Sunday, November 25, 2012

Color Changing Garnet Really Changes Color!!

I don't care that Thanksgiving is over, and people are now in Winter mode, it's still Autumn to me!  I don't like seeing the Christmas decorations in November, and I'm holding out until December.  

So I wanted a mani that screams "Autumn" with all the colors of the changing leaves.  Enter the awesomeness that is "Color Changing Garnet" from Ninja Polish:


Isn't it absolutely breath-taking?  I used a base of China Glaze "Call of the Wild", then 2 coats of "CCG", then "COTW" for some quick tips.  For the accent nail, I used a leaf-shaped hole punch in painter's tape, then put the tape on the nail to make the leaf shape.  Because my nails are so curved, it wouldn't sit quite right, so it looks a little off-kilter, but still leaf-like! :-)

But look how the colors change!

Green:

Bronze-y Gold:

Garnet:
The color changes between the last 2 are much more apparent in real life.  It's so cool, like magic, and I just keep tilting my nails all day long to see the colors shift.  Very, very fantabulous, and all the colors of fall!!

Unfortunately, "Color Changing Garnet" is out of stock as of the date of this post, but you can get notified when it's back by signing up for an email.  I've ordered from Ninja Polish several times, and they are absolutely fantastic!  

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Thanksgiving Watermarble Turkey!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I was happy with my previous mani, but I had to do something for Turkey Day!  I wanted to do a turkey, but I knew my skills still need some refining.  So I got the bright idea to use a watermarble for the tail feathers.

After 5 tries to get the marbling just right, my right hand actually came out better than my left: 

 Here's my left hand.  This turkey is a little plump, and his feathers are wonky!

Here's the right again:

And again:

I love this little guy!  I used Sinful Colors "Big Daddy" (orange) & "Pull Over" (yellow) and China Glaze "Red Satin" and "Call of the Wild".  I made the turkey with dotting tools.  

I'm so thankful for my family and friends, especially my husband and my 2 wonderful little boys.  I hope you take a moment today to think about what you're thankful for! 

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Blingy, Aqua, Leopard-y French Mani

Today I was browsing through my Must-Do-Mani Pinterest board for inspiration, and THIS ONE by "Pretty Nails by Mal" caught my eye.  I've been in the mood for some holographic bling, and I haven't tried my China Glaze "I'm Not Lion" yet, so this seemed like the perfect time.

So here's "INL", in the sun: 
It's actually much more bling-y in life.  Love it!

 So I was inspired by the aqua & cheetah print, and I came up with this:

If this looks somewhat familiar, that's because I did a similar mani HERE, but I really liked it, so here it is again ;-).  This is Island Girl "Aloha Girl" on the tips, and China Glaze "Mahogany Magic" and "Liquid Leather" for the cheetah spots.   I think it's cute like this! 

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Dolli-Pop Color-Changing Polish

I've been really tired after work lately, so I'm not changing my polish as often...maybe I'm still getting used to the time change :-/

So it's Saturday, and I finally got to do my nails, so I wanted something really unique.  I'm a sucker for any "magic" type special effect polishes...glow in the dark, color-changing, crackle, magnetic, etc.  So I got this small polish from Pretty & Polished called "Dolli-Pop" which changes color based on your body temperature.  It's dark purple when cold, and a medium-ish blue when warm.  Because my nails are fairly long right now, I figured it would be the perfect time to try it out:

Room temp (what it pretty much looks like all the time):

Right out of cold water:

Right after holding above a skillet of sizzling bacon:

Another room temp shot (my hands were a little warm in this one):

Verdict:  Super-fun!  Built-in gradient effect = SCORE!  And it has little aqua glitter in it too, which goes with both the purple and blue shades!  This is 3 coats of "Dolli-Pop" topped with Seche Vite.  Because I'm generally a colder person, the color seems to stay light purple on me, with dark purple at the very tips.  

You can check out Pretty and Polished's Etsy shop HERE, and although it doesn't look like she has this one in stock right now, she does have other Color-Changing Polishes, including an orange & yellow one I'm really eye-balling.  She's also got plenty of other awesome stuff, and I have quite a few of her lovely creations, so check her out!

