valentine's day smooches

Hey everyone! You know what? I think I'm really committed to blog-revitalization this time. I even did nail art on myself like two times this week. That's a lot for me lately! I hope this is me coming back around to the nail game. I've missed it!

I even did seasonally-appropriate nails. Valentine's Day nails!
You may remember from years past that Tiffany from Nail Polish Canada is my nail-valentine and this year is no different because she sent me another lovely plate to play with. 

Muah! Lil' kisses.
I started with a base of Formula X for Sephora - Hyped, a super vibrant purple with amazing shimmer.
It dries semi-matte as most neon purples do, so you're able to quickly go in and do some stamping.
I stamped the lips image from Bundle Monster BM-H17 using a light pink stamping polish from Mundo de Unas.
Add some Seche Vite and you're done! 

Super cute for Valentine's Day, or Galentine's Day! Hope you guys are having a lovely day whatever you're up to.

If you're feelin' this mani, you can buy the plate here on its own for only $3.40! Ships free in Canada, too.

31DC2014: Day 23

Hey everyone! Happy Autumn... Even though it makes me sad because it means winter is on its way. I'm just not built for the cold. Remind me again why I don't live in Florida?

The theme for today is Inspired by a Movie. A couple weeks ago I got the new Pulp Fiction nail polish from Urban Decay so I knew I'd have to use that and do Pulp Fiction nails!

I was inspired by Mrs. Mia Wallace and the smoke always billowing out of her lush lips!

I added a bandaid on the thumb for Mr. Wallace, which definitely brings the look together.

Here's the polish on its own:

Urban Decay - Mrs. Mia Wallace
This is a beautiful red with tonal shimmer, and the formula is dreamy. It takes 2 thin coats for full coverage, and as always the UD formula is so easy to work with.

I did the smoke with Color Club - French Tip using the watercolor technique. I have a (slightly old) tutorial for that technique here, and I was inspired by these nails by Chalkboard Nails to turn that technique into smoke!

The bandaid was painted with OPI - San-Tan Tonio and OPI - Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh?

The lip print stamp is from Bundle Monster plate BM-303 and Konad Black special polish.

Still in love with the Urban Decay bottles. I've got all of these new polishes now... Haha. Oh and good news for Canadians, the Shoppers Drugmart locations that carry UD stocked this collection, including the polish! They never had any of the polishes before so I was really surprised to see it there.

What do you guys think of these nails? Can you see the Mrs. Mia Wallace inspiration in them? I'm really pleased with how they turned out!

Now take a walk down memory lane and check out my previous day 23 designs:

• 2013: Legally Blonde
• 2012: Juno
• 2011: The Little Mermaid

31DC2014: Day 22

Heeeey! Get ready - this is gonna be a good one.
I was really worried that nothing could come close to last year's Inspired by a Song post with The Thong Song nails (clearly I was ahead of the times with the booty nails last year) so I kept the booty theme going and went for... Anaconda!

I'm sure you're all familiar with Anaconda and the performance at the VMAs! I was totally loving the green sparkly snakeskin outfit and I had to recreate it on my nails.
I actually did these on like the 3rd of September because I was going to use them for the green theme, but then I just had to save them for today. I have been holding them in since then. It's been hard.

They started with a base of China Glaze - Exotic Encounters.
I randomly applied green glitter all over the place with China Glaze - This Is Tree-mendous (lol) and China Glaze - Emerald Sparkled.
The snakeskin stamp is from Bundle Monster plate BM-215 and I first stamped it using Color Club - Perfect Mol-Ten but it wasn't as visible as I wanted, so I added some more in scattered areas with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri - Lickety-Split Lime and that totally made the effect I wanted.
 

Guhhhhhh I just love how they turned out! I was so mad when I had to take them off after just a few hours.

What do you guys think? Did I capture the look? Green sparkly nails are always my fave, I'll be doing these again as a full mani and wearing them for like a week. For sure. As soon as the challenge is over.

