When in doubt, galaxies!

Hello everyone!

I have been kind of in a nail rut... I keep going back to my standard gradient nails and although I really like them, I don't want to overflow you lovely readers with a million different gradient combinations! To get me motivated again, I decided to try a mani that I had really been hesitant about doing: the galaxy nails!

I know you have seen a million and one of these already but I've never had the heart to try them before. As pretty as they are, they also look really difficult to make. You have to make sure you are getting the right color balance and that you are actually making a galaxy shape... I've never had any kind of of formal training, so this seemed like a lot of work and something I would probably just end up taking off because they looked like blobs... you know what I mean?

Anyhow, I pulled out my trusty cardboard and made a few attempts at it before moving on to my tiny nail canvases. I found it was best to start out larger and then later on go back and redefine the shapes with darker polish around the edges. It was pretty time consuming but since I hadn't played with polish like this in a while, I had some fun. After I made a few "examples" I started on my actual nails! I decided to make blueish galaxies and some pinkish ones as well for variety.

Left hand!

Right hand!

I'm actually very proud of how they turned out! so here are a few more picture of them ^_^

I decided not to list the polishes I used because there are so many of them, but I did take a picture of them all for you!

see, I told you there were a lot! the few glitter toppers that I used are also not pictured since I added them afterwards...

Also, one thing I did differently then a lot of other galaxy nails out there is I decided to make my dotted stars silver instead of white. I found the white stars to look just a little too... bright? anyhow, other than that, I used the small eye-makeup sponge applicators and a lot of pictures for NASA to create the different shapes.

alright well that is all for now friends! Have you ever tried galaxy nails before? what did you think of them?

Until next time ^_^

Barbie Princess Nails

Hi gang!

today I have a mani that is a little bit out of my comfort zone. I like cute girly stuff but I usually try to keep it simple. Not today!

I call these my Barbie Princess nails :)
I didn't want to go too much over the top so I "toned it down" by making the rest a glittery french tip.

Gosh in Wild Lilac

SinfulColors in Pink Forever

Essence in Space Queen

Pearly hearts from the Born Pretty Store

1mm Rhinestones from Ebay

Here is a picture of the little kit from the Born Pretty Store that the pearly hearts came in. As you can see, it also has a little bow decal and some larger round pearls. 

These ended up being a little bigger than I anticipated. I knew the shapes would stick off a bit but I wasn't expecting the little heart and round pearls to be quite so large. I ended up having to add some extra topcoat under my white heart to give it a more stable base. Maybe it's because I have very curved nails. Perhaps someone with a flatter nail would not have any issues with this.
Regardless, I was pleasantly surprised at how well they stayed on! I used Seche Vite to stick them on and they lasted through 2 bedtimes and a shower before one finally snapped off (after running my hands through my hair...) I didn't think they would make it more than 12 hours so that was pretty nice!

If you want to get yourself one of these little kits, you can find them at the Born Pretty Store for under $5 with free shipping! Just click the picture to be taken directly to the product page.
As always, you can use my coupon code to get 10% off your order :)

Have you ever received an online order, only to be surprised by what the item *actually* looks like?

Until next time ^_^


*The product in this post was provided to me for honest review. Please see my disclosure policy for more information*

Funky Feather French

Today I have for you a funky french and feather mani!

I had just purchased a little bag of colored craft feathers and really wanted to try it out. Since it was my first time working with the material (feathers!) I decided to only use 1 per hand so that if it looked horrible, I would only have to worry about fixing 2 fingers :)

To my surprise, these things were super easy to work with. The hardest part is trimming the feather to fit your nail. Once that's done, the rest is easy peasy!

Franken (made by myself) in Lady Finger

Blue glitter that I seriously cannot remember the name of...

Craft feathers from Hobby Lobby

 I used a green and a blue feather, just to test out different shades. I liked how the green feather matched my funky french but preferred the coverage with the blue feather.

