Happy New Year Nails!

I got inspired by a bunch of photos on pinterest (come visit me!) I was going for a glitter gradient type mani on deep blue/cobalt. Then I realized I don't really know how to do a good glitter gradient and I (shockingly) don't own a deep cobalt (at least I don't think I do!). So, I went with deep shimmery blue and metallic polka dots using my dotting tool and some toothpicks!

 My husband thought it came out more like fish scales (which he thought was a compliment because he loves everything to do with fishing) and after second thought he's right! I love it even though it wasn't quite what I was going for!

Color of the Year!

I'm glad to see Emerald was the "color of the year". Green is one of my favorite colors. I love Ciate, but they are a little pricey which was why I was pretty excited when I found this kit at TJ Maxx for $10.00!

 I was supposed to be Christmas shopping for other people, but there's no harm in picking up a little something for myself, right!?

 The "sequins" in this kit, is really more like big pieces of glitter and I couldn't get the look on the box no matter how hard I tried, but I was happy with what I came up with. I got a lot of compliments.

Happy Glitter!!!

China Glaze

Fangtastic

Yes, yes it is!

I don't think Maybelline knows what "Holographic" means.

 My love of all things holographic got me all excited when I saw Maybelline's "Holographic" display. I was suspicious, because none of the polishes had a hint of holo to them in the store. A bit duochrome, but no holo. But, blue blaze interested me and I had a coupon, so I thought, eh, maybe in sunlight it will surprise me.

 Unfortunately my first instinct was correct. I've seen better holo stuff in Wet -n- Wild polishes. I'm not really sure what Maybelline was thinking.

 That aside, Blue Blaze is an interesting color. It's an icy-silvery-lavender blue. I don't think I have anything quite like it in my stash.

Multi Marble Nails with Ruby Wing

Pure Ice - Jailbait

Ruby Wing - Eternal (teal to purple)

Ruby Wing - Electric Firefly (yellow to orange)

I found the Ruby Wings at my local 5 Below for $3 bucks each. That was pretty exciting because everyone else I have ever seen them, they range from $8 - $12. So I grabbed two!

 For some reason I thought the nice light purple of Jail Bait would look good with these two.

So cute!

 

Hey look, they're changing!

Look at that, they really do change outdoors! Actually, I think it's the cold that activates the change, cause you can see in the bottom picture I'm outside, but the colors haven't changed. It was warmer that day.

I loved this so much I didn't want to take it off! I got some weird looks, but I don't care!

Revlon Moon Candy - Cosmo

 I love the idea of this collection. I love flakies and I love all the unique color combos Revlon came up with. (You sense a but here don't you?) But, the price is high for drugstore stuff - $8 or $9 I think.

 Luckily, I found a basketful of these beauties waiting for me at Ocean State Job Lot (man I love that place!) for $ 2. Now that's much better. I grabbed one in every color they had.

So, I love the base polishes in these. They are a little on the thin side, but they are super-shiny which I like. This took about three coats. Dry time is a bit slow, but definitely wait it out otherwise the flakies make a mess. I happen to love flaky tips, so that's the look I went with.  :)

Ruby Wing - Moonstone

 How cute is this? I first saw these at a new store in my area called XSRE (it took me awhile to figure that out,cause I'm slow like that.) The first time i saw them, they were like $12. Which for a baby blue polish that may or may not turn purple, I felt was a little steep. I did pick up a pretty sweet NYX polish that day, but I digress.

 The next time I went in these were 50% off. Now, that's more like it! So Moonstone got to come home with me. And, look at that, it actually does change color! It was cold, cold, cold out. I own like a million pairs of gloves but never have a pair with me, so i was outside, and looked at my hands and whoa! My nails were sorta purple!

This applies kind of streaky and chalky. Since I picked it up I've started seeing Ruby Wing polishes in other locations. None of the colors/transitions are exciting enough for me to pick up another bottle, but I'm glad I got this one. It's fun and a little different.

Nubar - Reclaim

 I can't remember if I ever posted this. I may have only worn it once before. But, as I rifled through my helmer it called to me. Darn, but this is prettier than I remembered!

 Pug approved too!

Happy St. Patty's Day with Sinful GREEN OCEAN!

 Hehee! I walked into a Walgreens (or was it Rite Aid) a few weeks ago to prowl the nail polish displays. Down on a bottom shelf, tucked into the corner I spotted this tiny Sinful display full of bright green goodness. I'm a sucker for green, especially eye-popping green like Irish green...but then I noticed the flakey. Green Ocean...wait a second, haven't I been looking for this for like two years? And then I gave up? I didn't even care that they weren't on sale, I just snapped them up, and an extra bottle of Green Ocean..just because!

Let me tell you Irish Green is awesome, but man is it a pain in the ass to apply. It's SO thin and watery. I guess it's jelly finish? I dunno, but I had to do this twice because the first attempt was such a mess. Green Ocean was a pain in the butt too, it's super-thick, which did not go well when it too Irish Green forever and a day to dry. BUT, the end reselt was super-pretty! I got tons of compliments, it made me smile every time I looked at my nails and that's really all that matters, right?

Oldie but goodie!

 OPI "Tickle My Francy"

 I forgot just how much I love this classic neutral.

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

I've been wanting this for awhile now.

 

I grabbed it yesterday as a little Valentine's Day present to myself!

It's really cool! I love all the different glitter colors and shapes. The pink is see through.

 

This is about 3 coats of Girly. with one coat of Gelous and one of Seche Vite.

Revlon - Nail Art Style Strips in Jungle Gem

I'm not a huge fan of the nail stips in general. I think they are really expensive considering you only get one manicure out of a package, and the one package is expensive usually $8 - $10. Anyway, I found these Revlon nail strips at Ocean State Job Lot for $3.00. I love green and leopardy print stuff, so I snatched them.

LOVE!

We all know I am a bit klutzy, but these applied pretty easily. At least, I was happy with how it turned out!

 

This is 5 days later and still not looking bad.

 

Taking these off was not easy. I guess it was the glitter, but they just hung on for dear life! I would totally get them again though!

Something New and Awesome!

Nail Pearls!

Yes, I know Ciate had these first and they were called caviar. They also cost $25 a bottle. These were $7.99 and I chanced upon them at my favorite Rite Aid! There was a pink mix, a "party color" type mix and this one called "aqua".

I wasn't sure how I would like it, so I started out with the accent nail on each hand. (I used China Glaze For Audrey on the rest because it seemed to compliment the other colors nicely).

It's a neat set. It comes in a little plastic package with a tray and a tiny funnel so you can put all the little pearls back in the bottle when you're done! 

First you coat the nail with a layer or two of polish. Then pour the beads over the nail, fully coating. Hold your hand over the tray so the pearls don't scatter everywhere! It's actually pretty easy and if you're careful, not that messy.

 Turned out I liked it so much, I went for the full manicure! There are plenty of pearls left over in the bottle after using it on 12 nails. Not a bad deal for $8.00!

They definitely feel rough. I also noticed today with the accent nail, I could feel the rough edges "catch" on stuff. Similar to the feeling I get when i have a split nail. With the accent nails I used top coat on one and not the other. The one I didn't use top coat on seemed to have the pearls fall of faster and lose color. I got a day's wear out of the accent nails. Not sure what this full manicure will get.

Instructions on the back of the box.