Forrest at Twilight

Hello dolls!

So, I was sitting around yesterday trying to find some nailspiration and nothing was coming to mind.  I looked outside my window and the clouds were an array of purples, pinks and oranges.  I decided I would do a twilight gradient...

 Colors Used: Revlon Parfumerie - Wild Violets, Love & Beauty - Purple, China Glaze - Peonies & Park Ave, American Apparel - Manila, Black and White Acrylic Paint, Mentality - Matte Top Coat

This is one of those rare times where I'm wearing what I'm posting haha.  I can't stop staring at my hands!

I started with a white base of Sally Hansen White On, just one coat so that it would dry quickly.  I then layered my 4 polished on a make-up sponge and dabbed away.  After I cleaned up that whole mess, I painted some pine trees with black acrylic painy (my nerd of a husband said, "Oh! You painted confiers!").  I dotted the stars with some white acrylic paint.  I topped it all off with Mentality's Matte Top Coat and tada!

Makes me wanna go camping!

I think it's time for a nap, looking at these makes me sleepy.  It could also be the eucalyptus-mint candle that I've got burning haha...

Until next time!

Stef <3

Neon Makes Me Happy!

Hello lovelies!!

How is your weekend going so far?  This is the first day I've had all to myself and it feels great!!  My hubby cleaned our home yesterday while I was at work (best present ever!!) so I've just been relaxing and doing my nails :)  I decided to play with some new purchases, gradient style ;)

 Colors Used: China Glaze - Strike A Rose and Flip Flop Fantasy, Julie G - 9 to 5

I started with a base of Jule G's "9 to 5".  I've seen lots of swatches of this neon peach polish and I've always wanted a bottle of my own.  So when I saw it on display while buying Dayquil the other day, I snatched it up haha.  Unfortunately after 4 coats the polish was still a streaky mess... argh!!  

 I moved on to Plan B... sponging!  From top to bottom it's layered CG's "Strike A Rose" (from the new City Flourish collection), "Flip Flop Fantasy" (a neon coral that I've loved forever) and then "9 to 5".  I used a triangular make-up sponge to stiple/blend the colors on my nails.  I then cleaned up my cuticles with a combo of Q-Tips, an angled brush and actetone.

 Totally makes me think of peaches!

Has anyone else used "9 to 5"?  I'm not crazy right??  Streak City bound!  Lol...

Until next time!

Stef <3

Back to Basics

Hello lovelies!

I've got a quick post for you today.  I'm getting my feet wet (or would it be nails wet?) with nail art again and decided to go back to basics.  I did a simple skittlette in a red, white and black theme.  I chose to use Shimmer Polish's "Cindy" again (*disclaimer)...

 Colors Used: Shimmer Polish - Cindy, Rimmel - Black Satin, Daisy Nail Lacquer - White Diamond

Cindy really is an impressive and fabulous red glitter.  I layered 2 coats of it over a red base on both my index finger and pinky.  I then sponged it over black  on my middle finger to get a glittering  ombre look.

I then did some simple polka dots on my ring finger using a medium sized dotting tool.  I topped it off with Duri's Miracote Fast Dry Top Coat.

For reals... if you are a lover of glitter polishes... RUN over to Shimmer Polish and get yourself some goodness haha.

Until next time!

Stef <3

* This product was provided to me for review.  I received no payment or other compensation for the review of this product.  The opinions stated here are completely my own.  The contents of this review are based on my direct experience with this product.

If I Were A Witch...

Hello dolls!

With Halloween right around the corner, I thought now would be a good time to share some "nailspiration"!  I read a fabulous post by Break Rules, Not Nails where she played with the idea of having witches nails.  I loved it and it got me to thinking what kind of nails I would rock if I were a witch...

 Colors Used: Anise - Cosmic Kiss, Rimmel - Black Satin

I would do ombre of course!  :D  Cosmic Kiss is a new pretty in my collection.  I found it while out shopping at DSW (who knew a shoe store would carry such gorgeous polishes??).  It's a cranberry polish that's packed with holo glitter.  As usual, I couldn't get the holo sparkles to photograph... at all.  *sigh*

 I used my photo editor to turn my skin green because, well... turning my dark skin any other shade with makeup would be a difficult task lol.

Success?  I'm thinkin' yea ;)

Happy Tuesday, my pretties... muahahahaha!

