Thursday 31 July 2014

Five Easy Ways to Extend a Manicure!

Hey y'all!

If you haven't already subscribed to my YouTube channel, what are you waiting for?  Today I posted a video showing 5 different techniques for covering chipped polish, for those nights when you have to be somewhere but don't have time to do a new manicure or go to the salon.

Tuesday 29 July 2014

Spots and Stripes - TPTC

Hey y'all!

It's Tuesday, and that means it's time for the last pink/purple/green Tri-Polish look this month.  I decided to do a little playing with dots and stripes to create this glittery nail art.

Spots and Stripes nail art

Sunday 27 July 2014

Rainbow Houndstooth nail art - FFTB

Hey y'all!

First off... totally psyched because this is my 200th post!  Today I have a fun bit of nail art that I liked so much I actually wore it on both hands for like 3 whole days!   I haven't really done that with challenge nail art looks much this year because frankly, it seems like as soon as I've taken pics of one look, it's time to take it off and paint another one.  However, granting myself a pass from completing "EveryPrompt for EveryChallenge" has loosened the pressure I put on myself, and is allowing me to actually enjoy some of the nail art I put together, including today's rainbow houndstooth design I created for the FingerFood's Theme Buffet prompt: Rainbows.

Rainbow Houndstooth nail art

Saturday 26 July 2014

Hey Swatch It! China Glaze When Stars Collide

Hey y'all!

Ever have a really miserable day/week, running behind, feeling all kinds of frustrated and stabby, and then stumble across something you'd "lost" and it makes everything just a little bit better?  Not like, fix-all-the-problems better, but more like hey-the-universe-gave-me-a-pity-frak better?  That's what happened to me when I realized I didn't have a swatch for you this weekend (because, reasons) and discovered a couple of swatch pictures I took a LONG time ago of a beautiful holo polish and it was enough to lighten a bit of my current load.  I bought several of the China Glaze Hologlam holos way back last year and although I've used them in some nail art I don't think I've ever posted swatches before.  So, here ya go:  When Stars Collide.

China Glaze When Stars Collide Swatch

Wednesday 23 July 2014

Battle of: the Matte Top Coats!

Hey y'all!

Before we get into this, I just want to take a moment to thank you all for the really astonishing amount of support I received for my No H8 post a couple days ago.  I'm kind of taken aback by it, to be honest, and feeling thoroughly humbled that so many of you read it and took the time to show your support!  That said, I hope I can continue to bring you back to read my ramblings.  :)  I've been threatening to do this post for a while now, and a week of challenge prompts that left me, well, "less-than-inspired" provides a good opportunity to show you my breakdown of five mainstream matte topcoats in the first of what I hope to become a series of "Battle of:" challenges.

Tuesday 22 July 2014

Casual Pi Day Confetti dotticure - TPTC

Hey y'all!

Happy Tuesday!  Whereas March 14 is Pi Day (3/14), today, the 22nd of July (or 22/7 in Euro shorthand) is Pi Approximation Day or Casual Pi Day, so to celebrate the occasion I have created a little dotticure that reminds me of confetti, and oddly, not pie.  *shrug*  It's also Tri-Polish Tuesday, so I've used this month's colors of purple, green, and pink to create this look.

Casual Pi Day Confetti dotticure

Monday 21 July 2014

No H8 in the nail art community

Hey y'all!

So over the weekend, some events transpired.  Instead of giving more attention to the low-class troublemakers in question or further pouring salt in the wound of those who were bullied, I am just going to say that it's really easy to be a cyber bully because you can do so anonymously, but it takes strength of character, maturity, and class to help lift others up when you're feeling down, instead of trying to drag them down with you.   At the end of the day, this is all JUST.NAIL.POLISH and I'd rather help spread a message of love and acceptance.  The manicure that I'm sporting today is a show of support for the No H8 movement - not just in nail polish, but in everything, really.  Hate is such a useless emotion and I wish we could all just move past it and stop hurting one another.

No Hate N8 in Nail Art

Sunday 20 July 2014

Lavender Quilted - inspired by my phone case

Hey y'all!

Another moment of synchronicity happened in the universe this week, because the FingerFood Theme Buffet prompt and the Sunday Stamping prompt from AIS collided for me to bring you this nail art look which is inspired by the fabric of my phone case!

