Blog to Love Friday #4

Hey everyone! I'm sorry for there being no new posts, and I'm sorry to say there won't be for a bit. My computer has finally, after 5 years of devoted service, died. I've put in an order for a new one, but it won't be shipped for about a week and then I'll need to get all my programs and things reloaded. Using my mom's laptop is letting me know just how much I'll need to reload when I go to open a program or a website from my fave places. Some good news is coming out of this though; it is giving me time to work on my own nail polish and store up some swatches and nail art.

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Since I don't have my favorite places to work from I had to do some quick searching for my favorite posts of the week. They're not what I would have posted with my fave places, but I'm actually really glad. This forced me to branch out and search out new blogs, and I'm loving them!!

• My first blog post has to be this Apple Pie Protein "Ice Cream" from Nutritionist in the Kitch. By God the woman is a genius! I hate bananas. There's just something about the texture of a banana that I can't eat. But I love frozen bananas, usually a cut banana with peanut butter sandwiched between the slices, so to find another way of using frozen bananas is great. To find something so delicious sounding and looking is awesome! But to find that something so sinful is healthy?? BRILLIANT! I love that this recipe takes no ice cream machine since I don't have one.
• I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love vintage nails. Watch Marlin Note's video tutorial to learn how to do Rose Fabric Nail Art.
• If you're looking for something new and odd to do with your hair try this Hair Bow video tutorial from MakeupWearables. I love the look of hair bows, bows actually twisted up and created with your hair, but this puts a whole new spin on this look. It's an upside down, rope braided hair bow!!
• I've yet to try a gradient lip. I've found most of them too unnoticeable or far too noticeable! It's a very fine line that someone walks to be able to pull off a gradient lip. But I think ChassyCali finally hooked me with her Berry and Nude Gradient lip ... or maybe it was her Red and Gold lip. Both of these are stunning and just subtle enough to work.
• Watching my weight (hopefully drop) as I am, I'm always on the lookout for healthy sweet treats. I'm not a fan of doughnuts personally; I love the taste but find them far too heavy, sitting sickeningly in my stomach for hours after I eat them, and yet finding I'm still hungry! I'm hoping these super light and fluffy (healthier) Homemade Krispy Kreme Doughnuts with Healthy Glaze Icing from Chocolate Covered Katie will give me the taste of a yummy doughnut, but not the heavy after-feeling  If you're looking for something a little less plain she also came up with Cake-Batter Doughnuts!! Seriously, where has this woman been my whole life???
• And last but not least, Maryam Maquillage came up with these gorgeous Gems & Jewels nails. I absolutely adore the picture of her nails next to her shimmery pink lips. Am I the only one dying of jealousy over her lips?? The shape, the color, the shiny shimmery gloss. Yep, I'm totally jealous!

Rainbow Gradient

Today is supposed to be my X nail art for the ABC Challenge, but I'm stumped on what to do for this letter. I'll think of something by next challenge ... hopefully. For now, check out the rainbow gradient I wore last weekend.

I hate the claw, but it's pretty much the only position in nails that need to include the thumb. Some of you may remember the sideways rainbow gradient from my NOH8 nails. I wanted to try something different this time so I did them as a normal gradient. I found the lightest rainbow colors from my collection to use for this.

Here are my nails before clean-up. So messy!!! I usually tape around my nails before doing something this messy, but I forget. Isn't that the way things usually go? You only forget something that would speed things up when you're in a hurry!

I took this picture in the car. It was snowing so hard and then a little bit of sunlight peeked through, and I couldn't resist snapping a few pics. It's not up to my usual standard, but there's something I really like about this picture.

I couldn't resist getting a picture of my cotton ball after I removed the gradient. I'm reminded of a clown's wig, lol.

Colors Used: Rimmel English Rose, Sinful Colors Hazard, Sally Hansen Lightening, Sally Hansen Green with Envy, Wet n Wild I Need A Refresh-Mint, Wet n Wild On a Trip

St. Patrick's Day Duo

Hello everyone! I'd like to introduce you to a cute little duo you can now buy in my Etsy shop.

