Monday, July 30, 2012

On Safari: Purr-fect Plum

Hello lovelies! I bring good news, great news even! The prizes for my upcoming giveaway have arrived and I will be spending tomorrow setting up the post and Rafflecopter so be on the lookout August 1st.


With that awesome news, I bring you today's post. I know it can't really compare, but I hope you enjoy another On Safari swatch.




This is Purr-fect Plum. I thought it really was going to be the most perfect of plums but it went on so much darker than I was expecting. The color was much lighter in the bottle but went on the deep, dark color of an actual plum fruit.




On Safari is a China Glaze fall collection however, so this color will be perfect for Autumn. I actually have the perfect matching outfit already and can think of another handful of ways to use this color.




Here is a look at Purr-fect Plum in direct sunset lighting. Is this not a really gorgeous color? I can just imagine how wonderful this will look surrounded by brightly colored leaves or even against the brightness of snow.




The only thing besides Fall that could make it better is nail art! As I said in my previous post, I'm hoping to continue with a tribal theme. This isn't the design I had sketched out, but I think it works somehow.




It's a bit of an odd design, isn't it? Maybe not fully tribal ... it actually kind of reminds me of a door. A heavy wooden door? A castle door? I don't know but whatever it is, I like it.

Friday, July 27, 2012

Go For The Gold



I am so excited about the Olympics this year. It's never been a big deal before but something about this year just seems different to me. I was actually so excited that I did these nails weeks ago! However, I wanted to save them for today. The qualifying rounds are over and the Opening Ceremony is tonight!


I'm from the United States, born and raised, so I felt obligated to do Go For The Gold: USA nails. However, if you support another country simply swap the red, white and blue used for my nails for your chosen countries colors. It's a very simple gradient. I used my trusty eyeshadow applicator to dab on two coats of red and blue, top and bottom, before dabbing on some white between them. I went back with red or blue where the white covered too much.


Who else is excited about the Olympics? Have you watched the qualifying rounds? Will you be scheduling your lives in an attempt to catch as much of the Olympics as you can? Will you be on the lookout for only certain events? How many of you are going to try avoiding the Olympics all together? I know I will attempt to watch a little bit of everything, but my mom will be avoiding everything to do with the Olympics.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

On Safari: Desert Sun

Hello again lovelies! Another day, another On Safari polish swatch.




This one is Desert Sun. I am amazed at the pictures I managed to get with my new camera. I'm sure my old camera would have turned this lovely shade some vastly different color, but I am beyond happy to say that my new camera managed to capture the shade nearly perfectly.




The color of Desert Sun is hard to categorize. It's a very muddy orange color, not unlike sun-baked clay. I think the closest shade I've found through Wikipedia is one of the many tawny shades. 




I decided to keep with the tribal theme. I'm thinking of carrying this theme through almost the entire collection seeing as these colors are just so perfect for tribal art. The exceptions would of course be those colors I don't have (yet) and the glitters.




Desert Sun was so much better than I expected and it looked wonderful with this tribal design; I didn't want to take it off! When I first showed interest in this color it was simply as a base for the glitters of this collection, but I see now that it can be so much more!

Monday, July 23, 2012

On Safari: Exotic Encounters

I am so excited about this next line of posts!! I made mentions of the new China Glaze On Safari collection and my mom brought home almost the entire collection for me! How great is she?? I'm still missing one of the two new glitters and the bright blue - I Herd That and Manhunt. I'm also missing Prey Tell and Call of the Wild, but I think they are simply too dark for my tastes.

This post focuses on the one polish from this collection, besides the glitters, that I was most looking forward to.



Exotic Encounters is lovely teal green creme. Another blogger called it a kind of dusty teal with blue undertones and I find this to be a near exact description of this shade. However, what I found exceptionally funny while browsing shades of green to compare it to is that this color in some lights takes on a shade Wikipedia describes as 'jungle green'. Oddly poetic.



