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Friday, February 28, 2014

Oscars inspired nails!

Hi guys! I have another award show mani for you! I do love themes :) Fun Fact: I much prefer the red carpet special on E! over the award show! And then I always try to tape the Fashion Police the next day. I don't know why, I'm certainly not very fashionable, I just love it!

When I thought of Oscars nails I thought old Hollywood and retro glam. Here is how I planned out and did them.

I just used striping tape over white and painted over with the Gwen for OPI gold Love.Angel.Music.Baby. The red is OPI Innie Minnie Mighty Bow. I was trying to use a different red than I always do, and one that had some shimmer, but meh...probably shouldn't have.


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Then as I was taking pics I thought, this looks all wrong, I should have done red on the ends and the gold in the middle. So I changed it up. Which one do yall like better? I'm on the fence.


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Thursday, February 27, 2014

Galaxy nails.....sort of...




Happy Friday! Here's my #galaxy nails for #nailartfeb. This is totally cheating, because it's not "real" galaxy nails, I just don't really love that design, so I stick to "galaxy in a bottle". This is Picture Polish Starry Night. LOVE!

This is 3 coats.
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I thought since I had it out I'd do a quick comparison with Zoya Storm. On my first 2 fingers on the left is 3 coats of PP, on my middle and pinky is 2 coats of Zoya Storm.

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Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Black and white dots

Hello! Here's some super simple black and white dots. I did these for a contest on IG, I figured, what the heck? The theme is "Black and White".  This is also my first time using OPI Onyx, instead of my go-to Sally Hanson black. Wow it's awesome! The white is OPI Alpine Snow.


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Sometimes on IG contests you have to take a pic of your nails with a piece of paper that says stuff on it. Whatev.


contest entry

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Simple Deborah lippman

Hey guys :) Here's some simple nails for #simple for #nailartFeb on IG. I love these challenges because they give you prompts on on what to do and I love seeing everyone's interpretations of the ideas!

This is one of my 2 Deborah Lippmann's. It's called Baby Love. I only own it because I picked it up on a super clearance sale. It's beautiful but SUPER shear. This is 2 coats, over a ridge-filling basecoat.

(note: because we had a rare sunny day in the winter you guys get double the pics. yay!)

Please excuse my super nubs. ugh.

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I thought, I should add some glitter over this, no?

OPI Pirouette My Whistle, one coat.

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Then I thought, I should layer another coat of Baby Love over that, no?

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Monday, February 24, 2014

OPI Brazil 2014-Part 3-Liquid sands swatches, comparisons, and art!

Hey guys!!!!! I have saved the BEST for last. I have been the most excited to try these out because if you follow me on Instagram at all you know I'm UHBSESSED with texture. I love love love it!


I've also been the most excited to do these comparisons for yall because I have just about every liquid sand OPI has made. And a good majority of Zoya Pixiedusts. I have made it my mission to scour the clearance racks, especially lately, to find these treasures! Everyone else's loss is my gain!


OPI Brazil Liquid Sands 2014

One thing..... Why are these in minis only? Are you listening OPI? I hope this is not a sign of things to come. Please don't stop making sands. I will be a sad sad lady!!!

Another thing: it was sunny the day I did these so YAY BONUS PHOTOS! All pics are in natural light. Bottle shots are indoors next to a sunny window.  All swatches are 2 coats.


packaging

First up is I'm Brazil Nuts Over You. I'm severly allergic to pine nuts so this name even being remotely similar makes me a little twitchy :)  That being said, I was preparing myself to hate this. It's right in that coral-red-orange area that I just don't dig. BUT in real life it really leans more of a neon pink.You'll just have to trust me.  I don't color correct my photos so it really looks coral in these but it's not. It's just enough pink to save itself in my house.


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A note about my sun pics: anytime I take pics of sparkly things it darkens the pics a little . Sorry bout that. :/


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Here's the comparisons. I'll be posting the bottle shots first and they are in the same order as on my nails.

Zoya Destiny, OPI Jinx, OPI Magazine Cover Mouse, OPI I'm Brazil Nuts over You


bottle shots
I think it comes the closest to Magazine Cover Mouse (which I wore for a whole week after I broke my nail on my middle finger recently and just LUHVE), but definitely not as red.


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Next up is You're So Flippy Floppy. 
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Comparisons: Zoya Solange, Nicole by OPI Lemon Lolly, OPI You're So Flippy Floppy

bottle shots

These are pretty different. Solange could have even used 3 coats but I kept it at 2 for consistency. I really thought the NOPI would be exactly the same but it's a bit more sparkly.

