Surprise! My Wedding Nails!

Yeah... so remember like a month and a half ago a bit ago when I mentioned I had one more Halloween manicure left to share and also had a big surprise? Well it's finally here!

Both taken in natural daylight.

I got married! YAY! This is the manicure I rocked for our Halloween wedding. I've got the something blue, ghosties to keep in the Halloween spirit, glitter, and romantic text... it's the perfect package! :D

I used the "make your own decals" method for this, which entails painting topcoat on a plastic baggie, tracing your design in polish (in this case, I did all the letters), cutting out the design, then adhering with topcoat. I added the hearts and ghosties using my dotting tools then added small smiles with a detail brush.

The wedding itself was performed at the local courthouse with just our families present. Sean & I have been dating since high school (7 years!), so it was just a matter of time before we actually got married. :P And we did it! The craziest part is that the next day we moved out into our own apartment, which explains the delay in posting. We've only just got officially settled into our routine and I finally found the motivation to post. Woohoo! So it'll be back to nails for a bit... up next is Thanksgiving!

Polishes Used 
Sinful Colors Snow Me White
Salon Perfect Baby Blues
Daring Digits Holyfire

Stripey Spiderwebs

Hello! Today I've got yet another Halloween look to share... my first attempt at spider webs! I wasn't sure what to do with the other nails, so I went with a quick set of stripes. I seem to be in a stripey mood lately... strange!

Taken in office lighting.

Making webs with a striper brush was actually way easier than I expected. I've already had 5 comments on these nails this week, which is a larger number than normal. Clearly they're eye-catching (and spooky, for sure!)!

Polishes Used
Funky Fingers Riot
Sinful Colors Snow Me White
Color Club White Striper
Salon Perfect Black Diamond
Sinful Colors Secret Admirer 

Halloween Stripes and Splotches

Hi there! I've got another Halloween look to share this year... a good ol' black & orange combo!

Taken in indoor lighting.

I matched some black & orange stripes with OPI's Black Spotted. I then added a hint of glitter to add some pizzazz and ta-da! A simple yet interesting Halloween look. :) 

I've got another Halloween look coming your way later this week, then an additional extra-special manicure sometime this weekend... keep an eye out!

Polishes Used 

CoverGirl #245 Go-Go Mango

Sinful Colors Black on Black

OPI Black Spotted

Sweet Heart Polish Scary Delight

Trick-or-Treat Candy Confetti

2nd Halloween look for the year! This was inspired by an artist over on Tumblr (and Instagram!)- Victoria of Victoria's Nails. Take a look at her gorgeous original mani and my inspiration here. 

Candy for everyone! Taken in office lighting.

I started off with a dark grey base, added some glitter, then gave all my candy shapes a white base. After that was a lot of dabbing colors on with my spotting tools, then drawing on tiny stripes for the candy wrappers. I added a few silver dots for some extra pizzazz and there you go! Halloween candy all over the place!  

Polishes Used 
China Glaze Concrete Catwalk
L.A. Colors Silver Glitter
Sinful Colors Snow Me White
CoverGirl #245 Go-Go Mango
Zoya Creamy
Sinful Colors Baby Blues
Funky Fingers Galactic Blue
Funky Fingers Riot
L'Oreal Royalty Reinvented
Pacifica Fluorescent Sunset
Sally Hansen Racey Rouge
OPI Your Royal Shine-ness

Chaotic Goddess Swaps: Swapoween Reveal

I'm so excited to share this post with you... it's my package for Swapoween! I swapped with Kai from Fiction State Of Mind, who sent me this amazing package of Halloween themed goodies! I'm really enjoying the ladies over at Chaotic Goddess Swaps and their fun swap ideas... go take a look and see if sign-ups are open for the next swap!

Look at this haunted haul!

Kai was awesome enough to put together this cute and spooky package. She included a Baker's Chocolate mold kit that makes adorable chocolate shapes, a pair of spooky socks, and a mini string of orange lights (those are totally going on my desk at work!).  

