Nail Challenge Collaborative: September 2017 - Inspired by a Garment

Hey there!  Today I have my second post for the Nail Challenge Collaborative September Inspired by a Garment theme.  For this one I went with an orange and black plaid look based on a top I saw online and love! 

I started with a base of OPI It's a Piazza Cake.  I did two coats and finished it with topcoat.  This color totally screams fall to me.  It's the perfect burnt orange and totally reminds me of pumpkin and falling leaves. 

This is the shirt that inspired this look.  I used MoYou London Black Knight and Hipster 05 plate to create this look.  I wish I had the link to this top to share with you, but I can't find it anymore.  This makes me really sad because I really want to purchase it!

My stamping isn't perfect on this one, but I'm still happy with it.  It totally resembles the top that inspired me, and this look reminds me of fall and Halloween. 

Please check out the other bloggers below.  Thanks for reading!

An InLinkz Link-up

Nail Challenge Collaborative: August 2017 - Flowers

Hey there!  Today I have my fourth and final post for the Nail Challenge Collaborative August Flowers theme.  I did stamping for my three other looks so decided to do a dotticure for the last one. 

I started with a base of a Lynnderella white mystery with tiny pink microglitters.  I am a sucker for a good white nail polish especially one with a little something extra.  The microglitters in this one make it so pretty.  This is two coats plus topcoat. 

One of my favorite color combos is red and teal.  I think they look great together, and if I were to ever get married that would be my wedding colors.  I used OPI 5 Apples Tall for the red flowers and Taylor Blue for the dots.  The white centers of the flowers were done with the base Lynnderella. 

I really like how this turned out.  The colors work well together and it looks simple and clean.  I hope that you liked my four manis for this month's flowers theme.  Check back next month to see what the new theme is. 

Please check out the other bloggers below.  Thanks for reading! 

An InLinkz Link-up

The Nail Challenge Collaborative - August 2016: Neon

*purchased by me*

Hey there! Today I have my first post for August's neon theme for The Nail Challenge Collaborative.  I'm loving this months theme because neon colors are perfect for the summer.  I hope to get more than 2 posts done this month, but I'm traveling a lot so we shall see! 

I started with a base of OPI My Boyfriends Scales Walls which is one of my favorite white polishes. I used two coats for this manicure. 

Then I used neon round studs I purchased from Born Pretty Store.  I bought a variety of colors in these studs.  They sell them in sets, and I was glad I had multiple neon colors so I could do this rainbow gradient look! 

Although it's not perfect, this look is very fun and summery! I don't use studs very often so I'm glad I did something different. 

What do you think of this look?  What should I try next for neon nail art? 

 

Please check out the other bloggers below.  Thanks for reading.  

An InLinkz Link-up

The Nail Challenge Collaborative - February 2016: Typography

*purchased by me*

Hey there! I realize I am really late with my fourth post for The Nail Challenge Collaborative February Typography theme. Sometimes life just gets in the way. My post has been done for a while I just didn't have time to edit. 

For this one I went with a St. Patrick's Day theme and typed LUCK on my nails. I've been trying to do green manis up until the 17th for the holiday! I thought this was a cute idea! 

I started with a base of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls and stamped using China Glaze Four Leaf Clover and ÜberChic Beauty Aphabet 01 plate.  

I'm really happy with how this one turned out. To be honest I'm happy this theme is done.  March's theme is Punk and Rock which I'll start posting soon. 

What did you think about the typography theme? What would you do for a punk/rock mani? 

 

Please check out the other bloggers below.  Thanks for reading! 

An InLinkz Link-up

Red Coat Tuesday - Baroness X Doomfire

Hey there! Today I have for you a new post for Red Coat Tuesday which means there's a new episode of Pretty Little Liars on tonight.  I didn't get a chance to do nail art this week, but I do have a beautiful polish to share with you. 

 

I started with a base of two coats of OPI In the Cable Car-Pool Lane.  This polish was more sheer than I expected and very streaky. If I was going to wear it on its own I would have done a third coat. 

 

I knew I wanted to use Baroness X Doomfire for two reasons. First I wanted to see what it would look like over a red base, and second it worked with my alphabetical untrieds challenge cause today is the letter X. 

 

Doomfire is one of those colors that looks great over blues and purples, but I haven't seen it layered over red much.  When I picked up my bottle I actually saw a lot of red in it so thought it would look amazing over a red base.  It doesn't show the blue or purple dash much, but if you look at the picture below you can see a green flash. 

