Neon Pink Stripes

I thought I should get all the neon out of my system before I have to pull out the Fall colors. So here goes ...

I am ashamed to say I have absolutely no idea what the name of this pink is. It is my sister's nail polish that accidentally got mixed in with mine. I couldn't resist using it before I gave it back to her. For some reason, she took the name sticker off the bottom. Seriously? Who does that??? Though looking at swatches it may or may not be either Sinful Colors Fusion Neon or 24/7.

The name of this color aside it is a beautifully bright pink. What better use for a pink this bright than doing stripes with China Glaze White on White?

How about taking it one step further? This was done with the help of some weird cut scissors. I put a piece of tape on some wax paper and cut it down the middle with ragged cut scissors. Cutting the tape down the middle let me have enough tape for two nails. I angled the tape just slightly on my nails and painted over with black. I think this created a really awesome pattern. It almost looks like the black is running down my nails in some spots. I can already see a few more uses for these scissors.

How do you feel about using weird cut scissors as part of a tape mani?

HauteLook and Orly

I'm not sure how many of you are already signed up for HauteLook, but if you're not already you really should be. Until Saturday 8AM Pacific time, HauteLook will have Orly nail polishes for $4.50. Halloween Creme and Halloween Glitter are $9.00 and the 6 set Romance Collection is only $27 compared to it's usual price of $51! There are also a few others at various prices. This is a steal in my opinion given that Orly is usually $8.50 a bottle. I have very few Orly in my collection due to their price and my small nail polish budget. So, at this price I already have 6 in my cart. :)

Well, I'm off to place my order, just thought I would let you guys know about this awesome deal in case you want to add some Orly to your collection too.

C is for ...

Here is my mani for C in the ABC Challenge. I had so many ideas for C. The classic caged bird flying away design, cats, checkered, color blocking. However, I finally decided C is for ...

Chucky complete with blood drips. The Bride of Chucky movie is definitely one of my favorite 'horror' movies, right up there with Seed of Chucky. The only horror movies I like more are the Resident Evil movies.

I love the blood drips over white in this mani. These come from a tutorial over at Nails by Kayla Shevonne. I was left slightly disappointed at my Chucky. He came together so well but the overall effect just doesn't scream Chucky at me. I don't think I managed to capture that essential craziness he does so well.

However, this mani is chilling no matter if it looks completely like Chucky. So, if I must, C can also be for chilling.

B is for ...

I stumbled across the ABC Challenge last week and decided I wanted to take part. This is my first challenge like this since I usually come in way, way too late.

The ABC's of Nail Polish is pretty much exactly what it sounds like — an ABC nail art challenge hosted by the Llama Nails group on Facebook. The challenge started September 12th and will run through to March 6th. 26 weeks for 26 letters. Posting is every Wednesday. You only need to do one manicure a week and it's okay if you miss a week. However, the big rule is that, each week, something in your manicure must begin with the letter for that week. It can be the name of the polish brand you'll be using, the name of the polish itself, the technique, the stamp, the color, the item depicted on your nails ... really the sky is the limit!

I would love it if any other nail artists or enthusiasts joined me for this challenge!!

I missed the letter A since I came in late for this challenge. I wanted to make up for that by doing two B manicures. So ...

B is for Beard

This beard mani is something I've been wanting to do for a really long time. However, it's not something I could wear anywhere ... even just around the house. It's very impractical! This challenge gave me the perfect chance to do this idea though. I made the beard, mustache, and bushy eyebrows from a cotton ball and attached them with clear nail polish. Oddly enough, the face was added after all the hair.

B is for Bricks

Somehow this all turned into a really Christmas-y mani set. I think after doing the beard mani and seeing how much like Santa it looked like all I could think of after that was the old fashioned brick fireplaces. I can just see an accent finger with a roaring fire cut into the bricks. Still, these brick nails were really fun to do. You can't see it in this picture but I sponged on a darker red in hopes of getting a speckled brick pattern but once I added the white it kind of got lost. Oh well.

That's it for this post. I hope to see you in the Llama Nails group doing the challenge beside me. :) Be on the lookout for my C mani in my next post.