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Next is What's a Little Rain Forest? I don't get the name, but anyway. I was preparing myself to love this but.....on the fence. I just don't know. Needs more sparkle!
 
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For comparison: NOPI That's What I Mint, OPI Tiffany Case, Zoya Liberty, OPI What's a little Rain Forest. 

bottle shots
Here is each with one coat. I think you can tell the difference in color with these a little better.

one coat of each
Here is 2 coats. They are pretty different!

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Last up is Samba-dy Loves Purple. This is my surprise favorite! I am still shocked! Yes, over the blue!


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For comparison: OPI Can't Let Go, Zoya Carter, OPI My Current Crush, OPI Samba-dy Loves Purple


bottle shots

Again here's one coat of each, they are all super different. I was really expecting Samba to be identical to Crush. Color me surprised!


one coat of each

Look how different the last 2 are! I am so surprised because I've seen a few swatches already where they look the same. I guess different light tells different stories. Natural light FTW!


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Lastly here is the Nail art I created with these colors. I've been dying to do this with my striping tape since I got it, and let me tell you.....I about didn't breathe the whole time. Normally, you need to pull the tape up right away. But using so many colors at a time, with my dotting tool, and maybe I was slow but.....AND the sands dry quicker than creme polishes. It did pull up a tiny bit but I was able to straighten out my lines with a sewing pin. I'm really pleased with how it came out!

The base is OPI Alpine snow. I applied 3 coats over ridge-filling base coat and let it dry for several hours. (translation: paint my nail white after breakfast, go do errands and groceries, come back during nap time and fill in the rest.)


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ginormo hand holding mini :)
Here's a few final thoughts.....

-these ARE sparkly, just not as much as I'd hoped. I'm not really a fan of the matte no-sparkle textures, although they do have their uses.

-the sparkle in these is the same color as the polish. Does that make sense? In the purple you can really tell. In Crush there's a silver sparkle, and Samba it's purple. So it just doesn't pick up on camera. That being said, these definitely aren't matte, but ....... almost. In my opinion.

-I'm loving the bright colors!
 
-I think I'm just spoiled by the holographic sparkle of my ALL TIME FAV OPI Alcatraz Rocks, and the blue Get Your Number. Those are just hard to beat. Magazine Cover Mouse comes in at a close 3rd in my book.
 
-I'm quite curious about the new "holographic" Magical Zoya Pixies about to come out. They are beautiful colors, and I'm a super big fan of the regular pixies but.....they look like they have a lot of larger, "chunkier" pieces of glitter in them, similar to the purple OPI Can't Let Go, but more so, and I'm just not sure how I feel about that. If you guys really like these comparisons, then maybe I will pick them up for comparison's sake. I think I just need to see them in person first.
 
-If there's anymore comparisons you guys want to see I'd love to do them! Let me know and if I get enough requests I'll do another blog post and if not I'll just post them on IG!
 
THIS WAS SUPER FUN!!!!!! :)
 

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Princess Week-Cinderella Inspired Nails plus tutorial!



Hey guys!!! It's Cinderella's turn! You can see my nails I did last year when I ran the Princess Half  here.  This year I wanted to do something different. To me Cinderella is very ethereal, fluffy, sparkly, and dainty. I knew I wanted to do a variation on a french manicure for her, but I was doubtful because I am in the process of growing out a broken corner on my middle finger. I waited a week, filed them down as short as I could, and hoped for the best. Here is proof, that, even with super nubs you can rock a french!
 
I took pics as I did this for a tutorial, but forgot to take a pic of the last step, then decided it was unnecessary because I can just talk you through it :)


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Apply 2 coats of a glittery base coat. I chose China Glaze Glistening snow. I did not use anything under it. You can use any sort of glittery base for it, Fairy Dust would work also, even with out a base coat because we are going for a delicate look here.

When it's dry, I added a shiny topcoat. I felt like Glistening Snow dried a little dull for me. Then, I took the brush from OPI Solitare (a textured sparkly white, you could always use a white creme for this as well) and just coated the tips. I did not use tape, just free hand. Only allow half the brush to cover your nail and go sideways, does that make sense?

Then, when that's dry, use a black striper to make a thin line as shown. This represents her collar necklace-y thing.

And that's it! Simple, delicate, whimsical. Love.

