OPI - Alpine Snow

Hi there!

I'm actually still wearing my Autumn Breeze manicure, believe it or not. I caught myself a nasty case of the flu and I haven't felt like changing my polish over the past week. It's now dwindled itself down to an annoying cough, so browsing unposted manicures wasn't unbearable...

My nails painted with OPI - Alpine Snow.

I painted 2 coats to achieve what's pictured. I typically wear this polish as a base for nail art, but it's also great by itself. If used as a base, I paint just 1 coat- it still applies opaque enough to provide a decent canvas for water marbling, sponging, splattering, etc.

What's your favorite white nail polish? I've tried so many, but my favorites have to be Alpine Snow and Julep's Brigitte.

Until next time...

Patriotic Week - Day 4

Hi there!

I simply couldn't go through a week of ideas without a water marble...

My nails painted with China Glaze - Hey Sailor, Sky High-Top,
and NYC - French White Tip. Water marble.
Patriotic 4th of July manicure.

I painted 1 coat of French White Tip and then water marbled with all 3 colors. This manicure was tough to achieve- the weather isn't the best, and it was rather cold in my house... so the polish didn't want to spread in the water. The design pictured is really the best I could do!

If you end up trying a red, white, and blue water marble, I'd love to know which polish you chose and if they worked well together. Better yet, I'd love to see a picture :-)

To see my other Patriotic manicure ideas, click here.

Until next time...

Patriotic Week - Day 3

Hi there!

Striper tape and confetti were calling my name today...

My nails painted with Spoiled - First Class Only
and OPI - Alpine Snow. Patriotic 4th of July manicure.

I painted 2 coats of each polish to achieve what's pictured. Once the blue polish was tacky, I placed the confetti stars onto my nails. Once the white polish was dry, I diagonally applied the red striper tape. To top it off, I added a coat of Seche Vite over each nail.

Is this something you'll be trying?

If you'd like to see my other Patriotic manicure ideas, click here.

Until next time...

Patriotic Week - Day 2

Hi there!

This is today's manicure...

My nails painted with Color Club - Boys Wear Blue, P Is For Pride,
and OPI - Alpine Snow. Patriotic 4th of July manicure.

I painted 2 coats of each polish to achieve what's pictured. Once dry, I used Konad's special white polish to stamp the star images onto my thumb. I used a star-themed image plate that I purchased off of eBay- all that's said on the plate is, "LO03." I topped everything off with a coat of Seche Vite.

How cool are these caps!? I'd like them a whole lot more if they weren't just plastic covers...

Color Club - Boys Wear Blue, P Is For Pride, and OPI - Alpine Snow.

I hope this gives you inspiration if you're looking to do a red, white, and blue manicure!

If you'd like to see my other Patriotic manicure ideas, click here.

Until next time...

Happy Memorial Day

Hi there!

I hope all of you who recognize it are having a great Memorial Day weekend! These are the nails I painted for the occasion...

My nails painted with China Glaze - Hey Sailor and First Mate.
Patriotic Memorial Day or 4th of July manicure.

I painted 1 coat of Hey Sailor, let it dry, then added 3 stripes of white striper polish. Once that was dry, I added top coat to smooth it out. Then I diagonally applied striper tape and painted 1 coat of First Mate. I let it sit for about 30 seconds before peeling the tape off. I topped it all off with a coat of Seche Vite.

This manicure really was easier to accomplish than it might seem!

To see my other Patriotic manicures, click here.

Is this something you'll try... perhaps with different colors?

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...

Patriotic Week - Day 7

Hi there!

Today brings the conclusion of my patriotic manicure ideas...

My nails painted with China Glaze - Red Pearl and Frostbite.
Topped with Pure Ice - Oh Baby! Stamped with Bundle
Monster image plate BM20.
Patriotic 4th of July manicure.

I painted 2 coats of Red Pearl and Frostbite. Let me just say, Frostbite smells reeeally gross! But, it's pretty. I then stamped my ring fingernail with Konad's special white polish, using BM20. I used Oh Baby! as my top coat. It smeared the stamping- so if you try this idea, I suggest applying an actual top coat before using Oh Baby!

