Plasma Plays in 21 Ways: "5. Go Dark"

I have a bunch of dark colors that I haven't yet used, so had to go through a few before I settled on one.  But I was also thinking ahead to #6 in the Plasma Speedo's "Plasma Plays in 21 Ways", which is to stamp a metallic color over the dark mani.   I've got some metallic purples & pink, so I colored my nails with this:

This is a polish I picked up at Forever 21, and sadly, it has no name. But it is a beautiful dark black with subtle purple shimmer and I had full coverage after 2 coats.  Sorry the shimmer is hard to see in the pic, even in sunlight, but it's there in person.  I've been very happy with these Love & Beauty polishes so far!

I got my stamping inspiration/idea from The Lacquerologist's "Springy Flowers" mani.  It's sooo cute, but I'll be doing it in a kinda bizzarro way, since her's are on a white base and mine will be on black.  I hope it works out!

In other news, on my way home from dropping off the boys at school, I HAD to stop at CVS to see what they had:

My aqua-ish little haul.  I know they all look the same, but they're not!  L-R: Spoiled's "First Class Only", "Use Protection", "Deeper Dive", "Good Karma", and "The Parking Meteor Expired" - you have to see the little purple/teal flecks in this in person!  These are all beautiful and totally remind me of SCUBA diving in the Mexican Caribbean.  Ahhh, que nice!

And I'm totally blaming The Crumpet & her friggin' awesome Blue Mosaic mani for my recent acquisitions!  I loved her mani so much, I was instantly jealous of the range of teals she had.  So, now I've got my own! :-P

OK, so #4 here is only going to last till tonight.  I've got to puruse my stamping plates now...

Plasma Plays in 21 Ways: "4. Execute a Half-Moon Mani"

I am totally diggin;' the light spring pastel colors that are out right now!  I didn't think they would look good on my darker skin, but I found some I really like.  So I figured it was time for #4 in Plasma Speedo's 21 Ways to Play, Execute a Half-Moon Mani:

I should have cleaned up the cuticles before the pic, but I wanted to take it in this last little bit of sunlight so I could capture the sparkly top coats of China Glaze's "Fairy Dust" and Sally Hansen's "Disco Ball".  I must admit, I'm not a fan of this style of mani, which is why I decided to really try to go different with the shatter layer.  Meh.  I actually liked it better before the half-moon:

Well, this one will be on today & tomorrow, and then I'm moving on to #5 Go Dark.  Oh yeah!  Speaking of dark, my toes got a couple of new coats today too:

The base is a no-name black shimmer polish from Forever 21.  It was actually nice and thick, and was opaque in 2 coats with lots of silvery shimmer.  Not too bad for $1.  The crazy glitter on top is "Endangered Blue Loon" from Windestein.  This Etsy shop is really cool, and their prices are amazing.  "Blue Loon" is $5 for a full bottle, and I picked up "Into the Wild" and "80's Deco" for $6 each.  And shipping was super-fast.  Click that link!

Have a Happy Easter!

Plasma Plays in 21 Ways: "3. Polka Dots"

Easter is around the corner, so I HAD to do a cute mani for it!  First I saw this You Tube video from CutePolish: Cute Bunny Nails.  I LOVE her cute, short, simple tutorials!  I've got a few more on my "to try" list.

So, I also have a bunch of new polishes that I have not yet tried.  And I got new dotting tools too.  And I've got #3 of Plasma Plays in 21 Ways I still need to do.  Here's what I came up with:

How flippin' cute is that?  Yes, I know my bunnies are kind of lame, but for a first try, I'm calling it not too bad at all.  That Cute Polish girl really knows how to make this stuff look waaaay easier than it really is.

Here are the polishes I used:

I also got some new nail mail, but I'll share that another day.  Soooo, what do you think???

Polish Giveaways

Hightail it on over to Smashley Sparkles for a chance to win China Glaze's GR8 gold holo in her 600 follower giveaway!  Looks awesome! :-)

And here's a chance to win a Revlon's Whimsical and Sinful Colors Cinderella from Bethany on A Plethora of Nails First Giveaway.  And she says this is a "little" giveaway!

Plasma Plays in 21 Ways: "2. Add A Layer (of something) to That Nude"

Well, that's basically what #2 says.  Check it out yourself here: Plasma Plays in 21 Ways. 

I looked through my shimmers/glitters/flakies/holos, and found what I think is PERFECT with my nude mani:

Lacquistry's "Tepes"

I LOVE this!  The "Dress Me Up" is the perfect pale backdrop for the glittery gorgeousness that is "Tepes".  I need a bit more practice with my French Tip free-handing, but I'm likin' it!

I've already got grand plans for #3, which is "Polka Dots", but I love this mani so much, it's gonna get to stick around a while.  Have you started your 21 ways to play?

Plasma Plays in 21 Ways: "1. Rock a Nude Shade"

Here are my "nude" nails for Plasma Speedo's "Plasma Plays in 21 Ways".

This is China Glaze "Dress Me Up" from the Hunger Games Collection.  It's a perfect pinky-beige, and I'm calling it a nude :-)

Gorgeous as this is on its own, it's kinda tame for me, which is why I'm already thinking of the 2nd way to play: "Add a Layer of Shimmer/Glitter/Anything You Choose, To That Nude". 

Excuse me while I go stare at my polish stash to figure this one out... :-)

Idears to use my newly-grown polish stash

I think I'm on polish over-load.  I've got so many new, gorgeous polishes that I can't decide what to put on next.  And there are so many options for techniques to apply said polishes, that I'm finding I'm falling into "paralysis by analysis".  So, enter this life-saving post: PlasmaSpeedo: Plasma Plays in 21 Ways

So, I'm totally on-board with this!  I'll start today with "1. Rock a Nude Shade".   Sounds like a plan.

I got my camera to work, so here are my newest additions:

Lacquistry's "Oh Yes I Did", "Donald Trump's Iguana", "Cotton Candy", "Paean of the Bells", "A Friggin' Circus", and "Winter No. 1".  As you know from my previous post, I've already broken into "Paean of the Bells"!  Super-fantastic glittery beauty!  LOVE me some Lacquistry!

And with flash!  Sparkly!

Here are my Pretty & Polished goodies:

I got "Jawbreaker"!  Happy Dance!!  And the little guy is "Amazing Technicolor Top Coat", which is all the glitters left over from her polish-mixing thrown into a One-Of-A-Kind little top coat...re-using & recycling always makes me happy! ;-)

And on the way home from breakfast, I had Hubby to stop at Walgreens so I could see what I could see.  And I saw these:

How pretty!  The pink is "Pink Forever" and the gold is "This Is It".  I love the bonus little rose!

OK, so that's it for now.  I've got to start soaking my glittered toes & fingers in acetone...:-)