Mani Monday – Simple Gifts

In celebration of Charlotte’s birthday last Wednesday, I came up with this mani that is reusable in any occasion–from holidays to birthdays!

I recently bought a set of MASH nail art brushes, and this mani is one of my first successful manis with the brushes!

Pink isn’t usually my go-to color, but I am rather satisfied that it worked well overall.

Sorry for the poor quality of photos–it calls for a remake, don’t you think?

Charlotte and I are almost on break so we’ll have more time to be creative =)

Products Used:

Milani A Rose for MyLady

NYC Black Lace Creme

Throwback Thursday – Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary

My roommates and I had been planning our 50th anniversary viewing party basically since the special episode had been announced. When the weekend finally came, we began celebrations with a marathon and some nail painting of course! It only got better from there, with the reappearance of not only Tennant but Billie Piper (even though she wasn’t really Rose!!!! ARGH, damn you Moffatt). There were giggles, whimpers, screams of excitement, and tears. Lots and lots of tears. I’m pretty sure I chipped all of my nails during the two-hour long show, but I managed to snap some pictures before!

On one of my roommates, I took inspiration from Dani’s Manis and tried out a Bad Wolf graffiti manicure.

 

 

And on myself, I tried out the Van Gogh exploding Tardis (also inspired by Dani’s Manis)!

 

 

 

 

I’ll definitely be doing some more Doctor Who themed manicures in the future (already have so many ideas!) and hopefully we won’t go so long without a post again…

Hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving!

 

Mani Monday – Halloweekend Manicures

Hey everyone! Long time no talk…sorry 😦

It was a busy Halloween and Halloweekend on my end, but man was it fun.

I ended up with two festive manicures last week, one just for kicks and the other as part of my costume.

 

The first: ox-blood and spiderwebs.

 

 

And the second: Slytherin themed to go with my Draco Malfoy costume. My roommates were Ron and Harry (maybe I’ll post a pic of us together later!).

 

 

 

 

Until next time (I hope it’ll be soon!) have a wonderful Monday!

Mani Monday – Modern French Tip

Recently I’ve been playing with a few different combinations for a French tips design (you won’t be seeing some of those experiments any time soon). After trying way too many bright colors, I gave into my dark side and used these colors–and I really like how it turned out!

Instead of painting the French tip free-handed as I usually do, I tried out the taping method. Provided you do the entire process correctly, this method is simple, clean, and easy. Note that it is very important step to wait until the bottom color is completely dry before proceeding…

To complete the look, I added a matte top coat and the beads to cover crooked lines create an accent nail.

Products Used:

Wet n’ Wild Megalast Through the Grapevine

Wet n’ Wild Wild Shine Black Creme

Claire’s Cosmetics Matte Top Coat

Throwback Thursday – Simply Fall

I’ve always been a blue sort of person. Until now. The autumn colors have recently been invading my life for the first time. Especially orange.

Perhaps you may think I am being overly dramatic. Well I am.

However, this subtle and mysterious increase of brighter colors popping up everywhere in my wardrobe and nails makes me suspicious of what is to come…

I’m not so much of an autumn grouch–this mani actually makes me feel a bit cheery! The balance between the orange and the mint green work well without any one color overpowering the other. It’s a nice transition from summer to autumn, don’t you think?

Products used:

Etude House GR701

Wet n’ Wild Megalast Club Havana

Wet n’ Wild Megalast I need a Refreshmint

Wet n’ Wild Wild Shine French White Creme

Mani Monday – Floral and Rhinestones

I was feeling extra girly this weekend so I decided that a pink manicure wasn’t enough. Oh no, I needed flowers too. And then I needed sparkles. This is what I ended up with!

 

 

 

 

Products Used:

OPI Red My Fortune Cookie

OPI Lucky Lucky Lavender

OPI Jade is the New Black

Unnamed White Striper

Swatch Sunday – Essie Collection

Hello all! Long time no talk…it’s been a busy few weeks on our end, what with moving in and waiting for the internet to be installed etc.

I also have some sad news, which is that the majority of my nail polish collection was left at home and I won’t really be able to see my pretties until December 😦 So much for attempting to swatch everything! However, I did bring a good enough amount with me so that I can continue doing nail art!

For now though, this is the last of the swatches (unless I buy some new pretties…which I undoubtedly will).

I present to you my collection of Essie polishes!

Antique Rose and Sole Mate

Nothing Else Metals and Skirting the Issue

Penny Talk and In the Cab-ana

Blue Rhapsody and Stroke of Brilliance

St. Lucia Lilac and Jazz

Throwback Thursday – Candyland

This post is in memory of my bottle of Revlon’s Elegant, a casualty of flying in the unprotected environment of my suitcase.

I can only recall this mani with experiencing frustration to the fifth degree because the polishes were drying up a lot faster than I could marble. Speed was the name of the game and fortunately resulted with this sweet combination. It kinda reminds me of peppermint and chocolate! What do you think?

My adventures abroad in Japan have been fueling my imagination. There was so much to see, explore, and eat! I can’t wait to combine my memories and polishes together to see what kind of crazy cultural mix comes out!

Products Used:

Revlon Elegant

Revlon Naughty

NYC Madison Avenue

Mani Monday – End of Summer Sparkles

Last week my mother, sister, and I took a dangerous trip to my favorite nail polish spot. It’s one of those little wholesale places where everything is pretty much half price and it was the best discovery I ever made! Now, I usually go in with only $20 so I can limit my purchases…but for some reason this wasn’t a problem this time. I walked out with a lone bottle of Seche Vite and that was it! Guess I just wasn’t feeling any of the options? I’ll have to go back before I’m off to Boston again though! Point of the story though, is that my mom and sister nabbed some pretties and I obviously had to try some of them out. I went for my sister’s bottle of OPI’s Mimosa for Mr and Mrs, which is a lovely light pink. Being me though, I had to add some sparkles!

 

Throwback Thursday – Saran Wrap Manicure

Last week I wanted to do some water marbling, but I’d already done the traditional dipping-in-water technique on my sister’s nails so I decided to finally try the saran wrap manicure! It was super easy and I love the outcome! Makes me think of my birthstone – turquoise!

(Sorry for the thumb chip, this was after a few days of wear.)

Have you ever tried this technique? I think I actually prefer this to water marbling just because of the messiness aspect of the latter. But they both provide some unique and gorgeous looks!