Here's how I did my feather mani:

1. select a feather large enough to cover your who nail

2. trim the bottom into a rounded shape to match and fit your nail shape

3. paint your nail a nude color (if you have a very dense feather, you can probably skip this)

4. wait for the nude polish to dry and then apply a thick layer of topcoat

5. quickly place your feather and apply LIGHT pressure. Too much and you risk your nude polish seeping through the feather

6. trim the tip so that you don't have extra feathery bits hanging from your nail

7. apply another thick later of topcoat!

there may be an easier way to do this, but this method worked well for me. The feathers stayed on as long as the rest of my polish. After a couple of days, I did find myself peeling little feather strips but by then, my tips were starting to show signs of wear...

What do you think of feather accent nails?

Until next time ^_^

Fruit Salad Smoothie Nails

Today I'll be showing you the summeriest of manicures ever created! Just kidding! but it is really bright and happy

Week 21 of the Year of Polish challenge had the theme: Fruit Mani
I received some fimo fruit slices from a super neat friend of mine and had yet to use them so I decided to take this opportunity to try them out

First of all, I love these little slices. They are so tiny and cute! You can buy fimo-fruit by the stick and cut each slice yourself, or for a little more money, you can purchase them pre-sliced! You can find these on ebay as well as at Sally's

I started with a brightly colored drip mani, added some glitter, and found some contrasting fruits to stick on

Orly in Spark

China Glaze in Aqua Baby

Sally Hansen in Coral Reef

Orly in Green Apple

Color Club in Pucci-licious

Art Deco in Silver Glitter

Fimo fruit from Sally's

I opted against adding a topcoat over the fruit. First of all, I knew I would not be wearing it very long since I am behind on the challenge, but also because I think they look prettier when they are not completely flat against the nail. 

However, their lack of flatness did become a problem. They kept getting stuck in my hair and while watching a movie, I did peel a few of them off... but I saved those and now I can reuse them! silver  lining eh?

I still really like the way this looked. I would re-do this mani for a nice summer pool party or barbecue! 

Does it bother you when things hang off of your nails?

Until next time ^_^

Pink and Glittery with Bows- The Girly Nails

Hello!

I've fallen behind on my Year of polish challenge >_< sorry about that!

I have a day off from lab tomorrow so I will see what I can do about that :)

Today, I have for you a mani I did some weeks ago. I was lacking in creativity and while perusing through my drawer of nail art accessories, I picked up a nice little sheet of nail stickers. 

To keep the nails from looking too busy, I picked a simple color and added a bit o' gold to it!

China Glaze in Strawberry Fields

Revlon on Gold Coin

Nail stickers from Ebay

What do you think of nail stickers? do they help you when you are in a rut?

Until next time ^_^

Squishy Lynnderella Bow

This week's theme on the Year of Polish challenge was a mani with bows. I've done a lot of bow-related manis before because I think they are so cute! so I was excited to make another one for you

This time around, I really wanted to try and make a squishy looking bow as opposed to the "2-triangles-with-a-dot" bows I've always done.
I found a really cute mani on Youtube done by IndigoNova1 that I used as an inspiration for this mani. I really loved how adorable her bow turned out!

so here is my bow mani for week 20

Blurry shot to show off the glitter :D

Zoya in Zuza

Lynnderella in Thank Blue!

Sally Hansen in Whirlwind White

Sally Hansen in Brisk Blue

2-way nail art pen in black

I decided to do this mani in blue/green because I really wanted to try out my new Lynnderella polish. Isn't it gorgeous?! When I first found out about Lynn's gorgeous polishes, I was a little outraged at the lengths people had to go to in order to get their hands on these. I was also amazed at how much people were willing to pay for them on ebay! I refused to take part in the craziness, even if I really loved some of her creations. Then when Llarowe announced that she would be taking wishlists, I thought that finally, there is a way to get some of these without having to lose my mind :D

It took a long time for my name to come up. Since my last name starts with an R I was in the very last rotation. It also means that by the time my list came up, she was sold out of "The Glittering Crowd" :( but! I did get all of the other Lynn's that I had asked for. 