This is the St. Patrick's Day Duo. I missed getting my Valentine's Day polish out so I'm jumping the gun on this collection. :) Meet Fool's Gold and Clover the Rainbow.

Fool's Gold has a clear base filled with small and medium matte green glitter and large gold glitter — all hex.

Here is Fool's Gold over Petites Black. I adore how this looks! Almost like a galaxy nail or a flakey ... maybe a combination of both. :)

I also tried Fool's Gold over CQ Pearls. I thought Fool's Gold would look better over the slightly shimmery, off-white color than it would over regular white.

The second half of this lucky duo is Clover the Rainbow, named by Lyssa over on my Facebook page.  Clover the Rainbow is a green jelly with small matte green hex glitter and rainbow holographic hex glitter.

With three coats over bare nails you might not get full coverage, as is typical with a jelly, but you could certainly wear this out and show your Irish pride!

If you're looking for full coverage, you can wear one coat over white for a minty, lightly glittered nail.

Two coats over white will get you this look in sunlight. Clover the Rainbow is a very versatile polish. Change it up for different looks, wear it alone or with an undie.

Remember to follow and favorite my shop on Etsy to be the first to see new polishes. :)

Blogs to Love Friday #3

Another Friday and another Blogs to Love post. There won't be as many blogs to recommend; this week had been all about Valentine's Day on most blogs and it just doesn't seem right to post about V-Day the day after. As always, if you decide to join me in this Blogs to Love Friday linkup don't forget to use this button.

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• These cake inspired nails by My Random Stash have me dying for summer so I can break out the neon and go wild!
• I am completely and totally in love with this entire look by Emily Divine. I think she is a beautiful woman and her makeup really played on that with this look. And that playsuit that just happens to look like a beautiful and amazingly elegant dress?? I have to have that!!! No, seriously, my closet needs that!! The love tights are pretty adorable too.
• Another woman that has a beautiful face is Essie-Button with her Pink Face of the Day #3 look. This is such a delicate and feminine makeup and fits her face perfectly.
• These I Heart Cherries nails complete with accent nail by Top Coat It are adorable and can totally be used outside of Valentine's Day.

Seriously, I think that's all for this week. This post feels really incomplete to me. :( I will definitely try to find more for next week.

If you have a blog or know of a blog you think I'll like feel free to leave it in the comments section below. I'm not just interested in nail blogs (though I'm always on the lookout for those I haven't found yet) so if you have a fashion, hair, craft, art, food, etc blog definitely post it!! I can't feature every blog posted each week but there are many more Fridays to come. ♥

Write Me A Love Letter

Happy Valentine's Day!!! Welcome to the last Valentine's Day manicure of 2013 — Love Letters.

I started with a base of LA Colors Energy Source. This is the best white I've found to date. It can be bought in most Dollar Stores at a great price and it takes a really, really long time to turn thick in the bottle. I used a nail art brush and Petites Night to create the envelopes, sealed them with top coat, and topped with a red heart sticker. The accent nail is a simple newspaper nail. I used the wedding announcements section of the newspaper. :)

Here is what the mani looks like without the heart stickers. You could certainly keep them like this, use heart rhinestones, or even just draw the hearts on with polish if you don't have stickers or rhinestones.

Have trouble creating newspaper nails? Don't do them on completely dry nails. Wait until your nails are almost dry before dipping your nails or the newspaper into rubbing alcohol and applying to your nails. You want your nails to be at that point where they're dry to the touch but applying any pressure will leave fingerprints. This degree of 'wetness' will soak up the newspaper ink much better than dry nails. Be sure to apply even pressure across your entire nail or you'll end up with patchy newsprint. If you do have a place on your nail that is blank simply line up another piece of newspaper — being as exact in lining it up as possible, lightly dip a finger of the other hand in alcohol, and use it to hold the newspaper onto the blank spot.

W is for ...

Hello everyone and welcome to another ABC Challenge post! This week we're up to the letter W. Coming up with words to use for each letter and then creating a nail art design for that word is harder than it sounds! My mind goes blank every week, so I usually scroll through dictionary sites to find my word of the week. I thought there was absolutely nothing to do this week that I could then link to Valentine's Day, but I finally came up with something. And it has no pink!!

