31DC2012 Day 3 - Yellow

Happy Labor Day! Today's post is of the color I was looking forward to most from my September Julep Maven box ^-^

This is Alma layered under A Little Kindness by Rainbow Honey, and I was a little iffy about the combo last night, but seeing it in the daylight, I like it a lot!

Alma was even in two coats, A Little Kindness only took one coat. And yes, I did use my Elmer's glue as a base coat again, I'll peel it off later, and make sure to update with pix!

A Little Kindness has such a pretty fuchsia shimmer to it! SO much more noticeable in real life! I wish it had translated into photos easier :c

Hope you all are having a great, extended, weekend!

31dc2012 - Day 2

So I am going to attempt another month long challenge. Hopefully I don't get lazy towards the end like I did in July -__-'

September 1st's theme was Red, and since I started late I skipped over that day. Today's theme is Orange! I chose one of my new Rainbow Honey's in Hoof Wrassle. This polish is part of Rainbow Honey's Equestria collection, based off of My Little Pony characters.

I also came across something called 'glue as a base coat' and I instantly wanted to try it!

For more swatches and to see how the 'glue as a base coat' works, click the link!

I'm so excited for Julep's September box!

Recently I came across photos of the new boxes for the September 2012 box, and boy oh boy I love the color combos! They are working in collaboration with Trina Turk and came out with a collection to coordinate with her 'Modernist Maverick' collection. And they recently introduced us to sneak peaks of their new mascara, and that will be included in some boxes this month!

 

To see the photos and colors, click the link!

Revlon's Chic, and stamping

Good morning everyone! This is the first time I actually post about last night's nail art~ Hopefully I can keep this up and do this every morning!

Don't forget to click the link for more pix and info!

August's Glossybox!

Well again I have fallen into a yeah-i'll-post-later phase and I apologize, but today's post is a big one! My second ever Glossybox arrived yesterday!

For more photos and info click the link!

Pink Floral mani

So today is my first 'Pink Wednesday' post :B

I just did a simple floral design with 4 untried colors I had. Flirty Tankini by China Glaze is the neon pink base, the lighter pink of the flowers is Subtle Strawberry by Revlon and the red contrast is Mon Cherry by Revlon as well. Lastly, the green is Show Me The Way by Sinful Colors.

July Nail Art Challenge Day 17 - Your Lucky Polish

Well I didn't really have a 'lucky' polish until May. The polish I was wearing when Joe proposed to me is what I consider my 'lucky' polish now ^-^

To see where I got this polish and a close up, click the link!

July Nail Art Challenge Day 16 - Neutral with a Twist

So this is another that I semi-cheated on. This was a mani I actually did back in May, but as soon as I saw the theme it jumped in my head! I had to use it! :)

The nude is Helen by Zoya, and the tips were Camera by Essie I believe? :s I will find out for sure later.

July Nail Art Challenge Day 15 - Coral

Hello! Gosh I am awful at even *attempting* to stick to a schedule of posts here -__- But! I will try to fill in the blanks this morning before work.

Day 15's mani was simple, Coral, and I used an un-tried from my collection, It's Chiff-on! by Sally Hansen. Oh man, this color is gorgeous! A bit sheer, but three thin coats worked perfectly. It's a perfect peachy/coral color and looked great on! It also has a bit of tiny flake/shimmer but I guess that didn't photograph. On my ring finger I have three coats of Oscar by Julep, another great color! Small gold glitter, good amount of glitter, not too thick, but not too thin.

Dinner with Joe!

So to break away from all the manicure posts I have been neglecting to post ~__~; (I will finish updating soon I swear) Here is a post about the yummy dinner Joe and I had last night!

Well I had been craving crab rangoons for foOoOoOorever and I came across a nice recipe over foodgawker. Since we went grocery shopping last night, we picked up a few ingredients to make them at home.

For the recipe, and finished product, click the link!

July Nail Art Challenge Day 14 - Redo Someone's Mani

For this post, I wasn't sure if it meant to use someone else's mani as inspiration, or if it meant to give a friend a new mani.. But I went with the latter, haha. And actually I re-did two of my friends nail's for this one, and I hope they loved them as much as I did :)

First up is my friend Annalucy's manicure:

See what I used, and my friend Samantha's new mani after the jump!

July Nail Art Challenge Day 13 - Something Tacky

This mani was so silly! I was thinking of doing something crazy and neon for this day, but when talking to some coworkers of mine, they mentioned the crazy Louis Vuitton manis they had seen before. I knew I still had an untried brown polish that I didn't know when I would get around to using and this was the perfect opportunity!

Here it is! The finished results. It honestly took f o r e v e r to paint on the middle and ring finger designs, but in the end, look A-OK to me!

I used Mahogany Magic from China Glaze's Capitol Colours collection and Lira by Borghese for the gold detail.