Now take a walk down memory lane and check out my previous day 22 designs:

• 2013: The Thong Song
• 2012: Domino
• 2011: S&M

31DC2014: Day 16

OMG, so I just realized that I totally forgot to do my nails for today. All day I was thinking "Oh yeah, I got those done, I'll just go post them when I am done my homework."
WRONG, I was thinking of the theme for tomorrow. So I just had to slap something on my nails and get pics and hurry it all together! I had a design in mind but had to tone it down a little for the last minute version.

The theme for today is Tribal/Geometric. (And not glitter. Which I thought until just now.)

I threw on my favorite pink polish, Color Club - Peppermint Twist.
The image is from Bundle Monster plate BM-402 and I stamped with Konad White.
I added a little bit of glitter detail with Color Club - Sexy Siren.

Originally I wanted more glitter detail added (and I was gonna try the whole thing freehand) but that being said, I am still pretty pleased with these! I think they're cute.

What do you think of my last-minute-mani?! OMG, now I need to de-stress. Haha! Thankfully I know for sure I have tomorrow's done... Heh.

Now take a walk down memory lane and check out my previous day 16 designs:

• 2013: Sponged 'n Stamped Tribal
• 2012: Pastel Tribal
• 2011: Gray 'n Yellow 'n Red Tribal

31DC2014: Day 1

Here we go once again down this fun/insane trail called the 31 Day Challenge. This marks the fourth time that I have embarked on this journey, and as much as it may annoy and frustrate me over the course of the month, I can't wait to see where it pushes me this time!
If you're unfamiliar with the challenge, my pal (and fellow 31DC enforcer) Chalkboard Nails has posted a nice little FAQ here that sums it all up.

Usually something happens during the month that makes it very difficult for me to complete the challenge such as the blackout of 2012 that had me going to my dad's office for electricity so I could post, or 2013 when I went to Chicago and had to schedule like a week's worth of challenge posts in advance. This year's crisis is already planned: I have to have dental surgery on the 9th and I am already FREAKING THE HELL OUT so hopefully I can get some posts scheduled in advance. Thank you, tooth, for being too big and growing into my sinus cavity. I really wanted that.

Anywayzzzzzz, the theme for day one is red! I decided to try out a red polish I've been meaning to try since I picked it up in Florida, and I wanted to combine it with a trendy design.

OPI - Over & Over a Gwen
This polish was created by Gwen Stefani as her signature color. It's your standard cherry red with a formula that is on the line between creme and jelly. Not overly exciting but makes sense because I can't really picture Gwen wearing anything else! Red nails and red lips, that's her style.

I'm not usually one to wear straight up red (my hair has enough of that going on) so I combined the red with some pink for a fun gradient! I used OPI - Hotter Than You Pink because I knew the shimmer would really pop and make for a nice transition. Once that was done, I added a chevron stamp because chevron is always a good idea. The stamp is from Bundle Monster BM-423.

One down, thirty to go.
Are you gonna bravely accept the challenge? Can't wait to see everyone's designs!

Now take a walk down memory lane and check out my previous Day 1 designs:

• 2013: Red Nails, Red Lips
• 2012: Apple Print
• 2011: Friar Friar Pants on Fire

31DC2013 - day 27

Hey guys! Yet another last minute post for me. Apparently I am just not good at time management this month. September was probably a bad month for me to do this challenge...

Today's theme is Inspired By Artwork.
I thought all day about it, and almost resorted to just using a water decal and calling that art, but I decided to tough it out and do the idea I had been thinking of.

I thought about tattoo art... I thought about watercolor art... And I decided on watercolor tattoo nails.
Have you guys seen all the beautiful photos of watercolor tattoos floating around on sites like Pinterest? I'm obsessed with the look.
You take simple black tattoo linework and add light and watercolor-esque coloring, and you get a gorgeous result.
I took that style of art and turned it into nail art!

I used some stamping images that mimic tattoo styles that I like, used my favorite colors for the watercolor, along with a favorite nude polish, and BAM pretty nails.

