Get your Sailor Stripes

Hello everyone!

Red, white, and blue nails are everywhere today thanks to Memorial Day. 

Here is a little sailor spin on the popular colors :)

Revlon in Royal

China Glaze in Hey Sailor

Zoya in Ibiza (blue stripe)

Generic white striper

Gold striping tape from Ebay

I need to work on my striper polish skills. I have a really hard time making straight lines with it. Maybe it is because my nails are really curved so I get is straight on the middle part, but then I have to go back and fill in the sides. That always messes me up! and since I love stripes so much, I am always thinking of ways to incorporate them into my nails.... oh well, practice will make perfect, right? or maybe I am doomed to have funky stripes for the rest of my life...

What is your favorite way to wear red, white, and blue?

Until next time ^_^

Post Valentine Detox Nails- Studs Baby!

After about a month of pink and red cutesy nails, I thought you might all be in need of a more edgy design!
Today I have for you my first mani using studs :D
I was really excited to try this out because I have seen these everywhere on the internet. However, none of my local nail shops carried them >_< which is why it has taken me so long to jump on this awesome train...
But now, I have studs, so many studs! and here is what I did with them

Flash picture to show the subtle shimmer stripe :)

Wet n Wild in Black Creme

 L'Oreal in Owl's Night (stripe)

Studs from The Born Pretty Store 
All sealed up with a thick coat of Seche Vite

So after 3 days of stud-y nails, I've noticed that these don't hold up all that well. I had 1 mini-round stud fall off the morning after I did them, a square one fell off 24 hours later, and the remaining studs are starting to fade to silver... Maybe I didn't use the right kind of topcoat, or maybe this is the kind of mani that requires nightly TC application. I don't know, I suppose I will have to try again.

However, even though they don't stay on too well, I think they are completely worth it! The shine off these bad boys was incredible! People had no choice but the notice my nails haha! Consequently, I received quite a few compliments on these. Next time I will stick to the silver studs to avoid the color rubbing off part, but then again, maybe a thicker top coat could have avoided that entirely?

If you are looking for your own studs, and who isn't really ;) I received mine from The Born Pretty Store.
The little wheel box had tons of little shapes, in both silver and gold, making it the perfect starter kit to studs!

At less than $5, it is a pretty darn good bargain. You can click the picture to be taken directly to the product page and as always, feel free to use my coupon code to get 10% off your order.

Have you ever used nail art studs before? What did you use to "glue" them down?

Until next time ^_^

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

Color Wave Fiesta!

Hi everyone!

I miss blogging. I really do. Time has become such a precious commodity since school started. It's been hard to find the time to paint my nails, much less post about it. I am sorry I haven't been around as much, but I am sure that you can all understand :) Im not going to promise to post once a week because I have no idea if I will be able to do that but I will try to pop in once in a while. Quality over quantity!

I know it's Halloween time and most posts right now have something to do with Halloween manis so if you are looking for that, feel free to take a gander at my previous posts : Monsters Inc, Halloween on Purpose, and Halloween Ruffian.

Today, I wanted to show you all this pretty stripey mani I made using only the China Glaze electropop collection.

Zig-zag stripes are not as easy to do as I thought they would be! This really reminds me of the Fiestas we used to have in High School Spanish class. Pinata, anyone?

Have you ever made a mani using polishes from only 1 collection?

Until next time ^_^

Ombre Stripes

Week 23 of the Year of Polish challenge- Ombre Mani

I saw a mani very similar to this on Tumblr not too long ago and thought it would make a nice alternative to the normal Ombre manis

Plus, as you have probably noticed, I have been in a very colorful mood for a while now so the thought of sticking to different shades of the same color was not very exciting.

This striped ombre was very easy to do and it is a nice alternative for nail-fanatics who just do not happen to have 5 complementing shades of polish!

Sally Hansen in White On

YELLOW

Sally Hansen in Yellow Kitty

Orly in Spark

China Glaze in Solar Power

PURPLE

China Glaze in Agent Lavender

Fresh Paint in Blackberry Smoothie

China Glaze in Grape Pop

GREEN

China Glaze in Refresh-mint

China Glaze in Gaga for Green

Zoya in Envy

BLUE

China Glaze in Kinetic Candy

Sally Hansen in Brisk Blue

Barry M in Indigo

PINK

SinfulColors in Pink Forever

NYC in Pink Promenade Creme (old version)

China Glaze in Fuchsia Fanatic

A nice white base and paint on a stripe of each color. Add a topcoat to blend everything nicely and bam! A stripey rainbow!

Alrighty then! I'll be leaving for a summer vacation on Sunday so I will be taking a little break from posting. I'll try and log on to show you what my vacation mani looks like first though :) I'm planning on using some Jamberry Nail shields since they last for so long!

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 ^_^

Stripes inspired by a Mug

This week's theme for the Year of Polish challenge was stripes.
Easy peasy! I love stripes!!

Not too long ago, I came across this mug on Print and Pattern's blog

And I loved how cute it was! so here is my take on this beautiful mug :)

Sally Hansen in White Tip

China Glaze in Lemon Fizz

China Glaze in Peachy Keen

China Glaze in Kinetic Candy

China Glaze in Agent Lavender

China Glaze in Re-Fresh Mint

Milani in Black Magic

1.5mm Rhinestones

Check out my Year of Polish Challenge page to see past themes and also take some time to look at bloggers who are doing this challenge as well!

