Spacey-Wacey Nailey-Shmailey

So far I've been doing an excellent job neglecting this place...oh well. But it's time to take a break from my idle nail blogs following and compose a post of my own...

...with PICTURES! :D

Yay!

Are you excited?I hope you are. Let me tell you a bit of a story first.


There's currently a nail art contest running on my beloved deviantART, and when I got a notification about it, I was as excited as with no other contest before. It's something I'm interested in, something I can actually do and something I wouldn't have so much competitors in (since dA isn't too popular with nail artists). What not to love?

I might have already mentioned it before, but I'm a self-confessed polish junkie. While my collection isn't professionally wast yet (just about 50+ bottles), I enjoy looking at the pretty swatches all the talented ladies out there show us. The prettiest ones make it to my Pinterest wishlist. Since I've only decided to buy polishes online — lower price, bigger choice — and since I can only order them to my Spanish address (Russian Post has a wonderfully appalling habit of losing half of the incoming parcels), my shopping sprees happen once in a quarter. In the meantime I frantically update my to-buy list - I lllove making lists! And also I digress, don't I?

Right. The contest.
The best thing about nail art is that the term itself covers basically anything — from simple polka dots to miniature figurines glued onto your tips. So there's something to suit everyone's taste and skill. However, it being the Art History Project, I opted for something more creative than, say, a water-marbling. I wanted something that would be original, but wouldn't require a day to execute.
My brainstorming wasn't very long: I went for one of the first ideas that came into my head.

The galaxy nails.

And how the hell is that supposed to be original, you'll ask.

Well, let me explain. The thing is, and I'm going to sound like a bitch but deal with me, I haven't yet seen a galaxy mani which would make me "wow". And yes, I do have sky-high standards and expectations. So whenever I'd see nebulae-adorned nails, I'd go "meh, I could TOTALLY do it better."

Until I've actually tried it.

The inglorious attempt #1. 'Twas the time I sported all possible variations of square(ish) nails within a week.

Nothing like I imagined. This mani was done all with nail polish, which has its limitations. To achieve the nearly-photographic look I was striving for, I had to change my medium...

...and here it was. The love of my artistic life.

Her Majesty Acrylic Paint.♔

I used it to paint my galactic shoes, so I figured it would work as well on my nails. Aaaaaand I was right! Let's (finally) move onto the mani itself.

I haven't yet mastered the art of nail photography, so here's the same photo flipped. Sorry.

I started out with Orly Nailtrition as my base and two coats of my most favourite blue — Orly La Playa. There was one more polish used, but I'll talk about it a bit later. Then, I sponged the acrylic nebulae with a cosmetic sponge, drew some cosmic dust with a thin little brush and added stars with a sharpened toothpick. Everything was sealed with Essence Better Than Gel Nails High Gloss.

Since I've finished working on my left hand past midnight, I decided to save the right one for the next day. On which I, naturally, couldn't be bothered much, so I spent three times less the time on it. Plus, my non-dominant left hand is a little clumsier, so the whole design isn't as intricate. But I'll show it anyway.

I was also facing the window when taking this. Oh well. 

Now you may notice I don't show my thumbs in neither picture. That's because I haven't done enough finger yoga to strike a five-digit pose. But since they're so worth seeing, I took separate pictures!

WROOP. WROOP.

I wanted to spice the look a little bit, so I added a tiny adorable TARDIS to it! :D Its body is painted with Essie Mesmerize, and the outline is, as ever, acrylic. The other thumb is supposed to be a transition between the two hands, but I can't take a picture of them side to side. :S

This manicure looks even in real life, since these photos were taken with my 2.8/100mm macro lens, and you can't see any brush strokes with your naked eye. So I took a couple more "distant" photos. With flash. With my phone. And to make them more attractive, I added little drawings to them.

The hungry hand wants to gnaw on you!

I am Iron Man now! :D

In conclusion, I want to draw several arguments why acrylic paint is awesome for complex nail art and why you shouldn't use anything else to paint pretty pretty space scenes with it:

• Is usually thin but dense and has a good coverage. 
• Opacity can be easily adjusted by mixing it with water. 
• Mixes and blends easily. 
• Won't get gooey in 5 seconds. 
• Doesn't get smeared by top coat. 
• Is generally cheaper than polish. 
• Mistakes can be wiped away. 
• Is easily cleaned off hands and tools with water & soap. 

Moral?
Acrylics = love.