I’ll Give You The Mani

March 31, 2015March 31, 2015 ~ Taylor Justine ~ Leave a comment

I'll Give You The Sun Cover Inspired Manicure One of the most anticipated YA reads of 2014 became one of my absolute favorite books of 2015, and maybe even ever! I’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson is a contemporary to rule all YA contemporaries, and I am so glad it came into my life. I have a feeling my overzealous review/opinion of this book might get a bit rambly, so bear with me!

Told from alternating perspectives of a set of twins, this book is liquid poetry and art. If I’m being objective, it could be a bit much for some people who don’t have the patience for flowery language, but it was just enough for me. Love and loss are the main themes, and it ultimately left me breathless.

I have a hard time forming sentences that correctly express my love for this story, so I’ll just throw out some adjectives instead: heartbreakingly beautiful, moving, inspiring and literally a million more. If you want to be moved to laughter and tears, I beg you, PICK UP THIS BOOK.

**I’m not sure if you can tell, but I feel rather strongly about how how incredible this novel is!

Now, let’s give you the mani!

Tools I Used // Essie Mojito Madness + Blanc + Julep London + Jeanne + Bailey + Nadia + Karen + Myrtle + Cover Girl Flamed Out

This was another design that used ALL the polishes. Clearly I’m on some sort of rainbow kick, and I ain’t even mad! I went pretty literal with the design of this manicure, sticking mainly with the gorgeous rainbow sunburst on the white background. You’ll need as many polishes as you can carry, plus some, and for me that included my trusty stash of Julep and Essie colors.

I’ll talk rainbow stripes first. I went with a random order of colors to mimic the lack of pattern on the cover. Grab your striping brush, or skinny paint brush in my case, and go to town! While I would have liked my colored stripes to be a bit thinner, I think I made it work. This design is great for ya’ll who are worried about painting intricate images because it doesn’t have to be exact!

I stripped the dust jacket off for a bit of accent nail inspo. To play with the orange and white, I used striping tape (my fav technique) and a vibrant orange. Voila, you’ve got yourself a contrasting, geometric accent nail!

Did you love I’ll Give You The Sun as much as I did? Let me know what you thought! Happy Reading!

Unexpected Attachments

January 18, 2015February 27, 2015 ~ Taylor Justine ~ 4 Comments

Attachments Cover Inspired Manicure Another day, another dollar for Rainbow Rowell. And in her case, another dollar is another incredibly written novel! Attachments was the last of her four books out that I’ve read, and honestly, I was a little bit worried. I’d heard that it paled in comparison to some of her other books, and while the story felt a tiny bit dated in a way that Eleanor & Park didn’t, I still adored it!

Attachments follows Lincoln, an “internet security officer,” whose job is to snoop through company emails, looking for sordid and inappropriate conversations. He quickly finds himself immersed in the lives of Beth and Jennifer, and soon they’re the Three Musketeers, except they don’t know he’s involved.

This book made me smile, laugh and cry purely out of happiness. I love LOVE, and this novel found a special place in my heart that I’d thought had frozen over. And, just like her other books, the cover is perfect for a manicure!

Tools I Used // Julep Sheila + Sally + Essie Bikini So Teeny — Tools I Used // Julep Sheila & Sally + Essie Bikini So Teeny

The cover has a very vintage vibe and theme, and I had the perfect colors. Julep Sally is described as an “antique ivory,” which means it was born to be the base for this mani. Julep Sheila is a “cherry pie creme,” and is so compatible with Sally. I also wanted to bring in a bit of that pretty periwinkle that just accents the cover color palette, which is where Essie’s Bikini So Teeny comes in.

I liked the idea of color blocking with the ivory and red to bring in the design of the two-toned title. I used striping tape to get the randomized, classic feel of the blocks, and threw in a couple of blue polka dots and stripes for fun. Once all of that was dry, it was time to decide what designs I was going to paint.

I knew I wanted a paperclip from the beginning, so that was an easy choice. I used the fine-tip nail art pens from my Sephora kit to paint both of the designs. The desk chair came about more on a whim. I honestly didn’t think I was going to be able to pull it off, but I did, and I’m quite proud of myself! I practiced once on a piece of paper, and then just went for it! This, plus my Landline manicure, is another reason I love Rainbow. Her covers push me to try new designs and be a better artist!

Have you read Attachments? What did you think? Happy Reading!

A Divine(er) Manicure

January 8, 2015January 8, 2015 ~ Taylor Justine ~ 2 Comments

Evie O’Neill is a modern woman. A flapper. A ditz. She would be overjoyed to know there is an entire 600 page book written about her! But she’s also something more, a Diviner. In Libba Bray’s 2012 novel, The Diviners, something sinister in the air is headed for the bustling 1920s New York City. We find out that Evie isn’t the only one with these abilities, and soon everyone is thrown into a supernatural thriller with a ghost murderer and weird cult-like religions!

