2 Independence Day Manis!

Hi everyone! Despite having a yucky cold, I have managed to do two USA themed manis this week for Independence Day, I just haven't felt like posting them. And because I haven't felt well, here are two of the easiest festive manis I could come up with!

First up is a very simple nail art look utilizing the dry brush/distressed technique (as always, I will refer you to this tutorial by Chalkboard Nails). I started out with a base of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls (white) and then used OPI Coca-Cola Red (red) and American Apparel Lazuli (blue) for the brushstrokes. I finished it off by placing a piece of white star-shaped glitter at the base of each nail. Easy peasy. I say this all the time but it remains true...dry brushing is the simplest nail art out there and takes no time to do.

For an even simpler festive mani, try doing some accent nails. For this mani, I started off with Sally Hansen Pacific Blue, the good older version (because everyone is doing it! #savepacificblue). Then I used the perfect patriotic glitter topper, Shimmer Polish Nichole, over Pacific Blue for accent nails. Simple yet festive. You can't beat that!

Shimmer Polish is available from creator Cindy's Etsy Shop and you can find a tons of swatches on her blog of all of the Shimmer Polishes. Thanks for looking everyone! 

If you guys haven't gotten a bottle of Sally Hansen Pacific Blue (the good creme version, not the new shimmer version) comb your drugstores for a bottle before it disappears forever! 

So there you have it! Two very simple patriotic manis that require not special tools or skills! I hope all of my USA readers have amazing Independence Day celebrations (have fun for me because I will be stuck at work all weekend). Thanks for looking everyone!

An InLinkz Link-up

An InLinkz Link-up

Evolving Blue Mani

Hi everyone! Today I have a simple evolving mani for you. I started out with a base of American Apparel Lazuli and then added 1 coat of Darling Diva Polish Dreamy (a holo topcoat). Then, the next day, I added 2 coats of Dance Legend Sun Still Sleeps from the Candy Flakes line. Sun Still Sleeps is a little sheer, so I thought it would look best over a base color. It was opaque enough that it pretty much obscured any sparkle from underneath. Very pretty though!

Here is American Apparel Lazuli with Darling Diva Polish Dreamy alone. Dreamy is a linear holo topcoat that has several grades of holo pigment in it which gives it a more sparkly look. It isn't the most "in your face" holo topcoat out there, but I love it because it really lets the base color shine through instead of making it look greyed out.

American Apparel Lazuli is a cobalt blue creme. The formula wasn't bad, but it wasn't as nice as most of the other American Apparel cremes that I have. I found that the formula just behaved kind of strangely (hard to explain). It took 2 coats for full coverage. I also found it to be a touch stainy with my cuticles, but not the nail plate. It's one of the newer additions to their line, so it isn't a terrible choice if you are needed a cobalt blue creme, but I have others that I much prefer(Barry M Cobalt Blue, Nina Ultra Pro Cobalt). They aren't exact dupes of Lazuli, but they are in the ballpark.

Dance Legend polishes originate from Russia and you can order direct from their website (shipping took 2 months to get to me in the US from Russia, and I've heard that is about average). They are also available from Llarowe, Color4Nails, and Ninja Polish which all ship to the US and internationally. 

Darling Diva Polish is available from creator Carrie's Big Cartel Shop. Darling Diva Polish is also available from Llarowe. Follow Darling Diva Polish on Facebook and Instagram for updates on new collections and restock news. 

I use American Apparel polishes quite often, and I never brag about them enough. They have a fantastic range of cremes for reasonable prices. If you are looking to expand your creme collection, be sure to give them a look! Even though I wasn't a huge fan of Lazuli, their other cremes are worth picking up. My favorites include: Hassid, Poppy, African Violet (which is d/c unfortunately), Office, Angeline, Mouse, Berry, Port, Peacock, Passport Blue, and Malibu Green. 

Thanks for looking everyone!

30 Day Challenge, Day 19: Distressed Nails

Hi everyone! Today's 30 Day Challenge prompt was Distressed Nails. I created a distressed look following this tutorial from Chalkboard Nails. I used a white base and pastels to create a springy distressed mani. American Apparel Parakeet isn't really pastel when worn alone, but the distressed technique made it look more pastel for some reason (I guess because it uses such thin coats of the polish. )I've got a list of all of the polishes I used below.

 

L-R: OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, American Apparel Hassid, American Apparel French Lilac, American Apparel Parakeet, Wet n Wild Teal Slowly and See

 

Be sure to check out what the other ladies have in store for today! Thanks for looking everyone!

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30 Day Challenge, Day 15: Splatter Mani

Hi everyone! Today's 30 Day Challenge prompt was Splatter Mani. Now I'm going to be honest with you...I tried to do a splatter mani the regular way. It was such a mess! There was polish EVERYWHERE! I think, in the end, the straws I had were too big and thus instead of a niced splattered effect on my nails it was globs of polish. I will try again someday, but for today...we have the cheater's version of a splatter mani.