Inside that jack-o-lantern box are my favorite type of candy... gummies! Jelly Belly beans and gummy fingers are creepy, but definitely tasty! Finally, she included two Revlon nail polish duos. I've seen these but never bought any for myself, so I can't wait to give them a try! Swatches soon to come! ;)

If you want to see my swap to Kai, take a look at her reveal post here.

Black & White Challenge Day 10: My Choice!

The final day of the Black & White Challenge was a look of my own choosing. Woohoo! I went with bold stripes with colorful tips. Oh yeah... and it glows in the dark! 

Taken in natural daylight.

This look brings us happily into the Halloween season. FINALLY!!! I'm super pumped, even if I won't be spending my nights scaring the shit out of people at the local haunted house. I've traded in my haunt gear for something much more proper... more news on that to come soon! ;)

Polishes Used
Sinful Colors Snow Me White
Sinful Colors Glow-in-the-Dark Topcoat
Sinful Colors Black on Black
Funky Fingers Riot
OPI Divine Swine
Broadway Nails Seduction Night (#4)
Fresh Paint Square Candy
OPI Fresh Frog of Bel Air

Black & White Challenge Day 9: Water Marble

Hey! Today's Black & White Challenge asked for water marble... so here you go!

Taken in natural daylight.

I did a black and white water marble over a white base, then added some dots to liven things up. I realized halfway through this that more black polish would have been a good idea, but this reminds me of smoke with all of the grey-ish areas. Kinda cool!

Polishes Used
Sinful Colors Snow Me White
Sinful Colors Black on Black

Black & White Challenge Day 8: Sponging

Howdy! Day 8 of the Black & White Challenge asked for sponging! I went for everyone's favorite... a good ol' gradient! 

Taken in natural daylight.

I think my sponge skills are getting better. I really like the merging of colors I was able to get with this look! Using grey as the middle color was a great idea to pull this look off.

Polishes Used
Sinful Colors Black on Black
Sinful Colors Snow Me White
Petites Twilight

Black & White Challenge Day 7: Black & White with Glitters

Hey there! Day 7 of the Black & White Challenge was all about glitter! I went with a subtle glitter look combining glitter placement and a loose-glitter ombre.

Taken in horrible indoor lighting.

I always forget how much fun loose glitter is! It's a bit messy but you can definitely get some fun looks with it. Anywhos... I used iridescent clear glitter on the black polish, which is hard to see. I'm not sure what to do with that glitter, since it never seems to come out right once on the nail. Eh... I'll come up with something!

Polishes Used
Sinful Colors Black on Black
Sinful Colors Snow Me White

Black & White Challenge Day 6: Color Base with Something White

Hey there! Today's theme for the Black & White Challenge was a color base with some white. Gee, doesn't this look familiar? :P

Taken in natural daylight.

I actually completed this look before my other look and have been sitting on this pic for a while (hence the actual flowers in the pic and not fallen leaves!). I really do enjoy this look... the white brings out the glow in Zoya's Hope. 

Polishes Used 

Sinful Colors Snow Me White

Zoya Hope

Black & White Challenge Day 5: Color Base with Something Black

Oopsies... I might have taken a small hiatus on posting. Anywhos, here's day 5 of the Black & White Challenge: color base with something black!

Taken in direct sunlight.

Remember the last time I used OPI Spotted and it came out cracked? Looks like I still haven't kicked the habit! I really do like the way it looks... definitely unique.

Polishes Used

OPI Black Spotted

Zoya Jancyn

Zoya Creamy

Black & White Challenge Day 4: White Base with Some Color

Day 4 of the Black & White Challenge is a white base with some color. I went with a bright and vibrant orange... and used a white color-changer as the base!

Taken in natural daylight.

Taken in direct sunlight.

Color changing polishes are definitely fun, but I'm never outside enough to take full advantage of the magic. Lil Miss Sunshine is easy to apply but has a strange scent to it that lingers. It smells like something floral and stays for 5-ish days... and kind of gives me a headache. >_< 

Polishes Used
Funky Fingers Lil Miss Sunshine
Funky Fingers Like Clockwork
Jade Holográfico Magia Negra
Color Club Black Striper

Black & White Challenge Day 3: Black Base with Some Color

Day 3 of the Black & White Challenge brings us to a black base with some color. I added some glitter & striping tape to complete the look.

