Stripes Snippet

Like my post from yesterday, today's mani is another one I dug out of my draft folder. You can tell my nails are even shorter here. I'm hoping that I will get things more organized soon so I can spend the time I want writing and editing. Until then, something is better than nothing, right?

What I used:
OPI My Vampire is Buff- cream base color
Sephora by OPI Domestic Goddess- purple
Zoya Bevin- sage green
Barielle Banana Drop- yellow
Sally Hansen Inst-Dri Snappy Sorbet- orange
Seche Vite top coat
striping tape

Hope you all enjoyed! Have a fabulous weekend!

Puzzle Piece Nails Autism Awareness Day

I think puzzle piece nails look so cool, I'm glad finally tried them! As many of you know the puzzle piece is a symbol used by various autism organizations. Since today is Autism Awareness Day, I figured it was a perfect time for it. 

I always feel like my manicure was a success when my two-year-old recognizes the design without any assistance. :)

I always forget how bubbly my manis get when I use Sally Hansen Insta-Dri. I would be annoyed, but it's really not noticeable in person.

What I used:
Barielle Banana Drop- yellow
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Brisk Blue- medium blue
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Blue-Away- baby blue
Sephora by OPI What's a Tire Jack?- black

What do you think? Have you tried this look before?

Luck O' The Irish Water Marble

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone! This isn't a big holiday for me. Growing up we never did anything to celebrate except to wear something green to school. Even that was done without enthusiasm, I just wanted to make sure I didn't get pinched. Green is my least favorite color. Also, if I have Irish in me, it's marginal. I don't drink, and corn beef and cabbage has never sounded appealing enough to try to make. So there are my reasons for not doing anything special to celebrate. All the same, that doesn't exclude me from trying out some nail art for the occasion!

This mani is a little crazier than my recent St. Patrick's Day nails. In this mani I wanted to include some Leprechauns' gold too. I love how it sparkles! Don't you feel lucky just by looking at it?

I have yet to do a water marble with a consistent design. I basically can never get the polish to do what I want. So I just try to find a part that looks cool and go with it. My water marbling skills haven't changed since my first try, but I still have fun with it. I kind of like to be surprised by how each nail turns out.

What I used:

China Glaze Lighthouse- yellow gold glass fleck
Wet n Wild Fergie Glowstick- day-glo green
Sephora by OPI I Come in Peas- deep green
Seche Vite top coat

What do you think of the design? What do you do to celebrate St. Patrick's day? I love to hear your comments!

Blue Medley With MoYou Suki

I was so excited to finally get a MoYou Suki Plate! I hope someday I will have them all. Because you know what they say, too much of a good thing is often an excellent thing. I got the Suki Collection 06 (XL images). I still have an issue with them being called XL. I mean, I need them to be XL to fit my big nails. But it makes me feel like I need to put my nails on a diet. Maybe they could rename them, "They Actually Fit Your Entire Nail Plates".

On my index and middle finger I have three coats of Sephora by OPI Havana Dreams. I stamped  over that with Sephora by OPI Break a Leg Warmer. On my ring finger I applied two coats of China Glaze Pelican Gray and sponged China Glaze For Audrey on top. Over that I applied one coat of Formula X for Sephora Chaotic. On my thumb and pinky finger I have two coats of piCture pOlish Ocean.

Isn't Ocean such a dreamy color? I think it's only my third piCture pOlish shade, and I'm so glad I decided on that one. There are so many more that I want, and I hope to slowly grow my collection. I purchased mine from llarowe.com.

I think I need to dedicate some time to stamping practice. These nails turned out better than my last stamped manicure, but still wasn't as crisp as I wanted. Looks like it's back to stamping school for me!

What I used:
piCture pOlish Ocean
China Glaze For Audrey
China Glaze Pelican Gray
Formula X for Sephora Chaotic
Sephora by OPI Havana Dreams
Sephora by OPI Break a Leg Warmer
MoYou Suki Plate Collection 06 (XL images)


Let me know what you think in the comments!

Also, I'm participating in this week's (and hopefully the whole month) N.A.I.L. challenge which is shown below. The graphic itself was just so cute, I had to join in.



Click here to see the other N.A.I.L. stamping manicures!

My Favorite Polishes Right Now for Winter

A few months ago I made a post of polishes I was wearing in Autumn. I thought now would be a good time to do a post for ones that I'm enjoying this season. Today was actually unusually warm (64 degrees!), so it's about time I get this posted before Winter is over! Believe you me, I am not at ALL sad to see Winter fade away. I will, however, miss wearing my best Winter-appropriate polishes.


Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Quick Jeanius

2 coats, plus top coat. This is the same base polish that I used on a stamping post a couple weeks ago. It's so rich and deep and glowy. The brush is bulky, but the polish still applied well. I think it was on sale at Target for about $4?

OPI Every Month is Octoberfest

2 coats, plus top coat. I reeeally thought this would photograph better! Boo. It's such a beautiful polish, I didn't do it justice. Just trust me, if you don't own this polish or one very similar, you should. Oh, I also wanted to point out that I didn't touch up my polish after application. Yes, I painted it that perfectly. Sometimes you have to be proud of your small accomplishments because there's not always going to be big ones. This retails for $9.50.

a england Saint George

2 coats, plus top coat. Ooo, isn't it gorgeous?! I feel like the base of the shade is emerald, but the beautiful holographic shimmer makes it lean more teal. I love this brand. The polishes are all so beautiful and they apply like butter. If only I had more monies so I could buy them all! I purchased mine from Ninja Polish for $10.

