Sunday, December 30, 2012

On A Roll!!!


I am having a string of good luck. I won TWO more giveaways!!!!! So I started off with winning the giveaway over at Kat Stays Polished. Then I won a flash giveaway on Llarowes' page! I will be getting Femme Fatale Glistening Loadstone. I am soooo excited! Google swatches. It's freaking beautiful!!!!! THEN on top of both of these amazing wins I won a Giveaway hosted by Ana from Simple Nail Art Tips and Joan from Tip Top Nails South Africa!!! How exciting!! This post is a little late considering I recently got my prize from Tip Top Nails all the way from South Africa! Yay for international polishes! :) Here's a picture.


SO fabulous right! The bottles didn't have names on them so I'll have to do some searching but they are all nice colors. I know the blue one is called I Luv Denim. I was very excited to get that one because I had seen a few swatches and I loved it! I also got a top and base coat which is great! I love tying out new ones. I got some Nail stickers, micro beads and a nail file. What a great prize! Thanks Joan!!!

Happy Sunday!

Saturday, December 29, 2012

I Won a Giveaway!!

A few weeks ago I entered a giveaway hosted by Kat @ Kat Stays Polished and guess what!!? I won!!!!! Super duper cool. It's the first giveaway i've ever won! Here's a picture of what I got.




NFU-Oh
Revelon- Whimsical
elf- Metal Maddness
elf -Golden Goddess
I also a polish made by Kat herself! It's called Birthday Shenanigans and it is super cute! Here's a quick swatch on my nubbins! :) I layered it over Nicole By O.P.Is Ladies in the Limelight. I love it!!!


 I also got Sally Hansens Salon Effects Nail Polish strips (which I can't wait to play with). French Tip guides and some microbeads. Kat was kind enough to throw in some extra beads and fimo canes and a nice handwritten note. Which is really kinda special in this digital age we live in! What a great prize! Thanks Kat! Sorry it took so long to get pictures up. The holiday season had me super busy this year!

Ciao!

Saturday, December 15, 2012

For A Cause pt.2


My second mani is something that really means a lot to me.

As a lesbian woman I have recieved my fair share of bullying and teasing. Why people choose to waste their time harrasing gay people is beyond me. Who you choose to love is no ones business but your own. Gay, Straight, Bi, Transgendered we are ALL equal. We should have equal rights and NO ONE should be allowed to tease or harass anyone. LOVE IS LOVE! Gay rights is so important right now. We are making progress towards equality but we have so far to go!

For A Cause..

Today I did two special manicures. First off a No H8 mani.

I choose to do this topic because quite simply I am sick of all the hate and ignorance surrounding the nail art community. I love reading blogs and looking at other peoples nails but sometimes I see such rude comments towards people and its like why? Everyone started out at one point. Maybe you aren't so great yet. SO WHAT!!!  It's about artistic freedom so why do people choose to say hurtful words about other peoples works of art? It so sad and upsetting sometimes. I work hard on my nails and as long as I'm happy no one is going to bring me down over something as simple as a unclean cuticle. Get over yourself people! It's not that serious. We are supposed to be having fun! Enjoy yourselves fellow polishers! Don't let anyone bring you down. Because lets face it NO ONE and I truly mean NO ONE gets far in this world being catty. :)

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Winter Wonderland

I love snow! Sadly I've only seen the snow once or twice in my life. :( I decided to do a snowman mani because who doesn't love a snowman! I wanted something light and bright and I think I achieved it.





I love this mani! I think its sooo cute. I entered this in a contest over at Manicured Mommas on Facebook. Hope I win! 

Ciao!

Christmas Light Watermarble

I love Christmas! It's so fun seeing the manis that people are coming up with! Today I have a mani that was inspired by my lovely girlfriend. She loves to come up with fun designs that I should do on my nails. She thought I should do a green background like a tree with Christmas lights and I jumped
on it!



I have a love hate relationship with water marbles. Sometimes they look awesome! Other times they look pretty terrible. This one just didn't want to work for me! With the exception of my thumb they came out pretty...muted? Is that the word?!! haha I have yet to figure out the perfect polish brand to use with marbling. I hear China Glaze is pretty good. Of course I don't have any green China Glaze! Booo! Oh well it came out decent so I'm happy about that. Enjoy your Sunday!

Ciao!




Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Candy Canes and Snowflakes

So for my final post of the day I have a candy cane snow flaked themed mani. I plan on entering this into a contest over at Simply Rins Nail Art Designs and More. I pretty much love this manicure. I am so proud of it!






I used Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby for the red and for the White I used Sinful Colors Snow Me White. I used a white liner for the snowflakes and a silver liner for the silver accents on the candy canes. With the exception of my pinky snowflake the rest turned out pretty good! I actually am not the biggest fan of peppermint candy canes. Call me weird! I like the fruitier tasting ones. YUM! Have a wonderful Wednesday. It's raining once again in Sac but today is my Friday and payday so I'm not complaining! CVS is having an amazing clearance sale. Check out the master list at http://nouveaucheap.blogspot.com/  I went last night and picked up a few polishes for 1.37 each!!!! Can you believe that?!!!! I am going back today to clean house! Rain will never stop me from partaking in a sale! hahahaha

Ciao!

Ho HO Ho!

Hi there! I'm really starting to get into the Christmas Spirit. I have my first Christmas themed mani today. Yay! 


 

I used Sinful Colors Exotic Green for the base then using NYC Matte Me crazy I matted them. (I do adore matte finishes) Then using a white liner I did the snowflakes and the words. Then I added some random polka dots because well...why not! hahaha Kinda cute I think. I'm a bit happier with my snowflakes than last time. Yay! One more mani to post after this. :)

Ciao!

Winter Nail Art

Hi there! I'm finally back to blogging. These past few weeks have been rough. I've been sick and totally not up to doing my nails. I will say that they were perfectly polished the whole time though! ;)
Today I have an attempt at some snowflakes. I am not so into these nails..They kinda look like branches. Oh well! Winter branches it is! hahaha






 


Using Bonita colors Picasso Blue as my base color I then used NYC Matte About you to give them the matte finish. I used China Glaze Tin Man for the silver tips and for my Snowflake-Branches I used just a white liner. I kind of like it. I just wish my snowflakes were a bit more even. I plan on entering this in a nail art contest over at Jilltastic Nail Design. Wish me luck!

Ciao!

Friday, November 30, 2012

Dotticure


  





Cute right? I just love easy to do manicures. I used all sinful colors for this mani. I really like Sinful Colors they are cheap have a huge range of colors and finishes and they are pretty good quality. I've had this manicure on for a week now and still no chips! And hey look at my cleanup! Getting better! :)

Have a happy Friday. It's raining and storming in Sacramento so I will be spending the day indoors. Yay for lots of nail painting time! Hopefully the power doesn't go out. I wonder if I can paint my nails by candle light. hahahaha

Ciao!

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Adventures in Stampland

So here I am trying stamping once more. After my first disastrous attempt I thought I'd give it a shot. I must admit this one came out slightly better than my previous attempt hahaha but it could definitely still need some work!

Kinda cute right? I love the gradient. Gradients were the first thing I learned to do and let me tell you I was terrible! I did not understand them at all. Now I adore them! If I could incorporate a gradient in every manicure I would! HAHA! I figure this stamping thing is gonna be the same..I'll be terrible for awhile and then i'll be decent! The great thing about Zebra stripes is that they can look super weird...but still kinda cool! Not to terrible right? My clean up job is atrocious. I just haven't got that down yet. :) Baby steps! Have a happy Saturday. I'm spending the night in with my honey and our very rambunctious puppy! Here he is!

Argo. VERY VERY spoiled Argo! He's four month old and a handful! But look at that face. You just can't be mad at him!

Ciao!


Friday, November 23, 2012

Starry Nights

Hi there!

I actually created something that i'm pretty happy with! haha I'm so hard on myself sometimes but only because I want to be the best I can be! Nothing wrong with that is it? On to the pictures!


 
I love it!!!! I did the gradient with Sinful Colors Midnight Blue and Sinful Colors Casablanca (silver) after I finished the gradient I did a light coat of Pure Ice Don't You Wish. The blue was already a bit shimmery so I thought the glitter over it would give it that perfect amount of sparkle. :) And then I went digging through Wet N' Wild The Star in the Show for the stars. I love those stars but man are they a pain to get out of the bottle! I finished it up with a coat of Seche. Hope you guys enjoy. I love this design!

Ciao!

Stamping Fail!

Hey There!