W is for ... Wings of Love.

I have wanted to do a caged bird mani forever! And I completely and totally adore how this one turned out!! I started with 3 coats of LA Colors Energy Source. More coats than I usually use, but since so much of the white was going to show I didn't want any chance of this being sheer or patchy. The black is Petites Night. I tried to keep everything connected between nails. The open birdcage, the cursive love, and the bird all leading to the heart. 

I love this mani so much that I couldn't seem to stop taking pictures. I tried to choose one from every angle so you can get the full effect.

I actually sacrificed an old nail art brush to do this mani. I couldn't get the lines small and delicate enough for the birdcage and the cursive love with the brushes I have, so I cut some bristles off an old brush to make it thinner! A great use for old brushes and cheaper than buying a thinner brush!!

It looks intricate and elegant, but is actually pretty simple when you break it down by nail. I found the hardest part is actually the birdcage, at least for me. Don't try to twist your hand around to do it right-side-up — this will just make your hands shaky and it's harder/messier to do an 'n' shape with nail polish; it's so much easier to leave your hand pointed straight away from you and just create a U on your nail. Create a smaller U inside that making sure the bottom of your u's touch/overlap and put a line down the middle. Add a line across the bottom, a handle at the top, and an open door on the side.

I really hope you enjoy this mani as much as I do. Check back tomorrow for the last Valentine's Day mani.

I'm Having Mixed Feelings

Hello everyone!! Today's post is a very simple Valentine's Day mani since I've been hard at work on the really awesome nail art coming tomorrow and Thursday.

I started with a saran wrap mani using Sally Hansen Pink Blink and New York Color Sidewalkers. I admit deciding to change my original idea of stripes to a saran wrap mani wasn't the best choice; I'm not perfect! Still, topping it all with Mixed Feelings was the right choice. And I guess with a name like Mixed Feelings the pink and grey kind of fits.

Mixed Feelings is an unreleased Valentine's Day polish of mine. If there's enough interest I may decide to release it later on though so definitely let me know if you want it. It's perfect for Valentine's Day, but would make a good every day polish. Also, don't forget to check out my Etsy shop next week for new polishes!!

Feeling Girly With Revlon

In my continuing attempt to be unique this Valentine's Day I decided to dig out my recent Revlon purchase. I've used the new Revlon Enchanting a few times, but I never got around to using their new glitter I was so excited about. So here is a shot of Girly over Enchanting.

I'm really fond of this combo. Girly is a light purple/pink sheer base with purple, light pink, and fuchsia glitter. There are also some small holographic pink and purple glitter tossed into the mix. Overall, it really does make for a soft and girly mani.

What wasn't girly was my hair yesterday. Some of you will remember my adoration of The Freckled Fox's Posh Faux Hawk in my Blogs to Love Friday #1 post. Well, I went and did it! I am nowhere near an expert at doing my hair. Usually it's either straight and down, up in a ponytail, or curled in the off chance I'm not feeling lazy. Like I said, I'm no expert. Far from it. But I don't think I did too bad for my first try. I dressed in the cute striped top you see with some black skinny jeans and gray heeled cowboy boots; I love how this new hairstyle added some edge to the outfit. I will definitely be trying this again.

I also took a picture once I took my hair down. I felt like a true child of the 80s. :)

Here's hoping Valentine's Day comes soon because I am running out of unique V-Day mani ideas. You should want Valentine's Day to be over too because I have some really awesome St. Patrick's Day polishes that will be for sale in my Etsy Shop next week. I will be posting swatches after V-Day. If you can't wait, you can get a preview (and help name one of them) on my Facebook Page.

Blogs to Love Friday #2

Welcome to another Blog to Love Friday post! I have some really great blogs to share with you today. But first, if you'd like to be a part of Blogs to Love Friday please read this post by My Beautiful, Crazy Life. She and Mrs. Monologues are our lovely hosts for this linkup. :) And don't forget to use the button below in your posts.

