Coming Up Roses!

I love Pinterest!  I have a board where I pin all of the fantastic mani's I admire called "Must-Do Mani's", and I hoard tons of ideas there...sometimes I even do a mani based on one.  Like last night!

I really have a hard time doing my nails for work.  I have to be professional, but I can't stand just plain nails.  Thus my dilemma.  So, THIS MANI by Pshiiit! seemed to be just the answer.  Plain pink, but with a cute and artsy rose accent nail.  Loved it!

Here's my version:

I used Zoya "Lara" for the main pink, and "Sweet" and "Purity" for accents on the rose over a background of "Raven".  The leaves were NOPI "Lime Light" and Sinful Colors "Innocent".  All topped with Seche Vite.

I need to invest in some nail art brushes.  I currently use some cheapo ones I got at Walmart, and it's really hard to control where the polish goes.  Plus, the bristles get hard and don't brush the polish on nicely.  But I think this came out pretty cute anyway!!! :-)

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! 

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!  :-)

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".  

Nail-aween Challenge Day 7: "Spider Nails"

I'm getting behind on my challenge, but I have just enough time to catch up! :-)

Here are my Spider Nails!  Some of the little guys have some, er, issues, but they're still fun:

The orange is Sinful Colors "Courtney Orange", and it is a lovely shimmery orange with a great formula.  I stamped the webs with Pure Ice "Silver Mercedes", and the spiders with Klean Color "Black".  I tried to clean up some of the spiders's legs with black polish and a toothpick, but sometimes less is more ;-).

Here are the other participants in the 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 
Nail-Aween Nail Art Challenge October 1-31st, 2012 
GLAMOROUS NAILS 
Over The Topcoat 
Polish Gone Crazy 
tragedystipsandtreats
Susy In Color
Countess Nails 

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 

Nail-aween Nail Art Challenge - Day 1: Water Marble

I LOVE Halloween!  When I found this challenge hosted by Sassy Nails, I couldn't resist, especially since this challenge is done at your own pace!  It's perfect for a full-time working mom of 2 young boyos, who also likes to read & knit & sew!

As you can see, today is Day 1, and I actually did a water marble!  Only bummer is that I can't wear it to work tomorrow since we've got an audit going, and I have some other professional-like things to do. Boo! 

I used all Sinful Colors for this one:

L to R: Clementine, Black on Black, Innocent, Amethyst

I painted on a coat of white (Sinful Colors "Snow Me White), and went to town:

I love the colors in this!  I wanted to use a darker green, but it wasn't working in the water marbling process...it wouldn't spread and it dried too fast :-(  My ring finger is just purple & green marble topped with my own little Halloween franken.  Overall, I'm happy with this one, except for the thumb, which I accidentally bumped :-/

These are the other cool peeps participating in the challenge.  Check 'em out!

datyorkLOVES

Erica's Nails and More

DreamyMM Nails & Make Up

 Tes Did It Nails
Sassy Paints 
Nicole gets Nailed 
glitznglammer
Finger Food 
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
 Countess Nails 
Color the world with polish
Nail Crime Nail Art
Coat of Mani Colors
Cutie Cuticles (nail art by Laraib)
Wacky Laki 
Nail-Aween Nail Art Challenge October 1-31st, 2012 
GLAMOROUS NAILS 
Over The Topcoat 
Polish Gone Crazy 
tragedystipsandtreats
(List includes blogs and FB pages)

Serum No 5 "Day Glow"

I saw THIS POST on Nailblog.net, and I absolutely knew I HAD to have "Day Glow" by Serum No. 5!  It was like, the BEST glow-in-the-dark polish I had ever seen!  So I trotted on over to the Serum No. 5 ETSY SHOP , and was in luck because "Day Glow" was in stock at the time.  I debated the high (for me) price for just a minute before pressing the "purchase now" button, and I'm soooo glad I did.  I understand this polish is selling out almost instantly once it's stocked.  So, here's what I got for my troubles:

Pretty, right?  This is 3 thin coats with top coat.  Each coat dried pretty quickly, and although it's still a little streaky, it's not too bad.  It's a nice bright frozen-lemonade yellow which I liked wearing alone.  But it was just a little too plain for me.

  So I did a water marble.  I used Sinful Colors "Black on Black" and a Sally Hansen top coat I had...apparently it's the only one I own which is not "Fast Dry".  Still, it was kind of sketchy, and I'm going to have to find a nice clear polish for water marbling (I'm open to suggestions!).  And yes, I am purposefully stringing you along before I bust out the awesome glowing pics ;-)

Like I said, kind of sketchy.  But I think it looks a little spooky, which is pretty cool!

OK, OK, I put my hand in the sun for about 5 minutes, locked myself in the bathroom, and this is what I saw:

These are UNEDITED pictures!  This stuff is AMAZINGLY bright.  Cool, right?