I know I have problems keeping my coats thin and this polish certainly didn't help with that (not that I consider that anything bad!!). It went on very thick with just one coat, as seen above. If I was in a hurry I could have walked out the door right then. Two coats brought me to the perfect coverage. You may need three if you find you have better control over your coats.



The moment I saw this on my nails I thought this shade would make an absolutely gorgeous base for a tribal mani, and I was right! Exotic Encounters being from the 'On Safari' collection just made it all the more perfect in my eyes. That said, I think it is just as stunning when used alone. I got many a compliment while out the day before I added the tribal print.



In the end, I am very happy to say I own Exotic Encouters and definitely recommend this shade to all of you. :)

Saturday, July 21, 2012

A Week of Glitter: Flaming Glitter

Welcome to Day 5, the last and final post for 'A Week of Glitter'. There are many more ways to use glitter, but I have to end somewhere! So, I'll end with one of my favorite ways of using glitter. This post focuses on gradient glitter.




Both polishes I used are from the China Glaze Capitol Colours Collection. If you'll remember this was dubbed the China Glaze Hunger Games Collection. I used Stone Cold as my base color and created the gradient using the red and gold glitter, Electrify.




You can see in this picture that Stone Cold has it's own bit of sparkle to it with it's silver shimmer. Stone Cold is a matte polish, however I used a top coat with this mani. The color change of Stone Cold from matte to shine is almost startling. It goes from the dark silver/grey of stone to a deep almost black color. Different, but still gorgeous.




No matter how much I love the look of Electrify, I try to use it only occasionally. Why, you ask, if I love it so much? Electrify is one of the most stubborn glitters I've ever encountered. Even using the foil method recommended for stubborn glitters it still takes a few minutes of scrubbing to get this removed from my nails. That's saying nothing about how the bits of removed glitter cling to everything they meet.

Real Life News

There is a nail related post coming later, but I couldn't resist sharing some real life news. I know I mentioned in a previous post that I was going for my learner's permit and learning to drive. Well, after two tries (one with a flat tire and the other with a closed DMV), I finally made it yesterday and took the test.




And I passed! I can now legally get behind the wheel of a car as long as I have an adult with a valid driver's license with me. In other words, a responsible adult. Where do I find one of those again?? :)


That's all the news I wanted to share. I hope you girlies have a great day and an even better weekend! My permit makes up for the cold, wet weather that rolled in around here over the past few days. Yuck! I certainly hope for the return of the warm weather.

Friday, July 20, 2012

A Week of Glitter: Feature Friday

Another Friday, another Feature. I decided to follow along with my 'A Week of Glitter' and do a glitter Feature Friday. Since this has been a week of fairly simple nails on my part I knew from the start that I wanted this week's Feature to be a nail art design.


nails nail art nailart nail polish Algae Veronica Veronica's Obsession Spellbound Feature Friday Graffiti

That's when I stumbled across Graffiti Style by Algae Veronica's Nail Art Obsession. I think this is an awesome design, but if these nails aren't your glittery style you might like ...


WAH nails nail art nailart nail polish Spellbound Feature Friday Week of Glitter Union Jacks British Britain

these Glitter Union Jacks by WAH Nails. I can only imagine the patience that went into these to make them so perfect.

Brilliant job to both artists. :)

With these two great designs as starting points you should be able to add sparkle to any nail. And if you're not feeling up to doing a complete design ... always remember the accent nail! It's the perfect way to add some flash without having to spend hours on your nails.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

A Week of Glitter: Dazzled

For day 4 of 'A Week of Glitter' I bring you complementary glitter.


nails nail art nailart nail polish A Week of Glitter New York Color Spellbound red


For my complementary glitter, I chose NYC's bright red Madison Avenue and paired it with their red based glitter Big City Dazzle. Big City Dazzle is filled with not just red glitter but blue and purple glitter and tiny silver micro-glitters as well. Madison Avenue looks very thin and sheer in the bottle and had me worried for a moment, but it only took two coats to cover my nail.


nails nail art nailart nail polish A Week of Glitter New York Color Spellbound red


When choosing a glitter for a complementary mani, make sure you can still see the same color glitter over your base color. You want to pair slightly different shades together so it all shows up. Also make sure the other glitter colors match well with your base color too. If the colors of glitter and polish don't go together it tends to draw the wrong kind of attention.


