Grease Lightning

Happy Friday, readers!  Today's manicure is a new technique for me that I have been wanting to try for a while.  It was super simple and I'm really happy with how it came out.

To start with I painted each nail with one coat of China Glaze Stone Cold, which has a semi-matte finish.  Once that had completely dried I used a fan brush to swipe some Nails Inc. Cambridge Terrace over the top.  Finally I repeated the process with Zoya Reece, which is a very subtle, sheer pink.  I was really happy with the way the finish came out, therefore I decided not to use a top coat.

I hope everyone's weekend is off to a great start.  Thanks for reading.  Toodles!

Inspiration Thursday - Tiffany Lamp

I have been slacking a bit when it comes to Inspiration Thursday, so I made a promise to myself that come hell or high water I would give my lovely readers an inspired manicure this week.  

I decided to use my beautiful Tiffany lamp as an inspiration today - this manicure was quite a struggle and took three attempts before figuring out what I wanted to do.  Although, Inspiration Thursday is always challenging, which is precisely why I implemented the idea.  

Without further ado here is a picture of my gorgeous lamp.

Ooh.  Aah.

...and here's the manicure.

To start out I applied two coats of Essie Navigate Her.  Once that had completely dried I created a gradient using Essie Navigate Her, Zoya Rocky, and Essie Going Incognito.  For the triangles I used Scotch Tape to mask off a triangle and sponged on Hard Candy Glamour Girl.

Phew...I survived Inspiration Thursday.

Thanks for reading.  Toodles!

Watercolor Nails

On a daily basis I come across tons of new ideas and techniques for creating beautiful and fun nail art.  Lately, I have been feeling overwhelmed by the ideas floating around in my head, so much so that I was experiencing artist's block.  I'm sure that the move hasn't done anything to help either.  Now that I have had a few days to unwind the ideas are starting to flow again - last night I was reminded of a lovely watercolor manicure I saw on Chit Chat Nails some months back. 

I whipped out my acrylic paints and got to work...

I started out with two coat of my favorite neutral, OPI My Very First Knockwurst.  Once that had dried I mixed several colors of acrylic with lots of water and painted randomly on each nail.  Over the top I added one coat of Essie Pure Pearlfection for a little added sheen.

Easy as that!

 

Happy hump day and thanks for reading.  Toodles!

Purple Anyone?

My in-laws arrived on Saturday for the summer - they are staying with my SIL who lives three doors down from the fiance and me.  I am incredibly thankful to have in-laws that I like and respect - and they seem to like me too!  It's been wonderful to visit with them everyday, but truth-be-told I am most excited about having another set of fingernails to paint!

Today's look has lots of purple - if you have read my blog with any regularity you know that I LOVE purple.  Today I am featuring a bluish purple from the Essie Go Overboard collection. 

I started out with two coats of Essie Play Date on all of my fingers except my ring finger which got two coats of Zoya Tao.  Once that had dried completely I stamped all of my purple nails with Zoya Tao using the following plates - Mash-40, Bundle Monster BM-322, and Gals GA37.  Lastly, my ring finger was stamped with Zoya Dannii using Nailz Craze NC 02. 

This manicure came out more subtle than I was hoping, although a bit of subtlety never hurt anyone.  

Thanks for reading.  Toodles!

Wedding Idea #2

Holy smokes!  My wedding is coming up very quickly and I do not feel prepared.  Awhile back I posted another possible wedding manicure, and I figure it's time to start thinking about it more seriously, so here's another shot at it.

For whatever reason I've been terrified at the thought of wearing a color polish, i.e. not gold, silver, or white, for my wedding, that is until I tried a new-to-my-collection polish from Julep.  I used it in a manicure I did for my SIL last night and it was so beautiful that I wanted to cry - yeah, that beautiful!

I started with two coats of China Glaze Passion on all of my nails except my ring finger, which got two coats of Julep Julia.  I really wish the splendor of Julia showed up better in these photographs.  It is a deep aubergine with lots of golden micro-glitter and boy do those glitters shine!

I stamped all of my nails using Gals GA30.  Over the Passion I used Zoya Nimue, and over the Julia I used CG Passion.  I also added some dots with a dotting tool.

