"This is Halloween" Nail Art Challenge: Recreate

Hello again! Happy Halloween!!! One of my favorite holidays! It's so much fun!

Indoors, artificial light, with flash.

Today's prompt is "Recreate your favourite from another challenger"! I was blown away by Shannon's (from Somewhere Over the Polish Rainbow) gradient manicure from October 22nd. I knew once I saw this one that I had to try it.

This was really not easy!! My goodness! Two attempts later this is what I came up with:

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I started with a base of Zoya Arizona. Once that was dry, I used the narrow part of make-up wedge to blot on the red using OPI Got the Blues for Red leaving a center stripe of orange visible. I then did the same on the outer edges with Zoya Mimi. I went over this a few times, trying to blend the colors evenly. This part was the most challenging--I think because the colors were so different from one another that any mistake would show. I had purple in my orange, the red was really saturated and tried to take over the whole nail! In the end, I had to carefully paint the center stripe over with Arizona to cover my boo-boos. I slathered on some Seche Vite to dry all that polish and waited.

Once I deemed it dry enough, I used the end of a bobby pin to make the dots. I used China Glaze Riveting, Orly Star Spangled, and Orly Velvet Rope for the dots. Once the dots were in place, it really completed the overall look and hide some of my sloppy sponging. Another coat of Seche Vite, and I was quite happy with this attempt.

These look like jewels! The colors are gorgeous. Thanks for the inspiration, Shannon! Stellar job!

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

See who everyone else took inspiration from today!



More soon!! ^_^

"This is Halloween" Nail Art Challenge: Trick or Treat!

Hello again!! As I'm writing this on Sunday night, I'm already hearing the wind and rain from Hurricane Sandy--by the time this posts, I doubt I'll have power, so I'll see you all as soon as we get it back! Be safe if you're affected as well!

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Today's "This is Halloween" Nail Art Challenge prompt is "Trick or Treat!". This one can be open to a lot of interpretation. I went with costumes, decorations, and candy since these are pretty much the three major elements of the Trick or Treating that takes place on Halloween. I chose to do a skittle mani for this one, and it was rather fun to do. I started off with a base of Sinful Colors Nail Hardener on all my nails, but let's continue on by breaking this down one nail at a time.

On my thumb, I used a base of Milani White Out. After it had dried, I used two pieces of tape to create a straight edge for the orange in the candy corn design. This color is a super old bottle of Rimmel Tequila Sunrise, which I normally use for stamping. At the tip, I freehanded the yellow in Barielle Lemondrops.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

My pointer finger got a base coat of Pure Ice Wild Thing. Once that was dry, I used OPI Black Shatter. I used Konad Special Polish in black and white to create the monster's eyes. The mouth is done in OPI Got the Blues for Red.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

My middle finger got a base coat of what is becoming my favorite shade of orange--One coat of Zoya Arizona followed by a coat of Zoya Coraline. Once this was dry, I used Konad Special Polish in black to draw the jack-o-lantern face on using a bobby pin.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

My ring finger is a recreation of my Ghostie manicure from October 8th. I so loved that mani! I started with a base coat of Milani White Out and topped it with two coats of Revlon Spooky Skull. Once that was dry, some more Konad Special polishes were used to make his face.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

My pinky finger is more candy! It's three coats of Zoya Mimi stamped in Konad Special polish and Bundle Monster Plate BM-02.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Whew!! That was a ton of explanation. Everything then got a generous coat of Seche Vite. Trick or Treat! Hope your Halloween is full of fun!

Check out the others below!



More soon! ^_^

"This is Halloween" Nail Art Challenge: Graveyard

Hello again!! Ugh, Monday!

Today's "This Is Halloween" Nail Art Challenge prompt is"Graveyard".

I had such high hopes for this mani. I had envisioned a neat outline manicure, but alas, my nail art skills are lacking. It's pretty terrible, definitely not my best work.

Tombstone Nails. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I started with my go-to base of Sinful Colors Nail Hardener. Then I used one thick coat of Sally Hansen Wet Cement. At one coat, it was still a bit uneven, but I was going to layer it up anyway. Once this was dry, I used a corner of a make-up sponge with Sally Hansen Grey Area to sponge a marbled look onto my nails. I then used Butter London's Matte topcoat to give this a stone look. Once that was good and dry, I used Sally Hansen Black Out with a nail art brush to outline my nails and create a french tip. I was hoping the leftover grey would look like tombstones.

I then used Bundle Monster plates BM-01 and BM-13 for the crosses and "words" (Let's just pretend they say things like "RIP" I was really not up to writing on my nails with a brush lol).

