My First Attempt at Houndstooth!!

Hellodolls!

I have a really quick post to share with you because I'm super excited that I actually did it, but I have to run to a rehearsal... agagagagaaahh!!

 Colors Used: Painted Polish - Holo Hangover, China Glaze - One Track Mind, Sally Hansen - White On, Acrylic Paints

 Ok so for a quick summation of this mani, I applied 2 coats each of my creme bases (CG and SH).  I then sponged on the glittery Holo Hangover (a technique I plan to go in depth with in a later post!).  Then I poured over multiple houndstooth tutorials I found through Google and with a detail brush and scrylic paint, I painted my design :)

 Whew, that was A LOT of work!

I hope you all have been having a fabulous week :)  I gotta run!

Until next time!

Stef <3

Dr. Frankenstein's Handiwork

Hello dolls!

I've got a mid-week Halloween mani for you featuring an brand-new favorite polish to my collection...

 Colors Used: China Glaze - But Of Corpse, Acrylic Paint

I am sooooo in love with this polish!  It's a pearly olive green with black micro glitter that dries to a matte and slightly textured finish.  It's amazing!!

 I applied 2 coats of this beauty and thought, "This is exactly the kind of skin Frankenstein's monster would have!".  So I then took some acrylic paint and with a striping brush, I applied some stitches.  No top coat was necessary for this one :)

I think Dr. Fankenstein would be proud :P

Have any of you gotten into the spooky spirit?  Are you sick of my Halloween manis yet??  Muahahahaha....

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

Hooray for George!

Hello dolls!

I can't believe it's already Wednesday.  Where has the time gone??  Well I have a random-and-needs-some-explanation post for you today haha.  Last week I read an article on BuzzFeed about a goldfish named George.  This fish (who lives in Australia) had to have an operation to remove a tumor that was life threatening.  Needless to say the surgery was a success and George is expected to live a very long life :)  After reading the article, I just couldn't get fish off my mind.  So, I painted one (*disclaimer)...

 Colors Used: China Glaze - Capacity To See Beyond, Shimmer Polish - Trisha, Acrylic Paints

First off... I friggin' love this blue!  It's from China Glaze's LE The Give Collection and it's a beauty.  I started with it and Shimmer Polish's Trisha as my base colors, 2 coats for both.  I forgot how magical Shimmer's are.  Trisha applied so easily!

Then with a detail brush, I painted George using acrylic paints (orange, gold and black).  I was pretty much just winging it and hoping for the best lol.  Once my fishy dried, I top coated.

When life gets you down, do you wanna know what you've gotta do?

Be like George and just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming!

I hope you enjoyed this mani.  I had considered adding more details (coral, kelp, etc.), but I really wanted the pretty polishes to shine thru :)  As a side note... how do we all feel about the new watermark?  I am "testing the waters" you could say haha.  Feedback would be greatly appreciated *hugs*.

Until next time!

Stef <3

* Shimmer Polish's Trisha 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.

Arrows!

Hello lovelies!

I have a super simple mani to share with you today :)  One polish, one acrylic paint, one detail brush and one dotting tool (altho a toothpick and bobby pin could definitely be used instead)...

 Colors Used: China Glaze - Friends Forever, Right?, Acrylic Paint

I started with 2 coats of FFR, from China Glaze's new The Giver Collection.  It's a really pretty pale pink polish that surprised me with it's application.  the first coat was quite streaky but then the second coat made everything all better haha.

With my detail brush, I painted vertical lines for my arrows.  Just like I do with dotting, I started with the center and worked my way out, being sure to keep them symetrical.  I was in a bit of a hurry because I had somewhere to be, so the arrows aren't quite as neat as I wanted *sigh*...

I keep wanting to say, "Pew, pew, pew!" lol...

Nailspiration credit goes to the lovely Gianna over at Nailstorming :)  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend...

Until next time!

Stef <3

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 Galaxy Nails

Hey dolls,

A quick post of the neon galaxy mani I did last night and just absolutely love!