"Day Glow" is currently sold out, but according to the Etsy Shop announcement, it will be re-stocked on October 1.  I got mine for $12 + $3 shipping at the beginning of August.  I suggest shop-stalking to get your hands on some! :-)

Scales on NOPI "Mer-maid For Each Other"

I read a review of Nicole by OPI's limited-edition, only-available-at-Target duochrome polish called "Mer-maid For Each Other" on Nailblog.net.  And after seeing the pretty pictures, I ran out to the local Target and snagged the very last one they had!

I didn't leave it on alone very long, and only snapped a few camera phone pics:

At the beach (oh, so appropriate!)

 With Pumpkin Spice Latte:

If you look closely, you can see the duo-chrome effect from green to aqua blue.  It's much cooler in real life.  This is 2 coats of MFOE with a top coat.

So what to do to spice up a mermaid manicure?  Add scales, of course!  

With flash (you can see a little of the aqua blue here):

And it goes perfectly with the yarn of the scarf I'm currently knitting:

 With flash:

 

Look at how different the MFOE looks here than it does in the first pics!!  Awesome color shift!

I used Sinful Colors "Hot Spot" to stamp on the scale pattern from Mash plate #39.  It stamped wonderfully, but the design wasn't wide enough for my thumb, which is why it looks a little wonky on the edge.  I absolutely could not capture any of the color shift with this lighting set up, so you'll just have to take my word that when the MFOE shifts to the aqua blue, it also goes really well with Hot Spot too.  This manicure makes me happy! ;-)

Early TIOT with Utopia's Polish "Coral Reef" and Sinful Colors "Clementine"

My last manicure lasted almost a week!  I really love "Band Geek"!!  

I finally changed it tonight, keeping in mind that tomorrow is "Try It On Tuesday" on Jilltastic Designs FB Page., and picking "untried" polishes that have been malingering in my stash.

I also chose "untried" polishes with names that begin with "C", so I can participate in Lustrous Lacquer's "Alphabet Challenge" too.  

So I started with Sinful Colors "Clementine"

This is a perfect shade of orange for me, because it's not too bright against my skin.  But the formula was thick and streaky and it took 3 coats to even it out.  If a polish needs 3 coats, it is not welcome in my collection.  So I added about 4 drops of polish thinner, and I re-painted my pinkie with only 2 coats, and it went on much, much smoother, so it can stay!  

But this is a pretty tame manicure for me.  So I searched my polish names, and came up with Utopia's Polish "Coral Reef".  Because of the thickness of the glitter, I decided on trying partial glitter coverage except for the accent nails.

 With Flash:

Oh my glitterness, this is one serious bottle of sparkly explosion!  I used only 2 coats of polish, and my accent nail is almost completely covered.  I actually added some glamour base to my bottle just to dilute the glitter a bit.  I absolutely love these colors!  

You can visit Virginia's shop on Etsy HERE.  She's very nice and makes amazing polishes!  I have 2 more of her polishes that are "untried" too, so I'll have to keep them on the radar.  

Hope you like this combo as much as I do!

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?

Sinful Colors "Amethyst" Franken-ized!!

Today was the first day of the Walgreens $.99 Sinful Colors sale!  Now, I really like Sinful Colors polishes!  They have amazing colors, are 4-free, have a nice formula, are great in water-marbling, and are regularly $1.99, so they won't break the bank, and I don't feel so guilty marbling with them!  There have been a few new "collections" that have come out recently, and today I raided them! :-)

My absolute faves were "Amethyst" (purple creme), "Rain Storm" (medium blue creme) and "Lavender" (periwinkle creme).  I got 2 of the first two, and only 1 of the Lavender, but I will fix that oversight tomorrow, as it is sooo similar to my favorite China Glaze shade: "Secret Peri-wink-le"  

I've been wanting to try a jelly-like franken with glitter in it, and I was inspired by THIS POST by the one and only I'm Feeling Nailventurous.  So I figured I'd use "Amethyst" as my base, I picked out a few other polishes in my stash, and away I went.

I added a little Amethyst, and then kept adding the glitter polishes till my mini bottle was almost full.  Then I added more glitter hearts, and a pinch of small pink & purple glitters.

I painted a base of Amethyst and an accent nail of Sinful "Outrages".  This is 2 coats of each with no top coat.  The polish went on so smoothly, and is completely opaque with 2 easy coats.  Not bad for $.99!  On the thumb, I layered 2 coats of my franken.  When I layered the franken over the ring finger, it totally hid the pink.  So I tried the franken all by itself.  This is 3 coats on the ring finger:

Nice coverage, but I prefer it with "underwear" like on the thumb.  So I re-did it:

The flash makes it look more blue than it really is:

So I really like how this polish turned out!  I think I should have used less "Amethyst" so that the polish would be more sheer.  I really like the look of how the glitters are kind of emerging out of the polish.  Anyway, if this franken had a name, it would be "Elusive Hearts", because I had to fish around forever to get hearts on the brush.  And there are like a zillion of them in there...I know, because I put them in because they're my favorite part!

So get yourself to Walgreens this week, and try some frankening out for yourself!