Oh. And SPARKELEH.


indoors to show sparkle


indoors blurry to show sparkle
side note: This kind of glittery polish is not fun to remove. It was easy to REMOVE, you know, just be prepared to look like you got poofed with fairy god-mother dust. Not a bad thing :)

Here's a quick video I took with my phone indoors to show all the holographic wonder that is Glistening Snow. It just doesn't translate in pictures. Boo!


Bottle shots of what I used:

From L: CG Glistening Snow, Seche Vite, OPI Solitare, black striper



Friday, February 21, 2014

Princess Week-Ariel inspired nails plus tutorial!

Last up for this round is Ariel! Sooooo....... about Ariel nails.....there's been quite the internet-controversy it seems about Ariel nails lately....namely a specific design and who did it first and stealing and alllll that. I knew I wanted to do Ariel because she's one of my favorites, but I had to come up with a design that was suuuuuuuuupeeeerrrr far away from that. Not an easy task!

This is what I came up with. Yes, that's a dinglehopper on my ring finger. :)


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I was going to use a nude color as a base (namely OPI Glints of Glinda because it matches my skin exactly) but then I a)ran out of time to let it dry before taping and b)realized all the white parts of my nail would be covered anyway. So, I used used a clear basecoat.

Use striping tape (or cut skinny pieces of scotch/mask/painters tape) and place them as shown. Make sure if you do have a base coat down it's super dry. Also make sure the tape is well stuck down.

Use the brush or dab some on paper and use a dotting tool or toothpick to add color in the taped off areas. Be sure to pull the tape off quickly and carefully while the polish is still wet. I did one nail at a time. Tape, paint, remove tape. Repeat.

I decided last minute to add some purple glitter to the purple section. I think Ariel can appreciate a sparkly shell bra :)

For the accent nail I used a blue base and a silver accent color to draw a fork. I did the same, used a dotting tool and a small brush until I got the shape I wanted.

When your taped nails are dry add topcoat. I did get the tiniest bit of red on my cuticles and DAMMIT it could NOT come off. So be careful of that!


tutorial

Please tag me on IG if you try these so I can see!! 
Thrill of Brazil, Funky Dunky, Sugar Plum Fairies Gone Wild, Amazon Amazoff, Can't find my Czechbook, Push and Shove, Seche vite.


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Thursday, February 20, 2014

Princess Week-Beauty and the Beast Belle-Inspired Nails plus tutorial!

Next up in my week of  Disney Princesses is Belle!  Originally I was going to use my craft scissors and cut out tape with a scalloped edge and use 2 different yellows to represent her dress. But, I haven't had a whole lot of time lately and whenever I use tape I'm so paranoid that I wait several hours before I tape and paint again. So, I tried to figure out a way to mimick what I had in my head with out tape. The answer? DOTS! WHOOP!


Belle nails with Zoya Chyna

Guys, these are super simple. All you need is 2 different shades of yellow! 

1. Start with 3 yellow nails and one white. I used the new OPI I Just Can't Cope-acabana, I swear it's my new go to yellow! Let's call this the "base yellow."

2. Dab some of each yellow on a separate sheet of paper. I like to use glossy type paper (think post card or junk mail) so the paper doesn't absorb the polish.

3. With a dotting tool or a toothpick, or back end of a needle or whatever , make a row of dots at the end of your nail of the darker yellow (accent yellow). You want them just touching but not overlapping.

4. Let the first row just set, but not totally dry. Make a second row of dots with the base yellow, touching but not overlapping, just above. Here's the thing. You want your ROWS of dots to slightly overlap, but not the dots within the rows themselves. Make sense? We're going for scalloped edge to mimick her dress, not polka dots.

5. While I'm letting each row set just a bit I worked on my flower. DON'T LAUGH I know it's special. I used my red and green pixiedusts for it, but you could certainly use cremes. I used a small dotting tool to kinda drag lines into curves.

6. Use green to add a stem. One that looks better than mine.

7. When you have gone all the way up your nail with rows, let it dry just a bit. Then, add topcoat.  A lot of times I don't add topcoat to my designs, but for this I think it really helps blend the ruffles. In this section the top finger does not have top coat and the bottom one does.


Belle tutorial
Polishes used: NOPI Hit the lights (accent yellow), OPI I Just Can't Cope-acabana (base yellow), OPI Alpine snow, Zoya Chyna and Chita.

Polishes used for Belle nails

Belle nails with OPI I Just can't cope-acabana