 I'll edit this and put up the colors used when I get home from my dinner date with the hubby.  I just couldnt wait to share haha :)

 A little sponging, a little white glitter, some stars all topped with CG Fairy Dust *sigh*...

Eeep!!

I promise I will have more details when I return home lol.  Happy Monday loves!!

Until next time!

Stef <3

A Summery Gradient

Hello lovelies!

I hope your weekend is going well :)  Today I have a simple gradient to share with you.  I did this a few weeks ago and never got around to posting it... oops!

 Colors Used: Colors Club - Flamingo, China Glaze - Son of a Peach, OPI - I Just Can't Cope-Acabana, Spellbound Nails - Pishsalver (Drink Me)

I just love gradients!  I have to resist doing them all the time lol.  There are some really great tutorials on the interwebs for gradient nail art.  I find what works best for me is a good make-up sponge (I prefer the triangles from Target) and being sure to blend the colors; not only overlapping the polishes when applying on the sponge but slightly shifting the sponges position up or down the nail as I dab :)

I started with a white base and let it dry.  Sponging over polish that is still tacky is a nightmare, trust me haha.  I then layered my 3 colors on a sponge and went to work.  I usually go over each nail 3 times to reach full opacity.  After clean-up (the worst part of doing this nail art, even if I tape off my cuticles :\) I applies my oh so favorite white glitter polish from Spellbound Nails, "Drink Me"

Woohoo!

Enjoy your weekend dolls, I know I plan too ;)

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

China Glaze Shocking Pink

Hello dearies!

Just a quick post this evening featuring a new-to-me China Glaze...

 Colors Used: China Glaze - Shocking Pink, Formula X for Sephora - Blast Off, Sinful Colors - Time Off

I started with my base of Shocking Pink.  I loved how bright it was in the bottle and had just had to buy it.  The formula... it's shockingly bad!  After 3 runny coats it was still quite streaky and I was very annoyed.  I gave up after the 4th coat and threw some black glitter on stop to cover up the bald spots...

Once it all dried, I used striping tape and transparent tape as guides for my tips.  all was topped with my "mystery top coat".  Overall I really love the way this turned out...

But that formula tho!

If you haven't done so already, be sure to check of my 2 year blogiversary giveaway!  It ends at 12:00am PST on Friday :D

Until next time!

Stef <3

Lilacs for Easter

Hello dearies!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter!  I spent that day singing with friends and eating with family; all is well with the world ;)  I decided to forgo the eggs and bunnies this year and just do a simple scene of a lilac field...

 Colors: Mentality - Elizabeth, Sinful Colors Nail Art - Simple but Fun, Sally Hansen - Green with Envy, China Glaze - What a Pansy

I was inspired but an adorable mani I saw by @just1nail on IG.  I thought it was just the thing I was looking for!  I started with 2 coats of Mentality's Elizabeth, which actually is a stunning shimmery pale-pink that dies to a perfect matte finish.  It's one of my faves!

I then applied 2 shades of green with a striping brush for my grass.  Last, I added some purple dotting for my lilac flowers.  Really simple :)

*Sigh* I just love Spring manicures!

Today acutally marks 2 years of blogging for me (yippee!).  be sure to check back in a couple of hours for a "surprise" *hint hint*...

Until next time!

Stef <3

Simply Charming

Hello dolls!

Today I have another simple mani to share with you.  It features another new-to-me indie, Bliss Polish (*disclaimer)...

 Colors Used: Bliss Polish - Charming, China Glaze - Metro Pollen-Tin

Charming is from the Bliss Polish Son's Of Anarchy Collection (one of my guilty pleasure shows!) and it's a white crelly with some gold flakes and shimmer mixed in.  Very subtle and oh so pretty!  I applies 2 coats over a white base to start...

 I then used a chevron guide that I bought over at Nail Vinyls to apply my yellow tips.  Side note... This is my new fave yellow, application was a dream!  I then took a large dotting tool and dotted away :)  Everything was top coated with my "mystery" top coat...

Kinda reminds me of sunny side up eggs :P

Happy hump day!

Until next time!

Stef <3


* This 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.