Pink Wednesdays!

Happy Wednesday everyone, we're halfway there! Ok so I got this in a swap a while back and even though I think I will be wearing this more as a pedi color, I still really like it. I have to admit that part of the reason I got this was because I just LOOOVE the old Hard Candy bottles. Seriously, it's so cute to me! This is Peep Show. It's a semi sheer (it took 3 coats to be completely opaque) hot pink with purplish blue shimmer. In the bottle this very closely resembles Zoya Lola (which I LOVE!). I wanted to do something really simple for today's mani cause I'm just in one of those blah moods today. I used Konad pink polish on M57 and accented my ring and thumb fingers. The end result is a really subtle hot pink (if that's possible). It doesn't show up as much IRL as it did in pictures.



I like the monotone look, so I will have to find more color combos to try this with. What colors would you try for a look similar to this?

Today is also Admin Professionals Day and I got the prettiest flowers from my boss and a tub of Gummy Bears from one of my co-workers. :)

Random Swatch Time: Revlon Mon Cherry

Good morning! So last night I went with DH and DD to the mall and by the time we got home it was time for bed. This was my NOTD (and today too). It's Revlon Mon Cherry. In the bottle it looked like a true red, but under the right light it has a pinkish tint to it. I LOVE it! And it smells soooo good! I kinda feel like I have an air freshner attached to my hand :) I really like the black top Revlons. They look so classy to me!

So I'm not one to wear much makeup, but one of my really good friends started wearing red lipstick a while back and I thought it looked gorgeous on her, so I took the plunge and picked one up for myself. I went to Ulta and had one of the Benefit (LOVE the brand) SA's do my makeup. If I knew how to properly apply it, I would do a tutorial, but I don'f :( She applied this true red lipstick and I wanted to find a polish to match it. I think MAC Obey Me is a better fit for it though. I really wish I knew how to apply my makeup as well as people I've seen. Oh well....at least my hands look pretty :)

So I ask....red lipstick, too much??

Happy Belated Easter!

Happy Belated Easter everyone! I looked literally for an hour for my cables last night to upload these after we got home from all the Easter festivities, but they were nowhere to be found! I finally found them this morning in Bella's bag. Anywho, I had a more elaborate mani planned for Easter, but I'm glad that I went with something more simple. This is Sally Hansen Jade Jump. It's a part of their Spring 2011 line. This is the only one that I got from the collection (The others seemed dupeable. The only one I kind of regret not getting is Chartreuse Chase).

Ok, so I know most Insta-Dris are one coaters, and I'm sure this one would have been too...but it wasn't. I'm not sure if it was because a ton would come off the brush (I kept moving it off the brush so it applied very streaky) or the fact that I applied it too thin/thick (because of the brush problem). It looked fine after 2 coats though :) A while back I saw this on Chloe's Nails and decided to try it. I used craft scissors and cut a piece of Scotch tape and lined up the two strips to make the zig-zag pattern. I applied one coat of Lively Lilac..and voila! I accented the egg with pink rhinestones (I'm running low on them so I will soon have to invest in more). I did an thumb accent, but I ended up not liking it too much. Here is goes:



This is the one downside to working with rhinestones. I didn't get a decent pic of my thumb, but it was full of bubbles. It really irks me that the surface is not smooth. :( I ended up taking it off and just painting it JJ.

Bella had a great time. She got 4 Easter baskets (one of the perks of being an only child/only granddaughter on both sides). She ended up dumping one out and shoveling dirt in it, lol

What did you for Easter??

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day everyone! I have been dying to try Emerald Sparkle and today is the perfect day for it.
In my head this was really gonna look cool, but it's a total fail:

The stones are way too big for what I was going for, so you can't really tell that it's supposed to be Earth :( I think maybe if I would've used the little multicolored balls the overall look would have been much better. Oh well! At least the color is gorgeous. Here are a couple of shots of Emerald Sparkle by itself.

I'm off from work today so I'm spending all day with Bella watching Spongebob. We planted a few little palm trees a couple of weeks ago and we're gonna go clean up the few plants we have in our backyard. Those are my Earth Day plans. What are you planning to do??

Sally Hansen Lively Lilac

I totally missed Pink Wednesday yesterday, UGH! I just came home and layed on the couch and dozed off. I got up kinda late and wanted to watch American Idol, so I knew I needed a one coater to do a really fast mani. SH Insta-Dris to the rescue!

I love this lilac. It's darker than most of the lilacs/lavenders that I have and I love the silvery shimmer that it has. Is it possible for this to be a creamy shimmer? That's what I would best describe this as. I actually tried this once before and did 2 coats. When I applied SV over it, it wrinkled up for some reason. So from now on, Insta-Dris are strictly one-coaters. Besides...I love the color as it is. No streaking or gaps.

I'm still undecided on my Earth Day mani. Have you thought of what you're gonna wear tomorrow?

La Vida Es Una Lucha

Happy Tuesday (or my Wednesday, since I'm off on Friday)!! So I HAVE to get one of these tees. The guy who is doing my shoes is a crazy awesome artist and this is one of his pieces. How awesome is this?!? It's a play on words because Mexican Wrestling is called "Lucha Libre". This is roughly translated into Life is a Fight.

He said he thought it would be pretty cool to do this on nails, so because curiosity got the best of me I HAD to try to recreate this somehow. Here is what I came up with:

The blue I used is WnW Saved by the Blue (it's a gorgeous cobalt blue, reminds me of SH Co-Bolt Blue, only lighter), Sally Hansen Celeb City and WnW Black Creme. I scotch taped the lines on my thumb (I was going with the wrestling theme and this was the "ropes"). I freehanded the mask with the brush end of my dotting tool and then just filled it in. His face was made with a dotting tool and filled in with a brush.

