February Manicures!

Apologies for the delay in this post! Evidently instead of publishing it, I just saved it as a draft...twelve days ago. At any rate, if you'd like to see the manicures I did throughout February, keep reading!

December Manicures

I can't believe how quickly December went - but it's already time for another monthly manicure wrap-up!

Working two retail jobs over the Christmas season was extremely busy, so my nails stayed the same for longer than usual, and there were a few that I neglected to photograph. The week prior to Christmas, I also did silver nails and then added on little red and green Christmas lights on a string on each nail - it was super fun and easy! I just used a dotting tool for the red and green lights and a black striping polish for the cord that connected them. I'm sad I didn't get photos of it, but I could post photos of the trial run I did on my nail wheel if anyone would like to see! For Christmas day, I just red and green on alternating nails.

Now that shopping has calmed down a bit, I should have more time to make January's manicures more interesting! Especially since I've added some polishes to my collection over the past month that haven't gotten a chance to get used yet!

For larger photos of each manicure and the polishes used, keep reading!

August Manicures

Curious about the polishes I used? They're listed under the cut!

Gumball/Confetti Dot Manicure

This is one of the most fun manicure's I've done in awhile, but it's also one of  the easiest I've ever done that isn't just a single color! It's so simple - just choose several colors of polish you like together, then get a dotting tool of some kind (or several if you want different sized dots). Choose one color at a time and randomly place dots on your nails, continuing with the other colors until the whole surface is covered with dots! By going with one color over all the nails at once, you can avoid having to wait for the dots to dry since they'll be almost completely dry by the time you start the next color. And there's no need for a base color if you choose polishes that aren't particularly sheer. Also, because only a little bit of each dot overlaps another, the polish doesn't get too thick and start chipping or peeling off quickly as can sometimes happen with thicker manicures. It's lasted several days on me with no chipping whatsoever - and of course it also says something that I've been willing to leave it on that long! I tend to switch manicures more often than this.

The polishes I chose to use this time, L-R:

Zoya - Pippa

China Glaze - Gaga for Green

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Blue Me Away!

Wet n Wild Megalast - On A Trip

Essie - Lights

Wet n Wild Megalast - Club Havana

I used the Seche Clear base coat and Seche Vite top coat for this manicure.

Edit: I just noticed this is my 200th post! It doesn't feel like I've done that many!

May Collab - House M.D.-Inspired Manicure

When I saw that it had been determined that May's theme for the Glamazon collaboration would be inspired by a TV show or character, I figured I'd try to do something from one of my all-time favorite shows - House! It's the only show I own on DVD, even though I got into it pretty late in the game, and I'm disappointed it was cancelled, although glad it ended while it was still a good show. (I haven't seen the last half of the season so don't spoil it for me!)

I pulled the colors and design ideas mostly just from the title sequence. In case you haven't seen it before, here is the version from the seventh season:

To start off, I put a base coat of the colors I chose from the title sequence.

L-R: China Glaze - Stone Cold, Zoya - Stella, Zoya - Minka, Revlon - Gold Coin, Zoya - Minka with Wet n Wild - Club Havana sponged lightly over it. I wanted to incorporate an orange, but it was too vibrant on its own. In order to achieve a more toned-down look, I brushed the polish onto a torn cosmetic sponge and applied it that way over the nude color.

For the designs, I used two polishes from Claire's that have both a striping brush and a pen-like applicator option. For the veins though, I used a Sephora by OPI nail design pen since it gave a less opaque effect that seemed more appropriate. 

Here's a more detailed look at the designs - with and without the additional letters.

This was such a fun manicure to do! While I do my nails very often, I don't do much in the way of nail art or themed manicures, so this was a fun way to try something I haven't done before.


Don't forget to check out the other participants' contributions as well!

Emily at Southern Gorgeous - Irene Adler makeup look
Keri at Beauty is My Crush - Sookie Stackhouse makeup look
Laurie Ann at BeautyMakeupAndMore - Nina Dobrev makeup look

Recent Manicures!

For this manicure, I did the pink stripes first and went back with the yellow after. They were pretty much randomly placed.  Yellow: Zoya - Pippa
Pink: Essie - Lights

Main base: Wet n Wild - Tropicalia
Main dots: Essie - e-nuf is e-nuf
Accent base: Essie - Tart Deco
Accent dots: Wet n Wild - Club Havana

Base: China Glaze - Stone Cold
Tips: Milani Nail Art striping polishes

Nail Polish Collection & Swatches - Milani

Recent Manicures

I recently got Essie's Shine of the Times topcoat and I absolutely love it so I put it over quite a few polishes. These two Sally Hansen polishes were ones I got during the clearance at CVS so they were pretty new to me as well.

Sally Hansen Insta Dri - Uptempo Plum with Essie - Shine of the Times

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure - Purple Pulse with Essie - Shine of the Times

This manicure would have probably also worked at Christmas, but I think it's fun for anytime!