 

Doomfire is a group custom that I am so happy I was able to get. I love colors like this, and I know the pigment Baroness X used is very hard to come by! I honestly couldn't capture this beauty well on my phone.  It's so much sparklier in person! 

 

Now onto some Pretty Little Liars gossip! Spoiler Alert if you aren't caught up. So I did not like Toby's girlfriend. Toby should be with Spencer. I really hoped there would be more of a reaction from him about her new relationship with Caleb. I am glad that Hanna came clean to her mom. I think the liars wouldn't have been in so much trouble if they came clean all along. 

What did you think of last week's episode? Thoughts on this week? 

Please check out the other bloggers below.  Thanks for reading! 

A2Z Series Week 13 - M is for Multi-Colored

*purchased by me*

Hey there! It's week 13 of the A2Z Weekly Challenge, and this week M is for Multi-Colored.  I can't believe we're halfway through the challenge! 

I had a really hard time with this week's challenge.  I had an idea, but I didn't like how it turned out. Then I tried something else, and again I didn't love it. Finally I came up with a mani I loved, but as you can see my hands are really dry and my cuticles are a mess due to being sick and this extremely cold weather.  So please just look at the nail art and don't judge me for my cuticles. I've been using lotion and cuticle oil regularly so I'm not sure what else to do. 

The polishes I used for this look (from left to right) are KBShimmer Shore Thing, Sinful Colors Endless Blue, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mellow Yellow, and KBShimmer Sky Jinks. I then stamped over them using MoYou London Sailor 06 plate and Rica Whiteout. 

I love how this turned out. I have a hard time stamping, but always seem to get it right when I use my MoYou London plates.  Now I'll show you my two failed looks for this weeks theme.

I wanted to do mini hearts, but I just don't have that technique down yet so they weren't uniform and some didn't even look like hearts. The base is OPI Embrace The Gray and the hearts are Zoya Areej, KBShimmer Shore Thing and Sky Jinks, and Sinful Colors Endless Blue.

I don't think I'll ever get the hang of water marbling. I need to keep practicing though cause I love how it looks when other people do it. The colors I used for this are Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mellow Yellow, KBShimmer Sky Jinks and Shore Thing, and Zoya Areej.

 

There are so many fun ideas for multi-colored manis, what would you do? Any recommendations for cuticle hair in this harsh winter weather? 

Don't forget to check out the other bloggers participating in the challenge and remember to check back every Thursday to see all the creations.  Next week is N is for New.  For the complete A2Z Archive head over to the hubpage HERE! 

Thanks for reading! 

An InLinkz Link-up

Born Pretty Store Stamping Plate BP-09

*press sample*

Hey there!  Tonight I have some nail art using BP-09 stamping plate from Born Pretty Store.  I want to preface this post by saying I'm still new to stamping!  

I used this plate to do two different designs.  

First, I stamped Rica Whiteout over Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Wanna Fall In Love Tonight.  There are a couple of mistakes which you can see, but that is completely due to user error.  The plate was actually really easy to use, and the image picked up completely on my stamper. I'm still getting the hang of stamping! 

Second, I stamped Essie After School Boy Blazer over OPI Damone Roberts 1968.  I love this color combination, and this stamp was again easy to work with.  I will probably stamp with this design a lot because I really like how it looks.

Overall, I had no problems with the stamping plate. Any mistakes were my own fault.  Both images picked up completely onto my stamper.  I just need some more practice! 

Have you tried stamping yet?  What stamper would you recommend for a newbie? 

Check out Born Pretty Store here, and you can find this stamping plate here.  As I mentioned before they ship from China so allow some time for your order to arrive.  They have great affordable nail art supplies so definitely check them out.  Use code SGSG10 for 10% off your order.  Please like them on Facebook and follow them on Instagram.  

Thanks for reading! 

OPI Damone Roberts 1968

*purchased by me*

Hey there! Today I have for you OPI Damone Roberts 1968.  This polish was one of my biggest lemmings. When Damone Roberts had it on sale for $10 on Cyber Monday I lucked out and got one! 

Damone Roberts 1968 is a vintage shade of minty sage-green.  I love the color, but I had some issues with the polish.  First, my brush was really messed up.  Bristles were bent in half and stuck together.  I ended up having to pluck out a few with tweezers just to be able to use the brush.  Second, the formula wasn't great.  It was very streaky. This is three coats with topcoat, and you can still see some streaks on my middle finger near the cuticle. 

