Playing with Polishes

I have finally made it a priority to get my polish hoard collection set up in my upstairs bedroom, so now it's so much easier to play with them.  This should mean y'all will be seeing a lot more pretty nails around here.  

While I was at it, I figured I should re-sort them, since I was overflowing in some drawers:

The ones in the plastic are my Indies!  Mostly my first love Lacquistry (over 50!), but KB Shimmer and Pretty & Polished also have a pretty strong showing.  I sort by colors, and I re-distributed my polishes to fill up that empty drawer a little more, so I'm content for now.

I'm a sucker for unique polishes, and the China Glaze Tranzitions lines appeal to my love for "magic" effects. These polishes change colors when you apply top coat, which isn't really practical since you can't top coat the entire mani.  But it sounds so fun, I caved and bought 3 of the colors: Modify Me, Split Perso-nail-ity, and Duplicity.  I found this You-Tube video, and was inspired:

This is 1 coat each of Modify Me (blue) & Split Perso-nail-ity (pink) applied diagonally on the nail.  I used NYC "Grand Central Station" as the top coat, which made the dark areas.  It was really fun to watch it change, but it seemed a little streaky to me when all was said and done.  I do love the colors, though!  

On an un-related note, my step daughter has been asking me to do her nails, and we finally had some down time to figure something out.  The poor thing bites her cuticles & nails, and she had acrylics taken off last month, so it took some prep to get the nails looking decent.  But she had the cutest idea, and we picked out the polish to make this:

How cute is this?  I likey, I likey!  This was the first time I did nail art on someone other than myself and it was definitely a different experience.  Not too bad, but I felt like I was applying everything backwards.  She was very happy, and that's all that matters ;-)

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!  

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! 

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! 

Nail-Aween Challenge Day 4: Mummy Nails (Quick & Dirty Style)

I realized that today is October 15, and I've only completed 3 days of my 10-day challenge.  I was feeling the pressure, so I figured I'd do my mummy nails today.  Problem is that I can't wear them tomorrow for work, so I knew they were only for today.  This may have affected my desire to pay close attention to detail...

I saw THIS YouTube tutorial by Simple Little Pleasures for a mummy water marble, so it was right up my alley.  So I started with a base of China Glaze "Kalahari Kiss":

This is 2 lovely coats.

Then I did the water marble using Sinful Colors "Snow Me White" and "Nirvana" along with the CG "Kalahari Kiss".  Then added a black mask with my striper, and dotted on eyes (my son told me mummies have red eyes):

Meh.  There were lots of air bubbles, and my thumb really had issues!  I like the middle finger & thumb the best, though.  I think if I would have spent more time on the marble design, this could have been really cool so I'll have to try it again.  I just don't have the motivation for a do-over today, since I still have to do my nails again before work tomorrow :-/

Check out the other participants in this challenge:

datyorkLOVES

Erica's Nails and More

DreamyMM Nails & Make Up

 Tes Did It Nails
Sassy Paints 
Nicole gets Nailed 
Wicked Tips 
Delight In Nails
Polish Groupie 
My Nail Journey 
Get Polished Up! 
Just A Girl and Her Polish
Spellbound Nails
Le nail's corner d'Alex
Hello.Lacquer
Color the world with polish
Cutie Cuticles (nail art by Laraib) 
Wacky Laki 

Plaid Nails, Cuz It's FALL!!!

It is over 95 degrees here in So Cal.  According to Google, Autumn started two days ago!  So I figured I'd help the weather remember that it's supposed to be COOL in Autumn.  I took inspiration from one of my soft wool scarves from Scotland for some extra cold-weather juju, and here's my first try at plaid nails:

I <3 my plaid nails!!!  I think I'm getting better with my stripers, too!  The base is China Glaze "Recycle" which is a perfect medium grey creme, IMHO.  

I even tried wearing sweatpants and a long-sleeved shirt this morning to really make it feel like Fall, but it's gotten so hot that I've changed into shorts & a tank top :-(.  Well, at least it's not over 100 degrees today.   

My Franken Inspired by "Granite"

OK, so I've noticed that just recently there have been a few different bloggers posting about I'm Feeling Nailventurous's beautiful polish "Granite":  THIS ONE from "I've got the Glitter Jitters", THIS ONE by "Holographic Hussy", and THIS ONE by "Superficially Colorful".  They are bitter-sweet, in that the polish is super-gorgeous (as all Nailventurous polishes are), and that it is no longer available for purchase, as Amy has decided to no longer sell her polishes.  Although I totally support her decision to do what is best for her, I am super-bummed that her gorgeous creations will no longer be made, since I have a bunch of them on my wish list.    

