Well HELLO Dolly!!

 Oh Pretty and Polished, how I love you!  Hello Dolly has been sitting on my desk for a while now waiting for me to find the right undies for her (ha ha) and today was the day!  I was actually looking for something to put on my toes and was looking through my purple drawer and picked up China Glaze Sweet Hook...this is it Dolly!!  Toes forgotten for the moment I applied my base coat and two coats of Sweet Hook and let that dry.  Here is what it looks like on it's own...sort of pink, but a little more purple...

And then I applied a thickish coat of Hello Dolly.  It applies very well, I just wish there was a bit more of the large pink glitter, it is a bit tough to get those pieces on the nail at at times.  I was thrilled with how this turned out!!  You can find Pretty and Polished by visiting her Etsy store here.  

Purr-fect Plum Swatch and Review

 China Glaze is among my top five favorite brands of polish.  A good portion of my stash consists of their polish and for the most part, they don't disappoint.  I have only picked up a few of the On Safari collection so far, my polish budget is tight at the moment.  One of those that I did pick up is Purr-fect Plum.  It is a beautiful red-plum shade with a perfect creamy finish.  I used to think cream finish polish was rather boring, but now it is among my favorites.  Funny how time can change our opinions about things.  Shown here with two easy coats and topcoat of Seche.

Orange and Green and a Day Late

For some reason I thought the "orange + green" mani for the Summer Challenge was supposed to be Saturday...it wasn't.  I did my mani, took my pictures, edited my pictures....and went to bed.  I have got to get back to a normal sleep/wake cycle!  Anyway, here is my orange + green.

Base: OPI Call Me Gwen-ever
Stamp Color: China Glaze Argo
Plate: Bundle Monster BM-322

Punk Rock Barbie

With the Summer Challenge going on, I haven't had much of a chance to try out some of the indies that I bought a while back (or some of the other untrieds for that matter!)  I am loving the challenge but between work and school I have been a bit overwhelmed here lately.  I also have a backlog of pictures that need to be edited and posts written....such is the life of a nail blogger I guess.  Punk Rock Barbie has been staring me in the face from the top of my polish storage system for a while now though so I thought it was time for her to have her day.  Punk Rock Barbie is a gorgeous and fun glitter polish by Rockstar Nails.  For this look I started with two coats of OPI Pink Friday and then one thickish coat of Punk Rock Barbie.  For me, this was a very easy to use formula.  I did use the "dab" method some so all the bar glitter wasn't going in the same direction.  It is very easy to get a good mix of all the shapes on the nails, I didn't have to dig for any glitter.  I am loving the "wide mouth" (for lack of a better term) bottle used by Rockstar Nails.  For a glitter polish, it really makes things so much easier.  Be sure and check out her shop if you haven't already, lots of new things are listed since my last visit as well, which is probably not good for my wallet!

Silver and Blue

 Ok, you all know by now how I love my Zoya's and this turned out to be perfect timing for this post!  Zoya is having a Back to School promo!  The current offer is valid only to those who already have existing accounts, so if you do be sure and check for your promo code which has already been applied to your account.  If you don't, sign up now so you don't miss out next time!!  You can create your account by clicking here and you will be given a code for a FREE bottle of polish, and if you add two more bottles, you also get free shipping!  Having an account does have it's privileges, they will add points to your account from time to time and they have new promos every month.  You can learn more about the Share the Love program here.

Base color: Zoya Wednesday
Stamp Color: Essie Loophole
Plate: Bundle Monster BM07

Black and Pink Wednesday

Happy Pink Wednesday!  I don't know why it took me so long to get around to posting a pic of Zoya Kimber, but here she is.  I love the intense sparkle in this gorgeous shade of pink!  I used black stamping polish from Born Pretty Store and Bundle Monster plate BM-322 for the design and then added a stripe of black up the side of each nail.  I love how this one turned out!

First Attempt at Acid Wash

I have seen some really amazing looks using this technique so I had to give it a try myself.  I was going for something more along the lines of a "fall" look.  For this one, I started with a base of Finger Paints Circus Peanuts (swatch here) followed by a coat of OPI Call Me Gwen-Ever (swatch here) and then Finger Paints Sketchy Character.  I didn't look for specific instructions, so I just went with the lightest to darkest shades.  Once the top layer was sort of dry I took a brush dipped in acetone and set to work making the "design".  I was surprised at how much it took to really get through all the layers (and with only one coat of each color).  The Circus Peanuts was difficult to get to really show up much but I am pleased with the overall look nonetheless.  I am sure I will revisit this with some other colors in the near future...or maybe after the Summer Challenge is finished!

Bumblebee in a Rain Storm

Today's theme is "Bumblebees".  This is another of the themes that I knew I wanted to try but put off until the last minute.  I will likely revisit the bumblebee theme in the future as I do have some other ideas that could have been lots of fun...  For this one, I started with a base of Sinful Colors Rain Storm which is a gorgeous navy blue cream shade.  I used black polish and a striping brush for the lines and the same brush to freehand the bee detail.  NYC Lexington Yellow for the yellow stripes and for the wings I used Zoya Purity topped with Revlon Coconut Crush for a little shimmer.

