NOTD: Distressed Valentine's

Hello!

Here's a cute Valentine's Day look I just finished.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I started with a base coat of Duri Rejuvacote, two coats of China Glaze Friends Forever, Right? on all my fingers but my thumb, which got two coats of Zoya Shelby. This was all topped with one coat of Seche Vite before stamping the chevron pattern from BM-201 with Zoya Geneviev, then again with Pure Ice Gossip and the hearts from BM-317. I added one coat of NYC In a New York Minute topcoat to add shine.

I didn't intend for it to be so grey and distressed, but it worked out well anyway.

Hope your day is great!

More soon! ^_^

NOTW: New Year's Glam

Hello!

Lacquer Lust A Toast to the Good Life looked like the perfect New Year's Eve polish to me, so I just upped the glam for this simple look.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I wore my swatch for a few days, then did a gradient with Essie Set in Stones and added just a touch of Milani Jewel FX Fuchsia for a pop of color. A coat of Gelous plus a coat of Seche Vite had this glass smooth and super shiny! Just in time for New Year's Eve.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

NOTW: September to December Overview

Hello!

I'm going to take this opportunity to catch up on some nails of the week I wore during the last three months of shoddy blogging.

First, here is the mani I wore for our one year anniversary celebration in September. I started with three coats of OPI Don't Touch My Tutu over my base coat combination of Duri Rejuvacote plus Sinful Colors Nail Hardener. I added one coat of INM Northern Lights. I used a decal and then painted a tiny red heart, and finally, sealed that with one coat of NYC In a New York Minute.

Second, I tried out this beautiful peachy shimmer gel polish. My sister went the gel polish way, but I like changing mine up more often. Gel was fun to try, but it's definitely not for me. I think this was a Sally Hansen color, and the decal came from the clearance section at ShopKo.

Next, I wore this pretty autumn look on our long weekend trip to Duluth in October. We had great weather and beautiful fall color! My base here is OPI Sleigh Ride for Two.

Zoya re-released Harlow, from their Matte Velvet collection this past fall, and I had been lemming it forever. I put it on immediately once it arrived and added a coat of Rainbow Honey XOXO over my ring and middle fingers. I did use topcoat to make it shine and last a bit longer.

Last, I did this rather simple stamped looked. Sally Hansen Wet Cement is the grey, and I stamped with Pure Ice Gossip and BM-321. The darker grey on my ring finger was an experiment - I tried one coat of Dance Legend Albion over a creme-base, but preferred the look without.

More soon! ^_^

NOTW: Two Weeks of Jamberry Christmas!

Hello! Merry Christmas! I hope you are enjoying the holidays!

I have two different looks to share with you today that I did while wearing some Jamberry nail wraps as accent nails.

The first, is this peppermint candy look I wore last week:

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I used Zoya Elisa and Orly Au Champagne here over my base coat of Duri Rejuvacote plus Sinful Colors Nail Hardener. I stamped the candies with Zoya Elisa and Bundle Monster plate BM-213. The candy cane stripes are nail wraps from Jamberry. I was a little sad to see that the red on the wrap was much more orange-toned than my polish, which made this one my least favorite of the two designs.

The second, is this festive little number I'm currently wearing:

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

This mani features OPI The Color of Minnie over my basecoats, which is a punchier, brighter, and more orange red than Zoya Elisa. While it still doesn't match the red on the nail wrap perfectly, the colors do play nicer together. After that was topcoated and dry, I used one dabbed on coat of KBShimmer Kringle All the Way to add some sparkles to my middle finger and double-topcoated it smooth.

I hope your holiday is bright and cheery!

More soon I hope. ^_^

NOTW: Classy Christmas Skittle

Hello!

