My Nails Mag Debut!

I'm ridiculously excited to report that one of my nail art pics was in the October Nails Magazine (pg 36):

You may remember this as the promo pic I did for Nails for Tails. I had no idea they were using it, so it was definitely quite the pleasant surprise!

I am currently wearing a gorgeous deep blue polish from Whet called "Facetious." I had never heard of this polish before I received this bottle in one of my Ipsy bags. It took a good three coats to get the level of opacity I wanted, but it was well worth it for this rich cobalt blue.

Unfortunately, this picture doesn't show how stunning this blue truly is. I stamped on some feathers with Bundle Monster plate #BM419 and Fresh Paint in "Firefly." I used a detail brush to add some microglitter to the feathers.

Have you ever used Whet polish? Did you like it?

Panda Bear Nails

Today's mani was inspired by my impending trip to one of my most favorite places, the National Zoo in DC.
My base is Fresh Paint "Firefly" : I like this polish because it is a light, light blue - almost white, but blue enough to allow the white to really pop. Next I did a double-stamping with Born Pretty's plate #BP18. I used two greens for the bamboo, but you can't really see it that well. The bamboo was done with more Fresh Paint, this time "Pistachio" and "#Winning."
I made decals with Bundle Monster plate #BM424 for the pandas. The paw prints are also from that plate.
I am so excited to go to the zoo -- what is your favorite animal?!

St Patty's Mani

It's that time of year again when we turn everything green and call it a party!

This mani started out as a striped monochrome, but then I decided it just wasn't "enough." I began with a base coat of Zoya "Tilda" and then layered on Fresh Paint in "#Winning" and "Pistachio." I used Red Angel plate #RA116 to stamp the ring finger with Zoya "Severine." The remaining digits were adorned with the clovers from Pueen plate #PUEEN40 and Fresh Paint in "Spruce Street." I have probably said this before, but the Fresh Paint nail polish line from Five Below is awesome.

Party on Garth!

Snow Day

Today was the first day in a long time that I truly enjoyed a snow day -- no school! I am enjoying school, but I was really looking forward to a day to relax. I decided to do a snowy mani, because why not, it's the perfect day for one.  Plus I really wanted to try out my new Liquid Palisade that I won in a giveaway from Lace & Lacquers. 

I started off with a base of Fresh Paint "Firefly" which is a light light blue - almost white. I then applied the Liquid Palisade to my cuticles, and area surrounding my nail. I was impressed with how tiny the brush is and how easy the product goes on. 

I used a makeup sponge to create a gradient with the "Firefly" and Kleancolor's "Pastel Blue" and "Pastel Teal." I topped my gradient with Funky Fingers "Olaf" - a rockin' glitter topper made up of white glitters, a hint of iridescent microglitter, and even some snowflakes - very cute! I personally feel that Funky Fingers is an awesome yet under-appreciated polish line in the nail art world. (You can find them at Five Below stores.) 

 Finally I stamped a snowflake with Bundle Monster's #BMH01 plate, using Funky Fingers "Gesso." I believe this is the best polish I have used for white stamping as of yet.

 Now for the fun part -- taking off the Liquid Palisade! I used a pair of tweezers to grab and edge, and it came off much easier than I expected! I thought for certain that I would be picking of 4,5 or more pieces per nail, but they all came off in 1 or 2 pieces. As you can see in the picture below, I should have gone a little wider on the sides of my fingers with the LP, but still, look how much that reduced my clean-up!

In with my little ELF concealer brush I went, barely having to clean up polish around my cuticles. Happy Day! The first picture at the top is my finished result. 

I really liked using the Liquid Palisades. When I run out, I will most certainly be making a purchase. I am definitely looking forward to using it again -- I can see this making me want to do more water marbles. I also would like to try using it for other nail art applications. 

Have you used LP before? What were your thoughts?!?

Today's 5Below Haul!

