Polka Dot Stamping!

Hey hey hey!

Today I have a fun manicure for you guys.

 

I know there's a chippy on my index finger):

  

For the base coat, I used China Glaze Sweet Hook. For the polka dots I used China Glaze For Audrey and Bundle Monder plate BM19.

I know my pinky sucks. I did my best! I'm proud I even got this to work semi-sorta! Stamping is still not a super strong point with me. I think the dots would have turned out fuller with a thicker polish, but I still like it!

The inspiration behind this manicure? Well, I love Sweet Hook. It's such a cute lavender creme. Then, I asked a friend to pick a color and he said green. I froze... and then I thought hmm... For Audrey is a blue... with a green tint right? Right! And, wa-la!

Also: Interested in another giveaway? Check this one out!
Comments? Questions? Concerns? Let me know!

China Glaze Smoke And Ashes

Hello there!
Today I have Smoke And Ashes from the Hunger Games Collection.

Smoke And Ashes is a black base filled with micro blue and green glitters. It's pretty awesome in person but since I can't show y'all that, y'all will just have to trust me and the pictures!

I don't have a lot of black polishes and this one definitely does not disappoint me! It has a nice shine and the little flecks of blue and green are just yum!

CLICK ON ME!

Application wise, this one went on like butter! I had no problems with gloopiness or anything of the sort. This one could be wearable with only one coat, but I still did two.

Check it out!

Artificial Lighting

I feel like I haven't stamped in ages so I decided to spice this one up just a litttttle bit!

I used Agro from the same collection (click here to see swatch) and Bundle Monster plate BM16 to do two accent nails.

Take a look!

I was hoping the green would bring out the green flecks. I like this one a lot!

What do you guys think? Any fans of the Hunger Games Collection yet?

Comments? Questions? Concerns? Let me know!

China Glaze Thataway

 Hello hello!
This is a manicure I did awhile back ago. The base color I used was Thataway by China Glaze!

Thataway was a lovely bright orange with a gold shimmer! It went on smooth and fabulous! I only used two coats because it was pretty pigmented for being so light, but if you have some visible nail lines, three coats would work as well!

I forgot to take pictures of just Thataway, sorry!
Take a looksie!

Artificial Lighting

For the design I used OPI Yodel Me on My Cell (which I have a swatch of ready and coming soon) and Bundle Monster plate BM20. This wasn't one of my favorite manicures, but I liked it none the less. I don't know, but for me it's hard to really like orange-ish colors enough to keep them on for a few days. But I'm getting better at stamping at least! 

What do y'all think? Comments? Questions? Concers? Lemme know!

Sally Hansen Lacquer Shine Glow

Hi again! I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful Saturday :) 

I'm enjoying just relaxing and trying to get better. Lots of couch and pajama time!

Today I will be showing y'all Glow by Sally Hansen. Glow is a very appropriate name for this polish. It's a shimmery bright green, close to what I picture a sour green apple to be. It is soooo pretty and it has this golden sheen to it in certain lights that literally makes it "glow".

Sunlight

Sunlight

For my manicure, I used three coats so I could get a deeper green. Two coats would do the job though! This polish went on super smooth. I really like thicker brushes and this brush was a little bit thin for my liking, but nothing unmanageable. And here it is, Glow!

Artificial Lighting

Sunlight

I got Glow for 99 cents on Amazon at the same time when I purchased my Bundle Monster plates. I absolutely adore it! 

Next I decided to do a little stamping! I used Alpine Snow by OPI and for the plate, I used Bundle Monster plate BM19. I really like how it turned out! Check it out!

Artificial Lighting

Sunlight

Sunlight

So what do you guys think? Do y'all like Glow?

Comments? Questions? Concerns? Lemme know!

China Glaze Starboard and China Glaze Chiaroscuro

I'm back again! Just as I promised!
So, I have a twin sister and it's always been me who has had an undying love for polish. My sister always had a problem with long nails and the second they were long enough to be ripped off, she did just that haha. Well, recently she's been really good about letting her nails grow out and she's been playing with my polish or letting me do her nails. She said "it helps me stop making my nails stubs". I say "you're addicted! welcome to the cult!". Well, recently she went out and bought two new China Glaze polishes just so she could do a mani for herself. I thought it was cute so today I'm going to show it to y'all!