There is a nail art contest over at Creative Nail Design by Sue. It's a stamping contest. My first thought was OH GOD! You see me and stamping do not get along. AT ALL! I am absolutely terrible at it. So I thought well I might as well try right? Wellllll here's what I ended up with.



GAHHHHHH this is not what I was planning on! :( Some flowers turned out decent the rest were a hot mess! I used Orly Buried alive as the base and for the flowers I used Sinful Colors Snow White. Thats right. White!!!  So why are they yellow? I have no idea! As soon as I spread a coat of Seche Vite on top they yellowed! I don't quite mind the yellow so I guess it's ok. I'm not even sure I should enter this mess. HAHAH I'm convinced its my crappy plates fault. I'm ordering new ones as soon as I finish posting this. :)  Have a happy Friday!

Ciao!

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Water Marble Mani

Hi there!


Today I attempted to get a water marble right. It went pretty decently. I always seem to get air bubbles no matter what I do. Grrrr! I plan on entering this in a water marble contest over at Smashley Sparkles. I just love entering nail art contests. Even if you don't win I feel like you gain so much experience and you see so many cool designs. I always take away a ton of
 inspiration! So here's what I ended up with. The light color you see is actually grey it looks kind of blue in the first pic sorry!!!




Hope you like!

Ciao!






Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Newfound Indie Lover!

I finally got some Indies! YAYYYY! I have been debating for weeks whether or not to splurge and finally I just did it! So here's what I ordered!




How pretty are these! I've been eying Skeleton Key and Cruella since I first saw them. Glitzology is on Etsy and her polishes are all very affordable. This week she is holding a $5 sale for all full size bottles!!! This sale will run until Black Friday I believe so definitely take advantage of it!




I also got this!

I am in LOVE with this polish. I saw it awhile back on Chalkboard Nails and I just knew I had to have it!!!!




It is absolutely gorgeous over black!

You can find Punk'd Up Betty at Pretty and Polished ETSY store. She has tons of unique and gorgeous colors and they are all very reasonably priced!







Saturday I went to a party and I just had to wear one of my new polishes I decided on Zoya-Lara and Glitzology- Cruella.
I got so many compliments!!! I just love it!!! That pink is so so so pretty!!

You can find Glitzology Here and Pretty and Polished Here

Hope you enjoyed reading. Ciao!

Essence Gradiant Mani



Hi there!! 

Today I have a pretty gradient mani I did using the Essence shades I bought from Ulta the other day. The red is "Do You Speak Love" and the Blue is "The Boy Next Door".



 I like the way this turned out. I love the purple that was created by the red and blue blending together.

Short post! Ciao!

Friday, November 9, 2012

Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!! BEETLEJUICE!!!!

Today I have a Beetlejuice themed manicure that I did for Paper Thin Nails nail art contest. The theme was Beetlejuice and it had to be freehand. Heres what I came up with.



I'm not the best artist so actually drawing him was out of the question!!! I'm pretty happy withh what I came up with. Wish me luck! ;)

Ciao!

Ulta Haul!

Today I went to Ulta for the first time ever! Can you believe that!!? Well lets just say it's my new favorite store! I was in polish Heaven!!! I went there mainly to pick up a couple of bottles of essence nail polish. I plan on entering a nail design contest and I needed to use Essence Nail Polish. Well I ended up coming out with these!

 From Left to Right

  • Zoya Lara
  • O.P.I The Spy Who Loved Me
  • Essence Copper'ize Me
  • Essence The Boy Next Door
  • Essence Do You Speak Love
Nice sized haul I think! I am most excited about the Zoya. It is my FIRST Zoya ever and it is a Beutiful creme pink. I'm so happy with it. AND it was on clearance. Score! I also ordered my first Indies and I am very excited. I should be receiving them soon and I'll post some swatches when they come in.

That's all for now Ciao!

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Halloween Mani 2

Hi there!

Today I'm going to show you guys a Halloween mani I did for Jordana Cosmetics Nail Art Contest.

Here is my Candy Corn inspired design!


I thought it turned out kinda cute and man was it easy! 


 I used
  • Sinful Colors Snow Me White (White)
  •  NYC  Spring Street (Orange)
  • Sinful Colors Pull Over (yellow)
To do the spider and web I just used a Sally Hansen Nail art pen. Boy do I love those pens!

Hope you Enjoy. Ciao!

