Merry Christmas Eve!

Merry Christmas Eve, Dear Reader!

I was up for a holiday manicure this morning, so I ran with it.  Actually, I tried and failed last night (there was a products-don't-like-each-other wrinkled polish incident), and the last thing I did to this mani didn't work out as planned, but now that my second attempt has gone south, I'm leaving it.  It's not too far off the mark, and I can show you where it went wrong.

I started out with two coats of China Glaze Midnight Kiss, then added a holly pattern from Bundle Monster plate BM14, painting the leaves with Green Konad Special Polish and the berries with Cool Red Konad Princess Polish.  I wanted to add one more thing, so I stamped the Christmas tree from Konad plate m12 in Konad Green, and at this point, all was well.  However, the Christmas tree didn't look too festive being green with green decorations, so I had at it with cheapo rhinestones.

That's where the problem came in - I got a bunch of little wheels of rhinestone-y things super cheap off of ebay a while back, and now I see that they're cheap because they're crap.  I used a round white rhinestone for the star on the tree, which was fine, and then I added a few little round metallic beads to the Christmas tree, and top coat made the color bleed off of them.  So it would have been just right but for my crappy tree decorations.  In the picture, there are also some droplets on a few nails - it was snowing pretty hard when I ran out to take the picture, so please just ignore them.

Christmas Eve Nails

See how the color bled right off of the red pieces on my ring nail?  That's pretty frustrating at the very end.  However, no one's going to look at my nails as close up as this picture, and from a normal close distance it's more okay.  The red pieces just look oddly blurry, so I'm going to leave it alone.

The moral of the story is don't buy cheap crappy nail decorations like I did, and if you do, don't use them as the last step of a manicure that was kind of a hassle to execute.  Words to live by.

That's what I have for you today, Dear Reader.  Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!  

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Posted in Bundle Monster , China Glaze , Gold , Konad , Long Nails , Nail Art , nail polish

Even More Halloween Nails

Happy Halloween, Dear Reader!

Well, I didn't get as many Halloween manicures done as I wanted to this year, but I have today's and another to show you today.  The one from last week was done using the Color Club Cast a Spell set of Halloween minis along with some Halloween Art Club rhinestones for Halloween, both of which Color Club sent to me.

The mini set has a black, orange, holo, and dark purple shimmer (the same purple as last year, I think).  The really cool thing it has is some fun decals.  I was just playing around with it and did an orange manicure with a black accent nail, then applied the decals to the orange nails and a line of orange rhinestones to the accent nail.  This is what I came up with.

Halloween Nails Using Color Club Cast a Spell Mini Set

For today, I did a simple manicure, but it's the scariest one for me.  I'll even tell you the little story of why it's the scariest (if you don't care, feel free to skip to the paragraph after the story).  It's spider-related, so if they care you skip it.

Six or seven years ago, I lived in new house on the edge of town, in a neighborhood that was being developed in what used to be corn fields.  Now, I've always been terrified of spiders, and when the construction guys would dig a new lot out of this corn field, the spiders and bugs were everywhere.  So gross and scary... After a few months of panicking at the sight of a spider, I decided I'd be all Zen and not kill them anymore, just ignore them and go about my business in order to get over my fear of them.  Good plan, right?  I soon saw two spider webs in the corner of the bedroom a few feet from my side of the bed, and for a few days was all pleased with myself for ignoring them.  Pleased, that is, until I woke up one morning to zillions of tiny spider dots all over two walls of the room and squished all over the bed.  The two spiders had mated and the eggs had hatched overnight.  I have never again felt compelled to peacefully coexist with an arachnid, and am more freaked out than ever about spiders.

Back to the manicure!  In honor of my scary spider story, I decided to do a spider in a web on my left ring nail.  For the base color, I decided on Chanel Rouge Noir - it's a good dried blood color, and sufficiently Halloween-y on long nails.  For the web and spider, I used stamping plate BM13, white for the web and black for the spider, both Konad Special Polish.  To make my spider even scarier, I added a red dot (Zoya Lisa) to its back to make it a Black Widow.

