Red, Orange & Yellow + Crackle

Hello, lovelies. I hope you are all having a fine and dandy Friday.

Last night I painted my friend Stephanie's nails. I  sponged on an orange, red & yellow gradient which I topped with a black crackle (China Glaze Black Mesh).

Yellow, Orange & Red Gradient

Black CG Crackle on top

Colors used:
   • CHINA GLAZE Lemon Fizz
   • CHINA GLAZE Black Mesh
   • SINFUL COLORS Ruby Ruby
   • SALLY HANSEN xTREME WEAR Sun Kissed 150

Who says crackle has come and gone, pssh. Granted I do not see myself picking up any new crackles at this point in time, but that doesn't mean I can't still enjoy the ones I have! I've done Melissa's (my other sister) nails with crackle and she really liked it too.

Thanks for popping in!

CHINA GLAZE Innocence

Good afternoon, ladies! I hope you all had a relaxing weekend. Guess what movie comes out this weekend?! Magic Mike! I am trying to plan a trip to visit my sister, Jessica, in Maryland so we can see it together.

Today's NotD is CHINA GLAZE Innocence. This was an impulse grab from CG's selection of stock colors at my Sallys. I grabbed it because I have been hankering for one of the OPI Ballet polishes and this looked like the next best thing and was right in front of me. I am super glad I grabbed it, I love this color. I have it on my toes right now too as a base color to a french pedi. My husband came home today and I was trying to show him my freshly painted nails and he just said, "I don't see anything. It looks like your nails." That is what I love about sharing my polish with you girls who can appreciate it!

Ok, enough gabbing. Innocence is a milky pink, very sheer cream that wants to be a jelly. It has a thin formula but yet it applied beautifully. It was very easy to work with and not the least bit of streaking. For a sheer polish that is great! I had a VNL after 2 coats, but because it's a sheer color I don't mind at all. You could layer on some more polish if you wanted a less noticeable VNL I imagine. 

Innocence - Direct Sunlight

Innocence - Shaded Natural Light

CHINA GLAZE Innocence

I don't know if you can pick up what I meant by wanting to be a jelly in the second photo. It almost to me has a borderline shiny squish to it. I love it. I think Innocence was a great name for it as well. I love the delicateness of a great sheer polish. It makes you look fabulously chic without having to make a statement. Don't get me wrong, I love a good bright color and glitters too! It just depends on my mood. Today I wanted a relaxed look.

What is your favorite sheer polish?

Thanks for popping in!

CHINA GLAZE Sun-Kissed

It's the first weekend of summer! I decided to go BRIGHT to celebrate. I chose Sun-Kissed from the China Glaze Summer Neons Collection. If ever there were a color that screamed summer, this highlighter yellow would be it. It has some green undertones to it and a beautiful and subtle shimmer. The shimmer for me is what drew me to this color. The formula was super easy to work with and it dried quickly. I did 2 coats and topped with Seche Vite. I took all photos in direct summer sunlight ;-).

Sun-Kissed

CHINA GLAZE Sun-Kissed

My only complaint about the color is that I think I might be a bit to fair-skinned to pull it off. It gave me lobster hand. It's certainly an appropriate shade for a summer neon though.

The name of this polish made me feel compelled to share this silly e-card I came across on Pintrest. Summer is the time for tanning, but beware of the fake'n'bake oompa loompa!

Thanks for popping in!

Butterfly Gradient Skittles

Welcome back, ladies! Boy is it HOT outside today. It's going to get even hotter as the week goes on for us here in VA. I decided on doing more nail art today. My last nail post I did ladybugs, today I have butterflies! This one is also a re-creation from a Pintrest find originally done by Beads. Nails. Food. Pairing the gradient with the butterfly look was so gorgeous I immediately bookmarked it in my head to do later. I have been getting a nice little collection of shimmer polishes so I decided to pair a shimmer with a corresponding color for my gradient. Lots of polishes and pictures for this one so hunker down there, girls.

Butterfly Gradient

butterflies and flowers (that's a Gerbera daisy from my garden)

Little Miss Amoki admiring Momma's nails from afar.

Dpow smelling the daisy

Skittle Gradients before butterfly-ification

Colors used:
   ● thumb: ZOYA Midori w/ ZOYA Ivanka
   ● pointer: ZOYA Arizona w/ ZOYA Myrta
   ● middle: ZOYA Lolly w/ ZOYA Kimber
   ● ring: ZOYA Robyn w/ ZOYA Charla
   ● pinky: JULEP Anne w/ ZOYA Zara
   ● KONAD Special Polish in Black
   ● White Acrylic

all the polishes I used for this look!

