Love-ly Nail Art Challenge: Day 9 - Valentine Candy

These did not come out how I pictured them in my manicure perfect mind, but they have kind of a cutesy-kid thing going on that I kind of like. They are at least happy and playful, unlike the crapola nails I did for the LAST day.

I won't lie, though.... I'm excited to try again for something better. I used a variety of CG polish for these, many of which from the Up and Away collection. I'm not with my polishes currently, so I can't say the names for sure. Just let me know if you're curious about a specific one. :)

This was "inspired" by conversation hearts... so it is definitely a CANDY manicure, and not a heart one. ;)

My hand looks weird here.

 

Little blurry...

Next up... Roses! Ha... that should be interesting!

Love-ly Nail Art Challenge: Day 6

Okay, I am behind in posting this! I was having issues with my camera (*ahem* phone).  I promise I did have the manicure done on the correct day, though. :)

I am very unhappy with how it came out. It is just ugly and doesn't look like lips at all. Oh well, you win some, you lose some! I disliked this so much I only did it on one hand. The other just had a glitter gradient.

For this manicure, I used Orly's Red Haute for the lips, a cheapo red glitter by Heavenly, Orly's Tiara, and Fingerpaint's Where Art Renoir? (Which I LOVE, by the way!)

Next up, Valentine Candy!

Love-ly Nail Art Challenge: Day 1-3

Okay, this time I'm actually PART of the group in the challenge! I decided to wait for this one to start instead of lagging behind the previous challenge I started. Also, I've been really busy....

I know everyone else is probably going to use really beautiful pinks and reds, but I figured I'd probably be sick of those by the end of the month so I went with citrus colors! I think my left hand came out way better. I'm right handed, so all my good ideas get used up first. By the time I'm on nail 8 I'm starting to reach for something new!

Left Hand

Right Hand

As usual I also couldn't decide on just ONE design, so I had to do a different one for each nail. For this I used China Glaze Neons (2012) and CG Liquid Leather. I also threw in some fimo canes, rhinestones, glitter, and caviar. They are pretty crazy but since I'll only have them a few days I'm digging them!

Next up, Lips! I'd like to do something different than just stamping lips on every nail. Hmm...

Day 2: Silver

Day 2 of the 31 Day Challenge is silver. I couldn't resist putting a little pink in my creation, though.

I just put on some cuticle oil, so my fingers are a bit shiny!

This is China Glaze: Concrete Catwalk beneath CG Tinseltown and a touch of CG Fairy Dust. I also used a little bit of a Shany silver nail art striper, but that takes FOREVER to dry so I didn't use much. I love how Tinseltown shines in the sun! So lovely. It is much more sparkly in real life; my camera just doesn't do the shine justice.

This one is blurred but shows the sparkle better.

These are admittedly NOT nearly as cool as yesterday's, but they're not bad. They actually look much nicer in real life than they do in these pictures. The rhinestones should be fun to get off...! 

The next one is gold. Hmm...

Happy Painting!

China Glaze "Wicked" 2012

The reason I started doing my own nails was to SAVE money. I was tired of having to go to the salon every few weeks to drop at least $40, just so that my hands wouldn't look they had gone through a shredder. (I am terrible about picking at my cuticles if my nails aren't done!)

That was $40-$50 every 3 weeks, on average. Now that I paint my own nails, I spend about $30 a week on nail polish! I am not saving money! It is way more fun, though. :)

Most recently I purchased a small set of China Glaze polishes called "Wicked." It's from Halloween 2012 and has four colors in it:

Rougish Red, Glitter Goblin, Bizarre Blurple, Ghoulish Glow 

These all go on very nicely with no problems. It is China Glaze, after all. :) I had a white base on underneath all of the polishes today.

We'll start with the glitter. "Glitter Goblin" is a coppery glitter that reminds me of fall leaves. It is small, round cut, and set in a clear base, with copper and silver rainbow holo glitters. It goes on pretty sparsely with only one coat, so you'll need several if you want it opaque.

Formula Overview

• True to color on the bottle.
• This glitter can go from sparse to opaque, depending on number of coats. Great for Fall! 
• I would not stamp with this, but as usual, if you do something neat please show me.
• It would go nicely over warm colors (such as the included "Roguish Red").

