The Great Gatsby

Hello! November! It's flying by and I just spent the last week, digging out of 5 feet of snow! I live in Buffalo, as I've mentioned before, and we got SLAMMED, starting Monday night. Luckily, it's moved out of the area because my parents are getting ready to come up and visit, this week, for Thanksgiving!

This afternoon I have my first installment of November's Nail Challenge Collaborative theme: Inspired by Books! I'm kicking off this series of four with my favorite book-the Great Gatsby.

For this manicure, I took my inspiration from a symbolic object in the book and movie-the run-down, distressed billboard of Dr. TJ Eckleburg.

For this manicure, I started with a base of China Glaze Sea Spray, a shimmery, dusty blue. Then I sponged on Zoya Kelly and gilded the tips with Elf Pot of Gold from the Disney Villains polish cube. The rim of the glasses was done with Nailtini Champagne with Kelly and Sea Spray for the eyes.

I was really proud of this manicure. I think I translated Eckleburg's eyes onto my nails well, even if no one knew what it was. That was also one of my favorite parts of the manicure. From far away, it was a mash of subdued neutrals and gilded metals but you could see the detail up close!

Be sure to check out the first volume that the other ladies chose!

xo, ali

Quick NOTD

Well, well, well! It's me, keeping my end of the bargain and keeping to my posting schedule.

I don't have much for you lovely people but I do have something that I'm quite proud of. I rarely do nail art. That's mostly because I get frustrated if it doesn't work out or I'm too tired, etc. A couple Saturdays ago, I was feeling ambitious and had the perfect polishes to go together. I also had a great tutorial from Globe & Nail in the back of my mind that I wanted to try. I love Emma's blog. She does such great nail art and has gorgeous swatches. The tutorial looked pretty easy and I don't bust out my striping tape nearly enough. Here's my final result!

For this manicure, I used:

Two coats Orly Nail Armor (base coat)

Two coats H&M Come Along With Me (base color)

One thick coat elf Sea Escape (accent color)

One coat Beauty Plus Salon (topcoat)

Come Along with Me is a really pretty, creamy teal with sparse teal shimmer that you really have to suss out. It went on really easy with no application problems that I can recall.

Then i laid down a square of scotch tape, at an angle,to create the half moon and a piece of striping tape down the middle. Next, I painted a thick coat of Sea Escape, which is from the Ursula portion of the elf Disney Villains nail polish cube. Sea escape is a black jelly-esque polish with teal, grean, and blue sparkles. I painted each finger, one at a time, and pulled the tapes up as soon as I painted. Top coat, and done!

The only thing I can really see wrong with this is that my lines could have been a little cleaner. Other than that, I was really happy with this. I got a lot of compliments on it when I went for my volunteer session at the satellite cat adoption center for the Erie County SPCA.

I get to hang out with these cool cats:

Corncob (top) and Paige (bottom)

My life is hard ;)

That's all for me...I'm off to watch some hockey (go Sabres!) and Parks and Rec.

[source]

Hmmm, maybe that's an idea for some nail art?

However, I, unlike April, happen to love Ann Perkins.

over and out!

xo, ali

PS-don't forget to follow me, via bloglovin'! Just click the bloglovin' banner to the right, above my pretty picture :)