Monday, April 30, 2012

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day 15 - Delicate Print

Man, do I have a crazy week... so please excuse me that today's creation is a little lacking!! I can't believe we are already halfway through Painting Outside the Lines 31 day challenge! Woohoo!!!!


So, I've been practicing my stamping... but I forgot to turn my ceiling fan off, so the image didn't get picked up as well as I would like... But I didn't have time to re-do it!! Grr :p


I used China Glaze Light My Tiki and Konad Plate m57 with Konad silver polish. This stamp reminded me of lace... and nothing is more delicate than lace!!

I am so excited to see so many lovely ladies sticking to this challenge, because it is sooooo hard!!! Be sure to go show them some love on Painting Outside the Lines wall!

Sunday, April 29, 2012

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day 14 - Flowers

Today I am doing something I never thought I would do... showing you my toes!! Hahaha... We are two weeks in to Painting Outside the Lines 31 day challenge! Yay!!


So, disclaimer: I wear flip flops pretty much year round (I think there were literally 2 weeks this "winter" - and I use the term winter very loosely - that were too cold and I wore real shoes). Because of my flip flops, my toes are always dry... so, please excuse my dry cuticles!! :p


I used Wet n Wild Lavender Creme (not sure why it's called that, it's bright pink lol). I used two sized dotting tools with my slowly running out Avon white (I wish it would hurry up!! I may "accidentally" throw it away haha). I finished it off with light pink rhinestones!

This week is going to be a bit crazy for me, and there are a lot of nights this week I will be doing something totally new to me (Tribal and Galaxy.... and I should probably consider water marbling new too, because I suck at it still :p)

Go check out the rest of the creations on Painting Outside the Lines wall!! I will see you tomorrow!!

Saturday, April 28, 2012

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day 13 - Animal Print

This is just flying by! I am loving all the creations by so many other fellow polish lovers! Painting Outside the Lines has really made a great challenge!


I love Butter LONDON Disco Biscuit so much, I decided I must use it for the animal print day! Nothing says sexy Leopard print like a great hot pink base...


I will admit, this is not my best stamping job... but at least I opted to tape and just do the top angle! This image can be found on Konad's plate m57. I used my Silver Stripe Rite (found at Sally's) to finish the look.

As always, go see the other entrants over at Painting Outside the Lines Facebook page!

Friday, April 27, 2012

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day 12 - Stripes

Moving right along in Painting Outside the Lines challenge!! :D


I obviously didn't want to do the star-burst style stripes I did on day 8... so I had to try something different. This pattern set-up is another new one to me!


This one was pretty difficult to take a picture of... there is a lot of shine going on! lmao... And it just didn't look right in the shade... I used China Glaze Icicles as the base, and the following LA Color Art Deco polishes:

Sky Blue
Dark Blue
Blue Glitter

I'm also featured on Taneja's Bride's Friday Guest Blogger today!! Be sure to go read my responses to her fun Q&A and show her some love!

Don't forget to show the other nail polish obsessed ladies some love (because you have to be obsessed to put yourself through 31 days of this haha) on Painting Outside the Lines wall!

Thursday, April 26, 2012

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day 11 - Polka Dots

Today we enter the second stage of Painting Outside the Lines challenge! We have switched from colors to patterns!! Now it starts to heat up ;)


I saw this gradient polka dot design on Pinterest, and really wanted to give it a try!


This is Dazzle Dry Cherry Parfait (I'm going to have a super special review of Dazzle Dry VERY soon... I am waiting on my durability test to be completed by my BFF lol). I used my smallest dotting tool and used white and black to add the polka dots.

Be sure to go show some love to the other entrants on Painting Outside the Lines wall!!!!

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day 10 - Gradient

This is my first ever gradient! I love Painting Outside the Lines challenge because it is making me do all new things!!


If you will remember on Day 4 (green)... I said I have a lot of greens... And I do. So, what better color to use for my gradient than my most abundant!


I will admit that I got a little heavy on my pinky... oh well!! Here are the colors I used:

Zoya Tracie (lightest: base)
Zoya Gemma (Medium)
Avon Nailwear Olive Green (Dark)
Julep Sophie (sheer overlay)

I sponged on Gemma, then the Olive Green... then, just because I love sparkles, I added some Sophie!


You can really see the sparkles in the shade ;)

I'm super excited to see everyone's gradients today! Head over to Painting Outside the Lines and check them out!