Black Widow Nails on Chanel Rouge Noir

Black Widow Nails on Chanel Rouge Noir, Closer View

I really like this manicure because it's not overtly a novelty, the accent nail is more like a little surprise if someone looks closely.  And I couldn't handle more than one spider on my nails, lest they become friends and make zillions of tiny spider dots.

So, that's the update on Halloween manicures and your scary Halloween story to start out the day.  I hope you have a great day today, and until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

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Posted in Black , Bundle Monster , Chanel , Color Club , Nail Art , nail polish , Orange , red , vampy

Diamond Cosmetics Metallic Blue & Bundle Monster BM10

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I woke up early this morning and felt like doing my nails while I had coffee, so I did - Black Ice didn't last long!  I used a Diamond Cosmetics polish, Metallic Blue, from a recent DC order.  I ordered quite a few, and I saw the package on the porch as I was on my way out a couple of weeks ago, so I got it and put it somewhere "safe" until I got home.  I finally found "safe" on about the third try since then this morning (it turns out the corner of my kitchen pantry is a safe place for nail polish!), and I went through the box to even remind myself what I'd ordered.

It turns out I did well - it's so hard to tell from Diamond Cosmetics' site, but I got some really gorgeous ones (at $2.25 a pop, I'm willing to roll the dice..).  I went with Metallic Blue first because I have not worn a blue in a while and I'm a little burnt out on Summer shades at the moment.  Metallic Blue is good in two coats, but had a little trick to application - it's a bit thick and tried to leave bubbles as I applied it (just one or two per nail).  The bubbles appeared immediately, so after covering a nail I just swiped any bubbles with the brush, and it dried with no issues.  That's just something to be on the lookout for if you try this one.  Here's Metallic Blue alone, a dry manicure.

Diamond Cosmetics Metallic Blue Nail Polish, Two Coats

That just cries out to me for some silver Konad, so that's exactly what I did.  I had another plan in mind when I sat down to stamp, but ran into plate BM10 and tried out a pattern I've been eying for a while.  It's a full nail pattern, clearly both shorter and narrower than my nails, so what I did was double stamp it sideways, and it worked out great.  For the stamping, I used Orly Shine.

Diamond Cosmetics Metallic Blue and Bundle Monster BM10 Stamped in Orly Shine

That's my Nails of the Day, and I like it.

I also had some news to share with you that I'm really excited about - I've been invited to design a nail stamping plate.  We don't expect to see them produced until early next year, and the other details of the project are private for now, but I was told that I could let you know that's something in the works.  As I get a green light to give you more information, I will, but I was too excited about it to keep the fact that's it's begun to myself for six months!

That's the update for now, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

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Posted in Blue , BM10 , Bundle Monster , Diamond Cosmetics , Long Nails , Nail Art

American Apparel Butter & BM10

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today's Nails of the Day is American Apparel Butter with a pattern from Bundle Monster Plate BM10 stamped in Psyche Pink Konad Special Polish.

Butter is a pale yellow creme and applied, well, like butter.  It was good in two coats with no problems.

American Apparel Butter Nail Polish, Two Coats

It looked a little plain though, so I added some little flowers from plate BM10.

American Apparel Butter Nail Polish, Two Coats, with BM10 in Psyche Pink

That's it for today, Dear Reader.  Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!  

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Posted in American Apparel , Bundle Monster , Nail Art , nail polish , yellow

RBL No More War & BM17

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Yesterday I got my Rescue Beauty Lounge No More War from the re-release of it, so I had to use it today.  However, there was an unfortunate incident...

Yesterday I wore American Apparel Malibu Green, and upon removal this morning, my skin became Malibu Green.  I use non-acetone remover normally, so I started with that, was horrified at the color of my skin, grabbed some Remove+ and tried that, used a nail prep product that's acetone and isopropyl alcohol, then resorted to whitening toothpaste and mouthwash.  Know what?  My hands are still somewhat Malibu Green.  I was going to use old pictures you haven't seen today, but then decided I'd go ahead and show you my green hands so you know what you might be in for.  I look like the daughter of The Green Giant.

So, today's mani... It's RBL No More War with a tip apptern from Bundle Monster plate BM17 in Konad Black Pearl.  Here's two coats of No More War alone.

