Bloody Halloween Nails

Hello readers. I have another Halloween themed post for you! I love doing my nails for Halloween and I decided to do one of my favorite scary manicures.

This is a repeat manicure of last years glow-in-the-dark blood spatter nails. I used a very messy and fun technique involving dipping one end of a straw into nail polish and blowing it onto my nails. Here is a link to the tutorial I go the idea from.

I used:
White- Alpine Snow by OPI
then two coats of Ghoulish Glow by China Glaze
Red- Drastic by China Glaze (near perfect jelly blood red)

One of my favorite parts of this manicure is that the white glows in the dark!

For now, I only have a pic prior to cleanup but I like it more that way =P

Vampire Look in Action!

Hello readers! A couple weeks ago, I posted a Halloween Vampire Look that I found off of someone's blog and I was finally able to have proper photographs taken by a good friend earlier this evening! I wanted to share the photos with you, as well as the photographers facebook page. MAJOR THANK YOU TO GROTHAUS PHOTOGRAPHY :D Check him out and like his page! I hope you enjoy the photos :)

Vampire Halloween Makeup

Hello readers, it's been so long since I've typed up a post on here. My hard drive crashed a couple months ago and I recently was able to recover my data and get back into the funk of things.

Today I wanted to show you something I haven't done before, which is a look for Halloween. The following look was inspired by this tutorial created by EMAN. I fell in love with the mysterious and edgy look and decided to recreate it with some of the makeup I had.

For the eyes, all the shadows I used were from my 120 eyeshadow palette which includes a full range of reds, purples, blacks, and whites, which are the colors needed to create the look. I purchased this specific palette from eBay and I like it because the colors are rich, pigmented, shimmery, and blend well. They last pretty long on their own but work even better with primer underneath. If you would like to see a review of the palette by Nihrida, click here! Her review is what convinced me to but the palette and overall I'm very happy with it.

I found very similar colors from the tutorial in the palette and followed EMAN's directions accordingly. Blending all the colors together was relatively easy to do. I found the hardest part of this look to be perfecting the point of the inner corners of the eyes since I have never tried a look like that before. After a few tries, I finally got it. I finished the eyes off with mascara. I used Rimmel's Lash Accelerator, which is AMAZING!

After the eyes were done, I cleaned everything up and added a new layer of foundation and blush. The foundation I use is Bare Minerals Matte in Golden Fair and the blush I use is Luminoso by Milani, which is a shimmery peachy blush.

Lips are last (as quoted by Carmindy from What Not To Wear) so I used Loreal Infallible Gloss in Rebel Red topped off with Rimmel's Smokey Finish lipstick from the Kate Moss collection. It's really fun to layer on top of red, hot pink, or magenta, especially in the evening. It adds a sheer, smoky, silvery, shimmery glitterness to it lol.

And noooooowwwww for the final look! I have an all-over face shot followed by some other shots so you can see the colors in different lighting... also a closeup of the lips which used to be a true, deep red along with the Smokey Finish on top. I hope you like it :)

Happy 4th of July! Independence Day Manicure :)

Hello readers. Today I'm going to show you my nails for 4th of July and show you last year's 4th of July nails.

I used:

Blue = Eyes Like Sapphires by China Glaze
Red = Ruby Pumps by China Glaze
Silver = Kiss Nail Art striper
White = Kiss Nail Art striper
Glitter topcoat = Northern Lights
Seche Vite topcoat

Here's how I did it:

I started off with two coats of Ruby Pumps. Then I did the white stripes by laying the brush pretty flat against the nail and dragging it. I then carefully drawed on the silver stripes where I wanted the blue to start. Then I freehanded two coats of Eyes Like Sapphires to the edge of the silver. I touched up the silver once more to even out the lines and finished it all with Northern Lights and Seche Vite :)

Like it? Post the links to your July 4th nails as well! I would love to see them! Click here to see others' July 4th designs.

Neon Plaid Nails

Hello readers. I'm going to show you my current manicure that I've been wearing since this past weekend. In honor of the Scottish Festival in Santa Cruz County, I wanted to do my nails plaid like I did last year (click here to see last year's mani).

Since it's summertime and I felt like doing something fun, I ended up doing bright neon colors that were inspired by Nailside's Neon Plaid manicure seen here. Rather than using tape like she did, I used a striping brush to do all the designs.

