Summery Zig Zag

Hey y'all!  So today I have a mani that I did over the summer, while my nails were long. I'd ordered a few things from Born Pretty Store, one of those being chevron nail tape, and decided to just do something random.  Lets get to it.

I wanted something really simple, and easy enough to do on both hands.

The polishes I used are Fresh Paint Guava, China Glaze, Mix And Mingle, and BMC (Bundle Monster) #10.

On the ring finger, I used both purples (Mix And Mingle & #10) to have darker tips before using the tape and a dotting tool to put Guava over the top. I almost didn't add the dots, but I thought the blank space needed something.

For the rest of the nails, Guava was the base color & I just used the purples for dots and gradients.  The 2 purples were sponged on separately, so it almost looks like there's more than one shade.

I liked how this turned out.  It was bright and dark at the same time & I think suited the stiletto shape well.

Atlanta Nail Meetup - Springy Floral Nails & Haul

Hey y'all!  It's been about a year since the last Atlanta Nail Meetup & a few weeks ago we met for lunch and polish shopping.  Since then I've only purchased a few polishes, so I decided to splurge a little. And this year we had more ladies attend the fun! 

We met up for lunch at a little Mexican restaurant, swapped some polishes we wanted to destash, chatted, and had a blast.  Even better is that we're all polish addicts so we all had some beautiful mani's to share.  This is mine....

I kinda winged this & while I wasn't happy with it at first, I'm really starting to love it.  I got so many complements on it too, so I'm glad that I kept it instead of starting over.

The base is a gradient of Fresh Paint Guava and China Glaze Aquadelic (which is also the base on the accent nail). The stem of the flowers is Fresh Paint #Winning.  The flowers are Fresh Paint Honeydew with Color Club Not-So-Mellow Yellow in the center.

The dots on the accent nail are everything except #Winning.  I'm completely obsessed with peaches & aqua shades right now.  And Guava seems kinda washed out in these pictures, this mani is actually a bit more bright in person. 


After lunch we scooted over to a local nail supply store and had some fun. I could have done way more damage than I did, but some of the things I had on my list were out of stock. I actually had to keep reminding myself that I didn't NEED everything I was wanting to toss into my basket. Here's what I got...

• Brushes - because they always come in handy to clean under your nails...and even better when hands get really dirty.
• #14 Kolinsky brushes with a dotting tool on the end - The one I bought last year is still going strong as a clean-up brush and I thought it would be smart to get a few backups. SO much better, IMO than the $1 ELF brushes that seem to not even last through one use.
• Polishes (L to R) - China Glaze Hot Flash, Color Club Wham! Pow!, Color Club Port-folio, China Glaze Bite Me, China Glaze Papa Don't Preach, China Glaze My Way Or The Highway

Even though I had some anxiety issues, and traffic was HORRIBLE on the way back, I had a blast.  No, seriously, it took me 50 minutes to get there and over 90 to get home. I'm excited to play with my new pretties & I can't wait for the next meetup. 

Peachy Coral Neon Gradient Leopard Nails

Hey y'all!  I have had a strange leopard print obsession lately when it comes to doing my nails.  I think it's because this is super easy and looks great with a neon base.  Especially for the summer.  So if you want to see what I used, keep reading.......

This is the first time in a LONG time that my nails have actually matched my toes.  It's not exact, but I do have one of these shades currently on my toes.

For this mani, I started off with a white base and a couple coats of China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy.

Once that dried, I sponged on a gradient of FFF, Fresh Paint Guava, and China Glaze Surfin' For  Boys.  On the accent nail, I just applied Color Club Call Of The Disco Ball over top of FFF.

Then, using black acrylic paint and my dotting tool, I made some random leopard print designs on the rest of the nails before applying a top coat.

This is SO bright, and the gradient is so subtle that it looks like the light is hitting it differently.  In fact, this almost looks all pink if the sun hits it just right.

What do y'all think?

China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy & a comparison

Hey y'all!  Today I have one of the shades from the 2010 Poolside collection.  I hadn't quite started blogging yet, I don't think, when this came out.  This is one of many polishes that I picked up while shopping after the Atlanta Nail Meetup back in April.

 I also have a comparison, so keep reading to see what it is...

I needed 3 coats for full opacity with this beautiful bright/neon peach cream.  Like most neon polishes, this dries matte so it needs top coat, IMO.

 I think this would benefit more from being layered over a white base.  Less of this polish would be used/needed to even things out.

I think this was originally a different shade when this collection released, but I love it just the way it is.

And now for the comparison....

One of these is Flip Flop Fantasy and the other is Fresh Paint Guava.

I purchased Guava because I thought that it would be a dupe.  However when I had the opportunity to get FFF, I went for it.  Now I'm glad I did.  They're just slightly different enough for me.

 FFF is more of a true peach while Guava is a peachy coral.  The difference is subtle, but it's there...especially for us polish addicts.

Do you own either or both of these?  Can you tell which is which without knowing?