How do you guys like the pictures? I got a new camera the other day. It's much better than what I've been using, and I'm so excited by how amazing the pictures look! I don't think I've ever managed to capture a glitter so well!!

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

A Week of Glitter: Cinderella

The 3rd post in 'A Week of Glitter' isn't exactly a glitter. It's a shimmer, but I figure that still qualifies for this week since it adds a sparkle to any outfit.




This is Sinful Colors Cinderella. I looked everywhere for this when it first came out and only just now found it in a 'brand new' display. I hate living in a small town for this reason.




Cinderella lived up to my, admittedly small, expectations. I can't say it really impressed me ... but then I wasn't expecting it to. While I adore this shade of baby blue, it's not one of the colors I can wear well.




I also found the beautiful pink shimmer you could see so clearly in the bottle got a bit lost on the nail unless you looked very closely. However, I used 4 coats to get Cinderella opaque so that might have something to do with the lost shimmer. I know other bloggers raved about the shimmer and their pictures showed it much more than my own.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

A Week of Glitter: A Pop of White

Welcome to day 2 of 'A Week of Glitter'. This one is A Pop of White.


Spellbound nails nail art nailart mani manicure polish white purple A Week of Glitter China Glaze Capitol Colours Hunger Games collection


Draw attention to yourself and your nails with a base of white. Then, wow them with glitter.


Spellbound nails nail art nailart mani manicure polish white purple A Week of Glitter China Glaze Capitol Colours Hunger Games collection


I don't think I managed to wow anyone with this glitter however. As you can see from the pictures the purple glitter is Glitter Addict by LA Girl in Eutopia. I also added a few flakes of Luxe and Lush from the China Glaze Capitol Colours Collection, nearly unseen in this mani and only then if you know what you're looking for.


Spellbound nails nail art nailart mani manicure polish white purple A Week of Glitter China Glaze Capitol Colours Hunger Games collection


I'm sure if I tried this mani again I would add much more glitter, probably using more than one shade of glitter as well. The theory is sound though. Attract attention with white nails and then hit them with glitter!

Monday, July 16, 2012

A Week of Glitter: Gold Glitz

Hey girlies. I hope you all got your week started off right. I've dubbed this week's posts: 'A Week of Glitter'. Haven't you always wanted to add some spice and bling to your outfits? Sometimes your outfit just doesn't have enough sparkle for your liking and a necklace just doesn't work, earrings just don't dazzle enough. That leaves us with nails. 


a week of glitter gold glitz Art Deco Spellbound nails nailart nail art mani manicure polish LA Colors

Today's post is a very simple (and cost effective) way to add some sparkle to your nails.


a week of glitter gold glitz Art Deco Spellbound nails nailart nail art mani manicure polish LA Colors


This is LA Colors Art Deco in gold. It's a nail art striper polish that I picked up at my local Dollar Store so it's a much less costly option to other glitters. 


a week of glitter gold glitz Art Deco Spellbound nails nailart nail art mani manicure polish LA Colors

You do have to contend with the brush. Like I said, it's a striper polish thus having a long, thin brush. Still, I found I had no problems getting the glitter on my nails with this brush. It's very glitter dense, so I left it at one coat. I did have trouble getting this glitter off my nails but certainly none getting it on!



a week of glitter gold glitz Art Deco Spellbound nails nailart nail art mani manicure polish LA Colors


This is definitely an option to look into if your looking for an awesome glitter for cheap. Art Deco has a variety of glitter colors. Look to their site here for exact colors. I know both my local Dollar Stores, as well as my local Walmart and Rite Aid sell this polish so if you can't find the color you're looking for check elsewhere.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

My Week of Disasters

Hey girlies. Sorry for missing Feature Friday this week, but it's been a pretty disastrous week here. I had a slight nail break, not anything to really worry about, but it was done opening a car door! I was getting into my sister's car, talking to her kids in the backseat, and the door was locked. Really?? I was lifting the handle and pulling the door so it goes without saying my hand slipped when the door didn't open. It was just the corner of my nail, but it just had to be my picture taking hand. :(


The other big thing is the flat tire my mom's car got when she was taking me to get my driving permit. Yep, I'm finally learning to drive. It's only ten years late, but better late than never. So, flat tire, no one to help us ... what do I do? I change the tire!! She was so impressed she got pictures.


