Liebster Blog Award!

Hello, darlings!

This post is to say a big THANK YOU to Little night Flower who nominated me for the Liebster Blog Award (super sweet of you!)

This is an award given by one blogger to another to let them know that you enjoy their work and want to help promote them to a wider audience.  I've seen this award floating around the blogosphere and I'm so appreciative to have been nominated :)  Onto the rules!

Rules

1. Link back to the person who nominated you (Little Night Flower).
2. Write 11 facts about yourself.
3. Answer the 11 questions from the person who nominated you.
4. Nominate 11 blogs with 200 or less followers
5. Create 11 questions for those bloggers to answer.

11 Facts About Me

1.  I am falling more and more in love with blue polishes everyday.  I have no idea why...
2. I've decided that I need to get an album of the Bee Gee's greatest hits because I just don't have enough cheesy 70's music in my life :D
3. I Netflix binge (find shows that have 3 or more seasons and watch every episode).  I just finished Cold Blood and have started Arrested Development.
4. I'm really really REALLY loving Arrested Development
5. I'm currently obsessed with bright/neon polishes.  Can't. Get. Enough!
6. I'm excited for summer because that means i get to try out all of the awesome salad recipes that I have pinned on Pinterest.
7. I'm sleepy.  Like all the time.  I wish there were more hours in the day.  Or maybe I could just be less busy, that could work too.
8. I love my jobs!  I work with kids and sing my heart out.  I have no room to complain (but I do hahaha)
9. I want a baby!  So so so so badly!!  I feel like my husband and I would make the cutest babies on the planet lol.  I would love to have my own little basketball team :P
10. The color pink has grown on me (surprise!!!).  I know you're probably in shock right now, I can't believe I admitted it!  I really don't hate the color anymore as long as it's used in moderation ;)
11. I'm a little frightened of all of the challenges I've given myself for the month of may.  I'm hoping I won't get burned out, because I'm currently having so much fun with my nail art.

11 Questions from Little Night Flower

1. Which polish in your collection is your favourite?

 That' sooooo hard!  I suppose it would have to be Zoya Blaze.  It's an unbelievably awesome holo.  But Color Club Edie and China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy are close competitors.

2. What inspires you?

 I get inspired by so many things.  Fashion/textiles, music, art, color, nature/life, other bloggers.  I created an inspiration folder so that I can keep is all together haha.

 

3. Which polish would you most like to acquire?

My current lemming is Lime Crime's Peaches <3 Cream *drools*

 

4. How often do you paint your nails?

I am definitely a daily polisher.  Sometimes I'm a triple daily polisher.  I'm almost positive that I did 5 different nail art manis on Sunday.  After hating them all I opted to do some nail therapy instead lol.

 

5. What do you like to see in a nail art blog post?

 Art.  While I look a good swatch session, I'm obsessed with nail art.  I like to see someone trying something new.  I LOVE adventurous nail bloggers :D

 

6. How long does it take you to paint your nails?

After nail prep (exfoliating, cuticle pushing, buffing, filing, etc.), actual painting and art take me about 20-30 minutes.  15 mins if I'm doing something simple like polka dots/flowers/stripes.

 

7. Do you have a favourite brand of nail polish?

China Glaze is a big fave for me.  And I absolutely love being a Julep Maven :)

 

8. Do you prefer bright colours or neutrals for your nails?

The brighter the better for me baby!

 

9. Do you ever get your nails done in a salon?

I did last June and thoroughly regretted it lol.  I'm all about salon pedicures, but they can stay away from my fingers.

 

10. What is your favourite blog?

Another tough one!  I know people have their issues with the major bloggers but I think Chalkboard Nails is wonderful.  Her pics are gorgeous, she's really very nice, and she clearly explains the techniques that she uses :)

 

11. Have you taken part in many nail art challenges?

The Crumpet's Tri Polish Challenge is the first challenge I've ever done :D  I plan on doing the Hobby Polish Bloggers challenge along with the TPC for the month of May.

 

 

Now for the Nominees...

 

400 Miles to Disneyland

I've been going to DL since about the age of 6.  My mother started working in purchasing for the resort in 1992 and has been trekking her way up the corporate ladder ever since.  I have lost count as to how many times I've been.  And yet I've never really taken the time to discover the secret magic that's in the park.  I stumbled upon this blog and am so thankful for it.  My trips to Disneyland are exciting and new again! :)

 

A Little Sparkle Polish

I've just started following this girl and already I love her!  Hahaha ;)  Her nail art is so clean, fun and playful.  All things I strive for and love to see in other blogs.  