Be sure to keep an eye out for an upcoming nail art post using both of these!

Happy Mani

Hey y'all!  I'm so HAPPY to share this mani with y'all today.  It's something that I absolutely HAD to do, so keep reading...

If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know that a while back I stepped into a BBW store and grabbed this candle as soon as I saw it.

Seeing this was perfect timing too.  Growing up, my dad called me Happy.  I was out shopping one day and he was on my mind a LOT.  Of course I couldn't pass it up, it smells AMAZING too.  Also, that same day, I was walking out of a gas station with my drink & happened to see a Mini Cooper in a color of British Racing Green.  Something he & I talked about a lot & it made me feel like he was definitely looking over me that day.  Oh, and the day before I'd seen a bottle of Ketchup with the phrase "How do you Happy?"  *cue Signs by Tesla*

Once I got home I put the candle next to his picture on my mantle. I went back a few weeks later and grabbed another one so I could enjoy the scent and not burn the one I purchased that day.  This kinda kicked my inspiration and got the creative juices flowing.  I HAD to do a mani to match the candle.

I started out with a base color of Sinful Colors Snow Me White and put a coat of Seche Vite to help it dry quickly.

For the squares, I used a cheapy art brush that I cut into a thin nail art brush.  The colors are Finger Paints Grassy Knoll, Fresh Paint #WINNING, and Zoya Hunter.  I didn't use a top coat once everything was done because the label on the candle has a bit of texture to it and I wanted the design to have that same sort of feel/look to it.

So that's it.  I quite like how it turned out AND that it sparked my creative juices again.

What do y'all think?

Camo/Hunting Inspired Watermarble Mani

Hey y'all!  Ever sit down to do your nails with something in mind and what happens is NOTHING like what you wanted?  Well, that's how this happened.  I found a sweater on Pinterest that actually inspired the colors used in this mani, but as I went to try something it went a completely different direction.

So when I saw a few videos floating around Facebook recently, I made a mental note on the technique.  It seemed a little easier than the normal watermarble & I wanted to give it a try.  All of the videos that I saw lead back to THIS tutorial.  I started this on my ring finger and one of the polishes didn't really want to spread that well, but I still liked the result.  For the middle finger, I just ended up trimming a small piece to add to the base.  I quite like how it turned out too.

For the marble I used...China Glaze If In Doubt Surf It Out, China Glaze Stoked To Be Soaked, China Glaze Mahogany Magic, and Wet N Wild Black Creme.  On my ring finger the base color is If In Doubt Surf It Out while Stoked To Be Soaked is the base on my middle finger.  My index and pinky fingers have a base of Mahogany Magic with Fresh Paint Sugar Crush on top.

 The way this marble looks like tree branches over top of the fluorescent "hunter orange" is pretty awesome.

I like how the flakies in Sugar Crush look like leaves over Mahogany Magic.

This mani brings back some good memories of going hunting with my dad as a kid.  I would totally sport these out in the woods.  What do y'all think?

Neon Tribal

Hey y'all!  So today's mani is totally random.  I started wanting to recreate some shoes that I saw on Pinterest, but ended up doing something totally different.

The design was all done by hand.  It doesn't match, but I quite like it.

What I used.....Funky Fingers Limelight and Power Play, Fresh Paint Lollipop Hammer, and Wet N Wild Black Creme.

I'm obsessed with these neons because they don't NEED undies. :D

Funky Fingers - Glitter Explains It All

Hey y'all!  Yesterday I shared swatches of Jellyfish which is the base for this glitter.  Five Below has these glitters in 3 different options, possibly 4 I can't remember honestly, but I only really wanted one.  I like this so much that I went back and got the other two.

 Glitter Explains It All, is a clear based polish filled with various sized blue and lime green glitters along with matte white hex glitters.  The name is a funny take on the show Clarissa Explains It All, which I never watched.

I applied just one coat over Fresh Paint Jellyfish.  You can see the macros below.

Ain't it pretty?!?!?!

So glad I went back for the others. :D

Fresh Paint Jellyfish

Hey y'all!  During a recent trip, just before Easter, to Five Below I picked up a few polishes.  This was one of them.  I can tell you it's appropriately named.

This is a gorgeous cobalt blue jelly, but unlike most jelly polishes it does need a top coat.  For this opacity, I used 4 coats.

I'm not 100% sure it's a dupe, because I haven't compared them....but it reminds me of Revlon Royal.  I might have to compare the two soon. 

Neon Spider Block

Hey y'all! Quick & easy post today as I try to catch back up with everything.  Since I showed y'all the base for this on Monday, you get to see what I added to it.

While I was editing the pictures for this mani, I was thinking of a name.  It was actually inspired by a dress I saw on Pinterest, but turned out NOTHING like it.

 The ring finger kinda looks spider-ish & the middle is color block....so there was my name.

For this, I used Fresh Paint Guava & Wet N Wild Black Creme with a small brush.