Purple Waterfall

Good morning, luvvies! I have such pretties to show you!! No real inspiration for the look, other than my mom's favorite color is purple and I miss her. She loves these, I just wish I could show her how lovely they are in real life!

They make me feel so pretty and dainty. I haven't done a French manicure in years (can never get my nails even enough to feel comfortable doing one), and if I don't look right at these, it almost looks like a classic French.

Basically, I just grabbed a bunch of my favorite purples, and then used my smaller striping brush to create the stripes. I added silver just for a bit of flair.

The base is Sally Hansen's White On. For the purples I used Zoya's Charisma, Wet'N'Wild On A Trip, Kleancolor Metallic Purple and Metallic Fuschia, and an Unnamed BonBons. There may be more purples that were used, but Kiddo thought it would be adorable to play tea party with my nail polish bottles (He was right, silly boy!) and he maybe lost a couple. For the silver, I used Pure Ice's Silver Mercedes. Topped with China Glaze Fairy Dust and NYC's Turbo Dry Top Coat. 

I am in such love with these :) And after wearing them for about 4 days, there's only one chip. These guys have some staying power! I base coated with Pure Ice's Buh Bye Breakups.

What colors would you choose for a waterfall?

Stripes and Daisies

I love daisies. And this color palette. So why not put them together? Inspired by this pin, I decided to have a go at it. I was not impressed by my freehand skill, so I decided to use a stamp. Much better!

Freehand

Yeeeeah, I'm not a huge fan of that. I couldn't get the lines thin enough, even with using acetone.

Stamped

For this mani, I used Pure Ice Kiss Me Here, NYC Lexington Yellow, Wet'N'Wild I Need A Refresh-Mint, and Revlon Spirit. 

I laid down three coats of Lexington, and then placed striping tape down where I wanted the yellow to show. I then painted Kiss Me Here and pulled off the tapes after about 5 seconds. I got really clean lines this way, for the most part. I then did a layer of Seche Vite, in case I needed to erase a mistake later. I decided to freehand the I Need a Refresh-Mint, as using the tapes was starting to wear on my patience lol. Another layer of the Seche Vite, and I was done for the evening lol

Before the daisies

The next evening, I tried to do the daisies. I still suck at freehand, but practice makes perfect, right? I gave up and pulled out my stamps, instead of trying to use my left hand. The stamps look best, I think. What say you?

Chevron

I am so ridiculous sometimes. I KNEW I did my nails for last week's post, but I just could NOT find the pictures for them, so I broke down last Tuesday night thinking I forgot to take the pics for them.

Suddenly tonight, I found them! ...They were in the folder I never use, which is literally named "Nails" for my blog pics. I put something away for once, and couldn't find it because of that.

Yeah. Brilliant.

Anyways, I found them, yay!

This is a very trendy look right now, with the glitter on one finger and the chevron on the next, and I really did fall in love. Era picked the purple and I did this at work. 

I have no clue what happened to my pinkie. It was like that IRL, it's not an issue with the camera.

That dratted thumb, can never get that corner right....

I freehanded the heart and the chevron! I used this Pinterest tutorial as a general guide. Unfortunately, I have dug through her tumblr AND her actual blog and I cannot for the life of me find the original post :( Darn pinterest!

I used Wet'N'Wild Megalast On a Trip, which my camera didn't like too much (It's too blue in these pics), China Glaze Cosmic Dust and Fairy Dust (on my middle finger), and Revlon's Spirit. Topped with Seche Vite.

I will likely do this several more times because it's just so friggin' cute :)

So Easy, I Did It At Work: Taped Triangles

No, seriously. I did these at my desk. I took the pics on my lunch break. I had these colors in my purse (Who DOESN'T keep random nail polish on their person at all times? Oh. Just me, then? Gotcha.), and so ran with what I had.

Mind the horrible cleanup job, I don't have a brush at work.

I honestly wasn't expecting these colors to go together as well as they do. 

I used Essie Bikini So Teeny and Wet'N'Wild Lava Brew. The Bikini So Teeny is a lot more blue and less purple than in these pics, thanks to my <sarcasm> wonderful </sarcasm> phone's camera.

Bikini So Teeny is a definite two-coater, maybe three if you weren't paying 100% attention (like if you were at work...). The application is great, though. 

Lava Brew is really dependent on what type of lighting you're in. In the light of the lamp I'm typing by, it's a beautiful rose color. Under the florescent at work, it's a soft pink or gold. I'm in love :)

Good News, Good Nails

GOOD NEWS! I found the phone with the good camera! We're back in business, baby!

GREAT NAILS! I was looking through my Pinterest nail art pins for some inspiration. I had decided that I was going to do some stamping (haven't done that in a while!) and came across this pin. It made me think of mermaids, so I went with it!

Unable to locate the BM-209 I needed, I used my Mash-39, which has a clearer print than that of my RA-111, and a smaller print than that of my GA14, (I have FOUR plates with fish scales. FOUR. Almost as many as zebra prints...) but honestly, I'm very pleased with the results!