I'm excited to share these nails with you today! I absolutely love the burnished, rich colors.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I started with a base coat of Duri Rejuvacote and then painted two coats of OPI Sleigh Ride for Two, the burgundy shimmer, and Zoya Hunter, the deep green creme. The gold glitter is Sinful Colors All About You, and the silver hex glitter is Essie Set In Stones. I stamped the various gold snowflakes with Orly Luxe from Bundle Monster plates, BM-323 and BM-H01, and then I added individual glitters picked out of Set in Stones. Two coats of topcoat followed that.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Nicely festive, yet not over the top.

More soon! ^_^

Copycat NOTW: Sweet and Cozy

Hello!

I wanted to share with you this sweet, cozy, wintry mani I've been wearing all this week. I was inspired by this pin.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I started with my base coats - Duri Rejuvacote and Sinful Colors Nail Hardener. To that, I added two coats each of Sally Hansen Wet Cement, the light grey creme; Zoya London, the medium grey texture; and OPI Don't Bossa Nova Me Around, the greyed-out pink creme. Once dry, I embellished the look with delicate dots in Wet Cement and Konad Special Polish white over the Don't Bossa Nova Me Around on my middle finger, a snowman stamp from plate BM-318 over the Wet Cement on my pointer finger, one coat of OPI Muppets World Tour over the Wet Cement on my pinkie, and, finally, a clear rhinestone on my thumb. Everything but the textured polish got one coat of Seche Vite to finish.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I loved this look and got plenty of compliments on it.

More soon! ^_^

Copycat NOTW: Bat Swarm!

Why hello there!

Here's what I've been wearing this week! I was inspired by this pin.

Halloween Nail Art. 

I started with one coat of Duri Rejuvacote and one coat of Sinful Colors Nail Hardener. After that I used two coats of Color Club Fashion Addict sealed with one coat of Seche Vite. Once dry, I created a gradient with Color Club Fashion Addict and Wild at Heart. After another coat of Seche Vite, I used Konad Special Polish in Black to stamp my bat swarm from image plate, BM-H08. Everything was then topped with NYC In a New York Minute!

I've missed the blog -- if I can, I'll play some catch up with hauls and story-time this weekend. Life has been like a rollercoaster this past month leaving little time for nails. I'm a bit out of practice, so my right hand, pictured up there, turned out much better than my left. Even my nails have been in sorry condition lately, so I definitely need to refocus on moisturizing before we get back to swatches! Offda.

Hopefully, more soon! ^_^

Copycat NOTW: Turquoise Stone Nails

Hello!

This week, I was smacked in the face by this awesomeness from the Nailasaurus, and I absolutely had to try it out!

I started withbase coat - Duri Rejuvacote plus Sinful Colors Nail Hardener. Then, two coats of China Glaze For Audrey, one coat of Zoya Gilty, and one coat of Seche Vite. Once dry, I used this tutorial's method for the black marbling.

I had some trouble with this method. Frustratingly, when I tested this over a bare nail, it worked perfectly the first time. By the time I had the rest of the mani done and dry, something must've changed, and the rest of this did not go as smoothly. I couldn't get the polish to spread out in the water, and once I did (by switching to a cheaper, thinner black), then it wouldn't do anything when spritzed. I ended up settling on Sally Hansen Black Out for my polish and a sample perfume for my spritzer. My little nail polish corner got mighty smelly, and I'm not sure I ever want to smell that perfume again!

More soon! ^_^

Jamberry Thoughts

Hello again!

I've been a bit quiet here lately, which was partly due to my poor planning. I wanted to wear-test my Jamberry sample from this post, but I didn't think to swatch up enough polishes to post while I did so. Once I finally took that off, it was in the middle of the week, and I was too busy for swatching. Onward with the swatches next week, but for now here are some of my thoughts on Jamberry nail wraps.

I think these are a fun way to do a long-lasting mani in a hurry, but they're kind of expensive. Each packet is $15, and they offer a lot of very basic looks. I made sure to pick out very complicated art styles that I wouldn't be able to recreate using nail polish myself. I love how shiny these are on their own - they look like topcoated polish, as far as shine goes. I didn't put anything over mine, and they stayed shiny the entire time I had them on my nails.