Taken in natural daylight/sunlight.

I don't think my picture does justice to Private Show. It's got a  bunch of small glitters in there; I can see red, pink, teal, and gold. I really enjoyed this look (even my dad commented!) so it'll probably be making an appearance in my Remix tag. 

Polishes Used
Sinful Colors Black on Black
Pure Ice Private Show
Sally Hansen Marine Scene

Black & White Challenge Day 2: White on Black

Time for day #2 of the Black & White Challenge! Today's challenge was to do white on black (as compared to yesterday's black on white). 

Taken in natural daylight.

I decided to go for a v-gap mani, which I think look super modern given the contrast of colors. By the way... is this technically a v-gap? Has the nail world made a declaration on what constitutes a v-gap? I'm not sure... but I like the look!

Polishes Used
Sinful Colors Snow Me White
Funky Fingers Dark Knight

Black & White Challenge Day 1: Black on White

Alrighty... here it is! The beginning of the Black and White Challenge! As I mentioned in my previous post, it was waaaaay past the time for me to do another nail challenge. Let's take a look at my first look, shall we?

Taken in natural daylight.

Very mod, right? This was my first time attempting a striper-only geometrical design, and I think it turned out pretty good! 

On a side note, almost all of the white polish used in these challenges will be Sinful Color's Snow Me White. It just so happens that it's the only white I own (aside from my white striper & nail art pen). See you soon for challenge day #2!

Polishes Used
Sinful Colors Snow Me White
Color Club Black Striper

Black and White Challenge Announcement

Alrighty... I figured it's time for another nail challenge, since the last one was for Flip/Flop February almost two years ago! I've decided to do the Black & White Challenge, which places an emphasis on using black and white polishes with colors.

This is a 10-day challenge that's been around for a while... you can Google the challenge name and find all sorts of other participants. I'll start posting pics on October 1, so keep an eye out! 

Swatch: Salon Perfect's Silver Sparkler

Hello! I've got a swatch I wanted to share of a fantastic top coat from Salon Perfect (which actually lives up to its name!). 

Taken in natural daylight.

Look at all that glittery goodness! This is Salon Perfect's Silver Sparkler from their 4th of July collection and it's fantastic! Application was easy and just one coat delivers a gorgeous mix of holographic silver glitters in two sizes. The be honest, my picture doesn't do this justice... it was so much more sparkly in-person. I added one and a half coats over Dragon Lady and it was lovely! 

Polishes Used 
Salon Perfect Silver Sparkler
Fresh Paint Dragon Lady

Summer Neons with Stripes featuring a Whole Lotta Funky Fingers

Hello! Today I've got a fun summer look to share using a new product I bought on an impulse: Salon Perfect's Nail Art Pen in White (702). This was my first time using a nail art pen to draw a design and I wasn't sure what to do... so I went with stripes! 

Taken via cell phone in horrible office lighting...

It's so hard to photograph neons, is it not? The colors in this are horribly off... but just imagine more "pop!" The nail art pen was super easy to use and only took two coats to be completely opaque. The best part is that when you mess up, a bit of rubbing alcohol wipes the design right off! Very simple and opens up the door for all sorts of possibilities!

Polishes Used
Funky Fingers Like Clockwork
Funky Fingers Atomic Poppy
Funky Fingers Pop Artist
Funky Fingers Power Play
Salon Perfect Nail Art Pen White (702)

Review: Venus Embrace Sensitive Razor

Howdy! Today I've got a quick not-nails review for you... the new Venus Embrace Sensitive razor. This razor has aloe strips, 5 blades, and is supposed to cut down on irritation from shaving. 

