It's a Spring Thing

I found an artist on Instagram and Facebook called Muses Gel, out of Taiwan. Her style inspired today's Easter/Spring/Pastel mani.

 I used a crap-ton of different products to achieve this look (see the pic below!). Polishes are Zoya "Piaf" (yellow), Zoya "Rebel" (blue), Essie "Full Steam Ahead" (lilac), and Essie "Blanc" (white). I added a layer of Essie Luxe Effects "Pure Pearfection" to give the lilac color a little more of a shimmer - similar to the Zoyas.  Zoya "Cosmo" outlines the heart on the ring finger. I added some water decals from the Born Pretty Store, some gold heart nail spangles, goldtone metal confetti triangles from Bundle Monster, rhinestones and caviar beads. I used the same tutorial that I used for my Tweed Nails on the ring finger and thumb.

I just got a new light box, and while I still have a lot to learn about it, I really like it! I think it will take a little bit of playing around to find the perfect angle.

Funky Fingers "Dia de Muertos"

Happy Spring! It's finally here! Nevermind that it snowed here on the first day of spring :(  I can only suppose Mother Nature was letting Winter have a final hurrah.

Ulta had Dermelect polish in the clearance bin for $.97, so I picked up a few to try. I used Dermelect "Above It" for my base. This looked more like a baby blue in the bottle, but on my nails it looks more periwinkle. Whatever - I like it :)
 I decided to use one of my untrieds, Funky Fingers "Dia de Muertos" on my ring finger and thumb. "Dia" (pictured) is a blue-tinted glitter topper. AND - guess what - it glows! It is nice to realize this ahead of time, so you don't scare yourself like I did. As I was climbing into bed, I saw something glowing out of the corner of my eye, and startled myself for a second before realizing that I am a dumbass and it was just my nails. I'm not really sure what I was thinking during that few seconds of panic, but it definitely got my heart racing.
I stamped my pinky with Kleancolor "Neon Aqua" and Born Pretty stamping plate #BP21. To keep the pink/blue theme going, I added some pink dots with my dotting tool and Ruby Wing "Groupie."
For my middle finger, I used a tip design guide from Kiss as a stencil, and painted over the nail with "Groupie." I really like the tip guides because you can do so much more with them than just french tips. Just be sure to pull off the guide carefully before the polish dries!
The pointer is double stamped with  Bundle Monster plate #BM201 and another Born Pretty plate, #BP10. I am really loving the new Born Pretty plates - not only do they have great designs and quality plates, you can't beat their pricing! You can check out the Born Pretty Store here.

Nails Mag - Snake Eyes

I liked the Snake Eye so much from my Nails Mag recreations that I decided to elaborate on the idea.

My second eye didn't turn out as well as the first (the right one). I added fangs and a smile line with black and white stripers. This will take some more practice to perfect, but I am pleased with the results.

Polish used:  Wet N Wild "SaGreena the Teenage Witch"
                             The New Black - green from the Runway collection
                              LA Colors stripers in black and white
I also used "Gold Dots" nail foil for the eyes. 

Tutorial submitted to Nails Mag from  Anna Mally of Las Vegas. 

Nails Mag Recreations

I always look forward to my nail mags -  even though print media is going out of style, it's still nice to turn those pages every once in a while. The March 2015 edition of Nails Magazine was no exception. In fact, I loved a few of the designs so much that I immediately felt the urge to re-create them!

First up is my version from CND Vinylux ad - I used a no-name Sally Girl gray as my base. For the floral/abstract design, I free-handed with Zoya "Noir" along with 3 shades from The New Black's pink ombre set. This was a very easy design to do, and can be accomplished easily with multipe varieties of colors!

The Snake Eye Tutorial on page 52 was submitted to the mag from Anna Mally of Las Vegas. I used Wet N Wild "SaGreena the Teenage Witch" as my base, and another TNB green (this time from the Runway collection) for the scales. The eyes were done with "Gold Dots" nail foil, and then detailed with black and white stripers. I loved this design so much, I had to create a full design, but that is a post for another day :)  The eye itself was a little challenging, but overall the design was not too terribly complicated or hard.

