chunky Sweater Nails Inspired by Very Emily

Today is the final day of the 31 Day Challenge! This month both flew by and went very slowly. Isn't it weird how time does that? The final prompt is "honor nails you love" and I've chosen Very Emily's knitted nail art design. I'm not a knitter myself, but I have been known to enjoy a good sweater! I'm totally enamored with the combination of soft shades and patterns in Emily's work; it feels very "winter luxe" to me.