Mad About Nails: Back to School with No. 2!

Welcome to my brand-new feature! I've had quite a few people comment on my nails in the past ask what I was using or wish I'd done a close-up so they could see better, etc., etc., and had a realization: Why not do a feature on nail polish? It's not book-related (Unless you're wearing the new HUNGER GAMES-inspired line from China Glaze, but I'm not even going into how wrong that is...), but it's fun. Plus, if I do this feature, I'll be more likely to re-paint my nails this week and less likely to let them chip their way to the bare bones (which would mean that I could see my nails...and if I see them, I want to bite them!).

Today marks the start of September, and everyone is either back in school or returning on Tuesday.  Even if you've already graduated, it's always fun to celebrate and remember the good old days (or even if you're just looking to find a way to show your kids that the start of school is FUN!).

I wanted to do something fun, and after recently purchasing yellow polish that looks remarkably like the yellow from a wooden No. 2 pencil, I was inspired to put together this design.

Check out the video below or keep reading to see what I used!

YouTube Link

I started off with ULTA's salon formula Base Coat.  After making a trip to a couple of local DollarTrees and picking up a bunch of L.A. Colors ArtDeco Nail Art Lacquers, I decided to use some of them when creating this fun new design.  I began with their "Yellow" color and added two or three coats to get the right shade of yellow. (I've since bought an actual bottle of yellow polish to save the nail art...)

I followed that up by painting the eraser.  I used a single coat of "Set the Mood" from Sephora's exclusive OPI line, then added a coat or two of OPI's limited-edition "Your Web or Mine?" from the 2012 The Amazing Spider-Man collection.

After everything had dried once again, I added silver overtop of the yellow and pink.  I started with L.A. Colors ArtDeco in "Silver," then added a bit of L.A. Colors ArtDeco in "Silver Glitter" on top of that.  I painted a smaller line of "Silver" on top of THAT, then one more coat of "Silver Glitter," and then an even smaller line of "Silver" to build up the appearance of ridging.

I completed the look by mimicking the curve of a pencil with two lines of L.A. Colors ArtDeco in "Gold Glitter" on top of the yellow.  I finished everything off with OPI Top Coat.

 Is anyone else obsessed with nail polish? What are you wearing right now?