So what's a girl to do?  Franken!! :-)

Here are my base polishes:

Sinful Colors "Snow Me White", China Glaze "Recycle", Nail'd It "Muddy Buddies", and Windestine's "Into the Wild".  I also threw in a few more black medium & small hexes.  I mixed just a little of the CG with the SMW and then added the glitter polishes till my mini bottle was about 1/2 full.  I added suspension base, and then the loose glitters.  I think I'll call it "Bed Rock" ;-).  The original "Granite" looks like it has a lot more small black glitters, and it also has white hexes in it, but I decided not to add them.    I'm actually still debating that decision...

SWATCH TIME! (click on the pics to en-biggen)

Sorry the writing's so small.  From right (pinky) to left (pointer):  2 coats of "Bed Rock" alone. 3 coats of BR alone. 2 coats of BR over Sinful Colors "Snow Me White". 2 coats of BR over China Glaze "Recycle".

Sooooo, I think I like the 3 coats alone the best, followed closely by the white undies.  The opacity came out perfectly on this, so that it's sheer enough to see the glitters in the bottom layers, and it builds up to full coverage.  Although I'm quite happy with my franken, I think I'm going to tweak it a bit to look more like the original.  Well, at least I don't feel so bad about missing out on the real "Granite" ;-).  What do you think?

Fimo Flowers!

So after the glittery goodness that was Koi Pond, I was wanting a non-glitter mani next (i.e. I didn't want to go through the ordeal of removing glitter polish).  So I rummaged around my nail art box to see what I had not yet tried.

A while ago, I had found an awesome deal on fimo canes, so I had those sitting in there, and I had picked up a razor blade at the Dollar Tree around the same time, so I was set to go.  So I picked out some flower canes, and got some polish to match.

I did a water marble, sliced the canes, and stuck them on my nails with nail glue.

I think they came out pretty cute!  

They even matched the golf shirt I wore that day.  

Note to self:  fimo cane flower petals chip off whilst playing golf :-(

China Glaze "On Safari" French Manicure

I LOVE fall!  It's my absolute favorite time of the year!  This up-coming September will be my first autumn since becoming polish-addicted, so I'm super-excited to see Fall polish collections!  As soon as I started seeing swatches of China Glaze "On Safari", I knew I had to have them...the earthy colors, that is:

 L-R: Exotic Encounters, Elephant Walk, I'm Not Lion, Kalahari Kiss, Desert Sun, I Herd That, Call of the Wild

I LOVE THEM!  I passed on getting the reds & purples in the collection, but these are just so different than anything I already have.  And I think they all go so well together!

So, one of the super-awesome blogs I follow, Colores De Carol, had a mind-blowing giraffe manicure using 3 of the "On Safari Colors".  See it HERE.  Fantastic, right?  She also did a leopard-spot french, but I can't find it again! :-(

So, I decided to combine the leopard & giraffe, and busted out my Kalahari Kiss and Desert Sun.  I decided to go with CG Mahogany Magic instead of Call of the Wild, as it seemed lighter to me, and I used Liquid Leather for my dots:

With Flash:

I am very happy with this one!!  And the colors are wonderful!  YAY!!

I should probably take pics showing the layering process, huh?  It's just that I get so excited to see what the final product will end up looking like, that I don't want to stop to pose for pics!  I'll think about it for next time...  

Playing Catch-Up!

I feel so badly for neglecting my poor little blog!  But I have been very busy painting my nails, and spending waaay too much money on new nail polish that I can't fit into my current storage situation...guess it's time for a new storage situation ;-).

Anyways, here's a quick look at what I've been up to since my last post...

I entered this mani into the "Wedding Belles" contest hosted by Dazzle Dry Quick Dry Polish.  I used China Glaze "Dress Me Up", then stamped and painted pointed french tips with CG "White on White", then hand-painted roses with CG "Fifth Avenue" & Pure Ice "Love".  This is the first time I actually did a mani with a particular contest in mind.  I think they came out mah-velous, but the other entries are pretty awesome, so we'll see how I do...

Anyway, those didn't last long, cuz I wanted to use some of my newest Darling Diva Polish "Sugar and Spice".

This is the Pure Ice "Love" with a Pure Ice purple shatter (sorry, I'm too lazy to look it up right now), and of course the others are covered with Sugar & Spice.  I LOVE the butterflies in this polish!! And they were actually pretty easy to get on to my nail...I only had to go fishing for 2 nails.  2 nails even had multiple butterflies.  Anyway, this was a SUPER-girly mani, which, I guess, is appropriate for this polish :-)  BTW, I love her little saying on the bottle: "The Happiest Girls are the Prettiest Girls. Be Happy!"  AMEN, Sista!! 

My current mani is going to be removed as soon as I finish this post.  I painted Cult Nails "Iconic", and then topped it with Essie "Shine of the Times" flakies top coat.  Then, I took off to the Colorado River for a weekend of fun.

