Winter Wonderland Nails

Hi Lovelies! Can you believe it's less than a week to Christmas!! It's especially hard for me to believe since it's still 80 degrees here during the day! I do love Florida, but I'm missing a little wintery weather. So! I've decided to make it snow on my nails!

I posted this picture to Instagram/Facebook/Twitter the other night and people seemed to really enjoy it, so I wanted to share with you how I did it!

First, this is a shirt that I got at Target probably four or five years ago--it is one of my favorite T-shirts that can really only be worn during the Christmas/winter season (because who wears snowflakes other times of the year??;) [sadly, thanks to the baby in my belly, I can't wear it this year:(]

This was the inspiration for my nails! I'm not sure why blue seems like such a "cold" color, but it does hahah!

First, is my favorite base coat!

Then two coats of Sinful Colors Cinderella--this is a really soft, baby blue, with light sparkle to it (one of my faves) and a coat of China Glaze Luxe and Lush from the Hunger Games. This polish has some chunky sparkles in that are multi-colored and kinda change color depending on the lighting.

With my Konad white polish and stamping set, I used Shany plate 17 which has a big snowflake right in the middle of it and tried to center the snowflake on each nail.

Once it dried, I used another coat of Luxe and Lush (this helped add additional dimension to my nails so it really looks like how snowflakes glisten in the sunlight when they fall:) And finished with Seche Vite top coat.

Sadly, I waited 'til late at night to take additional pictures and didn't use the flash so the quality isn't as good as I'd like and it definitely doesn't show just how amazing my nails look! So take this for now, and I'm going to try to get better (outside!) pix soon to post more!!

So what do you think? What special manis have you done for the holidays??:)

Nail Challenge Week 24: Flag Nails

Ladies and Gentlemen of the USA ~ Happy Flag Day!!!! In honor of today's day (Thank you, Betsy Ross for designing an awesome flag), I have American Flags on my nails! This actually wasn't my first time doing flag nails... last 4th of July I attempted them as well.

Insert Star-Spangled Banner music here.... lol

So, how did they get to that point? Well, after OPI Base Coat, I did two coats of Sinful Colors GoGo Girl (still my favorite red polish to date).

Once it dried, I used CoverGirl Blue You (which, p.s. I got for $.25 at a yard sale;) to do the top corners over the red. I used two coats of this also to make sure the red was completely covered.

Even the colors just like this look pretty fun;) But after MORE dry time, then it was time to do the stars and stripes! I used my Sally Hansen Nail Art pen in Pearly White (it's too bad I accidentally picked that one up a couple months ago. I think plain white would've had more dramatic lines)

And finally! I used my Migi Nail art pens (yay!) I couldn't draw whole stars, so I just made dots (which honestly, if you're looking at a flag in the distance, don't they kinda look like dots??;)

There you have it! Hope you have a simply amazing flag day!! Even if you aren't an American;) What other flags would be fun to put on your nails? Canadian? Australian? Italian? :)

Kristen's Kontroversial Kaviar Nails ... lol

Hey Lovelies! So have you heard about the latest drama going around the beauty-blogosphere these days? Caviar Nails. Oh yes, I just typed those words.

via Pinterest

For those of you not familiar with the issue, let me try to provide you with the long-story-short-Kristen-version of what's going on. You may have seen this picture (or one similar) floating around Pinterest and other websites. That's where I first saw it; it reminded me of Snowcap candies or those little chocolates with all the round rainbow sprinkles on them. I honestly wasn't a fan and figured it was just another passing nail art trend. But that was before I knew the story behind the story.

via

You see, these nails first hit the streets back in 2011. Since then, the company Ciate has been developing a kit to sell for everyone to achieve this "caviar manicure" for the all inclusive price of $25! But wait, there's more!!

Since this kit isn't actually for sale yet, nail girls and beauty bloggers world wide have been re-creating the look using polishes they already have and little beads bought at craft stores! No big deal, right? Who hasn't seen a picture in a magazine or a commercial or on Pinterest and thought, "omg, I could totally do that!"

"Caviar Nails" and "Caviar Manis" started popping up left and right (you know how these trendy, fad things spread!) Until [insert looming music here] Ciate sent out "Cease and Desist" letters to a number of girls saying they couldn't use that name, it was theirs! (for the record, as of the date I am typing this, the term has not officially been trademarked yet.)

So, how do you think this was received it Beauty Blogger land? I think it would be an understatement to say that their plan backfired. You see, not only did the bloggers *not* stop using the terms, but they went on to tell all their readers/fans/friends/followers/etc just what happened. Which in turn, spawned girls everywhere to start doing their own "caviar nails." (and talk badly about Ciate's PR).

Now, some people (i.e. celebrities) would tell you that even negative publicity is still publicity. And sure, that's true; Ciate definitely got their name out there. But I'm not sure it's in the way they would have liked.

Posts I've been reading make it seem like a lot of girls will in fact not be buying their product but continuing to do the design on their own---for cheaper.

Do you think the person that invented the "French Manicure" is still pissy that everyone is calling their "white tipped nail designs" by his/her trademarked name?

