Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Summer fun!



Good afternoon!

We just celebrated the unofficial start of summer; too bad Florida missed that memo and started summer weather weeks ago! I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend, holiday or no. Mine was nice, busy, but nice. I'm starting to feel like myself again :) I haven't done much for challenge prompts, compared to previous weeks, but I did do a few.

Today's and yesterday's manis are prompts for the 52 Week Pick N Mix Challenge. The prompts were patchwork and/or bright and happy. I chose to do them separately because, quite frankly, I was drawing a blank on other challenge prompts this week, or just didn't like them :P

The patchwork prompt was up for today. This started as a tape mani for me, using Zoya Purity and Demetria. I immediately regretted doing red over white, but I stuck with it. I freehanded the patchwork art in Zoya Black Swan, and topped everything with SV. Not too bad, I think, considering my freehand sucks and this my first try at a patchwork mani.





Since today was patchwork, that means yesterday was bright and happy (lol). For that, I chose China Glaze Glow With the Flow and Can I Get an Untz Untz?.





Here is the Inlinkz for this week's prompts:





Monday was Memorial, and instead of doing something patriotic (like everyone else :P), I decided to try another look that I hadn't done yet- the turquoise stone mani. I've seen many gorgeous manis with this look, and I knew it was something I wanted to try.

All the colors used in my mani were from Zoya, from base color to stamping. Colors I used were Rocky, Talia, Ziv, and Black Swan. Stamping plate was Sugar Bubbles SB 021.





This next mani I did up for the 30 Days of Colour Challenge prompt, color blocking and/or creme. My color blocking for this was a total fail, so I ended up with a creme Skittles. Colors are all from Zoya's Island Fun collection; the only one I didn't use was Demetria.

This mani was put on Thursday night and didn't come off until late Sunday. Impressive for me, since I take off every day. More impressive because I had very little tip wear and no chips.





Inlinkz for this prompt:





Wednesday's mani was just the bright ass, obnoxious, retina searing neon orange that is Zoya Paz.


Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Happy Wednesday!



Good afternoon and happy hump day! :P

I hope today finds you all doing well. My week has been rather difficult, since about Wednesday last week, actually. I lost my sweet baby Merlyn, and have been having a hard time coping with her death. My main coping mechanism is BUYING ALL THINGS!!!, and I've had to really strive to keep that in check. Needless to say, zero fucks have been given to a lot these last several days. I'm starting to feel just okay now, but still am very sad.

I do have a few manis to show, a mix of challenge and just because. Today's mani is a challenge one for the 52 WPNMC. The themes were pastels and/or lilac and teal. I elected to do both and here is what I came up. A gradient using colors from Maybelline's Bleached Neons collection. Colors are Day Glow Teal, Coral Heat, and Ultra Violet sprinkled with China Glaze Fairy Dust. All over a base of Morgan Taylor's All White Now.





Inlinkz to other blogs doing this challenge:






Yesterday's mani was for the 30 Days of Colour Challenge. The options were matte and/or stamping. Of course, I picked both. My colors were China Glaze I Sea Your Point and Under the Boardwalk. Butterfly came from Marianne Nails no84, stamped with MdU white. Matted with China Glaze Matte Magic.






And yesterday's Inlinkz:






Monday was a challenge for Advanced Nail Stamping, a stamped pond manicure. I've attempted this before, without much success. I usually end up smearing my stamping because I wasn't topcoating the stamping, just add the jelly layer, then stamping. Got some advice, tried a new topcoat, and voila! Success this time! Orly Butterflies for the jelly, Marianne Nails no84 and MdU white again. Now, even though I had some peeling later that day, I really believe it was because I had at least 4 coats of Oh So Wet! on my nails, not because of the topcoat itself.





I totally skipped out on the Stamping Sunday challenge, and kinda half assed the mani I did for Saturday. I wasn't even going to do one, but I was supposed to go to a ladies' luncheon (which itself was kind of a mistake.....). It was a 30DoCC day, and the prompts with holo and/or water marble. I had intended to do both, but that didn't happen. I ended up with ILNP's Peri Me on my nails, and that was that.




Inlinkz for that:





Friday was truly a no fucks given day, even though I did make it a Textured Friday. My Merlyn was a black kitty, so it was only fitting that I chose a black texture to wear that. OPI Emotions was what I picked.





Thursday I stayed home and bawled my eyes out, so nothing for that.

Wednesday was another 30DoCC day. The prompts were animal print and/or glitter. I actually went with both, and loved what I came up with. Base color was Morgan Taylor's One Cool Cat. The glitter was also Morgan Taylor, Escar-Go to France. The animal print was from Vivid Lacquer VL 010, stamped in Mdu Lime.