 Wet n Wild Fergie Ferguson Crest Syrah

2 coats, plus top coat. Again, the photos aren't doing proper justice. This polish has such a beautiful glow that isn't as visible in the photos. This is such a pretty polish for such a small price. I purchased it at Walgreens for a couple bucks I think.

 Sephora by OPI Son of a Gun

3 coats, plus top coat. This is a really sheer polish so I needed 3 coats and maybe 4 would have been better for photos. I love how this shade is so unique. It's a gunmetal gray, with a green tint, mixed with a blue tint. The complexity makes it so pretty. The whole Sephora by OPI brand is discontinued so I'm sad that I only have a mini bottle of it. Maybe I can unearth one at Big Lots if I'm lucky.

Are these the kind of shades you have been wearing lately? What is your Winter go-to?
Well Winter, it's been real. Now I'm ready for SPRIIIIIIINNG!!!! (picture me singing out that last part like Gene Kelly in "Singing in the Rain".)

I Heart Valentine's Day

Reasons I love Valentine's Day:

1. chocolate
2. flowers
3. spa gift certificates
4. more chocolate
5. cards in the mail

Valentine's Day is not at the top of my list of favorite holiday's, but it has its own merits. This year has been extra fun because my kids have been so excited for it these last couple of weeks. It's not like I built it up by telling them that it's cool or even that they get anything. All they knew is that it's a day that has a special name, and that was good enough for them!

For the manicure I started off with two coats of OPI At First Sight. I've used this polish previously for my Happy 10th (Wedding) Anniversary mani. Apparently I associate it with romance or something. Then with a sponge I painted on a gradient of At First Sight, OPI Princesses Rule, and Sephora by OPI Casting Call, and dabbed it on my nails. I repeated the process a few times until I got the desired amount of color.

To create the hearts I used Casting Call again, and also It's So Easy Stripe Rite polish. These polishes don't have color names, but it looks like a dark fuschia.

Here's a fun fact about me: My first boyfriend and I broke up the day before Valentine's Day. True story. I had these friends that were a really cute couple, and I showed up at school and they were being all ewy-gooey with each other. I totally cried. Boo-hoo. That year Valentine's was really sad for me, but I usually see it as a good excuse to make cute cards for people and show them that I care. At least when I've remembered to...

What I used:
OPI At First Sight
OPI Princesses Rule!
Sephora by OPI Casting Call
It's So Easy Stripe Rite in fuschia color
Seche Vite Top Coat

Here's to wishing everyone gets a little love today! Better yet, I hope you've shared some. Either way, I'm sending out my lovey vibes to you. :) XOXO

Berry Holiday Party Nails

Today I have some festive and fancy holiday party nails for you. I love this manicure because they are so appropriate for this time of year, but I could see myself wearing them at basically any other time.

So I already missed the only non-family Christmas party I was invited to, my husband's work party. Sad face. It was pretty fun last year. There was a casino theme with a ton of different tables. We spent the whole time at the roulette table. The guy manning the table (would you call him the dealer if it's not cards?) used to work in Vegas and he was really friendly. It was fun because we don't gamble, so it was a whole new experience for us learning about all the rules and strategies. I guess this year was supposed to be the same, but I had already scheduled something else for that night. It's a bummer because I wanted to try the blackjack table this time.

I applied two coats of OPI Miami Beet. Then at the tips, I used OPI Golden Eye, tapering it downwards with just one coat. I did the same with the bigger glitter, Sephora by OPI The Golden Age, coming down the nail just a little bit farther.
Glitter gradients are always trickier than they seem, for me. Maybe with a little more practice I'll be able to really get it right where I want it. Luckily it turned out well enough that I still liked it. It just made me sweat a little bit.

What I used:
OPI Miami Beet
OPI Golden Eye
Sephora by OPI The Golden Age

What holiday parties to you have planned this year? Are they the dressy kind, or the ugly-sweater kind of party?

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure All Fired Up and Midnight Glitz

A few weeks back I found a BOGO coupon for Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure polishes. I was happy to find All Fired Up because I had been looking for that exact shade. Then I picked up Midnight Glitz because I loved the variety of glitters in the bottle. Ever since, I've been wanting to pair them up. Turns out they're not exactly a natural fit. But when I added a black polish under the glitter, it really made all the colors pop!

I applied two coats of All Fired Up, followed with top coat, and let it dry completely. I then placed pieces of striping tape, two side to side, lengthwise down each nail. I then cut Scotch tape into triangles and placed that on each tip. One nail at a time I applied one coat of black polish, globbed on Midnight Glitz, and carefully removed the tape. I let it dry for awhile before I finished with top coat.

If I could ever get my nails long enough, All Fired Up would be a perfect shade for Louboutin nails.

What I used:
Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure All Fired Up- red
Sephora by OPI What's a Tire Jack?- black
Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Midnight Glitz- glitter topper
Seche Vite top coat

I love these colors together and will probably do another manicure or two with them together! What do you think? These nails make me want to pull out my leather jacket and swipe on some bright red lips.