#31DC2015 // Recapping the 31 Day Nail Art Challenge 2015
Woohoo! I've made it out to the other side... #31DC2015 is complete, in the books, finished, whatever you would like to call it!!! This time around, it took me 39 days, a whole 5 days longer than last year, but in my defense, I was dealing with the plague. Let's take a look at my pretty collage...
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There's just something I love about seeing all my #31DC2015 nails together... definitely gives me quite the sense of accomplishment! I love taking part in the challenge, but make no mistakes, the 31 Day Nail Art Challenge is not as easy as it looks! I'm not sure that any daily challenge is, to be honest! It's definitely worth it, though. Not only did I find a lot of great new blogs and feeds to follow, I really did push myself past what I did last year. I might've finished later, but tomaytoes and potaytoes, right?
Easiest...
I know I said it last year, but the first couple of prompts really are the easiest. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet... It's not even just because they're colors, for me, it's because they're the first few prompts when the creative juices and ambition are really flowing. Towards the end, it gets harder to stay on track night after night.
Hardest...
Last year it was the Water Marble, but this year? The prize goes to my Flowers manicure. Rather than just stamp some flowers on my nails and be done with it, I decided to take on a Pond Manicure. It takes for-ev-uh-er to do a pond manicure. I wouldn't say that it's really hard, just incredibly complex. Paint, Seche, Stamp, Seche, Paint, Seche... So many coats of nail polish! So much time! But also worth it, because the end results are GORGEOUS!
Most Surprising...
Water Marble. Definitely. I was amazed at how quickly my skills came around after watching a proper tutorial. Soooooo many things that I was doing wrong. The still didn't turn out all that great, but I'm not really planning on practicing, so... O.o
Least Favorite...
I'd probably have to go with my Pattern nails. They'd be closely followed by Black & White and Fashion. I just feel like they could've been better, you know?
Most Favorite...
Oooooh... this is a tough one. There are so many! The Nails You Love prompt tends to always trump the rest, though! I mean, favorites and all, right? But I really love my Tutorial, Book, Glitter, Flowers, Animal Print, Rainbow, and Violet, nails too.
Polishes Used...
In total, 77 polishes were used to create my #31DC2015 nails. 48 were polishes I had tried before, 29 were untried. The difference between tried/untried polishes surprised me. After we moved, I got rid of my untried box, and I'm thinking I need to start it up again!
When it came to color, purple led the pack this year, followed closely by pink, and then blue. That's typical, considering I tend to gravitate towards pink, purple, blue, teal, and turquoise! As far as finishes go, I used mostly creme polishes this year. Jelly polishes came in second, and glitter and shimmer polishes tied for third. You know what that means, right? I need to up my glitter game next year!
What brands did I reach for the most often? No real surprise, SinfulColors came in first, which makes sense because there's more of them in my stash! OPI came in second, and China Glaze came in third.
What I'd change...
After having completed the challenge for a 2nd year, I would actually change more. Last year, I mentioned nixing the Flag prompt. I'd be happy to veto the Water Marble (ewww) and Half Moons too, (I can never get mine to line up nicely) and maybe merge Delicate Print and Pattern together. My brain always wants to do the same things for both of those prompts. What would I add? Seriotype, Shimmer, Signature Style, and Indie. Vote Seize the Sparkle!
But seriously, coming up in January, I might try and participate in a couple weekly challenges, or even make up my own. For now, I really can't commit to more challenges. This time of year is sooooo busy for me, it's Peanut's Birthday, NaNoWriMo, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas Shopping, my 12 Days of Christmas Series, and finally, Christmas and New Year's! I usually try to sneak a No-Buy in there too.
Busy, Busy, Busy!
I really do enjoy the camaraderie of nail challenges. Now that I have some free time at night, I'll be researching what weekly challenges are out there. If you know of any really great/different ones, please let me know in the comments!