I told you I used a lot! It took a while to achieve this look. I started with 2 coats of each base color (the ones listed first under colors used) and let it completely dry. I then used a small makeup sponge and applied the shimmery colors (second colors listen under colors used) on the tips down partially to the middle of each nail. I let this dry and then applied Seche Vite. It helps to use a top coat before adding nail art so if you mess up it's easier to remove your mistake without mussing up your base color too much. After that was dried I used my small art brush and freehanded the black butterfly lines and then added the dots with white acrylic using my dotting tool. After the detailing was COMPLETELY dry, I topped once again with Seche Vite to smooth out the look and help make it last. When adding top coat over any sort of nail art be sure it's 100% dry. If it isn't, the drag from the brush can smear your work.

Phew! Hope you could follow all of that. I love my summer toes and nails! I kind of have a mixture of things going on here; skittles, gradient, nail art... :-)

Thanks for popping in!

MeMe

Hello, ladies! Popping in really quick to share something awesome with you.

Isn't this just the epitome of what we all feel inside? :-) Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Ladybug Toes

Thanks for coming back to see my nail art! It's toe nail art, but it's still cute. I came across the most adorable ladybug pedicure on Pintrest the other day and I HAD to re-create it for myself. Unfortunately because of all of the re-linking on Pintrest, sometimes the original link gets lost as with this photograph. So, I am so sorry I don't know who to give credit to. Here is my re-creation:

ladybug pedicure

Colors Used:
   ● SINFUL COLORS Ruby Ruby
   ● KONAD Special Polish in Black
   ● White Acrylic Paint

This is SO cute for summer, amiright?! I am super pleased with the results of my work and I love it. I first painted 2 coats of Ruby Ruby then using a small art brush I free handed the black half circles and line. With a dotting tool I added the eyes and black dots then after it was finished drying I topped with Seche Vite to smooth out the look.

I love jazzing up my toes because I usually can keep them the same for a few weeks.

Thanks for popping back in!

ZOYA Nail Mail

Wow! I can't believe that my "Take Three Free Zoya Pintrest Contest" trio is here already! That was quick. A few nights ago there was a code to use to get the 3 top picked colors from the Beach and Surf Collection from their pintrest contest for free, just pay shipping. There were 2000 codes available for use. The 3 top-voted colors were Kimber, Zuza & Myrta. I am psyched about Zuza & Kimber! I didn't personally vote for Myrta, I was hoping for one of the creams, but nevertheless at least I didn't already own it.

Zoya Nail Mail - Take 3 Free Pintrest Contest Trio

Myrta, Zuza & Kimber

Well this brightened my morning which was made irksome by the landscaping company that takes care of our housing community. Last year they "accidentally" dug out flowers I had around a bush because they "didn't see them"... right .... This morning I look out my window and all of my flowers are covered in debris from a tree they over-trimmed and a couple of them were smooshed! UGH! I had actually just trimmed that tree earlier in the week so all they did was make it look bald and muss up my garden in the process. I confronted a few of the workers and they told me they would clean it up and I told them to stay away from my flowers and I would take care of it because I didn't trust them not to do more damage. I was working outside when mail came so when I went back inside my new zoya package was sitting up against the door and it made me happy again. Oh nail mail, how you brighten one's day.

Check back in later today for some nail art I'm working on. Well, thank you for popping in!

ZOYA Bevin

Hello, girls! My June Birchbox has inspired me to go back and dig out a polish I received in my April box, ZOYA Bevin. I thought this was a pretty shade in the bottle and all, but I don't think I would have ever picked it out for myself. Well, I'm glad that it was picked out for me because I love this shade now that I'm wearing it.

Bevin is a dusty teal-ish sage green cream. It applied very easily and even in 2 coats. I think Bevin is a fun color for summer to take a break from the bright in-your-face shades with. It's also very similar to ZOYA Wednesday. I don't own Wednesday, but I have its color spoon to compare. While they are not dupes, they can seem more or less similar depending on the lightning. Bevin is a bit more deeper and leans more towards green where as Wednesday has a bit more blue to it.

ZOYA Bevin

ZOYA Bevin and Wednesday compare

Similar indeed. As far as stash size-control goes for me, I probably won't be picking  up Wednesday anytime soon. I do love the lighter look to it though... *sigh*

Enjoy the rest of your day and thanks for popping by!

