Band-Aid Mani... I've Got the Blues!

Happy Friday, dearies!

I don't know about y'all, but I was chomping at the bit waiting for work to be over.  Not that this weekend is going to be any less stressful than the past week has been (I'm surprised I haven't had a mental breakdown yet!).

Today's mani is the result of an accident that clumsy me had while using a pair of cuticle clippers.  let me start by saying I NEVER remove my live cuticles!  I only clip bits of dry skin that linger after exfoliating (question: are any of you intereted in a "this is how I prep before polishing" post?).  I was going about my usual routine and slipped in the clippers and... it's not pretty.  I've been wearing a band-aid all week to cover my gaping wound, and I haven't been polishing.  That is until last night when I decided I was tired of looking at my bare nails!

Colors Used: Sally Hansen - Blue-Away, Love & Beauty - Turquoise, China Glaze - Fairy Dust

His name is Martin and he feels my pain.  He understands the trauma that I am experiencing, having to settle for a sub-par manicure... *sigh*.  I know, I know... I could photograph my right hand instead, but those phalanges don't like to pose properly and just end up resembling an evil claw lol.

I plan on going tracking down some adorable bandages to liven up my mani's until I'm all healed haha.  It will be an interesting segment to say the least.  Anybody seen any cute band-aids lately??

Until next time!

Stef <3

KKCenterHK White Heart Studs Review

Hello hello hello!

It's been a quick minute since I've posted, but I seriously have had no time available to devote to blogging *cries*.  With summer camp having started at my work and my sister-in-laws wedding right around the corner... I've just been too pooped to pop.  That and catching up with friends who finally have free time not that they're on summer vaca *sigh*.  I'm forcing myself to post because I don't want to forget how lol...

Well, today I have a product review... woohoo!!  I was contacted by and online nail/beauty store called KKCenterHK.  They had a plethora of products available for me to pick from and then sent me 2 samplings.  I'll be sharing one of them with you now...

 

Name: 6mm White Heart Studs

Item #:  NNAIL-DRN628         

Quantity: Approx 50 pcs/pack   

Cost: $5.00 USD                       

When I first picked these out I was afraid that they might be a little too big (I've never previously ordered studs).  I was pleasantly surprised by their size!  They are metal studs with a matte-ish, white, painted finish.  The paint is only on the top side, while the underside is silver.

I am definitely one of those ladies that has trouble wearing decor that sticks up off of  my nails.  I'm a picker and will pick and pick immediately after taking picture. These are so flat and smooth, I don't even realize I have them on.  I did have to slightly bend the studs so that they would lay with the curve of my nail and not stick up on the side, but it was easy enough to do.  more than anything I just didn't want it to snag on things later.

For those who are curious (and love details haha), I didn't need nail glue for these lovelies to stay on.  I pressed them down while my topcoat was wet.  I then waited until it was dry and applied another coat of topcoat to seal the stud.  I had these on for about 3 or 4 days before the paint of the heart started wearing away, mostly at the pointed end.

Overall I very much enjoy these studs.  They're cute, easy to work with and the neutral color means it will go with any mani wonderfully :)

 

How do you all feel about studs?  Love 'em, hate 'em, haven't tried 'em?  I'd love to hear what you think!

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.

An Update...

Hello, lovelies!

Happy Monday to all of you :)  I'm sure you're probably wondering if I was dead in a ditch somewhere?  I'm not.  Life has been "pull-my-hair-out-I-want-to-hurt-someone" crazy.  I feel like I need to shed my crazy pants and get back to reality!  I have missed blogging. I've missed connecting with all of you.  I haven't even had a chance to keep up with the blogs I follow :(  And my cuticles are in HORRIBLE shape! *sigh*.

The biggest reason why I haven't been blogging (besides not having the time, since I've been in crazy-town) is that I lost my camera.  I was about to give up on blogging forever, but then I found it at church where I accidentally left it last week (hallelujah, there are still good people in the world!).  I have been posting photos on Instagram but my phones camera is pretty horrible.  There is a fun pic of a Little Mermaid mani I did, which has inspired my for an upcoming segment :D.

To make a long story short... if my blog is dead-dead-dead you can always check my Facebook and Instagram pages.  They are easy for me to update in a pinch :)  I hope everything is going fabulously in your neck of the woods.  I've missed you all!

Until next time!

Stef <3

P.S. Thank you for your lovely comments!  I haven't had a chance to respond to them but they totally brightened my day :D

Step Into Summer - Ombre

Hello, dolls!

Another quick post today as I head out the door to a 6 hour rehearsal *cries*.  If you follow me on Instagram, you may have notice that I was rockin' OPI Solitaire this week.  I decided to sponge OPI Jinx over it as my Ombre mani for the Step Into Summer Challenge...

