Nail Challenge Collaborative: Inspired by Art #3 (Pointillism)

Hi loves!! I have time for a second post today, because I got called off work - YAY!!! It's horribly cold out. I dug my car out of snow and layers of ice this morning, which took about 20 minutes, then I had to stop and get gas. By the time I pulled into the parking garage at work, my face hurt so bad, my ears felt like they were falling off and my eyes wouldn't stop watering. But, literally the second I pulled into my parking spot, my phone rang. After all that, it was my supervisor telling me the agency was closed! I thought about working for a bit, since I was there anyway, but then I decided to go back home and get warm! :)

SO that was my morning. Now, for this Inspired by Art mani, again I found the idea while Googling. I did a report on Pointillism in French while I was in high school, and I really like the look of it. I found this cool heart on Google, and I knew it would look great on the nail!

Instead of exactly recreating it, I decided to try the heart on one nail and do some of the other colors of dots on the other nails. I thought it got the point across without being too hard! I started with a base of Sinful Colors - Snow Me White, and I dotted the various colors using a dotting tool. I can't even begin to remember all the colors I used, sorry! I used 3-4 polishes for each colors (i.e. 3 purples, 3 pinks, etc...). I topped it all off with Seche Vite and the surface felt completely flat.

Here's a shot I took on my phone with the flash on. I thought the flash really helped all the different shades and colors to stand out. This was a really fun look!

I wore this mani for like a week, I didn't want to take it off! I'd love to hear your thoughts below! <3

Kelly

Nail Challenge Collaborative: Inspired by Art #2 (Piet Mondrian)

Hi guys, so sorry this is so late! I promise to get caught back up for January! So, as I've said before, the NCC December's theme was Inspired By Art. I just did some googling around and looked for some genres and I found this cool art by Piet Mondrian. I thought it would make some cool nail art!

I used a base of white (Sinful - Snow Me White) and I colored in the squares from the top down using a striping brush. The red is Sinful - Gogo something...?, the blue is Mentality Ruffian (Gorgeous matte royal blue!), and the yellow is Sally Hansen Lightening. I used my It's So Easy striping brush in black for the lines. Topped with Seche Vite. (I'm out of HK Girl right now!)

I thought this type of art really translated well onto the nail. It's something different and eye-catching.
What do you think? Do you like this look? I'd love to hear below! :)

Kelly

Nail Art Society: The Great Glitzy kit!

*Press sample*

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a Happy New Year! This month's Nail Art Society kit offered a perfectly glam look that screams New Year's, but I personally think any time is the right time for a little sparkle! So, if you missed out on this kit for New Year's, it's not too late! As long as you sign up by the 15th, you will get this kit, called The Great Glitzy - which was curated by the fabulous Lynette Cenee!

First of all, it comes in an adorable studded bag. By the way, I believe there are two versions of the kit - gold and silver. I got silver, so that's what I'll be showing. I absolutely adore this bag! It's definitely something I will use again.

And here's a look at the other items that were included in The Great Glitzy kit. A bottle of Floss Gloss in Dimepiece. This was my first experience with this brand, and I love it! A little baggie of assorted rhinestones, pearls, and rings (this photo was taken after I did my look, so there will be slightly more in the bag). And, an adorable pot of silver holographic loose glitters! I took two photos of the little jar, because I really wanted to show you guys how much glitter is in there. Seriously, I think I'm set for life. It's packed FULL. :)

I decided to try to do a sort of skittle mani, incorporating all of the different items in this kit. The black base is Jessica Black Lustre, a gorgeous opaque black creme! I did three coats of Dimepiece alone on my ring finger, and I did a little waterfall gradient over black on my pinky. For the index and middle fingers, I applied a generous coat of Gelous topcoat and handplaced the loose glitters and rhinestones using an orange stick. For the heavier rhinestones, I used a pair of nail art tweezers to pick them up. I sealed the loose silver glitter in with a thick coat of Seche Vite topcoat, creating the "disco ball" look.