Design-wise, this is just like every other Venus razor. The handle is the standard Venus design, this time in a light blue/aqua color scheme. The razor head itself is large, which makes it difficult to maneuver around curves and tight places. It's not quite as bulky as the heads with the built-in shave gel but definitely not as easy to wield as the normal Venus head. I do love the 5 blades and I feel like the moisturizing strips did a great job... my legs are super smooth! I'll have to see if my legs become itchy in a few days (oh, the joys of sensitive skin!), but overall I think this is a winner!

I received this product complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes. All opinions are my own.

Happy Swapoween!

Guess what I'm doing again? Another swap! This time Chaotic Goddess Swaps is hosting a Swapoween event, where each participant is matched up to swap Halloween good. How awesome is that?! Sign-ups are open until the 15th, so there's still time to apply!

I am beyond excited for this! Halloween is my favorite holiday... so much so that I celebrated for an entire month and half last year working at a haunted house! I love the aspect of dressing up, scaring people, everything spooky (& grotesque), and candy! Can I even use any more exclamation points?! YAY!

Toxic Green with Grey Tips

Today I've got a simple look to share-- neon green and grey, with black accents. 

Cell phone office picture = poor lighting

Have you ever just felt the urge to wear a color? That happens all the time for me and is what inspired this look... I saw neon green and was like "YES! That's the one!" Anywhos... here's some neon green with grey tips and a sparkly black outline (and black heart rhinestones, cuz why the heck not?!). 

Polishes Used
Color Club Feelin' Groovy
China Glaze Concrete Catwalk
Salon Perfect Black Diamond (striper)

Mattified Glitter featuring Julep's Ciara

Hello! I did what I swore I wasn't going to do and ended up trying Julep back in the fall. I got my three bottles of nail polish and was excited to see what the hype was about, so I swatched up Ciara and topped it with some glitter.

Ciara is a dark, burnt cranberry color with a subtle teal shimmer. Unfortunately, you can't see the shimmer in the picture, but it was noticeable in-person. Application was eh... streaky on the first coat and still streaky on the second. A third, thin coat evened everything out. 

So what can I say about Julep? I'm not that impressed. The bottles are cute, but the shape makes holding onto the brush a pain and they are way too small (especially to justify the price!). I wasn't that impressed with the formula either. For a brand that seems marketed toward luxury, this wasn't spectacular. Unsubscribed!

Polishes Used
Julep Ciara
Ooh La Lacquer Grosky Lil' Beotch
Warpaint Beauty Mattify

Bold Vs Featuring Zoya Phoebe and Jancyn

Hi there! Today I've got a bright and bold design to share, featuring two Zoya shades and some stamping.

Taken with cell phone in natural light (in my car!)

I started this off with Jancyn (which always looks streaky, even after three coats!) then stamped an arrow design on top using Atomic Poppy and my Pueen stamping plates. Then I used some striping tape to create super sharp Vs with Phoebe. I love the matte/shiny/neon/contrasting colors going on here! Woo!

Polishes Used

Zoya Phoebe

Zoya Jancyn

Funky Fingers Atomic Poppy

Dark and Moody Modern Dots

Hey there! Today I've got a look to share that I did over winter, featuring YouPolish's STARdust. STARdust is a deep purple jelly-ish polish with teal, magenta, and darker blue glitters thrown in the mix. There's also larger star and circle glitters that I had trouble getting on the nail, but I love the look without them just as much as with them!

Both pictures taken in artificial light.

I accented with some colorful dots to pull out the glitter shades. Definitely a modern look with beautiful deep colors!

Polishes Used

YouPolish STARdust

Zoya Neve

Sally Hansen Plum Power

Sally Hansen Marine Scene

Summery Flower Water Marble

Howdy! Today I've got a fun water marble look to share with lots of neon orange and pink! I accented with white dots and some nail stickers I bought off of eBay.

Taken in daylight.

I think I need to find a better container for water marbeling... none of my designs are super complex. Then again, I usually only do one cycle of polishes before I mix them up and dip. And I am a sucker for the double-dipped look (as shown really well with the orange over the darker pinks!)... maybe I don't need a new container! :P

Polishes Used
Sinful Colors Snow Me White
Funky Fingers Atomic Poppy
Sally Hansen Racy Rouge
Funky Fingers Kiss the Girl
Fresh Paint High Voltage

Nail Fail for the Fourth!*

*Technically the Fifth. :P Happy (belated) Independence Day! I've got a wonderful nail fail to share featuring Salon Perfect's Starred & Striped.

