Red House Books: Blog Tour: Starflight by Melissa Landers GALAXY NAILS + GIVEAWAY

Hello and welcome!

I'm supper excited!

Why, you ask?

Let's see. Is it because:
a) I get to share some fabulous book love (Hello! It takes place in SPACE!)

b) NAIL POLISH ALL THE THINGS

c) I love love love getting books in the hands of readers and if you stick with me through ALL the wonderfulness below you'll have a chance to win your very own copy of Starflight

d) all of the above

Did you answer d?

Well, you should have!

Seriously guys, putting together this post has been THE MOST fun I've had in a while :)

On with the show!

ABOUT STARFLIGHT:
Life in the outer realm is a lawless, dirty, hard existence, and Solara Brooks is hungry for it. Just out of the orphanage, she needs a fresh start in a place where nobody cares about the engine grease beneath her fingernails or the felony tattoos across her knuckles. She's so desperate to reach the realm that she's willing to indenture herself to Doran Spaulding, the rich and popular quarterback who made her life miserable all through high school, in exchange for passage aboard the spaceliner Zenith.

When a twist of fate lands them instead on the Banshee, a vessel of dubious repute, Doran learns he's been framed on Earth for conspiracy. As he pursues a set of mysterious coordinates rumored to hold the key to clearing his name, he and Solara must get past their enmity to work together and evade those out for their arrest. Life on the Banshee may be tumultuous, but as Solara and Doran are forced to question everything they once believed about their world—and each other—the ship becomes home, and the eccentric crew family. But what Solara and Doran discover on the mysterious Planet X has the power to not only alter their lives, but the existence of everyone in the universe...

LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Indiebound | iBooks | The Book Depository

ABOUT MELISSA LANDERS:
Melissa Landers writes romantic sci-fi for teens and the young at heart. ALIENATED and INVADED are now available from Disney Hyperion, and UNITED, the third book in the trilogy, will release in August, 2016. The first novel in her new series, STARFLIGHT, launches February 2, 2016.

LINKS: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

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To celebrate the release of Starflight, I'm sharing with you my latest Galaxy Nail Art :)

I like to do things simple and when I first came across pics of galaxy nails on Pinterest I was like - "No way! I could never do that!" But then I tried it and now I love it!

Below is my latest creation - with some how tos and notes and what not. Polish types and color names at the end.

Prep your nails and you normally would. I used one coast of my favorite base coat to start.

Next apply full coverage of a very dark color.
Most tutorials I've found say start with black but I like using a dark blue - the more shimmery the better.

Now comes the fun part and it's all about the layering!

Drop a few plops of polish onto a paper plate or paint pallet of your choice.

Using a makeup sponge, you're going to dab lots of colors, in really any pattern you like over as much of each nail as you like.
I like doing a slight diagonal line from top to bottom. I've also seen spirals and full coverage.

Start with white.

Add blue -- especially important if you start with black. I used only a little in a brighter hue.

Next, I used some pink.
I was skeptical at first about using such a bold color but it really brings out the darker shades well.

Added a glitter orange and a deep purple to smooth out the edges.

Now, it's time for some stars!
I first applied a very thing coat of a super fine silver glitter polish.
For the bigger starts, I used both a supper fine stripe polish along with a dotting tool but a toothpick or the head of a pin works just as well.

For some final touches, I went over a few spots again with light dabs of white and pink.

Top coat added.
It's hard to tell from the picture but a really good top makes all the difference. The dabbing and blotting dulls the finish but a clear coat brings out all the shine!

And - that's it!

What I really like about this style is that every time you do it, it will be a little different.
It's also so easy to add in different colors. Yellows, greens, gold - the galaxy is full of amazing colors so you can really go all out.

For reference, below are the specific colors I used.

Orly Royal Velvet
Sinful Colors Snow Me White
Essie Aruba Blue
Delia's no name pink
Orly Charged Up
Julie Beach Bonfire
It's So Easy Stripe Rite White
(not shown)
China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat
Finger Paints Top Coat
Orly Winter Wonderland

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GIVEAWAY