Aren't we always trying to find other (cheaper, easier) ways to do the fun/cool/latest trend?

Couldn't they have handled this a little differently?

Anyway, I was not going to pass up this bandwagon. I purchased 12 micro glass beads from Michael's and created my first ever Kaviar Mani. (see what I did there? I changed a letter and have now made it my own personal mani without offending any almost-trademarked-label from any company out there;)

Two coats Sinful Color Cinderella ($1.99), one coat Sinful Color Glass Pink ($1.99), and sprinkled micro beads ($1.41)* on the accent finger. Voila!

I had tried doing all my nails, but it just reminded me of floam... (lol do you remember that stuff??) [omg! maybe I will trademark these as FLOAM nails!!:)]

via

Now, this is actually a pretty impractical mani. With all my typing, there is no way the beads will last that long; but it's definitely something fun; it gives your nails a little extra pizzazz! And there are probably some special occasions where it would be the perfect accessory;)

Have you done "caviar nails"? How do you feel about the situation?

*since there were 12 bottles and the whole thing was $16.99 I tried to determine how much one bottle of beads would be. This makes my overall cost $5.39; almost 22% of what Ciate wants you to pay!)

P.S. those rainbow covered chocolates are called "nonpareil candy" so even if you called your mani that, I think you'd be safe;)

Nail Challenge Week 12: Skittles Nails

Helloooo Lovelies! And thanks for sticking around! I was blogging nearly every day for a while (okay, I was cheating, I'd write them all on Sunday and have them auto post, but still!:) Then after the cruise and trying to get back in the routine of work I slacked off. It's not for lack of material though! I have a whole list of things I need to write about, review, etc! So I promise I'm going to try to do better!

Now this was last week's challenge, and I've finally gotten around to do it! I was super excited about doing Skittles nails (which is why I still did this one instead of skipping it.) Skittles are one of my favorite candies! There's a little crunch on the outside then they're chewy and fruity on the inside! They come in a variety of different flavor packs (wildberry, tropical) but I stuck with just the original for my mani this week!

Started with Essie all in one base then I used Sinful Colors Unicorn, Sinful Colors Go Go Girl, Revlon Top Speed Grape, OPI He's My Boo, and Piggy Polish Envy (not just for toes!;)

After writing an S on each of them with Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen White and a coat of Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat you get this. Ta-da!

I was pretty pleased with how it turned out! When I was at Ulta today, the check out girl even asked, "Do you have skittles on your nails?" LOL Why, yes I do!:) I think it's a success when strangers know what's going on with my nails!

Did you do this week's challenge?? What other candies could you do on your nails? M&Ms maybe? Reeses Pieces? (yum!)

Nail Challenge Week 11: St. Patrick's Day Nails

Hey Lovelies!! This week's nail challenge is St. Patrick's Day nails! I'm sure a lot of girls are going to do four leaf clovers, Irish flags, lots of green, etc. I took a slightly different approach. I'm not Irish, but I'm a fan of Irish things... potatoes... sauerkraut (or is that German?:) lol... But my FAVORITE Irish thing is LUCKY CHARMS!! I was rarely allowed to eat this cereal as a child (too much sugar; my mom was all about feeding us "good" cereals like Kix and Life lol) so I now always have Lucky Charms in my house!

I started with a base of Essie All in One Base, two coats of NYC Quick Dry polish in Mulberry Street, then used my awesome Migi Nail Art pens (post on them coming soon! Promise!) to draw the marshmallows!:)

Left Hand

Right Hand

And here are a few closeups of ones that turned out pretty good:)

rainbow

pot of gold

heart

moon

horseshoe

And there you have it! My St. Patty's Day Nails!!:) How did you do yours? Are you having as much fun with the Nail Challenge as I am??:)

Nail Challenge Week 10: Polka Dot Nails

I was super excited about this week's nail challenge! Polka Dot Nails! To say I love polka dots would be a bit of an understatement as I have 2 pairs shoes, 3 shirts, 2 headbands, 4 panties, 2 bathing suits, 2 pairs of sunglasses, a lanyard and badge holder all in polka dot pattern. Not to mention my blog background?! Lol, so yes, I'm a fan of polka dots:) I've loved them for even longer than they've been popular! My favorite dress when I was little was navy blue with big white polka dots. I think it's a very classic and classy design!

I've also done polka dot nails before (it's probably one of the easiest nail art designs to master;) Keep in mind this is an old picture (pre-blogging days) so it's kinda messy!

So without further ado, let me just warn you that I got a LITTLE carried away with my nails this week. I was going to do the spots just on half the nail, kind of angled up, but... they were so fun! and colorful! and pretty! ... I just kept going...

No Flash

With Flash

For this look I used a coat of OPI base, two coats of Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in Black Out, spots from nearly all my Migi Nail Art pens, and a finishing coat from Seche Vite.