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Halloween Mani

Hey there!

Halloween is getting so close which means lots of Halloween Mani's to come! Today I'm going to show you a design I entered in the It's So Easy Nail Art Contest on Facebook. It was my first time putting my stuff out there for the world to see. Boy was it nerve racking! I'm not sure i'll even come close to winning; there are SO many talented nail artist out there but I wanted to do it for experience and besides it's super fun! Here it is!


Basically I started off with a white base coat (Sinful Colors-Snow Me White) then I sponged on the dark orange (NYC Spring Street) and then sponged on the light orange (Wet N Wild Sunny Side Up). After that was dry I put strips of tape on three of the nails and painted on NYC Black Lace Creme. While that was drying I added in the "Boo" and polka dots. I did the spider using Sally Hansen Black nail art pen and I did the web using a white striper brush. once the black was pretty close to dry I removed the tape and put a coat of Seche Vite over all the nails to give them a glossy finish. Overall I was pretty happy with my design. My tape cutting skills need a little work. But hey I'm learning!

Thats all for now! Ciao!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Mellow Yellow

Hi there!

Today I'm going to show you guys a simple nail design I did on my girlfriend. Now she is a no frills kinda gal. She normally likes black and white thats it! No glitters or crackles or really any designs. I have to beg and plead for her to let me do something fun to her nails. Imagine my surprise when she said she wanted yellow nails with a couple of pieces of fimo cane on them. Sounds fun to me! So here's what she got.


I used

  • China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat
  • Sally Hansen Mellow Yellow
  • Seche Vite Top Coat 
If you aren't familiar with Fimo Canes here is what they look like.

Basically they come in a stick form and using a sharp blade (I used an xacto knife) you slice off as many pieces as needed. To attach them you can stick them on a wet layer of top coat or you can use nail glue. I used the glue then put a top coat on the entire nail. It stayed in place until she got sick of them and pulled them off! ;) These particular fimo canes came from Amazon.com I paid 5.79 with free shipping for 100 of them and as you can see I got a good variety. The only negative is that they took awhile to get here as they were shipped from Hong Kong. Still if you don't mind a bit of a wait they were a good deal. I'm sure there are some on Amazon that will arrive faster but I'm a sucker for free shipping so I'm willing to wait!

That's all for now. Ciao!


Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Drugstore Haul pt.2

Hey there!

This weekend I hit up the dollar store looking to score some makeup wedges and cotton balls all essentials to doing your nails! ;)  Well imagine my surprise when I came across these!





First off those stripers! What an amazing deal! Those can range from 3-5 bucks EACH! Naturally I searched through those shelves until I found every color I wanted. I even doubled up some of them.  Next Sally Hansens Complete Salon Manicure polishes. They had quite a few but only these two really caught my eye! $1 what a steal! Finally these mini bottles of glitter. Yay! who doesn't love glitter and again only a dollar! $10 and some change total. STEAL! That's all for now. Ciao!

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Drugstore Haul pt.1

Hi there!

It's been awhile since my first post. Sorry! I've been shopping a lot lately. All of these collections coming out I'm trying to keep up! Today I'm going to show you some stuff I've purchased recently; most of which were pretty cheap! Yay! I'm going to separate the haul posts into two so it won't be too picture heavy! ;)


First off I went to Walgreens looking for Wet N Wilds party rock collection. No luck! But! I came across Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure Line and guess what!!!? It was on clearance for $1.99!!!!!!! Can you believe that! $1.99! Usually it runs about $8-9 bucks! I hear that they are re releasing the line so I guess thats why it's so cheap but I love a bargain so I picked up a few. I plan on going back for more this week.



Grass Sipper


Red Zin

  
 
Kook-A-Mango

Good To Grape

Shrimply Devine






All Fired Up





Lastly I got these!




Sinful Colors Ocean Side

 Essie Butler Please





 Wet N Wild Chrome Grew up in Cobalt-imore






Whew! So that was all of my Walgreens haul. I am in love with Essies Leading Ladies collection. I want every single color and I've decided that I'll buy one each week until I have them all! And those Sally Hansen Colors are wonderful! I had no problems with any of them. They went on smooth and opaque. Gotta love it! I got all of these colors for about 20 bucks. Can't beat that! My next post I will show you some stuff I found at the Dollar Store! Until then.. Ciao!