Taken in direct sunlight... YAY Summer!

Starred & Striped is a matte glitter topper with red and white bar glitter and blue stars. I wanted to love this, I really did. I grabbed the bottle and internally debated about buying it... but the glitter looked so dense in the bottle I figured it's look great on the nail. Eh. This is three "coats" using the dab method. The stars came out of the bottle with some difficulty, but the killer is the inconsistency with the edges sticking up. Even with two thick coats of topcoat, I still had some star corners poking out. Disappointing!

Polishes Used
Salon Perfect Starred & Striped
OPI Your Royal Shineness

Gold & Glittery with Zoya and Glitterfied Nails

Today I've got a glittery look to share with you! Despite being a silver person, I can't get enough gold nail polish!

This look features Neve with my go-to gold, Ziv, providing an accent. I topped everything with a coat of 24 ct. Gold and ta-da! Sparkly and definitely gold!

Polishes Used
Zoya Neve
Zoya Ziv
Glitterfied Nails 24 kt Gold

Swatch: Lush Lacquer Minty Chip

Hi there! Today I've got a quick swatch to share that reminds my of something I love... ice cream!  

Taken in direct sunlight.

This is Lush Lacquer's Minty Chip (now known as Polish Me Silly over on Etsy), a black & white glitter topper with a pretty green shimmer. I topped off some mint creme polish with this and yum! This reminds me of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Summer's almost here! :D

Polishes Used
Sally Hansen Mint Sorbet
Lush Lacquer Minty Chip

Futuristic Gaps Featuring Ulta Purplexed

Do you ever see someone's nail art and just go "Oh man... I have to recreate this!" I did that with a look from Lucy's Stash... I fell in love and knew I needed to do it. ... cue multiple failed attempts at creating the look, frustration over using acrylic paints and having a poorly sized brush...

Taken in natural light.

This is what you end up with! :D I still like this look... the contrasting gaps with the depth of Purplexed is a really cool thing... it definitely reminds me of something very sci-fi and futuristic. 

Polishes Used
White Acrylic paint
Ulta Purplexed

Chaotic Goddess Swaps: The Favorite Color Swap Reveal

It's time for the reveal of my Chaotic Goddess Swaps The Favorite Color swap!

My swapping partner was Victoria from My Thoughts for Thoughts, whose favorite color is purple! Go check out her blog for book reviews, cute crafts, and all sort of subscription box goodness. You can see what I sent her here.

Victoria sent me items in my favorite color-- orange! Obviously, because this is mostly a nail blog, she sent me a copy of Catherine Rodger's DIY Nail Art, which features really cute and easy nail art designs. She also sent along a glitter cardstock set, which is AWESOME! I love paper crafts and card-making so paper is definitely my thing (and who doesn't love glitter?).

The baking cups came in this vibrant, bright orange striped pattern. These are the best... I'm always needing baking cups since I make muffins so much! I love to bake and I have a feeling these will be used up quickly!

The final part of my swap was two quarters of fabric with orange prints. These came from an Etsy shop, but I somehow managed to throw out the package before I got the seller's name. Oopsies... I love the crazy stripes on the left and the retro pattern on the right. These will definitely be used for something fun!

This was such a fun experience... I loved picking out items for my buddy and waiting impatiently for my items. I can't wait to see what swaps come up in the future!

Giveaway Win: Super Black Lacquer Holos!

Hey there! I have finally gotten around to clearing out my picture stash... so here's a giveaway win all the way back from November! I won a three pack of Super Black Lacquer from Life of a Mad Typer, promptly took pictures, then never got around to posting this. Oopsies! 

Taken in sunlight!

Here we have some amazing holos that really shimmer in the sun... the pretty purply color is Heather, the gorgeous cranberry is Spanked, and the burnt gold is Guilty. I had never heard of Super Black Lacquer but I love their packaging and bottle shape, and was surprised to hear that they're located down in Columbus. Very cool!

