Holi WOW!

Handfuls of colored powder smeared across your cheeks, thrown in your hair, rubbed on your forehead, color EVERYWHERE. Fun or nightmare?  Definitely FUN. It might have been one of the most fun experiences here in India so far! If you're all like 'What the F is she talking about?', I'll tell you. Today (if you're in the States, or yesterday, if you're on my side of the world), is/was HOLI!  Holi is the Indian festival of color, celebrating the coming of Spring! :) Hindus believe that it is saying farewell to winter, and hello to the abundance of Spring colors. I believe that it was a BLAST. It was kind of like a snowball fight with colored powder, and when you 'whitewash' someone, they're left with a face like this:

I decided to do a nail design based on my Holi experience, a colorful array of splatters covering my nails simulating the splatter of powder everywhere on skin, clothes, hair, and the floor. :-P

I have to admit, I like this hand better- I realized I liked the splatter effect over the skin AFTER I started cleaning up my left hand, so I took a pic of my right hand too. I feel like it better conveys the spirit of the celebration. :)

I used Lotus Herbals Pure White as a base, with Zoya Carmen, Essie Vermillionaire, American Apparel Manila, Nicole by OPI I'm a Belieber, Lakmé Fast & Fabulous Aqua Blast (an Indian brand), China Glaze Grape Pop, and Jesse's Girl Beach Baby . Topped it all off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.



A few more pictures- one of my colleagues and I, and one more after I got some more color - green, to be exact. :-P

Rusty Nail

Sorry, this isn't the Rusty Nail of the Drambuie and Scotch variety, or the kind that gives you tetanus, it's definitely the nail polish variety. :) I've always loved the look of rusty metal (unless it's on my car or a rollercoaster :)) and I've had this idea in my nail art idea notebook for a while now. I've always wanted to paint my walls with that paint that rusts, it looks rad. You paint the wall with this black primer, which had iron particles in it, then apply this solvent, and the whole wall transforms into every color of rust imaginable, it's pretty damn cool looking. I wonder how long it takes the solvent to do its job?  

Anyway, I give you rusted nails. :)

I used Zoya Loredana as a base, with sponged rust consisting of H&M Rust (meant to be!), Barielle Coco Bar, and Finger Paints Cordur-Orange.  Sponged some Essie Matte About You over the rusted bits so they would still have texture, but wouldn't be shiny.