Seaweed In a Blue Lagoon Gradient

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you're all having a great start to your week. I've been a little really stressed out about singing a solo this Thursday at a church event. I love singing, that's why I'm in the choir, but I'm no soloist. So why did I agree to this? I don't know. Because I love to do things that terrify me and make we want to puke just thinking about it? Hmm.. actually, I do. YOLO!

I've said this before, but thank goodness for nail polish to take my mind off of everything else! This color combo is especially bright and calming. It brings me to tropical islands and crystal clear waters. Places I've never been to, but I've seen pictures! Okay, I have been to Hawaii, but I don't remember the water looking like this.

After the gradient, I was originally just going to stamp the lighter color. My husband was watching me (creeper) and asked what I was planning on. I explained the plan and he suggested I stamp the royal blue over the lighter one. I tried it out on one finger and I loved it! Double gradient, whoa! Good job, babe. :)

What I used:
Sinful Colors Endless Blue- royal blue
Love, Charlotte XO by Color Club mint/turquoise shade
Cici and Sisi stamping plate 05
Seche Vite top coat

If you're feeling stressed out with finals, kids, work, performing things you have no business doing, you can put this mani as your computer wallpaper and stare into while listening to a sound machine with ocean waves. I bet that will help.

xx Emiline xx

Chaotic Chiaroscuro

When I wrote my Formula X swatches post yesterday, I looked at Chaotic and remembered how I've been meaning to wear it again. I loved how it looked on top of my gradient for my Blue Medley nails. Ever since, I've had this mani in mind, waiting for the right time to try it. In between all the soft, flowery, pastels of Spring, it's nice to have something stark and dramatic. I just love how the glitter seems to change in contrast over the black and white.

I started off with a white base, two coats of Sinful Colors Snow Me White. I let that dry for a few minutes while I prepped my skin around the nail with Elmer's glue. When the glue was all dry I got a makeup sponge and painted it with Snow Me White and Wet N Wild Fast Dry Ebony Hates Chris. I dabbed the sponge on a few times until I achieved the effect I wanted. Then I applied a coat of Formula X Chaotic over the gradient. I finished it off with a coat of China Glaze Matte Magic. Then it was cleanup time! I removed the dry glue off my skin and used my cleanup brush and acetone to remove the remaining polish around the cuticles. I'm so glad it came out how I imagined it!

I always forget about the aftermath of a gradient mani. They take soooooo long to clean up. The polish sticks to my cuticles and doesn't want to let go. I thought this would take little time, easy peasy. It took just as much time to clean up as it did to apply it! Oh well, always worth it in the end.

What I used:
Sinful Colors Snow Me White
Wet N Wild Fast Dry Ebony Hates Chris
Formula X for Sephora Chaotic
China Glaze Matte Magic top coat

Do you like the dramatics of this mani? It's definitely one that demands everyone to "Look at me!".

Glitter Tropical Fruit Smoothie

Happy Monday everyone! How is the start of your week going? The sun is shining bright here, and that always puts me in a good mood!

This weekend I did a gradient with the two colors that I swatched in my Clinique Bonus post. I knew I wanted to do something else with it but couldn't make up my mind. I enlisted some help from ya'll on facebook where it was suggested to do glitter tips. So thank you Shawna! You can't really go wrong with glitter, can you? And thank you Melanie for the idea for the title. You guys are the best! :)

When I do a manicure, I always do my right hand first. I practice my technique and design ideas on that hand so I can fine tune everything before I do my left hand (the one I photograph). My left hand usually looks much better as a result. For some reason though, my right hand ended up looking much better. My gradient looked much more "gradient" like, with the colors blending together more smoothly. How annoying.
In those cases I still photograph my left hand for a few reasons. First, it's just awkward trying to handle my camera in my non-dominant hand. Second, I don't take as good of care of my right hand so my cuticles and nail shape are always a little wonky. What can I say? I'm lazy. Lastly, even though the gradient looked better, I still wanted to use that as my test hand for how I wanted the glitter to look.

