I Survived Black Friday!!

Hello lovelies!

Today I thought I would share the mani that I wore while "Black Friday" shopping.  My inspiration?  The crazy expletives I heard when my husband and I made the mistake of stopping by Wal-Mart on our way home from Thanksgiving dinner.  We just wanted to pick up a bag of hay for our baby bunny and what we got... mass chaos!  So, when we finally got home, I blacked out my nails and started to doodle...

 Colors Used: KBShimmer - Eclipse, White Acrylic Paint, OPI - Matte Top Coat

This was a pretty simple one.  I started with 2 coats of Eclipse and then with a detail brush, I painted my symbols with white acrylic paint.  Looking at a keyboard definitely helped haha.

I top coated with OPI's Matte Topcoat and that's it!

I'm a survivor!

On the plus side, I scored awesome deals on a sound bar, flannel sheets and a big fluffy bath robe.  Black Friday rocks!  Did you happen to catch any sales?  Or did you stay home like a sane person?

Until next time!

Stef <3

Punkin's!

Hello dolls!

I have a quick and easy mani to share with you today... falling pumpkins!  I don't know what my obsession is with painting small things on my nails right now lol.  First acorns, then eyeballs, then skulls and now some pumpkins inspired by @clairelofthouse...

 Colors Used:  L'Oreal - The Queen's Ambition, Orly - Mayhem Mentality, Revlon - Lime Basil

I used all polishes for a change in this mani :)  I started with my black/silver glitter base, with 2 coats for coverage.

 I then took a medium sized dotting tool and started to place my pumpkins.  With a detail brush, I applied the stems and then I top coated.  Simple, right?

Me likey :)

I'm sorry I've been MIA for the last couple of days.  After that epic KBShimmer post, my brain needed a bit of a break.  I've got one more simple Halloween mani to share with you on Friday a long with some more swatch posts...

Until next time!

Stef <3

Black Widow, Baby!

Hello dolls!

Happy Saturday!!  I'm so glad it's the weekend... sooooo glad haha.  It finally feels like Fall her in Southern California and I couldn't be happier :) 

I've been a little busy this week and I finally found time this morning to edit some more Halloween manis... woohoo!

 Colors Used: Painted Polish - Black Widow, Baby and Acrylic Paint

As you may already know, I am currently obsessed with Painted Polish's collection of holos.  They're unbelievable!!  I had the pleasure of meeting the maker, Lexi, at a nail blogger/indie maker meet-up in LA last weekend.  Not only is she sweet as pie, but I was able to *almost* round of my collection of her polishes.  "Black Widow, Baby" is a part of Lexi's Haloween Trio of holos and it's a black jelly base with holo glitter mixed in...

 I applied 2 coats and let it set (about 5 mins).  I then used the black widow decals, that Lexi provided with this trio, on me ring finger.  With a thin striper, I painted my webs and spider and then I top coated.  Simple, just how I like it hahaha.

Love that holo!!

I saw on IG yesterday that Lexi is restocking the Halloween Trio along with some of her other polishes tomorrow at 11am PST.  So make an alarm for yourself and jump on it!  These do sell out quick (I speak from personal experience... there's a reason why I brought cash with me to that meet-up!).  Painted Polish can be purchased HERE :)

Until next time!

Stef <3

Eyeballs!

Good evening lovelies!

I have some spooky late night nail art to share with you muahahahaha...

 Colors Used: KBShimmer - Eclipse, Sally Hansen - White On, China Glaze - Capacity To See Beyond, Essence - L.O.L., Love & Beauty - Purple

I love this time of year.  It means non-stop fun themed manis from now until New Year's Eve!  I decided to kickstart my Halloween nail art with eyeballs.  Because... well, floating eyeballs are just plain creepy.

 I started with my black base and then used multiple sized dotting tools to create my eyeballs.  I've been asked on a fe ocassions how I get my dots to be evenly round.  The best advice I can give would be to lightly touch your dotting tool to your nail.  I find that if you are forcefully pressing your dotting tool onto your nail bed you will get uneven dots and you'll possibly dent/pick up your base color underneath.  A light touch is all you need, the tool will do the rest :)

I had considered doing veins, but I didn't want to cross over into the realm of frightening lol.

Are there any Halloween nail designs that are a long time favorite of yours?  I personally love Frankenstein :P

Until next time!

Stef <3

Moon & Stars

Hello lovelies!

I decided to continue on with my night time manis because I had so much fun creating the last one :)  I went with something a little simpler this go around and chose to do the moon with some stars...

 Colors Used: KBShimmer - Eclipse, China Glaze - Fairy Dust, White Acrylic Paint, 

Mentality - Matte Top Coat

I only just now realized how amusing it is that I used "Eclipse" in my moon mani haha.  Well, it's an awesome black polish.  I used 2 coats as my base along with 1 coat of Fairy Dust...

I sponged on a white circle for my moon and then took the corner of my sponge to black out a curve (aka the silhouette of the earth).  I then went in with a detail brush and painted my star bursts.  Lastly, with a dotting tool I speckled some stars.  It all got topped with Mentality's matte top coat :)

I love a crescent moon.