Rescue Beauty Lounge No More War Nail Polish, Two Coats

See how stained my skin is?  I've never had that happen with any polish before - usually acetone remover will take it off, but I told you all the things I tried, and this was as much progress as I was able to make. 

Here's No More War with the Bundle Monster stamp.

Rescue Beauty Lounge No More War Nail Polish, Two Coats, and Plate BM17

The Bundle Monster tip patterns look super narrow on the plate, but they seem to work just fine for me.

That's today's Nails of the Day and my tale of woe.  Until tomorrow, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!  

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Posted in BM17 , Bundle Monster , green , Nail Art , nail polish , Rescue Beauty Lounge

More Nails Incs

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I bet you already know what's in store for today - more Nails Inc nail polishes.  These are two Nails of the Day that are relatively recent.  I got both polishes from HQHair.com, and like them both even though they're very different.

Dover St Market is a purple creme I've wanted for some time, but never been able to find in stock anywhere that ships to the U.S.  I was surprised it was there when HQ Hair had a discount code going a few weeks back. It was a two coater, but barely - once was almost enough.

Nails Inc Dover St Market Nail Polish, Two Coats

Isn't that a great purple?  I was well worth the wait for it.

The other is Long Acre, a weirdo green/yellow creme that appeals to me.  This was also a two coater.

Nails Inc Long Acre Nail Polish, Two Coats

I added a tip pattern from a Bundle Monster plate, BM18, to it in Konad Green.  I think I might have liked it better without the stamping, but what the heck...

Nails Inc Long Acre Nail Polish, Two Coats with BM18 in Konad Green

I love Nails Incs, big cap and all (it doesn't hinder application for me, and my hands are pretty small).  The colors are great and I like the quality of the polish quite a bit.

That's the update for this morning, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

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Posted in Bundle Monster , Nail Art , nail polish , Nails Inc , purple , yellow

Konadicures

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I've been so busy showing you swatches lately that I haven't shown you too many Nails of the Day, so I have Konadicures from about two weeks to show to you.  I've been on a big Konad kick lately.  There's no real order to the pictures, they're just some Konadicures from recent weeks.

First up is Color Club Mrs. Robinson with the rose pattern from Konad plate M65, stamped in Konad White Special Polish.  I really liked this one because it had the old-fashioned feel of the fabric on Grandma's couch on a neon, and the contrast was fun.

Color Club Mrs Robinson Nail Polish with Konad M65 in Konad White

Next is Nubar Hot Pink with two patterns from Konad M59 in Konad White, topped with Konad Silver Glitter Top Coat.

Nubar Hot Pink Nail Polish with Konad M59 in Konad White & Konad Silver Glitter Top Coat

Today's Nails of the Day is Nubar Black with an accent nail in Orly Luxe, with the black stamped with Orly Luxe and the Luxe stamped with Konad Black Special Polish and Konad plate M63.  I stamp my left hand first, and the Orly wasn't dry yet so I squished it a little, then waited a while to stamp the right and took the picture of my rarely seen right hand.  I always have a hard time taking pictures of my right hand...

Nubar Black and Orly Luxe with Konad M63 using Luxe and Konad Black

The rest are all really bright.  For this one, I used Nina Ultra Pro in Solar Flare, which is brighter than the picture, and Bundle Monster plate BM12 using Konad Psyche Pink Special Polish.

Nina Ultra Pro Solar Flare Nail Polish with BM12 in Konad Psyche Pink

Although the polish for the next one, Nails Inc Lime Street, comes from the Kings of Neon Collection, it's not really neon.  I don't recall the plate number of the tip pattern I used, but I stamped it with Konad White.  The Lime Street, a mini, had a good brush and went on well, with one brushload covering a nail and requiring only two coats.

Nails Inc Lime Street Nail Polish Stamped with Konad White

Next up is another Nina Ultra Pro called Bubble Gums, which sounds like a very severe case of periodontal disease.  I used Konad plates S9 (the pattern) and M19 (the tips) in Blue Pearl Special Polish.

Nina Ultra Pro Bubble Gums Nail Polish with Konad Plates S9 & M19 in Konad Blue Pearl

Yet another Nina Ultra Pro (I went to Sally's...) is Grin and Berry It, which is a purple with a strong blue flash.  I stamped the butterflies pattern from Konad plate M32 on the tips using Konad White.

