Go Pink Wednesday

I'm back again today with my late Go Pink Wednesday post. This is the last installment from this challenge showing support for National Breast Cancer Awareness month which was during October.

For the last day I am giving another go at doing an ombre manicure. The first Go Pink Wednesday, Mandy, from Chameleon Stampede, did a seamless pink ombre manicure that I absolutely loved. Ombre is really big right now and I dig it on nails.

red to pink ombre

Zoya Sooki ombre

I only used 2 colors for this manicure; ZOYA Sooki and WETnWILD French White Creme. I mixed the red with the white for varying shades.

I had fun doing this challenge. My grandmother died from breast cancer before I was born. It's amazing how much world-wide support there is now to fund research that has saved thousands of lives. There is so much information out there and resources to help empower women to take control of their health and detect any possible problems early. The Susan G. Komen foundation website is a great start for those seeking any information or which to find out how to get involved.

October may be over but as women we should all help spread knowledge and information all year round. Thanks for popping in!

Go Pink Wednesday - Matte Ombre Gradient

Happy Wednesday! October is National Breast Cancer awareness month and to show support I am blogging pink for Go Pink Wednesday. Of course, this is the 4th installment of this so most of you already know. (:

I sort of mushed a bunch of different styles together for this manicure. I have a pink to red ombre sponged gradient style and topped with my BL Matte Top Coat.

pink ombre gradient featuring ZOYA Sooki

pink ombre gradient featuring CG Go Go Pink

pink ombre gradient featuring ZOYA Kimber

I started with CG Go Go Pink as my base color and then sponged on ZOYA Kimber in the middle then ZOYA Sooki on my tips. When my polish was dry I topped it with my Butter London Matte Finish Top Coat.

If you are wondering if there is anything you can do to help raise money for Breast Cancer Awareness then the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure might be just the thing for you. This race is an international success helping to raise money to battle breast cancer. You can participate in a race or simply pledge your support for someone who is. To find a race near you check out this Susan G. Komen website.

Thanks for popping in and help spread awareness.

ZOYA Pink-Red Ombre

Good evening all. I was in the mood to be colorful today so I decided to try for my first ombre manicure. I chose to use only Zoya polishes. Although I have more Zoya than any other brand, I guess I don't quite have enough for a 5-shade ombre manicure. Well, I DO, but it's a bit of a jump. Jessica suggested I could have simply mixed white with one or more of the shades for an in between color, but this gal didn't consider that when I was painting.

Sooki, Tosca, Kate, Poppy & Melanie

Zoya ombre mani

I really like ombre manicures, I'm not sure this one hit the mark for me, but I would try it again. I might need to get into my sister's stash to make it work. Also, that photo is a prime example of why I always take my pictures outside, the lighting in my house is terrible! Kate (middle finger) is not that red at all. Although, I dig the shot of my bottles on the black glass.

I love all of these colors though so I'm not completely bummed with how it turned out. Have you tried out an ombre mani? I feel like it's harder than it seems to make it flow cohesively.

I'm debating participating in my first nail challenge for Halloween. What do you all think? Could this come and go blogger pull it off? Maybe it's the kick in the butt I need to dedicate myself to my blog more. 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!

Do You Believe in Magic?

Good morning, ladies! Well, good morning if I wasn't feeling all stuffed up and meh. My husband made me some tea this morning and we bought cinnamon bagels from Panera yesterday for breakfast today so that was most enjoyable.

Today I have some nail art for you that I'm entering in a contest being held by Lindsey at Neverland Nail Blog. Her blog is incredible and if you haven't checked it out before you should do so! The theme for the contest is "Do You Believe in Magic?" I decided to go with a Magician themed nail falling under the slight of hand category.

Colors used:
   ● ZOYA Sooki - 2 coats thumb & pinky, Ace of Diamonds
   ● CHINA GLAZE Liquid Leather - magic hat, wand, Ace of Spades, bunny accents
   ● CHINA GLAZE Snow Globe - 1 coat Pinky
   ● JULEP Emilie - 2 coats ring, middle and pointer
   ● FINGER PAINTS Papier Mâché - white on all nails
   ● OPI Skull & Glossbones - thumb magic hat accents
  ** I mixed a bit of Sooki and Papier Mâché for the pink on the bunny

So, on my nails I have a magician's top hat and wand, 2 playing cards and the bunny that comes out of the hat. I added a gold star to the top of the wand which I adore. I freehanded all of these with my brand new art brush I picked up yesterday from Michaels for $4. I am so happy with this mani, I think it's so fun! I hope you like it too.

new art brushes, yay!