Now it seems the craze has moved on to Indie polishes. I have yet to buy polish off of etsy but I have to admit there are some really nice ones out there. I might have to wait until all the craziness dies down again before I partake though. I'm not much of a competitive person, and checking my email constantly to see if a particular etsy shop has restocked isn't how I like to spend my time haha ! Maybe I can swap for them instead!

What do you think about the nail-blog world's new found love of indie polishes?

Until next time ^_^

Whimsical Glitter Mosaic

What could be better for spring than wonderful Revlon Whimsical? How about a glitter mosaic?

What about both!

Shazam!!

Revlon in Whimsical

Layered over Sally Hansen in Whirlwind White

Etude House in Dazzling Purple

Etude House in Dazzling Blue

A glitter  mosaic may be time consuming, but they are super easy to do! Using a toothpick, I places each hex on my nail, alternating between purple and blue. Topped it off with Seche Vite because it was very gritty, and there! 

I wish I could have had Dazzling Pink instead of purple so that it would match Whimsical better but oh well right?

What do you think of mosaic glitter nails?

Also, check out my 200 followers giveaway!

Until next time ^_^  

St Patrick's day nails

We're now on week 11 of the Year of Polish challenge! This time, we're doing St Patrick's day nails. How surprising I know!

I've never been a big fan of St Patrick's day. Green doesn't really suit me, so I rarely wear it. St Patrick's day was no exception and there was always one annoying kid in school who would actually go around pinching people for it... I'm also not a beer drinker. This leaves this holiday with little for me to actually enjoy. 

I do, however, have a free green shades of polish that rarely get to see the light of day. 

China Glaze in Gaga for Green

Model's Own in Emerald City

Sinful Colors in Green Ocean

Nail Sticker from 8ty8 Beauty

It's kind of hard to see Green Ocean but it is a really pretty green tinted jelly with large blue flakes. It's very thick and hard to apply but it adds a gorgeous effect.

Don't forget to check out the Year of Polish challenge page located below my profile picture to see some upcoming challenges as well as some links to blogs who are also doing this!

What do you think of St Patrick's Day?

Until next time ^_^

Mermaid tail

Earlier this month I decided to try out some of my new flaky polishes from Finger Paint as Essie

I started with a foil blue color by Orly and layered a few flakies over it.I think the final effect really looked like fish scales! 

Orly in Sweet Peacock

Finger Paints in Flecked

Essie in Shine of the Times

I have both Hidden Treasure and Shine of the Times but I much prefer SotT. It seems to have a better color change then HT... What's your favorite flakie?

Until next time ^_^

Holo and Glitter Gradient

So I've decided to try out the new polish challenge. I wasn't prepared to do a new nail art a day like most of the previous challenges, so the Year of Polish challenge is perfect for me! It will also make me post more regularly which is something I really want to do. To learn more about the challenge, just go to the "Year of Polish" page which is located right under the "About Me" section.

The challenge started on the first of January, so I'm a little behind, but I will catch up soon!

Week 1 of the Year of Polish challenge-  "Make it Sparkle" Mani Holo glitter

So here it is, mani 1 of 52! I decided to do a gradient, 1- because it is easy and quick and 2- because you rarely see a gradient that uses holo polish

Unfortunately, it is dark and rainy here in Ohio... So I couldn't get you guys any sunshine pictures which means that my silver holo, doesn't really look holo. If the sun shines before I take this mani off, I will snap some quick pictures of it to show you how truly pretty it is (or you look at amused polish's post about it)

Left Hand!

blurry rainbow pic!

Right Hand

Avon Nailwear Pro in Gunmetal

topped with Winmax Alpha Rainbow in Silver

Avon Nailwear Pro in Luxe Lavender

topped with my own franken- Melacara

and Out the Door Northern lights

I've been doing a bit of frankening lately and I love it! I need to buy more empty bottles because that is the only think that is stopping me right now :)

 Heres's a better look at Melacara. It's a medium grayish purple shade with loads of glitter and a hint of holo.

