Color of the Month: Alexandrite

June's gemstone challenge really screwed me over, big time. 

Apparently, June decided it wanted to be all fancy and have TWO gemstones to represent it's month. And neither of them were easy to translate onto nails. 

One of June's gemstones is the pearl, which is hard to pull off on nails without using a pearly white polish or else pearl studs. Overall, both looks would have been boring and not at all blog-worthy. 

The second of June's gemstones is Alexandrite. This little pain in the ass stone is unique in that it changes colors depending on what kind of light you're in. Sort of like the mood ring of gemstones. In natural light, it appears a lovely green shade. In incandescent light, a purple-pink. 

Alexandrite was discovered in Russia in the 1800's, during the reign of Czar Alrxander II, from which the gem's name is derived. It's chameleon-like properties make it a unique and beautiful gem. 

But still, what the hell was I supposed to do with that?? 

My first thought was to buy an ILNP Ultra Chrome polish that had all the Alexandrite colors in it. Then I decided to settle on a Saran Wrap mani using Zoya's "Giovanna" and Orly's "Hot Tropics". 

This is the finished product:

I hated it and took it off immediately. 

It's not like it's a terrible manicure or even color combination. It's just not what I wanted to see on my nails and the end of June. It also reminded me a bit of Barney the dinosaur. 

Needless to say, I am looking forward to the ease of July's gemstone: Ruby! But this week, I need to focus on my 4th of July nails for you. I promised patriotic, and patriotic you shall receive. 

New Job and Spring Inspiration

As some of you may know, I recently got employed at Pier 1 Imports. I'm really excited about it! It is my first job in sales, but so far I am really loving it. The company seems awesome, and they really support their employees. Anybody who isn't Assosciate or Assistant Manager works part time hours, however, I can still apply for benefits and after 6 months I can pay into a 401(k), which the company matches! 

So far the hardest part has been trying not to spend all my earned money on items in the store. I already found an awesome shag rug that would match our love seat way better than the black one we currently have, and I've already set aside my first Christmas gift for someone. 

The other benefit of working at Pier 1 is that there are colors and patterns galore to be inspired by for nail art use. Our current ad is focusing on rolling out spring colors, and when you walk in, the main focus is grey and yellow 

Our scent of the month is Honeysuckle, at 20% off! (Never stop hustling)

Individually, I'm not a big fan of yellow, and grey is just okay. But together, they are gorgeous. I decided to do a Saran Wrap manicure using this color palette. 

What's a Saran Wrap manicure, you ask?  Simply put, you paint a base color on your nail. I started with the grey...

China Glaze in Pellican Grey

After your base coat dries COMPLETELY, paint another color on top of it. 

Sinful Colors in Unicorn

Then, while the second color is sill wet, take a piece of Saran Wrap, crumple it up a bit, and gently roll it across your nail. The Saran Wrap will pick up some of the top color, allowing the base color to peek through and creating a cool marble effect. 

Like so

You'll want to work one nail at a time so the second color doesn't dry before you saran it. 

I added a coat of China Glaze's "Fairy Dust" for some sparkle and topped it off with Zoya's top coat and quick dry drops. The top coat gently blends the colors together so there aren't any harsh lines like in the above photo. 

Ta-da!

Dry cuticles are still a problem. 

I'm pretty happy with the result. If I did it again, I'd use the yellow as the bottom color so that the grey wouldn't give it a greenish tinge. But I'll definitely be doing this design again with other colors. 

The rest of the March is pretty hectic; I was planning on doing St. Patrick's Day nails, a Color of the Month Manicure, and Birthday nails, but I may only get to 2 out of 3. We will see!