Here are the colors I used in order of application:
White- Alpine Snow by China Glaze
Pink shimmer topcoat- Femme Fatale by Color Club
Yellow- Glowstick by Orly
Lime green- In The Limelight by China Glaze
Pink- Oh Cabana Boy! by Orly
Orange- Melt Your Popsicle by Orly
Darker lime green- Turned Up Turquoise by China Glaze
Finally topped off with Seche Vite

Now for some photos :) I hope you like it! My eyes are literally burning from staring at these photos for the past 15min :P

Spoiled- I'm So Jaded with HITS Hefesto Holo Topcoat

Hello readers. Today I'm going to show you a color that I've been dying to try since I bought it. This is I'm So Jaded by Spoiled, which is a collection from Wet 'n' Wild.  This color is so awesome... It's a neon lime green with gold/yellow shimmer in it. It's definitely one of those must-have greens! I especially liked it because it reminds me so much of Limonyte by China Glaze, which I've been lemming for ages!

As much as I love this color, I hated applying the polish itself. I think it was a combination of the brush and the formula. The brush was very bristly and harsh, which dragged on the polish and didn't let me apply a smooth coat. The next issue I had was the formula. It was pretty thick and a bit on the goopy side. I had to carefuly apply 3-4 thin coats to get good coverage. It ended up being very messy since I couldn't reach near my cuticles easily. I actually had to re-do a couple of my nails because the application was so terrible and there was no saving it.

Here's a photo of I'm So Jaded, followed by a closeup of the thumbnail so you can see the shimmer:

I then decided to add a holographic topcoat on top called Hefesto by HITS. This topcoat looks amazing on just about anything and it adds a little extra in the sun :-) Here are some photos of I'm So Jaded with Hefesto on top!

What do you think? Do you like this combo?

Nail Polish Jewelry DIY

Hello readers :) Today I'm going to show you something a but different but is still related to nail polish. I was bored one night browsing YouTube and I came across this video. It's a video that shows you how to make your jewelry look brand new and unique by repainting it with nail polish. It's a really great tutorial and it's ideal to do on old cheap jewelry that you never wear.

I was bored that evening I watched the video and decided to repaint my old, ugly earrings that I never wear. I pulled out these hideous cheap-looking teal flower earrings that I only wore once and wanted to make them pretty.

Here's how I did it:

3 coats (or until it was almost completely opaque) of La Paz-Itively Hot Pink by OPI (matte)

In the video, she starts off layering with white to make the colors pop but I decided that a matte polish would have the same effect.

2 coats of Gilda by Zoya for some hot pink shimmer

1-2 coats of Twisted by Fingerpaints (flakes)

1 coat of Seche Vite QD topcoat to seal it in

And now for the before and after photos.....

What do you think? If anyone ends up trying this, I would love to see your before and after photos :)

Layla Flash Black Swatches (warning: pic heavy)

Hello readers! I'm going to show you the most amazing holographic nail polish I've ever seen! It's called Flash Black by a brand called Layla. I got it from Ulta. This color is just wow... it's a charcoal grey/blackish color with a very strong holographic effect. 

These photos honestly don't do it justice. It has a much stronger holographic effect in person. With the exception of the photo of my nails under the lamp, all of them were taken the next day. It had a little bit of tipwear... I didn't use any base or topcoat. Just 3 coats of Flash Black. Now, on to the photos!

Oooh also check out my video if you want to see the color in action! Click here or find it on the bottom of this post :)

Sunlight

Sunlight

Sunlight

Sunlight

Sunlight

Sunlight

Thumbnail closeup in the sun

Thumbnail closeup in the sun

Blurred to show how strong the holo effect is

Under a lamp in a dark room

In the shade

And now for the video!

Pink-orange-yellow gradient w/ zebra stripes

Hello readers! Today I'm  showing you my new favorite manicure! Of course I say that almost every week but this one truly is killer! For this look, I used the following:

OPI Natural Basecoat
Pink- Gilda by Zoya
Orange- Rica by Zoya
Yellow- Lighthouse by China Glaze
Seche Vite QD Topcoat
Konad M57
Liquid Leather by China Glaze

First I used the Natural Basecoat and topped it off with three layers of Lighthouse. Then I put a coat of Seche Vite to make it dry fast so I can sponge on the gradient without ruining the yellow. When that was ready to go, I sponged on Rica about 2/3 of the way down from the tip and let that dry. It dried quickly since it was such a thin coat. After that, I sponged on Gilda and blended it in about 1/3 of the way down from the tip. I put a little extra pink at the tips to make it pop a bit more.

When I was done with the gradient, I put on another coat of Seche Vite so it would be completely dry for the stamping. I obviously used the zebra print design on Konad M57 and stamped away with that. I topped it off with another coat of Seche Vita and...... Ta da!! :)

Now for some photos!

Outdoors, indirect sunlight

Outdoors, direct sunlight. So shimmery!

