4th of July Mani

Happy Independence Day! I know my post is late. I was having a polish block. I didn't know what I wanted to do! I have seen so many great 4th of July manicures all over the place. I tried to do something cute to my toes and it ended up a horrible mess. So, I took a break and just recently finished up my manicure.

Of course my colors are red, white and blue. I went for an abstract star look. I started with a base coat of White On and then, using a small art brush, I did a rough freehand star-ish outlines.

4th of July abstract stars

Colors used:
   ● CHINA GLAZE Frostbite
   ● SINFUL COLORS Ruby Ruby
   ● SALLY HANSEN xTREME WEAR White On (300)

Very rough star-ish (emphasis on the "ish") outlines, indeed. Regardless, I think it's fun and patriotic!

I hope you all have a safe and fun holiday! HAPPY 4th OF JULY!

Thanks for popping in!

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!

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!

Red, White & Blue Stringy Mani

Hello my lovely readers. I am keeping with my Memorial Day Weekend theme and went with a patriotic Red, White & Blue manicure. I tried out a technique that is new to me and I really don't know what it's properly called. I am going to refer to it as a stringy mani, but I have also seen it called the "sugar spun technique" and simply a "slim line" mani. I came across this tutorial video through another blog, though I cannot recall whose. Manicurator's April Showers Brings May Flowers - Rainbowl is probably my favorite stringy manicure.

Colors used:
   ● ZOYA Tosca
   ● ZOYA Robyn
   ● FINGER PAINTS Papier Mâché

This was no quick and easy mani. It took a long time and I will let you in on a little secret - my right hand looks nothing like my left! Don't you hate when that happens? It looks more like a splatter mani. However, now that I've done it I can perfect on it! I love the look of stringy manis and I plan on using this technique again.

Thanks for popping in!

Memorial Day Weekend Pedi

Hello lovely readers. Oh my gosh is it a hot one today. Super sticky outside; I broke a sweat just watering my flowers!

To those of you who have foot aversions, this is a pedi post! You have been forewarned. I made my toes festive for Memorial Day Weekend with a traditional stars and stripes theme. Take a gander...

Colors used:
   ● ZOYA Sooki
   ● FINGER PAINTS Papier Mâché
   ● CHINA GLAZE Frostbite
   ● White Acrylic Paint

I started with a base coat of Frostbite on my big toes and white on the rest. Using my small art brush, I free handed the stripes in red and the stars in white acrylic. I used the acrylic for the stars because Papier Mâché is too thin to stand out against the bright blue Frostbite.

I hope you all enjoy your 3 day weekend with your loved ones. Remember to take a moment and remember those who have served or given their lives for our country and to honor those who are currently active duty. Send good vibes to their families as well whom they are separated from while on deployment.

Thanks for popping in!

ZOYA Tosca

Hello, ladies! It has been WAY too long since my last post. My own sister has been hounding me about how much I have been slacking. To get myself back in the groove, I indulged in Zoya's Valentines Day promo and got myself two gorgeous new shades, Tanzy and Tosca.

Tanzy & Tosca

While today's post is about Tosca, I thought I would show you Zoya's picture of Tanzy so you can get a better idea of the lovely color in that sparkly orange bottle. (from the Sunshine Collection)

                          

   

"Zoya Nail Polish in Tanzy can be best described as: Light, bright tangerine orange with yellow gold metallic sparkle.  A sunny orange that's easy to wear year-round." - as described on Zoya's website

I chose Tosca because I couldn't resist the golden shimmer that shines through like crazy from the bottle. I have read some posts where the ladies said once on their nails, Tosca's shimmer just seemed to blend into the color and didn't really shine through like in the bottle. I have to disagree. I can see the shimmer in this strawberry red and love it! I will admit it's much more apparent outdoors in direct sunlight, but it's has an elegantly understated shimmer indoors as well. Zoya labeled this one a metallic, but I think it barely passes because it's just looks so juicy in some of these pics. This is 2 coats sans top coat for once.

Look at the golden shimmer shining through the bottle

direct sunlight totally brings out the gold  shimmer

shade - can you believe this is without a topcoat?! 

uber juicy 

Don't you just love it? It applied amazing and was opaque in 1 coat. I added a second, but it really didn't change or add anything extra special. You could most certainly do a 1 coater of this shade. After taking these photos, I added a top coat to extend the wear of the polish.

As if I haven't spammed enough pictures today, I have another tidbit to share with you. I ran out to Target last night to replace my clean-up brush. I thought I would show you my favorite inexpensive brush.

I like the angle of an eyeliner brush the best. I feel it gives me a more precise end result along my cuticle.

So, do you love Tosca? Do you already own it? Are you a fan of the clean-up method or were you graced with a steady hand. I'd love to hear from you! See you next time.

Ring in the Red

Tonight I have one of the China Glaze Let it Snow Collection polishes to show. This one is Ring in the Red, a beautiful red sparkle. I have to say, I love love LOVE the Let it Snow Collection!

It took me 4 coats to achieve opacity with this one, but when I painted my second hand, I found I could achieve this exact same look with 1 coat over my Zoya Sooki red.  I'm sure any good red creame would work or, of course, you could use this as a one coat layer of sparkle to jazz up a normal mani! Another big thing would be a jelly sandwich. Just chose a nice, juicy color as a base with a layer of sparkle then top of with a 2nd coat of your jelly color. Sparkly, squishy goodness. Anywho, MERRY CHRISTMAS!