Starboard: This color is from the China Glaze Anchors Away Spring 2011 Collection. It's a leaf green creme and went on very smooth and was great and opaque in two coats. This color does not seem very "nautical" to me but it is a very lovely green nonetheless! I wouldn't say it's a dark green, nor a light green. It falls pleasantly in the middle and I wish my camera could have picked it up better. Oh well.

Chiaroscuro: What a name! Well this color is a sheer pinkish nude, almost maybe a little peach-ish. This color is definitely a shimmer and a teeny weeny bit frosty. There's something interesting about this one though, when in the light, it has a shimmer that flickers from gold to green. To me it feels like this little shimmery duochrome has a hint of about everything in it! Application wise, it IS sheer. I would say three coats would do the trick. Two might be fine as well if you don't mind having visible nail lines and the super sheer look. The application was great, just as usual when dealing with a brand like China Glaze. 

Let's check out my sister's mani!

Artificial Lighting

The stamp on the thumb was done using Bundle Monster plate BM15 and the top coat was Seche Vite. What do you guys think? My sister is a very talented artist on paper, do you think she has what it takes to be a nail artist?

Comments? Questions? Concerns? Lemme know!

Orly Close Your Eyes

Hey hey hey!
So today is Superbowl Sunday! Guess who I'm rooting for? The team who is currently winning! Whoo go team! Anyways, today I have for you Close Your Eyes by Orly.
(can anyone tell how much I like football? don't get me wrong... it's cool just not life altering for me.)

Close Your Eyes is a shimmery deep red. The base color is almost purple making the color look a bit like a burgundy. Application was just lovely! It went on smooth with no problems at all and was definitely opaque after two coats. Check it out!

Artificial Lighting

So since I was feeling a bit spirited, I decided to make this manicure Aggie themed. Sorry for all of y'all who don't live in Texas/are not Aggie fans. But for those who are or just don't care:

I did the letters using a close pin which I dipped in OPI's Alpine Snow. The stamp on my pinky is from Bundle Monster plate BM17. Although it is a bit sloppy, I'm still enjoying this manicure. To give the letters more spice, I painted some Stride Rite sparkly polish on top.

So all in all, I really like this. For my top coat and base coat I used OPI. I probably won't keep this on for more than one or two days longer and then I already know what I'm going to do next. I'll see y'all next time!

Comments? Questions? Concerns?

Finger Paints Artist's Sapphire & Pure Ice A List

Hello again!
Long time no see, hmm? I'm actually pretty proud of how consistent I've been in the last few days! I'll try to keep it up, but no promises! I live a pretty busy life and I have a lot to do everyday as I'm sure a lot of people do so y'all should understand.
Today I worked with Finger Paints Artist Sapphire and Pure Ice A List.

Artist's Sapphire: Honestly? Mine was crap. I guess after sitting on my shelf long enough and not getting it's needed amount of TLC, it just died a little bit on me. I did my best to make it work of course, but I will definitely be searching for a way to make it thinner. Other than that, it was great! It went on... smooth as I expected it to in that condition and the color is beautiful. It's a navy with a lovely subtle shimmer. After two coats, it was a done deal. I would definitely say if you're looking for a good blue, Artist's Sapphire might be for you.

A List: I'm pretty sure this isn't a brand that's seen a lot on nails. If I remember correctly, you can pick one of these babies up for pretty cheap at any Walmart. It's application was flawless though. It went on smooth and within two coats, I was a happy camper. Or polisher. It's a classic shimmery silver that almost has a blue hue to it, and it works great for stamping!

Check it out!

Artificial Lighting

So after this, I moved on to some nail art! I used Bundle Monster plate BM20. The only regret I have about this manicure is that I wish the stars could have been a wee bit smaller so more could fit on the nail, but beggars can't be choosers right? Right!

