Mix 'n Match with Pipe Dream Polish!

Hello lovelies!

I have had absolutely no time to do my nails this past week so I'm pulling a mani out of the vault today.  This is a skittlette I did a few weeks ago when I was desperately in need of some bright, colorful cheeriness...

 Colors Used: Zoya - Robyn, Daisy Nail Lacquer - White Diamond, Love & Beauty - Strawberry, China Glaze - Celtic Sun, Pipe Dream Polish - Zappin' It To Ya

This mani is mostly based around this awesome glitter topper that I bought from April at Pipe Dream Polish.  It's called Zappin' It To Ya and it's a mix of neon pink, green, blue and yellow glitters of varying sizes.  I tried to find polishes in my collection that closely matched and I think I did a decent job haha. 

 I haven't done a striped accent nail in for-eh-ver; I forgot how much I like them!  I also decided to use a bow charm that I bought from Hex Nail Jewelry.  Overall I'm really pleased with this one :)

I'm dreaming of warmer days that involve a vacation from life and lots of polish... *sigh*...  Lol happy Wednesday!

Until next time!

Stef <3

* These product were 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.

Playing with Nail Vinyls!

Good morning, dolls!

So remember last time when I said I had goodies to share with you?  Yea, this be one of  'em!  I've recently gotten swept up in the world of Instagram.  Lots of bloggers and indie makers utilize it to promote their product and work.  I've discovered sooo many fabulous indie's thru IG, including "Nail Vinyls" (*disclaimer)...

 Colors Used: Zoya - Blaze, China Glaze - Glistening Snow

I purchased a few different designs of vinyls to try and at $3/sheet of 100... it's a steal! 

I started with 2 coats each of Blaze (cranberry holo yumminess!) and Glistening Snow.  Because these vinyls are essentially removable stickers, I needed to wait for the polish to completely dry.  So I slap on a coat of OPI Rapi-Dri top coat, some cuticle oil and lotion.  Then I headed off to bed...

I woke up in the morning, all excited to try out my new design and... well, the stickers wouldn't stick :(  I was so devestated!  I've heard nothing but fabulous things about this product.  Then I had a thought.  What if the vinyls don't like my top coat?  I quickly went over my accent nail with a little bit of remover until I could feel the grit of the glitter and then tried the vinyls again.  Success!!  Lol.

Lastly I applied some holo hex glitter that I had sitting around and re-topcoated :)

 I win!  :P

I am really pleased with the way that this turned out, I just love chevron designs!  I definitely recommend giving Nail Vinyls a try :)

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.

Peppermint Twists and A Tree... Oh My!

Hello, hello!

Sorry it's been a few days since my last post.  The month of December is always insane for singers and as usual I've committed myself to a lot of performances/gigs... and at this point I want to crawl into a hole and hibernate until Christmas is over lol.  But!  My Christmas spirit has yet to be dampened soooo... here's another themed mani....

 Colors Used: Daisy Nail Lacquer - Diamond White, Julep - Molly (red) and Hoch (green), Zoya - Ivanka (green flecked), KBShimmer - Candy Cane Crush (scented)

There's a lot going on in this one lol.  It's like a Christmas smorgasbord!  I started with all of my base colors: Diamond White and Hoch.  Hoch then got a layer of Zoya Ivanka on top to give it some glass-flecked prettieness.  I then applied 1 coat of KBShimmer's Candy Crush (which I ordered with the peppermint scent... love love love!!)...

I then free-handed the peppermint twists using Molly.  I actually really like the way they turned out!  For the tree, I painted 1 coat of a franken I made last year and forgot about.  It's a white crelly with gold glitter mixed in.  I then free-handed the tree using Hoch and a striping brush.  With a dotting tool, I added some baubles to the tree.  It was all topped coated with Color Club Clear :)

Christmas time is here!

I hope to get some more posts out this week, I have so much to share!!  Lol thanks for sticking around lovelies *hugs*.

Until next time!

Stef <3

I Did It!!

Good morning, dolls!

Today's post is centered around a nail art tool that I have always struggled with... striping tape.

