Merry Christmas! Nice and Naughty Nail Art

Hello dear readers!

I hope you enjoyed a wonderful Christmas time with your loved ones.

It's still the 25th here... not too late to post about the manicure I wore yesterday.

I called this manicure "Nice and Naughty" because there are two different Xmas themes going on each hand.
On the left you can see snowflakes with hearts, that's the "nice" theme.
On the right side, you can see an ugly sweater pattern design, but in the middle of the 4 nails, you can see the reindeer getting a little naughty with each other...

See? At least, that was the idea

 I used Christmas plates HD E & F for all the designs on this manicure. The red nail polish is China Glaze - red Satin. In the case of the naughty reindeer, I transferred the designs onto the stamper, covered with clear topcoat, let dry. After that, I applied top coat on my nails and placed the reindeer accordingly. I used the stamp decal technique.

I hope you liked this manicure.

♥♥Thank you so much for reading♥♥

China Glaze - When Stars Collide

Hello dear readers!

Today, I'm going to show you swatches of China Glaze - When Stars Collide. I wore this color last month but couldn't post it because I wanted to post Halloween manicures... so here it is.

 When Stars Collide is a maroon color holographic nail polish. It was part of the China Glaze Hologlam collection.

Here you can see the holographic shine. The holo effect is not as strong as on previous collections but I like the subtle metallic finish.

I experienced a bit of difficulty in application such as bald spots and dragging when I applied a 2nd coat. Not too bad but still, not a perfect application.

Here I posted swatches for CG Strap on your Moonboots, another nail polish from the hologlam collection.

What do you think of this nail polish?

♥♥Thank you for reading♥♥

My 1st Attemp at Water Marble Nail Art

Hello dear readers!

Today, I'm excited to show you my first attempt at water marbling :) I know I'm years too late to try this trend. In my case, this was not as easy as it seems... you have to choose the right nail polishes otherwise, you'll end up with a blob of polish on the bottom of the cup of water... it happened to to me before :'( and for this reason, I thought trying more would be a waste of time and precious nail polish.

I have to admit that I love to watch water marble YouTube videos (I find them relaxing for some strange reason). The whole process is fascinating and the end results amazing. I know this manicure is not spectacular as many other water marbles out there... but, bear with me... it's only my 1st attempt ;)

For this manicure, I used three China Glaze nail polishes from the Avant Garden collection: Passion for Petals, Fancy Pants and Dandy Lyin' Around. The base of this manicure is Passion for Petals as well. I found that most China Glaze nail polishes are good for water marbling.

As you can see, the swirls of nail polish are not as much. This is because I was experimenting and I just added a few drops of each color in case I failed... but in the end, I really like the randomness of the lines.

Have you tried water marbling? What do you think of my first attempt?

♥♥Thank you so much for reading♥♥

China Glaze Hologlam - Strap on your Moonboots

Hello dear readers!

Today I want to show you swatches of China Glaze  - Strap on your Moonboots.

This nail polish is part of the Hologlam collection. There are 12 different holographic nail polishes but this one is one of my favorite colors.

Strap on your Moonboots is a stunning navy blue holographic nail polish. Formula-wise, it is pigmented enough with 2 coats. As for the application, I had a few problems because the nail polish was goopy in consistency...the nail polish cap was loose when it arrived and I think that's the reason and not a problem the formula. 

 

The holographic finish is different from CG previous holographic collections, it is linear and the particles are very fine...I also like that it has a metallic sheen to it that I've never seen on other holographic collections.

Do you own a nail polish form China Glaze Hologlam Collection? 

If not, what do you think of this color?

♥♥Thank you for reading♥♥

Challenge: Using a plate with the # of the day you were born

Hello dear readers!

Oct. 28 Challenge manicure for FB group Adventures in Stamping was using a stamping plate with the number of the day you were born. In this case, I used A series stamp plate A25.

 (Pictures can be enlarged)

I used China Glaze -  Sunset Sail as the base color and a reddish brown stamping polish from Konad.

 

I really like this color combination, it gives this manicure a romantic, vintage look.

In a previous post, I've used the same color combination, you can take a look here.

I showed this manicure to my friend and she said it was perfect for Valentines Day...I should have waited  until then to do this manicure...

What do you think of this manicure? I hope you like it :)

♥ ♥Thank you for reading♥ ♥

Leopard Print Fail

Hello dear readers!

One of the reasons I don't post very often is that if I don't like my manicure, I don't want to post about it. But I was thinking that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the might be someone who would like it. The same way I post the manicures I like, I should post my fails too. Here it is:

Can you see? I really thought using a leopard print on top of China Glaze Classic Camel would look fierce. For stamping, I used some metallic nail polish that I bought recently. I dried so fast on the stamper, that I missed to stamp some bits of the design. I really thought this would look nice but no, probably Classic Camel is too yellow or the leopard print needed to be darker.

An extra ugly pic ;) 

I promise I will show you a nicer manicure next time and some nail polish/ makeup hauls on my upcoming posts.