 
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• There's just something about these Valentine's Day nails by TarasTalons that I'm totally digging. It might be all those heart embellishments. ;)
• This Lace and Fur outfit by Kate-Fashionschtick-Kate is stunning. The white faux fur coat is a perfect accent to all that black and looks beautiful against the lace. Also, can I have those boots please?
• Feeling crafty? Let Luch Luch Craft show you how to make some really cute rose pots for Valentine's Day.
• I'm an artist at heart, and I love owls so how could I not love I Would Fly by Ashlie of Painting Bliss? I recommend visiting her blog and browsing through her posts. She breathes life into to her art, and it is so beautiful to see.
• Ever wanted to know how to use clip-in extensions? I know I have! Check out this video tutorial from Tay's Loft and get to clipping!
• All Glazed Over used one of the most beautiful stamps I've ever seen and made the perfect color choices with this Tulip Hearts Valentine's Day mani.

And to close out this week's Blogs to Love Friday I leave you with this sweet treat your nails will love this Valentine's Day by Nicole's Nail Adventures.

Have a blog you want me to see for next week's post? Go ahead and post it in the comments!

The Candy Coated Collection is on Etsy

My Blogs to Love Friday post is coming later today, but I realized I never did a full post on my Candy Coated Collection. A one-stop place to see the polishes and swatches so you don't have to search out the previous swatch posts. Those swatch posts will likely hold a bit more info but if you're simply looking for the swatches and not the info behind the polish this is the place. :)

The entire Candy Coated Collection is now available in my Etsy shop. 

There are five polishes in this collection: Lollipop Princess, Plum out of Chocolate, Peppermint Pinwheels, Glitter Me Gumdrops, and Frosting Coated Sprinkles.

Lollipop Princess over Revlon Enchanting and LA Colors Black

Lollipop Princess over Revlon Enchanting and LA Colors Black with a coat of NYC Matte Me Crazy

Plum out of Chocolate over OPI Tickle My France-y

Peppermint Pinwheels over Sally Hansen Pink Blink

Glitter Me Gumdrops over Wet n Wild Candy-licious

Frosting Coated Sprinkles over naked nails

Frosting Coated Sprinkles over LA Colors White

Do you have a favorite?

I would be really grateful if you shared this post or favorited my shop or your favorite polish on Etsy. ♥

Sinful Colors Pinky Glitter Swatch

I can't resist a pretty glitter. I really can't! Who can? Sometimes I'm disappointed and other times I'm stunned. Can you guess which I am this time?

Sinful Colors Pinky Glitter is stunning in the bottle, but there really aren't many polishes that live up to what you see in the bottle once on your nails. They almost always leave you slightly disappointed. But not this one! I am amazed at how well it photographs as well.

Pinky Glitter looks like a very bright hot pink in the bottle. However, it goes on a very pretty light pink if it's not layered. I used two slightly thick coats — only thick because the polish had gone slightly gloppy. I've had this in my 'to swatch' pile for a few months so I did expect it; Sinful Colors doesn't seem to hold up long — but what can you expect from a polish on the lowest end of the price scale? Two thick coats got me full coverage and the lovely color you see above.

Pinky Glitter is filled with small holographic glitter and a fine, sandy holographic shimmer. These holographic glitters are those perfect holo glitters that flash rainbow with the slightest movement. Perfect! It has such a beautifully soft and sandy texture that I left it without any top coat.

Color: A bright hot pink in the bottle but over naked nails it is a fairly light, yet very pretty, pink. It is filled with small and fine, sandy holographic glitter.
Finish: Glitter suspended in a pink base that dries to a really nice textured finish.
Application: It actually went on pretty well for being thick. There was none of the patchiness that some glitters have where the glitter clings to the brush more than your nail. Overall, the application was pretty much perfect.
Coats to Opaque: 2
My Rating: 4.9 — The only negative I have is the thickness. Sinful Colors does turns thick quickly, and it was something I expected. You can't expect much more for the price. Other than that the color is perfect, the glitter is so gorgeous, and it works great on its own and as a layering glitter.

