Great Nail Art Ideas - Hippies/Festivals & The Lacquer Ring - Chevrons

Hello! I'm back again. I didn't know if  would be. But I actually really like this mani I did, so of course I wanted to share! The theme for this week's challenges didn't exactly go together, but I made them! Haha! So for 40 Great Nail Art Ideas, our theme was hippes/festivals, so I got this random idea to do feathers. I always see those festival girls wearing feathers. With the theme in my other group being chevrons, I decided to just combine the two. Feathers and chevrons go together, I say!

I used Drip Drop Feather Boa (totally what gave me the idea!) as my base. The swatch will be at the end of this post! I used vinyls from Love,Angeline to do the chevrons using Konad Special White. Then, I made these two feathers by painting Cupcake Berry Good Looking on my Uber Mat, and stamped the feather image from BM-419 on top. It's kind of the opposite of a normal stamping decal because Berry Good Looking was bleeding pigment into my white. This way, it didn't bleed (until I put the topcoat on). It bled way worse the other way, and my white turned a pretty dark shade of pink! I just cut them out carefully after they dried and stuck them on using topcoat.

Here is what Drip Drop Feather Boa looks like on it's own! It is a purple crelly with various shades and sizes of pink, white, black, and purple glitters throughout. There is also a metallic pink micro glitter in there. It painted on very smoothly and took just two coats to be nice and even. Well that is all I have for today. I will be back next week if I do a mani that I like! :D

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Great Nail Art Ideas - Nude + Colour

Good afternoon everyone. I hope you all are having a great weekend! I know I have been MIA for a while, and wanted to let you all know I'm here, but I just wanted a bit of a break from blogging. I have decided to take a step or two back and try to make blogging fun again for myself, because it started to feel an awful lot like work, and it made it very hard to be interested in it. So, my plan is to finish out this current challenge, and then I probably will not do them anymore because the obligation of it kind of sucked the fun out of it for me.

Today, I have some stamping decals that I made, placed over a nude base. The base is Julep Lizzy, which is a pretty good nude for me in the winter, but not so much in the summer. :) I made the decal using MoYou London Pro Collection plate XL-13 and Konad Special Black, then colored in the flowers using Sephora by OPI What a Broad, Barielle Joytini, and OPI Cajun Shrimp.

That's all I've got for you today. I have an insane backlog of manis, because I didn't stop painting my nails and photographing them during my blog break. When I feel like it, I'll share another. :P Also, make sure you check out what everyone else did for this week's prompt. I saw a lot of creativity with this prompt!

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April 2016 Julep It Girl Box

Hi everyone. Today, I have some polishes to show that I have had for a while, and had struggled to get swatched and shared on here. It's the Julep Maven It Girl box from April. I had just ordered my usual box, which should have come with 4 polishes, but for some reason, they messed up and sent me a different box. I received face wash and a sponge (which I didn't want), and 3 polishes: red, pink, and white. Really? If I wanted red, pink, and white, that is what I would have ordered. I have enough red, pink, and white to last me a lifetime. I was super upset. So, I took a picture of the box I received and a printscreen of my receipt for what I had actually ordered, and filed a complaint. Their customer service was slow, but once they responded, they were helpful. They sent out the correct box, which I received about a week later, and said I did not need to send the other one back. Um...okay? So, anyway, here is what I ended up with.

Now, I know that this is a pretty good deal to get all this for $19, so I can't complain. I just wish they had gotten it right the first time. I'm kind of afraid to get another month for fear that it will just be wrong and a big hassle again. I don't see collections I like much anymore, so it will be a while before you see another one. I jumped on this one because I don't have many other jelly/sheer polishes like this, and I had originally ordered all colors that I specifically didn't have to give myself more versatility with my nail art. I've skipped the two months since, but I check each month to see if it is something I want. Anyway, on to the polish. I swatched all of these over the white that came with the set. This one is names Brigitte. It is super opaque and I'm showing two coats here. I couldn't get away with one because I kept seeing streaks and unevenness.