When Bundle Monster released their recent Create Your Own stamping plates, one genius person submitted a splatter image and it is on plate BM-416. I never thought this was such a big deal until I actually TRIED to do a splatter mani and saw what a huge mess it makes, so this image is perfect for a hassle-free splattered look. I used Zoya Blu (baby blue) for the base of my mani and then the stamping colors were Barry M Cyan Blue (bright blue), Barry M Blackberry (navy), and American Apparel African Violet (purple) (which is showing some signs of the original splatter mani carnage on its bottle). I stamped first with the purple, then the bright blue, then the navy, rotating my image and moving it around on the nail each time so that the patterns looked random. I feel like pictures made this look a little weird, but it looked awesome in real life!

Be sure to check out what everyone else is doing today! They probably did the real thing, but I still like my cheater's version. ;) Thanks for looking everyone!

An InLinkz Link-up

30 Day Challenge, Day 12: Ruffian, Half Moon, or Tips

Hi everyone! Today's 30 Day Challenge mani had to be a ruffian mani, half moon mani, or tips. I chose to do tips and decided to take a cue from one of my favorite nail bloggers ever, Erika from Chloe's Nails, and do a funky french. Erika would always do the neatest funky french manis, and very often she would do black tips. I looked back through her blog at her funky french manis, and she did black tips with holos and duo/multichromes a lot. I did a really simple funky french and used Different Dimension Tulips Are Better Than One with American Apparel Hassid on the tips. Tulips Are Better Than One is SO PRETTY but my photographs just don't do it justice. It has a purple base with shimmer that shifts from aqua/teal/pink. I used 3 coats for full coverage because it is a little on the thinner side, but it is totally worth it for that glowy shimmer. Check out these swatches by Cosmetic Sanctuary, Plump and Polished, and The Polishaholic to see all of the sides of this beauty (I can admit when a polish defeats me!).

Different Dimension polishes are available from their Etsy Shop as well as Llarowe (US), Mei Mei' Signatures (Singapore), and Rainbow Connection (UK). Follow them on Facebook and Instagram to see updates on restocks and new collections as well as to see lots of swatches.

Be sure to check out what the other ladies are doing for the challenge today! Thanks for looking everyone!

An InLinkz Link-up

30 Day Challenge, Day 8: Shades of Grey

Hi everyone! Today's prompt in the 30 Day Challenge is Shades of Grey. I knew right off the bat that I wanted to a twist on newspaper nails. I used Zoya Kelly (dark grey), American Apparel Factory Grey (medium grey), and OPI Skull & Glossbones (light grey) to do a saran wrap mani as the base. Then I tried to use the newspaper/alcohol trick, but I think my paper was old and the ink would barely transfer. I decided to instead use Pueen plate 53 (from their newer buffet plate set) which sort of gave the feeling of newspaper nails. That buffet plate set is really beautiful, so be sure to check out Pueen's shop if you are into stamping.

(as you can see I had to decant my American Apparel Factory Grey because the bottle broke.)

Here is the mani before the stamping with just the newspaper rubbed on. As you can see, it didn't transfer too well and is just barely there. It still looks pretty cool though. 

Be sure to check out what everyone else is doing for today! Thanks for looking!

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Loaded Lacquer Tropical Moment

Hi everyone! Today I have a polish from a new to me indie called Loaded Lacquer. I had seen their polishes on Instagram and I had to have a few! Loaded Lacquer has a nice variety of polishes with lots of chunky glitters and jellies. Today's polish comes from their newest release, The Hula Girl Collection.

Tropical Moment has a clear base packed with hot pink and gold flakes with some additional violet/gold shimmer. I layered 2 coats over American Apparel Angeline (medium pink creme) for this mani. The formula spread easily (despite being dense with flakes) and covered very well. It's very hard to photograph the flakies unless they are in the shade because they are very sparkly, so you will see I included several "shade" photos below. This is a very unique polish in my collection, and it is absolutely gorgeous. I have actually since seen it layered over darker colors on Instagram, and that brings out a whole new dimension of the polish.

Loaded Lacquer is available from creator Heather's online shop. Be sure to follow Loaded Lacquer on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram to see more swatches and for info on restocks and new releases. Thanks for looking everyone! 

Maybelline Nighttime Noise

Hi everyone! You might have noticed that I've been pulling out some older releases and department store polishes to post lately. I feel like I post indies indies indies all the time and I have so much more in my stash to share, so I want to diversify my content a bit. I also feel like I sometime ignore drugstore polishes, so I'm going to be posting more of those as well. Some of my favorite polishes are actually drugstore polishes, so don't ever think I don't love them. Pure Ice Heartbreaker, all of the LA Girl holos, and Sinful Hottie are some of my favorite polishes in my collection. Hopefully this will give you guys a break from the indie polishes and show you some things you can pick up when you are out and about!

I found a display of the Maybelline Color Show Street Art Collection at Rite Aid recently and I just loved the graphic look of them. I only picked up one to give it a try, but after using it I am definitely going back to pick up a few more of them. My pick was Nighttime Noise, a mixture of matte black and bright blue glitters in a clear base. I feel like this polish utilizes bar glitter in the most perfect way. It really accents the polish instead of taking it over, as I have seen bar glitter do in some polishes. I used 2 coats of Nighttime Noise over American Apparel Factory Grey. The formula was really great with good glitter payoff and even distribution without being too thick. It was almost good at one coat, but I decided to add a light second coat for just a bit more glitter. Isn't the final look striking?