 Colors Used: OPI - Solitaire and Jinx

I started with 2 coats of Solitaire.  I wore it at work all day, so naturally it was dry when I got home and moved on to my next step ;)  I used a cheap, 99 cent Store, kitchen sponge to apply Jinx...

By overlapping Jinx and Solitaire on the sponge, I was able to get a very nice blend.  I've noticed that textured polishes tend to ombre really really well.

My favorite part of this mani, aside from it being textured goodness, is the golden flecks that shine off of Jinx *drools*

Be sure to check out the other awesome nail art from my fellow challenge-doers :D

Until next time!

Stef <3

Step Into Summer - Skittle

Howdy, howdy, howdy!

Quick post today.  This is my interpretation of "Skittles" for the Step Into Summer Challenge.  Seeing as this challenge is summer themed, I busted out some neons...

 Colors Used (L to R from thumb): China Glaze - Pool Party, Cosmetic Arts - Explosive, Savina - Power Up, Lush Lacquer - Clowning Around, Color Club - Mrs. Robinson

I started with a white base on all of my nails, then I layered on my neon polishes.

I'm pretty sure they all got 3 coats, for opacity and smoothness.  Clowning Around was 2 coats (I really need to give this pretty a break lol).  I topped all of my nails with Hard Candy's matte topcoat.

Seeing as Summer is around the corner, I posed with my sunglasses for the occasion ;)

Be sure to check out all of the fun mani's below !

Until next time!

Stef <3

Che-Che-Chevron!

Hello, hello!

It's almost the weekend and I am ecstatic!!  I have been working hard this week preparing for summer camp.  I'm super sleepy and very achy, but it's definitely been a labor of love :)  This little blurb, however, has nothing to do with today's manicure lol...

 Colors Used: Julep - Tina, Sally Hansen - Petal Pusher, Love & Beauty - Disco Glitter, Jamberry - Summer Chevron

I wanted to try out another Jamberry Nail Shield (find more info here), but shockingly could not find any polishes in my collection that matched the wrap precisely :(  I tried to stay in the color palette's family...

 2 coats for Tina (lavendar) and then I layered Petal Pusher and Disco Glitter to create a jelly sandwich look.  I loved how the holo glitter peeked thru ;)

Overall, a mani success!

I just wanted to take a second to let you all know how amazingly wonderful all of your commenting is :)  It really does brighten my day when I get to read them all!  You all are an amazing support system and I adore you!!

 My next post will be a continuation of the Step Into Summer Challenge.  Definitely worth checkin' out...

Until next time!

Stef <3

Some Current Faves

Yellow!

 How are you doing on this fine Wednesday?  Me... I'm pooped as usual lol, which is why today's post is coming from out of the vault...

 Colors Used: China Glaze - Flip Flop Fantasy, OPI - Coronation, Sally Hansen - White On, Lush Lacquer - Clowning Around, China Glaze - Fairy Dust

I don't remember when I did this, but I do remember deciding to do a mish-mash of my current faves in one manicure :)

 Flip Flop Fantasy is actually a lot brighter in person.  My light tent seems to soften all of my neon polishes :\  I'm going to have to play with the white balance settings on my camera or something *sigh*.  

Anywhosy... Coronation is actually a subtle scattered holo, but just looks like a grainy silver in these pics.  Clowning Around is a polish I've been wearing a lot recently because I just luuuurrrrrvs it!  It stayed on my nails all weekend :D

I'm digging the subtle glitter that Fairy Dust added to this look ;)

Expect to see Clowning Around again soon (seriously... I'm obsessed!).  Lol I hope you all have a loverly day...

Until next time!

Stef <3

In the Fashion

Hey, lovelies!

Today's post features a mani that I did to match one of my favorite dresses.  I really love the challenge of creating a design that mimics/matches an outfit I'm wearing...

 Colors Used: Zoya - Yara, OPI - "It" Color, Julep - Denver, Sally Hansen - White On

If I was smart, I'd take a pic of the dress to go along with this post.  Alas, I am not that smart (translate that into "I'm lazy").  Just trust that it matched my outfit well lol. I started with 2 coats of Yara as my base, an olive-green creme with gold glitter bits...

 

 I then took a medium sized dotting tool and did 2 rows at a time, first dotting then flipping it around to the pointy-end and dragging.  It was actually a pretty quick and easy design :)  I topped it with OPI RapiDry.

 Yay fashion!

Has anyone else attempted recreating the textile of their outfit on their nails?  Love it, hate it??

Until next time!

Stef <3

I'm Back!

Hello, dolls!

I'm back from my San Diego getaway and I'm feeling refreshed :)  It was exactly what I needed to reboot and get ready for summer camp craziness.  I did a couple of mani's while on vacation but I forgot my camera at home (silly me!).  They are available for viewing on my Instagram if you're curious tho ;)  So, today's mani comes from the "vault". It's also pre light-tent...