Next, we have Ari. This is a sheer magenta pink. It painted on super smoothly, and this is two coats over Brigitte.

Then, we have Brynn. This is a sheer orange. There are also two coats here, and the formula was the same as Ari - super smooth.

Next up, we have Kimball. I had some issues with this one. It looked like it was supposed to be red, but when I painted it over white, it looked more pink than anything. Also, the formula was a little rough. It went on much less smooth and streaked a bit, which resulted in me having to use three coats here. There is still a frustrating amount of patchiness despite that.

Next, we have Delaney. This one was a simlar formula. It was streaky, and I had to do three coats here. There are still very visible streaks in the application that I just couldn't seem to get rid of.

The last polish I have to show is Shanna. This one was the worst of all in terms of formula. I would love to have a nice purple jelly, but this is not it. It was terrible streaky, and it was almost grainy in texture.

I want to try these out over a stamp to see if they work out any better that way. I am also thinking they will gradient well, so I'll probably try that at some point too. Did anyone have better luck with these? I am wondering if there is just something I'm doing wrong here with the application on the last three. Well, anyway, here is the box. Super late, and with added goodies. Let me know what you guys think about these. I can't wait to try them out over stamping, so hopefully I'll get the chance to do that soon. I will share it when I do! Thanks for stopping by!

40 Great Nailart Ideas - Neon

Good evening! This week, our theme is neon, so I have a bright neon mani for you today! I started off with a white base for this ones, to make the colors brighter, and used a few colors from the China Glaze neon collection from last year.

I did an axtec pattern over top of stripes of neon using my striping polish from Orly called Jet Black, and my Sally Hansen nailart pen in Black. The colors I used for the background are China Glaze Glow With The Flow, DJ Blue My Mind, Red-y To Rave, and Violet-Vibes. I used Pure Ice SuperStar! underneath to make the colors pop.

Please make sure you visit the other people who posted their neon manis for this week's prompt! There are bound to be tons of ideas in there for some great summer nailart. :) Thanks for stopping by!

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40 Great Nail Art Ideas - Floral

Hi everyone! Today, I have some floral nailart for you as part of this week's nail art challenge. I decided to go with some stamping and dotting since I am struggling with time management lately. :P

I used Heather's Hues It's Witchcraft for my base. It's a really pretty purple with blue shimmer. I stamped using Mundo de Unas Yellow and Cici&Sisi plate 19, then added dots in the center of each flower using Zoya Kimber, and Pretty & Polished Aquaholic and Appletini.

Here is what It's Witchcraft looks like on it's own. It is quite thin and sheer, so I ended up doing 4 coats for this. I probably could have stopped at 3, but added another coat after I accidentally smushed a nail. :)

Thank you so much for looking at my blog today. Please make sure you check out what all the other ladies did for this week's prompt!

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40 Great Nail Art Ideas - Animals

Hi everyone. I wanted to do something springy and cute for my birthday (which was Tuesday), so I decided to play around with some stamping, and made some decals to put on my nails using a bunch of Bundle Monster plates that I have. Take a look at these precious fawns! Eeeep!

I created these by stamping multiple layers and creating decals from one of the stamps. It was a multi-step process, haha! First, I painted my nails using Potion Polish Twilight Bonfire because it was my birthday and I wanted purple holo on my nails. :D Then, I stamped on the leaves in the background using Mundo de Unas Green and BM-703. After that, I stamped on another layer using Mundo de Unas Avocado and BM-706 and let that dry. While that was drying, I created decals using BM-702's little deer image with Mundo de Unas Caramel, and painted the back of the deer white. This was so that the brown color would be brighter, and so that the little white spots would show through. Once my decals were dried enough, I cut them to size and put them over the whole design. After that, it was just a layer of topcoat and I was done. Love my little Bambis!!!