We got into talking about how I do my nails since he works mostly with markers. Like...a major conversation about what I can/can't do my nails with and he posed a really good question. Could I use the same oil based acrylic markers he works with on nails? I stopped by my art supply store and picked up a few colors just to try them out. It was an EPIC FAIL! The colors stayed on the nail just fine, but the moment I tried to put any TC on, the colors ran and the image distorted. I Googled this and in theory, it SHOULD have worked, but I'm not sure why it didn't. His solution was to just apply the clear coat he works with (a spray) and tape off the nail so it wouldn't get everywhere. But, what about the rest of us who don't have clear spray paint? I think maybe if it was acrylic paint that is brushed on it would have worked? Have any of you worked with acrylic paint before? Anywho, needless to say..I have extra pens that will more than likely find a new home :|

You've Got a Friend in Me...

So, I'm taking Bella to see Toy Story 3 on Ice tomorrow. It is one of her (and my) favorite movies and I am so stoked to see her reaction tomorrow. I Googled some ideas and I came across something that looked similiar to this and it was PERFECT for what I wanted to do for tomorrow. Here is what I came up with:

Here are the colors I used-

Thumb: OPI Suzi Loves Cowboys with ANDY freehanded with WnW Black Creme.

Index: M79 stamped with Konad White

Ring: SH Lickety Spit Lime for the face. His outfit is China Glaze Blue Paradise and the collar is OPI Funkey Dunkey. I used the French tip guides to tape off the blue then freehanded the collar. With my dotting tool I made the eyes with WnW French White Creme and with a toothpick I used WnW Black Creme to make the eyes.

I can't wait for tomorrow. I'm sure I'm more excited than she is. But then again, who doesn't love Toy Story?!?!

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

:::EDIT:::

Here is a picture of Bella after the show. They have this mini fountain park outside the stadium and we hung out there after the show for a bit

China Glaze Wagon Trail

I first got into nail polish maybe about a year ago. I had always enjoyed doing my nails but I would only get acrylics. I was incapable of letting my nails grow. I started lurking on the NB and this was my first ever lemming. I searched for it everywhere, but since this line was released in the fall of 2008 it wasn't at any stores. I finally caved it and got it online and it had been sitting in my untrieds for weeks now. My nails are still a bit stained from the Chuck mani so I needed something dark while the staining goes away.

Anywho...here is Wagon Trail. I LOVE this color so much! From far off it looks black but up close it's way more than that. I would say its more of a olive mustardy gold shimmer. I took pictures of it only under my usual restroom light because I think this is when you can see just why I love this so much.



No flash





Flash



























I also have SH Sequin Scandal (another long time lemming coming my way). I wonder how close it is to Wagon Trail?

Essie Borrowed and Blue

Happy Thursday everyone! So I was walking through Ulta the other day and I almost missed the tiny Essie Wedding Collection 2011 display. It was seriously small.



I wasn't too excited about any other the colors in particular. They all look pretty dupeable IMO. The one I couldn't resist getting was Borrowed and Blue. It reminded me of the Tiffany's blue, only lighter and not so aqua-ish. Essie has a way of seriously sucking me in with their advertisements. Doesn't it look gorgeous in the picture? In real life...ehh...not so much.



The real life color is much more toned down. I had a really tough time capturing the blue to this because in pictures it came out a bit washed out and it just looked white :( The application was pretty nice though. I was expecting it to be streaky, but it wasn't. I applied 3 coats just to get more blue. As I was applying this I thought this is probably a dupe for HC Sky. I will have to pull that one out and do a comparison. What do you ladies think of this blue??



Pink Wednesdays!

Happy Wednesday everyone! We're almost done with another week! This is week 2 of Pink Wednesdays and today I bring you OPI DS Extravagance. This is a magenta pink scattered holo from the Designer Series. I love the base in this np. I describe it as a magenta-rose pink. I was gonna do some nail art, but I'm having real bad allergy attack (SMF at you pollen!!) and can't keep a steady hand :( Sorry everyone :'(

I love DS polishes. I might have to invest in some more soon, but I'm not sure what to get. What's your favorite DS polish?

I reached 50 followers, and the winner is....

A while back I posted this giveway and the winner is....CORA! This is my first big milestone. Thank you so much to everyone who takes the time to read my nonsense. It really means alot!!!

I'm adding a few more things to your giveway (again, still purging)...


Enjoy Cora and thanks to everyone who entered!!!

(The April Giveaway is still going on, so there's still a chance to win)

My Favorite Pair of Shoes

I have a thing for Converse! I'm on a mission to own as many colors as I can, so far I'm up to 6 pairs, but the teal ones are by FAR my favorite of them all! A while back I did a Chuck mani on MUA

My nails were much shorter back then (this was in December I think). The closest color I had to match my shoes was OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui. SSFS is a gorgeous blue, and I love it...but it doesnt quite match the color of my shoes. Then alooong came Sally Hansen Blue Me Away. It is a perfect match!! So I decided to recreate this mani, I even added an additional accent.

The white tip on the ring finger was done with Scotch tape. For the laces and black trim I used Sally Hansen Nail Art pens like these, and just applied rhinestones to the lace holes. For the thumb I used my dotting tool and freehanded the star with OPI Simmer and Shimmer.

I'm even having a separate pair of Chucks custom painted. I can't wait for them to be ready so I can show everyone! This took me a while because I was watching DWTS...yes, still Kirstie FTW! The cleanup took a while because blues are just a total PitA to remove, they stain horribly! I'm sure you can see it in my cuticles. my accent nail is actually horribly stained :( Oh well, I still love you BLUE!

Thanks for looking :)