It May Be Spring ... But Winter Is Coming!

So, those of you who know me know that I am a HUGE fan of the HBO series Game of Thrones, which is based on the book series A Song Of Ice And Fire by George R.R. Martin. This epic fantasy series, set in a fictional world, takes place mostly on the continent of Westeros. Primarily, the story is about several different Houses, or families, and their struggle for power as they war over who will lay claim to the Iron Throne and reign over the Seven Kingdoms. As so many characters discover throughout this gripping series, "When you play the Game of Thrones, you win - or you die."

The second season of Game of Thrones premieres Sunday, April 1 at 9:00pm on HBO. In honor of its triumphant return, I decided to do a mani representing my love for this excellent series!

This is my representation of some of the major Houses, or families, represented in Game of Thrones. Each House carries a banner containing its device, or sigil, when in battle. The characters' clothing and decor also often reflects these colors and symbols. I chose what I believe to be the five major Houses in this story to display for this mani, choosing to go with their colors instead of their symbols (because my confidence in my ability to free-hand some of these symbols was not high):

House Stark of Winterfell - A grey direwolf on an ice-white field. Motto: Winter Is Coming.
House Tully of Riverrun - A leaping silver trout on a field of blue and red. Motto: Family, Duty, Honor.
House Lannister of Casterly Rock - A golden lion on a field of crimson. Motto: Hear Me Roar.
House Baratheon of Storm's End - A crowned black stag on a field of gold/yellow. Motto: Ours Is The Fury.
House Targaryen of Dragonstone - A black field with a red three-headed dragon. Motto: Fire And Blood.

I started by painting each nail the base color for the banner of each house.

For the thumb (House Stark), I used a base of Wet N Wild French White Creme, then taped off the top part of the nail and painted the bottom with Claw Polish Phantom (a grey, shimmery Halloween polish). I then painted over half of the white portion of the nail with Revlon Snow Bunny, a shimmery sheer white polish, to give it an "icy" look to represent the cold of Winterfell and the North.

The pointer finger was also done with tape, and I used China Glaze First Mate for the deep blue of House Tully, and Wet N Wild Everybody Loves Red-mond for the red. L.A. Colors Art Deco Silver Glitter was used for the stripe. (I tried unsuccessfully several times to stamp a silver fish onto this mani, and just eventually gave up after many fails!)

The Lannisters have the pleasure of gracing my middle finger (if you read the books or watch the show, you know why). :) I used OPI Wocka Wocka for the base, a perfect Lannister crimson, and then used tape and Mattese Elite Cream Dream to apply a golden stripe. The glitter, Sally Hansen Diamond Strength White Veil, represents the wealth & the life of luxury lived by the Lannisters and the royal family.

The ring finger is painted with the colors of House Baratheon. I used Sinful Colors Let's Meet for the yellow field, and applied a stripe of WnW Black Creme using Scotch tape. I followed the same method on the pinky for House Targaryen, using OPI Wocka Wocka as a base. Then I added a top coat of Seche Vite, let dry, and - VOILA - a Game of Thrones-themed mani fit for a King! (Or queen...)

I hope you enjoy this mani as much as I do! If you haven't seen Game of Thrones or read A Song Of Ice And Fire, I highly recommend it!

Rest In Peace, Ned Stark - The North Remembers!

Vintage Gold

For a glitzy, Fall-themed, festive Thanksgiving mani, I chose to layer Wet N Wild 24 Carats (from the LE Ice Baby collection available at Walgreens) over Color Club Nouveau Vintage (from the Back to BoHo collection).

Here's the lovely Nouveau Vintage on its own. It's a gold-red-brown-green multichrome that captures the light differently depending on angle. It is gorgeous by itself - very warm, festive, and classy - and it shimmers! Still, as you can see, I had some pretty gnarly ridges in my nails. (I just removed my acrylics and did not apply ridge filler as a base this time around; I used Orly Nailtrition instead. Bad call!)

So, because I wanted to cover my unflattering ridges (and because I felt like, even though this color is amazing alone, this mani needed a bit more POP), I decided to try layering 24 Carats over this beauty. I'm very happy with the result!

I didn't think I was going to be a fan of this polish. I don't love bar glitters - I don't really dig the "hairy" look - but this truly was gorgeous! All I saw was sparkle and shine glinting out of the corner of my eye, and I couldn't stop staring at my nails. I also don't generally do gold polishes or glitters, so I was surprised to find that I really enjoyed this one, especially as a layering polish. The texture and the coppery flecks really gave this polish depth, and the formula was nice - very smooth and easy to apply despite the heavy-appearing glitter. This is 2 coats, no topcoat. I think adding 24 Carats really helped to accent the beauty of Nouveau Vintage!

Disclaimer: These products were purchased by me and I was not compensated for this review in any way. 

Golden Coast

6/10/11 - Today's mani is brought to you by the lovely Megan at Painting Rainbows. :) She was kind enough to grab me Sand & Stilettos and this beauty, Golden Coast, on her recent 5Below run! 

She's a beauty! I looove this shade, by itself or layered. It's simply stunning in the sunshine! 

GoldFinger

06/04/11 - Today I am wearing Mattese Elite Cream Dream from the Orgasmic Collection. I kind of like it, but hubby says it's too dark and gaudy looking with my skin tone. I love the BLING in the sunshine! It's a very pretty polish; reminds me of Christmas. :) I think it's supposed to be a dupe for Orly It's Not Rocket Science, but it's not green enough. I believe I've mentioned this before, but Mattese Elite polishes are currently only available at Ricky's NYC (rickysnyc.com). They're manufactured by the Forsythe Group, the same folks who bring us Color Club, Art Club, and Cosmetic Arts polishes.