Ugly Manicure Monday - 11

Hi there!

This ugly manicure comes courtesy of Destany from Confessions of a Sarcastic Mom...

Essence - The Dawn Has Broken, Pure Ice - Superstar, and
LA Colors Art Deco - Black.

She was aiming to create retro black/white/grey flowers, but it turns out, they look more like the Iron Giant.

Thanks, Destany!

I like the idea and I can definitely see where you were coming from.

If you have an ugly manicure, I'd love to feature it! Email me with what polish you used and what you intended your manicure to look like :-)

Until next time...

Ugly Manicure Monday - 10

Hi there!

This ugly manicure comes courtesy of Stephanie at All Things Beautiful...

St. Patrick's Day nails.

She sponged a rainbow onto 4 fingers with Sally Hansen's Cherry Red, Essie's Vermillionaire, Color Club's Almost Famous, Spoiled's I Only Eat Salads, Sinful Colors' Why Not, and Color Club's Pucci-Licious.

After Stephanie was done sponging her 4 fingers, she thought she'd try something different on her thumb. A St. Patrick's Day leprechaun is fitting...

Milani - Hi-Tech.

... or is it? She said she ended up with the creepiest leprechaun ever, and she removed it just after snapping her photographs. She couldn't take him looking at her :-)

Thanks, Stephanie!

I like the rainbow sponging, but the leprechaun reminds me of Freddy Krueger :-p What do you think?

If you have an ugly manicure, I'd love to feature it! Email me with what polish you used and what you intended your manicure to look like :-)

Until next time...

Happy Green Day

Hi there!

I've been out of town meeting/visiting my new baby nephew. He's the cutest little thing I ever did meet! Anyhow, this is a water marble I did before I left town...

My nails water marbled with Julep - Leah and Emilie.

I painted my nails with 2 coats of Leah, then marbled with Leah and Emilie. I had some difficulty with this design because just as I was about to do my thumb nail, the heater in my house turned on and changed the room temperature quite a bit. It looks a bit blobby mid-nail, but I really don't mind it. Just keep in mind, room and water temperature matter when water marbling. I've found it works best with a room temperature of about 67-68°F and room temperature filtered water.

This design is also featured on Julep's blog if you'd like to check it out.

Whether you celebrate or not, I hope you have a happy St. Patrick's Day! Stay safe!

Until next time...

Ugly Manicure Monday - 09

Hi there!

This ugly manicure comes courtesy of Sarah at Samarium's Swatches...

Nubar - Toasted Marshmallow and A England - Princess Sabra.
Stamped with Bundle Monster plate BM209.

She painted 2 coats of Toasted Marshmallow and then stamped with Bundle Monster plate BM209 and Konad's special black polish. Once that was dry, Sarah used hole reinforcement stickers to create half moon shapes with Princess Sabra.

Based on the way the polish looked in their bottles, Sarah really thought they'd compliment one another.

Nubar - Toasted Marshmallow and A England - Princess Sabra.
Stamped with Bundle Monster plate BM209.

Thanks, Sarah!

I really like the look of Princess Sabra, but I think Sarah was right to submit this manicure! What do you think?

If you have an ugly manicure, I'd love to feature it! Email me with what polish you used and what you intended your manicure to look like :-)

Until next time...

Spring Watercolor

Hi there!

This is my take on a watercolor manicure...

My watercolor nails painted with Julep - Brigitte, Amy,
Anne, Taylor, and Dendrie.

I kind of got carried away with all of my spots, but I was just having way too much fun to stop!

If you want to recreate this design, you'll need a cap full of polish remover and an art brush. Follow these simple steps...

Step 1: Paint your nails white.
Step 2: Drop 3-4 dots of your first color onto your first nail.
Step 3: Dip your art brush into polish remover.
Step 4: Place your art brush into your dots of your first color and pat it around your nail.
Step 5: Repeat steps 2-4 on each nail with as many colors as you choose.
Step 6: Apply a top coat and you're done!

I submitted this manicure to Julep's blog... you can see that here if you'd like.

Have you tried this technique? What do you like/dislike about it?

Until next time...

OPI - Crown Me Already

Hi there!

I had so much going on when I wore this in December that I forgot to post it...

My nails painted with Nicole by OPI - Positive Energy and
OPI - Crown Me Already.

I painted 2 coats of Crown Me Already over 1 coat of Positive Energy to achieve what's pictured. Each polish applied easily enough... but if you have deep nail beds like mine, you might find trouble trying to get the glitter to stick near the cuticles.

Since I was out of town, I didn't have access to many of my polishes- just the few I grabbed on the way out the door. The next time I wear it, I think I'll have to try Crown Me Already over a blue base. If you own this one, do you wear it by itself or layer it? If you layer it, which base colors have you tried?

Until next time...

Ugly Manicure Monday - 08

Hi there!

This ugly manicure comes courtesy of Erika at Polish Fixation...

Maybelline - Peachy Petal and
Lynderella - Sweets to the Sweet.

Erika painted 2 coats of Peachy Petal and 1 coat of Sweets to the Sweet over the top. She said she thought the glitter would look good with the peach color, but she didn't realize how much of Sweets to the Sweet's white base would show through. She thought it might be more sheer if she applied it lightly, but instead, it ended up being cloudy and glue-like.

Here's a look at Peachy Petal by itself...

Maybelline - Peachy Petal.

Thanks, Erika!

I don't think this is necessarily a case of an ugly manicure... it's more so a case of an unexpected manicure. However, I do think it would look much better with a clear glitter base.

What do you think?

If you have an ugly manicure, I'd love to feature it! Email me with what polish you used and what you intended your manicure to look like :-)

Until next time...

Spoiled - Designated Driver and Mind Your Own Beeswax

Hi there!

Here are 2 of the yellows from Spoiled...

My nails painted with Spoiled - Designated Driver and
Mind Your Own Beeswax.
Designated Driver is painted on my pointer and my ring finger.
Mind Your Own Beeswax is painted on my middle and pinky finger.

I painted 2 coats of each polish to achieve what's pictured. Designated Driver is creme and opaque, while Mind Your Own Beeswax has a yellow shimmer and shows some visible nail line.

With some Pirate's Booty...

Spoiled - Designated Driver and Pirate's Booty.

I painted 1 coat of Pirate's Booty to achieve what's pictured. Pirate's Booty is a mixture of orange hexagonal glitter and yellow/gold flakes. Some of the pieces change to green in changed light.

Do any of these strike you as a must-have?

Until next time...

Purple and Gold Animal Print

Hi there!

The title is quite unique, right ;-p This is a quick manicure I painted and stamped with Konad...

My nails painted with Julep - Trina.
Stamped with Julep - Sienna and Konad image plate M78.

I painted 2 coats of Trina to achieve the base pictured. Though, I could have gotten the same result with 1 thick coat. I was kind of surprised to see how well Sienna stamped. This was my first attempt stamping it, and I had absolutely no difficulties. I added a coat of Seche Vite to top it all off.

Is this something you would wear?

Until next time...