While the story sounds a tad far fetched, it is SO MUCH FUN! And it’s also a little bit scary. Ok, who am I kidding. I was terrified for almost the whole thing! I’m a total wimp when it comes to anything even remotely spooky, but Bray does such an incredible job painting such a vivid picture that I honestly felt like Naughty John was in my closet at night.

I truly adored the character of the story, but there were a couple things that took some help getting past. For instance, plot lines. There are subplots, and then there are TOO MANY DIFFERENT STORY LINES. This book rode the line between the two, and it took almost the whole novel for the characters to intersect and become relevant to one another. Because of that, it sometimes felt a bit like a set up for a series as opposed to a story. But despite these things, I was wildly entertained!

Now, let’s be real. How can you NOT be inspired by this incredible cover? With that, we can talk nail polish.

Tools I Used // Julep Cleopatra + Sephora by OPI A Brush With Fate

Black and gold is a quintessential color combination, especially when you think of the Roaring 20s. The glittering night life and opulent lifestyle of New Yorkers is pretty well represented in this book and its cover, and I wanted to portray that class. In addition to it representing the time period, gold and black (well, really gold and any color) is my life! So this has to take one of the top spots in the Novels and Nail Polish Cover Inspired Hall of Fame.

With the help of my ever trusty Julep Cleopatra polish (I’m not sure what I’ll do when it runs out!), I achieved the perfect almost-matte black, minus the chalkboard dust look. After letting two coats of that dry completely, I broke out my brand new nail art set from Sephora!

The subtle gold shimmer polish is A Brush With Fate from the Sephora Cinderella polish collection. I painted the flower-like magic wisp accent nail freehand with the pointed brush, but the stripes were created with striping tape. A thin coat of matte top coat, and this mani is good to go!

Have you read The Diviners? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Happy Reading!

To All The Nail Polish I’ve Loved Before

September 22, 2014 ~ Taylor Justine ~ 3 Comments

TATBILB Cover Inspired Manicure There is something so sweet about young love. It brings you back to a simpler time, when you thought you were in love with every single boy you had a crush on. There is also something so annoying about it. And To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before captured all of these facets. Half the time, I found myself back in high school, without a care in the world, aside from the next time I was going to see my crush. But the other half? I was frustrated out of my mind by the naivety of Lara Jean and the other characters that sounded much younger than their assigned ages.

Don’t get me wrong, I truly enjoyed this fun, quick read! It was everything I wanted it to be! I just happened to find myself a tad bothered every once in a while.

One thing that never, ever bothered me was the gorgeous cover! I love feminine and floral and soft and everything in between. And well, I LOVE PINK. This made creating a cover-inspired manicure easy and hard. Easy because I had so many ideas running through my head, and hard because… I had so many ideas running through my head!

TATBILB Tools I Used — Tools I Used // Essie Blanc + Julep Avery + Washi Tape

Someday, I will not be able to go into my Julep Nail Polish collection and find the exact color I’m looking for to match my book. Today is not that day.

After a quick look through my polish stash, I grabbed Julep Avery, a bright, vibrant pink that matches the exact shade of the book. Paired with Essie’s Blanc, you have a winning combo!

I’m going to level with you guys. Washi Tape is definitely one of my best friends! So of course I broke it out for this mani. To create the color block design, I began with my white base coat. After letting it dry, I taped out my diagonal designs. One of the best tips I’ve learned about using washi tape when painting your nails is to get rid of some of the adhesive before putting it on. I press the sticky side to my palm a couple time, and that does the trick. That way, there is less risk of it ruining the base coat.

Hand lettered book titles and covers make my heart smile. Calligraphy is one of my more recent passions, and while I’m just starting out, I love to find inspiration in other hand lettered beauties. The black cursive on the spine of the book was the inspiration behind the black stripe between the pink and white color blocks. I wasn’t sure if I trusted myself to paint a perfectly straight line, so I grabbed my Washi Tape, painted it black and voila! Perfectly straight lines chalked up to another win for Washi Tape.

Have you read To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before? What did you think? Happy Reading!

Literary Love {Engagement}

September 19, 2014September 19, 2014 ~ Taylor Justine ~ Leave a comment

For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved everything surrounding weddings. The attire, decor, venue and especially the most important part, LOVE! I’ve interned at multiple business involved in the wedding industry, everything from planning events to doing social media and PR for wedding brands. Because of my experiences, I pretty much have my entire wedding planned out already.. except for the groom! But that hasn’t stopped me from dedicating multiple Pinterest boards to my future big day!

One thing I’ve always known is that I need books involved in my wedding in some way. My dream wedding would look a lot like the amazing Tahereh Mafi and Ransom Riggs’ nuptials, filled with the most gorgeous incorporation of literature I’ve ever seen!

Over the next couple weeks, I will be sharing inspiration for each part of a literary-themed wedding!

Let’s start at the very beginning: Engagement Photo Shoot!

Book Engagement — Image // Green Wedding Shoes

From book pages to photo shoots in the library, literature can easily be incorporated into an engagement shoot. Add tiny details, like vintage books on a table, or go all the way and spend entire afternoon in the book stacks.