July Nail Art Challenge Day 10, 11, 12 - Tropical, Bird, Gradient

Okay okay, I know it's 'cheating' but gosh this was my first challenge and I get lazy! ~__~; pls forgive me. But this mani was a lot of fun to do, and to show off! I really enjoyed incorporating all the days into one!

For the gradient I used a base of C'est La Vie by Essence followed by Presto Pink and Mint Sprint by Sally Hansen. The black for the stamp is my go-to black, Hassid by American Apparel.

Again, I forgot to write down what stamping plate I used, but I will go look and update this later!

July Nail Art Challenge Day 9 - Your First Mani

Well, well, well, this was a toughy..I wasn't sure what to post as my 'first' mani... I have been getting manicures and doing my own since I was a little kid! I started collecting polish in middle school and before I ~seriously~ got into polish 2 years ago, I had around 80-90 haha.

What I decided to go with was my first mani I was super, super proud of and put a bunch of effort into! And that mani was my Halloween mani from last year!

 

I loved this mani and got so many compliments on it! 

Right hand:

Thumb - skull using a white polish by CQ
Index - stitches using a purple holo by Kleancolor
Middle - gradient cat eye
Ring - bloody nail
Pinky - Nail polish strips by Sally Hansen

Left hand:

Thumb - Eyeball
Index - candy corn
Middle - Another cool bloody nail!
Ring - Sally Hansen nail strips
Pinky - lime green and purple drip

Can't wait for Halloween this year!

July Nail Art Challenge Day 8 - Milky

So 'milky' was such an odd theme for a polish. I mean, it could definitely be easy, but I didn't know if it meant a milky polish, or something milk related..but I went with both!

 

I used the same base as my prev mani, ManGlaze's Mayo, but this time I left it as a matte finish. Since I wanted to go with a milk-n-cookies theme I stuck a cute little cookie cabochon on my nail! For anyone who isn't familiar with 'cabochon' they are just cute decorative pieces that are used for jewelry, accessories, making deco den phone cases, laptop cases, or even nail art!

Here are some other examples (better ones lol)

July Nail Art Challenge Day 7 - Polka Dots

So sorry for me slacking on my posts :l I have been so easily distracted lately, but hopefully this super cute mani makes up for it! The theme for today was polka dots!

 

I absolutely loved the way it came out! I used Mayo by ManGlaze as the white base, and glitters from American Apparel's Galaxy as the dots. I placed all the glitter on one by one with an orange stick, and honestly didn't take much time at all!

July Nail Art Challenge Day 5 & 6 - Your Least Favorite Color and Colorblock

Well, since I didn't do yesterday's mani until the evening I figured this post should be a combo.

So for yesterday, My Least Favorite Color, I chose neon pink! I honestly can't stand this color, and especially for nail polish...but China Glaze has come out with a gorgeous line of neons this summer and I sort of liked them :x

The base is Pink Plumeria by China Glaze, and to make it a colorblock I used some cut up tape to make a zig zag pattern. For the lime green I used Did It On Em by OPI.

July Nail Art Challenge Day 4 - Fireworks

Well I forgot to post this yesterday since I worked all day, but here is my Independence Day mani! I tried to paint on a firework on my ring finder and it came out awful, so I just decided to stick with a patriotic mani.

 

I loved the way it turned out! I still am awful at stripes, but my left hand was a lot better than my right, haha. Everyone and work loved it and thought it was cute that I was being 'festive'. 

I used Purity by Zoya on my thumb, Ruby Slippers by China Glaze on index, America by Julep on middle and ring, and on my pinky is Camaro Glitter but it's such an old bottle that I don't know the brand. For the flag I used Royal by Revlon and the stripes were Pushing Your Luck by SPOI.

July Nail Art Challenge Day 3 - Letters

Today I have for you my first time drawing on any kind of 'lettering' or words for my nail art. I really love the way it turned out too! Much better than my shaky hand expected :)

The theme for today's nail art was 'Letters'. I really like this font and figured it would be pretty easy, and  look nice and clean on the nail. The taupe base is Butter London's All Hail The Queen, a color I had been lusting over for awhile now. I will also take a pic in sunlight bc hidden in that beautiful nude, is tiny holographic shimmer! The black lettering is American Apparel's Hassid, and the Red is Zoya's Burke.

Day 2 of July Nail Art Challenge

So on Instagram I decided to do this 31 day nail art challenge, I think it will be especially helpful with my No-Buy-July. Day 1 was 'Nautical' and since I started a day late, I just posted an older mani of mine.

Today's theme was 'Yellow' and since Independence Day is right around the corner I decided to go with something patriotic-y.

 

I used Champagne Bubbles by China Glaze as the gold base, it also has tiny silver glitter in it, and it was on clearance at Ulta for 99c! For the stars I just used a thick red and navy creme, I believe by Love & Beauty, so they didn't have specific names. 

I believe the stamping plate I used was a faux-nad I don't remember where I purchased it from :( but it came in a huge set. Possibly bundle monster? I just layered the two colors of stamps on top of each other, not in any real 'pattern'.  I like the way the thumb turned out though!