Have a lovely weekend♥♥♥

Hello Short Nails!

Hello Dear Readers!

I want to show you how I finally cut my long nails a couple of weeks ago.

Well, my nails are not too short but still is drastic change.

This is the reason why I had to cut them... I have two serious split nails down to the nail bed. I thought that if I leave my nails long like these, I would really hurt my nails one day...

My nails will grow up long eventually, for now I will enjoy my shorties : )

This is the first manicure I did adter I cut my nails.

I used Kleancolor - Holo Chrome as the base.I painted the half moon design and stamped a puzzle pattern from XL A plate using China Glaze - Millenium. Sorry about this crappy picture. This design was really hard to capture.

Silver and Gold Meteor Shower Nail Art

Hello!

I want to show you some more "Meteor Shower" nail art I did on two sets of false nails.

Click here for the tutorial if you would like to see how I did this on my natural nails.

Here is the silver version:

More details below.

 (Pictures can be enlarged)

  For the silver meteor shower I used:

-1 coat of China Glaze "Millenium"

-Nabi Crackle nail polish in "Black"

-Love & Beauty holographic glitter top coat.

-Various shapes of silver glitter.

Here is the gold version:

 For the gold meteor shower I used:

-Kleancolor "Metallic Yellow"

-Nabi Crackle nail polish in "Black"

-No brand - gold holographic glitter top coat.

-Various shapes of gold glitter.

What do you think about this nail art? Which one was your favorite silver or gold?

♥Thank you for reading♥

Meteor Shower Nail Art Tutorial

Hello again!

Today I want to show you a very simple nail art that I called "Meteor Shower" for the insane (in a good way, of course) amount of glitters that I put on my nails. This is also a tutorial because you will see all the steps for this nail art look.

 Pictures can be enlarged

1. Paint your nails with a metallic/chrome or holographic silver or gold nail polish.

In this case, I used China Glaze GR8 from the OMG collection.

2. Apply a black crackle nail polish and let it dry.

3. Apply a clear top coat that is not fast dry, this is important for the next step.

4. Use chunky glitters in gold or silver color, the more variety the better.

As you can see, I have big hexagon, circle, star, hollow star and small hexagon glitters.

5. While the clear top coat is still wet, apply the glitters randomly or in order and add the quantity you like. 

I always start with the big hexagons then apply the stars and circle glitter and finish with the small hexagon glitter.

6. Apply the glitters to all of your nails.

(Can you see the glittery mess in the background of the picture?)

7. Apply 1-2 layers of  clear topcoat to make sure the texture is not rough.

I applied a coat of Gelous topcoat, let it dry a little bit and added Out the Door fast dry topcoat

(any thick consistency clear topcoat + a fast dry topcoat will do the trick)

Anecdote: The day after I did this nail art I went shopping and I saw a mom and daughter whispering to each other and looking at me. I thought they were saying something bad about me, so I walked away from them. Then, the mom stopped me and asked "Who did your nails?" I said "I did them" She was very surprised when I said that these were my natural nails. Maybe she thought that I was wearing acrylics? Is that good or bad? :)

What do you think about this nail art?

Thank you so much for reading! Your comments are always welcome  ♥

China Glaze GR8

Hello dear readers!

Here is a swatch from 1 week ago, this time wearing a holographic nail polish -China Glaze GR8 from the OMG collection. That is the only CG OMG that I could find in stores and I had to buy the last two bottles as a back up.

Seems like a holo makes long nails look longer and flashier ;)

(Pictures can be enlarged)

This is a close up picture from the bottle. The holographic effect is gorgeous.

An extra pic :)

As of today, I have cut my nails short :(

My next post will feature a nail art tutorial and it will be the last with long nails...until they grow up again :)

Blog Sale Nail Polish Haul

Hello dears!

I have been into shopping for nail polish from blog sales recently because I have not had time to go out shopping.

What I like about blog sales is that I can find brand name nail polishes at very affordable prices. Some nail polishes are brand new, swatches or used for a manicure or two but I don't really care as long as the condition is described accordingly. I'm very happy with these purchases, the blogger I bought from were very nice and some including extra gifts.

Here is what I have bought from different sellers during these past weeks:

 

From left to right: Color Club- Tru Passion, Untamed Luxury and Worth the Risque. China Glaze - Custom Kicks, It's Poppin', Tinsel and Zombie Zest.

Zoya - Astra, Kristen, Gigi and Luna. Orly - Pixie Dust, Prince Charming, Mirror Mirror and Rage.

Icing - Golden Rule, Cosmetic Arts - unnamed bottle, Funky Fingers - unnamed bottle, SH Nail Prisms - Blush Diamond (x2), Ruby Diamond. OPI Nic's Sticks - Silverella (x2)

Milani - Enchantment, Garnet Gems, Fairy tale, OPI - You Don't Know Jacques, Wet n' Wild - Gray's Anatomy, Sally Hansen - Rockstar Pink, Maybelline - Pie in the Sky, Savvy - Prince Ala Charm.