My last reproduction is based off the page 62 tutorial, entitled Royal Jeweled Nails with Gelish Cinderella Collection. I used Whet "Facetious" for my base, added glitter and then created a circle with "Jungle Tides" nail foil. I painted around my green circle with a gold striper, and added the tiny dots with my trusty dotting tool. Unfortunately, the green foil didn't give me the coverage I wanted/needed, so I covered it with a gorgeous sparkly "Glee" green from Jesse's Girl.  Again, not too difficult - I think I just need more practice with the foils.

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!

Floral Abstract in ....purple of course :P

This design is a re-creation from a CND ad I saw in my March 2015 Nail Magazine. I used Color Club's "Harp on It" for my awesome holo base. For the flower-doodles I used Zoya "Julieanne" along with a few shades from The New Black's purple ombre set. This was a super easy design to do - I used my dotting tools to create the entire thing. This is definitely a design that you could do over and over with a variety of colors.

Kitty Nails for the Pet Expo

Hola! Today's nails were inspired by an impending trip to the  National Pet Expo in Harrisburg, PA. This was my first time to a show like this, and I was very excited. I decided to use some of my cat decals from Bundle Monster. You get 3 large sheets of decals for $1.99 - you can't beat that!

I used Orly's "Peaceful Opposition" for my base - this is a slightly translucent white, with silver and white glitters. The water decals were very easy to use - they didn't fold over on (and ruin) itself, and I didn't have a single one rip - very cool :)

The Pet Expo was pretty cool, although I was told that it was pretty slow compared to others. Whatever! I got to experience a cat show for the first time, saw some interesting snakes as well as dogs galore, watched an amazing man speak about parrots, and had a crapload of people stop us to pet the Bearded Dragon that my son brought with us. It is definitely something I recommend any animal lover try to catch; you won't be disappointed.

Dear Spring, Please Come Soon!

As I sit here at my computer, I glance out the window. All I can see is snow. Almost a foot of snow. PLEASE. STOP. I feel like Winter is saying "my time is almost up, so let me s#it out a ton of the white stuff while I can!"  Bad Winter. Stop now.

Today's mani is my beckon to spring - I love you and wish you would come back soon!
My base isi Zoya "Rebel" - this is a metallic sky blue with a subtle silver shimmer. Great coverage - which is one of the reasons I love Zoya.
 I did a combo of freehand painting and stamping on this hand job. For the roses, I used a combo of WetNWild  "Through the Grapevine" and one of the pinks from The New Black pink ombre kit. I used a green LA Colors striper to add the green leaves, and finally Funky Fingers "Gesso" for the white dots. I stamped the middle finger with the same WNW "Through the Grapevine" and Pueen stamp #PUEEN29.  For the pinky, I did a double stamping from Gals Cosmetics plate #GA7.

Today I will be offering free ass-kickings to anyone seen doing any snow dances in my presence.

Petal Tips

I received my order of Gelibility and was dying to try it! This stuff really is amazing. Previously, I had no desire to make the switch to gel polish. I like to change my polish often, and I have hundreds of bottles of regular polish that I have no intention of just leaving on a shelf. Is it weird that I have an emotional bond with my nail polish? Probably. Anyway, if you are saying "WTF is Gelibility?" right about now, fear not, for I will tell you. Gelibility is a product that you mix with regular nail polish and cure with a lamp to achieve your own DIY gel mani. Pretty freaking awesome, huh?!?

The Gelibility kit comes with two bottles - Stick It! and Fix It! You apply the Stick It" as your base/bonder. Cure. Then you mix your polish with the Fix It! in a small container or palette.( I ordered this one along with some brushes from Bundle Monster.) The instructions say to start mixing 50/50, but that you may need to adjust the amount. I did 50/50 and it worked fine for me, but I was using a sheer polish. I used Kleancolor "Sheer Pastel Nude" - I chose this color because even though you can't really see the color, it makes a nice, clean background for nail art.  This way I can change my art (using non- acetone to take off the regular polish that I am using for nail art) as many times as I like while preserving the gel mani.

I created decals using Winstonia plate #W04 and Sally Hansen Insta Dri in "Fuchsia Flare" and Funky Fingers "Gesso." I decided I wanted to add another color onto the flower petals, so
I used a salmon striper to dot in some color here and there. Finally, a coat of Essie Luxe Effects "Pure Pearfection" gave the mani a slight sheen and shimmer.

I am so excited at the possibilities that Gelibility opens for me! This is definitely an impressive product! :)