Nina Ultra Pro Grin and Berry It Nail Polish with Konad M32 in Konad White

That brings us to the last one, China Glaze Shocking Pink with Konad plates M74 (pattern) and M19 (tips).  I could have shifted the M74 down just a bit, and I double stamped my tips with M19.  When I do a Konadicure with Konad Black that I really like, I finish it first with Konad top coat, then Diamont to dry it, to avoid smudging the black.  I don't generally use Konad top coat, but I do have it handy for use over Konad Black.

China Glaze Shocking Pink Nail Polish with Konad M74 & M19 in Konad Black

Those are all the Konadicures I have to show you.  I'd saved a couple when I'd planned for the Sephora by OPI Chic Prints to last several days, and have shown you so many swatches in the last week that I ended up with a big bunch of pictures for you.  I hope you enjoyed them as much as I liked wearing them!

That's all for today, Dear Reader.  Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!  

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Posted in Black , Bundle Monster , China Glaze , Color Club , Gold , green , Konad , Nail Art , nail polish , Nails Inc , Nina Ultra Pro , Nubar , orly , Pink , purple , yellow

China Glaze Shocking Pink & Plate BM13

Good evening, Dear Reader!

I decided the play with the spider web pattern on Bundle Monster Plate BM13 this afternoon, and thought I'd give you a peek.  I stamped it in Konad Black Pearl over a base of China Glaze Shocking Pink, a great neon.  Shocking Pink took 4 coats to be totally even and opaque, but dried relatively quickly so it wasn't a problem.  I was done with the manicure, from removing old polish to adding top coat to the stamp, within half an hour.

China Glaze Shocking Pink Nail Polish, Four Coats, and Bundle Monster Plate BM13

I considered adding the Konad spider to my ring nail, but I'm scared enough of spiders that I decided against it.  This is scary enough for me!

That's what I have for you today, Dear Reader.  Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!  

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Posted in Bundle Monster , China Glaze , Nail Art , nail polish , Neon , Pink

Milani Pink & Red Nail Polish

Good evening, Dear Reader!

This morning I was groggy when I posted, and forgot to wish the moms a happy Mother's Day, so Happy Mother's Day!

Since my mom's not around this year, I thought I'd show you some Milani pinks and reds, all cremes, which I recently saw in a new display that made me think of Valentine's Day (V-Day = Love = Mom = Mother's Day, is the thought process there).  I believe they're all core colors, but the Milani nail polish section at my local drug store is quite small, and I verified that only one of these was in it.

Application of all was good, with the pinks requiring three coats each and the reds two.  The dry time on the one I did a complete manicure with was average, and I like the brush on these - it's very easy to control.  In the pictures, the first four colors are swatches and the last a manicure with top coat, and they're in sunlight.

Paradise Pink is a barely tinted pink, but still visibly pink.  This one made me keep going back to the display.

Milani Paradise Pink Nail Polish, Three Coats

Tip Toe Pink is a hair darker than baby pink, a really girly shade.

Milani Tip Toe Pink Nail Polish, Three Coats

La Vie En Rose is a bright pink without being too bright.

Milani La Vie En Rose Nail Polish, Three Coats

Cherry Pie is a slightly faded red creme.

Milani Cherry Pie Nail Polish, Two Coats

NY Apple Red is a classic blue red, and the one I'm wearing.

Milani NY Apple Red Nail Polish, Two Coats

I added a pattern from Bundle Monster plate BM02 to this one.  I mentioned them and said I'd tell you about them - they're cheapo Konad knock offs available on Amazon, but the stamps really aren't as well engraved as Konad by a long shot.  It's visible on the stamp I added to my ring finger, for which I used Pink Konad Special Polish.  Even using the right polish, the stamp's not great.  Still, it's more patterns, and I'll try to find a work-around to get the stamps clearer.

Milani NY Apple Red Nail Polish, Two Coats, with Bundle Monster Plate BM02

So that's the Mother's Day update.  If you are a mother, I hope your day was perfect, and if you have one, go tell her you love her.

Until tomorrow, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!  

