First Postpartum Manicure

Hi there!

While pregnant, I really had no desire to paint my fingernails. It wasn't because the smell bothered me... I just didn't care. I kept chopping them as short as I could get them, so even if I wanted to sport a somewhat creative manicure, I don't think it would necessarily look lovely.

My nails painted with Sinful Colors - Dark Room.
Stamped with Konad image plate M57
and Color Club - Halo-Graphic.

I painted 1 coat of Sinful Colors' Dark Room before stamping... and then I added a coat of Seche Vite. Even though they're short as can be, I don't think this manicure looks terrible. The holographic touch makes me happy :-)

And since I think I'm starting to care about nail polish again, I raided my local drugstore this past weekend...

The Rimmel polishes were $0.49 each and the Sinful Colors polishes were $0.99 each. Do you blame me? Most of the Sinful Colors polishes were originally $2.99.

Until next time...

Happy Birthday to Me

Hi there!

Today is my Birthday, and the is the manicure I'm rocking...

My nails painted with Color Club - Beyond and Halo-Graphic.
Holographic water marble manicure.

I painted 1 coat of Halo-Graphic and then I water marbled with both colors. Once I cleaned up around my cuticles, I added a coat of Seche Vite.

I can't help but be happy by this manicure and I can only hope the rest of my day is as awesome as it's been thus far :-)

Cheers to another year!

Until next time...

49ers Fishtail Braid Manicure

Hi there!

I'm really enjoying this manicure...

My San Francisco 49ers nails. NFL fishtail braid manicure.
Julep - Sienna, Glenn, and Johnny.

I painted 1 coat of Sienna to start... then I painted a stripe of Glenn, a stripe of Johnny, a stripe of Sienna, etc. until I was satisfied with the amount of stripes on my nails. I topped this manicure with a coat of Seche Vite.

Have you worn a fishtail braid manicure before? What colors did you use?

I will be posting more San Francisco 49ers manicure ideas over the next week. Click here to see what I've done so far.

Until next time...

49ers Splatter Manicure

Hi there!

I'm back just in time for the Super Bowl. And guess what!? The San Francisco 49ers made it!

My San Francisco 49ers nails. NFL splatter manicure.

I painted 2 coats of OPI's Danke-Shiny Red before splattering with Essie's Good As Gold and Wet n Wild's Ebony Hates Chris. I topped it with a coat of Seche Vite.

Splatter manicures can definitely be interesting. Look at what the gold did...

My San Francisco 49ers nails. NFL splatter manicure.

It completely missed my nail! ... But I think it looks neat :-)

Here's what my right hand looked like (sorry for the cell phone picture)...

My San Francisco 49ers nails. NFL splatter manicure.

I painted this manicure back in October when we went to see the Niners play at Candlestick Park. It was so much fun. We had the best seats anyone could ever wish for, and the 49ers won!

I'll be posting more San Francisco 49ers manicure ideas over the next week. Click here to see what I've done so far.

Until next time...

Black Friday

Hi there!

I decided to go very literal with today's manicure...

My nails painted with Sally Hansen - Black Diamonds.

I painted 2 coats to achieve what's pictured. It applied very easily, and I was surprised by its finish. In the bottle, it looks to be a black base with charcoal shimmer- that's how it looks in photographs as well... but in front of my face, I see holographic shimmer in addition to the charcoal/silver shimmer. It isn't enough to make you think "wow," but it's fun to look at :-)

So, if you didn't gather it by the title of this post, today is/was Black Friday where I live. While I surely don't agree with the fighting for parking spaces and good deals, I do like to participate in the tradition. It was always something to look forward to while I was growing up. My mom and I would wake up early to be at one of the nearby stores by 6:00am (back when 6:00am was early for stores to open). We'd find the items we wanted and then drive to another store for its opening. After that, we would always go out for pancakes :-)

This year, I went out with a friend of mine who had never experienced Black Friday shopping and its insanity. There was nothing I needed to purchase, but I wanted to go with her for the fun of it. It was surprisingly calm, and I ended up buying a sewing machine for myself. I didn't even know I wanted it until I saw it staring at me... but now that I have it, I don't know why I didn't get one sooner!

Do you have any Black Friday traditions? Did you go out shopping today?

Until next time...

Sally Hansen - Black Tie

Hi there!

I love this polish...

My nails painted with Sally Hansen - Black Tie.

I painted 2 coats to achieve what's pictured. It applied perfectly, and it's difficult to tell by the photograph... but it shimmers like crazy. It also shifts from dark green/black to purple. I was a bit weary of buying this shade when it first came out... but all of the hype got to me and I snatched one up before they were hard to find! I didn't think I'd enjoy the dark color... and I surely didn't expect the color to shift and shimmer so nicely. I'm glad I was wrong!