To see all 5 shades from the Maybelline Color Show Street Art Collection, visit Maybelline's official site. I have seen displays for this collection around at different places, but I bought mine at Rite Aid for $3.99. Thanks for looking everyone!

Distressed Mardi Gras Mani

Hi everyone! I couldn't resist doing another Mardi Gras themed mani! This time, I created a distressed look (once again, following this tutorial from Chalkboard Nails), but instead of finishing it with black I used a foily gold. I started with a base of OPI Thanks a Windmillion. Then I used American Apparel African Violet and Orly Lucky Duck to add the distressed strokes. I finished it off by adding some distressed strokes of Zoya Peterhof Palace (aka Ziv). I thought it was such a lovely combo of colors and the gold topped it off perfectly.

Some fun with my new Olloclip! MACROS! *Cuticles blurred out for the safety of everyone involved.* Ain't nobody wanna see dat!

What do you guys think of extreme macro? LOL! I think it is going to be fun to use to pick up detail in finishes that my camera often fails at picking up. Thanks for looking everyone!

CrowsToes My Favorite Amazon

Hi everyone! I have been enjoying the Winter Olympics so much the past two weeks, so I decided to do a patriotic mani for Team USA! What better polish is there than CrowsToes My Favorite Amazon to make that happen! It has everything you need for a US Olympic mani: red, white, blue, stars, and even GOLD! Per usual, CrowsToes does her glitter bombs WELL. I used 1 coat over American Apparel Passport Blue for this mani (plus a small amount of dabbing in a few spots). I was careful to avoid the stars when applying the polish because I wanted to add them as an accent at the base of each nail. I thought it turned out perfectly!

 

 

CrowsToes polishes are available at Llarowe (US), Overall Beauty (US), Atouts Charme (France),Maria Gastadeira (Brazil), Norway Nails (Norway), Femme Fatale Cosmetics (Australia), and Rainbow Connnection (UK). Be sure to follow CrowsToes on Facebook and Instagram as well as on creator Lauri's Blog for all updates and details about new collections. Thanks for looking everyone!

*Product was a gift*

Peppermint Grunge

Hi everyone! I feel like I have been ignoring all of my cremes lately and I do enjoy using them for nail art so much! I've been overwhelmed with new sparkly colors so the cremes get forgotten. I saw a recent Grunge/Distressed nail look that Dani from Dani's Manis posted and it inspired me to give this look a try. As she did, I followed the wonderful (and easy!) tutorial from Sarah at Chalkboard Nails. Seriously guys...nail art doesn't get much simpler than this. If you are wanting to try some nail art but are nervous about messing up, this is the nail art for you. It is impossible to mess up! One tip I have to add is if you feel like you have gone a little heavy in one spot or another with your black, just dip a small brush in acetone and then dab it on a paper towel. Then lightly go over the area you want to fix with that brush and it will take off a little color and create brushstrokes there that just add to the distressed look.

For this mani, I started off with a white base (Sinful Shine in Wisp ). I then painted on streaks of pink (OPI Sparrow Me the Drama), green (Orly Lucky Duck), and red (OPI Red Hot Ayers Rock). Be sure to wipe off your brush on the bottle very well in order to get the wispy distressed look. Finally I topped it of with streaks of black (American Apparel Hassid). It was so simple and very quick to do. I have dubbed this mani Peppermint Grunge because the colors look like Christmas peppermints (the green ones are the best BTW...definitely not the red ones!) but...ya know...edgier.

So what do you think about the distressed look? I can't wait to try it out with different colors! Thanks for looking everyone!

Cupcake Frosting Nails. Just Because.

Ever get in the mood to do something super girly...and perhaps fit for a birthday party...for absolutely no reason? Happened to me. I rarely ever do stuff like this, but I was like...ooh...pastel pink and rainbow glitter...YES! I think I was longing for that OPI Breast Cancer Awareness polish from this year that I never found anywhere, so this idea was born. I used a base of American Apparel Coney Island (which is pretty, but the formula was streaky) and then I used Sephora by OPI Spark-tacular Topcoat on top. I will have to say...of the plethora of rainbow glitters that I have seen, Spark-tacular Topcoat is my absolute favorite. I think that the glitters are all perfectly sized (I like that a lot are smaller glitters) and there is also just enough silver glitter mixed in which I think tones it down enough that it looks lovely with pastels.

And then...I had to matte it...

Really though, if you are still looking for that perfect rainbow glitter, I highly suggest snapping up Sephora by OPI Spark-tacular Topcoat before it disappears forever. My second favorite is Confetti Tasmanian Devil so if you see that one at Rite Aid, it is also a good choice. I think the extra silver in those polishes is what makes me like them more than others. Do you have a favorite rainbow glitter? 

Thanks for looking everyone!