Zoya Veruschka for St. Patrick's Day

Ok folks, I have finally made some changes in my life that will (hopefully) let me get back to blogging.  I have a bunch of "untrieds" that need swatching but also a lot of ideas for nail art especially related to St. Patrick's Day, so that's what I'm going with first.  Some may (likely will) include polish that I haven't tried before and while they may not be "new" they have been sitting on my desk for some time just waiting..
First up is Zoya Veruschka used in this mani along with Snow White and Shawn, Bundle Monster holiday plate BM-H05 used for this look then I added NYC matte topcoat to the accent nail to give it a matte finish as well.  I must say, Veruschka went on very well, two easy coats, and dried fairly quickly and of course the color is gorgeous.

Inspired by Nature

There were a lot of ideas for this theme but in the end it had to be feathers.  I have been meaning to try this anyway and now was a good excuse!  I used China Glaze Kalahari Kiss for the base, topped with NYC and added the feather to my middle finger while the topcoat was still tacky then sealed it with a coat of Seche.

What a Hoot!

As you probably already know, today's theme is "stamping".  I have a few sets of stamping plates...several with the plastic still on them that I haven't gotten around to trying out yet...and a new set on the way.  I had a bit of trouble deciding what to use for this one!  I had a few set aside and ended up picking Bundle Monster BM 309.  Then I just had to pick a color "theme"!  I have had L'Oreal The Perfect Trench for a while as well and had not had a chance to use it either and this proved to be a perfect combo!  I started with two coats of it and a coat of Seche to help it dry quick.  I used Revlon Hot for Chocolate, China Glaze Street Racing and Westside Warrior for the stamping colors.  Ring finger design is from plate BM 322.
I have found for me that NYC Grand Central Station works best for a final topcoat after stamping, no smearing my design!

I love how this turned out but it was unbelievably difficult to get a decent picture of for some reason!  Sorry about that! :(

Tape Mani

 I wanted to do something much more detailed for today's post but it just didn't work out.  This is going to be a very short post since it is so late in the day.  Base for this one is Zoya Kristen stamped using Cheeky plate CH7 and Julep Helena.  I then taped off the corners and applied Helena to the tips and sealed it all with NYC.

Marble Nails

Today's theme is "saran wrap nails".  This is a new technique to me, I had seen it before but hadn't tried it yet.  I started with a base of Sinful Colors Black on Black.  Once it was dry I put some random dots of China Glaze Admire and Cherish.  The tutorials I read said to ball up the plastic and dab it on the nail to remove some of the polish.  I started with that technique but found that if I just pressed the plastic to the nail and peeled it off it worked better for me.  I applied one coat of NYC Grand Central Station as a topcoat.

Then I applied a coat of NYC Matte me Crazy.  I think I like the matte look better for this one, what do ya'll think?

Mermaid Nails

I had good intentions for this post but for whatever reason my internet was jacked up last night (or very early this morning to be honest) and I just gave up and went to bed.  So this is actually Friday's post for the Summer Challenge.  I made notes on the print out I made of the challenges for ideas and this was one that I had some idea early on what I wanted to do.  My Zoya order came in the mail yesterday as well and was perfectly timed for this!  For this one I started out with two coats of OPI Mermaid's Tears (perfect name and color for this theme!).  On my ring finger I placed a mix of silver and blue glitter from Born Pretty Store while the polish was still tacky and topped it with my newly acquired Zoya Frida which also turned out to be perfect for this.  On the other nails I sponged Julep Portia on the tips in sort of a gradient and added a coat of Seche to help speed they drying process and make it smooth.  Once that was dry I stamped the "fishnet" pattern from the Bundle Monster BM-209 plate and China Glaze Adore and then a quick topcoat of NYC to finish everything off.

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.

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.  

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.

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?

Summer Challenge: A day at the Zoo!

 Today's theme is "A Day at the Zoo".  Since I already did a giraffe print for the jungle theme, I decided to mix it up a bit and do several different prints...mostly because I couldn't decide on just one!  

The stamping on the index finger didn't turn out quite right but that was the second attempt so I just said to hell with it and left it!  Index finger is essie Brooch the Subject stamped with Zoya Codie, middle is OPI Call me Gwen-ever stamped with black stamping polish from Born Pretty store (see link at right), ring finger is China Glaze Kalahari Kiss stamped with Zoya Coie, pinky is Zoya Purity and black stamping polish.  All finished with NYC Grand Central Station (pictured).  The ring finger was stamped with Bundle Monster BM-215, all others are Cheeky CH2.  What do you think?  Which is your favorite?

Pucker Up, Buttercup!

 Today's Summer Challenge theme is "Buttercups".  I made this theme into a sort of mini challenge for myself to try to do it freehand and with only drugstore polish.  All things considered I'm pleased with the way it turned out, especially after yesterday's disaster.  I do sort of wish I had used a darker base color though; alas, live and learn.

Base: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure: Lavender Cloud
Flowers: Revlon Buttercup, Sinful Colors Pull Over and Olympia
Scrolls: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Golden-I
Topcoat: NYC Grand Central Station

What do you think?  Please be sure and use the tab above or links below to check out what the other girls came up with!