Yep, that's me, changing a tire. If you look close you can see China Glaze Sun Worshiper on my only visible toe.

I may be dirty and greasy, but I didn't break a nail!

Sadly, by then it was too late to make it to the DMV. Maybe next week I'll have a  permit to share, and I really hope to have some awesome nails to show you this coming week too.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Emote Nails

Wow! I didn't realize just how close I am to 100 GFC followers. You guys are amazing!!! So, for being such amazing followers I will let you in on a little secret. I will be having a super awesome giveaway soon. I have an order in for one of the prizes and I am so close to being able to order the other prize. This will be a giveaway with 2 winners and many ways to enter. I'm hoping to have everything together for August, so tell everyone you know! Now, onto the actual post.


Today's (short) post is Emote nails. Emote: to show emotion. I think these nails certainly do that, don't you? :)




They show love, anger, happiness, boredom/tiredness and ...




Sadness on the thumb. I love this little guy. He's just so cute and definitely my favorite.


What do you gals think of emote nails? Are they something you would try? What emotions would you have your nails express? ... How excited are you for a giveaway??

Monday, July 9, 2012

Neon Splatter

If there's one thing I love it's neon nail polish. I really don't think there's much better ... except maybe neon splatter nails!!!

splatter neon nails nailart nail art mani manicure orange yellow purple pink Funky Fingers China Glaze Color Club Spellbound

Splatter nails create such a unique look for your nails. You'll never get the same design twice even if you use the same polishes. And, all told, they're really not that hard to do. All you need is polish, a piece of paper, some tape (for easier cleanup), and a straw. Tape around your nails, drop some polish onto a piece of paper, dip your straw into the polish and blow in one hard puff over your nail. Be sure to keep the piece of paper under your hand so you don't ruin your workstation. This may not always get a splatter but just keep trying until your straw picks up enough polish.

splatter neon nails nailart nail art mani manicure orange yellow purple pink Funky Fingers China Glaze Color Club Spellbound

My problem with splatter nails? I don't know when to quit! I just keep adding more and more splatters until my base polish is practically covered and the splatters are everywhere. I think I managed to reign myself in more than usual with this splatter, but there's still a lot of them.

splatter neon nails nailart nail art mani manicure orange yellow purple pink Funky Fingers China Glaze Color Club Spellbound


My right hand is less covered with splatter, but I did have a major drip on my middle finger and couldn't manage to get very many on my ring finger. Also, I somehow managed to smudge the polish on my index nail. I have no idea how. One moment it was fine and then next it was bunched. There was simply no fixing it.


splatter neon nails nailart nail art mani manicure orange yellow purple pink Funky Fingers China Glaze Color Club Spellbound

And here you can see the thumb of my right hand. It has a good splatter pattern and managed to get a good splatter of each color.

splatter neon nails nailart nail art mani manicure orange yellow purple pink Funky Fingers China Glaze Color Club Spellbound


Overall, I think this turned out really great. I definitely want to do more neon splatter nails. I'm thinking Sun Worshiper would make an amazing base color.

Polishes Used
Color Club - Yell-Oh!
Color Club - Mrs. Robinson
Funky Fingers - Kingston
China Glaze - Sun Worshiper

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Night Sky

I fell asleep the other night looking up at the night sky and an idea for a mani hit me full force. What if I tried something somewhat like a galaxy nail but based around a night sky instead?

night sky constellations nails nailart nail art mani manicure galaxy stars


This is what I managed to come up with. It's not exactly what I had in mind. Honestly, I'm not really pleased with the end product. I'm by no means an astrologist or even a constellation enthusiast. I know the very basic constellations and nothing more, but I do love to gaze up at the night sky and admire the stars. With near to no knowledge of constellations, I wish I had taken the extra few minutes and mapped out the constellations I used a bit better. I think the only recognizable one is Cassiopeia on my middle finger.