If you don’t have a 5Below store near you, I am very sorry. I LOVE this store. I cannot leave without nail polish. Along with a bunch of bow cabochons and nail sequins, I grabbed up 4 bottles. The Fresh Paint is called “Winning” - it’s a nice earthy green color. I can definitely see using that for nail art. Next up (wer’e going left to right, here!) is Funky Fingers “Dia De Muertos.” This cool blue jelly is chock-full of pink and blue glitter, and it even glows in the dark. Yay! FF “Fireworks” is a polish I have been eyeing. I will definitely use that next 4th of July. Fireworks is a clear polish with red, white and blue glitters, in a variety of sizes. Very cute topper. Last is FF “Varsity Blue.” This is another clear topper with black, blue and white glitter in 2 different sizes. I have oh so many mani ideas for these! 

Fall Trees

Today’s mani has been inspired by the view from my desk window. 

The base is Fresh Paint in “Firefly.” I sponged the grass on with Fresh Paint “Pistachio” and LA Colors “Spring Frost.” The tree stamp is from Bundle Monster  #BM409, and the polish I used was NOPI “Promises in the Dark.” Finally, I put a light topcoat on the tree branches, and added some glitter in red, brown, yellow and orange. I sealed in everything with NYC’s “Grand Central Station” - after reading some reviews on a Facebook group, I am giving it a try. I am pretty pleased with how they turned out :)

Flyaway Flowers

This was another set I made to put on Listia. Inspired by my favorite time of year, Spring, I painted the base with Funky Fingers "Mrs Mint." I then stamped two layers of grasses with Fresh Paint in "Pistachio" (which can't be seen very well) and Fresh Paint "Spruce Street." The flower petals are fimo slices, with rhinestones in the centers. Each fluttering petal is trailed by a path of carefully placed iridesent glitter.

New Bundle Monster Sun Kissed plates

Summer is not gone yet! I keep telling myself that. I decided a good beach-inspired mani would keep me in the summer spirit - plus I just received my new plates from Bundle Monster! You can check them out here. For a limited time you can get the set of 10 for only $7.99! 

Here’s the breakdown:

Pinky finger: Base is Essie “Blanc.” Stamped the gold tritons (you can barely see them) with ELF “Pot of Gold and BM-509. Directional circle is from plate BM-507 and Salon Express black.  There is a small black rhinestone in the center of the circle.

Ring finger: Base is a beige from The New Black’s Runway collection. I used the Salon Express black again to stamp the palm trees from BM-510.

Middle finger: Base is Kleancolor “Sheer Pastel Pink.” Shells are plate BM-505 and I used Salon Express white. I need a brighter white. 

Index finger: Base is Fresh Paint “Firefly.” Waves are stamped with Salon Perfect “Baby Blues” and BM-509. Mermaid is Salon Express black and BM-510. I added a few small pieces of glitter for “bubbles.”

Thumb: Used The New Black again, and stamped with Salon Express white. BM-505.

I am pretty pleased with how this turned out; I just wish the white shells would have shown up better. Guess it’s time to invest in a better white - but the question is Konad or Mundo de Unas? Also, I wish I would have used a small gold stud in the center of the directional circle, instead of the black rhinestone. You can’t see it.  You can, however, see the cat hair on my thumb in the last picture. That is Bullet’s contribution - he worked so hard sleeping next to me, I felt awful taking it off. Not really, but we have 8 cats, so hair is an accessory. Maybe one day I will do cat hair nails...

Born Pretty Store stamping plate QA61

The second I saw this plate, I knew I had to have it. The coordinated floral designs are perfect for leadlighting!

I painted my accent nails with Fresh Paint in "Pistachio" If you’ve never seen Fresh Paint before, you can get it at Five Below. The images stamped cleanly and easily. To fill in the images I used LA Colors in "Spring Frost" (green), Essence in "Breakthrough" (purple), and Funky Fingers in "Aloha!" (hot pink). I used those same colors for the rest of my nails, and used some little metal studs. 

I LOVE THIS STAMP. I usually never do the same design twice on my nails, but this one will definitely be used repeatedly. The design ideas are endless. You can get the QA61 plate here and the metal studs here.  Don’t forget to use code TTHEX31 to get 10% off!