Theme of the Month - January

There was a time, in my "past" life, in which I rallied my fellow work colleagues with a birthday celebration each month. I put out a newsletter announcing whose birthdays we were celebrating and I baked a smorgasbord of goodies around those people's requests. In the newsletter, I would write about anything and everything interesting about being born in that month, facts about the gemstones and flowers attributed to that month, and other fun things, like crossword puzzles or trivia quizzes. I really enjoyed baking all kinds of treats and looked forward to my kitchen frenzy each month.

I have missed that activity. So, I thought I'd try recreating that giving feeling on a smaller scale by creating a Theme of the Month nail design series. I came around to the idea a little late this month, but it's still January - so it counts! 

Happy January Birthdays!!

January's birthstone is the garnet. While garnet is really a generic name for several kinds of glassy minerals, it is traditionally represented by a dark red gemstone. So I rummaged through my polish collection for a garnet-like polish and came up with this one from Revlon. It was gifted to me (Thank You!) a while back and it comes in a special dual packaging with polish on one side and a topper of another sort on the other. I didn't use the pink and golden flakie topper that comes with this duo, but I have in the past; it's quite pretty.

Then, for my accent nails, I chose a soft pink polish to represent the month's flower, the carnation. And to tie it all together, I chose to stamp using another dark red color polish over that.

The garnet-red polish I used had depth to it that made it feel a little like the gem stone (rather than a flat, opaque cream polish). And, since I don't have a stamp plate image of a carnation, I improvised. This fancy flowered design somehow interprets the feel of carnations to me because I see them as a "grown-up" (a.k.a., serious) flower. The combination of colors and this stamp fulfilled that image for me. I felt very grown-up and fancy wearing this look.

The pink polish had a beautiful glow to it and I thought putting a matte topcoat over it really brought out the beauty. (First two photos are glossy, last two photos are matte.) I had better luck using a matte topcoat by Nina Ultra Pro after trying a couple others (although I think I can get my hands on a better one someday when I use up my current stash). Back to the pink glow in the polish named, Elizabeth - it was even more apparent in low light settings, you'll just have to take my word for it. Mentality is a new-to-me Indie Polish brand, but they are well-established and popular in the nail community. I can see why! I have a couple more to try out and I'll likely be re-visiting their shop in the near future. 

Edit 8/27/15 - Even though I did not experience it myself, due to recent & reliable accounts of questionable product quality, harmful ingredients, and poor customer service, I NO longer support or recommend Mentality Nail Polish.

Even though matte-ifying the red polish made it less garnet-like, I liked the nail design better this way. It completed the look for me. This felt like a sophisticated "January" nail design to me. What do you think?

Polish Palette:

(L to R): Revlon, Moon Candy Satellite; Mentality, Elizabeth; Sally Hansen, Insta Dri Wined Up. Stamping Plate - Pueen22.

Inspiration Source(s):

January Gemstone: Garnet

By her who in this month (January) is born
No gem save garnets should be worn;
They will ensure her constancy,
True friendship, and fidelity. (Source: Wikipedia, Tiffany & Co, poem 1870)

 January Flower: Carnation

Though this cold and gloomy season seems like an unlikely time for flowers to bloom, but nature has designed flowers which love the extreme weather. The flower associated with the month is Carnation and is said to symbolise love, fascination and distinction. Carnation, which is also commonly called Gillyflower, is found in a number of colors from pink to purple-red.  (Source: Wikipedia, Language of Flowers)

In closing: Here's me SHOUTING "Happy Birthday!" to everyone who has, or knows someone who has, a birthday in January!! If I could have, I would have baked you a treat. :)

Till next time,
Kimett