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day 9 - Rainbow

We're still going strong! Painting Outside the Lines has created a doozy of a challenge, and I am loving it!


I love rainbows... they are so pretty and happy! I was very glad to see a rainbow challenge!


I used China Glaze For Audrey as my base (it's my go to for a sky color, for obvious reasons!)... I multitude of of nail stripers were used (I got a set of over 20 LA Colors Art Deco polishes for Christmas, it's about time I put a bunch to use!):

Blue - Dark Blue
Purple - Magenta
Red - Red (duh, lol)
Orange - Bright Orange
Yellow - Yellow (super creative names, right?)
Green - Bright Green

I just had to cover the other nails in cute little clouds!! Again, as with the cupcake frosting on Day 6, the white is my old Avon color I am trying to get rid of! ;)

Go see the other entrants at Painting Outside the Lines Facebook page!

Monday, April 23, 2012

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day 8 - Metallic

I was really looking forward to day 8 of Painting Outside the Lines 31 Day Challenge!!


When I saw this Revlon Polish I had to buy it... I live in the copper state, after all!! I wasn't sure if I would like it with my skin tone, but I was pleasantly surprised!


It's so shiny!!! Because of that you can't really see the stripes, so let's add some shade to the situation...


I used Stripe Rite's Silver striper to add free-hand the silver stripes. I really love this combination!

Don't forget to go show some love to the other participants on Painting Outside the Lines wall!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day 7 - Black & White

1 week in!! Wow!! I am loving the challenge being hosted by Painting Outside the Lines! It is so much fun! I hope you are enjoying it as much as I am ;)


No big intro for this one lol...


When I saw Julep's post a couple of weeks ago about using paper punches to create your own nail decals I had a "why didn't I think of that?!" moment... I have all sorts of paper punches!! When I saw the Black & White day I immediately knew I wanted to try it... So I got my black (Nina Ultra Pro) and painted it on a ziplock! It worked so perfectly! I couldn't believe it!!

I used my OPI Kyoto Pearl for the white and laid the black hearts over it. The hearts were a little tricky to lay down with the curve of my ring finger, but it was nothing an orange stick couldn't handle!

As always, be sure to do to Painting Outside the Lines page and show the other entrants some love!

Saturday, April 21, 2012

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day 6 - Violet

Keep chugging along!! Here we are at day 6 of Painting Outside the Lines challenge! It's flying by!


One of my other loves is baking, so I had to try my hand at a cupcake mani!


I used Anise Grape Escape (reviewed here), and a dark violet shimmer polish from Color Club (it doesn't have a name one it, I bought it in a collection pack from Ross). The white is just an old Avon polish I have... I need to use it up so I can finally buy a new one! Hahaha

I thought this turned out cute, and found myself wanting to bust out my Betty Crocker Big Book of Cupcakes to make some yummies! But, no, I am working out super hard and am trying to contain my sweet intakes (so hard to do! Darn sweet tooth!).

Again, there are a lot of great creations on Painting Outside the Lines Facebook page. Head over to check them out!

Friday, April 20, 2012

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day 5 - Blue

I was kind of sad to take yesterday's mani off! I really do love green! But, it is a daily challenge after all!! Here we go... Painting Outside the Lines challenge continues!!


I have a lot of blues (almost as many as I have greens...) so it was difficult to select one for today... But I have my two new Zoya's staring at me longingly from the shelf, so I opted to show one some love!


Here I was, on day 2, telling you that I suck at stamping... and look at this butterfly!! It's perfect! This is my very first, successful stamp!!

Anyways, now that I am past that excitement lol... This is Zoya Wednesday... it is truly a gorgeous, creamy blue! The butterfly is from Konad Plate m21. I picked up some Wet n Wild at the $.69 sale at Walgreens and decided to bust out Kaleidoscope for the remaining nails... It's such a pretty glitter, especially for so cheap!!

Go to Painting Outside the Lines Facebook page to see the rest of the entries... so many talented ladies!

Thursday, April 19, 2012

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day 4 - Green

Day 4! Yay! Painting Outside the Lines challenge seems to be moving right along!


 I was super psyched for this one, because I have a lot of green lol...


I decided to go with a tape mani today... The base color is FingerPaints Comet's Collar. It's a great color with so many different colored sparkles in it!! Then I taped and used China Glaze It's Alive (LOVE that glitter) from their 2011 Halloween collection.