(I know I'm NOT a professional. And yeah all three of these pictures look pretty similar and that is EXACTLY why I put all three up! I couldn't decide which were the best so they all got to make their debut)

Artificial Lighting

So! Comments? Questions? Concerns?

See y'all next time!

China Glaze For Audrey

Hey hey!
(if you don't want to read my rambling, skip this paragraph!)
SO this week I made a trip to my local Sally Hanson just to check out the goods, you know what I'm sayin'? And boy oh boy did I see a lot! Kinda. In their sale section, they had A LOT of the China Glaze crackles (metallic and regular) on sale for $2.99. I had the metallic Cracked Medallion in my hands ready to go but as I kept strolling, I passed by a rack of Seche Vite and underneath there was a coupon that said if I bought a Seche Vite top coat, I would get a China Glaze for free. So you know what I did? I picked me up a SV top coat! I've heard such good things about it, I've just never tried it. With me and my sister constantly painting our nails, we tend to bust through our top coat so I considered it an investment, not useless spending. So what free CG did I grab? Why none other than For Audrey! Check it out!

For Audrey is a beautiful light blue. It, of course, is named after Audrey Hepburn and Breakfast at Tiffany's. It is said to be a dupe of the classic Tiffany & Co blue, but it is not. Although it is definitely a relative, For Audrey is a bit more muted than the Tiffany blue.

When this color came out in 2007, it was a hit! I'm sure some of you remember it and how hard it was to come across at one point, but fear not! For Audrey is part of China Glaze's core collection now and definitely available at a Sally Hanson store near you. AND, if you go before February 1st, YOU TOO CAN GET SECHE VITE AND A FREE CHINA GLAZE! Do I sound like a sales person? Haha, but no really, if you're a fan of seche vite, it's a cool enough deal.

Application: It went on super smooth, however it did leave some streaks. For Audrey is definitely a two-if-not-three coater. Other than that, it was great. It's a gorgeous robin-egg-almost-Tiffany-&-Co-blue and I would say it's worth most of the fuss it received. Here it is. (no top coat and yes I'm aware my fingers look like they were in the sun all day. I have no idea why my camera has portrayed them as demon fingers but beggers can't be choosers)

Artificial Lighting

So to finish off this manicure, I Bundle Monstered it up using OPI Alpine Snow (of course) and plate BM18. I know it didn't come out perfect by any means but I hope you will all look past my obvious lack of official nail art training and get the idea of what I had intended the manicure to look like. Enjoy!

My Fail of a left hand. Artificial Lighting.

My better right hand, Artificial Lighting

And these picture are with Seche Vite as the top coat. I'm a definite fan now! It dried amazingly fast and adds a great shine. My nails feel sturdy too, I like I like!

Comments? Questions? Concerns? Lemme know!

Ew ... Bundle Monster

Hello hello!
I know it's been awhile.. and I had this manicure ready last weekend, I just never took pictures of it until a few days ago. I really liked it at first, but as one day turned into two... I started to really dislike it. Just take a looksie for yourself:

No Flash/Artificial Lighting for Both

The base is two coats of OPI Alpine Snow. 

The other nails have Avon's gunmetal. This color is a gunmetal (lol) grey complete with tons of little shimmers in it. It's an awesome color and it goes on great and even one coat still looks awesome and shimmery and smooth. I'll swatch it one day for you guys(: 

On my ring finger I have OPI Yodel Me On My Cell. Yodel Me On My Cell is a beautiful royal blue. It's shimmery and has a bit of green in it making it look a bit aqua. I'll swatch this one one day as well!

I wanted you to see the name and the color haha

On top of all the nails, I have New York Color 101A. This nail polish is so old that I actually have no idea what the name is other than 101A on the bottle. It actually ended up tinting my nails a bit yellow and as seen on the pinky, I smeared o: 

There was no top coat on this manicure. I never got around to it and eventually I just HAD to take it off. The plate I used what Bundle Monster's BM16. I hope you guys liked this manicure more than I did ! Comments ? Concerns ? Questions ? Lemme know! See y'all next time!

PS sneak peak at next time: can anyone say China Glaze For Audrey ?