What I used:
Clinique Hi Sweetie- hot pink
Clinique Really Rio- coral
Nicole by OPI Stars at Night- bar holo glitter
piCture pOlish Glitter Ball- round holo glitter

Thanks for stopping by! If you don't follow my blog yet, there are a plethora of ways you can! Find me on facebook, twitter, pinterest, bloglovin', google+ (follow by email and Google Friend Connect on the sidesbars). I love to get feedback and ideas from everyone. It really makes my day :). Ya'll come back now!

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!

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

33 Day Challenge Day 24: Art With the Color You Own the Most Of

The color I own the most of is.. purple? Really? I mean, I do like purple. I just didn't expect to have so much of it. It's certainly not my favorite color. I don't even own any purple clothing except one solitary "Poison" tshirt. Pretty sure the deciding factor for buying the shirt was that I needed at least one item in that color. So, Yay! for this prompt for getting me utilize the greatest percentage of my stash.

To solved the mystery of How I Acquired So Many Purple Polishes, I took a look at them. Out of the 40 plus purple polishes, 36 of them have been acquired since I since I started my blog. That is, I bought 36 purple polishes in the last four months.
Funny story- a similar thing happened to me a few years ago with my wardrobe. I don't know where it came from, but one day I realized I didn't own any brown clothing or shoes. I had ALOT of black. I decided I needed to branch out. I didn't go crazy or anything, but for a while I only bought brown, and ended up with a good amount.
So this is clearly what happened with my polishes. I looked at my stash, realized it was seriously lacking in shades of purple, and then this time went a little nuts. I wish I could say I don't need any more, but that wouldn't be the truth.

This was my first attempt at a fishtail braid and it ended up a little lopsided. I still like it, it's such a cool look! I love that there are still so many techniques for me to try out. And even with the ones I've tried, there's a lot of perfecting to do!

I hope there are some little girls (older ones too) that will just LOVE this mani. Sometimes it's fun to get extra girly!

What I used:
Thumb (darkest to lightest): Sephora by OPI Seriously it's a Naan-Issue,  OPI Dutch 'Ya Just Love OPI? Sally Hansen Nail Growth Miracle Loyal Lavendar
Index: Wet n' Wild Chrome Hog-Quartz School- metallic purple, Sephora by OPI Domestic Goddess- plum, Sally Hansen Nail Growth Miracle Loyal Lavendar
Middle and Ring: Essie Lilacism- base color, Barielle Hidden Hideaway- stamped butterflies
Pinky: Ulta Salon Formula Tutu Cute-light violet, Sephora by OPI Sugar Plum Fairies Gone Wild-glitter


So, what color do you own the most of?

33 Day Challenge Day 22: Three Color Gradient + Pattern

I had taken a little break from the 33DC, so I have some catching up to do. I'm not sure what my method will be in making up for all the late posts. Today I decided to do Day 22, and we'll see where it goes from there! 

This is a three color gradient, it's just a little hard to tell, I know. I have a thing for very subtle gradients ;).  

This gray/silver gradient reminds me of something by H.R. Giger. Maybe I should have done some kind of alien pattern with it.

I started with a dark gray base color. Then I made the gradient with three colors of loose pigment eye shadows. I used the same brand of eye shadows and method as this post and this other post.

What I used:
Sephora by OPI Break a Leg-Warmer- dark gray base color
OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls- white
DRK-A Large Stamping plate 
NS Minerals Eyeshadow

Pink Gradient and Holo Glitter Ruffian

I did this manicure back in October. I've been on the fence about whether or not I wanted to post it. I loooved wearing these nails. They were so girly! I am a sucker for gradients, and the glitter was so pretty to stare at. So I was disappointed that my photos didn't come out as well as it looked in person. I am finally just going to post it because no one but me even knows the difference!

