52 Week Pick n Mix - Fishbraid + Non-Glitter Topper

You all know I am too lazy (busy???) to do more than one mani for the 52 Week Pick n Mix lately, so I combined the prompts yet again. I have been so slammed with work lately, I have had very little time to think about my blog. Hopefully I can figure out how to get that under control. Anyway, I decided I wanted to use a combination of old and new non-glitter toppers of the iridecent variety over top of solid black in my mani this week.

I accomplished this look by painting my nails with 2 coats of Wet n Wild Black Creme, and then used striping tape to mask out my fishbraid design. I painted in each section with the three colors I picked, alternating them as I went.

Here are what the three polishes look like in the bottles. It's crazy how much some of them change once painted over black. Butter London Petrol is the blue, Pro Strong Enchanted is the pink, and green is Loreal The Temptress' Power (I know, right!?). That last one is the most shocking transformation out of them all.

I hope you like my mani this week! Make sure you check out what everyone else did for this challenge. :)

An InLinkz Link-up

Stamping Over Nail Foils

Hi everyone. I feel like I am going completely crazy with work right now, so I barely have time to even think about my nails, let alone paint them, and post about it! It's only Wednesday and I've already put in 30 hours- yikes! Anyway, I experimented with nail foils on Sunday night, and wanted to share my results.

Nail foils are hard! It probably would have been easier if I used the right glue, but I didn't have any, so I made do with some scrapbooking craft glue that I had. I have seen other people paint their nails with the glue and then use a cuticle pusher to rub the foil on. Mine did not go that way. I tried the pusher, and only got little bits of the foil, so then I just used my fingers to press the foil on. It worked better, but I got little shreds of the foil instead of a nice smooth design. This means I need to buy the darn glue I guess. It had it's own unique look once I was done, so I guess I don't mind.

After I got my foil down, I used Sally Hansen Pure Chrome to stamp a design from MoYou London's Explorer plate 03. It was a very bright and shiny manicure once this was all done. I liked it, but the glue I used started peeling at the edges, so I lost bits of my design after a day or two. I wonder if the proper glue for nail foils does that too?

Well, I have to go to bed. I hope you all have a great day tomorrow, and don't work as many hours as I probably will. Oh and also, don't forget about entering my giveaway - it is ending in a couple days! ;)

An InLinkz Link-up

52 Week Pick n Mix - 3 Shades of Green + Fire = Maleficent Nails

Hi! So the first thing that popped into my head when I saw fire and green was Maleficent. And I have been wanting to do a Disney manicure, so I decided to go for it. I am pretty happy with how this one turned out, too. I miss doing freehand nail art. I really need to get back into doing it more, but it's so hard to find the time when there are dirty dishes and laundry that need to be taken care of after work. :)

I started off with a white base so that my bright greens would pop better. This manicure is mostly freehand, but for my index and ring fingers, I did use a flame stamp from Bundle Monster plate BM12 to help me get the outline of the flames the way I wanted it. The three shades of green I used were Color Club Twiggie, Essie The More The Merrier, and Zoya Tilda. I used about 9 or so other colors, so I'm not going to list them all out here.

I feel like my freehand just keeps improving and I'm so in love with these tiny brushes I ordered online a few months ago. They have really helped me step up my game in terms of freehand. The tip of the bristles stay nice and pointed so that I can make fine lines so much better than I used to. I took a bunch of close-up pictures of each nail, so you can see them better - especially the dragon.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this nail art, and make sure you look at what everyone else did for the flame and green/yellow prompts.

An InLinkz Link-up

Floral Pattern Stamping

Hi all. I was totally excited about this week's prompt for the stamping group I am in on facebook. I always love pairing stamping and dotting in a mani. I looked through my new set from Bundle Monster and decided to go with a floral pattern from plate BM-404. It is perfect for adding dots.

I started off with Julep Alicia for my base, then stamped with Julep Lissa, and added my dots using Julep Margaret.

Thank you so much for looking. Make sure you check out the manicures that everyone else did!

An InLinkz Link-up

Girly Bits Bird is the Word, Plus Stamping

I am really struggling to stay on top of this challenge, so today, you get a really simple interpretation of the "film" prompt. I did some really quick stamping over top of my new holographic purple polish from Girl Bits called Bird is the Word.

This stamp is from my new stamping set from Bundle Monster. The plate is BM-421. I used Konad Special Black polish for the stamping.

I really wanted to do some sweet freehand art this week, but it just didn't pan out for me. I'm sure I can incorporate it into one of these prompts eventually, though. Wish me luck!

Here is what Bird is the Word looks like by itself. Gorgeous, that's how.

Look.

I said look!

So. Beautiful.
Make sure you take a look at what everyone else did. There is bound to be some sweet freehand nail art this week!

An InLinkz Link-up

Ocean Vacation Nails

Hi everyone! I am back today with some more ocean-themed nails. Whenever I get a prompt for a manicure about a favorite vacation, I can never just pick one, so I take the easy route and just do another occean mani. This time is no exception. This time of year, I remember those times at the ocean in the warm sun fondly. I know it will be a long time before I feel the sun warming my skin again. haha

Anyway, I started off this mani with Julep Shelly. I added some background stamping using Fresh Paint Dragon Lady and MoYou London Sailor plate 07, and then stamped my beachy images over top using Julep Donna and MoYou London Sailor plate 10 and images from Bundle Monster plates BM-414, BM-420 and BM 01. I am all about the bright, summery nails lately to keep my mind off of this dreadful cold.