 Colors Used: Revlon - Bubblegum, OPI - Coronation, Sally Hansen - White On, Rimmel - Black Satin, Hard Candy - Black Tie Optional

It's been quite a while since I did this mani, but I do know that I lightly sponged Bubblegum and Black Satin over the white base on my middle finger.  Also, Coronation took 3 coats to get to opacity...

I think I put Hard Candy's matte topcoat on my ring finger?  Not too sure...

That's all for now!  Thankfully I have a few more mani's tucked away in the vault that I can pull out while I catch up on nail art/challenge stuff.  There shouldn't bee a blogging break (unless I get swamped at work haha).

Until next time!

Stef <3

Best Blog Award!

Hey there, darlings!

Let me start off by saying I am a terrible procrastinator at times and often forgetful :\  I've been nominated for this award 4 times, which is absolutely amazing and I am so thankful.  I feel terrible that it's taken me so long to get this post together...

I've recieved nominations for this award from Polished Elegance, Colorful Cupcake Cat, Polished Prescription and I <3 Nail Candy These 4 lovely ladies are incredibly sweet with fantastic blogs to boot!  :D

Step Into Summer - Neon

Hello, lovelies!

Another quick post today :)  I have decided to participate in the Hobby Polish Bloggers Challenge for the months of June and July.  It's a really relaxed challenge with 8 themes to be posted at ones leisure... my kind of challenge lol.  Today I'm going with "Neon"...

 Colors Used: China Glaze - Celtic Sun, Love & Beauty - Purple, Orly - Mayhem Mentality

Downside... my light tent REALLY subdued the crazy brightness of this polish :(  But I still really loved the mani so I had to share haha.

Celtic Sun, in person, is blinding-highlighter-yellow.  It's amazing!  I layered 2 coats over a white base.  I then popped over to my inspiration board on Pinterest and re-discovered a great tutorial for my accent design.

"Why you not brighter??!!!"

I have to skidaddle now, but I hope you all have a fabulous day!

Until next time!

Stef <3

Drunk Ladybug A La My Husband

Hellooooo!

I feel like it's been forever!  I know it hasn't but still... I've missed mah ladies ;)  Well this will be a quick post because... I'm tired.  Like really tired.  I can't wait until my vaca this weekend.  Oh... that's right.  Surprise!  I'm going out of town this weekend which means there will be a bit of a hiatus (like 3 days). Mayhaps I'll post pics of my fun from my iPad, we shall see.  Gah!  I'm rambling!!

 Colors Used: Sinful Colors - Ruby Ruby, Rimmel - Black Satin, Sally Hansen - Mellow Yellow

Soooo my hubby and I were sitting around Saturday evening with nothing to do.  This was the result lol.

I'm so proud of him!  He did this all by his lonesome :D  He was terrified of getting polish in my cuticles because he knows it's a pet peeve for me so he inched the polish down my nail bed... it was hysterical to watch lol.  Slow and steady wins the race, or so they say, and he proved them right.  This took a little over an hour to complete and he asked me for minimal advice (altho I dropped quite a few "subtle"/helpful hints :P).  I love my honey <3

My friend Olive (who's chillin' on my couch as I type) said the lady bug looked drunk.  She then made a drunk ladybug face... I almost died!  Lol too funny!!

So, I'm going to try and get back into the swing of this blogging thing but I make no promises! ;)  Love to you all...

Until next time!

Stef <3

As I'm Running Out The Door...

Hello, dear hearts!

I apologize for the lack of new nail art on the blog. Life got crazy busy :(  I'll try to get something up tonight if I don't fall asleep at the keyboard hahaha...

Until next time!

Stef <3

Recreate Your Favorite

Hello, dolls!

So I'm almost positive that it's still May somewhere right now.  At least for the next hour?  Well I'm just going to go with my delusions lol.  This is my final mani for the Hobby Polish Blogger challenge.  We were supposed to recreate our favorite and I decided I'd take a stab at The Bubbly Brunette's fashion inspired mani :)

 Colors Used: Rimmel - Black Satin, OPI - My Boyfriend Scales Walls

I really, really love this look.  I loved the nail art Madame Brunette did originally and it was my first choice for recreation.  When I finally took a look at all of the other ladies fabulous mani's, this one just kept popping out at me.  I couldn't resist!

I did 2 coats of Black Satin as my base color.  I then used a double-sided dotting tool for the design.  I love love love it!  You should check out the fierce Prada fashion that inspired this....

Two cheers for fashion!

I really enjoyed doing this challenge along with getting to know some wonderfully fantastic bloggers :D  There will be another Hobby Polish Blogger sponsored challenge for the months of June and July.  Best believe I'll be participating!

Until next time!

Stef <3