The stamping image on my middle finger is from Konad m77, and so are the small star details on the thumb.
The other two images are from Bundle Monster - the big star on the thumb is from BM-206, the bow is BM-317.

I started with a base of OPI - My Vampire Is Buff and I used jelly polishes to create the watercolor effect of coloring within the lines and also outside the lines.
I picked four of my usual go-to jellies...
China Glaze - Are You Jelly? (purple)
China Glaze - Keepin' It Teal (teal)
China Glaze - Heat Index (pink)
China Glaze - Ride The Waves (blue)

I'm really glad I decided not to be lazy and actually did these nails because I really enjoy them! It's just too bad I'll have to take them off tomorrow.

31DC2013 - day 16

Hey everyone! Today is my last day in Chicago so this is my last scheduled post for this week. Thankfully. Because doing this challenge in advance was really difficult!
Today's theme is Tribal Print. 

Tada! Tribal!

I didn't plan for this manicure to become my tribal one, but the base didn't turn out as I was expecting so I slapped some tribal on top to save it! Haha!

I started with a base of China Glaze - That's Shore Bright and using the blot-off method, I added the jelly polishes from CG: Isle See You Later, Keepin' It Teal, and Are You Jelly?
These were supposed to be my green nails earlier in the challenge but they just didn't look as green as I had hoped on camera.

So it became tribal print using Bundle Monster plate BM-315.

OMG, now starting tomorrow I will be doing live posts again. Good thing tomorrow is an easy one! GLITTER!

31DC2013 - day 1

Yes, I must literally be crazy.
Welcome to Day 1 of the 31 Day Challenge.

If you've been around here for a while, you'll remember I have done this in September of 2011 and 2012 with some of my amazing nail friends such as Sarah of Chalkboard Nails.
Clearly Sarah and I cannot let each other down so we are doing it again.
A lot of other people around the nail world are doing it, too. Be prepared to be flooded each day with challenge posts. Who can make it to the end?!

Only the cray-cray.

The theme for Day 1 is Red.

You may know that I have a new obsession with lipstick, so when thinking of red, all I could think of was red lips.

Specifically RiRi Woo, my amazing new matte red lipstick from Rihanna's collaboration with MAC.

Thought it would be a good time to bust out my lips-and-lipstick print from Bundle Monster plate BM-303!
I used the same red that I used in last year's red mani... How predictable. It's OPI - Comet Loves Cupid, my most favorite red creme. The formula is wonderful, 2 coats, and no staining!

I decided I wanted to also show off the lipstick in this post, as I have recently had thoughts of adding more than just nails to this blog...

But HOLY CRAP it is hard to photograph your face and be happy with the results! Peach fuzz... Dry skin... Tiny lips... What!! How do you beauty bloggers post your faces every day without being like OMFGZ MY PORES?!?!
Props, man. Props.

I suppose I'll stick to nails... Unless there's like a resounding YES in the comments of this post regarding other beauty things. But hey. It's all good.

Can you guys believe I am doing this challenge again? I can't. I really can't. Haha!


Here's a refresher of the daily themes, photo credited to the lovely Chalkboard Nails of course.

See you tomorrow!

my (non-winning) entry for Gel II's Reaction Contest!

Hey! This post will just be a quickie because I've only got two pics. My camera was NOT cooperating on this day! Too bad, considering I was trying to win a contest. Haha!!

Gel II had a contest where you had to use one or more of their Reaction color-changing gels to create a manicure. I wasn't too happy with what I came up with, but I ran out of time to do anything else!

You may remember from my original review post, but when your hands are warm, this polish is pink!

And when you're cold, they're purple!
But I'm just too damn hot to keep them purple for very long. (In more ways than one. Heh. Heh. Heh.)

I did a glitter gradient with some loose silver glitter on top of the gel, and added the star stamp from Bundle Monster BM-21.

It is cute, but I knew it wasn't gonna be a winner. There were some seriously cool entries! Oh well! I tried.

I'm back home tomorrow - haul post time? Perhaps!!

