31DC2016 Day 8: Camouflage Polka Dots

Hey ladies! I've got another short and sweet post for you today. Busy busy busy again, and starting to freak out a little! Today's prompt for the 31 Day Challenge is metallic and I used one of my most used polishes, Essie Good As Gold. It stamps like a gem and compliments almost any color. I started off with a smoosh marble base of four different shades that created a camouflage-ish look. Then I stamped on the negative space polka dot image over it and there you have it! 

Paint All The Nails Presents Dotticures

It's time again for another Paint All The Nails linkup! This time around we chose "dotticures" for our monthly theme. I've had an idea for a specific mani involving dots sitting around for months and months. I spent quite some time trying to think of a design for today, I can't believe it didn't come to me sooner.

Chinese Button Knot Double Stamping

Happy Saturday everyone! I've been playing around with some double stamping and seeing what different looks I could create. I came up with this simple design which wasn't supposed to be anything specific, but really reminds me of a Chinese button.

Hehe 076 Stamping Plate Review

*provided for honest review

Hey everyone! As promised I have another Hehe stamping plate to review for you. Like the 075 plate I reviewed  a few weeks ago, this is from the Plaids and Floral collection. This plate has some beautiful animal print images on it, and that's what I chose to show off for you today.

40 Great Nail Art Ideas: Food

Hello lovelies! It's been a couple of weeks since I've done the GNAI challenge so i thought it was time to jump back in. I had this idea to do a strawberry design with the dry marble technique, and today's food prompt gave me the perfect opportunity!

Double Stamped Purple Roses

Hey all! I have some more stamped nail art for you today. I am slightly obsessed with stamping at the moment. You may think this design looks a little familiar because I used the same stamping image in this mani for Valentine's Day. A couple weeks ago my mom invited me to see the ballet "Romeo and Juliet" with her and I wanted to do some romantic nails for the occasion. I loved this rose image so much that I wanted to use it for a second time that week.

Happy Chinese New Year!

The Chinese New Year isn't usually on my radar except for when the postal service comes out with a stamp for it (I love stamps!). But when I bought the Spring Time Occasions Bundle Monster stamping plate set, it came with so many beautiful images that I just had to use them!

Candy Cane Swirl

My number one rule for December: keep life simple, simple, simple. With the tendency for the holiday season to get a little frantic, I can be easily overwhelmed. Once that happens, I curl up in a ball and get nothing accomplished. So I aim to keep the presents easy, not overload my schedule, and go with the flow. Of course, just as I cross everything off my list and reach my zen, I remember my son's birthday is three days after Christmas :P. He's turning five this year, which means I can't keep his celebrations as basic as I once did.

Now on to the nails. In accordance with my above^ rule, I have kept my nails s i m p l e. Thinking of a complicated design hurts my brain right now. And really, I just like how this looks better. 

31DC2014 Day 14: Patriotic-esque Floral Print

I had a few floral designs ideas for today. I decided against all of them yesterday once I saw a lady in church wearing this pattern. I almost asked her if I could take a photo of her dress for reference. But I don't know her and didn't want her to think I was a weirdo. Because people who do know me already know I'm a weirdo.

OMD2 Challenge Day 18- Dotticure

Happy Friday everyone! How's your week been? Mine has been pretty darn great. My husband got a new job and we're both stoked about it. He should be much happier there. I've been having a great week here at Nail Polish Society too. I'm loving the guest posts (here and here) and I have another one for you tomorrow! Today I have a simple and sweet dotticure for the Oh Mon Dieu Challenge. I haven't been able to keep up with it every day because of my blogiversary celebration, but I'm joining in when I can. 

OMD2 Challenge Day 1- Mint

I'm starting a new challenge this month- Oh Mon Dieu (part deux)! It's been a while since I've participated in a month-long challenge. I'm excited for the fun prompts and the cool nails that result from it! For those of you who have been tracking my blog's progress from the beginning (I like to imagine these people exist ;), you'll know that my one year blogiversary is this month. I have fun things planned for that, which will take up about half the month. So I won't be able to complete the entire challenge, but I'll join in when I can!

