AIS Challenge: Spiders

Hey Lacquer Lovers!

I know I have not been posting regularly, but life has been keeping me pretty busy lately.

So the nails that I have for you today were done for the AIS Sunday Stamping Challenge.  This week's theme was Spooky and Scary.  First, I attempted a haunted graveyard design for this challenge but it was not coming together how I wanted, so I scrapped that idea, and I'll try it again another time. 

What I ended up with was a cute but not too scary spider mani.  For the base color, I used 2 coats of China Glaze Gothic Lolita.  The stamping was done with SHID Silver Sweep and Kleancolor Black.  The images I used come from BM-13, MASH-38, SH09 and SH01

So sorry for the extra rough looking cuticles on the last pic.  I moisturized before taking the pic, but obviously not enough :)

Thanks for checkin' me out.  Happy Polishing!

Breast Cancer Awareness

Today, I have a manicure to share with you in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month.  Breast cancer is the second most diagnosed cancer among American women, and it is estimated that it will affect 1 in 8 women over their lifetime.  Early detection of breast cancer is key to helping save more lives.  Get to know your body, do self breast exams every month.  At the end of this post, I will have links to resources if you would like more information. 

Now on to the nails...



I finally got around to doing the saran-wrap marble method...and I love it! It's so easy and I will definitely be doing this again.  I started with a two coats of Zoya Shelby, when that was dry, I added a coat of Zoya Reagan and sponged it off using a small piece of balled up saran-wrap.  It's best to work one nail at a time because the polish must be wet to adhere to the saran-wrap, and use a new piece of saran-wrap for each nail. 

I added a coat of Fairy Dust by China Glaze and the a coat of Seche Vite.  For the words and the ribbon, I used acrylic paints and a small detail brush from MASH.

I wish my words were a bit neater, but I think it's good for my first attempt. 

If you would like more information on Breast Cancer, check out the links below.


Save the TaTa's
Susan G. Komen
Breast Self Exam


Thanks for checkin' me out.  Happy Polishing!

Teal Tuesday: Mani Swap

Hey Lacquer Lovers!

Today's Teal Tuesday challenge has been my favorite yet.  This week all the girls in the group were matched up with another member, and you had to re-create their masterpiece, using teal of course.  I was matched up with Amanda over at Mandy's Polish.  She's got some really cute nail art and it was hard to pick just one.  I ended up choosing to re-create her back to school plaid mani.  I wanted to do something that was not stamping, so this was something that I had to try. 

 

I'm pleased with how this turned out, although I wish that my stripes were thinner. 

 

I used 2 coats of Milani Mint Candy for the base color.  Next, I made an off center stripe with China Glaze Snow Globe.  This is such a pretty iridescent glitter polish that would work well with many colors.  Then I used a black striper polish by LA Colors Art Deco. 

 

Head on over to Mandy's Polish and check out the original.  And while you're at it check out the rest of the ladies participating  in this challenge.

Teal Tuesday: 3 Color Mani

Hello Ladies!

Today's Teal Tuesday mani is pretty straightforward.  Three colors, at least one of the teal.  So I tried a tape technique that I've seen around the nail community.  The look was very easy to achieve and I see more of these mani's with different colors in my crystal ball.

I started off with Sinful Colors Black On Black for the base color.  Then I brought out my beloved China Glaze Bohemian's.  I used Deviantly Daring and No Plain Jane, one coat of each.

 

I included this last pic to hopefully show off the duochrome finish.  You can see that Deviantly Daring shows up more blue on the index and middle fingers, and more green on the other two. 

 

Thanks for stopping by.  Happy Polishing!

 

AIS Stamping Sunday Challenge: Falling Leaves

Hello All!

I think I'm just gonna get this post done before it is no longer Sunday.  This week in Adventures in Stamping our theme is Falling Leaves.  I'm so ready for this time of the year.  In the evenings the temperature feels fall-ish here, but it's warm and sunny during the day. The leaves haven't started to change yet, but I can make definitely make that happen on my nails!

 

For the stamping, there were several plates and polishes that went into making this mani happen.  So I'll give you a rundown of the image plates first.  We have:

 

BM 19 & BM 04 - index finger

RA-118, RA-121 & BM 03 - middle finger

BM 04 & BM 03 - ring finger

BM 19 &  RA-115 - pinky finger

 

Now on to the polishes:

China Glaze Agro

China Glaze Unplugged

Avon Bronze

Avon Copper

Kleancolor Metallic Orange

For the base of this mani, I used 2 coats of China Glaze Heaven. I'm kinda on the fence about this polish.  I like the color, but it seems kinda patchy on my nails, and as you can see there is a bit of VNL.  One more coat would be needed if I were to wear this polish on its own.

Thanks for checkin' me out.  Happy Polishing!

Dupe or No Dupe: China Glaze No Plain Jane -vs- Nicole by OPI Iris My Case

Hi Ladies!

As I was going thru my stash a while back, I was amazed by how many polishes that I have that are possible dupes.  Well, I guess I shouldn't be that amazed, I mean I do have over 400 polishes. And I just keep adding more. 

So today, I'm gonna compare two of my newer pretties China Glaze No Plane Jane and Nicole by OPI Iris My Case. 

 

They look just about identical in the bottle, and it also carries over to the nail. In the pictures below, I have on three coats of each with no topcoat.

 

 

Iris My Case has a slightly thicker formula than No Plane Jane.  Both polishes have decent dry times. I do prefer IMC only because I like the wider brush. I feel like I have more control over the polish and it's easier to get a nice line down near the cuticle (which makes for less cleanup).

Verdict: Dupes!!

Which one do you have in you collection, or do you have both?

Thanks for checkin' me out.  Happy Polishing!

China Glaze Bohemian Collection Water Marble

Hey Ladies!