V is for ...

Is it Wednesday already?? This week is going way too fast! Still, it is Wednesday and you know what that means: ABC Challenge nail art. Can you believe we're up to the letter V already?

V is for ... Vampire's Valentine.

I loved last year's Anti-Valentine's Day nails so much that I decided to use it as inspiration for this mani. Honestly, I really can't believe how far I've come in a year.

I loved the entire design of this mani, every step taken to create them, so I took many pictures! A base of black, some tape, and some white polish created this star-burst design.

I used white polish to create a heart on my index nail. The white creates a barrier over the black; this means you don't need to use a ton of pink to cover the black. It also creates a very pretty border around your pink heart if you make it slightly smaller than your white heart. This alone would make for a gorgeous Valentine's Day mani!! You could even create hearts on all your nails instead of just as an accent or use red for the heart to make it really stand out.

Since I was going to create bleeding fang marks on my heart I knew I couldn't use red. :) The bleeding marks add depth and give these nails a nearly 3-D look—all a pretty illusion of course. With the dark fang marks, the bright red blood, and the white outline, doesn't it look like the heart is really bleeding?

Finally, I created white outlined blood on the tips of my nails. I added a small amount of Venique Runway Sparkle over all of the blood. Sadly, I couldn't seem to get a good picture with the actual sparkle.

So, which are you this Valentine's Day: hearts and roses or vampire bites? Will you be rolling out the Anti-Valentine's Day red carpet?

I Give You My Hearts

Continuing with the Valentine's Day theme, the mani I bring you today is another of my attempts to use colors other than the standard red, white, and pink ... though I do seem to be using a lot of pink with my recent manis. :)

When I first started with Sally Hansen Pink Blink and Revlon Enchanting, I was told this looked like an Easter mani. I lost some of my confidence at that, but I rallied and finished this mani as I had planned: with a line of hearts down the middle of each nail using the opposite color. Personally, I think it turned out really well for trying something slightly nontraditional!

If you're not comfortable using colors other than red, white and pink for Valentine's Day, this mani will work just as great with any combination of those colors! You could even use them all if you want, using pink and red on opposite nails and finishing with white hearts or use pink and white on your nails with red hearts. Maybe even spice it up with your own color combo! Be traditional or be daring, but whatever you choose: have fun!

A bit of real life news: I entered my adorable pup, Shiloh, in the World Spay Day 2013 Pet Pageant. The pageant runs until March 15th, and you can vote once per day in each category. I would love it if you would give Shiloh's entry a look and give her a vote if you think she deserves one. It will ask you to login or create an account to vote. If you click 'create an account to vote' you can then select to vote with Facebook. Thanks!!

1st Blogiversary Giveaway WINNERS!

Thank you so much for all the follows, shares, comments, and suggestions on what you want to see on the blog this year!! This is the first giveaway that I didn't have to disqualify anyone; every entry was valid!! Now, I won't keep you waiting any longer ...

Drum roll, please ...

Jena L. won US Prize Pack #1 and chose Peppermint Pinwheels and Plum out of Chocolate from my Candy Coated Collection.

Ashley A. won US Prize Pack #2 and chose Lollipop Princess and Glitter Me Gumdrops from my Candy Coated Collection.

Marilena K. won International Prize Pack #1.

Josiane O. won International Prize Pack #2.

 The Sample Prize Pack, which has grown slightly since this picture, was won by Jodi B.

All winners have replied to the winning email within the 48 hours. However, don't be too disappointed if you haven't won. Simply head over to my Facebook Page and watch for the Flash Giveaways coming soon.

My US followers will have a chance to win the last polish of my Candy Coated Collection: Frosting Coated Sprinkles.

My international followers will have a chance to win these Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail strips. Who doesn't love an awesome animal print on their nails??

Don't want to wait for your chance at one of the polishes from my Candy Coated Collection? This collection is now available in my Etsy Shop. You can buy the polishes individually, but there is also the option of buying the entire collection.

The winner's prizes will be shipping out as quickly as possible. :)