UGA Grunge Nails

Hey y'all!  So if you've followed me for a while, or at least during the fall, you'll know I'm a HUGE UGA (University of Georgia) Football fan.  I have UGA stuff scattered throughout my house and I generally get at least one UGA type gift for Christmas.  I've even posted pics of my "I Bleed Red And Black" shirt on Instagram.  Their colors are red & black with white and silver sprinkled in.

I didn't go to UGA, or college for that matter, but I'm a total Georgia Girl.  I generally do a few special mani's each season & since I didn't do one for the first game, I had to do one this past weekend.  If you follow me on Instagram, you got a sneak peek.  I obviously wasn't happy with the outcome of the game, but at least I have purdy nails!!!

First I'll tell you what I used & how I did this before more pics and rambling.  As you can see in the bottom right pic in the collage above, I started off with a base of Make Up Store Greta and Zoya America on the accent ring finger.  The thought, in my head, behind this was that the holo would show up as I did the "grunge" effect.  It did a little, but not nearly as much as I'd have liked.  The other polishes I used were Wet N Wild Black Creme, Sinful Colors Snow Me White, and Bundle Monster #17.  On the accent nail I added Maybelline Precious Pearl and China Glaze Fairy Dust over top of Zoya America.

On both hands I alternated how I layered the colors for this effect.  I had a tutorial that I followed the first few times I've done this & it's been so long that I forgot how....and sadly the blog I learned it from is gone.  Basically I just used the silver, white, black, and red(on top) in layers, allowing each to dry before putting the next one on.  When I felt it was all mostly dry I took a brush dipped in acetone, or you could use a q-tip, and started "removing" the polish in different spots.  Trying not to let it eat all the way to the nail.  I think having the holo base color helped with that.  Once that was done, I applied top coat.

For the accent nail, I used the white glitter with a dotting tool to make the "G".  Now, the G is supposed to be more oval, but I actually like how it turned out.  I thought it needed a little more, so I added some black dots and Fairy Dust for some sparkle.

Oh, and here's a few macro shots I took with my phone.

I think my Purple Grunge nails that I first did a couple of years ago turned out WAY better, but I think I know where I went wrong with this.  That being said, I do actually like how this looks.  I'll have to try it again soon and do a step-by-step tutorial so I remember in the future.

Would y'all like to see a tutorial?  I might try to film it, IDK yet. 

Pretty & Polished Black Swan.....and some UGA dots(pic spam)

This is going to be a long post with lots of pics.  I would have had it up sooner, but between having a sick kiddo & accidentally deleting the pictures off my card...it took a little longer than expected.

So, to the mani.  I started off with 1 coat of Wet N Wild Black Creme and 1 semi-thick coat of Pretty & Polished Black Swan topped off with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri top coat.  Black swan is a black holo that is a bit thin in consistency, which is the reason for using underwear. :D 

When I went to take these, the sun was behind the clouds....so I have indoor flash pictures....

flash

flash

shade with flash

Then I wanted to play around with my dotting tools so I grabbed Wet N Wild Black Creme, KleanColor Metallic Red, and Essie No Place Like Chrome(which I got as a Klout perk) along with my dotting tools & went to town.  I used the 3 biggest ones and did a few dots of each size/color, but did not apply a top coat.  I chose these colors as the UGA colors are red & black with silver pants.  Long time radio announcer, Larry Munson, would always say "Go you silver britches!"

I rather like this & I think I might have to try this color combo in a different dotticure later on. 

You can purchase Pretty & Polished on Etsy(currently out of stock) or Llarowe(currently in stock).  I picked up KC Metallic Red at a beauty supply store, but you may also be able to find it online or on Ebay.  Essie No Place Like Chrome was sent to me as a Klout Perk, but I believe you can find this at most retailers or e-tailers.

I think that's about enough babbling for now.  Though I'm sure I forgot something.  What do you think of this mani?