It was pretty in the sun, and reminded me of red dragon scales.  But, the River is not the place for a nice manicure, and this is how my nails look now:

Yup, I ripped my thumbnail off, and my ring finger is chipped.  And this is my "photo" hand!  And I was planning on entering a "Star Spangled" contest.  Grrrr.  Anyway, I've cut them all down, although not as short as that thumbnail.  Short nails make me want to do dark mani's >:-)

I've also hit Sally's, some blog sales, and Zoya's website lately, so now I have Orly's "Dark Shadows" collection, some more China Glaze "Hunger Games", 9 more Zoya's, another Lacquistry (woot-woot), and some other Indie's.  I also discovered Utopia's Polish on etsy, and she is my newest favorite indie!  Her glitters remind me of Lacquistry, so there you go! ;-)

OK, that catches you all up.  I'm not sure what I'm doing for my next mani, yet....

Black & White Water Marble

So I have seen all of these nail art contests, and I've wanted to enter some, but I was doing the Plasma thing, so I never did. 

But on Thursday, May 31, I saw BerryPolished.com's Black & White Mani contest.  I figured black & white would be easy to do.  The only thing was that the deadline was midnight on the next day, June 1.  So all day long at work, I daydreamed of what I would do.  Black & white glitter?  Nail stripers and dots?  Flowers?  Skulls?  Then it hit me...water marble!!

So what kind of water marble?  This one I had done before immediately came to mind:

Click HERE for the YouTube video I first saw with this technique.

Cool, right?  So, I started at 8:00 pm. And after about 3 hours of nail prep, base coat, white coat, marbling, dotting, then matte top coat, I ended up with this:

Not too shabby!  I may have over-done the dots, but I was having fun! :-)  So, anyway, I barely met the deadline, but got it entered.  Once I had sent my entry, I went ahead and clicked on the photo album to check out the competition's entries.  They're all great, and creative, and I'm glad I didn't look at them before I entered, or I may not have even tried.  But as I go along, what do you think one of the entries was?  Of course, it was a black and white water marble with dots!  What are the freakin' odds?!?

Ours are not exactly the same, of course, but still!!  My heart sunk, and I felt like people would think I had intentionally copied her.  How cheesey does that seem? 

Anyway, I had already entered, so I guess it's up to the judges at this point!  So from now on, I'll be checking the entries ahead of time the next time I enter a contest...I just hope I don't psyche myself out doing it! ;-)

UPDATE:  I won 2nd place!!  Wooo hooo!  :-D

Memorial Day Mani!

This weekend is for remembering.  For remembering that there were men and women who gave their lives to fight for our country.  For remembering that there are families whose loved one never came home to them...there are children who will grow up without their mom or dad, and wives and husbands who are now widows and widowers.  Those men and women are the reason why we can still enjoy the freedoms we do. 

So, while we enjoy our holiday weekend, and spend time with our loved ones, please do not forget why we are celebrating...

I got my Pretty & Polished's "Freedom Calling" just in time for my manicure!  It's freakin' awesome.  This is 2 coats of "Freedom Calling" over Zoya "Diana" (red) and China Glaze "First Mate" (blue) and "White on White".  I LOVE how this came out, and I'm super-proud of my USA flags!

 I painted them red first, then used a white striper before making a blue square and dotting white stars in.  BTW, I must say that Zoya is freakin' awesomely perfect polish that went on flawlessly in 2 coats..practically painted itself on!  "First Mate" was no slouch either, and had full coverage in just 1 coat! 

I'm spending my Memorial Day weekend golfing.  And I thank my service men and women for my ability to do so.

THANK YOU!!!

A Mani Worthy of Lacquistry "Oh, Yes I Did!"

So, of course, as soon as I get the chance, I wanted to bust out my Lacquistry!  I hadn't yet worn my "Oh, Yes I Did!", so it seemed like the perfect choice.  It's a lovely BROWN glitter with larger holo hexes that glint turquoise and green in the light.  It's absolutely stunning!

I wanted polish job which would do this gorgeous glitter justice, so I figured a water marble would be just the thing.  Here's my first try:

Hmmm.  Close, but no cigar.  The blue is China Glaze "First Mate" and is too....blue.  It doesn't pick up the aqua-ish glitter in the OYID.  So, I took it off.  Yup, I removed my hard-earned water marble, and decided to go darker & use a blue that matched better:

SCORE!!!  I used China Glaze "Shower Together", Ulta "Chocolate" and OPI "Studs & Stilettos".  I think it's gorgeous, and perfectly matches OYID.  I love it! 

I've had this mani on for going on 5 days now, and I never get tired of admiring it ;-)  But it's growing out, so I need to think of my next creation....