Nail Art: Tri Polish Tuesday - Pastel Plaid

I want to apologize for my posting schedule these  two weeks. I've missed half of my usual weekly features and haven't had the chance to visit friends' blogs or comment on things I've seen out there. being busy + missing my camera battery charger = no new posts ;_;

That said, I found myself with a few extra moments in which I could make another attempt at the Tri Polish Challenge this week. Two out of four weeks this month isn't bad, right? Enjoy my attempts at putting together a green, blue and purple pastel plaid look... even if it is a day late for the Tuesday challenge...


I FINALLY got my St. Patrick's Day "Lucky" mystery box order from Julep today. (I ordered it 13 days ago.  Seriously, Julep, even for free shipping, that's absolutely ridiculous). Among those polishes was this mint green  semi-matte "silk" finsih  polish that I absolutely am in love with. I just HAD to use it in a manicure right away.

Coincidentally, the nail art brushes that I'd ordered ages ago finally came in the mail today, as well! So, I decided I would put them to the test.

I chose a pastel purple (Essie - Full Steam Ahead) and a dusty blue-leaning soft teal (Butter London - Artful Dodger) as my blue and purple colors to fulfill the challenge requirements. I also decided I would use a bit of silver to brighten things up (Sally Hansen Insta-Dri - Silver Sweep).

I wanted to try to do a subtle plaid look, so I took one of the liner brushes and made vertical and horizontal stripes, first in blue, then in purple and finally with the silver. It's not the neatest job ever, but it could be a LOT worse.

All in all, I don't think that it turned out that bad. This was my first time trying to use a liner brush, as well as my first time attempting to do plaid. I might try this again after trimming down the liner brush a bit. I 'll probably be able to get a finer, more precise line, that way!

I think the biggest challenge with this look is that I couldn't use a top coat to even things out. I wanted to keep the semi-matte finish of the mint polish (Shannon) and in using a top coat, I would lose the mixed texture effect I got by using glossy cremes for the plaid stripes.

Polishes / Items used in this manicure were:

• Green:  Julep - Shannon
• Blue: Butter London - Artful Dodger
• Purple: Essie - Full Steam Ahead
• Silver: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri - Silver Sweep

Don't mind the state of my nails. After a few nasty breaks, I'm back down to nubbins until they can grow out :(

Be sure to check out the other Tri Polish Challengers amazing nail art.  Next week, we're changing colors, so I'll have to try and come up with some ideas (and keep to schedule!)

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