NOTD: Dandelion Puffs

A little while back, I came across an adorable dandelion manicure on tumblr and I finally got around to doing my own version. (The original is by MaD Manis... check them out!)





I used China Glaze For Audrey, Kiss Nail Artist Black, and Sinful Colors Nail Art White. It was very simple and literally took me less than 20 minutes from base coat to top coat. Awesome!~

Thanks for reading!
- Kim

NOTD: Fiercely Fiona

Hey guys! I picked up a couple of new polishes at Ulta the other day. They were (still are?) having a buy two, get one free sale on Orly and China Glaze so while I was taking advantage of the sale, I also found a bottle of OPI Fiercely Fiona on clearance for $4.99. Awesome! I ended up using it for my mani/pedi today. (Yes, I actually did my own toes for a change!)

I wasn't that into nail polish when the Shrek collection first came out so I missed out on all of those. I will say that I wish I picked this color up sooner. It's bright and summery and will go well with color blocking trend that's so popular this season. I'm thinking I need to rock a blue dress and orange cardigan with these nails...






And on to the toes... I did the design with my trusty Kiss Nail Artist paints in Black, Silver Glitter, and White and then I slapped on BIG gemstone for some added bling. I feel ready for the surf and sun now!~


Thanks for reading!
-Kim

NOTD: Pink Wednesday - Wild Flower Field

I joined the Pink Wednesday group a long time ago but I always forgot to paint my nails pink or I had another design that I'd rather do. I know, I know... I'm not sure why I committed to do such a thing when it obviously wasn't that high on my priority list either, lol. Well have no fear, my first Pink Wednesday mani is here... finally.

For this one, I painted my nails Essie French Affair and then free handed some grassy, flowery fields using Kiss Nail Artist Black. It was pretty simple to do and took me about 20 minutes to apply. :o)





Thanks for reading!
- Kim

NOTD: Star Spangled

I decided to go with "Old Glory" and I also went with the rustic flag stripes as suggested by Dani Rage. I changed the design a little bit by adding silver glitter tips and half-moons instead of the blue in the corner as a way to kind of pull the two designs together. I see some flaws here and there but overall, I like how they came out. I think I just need to practice painting stars and stripes, lol.


For the colors, I used OPI Dating a Royal, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Rapid Red, Sinful Colors Nail Art White, and Kiss Nail Artist Silver Glitter.





Thanks for reading and I hope you all have a safe and happy 4th of July!

-Kim

NOTD: Black and Woo!

Okay, there's a slightly amusing story behind the name of this blog-post. I was cropping my pictures and I was thinking aloud to myself:

I need to think of a clever name for this manicure...

My fiance overheard my rambling and came peeking over my shoulder to see what I was working on. He stood there for a moment, frozen in silence as he looked at my picture and thought about it. Then, out of nowhere, in his best possible movie trailer voice, he blurted out "Black and Woo." I decided to roll with it, lol.




So for my "Black and Woo" manicure, I used Essie Licorice as my base. The silver glitter with the big flecks is from Forever 21. It's simply called Silver Rose Petal Nail Polish but I absolutely love it! The glitter reflects every color of the rainbow and it's so eye catching... I really wish the pictures did it justice. Then to finish my design, I just ran a line of silver Kiss Nail Artist polish along the edge of the Forever 21 polish and sealed it all in with coat of Seche Vite. Super simple and easy to do.

Here's a slightly blurry picture to try and capture the colors in the sparkles.

Thanks for reading!
- Kim

NOTD: Purple Leopard Nails

Hey guys! Here is a quick mani I did today using Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Lively Lilac and Whirlwind White, OPI Black Onyx, and Kiss Nail Artist Black. I used the OPI with my Konad M57 plate and then I free handed the moons and tips. Very simple and took me about 20 minutes. :o)





Thanks for reading!
- Kim

NOTD: China Glaze Hologram

I was not feeling the polish today! I literally painted my nails 3 times prior to settling on this mani. I don't know if it was just me or what, but nothing I did turned out right. Oh well...