 

All Things Katie Marie

Katie runs the greatest fashion blog ever (in my humble opinion haha).  She puts together awesome outfit combo's with articles of clothing that would be easy for a working gal to find/purchase.  She's also a teacher which I think is just awesome :)

 

Brijit's Digits

I cannot say enough good things about Brij!  Her blog/nail art is fantastic and she's such a sweetie :D  She was kind enough to have me as a guest on her blog and I was so thrilled to do it.  I loved my correspondences with her.  I highly recommend checking her out!

 

Fancy Phalanges

This girls blog is so much fun!  Her manis are alway funky and awesome!  And I love her blogging style.  Her posts are basically bombs of her most recent manis.  There's always so much to look at and admire.  I love it haha.

 

Glitz n Glammer

 This blog has a little bit of everything.  Great manis, great product reviews, nail polish hauls and more.  I like how thorough her posts are and her photos are lovely.  Her most recent post about Nail Care is definitely worth a read.

 

   Nail Polish Sleuth

I am a recent follower of Marianne's (literally just started following this week).  I'm loving what I'm seeing.  She seems like a very fun girl with a hug love for things polished.  I can relate lol ;)  I can't wait to see what else she comes up with :)

 

Nailmattic

Another lady that I have recently started following.  I discovered her through a Facebook group that we both are apart of, the Hobby Polish Bloggers.  I love her sassy spirit and I really enjoy her blog.  So glad to have found her!

Nails By Coco

I don't want to sound like a broken record but... I've recently started following Miss Coco lol.  Her manis are lovely, her stash is to die for.  I can't wait to delve more into her blog and see the great work she has done :)

The Polish Playground

You have to see her Sprinkled mani.... Too stinkin' cute!!  It's definitely a new fave of mine,  All of her nail art that I've seen is super cute and wonderful.

UK Nail Runner

This stiletto-nail rockin' blogger is so much fun to follow :D  My favorite thing about her blog?  Her pictures!  The angles she chooses to shoot are so different, it's awesome :)

 

 

And lastly, my questions for the nominees...

1. How many polishes do you have in your stash?
2. What are your current lemmings/polishes you are dying to have?
3. What is your fave type of polish to wear (e.g. glitter, creme, holo, jelly, glass flecked, etc.)?
4. What is your favorite nail art technique to do?
5. How long have you been painting nails/into nail polish?
6. What are some of your favorite blogs to follow?
7. Which Summer polishes are you most looking forward to purchasing?
8. What is a popular fashion trend that you with would disappear into oblivion?
9. What's your favorite TV show?
10. What's your favorite movie/
11. Do you hate me for nominating you because you'll now have to go thru this time-consuming process yourself??  :P

 

This was a lot of work, not gonna lie.  But I'm so very very thankful for it (thank you Miss Night Flower!).  Congrats to the nominees and I hope you all have a loverly day :)

 

Until next time!

 

Stef <3

Blue and Coral and Polka Dots... Oh My!

Good day my loves!

I have been soooo incredibly distracted this morning trying to keep up with all of the recent activity happening in the blog.  New followers and new ladies to connect with, I'm super excited!  I just wasn't prepared for it lol.  Well, today's post stems from a random Target purchase I made last week.  I've heard a lot of great things about Sally Hansen's Insta Dry polishes, but I realized I didn't own a single one.  Now I own two...

 Colors Used:  Sally Hansen - Blue Away and Snappy Sorbet (hehe they rhyme)

This polishes are freakin' amazing!!  Practically 1-coaters if you do it right.  I opted for 2 thin-ish coats and they were dry to the touch by the time I had started applying my nail art!

 We all know how much I love polka dots, but I decided to throw in something a little different on my ring finger just for kicks ;)

This isn't necessarily the cleanest/best mani I've done, but I really really enjoyed wearing them.  The pastel blue was kind of like a palette cleanser for me.

I have a concert coming up this Saturday which means my posts may be either very brief or very sparse.  Who knows... maybe I'll surprise even myself and be a blogging fiend lol.  I'm just not making any promises!  

Also, I've been nominated for Liebster Blog Award which is pretty awesome.  I haven't added the graphic yet because I'm not done with the post (it's a little involved)  But I shall have it up soon :)

Until next time!

Stef <3

Little April Showers

 Good morning, dearies!

