Urban Stripery

The other night (which was the rotten cherry on top of a hellish day), I felt a need to 'reward' myself for not killing anyone, so I headed to LUSH to check things out. I went there originally with the intent of checking out the Shark Fin soap they're advertising, but they didn't have it at the store I went to, luckily for me (and unfortunately for my wallet) they DID have an Each Peach massage bar, Turkish Delight body smoothie, and the King of Skin body butter, all of which smell amazing. As I was walking back to my car through the shops at Mandalay bay, I decided to stop at Urban Outfitters, I mean, what the heck, they usually have SOMETHING on sale. Little did I know, they changed their nail polish! They have a few new (and REALLY awesome!) colors! They had a fun lavender/pink with holo glitter, some other colors, and then two that I bought, which are called Dust (a glitter that reminds me of Deborah Lippman Today Was a Fairytale, though I've never seen that one in person), and Barstool, which is an amazing powdery slate blue jelly. I'll be posting swatches, etc. soon! :)

I tell you all this because I actually used Barstool in today's manicure. I also used 3 of the colors from the Fall Essie collection that I bought the other day. :) When I sat down to do this manicure, I had a semi-basic idea of what I wanted to do, but I really let whatever came to mind happen when I got to each nail, which is why each one is a different shape. :) I really like how this mani turned out, it brings to mind fall, which I would LOVE to come here to Las Vegas. :)

As an added bonus, you get a picture of my manicure helper, Homer. :) (he's not very helpful, but he's super cute. :))

and also a picture of the badass new ring I bought - it arrived in the mail today!  I <3 it!!

SQUARES

I found a new nail art site nailsgallerysupply.com They have some really fun nail art. I have been going crazy with their cute squares.

Cosmoprof 2011 - China Glaze Preview!

If you're like me, you're super eager to check out the upcoming China Glaze collections, right?

Check 'em out at The Daily Nail: Reviews!

Cult Nails Hypnotic Collection

Curious about Cult Nails Hypnotic collection?

Check them out on the The Daily Nail: Reviews!

Cosmoprof 2011 - CND Shellac

Curious how Shellac fared with the horrific stress I put on my nails?

Check out the results at The Daily Nail: Reviews!

Reverse Rockabilly

Have you ever had one of those ideas that you have to do, even though you have almost no time, and in that time, you should probably be doing something else?  I had one of those today. It, in a way, is kind of a throwback to one of my designs I did for Cosmoprof 2010 (yes, last year's Cosmoprof!) The design was called Between a Rockabilly and a Hard Place, and it was a leopard print nail with a red moon. Today, for some reason, it struck me to try the reverse of that design. In my mind, it was something that was a tad more subtle than the full-on leopard print, perhaps even a tad more office-friendly?  In any event, it was awesome in my head, and pretty much the only way I'll wear red. I have to admit, I love it. I keep looking at my hands. lol  I hope you like it too!! I also got to use Zoya Carmen, which I got to try at Cosmoprof this year! It's a really great true red. Very fiery and retro.

I used Zoya Carmen as a base, with American Apparel California Trooper for the moon. For the leopard pattern, I used OPI San Tan-tonio for the tan blobs, and American Apparel Raccoon for the darker brown. Topped everything off with Nubar Diamont top coat,  which I was given as a free gift with purchase at IBS 2011.

Are you ever so excited to try a nail design that you drop everything and do it?

Cosmoprof 2011 Preview! OPI MUPPETS!!

So you wanna see the awesome upcoming Muppets collection a little closer up? (read: REAL PICTURES?!)

Check it out on The Daily Nail: Reviews!

Retro Freestyle

Sorry everyone, I know it’s been a while. Life has gotten particularly crazy lately. Lots of exciting things afoot, but also enough stress to kill an elephant. In any event, I’ve been neglecting you guys, and for that, I apologize! :)

The day that I received the Finger Paints fall Fashionista collection, I dug in and immediately fell in love with the two colors that I used for this manicure! I knew that I wanted to use them together, and I love the retro vibe they have, so I honestly just started painting without really having any specific design in mind. This is what I came up with! I liked it a lot, and hope you do too! :) It’s a fairly simple, but I don’t think that is necessarily a bad thing. :)

I used butter LONDON Minger for the base on the thumb and ring finger, and Finger Paints Catwalk Queen for the yellow nails. For the designs on the orange nails, I used Finger Paints Cordur-Orange, and for the designs on the yellow nails, I used Barielle Aura Angora. Topped it all off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Do you ever start painting your nails without having a set design?

Fun colours~

More fun designs created using gel colours! :D





Quilted french tips! Dotted embossed flowers done on pink with black dots base. This just shows that the black and pink combination will never go wrong. :D





Candy colours! Hot pink and baby pink stripes with silver linings. Added ribbons for the extra sweetness! Been wanting to do this in bright blue and white. Anyone?

Now this is something very summer! I think it looks a little 'beach theme' don't you think? If you look closely, I've mixed in some white to the light blue and the 3 tone (pink, orange, pink) colour, adding some texture to the colours. Love it! The 3 tone nail design looks like sunset to me. :)

Nothing new, just a new black lace design and in hot pink and black instead of pastel pink. This is a very popular design. Hehe.

Neon colours with zebra prints! Zebra embossed hearts with lots of crystals as well. Only for the adventurous! :D

Simple design with colours that look like paddle pop colours. Childhood ice cream. SLURP~

Fun colours~

More fun designs created using gel colours! :D





Quilted french tips! Dotted embossed flowers done on pink with black dots base. This just shows that the black and pink combination will never go wrong. :D





Candy colours! Hot pink and baby pink stripes with silver linings. Added ribbons for the extra sweetness! Been wanting to do this in bright blue and white. Anyone?

Now this is something very summer! I think it looks a little 'beach theme' don't you think? If you look closely, I've mixed in some white to the light blue and the 3 tone (pink, orange, pink) colour, adding some texture to the colours. Love it! The 3 tone nail design looks like sunset to me. :)

Nothing new, just a new black lace design and in hot pink and black instead of pastel pink. This is a very popular design. Hehe.

Neon colours with zebra prints! Zebra embossed hearts with lots of crystals as well. Only for the adventurous! :D

Simple design with colours that look like paddle pop colours. Childhood ice cream. SLURP~