China Glaze Holiday 2011 - Poinsettia and Twinkle Lights

"Decked for the Holidays" Collaboration: Snowman Manicure!

For this manicure, I started with a layer of Revlon's Quick Dry Base Coat. Then, I put three coats of China Glaze's Dorothy Who?. After letting that dry, I used a dotting tool (I found mine very cheaply in a set of five from eBay) and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri polish in Whirlwind White to do the snowman & flakes. I did the snowmen first, starting with the bottom circle of the snowman's body and then building up to the head. The largest dotting tool is still smaller than I wanted to start the snowman, so I put extra polish on it and swirled it around a bit more to make a wider circle. After the snowman's body was complete, I just used a smaller dotting tool to drag some of the white along the base of the nail. I used the same small tool to make the snow dots on all the other nails. Once they were dry, I put two coats of Seche Vite to make sure the surface was smooth and I couldn't feel the dots through it.

Before deciding on the manicure I ended up doing, I tried a few different designs and color combinations to see which I liked the best, although I always used the same white since it's the most opaque I've come across. In case you like any of these better, the one on the left has Essie's Coat Azure as the base color and China Glaze's Fairy Dust for the glitter. The one in the middle is Finger Paints' Laugh My Art Off with China Glaze's White Cap to add a glow and more glitter. 

Of course, if you're more artistic or have better tools than I do, you could add details to the snowman, like a face or buttons. I don't have that kind of ability, however, so I just left mine simple. 

If you do one of these or a variation of it, I'd love to see it! 

Definitely go check out the other participants in this holiday collaboration!!

Natalie:
Blog: Purplestar Makeup
Title: Beautifully Frozen
Link:
http://purplestarmakeup.blogspot.com/2011/12/decked-for-holidays-collaboration.html

Sarah:
Blog: LashGirl
Title: Soft and Sexy Look
Link: http://lashgirl.me/?p=2572

Wendy:
Blog: Luvlifebeauty
Title: 2 Looks, 1 Lipstick
Link: http://wp.me/p1HLFz-ut

Britney:
Blog: The Glam Goddness
Title: Vampy Candy Cane
Link:http://britters89.blogspot.com/2011/12/holiday-collab-look_10.html

Venessa:
Youtube Username: venessaesquer29
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dRn-qCVjUc&feature=youtu.be

Maria:
Youtube Username: fabulousblueyes
Title: Holiday Gift Wrap Eye Makeup
Link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqDIDuZHVIA&feature=g-u

Allie:
Blog: My crazy obsessions
Title: Dark Holiday Eyes:
Link:http://alliebabii.blogspot.com/2011/12/dark-holiday-eyes.html

Cinthia:
Youtube Username: MakeupWithCinthia
Title: Holiday Party Makeup
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b03cfCGZCg&feature=youtu.be  

Halloween Manicure - Candy Corn!

I started with the Revlon base coat, then a layer of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in White on. After letting that dry, I did the yellow layer with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Mellow Yellow. Then I used Maybelline Orange Blazes over that. I decided not to make a big deal out of trying to get all the sections evenly spaced or the lines perfectly straight because anyone who's ever eaten a bag of candy corn knows that there are a lot of weird ones in there! After the three colors were done I did a coat of China Glaze White Cap (This is seriously one of my favorite polishes - it looks awesome over pretty much everything) and then topped off everything with a coat of Seche Vite.

This took me quite awhile (2:45 including taking and editing the photos for this post) but not because it's hard - just because I was using small motions with little product on the brush to avoid making a mess (as you can see I had very little clean up) and because I was really careful in letting each color dry before adding to it so as not to smear them at all.  I'm happy with the outcome, though!

Sinful Colors Nail Polish Collection & Swatches

Since I heard Sinful Colors nail polishes are going to be on sale at Walgreens again, I decided I'd just do a quick post of all the polishes I have from them to aid in your decision-making this week!

From my experience, the creme finish polishes are the best. The shimmery or glittery ones are much sheerer and a bit more difficult to work with. 

Click the images if you want to see them larger.

L-R: Innocent, Rise and Shine, Nail Junkie, Neon Melon, Dream On, Easy Going, Soul Mate, Hazard, HD Nails, Mint Apple

Some manicures I've done with the polishes.
Top row: HD Nails, Innocent
Bottom row: Mint Apple, Hazard

Green and Turquoise Polka Dot Manicure

This was a manicure I did at the beginning of August shortly after I got my dotting tools from eBay. I used all China Glaze products, starting with the Strong Adhesion base coat. I used two coats of White on White as the base color, then did large dots of Shower Together. I filled in the gaps with Entourage on a smaller dotting tool, then finished with a coat of Fast Forward top coat. 

Pink Gradient Nails

I may have a ton of nail polishes, but I don’t have every  color out there! Therefore, my attempt at a gradient manicure is far from perfect – some pinks are more cool and others are warmer, and there are certainly uneven jumps in darkness. Despite that, I thought it turned out pretty nicely.