Product provided for honest review.

piCture pOlish - Atomic

Hey guys! I messed up this week and I missed PP Monday... And then also what could have been PP Tuesday... So now it is PP Wednesday!
I'm just not feeling well enough right now to always paint my nails but hopefully I am starting new medications next week that should be my miracle drug! Let's all keep our fingers crossed.

So here's this week's piCture pOlish installment.

piCture pOlish - Atomic
This shade was created with the lovely Sarah of Samarium's Swatches. 
Atomic is a platinum silver shimmer, with crazy holographic shimmer particles and I feel like I can see a bit of a pinky sheen to it at times as well. There's no glitter, so it's totally smooth and perfect. It's very complex and definitely deserves to be seen in person! Please check out Sarah's own swatches of her shade, because she has some amazing macro shots of the polish!

I wanted to do some nail art over Atomic, but couldn't decide what to do. I was talking to a different Sarah (Chalkboard Nails) and she made a great suggestion: "Duh, atoms."

I guess it is sort of a loose interpretation of chains of atoms, but I think it turned out kinda cute! And kinda silly, for sure.
I stamped with Bundle Monster plate BM-313 and then added the atoms with piCture pOlish - Jade and piCture pOlish - Wisteria.

What do you think of my silly Atomic atoms?

piCture pOlish is available at picturepolish.com.au as well as with lots of other network members around the world. Check out the Network list for a full rundown of the places you can find PP!

Stay tuned next week for another gorgeous shade!

Visit the on-line store - www.picturepolish.com.au

Like on Facebook - piCture pOlish - a week on your tips never on your hips!

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Pin on Pinterest - piCture pOlish

Product provided for honest review.

skittles with a bow

Hello lovelies! Hope you're having a nice lazy Sunday like I am.

I've got some cute nails for you today! They're kinda Valentines-y... Sorta.
Maybe more like Easter-y... How about just springy? Whatever. They're cute. And that's what matters.

Tada! Pastel skittles with a bow.

Here are the polishes I used:
China Glaze - Dance Baby (pinky and thumb)
Orly - Lollipop (index)
Lime Crime - Lavendairy (middle)
China Glaze - For Audrey (ring)

The squiggle/splatter image is from Konad m70. It's one of my favorites!
The bow comes from Bundle Monster BM-317. You know I love bows.
I did the stamping with Konad special polishes.

I adored wearing this manicure! Pastels will always be my favorite, I think! And bows, of course.
Whatchu' think?

cinnamon hearts

Hey guys! Happy Thursday.
Today I've got a seasonally appropriate nail art post for you! I don't do a lot of holiday themed art but hey, Valentine's nails are cute. Even if I don't have a valentine of my own this year. Ha!
You guys can be my valentines.

The base for this nail art is Pirate Polish - Cinnamon Girl, a lovely red jelly glitter from their Valentine's collection, which you can see my swatches of here.
And you can get 'em here in the Pirate Polish Etsy shop! (And don't forget to check them out on Facebook.)

I did the stamping using Konad Special White polish, and the images are from the 2012 Bundle Monster set. The little stars are from BM-311 and the hearts are from BM-317.

What do you guys think? I know a lot of people hate V-day... But you can't hate this mani! ;)

neon+nude houndstooth

I'm still digging the neon and nude trend in fashion and of course in nails, so here's a trendy neon+nude mani for your viewing pleasure.

Tada! Bright pink houndstooth, with one of the best nude shades to boot.

First let's talk about the stamp. This big houndstooth print is from Bundle Monster BM-322.
I enjoy how big and bold it is! Now that I'm looking at these photos I wanna do it again in black and white! That would be so eye-catching... Anyway. Back to today's manicure...
I stamped it with Konad Psyche Pink. My fave stamping polish ever.

The base color...

OPI - My Very First Knockwurst

I really, truly don't know when I started my love affair with nude polishes but I just love them. I don't know why. But I do. Every time I put on a good nude I'm like "awwwwww yeahhhhh."

The formula on this one is fantastic, 2 coats, dries quickly, looks great with my skin. Love it.

Big fan of this mani. I hope you guys are too!