Thanks for popping in!

Tie-Dye Accents

Happy Saturday, ladies!

I am loving this weather! I can't say the same for my 2 siberian huskies though who much prefer the cold and snow.

We did take them down to the Boardwalk though which they enjoyed. There were LOTS of huskies out that day!

Dpow is on the left & Amoki is on the right

Aren't our babies gorgeous?! Ok Ok, enough of being one of those people who fawn over their dogs...we have nails to discuss!

So, I did end up adding that nail art to Lemon Fizz yesterday. I'll jump right into it and show you because it makes me happy!

Isn't it PSYCHEDELIC?! I used this great tutorial. This look is achieved by gently dragging a small pin or needle through your still wet polish. I must have done mine a bit too hard because instead of smearing the colors it revealed the white underneath, but I still LOVE this. It's so fun and I remember making tie-dye shirts when I was younger. I did a small change to the base polish by removing Lemon Fizz on my thumb and ring finger and replacing it with China Glaze Papier Mâché to give myself a good base to make the colors for the tie-dye really pop.

Lemon Fizz & Papier Mâché

Colors used for tie-dye in order of use:
● FINGER PAINTS Papier Mâché
● CHINA GLAZE Lemon Fizz
● SALLY HANSEN XTREME WEAR Sun Kissed (150)
● JULEP Cameron
● ZOYA Sooki
● JULEP Anne
● CHINA GLAZE Frostbite
● CHINA GLAZE Holly-Day
● Topped off with Seche Vite

I definitely plan on trying this pin dragging art again. I think the look it makes is fabulous.

Well, thanks for popping in and enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Pac Man

Sarah over at Chalkboard Nails is hosting a nail art competition with a Dotting Tool theme. It is her first nail art contest and it's sponsored by InLinkz. I had a couple of different ideas of what I wanted to do, but after some debate and asking my husband for his opinion, I decided on a dotted Pac Man theme. I used a medium safety pin for the dotting.

First off, my inspiration photo for this mani:

photo is also a link to the original website

These are the colors I used in this mani:

Final nail art result:

waka waka

I apologize for the photo quality. It was dark and raining by the time I finished and the lighting in my house is less than flattering. I wanted to keep to the dotting tool theme, so instead of filling in my Pac Man and the ghosts, I left them spotted. I also added the cherries to my pinkie that Pac Man eats.

I hope you like it and if you haven't entered into Sarah's contest yet, you should! You can find the entry post here. Have a great evening! :-)

Santa is Coming to Town

Christmas is just around the corner and the big man is a'comin! Santa Claus has to be one of the most iconic figures associated with any holiday. So, in true Christmas spirit, I did full Santa nails! Unfortunately, I have to admit, they didn't turn out exactly as I was picturing. All in all though, it's still cute and festive enough.

I used the following colors topped w/ Seche Vite:
     • Zoya - Sooki
     • China Glaze - Liquid Leather
     • China Glaze - Go Pink
     • Finger Paints - Paper Máché
     • Essie - Allure

So yeah, my pointer got a bit mussed up because I had to clean up a major polish spill! Merry Christmas, ladies!

First Christmas Mani of the Season

'Tis that time of year again! All of my decorating is done and I am definitely high on Christmas spirit! I don't know about you, but I am a sucker for holiday decorating! The only problem now is to stop my dogs from stealing ornaments off my tree!!! Speaking of my dogs and my decorating, here is a quick pic of one of my favorite Christmas decorations! The reason should be self-explanatory.

I love my huskies!

So today's mani is a candy cane inspired theme. It's not perfect because I was free handing it on about 2 cups of coffee, but I am still pleased with the results. I love trying new nail art, especially holiday art.

my snowman salt shaker from Khols

For this, I started with 2 coats of Finger Paints: Paper Mâché then using an art brush I free handed the green and red stripes with China Glaze: Holy-Day and Zoya: Sooki topped with Seche Vite.

As an early Christmas present to myself, I ordered my first stamping plate off amazon. I can't wait to try this out and get my festive nail on!

Well, enjoying my stripes for now but always thinking about what I want to try next! MERRY CHRISTMAS to all!!!