I wanted to add some definition at the edge where the too color's met, so I got out my glitter striper (the brand is Stripe Rite, they don't have color names... its a clear glitter. You can buy them at Sally's) You can see it a bit better when I took the pic at an angle.

Please be sure to go to Painted Outside the Lines Facebook page and show the other entrants some love! This is a lot of work! Lol

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day 3 - Yellow

Two days down... 29 to go! Haha... here we are, going strong with Painting Outside the Lines 31 Day Nail Art Challenge.


I saw on Facebook a lot in the last week the Saran Wrap technique... so I thought I'd give it a try!


I used FingerPaints Lemon Sour and Pop Rock Pink (reviewed here) for this. I painted a base of Lemon Sour and let it dry completely... then put a single layer of Pop Rock Pink over it. Using a wadded ball of Saran wrap, you dab the top layer for this blotchy effect. I wanted to switch it up a bit, so I did my ring finger solid Pink with a line of Lemon Sour (you know, because I could lol)...

Go check out the rest of the entrants on Painting Outside the Lines Facebook page!

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day 2 - Orange

Today is Day 2 of Painting Outside the Lines' nail art challenge! Here is the challenge list:


Yesterday my creation was a bit on the boring side... I am the first to admit it! But, as promised, it is much more exciting today!


I am not the best stamper in the world... I have been practicing, and improving, but I am no master lol. I used China Glaze Riveting (BEST. ORANGE. EVER.) and did a French tip in black... that was still too boring, so I added some tiger print using Konad plate m57.

Be sure to go to Painting Outside the Lines Facebook page to check out the other entrants!!

Monday, April 16, 2012

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day 1 - Red

I am so excited (and nervous all at the same time!)... Today is day one, of what I'm sure will prove to be a very tough 31 days... but I am determined to complete this challenge! I think it will be good for me! The challenge is the brain-child of Painting Outside the Lines, who is hosting this challenge. Below is the overview of the challenge...


Being the controlling, overly-organized, OCD person that I am, I have obviously already planned out (right down to the polish colors I will be using) what I am doing for all 31 days. I can't help myself, I'm a sick woman lol...

I kept today simple, I have a lot to do over the next 31 days, and didn't want to pull out all the stops on day one!! Without further ado, here are my nails today:


This is Barielle's Elle's Spell (3 coats) with five lovely, black rhinestones placed on the ring finger. I know, this one is a bit boring... but I discovered I do not have a lot of reds in my collection, and felt very limited by my choices. While this is a beautiful flaky polish, it is a bit too much to stamp on or do any striping, because so much was already going on!

Alas, it is beautiful... and I promise tomorrow (and the next day, and the next day... you get the point!) will be much more exciting so stay tuned!

Be sure to head over to Painting Outside the Lines Facebook and check out the other entrants!!

Will you be joining in on the fun??

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Butter LONDON - Disco Biscuit

The moment I saw Disco Biscuit, I knew I had to have it. There is nothing about this color that doesn't speak to me... it's hot pink AND it sparkles... what more could I possible want!?


This is my very first Butter LONDON, and it did not disappoint! It was a bit sheer, it took 4 coats to get this coverage (this is with a Seche Vite top coat), and probably could have use at least 1 more to get the coverage I like... but that does not deter me because I just LOVE the color! The blue shimmer is such a lovely little surprise, and makes it totally different from my other shiny hot pinks (and I have a lot of those haha). The shimmer was really hard to capture in pictures. I failed miserably at it... but trust me, it's there and its blue!!


In the shade you can really see how many sparkles there are in the polish. You can't see them sparkle, but you can at least see the extent!!

I may be a little quiet this weekend, but just know that starting Monday I am doing a 31-day challenge hosted by Painting Outside the Lines (go check out her FB page so you can get it on it too!!) Here's a breakdown of the challenge:


Woah! This is gonna be a toughie!! Good news for you though, I will have 31 days of posts (guaranteed!!). I'm spending this weekend figuring out EXACTLY what I want to do for each day (colors and everything), to try to avoid getting overwhelmed (try at least haha)!

Don't forget to enter my Cinderella/Essie giveaway here. You have until Sunday, 4/16 at 9PM PST!!

Are you going to join in on the challenge?! There is a goodie bag for every person to complete it!!!

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Sinful Colors - Gorgeous

I have another Sinful Colors for you. This may be my favorite of the ones I own.


