14 Days Of Achtung Baby: Mysterious Ways

As promised/threatened the second post of today...

Mysterious Ways

"take a walk with your sister the moon"

Mysterious Ways, my least favourite song on the album and one of my least favourite songs in general. No wonder this mani turned out terrible. I only somewhat like the song when it's played live, and even then...

I hate this mani and I don't like the song and I was trying to be inspired by the fact that the video for the song was shot in Morocco, but no such luck. Ah, well. At least the polishes I used were amazing!

Products I used:
A England Perceval, Holy Grail & Avalon

14 Days Of Achtung Baby: The Fly

Hello lovelies! I didn't manage to get up a post yesterday, so you'll get two for the price of one today!

The Fly

"we shine like a burning star, we're falling from the sky tonight"

The Fly, with its unmistakeable guitar and distorded voice. This song has some of the best and most poetical of U2's lyrics, hidden behind an electronic, rocking sound. There really isn't much to say other than: listen to it.

I took my inspiration for this not only from the song, but also Bono's alter ego the Fly. "Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief, all kill their inspiration and sing about their grief" is probably the most significant line in the whole song for me, so that did influence me a lot.

Products I used:
China Glaze Liquid Leather
A England Perceval
A England Merlin
+ tape and topcoat

14 Days Of Achtung Baby: So Cruel

Hello lovelies! Happy Friday! :)

So Cruel

"I'm only hanging on to watch you go down"

So Cruel, one of the most twisted and complex songs in U2's repertoire. I think this is the first truly dark song on the album. It's wrong in all the right ways, poetic and messed up and a painfully honest portrayal of a twisted love. One of my very favourite songs and I definitely recommend listening to it.

My main inspiration here came from the lines "her skin pale like god's only dove", "heaven, heaven, fingers in the mire", "oh love, like a screaming flower, love dying every hour" and "the night is bleeding like a cut". I was running out of time when I did this mani and I'd originally planned it a bit differently, but considering I only had about fifteen minutes for this I think it turned out okay.

Products I used:
Top Shop Sketch
China Glaze Westside Warrior
p2 lust
Catrice London Weather Forecast
China Glaze Liquid Leather
China Glaze City Siren
Essie Case Study
Top Shop Listen To Me
+ artist brushes, white striper polish and top coat

14 Days Of Achtung Baby: Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses

Hello lovelies! Apologies for how late I'm posting this. I hope you guys aren't tired of this series yet...

Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses

"you're an accident waiting to happen"

Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, the song that means nothing and everything whenever I listen to it. I honestly don't know what this song signifies for me. It's beautiful, though, and I can only recommend giving it a listen to hear for yourself.

This one gave me the most trouble so far inspiration-wise. In the end I decided to take my inspiration from the lines "you're a piece of glass left there on the beach", "the hunter will sin for your ivory skin" and "who's gonna drown in your blue sea?". I quite like the end result: simple, but meaningful. :)

Products I used:
BB Couture for Men Hades
Essie Sand Tropez
China Glaze Sea Spray
China Glaze Golden Enchantment
Essence Time For Romance
Essence Matt Topcoat
+ artist brushes and white striper polish

14 Days Of Achtung Baby: Until The End Of The World

Happy Wednesday, lovelies! Sorry, it's not a pink one this time around. This will hopefully go up while I'm at work (with a bloody boring manicure at that, boo!).

Until The End Of The World

"in my dream I was drowning my sorrows, but my sorrows they learned to swim"

Until The End Of The World, the first (U2) song I was ever truly obsessed with. There's absolutely no way to put into words the things this song makes me feel. It always makes me think of the T.S. Eliot line "this is the way the world ends".

My main inspiration for this mani came from the lines "we ate the food, we drank the wine / everybody having a good time / except you / you were talking about the end of the world" and "I took the money / I spiked your drink / you miss too much these days if you stop to think".

Let me tell you, so much went wrong here. Polish was too sheer or too dark or didn't dry or dried too quickly. And despite all of that, I think this is my favourite mani so far. It's a little ambiguous, I suppose, but so is the song and I think just spelling it out would be boring. Anyway, what do you guys think? :)

Products I used:
China Glaze Liquid Leather
Models Own Grace Green
MAC Immortal Gold
a england Merlin
Catrice Marilyn & Me
Essence Make It Golden
OPI Midnight In Moscow
Essie Sand Tropez
Illamasqua Kink
Dior Rock Coat (this has been my best friend for these manis!)
Essence Matt Top Coat
+ artist brushes, Nubar quick dry drops and regular top coat

14 Days Of Achtung Baby: One

Hello lovelies! How are you all doing? I hope the weather isn't getting you down! Personally, I love the cold, but all I want to do is eat and sleep these days... I'm really a squirrel haha! Anyway. On to day three of Achtung Baby nail art...

One

"we're one, but we're not the same"

One... The song that was the "pivot point of Achtung Baby" as the band recently called it in the documentary From The Sky Down. I've heard people say that it doesn't fit with the rest of the album, that it's in a completely different vein than all the other songs, but it really isn't. At a time when U2 was very close to calling it a day, disconnected and unable to find any common ground, they wrote a song about unity. Now that? That is irony at its finest.

It's not my favourite song on the album, not by a long shot, but here's the thing: we all feel alone sometimes. We're not the same, and we aren't always capable of understanding what others go through. But we are one, and we do get to carry each other.

I could go on about how I totally mucked up the entire nail art here, but really? I kinda dig it. It's imperfect and a little messed up and I think it suits the song perfectly. It's about being one, not being whole.

Products I used:
Illamasqua Load
China Glaze Liquid Leather
China Glaze City Siren
+eyeliner brush (don't ask) and topcoat

Hope your week has been good so far! :)

14 Days Of Achtung Baby: Even Better Than The Real Thing

Happy Monday, lovelies! Today is day two of my Achtung Baby project...

Even Better Than The Real Thing

"my heart is where it's always been, my head is somewhere in between"

Even Better Than The Real Thing is the second song on Achtung Baby and, if you ask me, beats Mysterious Ways in terms of sexiness any day. Or maybe not. It's cheaper, and dirtier than Mysterious Ways, which is exactly why I love it.

My main inspiration for this mani was the fact that the title is something of a pun on the 90's Coca Cola ad proclaiming it "the real thing" (as opposed to Pepsi and the like). I was thinking dirty billboards, grimy, faded neon signs, telling us to buy things we don't really need and can't afford.

Products I used:
Barry M crackle polish in black
p2 drama
Barry M Tangerine
Rimmel Ultra Violet
Rimmel Green Grass
Barry M Cobalt Blue
Eyeko Punk Polish
Dior Rock Coat
+artist brushes and regular topcoat