"Roguish Red" is not really red at all, in my opinion. It is the perfect Halloween orange, though! It looks like the color you picture when you think of orange and black together for the holiday. 

Orange is one of my least favorite colors, (red is my least favorite) so this automatically takes a hit. Not fair, but that's just the way it is for me. I will probably only wear this if I'm excited about Fall, or around Halloween.

Two coats each, over a white base.

Formula Overview:

• True to color on the bottle. 1-2 coats, depending on color desired.
• Thick enough to stamp with.
• Definitely more of an orange than a red!
• Very creamy and glossy. No shimmer.

The purple color is called "Bizarre Blurple." It is a deep purple with blue shimmer, as it should be for the name. It shines nicely and has a lovely sheen to it. It is a common but very pretty color, and I will definitely wear it. It would be fun to gradient with, I think, and is great for colder months. It's nothing special, but a good staple to have.

Formula Overview:

• True to color on the bottle. 1-2 coats, depending on color desired.
• Thick enough to stamp with.
• Lovely shimmer and shine, even without topcoat.
• A good, solid purple. 

The lightest bottle is a glow-in-the-dark polish called "Ghoulish Glow." It goes on pretty much clear (it is over a white base in the picture). It glows really well, actually! I tried to get a picture for you, but it just wasn't working out. I need to work on my picture-taking skills...! If I had a more active night life, I would probably REALLY like this, because it's fun without ruining the color you have underneath. I'm pretty much a homebody with an early bedtime, so this won't see much use. 

Formula Overview:

• Clear, or very close to it. It seemed to dry clear.
• IF you're in the market for a glow-in-the-dark polish, this is a good one. Big IF, though.
• You could stamp with this, but you'd only see the design at night. (That could be really cool, actually.)
• It glows a plastic-y yellow/green, like those Halloween skeleton toys or spider rings.

Happy Painting!

China Glaze: Velvet Bow

I love China Glaze.

Velvet Bow is one of the darker colors from their most recent Holiday collection. It is a very deep red/maroon color in the bottle. Once on your nails however, it is EXACTLY the same color as the velvet bows all over the place at Christmas time! I mean exactly!

As usual with China Glaze, good application means one coat. This is a thick, creamy polish with no glitter or shimmer, and very high gloss. I can see my face pretty clearly in my nails. While this is technically a jelly polish, one coat was pretty much opaque. It's actually really interesting because each coat gives you a deeper red, but they're all the colors of velvet bows. I settled with three coats, which turned into a very nice burgundy, and reminded me of wine, or dark wood. Expensive things.

One coat in the sun!

This is a very "grown up" color. It reminds me of something a woman would wear on an expensive date, or maybe a normal rotation for you vampier ladies. I don't usually wear a lot of red, but I think I will wear this because it is not as bright or "hot." This color also seems like the nail polish vampires would wear. You know, when they cycle out the black.

As usual with MY manicures, I need two or more coats. :)

It's a dark color, so without adequate prepping (petroleum jelly) you may find yourself having to do a bit of clean up.

I could see this being a popular color in the Fall and Winter, because it is dark and reminds me of blood or Christmas bows. Haha!

Formula Overview:

• This would be great to stamp with. Hmm...
• Creamy "jelly" polish; no glitter.
• High gloss.
• One coat is possible, depending on what color you want to achieve.
• Great for colder months and toenails!

Okay so after I was done writing this up, I decided to do some stamping. This is Liquid Leather over Velvet Bow, with Seche Vite topcoat. I used a Bundle Monster plate; one with fishnet and one with lips (not pictured).

Happy Painting!

China Glaze: Liquid Leather

I love China Glaze.

Liquid Leather is no exception. When applied correctly, it is easy to have full coverage with no patchiness or streaks with only one coat. I used two coats in this picture, because I was a little heavy handed on the right side and left a big 'ol spot!

China Glaze: Liquid Leather

This black is very glossy. Even without a topcoat, it has a mirror finish. I can literally see my face on my thumb. I guess that's why it's "liquid" leather, right?

Overview of Formula:

• This polish is thick enough to stamp with.
• One coat is possible with correct application.
• This polish is very glossy.

Happy Painting!