Today's mani is inspired by the weather and my umbrella :)  Last week we finally got some "April Showers" in the OC.  It was more like a drizzle, just enough to make my white Jetta look terrible lol.  So I thought, "What the hey!  I'll do an umbrella!."  It is my most favoritest umbrella from my most favoritest store... Target!!  :D

There were a lot of polishes used in this mani and because I did it last week and can't remember them all :\  But, at a glance, I know the base color is 2 coats of Julep Meryl.  I topped that with one thin coat of Revlon Calla Lilly to give it a little shimmer.  The clouds are Julep Dendrie and the raindrops are JLB Aruba Blue.  The Umbrella is my go-to Rimmel Black Satin.  As for the rest... your guess is as good as mine!  ;)

 

The day after I did these, there wasn't a cloud in the sky.  I felt a little silly with this on my nails haha.  Today I wake up and it's gloomy again!  Go figure...

I think I like this one :)

In new news, I want let you know that I am planning on doing both the Hobby Polish Bloggers Challenge and The Crumpet's Tri Polish Challenge for the month of May.  My Jimminy Cricket is telling me this isn't such a good idea, but I hardly ever listen to him :P   I still have some product reviews to get out as well so stay tuned!

Until next time!

Stef <3

P.S.  Welcome to my new followers!  I'm so glad you like my craziness enough to stick around hahaha.

JLB Cosmetics' Mint Candy

Happy Sunday!!

I usually do a "church appropriate mani" as my Sunday post, but I'm giving my nails a break and doing a little bit of nail therapy.  I'm rocking Julep's Oxygen nail treatment today. So, I'll be sharing one more mint mani with you instead...

Colors Used: JLB - Mint Candy, Gold Dust

I can't seem to get anymore pictures to load, I dunno what's going on :\  Regardless, This is 2 coats Mint Candy, 3 coats Gold Dust and then I used my striper for the design.  I feel like this mint leans more towards turquoise.  It was beautiful to work with, but the polish did have a bit of a funky smell to it lol.

I don't have much else to share right now except I wish i could get more pics to load :(  Alas, earwax!

Until next time!

Stef <3

Ruffian Mani In Mint

Good morning, dolls!

I'm continuing with the "Mint Manis" today and I've played with a new-to-me technique.  The mint polish I chose this time around is one that I would classify as a true mint polish.  Green and creamy... just how I like 'em :P

Colors Used: Sally Hansen - Golden-I, Essie - Mint Candy Apple

From what I can gather, the Ruffian mani was created a couple of years ago by the creative team of CND.  They made this mani for the New York Fashion Week Ruffian Fashion Show.  I've noticed it popping up again recently and gaining in popularity, so I thought I'de give it a shot.  

Love the mani, hate the photos lol.  I started with 2 coats of Golden-I.  I then applied Mint Candy Apple with the bottle brush, being sure yo leave a decent amount of gold exposed by my cuticles.  I went back with a nail art brush and swiped the gold polish around the curve so that I would have a clean line.

This is definitely a manicure that I want to do again, it was pretty quick to do.  I found an excellent tutorial by Lacquerized if you would like some visuals :)

Sooooo yea!  Happy Friday hehe.

Until next time!

Stef <3

April TPC - Day 4

Helloooooo, darlings!

It's the final day of April's Tri Polish Challenge and while I'm glad to tuck these bright polishes away, I'm a little sad too.  I've really enjoyed this month's challenge because the formula on these Color Club polishes has been amazing!  They're so much fun to work with haha.

Today's mani doesn't really have a theme, it's not inspired by anything.  My hubby said, "I don't know what it is, but it's awesome!!".  I'm inclined to agree ;)

I used the same 3 Color Club polishes as before... Edie, Jackie OH! and Koo-Koo CaChoo.  I also used a new silver polish, NYC Tribeca Silver.  And the white dots are my go-to Sally Hansen White On.

I started with Edie and Koo-Koo Cachoo as by base colors, each requiring 2 coats.  I then took my 3 CC polishes and painted  blocks of color on some transparent tape.  While I waited for that to dry, I took out my striping brush and applied my Jackie OH! stripes to my thumb, index and pinky...

Last I cut triangles out of my painted tape, layered them, dotted my white and applied my silver stripes.  I top coated them with Nutra Nail Speed Dry and that was that!

I've had a lot of fun creating manis for this challenge.  I'm not sure if I'll be doing it again next month, tho.  There is another FB group that I am apart of called the Hobby Polish Bloggers and the ladies have come up with a challenge for the month of May.  Granted, it's also 4 manis and there is no set schedule.  Maybe I could do both?  I dunno.  What would you all like to see?  Help meeeee!!!!  Lol ;)

Don't forget to take a peek at the other gals below...

Until next time!

Stef <3

Spring Cleaning: Time To Re-Organize!

Good morning, lovies!