I also bought a big bottle of Solar Oil to pamper my nails.

I hope you had a nice weekend!

Nabi Crackle Swatches

Hello dear readers! And welcome new readers!

First of all, if you are a previous reader of my blog, you may have noticed that my blog has a new image. I want to say thanks to Nailed it. for designing the banner of my blog. I never imagined it would be this cool!

Some of you may  remember a previous post about my Super Nail Polish Haul in which I got 12 Nabi crackle polishes. I absolutely love these crackles! That is the reason I swatched each color. More pictures below...

(Pictures can be enlarged)

I knew these nail color wheels would come in handy!

1. Nabi Crack "Rose" over Maybelline "Pink Sombrero"

2. Nabi Crack "Mocha" over China Glaze "Sunset Sail"

3. Nabi Crack "White" over Kleancolor "Black"

4. Nabi Crack "Pastel Blue" over Ulta "Smoke Screen"

5. Nabi Crack "New Lilac" over Essie "Nice is Nice"

6. Nabi Crack "Sky Blue" over Rimmel "Pink Punk"

7. Nabi Crack "Sand" over Kleancolor "Dark Brown"

8. Nabi Crack "Bright Purple" over Essie "French Affair"

9. Nabi Crack "Angel Lavender" over Prestige "White"

10. Nabi Crack "Black" over Kleancolor "Metallic Green"

11. Nabi Crack "Silver" over Kleancolor "Black"

12. Nabi Crack "Yellow" over Nabi "Neon Blue"

13. Nabi Crack "Yellow" over Prestige "White"

I decided to dedicate a post to these crackles because this really crack, I have used the Cherimoya crackle and those cracked but not as good as the Nabi ones. Overall, I'm satisfied with all these colors except silver because it did not cracked as good, and yellow because it is sheer over dark colors as you can see in nail 12 but it looks fine in nail 13 over a white base.

What do you think of my swatches?

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"Rocker Chick " nail art tutorial

It is been many days since I made a post, so I want to make it up by posting a tutorial for a "Rocker Chick" nail art look.

I made the tutorial using a set of false nails, of course you can get the same look on your natural nails. It is easier for me to take pictures at false nails rather than at my own nails by using my right hand to take pictures of my left hand. Pictures always end up blurry 'cause my hands are kind of shaky hahaha :).

Here is the look:

Now with the tutorial...

Nail polish finds

Here are my nail polish finds from the past week until last Sunday, July 31.
Most of them were purchased at 2 of my local flea markets and a few of them at a nail supply.

I will indicate the names of the nail polish and the prices too.

Kleancolor nail polishes $1 each

Colors listed from left to right:

228 Chunky holo candy, 232 Chunky holo clover, 229 Chunky holo poppy, 162 Metallic yellow, 167 Metallic purple, 160 Metallic orange, 164 Metallic aqua, 216 Sparkling mulberry.

Comments: there are 9 colors from the kleancolor chunky holo collection, I have 6 of them, i have yet to find chunky holo scarlet, teal and black. I really want to try the chunky holo black, I guess I have too look for it again at the flea market (they are only 1 buck each!). The metallic ones, I really recommend for stamping because they are very pigmented.

Nabi nail polishes $1 each, all crackle polishes $2 each

Colors from left to right: Nabi- 50 Rock mania, 8 White, 118 New gold pearl. Nabi Crackle - 9 Baby lavender. Bonita crackle - 01 Black. Cherimoya 2012 crackle- 39 Pontious pilate, 18 Eternity, 17 Innocence and 19 Apocalypse

Comments: There are many affordable nail polish brands that are coming out with their line of crackle polishes. I wasn't sure whether to buy them or not because of the bad experience I had with the Kleancolor Crackle polish which are an absolute fail. When I saw brands such as Cherimoya, Nabi or Bonita collections of crackle polish I was skeptical about spending my money on polishes that would not work.
After trying them, I must say that I am impressed. These three brands are not only affordable but also offer a wide arrange of colors of crackle polish and what it is most important, they are quality polishes that do what they promise, crack! Yes, I love the crackle effect on them. I will try to post some swatches very soon.

Last but not least

Colors listed from left to right: Essie - Nice is nice, Sand tropez, French affair ($1 each). OPI My private jet ($6). China Glaze GR8 ($4), Gold hologram top coat ($3.99). 5 stars silver holographic glitter ($1.50). CM Disco Flares ($1.50).

Comments: Yes! I'm happy that I could find some Essie nail polishes and only a buck each. They were the only three available at a flea market stand and I just had to buy them, hehe. My family says that I'm a nail polish addict, maybe they are right. the other polishes were purchased at a nail supply. I'm glad I went there because I could find the only OPI My private jet and GR8 from China Glaze OMG collection. The rest are glitter nail polishes that I found while browsing the store. I love glitter nail polishes but I'm very lazy when it comes to remove them, they are such a pain, a glittery pain. The last one on the right which is called Disco flares is a lovely fuchsia jelly with glitter and applies wonderfully with only one coat. I will swatch it later.