Monday, November 12, 2012

Metallic Fall French & Marble

Lately I have really been struggling with the decision about what to do on my nails.  I have so many awesome un-trieds, and there are so many beautiful and creative designs out there, that I am sometimes overwhelmed. It's really not a big deal, except that between my 10-hour-per-day job and spending time with my 9 & 7 yo boys, my mani time is limited, so I want to get the most bang for my buck, so to speak.

So anyway, last night I prepped my nails, so they were based-coated and ready to go.  But I still couldn't make up my mind.  Finally, this morning I just picked some pretty autumn metallic colors, and did this:


I ended up using Sinful Colors "Mercury Rising", OPI DS Glow, OPI Take the Stage, and Klean Color "Metallic Yellow".  Water-marbling these glittery polishes is tricky, but I think it still came out pretty.  

Anyway, I'm kind of meh with this.  But it's shiny, it's autumn-ish, and I can wear it to work tomorrow, so it's all good! I think I need to just chill, and not get all worked up about coming up with some amazing design...after all, it's only nail polish!  :-)

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Coffee Cup Paisley

I bought a new, autumn-y coffee cup for the office, since my current one has flowers, berries & birds on it, and it just didn't seem right for the cooler weather.  

It's so cute, I did my manicure based on it:


Fun, right?  I think it's a pretty cool match! ;-)  These are Sinful Colors "Ruby Ruby", "Clementine" and "Pull Over" dotted with Ulta "Chocoholic".  

Friday, November 9, 2012

NPR - My Newest Elf Coat!

No new manicure (yet!), cuz I just haven't had time this week!  But, I do have a cute new elf coat that I made totally for myself:


I <3 it!

OK, new nails tomorrow.  I promise! ;-)

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Kate Spade "Belltown" Manicure

So I have a friend who has awesome taste in purses, and I blame her for my subsequent fascination with cute and unique handbags which cost way too much money ;-)

Well, I met her for lunch last week, and immediately lusted after noticed her new Kate Spade, the "Belltown" tote.  Here's a pic I found on the internet in an eBay auction:
Click HERE to see the original listing & more pics of this gorgeous purse (not affiliated, but these are the only decent pics I could find).

So, I did what any lacquer-head would do...I translated this handbag into a manicure:


I love this, and I think it looks just like the Kate!  This is Inst-Dri "Beige Blast" and the red is Zoya's "Diana", all topped with Sech Vite, the hands-down best top coat for not smudging your nail art!

Funny thing about my stash, when I was searching for an appropriate red polish, I found these:
All different brands of super-similar red cremes.  It might be time to stop buying.

Or not ;-)

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Better Late Than Never: Nail-Aween Challenge Days 8,9, & 10

This week was horribly busy for me!  In addition to my full-time job, I ended up having to write a report for work till midnight one night, made the kids' costumes, went Trick-or-Treating, and worked on my little Elf Coat business, so manicures were hard to come by.  But I did manage do my last 3 days of the Nail-Aween Challenge, but have just now had the chance to download the pics & do my post.  So here they are:

Day 8:  Witch Nail Art
This is a lovely no-name polish by Love & Beauty from Forever 21 stores, and I was surprised by how much I liked it...it totally reminds me of the night sky!

Day 9:  Pumpkin Mani
 These are beautiful holographic polishes by Chirality called "Just Before Dawn" and "Katydid".  BTW, I found out that Chirality basically means "chemistry" ;-).  The green "Katydid" is a much more linear holo than "JBD", and "JBD" is the absolute perfect shade of orange!  This is 2 coats of each, and the formula was a dream to apply.  Buy your very own HERE.

Day 10:  Any Halloween-Inspired Mani
Yes, I took the easy way out, and used my previous mani for this one (I was busy!).  This is "Pickin' Punkins in the Patch" by Lacquistry, and it is super-gorgeous!!  Jenna has some polishes in stock as of this posting, so click HERE to get your very own glittery awesomeness!  

This Challenge was certainly a challenge, and I had a lot of fun!  Many thanks to Sassy Nails for hosting it!