I couldn't figure out what to do for the accent nail, so I decided to go for something that strikes of sea monster, and I think I did fairly well. I'm not completely satisfied with the result (am I, ever?) but I didn't hate it so much that I redid it several times, so there's a plus.

At about 3 hours, this was one of my longer manis, because I had to wait for the MANY layers to dry. SO WORTH IT!

I'm thinking Scary Monsters and Nice Nymphs for this!

Main nails:
Layer one: NYC's Water Street Blue and L.A. Colors' BCC 590, gradient.
Layer two: Pure Ice Strapless, Pure Ice Look My Way, and Petites Craze.
Layer three: Pure Ice Silver Mercedes, stamped with Mash-39.
Layer four: Pure Ice Oh Baby

Accent nail:
Layer one: Wet'N'Wild Fergie Glowstick 
Layer two: Wet'N'Wild Fastdry SaGreena the Teenage Witch, stamped with Mash-39.
Layer three: Wet'N'Wild Fastdry SaGreena the Teenage Witch, gradient from top.
Layer four: Sinful Colors Queen of Beauty
NYC's Matte Me Crazy for top coat.

I based with my usual Sally Hansen's, and topped my main nails with the Rue 22 topcoat.

I am in absolute LOVE with this mani!!!! What say you?

Top Coats and Bottom Coats.

Recently, I've had quite a few people ask about chipping and peeling prevention. My first question is always: "What kind of base coat are you using?" The usual sheepish reply is that they aren't. Well there's your first problem.
My second question is: "What kind of top coat are you using?" The answer is the same: They aren't.

These are very, very important if you want your mani to last.
Lemme reiterate that:
Always use a top coat and a bottom coat!!!!

The bottom coat is very important because it gets into all the nooks and crannies of the nail and creates a smooth, even surface for the rest of the nail polish to coat. This prevents peeling. It also protects your nail from discoloring (most of the time.)

The top coat is very important because it seals in the mani, preventing chipping. It helps flatten the mani, making it look like all one picture, instead of a bunch of dots and lines and layers. The right top coat will also give you the finish you want, whether it's satin, shiny, or matte.

You CAN find 2-in-1 top coats and bottom coats, but I tend to dislike them. They aren't as smooth. Sally Hansen's has one for a decent price.

My usual go-to bottom coat is Sally Hansen's Hard As Nails Nail Hardener in clear. It is MUCH cheaper if you go to Walmart.

However.

Right now, I'm running a comparison between the Sally Hansen's and Jordana's Nails Be Strong (Go to KMart for the best prices). On my right hand is the Sally's and on the left is the Jordana's. With this mani, the biggest peel I have is with the Sally Hansen's. I have some chipping on both of my thumbs. With my previous mani, my left hand had three fingers that needed a repair from ripping, one that needed it twice.

So far, I prefer Jordana's application. The brush is softer and the formula is thinner and not as goopy. It goes on the nail better. They dry about evenly.

For the top coats, I've used several different types:
Wet'N'Wild has a really good one that I like. My biggest complaint is that it's in a smaller bottle and gets used up really fast.
I've tried N.Y.C.'s clear topcoat, and while it's a really beautiful shine, it gets scratched and chipped really fast.
I like using N.Y.C.'s Matte Me Crazy. It lasts a while and dries really fast. I can't use it for EVERY mani, though.
Right now I'm using a top coat from Rue 21. It's got the shine of N.Y.C's clear, and so far it seems about as durable as Wet'N'Wild.
Only time will tell.

Now here's the How-To.
Clean your nails. Scrub them and underneath them. Get all the oils off of them by wiping down with nail polish remover.
To apply a base coat, cover the entire nail. Do the edge of the nail first, then under the nail, and then over the nail, especially if it's a strengthener. Wait until completely dry, then you can choose to apply a second coat to the edge and the top.
Wait until completely dry.
Do your mani.
Wait until completely dry.
Apply a top coat, again by covering the edge and then the top.
You can choose a second coat of topcoat.
Yes, it's time-consuming, and yes, it costs more money than if you just did the mani. But in my opinion, if you can wear one mani for a week, it saves you money in the long run.

Check your polishes' labels. If the topcoat is not 3Free and your mani is, bubbles, imprints, and smudges can happen. The topcoat will harden before the mani doesn't, and seal in the evaporating chemicals. If you've ever woken up with an imprint of your sheets on your nails, this is why.


Please note that I have not tried everything, including the more expensive top/bottom coats. I have not tried gels, UV or otherwise. If you have any tips or tricks or favorites you'd like to share, please feel free to do so in the comments!

Acrylics and Owls- Guest Starring Whitney

So another one of my friends from work came over today to get her nails done :) I gave her a full set of acrylics, and I can't tell you how proud I am at how they turned out! I wish I'd have gotten a pic!

Then we did one of her favorite manis from Pinterest, this, with a few modifications.

Aren't they cute? I absolutely love how these turned out! Even the acrylics turned out amazing, though the cleanup wasn't the greatest (we were short on time).

