Dotted Frenchie

Hello dolls!

Happy Sunday to you all :)  Sorry I've been MIA the last few days, I've been putting in some serious quality time with the hubs, my family (immediate and in-law's) and close friends (who might as well just be family lol).  Very fun and very exhausting!  So I'm cheating this evening and pulling some nail art I did a couple of weeks ago but never got around to posting :P

 Colors Used: Daisy Nail Lacquer - White Diamond

First off let me that you all for you're lovely comments and feedback in my last post!  It's sometimes difficult for me to get back to blogger to comment on replies, but I read all of the emails and it really does make my day.  Thank you thank you thank you!!  Also I'm very grateful for your tips and suggestions regarding my watermark.  It is a work in progress as I am still getting used to this new-to-me-photo editor, but I did change the color to white (it totally looks much better than the black haha).

This mani was pretty quick and simple.  I was in the mood for a french tip, so I painted all of my tips white and then shaped them with a french brush and acetone.  I buy my french brushes from Jolie Polish because I'm a big supporter of indie brands, but you can also find french brushes at Sally's and other beauty supply stores.  

I took a medium sized dotting tool and with the same white polish to created my polka dots.  I top coated and that was it!

I've got some exciting stuff coming up this week to share with you... and by share I mean give... away.  Ooops that's still supposed to be a secret!  ;)

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

Painting the Roses Red

Hello dolls!

I have a quick post for you this evening (I have to go start dinner for the hubs haha).  I bought a set of cheap acrylic paints at Wal-Mart last week in the hopes of advancing my nail art skills because I feel like it's time for me to challenge myself a little bit more.  I need to step out of my cutesy comfort zone ;)  So, I decided to try a floral design over french tips...

 Colors Used: Daisy Nail Lacquer - White Diamond, Orly - Beverly Hills Plum, Acrylic Paint

I started with a basic french tip (white tips, pink base).  I then took a thin nail art striper and painted black branches.  After the paint set I continued with that same thin striper and painted the green leaves; first with the darker green, then the light.

For the roses, I took out a detail brush and painted dark red blobs.  I tried my hand and definition with red orange and pink.  I top coated and was done.

Ta-da!

I think what I love most about acrylic paint is that it dries incredibly fast!  I can wait to continue my education in actual art hahaha :P  Oh and thank you all for the lovely comments on my bubble mani!  I haven't had a chance to reply but it seriously made my week.  Love to you all!!

Until next time!

Stef <3

SAFS: An Indie Trifecta!

Hello dolls!

I hope you all are having a very happy Sunday :)  Today's post is another installment of my "Sunday's are for Swatching" segment. 

It's not something I do every Sunday (altho I probably should haha), but it's a great way for me to share some of the polishes in my collection with you without the stress of worrying about what nail art I should do along with it ;)  I have 3 indie polishes to show you for 3 different brands, so let's get started...

 Anonymous Lacquer - Purple Rainbows

Anonymous Lacquer is a new indie brand that I discovered via Instagram.  "Purple Rainbows" is a lovely purple holo that I instantly loved when I saw photos of it.  This polish has been reformulated because  the make felt her original base was too thick.  I purchased the first bottle (original formula) because I ain't no scaredy cat and I really like it.  Even tho the base leans on the thicker side, it's not difficult to apply. Shown is 2 coats with topcoat.  All in all a really lovely holo :)

 Lime Crime - Peaches & Cream

This polish... Oh, this polish!  This has been on my "I've gots to have it" list for a very very long time.  Every time I have visited Lime Crime in the hopes of purchasing a bottle, it's been sold out.  To be honest, I just stopped searching.  Then I saw that Lexi of Painted Polish was having a destash sale and she had a brand new, unused bottle!  It now has a happy home with me hahaha.  As with a lot of nude/peach polishes, it is slightly streaky.  I built up 3 coats and applied topcoat.  It reminds me of Crayola's Mac-n-Cheese crayon; I love it!

 Jolie Polish - Choji

Choji is a white crelly base with a mixture of bright colored hex glitters in multiple sizes.  While I was out shopping last weekend, a sales clerk commented on my nails saying they looked like they were covered in frosting and sprinkles.  I couldn't agree more! Shown is 2 coats with topcoat.  The base is a little stickier/thicker that I would prefer and I definitely had to do the "dab and drag" method with the glittery pieces.  But the result was well worth the effort.  This is a new fave in my collection :)  Jolie Polish also sells the most amazing clean-up brush I have ever owned.  I love them so much that I purchased 3 haha.  Definitely worth checking out!