Until next time...

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...

China Glaze - Magnetix Collection

Hi there!

I've had these sitting around for a while and finally figured I should play with them- so here's a look at China Glaze's Magnetix collection...

China Glaze - Pull Me Close, Cling On, Instant Chemistry,
Drawn To You, Attraction, and You Move Me.
Magnetix Collection.

This collection consists of 6 darker, jewel toned polishes...

My nails painted with China Glaze - Pull Me Close.
Magnetix Collection.

My nails painted with China Glaze - Cling On.
Magnetix Collection.

My nails painted with China Glaze - Instant Chemistry.
Magnetix Collection.

My nails painted with China Glaze - Drawn To You.
Magnetix Collection.

My nails painted with China Glaze - Attraction.
Magnetix Collection.

My nails painted with China Glaze - You Move Me.
Magnetix Collection.

I painted 1 thick coat of each polish to achieve what's pictured- with the exception of Cling On and You Move Me. They are thinner formulas, so they needed a thin base and a thick coat to achieve what's pictured.

The magnet takes some trial and error to get used to. My favorite (and easiest to use) is the diagonal striped magnet. My least favorite side of the magnet is, by far, the starburst. As you can tell by my subpar pictures, it was much more difficult to line up on my nail. Oh well :-)

Are any of the polishes in this collection a must have for you?

Until next time...

Happy New Year

Hi there!

I hope you had yourself a safe and happy New Year!

We spent the evening with a bunch of my cousins. We all went out to dinner and then back home for games. We watched the ball drop at midnight, and then we played more games. Good times.

My fingernails sparkled like crazy...

My nails painted with Wet n Wild - Ebony Hates Chris
and OPI - Servin' Up Sparkle.

They sparkled much more than the picture portrays. The glitter in the bottle is more accurate!

Did you do anything special to ring in the new year? Do you have any unique resolutions? I can't seem to think of any I want to make for myself :-/

Until next time...

Kardashian Kolors

Hi there!

I noticed the Kardashian Kolors nail polishes last week, but I got side-tracked and forgot about them until today. The display was still fully stocked, so I picked up 4 colors... err, kolors...

Kardashian Kolors. Nicole by OPI - Disco Dolls, Wear Something
Spar-Kylie, Kendall On The Katwalk, and Follow Me On Glitter.

I painted 2 coats of each polish to achieve what's pictured.

• Disco Dolls is a light gold base with green, pink, blue, and silver hexagonal glitter.
• Wear Something Spar-Kylie is a pink base with pink glitter.
• Kendall On The Katwalk is a blue base with blue, green, and purple glitter.
• Follow Me On Glitter is a black base with silver, pink, and blue hexagonal glitter.

Do you have any of the colors from this collection? Which would you most recommend?

Until next time...

China Glaze - Ick-A-Bod-Y

Hi there!

I've got to admit that I bought this polish solely for its name and the hype surrounding it. I wasn't too fond of the color swatches I saw online- and I didn't think I'd like it in person, either. I was wrong...

My nails painted with China Glaze - Ick-A-Bod-Y.

... I'm kind of mesmerized by its finish :-) The formula is what you might expect from a glitter, but it doesn't feel annoyingly chunky/gritty on the nail. I painted 2 thick coats to achieve what's pictured.

Do you like this polish? Do you own it?

Until next time...

San Francisco 49ers Water Marble

Hi there!

Welp, football season is baaaaack! While I don't particularly care for the sport, I love the parties that come with it :-) My hunny poo likes that I support his love of the game with my nail art...

Red, gold, and black San Francisco 49ers water marble.
China Glaze - Red Pearl, China Glaze - Passion,
and Sinful Colors - Black on Black.

I painted 1 coat of Passion for the base. Then I marbled with Red Pearl, Passion, and Black on Black. I topped it all with a coat of Seche Vite.

Are you sporting a football inspired manicure?

Until next time...

A Haunting Admirer

Hi there!

These two polishes are pretty similar...

China Glaze - Haunting and Sinful Colors - Secret Admirer.

My nails painted with China Glaze - Haunting and Sinful Colors - Secret Admirer.
China Glaze is painted on my pointer and ring finger.
Sinful Colors is painted on my middle and pinky finger.

I painted 2 coats of each polish to achieve what's pictured. Haunting has larger, less dense flecks of silver in comparison to Secret Admirer. I think they're similar enough where you don't need both, but I can't recommend one over the other... I like 'em equally :-)

Until next time...

China Glaze - Haunting

Hi there!

This is from its namesake's collection...

My nails painted with China Glaze - Haunting.