Wild Zebra Hearts Can't Be Broken

Remember my last post when I said that I was ready for bright, bold, and crazy nails? Well this is what I was talking about! I have been sucked into the 80's flashback current, and I'm just going with it. Bright colors make me happy, and wearing this mani was a blast!

My Bikini Is Not Quite So Teeny

Greetings! Random question today: How many of you lovely ladies feel the pressure to get ready for "bikini season"? I would say that in years past I have felt the pressure and the anxiety in the months leading up to summer, to whip myself into shape. I've at least put some effort into it, like eating a salad or two. This year I just feel like, "What's the point?" It's not so much about giving up, because I still like to be in shape. The fact of the matter is that I'm currently out of shape, and although I have plans (somewhere in the future) to rectify that, I'm not too concerned right now.

Melting Snow Drips

The saying goes that if you don't like the weather here in Utah, just wait five minutes and it will change. It's a cliche that I assume could apply to most places (except Seattle where it only ever rains). Nevertheless, it is very true about our weather here. Spring is such a funny and finicky season that is totally unpredictable. The weather can be a balmy 70 degrees one moment, and then snowing the next. The guessing game can be a fun adventure, as long as you don't find yourself caught in the snow wearing shorts and flip-flops. We can get unexpected snowstorms all the way up until June. They are usually short, and the snow starts melting as soon as they're over. Which brings us to... the melting snow was my inspiration for this Spring themed mani!

I was trying really hard to do this mani quickly. Both my kids decided to take a nap, and I never know how much time that'll give me. I think this took me just about an hour. An hour is pretty quick for me as I like to take my time. This is only my second time doing a drip mani (here's my first), and the drips didn't all come out quite as I intended. I think I'll practice this technique a little more and work on my drips.

Upside down drips! It's like watching the rain in reverse. :)

What I used:
Sephora by OPI Frankly I Don't Give A-dam- medium grey
Sephora by OPI Break A Leg-Warmer!- dark grey
Sephora by OPI White Hot- white
Sephora by OPI Meet Me At the Disco- glitter
Essie Bikini So Teeny- blue

What do you think? Do you like crazy weather? I am not a big fan of snow, but I LOVE storms! Maybe I should do a storm mani in the future...hmmm.

Heavenly Pastels

You know how sometimes you do a beautiful manicure that you really like, but you still only wear it for one day, because you have something else you want to try? That happens a lot for me. Occasionally though, I create a manicure that I just can't bear to take off, and find myself staring at it constantly. This was one such occasion. I timed it perfectly too. On day two of this mani I worked at a ticket booth for the Scrapbook USA Expo where I sold hundreds of tickets, and applied just as many wristbands. It was pretty much the best possible situation for tons of people to see my nails and compliment me on them. Hey, I'm not shy about it. I love praise. Why else would I publish my photos for the whole world to see? ;)

A close up of all the cloudy, cotton candy-y, sparkly goodness.

I started with a base color of Essie Bikini So Teeny (one of my faves!) on each nail. For my middle and ring fingers I applied one coat of Love & Beauty Mint Confetti glitter, and finished off with Seche Vite top coat. For my thumb, index, and pinky, I alternately sponged Bikini So Teeny, a mint shade, and white polish over the base color. I repeated the sponging until I had the desired effect. I topped those nails off with Out The Door Northern Lights, a fast-drying top coat with a beautiful holo sparkle!

What I used:
Essie Bikini So Teeny- periwinkle blue
(Forever 21) Love & Beauty Mint Confetti- glitter
Love, Charlotte XO (no name mint shade)
Sephora by OPI White Hot- white
Out the Door Northern Lights top coat- holographic glitter


I loved the simplicity and wear-ability of this mani. What visions does it conjure up for you? Tell me what you think in the comments, and have a fabulous day!

Birthday Haul and Formula X for Sephora Swatches

Yay for birthdays and presents!! Here's a shout out to my friends and family who gave me nail polish or cash/gift cards, that obviously went to buying nail polish. So let's see what I got!