Now, here is what Twilight Bonfire looks like on it's own. Such a gorgeous purple! And so much holo goodness I couldn't stop looking at these in the sun! The polish formula was great too. This is two smooth coats. No dragging or pulling, just perfection. :)

Thank you so much for stopping to read my blog today. I'm still struggling a bit to get back into blogging after my 3 weeks off, but after today, I know I do like it. I like painting my nails and creating a little more than I like the blogging part, but it turns out I still like the blogging, too. :P Have a great day everyone!

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Rainbow Honey February Mystery Bag

Hmmm I fell a little behind with my blogging, so you are getting February's bag in March!!! I got a lot of great things in this bag, and the polishes were gorgeous (there was a purple AND a happy glitter topper!).

I received  a body lotion and hand sanitizer in a scent called Luvable Pink, and a grape-flavored lip gloss. The two polishes I received this month are Violetta Bot and Electric Love Bytes!.

Here are swatches of Violetta Bot. It is a metallic shimmery pale violet polish, and this is two coats.

Here is a macro of the color. It's extremely reflective, so not easy to photograph!

This is Electric Love Bytes! over top of Zoya Charisma. It has pink flower-shaped glitters, lime green star glitters, and pink and lime hexes, as well as a shifting shimmer that shifts from green to pink and matches the glitters so well.

Here is a macro of Electric Love Bytes!. I just love this glitter topper so much!

Well there you have it, better late than never I guess! I'll be back Friday with a new challenge mani!

Born Pretty Store - Clear Jelly Stamper Review & Floral Nail Art

Hello! Today, I have some stamping nail art using the clear jelly stamper from Born Pretty Store. They sent me this stamper with a few other items to review, and I could not have been more excited to receive this particular item. I have seen so many other people use it, and I was super stoked to be able to test it out for myself.

It's funny, I was so excited to try it, but once I had it in my possession, I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with it. I decided to ultimately just show how much easier it was to get perfect placement with it (you all know I have messed that up more than once!). I started off with two coats of KleanKolor Wave of Peppermint, then used this stamper to place a floral pattern over my nail using MoYou Pro XL-12 and Mundo de Unas Mexican Pink. After that, I used the stamper again to place the rose image from CICI&SISI plate 24 and Mundo de Unas purple. I was able to place it in the same location and angle on each nail. No way could I have placed it so well if I couldn't see it like I can with this stamper. So, basically, I love it!

It arrived with a scraper as well, and I found that the scraper was not that great. I like that it's plastic and not metal, but It left stripes of polish over the image that picked up on the stamper, so I had to switch back to my old trusty scraper.

Here is what Wave of Peppermint looks like on it's own. It is a scented polish, and as you can imagine, smells like peppermint.

I have a discount code for Born Pretty Store to share with you, too. If you haven't already gotten one, do yourself a favor and buy one. It will be 10% off and it's already pretty inexpensive!

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope you all have a great day. I'll be back on Friday!

40 Great Nail Art Ideas - Love

Hey everyone. Today's mani is a bit of a fail in my opinion, but I'm showing it anyway because it's all I've got. I wanted to make some decals, so started looking for lovey sort of images to stamp with. I loved this image of an elderly couple walking together from one of my CICI&SISI plates, and then found a cute heart pattern to go with it.

I really struggled with the colors, and found myself wishing I had not gone for pink and purple afterward, but ah well. They do look pretty together. I used Zoya Lola and Isa. The next bad choice I made, was when I added the hearts on the nail with the elderly couple. They came from CICI&SISI plate 05, and the heart design is from PUEEN43. I should have just put them on there and nothing else. They kind of get lost in the background. I was basically just a mess when I did these haha.

Here is what Zoya Lola looks like on it's own. It's a lovely hot pink with blue shimmer. I did two coats here and one coat of Seche Vite.

Thank you so much for looking. Make sure you take a peek at the nails every one else did. There is bound to be a ton of Valentine's Day inspiration! I'll be back next Friday with a proper Valentine's Day mani.