I painted 2 coats for it to be opaque. Haunting was easy to apply, and it dried very quickly. It ties Ghoulish Glow for my favorite from the Haunting collection. The silver flecks really remind me of a starry sky... and it sure would have come in handy for my splattered fireworks manicure!

Until next time...

Splattered Fireworks

Hi there!

I forgot to post a picture of the manicure I did for the 4th of July. I had every intention of choosing one of the 7 ideas I had posted over the past week- but at the last minute, my neighbor's daughter ever-so-sweetly asked me to give her "firework nails." When I was finished, she asked me to make mine match. How could I say no?

Splatter manicure painted with Sinful Colors - What's Your Name.
Splattered with Color Club - Warhol, China Glaze - Kiwi Cool-Ada,
Sinful Colors - Summer Peach, and Sally Hansen - Blue Me Away!
Patriotic 4th of July manicure.

I painted 2 coats of What's Your Name for my base. It's a black polish with blue glassy flecks throughout. I wanted it to mimic the night's sky... and in the right lighting, I can really see it shimmer. I splattered my nails with halved regular drinking straws.

I used neons, so my manicure is much brighter in person than it appears in the picture. This is one of my horrible cell phone pictures, but I think it captures the colors more accurately...

This was my first time trying a splattered manicure. It was a lot of fun, and less time consuming than I thought it would be! It seems everywhere I go, someone either asks me to explain how I did it or they ask where they can buy nails like mine :-) I'll definitely be trying this again with different colors!

What do you think of this type of manicure? Have you tried it before?

Until next time...

A Shattered Space Case

Hi there!

Instead of removing them, I like to add to manicures when I feel they've run their course...

My nails painted with Color Club - Space Case and OPI - Black Shatter.

The glitter barely shines through, but I think the pink looks pretty against the black.

Until next time...

Pinky-Punky Water Marble Revamp

Hi there!

I decided that my manicure needed some pizzazz...

Pink, black, and silver water marble. Nicole by OPI - Positive Energy, Sinful
Colors - Black on Black, Sinful Colors - Cream Pink, Revlon - Silver Dollar.
Stamped with Konad image plate M3 using Konad's special black polish and Positive Energy.


I'm very satisfied with this new look!

What's your favorite way to revamp a manicure?

Until next time...

Pinky-Punky Water Marble

Hi there!

I wasn't planning on redoing my nails today, but I dumped all of my polishes out of their temporary storage so I could better admire them. That led to testing colors... which led to removing polish... which led to this...

Pink, black, and silver water marble. Nicole by OPI - Positive Energy, Sinful
Colors - Black on Black, Sinful Colors - Cream Pink, Revlon - Silver Dollar.

This was a rather difficult look to achieve. The polishes I used did not work well with eachother... they dried very quickly and they didn't spread well. I used...

Nicole by OPI - Positive Energy, Sinful Colors - Black on Black,
Sinful Colors - Cream Pink, Revlon - Silver Dollar, Seche Vite.

I painted one coat of Positive Energy to use as my base. I really recommend this silver. It's a nice metallic silver without any glitter. I believe it was Silver Dollar that didn't behave well. The flecks of shimmer throughout it seem to make it difficult- though it spreads over the water nicely and it's beautiful.

Until next time...

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream for Buddy

Hi there!

Some of you may have already read that we lost our puppy, Buddy, this past week.

His favorite treat was mint chocolate chip ice cream (minus the chocolate). He went nuts everytime I opened the freezer. He also loved my peppermint chapstick.

I was inspired by him ♥

I used China Glaze's Re-Fresh Mint for the base coat and a layer of OPI's black shatter over the top. I used Seche Vite's top coat.

Seche Vite, China Glaze - Re-Fresh Mint, and OPI - Black Shatter. 

Here's the final result!

My nails painted with China Glaze -
Re-Fresh Mint and OPI - Black Shatter.

It makes me smile when I look at my nails.

As far as the application goes, the green went on quite streakily. I used 2 coats and left it at that because I anticipated hiding it with the black shatter.

What food would you like to be inspired by?

Until next time...

Pink Leopard

Hi there!

I wasn't too fond of yesterday's manicure, so I decided to jump on the "pink Wednesday" bandwagon.

I used China Glaze's Ahoy! for the base color and Konad's special black to stamp the design with Konad image plate M78. I also used Konad's top coat.

Konad special black, Konad top coat, double
sided stamper, China Glaze - Ahoy!, scraper, M78.

Here's the final result!

My nails painted with China Glaze - Ahoy!
Stamped with Konad plate M78.

I'm kind of in love with this design. And if you look closely or enlarge the picture, you can see the pink sparkles in the polish.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I do :-)

Until next time...