And those Inlinkz:




Tuesday, May 12, 2015

A few challenges, and not so challenges!



Good afternoon! 

In order to stimulate my creativeness with nail art, I decided it was high time to take part in some challenges in a few FB groups I'm in. One of them is the 52 week pick n mix challenge, the other a 30 challenge. Hopefully, this will pull me out the rut I've been feeling, and get me to use the stamping plates or try new techniques.

Today's mani is part of the 52 week. The challenge was taupe and/or paisley. I opted for both :) My base color is Zoya Rowan, and it is stamped over with Mundo sunflower and aliexpress VL-2.




And, for your viewing pleasure, the inlinkz to the other blogs doing this challenge:





Yesterday was PAA Mani Monday. I don't what both choices were, but I picked geometric. The base color is China Glaze Highlight of my Summer. Stamping color was Mundo nabu, which is like a coral/orange color, and the image is from myonlineshop XXIX.





Stamping Sunday's theme this week called colors crash: neons and pastels. Perfect! Because that's pretty much what I've been wearing lately :P I went for a more tone on tone look, using pinks. Pastel base is Zoya Dot. Neon stamping polish is Mundo neon pink and the image is from myonlineshop Jr. 8.





Saturday was my niece's first birthday party, so of course, I had to do up my nails for it! I started with an absolute base of China Glaze White on White. On accents, I added 2 coats of Jindie Nails Betty's Fetti Milkshake. On the other nails, I water marbled with other China Glaze colors:

Treble Maker
Glow With the Flow
That's Shore Bright
UV Meant to Be

I also stamped on the accents with images from Bundle Monster H19 and 20, in Mundo sky blue and tutti.







Textured Friday was a Zoya Cosmo kind of day :)





For Thursday, I wanted to take part in the 30 Day Colour Challege.... Too bad I got my days jacked up. What I ended up doing was the themes for Sunday, not Thursday XD I would also like to add that my mani was totally inspired by two I had seen in AiS, and totally made me purchase the plate used lol.

The themes I did were white/leadlighting. White base is Zoya Purity, pink is Zoya Wendy, and orange is OPI Flit a Bit. White base was stamped with Lesly LS-120 in Mundo black. Colors used for leadlighting were Zoya Belle, Kate, Coraline, and Frida.





And the inlinkz for this challenge:




And, least but not least, is my retro inspired mani for last Wednesday. I absolutely adore seafoam green and pink together, it's just so feminine and pretty. Base color is China Glaze Too Yacht Too Handle, stripes are from Pet'la Geomatrix plate, and stamped in Mundo Barbie.




Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Happy Cinco de Mayo!



Good afternoon! I hope everyone is enjoying their Tuesday afternoon :)

I'm making some headway through the pile of untried polishes I have sitting at my desk..... Only to have not one, but two Zoya orders coming to me x.x One is my small order from the Earth day promo, the other (that hasn't shipped yet) is their brand new summer collections. I tell ya, Zoya and China Glaze both have nailed it this summer with their colors!

Today's mani, though, featured a color from Zoya's Delights collection, Lillian. I have a hard time describing it; Lillian reminds me, a little, of China Glaze's Kinetic Candy from the Electro Pop collecio. Kind of a blue mint, is the best I can think of. The formula was nice on Lillian, I only needed two coats for nice coverage. Since I was in a flakie mood, I added a coat of Sally Hansen's Glass Slipper.



Yesterday was my first successful attempt at a splatter mani :) I had tried it a few times, last summer I think, and yeah, wasn't happy with the results. I was over the moon with the one I did for yesterday's #paamanimonday. All colors used were China Glaze:

White on White

Glow With the Flow
Plur-ple
Treble Maker
Point me to the Party




I wasn't feeling this week's Stamping Sunday theme, so I did something different. I started with a rainbow gradient base, using all but one of the colors from Color Club's Pastel Neon collection, and that was done over Morgan Taylor's All White Now. I stamped zig zags over the gradient, using both Bundle BM-423 and Vivid Lacquer's VL 010, stamped with Mundo de Unas bones.




I busted out a texture last week for Textured Friday. Not that I have any new textures, but it is one of my least used textures, OPI What's a Little Rain Forest?.



Thursday's mani was one of those that I tried one way, and should done how I originally planned, simply because I didn't like how it felt on my nails. I had wanted to wear China Glaze Home Sweet House Music, but I had seen reviews that recommend a white base. I should have that, because I really don't think it needed it and it made it look..... thick once I was done. I used White on White, 3 coats of of HSHM, then sponged on Point me to the Party. Yes, the white made HSHM bright, but I think it would have been fine without it.




I went kind of classic, spectator look last Tuesday. I started off with Zoya Asia, which I think everyone needs, then stamped over it with Sugar Bubbles SB 021 and MdU white.