Here's the final look. Messy, but maybe you can tell where I was going with this?

Tombstone Nails, Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

 See what the others did below!



More soon!! ^_^

"This is Halloween" Nail Art Challenge: Witches

Hello again!!

Today's prompt for the "This is Halloween" Nail Art Challenge is "Witches"! My first design ended up being mostly fail, but I thought I'd share it anyway. Sometimes, stamping works, and sometimes, it doesn't! I loved my base for this one--it's NYC's Battery Park Purple with Orly Fowl Play sponged on the tips then matted down with Butter London's Matte Topcoat. I totally can't take credit for this combination. Way back before I started blogging or even thinking about starting one, I saw this done on another blog and was blown away by it's gorgeousness. Fortunately, I pinned to my nail art inspiration board, so I can give credit to the Polished Perfectionist. It was first seen on a guest post she did for Ivana Thinks Pink. So awesome!

NYC Batter Park Purple with Orly Fowl Play in matte. Indoors, artificial light, with flash.

For Halloween, I tend to associate deep purple with witches, so I thought the combination was wonderfully magical. My fail came when picking a polish to stamp with. I used Wet n' Wild's Hog-Quartz School, which has been reviewed to stamp well, but it didn't this time for me. It was my first time attempting to stamp with it, but I noticed this image is rather large and can look blob like if not done crisply. So, I think this particular image needs a polish intended to be used for stamping.

First attempt at some witch nail art--not great. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

My next attempt was done over Hits Demeter, a gorgeous orange linear holo, with Konad Special Polish in black and came out much nicer. I used Bundle Monster plates BM-13 and BM-04 from for the witch and her little kitty familiar.

Witches nail art and Hits Demeter. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

I guess actual stamping polish made the difference with this design.

Second attempt--much cleaner but less interesting? Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Check out what everyone else did today!

More soon!! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Wet n' Wild Party of Five Glitters

Hello again!!

Wet n' Wild Party of Five Glitters. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I've got a layering polish swatched up for today! This is Wet n' Wild's Party of Five Glitters over Zoya Blaze from Tuesday.

Wet n' Wild Party of Five Glitters. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Application was easy--it's not one swiped coat though. Like previous glitters, I swirl the brush in the bottle then bend the brush on the inside of the bottle neck, which traps the glitter on top of the brush but allows excess clear polish to drain off. Then I dab this on my nail and smoosh it around with the brush until I'm happy with the dispersion of glitter.

Wet n' Wild Party of Five Glitters. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

Party of Five Glitters looks awesome in the bottle. I see green, silver, blue, red, and deep pink hexes in various sizes. The colored glitters got rather lost over my choice of Blaze for undies, unfortunately. I thought Blaze would work well, but perhaps it's just too awesome on it's own! I always have trouble pairing glitter polishes with base colors. This one I actually rather like even if the silver glitter stands out the most and steals all the attention. Expect to see some more of this one as the holidays near!

I found this at Walgreens. It was in a random display, so I'm not sure on availability. Good luck if you're hunting it! 

Wet n' Wild Party of Five Glitters. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon!!! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Sinful Colors Unicorn

Hello again!!

Sinful Colors Unicorn. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Today I have my first Sinful Colors swatch post, I think. Strangely, this one happens to be my most recent Sinful Colors purchase! This is Unicorn:

Sinful Colors Unicorn. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

Unicorn is a great pale, pastel yellow creme. I'd been on the hunt for this one for awhile, since I can't come up with another polish quite like it, so I was pleased when I finally found it at my local Walgreens.

Sinful Colors Unicorn. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I used a base coat of Sinful Colors Nail Hardener, three coats of Unicorn, and one coat of Seche Vite for swatches here. I usually do only two coats of polish, but this one needed three. It was a little streaky and patchy, but yellow polishes tend to be finicky like that. This one wasn't too much of a pain. I was hoping it would lean a little more towards a jelly finish so I could potentially dupe Candeo Jellybean using Black Cat Lacquer's Rainbow Brite. I'll still give it a go sometime with a thin final coat of unicorn--results to be published... eventually!

Sinful Colors Unicorn. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon!! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Zoya Blaze

Hello again!!

Zoya Blaze. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I have a gorgeous, brand new polish for your viewing pleasure today! This bit of fantastic is Zoya Blaze from the new Ornate Collection.

Zoya Blaze. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Blaze is a beautiful berry with holographic flecks!! Yes, Zoya did holos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The formula on this is great! It flows very nicely, it's nicely pigmented, but ever so slightly jelly. The holographic shimmer is tinted by the base coat, like you are seeing the holo rainbow effect through a berry-colored filter. It's breathtaking in the sun.