I absolutely loved this mani!! The best part? I picked the rhinestones off using my orange stick and they can be used again! :) The loose glitters, not so much, but that jar has so much in it, I don't have to worry about re-using!
What do you think of this look? Is this something you would wear? I'd love to hear below! And don't forget, you can still receive this kit if you sign up by the 15th. Click here to go to the site! :)
<3
Kelly

These products were provided to me in exchange for my honest review and opinion. Some links in this post are Affiliate Links. I am a Nail Art Society Renowned Artist, but that does not affect my review of these products. Please see my Disclosure Statement for more information.

Jindie Nails - The Snow Must Go On and Noel Remix

*Press sample*

Hello everyone! I'm getting ready to turn in but I thought I would leave you with some swatches of some holiday polishes from Jindie Nails!

First up is The Snow Must Go On. This one is just so fun, and so perfect for Christmas! It's a white crelly with red and green stars, hexes, dots and squares. The following swatches show 3 coats of TSMGO topped with Seche Vite topcoat.

Formula on this is a tad thick, so if that's something that bothers you, you could add a couple drops of thinner. I found it was just fine to work with for me. :)

Next up, is Noel Remix. If you remember, Jen released a very similar microglitter last holiday season called Noel. The difference? Sparkle! And more green. The original Noel, which I reviewed here, was a mix of matte glitters in red, white, and neon green with just a touch of green metallic glitters. The first thing I noticed about the Remix was how it sparkled. Jen decided to tweak this formula a bit, and I ADORE the changes. There is a red/green color shifting shimmer in this as well that is stunning!!

This polish can easily be layered or worn on its own in 2 coats. I was already wearing A Phil's Paradise by Nicole by OPI and wanted to see how they looked together - I ended up loving this combination! They just seemed to flow really well together. I will definitely be trying this polish again sans undies.

Which of these two is your favorite? Did you snag any of the new Jindie Nails polishes for Winter? I'd love to hear below!!
And, you can check out all the wonderful creations by Jen at JindieNails.com ! Thanks for looking and Happy Holidays! <3

Kelly

Nail Challenge Collaborative: Inspired by Art #1 (Pop Art)

Hi everyone! This month's theme over at the Nail Challenge Collaborative is Inspired by Art. I have to admit, I wasn't too thrilled for this theme - I don't know much about art. But, I did some Googling and I was able to come up with some ideas!

My first thought was to do a comic book, or "pop art" look. I've seen some other bloggers do some awesome makeup looks like this, I so wish I could do makeup like that. I did try to recreate the look on my nails though...as you can see, it didn't turn out all that well...

The bright backgrounds, speech balloons and dots - I LOVE. I should have just left it like that, lol! But, you can't have speech balloons without speech/sounds, so I tried. I didn't think I could make letters using even my thinnest striping brush, so I attempted using a thin Sharpie...fail!

The biggest problem occurred not necessarily when writing the letters, but when I added topcoat. Even after waiting probably an hour in dry-time, the chemicals in the Seche Vite caused the letters to smear, no matter how careful I was with the brush. My pinky, I just used a dotting tool and polish, so it definitely stood up better! The words from L to R are supposed to say (ZAP, @!, and POW).

Oh well, lesson learned! Next time, I will definitely use polish for the letters. Although, I am not sure how in the world the bloggers in the examples I saw wrote letters that small in polish! Pure talent.

So what do you think of this mani? Total fail, or can you kinda see past the smear-i-ness and see what I was going for?? This is definitely one I want to try again, because I love the look of pop art! Thanks for looking <3

Kelly

Red Dog Designs: Berry Friends Collex

Hey everyone! We had a big snow and ice storm today, so I felt like showing some summery polishes to show my resistance! :p

Many moons ago, I was able to snag some minis of the Red Dog Designs Berry Friends collection. I wanted to try them all and money was tight...and Gina was kind enough to specially price some minis for me!! Talk about customer service. 

Anyway, so I have swatches of these yummy berry-inspired crelly polishes to brighten up your dreary winter day! All these swatches are 3 coats with Seche Vite topcoat. First is Blueberry Muffin.

Next is Lemon Meringue. This one has a really pretty shimmer to it that I had a tough time capturing on camera!

This is a fun one - Purple Pieman! It's packed full of pretty glitters in a seriously bright, shimmery purple base.

This next one juuuuust might be my favorite of the collection - Raspberry Tart!

And last but certainly not least - the polish that made me decide to buy the whole collection! I definitely thought this was going to be my favorite of the collection, and don't get me wrong - I love it. Raspberry Tart was just a surprise stunner!

