Neon Halloween Vs

Time for Halloween look #2 for the year... some fun & bright neon Vs.

Taken in natural light with cell phone.

I think this is the first time I've ever free-handed Vs instead of using tape, and it was a breeze! Not quite as even as I'd normally do, but when pressed for time this method certainly helped!

Polishes Used
Zoya Raven
Funky Fingers Riot
Funky Fingers Atomic Poppy
Color Club Feelin' Groovy
Salon Perfect Black Diamond

It's time-- first Halloween mani is here!

Woohoo! It's thT time of the year again... Halloween is almost here! Which means it's time for Halloween nails!

Taken in natural light with cell phone

I've got a cute mix n' match to celebrate... these were inspired by a few images on Google. Giving credit where credit is due:

Spiders - JaeMarie2008
Ghosties - Incoco Spooktacular wraps

Polishes Used
Funky Fingers Dark Knight
CoverGirl #245 Go-Go Mango
CoverGirrl #240 Coral Silk
Zoya Creamy
Zoya Destiny
Salon Perfect Sugar Cube

Orange Surfboards

I was ready for summer last week... despite the fact that it was really rather chilly around here! I needed to brighten it up with some orange and yellow, so I went with some simple stripes. I was told a lot that these reminded people of surfboards... very wishful thinking for the shores of Lake Erie. 

Taken in natural light via cell phone.

Sometimes the simplest designs get the most compliments! Something that took me less than 10 minutes to do makes the biggest impact. :P Even my dad & husband commented and said they liked these, which is something neither of them usually pay attention to. Crazy stuff, the power of coordinating & bold colors!

Polishes Used
CoverGirl #245 Go-Go Mango
CoverGirrl #240 Coral Silk
Zoya Creamy

A Thanksgiving Waterfall

New technique time! I've seen waterfall manis all over the place, but finally gave it a shot thanks to a new set of nail art brushes. Having the right tools makes all of the difference when you're trying to make skinny lines! 

Taken in artificial light.

I wanted an orange base for this look but wasn't sure which polish to use. Peach was too pastel and pumpkin was too dark... but what about my nemesis (OPI's Y'All Come Back Now Ya Hear)? It was the perfect color! As you'll recall, Y'all Come Back reacts with my nails to create a beautiful dark stain. Which is lovely, except no. Just no. 

Luckily I came up with the perfect (and oh-so-simple) solution: a white undercoat! A quick coat of white left my nails stain-free and made the jelly appear solid, so I only needed 2 coats of Y'All Come Back. Excellent!

Polishes Used
Sinful Colors Snow Me White
OPI Y'All Come Back Now Ya Hear
Piggy Polish Ivy Leaf in Santa Claus
Dots Metallic Bronze
Revlon Jackson Polish
CoverGirl #245 Go Go Mango
Zoya Ziv
Sally Girl Gold Glitter

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

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

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)

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

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

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

Neon Laser Beam Manicure! Pew pew!

Hi there! Has anyone else been missing their neons?! I sure have and can't wait for summer to come so I can wear them more often. I decided to brighten things up to break away from the winter gloom with this cute laser beam mani.

Taken in natural/ artificial light combo.

Good ol' striping tape played the largest role here and helped me create these lines. Of course, the neon's not as bright as it should be (darn camera!) but there was quite a contrast in-person. I'm also loving Concrete Catwalk that Sean got me for Christmas. A gorgeous grey, one coat coverage, and super shiny!

Polishes Used

Color Club Koo Koo Cachoo

China Glaze Concrete Catwalk

Orange Saran Wrap Mani

Hey there! Today I've got a simple look to share-- an orange saran wrap manicure. Doing these are so, so easy! Paint on your base coat and let it dry, paint on your second color, then quickly pat the nail with crinkled up saran wrap. Add your glitters and top coat and there you go! A quick mani that's super pretty.

Polishes Used
CoverGirl #240
CoverGirl #245

Copy Cat: Jelly Pumpkins

Hey there! Today I've got a late-ish Thanksgiving design to share. This is my rendition of Adventures in Acetone's Pond Pumpkin nail art. I saw this and instantly went "OMG! I have the polish to recreate this! And how adorable!" So I gave it a try for Thanksgiving and this is what I ended up with.

Picture taken in my bathroom under yellow-ish lights.

This is 5 coats of OPI and 4 different "layers" of white pumpkins. It turned out super cute and had more depth than my crappy picture shows. The only bad thing about this mani cure was the polish removal... stain city! :(

Yuck! And this was after I did a baking soda soak to get the major staining off... yikes! Also, I definitely picked this polish off since it was so easy to peel (as a jelly). BAD! You can totally see the white marks on my nails from the damage... bad bad bad...