I swatched this on the same day as Smoke and Ashes, so I had the same problem of clouds blocking my sunlight. It doesn't matter though, you can't miss that shine!!!


The formula does tend to streak... it takes some work to minimize the streaks. It's not so bad though, and honestly the end result is worth the effort in my opinion!!

I did not topcoat, and it took 3 coats to get complete coverage. I do love this color! I have some glitter I want to layer over it soon ;)

Don't forget to enter my Cinderella/Essie giveaway here. You have until Sunday, 4/16 at 9PM PST!!

What's your favorite Sinful Colors?? You know, other than Cinderella lol...

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

China Glaze - Smoke and Ashes

I am a huge Hunger Games fan... I read the books in a hurry... a day a book! Haha... When I saw the China Glaze collection I could hardly contain my excitement! While not all of the colors spoke to me, 6 of them did! I treated myself to those for my anniversary present (my husband loves my hobby, he no longer has to buy me presents! I buy what I want with however much money he wants to give me lol).

Today I am sharing with you District 12 (Katniss and Peetha's home district), Smoke and Ashes.


Of course, it was sunny and 93 degrees all day... but as soon as I want to swatch, wispy clouds move in and block my sunlight! grrr.... haha... Here it is in as direct sunlight as I could get.

Smoke and Ashes is a black base, with blue/green micro glitter.

I must say, I do enjoy the color. It is dark and gorgeous and the shimmer is lovely... but I was expecting more from the star's of the books (and movie obviously) home district.


Here it is with a flash. You can see the shimmer and the shine from the polish. I did not top coat, this is the polish all on it's own. It took two coats for complete opacity... the formula is a bit watery. I flooded my cuticles pretty badly on my pointer finger. Once I messed that nail up, I learned my lesson and got control on the other nails!! :p

Again, I do enjoy the color, I was just a bit disappointed that this was it for District 12...

Don't forget to go enter my Cinderella/Essie giveaway here... you have until Sunday, 4/16 @ 9PM PST!!

Did you buy any of the Capital Colors collection??

Monday, April 9, 2012

250 Followers Giveaway!

**** Giveaway Closed****

Hello all!

I am so excited, and very honored, to have so many people following me on a particular social network that is now shutting down blog pages that use their names in a giveaway!

Up for grabs!!!!!


As promised, after my 100 follower giveaway was over, I have another Sinful colors Cinderella up for grabs!


Its a beautiful, pastel blue with a light pink shimmer. The shimmer is sooooo hard to capture in photos, you really need to see this beauty in person to appreciate it! I also found a gorgeous Essie for you enjoyment...


This is Essie Main Squeeze! It's a lilac shimmer. I bought one for myself too, but haven't had a chance to try it out. I can tell you it would work nice as a top coat (as I tested is over Sinful Colors Daredevil when I bought it last week, since that's what I had on at the time lol).

Use the Rafflecopter below.
Sorry, US only... although my current giveaway on Facebook is open to international (You have until 7PM PST time tomorrow to enter that one!).
This giveaway will close on 4/15 at 9PM PST!!

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Nail Art - Easter Eggs

Happy Easter!!

My camera was not cooperating with me when I was trying to take pictures of this mani. It was very frustrating. Grrr lol...


Colors used:

Purple - Anise Grape Escape
Green - FingerPaints Choco Mint
Pink - Color Club (it doesnt have a name on it. I got it at Ross lol)
Blue - China Glaze For Audrey
Yellow - FingerPaints Lemon Sour

I used my new nail art brush set for the first time! It's obviously not perfect, I have to get used to my new goodies!!

I also attempted my first water marbling. It is not easy!! It is obviously something I have to practice at haha...


I used Lisa's water marbling tutorial over at Cosmetic Sanctuary to walk me through it! I couldn't get a picture of my other thumb... the camera had trouble focusing. So annoying!!

I just posted an Easter Giveaway on my Facebook! Go check it out! I hope the Easter Bunny brought you some nail polish ;)

What did you do with your nails for Easter?

Monday, April 2, 2012

My First Blogger Awards! Liebster & Versatile!

Wow, this has been an amazing couple of days!! First I hit 100 followers on Saturday... then I got up to 200 today! Not to mention, I got my first blogger awards!! First up, the Liebster!