I have some more indie swatches to share with you, hopefully next Sunday.  Question... do you like seeing a mix of indie swatches in a post or would you prefer seeing one brand at a time?  I personally like the variety but I'm curious to hear your thoughts :)

Until next time!

Stef <3

Playing with Jellies

Hello lovelies!

Today I have a mani that started out as a fail but ended up being a winner!

Colors Used: L'Oreal - Jolly Lolly, Mango Mamma, Bananarama Love, Creme de Mint, Miss Pixie. Lilac Coolers, Julep - Hermione

I received the entire L'Oreal jellies collection for my birthday last month and I was so excited!  I decided I wanted to do a rainbow-y watercolor design with them.  Once I had it on tho, I didn't really like how some of the colors layered over each other.  The green and orange looked particularly like pond scum lol...

 

 I then said to myself, "Hey!  Remember when crackle was cool??".  So I pulled out a white crackle (Julep's Hermione) and went to town!  And I lurvs it!!

Winning!

I hope you all have a very good Good Friday!

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. 

Stairway to Princess Jess!

Hello lovelies!

I have a new-to-me indie to share with you today... Drip Drop Nail Paint!  I discovered this brand via Instagram and had to give it a try...

 Colors Used: Drip Drop Nail Paint - Princess Jess and Stairway to Heaven, Orly - Pointe Blanche, OPI - Love. Angel. Music. Baby.

I had seen swatches of Stairway to Heaven (a white crelly with pink and gold glitter) on IG and fell in love with it (I'm a sucker for white crellys!), so I went to Jessica's shop to purchase it.  While there I scrolled by Princess Jess (a pink creme with gold glitter) and immediately knew I had to pair them in a mani.... soooooo I bought them both lol.

The formula is great with both polishes!  2 coats of Stairway to Heaven over white on my middle finger and 2 coats of Princess Jess on my index and pinky.

 

 I decided a zig-zaggy accent would be most fitting for an accent nail.  I used guides from Nail Vinyls and brushed OPI's gold satin polish (from the Gwen Stefani Collection) over white.  Everything was top coated with a fast-drying topcoat I purchased at a nail supply store in a huge bottle (I have no idea what brand it is because there is just a label from the store on the front lol, but it's seriously the best topcoat I've ever used!)

Heaven... I'm in heaven!

I meant to post these earlier in the week, but I had to bring extra work home and so blogging was put on the back burner.  My photo vault is getting crowded; I really need to go on a blogging binge or something haha :)

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

It's My Golden Birthday!

Hello lovelies!!

Well, today is my golden birthday!!  What is a golden birthday you ask?  It is when your age and birth date are one and the same.  I am now 28... it's March 28th... you get the picture lol.  So I've decided to celebrate in style with my favorite ladies, The Golden Girls :D

 Colors Used: B Squared Lacquer - White Lights, Shimmer Polish - Tracy

This is actually a pretty simple mani.  I used a B Squared Lacquer's White Lights (a white crelly with gold glitter) and Shimmer Polish's Tracy as an accent nail.  As with the other Shimmer's I've reviewed in the past, I was blown away by Tracy!  I used 2 coats over a gold base and it is completely opaque!!  I think Cindy has truly defined the "glitter bomb"... holy cannoli!!  The studs came in a kit from Nail Art Society :)

 The Golden Girl decals are from Nail Spin.  Aren't they so cute??!!  I actually purchased a sheet of 15 decals of varying portraits of the ladies, but I couldn't chose between them so I used the group photo.  It's ever so blurry but I don't really care... I know who they are and that's what counts lol ;)

Happy, happy, joy, joy!!!

I hope you all have a fabulous Friday and a wonderful weekend!

Until next time!

Stef <3

*Shimmer Polish's Tracy was provided to me for review.  Nail Spin's decals were purchased by me for review  I received no payment or other compensation for the review of these product.  The opinions stated here are completely my own.  The contents of this review are based on my direct experience with these product.

Nailed Kit Olympic Decals!

Hello dolls!

A very happy Sunday to you all!  So remember that swatch post I promised?  Yea my weekend got all kinds of crazy and I am not ready quite yet haha.  So I'm bumping up a post I was saving for next week... woohoo!  The lovely Rachel over at Nailed Kit sent me some "USA" decals in honor of the 2014 Winter Olympics!  I had such a fun time putting together a mani using these decals (*disclaimer)...