Day 8. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I took this picture on Day 8. The wrap still looks pretty good, as does the polish. What you can't see well in the photo is that the polish was starting to crack and was about to chip, but eight days was really great wear on that too. I had mine on for well over a week, so they'll be great for my next vacation. I'm curious to know how they'd hold up on a beach vacation where they'll be in water a lot of the time.

I definitely feel like I need to make these last, so I will probably use them as accent nails, reserving an entire mani's worth for a special occasion. Overall, it's a nice system if they're your thing, but if you have a lot of polish and a little nail art skill, I think they're only a novelty at best and a waste at worst.

More soon! ^_^

NOTW: Jamberry Inspired Skittle

Hello!

This week's look is centered around a Jamberry nail wrap. My sister roped me into trying some of these with her, and this one was a free sample.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I paired my wrap with two coats of China Glaze Re-fresh Mint topped with Seche Vite. I added some soft and subtle sparkle to my middle finger with OPI Pirouette My Whistle, and to pull the whole look together, I focused on the yellow of the flowers and added some small dots with Sinful Colors Unicorn.

More soon! ^_^

NOTW: Ready for Fall with Cozy Plaid!

Hello!

This week's mani was definitely ready for Fall! I used two coats of Powder Perfect Widow's Walk on my thumb, pointer, and pinkie. My middle and ring fingers got three coats of Sally Hansen Big Smoky topcoat before I stamped the plaid image from Konad plate m60 with Konad Special Polish in Black. I used one coat of Seche Vite over everything to complete my cozy look!

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Even though temperatures this summer have been really quite nice and mild, I am definitely ready for fall and snow! I'm so glad to be back in Minnesota--here's to a proper winter! I've missed it!

More soon! ^_^

NOTD: Sushi Nails!

Hello!

Here's my most recent mani! I went out for sushi with some friends recently and thought I needed to paint my nails just for the occasion!

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

After my usual base coats, I put on two coats of China Glaze Be More Pacific. To my pointer and pinkie fingers, I added one coat of Chick Polish Hipster Chick. The stamps all came from FUN IP #3 and were done in Konad Special Black, for the most part. When I bought that plate, I didn't I'd ever use those three stamps! I've since tried sushi and become a bit of a fangirl about it (obviously?!). I made a decal out of the pile of sushi image, so I could color it in. I used China Glaze Glittering Garland for the nori, OPI Toucan Do It if You Try and Color Club Wildflower for the seafood, and a tiny bit of Milani White Out for the rice. It was my first time trying that technique. I thought it was super fun!

Indoors, natural light, no flash.

These turned out better than how I envisioned the mani when I started it! So fun!

More soon! ^_^

Copycat NOTW: Sherbert Rainbows!

Hello!

We're still playing a little bit of catch-up because this is what I wore a week ago! I saw Cris from Let Them Have Polish do a tutorial on this look, and I thought it was absolutely brilliant. I had to try it right away! Check out her tutorial -- it's awesome!

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

So, I started with my two base coat combination of Duri Rejuvacote and Sinful Colors Nail Hardener. For my rainbows, I used all China Glaze: Flip Flop Fantasy, Sun Worshipper, Sun-kissed, Be More Pacific, Caribbean Blue, and Sweet Hook. They worked out so nicely together! Like in the tutorial, I topped my rainbows with more rainbows, INM Northern Lights!

Indoors, natural light, no flash.

This looked SO good on. It's a very impressive, but easy, bit of nail art, and random people kept saying how awesome it was. I don't know how many times I was asked to explain how I did it.

Good job, LTHP!! Thanks for the inspiration! More soon! ^_^

NOTW: Vintage Half-moons

Hello!

I have the last mani from the vault scheduled today. Finally!! This one was the direct result of my watching the Great Gatsby. 

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I started with one coat of Duri Rejuvacote and one coat of Sinful Colors Nail Hardener. Once that was dry, I blocked off my half-moons with paper hole savers. I used one to two coats of OPI Got the Blues for Red before removing the hole savers. I topped everything off with one coat of Seche Vite for a super glossy look.