Overall, the color is beautiful, but I'm glad I got this for $10 including shipping during the sale. I don't think it's worth $20 plus shipping although it did feel great to squash a major lemming!  

What do you think of this polish?  What are some of your big lemmings?  

Check out Damone Roberts here and like OPI on Facebook.  
 

Thanks for reading! 

OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls

*purchased by me*

Hey there! Today I have for you an oldie, but goodie! OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls is one of my all time favorite polishes and a great white! 

My Boyfriend Scales Walls is from The Amazing Spider-Man Collection which was released in 2012, and is a white creme with just a hint of grey to it.  It's hard to describe, but that hint of grey is what makes this color so wearable! 

This is three coats plus topcoat, but I could have gotten away with two coats though.  

What are some of your favorite oldies but goodies? 

Don't forget to follow OPI on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. 

Thanks for reading! 

Halloween Manicures

*purchased by me*

Happy Halloween everyone! I hope you're all getting more treats than tricks! This year I did a bunch of Halloween manicures that I want to share with you. 

Vampire Nails

I got this idea from Zoya, and absolutely love it. I used a base of Zoya Sooki than did the gradient with Sooki, Claire, and Raven.  I finished it off with KBShimmer Clearly On Top.  I am so happy with how this turned out! It's the best gradient I've done, and it's my favorite of my Halloween manis!

Blood Splatter Nails

For this blood splatter mani I used a base of Rica Whiteout and then with a straw I blew the blood splatters onto my nails using Zoya Riley.  I had seen this technique used before and had always wanted to try it. It's messy, but I loved how they turned out. 

Ghost Nails

For my ghost nails I used Rica Whiteout, Essie Licorice, Sinful Colors Citrine, and Zoya Purity. The ghost was done freehand with nail art brushes, and the dots/eyes were done with dotting tools. 

Frankenstein Nails

I saw a manicure like this that @mybelovednails did on Instagram, and thought it was a great idea for Halloween nails. I loved the Frankenstein's monster nails with a bride of Frankenstein accent and wanted to recreate it. I used Zoya Mitzi, Dovima & Purity and finished with Butter London Matte Finish topcoat. 

Friday the 13th Nails

Friday the 13th was my favorite horror series growing up so I knew I wanted to do a manicure in its honor.  I decided to do blood drips with a Jason Vorhees accent nail. I know my blood drips need some practice, but I love how Jason tuned out. I used Rica Whiteout, Zoya Sooki, and Essie Licorice to achieve this look. 

Candy Corn Nails

I wanted to do something different for my candy corn nails so I decided to do a gradient using Rica Whiteout, Zoya Pippa and Sinful Colors Citrine. Obviously I had some issues cause the white tops of the candy corn didn't show up in the gradient. For my accent nail I hand painted little candy corns over a base of Zoya Raven. I'm not a fan of candy corns, but I thought the were the perfect Halloween candy to use for a mani idea. 

Jack-o-Lantern Nails

I saw these Jack-o-Lantern nail decals from Lacquer by Lissa and knew I had to have them! I started with a base of Rica The Great Pumpkin, painted on black dots using Essie Licorice, and when the dots were dry I placed the decals on using tweezers. I really love these decals & the polish is absolutely gorgeous, but I think next time I use these decals they'll be over another base. 

Mummy Nail

Finally, I have my mummy nail for you. I wanted to do an entire manicure with mummies, but the only nail I was happy with was my thumb. He was just too cute not to share with you though. I used OPI Skull & Glossbones, Essie Licorice, and Zoya Purity to create this freehand mummy! 

I had a lot of fun doing all these different Halloween manicures. Have you done any Halloween inspired nail art? What are you dressing up as for Halloween?

Thanks for reading!

31 Day Nail Art Challenge - Inspired By...

Hey there! Today I have days 21-31 of the 31 Day Nail Art Challenge for you. The challenges for these days were "inspired by" different things.  

Day 21 - Inspired by a Color

Polishes Used:

Nailtiques Formula 2

China Glaze For Audrey

Bow Nail Decal from You Polish

KBShimmer Clearly On Top

I was obviously inspired by a Tiffany Box for this manicure, and China Glaze For Audrey was the perfect color to choose. I had these cute bow nail decals from You Polish that I thought were perfect. I kept it really simple, but I love this manicure. 