Meanwhile, it's kind of nice being able to take a breath and know that #31DC2015 is in the rear view. I had a lot of fun participating, and I will probably go back at it for a 3rd time next September. But I'm thinking I might work ahead. It would be nice to finish on time one of these years... O.o
 |
| Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet, Black & White, Metallic, Rainbow, Gradient, Polka Dots, Stripes, Animal Print, Flowers, Delicate Print, Geometric, Glitter, Half Moons, Galaxies, Water Marble, Color, Song, Movie, Book, Fashion, Pattern, Artwork, Flag, Supernatural, Tutorial, Nails You <3 |
.
There's just something I love about seeing all my #31DC2015 nails together... definitely gives me quite the sense of accomplishment! I love taking part in the challenge, but make no mistakes, the 31 Day Nail Art Challenge is not as easy as it looks! I'm not sure that any daily challenge is, to be honest! It's definitely worth it, though. Not only did I find a lot of great new blogs and feeds to follow, I really did push myself past what I did last year. I might've finished later, but tomaytoes and potaytoes, right?
 |
| It's official! I finished #31DC2015 and lived to polish another day! :) |
Easiest...
I know I said it last year, but the first couple of prompts really are the easiest. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet... It's not even just because they're colors, for me, it's because they're the first few prompts when the creative juices and ambition are really flowing. Towards the end, it gets harder to stay on track night after night.
Hardest...
Last year it was the Water Marble, but this year? The prize goes to my Flowers manicure. Rather than just stamp some flowers on my nails and be done with it, I decided to take on a Pond Manicure. It takes for-ev-uh-er to do a pond manicure. I wouldn't say that it's really hard, just incredibly complex. Paint, Seche, Stamp, Seche, Paint, Seche... So many coats of nail polish! So much time! But also worth it, because the end results are GORGEOUS!
Most Surprising...
Water Marble. Definitely. I was amazed at how quickly my skills came around after watching a proper tutorial. Soooooo many things that I was doing wrong. The still didn't turn out all that great, but I'm not really planning on practicing, so... O.o
Least Favorite...
I'd probably have to go with my Pattern nails. They'd be closely followed by Black & White and Fashion. I just feel like they could've been better, you know?
Most Favorite...
Oooooh... this is a tough one. There are so many! The Nails You Love prompt tends to always trump the rest, though! I mean, favorites and all, right? But I really love my Tutorial, Book, Glitter, Flowers, Animal Print, Rainbow, and Violet, nails too.
Polishes Used...
In total, 77 polishes were used to create my #31DC2015 nails. 48 were polishes I had tried before, 29 were untried. The difference between tried/untried polishes surprised me. After we moved, I got rid of my untried box, and I'm thinking I need to start it up again!
When it came to color, purple led the pack this year, followed closely by pink, and then blue. That's typical, considering I tend to gravitate towards pink, purple, blue, teal, and turquoise! As far as finishes go, I used mostly creme polishes this year. Jelly polishes came in second, and glitter and shimmer polishes tied for third. You know what that means, right? I need to up my glitter game next year!
What brands did I reach for the most often? No real surprise, SinfulColors came in first, which makes sense because there's more of them in my stash! OPI came in second, and China Glaze came in third.
What I'd change...
After having completed the challenge for a 2nd year, I would actually change more. Last year, I mentioned nixing the Flag prompt. I'd be happy to veto the Water Marble (ewww) and Half Moons too, (I can never get mine to line up nicely) and maybe merge Delicate Print and Pattern together. My brain always wants to do the same things for both of those prompts. What would I add? Seriotype, Shimmer, Signature Style, and Indie. Vote Seize the Sparkle!
But seriously, coming up in January, I might try and participate in a couple weekly challenges, or even make up my own. For now, I really can't commit to more challenges. This time of year is sooooo busy for me, it's Peanut's Birthday, NaNoWriMo, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas Shopping, my 12 Days of Christmas Series, and finally, Christmas and New Year's! I usually try to sneak a No-Buy in there too.
Busy, Busy, Busy!
I really do enjoy the camaraderie of nail challenges. Now that I have some free time at night, I'll be researching what weekly challenges are out there. If you know of any really great/different ones, please let me know in the comments!
Meanwhile, it's kind of nice being able to take a breath and know that #31DC2015 is in the rear view. I had a lot of fun participating, and I will probably go back at it for a 3rd time next September. But I'm thinking I might work ahead. It would be nice to finish on time one of these years... O.o
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