Lavender quilted phone case stamped nail art

Saturday 19 July 2014

Hey Swatch It! Claire's Cobalt

Hey y'all!

Today I've got another hot polish to show you!  Most of us gals already know that Claire's is a great place to go for inexpensive accessory items for girls of all ages, but did you know they also have their own line of nail polishes?  I was only vaguely familiar with the brand until I did some online shopping to find the perfect neon blue, which led me to Cobalt.

Friday 18 July 2014

You look positively Orange with loneliness - CMC

Hey y'all!

This week the Colour Me Crazy prompt turned to orange, and since no other word rhymes with orange, it must be a very lonely color indeed.  I dunno, that's just what Big Bang Theory taught me.  In reality I love orange and took this prompt as an opportunity to have fun with several different orange shades in my collection.  Also, I'm not into prison-chick naughtiness, so I'll have none of that OITNB nonsense, do you hear me??

Orange dotted french tip dots within dots matte

Thursday 17 July 2014

Yellow Pig's Day!

Hey y'all!

Something synchronous happened recently, which led to the GOT prompt  for this week (yellow) falling on July 17, otherwise known as Yellow Pig's Day, and I had to do some celebratory nail art to salute the universe for such an occurrence.

Yellow Pig's Day Nail Art

Wednesday 16 July 2014

Cleopatra nail art - LNMBC

Hey y'all!

Today brings us round to another trip through the Llama Nails Movies and Books challenge.  Today's prompt is Historical, and so I wanted to attempt to pay tribute to one of Elizabeth Taylor's most memorable (in my opinion) films, Cleopatra.

Cleopatra nail art

Tuesday 15 July 2014

Guest Post for Nail Art Novice!

Hey y'all!

I'm guest posting today over at Nail Art Novice!  Go check it out!

Guest Post Neon Coral Purple Glitter Gradient Butterflies



Acetone wash neon - TPTC

Hey y'all!

I actually did this look a couple weeks back, as you'll be able to tell if you pay attention to the length and shape of my nails, but I wanted to do a bit more playing and research before I revealed it.  I haven't seen anyone else use this particular technique, so I'm calling it an acetone wash. It could be considered a variation of the watercolor technique, but the key difference here is that this technique lets gravity do all the work - I don't manipulate the polish with any tools except the acetone.

An acetone wash is an abstract nail art technique which uses acetone and gravity to color the nails

Monday 14 July 2014

Shark Awareness Day

Hey y'all!

Did you know that today is a day of special awareness?  That's right.

Sunday 13 July 2014

Colour Me Crazy: Red Hearts Tips

Hey y'all!

Quickie double-post today for two reasons.  First off, the British Nail Bloggers have started a new weekly challenge centered around colors, and this first week is all RED!  I am sooo late to the ball game on this one, but I'm gonna sneak in really quick before the linkup closes.  Secondly, I wanted to announce that I won 2nd place in BGPolish's first week of nail art competitions with my duochrome lace mani, so I will receive a 30% off coupon for Dark Metal Lacquers, a UK indie.  So that's cool.  Anyway... to kick off the Colour Me Crazy challenge, here's my tribute to red.

Red Heart Tips Nail Art

Embrace Your Geekness Day! Cartoon/Skittles nail art

Hey y'all!

So today I am killing two challenges with one look, because I am just that freakin' slick.  Happy Embrace Your Geekness Day!  Today brings us to the final prompt in the Embrace Your Geekness Challenge (Cartoon Characters), and my second FingerFood Theme Buffet prompt, which is Skittles.  I had to finally pay tribute to my favorite cartoon of all time with this nail art, which is kind of minimalist but I hope some of you will get it.

Saturday 12 July 2014

Captain Hammer Nail Art: I am Groupie #4

Hey y'all!

Today the Embrace Your Geekness challenge brings us to Superheroes.  Now, I'm not unfamiliar with the world of superheroes so this prompt stumped me for a bit - until I finally stumbled across the one superhero that I knew NOBODY else would do, and that makes me just as vain as the man himself.  I could do no other than immortalize my favorite d-bag hero, Captain Hammer.

Captain Hammer Nail Art

Friday 11 July 2014

Video Games: Embrace Your Geekness Challenge

Hey y'all!

Sometimes when you're so intently working a project, you don't quite see when you've reached the finish line.  Such is the case with today's nail art, inspired by video games for the Embrace Your Geekness Challenge.