I love this polish so it made it okay, I suppose. I used China Glaze Hologram and and I painted on a lil' design for some interest using Kiss Nail Art Paint in Black and Silver Glitter. I didn't have any more gems so I just added a dot of OPI Koala Bear-y in the corners.


I have an idea for tomorrow and hopefully, it will come out better than today's misadventures, lol.

Thanks for reading!
- Kim

NOTD: Stormy Silver Lining

I was in a bit of a rush so I just a simple mani today... Revlon Top Speed in Stormy with Kiss Nail Artist Paint in silver glitter.



Nothing fancy... I just did a silver starburst type patter on my thumb and ring fingers on each hand.

Thanks for reading!
- Kim

NOTD: Manicure Overload!

I thought I'd share these three manicures together since aren't really anything special. I tend to use an abstract design on my ring finger when I'm in a hurry but want my nails to look decent. I've also been neglecting my cuticles and I have a few stubby nails, lol. That's the price I pay for being clumsy.

First up, we have Revlon Mon Cherry. This is one of the scented polishes and it really does smell like cherries once it dries. I thought it was cute and it wore well. Application was easy-peasy. I used SecheVite on top and I could still smell the cherry goodness so I'd dare to say that it may have a stronger scent if you leave the top coat off. For the design, I used my Kiss Nail Artist polishes again. I highly recommend them for super-quick freehand designs like this!


Next up, we have the wedding nails... T's colors were malibu blue and fuchsia so to keep up with that theme, all the girls got matching pedicures using OPI Koala Bear-y and had designs painted on using white and bright blue. When I got done at the salon, I headed over to Ulta to pick up a bottle for touch ups in case we dinged our toes-es. I did my own fingernails using the same color. I didn't want to do anything over the top so I just did the same design as before and switched out the black for blue. Simple yet pretty!



And now for the last one... while I was at Ulta, I went a lil' polish crazy and picked up a few lot of various colors that I didn't need. (including a clearanced OPI Suede that I can't wait to try!) One of my impulse buys was a bottle of OPI Skull and Glossbones. I really like this color! I've always been a fan of unique nudes/neutrals and this one is definitely a winner. I generally find that I need at least 3 coats for light colors like this but surprisingly, it only took two thin coats to get full coverage. I ended up doing a third because, again, I'm clumsy and I ended up mushing the polish on my middle finger and I tried to even it back out instead of taking it all off but you can totally see the lump in my nail, lol. Oh well!

I painted the design using a liner brush with Essie Smooth Sailing (I was trying to keep things nautical, lol) and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Whirlwind White. Then I made the dots using my Kiss Nail Artist black. Simple. ♥


As always, thanks for reading!
-Kim

NOTD: Spotted Butterfly

I wanted to try painting my nails with a butterfly design that I have been seeing all over the internet. I didn't feel like re-doing my entire mani so I just did my ring fingers on each hand. :o)


For the design, I used Kiss Nail Artist Paint and Stencil Kit which comes with black, white, and silver glitter. You can pick this up at just about any drugstore. I got mine at CVS Pharmacy and it was about $7.00. The liner brush is perfect for this type of design! I only used the black out of the kit because I'm clumsy and had broke the bottle of white a while back. Oopsies!

So, for the white, I attempted to use a Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen (also available at drugstores.) I had used the pen once before a long time ago and I wasn't too thrilled with the results. But I thought I'd give it another whirl for my polka dots. I actually had to do each twice to get the coverage. Everything was fine until I added my top coat. I waited several minutes before applying it but it almost wiped of all of the white. (Note the little smear next to the 3rd dot from the left.) Boo!
I typically LOVE Sally Hansen products and this pen has been the only one I've ever been unhappy with. So to replace the dots, I used Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Whirlwind White and a paintbrush. Much better! I finished all my nails off with a coat of SecheVite and voila!