Monday, November 2, 2009

Haunted house manicure

Hello ladies,

Today I have my last Halloween look of these season: the haunted house manicure. I was inspired by the bewitching elements contained in Gothic novels: a candelabra, a portrait, a bat, a black cat, a skeleton key and the Moon. I used Konad special polish in black and designs from M05 and Coraline plates C01 and C04. From the Royal Gems Collection, Nubar 24K brings out the vintage gold.  

I took the pictures while at the final showing of Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire on Sunday. My apologies for not documenting the black cat and orange Moon on my thumb nail. For visualization purposes, it was similar to this design from a black cat beneath a silver crescent. I hope the inclusion of creepy pumpkin men will make a worthy substitute.




Tiny hand, tiny pumpkin.

The pumpkin man has glowing red eyes that looked sinister beneath the waxing Moon. Here in daylight his stature visibly overcomes the treetops and the nearby building. All the gourds comprising his midsection are carved with haunting expressions. Click to enlarge. 

The mount of the headless horseman has an animated head that would rear up, startling people when they passed.

Nubar 24K is the last polish I have to review from the Royal Gems Collection. The majority of these polishes were amazing with worlds of glitter stirred into jewel tones and metallic shades. True gold colored glitter is present in the brassy gold that is 24K. Rainbow micro glitter particles refract sunlight beautifully. I was surprised how wearable 24K is despite the strong yellow undertone in the polish. My concern it would look garish against my skin was unwarranted. The color is as rich as the name. 

I have been having some trouble with my Konad topcoat bubbling. My current bottle is unfortunately a topcoat/champagne hybrid. I will be replacing it soon. 

Migi Nail Art company sent me their orange shimmer pen to test. To my delight, I found the pens work with Konad special polish. The orange polish set perfectly and didn't cause any smearing or disruption to the stamped design. They can be used to highlight or add color to Konad stamping. I enjoyed adding a spark of orange to the candle flames. Details can really create fluidity in a look. The orange in the fire relates to the cameo and the Moon. You will be seeing more Migi nail art pens partnered with Konad stamping. 

Happy painting, ladies!

15 comments:

  1. I love it, the tiny Cameo is fabulous!

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  2. What a gorgeous mani! I love the pumpkin man!

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  3. ahhh you're killing me! cameo! candelabra! skeleton key! that's it, i just died of pleasure.

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  4. How did you do that tiny cameo? It looks fantastic, well, the whole mani looks fabulous in fact!

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  5. Another fantsastic mani Diana! Love it :)

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  6. I love that nubar gold! Looks stunning on you and goes perfect with the Halloween theme! Great pics of the headless horseman!! Xx

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  7. Stunning as ever. I just ordered my first Nubar Rotal Gem polish after seeing them here.

    And I love the "headless" horseman as well.
    Shame on the UK for doing nothing for Halloween!

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  8. Excellent, very unique but your nails look great, your Pumpkin Man is a gem !

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  9. WOW!! This is a real stunner! I think this is my favorite of the Halloween manicures. Sarada- I totally thought of you too when I saw it, especially the candelabra :D
    -Lisa

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  10. your nails never cease to amaze me :)

    p.s. i tagged you in my latest blog post

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  11. Evil Angel: Thank you, dear lady. I was so happy to find that such tiny cameos exist! <3

    gildedangel: Thanks so much! The pumpkin man was colossal!

    poshnail: Thank you. It was so much fun to create. :)

    artbysarada: I have been planning this manicure since I first ordered my Coraline kits. I knew it was likely to be favorite of yours. From the novel to the nails!

    chocaddict: The cameo came in a wheel. I purchased it from a lot on ebay. I'm looking for a company that sells them. To make the cameo adhere, I put a drop of nail glue on semi-wet polish and pressed down. I added one coat of Diamont topcoat. It stayed on for days!

    AllYouDesire: Thanks, sweet lady! I am so happy you like the finished manicure. I had this one in my head for quite awhile!

    Helen: I am so glad you ordered from the Royal Gems line. I will now tempt you with Chocolate Truffles! :)

    Halloween is my favorite holiday. I hope it catches on over there someday. :)

    Nail Technician School: I truly appreciate the compliment. The pumpkin man was quite a wonder!

    Lisa: Yay! I really enjoyed creating this one. It reminded me of Sarada too. <3

    kelliegonzo: Thanks! I love seeing your beautiful nails too. Thank you so much for the blogger appreciation. <3

    ~Lisa: Thank you! I am so glad you like the haunted house look.

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  12. Thank you so much for the photos. I haven't been to the Faire in years. I'm not able to go to these places and you bring them to me. Thank you sweetie! That is a scary looking scarecrow. Your manicure is amazing. I love all the designs and especially the cameo.

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  13. Lucy: Since I know it's meaningful to you, I will do best to take pictures of my adventures! You should have seen that scarecrow at night with glowing red eyes and the full Moon behind it! I am so glad you like the designs. I e-mailed today to try to find a US source for the cameos. I found mine on ebay from a person selling off some nail art supplies, but the cameos aren't easy to locate.

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