Lately, I had been trying to think of a way that I could use all of the China Glaze Bohemian colors in one mani.  So water marble it is. You can see swatches of all the colors here .  I'm somewhat pleased with how this turned out.  Not because of the polishes, but because of my technique.  I was rushing because I was sleepy, but I know if I had taken my time, the design would have been better.

I used Kleancolor Black as the base for the water marble.  Each of the Bohemian colors was used (dropped in the water) once.  I think these may be the easiest colors I have water marbled with so far.  I had no problems with the colors spreading, although you have to work quickly, because they dry fast.  The end result reminds me of an oil slick.



Left hand with China Glaze Unpredictable



Right hand with China Glaze Swanky Silk



 

For some reason, my thumbs always seem to have the best designs when I do a watermarble.

 

Thanks for stopping by.  Happy Polishing!

 



China Glaze Rare & Radiant + RA-112

Hey Lacquer Lovers.  Today I have my first mani from China Glaze's Bohemian Luster Chrome Collection.  I used Rare & Radiant, which is one of my favorites because it has the most multichromatic finish.  This is really a beautiful color on it's own (you can see the swatch here) but of course I've gotta add a lil sumthin extra.





For the stamping I used Red Angel image plate RA-112 with Kleancolor Black.  Everytime I looked at this image, I thought that it was kinda odd, but now that it's on my nails I'm kinda diggin it.  It reminds me of the jungle.


So thanks for stoppping by.  Happy Polishing!

China Glaze Flying Dragon + CH16

Hey Peeps!

I have really been into neon colors lately, so I pulled one from my untrieds that I was kinda on the fence about.  Flying Dragon from China Glaze claims to be neon on the label, but it just doesn't live up to it in my opinion.  It is a very pretty color but seems more suited for fall to me.

Flying Dragon is a saturated plum with very fine pink and blue glitter. It goes on matte, like most neons, and is streaky and uneven with the first coat.  The second coat takes care of the streakiness and brings the polish to full opacity.  The swatch is more color accurate than the full picture at the bottom.

 

This color was too dark for what I was going for, so to lighten it up a bit, I decided to pull out the ole stamping plates :)   I used Cheeky CH16 and SHID Fast Fuchsia for the stamping.

So what do you think of this color, does it qualify as a neon?  Is it more appropriate for summer or fall?

Thanks for checkin' me out. Happy Polishing!

China Glaze Bohemian Luster Chrome Swatches

Hey Lacquer Lovers.

Today, I have swatches from the new Bohemian Luster Chrome collection by China Glaze. This collection features six high shine metallic shades with duochrome finish.

The formula on all six polishes has a very smooth application with quick dry times.  All swatches are three coats with top coat.  These polishes start off sheer with the first coat, with full opacity in three.

So let's get on with the swatches already!

Swanky Silk
Gorgeous soft, neutral champagne-gold with light pink flash.

Unpredictable
Medium green with golden shimmer and a turquoise flash.

No Plain Jane
Lovely Lavender with light pink flash where it catches the light.

Deviantly Daring
Saturated peacock teal with greenish-gold and dark turquoise flash

Rare & Radiant
Rich gold with olive green shift.

Want My Bawdy

Bold sapphire blue with purple undertones.

Wow! Aren't these colors just gorgous! This is the first of any collections where I felt compelled to buy all of the colors, and I'm sure glad that I did.  My faves are, Deviantly Daring, Want My Bawdy, No Plain Jane and Unpredictable. Of course I couldn't pick just one :)  The most duochrome-y of the bunch has to be Rare and Radiant. And Swanky Silk is perfect for when you want to go neutral with a lil extra.

Which shade is your favorite, or are you like me and have to have them all?

*All polishes were purchased by me with my own money.

Thanks for checkin' me out.  Happy Polishing!

Sunday Stamping Challenge

Hello Ladies.

Today is Sunday and in my nail world Sunday means the stamping challege for the Facebook group Adventures in Stamping.  This week the theme is Goth.  I don't know much about the gothic culture, but here is my interpretation. 

I used Kleancolor Angel Red and China Glaze Stone Cold for the base.  The silver is Revlon Top Speed in Metallic, and the black is Kleancolor Metallic Black.  I went through all my stamping plates and pulled out the ones that matched the theme.  So here's the rundown:

Chains: BM 12

Skull: Mash 29

Cross (thumb): BM 13

Cross (middle finger): Shany SH 15

Roses: BM 323

Cross (pinky): BM 01

All in all, I like how this turned out. I just wish that the roses were more visible.  So whatcha think? Did I do goth good?

Thanks for looking.  Happy polishing!!

Glitta!

Hello Ladies!  Today I have a super sparkly mani to share with you.  I did this design for the Sunday Stamping Challenge .  The theme was "glitter in there somewhere".  I used two polishes from the Glaze Prismatic Chroma Glitters collection, Optical Illusion and Full Spectrum. Optical Illusion is an aqua-blue duochrome  superfine glitter that flashes to lavender with larger pieces of multicolored glitter.  Full Spectrum  is light pink with a lavender flash and contains the same multicolored glitter as Optical Illusion.

Turned Up Turquoise

Meet my new color crush.

Outside, sunlight



Indoors

Turned Up Turquoise from China Glaze is the perfect summer neon blue green with just a hint of silver shimmer. Like most neons, this polish dries to a matte finish. The pictures show two coats topped off with Seche Vite to let it's teal glory shine thru.

Even though I am head over heels for this color, I just could not leave well enough alone.  I had to add a little something extra.  This image came  from my new set of MASH stamping plates. I love the combination of turquoise and bronze.For the stamping,  I used Avon Speed-Dry Bronze.

 Until next time Ladies.  Happy Polishing!!