That said, the actual night sky turned out surprisingly well. I used China Glaze First Mate, China Glaze Secret Peri-Wink-Le, and an unnamed black polish much as I would with a galaxy nail. Then I added a coat of a thin glitter and the constellations themselves. I might have to try these nails again just to see how they would look with a few tiny dots of white scattered around for stars instead of trying to form constellations with larger stars. I think they would look much better this way.

Friday, July 6, 2012

Feature Friday

Hello girlies! I'm a few hours late with this post but better late than never, right?


Today's feature is a beautiful lighthouse manicure by Pretty in Paint. China Glaze Secret Peri-Wink-Le works amazingly well as a base for the lighthouse and the classic flying birds on the other nails tie it all together into one stunning package!! I am now dying to try this design. :)


lighthouse ocean water summer birds classic blue China Glaze Secret Peri-Wink-Le Pretty in Paint Spellbound acrylic tutorial


Take a moment and visit Pretty in Paint for the tutorial on this mani and leave some love in the comments!


As always, these are not my nails! I had no hand or say in their creation. This is simply a feature post in an attempt to give another blogger some love. Take a moment, follow the links, and leave a nice comment or two for the featured blogger.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Patriotic Splatter

Happy 4th of July to my United States readers. This is the last 4th of July mani I have for you. I wanted something simple, something just about anyone can do ... something that doesn't use all the usual tools my nail art does. What's one of the simplest manicures I could think of? A splatter, of course!


patriotic splatter 4th of July Independence Day United States of America red white blue nails nail art nailart mani manicure Spellbound


I call this a patriotic splatter. I used two coats of white. I did a light splatter of red, then blue, before doing one more splatter of red. My blue left larger splatters, more drips than anything, and took over the mani until I added more red.


patriotic splatter 4th of July Independence Day United States of America red white blue nails nail art nailart mani manicure Spellbound


Be very careful if you use two primary colors, colors that can create other colors if mixed, in your splatter. To keep my red and blue from mixing and making purple I used a straw for the red and a straw for the blue. There is always the chance that they will still mix on your nails though. I have a few purple spots on my nails but not as noticeable as they might be if I had used the same straw for both colors.


patriotic splatter 4th of July Independence Day United States of America red white blue nails nail art nailart mani manicure Spellbound


The nice thing about this design is that it can be done by any patriotic person, not just those living in the US. Simply use your country's colors for a unique splatter. This can also be done with school colors or your favorite sports teams colors.


patriotic splatter 4th of July Independence Day United States of America red white blue nails nail art nailart mani manicure Spellbound


Here is a splatter tutorial by The PolishAholic if you'd like to try your own Patriotic Splatter mani.

Monday, July 2, 2012

4th of July

Wait! What do you mean it's not the 4th of July yet?? Yep, that's right. I'm early (for once)!! My holiday nails are usually done quickly and posted the day of the holiday. So I'm really happy to be posting these nails early. I may be a bit biased, but I adore the US flag. There are a few other flags I like but never as much.


4th of July Memorial Day USA flag United States of America red white blue stars stripes nail art nailart mani manicure Spellbound Nails handpainted hand painted freehand

This is three coats of white which I then taped over the bottom half of before painting the blue. I added red stripes to the bottom half and white stars to the top half. I free handed the stars this time. I think it was easier than trying to trace around star shaped gems. Now I just have to focus on drawing them smaller for other designs.

4th of July Memorial Day USA flag United States of America red white blue stars stripes nail art nailart mani manicure Spellbound Nails handpainted hand painted freehand

I wanted to try something different with my picture this time. I love how some bloggers have large pieces of jewelry or hold coffee cups or any number of things besides a nail polish bottle or going claw. So, I decided to try a flower this time until I can browse my local shops for something else. :)