 Colors Used: Zoya - Morgan, Maybelline - Pretty In Polka, Rimmel - Black Satin

Striping tape been the bane of my nail experience for quite a long time.  I bought a whole pack of the stuff over a year ago and have never been able to manage the clean lines that they're supposed to create.  I'd utilized all of the tips and tricks that fellow blogger's have posted about, and yet no matter how hard I'd try it would end up a big ol' mess.  So I shoved the tapes in the back of my nail art drawer and gave up.  And then last week I read a post from Casey Lane Loves Polish where she talked about struggling with tape manis.  I was inspired to try again...

I started with my ring finger.  Once my base coat dried, I put down my 5 strips of tape and painted a thick coat of Black Satin.  I then very quickly removed the strips of tape and viola!  Clean-ish lines!  Haha :)  I then did 2 coats of Pretty in Polka (a newbie in my collection) on my middle finger and 2 coats of the lovely Morgan  on the rest of my nails.

While it's still not perfect, it's leaps and bounds better than how my tape manis used to be.  So I'm deeming this a nail success :D

Do any of you struggle with tape manis?  Have you thrown in the towel??  I highly suggest keeping at it.  You'll get there, I promise.

Until next time!

Stef <3

Jamberry Nail Shields

Hello, hello!

Today's post will be my very first review of a product!  I recieved some samples of Jamberry nail shields from the lovely Kelly Baas, a Jamberry rep :)

 Colors Used: Jamberry Nail Shields, Sally Hansen - White On, Zoya - Morgan, China Glaze - Turned Up Turquoise

I seriously love these nail shields and don't want to take them off... ever! 

Two nail shields were plenty for both of my hands.  My middle and ring fingers are Jamberry while the rest of my nails are polished.  I tried to match the polish shades as closely as possible.  I did put a layer of base coat on my nails before starting because I'm particular in that way.  I made sure my nails were dry before starting my application...

The biggest difference between these and other nail strips is that these are vinyl.  This means they don't have an expiration date/won't dry out like other products do.

I followed the instructions to the letter and it was a cinch.  I was a bit concerned about whether the base coat would affect the outcome of the finish but they turned out beautifully :)  After I had the nail shields on, I did 2 coats each of White On, Morgan and Turned Up Turquoise on my left over naked nails.  I then used my dotting tool to layer Morgan and TUT in a cascading fashion on my thumb.

Once I was finished I top coated my polished nails and swiped a little bit of top coat on the free edges of the shields for extra security.  I work with my hands all day long and I wanted this mani to last a good while ;)  I wore these all day Thursday and they still look great!  The shields feel very secure.  Overall, this is definitely a product I would want to purchase (I also have read that you have the capability of creating your own design on the website.  How cool is that?!!)

If you would like to learn more about this product, you can contact Kelly by...

Email - BerryNailsByKelly@gmail.com

Web - KellyBaas.JamberryNails.com

Facebook - www.facebook.com/BerryNailsByKelly

Blog - OohLaLaPolish.com

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.

Under Lock & Key

Hello, dolls!

I hope you all had a very happy weekend :)  I would like to say a big WELCOME to my new followers!  You ladies are the reason why I have continued blogging.  Thank you all so much for your recent comments.  it really is encouraging and it's helping me to tweak the things I'm doing as a blogger.  You all are amazing!!

Well, it's been gloomy here in SoCal the last few days (no April showers tho).  The weather put me in a bit of a somber mood over the weekend so, I busted out one of my favorite polish to cheer myself up...

 Colors Used: Zoya - Blaze, Avon - Mosaic Mica

Fitting for a gloomy day, but I LOVE the way it came out!

I started with 2 coats of Blaze.  Cannot get enough of this polish!  Then I applied the "Mosaic Effect" polish.  It doesn't really come across in the pics, but it's very very shimmery and pretty.  Lastly I applied my nail art stickers that I picked up from H&M, truly the best I've ever used to date.  I topped them off with my new fave Nutra Nail Speed Dry Top Coat and viola!

"Look at the pretties!"

My work/rehearsal week is looking a little bit crazy.  I am now partially running the children's choirs at my job along with everything else I've got going on.  I don't know why I do these things to myself lol.  April TPC starts up tomorrow and I've got a couple of other surpirses coming along the way *sigh*.  Busy, busy, busy!  I hope you will bear with me ;)

Until next time!

Stef <3