Celebrating Spring

Even though it feels like we jumped straight into summer, spring is in full swing here -- the lilacs and wisteria are blooming, the birds are mobbing the bird feeder, and my kid screams when I try to get her to go back inside. In honor of the season, I wanted to do something "flowery." I found the cutest houndstooth/floral design on Pinterest by Fall In NaiLove  (-you can see my inspiration here).

I used NOPI "Always a Silver Lining" as my base, and stamped on Funky Fingers "Gesso" with Bundle Monster plate #BM322. I used two pinks from The New Black pink ombre collection along with "Gesso" to paint the flowers, and then used acrylic paint in black and green for the leaves and to give the design definition. Acrylic is definitely easier to work with on more intricate lines.

I definitely feel inspired most by spring. What is your favorite season?

More Nails Mag Recreations

Even though you can get almost any publication online, there is something that excites me about opening the mailbox and finding Nails Magazine. Here are recreations of some of my favorites from the May 2015 issue:

Working left to right: nails 1, 2, and 4 were pictured in the Hawaii Collection by OPI advertisement. #2 actually have a step-by-step tutorial in the OPI insert within the mag. #3 is another step-by-step demo from Biosculpture gel (I used regular polish) on page 56. My last nail is a Neon Tribal Nail Art tutorial that was contributed by Mia Rubie (@superflynails). I love this design because it looks a bit complicated, but it's actually a lot easier than you might think.

Again, I am not going to clutter up this post with a listing of all the polishes I used, but if you are curious, please ask and I will be happy to answer! :)

Happy Star Wars Day!

Today is May the fourth, which is an international nerd holiday for those of us who love Star Wars. My tribute to this holy day is thus:

I garnered my inspiration from other fellow nerdesses over the great Web, including the Nailasaurus and Cosmetic Proof. I am not going to list all the polishes I used; if you want to know, just ask! I will mention that I used a very sheer coat of Indigo Bananas' "Great Scott!" over the light saber so that it would glow. :D I did actually use acrylic paints for the Death Star, and it seemed to work quite well. I definitely feel like I have more precision with acrylic, which is cool.
I am still using SensatioNail gel growth formula. I decided to go ahead and cut all my nails off short and get a fresh, new start on length, and I am not going to apologize for it! I see so many bloggers apologizing because her nails are short -- does that mean that short nails can't be as cute as long nails? I think not! It's Short Nails, No Wails for me all the way! Till they grow out of course :)

SensatioNAIL Gel Growth Formula

As I was cruising through Walmart, I came across SensatioNAIL gel growth formula in the clearance section. The box states that this formulation is specifically for "dull, short nails," and right now, that describes mine to a T. My normally long nails have been breaking and splitting terribly, so when I saw this I thought I would give it a go.

You receive one .25 fluid ounce bottle of growth formula and an orangewood stick. Application is very simple: wipe your nails down with alcohol to prep, paint on a coat, and stick your nails under an LED for 60 seconds. This formula seems to be a little less thick than other gels (although I am pretty new to the gel world), which I like.

Have you used this product before? I would love to hear other people's experience with it.

More Nails Magazine Inspiration!

What's going on peeps! It is FINALLY Spring and I couldn't be happier! I received my May issue of Nails Magazine, and I am engulfed in inspiration. Today's mani is inspired by the Technique Demo on page 56.

I used Dermelect "Above It" as my base -- it's much more periwinkle in color than the picture shows, unfortunately. I used a small, dry brush to add my accent colors - Dermelect "Lust Struck" (pink), Floss Gloss "Wet" (green), and Floss Gloss "Con Limon" (neon yellow). The white flowers are all from Born Pretty plate #BP24. This is the second time I have used this stamp, and I had a lot more difficulty with it this time. Not sure why.

Hello Venique

As a beauty school student, I am now officially allowed to shop at cool places like Cosmo Prof.  On Saturday, I took my little student license and got my "card" from the Cosmo Prof store in Hagerstown, MD. The cashier was super friendly and nice. Once I got my paperwork out of the way, I felt like she had released me into a candy store of sorts -- I didn't know where to start! Everything at Cosmo Prof is basically wholesale-priced for cosmetology professionals, meaning everything is SO MUCH CHEAPER than your typical retail venue. I didn't go too crazy this time (as I was supposed to be Easter shopping), but I did come across a brand of polish that was new to me -- Venique. Have you heard of it? I decided to give it a try, and got a cute little bottle with no name on it of course.

I used 3 coats to achieve full coverage, but this could easily be used as a topper. I can only describe this as a rose-gold colored glitter, with larger pieces of glitters that are multi-colored. I love the look of glitter but hate the process of getting it off my nails, so I don't typically gravitate toward these type of polishes, but this one kept catching my eye. I actually liked this enough to wear it on its own for a few days, but I feel the urge to stamp coming on.
Have you tried Venique? What was your opinion? So far I think I will definitely be trying more of this brand -- another excuse to go back to Cosmo Prof :)

Happy Easter

Happy Easter Peeps!
I was dying eggs with my 5-yr old daughter last night, and she wanted ladybugs (her favorite) on one of her eggs. I got the bright idea to use nail stamps and BAM! it hit me - this is awesome! I'm going to do all the eggs with stamps! Thankfully we only did 12 eggs in total.

Our fabulous egg-venture started with a pink egg, some Wet N Wild black polish, and Moyou's Princess Collection #3 stamping plate.