Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Finger Paints Special Effects in Twisted

This is one of the new flake polishes from the Finger Paints Special Effects collection. This swatch is Twisted. It is my favorite because it looks like rainbows. I have three coats over black because I wanted it to be extra intense. Depending on how the sun catches it, the flakes sometimes looks completely green. They are available at Sally Beauty Supply for a limited time starting in January. I begged the associate to get them for me and she did.=]






Monday, December 26, 2011

Christmas/Winter Snowman

Here is a fun mani for Christmas. Background is China Glaze snow globe, the snowman and christmas trees are acrylic paints.





Friday, December 16, 2011

Christmas dry marbling with Zoya and Sinful Colors

I love marbling on nails. It's quick to do and you can't really mess it up. This is dry marbling, not water marbling, mind you! For these I painted a base of a pearly white by Sinful Colors called Tokyo Pearl. Then I put a blob of Zoya Ivanka near the cuticle, and then blobbed on Zoya Isla across the tips. Take a toothpick, needle, or marbling tool and make swirls through the polish.Clean any off that spills onto the sides. Wait a few minutes, put on a quick dry topcoat, and you are done!




Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Black and white circles

So I tried my hand stamping again. I have a hard time  with the full nail designs but most people don't notice my mistakes. I started with a white cream. Then I layered Essie Shine of the Times. It adds  a subtle orange and green sparkle which is hard to see in photos. I used Kleancolor  black for stamping and a Bundle Monster plate from their first set.




Monday, November 28, 2011

Tiger stripes and fun colors

Fun bright nails that are easy!  For these I used the China Glaze Tronica polishes.  Start with a silver base and then just dab on the other colors.  Then do a tiger stripe with a black striper or a small brush. The great thing about the Tronica polishes is that they dry pretty flat on top of each other. I didn't get a green or a yellow so I substituted something shimmery to fit in.

Friday, November 25, 2011

4th of July/Patriotic/Fireworks nail art

This is some fun nail art for any patriotic holiday. Start with a shimmering blue base and then paint some flags on your nails.  Oh and don't worry about being perfect.  No one noticed that they were not.  I got a lot of compliments on this.  A little advice, if you are using white acrylic paint and not polish, put a layer of clear before doing the dots and stripes.  It bled a little because of the polish.

The ring finger is an accent of fireworks.  Just draw some lines arcing out of the center to simulate the sparks falling to the ground.


Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Orange with black filigree

I don't have too much luck with stamping but this is one of my favorites. Shimmery orange with Kleancolor black for the stamp.


Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Black on gold splatter

Here is another fun splatter.  The gold is a franken. I started with a gold from Sinful Colors that was too sheer.  I just kept adding gold glitter to it until it was pretty opaque.  If you are not satisfied with your polish, don't be afraid to play around it to make it useable!




Monday, November 21, 2011

Blue & Black on Green splatter

Splatter manicures are fun and easy.  You should try one sometime! Paint your base and then pick a coordinating color or two.  Drop some of the polish on a sheet of plastic or paint pallette and dip a straw in it.  Then blow the polish onto your nail.

I started with a base of China Glaze Cha Cha Cha, then splattered on a black cream and China Glaze Frostbite for the blue.




Saturday, November 19, 2011

Easy sponge nail art with Snow Globe

Here is another simple nail art. Base coat, sponge on some fun colors, and cover with glitter!  I used China Glaze Snow Globe for the iridescent glitter top coat.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Neon orange with dots

Here is some simple nail art. All you need is a nail dotter!  I love easy designs like this because anyone can do them with a little patience.  I used a random orange cream and then acrylic paint for the dots.  Some of the bigger dots also have orange acrylic paint in the center of them to mix things up.



I like this picture so you can see my right hand. It is not perfect but it's not so glaring that people comment.


 





Friday, November 11, 2011

Harry Potter!

11-11-11.  The last Harry Potter is coming out on dvd.  HP is something I thought that I would never like that much.  I watched the first 4 and then just quit watching.  They were good but I wasn't crazy about them. I decided that I better watch the others before the Deathly Hallows part 1 came out in theatres.  Then I liked those so much that I read all the books in about a month.  Here is the manicure I wore to Deathly Hallows part 2.

This is done with the plastic bag technique.  Take a sandwich bag, do your designs on it, and then peel and stick onto wet polish.  I would of never been able to do the HP logo with my left hand.  With something I want to be recognized, I will revert to that technique.

So I have the logo, the deathly hallows, sword of Gryffindor & a broomstick, Harry's glasses and of course the Gryffindor G.

Oh and seeing as I live in FL, last year I had annual passes to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.  Well, they opened the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  If you are a HP fan, and are ever in Orlando.  YOU MUST GO!  It is so awesome. 

Here is a couple of photos so you can get just a small little taste of how cool the world is.



Okay.  Butterbeer is so delicious.  But, it is non alcoholic, and served cold or frozen!  Now, I know we are in Florida, but in the book it is warmed up. The best part of the drink is this one to two inches of white creamy super sugary caramel flavored stuff on top.  Overall it tastes kind of like cream soda, but I hate cream soda, so I'm not sure why I like this so much!  



This is the sorting hat inside Hogwarts right before you get on the ride.  He talks and sings and is generally all around awesome! Walking through the school is really neat but rather dark so it was hard to get photos because I only had my cell phone for pictures.  You get to see Hermione, Harry, and Ron as they sneak you out of class.  You get a visit with Dumbledore in his office.  You walk through the greenhouse and get a peek at the baby mandrakes.  It is just so fun to see everything! 


Here is the Hogwart's Express.  Just parked right in the middle of Hogsmeade.
Here is a wide view of Hogsmeade.  The shops are so fun to visit.  Ollivander's, the joke/candy shop, the three broomsticks, so on so forth.  Oh, and the women's bathroom!  Moaning Myrtle is played through the speakers talking to you.  It's too bad the bathroom isn't all stone.  It's a boring commercial bathroom.  Haha.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Welcome!

Hello all and welcome to my blog! I have been wrestling with the idea of starting one for a long time, and I said to myself, Whatever! If no one reads it, at least I will be able to look back on some of my favorite manicures. First case in point:


Sinful Color's Green Ocean over a black cream