The verdict? I love love LOVE this collection! These are so fun for spring or summer...OR when you feel like saying screw you winter - I'm wearing summery polish! Which one of these is your favorite?

Be sure to check out all of Red Dog Design's polish - she has a ton more amazing collections - most recently, her Doctor Who collex for the 50th anniversary. They are so cool, but...payday isn't until next week! :)
I'd love to hear which shades you absolutely MUST have! Let me know below <3

Kelly

Nail Art Society Giveaway!

Hi all!

I am giving away a full Nail Art Society Accent with Attitude kit - JUST because I love you guys! :) This kit will include 1 full size Mint Nail Polish, a bag of gold nail studs, 3 Hex nail charms, AND a bonus set of nail art tweezers!

Here are some of the looks I created with my Accent with Attitude kit, just to give you an idea. :)

Rules:
You must be 18 or have a parent's permission to enter.
US Only, unless you have a US friend willing to receive the package for you.
NO CHEATING!!! I will be checking!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Colores de Carol - Blueberry Mango Sorbet and Inner Princess

Hi lovelies! Slowly but surely working through the posts in my vault!

Today I have some beauties from Colores de Carol. I was so excited to hear that Carolina started making polishes a while back. I absolutely loved her blog, so I had to try her creations - I wasn't disappointed! :)

First up is Blueberry Mango Sorbet! This one...it was love at first sight. It just reminds me of summer and ice cream. :) This is 2 easy coats topped with HK Girl.

Next, we have Inner Princess. This one is so soft and feminine! It's a white crelly base full of pastel mint stars and various glitters in purple, blue, pink, and red (those are the ones I can easily pick out). This is 2 generous coats topped with HK Girl.

What do you think of these two? Which is your favorite?? Do you own any polishes from Colores de Carol? Which ones need to go on my wishlist? I'd love to hear below! :)

<3
Kelly

Orly - Sparkling Garbage

Hi everyone! Hope you are recovering from Thanksgiving and Black Friday and having a nice relaxing Sunday. I will be doing a lot of traveling today going back to Dayton from visiting family - I'll be glad to get back to my kitties and settle in before starting another work week :p

Anyway, I found a quick swatch post I forgot to share from quite a while back. When it first came out, I got Orly's Sparkling Garbage and tried it out on a sunny day!

This is 2 coats of Sparkling Garbage over black. Such a stunning polish! :)

What do you think? Do you own this polish? I'd love to hear your favorite layering combination! :)

<3
Kelly

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hi everyone!! I'm alive!! First of all, I want to say Happy Thanksgiving (if you celebrate it)! I hope you all get to spend time with family and friends and eat way too much. :)
Second of all - I want to apologize for my disappearance. Work has been kicking my butt and by the time I get home in the evenings, I usually cannot find it in me to muster up the energy to edit and put photos up. :( But, I am getting better and getting more used to my schedule so I should be back to normal soon!

I wanted to share this awesome polish with you. I actually wore this when my boyfriend and I went to see Catching Fire last weekend, but as soon as I put it on, I knew it was a perfect Thanksgiving mani as well! This is one of the new textured polishes from L'oreal, and it is called I Like it Chunky. Haha! I lol'd at the name in the store, but it was so pretty I had to get it. Check it out!

I'm not sure what makes this polish feel so perfect for Thanksgiving...I think it might be that the color kind of reminds me of sweet potatoes haha! Here's another shot.

So, quick story - I actually didn't know these were textured polishes until I swatched them lol! I'm sure it said on the display, but I wasn't paying attention. Once I did one coat, I got a fun surprise when I saw that this dried like a Liquid Sand. So anyway, since I had this smooth, shiny image in my mind for this polish, I had to make it happen! I used one coat of Gelous and one coat of Seche Vite for the following photos.

How gorgeous is this?! I loved it textured, but I think with topcoat, it's just so much more vibrant...and you can pick up on all the sparkle so much better. What a stunning polish! This is definitely a unique color in my collection, I can't think of anything even close to it. Here's one more shot with topcoat!

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this polish!! Would you wear this for Thanksgiving??
Again, I want to wish you all a wonderful holiday! Enjoy family time and yummy food :)

<3
Kelly