Hazard

'ello girlies. I hope you guys have a great weekend. I'm going to keep today's post fairly simple. It's a color swatch. It's been a while since I did a simple color swatch.

This is Hazard from Sinful Colors. I was browsing the nail polish section of Walmart when I caught sight of this color out of the corner of my eye. It isn't my usual choice of color but I was absurdly drawn to it for some reason. I just had to have it!

I'm really glad I decided to buy Hazard. It is a lovely shade of warm coral pink that turns this equally as gorgeous cool shade of salmon in some lights. I don't know how Sinful Colors managed to capture such warm and cool shades together in one bottle, but they did an amazing job!

No matter if it turns coral or salmon, it is so beautiful! However, you know me! I can't just wear a plain polish, no matter how pretty. I had to do something.

I took some of my 2mm round gold studs that I purchased from the Born Pretty Store and used them to create tips over Hazard. The Born Pretty Store has come out with some really awesome studs (and other products too). They have round studs in various colors, square in silver and gold that can be turned to create diamond shaped studs, as well comma, rectangle, actual diamond, and star studs! My next order will definitely include some square studs and maybe some of those stars! Did I mention they also just came out with velvet powder? Yep, I'll have that too! :)

What do you think of Hazard?

Give Me Your Suggestions

Hey girlies! The posts are all set for the next week, and I feel like I can take a bit of a breather. Since I won't be scrambling for nail art to post I thought I would take a moment and ask you what you want to see.

So, what are you looking for on this blog? Do you want to see a specific nail art? More of my attempts at stamping? A better variety of color swatches? What??

You tell me what you want to see and I'll try to make it happen. I can't promise that I will be able to do everything you guys requests, but I would love to give it a try. You can leave requests and suggestions in the comments or you can email them to me if you like.

♥ Ashley

Whiten Your Nails At Home (Tutorial)

I don't know about you, but no matter how well my base coat works, after all this nail art my nails start to look yellow. I finally got fed up with this yellowing last month and searched all over the internet for a DIY whitening. And I found one, a really good one, and I'm going to share it with you!

The ingredients are simple! You just need some baking soda and some hydrogen peroxide. It doesn't matter how much or how little you pay for these. I had some brand name baking soda and some Rite Aid peroxide on hand so I decided to use them. So, don't feel bad about getting off brand products if you're on a budget! Just make sure your peroxide is 3%. If you can't find 3% listed on the front, check the active ingredients list; hydrogen peroxide should be listed there as 3%.

You'll need a bowl or a cup. I've tried both and found I preferred the bowl but will go with a slightly smaller bowl next time. You'll get a whiter look if you have something to scrub your nails with. I used an old, soft toothbrush.

The original instructions said to make a paste from 1 teaspoon of peroxide and 2 1/4 teaspoons of baking soda. However, I found this mixture was too runny to call a 'paste' so I simply dumped in more baking soda and peroxide until I had a suitably thick paste, as seen in the picture above. Keep in mind that your body heat will cause the paste to melt slightly.

After you have your paste made to your liking, you can choose to layer some of it over your nails. I decided to soak my nails in the paste instead. Not only was it less tiring than keeping my hand elevated and completely still, but there was less chance of making a mess by dripping the paste everywhere. I had the patience to soak my nails for about 20-30 minutes per hand. (Whiten your nails while you watch your favorite television show!) Occasionally remove your hand from the mixture and lightly scrub with your brush. Don't scrub too hard as the graininess of the baking soda can damage to your nails.

Simply wash your hands and nails of the remaining paste and they should be noticeably whiter. I recommend putting on a good hand and nail cream after this.

Here are my nails before ... very yellow at the tips especially around my nail line ...

And here are my nails after two whitening treatments done over two weeks, one a week.

From some of the other recipes I found during my search you can add a small amount of lemon juice to this mixture to speed up whitening. I didn't have any lemons on hand so I couldn't try this. I will say that I had a small amount of pain and irritation under some of my nails after soaking them. The irritation faded quickly but I'm not sure how adding lemon would affect this. Certainly don't use this, with or without lemon, if you have any cuts or open wounds on or around your hands!

I would love to know if you try this recipe and if it works for you. I would also love to know if you know of a better one!