June Birchbox 2012

Hello, lovelies. Today is another Birchbox day! I love Birchbox days! My June box has a "Jet Set" traveling theme. I am also very happy to finally receive a BB that does NOT have a perfume sample in it. I was getting a little bit sick of them tbh. Now, onto the goodies:

June 2012 Birchbox

LA Fresh Acetone-Free Nail Polish Remover Wipes

Kelly Van Gogh Hair Colour Protecting & Illuminating Tonic

Tili Bag

Clark's Botanicals Lip Tint & theBalm cosmetics lip and cheek stain

I just love those acetone-free wipes. They will be great to throw into my purse when I'm on the go. I also really love the Clark's Botanicals Ultra Rich Lip Tint. It has great, natural ingredients in it like shea butter, aloe, jojoba & coconut oils. It also smells great and has a neutral peachy color. The Stainiac in Beauty Queen by theBalm Cosmetics is a more reddish stain. I didn't like that it made my lips feel numb when I applied it and it also left them sticky for a bit. I do like the coloring it gives, but it had a bit of a splotchy look. I would probably choose to swipe some chapstick over it if I wore it out. The hair mist is a leave-in spray to make your hair shiny while also protecting from heat damage. The plastic bag is a cute nod towards the Jet Set theme as it can be used to store your cosmetics and travel essentials to make your trek through airport security fashionable.

I really liked this box even though it had 2 lip products in it. This works for me because even when I'm not wearing makeup, I'm grabbing something to apply to my lips. Right now my go-to is my lemon eos lip balm.

As always, if you would like to sign up for Birchbox here is a link for you to do so. There is a wait to sign up as BB is first-come, first-serve, but it will be worth the wait to get such great samples delivered to your door for only $10 a month.

Thanks for popping in!

COLOR CLUB Worth the Risque

Hello, girls. My little Game of Thrones group finally was able to catch up and watch the last 2 episodes of the season today. Hooray! And also boo that it won't be back for a year. I've read the first book in the series and it's time to start in on the second.

Jessica, my awesome and also polish addicted sister, gave me a great polish from her stash recently - COLOR CLUB Worth the Risque. Isn't she a great sister?! Worth the Risque was part of the 2009 Femme Fatale Collection from Color Club. She, don't mind that I am referring to my polish as a she..., is a silver holographic stunner. The formula was easy to work with and it was even after 2 coats. It sparkles stunningly in the sun and I am a HUGE fan of this color. I am digging the silver polish for sure.

I decided to drop the cursive font watermark and went with something easier to read. What do you think? All photos were taken in direct sunlight. Take a gander... (:

COLOR CLUB Worth the Risque

A girls gotta have some sparkle in her life. I suggest clicking the images to see it zoomed and really get a good look at the rainbow of colors shining through this silver.

Well, this polish sure makes me happy. Thanks for popping by!

Feather Nails

Hello fellow nail fanatics! What a beautiful weekend! The husband and I went out to Tropical Smoothie for lunch and picked up some things from Lowes. He is working on making me a really inconspicuous watering system for my flowers. What a great hubby. :-)

Today I decided to give feather nails a shot. I found this picture through pintrest and I loved it. I don't think mine turned out as great, but it was still something new to try. I had picked some feathers up from Michaels a while back and finally pulled them out to use. I did a base color of ZOYA Kennedy and then topped it with Seche Vite. I pressed on the feathers right after applying the top coat to act as adhesive. Then, I topped with another coat of Seche Vite to secure the feathers in place.

Trimming down the feathers was by far the hardest part. Mine kind of fell apart when I trimmed them and it was super hard to get it clean against my cuticles. I think some peacock feathers would be a beautiful option to try out on one's nails.

Have you ever tried feathers on your nails? What's your favorite funky nail trend?

Thanks for popping in!


* as a side note I wish I had chosen a deep brown color for the base.

Sirius Beauty Sonic Skincare System Groupon

Hey, girls! I'm popping in really quick to share what I think is an AWESOME deal with you. I'm sure you all have heard of, seen or already own one of those snazzy new facial wands. Well, for 1 day there is a great Groupon for the Sirius Beauty Sonic Skincare System. This retails at $49 a pop, but with this deal you can get it for $28.00 after shipping and taxes. I did a quick search on it the reviews and they were pretty solid. I snagged myself one of these babies and I am looking forward to trying it out when it arrives.

clicking image will direct you to the Groupon page

Thanks for popping by!

Orange Spring Tips

Hello, ladies. Summer is getting closer and the weather is getting hotter. Today I went with a bright orange tipped manicure. I think it's a fun play on the classic french that is perfect for Spring.

I started off with 2 coats of Essie Allure as my base color. For my tips I chose Zoya Arizona. Arizona is a fantastic sherbert orange cream. 

Zoya Arizona tips over Essie Allure - shade

Zoya Arizona tips - direct sunlight

To get that curved shape I used reinforcement stickers which I peeled off while the polish was still wet. If you wait until your polish has started to dry, the polish may peel off on the edge with the sticker.

The sun really brought out the milkyness of Allure, but indoors and in the shade it just has more of a great shine to it like the top picture.

I hope you all have a great rest of your day and thanks for popping in!