I did the same gradient as the one in my Save the Ta Tas mani. I sponged the three polishes on each nail. Then I applied top coat to smooth it all out. For the ruffian look, I applied the glitter on the nail leaving a little gap between the cuticle, and bottom half of the sides. It was finished off with another application of top coat.

What I used:
Sephora by OPI What Aura Gonna Wear?- deep hot pink
Clinique Pinkini- bubble gum pink
Jenna Hipp Damage Control- pastel pink
Sephora by OPI Meet Me at the Disco- holo glitter
Seche Vite top coat


Are you into girly manicures? I'm not a super girly-girl, but pink does usually look good on me.

Tutorial: Candy Corn Nail Art

On Nail Polish Society's facebook page I promised I would work on bringing you all some tutorials soon. I had a really positive response to my Children of the Candy Corn Nails post the other day. I figured this manicure would be a good place to start. So here it is, my first tutorial!

What you'll need:

• inexpensive makeup sponge
• Elmer's glue or Scotch tape
• white, orange, and yellow polish (the more opaque the better)
• optional- small nail art or cosmetics brush for cleanup 

1. After applying a base coat, apply two coats of white polish.
2. Cover the skin around your nail with Elmer's glue and let dry completely. I store my glue in an old polish bottle that I emptied out completely in the trash can, and rinsed thoroughly with acetone. You could also mask off the skin with Scotch tape instead.
3. Paint each polish color onto the makeup sponge, enough that it's well saturated.
4. Dab the sponge a couple of times on each nail. Reapply the polish to the sponge as needed. Repeat this step until you've reach the desired opacity.
5. Remove the dried glue, or tape.
6. Clean up around the cuticle with a small nail art or cosmetics brush dipped in acetone. My favorite is an e.l.f. concealer brush I purchased from Target for $1.
7. Apply top coat. A fast-drying brand such as Seche Vite speeds things up.
8. Now you could leave it as is. Or for a little more pizzazz, you can add some glittery polish on top. Or stamp a design on top. Endless possibilities! 

Let me know if you try this for yourself! I would love to see it!

Children of the Candy Corn Nails

Today I am bringing you more Halloween nails. Yay! (Or boo, because it fits. Haha.) As I mentioned in my Fiery Halloween Nails post, it is my favorite holiday. So it's very possible you will see some more spook-tacular manicures next week! I am keeping this post short and sweet because I am working on a tutorial for it! 

This glitter topper is PERFECT for Halloween. I can't believe I didn't realize that when I bought it. The big hexagon glitters are gold, the smaller ones are black, and the smallest glitters are a coppery orange.  Love it.

 In case you were wondering, the title is a reference from "Wreck it Ralph". My kids love that movie.

What I used:
Sephora by OPI White Hot- white
Sephora by OPI Hi Def- orange
Jenna Hipp Tweet Me- yellow
Sephora by OPI Come to Pappa-razzi!- glitter


Mmm, anyone hungry for some candy corn? It was one of my favorite candies when I was little. I also have a bonus recipe for you that I got from my sister-in-law.

Candy Corn Mix

1 part candy corn

1 part salted peanuts

Eat together, and it tastes like a Nut Roll!

Soo yummy. Let me know if you try it! Even I couldn't mess up that "recipe". Oh wait, yes I could.

33 Day Challenge Day 04: Tribal

I've got some catching up to do with this 33 Day Challenge. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll be all squared away.

I wanted to do something a little different again my second go (this was my first) around tribal print. So I did some searching on Pinterest for inspiration, and found this tutorial from Nailed It. I seriously love, love this! I've mentioned before how much I like red nails, and this is no exception. This is so simple yet bold, and lots of fun.

If you want to know how to do this, click the link I mentioned above. I follow the tutorial exactly step for step.

What I used:
OPI Red Hot Ayers Rock- red
Sephora by OPI What's a Tire Jack?- black
Sephora by OPI White Hot- white
Sephora by OPI Yellow My Name Is Betsey- yellow
Sephora by OPI Too Too Turq
Sephora by OPI Alley Cat

What do you think? Do you love this design as much as I do?