Classy!

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

NOTW: Valentine's Day with Zoya

Hello again!

Today, I have yet another nail art post!! This one is what I wore for Valentine's Day! Soon we'll be caught up -- only one more old mani left!!

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Keeping on with this week's inadvertent theme, I started with another polish from the Naturel Collection, this one is two coats of Zoya Rue over my base coat, plus Qtica Extending Topcoat. Once that was dry, I used Pure Ice Gossip to stamp various lovey-dovey images, sealing them with NYC In a New York Minute. My ring fingers got two coats of Zoya Miranda.

I had a really good few weeks back at the beginning of this year nail art wise. The stamping in the last three posts is probably the cleanest I've ever managed, and I thought all my looks were well put together. While I can't believe it took me this long to post them, it sort of worked out nicely because Zoya just released a second Naturel Collection.

More soon! ^_^

NOTW: Pretty in Pink

Hello!

Like yesterday, I'm dusting off this look to show you today. I wore this one the week after yesterday's pretty.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

This delicate look started with Duri Rejuvacote, Sinful Colors Nail Hardener, two coats of Zoya Brigitte, and the Qtica Extending Topcoat. The stamps were added the next day to ensure the base color was dry, and I used Essie Nothing Else Metals. I added a pink rhinestone to my ring finger, and sealed everything with one coat of NYC In a New York Minute. It's another mani that I absolutely adored!

More soon! ^_^

NOTW: Secret Garden

Hello!

I am fail blogger again! But I regret nothing, Azeroth needed me! I'm a hero, don't you know? ^_^

So, since I've been playing too much World of Warcraft and don't have any pictures edited for this week, let's go all the way back to January in Maryland when I wore this beautiful mani.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

This started with my normal base coat combination. Then, I used two coats of Zoya Odette, which was then topcoated with Qtica Extending Topcoat. After a lot of dry time, I stamped the swirls with AEngland St. George. The glitter accents are the fabulous, Rainbow Honey Metalmark. Lastly, I used one coat of NYC In a New York Minute to seal everything in. I totally loved this look so much. I might have to revisit it!

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Bonus NOTW: Blush!

Hello!

Today's look is another one from a few month's ago. This one started with my usual base coat combination, and two coats of Orly Naked Canvas. To that I sponged on Rainbow Honey Sword Lily to create a soft gradient. I stamped the scroll work image from FUN #3 Stamping Plate with Konad Special Polish in Black over my gradient and sealed it with a quick coat of NYC In a New York Minute. Voila!

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

NOTW: Aqua Skittles

Hello!

I have another old mani to show you today. This one is from the beginning of May, and I still absolutely love it!

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I started out with my usual base coat combination of Duri Rejuvacote and Sinful Colors Nail Hardener. Then I put on two easy coats of China Glaze For Audrey. To my middle finger, I added one coat of Color Club Galactic Garden, from the Luminous Lacquer Collection. My ring finger got one coat of Emily de Molly Majestic Flight. Everything was then topped with Seche Vite. Perfection!

More soon! ^_^

Bonus NOTW: Red and Sparkly

Hello!

Here is yet another mani from a few months ago. It was one of those times when I was craving bright red nails. But I wanted to use one of my new polishes too, and the resulting combination isn't really the best...

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

This is my usual base coat combination (Duri + Sinful Colors Nail Hardener), and two coats of Zoya Sooki for the red polish. On my accent nails, I started with a coat of OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest and layered one coat each of Rainbow Honey The Bubbly and Rainbow Honey Dearly Beloved over my middle and ring finger nails, respectively. One coat of topcoat, and this was finished.

I'm not crazy about the bright red mixed with the darker polishes. I was expecting the burgundy of Every Month is Oktoberfest to play against the red a little better, but even so, I rocked this one for a few days.

More soon ! ^_^