 Formula X for Sephora left to right: Heroic, Dusk, Chaotic 

Left to right: OPI Liquid Sand Honey Ryder, OPI Underneath the Mistletoe, Essie Carry On

Zoya left to right: Zuza, Arizona, Opal, Sailor, Seraphina, Hunter

Left to right: Contrary Polish Sand, PiCture POlish Freya's Cats, PiCture POlish Ocean, 

A England Saint George (these four purchase through Llarowe.)

It would have been a little insane to swatch all of these for you guys, so I just went with three. I decided on the Formula X for Sephora polishes because it's a recently launched brand and you might  not be as familiar with those yet. On a similar note, this whole time I have been referring to them as "Sephora X". There was originally a Sephora X brand, and this Formula X has replaced it. I mislabeled it in my Formula X for Sephora Legend post (it's fixed now). I apologize for the confusion!! Next time if you notice something questionable, just give my head a good whack.

Formula X for Sephora Heroic: 2 coats, with topcoat

Described as lilac and gold metallic, Heroic is from Formula X's "Shifters" category. Another from the category is Legend that I swatched last month. Unlike Legend which only has the glitters that shift, Heroic has more of a duochrome quality.
I like that it has a silvery appearance, but actually contains gold flecks. The coverage looked great in person with only two coats. For the photos you can tell that I probably should have used three, but they looked fine to the naked eye. Retails for $12.50.

Formula X for Sephora Dusk: 2 coats, with topcoat

Dusk is part of the "New Classics" category. It's described as "sunset red pearl", which I guess isn't necessarily misleading, depending on your interpretation of "sunset". I would describe it as a pearly brick color, or even burnt red with pearl finish.
Whatever it is, it fills a gap in my stash, because I don't have another color like this. The application was really smooth, with good coverage in even just one coat. Retails for $10.50.

Formula X by Sephora Chaotic: 1 coat, with topcoat.

Shown over 1 coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Rose Rum. Chaotic is part of the "Xplosives Top Coats" catergory. It is packed with multi-sized black and white glitters in a clear base. I believe there are five sizes of hex glitter in both black and white, as well as black bar glitter.
I was really surprised how much glitter stuck to the brush! As you can see, quite a big glitter payout. Retails for $12.50

What do you think of the Formula X polishes so far? Are there any other polishes from my haul you would like to see swatched?

33 Day Challenge Day 09: Indian

I got behind in the Challenge again because I was stuck on wanting to do something super creative and outside the box. Problem is, I never came up with an idea that I could translate into looking good on my nails too. So in the end I took my inspiration from a box of my Yogi Bedtime tea. I went off of the pretty two-toned patterns, with a little something different on each nail. I love these colors together. They have a dreamy quality about them, don't you think?

I started with three coats of Sephora by OPI Havana Dreams. Then I free handed all the designs with my striping brush and Essie Bikini So Teeny. I also used a dotting tool in a couple of spots. I had issues getting the polish to brush on the nail evenly, so it ended up taking a lot longer than I planned. That's nothing new though, every thing takes me longer than it should!

What I used:
Sephora by OPI Havana Dreams
Essie Bikini So Teeny
Seche Vite top coat


It's been a lot less stressful having this Challenge spaced out with only three posts a week. At the same time I feel like it's going to drag on for a long time! With all the advanced notice I have for these prompt I feel like I should have super creative ideas for all of them. Here is what is coming up in the following weeks. Let me know if you have any brilliant ideas for me!

33 Day Challenge Day 08: Chevrons

I love chevrons (seriously, who doesn't?), so I was looking forward to today's Challenge post. In my Inspired By a Book post I tested out some nail tattoos for the first time. In the set there were three patterns, and this chevron pattern was one of them. I had a much easier time using them this go around, which was a relief. I love how colorful they are! Speaking of the colors, I'm realizing how Spring-like they look. This mani is for all you Southern Hemispherians. :)

I started off with a base color on all of my nails, Sephora by OPI The Way Tutu His Heart. The formula was a real big pain. It's a really pretty, soft color, but super streaky and sheer. I'm kind of glad I only have a mini bottle of it. 

I used striping tape to mask off some inverted "v"s. Then I painted each color on, carefully avoiding painting over the other side of the tape.  