I was up until 2 a.m. getting some serious cleaning/organizing done on my nail area.  Crazy, right?!!  It started with me deciding that our apartment need a deep cleaning.  I am pretty good at keeping the apartment clean, but it's not always tidy lol.  I purged, I scrubbed... I still have things I want to do (like base boards, doors/handles, etc).  Needless to say, my Helmer fell into this equation...

 

First off let me say that I LOVE my Helmer!  I would recommend it for anyone with a goodly sized polish collection.  I was storing 110 polishes in shoe boxes when I finally went down to Ikea and bought one (skim past the pink mani to see the original deets on my unit).  My collection has tripled since lol.

While I was at Target on Monday, I picked up a roll of fun liner for my drawers.  I was tired of my polishes falling over every time I closed my drawers.  Soooo much clanging!

  

This is Con-Tact Brand grip Prints.  It's 18in x 4ft (45,7cm x 1,2m) and was the perfect amount for my 6 drawers.  Seriously, all I had left over was trimmings.  It's non adhesive and washable.  For $5 is was a great buy.

  

 This is the top of my Helmer.  It is where I store my polish removers, cuticle remover, scrubs, files, brushes, dotting tools, scissors/sharp things. I use the tray to hold challenge polishes, products that need reviewed and polishes that need swatched/are untried.

 

My assemblage!  I love this liner so much, it makes me so happy hahaha :)  Once I had all of the liners in and I re-organized the drawers, I taped labels down.  The original ones that came with the unit kept falling out and got lost.  I cut out new ones and anchored them with double sided tape :)

 

My first drawer is labeled "Nail Art Supplies".  Fimos, sponges, pens, beads, glitters, flowers, stickers.. and that's just at a glance!  This drawer is full of goodies.

 

My second drawer is labeled "Bases, Tops, Cotton Rounds, Etc."  This drawer is dedicated to nail care and the random odds and ends (like nail wheels haha)

Aaaand the polishes...

 

"White, Grey, Black, Pink & Red" and "Orange, Yellow & Green"

"Blue & Purple" and "Nude, Brown, Gold, Glitter & Misc."

 As you can see, my glitter drawer is almost full.  I will most likely move my golds and nudes into the blue/purple drawer.  With the drawer liners, my polishes are sitting nice and sturdy.  No more clanging :D    But now, at 320 polishes, I've asked the hubby for another Helmer ;)  Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would become such a crazy nail polish hoarder!  Lol.

I'll have the Day 4 of the April TPC up tomorrow :)

Until next time!

Stef <3

April TPC - Day 3

Hello my dears!

Today's mani is day 3 of the Tri Polish Challenge.  I chose to do a mani that I saw on Pinterest waaaaay back when I first got into nail art.  It's a "Cardiac Monitor Mani".  Lol this is my attempt at sounding smart.  You can go ahead and call them heartbeat nails ;)

Same 3 Color Club polishes as before used in this mani.  My base is OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls.  I wanted a light base so that the colors would pop, but I didn't want it to be stark white.  MBSW is a happy medium because it's an off-white with a greyish hue.

I started with 2 coats of MBSW and then used my striping to apply my lines.  My one complaint about this mani is that I wish I had blended the colors where they meet for a motre seamless transition.  But, it was late... and I was sleepy... zzzzzzzzz....

Anywhosy, dar i'tis!

As always, I invite you to check out the other mani's below :)

Until next time!

Stef <3

Trending Now

Hello, dolls!

I hope you all had safe and happy weekends :D  Mine was quite long but had moments of pure awesomeness lol.

Well, I've decided that my mani's this week (aside from the final installments in the Tri Polish Challenge) are going to be set around one color... mint!  It is an extremely popular color in fashion and style right now.  I feel like everyone has a different idea of what the shade of mint actually is.  I'm just going to be showing the options :)

 

Colors Used: China glaze - For Audrey, Sally Hansen - Blaze

I've heard a lot of people refer to For Audrey as a "mint polish".  While I don't necessarily agree, it is a fantastic polish to have in ones collection.  Personally, I would classify this beauty as more of a pale turquoise...

 Blaze is 2 coats of jelly-coral goodness.  Another great polish to have.  After trying to use chevron guides (and failing miserably), I elected to free-hand the design.  The lines aren't as clean as I would prefer but I do like the overall look of the mani :)

I'm excited about the manis I have to share with you this week!  The blog will be looking pretty diverse ;)

Until next time!

Stef <3

Guest Post on Brijit's Digits

Good evening, lovelies!

