Textured Polish? Say What?!?!?!

So I don't like to brag, but I do have to say I am pretty darn proud of this manicure. The inspiration for this mani comes from another fabulous nail blogger, Chalkboard Nails. Check out her website because all of her stuff is amazing. Anyway, I was super excited about this mani because it let me test out some of my new nail purchases!

Purchase 1:  China Glaze Textured Polishes
So I am sure you have heard about the new textured polish craze that is sweeping the nation (or at least the nail polish lovers within the nation). Several big name companies such as OPI, Julie G Gumdrops, and Sally Hansen are now making textured polishes -  polishes that do not dry with a glossy finish but with a gritty or course finish. One of the companies that has most recently jumped on the textured bandwagon is Sally Hansen. See an example of what designs you can do with textured polish here.

I have been pretty skeptical about whether I would like textured polishes but wanted to try them anyway. After doing some research, I found a super good deal (6 polishes for $20) for the textured China Glaze collection on amazon and could not resist.

Purchase 2: Hex Nail Jewelry Designs
After reading about this company on Chalkboard Nails and seeing Sarah's manicure, I immediately pulled out my credit card. Hex Nail Jewelry makes nail charms made of brass that are plated in 14k Gold or Silver. The charms are reusable (as long as they are cleaned after each use) and come in any shape you can think of such as flowers, lips, animals, phrases, or bows (like the one I used for my mani). What is really nice about these charms is that they are perfectly sized for your nail (not too big like one of the bows I used in a past mani ). Also, most of their charms come slightly curved, so they can be fitted nicely around the curve of your nail. With a bit of nail glue, these charms will stay on your nail for quite some time. So glad I purchased these!

Now enough talk...this is what happens when you combine nail charms and textured polished (and of course some stamping)

                                                         -pauses for dramatic effect -

For the pinky and pointer fingers I first painted two coats of Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear Green with Envy and once that dried, stamped the designs using Konads white polish. Then for the middle and ring finger I used China Glaze textured polish, Toe-Tally Textured. Once my middle finger was dry, I put a little nail glue where I wanted to put the bow and then stuck the bow on and held it there until it dried (6 days later and it is still on my nail).

 

I don't know about everyone else, but this mani screams funky to me. 

And surprisingly it wasn't too hard to do!

For my thumb, I first did two coats of Green with Envy and let that dry. Then, using Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear Sun kissed, I did a splatter pattern (check out this tutorial here). To get the splatter, simply take a straw and dip it into a puddle (or the bottle) of the color you want to splatter your nails with. Then, keeping the dipped end of the straw 3-4 inches away from your nail, blow into the straw on the opposite end with some force, sending bits of polish all over your nail and tada, splatter!

Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear - Green with Envy (lime green)
China Glaze Texture - Toe-Tally Textured (textured orange)
Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear - Sun kissed (regular orange)
Konad White 
BM19 - Polka Dots
BM19- Houndstooth
Bow - Bow No. 1 (Hex Nail Jewelry)