Also, don't forget to enter my 200 followers giveaway :)

Where do you usually find your inspiration?

Until next time ^_^

Vintage Mani

There are a couple of variations on how people interpreted this weeks Year of Polish theme: "Vintage" mani

It thought it was referring to the kind of manicures that were done in the olden days, where the tip and the half moon were left polish free. Which you can see in this vintage Cutex ad from the late '30s.

Even though this was my original intention, such a manicure was not going to work with my stubby nails. I barely have a free edge to leave polish free! Since that was not going to work, I decided to a vintage pattern mani! My poor little nails could handle that one!

I looked around the internet for some neat vintage patterns and came across this gorgeous wallpaper from the early 1800's

from http://www.historicnewengland.org

and "recreated" it using tape and stamping

Essie in Turquoise and Caicos

Sally Hansen in Wet Cement

Konad Special polish in White

Konad stamping plate M71

I really fudged the index finger but otherwise, I think my stamping has improved a lot. I remember the first time I tried stamping >_< it was a disaster! haha!

Don't forget to check out my Year of Polish page to see past nail art and future themes as well as to discover some great nail artists who are also doing this challenge.

Anyhow, maybe one day I will try the vintage manicure that is in the Cutex ad above. I just have to keep my nails from breaking! with that, I am off to moisturize :)

Has your nail length ever kept you from doing a manicure you had in mind?

Until next time ^_^

Newspaper Mani

Hello fellow nail polish lovers!

It appears that my computer has given up being a computer. While it is being repaired, I will be using my boyfriend's old iMac. Being a PC girl, I have no idea how to do anything on here other than open a web page and turn the thing off. What does this mean? I won't really be able to fix my photos and all that jazz... Thoroughly unfortunate, I know...

Anywho, on to some nail stuff right!

Here is week 5 of the Nail Polish Challenge

The Newspaper Mani

China Glaze in Agent Lavender

China Glaze in Secret Peri-wink-le

Art Club in Fine Silver

Local newspaper classifieds!

This was my very first newspaper mani and Im really happy with how it turned out! I simply dabbed some rubbing alcohol (using a cotton ball) on the newspaper and pressed it down on my nail. Easy peasy!

Don't forget to check out my Year of Polish page to see some other bloggers' newspaper manis. There you will also find links to prior week's challenges!

Have you ever tried a newspaper mani? What did you think of it?

Until next time ^_^

Plaid Nails

On to week 4 of the Year of Polish challenge!

this time we are attempting plaid nails.
There are lots of different kinds of plaid out there, so there were a lot of different interpretation of this mani. I tried my hand at 2 different styles

Neon Plaid!

Sally Hansen in Whirlwind White

China Glaze in Yellow Polka Dot Bikini

China Glaze in Japanese Koi (Neon)

SinfulColors in Pink

LA Colors in Purple (from the Brights mini set)

I also wanted to try a more traditional plaid:

Sally Hansen in Ru-by or not to be

Naturistics in Quartz

Sally Hansen color quick in Gold Chrome

SinfulColors in Flower Girl

Don't forget to check our my Year of Polish challenge page to check out past manis as well as other bloggers who are undertaking this challenge!

What kind of plaid do you prefer? Traditional or modern?

Until next time ^_^

Color Block Mani

This is the week 3 mani of the Year of Polish Challenge

I didn't really have many ideas as to what I wanted to do with this one so I looked around the internet for inspiration and came across Everbella's nail art blog. She has a very cute color block mani that she posted in November and I thought I would try my hand at it. You can see her original design here. 

Since I wasn't going to wear this mani for very long (have to start on the next one!) I omitted the rhinestones. I also decided to go for some brighter colors because I am a fan of bright colored nails :)

Zoya in Ibiza

Joe in Iris

Joe in Crush

Sally Hansen in Lite

Sally Hansen in So Poppy

Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen in Black

This is probably not my best work. I've been stressed all week about school and I think it shows with this one but oh well. The week is over now so hopefully things will get better!

Also, you can see a lot of tip wear but this is because of Seche Vite. The thicker the nail polish the more it likes to shrink! Even though this happens all the time, I don't think I will ever stop loving Seche Vite, it is just too amazing!

Don't forget to check my Year of Polish Page and visit other wonderful bloggers who are taking this challenge!

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*

Candy Nails (and unexpected glitter)

its a cold and rainy night here in South Carolina, well colder than what I wish it were, so to cheer up the mood  I have for you: Candy Nails!!

Kind of. They remind me of candy. Maybe theyll remind you of something else?

Please excuse the "glitter fingers". We all know how much of a pain Glitter removal is >_<

Just a little swatch of LuciDarling Tender Mint. It has a really nice shimmer that I cant resist!

Candy Nails!

Etude House in Tender Mint

Petites Color Fever in Fiji

Sally Hansen in Lively Lilac

Zoya in Demi

The lines are not very nice close up. For some reason, my hands were shaking like crazy! eh well, it looked nice from a not so zoomed distance :D

Now on to the unexpected glitter...

in my Etude House swatch post I showed you this little thingy:

if the spoons look familiar, its because I used the empty side of the Zoya color Palette >_>

The second polish from the left is simply called Black, but as you can see it has some nice green/teal glitter flecks

I left this laying on my desk, and when I walked by it one morning, I noticed something else.

not only  does it have green flecks, it also has purple!

This sadly named Black polish is a lot more exciting than its name would make you believe.
Can you guess what Ill be wearing next?

Until next time ^_^