Thursday 10 July 2014

Fandoms Nail Art - Embrace Your Geekness Challenge

Hey y'all!

I'm participating in a mini nail art challenge this week and it's all leading up to Embrace Your Geekness Day on July 13.  There are four prompts in this challenge, each focusing on a different aspect of "geek" culture.  Today we celebrate fandoms, and I've created a skittles look that features five of my favorite fandoms!

Embrace Your Geekness Fandom nail art

Wednesday 9 July 2014

Singin' in the Rain nail art - LNMBC

Hey y'all!

DOUBLE POSTING?  WHAT WHAT??  Well, today starts a new Llama Nails Challenge, and this time around the themes are all based on movies and books.  I am going to try pretty hard to get all the prompts completed but, like today, they may not always be terribly involved or intense completions.  I am excited to be able to share some of my favorite movies and books with you via this challenge, and after perusing the list I really couldn't figure out what category to place my all time favorite movie into, so it actually winds up here in the premiere slot.  Here's my tribute to the Comedy film, Singin' in the Rain.

VividLacquer meets ILNP

Hey y'all!

Today's nail art look is the teeny tiny baby of two of my favorite indie nail brands - ILNP and VividLacquer.  I submitted this look to a nail art competition being hosted by Cat at BGPolish, and wanted to share the lovely results with you!

Floral lace stamping over duochrome nail art

Tuesday 8 July 2014

Brazilian Outlined Textured Nail Art - TPTC

Hey y'all!

Today I have another Tri-Polish Tuesday look for you, inspired by a new collection I picked up recently at Asda with a Brazilian theme.  I also wanted to dabble a bit with a new (to me) technique, so I came up with these tri-color outlined textured nails.

Brazilian tri-color outlined textured nail art

Monday 7 July 2014

#ManiMonday - Box of Chocolates Nail Art

Hey y'all!

I want to apologize in advance for today's very picture-heavy post, but some of you may already be aware that today is officially celebrated as CHOCOLATE DAY.  Seriously.  There's a whole day for it.  Supposedly on this day in 1550, the joy that is chocolate was introduced to Europe, and civilization (and a woman's monthly cycle) has never been the same.  I'm serious.  You can look it up if you want.  I'll wait.

See?  So, in honor of this most auspicious of anniversaries, I present to you a box of chocolates for your nails:

Box of Chocolate assortment nail art skittles

Sunday 6 July 2014

Patriotic Nail Art: FingerFood Theme Buffet Challenge

Hey y'all!

One of the challenges that I had been wanting to join up into is the FingerFood Theme Buffet, because I consider Sam a net.buddy and I really admire the work she does, and her themes always look so fun!  Now that I'm easing up on feeling obligated to participate every single week/prompt across all of my challenges, this affords me an opportunity to take part in more challenges but on my terms.  In short, I'm not going to stress myself to get something done in a rush and post it anyway, even if I hate it.  Luckily, my first FFTB attempt is something that I actually do quite like, so I feel no shame in posting this for you as my nail art for the Patriotic prompt.

Patriotic Nail Art red white blue stars stripes

Saturday 5 July 2014

Hey Swatch It! Octopus Party Ametrine Hour and Star Tar

Hey y'all!

One of the greatest discoveries I made in the first half of this year was a new US indie brand called Octopus Party Nail Lacquer.  One of the few indie polish companies run by a dude, OPNL is also 5-free, cruelty-free, and vegan friendly.  Add in the fact that the selection has a lot of variety and style, and you've got the makings of a solid polish line.  Since the line was new to me, I purchased two different glitter polishes that really called out to me from Dave's Etsy store.

Octopus Party Nail Lacquer Ametrine Hour Star Tar swatches

Thursday 3 July 2014

Great Big Group Giveaway! (CLOSED)

Hey y'all!

I teased you guys the other day about a big multi nail blogger group giveaway, and it's finally ready to rollout! 

Nail Polish Bloggers Connection Group Giveaway

Wednesday 2 July 2014

Red and Copper mixed dots nail art

Hey y'all!

I wanted to show y'all the project we've been working on this week in the SIMPLES group - it's Mixed Dots!  Last week we did straight up polka dots - very organized and neat.  This week we mixed it up by adding differently sized dots in random order.  There's no pattern here!  I chose to mix up a coral red with a gorgeous copper.

Coral red and copper mixed dots nail art