The first time I tried the nail tattoos I followed the instructions on the box. Rookie mistake. Instead of dipping the transfer paper in water and then pressing it on the nail as per the instructions, I went the logical route. I placed the paper on the nail, then pressed a wet towel on top of it few a few seconds. Much better results! The cleanup was still kind of a pain, but manageable. I'm sure I could have masked off around the nail with tape to speed that up. I will try that next time.

I actually started this manicure last night with the intention of finishing it today. By mid morning the tattoos were already starting to show signs of wear. I did apply top coat, but maybe it needs two coats? It was bad enough that I just started all over. I'm glad I did because I would not have been as happy with the photos as I am now!

What I used:
Sephora by OPI The Way Tutu His Heart- light cream/pink
Essie Mint Candy Apple- mint green
Essie Angora Cardi- deep purple mauve
Zoya Lotus- smoky purple with pink shimmer
Barielle Darling Dahlia- fushia
Fing'rs EDGE Nail Tattoos Transfer Paper (purchased from Walmart)+


Have you used nail tattoos before? What was your experience with them?

Thanks so much for reading!

FYI: Future giveaway!

I mentioned on my facebook page a couple of weeks ago that I have plans for a giveaway! The plan is that whichever I reach first; 100 posts, 100 fb page likes, or 100 bloglovin' followers, I will have a (awesome) giveaway. So this is an update to say this is my 70th post, I have 61 fb likes, and 36 bloglovin' followers! So at the very least, I will have it 30 posts from now. But if you want to speed things up, go like my facebook page, or follow me with bloglovin'! It's gonna be gooood. :)

31DC2013 Day 14: Flowers

This is only my third go at floral nails.  My very first nail art manicure was floral, and well, it was my first time. My second attempt was my Days of Stripes and Roses, which is still one of my favorites. The roses were fairly easy, especially since I followed a tutorial. This time I wanted to try something I haven't seen before. something more challenging, to really test my skills. Well, as you can see, they were really tested! But now I feel like I have that much more experience under my belt.

Today's floral theme was inspired by one of my favorite flowers, African Violets. Or more correctly, (as I just found out), Saintpaulia. I'm pretty sure I'll never call them that. It doesn't sound nearly as exotic. Kind of like how I will only call Amaryllis, "Naked Ladies", because it's way more fun.

One of the challenges here was to decide on the arrangement. Since they grow in a group, I wanted to have at least some representation of that. I felt it would look too busy to have that on every nail. So I spread them out and did more of a close-up on the other nails.

I've been having a lot better luck avoiding shrinkage with my Seche Vite top coat lately. Last night though, it screwed me. I had the polish around my cuticles at a perfect edge. Then overnight they shrank and left it wonky. I know, nail problems.

These flowers remind me of home. Not in Africa.. we just always had these in our house.

What I used:
OPI No Bees Please- white/nude micro shimmer base
Essie DJ Play That Song- purple
Jenna Hipp I Can Afford It- darker purple with blue shimmer
Barielle Banana Drop- yellow
It's So Easy Stripe Rite- black
Seche Vite top coat

p.s. Sorry for my nasty cuticle, I had a little accident. If I was more deft with my photoshop skills, I would have fixed it.

Retro Airline Stewardess

It was time for me to break out my striping tape again! I think the design with these colors resulted in a retro look, something associated with an airline. I can just picture a stewardess with her hair full of Aqua Net, wearing a scarf with this pattern.

I started with my thumb and loved how it turned out, but I still wanted a little variety. My husband suggested I change up the direction on each nail. I think it gives it a little more visual interest. It all went fairly swimmingly, until I applied the top coat. Then it streaked a little where some of the polish went on too thick. It was pretty hard getting the right amount of polish into those small spaces. I think next time I try something like this I will apply it with a nail art brush.

I think my thumb turned out the best. 

 As I was photographing this and feeling like I want to fly somewhere, I realized the photos needed some wings. This pin was my Grampie's who was a Major in the US Air Force. He served two tours in Vietnam, and a number of other conflicts. It was fun to work on this and think of him. Maybe I should do something Air Force themed in the future!

What I used:
Essie Bikini So Teeny- light blue
OPI Dating A Royal- navy blue
OPI Miami Beet- maroon

Does this make you want to fly somewhere?