OPI DS Sapphire

Hello readers! Today I'm showing you the swatches to my lucky find from last week: OPI DS Sapphire. This shade is so pretty. It is a greyish light blue and shines beautiful linear holographic rainbows in the sun. Indoors, it just looks like a light grey polish. It applied very evenly. I could've gotten away with three coats but I had to do four since I made a smudge on one nail. Now for the photos!

Sunlight

Sunlight

Sunlight

Indoors under a lamp

Indoors

Lucky find at CVS!

My friend and I were driving in his neighborhood and I saw a CVS I've never been to. I wanted to stop by for the Milani Spring 2012 collection and check for one of the colors I wanted. They did not have the collection in stock, but I ended up getting something else I've had my eye on. I browsed through the shelves and saw that they carried OPI.

I checked in the very back row of their OPI's and there was a single OPI DS Sapphire sitting right there... just for me! I've been after it for so long and it magically appeared in front of me! I can't wait to use it. I will definitely use it for my next mani and I'll post pics. I went a little picture-crazy with the bottle but the rainbow shine was sooo addicting!

Blue gradient with flowers :)

Hello readers :) Today I'm showing you this really bright blue and teal gradient manicure with flowers.

I used:

Grecian Sun by Sinful Colors (bright blue)
Nail Junkie by Sinful Colors (teal glitter sponged on tips)
White Sally Hansen Nail art pen (dots)
Flower decals (brand unknown)
White Lights Glitter 101A by N.Y.C. (glitter topcoat)

I was very impressed by Grecian Sun. The formula is perfect... no lumps or bumps and has a flawless finish with two coats. Then I sponged on Nail Junkie so it blends nicely with the blue. To make it look more like a gradient, I used White Lights Glitter 101A to blend it more. The look felt like it was missing something so I added the flower decals and put 1-2 dots on each side. Here's the look! What do you think?

Closeup of my thumb so you can see all the glitter

Louboutin-inspired halfmoon manicure :)

Hello readers! This manicure I am about to show you started off being a simple/classic idea and ended up being frustrating mess... but finally ended up looking awesome :)


At first, I just wanted to do a classic red polish so I puled out Isla by Zoya. I did three coats of that but I did it at the worst possible time... my friend invited me out for crawdads that evening and I didn't realize how messy it would be. When I was done with dinner, my thumb and pointer nails were completely ruined. It was late at night and I didn't want to re-do the whole thing so I put another coat of Isla on top.


The next day, I still hated my manicure. For some reason, it became all bubbly and the texture was bothering me. I then decided to put a coat of China Glaze Ruby Pumps (red glittery polish) on top to hide the texture, which helped a lot because of the glitter.


Then... it came to me. I thought about the "lubu manicure" and thought to myself... I've never done a halfmoon manicure... I'll try doing a lubu halfmoon manicure!


I used those hole punch protectors and shaped the halfmoon. I put one coat of China Glaze Lubu Heels which is a really nice black polish with red glitter. When I took off the hole punch protectors, some of the sticky residue was left behind so I had to touch it up with some more Ruby Pumps. I finished the look off with Seche Vite for a nice glossy finish and I love how it came out :)

It's soooo shiny :D

I love all the red glitter!

Here's how I did it :)

Here's my inspiration :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hello everyone! I hope you all are having a nice Valentine's day :)

In honor of today, I did a really cute manicure that I saw on Polished Love Affair's blog. Looking at them side by side, mine turned out very different from hers. I think I ended up using more coats of Sapphire Sparkle and a brighter pink for the tips. I think both look great though!

Here's how I did it!

Base- OPI Natural Base Coat + 2 coats of Sapphire Sparkle by CND

Hot Pink Tips- 1 coat La Paz-itively Hot Matte by OPI

Heart Tip Design- Konad M73

Heart Stamp Color- Alpine Snow by OPI.

Silver Glitter- Kiss Nail Art Striper

Topcoat- 1 more coat of Sapphire Sparkle by CND + Seche Vite


I really love Sapphire Sparkle. It's a really pretty blue/purple/pink shimmer and looks good over everything. Also, using a matte polish if you plan on stamping is great since it dries very quickly and makes the process less painful =P

I hope you like this look!

Pink Glitter Zebra Print Nails

Hello readers :-) I think I just found my new favorite manicure... I did 2 coats of Teenage Dream and sponged on Excuse Moi! on the tips. Luckily these polishes dried very quickly so the entire look in about an hour! This is also the first time I think my konad pattern turned out perfectly without any mistakes. I'm very pleased with how it turned out and it describes me in a nutshell :) Enjoy!

Light pink glitter = Teenage Dream by OPI
Hot Pink Glitter = Excuse Moi! by OPI
Black = Liquid Leather by China Glaze
Zebra pattern = Konad M57