 

My first Glossybox~

Aaaaaah! I am so excited for this post! I have been anxiously checking my email ever since my wonderful, amazing, perfect, fiancé purchased me a subscription for Glossybox earlier this month. Finally I saw the that it had shipped..then I saw the tracking number..then it was somewhere in Texas...and yesterday evening, it was finally on my kitchen counter!!

 

Keep reading for the goodies inside! 6 items total!

July's Julep box!

So I arrived home after work to these two beauties on the counter :3 My July Julep box, and my first ever Glossybox!! This will be my post on Julep, and since there are so many goodies in my Glossybox, that will have to be a separate post.. stay tuned! Will post it later today!

 

Keep reading for all the goodies inside July's Julep box!

Just Spotted the Lizard by OPI

So today's mani is Just Spotted the Lizard by OPI, and is a gorgeous gold/green duo chrome. It is also another dupe for Chanel's Peridot, and I believe the least expensive? Anyways I loved the color and am currently wearing it.

 Earlier this morning I saw on Instagram a '30 day challenge' involving nail art for July.. Very tempted in trying it out since I am also trying to go through a No-Buy-July. I think it would help keep me busy and not tempted to give in and purchase polish, haha.  I am already going crazy because of the new 'Fergie' line of polish by Wet n Wild and the new Equestria collection by Rainbow Honey.

BUT some good news, my Julep and first Glossybox came in yesterday! Next post will be in detail about the goodies :3

Water marble ATTEMPT

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Welp, exactly what the title says, this was my millionth attempt at water marbling...I just do not have the knack for it whatsoever :(

 

For more pix, click the link!

I started with a white base, and used Zoya's Purity. This part came out nicely, so I thought that would set the mood for the rest of the mani, lol..nope. I tried water marbling with two new colors of mine by Color Club. From the Take Wing collection I used Metamorphosis and Sparkle and Soar. Both beautiful colors, so vibrant! Metamorphosis is a teal, and Sparkle and Soar is orange, I figured these colors would look amazing together!

 

I wanted to crawl up in a ball and just paint my nails something bland I was so upset :( lol. It was thick, the first droplet of polish in the water would dry too fast and catch on my orange stick, ugh, a total mess everywhere. I got polish on my table, on my leggings, and definitely all over my hands. I am not sure what the exact reason for the mishap was, I tried making the water room temp, using thin polishes, dropping them in the water quickly, but to no avail. 

Now I have naked nails bc I am uninspired and sad. Hahaha. Will probably paint them tonight after I organize my closet :3

If anyone has any tips, they would be much appreciated!

Framed nude and pink mani!

So today's post is a mani from last week, to make up for me not posting yesterday, lol. I hadn't posted this one in detail anywhere yet, so I figured why not on here? I loved the way this mani turned out!

 

Click the link to see a close up and check out what colors I used!

New haircut, new organization!

So no nail art post today but I do have something somewhat related :)

I went to the Container Store with Joe int he evening so he could get some weird contraptions to wrangle all his cables/wires together behind the tv (you can see it at the top of the pic lol) and while we were there I noticed they had these cute 'shoe' boxes for $1.89 each. I brought home 11 of them and they are perfect size to hold all my polish! I organized them by brand, and of course mixed a few brands together to get more in a box. In total I have over 300 now, and the spreadsheet I made a month ago needs some serious updating.

Secondly, today I got my hair cut! Over 6in of hair was cut off, and I feel so light and free! Especially in this Texas Summer heat! My good friend Cici needed hair models since she is starting out at Toni and Guy and as soon as she asked if I'd volunteer for a bob I said yes! I love it so much!

Haul from 6/23!

So yesterday my fiancé, Joe, and I went to Best Buy, Ulta and Sally Beauty Supply with Ian. New router at Best Buy, and some great finds at Ulta and Sallys.

Pictured above is the China Glazes I found. First is Champagne Bubbles, which was on clearance for 99c at Ulta! It is a pretty gold/yellow shimmer with silver glitter in it. I think it would be great during the holidays! The next two are from the new Summer neons collections, and purchased at Sallys! Flirty Tankini and Pink Plumeria are both warm pink/coral neons with a beautiful shimmer. I haven't swatched them yet, but from other nail bloggers posts, I've seen they are gorgeous and don't need a white base to be bright! Can't wait to use them!

To see what else I purchased + photos, click the link!

First post! First attempt at a 'fishtail/ruffle' mani

Hello! And welcome to my blogspot! I decided to make one to have a more specialized blog about my nail/beauty/personal posts. On my tumblr things definitely are scattered into a large mixture of anything that caught my eye on my dashboard. I am going to try and post everyday here, or at least as often as I can. ^-^ 

So this is my first post on my blogspot, and it is the mani I am currently still wearing. I saw a video tutorial by Sarah at Chalkboard Nails the other day for her 'Chevron/Fishtail' mani, and decided to try it out for myself!

To read what I used and see more pix click the read more link!