On a side note I have been on the lookout for a good gold stamping polish and have yet to find one that works well, including the "special polishes" from Konad.  To my absolute delight China Glaze Passion worked great as a stamping polish.  I will definitely keep it in my stamping arsenal from now on!

Thanks for reading!  Toodles!

Spring Color Block

Here is another manicure from the archives.  Color blocking has been a trend in fashion for several years and I have seen some amazing color blocked nails on the nail blogs that I frequent.  Here is my take on the look.

I started with one coat of Zoya Jacqueline on all of my nails.  Once that had dried I used striping tape to create the color blocks.  I then used the following polishes to fill in each block: Essie Pilates Hottie, Essie Maximillian Strauss-her, and Essie Eternal Optimist.  Remember when using striping tape to pull the tape off right away before the polish has had time to dry.

Thanks for reading.  Toodles!

Purple Stuff

This is a manicure that I did quite a while back.  I just stumbled across it when I was organizing some files, and I'm so glad I did cause this one is super cute - if I do say so myself.

I started out with two coats of Zoya Marley on my thumb and index finger, two coats of Essie Big Spender on my middle and ring fingers, and two coats of Zoya Monica on my pinky.  The cutie-patootie snail stamp is Pueen stamping plate 20.  I finished off my middle and index fingers with two coats of I <3 Nail Polish Purple Stuff.  And a few rhinestones completed this manicure.
 

I have been enjoying swatching new collections for posts, but I'm ready to get back to some fun, creative nail art!

Thanks for reading.  Toodles!

Zoya Summer 2013 Stunning Collection

It's time for me to show you all another new collection from Zoya.  The Stunning Collection is all about brights - saturated, yummy, bright creams.  A few of the colors have a very subtle silver shimmer that is barely visible in the bottle and not at all visible once on the nails. 

First up is Darcy -  a bright, sunny yellow.  This shade is quite sheer and applied very streaky.  I am showing four coats here - I really felt it needed another coat, but five coats is just crazy.  Who has time for that?  That being said, I really do like this color.  

Thandie is a bright, almost neon, red-orange.  This color is more saturated than Darcy and only required three coats.

Micky is a bright cotton candy pink.  Yes, please!  Two coats were enough for full coverage.

Yana is a bright magenta pink.  I am so in love with this color.  Like Micky two coats were plenty for full coverage.

Rocky is a bright Robin's Egg blue.  I am typically not a fan of blue, but this one has officially won me over.  Two coats are shown here.

Last, but certainly not least is Josie.  This color has me doing back flips (not really, but I would if I could).  I've always been a fan of green, but it's rare that I find a green polish I really love.  The creamy-ness of this green makes me very happy.  Two coats shown.

The next Zoya I have to show you is the sister collection to Stunning - Irresistible.  Keep your eyes open for that post late this week.

Thanks for reading.  Toodles!

 

Muppet Nails

For those of you who are keeping track today is supposed to be Inspiration Thursday, but alas, I do not have a manicure to show today that was inspired by anything other than the craziness that is my mind. 

From thumb to pinky I polished my nails with the following China Glaze polishes: Happy Go Lucky, Four Leaf Clover, Flyin' High, Spontaneous, and Heli-Yum.  I then stamped using Cheeky CH-32 with Konad White.

I may be a little MIA in the coming days, but don't take it personal; the 'big' move is upon us, a.k.a. moving truck and lots of heavy lifting.  I hope my nails survive!

As always, thanks for reading.  Toodles!

Silver Lining

I have been doing so much swatching lately that I had forgotten how much I love to lose myself in the creativity of nail art.  This manicure was time consuming and involved a lot of steps, but it was worth the effort!

The first step was to paint all of my nails with one generous coat of Zoya Kristen.  This step provided a good base for the next step, which was sponging.  Once Kristen had dried completely I used small pieces of makeup sponge to create a gradient on each nail with Zoya Carly and Zoya Zuza. 

The result of the sponging was quite beautiful, but I resisted the urge to stop there and continued on to step three...