I just got home from a fun-filled yet busy day and I haven't had the chance to share my guest post with you!  I wrote a guest post for Brijit at Brijit's Digits :)  Here's a peek at some of the polishes I used...

 

Follow this link to Brijit's Digits to see my full mani ;)

Until next time!

Stef <3

It's My Bloggiversary!!

Happt Saturday!!

It is a very happy day indeed.  I'm about to run out the door to a dress fitting for a certain someone special who apparently isn't letting the proverbial cat out of said proverbial bag yet (sneaky!).  But.... IT'S MY BLOGGIVERSARY!! :D :D :D  One year ago today I dove head-first into this crazy world of nail polish.  I didn't expect to make it this far or to have connected with as many people as I have.  I'm just so thankful for all of you who follow and support my blog <3

The mani I've chosen to do represents all of the things I said I hated/would never do when I first started doing nail art.  It's pink, it's glittery, it's girly....

Colors Used: China Glaze - For Audrey, Claire's - Candy Shop, Sally Hansen - Pumping Iron and Mint Sorbet, Spoiled - I Have No Reception, Julep - Scarlett

It's been a looooong time since I did a cupcake on myself.  it's the first real nail art that I attempted and I still think it's so cute!

 I was so proud of this mani when I finished and then... top coat disaster!  My thumb streaked like CRAZY!!  While I'm a little disappointed, I'm still plesed with how this turned out :)

I've elected not to have a giveaway, even tho it is the "thing to do".  To be honest, I don't have the sponsorship for it and I just can't pay for it out of pocket.  I wish I could but alas... earwax! 

Until next time!

Stef <3

April TPC - Day 2

Hello, hello, helloooo!

It's day 2 of the April Tri Polish Challenge and I'm continuing the series with my Color Club brights.  I decided on a braided mani this go around, which I think turned out decently...

I'm going to forgo the usual "Colors Used" portion here because I have bottle shot's below to share with you :)

From left to right we have Jackie Oh!, Koo-Koo CaChoo and Edie.  I've tossed around the idea of doing a braided mani tutorial, but there are already so many wonderful ones out there!  If this is a look you want to try, I suggest checking out CutePolish's YouTube vid.  I cannot say enough great things about her videos!  She is so clear and precise :)  I do recommend following her advice and using a metallic, neon, and pearl-ized polish your first go around.  It makes a world of difference!

So yea!  There you have it... bright, bright, bright!

Don't forget to check out the wonderful manis from the other ladies below :D

Until next time!

Stef <3

They Call Me Mellow Yellow

Happy Wednesday!

I can't believe the week is half over.  Man oh man has time flown!  Well, I've just been keepin' on with mah nails.  Nothin' new to report lol.

Today's mani is featuring another polish from the Color Club Poptastic Collection...

 

 Colors Used: Color Club - Almost Famous (yellow) and Gingerbread

I have such a wekness for yellow *sigh*.  This is one of those rare times where the mani that I'm posting is the same as the one I'm currently rocking.  For those who don't know, I tend to change my mani everyday if not every 12 hours lol.  I just don't have the time ;)

I applied 3 coats of Almost Famous.  It was almost a 2 coater, but it was slightly streaky. I then took my medium sized dotting tool and applied dots at random in different-ish sizes.  I topped it off with my new fave topcoat, Nutra Nail Speed Dry.

 An obnoxiously bright yellow to match my annoyingly cheerful attitude hahaha :D

I'll have another TPC mani up tomorrow (I suggest wearing sunglasses!).  Soooo.....

Until next time!

Stef <3

April Tri Polish Challenge - Day 1

Hello, lovelies!

Today marks the start of the April Tri Polish Challenge.  The Crumpet started this challenge last month and you can find the details or her blog :)  This months colors are pink, orange and turquoise.  I will be using polish that I received as a gift from my mother-in-law over the weekend...

Colors Used: Color Club - Jackie OH! (pink), Edie (turqouise?), Koo-Koo CaChoo (orange)

Let me start off by saying the formula on these polishes... amazing!!  They're almost 1 coaters.  They came in the Poptastic pack, but I have a feeling Edie is from the Electro Candy collection.  Either way, I love my new polishes!!

The wavy design was inspired by a ring that my hubby gave me for Christmas 2 years ago.  It's a very unique ring.  He done did good lol.  So, I achieved this look using my striping brush.  I found that keeping the brush stationary in one hand and rolling my finger/fingernail on the other hand was extremely helpful.

My only complaint is that I made the orange wave on my ring finger to thick.  A little irritating but oh well!

Please take a look at the wonderful manis from the other challenge participants :D

Until next time!

Stef <3