What do you think?? Did you do this week's challenge? Did you go basic black and white or switch it up some?? :)

Nail Challenge Week 9: Vintage Nails

Hi Lovelies! For Week 9's Nail Challenge, it's Vintage Nails. I racked my brainmost of the week trying to figure out what I was going to do! As always, Google is my friend;) When you first search for "Vintage Nails" on Google, a lot of the images are pretty baby blue and mint green nails with pink and red roses. I understand this is very vintage'y and looks like a Victorian curtain or couch or something lol, but I just don't think I can master that on my nails.

So! I kept looking. I decided to interpret vintage as to what ladies used to do to their nails in the 40s or something! I found some good links and decided I'd try for something like this:

via

via

So this is what I did!

Two Coats Essie Innocent

Migi Nail Art Pen

Finished!

What I used

Another challenge completed! It's not fabulous, but it was definitely fun to try doing my nails similar as to what was done in the past:)

Have you done Vintage Nails yet? How did yours turn out??

Up for a Nail Challenge?

Hey Lovelies! I found this fabulous challenge that Kelly wrote about on her blog! It's a challenge to change your nails once a week to the assigned design of the week! I've done some of the designs on the list already (and some, I honestly have no idea how I'll do it!) But I thought it was something I definitely want to try!

Here's the list of nails throughout the year:


1. Jan. 1st - "Make it Sparkle" Mani.
2. Jan. 8th - French Tip Mani.
3. Jan. 15th - Color Block Mani.
4. Jan. 22nd - Plaid Mani.
5. Jan. 29th - Newspaper Mani.
6. Feb. 5th - Half-moon Mani.
7. Feb. 12th - "Valentine's Day" Mani.
8. Feb. 19th - Corset Mani.
9. Feb. 26th - "Vintage" Mani.
10. Mar. 4th - Polka Dot Mani
11. Mar. 11th - "St. Patrick's Day" Mani.
12. Mar. 18th - Skittle Mani.
13. Mar. 25th - Ruffian Mani.
14. Apr. 1st - Striped Mani.
15. Apr. 8th - "Easter Day" Mani.
16. Apr. 15th - Dotticure Mani.
17. Apr. 22nd - "Earth Appreciation" Mani.
18. Apr. 29th - Cartoon Mani.
19. May. 6th - Floral Mani.
20. May. 13th - Bows Mani.
21. May. 20th - Fruit Mani.
22. May. 27th - Splatter Mani.
23. Jun. 3rd - Ombre Mani.
24. Jun. 10th - Flag Mani.
25. Jun. 17th - Pride/Rainbow Mani.
26. Jun. 24th - Neon Mani.
27. July. 1st - "4th of July" Mani.
28. July. 8th - Gradient Mani.
29. July. 15th - "Rockstar" Mani.
30. July. 22th - Water Marble Mani.
31. July. 29th - Crackle Mani.
32. Aug. 5th - Needle Marble Mani.
33. Aug. 12th - Galaxy Mani.
34. Aug. 19th - "Bling" Mani.
35. Aug. 26th - Cupcake Mani.
36. Sept. 2nd - Tape Mani.
37. Sept. 9th - "We Remember 9/11" Mani.bui
38. Sept. 16th - Metallic/Magnetic Mani.
39. Sept. 23rd - Dry Marble Mani.
40. Sept. 30th - Animal Print Mani.
41. Oct. 7th - Patchwork Mani.
42. Oct. 14th - "Pink 4 Breast Cancer Awareness" Mani.
43. Oct. 21st - Spider Web Mani.
44. Oct. 28th - Halloween Mani.
45. Nov. 4th - Tribal Mani.
46. Nov. 11th - "Mustach, 4 Movember; Prostate Cancer Awareness" Mani.
47. Nov. 18th - Thanksgiving Day Mani.
48. Nov. 25th - Feather Mani.
49. Dec. 2nd - Glitter Sandwich Mani.
50. Dec. 9th - Snowflake Mani.
51. Dec. 16th - Red Mani.
52. Dec. 23rd - Christmas Mani.
- 30/31 - you've learned enough; go all out and show 2O13, what its all about!


So, who's with me on this?? Let's do it together!!

NOTD: Pre-Valentines Week Nails

Hey Lovelies! So Valentine's Day is just around the corner! I've had so many fab ideas to do, I decided to let my nails celebrate the week before as well:)

Before I show you mine though, how gorgeous are these nails that I found on Pinterest? I figure with a few Sally Hansen nail pens, this is probably do-able. And simply FAB! Love, love, love these!

Okay, I'm starting to think I shouldn't have put that picture in with mine since mine hardly compare lol.

The polishes I used are: OPI base coat, Revlon Cotton Candy (it's SCENTED!! And yes, even with top coat, it still smells like cotton candy!), Konad pink stamping polish, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Rockstar Pink, Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat. And I used the hearts design on Shany plate SH12 with the Konad scraper and double ended stamper.

Here's how they turned out!

And a close-up to see the heart design and the glitter!

I used the mutli-colored glitter just to add a little extra something at the tips:)

Have you tried any V-day manis yet? Or thinking about what you'll be doing?? I think for my actually Valentine's Day Mani I'll do red and white, but we'll see how many times I change my mind between now and then ;)