Until next time!

Stef <3

KKCenterHK Halloween Decals

Hello, dearies!

Today I have another Halloween mani to share with you.  I used some water decals that I received from KKCenterHK...

 Colors Used: Sinful Colors - Hazard, Julep - Evie and Trina

I started by sponging on a sunset gradient and then I went to work and the spooky design.

Did you know that there is a difference between water decals and nail tattoos?  I had no clue! Unlike the temporary tattoos that many of us played with as kids, these decals are not sticky on the front, a bit of a surprise for me lol. 

 You wet the back of the paper with water  and rhe decal will slide off.  It's very thin and tears easily, so I recommend using tweezers.  Again, since it's not sticky it is easy to adjust the decals in just the right place.  Once I had the houses and witch in place, I used a black striper polish to free-hand/fill-out the remaining fence and ground area.  I then top coated with Color Club Clear (my current fave).

I really love the way this one turned out!

Name: N.NAIL Halloween Witch/Haunted House/Bat/Broomstick/Ghost

Item #:  NNAIL-WDHHK188

Quantity: 1 Sheet

Cost: $6.39 USD

       

These decals, and others like them, can be found at KKCenterHK's online store! 

I'm really getting into the Halloween spirit this year!  What are some things you lovelies are doing to celebrate Halloween?

Until next time!

Stef <3

* This product was provided to me for review.  I received no payment or other compensation for the review of this product.  The opinions stated here are completely my own.  The contents of this review are based on my direct experience with this product.

Blue... You've Stolen My Heart!

 Hiya lovelies!

I've got a quick post for you today.  It features a skittle mani that I did using my new fave polish color, blue :D

 Colors Used:  Sinful Colors- Midnight Blue, Orly - Dazzle, Sephora by OPI - Meet Me At The Disco, Kleancolor - Pastel teal, Sally Hansen - Laughie Taffy

You see, what had happened was... I needed an excuse to try out my newest SH Sugar Coat (Laughie Taffy).  I just love textured polishes and I'm trying my best to get one in each color of the rainbow lol.  Well, one thing led to another and I got a little carried away ;)  The cross-stitch is a new technique for me.  I haven't quite mastered it yet by I definitely plan to!  Haha...

Happy Monday!

I took time this weekend to just hang out with my hubby but I haven't forgotten about the Eiffel Tower tut.  I'll work on it tonight when I get home and have it up for you soon :)

Until next time!

Stef <3

Mint Manis For Talia Joy

Hello there, dearies!

Just a quick post in honor of a very special girl.  Talia Joy was a 13 yrs old.  She was battling nueroblastoma and preleukemia.  On Tuesday morning she went home to heaven.  Nail Polish Wars came up with the idea of creating/posting mint manis in memory of this incredibly talented individual who touched millions of people in her short here.  Here is my contribution...

 Colors Used: Bongo - Mint Chip Madness, Essie - Mint Candy Apple, Sally Hansen - Mint Sorbet and Sour Apple (Sugar Coat), Sephora by OPI - Read My Palm

I decided to pull 5 minty polish out of my hoard and then applied them at what I thought was random but kind of became an ombre... kind of haha.

More after the jump...

Not All Nail Stickers Are Created Equal

Hello, dearies!

Quick post for you today.  I decided to play with some nail stickers that I had stashed away in a drawer...

 

 Colors Used: China Glaze - Turned Up Turquoise, Rimmel - Black Satin, OPI - DS Coronation

So my thumb is a nail sticker from Kiss.  I picked this up last July at a CVS.  The other sticker is the glittery ombre on my ring finger.  This is an H&M product that I picked up a couple of months ago.  

The reason for this posts title is that although the blingy Kiss sticker feels much more solid on the nail, the H&M stickers are extremely pliable and easy to shape. I just like the look of them better...

As a side note... I'm so glad I bought Turned Up Turquoise!  It's incredibly versatile and gorgeous with every pairing I've done :)

Short and to the point today haha...

I'll have my final mani for the May TPC up tomorrow, yay! (Hint: The force is strong with this one...)

Until next time!

Stef <3

Nailed It's Faded French

Happy Sunday!

Today's mani is inspired by a fabulous tutorial I saw on Nailed It.  I was planning on wearing this to church, but immediately mucked it up while at Target helping my sissy-in-law build her wedding registry.  By the time I got home, I was waaaay to tired to start over.  It was a lovely mani regardless lol...