Polishes Used
OPI Ya'll Come Back Ya Hear
Sinful Colors Snow Me White
It's So Easy Stripe Rite White

Fall Chevrons

Hey there! Today I've got a super fun look that I couldn't stop staring at when it was on my fingers! 

I got this idea from work / play / polish's guest post here... except she used neons. I've wanted to do this look ever since I saw it but I didn't get around to it until now. 

It's so luminous and warming and pretty and yes! It took a bit of time, but it was totally worth it! I started off with the white base, used striping tape to mark everything off, then painted in the colors. Add in some top coat and wow! A gorgeous design. :) Both pictures were taken in natural light. 

Polishes Used

Pure Ice Platinum

Wingin' It Lacquer Burning Leaves

Zoya Ziv

Dots Metallic Bronze

Nail Fail: Pastel Water Marble with Glitter Accents

Happy Monday, everyone! Today I've got a lovely nail fail for you to gawk at... a strange attempt at water marbeling with pastels. 

Photo taken in shade.

Actually, the marbeling wasn't that bad. Once I added in some dots and glitter things got funky! When I purchased my 12 pack of glitter from eBay, they sent me a pot of clear iridescent glitters. I figured that they would add an extra touch of sparkle to things. WRONG. They kinda just blended in and were almost undetectable in person. I think they're made more for being worn over dark colors...

Polishes Used
L'Oreal Royalty Reinvented
CoverGirl #240
Zoya Creamy
Sally Hansen Mint Sorbet

Seasonal Color Changing with Del Sol's Trick-or-Treat

Hi there! Today I've got an exciting polish to show you all- Del Sol's Trick or Treat. If you've never heard of Del Sol, it's because they're not really in the nail polish business. They manufacture all sorts of products that are activated by the sun and change colors, including polish! Unfortunately, I think that Trick or Treat is discontinued... but it's still available through other web merchants.

Both pictures taken in direct sunlight.

Here I've got on two coats of Del Sol over a quick coat of Scare-o-Lantern. You can see that without sun exposure this is a super sparkly and pretty orange. Once the sun has been hitting your nails for a few minutes (or seconds, even, depending on the sun's intensity), the color morphs into a deep purply black. I didn't really need the undies for this, but I was in a rush so I slapped some on to avoid having to put on three coats of Trick or Treat. You can totally see some sheet marks (I know! So bad!) because I went to bed right after this. Oopsies! ^_^;

Polishes Used
Del Sol Trick or Treat
Sweet Heart Polish Scare-o-Lantern

Glittery Halloween Skittle Skulls

Happy Halloween! Today I've got my third Halloween look that I wore this year-- glitter bomb skulls!

This was a bunch of free-handing... free-hand skulls, free-hand glitter placement, free-hand dots... free-hand! I used my dotting tools to glob out a general skull shape, dotted on some eyes and a nose, then used my black striper to add in teeth grooves. From there, I added silver dots to my other fingers, dipped my entire pinky into hex glequins, then hand placed random glenquins around the skulls. Very sparkly with just a touch of spooky! :)

Polishes Used
Sinful Colors Black on Black
OPI Your Royal Shineness
Sweet Heart Polish Scare-o-Lantern (as a base for all that glitter!)

Halloween Glow-in-the-Dark Stripes

Hello there! Today I have one of 3 looks I wore this year for Halloween. I wanted to go with something fun and bold so I did alternating black and orange stripes! 

The fun part about these is that I painted a coat of glow-in-the-dark over the orange, so I had glowing stripes at night! I also experimented with adding some glitter on the tips... that was definitely a fail. I mixed loose glitter into a blob of clear coat and dabbed it on my tips. I ended up with something close to a textured polish with almost no shine. Very strange... probably will not be trying that again!

This was also attempt #2 at a new nail shape... this time less of an extreme point. It worked out better this time with less of an extreme shape but no. Just no. The day after these pictures were taken, I broke my pointer nail clean off at the fingertip and cracked the side of my thumb. So needless to say, I'm rocking some shorties now. Oh well... maybe one day I can change nail shapes, but for now round is the way to go! :)

Polishes Used
Sinful Colors Black on Black
Sinful Colors Glow-in-the-Dark Topcoat
Covergirl #245

OPI Spotted Halloween

Hey there! Today I've got a quick look I threw together using OPI's Black Spotted and some fun Halloween neons. I painted on random splotches of colors then gave them a coat of Black Spotted to complete a colorful peek-a-boo look.

I was in a rush when I did this look and kinda laid on the Black Spotted a bit heavily (which is why my pinky is practically black!). See all those cracks? Oops... I should have let my base color dry a bit longer! Lessons learned...

Polishes Used
OPI Black Spotted
Funky Fingers Atomic Poppy
Funky Fingers Riot
Color Club Feelin' Groovy