After the sponging gradient had completely dried I used striping tape to create patterns on my thumb, index, middle, and pinky nails.  While I did do a gradient on my ring finger I ended up painting over it with Zoya Trixie and finishing it with a top coat of Purple Stuff from I <3 Nail Polish.

Once all of my nails had been taped to my satisfaction I painted them over with a coat of Zoya Trixie.  As I painted each nail I immediately removed the tape - if you wait too long to remove the tape it can and will cause some of the top coat to peel away and leave you with wonky lines.  Boo, for wonky lines!

Speaking of wonky - something went a bit wonky on my thumb, but I think it still worked out quite well.

Like I said before this manicure required a lot of time, but I did get a lot of joy out of it so the reward was well wroth the work.

Thanks for reading.  Toodles!

Framed

Happy Monday, Ladies!

I don't know what possessed me to pick this combination of colors, but I am completely in love with this manicure!

On my thumb, index, and pinky fingers I started out with two coats of Essie Eternal Optimist.  The stunningly awesome green is OPI Don't Talk Bach to Me.  And the yummy cookies and creme polish is Hard Candy Cocoa Smore.  Last but not least I used Bundle Monster BM-320 with Konad White to stamp my index, middle, and pinky fingers.

 

Don't Talk Bach to Me is one of my favorite polishes - it's such a funky-monkey green, which makes me love it all the more.  And it really does go well with so many colors.  I am officially in love.

Thanks for reading.  Toodles!

Zoya Summer 2013 Pixie Dust Collection

Zoya has launched three beautiful collections in the last month or so.  As a result I have lots of swatching to show you guys!

Today I have for you the Zoya Summer 2013 Pixie Dust collection.  I have been in complete lust with the last Pixie Dust collection, which I swatched for you here and here.  I was beyond thrilled when I heard Zoya would be releasing another collection of Pixie Dust colors.  As always the texture is totally fab and the sparkle is amazing.

This time around I also swatched each color with a top coat of Seche Vite so you can see how it looks as a textured matte polish, as it is intended to be used, but also with a high shine finish, which makes these bold colors even more spectacular.

...enough talking and more swatching!  Without further ado here is the Zoya Summer 2013 Pixie Dust Collection!

 

Are they awesome, or are the awesome?

First up is Solange.  This color is a bright yellowy gold with great opacity and lots of sparkle.  I am showing Solange with two coats here, but the opacity is so great that I could have gotten away with just one coat!  

Below I am showing Solange with one coat of Seche Vite on top.  This photo does not pick up much difference in the two applications, which is mostly due to the fact that I only used one coat of Seche Vite - these textured polishes are so textured that you really need at least two coats of top coat to get a smooth finish.

Next up is Beatrix, a yummy candy orange.  Beatrix is not as opaque as Solange and therefore required three coats for the opacity seen here.  In the image below I am showing Beatrix with two coats of Seche Vite on top.

Destiny is a very bright, almost neon, orangey-red.  In person Destiny has a lot of orange shift, unfortunately I really struggled to get the orange to show up in my pictures - just use your imagination. :-)  For the opacity shown here I applied two coats, but much like Solange I could have easily gotten away with a single coat!

Miranda is hands down my favorite color in the Pixie Dust collection - it is a very sophisticated raspberry-red.  Miranda is rather sheer and therefore required three coats for the opacity you see here.

While I love the texture and sparkle of Miranda, I also love, I mean LOVE, this color with a top coat.  The high shine finish really brings out the dimensionality, sparkle, and saturation.  Y-U-M-M-Y!

A close second to Miranda is Stevie.  As I've made painfully obvious by now, I LOVE purple and this one is no exception.  Stevie is also quite sheer and required three generous coats for the opacity seen here.

Much to the chagrin of my future husband I have little to no love for blue - I don't know why, I just find it to be maddeningly boring.  While I can't say I am head over heels in love with Liberty it is a lovely color with lots of eye catching sparkle.  I am showing two coats here.

With a top coat Liberty reminds me of that electric blue WRX my fiance points out every time we cross its path.  There is nothing outright offensive about this color it just doesn't do anything for me, but put me to sleep.  Despite my harsh judgements Liberty is a lovely color of electric blue with just a touch of green.