 Colors Used: Julep - Audrey, Sally Hansen - White On

 An ombre french manicure?  What a great idea!

I do wish I had dabbed on a little more white polish to really differentiate between the 2 colors, but if you love doing an ombre mani... this is a cinch!

The down-side to this mani is that Audrey is so sheer that I had to use 3 coats for opacity.  That mean it took forever to completely dry.  which actually means it never go to completely dry because an hour after doing it I messed it up.  A couple hours after that, when I got back home, it was still pliable... I got peeved and took the whole thing of lol.

I'm going to try this look again next Sunday with a different pink polish.  I'm excited to see how it goes :)

A final thought... I wish it were Tuesday so that I can share my next TPC mani with you.  I am SOOOOO excited about it!! (Hint: It's for my "Whovians"!).

Until next time!

Stef <3

Sour Solitaire

Good day, dear hearts!

Today's manicure is one that I did while playing with some new textured polishes that I bought over the weekend.  I have been striving for a really fantastic ombre for a long time now.  I thought I'd give it  a whirl with textures...

 

Colors Used: OPI - Solitaire, Sally Hansen - Sour Apple

Solitaire is from OPI's newest sand collection, The Bond Girls.  Sour Apple was just recently realeased in SH's Sugar Coated collection...

I really am in love with both of these polishes!  Alone, Solitaire is just elegant.  She is frosty and glittery all at the same time.  Sour Apple is the complete opposite with it's creamy minty color and matte finish.  I wish the ombre popped more in the pictures as it did in real life.  I loved rocking this mani :)

I know textured polish isn't for everybodybut I've definitely got the bug lol.

Guess what?  I finally got some inspiration for the TPC this month and it's not patriotic!  Yayyyy!!  Lol stay tuned :)

Until next time!

Stef <3

Almost Presentable Ombre

Helloooooo dahlings!

I didn't schedule a post today because life has been eventful.  I have some down time before work, so I thought I'd share a mani I did last week that's... well, it's alright.  It was really late when I did it and the cleanup was horrible :\  I do like the colors tho...

 Colors Used: Sally Hansen - White On, Love&Beauty - Light Green, Wet n Wild  - Nerd Alert Screech

Soooo yea... I used a makeup sponger to get a smother blend of colors.  I need more practice lol.  I know perfection is pretty much impossible to obtain, but it is something that I strive for.

I guess that's all for now hahaha...

Until next time!

Stef <3

Minted Holo Ombre

Good day , lovies!

I've been going back and forth on whether I should share this mani on the blog.  I did this about a week ago, after being inspired by some nail art that I saw my friend "the fashionista" wearing.  Once It was completed tho, I wasn't entirely pleased so I took it off...

 Colors Used: Sally Hansen - Mint Sorbet, Love & Beauty - Highlighter Glitter

Mint Sorbet is one of my very favorite mint polishes and I thought it would pair really well with the holo glitter. But it just looks sort of washed out...

It was also difficult getting an even ombre.  The glitter is so refelctive, it was a challenge to see what I was doing lol

I don't hate it but I don't love it either.  I want to try this again with a darker/more contrasting color.

Until next time!

Stef <3

A Sunny Gradient :D

Good morning, friends!  The week is winding down but I'm not foreseeing any rest for me *le sigh*  I hope you all are much more fortunate hahaha.

For today I have my first gradient mani to share with you.  I did this about a month ago and didn't share it because I had mixed feelings.  It's not great but it's not terrible either.  I'll let you decide...

Colors Used: Julep - Blake, Confetti - They Call Me Mellow Yellow

Pro's... I think yellow is an awesome color for me.  It's one of my favorite colors to wear :)  I also really like how simple it was.  Con's... The gradient isn't drastic enough and the colors didn't blend as well as I thought they would together :\

Blake really is a lovely color to work with and the Confetti is really shimmery... it make me happy just looking at it :P  I can't remember how many coats were applied of each.  I know I used a make-up sponge in this mani.  I'm also pretty positive that I topped it off with Seche Vite.  

One last pic...

I don't really have anything else to add.  What do you think?  Have you tried this look?  Do you have any tips/tricks that work well for you?

Until next time!

Stef <3