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