I’m not really into Pantone’s color of the year thing. I’m sure their research scope is much broader than mine (web design trends, interior design, minimalism, and nail art mostly), but I really don’t think Greenery ended up being the color for 2017. The polish makers dutifully came up with shades or pointed to an already-made color and…nothing much after that. Green didn’t feel “in” last year like something more associated with the Danish-based Hygge movement would have been. A white or even, hah, a de-saturated purple that would be considered a neutral maybe?
Now 2016’s Rose Quartz and Serenity actually did feel like a fit because blush- and chambray-colored things were huge due to the minimalist movement. Looking back at people’s capsule wardrobes from 2016, you could probably find one or both colors in multiples for nearly every publicly shared closet and that spilled over heavily into interior design and nail art. So even though I bitched about how I was not fond of pastels, Pantone was right to pick them.
This year’s color is Ultraviolet. We shall see how much purple shows up everywhere (both organically and because it’s the color Pantone announced). I’ve certainly done more purple nail art this month than any other color, but that’s also because I bought a number of purples recently. I didn’t get them because of Pantone or because people came out with them. I bought them because I had finally acknowledged that I was missing shades I wanted and then I wanted to use them. Meanwhile, I think Pantone’s choice of name for the shade of purple is totally off–to me Ultraviolet should be kind of neon and vibrant and shifty, like Bee’s Knees Lacquer’s “House of Haunted Chill” which I used for my first New Years mani. However, I do like the shade Pantone picked and so I thought it would be nice to use it in my second nail art for the New Year (even though it’s not posting until the end of January).
I was the host for last month’s #NailsWithIgFriends and I passed the hat to the lovely Caroline Goodwill. She picked for her theme New Beginnings, since it’s the new year. I ran through several ideas in my head and then realized it was the perfect opportunity to use a Nee Jolie stamping plate that I’ve had since September 2016. I should have known better than to buy it because I just have no interest in babies. They are weird aliens that get strange fluids on you and you can’t drop them like cats but they are heavy. It didn’t even occur to me to do baby shower nails when I went to the last baby shower I was invited to (fair, since no one would have noticed if I had). So, yeah. Four heads, four fingers. (The stamping plate! What did you think I was talking about?) Seemed a match made in heaven. I feel like I started the year screaming because there is so much yet to be done. Then I’ll do the things I need to and get pacified. Next I’ll take a wee nap because, boy, that was hard. And finally I’ll be smiling and ready for the rest of the year. At least that’s what I hope. 🙂
- Base Polish:
Zoya’s “Mira” - Stamping Polishes:
Mundo de Unas’ “Black” and “Velvet” - Advanced Stamping Polishes:
Pretty Serious’ “Fluffykins”, Revlon’s Parfumerie “Pink Pineapple”, Sinful Colors’ “Whiteboard”, Wet ‘n’ Wild’s “Black Creme”, Zoya’s “Nyssa” - Stamping Plates:
Born Pretty Retro Script BPX-L010 (numbers), Nee Jolie NJX-008 (babies and carriage)
So, yeah. First and likely last time I use that stamping plate. What’s also sad is that I had a slightly better idea on how to implement this mani after it was already done. No take backs!
Check out the collage of all the gorgeous nail art from #nailswithigfriends and then check out the tag on Instagram if you want to see close-ups. Sometimes it takes a bit for people to post theirs so be patient if your favorite hasn’t posted yet. 🙂
In happier news, I got the last drops of use from my bottle of Wet ‘n’ Wild’s “Black Creme”. Yeah, it’s just a black, but finishing a bottle of polish is still a big thing for a nail artist. I think it took me two and a half years? Not bad. I’m not going to re-purchase because I do have other blacks (including gel polishes) and if I do buy black again it will likely be China Glaze’s “Liquid Leather” which I’ve heard has good opacity for a mainstream brand or Pretty Serious’ “Absence” because I’ve been really impressed with the quality of her creme polishes.
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