Anybody else ready for the weekend?  I feel like it can't come soon enough!  Hahaha...

Until next time!

Stef <3

A Skittlette of Fun!

Hello lovelies!

Long time no see ;)  I am finally all moved, the internet is once again hooked up and altho I just got home from a 12 hr work day... I promised you a blog post!  Haha it's a labor of love; honestly it just feels great to have some "me time" and I can't think of a better way to spend it...

 Colors Used: Painted Polish - Drunk on Holo, Daisy Nail Lacqcuer - White Diamond,

 KBShimmer - Eclipse, China Glaze - Son of a Peach

I... love... thiiiiiissss!!!  First off, I finally got around to using the Otte light that I got at a steal (thanks to Dani of From Polish, With Love who shared a sale Joanna's Fabric was having... thanks again girl!).  I understand now why everyone is gaga over these lamps/bulbs.  Wowza!

I have been dying to get some decent holo pics in my portfolio and there honestly isn't a better holo to play with than "Drunk on Holo" by Painted Polish.  I also tried "Eclipse" from KBShimmer for the first time and have fallen in love; it is going to be my new go to black for sure.  And the ever popular "Son of a Peach"... neon heaven is what it is *sigh*.

The fleur de lis is a decal from Make It Stick and I used chevron guides from Nail Vinyls.

I love everything about this mani.  I'm thinking I want to do an entire many of framed chevron nails... the ideas are bubbling!  Keep your eyes peeled for some Sunday Swatches tomorrow; indie cremes you won't want to miss ;)

Until next time!

Stef <3

* These product was purchased by 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.

Framing the Grass

Hello lovelies,

I've been preparing my apartment for a move that the hubby and I are making at the end of the month and I've been too pooped to post!  Thankfully I have a few manis sitting in my unedited folder to get us thru 'til June... all is not lost ;)  For today's post, I have some polka-dot framing nail art with a shade from the China Glaze City Flourish Collection that came out this Spring...

 Colors Used: China Glaze - Grass is Lime Greener, Rimmel - Black Satin

We all know how much I love neons, so when I saw photos of this beauty I knew i had to have it!  I'm pretty sure everyone in my area felt the same way because I could not find it in stores anywhere near me.  I ended up buying it in a destash sale from Indie500Nails (thank you Amy!!).  I will admit the formula on this polish was not ideal; I applied 3 coats for opaqueness.  While It was slightly streaky, I still loved how it looked on :)

I then took a medium sized dotting tool and applied my black polka dots.  I liked it but thatought it needed little somethin' somethin'.  So I pulled out my black striper and framed my nails.  Aaaaaand I loved it!

Pastel neon's... who'd have thunk!

Wishing you all a very happy Thursday and a wonderful weekend :D

Until next time!

Stef <3

Black Tie Parade

Hello lovelies!

Today I have a new-to-me indie to share with you!  I discovered Polish Addict Nail Color on Instagram and have loved swatches I've seen of her polishes.  I decided to do some simple glitter placement with one of my current faves...

 Colors Used: Rimmel - Black Satin, Polish Addict Nail Color - Black Tie Parade

Black Tie Parade is a mix of rainbow glitters in a black jelly base.  I layered 2 coats over a black on my ring finger...

I then used a dotting tool to pick up some individual glitter off of my palette (aka an index card haha).  I then "stacked" them on my curves ;)  Everything was topped with my mystery top coat that I got from a nail supply store and that I absolutely loooooove!!

Sometimes simple is best ;)

Wishing you all a fantabulous day... even tho it's Tax Day... you know, black is actually very fitting for today lol.

Until next time!

Stef <3

The Spellbondage Collection

Good evening lovlies!

Two posts in one day... wowza!!  I'm feeling inspired and I finally have a little free time, so I'm playing catch up haha.  Tonight I wanted to share a new collection from Spellbound Nails...

Ashley sent me some unbelievably gorgeous polishes for review!  These are from her new Spellbondage Collection.  I had a fabulous time tossing around name ideas with her and I love the tongue in cheek  approach that she took :)

Black Leather Thigh High

This is a stunning black jelly with a mix of blue, black and green glitters.  I pared it with some gold spikes that Ashley sent along for fun ;)  Shown is 3 thin coats with topcoat.

 Red Hot

This is a fabulous bright red jelly with a mix of red, gold and orange glitters.  I took this mani on a girls trip to wine country last weekend because this polish is just soooo pretty!  I paired it with some Fingr's nail stickers that I happened to have stashed away :P  Shown is 3 thin coats with topcoat.

Too Sexy for Blue

My personal fave, this polish is a gourgeous blue jelly with a mix of blue, gold and silver holo glitters.  I'm thinkin' I need to get myself a big bottle of this beauty because I want to wear it all the time!  It's absolutely stunning in the sunlight; perfect for summer :D  I paired it with a simple corset accent nail that I thought was fitting ;) Shown is 3 thin coats with top coat.