Pink and Purple Studded Nails

Today's theme for the Summer Challenge is "pink + purple".  I tried a few other designs that failed horribly before remembering that I had these great pink studs that I had yet to use!  And so a mani was created!  I wanted a cream finish base and oddly I don't have many purples (going to have to work on that!).  I finally decided on China Glaze Urban-Night which I think turned out to be the perfect complement to the studs.  I painted all nails with one coat of the base and then individually pained each nail and applied the studs with a toothpick.  Once I was done with all the nails I used a topcoat of NYC to seal them down and add some shine!  What do you think?  Have you tried any studs yet?  These are from Born Pretty Store, you will find a link to the right and if you hurry they are currently 20% off!

Blue Water Marble - Autism Awareness

 I entered a contest over at LuvMyLaquer in support of Autism Awareness.  The contest ends 4/27/12 so if you haven't already, be sure and head over there to enter!  For my entry, I decided to try a water marble.  I love the look of water marbles but I'm not very good at them!  At any rate, this one started with a coat of China Glaze Electric Beat and then I used First Mate, Bermuda Breakaway, Aqua Baby and Electric Beat for the marble.  I added some accents using blue microbeads and Revlon's Silver Dollar, then topped it all off with NYC's Grand Central Station.

Moody Blues

Sorry for the lack of posting the past few days, crazy work schedule! Today I have for you Moody Blues from Ulta. This is a gorgeous navy blue cream polish that applied like a dream!

Two coats, no topcoat.

Then I wanted to see how it would look "mattified"... I think I'm in love!

Two coats of Moody Blues with one coat of NYC Matte me Crazy

Purple Stripes

One of the girls at work the other day asked me to do something "purple" for my nails for the next day. It was a perfect excuse for me to try out some of the new essie colors I had yet to try. I started with a basecoat (still trying different ones, this time was Finger Paints) and then two coats of essie She's Picture Perfect. I'm not sure if it was the basecoat or the polish but it was kind of tough to apply, sort of "dragging" up the nail. It is a really gorgeous shade though and either way, I would put up with it for the color! I topped that with a coat of SV and waited for it to dry completely and then used essie No More Film (LOVE this color!!!) and my m78 plate for the stamp. I topped it with a coat of NYC Grand Central Station (clear) but as you can sort of make out it was a little streaky between the two colors, not sure what happened there, I have used it before without any trouble. At any rate, I got loads of compliments on this mani!

Irish Flag Nails

So for today's nails I went with the "Irish" theme and decided to try the Irish flag. Luckily for me, it's a pretty simple design. I started with two coats of Sinful Snow Me White and waited until it was totally dry and then used a strip of tape down the center of each nail and then painted one side with NYC High Line Green and the other with essence Wake Up! I waited about a minute and took the tape off and topped the whole thing off with a coat of Seche.

What do you think? Let's hope I can come up with a good idea for tomorrow!

Revlon Royal

I got to spend the day out with my lovely husband today and we did a bit of shopping. I managed to restrain myself and only bought a few polishes...maybe 10. :) As we were walking through Sephora he said to me "Eventually you will have to run out of colors." Silly boys! Anyway, this is one that I picked up last week. Revlon's Royal has been out for a while and got some mixed reviews. I thought the formula was ok, it is a bit patchy in places but it evened out well. Stamped with Konad's m61 plate and Sephora's Mirror Mirror. Topped off with a coat of NYC's Grand Central Station (clear).

What are your thoughts on Royal? Love it? Hate it? Somewhere in between? Let me know, I'd love to hear from you!

Dorothy Who?

Oh I LOVE this polish!! This one has been on my wish list for some time, I realize it isn't a new polish but I am fairly new to the obsession! So this beauty is Dorothy Who? from China Glaze's Wizard of OHH AHZ collection. I was in a bit of a hurry today trying to get my nails done before work so I went with something "simple". For this mani I actually started with one coat of NYC Skin Tight Denim to help accentuate the base of the China Glaze color and then topped it with two coats of Dorothy Who and a topcoat of Seche. I got several compliments on this mani and I love the color!

Birthday Nails!

So today is my birthday, good thing I'm not superstitious! I also have to work today so I wanted something fun but not too out there for work so I went with some cupcakes! For the background color I applied 2 coats of NYC Downtown, a gorgeous berry pink shade. Then on the accent nails I used a bamboo stick to "draw" on the cupcake wrapper in China Glaze For Audrey (love that color, can ya tell?), let it dry a bit and used the same stick to draw on the lines with Mirror, Mirror by Sephora. I used L.A. Colors White for the frosting and then added some microbeads with a toothpick to look like sprinkles! You can find these in the scrapbook section of your favorite craft store in loads of colors! Finally, I added a dot of OPI An Affair in Red Square for the cherry and topped it off with a coat of Seche. They turned out rather cute and now I'm wishing I had the time to do the cupcakes on the other nails! But, alas it is off to work I go. :(