{Mad About Nails} Ladybug Nails

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!).

Welcome back to another edition of Mad About Nails! 

All right, sooo...another stagnant entry. I had no time for a video this week. Sorry!

I snapped these pictures yesterday...my nail art is 5 days old with no touch-ups. I think it still looks great!

It's a little more sparkly than I originally wanted, but they still came out cute!
I've been wanting to do this since last year, and figured that for the last week of Summer, I wanted my last summer manicure to be fun!

Happy First Day of Autumn!

These two are POWERHOUSES for
long-lasting manicures!  One lasted
1.5 weeks, the other for 2!!!

I started off with a basecoat of ORLY "Bonder."

Many of the professional nail studios use this as a basecoat when doing nails for their clients.  It's a rubberized coat that helps polish adhere to the nail.  It stinks, but it's great!

I finished everything with a top coat of Revlon's "Quick Dry Top Coat."

I'd heard it was a rival for the legendary Seche Vite, but with fewer harsh chemicals.  It also doesn't go bad in the bottle or shrink when used.  I was intrigued, and so far, this stuff is FABULOUS.

Together, this combo has made my nails last, on average, 1.5 to 2 weeks. They're both awesome!

I forgot to include the white...oops? Details below, anyway!

For my design:

I started with a base coat of China Glaze "Phat Santa" from its 2010 'Tis the Season Holiday Collection. It's just the right red for my ladybugs. I experimented on my toes first, and it was between this, China Glaze "Igniting Love" (which was too light), and Zoya "Pepper" (which was too dark with a pinky-purple tint against the other reds). It applied well, though it may have been slightly dark when it comes to making the black dots pop!

The ORLY Manicure Kit I scored on clearance!

For the French tip, I used ORLY "Liquid Vinyl"from the ORLY: The Original French Manicure Cosmic FX Manicure Kit on clearance at Sally's Beauty Supply.

The black is crazy shiny. It's much more glossy than the Wet n Wild "Black Creme" I've been using. I love this black! It would have popped even more if I'd gone with the brighter, lighter red "Igniting Love" from China Glaze. Oh well!

MASH Marbleizing Dotting
Tool Pen Set from Amazon
$3.99 plus Free S/H!

I used the same black for the stripe on the ring finger and for the dots on all fingers.

The white eyes on the ring fingers are done with Wet 'n' Wild in "French White Crème".

I used a couple of my MASH Marbleizing Dotting Tool Pen Set pens from Amazon and nail art pens to achieve the look.

I topped everything off with a coat of glitter from China Glaze, "Fairydust." It was a little more glitter than I really wanted because my bottle clotted a little, so the design is diluted in regular lighting. In the sunlight, it really pops, though!

 Is anyone else obsessed with nail polish? What are you wearing right now? Link me a photo; I want to see! ^_^