I hope you enjoy this awesome challenge and if you decide to do it too, let me know and I can spread the word about your designs!

Until next time ^_^

Presents for nails!

Another holiday mani? yes, another one. I used to be impartial to these manis but it seems that this year, the Christmas cheer has gotten a hold of me... 

This time, my nails are masquerading as presents!

I had lots of fun thinking of different color combinations and wrapping paper patterns!
Here's a close up as well as what I used to create each!

Revlon in Gold Coin

Art Club in White

Pure Ice in Silver Mercedes

Milani One coat glitter in Red Sparkle

Milani One coat glitter in Red Sparkle

Sally Hansen in Whirlwind White

Art Club in Fine Silver

Sally Hansen in Whirlwind White

Milani One coat glitter in Red Sparkle

Sally Hansen Color Quick in Green Chrome

Sinful Colors in San Francisco

Sally Hansen Color Quick in Green Chrome

Milani One coat glitter in Red Sparkle

Revlon in Gold Coin

Revlon in Gold Coin

Sally Hansen in Whirlwind White

Pure Ice in Silver Mercedes

There are so many other options for this design. Using different colors or a different pattern. Adding bows and decals. Limitless I say! 

Until next time ^_^

Sinful Colors Holiday Edition- Swatches and Nail Art

I have for you today the Sinful Colors Holiday 2011- WISH collection. 

As far as I am aware, all of these are part of the core collection and so are readily available to almost everyone!

SinfulColors Holiday Nail Wheel

Here are the polishes Ill be showing:

Picture from SinfulColors news release

3 coats

Out of this World- A cool silver loaded with shimmer. This one is a little bit on the sheer side... It's great layered over almost anything. Keep reading and Ill show some examples :)

2 Coats

Midnight Blue- A nice bright navy with metallic finish

2 Coats

Sugar Sugar- Shimmery bright red. A  little streaky on the first coat but beautiful on the second

3 Coats

Daddy's Girl- A violet jelly with a lot of shimmers and micro glitter. It takes a little work to get it opaque but this color is amazing and totally worth it!

2 Coats

Last Chance- A very opaque dark green creme. Perfect for nail art but, compared to all the other holiday colors, a little lacking in oomph.

2 Coats each

Fashionista- A simple silver glitter liner. Reminds me a lot of the quality of ArtDeco stripers: Not the greatest but does the job. It's great for half-moon or french manis!

Flower Girl- a warm metallic gold liner. This shade is much better, it's opaque after one stroke, something I favor strongly in stripers.

*********************************

Since these are from the holiday collection, I thought I could show a holiday/winter nail art you can achieve using only these polishes and a basic white creme.

1- (present/gift) Last Chance striped with Flower Girl

2- (snowy french) Midnight blue tipped with Out of this World and Fashionista and outlined with Sugar Sugar

3- (purple stripes) Daddy's Girl striped with Out of this World and Fashionista

4- (Christmas tree) Sugar Sugar with Last Chance tree and Flower Girl star

1- (mistletoe) Out of this World layered over white, stamped with Last Chance and dotted with Sugar Sugar

2- (holiday half moon) Last Chance with Sugar Sugar half moon outlined in Flower Girl

3- (Christmas lights) Midnight blue with Last Chance cord and Flower Girl, Sugar Sugar, and Out of this World lights

4- (wreath)- Sugar Sugar with Last Chance wreath accented with Flower girl and Sugar Sugar

1- (snow drift) Midnight Blue with Out of this World sponged and dotted snow and Fashionista accent

2- (tree ornaments) Last Chance with Flower Girl, Sugar Sugar, and Midnight Blue ornaments

3- (snowflakes) Daddy's Girl stamped with white (purple pigments bled into it...)

4- (candy cane) Sugar Sugar striped with white (red bled too!) and Fashionista

There you have it! You dont need expensive polish to make pretty nail art. SinfulColors retail for about $1.99 and are available at Walgreens (online and in store) and  Cherry Culture as well as many other retailers.

Until next time ^_^

*these were sent to me for review*