The Spellbondage Collection is available in individual bottles ($8) along with full ($23) and mini ($13) sets.  they can be purchased from the Spelbound Nails shop.

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.

I'm Lovin' Cobalt!

Hello, hello!

It's been over a week since my last post... yikes!  Life really has this annoying habit of getting in the way haha.  Anywhosy, I'm back and wanting to share with you my personal color of the year :)  I know that Pantone named "Radiant Orchid" as the It color for 2014, but for me this will be the year of Cobalt!

 (hand pose made famous by @mcpolish on IG :P)

Colors Used: Rimmel - Black Satin, Sinful Colors Nail Art - Time Off, Essie - Butler Please, Shimmer Polish - Alice

 Seriously tho, cobalt... gah!!  This nail art design was actually inspired by fellow blogger Polish Pals.

When I saw her do this mani back in January, I fell in love and stored it away for future nailspiration!

 

The majority of this mani was achieved using a nail art brush and a black striper.  For the glitter gradient I knew I had to use a Shimmer :)  These polishes are seriously so compacted with glittery goodness!  I used Alice, which is a mix of silver holos of different sizes.  I also found some stars floating around in the bottle which was a pleasant surprise! 

Yep, I'm loving everything about this mani!

I'm going to be a swatching fool this upcoming weekend so be expecting a swatch post on Sunday!  i also have some other goodies up my sleeve... stay tuned!

Until next time!

Stef <3

Add a Little Lace!

Hello, dolls!

Happy Saturday to you all!!  I hope you had a fantabulous week and are enjoying your weekend :)  Today's post is a simple one.  I've really been into black/dark polish the last couple of weeks.  There is just something so elegant about dark polishes... I dunno lol...

 Colors Used:  Rimmel - Black Satin, China Glaze - Champagne Bubbles

I started with 2 coats of Black Satin and Champagne Bubbles (from CG's 2011 Holiday Collection).  I feel like it's the perfect shade of yellow gold for me.  Sometimes gold polishes can make my nail look gangrenous.  It's not cute haha.

I then applied a lace applique from a Fing'rs "Lace Up" kit I found at Walmart a while back.  I seriously love these stickers.  They make nail-arting a cinch when you're in a hurry!

I added the crystal at the last moment and then top coated with OPI Rapi Dri :)

 Gotta love lace!

Alright lovelies, I'm off to do a million and one things!  Have a good one :D

Until next time! 

Stef <3

Guest Post at From Polish, with Love!

Hello dah-lings!

There is a guest post by yours truly up at From Polish, with Love!  My fellow blogger and new friend Dani graciously asked if I would be interested in doing a guest post for her and I decided it had to be all class...

Details on the colors/products used and how I achieved this look can be found in the post.  So... go... now... pretty please?  :P

Until next time!

Stef <3

Naughty Nails?

Good morning, dolls!

It's been a crazy couple of days for me (and from the sounds of it, it's only going to get crazier)!  It's the reason i have been unable to post... or do my nails... *sigh*.  So , I'm pulling one out of the vault for you today :)

 Colors Used: Sinful Colors - Whipped and Nirvana, OPI - Goldeneye

This is a really basic mani that I ended up loving a lot.  I'm not a huge fan of animal prints in general, but I've made the exception for nail arting because it's pretty cool lol.  This mix of print and "leather" does feel a bit wild/risque to me ;)

I started with Whipped, which is from the SC Leather Luxe collection.  It is my favorite black matte polish... ever.  Loves it so much!  Anywhosy, there's 2 coats of Whipped applied.  For my ring finger, I did 3 coats of Goldeneye over a gold base.  i then used my dotting tool and striping brush to create my print.  The gold stud was an after-thought and it was applied with a dab of nail glue :)

Rawr!

I hope all is well and I'm sending out virtual hugs :D

Until next time!

Stef <3

October Nail Art Society Box

Good morning, dolls!

Today I want to share a new-to-me subscription box that I've signed up for.  It's called Nail Art Society...

 

 Colors Used: Jessica - Black Matte, Love & Beauty - Purple, Zoya - Morgan, Orly - Mayhem Mentality

So, Nail Art Society is designed to send out all of the materials you need to create some pre-designed mani's.  It comes with an instructional card that includes a bio of the nail artist that created that month's design.  Pretty cool right?

My ring finger follows the design pattern for October, but I decided to do some sponging and stickering on my middle finger.  The sticker turned out to be super bumpy and obnoxious, so you only get 2 pic today lol.

 I really love the studs that came in the box.  The matte polish isn't my favorite (not flat enough for me :\).  My biggest issue is that I didn't receive my box until a week into November (even tho I ordered it on the 1st of Oct.).  This was after a SECOND payment got taken out of my account for the month of November.  2 payments and no boxes makes me a cranky lady. 

 I'm hoping to have a more positive experience with this in the future.  A lot of my fellow nail bloggers that I love are on their team of "Expert Nail Artists".

Do any of you receive NAS boxes?  How have your experiences been?

Until next time!

Stef <3