Lightest to darkest:

China Glaze Something Sweet
Revlon Top Speed Candy
Revlon Top Speed Guava
Covergirl Fuchsia Girl
Revlon Cherry Berry

Rainbow and White Crackle Manicure

This is probably my favorite manicure I’ve done to date. It’s so fun! And it lasted really well on my nails.

The top picture is me trying out different things on my nail wheel. I knew I wouldn’t be patient enough to try to get the lines straight and even enough to leave them alone, so crackle seemed like a good solution. I thought I would like the contrast of the black, but I ended up loving the look of the white.

I started with a base layer of China Glaze White On White. The pink is Covergirl Fuchsia Girl, blue is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Blue Me Away, the yellow is the Xtreme Wear in Mellow Yellow, and the orange is Maybelline Orange Blazes.

After the stripes were dried, I went over with China Glaze Lightning Bolt crackle polish.

I used the China Glaze Strong Adhesion base coat and the Fast Forward top coat as well.

4th of July Manicure : All China Glaze

Since the colored polishes I was using were all China Glaze, I figured I may as well use the base and top coat from them as well.




The colors I used are Frostbite (regular collection), Ruby Deer (Holiday 2010), and Lightning Bolt (crackle).


After the basecoat, I did two coats of the red stripe followed by two coats of the blue stripe. I had very little waiting time because I was sitting in front of a fan while doing this. I didn't pay any attention to staying within the nail because I was more concerned about making the diagonal line straight without overlapping. I then topped it off with the crackle polish.



I gave the crackle a few minutes to finish crackling and dry, then topped it with two coats of the Fast Forward topcoat. Once that was dry I went around the edges with my $1 ELF eyeliner brush dipped in 100% acetone to clean them up. So much cleanup was needed that the acetone in the cup I was using was completely purple by the end - which goes to show that you don't have to have particularly steady hands to end up with a neat-looking manicure.

Nails of the Day: Funky French Tips

I love the way these polishes look together, probably because of their similar shimmer qualities. I tried a few looks before choosing one.

The green is Zoya’s Ivanka and the blue is Orly’s Halley’s Comet

The winning combination (this time):

The pink is China Glaze’s Strawberry Fields and the purple is Dannii from Zoya.

I am really loving these two polishes together. Although I think I’ll need to combine the blue and green polishes soon!

Tape Manicure: Coral & Tiffany blue

Feeling uninspired, I asked the lovely people on the Beauty Broadcast fan page on Facebook what I should do with my nails. Rather than choose just one of their suggestions, I combined most of them into one manicure!
As a base color, I used Revlon’s Tropical Temptation.
After cutting what felt like a million superthin strips of tape and placing them on my nails, I topped them off with a thick coat of China Glaze’s For Audrey.
I used the Revlon Quick Dry basecoat and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri tocoat.
For doing this type of manicure, make sure you pull the tape off IMMEDIATELY. I accidentally went on and painted two nails and by the time I went back to the first one to peel it off, the For Audrey had gotten a bit tacky and it ended up getting bits into the coral. I just dipped a nail art brush into the coral and touched it up after it had dried, but just a forewarning.

Nails of the Day: Lavender and White Crackle

Base color: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Lacey Lilac
Crackle: China Glaze Crackle Glaze - Lightning Bolt

I was rushing through this because it was starting to get dark in my parent's house and they didn't have power so I needed to finish it! As a result I didn't wait long enough for the base color to dry. Because of that, when I put on the crackle it pulled the base coat with it in a few spots, exposing my nail color. It was only in a few spots and wasn't that noticeable since I had used such a light color, but they aren't kidding when they say crackles need to be applied to completely dry polish.

Nails of the Day: Konad Flower Accent Nail

Base color: Revlon Top Speed - Guava
Flower from Konad m60 plate with white Konad special polish.

I seriously LOVE this color!! I think it really goes well with my skin tone, and it's so fun for summer - it kind of reminds me of popsicles.

I still haven't figured out how to stamp a Konad design in the same place on multiple nails, but it didn't really bother me with this one since they weren't right next to each other. Hopefully I'll get it down eventually!

Spring Nail Haul and Swatches

These are the nail polishes I've gotten over the past few months!

L-R: Sally Hansen - Lacey Lilac, Sinful Colors - Soul Mate, Maybelline - Timely Turquoise

Top, L-R: China Glaze - Electric Pineapple* (Island Escape Collection), China Glaze - For Audrey, China Glaze - Dorothy Who?, Finger Paints - Laugh My Art Off, Sinful Colors - Hazard, Maybelline Orange Blazes (LE)
Bottom, L-R: Revlon Matte Suede - Powder Puff, Revlon - Frankly Scarlet, OPI - Black Shatter, Urban Outfitters - Afterhours

*There are two swatches of Electric Pineapple because I could NOT get it to photograph as it looks in real life! The real color is more of a combination of the two swatches.