Thank you so much for looking. I will be back tomorrow night with a new holographic polish you may have seen me show off during my Christmas Haul post. :) Make sure you check out what everyone else did for this week's prompt!

An InLinkz Link-up

52 Week Pick n Mix - Dotting Tools + Pink and Aqua

Hi - I'm squeezing this in at the last minute as usual. After my holiday hiatus, I am trying to get back in the swing of things. But, I am sleepy, so I'm going to keep this brief.

This is OPI Flashbulb Fuchsia with the dotting done using Zoya Zuza. It is such fun combo, and it really helps me get through this dreary, cold weather we are having.

Here is what OPI Flashbulb Fuchsia looks like by itself. This was two easy coats. :)

I'm off to bed, but I will be back Monday with a stamping mani for my stamping group on facebook. Good night!

Stamping with MoYou London XL Pro Plate 12

Hi everyone. I am trying to get back into the groove of regular posting again now that the holidays are over. This is just a quick stamping mani I did for my facebook group. The prompt this week is to use our newest stamping plate. Since I received this plate and a bundle monster set for Christmas, I had a lot to choose from, but ended up going with good old MoYou. ;)

I stamped over top of Julep Sharna, which I swatched earlier this week for you. The stamping and glossy top coat really amps it up. I love all of the sparkle. The plate stamped like a dream, as all of my MoYou London plates have. I took two floral images from this plate and stamped them in different directions on each nail using Konad Special Black polish.

Hooray for glitter!!! Make sure you check out what everyone else has to show off for their newest stamping plates!

An InLinkz Link-up

Julep It Girl Box - December 2014

Hey ladies! I got the Maven box last month and have those three polish swatches here for your viewing pleasure. :) You actually already got a sneak peak of two of them in my post on Loki's Nail Vinyls. But, here I will show off swatches, plus my opinions on the polish.

First up, is Rochelle. This is a dark magenta, leaning more purple than pink. It's a lovely metallic hue and not streaky, which makes me happy. This polish went on in two smooth coats.

Next, is Aurora. It is a bright, silver metallic. It is very opaque and could have been a one-coater, but here I did two very thin coats to even out the strokes. Yes, this polish has very visible brushstrokes, which you all know drives me kinda mad. I will say that if you paint on your first coat and sponge on the second, it looks totally perfect, and I think that is how I am going to use my metallics from here on. My new favorite nail aprons come in very handy for that! You can see the process below. Yay!

In case you forgot, here is the mani I did with these two polishes. They look great together!

Last, we have Sharna, the glitter. This is a coppery mix of tiny glitters and is very densely packed, so you can totally go without undies. I did three thin coats here to reach opacity.

All in all, this set is alright, but I do not love it. I think my days of being a Julep Maven are numbered. There is such a thing as too many silver and gold metallic polishes (I swear there is one in the set every month) and there is also a lot of pink/red polish which I feel I already have enough of. There just isn't enough creativity, and I feel like I have too much of the same. I want polish that is truly unique. I think I would like to start getting a monthly box of indies, but they are just so expensive, I don't think I can do it. Does anyone have any recommendations? Maybe there is something out there I haven't heard of yet that one of you can clue me in on. I just want something more creative/original than what Julep has to offer. I guess that happens when you own 500+ bottles of nailpolishes...eep.

Thank you so much for looking. I've got a giant box of Julep polishes coming to me this week from cashing in all of my Jules. I figured I had better cash them in before I say my goodbye, so now I can part ways with ease. I'll have those polishes reviewed as quickly as I can, although it will probably take the whole month. Who knows, maybe this box will change my mind. Have a great day everyone!

New Year Polish Giveaway!

Hey everyone. I have been hanging onto these little sets for a while, and finally have the time set aside to get this giveaway going. I have 3 of these Wet n Wild sets to give away and the glitters are all super pretty. This is my way of saying thank you for being around for the past few years, and welcome to any newcomers! I will be giving these away to people with US addresses only. Unfortunately, international shipping of nailpolish is just too complicated and unaffordable for me. Sorry international followers, at some point I will figure out something for all of you. Anyway, Here is what I have for you:

This is a set of 4 Wet n Wild Coloricon polishes. The box contains one each of 24 Carats, Rockin Rubies, Diamond in the Rough,  and Back Alley Deals. There will be three winners, which will be chosen randomly using random.org. All entries will be verified, and those that are invalid will not be counted. I swatched these with a 4th set I bought for myself. Check out these pretties!

Wet n Wild 24 Carats - 3 coats

Wet n Wild Rockin Rubies - 4 coats - this one really needs undies

Wet n Wild Diamond in the Rough over Wet n Wild Black Creme

Wet n Wild Back Alley Deals over Wet n Wild On a Trip

Prizes:

#1 a 4 piece set of Wet n Wild Coloricon polishes

#2 a 4 piece set of Wet n Wild Coloricon polishes

#3 a 4 piece set of Wet n Wild Coloricon polishes

Details/rules:

-There will be 3 winners in this giveaway

-Open in the U.S. only (or to international followers who can provide a US address)

-Must be 18 or older

-Prizes will be distributed by me

-Ends January 31st, 2015

-Winner must respond claiming prize within 24 hours

-Enter using the Rafflecopter below

a Rafflecopter giveaway