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40 Great Nail Art Ideas - 3 Shades of Purple

Hi guys! This week we are showing off various ways to wear three shades of purple at once. I'm actually pretty displeased with this one, but ah well. I should have tested it out on paper first and I didn't! You would think I would have learned my lesson by now, but apparently, I have not. :D Anyway, I used three purple polishes I had not yet used, including a new glitter from Different Dimension that I bought myself at Christmas.

Unfortunately, I made a bad choice about one of the polishes and it didn't layer well at all. Sally Hansen Purple Craze looked like a bright purple cream, but went on over the glitter a dark terrible mess. :( Oh why didn't I test it out first??? Well, anyway, I painted my nails using Different Dimension Wars Would Never Start first, then I taped off sections and painted over top using Milani Ultra Violet and Sally Hansen Purple Craze. Even though it didn't quite go as planned, there is a lot of purple-y goodness happening here, so I can't complain too much.

Here is what Wars Would Never Start looks like on it's own. It's a gorgeous dark purple-black jelly packed with tiny metallic purple glitters, tiny silver squares, and various purple hex glitters. It's a great mix of lots of different purple sparkles, so I love it of course. I did two coats here to reach opacity.

Thank you as always for taking the time to read my blog. Make sure you take a look at what everyone else did with their three purples! this one is bound to be full of beautiful manis!

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40 Great Nail Art Ideas - Pale Blue Base

Good morning lovelies and happy Friday! Woooo! I got so many new polishes for Christmas, my head is spinning over here trying to wear them all as fast as possible. For this mani, I decided that I would wear a new Cirque (and my first Cirque!) that was gifted to me by Amy from The Fancy Side for winning a nail art contest around Halloween (so not Christmas, but I HAD to wear it with all my other new holos from Christmas!). It is a light blue holographic polish and it is BEAUTIFUL. I did some simple stamping using swirling patters from my new CICI&SISI plates (yay Christmas!). These swirly images are from plates 02 & 05.

Oh I wish that it wasn't so dreary here. I tried flash, no flash, 5 different types of light, a flashlight, and nothing seemed to help my camera capture the holo goodness. Wahhhhhh! Anyway, the Cirque polish is called Cabana Capri, and I stamped over top of it using Bear Pawlish Poor Unfortunate Souls and Cupcake Polish Berry Good Looking. This mani looked so much more amazing in real life. I can't even express how much sparkle and rainbow was happening.

Here is what Cabana Capri looked like on it's own. The holo is so much better than my camera shows. :( I only did two coats here, which is really good for a holo in my opinion.

I've decided that all these holos are going to have to wait until the sun decides to show itself again. And then I shall re-swatch Cirque, and swatch all of the other ones I got (there are SOOO many haha!) and share them with you properly. Thank you so much for checking out my mani for this week. Make sure you look at all the other lovely pale blue manis!

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40 Great Nail Art Ideas - New Year

Hello everyone. When I think of a New Year's mani, I pretty much think of anything with glitter haha. So, I busted out some of my new polishes (yay for Christmas!), and played around until I got this.

To be honest, I just had the idea in my head and went for it, so it didn't turn out as well as I had hoped. BUT, there is glitter (lots) and holo, so I am happy. :) I used Bear Pawlish Curiosity for my base. Oh my goodness I am so in love with this polish. It has everything I love - purple, glitter, holo...um well that's it really. :P And that is all it needs! It has so much more depth in person, but my camera just couldn't handle it. It always struggles with purples. The striping is done using Julep Harley mixed with Bear Pawlish The Gift 2015. I wanted my silver to be holo, but don't actually own a silver holo. You can bet that went on my wishlist!!! The circular glitter "balls" are OPI's I Snow You Love Me. This is such a weird polish to me...but it has it's uses. ;)

Here is what Curiosity looks like on it's own. I feel like my photograph doesn't do it justice. It looks more blue in some lights and almost red in other lights because of the shifty glitters packed inside. My camera went with more blue haha.It's a purple jelly jam-packed with so many purple, fuchsia, and holo glitters. It is crazy sparkly - perfect for New Year's Eve!

Thank you so much for stopping by to read my blog today! Make sure you take a look at what everyone else did for this prompt!

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