Check out my other patriotic manicure ideas:
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6

I hope you've enjoyed my ideas over the past week- and if you choose to try one of them, I'd love to see a picture of it!

Until next time...

Patriotic Week - Day 6

Hi there!

I couldn't resist the urge to use these colors this week...

Red, white, and blue patriotic water marble. Sally Hansen - Whirlwind
White, China Glaze - Ruby Pumps, and China Glaze Dorothy Who?
Patriotic 4th of July manicure.

I don't think it turned out that great. The design is pretty, but the glitter just doesn't work. I tried a water marble design with Ruby Pumps as a base, as well as a design with Dorothy Who? as a base to see how that might change the look. They both turned out terribly.

If you're looking to try a water marble design and really want to use one of the colors I tried, I suggest choosing just one and using it as a base- then use solid creme colors to marble with... unless, of course, you want it to turn out like mine did :-)

Check out my other patriotic manicure ideas:
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 7

Until next time...

Patriotic Week - Day 5

Hi there!

This manicure might be a little more time consuming than the other ones I've done...

My nails painted with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri - Whirlwind White and
China Glaze - Bermuda Breakaway. Stamped with Konad image plate M3.
Patriotic 4th of July manicure.

I painted 2 coats of Whirlwind White and then painted 1 thick coat of Bermuda Breakaway on my tips. Once dry, I stamped the stars with Konad's special white polish and applied the nail art tape. I topped it all off with a coat of Seche Vite.

I think this would look fantastic as a full manicure or as an accent nail!

Check out my other patriotic manicure ideas:
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 6
Day 7

Until next time...

Patriotic Week - Day 4

Hi there!

Today, I'm wearing a very easy-to-do manicure...

My nails painted with L.A. Colors - Hot Blooded and China
Glaze - First Mate. Stamped with Bundle Monster image plate BM21.
Patriotic 4th of July manicure. 

I painted 2 coats of Hot Blooded and 1 coat of First Mate. I stamped with Konad's special white polish and then added a coat of Seche Vite.

Check out my other patriotic manicure ideas:
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7

Until next time...

Patriotic Week - Day 3

Hi there!

I'm really enjoying discovering new design options for next week! Here's what I've got for today...

My nails painted with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri - Whirlwind White.
Stamped with Konad image plate M45.
Patriotic 4th of July manicure.

I painted 2 coats of Whirlwind White for it to be opaque and streak-free. I then globbed Konad's special blue polish and Konad Princess' cool red polish onto plate M45. I topped it with a coat of Seche Vite.

I really like how this one turned out! What do you think?

Check out my other patriotic manicure ideas:
Day 1
Day 2
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7

Until next time...

Patriotic Week - Day 2

Hi there!

I'm not too excited about how this one turned out...

My nails painted with China Glaze - First Mate and Hey Sailor.
Topped with China Glaze - Lightning Bolt Crackle.
Patriotic 4th of July manicure.

Before I get into the overall look, I must say that First Mate and Hey Sailor were both awesome to work with. I painted only 1 coat of each, and they were perfectly opaque.

I'm uncertain if it's just a bad picture or if this manicure really does look bad. A possible first mistake: I must not have let the red polish fully dry, because it seems to have mixed with the white and made a light pink crackle... though, that may be the result of this mistake: I took the picture outside under direct sunlight and my fingers look like they're glowing.

I suppose it isn't terrible. After all, I'm just playing around with ideas for what I want to wear next week :-)

Check out my other patriotic manicure ideas:
Day 1
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7

Until next time...

Black and White Carpet Balls

Hi there!

When I took the picture for my previous blog post, I became inspired by my surroundings... especially by my carpet balls.

My carpet balls.

I decided to use Konad image plate M73 and Bundle Monster image plate BM20. I used White Night, by Cover Girl to paint my entire nail. I stamped with Konad's special black polish, and I used Konad's top coat.

Konad top coat, Konad special black, double sided stamper,
Cover Girl - White Night, scraper, BM20, and plate M73.

Here's the final result!

My nails stamped with BM20 and Konad plate M73.

I hope this inspires you.

Until next time...