I was nominated by not one, but THREE separate bloggers! All of who are amazing and make the honor even more special!! My lovely nominators are I'm All Polished Off, My Nail Journey and Lace & Lacquers. Now, when I first got the award, I wasn't exactly sure what it stood for lol... but Liebster is a German word with many meanings - darling, beloved, sweetheart, or dearest. AWWW! So amazing!!

The Rules:
1. Put the link to who gave you the award.
2. Put the award on your post.
3. Choose 5 blogs with under 200 followers to receive the award.
4. Let them know you awarded them.

Here are the 5 LOVELY ladies I'm awarding, in random order:
1 - Galactic Lacquer
2 - Jilltastic Nail Design
3 - Girlie and Glamorous
4 - Kat Hearts Nails
5 - Manicured Mamas

Go check out these lovely bloggers ;)

Up next... the Versatile Blogger Award!



So amazing!! I was honored by Pretty & Polished Pointers!! Go check out her blog, it is absolutely lovely (and I am so jealous of her nails! Wish mine were shaped that perfectly!). Here are the rules:

Nominate 15 fellow bloggers who are relatively new to blogging.
  1. Let them know that you have nominated them.
  2. Share 7 random facts about yourself.
  3. Thank the blogger(s) who nominated you.
  4. Add the Versatile Blogger Award picture to your blog post. 
This was tough for me... these awards have been going around, and I really wanted to make sure I honored some lovely ladies who hadn't already received it! So, after a lot of thought, and searching through all of the blogs I follow...

Here are my 15:
 
1 - Melinails
2 - Munchy's Nails
3 - Perfect Polish
4 - Pixel's Polish
5 - Polished Paradise
6 - Presh Polish
7 - Pretty In Paint
8 - Quite Polished
9 - Sweet Surcee
10 - The Beauty Lounge
11 - The Charm of Nail Polish
12 - Get Lacquered!
13 - MixedMama
14 - Mega Nailattude
15 - Lacquered Pamper

7 Random Facts about me:
  1. I am 27 years old.
  2. I'm a third generation native Arizonan, who's family was one of the thirteen founding families of Scottsdale
  3. My Great, Great Uncle was John O'Sullivan... the last ever Heavy-weight, bare-knuckle boxing Champ of the World (10 years straight!)
  4.  I have been married to my wonderful hubby and best friend for 3 years. 
  5. My mom owns a bar... that's pretty fun.
  6. I am a Payroll Specialist for a Denny's restaurant franchisee... I am the payroll department for 36 restaurants (and growing)... so I stay pretty busy! Ha!
  7. As if I don't have enough on plate, I also sew and knit lol... my BFF and I are opening an Etsy shop on April 30th with our purses, diaper bags, aprons, etc, etc lol... It's called Madly Simple (and once I get some extra cash, I plan on making custom glitter polishes the match the purses ;)
I again want to thank all of my lovely nominators... I'm All Polished Off, My Nail Journey, Lace & Lacquers and Pretty & Polished Pointers!!! Thanks ladies, it truly is an honor to be among you ;)

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Sinful Colors Daredevil

When I was picking colors to giveaway at my 100 Facebook follower giveaway, I knew I had to pick something I like. Cinderella was a given, since I was lucky enough to find some of those gems!! But I knew I didn't want to only give away one polish. I already owned Sinful Colors Gorgeous and was well aware of how, well, gorgeous it is!! Then I saw Daredevil. You will find out through the course of following me that I have a soft spot for hot pink. What didn't help, was that my bestie was there too, and she has the same problem!! We loves it... so, naturally, I grabbed two!! One for my lovely followers, and one for me!!

I put it on last night, and wow!! It is so bright and in your face. Just what hot pink should be!

(Please excuse the photo quality, I was too lazy to deal with the good camera and just grabbed my phone lol)


This is 3 coats with my Seche Vite top coat. You can really see the shimmer, which is slightly purple!! As with all the Sinful Colors I've tried, a top coat really is a must. The polish dries without much luster, and you don't get it's true beauty until you get a nice shine!


This is it in the shade. The pictures are both actually a bit more muted than the color I'm looking at on my nails right now. It is slightly more neon in person!

Don't miss out on your chance to win this beauty, along with Gorgeous and Cinderella!! Just head on over to my Facebook page (make sure you like my page first!) and comment on the original picture with your favorite Easter tradition. It closes tomorrow (4/2) at 7PM PST. :)

What's your favorite Sinful Colors polish??