The white half moons were foiled in Opal Swirl from Dollar Nail Art. I then used binder dots to create the half-moons, and painted the owls.
I used Superstar by Pure Ice underneath the foil and for the eyes, the Dream On by Sinful Colors, Pink by Sinful Colors, Sally Hansen's Blue Me Away, and Wet'n'Wild's Fergie Glowstick, and Black on Black by Sinful Colors.

I really can't wait to see how they look all cleaned up!

This was her favorite of the bunch.

Geometric Gradient

I'm usually not a huge fan of Geometric patterns, but I figured one of the reasons I made a blog was to expand my horizons and push my comfort zone a little bit, so I decided to just go with it. And I'm glad that I did!

I decided to do the accent in B&W, but once I'd finished my nails, I realized that I liked the accent nails best. Don't you hate it when that happens? 

See? Isn't the accent nail just the cutest?

I *do* like the other nails, but I wish I'd switched them lol

What do you think? What colors would you have chosen? I used Sinful Colors for the white, black, and purple, Sally Henson's XtremeWear for the blue, and Wet'n'Wild with Fergie for the green.

I achieved the gradient on the stamp by laying the colors down where I wanted them, and then scraping. Pretty darn simple.

Candy Apple Nails

I was wondering what to do Saturday night, so I went with my default- I did my nails! But what did I want to

do? My mom gave me the answer: Candy Apple nails! They turned out cute, and I've been wearing them ever since :)

These were pretty easy! Just sponged the colors on, and then add the caramel topping :)

I used Sinful Colors Unicorn as my base. I was planning on letting it show with the other colors,  but that didn't happen.
Unicorn is a very soft yellow creme. Very pretty.

After the sponging, before the matte coat. I tried to make every nail unique. No two apples are alike!

Here's with the "caramel" applied. I added a matte topcoat to the apple. I mixed a soft brown creme I have with a gold I recently bought to create the caramel, and then topped it with my Wet'N'Wild topcoat.

I guess I didn't get as much disparity as I wanted, all the red is on the right side of the nail. Oh well, they still don't look the same!

To finish, I added a stem and a leaf on top. I think they turned out really cute!

All done!

So what do you think? Totally fall, right?

Rainbow Sugar Spun Nails FAIL

So while looking for inspiration, I came across all these Sugar Spun manis, and they looked SUPER CUTE!!! So I went and watched a tutorial and decided to try them. Well, as you can see, I failed. Miserably. I just couldn't get my polish to string. So I eventually gave up and just dragged my toothpick across the polish in my nails, creating the effect you see in the pictures. Still super cute, I've been wearing them for a couple of days.

On my accent nail, I used a tiny straw dipped in my colors and just layered them randomly. Again, super cute.

My base color is Pure Ice Black Rage. I used a Color Workshop for the red, Sinful Colors' Cloud Nine for orange, a nameless mini I got at a garage sale for the yellow, Wet'N'Wild's Fergie Glowstick, NYC's In A New York Minute Water Street Blue, and Orly's Charged Up for the purple. I used NYC's Wild Shine topcoat.

I really do love these, even though they aren't what I wanted. Isn't it awesome how that turns out sometimes?

I don't think my camera did the colors justice.

So what do you guys think? If you tried it, how did yours turn out? I'm excited to see :)

Mani Math Mistake

Tonight's mani makes me think of witches and Halloween, for some reason. I think it's the purple and black. Always kinda reminds me of the spider web my mom had in her classroom for Halloween, I guess. I have 2 coats of Wet'n'Wild's Wild Shine "Midnight Prowl" topped with a coat of Pure Ice Crackle in "Strobe Light". It's a very dark mani, which is unusual for me. It was an experiment in color and contrast. I thought the glitter in Midnight Prowl would show up more between the cracks of Strobe Light, but... Eh. You'll see.

Swatch of Midnight Prowl

Midnight prowl is a black with tiny purple glitter (I will someday learn about the different types of glitter and then I'll be able to tell you what kind of glitter this is, though I think this is a glass glitter. I honestly don't know, though). It's a definite 2-coater (possible 3-coater even, it's a very thin formula), a sheer black at first, needing some buildup. It's extremely pretty and very distracting. A bit hard to clean up, though.

This is the best pic I could get to show how dense the glitter is.
I didn't know I had a freckle there O.o

I thought that the glitter would sparkle very prettily through the crackle topcoat, and experimented thusly.

Well, I was kinda right...

With such an extreme light as the LED flash/flashlight from my phone, the glitter shows up really well, and you can TOTALLY see it through the cracks. But in the dim light from the "energy saving" bulbs we have in my home, my nails just look black :(

I did my usual final step- a top coat. 

This was a mistake. 

With a topcoat in the light of my house, you can no longer even see the glitter because the shine from the topcoat is hiding it. The black of the crackle is just kinda overpowering the glitter. 

So, now I've learned: dark nail polish + black crackle = nails I'm not proud of.