A note about Seche Vite: I have been using Essie Good to Go as my preferred quick-drying top coat for quite some time, but it seems as though all the cool kids (other nail bloggers) favor Seche Vite.  A few days ago I was browsing the nail aisle of my local drug store when I stumbled upon the familiar Seche Vite bottle and decided to give it a try. 

Seche Vite is indeed quick drying and offers a somewhat high-shine finish, but I will be sticking with my beloved Good to Go.  Seche Vite lacks the uber high shine that Good to Go offers and it smells very offensive to me.  My newly acquired top coat will quickly find a new home with my lucky niece who gets all of my extras and rejects.

Which of the Zoya Summer 2013 Pixie Dust polishes is your favorite?  Will you be running out to buy one or more tout de suite?

Thanks for reading and happy Sunday, lovely Ladies!  Toodles!

A Wednesday Affair

As you all know today is Wednesday so i figured this manicure was appropriate.  I also have a cat named Wednesday, for those of you who don't know.

Zoya Wednesday is the luscious turquoise-y green I used on my thumb, index, middle and pinky fingers.  Two coats was more than enough for the opacity you see here.  Three coats of Zoya Godiva added some sparkle to my ring finger.

I used Konad White  to stamp my thumb, index and pinky fingers using Cheeky CH1.  On my middle finger I used Bundle Monster BM-322.  As a finishing touch I added turquoise rhinestones to each bow.

This manicure is a little more cutsie than what I usually sport, but I really enjoyed wearing this look and it garnered lots of compliments - nothing wrong with that. ;-)

...and for good measure here are a few pictures of my adorable Wednesday.  Couldn't you just eat her up?

Happy Wednesday, Ladies.  Toodles!

Nude Feather

This is another manicure I did using the beautiful plates I recently received from Nailz Craze.  I own something like 12 sets of plates but none of them have a nice feather - what's up with that?  But now I have a feather that is super beautiful and can be used in so many different ways.

For this manicure I started out with two coats of Essie School of Hard Rocks on my thumb, index and pinky fingers, and two coats of OPI My Very First Knockwurst on my middle and ring fingers.  I then stamped using Nailz Craze plate NC01, and adorned some of my nails with black metal studs.

Spring is finally starting to make an appearance here in North Dakota, which means I've been spending more time outside with my nieces and nephews.  I still really enjoy the winters here, but I also appreciate some warmth and sun from time to time.

I hope everyone is enjoying the spring weather!  Thanks for reading.

Toodles!

Paisley Party

I saw someone use this paisley stamp several months back and I immediately knew I HAD to have it.  I finally received it a few weeks ago and had so much fun playing with it.

Along with being a HUGE fan of purple I also love my greens, especially the soft blue-y tones.  One of my all time favorites is OPI Thanks a Windmillion (some say it's blue but I am steadfast in my conviction that it is green).  When I saw that OPI had a similar tone by the name of Mermaid's Tears I knew it was kismet - as some of you may remember I posted a manicure by the same moniker a few months back.  Coincedence?  I think not - destiny it is!

My thumb and index fingers are polished with two coats of Zoya Malia.  I then stamped these two fingers using Bundle Monster plate BM-315 with Konad White and OPI Russian Navy.

My middle, ring, and pinky fingers are polished with two coats of OPI Mermaid's Tears.  I then stamped these two fingers also using Bundle Monster plate BM-315 with Zoya Malia, and Zoya Carly. 

Because I can't resist the use of a rhinestone I placed an ovular pink one on my ring finger.  In hindsight I wish I had skipped the rhinestone, but hindsight is 20/20, or something like that...
 

I consider myself to be somewhat computer savvy but internet savvy I am not.  While this blog is really just a fun way for me to share my hobby with friends and family I also wouldn't mind building my readership, but promoting my blog is not something I have the first clue about - but along came Reddit Laqueristas.  The first day I posted on Reddit Laqueristas my page views skyrocketed!  For those of my readers who can't get enough of all things polish, you really should check out this subreddit.

Happy Monday, Ladies!  Thanks for reading.  Toodles!