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Posted in Bundle Monster , Milani , Nail Art , nail polish , Pink , red

China Glaze Vintage Vixen News

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Yesterday I got a press release about the upcoming China Glaze Vintage Vixen Collection for Fall, and here's what it tells us...

China Glaze Vintage Vixen Collection for Fall 2010

"The China Glaze Vintage Vixen collection starts shipping June 6th internationally and July 6th, 2010 domestically. All 12 colors will be available as open stock, in 6 piece box collections, a 12 piece counter display and a 36 piece rack. China Glaze is free of DBP, toluene, and added formaldehyde."

The colors are:

Riveter Rouge – Deep red shimmer

Foxy – Burgundy frost with shimmer

Goin’ My Way – Brown frost with copper shimmer

Classic Camel – Khaki crème with gold micro glitter

Swing Baby –  Taupe frost with silver micro glitter

Ingrid – “Greige” crème with copper micro glitter

Hey Doll – Rose frost with shimmer

Bogie – Plum frost with shimmer

First Class Ticket – Deep purple frost with shimmer

Midnight Mission – Navy blue frost with silver micro glitter

Emerald Fitzgerald – Turquoise green frost with shimmer

Jitterbug – Grey chrome with silver micro glitter

Sounds promising, I think!

Just so this would be a real post I have a Nails of the Day picture from a few days ago for you - I'm still wearing Damone Roberts 1968.  This is three coats of OPI Pink Flamenco with stamps from Bundle Monster plate BM02 (I'll tell you more about that soon), and two coats of Northern Lights Silver.

OPI Pink Flamenco with BM02 and North Lights Silver

That's it for now, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

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Posted in Bundle Monster , China Glaze , Nail Art , nail polish , OPI , Pink , Vintage Vixen

Lots o' Konad

Good morning, Dear Reader!

A mid-morning post and the reappearance of the temporary ads can only mean one thing, right?  I'll explain Seinfeld style: I started the new job, yadda yadda yadda, now the job hunt resumes.  The up side is that although I'm horrified that at my age naivete is still so problematic, in this day I get to do absolutely nothing that my Creator has explicitly asked me not to do and my conscience won't have to cringe even once, so all is well.

I still got up at workday time and did a few things that I wanted to accomplish, then I got to Konad the heck out of my sparkly off-white manicure.  I found that the light rose fragrance of the Anna Sui 001 polish markedly diminished by the end of the first day of wear, and it's gone now.  Frankly, I don't even know which plates I used here and already put them away.  The only thing I distinctly noticed while stamping and chatting on the phone was that the only stamp that's messed up, my pinky nail's ladybug, is from a Bundle Monster plate.  I can never get a perfect stamp from a Bundle Monster plate, only Konad and Chez Delaney are reliable for me.  I made a happy manicure for today...

Lots of Konad Stamping :)

See what a difference there is between the one Bundle Monster stamp and the Konad used for all others?  I used Konad polish for all stamps, and the ladybug's red is Konad Princess Cool Red, the same as the rose, so the polish isn't a variable, only the plate used is. That's a fair representation of the results I get overall.

I also have a tangential topic that I'd really like to get your thoughts on if you'd care to weigh in.  Every time I've broken a nail in the last year or so, my beloved tells me to only "cut the others just partway because the short one will want to grow faster to catch up."  The first few times, I thought he was kidding and laughed, but in the last week when he said that (when I was lamenting doing some evening out this weekend), I threatened to post his theory to get more input on it, which prompted a defense of the theory.  Now I'm not so sure he's kidding.  This is a logical man, a systems analyst with a degree in math, harboring the notion that nails have the capacity for self awareness and assessment of others as well as the ability to take action to influence a desired change in that state of affairs.  Do you buy it, and if not, is there anything that could make you cosign that theory?  You know I'm not huge on discussion topics, but every one of my brain cells screams "Nooo!" in reply to both questions, so I need some assurance that there either is or isn't information I don't currently possess that would change my answer...

That's the update for today, Dear Reader.  Just like last time, I give you my sincere apology for the necessity of the extra Google ad and my assurance that I'll take it down as soon as possible - I'd be tickled pink if I can this week.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

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Posted in Bundle Monster , Konad , Nail Art , nail polish