Polishes Used
Super Black Lacquer Heather
Super Black Lacquer Spanked
Super Black Lacquer Guilty

Star Dots Featuring Zoya Dakota and Zoya Ziv

Hey there! This is an older look that I did a couple of months ago when we were still in the dredges of winter, so I figured I'd share now before we get too far into spring!

Picture taken inside under normal lights.

This was an interesting look I came up with, dealing with black and black-and-gold dots over Zoya's Dakota. I needed a red creme and bought Dakota... and I have yet to be disappointed! I then added on some black plastic rhinestone stars and dots to make this a bit more fun. Woo! 

Polishes Used
Sinful Colors Black on Black
Zoya Ziv
Zoya Dakota

Cloudy Fingers?

Hi there! I've wanted to do a cloud mani for a while, so here's my attempt! I definitely learned a few things with this...

Taken in indirect natural light.

1. LET THE POLISH DRY - My tips were gooey for a while. I should have let them dry more between coats.
2. Don't use a frosty polish... it shows bumps too easily.
3. Make sure that the brushes are actually shaped for this. The Sally Hansen brush was too flat for doing this easily.

Polishes Used
Broadway Nails O!Jessica 
Sally Hansen Plum Power
Zoya Neve

Better Late than Never! Easter Eggs!

So I'm definitely late on this... but eh. I've been busy at work lately since it's the end of the semester and I just haven't found the time to sit down and write up a post. But here we go! 

Taken in indirect sunlight.

This is the look I rocked for Easter. This is also the last of my manicures that will be using that horribly shitty (maybe duped) Essie Good to Go topcoat. I'll be using that for attaching studs, glitter, and all those other fun small things.... and I've since picked up Salon Perfect's topcoat and it's been lovely thus far!

Polishes Used
L'Oreal Royalty Reinvented
Zoya Creamy
Ruby Wing Gypsy
Cover Girl #240
Sinful Colors Snow Me White
Color Club White Striper

Chaotic Goddess Swaps: I'm Swapping!

I'm participating in the Chaotic Goddess Swaps Favorite Color Swap! I came late to the party, so sign-ups are closed, but keep an eye out for their next swap! Essentially what happens is you get a partner, build a package for them between $20-30 based on their favorite color, then send it off and wait for yours to arrive. I can't wait to see what I can find for my partner and to see what I receive!

I'll be posting a reveal post in May sometime showing off my received package... it's so exciting! :D

Captain America: The Winter Soldier Manicure

Hey there! Today I've got a look the celebrates the new Captain America movie, which Sean and I saw on Thursday night at the first showing. I won't give away any spoilers, but let's just say it was awesome and makes me wonder about the future landscape of the Avengers and Captain America's future. Anywhos... on the nails!

Taken near dusk in natural light... check out all that reflection! :D

We've got the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo, Cap's shield, the Winter Soldier's arm, and Hydra's logo. Not gonna lie... my thumb is completely naked because I couldn't decided what deserved the final spot as a fair representation of the movie (I was leaning toward a heart, because woe is my shipper's heart). Still, this was super fun to do and let me try out the make-your-own "nail sticker" technique. It's a cool concept but a bit difficult to execute. But it does give me something to do with my horrible (maybe fake) Essie topcoat! Woo!

Polishes Used

LynBDesigns Sacré Blurple

Zoya Dakota

OPI Your Royal Shineness

Sinful Colors Bleeding Heart

Sinful Colors Black on Black

Sinful Colors Snow Me White

Marble Nails Featuring OPI Fly and OPI Cuckoo For This Color

Hi there! Today I have a simple design with lots of depth... a take on the saran wrap mani! I did something similar with orange and figured I'd try it with teal. 

Taken in natural sunlight.

Gotta say, for something that took less than 10 minutes to do, this is so captivating! I got a lot of depth from the two colors and added some glitter to add a bit more dazzle to the look.

Polishes Used
OPI Fly
OPI Cuckoo For This Color