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