I really loved the way this turned out!  I started with 3 coats of OPI "My Boyfriend Scales Walls", a nice blue-ish off-white polish that's perfect for showcasing nail art :)  I then took a plastic drinking straw out of my kitchen cabinet and used to to kind of outline my Olympic rings...

Admittedly, it may not have been the deal tool for the job considering my rings wouldn't stamp completely haha.  I had to go back with a nail art brush to finish the circle and then they ended up looking like a child did them. But then I thought, the letters are in a whimsical font... it works!  The decals are very easy to use; they slide right off of their paper backing with a little bit of water.  I must admit... I forgot to get water when using them this time around and I didn't want to get up and go to the kitchen soooo... I just popped them in my mouth!  Worked like a charm lol :P

Have you gotten into the Olympic spirit??  These and many other adorably fabulous decals can be found here.

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.

Bye Bye 2013!

Good afternoon, lovies!!

The time is quickly coming upon us to bid farewell to 2013.  It's been a really great year and I'm a little sad to see it go.  Lots of memories has been made, I've connected and made friends with so many people in the nail community... lots of polishes were purchases lol.  I did a quick mani for the occassion (altho it probably won't be what I end up wearing when the clock strikes 12... I'm itchin' to do another!)...

 Colors Used: B Squared - White Lights

I purchased this polish sometime before Christmas and It came in the mail the day after or so.  It is from a Christmas collection, but I thought it could be very fitting for NYE as well :)  I started with 2 coats of White Lights over a white base.  This polish is a white sheer crelly with a mix of different sized gold glitters.  Application was easy and the glitters spread out nicely.

I then used combos of a nail art pen, nail striped and dotting tools to draw my design.  Number and letter are the hardest for me, very frustrating!  After a second attempt at getting my numbers *perfect* I top coated everything with OPI Rapi Dri.

I'm ready for some bubbly!

I just want to thank you all for your continued reading and support.  I read every single comment that I receive but rarely have time to respond :(  Thank you for the well wishes while I was sick, it warmed my feverish heart haha.  Love to you all and have a safe and happy evening!!

Until next time!

Stef <3

SAFS: Catherine & Oh Splat!

Hello, dolls!

It once again is Sunday (I feel like the last 7 days have just flown by!) and you know what that means...

The "normy" I wore to church today is...

 Julep - Catherine

Catherine is described as "the original classic, go-to red crème".  I'm almost positive that this is the first color Julep came out with.  While the formula was nice, I had to apply 3 thin coats for evenness of color.  Top coated with Color Club Clear (a new favorite of mine).  It definitely is a classic reminiscent of the 1950's :)

Retail: $14.00 ($11.20 Maven Price)

 

Now onto the fun polish...

KBShimmer - Oh Splat!

This is my first ever KBShimmer Polish.  I have loved this brand from afar for a while now and finally decided I had to have a bottle of my own.  Op Splat! is a white jelly base with rainbow glitter mixed in.  I love it!  It makes my little polishing heart happy to wear it hahaha.  This is 3 thin coats with Color Club Clear on top.

Retail:  $8.75

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blurb!  Check-in again tomorrow for some Autumn inspired nail artsy-ness ;)

Until next time!

Stef <3

H&M Nail Tattoo

Good evening, dolls!

I meant to have this post up earlier this afternoon, but... I got side tracked.  On the flip side, I re-did the layout of the blog!  I wanted something clean/professional looking while still being whimsical and fun.  It's a work in progress (any thoughts or suggestions are welcomed!).  Anywhosy, on to the nails!

I did this manicure almost 2 weeks ago.  I've fallen very behind in posting because life has gotten in the way, but that means that I have a nice store of mani's to pull from...

 Colors Used: Daisy Nail Lacquer - White Diamond, Orly - Shine On Crazy Diamond

Sometimes you've just gotta keep it simple you know?  I picked up the nail tattoos at H&M for about $4.  It came with a variety of designs on 1 sheet.  The tattoos can be used on both skin and nails.

I started with 2 coats of my white polish and I let it dry completely. I then peeled away the plastic cover, placed the tattoo on my nail at the desired angle and, with a cotton swab, I dabbed water onto the paper backing.  If you've ever put on fake tattoos as a child, then you're familiar with the process.

I topped each nail with my Orly glitter and top coated.  'Twas a cinch!

I think this is the first time I've ever really enjoyed a bow on my nails.  I like that it looks like a bow and not a crazy mess haha.

Has anyone else every tried nail tattoos or water decals?  Do you have a brand that you recommend?

Until next time!

Stef <3