Fruit Salad

I managed to get back to the Summer Challenge list this evening (well, morning really, it's almost 2am!) and pulled off a "Fruit Salad" mani.  One day I will learn what topcoat to use (and what not to use) for nail art...this time Out The Door was not my friend.  Alas, smeared fruit!  At any rate, here are the pics, let me know what you think and be sure and check out the others!

A New Twist On Classic

I can't really tell you what inspired the idea for this mani but I love the way it turned out regardless.  I wore OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls on it's own the other day (love it) and wanted to do something quick to add to it the next day.  I was going to just do the stamp, but I kept having issues getting the image to transfer fully, so I added "blocks" of black.  Once I did that, I thought it looked sort of "unfinished", so I added the silver hexes (termed "glequins" by the ever talented and witty Nailasauraus).

Base is My Boyfriend Scales Walls stamped (Bundle Monster BM 306) and "blocked" Sally Hansen Black Heart accented with sliver glequins and topped with Out The Door.  I got loads of compliments on this mani and I actually kind of wanted to leave it on for a few days but I had a job interview so I had to remove it and go with something more subdued.

Mizzou Nails!!

I must admit, I'm not a huge college sports fan...but, having your best friend's little brother make the team is kind of a big deal.  I grew up in a very small town...48 people in my graduating class and we were a big class.  So having someone from there make it as part of the team at MU is HUGE.  So, I did these nails to show my support.  I am actually pretty stoked with how they turned out and I am sure that once the season starts, I will be doing nails for some pretty big fans!

I used Zoya Purity for the base, sponged Sinful Colors Pull Over on the tips and stamped with a generic black stamping polish and Cheeky CH2 plate.  I used a small detail brush and Sally Hansen Black Heart for the letters and NYC as the topcoat.  

Revlon No Shrinking Violet Swatch and Review

I have worn this polish once before but didn't get a picture of it so I had to try it again so I could share it with you all!  No Shrinking Violet is a gorgeous deep purple shimmer polish.  I actually wore this one for 3 days before changing it and there were no chips!  I started with a base of CND Stickey and then two coats of NSV followed by a coat of Seche.  I did make sure and wrap the tips of my nails and there was some tip wear but it was not noticeable looking down at my hands, only if you were looking for it.  I wish I had gotten some pics on day 3 but, it has been one of those weeks!  Anyway, on to the pics!

A Pink Wednesday Dotticure

I realize I have missed a few Summer Challenge posts, including yesterday and today; but I haven't dropped out!  I haven't been felling well lately so I have pretty much just been working or sleeping for the past several days.  I'm starting to feel a bit better now though so maybe I can get back on track!  At any rate, it has been way too long since I have done a Pink Wednesday post, so I though now was the time.  This one is fairly simple, base of Zoya Reagan on all except the accent nail which has a base of China Glaze Dance Baby.  I then used those same two colors for the dots on the alternate base color followed by NYC as a topcoat.

Monochrome Pink

 One of the blogs I love to follow is Leslie's over at Polish Art Addiction.  She does some AMAZING nail art that is truly stunning.  A week or so ago I noticed that she is hosting a contest, so I thought I would give it a shot.  Between school, work, and the Summer Challenge, I haven't had much time to work on a design though so I am getting down to the wire here and thought I better get my entry posted.  For this one I started with a base of Color Club Vintage Couture (3 thin coats) and then using striping brushes made a plaid design using China Glaze Make an Entrance for the thicker stripes and Color Club Hot Like Lava  for the thin stripes.  I also used Hot Like Lava with Bundle Monster plate BM-317 for the stamping on the ring finger and finished it all off with a topcoat of NYC.

If you don't already follow Leslie's blog, you should...seriously, go there now!  Also you still have a few days if you would like to enter the contest as well, check out her blog for the rules.  Thanks for reading, and as always, I welcome your feedback!

Summer Splatter with Instructions

Today's theme for the Summer Challenge is "Summer Splatter".  The splatter mani is one that I hadn't tried before but the concept seemed rather simple.  I had read about others doing it and using a straw dipped in polish then blowing it on the nails...didn't work for me.  I tried with polish alone, then with thinned polish and it didn't work either way for me.  I would imagine that the diameter of the straw makes a difference but I only had one and it was roughly the size of a pencil.  At any rate I also have one of those "disposable" pipettes from Sally's, so I tried that. Eureka!  But then all my "splats" were too big with the first color.  Finally by the third color I used (the blue) I had it figured out.  Thinned polish in the pipette with a small about in the tip and then "tap" it over the nails for smaller splatters.  On a side note, it is a good idea to protect your fingers either with tape or Vaseline (I used Vaseline) just to make the clean up a bit easier.

For this one I started with a base of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, I wanted something light, but not stark white.  I used L'Oreal Papparazi Pleaser, Finger Paints Louvre This Pink, and China Glaze Aqua Baby for the splatters and then a topcoat of NYC.

Here is a pre clean up photo so you can get sort of an idea of what you are going to be dealing with...very messy!

 And then the final product.  What do you think?  Is this a style you have or will try?  What other colors would you like to see?