Day 22 - Inspired by a Song

Polishes Used:

Nailtiques Formula 2

ellagee Ring, Ding, Ding, Ding, Dingeringeding

Lime Crime Milky Ways

China Glaze Recylce

Essie Licorice

Zoya Purity

KBShimmer Clearly On Top

So the song I was inspired by is "The Fox (What Does The Fox Say)" by Ylvis. Honestly I had wanted to use this ellagee color which is named after a line in this song.  I found a tutorial from elleandish on YouTube for a fox manicure and just went with it! 

Day 23 - Inspired by a Movie

Polishes Used:

Nailtiques Formula 2

Zoya Jacqueline

Zoya Asia

Zoya Arizona

Zoya Josie 

Zoya Mira

Zoya Pippa

Zoya Rocky

KBShimmer Clearly On Top

One of my all time favorite movies is "Sixteen Candles" so that was my inspiration for this manicure. The accent nail is based on one of the best lines, "I can't believe I gave my panties to a geek!" 

Day 24 - Inspired by a Book

Polishes Used: 

Nailtiques Formula 2

Rica Whiteout

Zoya Riley

KBShimmer Clearly On Top

There are a lot of other books that I am inspired by in life, but I wasn't getting nail art inspiration from them. Then it hit me to do a blood splatter mani inspired by Bret Easton Ellis' "American Psycho". I used the straw method to do the splatter effect and love how this turned out! 

Day 25 - Inspired by Fashion

Polishes Used:

Nailtiques Formula 2

China Glaze Recycle 

Zoya Pippa 

Rica Whiteout

INM Out The Door

There were so many options for inspired by fashion. I actually found this look on Pinterest from a blog called "Hello, Gorgeous!" and loved the color combination. I thought it turned out pretty close to my inspiration. 

Day 26 - Inspired by a Pattern

Polishes Used:

Nailtiques Formula 2

Zoya Neely

OPI Taylor Blue

INM Out The Door

I had been wanting to try quatrefoil nails for a while and thought this was the perfect day to do them.  I love how they turned out, and they were really easy to do. I used dotting tools to achieve this look. 

Day 27 - Inspired by Artwork

Polishes Used:

Nailtiques Formula 2

Zoya Neely

Zoya Pippa

Zoya Sweet

Essie Licorice

Sinful Colors My Buoyfriend

INM Out The Door

This look was inspired by the artist Theo van Doesburg. I used a thin paint brush to do the different colored stripes. 

Day 28 - Inspired by a Flag

Polishes Used:

Nailtiques Formula 2

Rica Whiteout 

China Glaze Four Leaf Clover 

Sinful Colors Feel The Vibe 

Straight Nail Vinyls

KBShimmer Clearly On Top

I'm 50% Irish, but 100% at heart so had to do an Irish flag for my manicure! 

Day 29 - Inspired by the Supernatural

Polishes Used:

Nailtiques Formula 2

Rica Whiteout 

Essie Licorice

Sinful Colors Citrine

KBShimmer Clearly On Top

I went with a ghost for inspired by the Supernatural and did some orange & black dots because the ghost reminded me of Halloween. 

Day 30 - Inspired by a Tutorial

Polishes Used:

Nailtiques Formula 2

Zoya Shelby

Zoya Malia

Zoya Purity

Essie Navigate Her

Essie Licorice

OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls

KBShimmer Clearly On Top

I found this tutorial for toothpick flowers from elleandish on YouTube.  I had used one of her tutorials earlier and really like her style and teaching technique. She's very easy to follow, and when I saw this one I knew I had to try it. I chose slightly different colors, but think this turned out great. Plus it was really easy to do! 

Day 31 - Inspired by Nails You Love

Polishes Used:

Nailtiques Formula 2

Zoya Ryan

Zoya Purity

Zoya Carey

KBShimmer Clearly On Top

While doing this challenge I looked at a lot of different nail art for inspiration, but one that stood out was from Lucy's Stash.  I found her tutorial for a swirl dotticure on YouTube and knew it was perfect to honor nails I love! I really love how this spiral dotticure turned out! 

I honestly can't believe I completed the entire challenge! It's definitely a proud moment for me! I learned a lot of new techniques and plan on continuing to use them on future manicures. 

What I learned from this is don't be afraid to try. I was really intimidated by some of these days and could have easily given up, but had to at least try. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have ended up with some of these awesome manicures. Do you plan on trying any of these? 

Don't forget to show some love on facebook for the brands I used - China Glaze, ellagee, Essie, Lime Crime, Nail Vinyls, OPI, Rica, Sinful Colors, You Polish, and Zoya!

Thanks for reading!