Zoya Blaze. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

I used two coats here over a base of Sally Hansen Nail Protix, and I topped it with a coat of Orly Sec n' Dry. The holo effect on this is of the 'scattered' variety (as opposed to linear).

I bought mine straight from Zoya's website. If you don't have an account with them and would like to set  one up, you can certainly do so through my Share the Love link (read about the program here). They can also be found at Ulta (though good luck there--I've never been at my Ulta when the polish displays weren't extremely picked over, and I think with how awesome this one is, you'd be hard-pressed to find it in stock, but that's just my experiences talking. Your mileage may vary, as they say.)

Zoya Blaze. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

I think this is a very versatile color--it's a little bit vampy for me indoors. Awesome anytime there's sunshine. A great berry shade for fall, but the glowy sparkle makes is great for the holidays too. This is probably one of my most favorite polishes released this year--it's awesome!!!

Zoya Blaze. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon!!! ^_^

"This is Halloween" Nail Art Challenge: Gradient

Hello again!! Happy Monday! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend! Can't wait for the next one, yes? :P

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Today's nail art challenge prompt is "Gradient"! Yay! I love doing gradients. Well, ever since I read the tutorial by Sammy over at the Nailasaurus, I love doing gradients!

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

For this look I started out with a base of Milani White Out. I then layered Orly Orange Crush over that. Orange Crush is a sheer, yellow-orange jelly. I topped all of that with a quick coat of Seche Vite to dry it faster. Once it was dry, I used a make-up sponge with some more Orange Crush and China Glaze Riveting. I love how this turned out--the light orange at the top and then fade to the darker and shimmery Riveting. Take a look at it in the sun:

Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

After this was all dry, I used BM-13 and Konad Special Polish in black to stamp the spiders and their webs. I topped it all with a coat of NYC's In a New York Minute Fast Dry topcoat. My thumb came out the best.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Orange and black are classic Halloween colors, and I'm quite pleased with how this one turned out.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

See what the others did for this one below!




More soon!! ^_^

"This is Halloween" Nail Art Challenge: Bats

Hello and happy Friday!!!!

Today's "This is Halloween" Nail Art Challenge prompt is bats. I was going for a very wearable Halloween nail this time. I chose to recreate my black lace french tips from a few months ago with bat stamps added. The black lace looked eerie enough--like the intricate railings on an old haunted house, so I thought that would be a good start for this mani.

Bat Nail Art. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

As before, I used two coats of Zoya Rose, one coat of INM Northern Lights, a lot of dry time, then stamped the french tip design from BM-18 and the bats from BM-13 with Konad Special polish in black. I finished this off with a coat of NYC's In a New York Minute Fastdry Topcoat.

This ended up being a very subtle Halloween look, which was my intent. Here's a shot with flash. I think the green shimmer in Zoya Rose lends itself nicely to this look.

Bat Nail Art. Indoors, artificial light, with flash.

Check out the rest of the participants' bat nails!






More soon!! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Essence Gorgeous Bling Bling

Hello again!!

Today I have my very first Essence polish to show you! I finally lucked out and found a display at Ulta that wasn't completely empty! It was only half empty! --_^ So, I snagged three interesting looking ones. This one is Gorgeous Bling Bling.

Essence Gorgeous Bling Bling. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are a basecoat of Sinful Colors Nail Hardener, three coats of Gorgeous Bling Bling, and one coat of Seche Vite. I only needed two coats for opacity but waited a few days to snap some pictures, so, because of some minor tipwear, I touched up with an additional coat of color plus topcoat.

Essence Gorgeous Bling Bling. Outdoors, sunlight at sunset, no flash.

Formula was fine, but the brushes on these are big and paddle-like (similar to the Sally Hansen Gem Crush series), which are not my favorite. That aside, this is a gorgeous burnt orange creme with small gold flakies. I love the flakies in this--they're transluscent gold, I think! The base color is unusual. It's almost tomato-colored, but more orange. Reminiscent of Spaghettios sauce color for me--hehe.

Essence Gorgeous Bling Bling. Outdoors, sunlight at sunset, no flash.

In the US, I only know to find these at Ulta. I'm loving the little bottles and the price tag. They seem to have some winning colors as well. I've been on the hunt for Blue Addicted (I hear this is a Deborah Lippmann Across the Universe dupe, and Deborah Lippmann polishes are outside of my current polish budget!) since I saw it swatched somewhere ages ago. Wish me luck!

Essence Gorgeous Bling Bling. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon!! ^_^