OPI - Down To The Core-al

Hey y'all!  Today I have an OPI color that I can't remember if I got in the swap or bought at the local meet-up last year.  Anyway, it's so fun and I can't wait to wear it this summer on my toes!

I don't really own that many OPI polishes and most of the ones I do have are dark or vampy shades. So this was a treat to get.

As usual I used Seche Vite as my top coat and only needed 2 coats for these swatches.

It's one of those gorgeous peachy/orange/coral shades with a subtle pink shimmer.

I definitely need to add more OPI's to my collection.  What are some of your fav's?

Atlanta Falcons- Matt Ryan Freehand Nail Art - #RiseUp

Hey y'all!  Today I have my current mani to share with y'all.  I've been a fan of the Falcons for all of my life, even went to a ton of games as a kid.  However, with this season going so well and the divisional championship's being this weekend I had to do some nail art to help cheer my team on.  I was going to wait and post these tomorrow, but I'm impatient and wanted to share right away.

My inspiration was the Matt Ryan jersey that I have.  The kiddo has a Julio Jones, but I didn't think I'd be able to get the lettering the way I wanted....so I went the shorter route.  Plus, they'll match when I wear it while watching the game this weekend!

Index: Wet N Wild Black Creme with "ATL" in red acrylic paint.
Middle: OPI Coca-Cola Red with "RYAN" & his # in white and black acrylic paint. 

Ring: OPI Coca-Cola Red with #RiseUp in black acrylic paint.
Pinky: Essie Little Brown Dress with white acrylic paint to look like a football.

This took a while to do.  For the jersey nail I made decals with acrylic paint & a brush on my silicone mat and placed them over the base.  For the rest of the nails I actually just drew everything on using a toothpick.  Because I used acrylic paint I didn't have to wait long before applying Seche Vite as my top coat.

I love these nails so much, even though they didn't turn out 100% like I wanted them to. I took at least 50 pics and had to narrow it down BIG time.

I'm praying that we win this weekend because I totally want to see a Superbowl rivalry in my house this year (hubs is a Steelers fan).  I wish I was going to the game, but I'll be screaming on the comfort of my couch.

Navy Starry Night Wedding Nails

Hey y'all!  Back in October, of last year, my sister got married. Of course, I haven't been to a wedding in a while, and none of my dresses looked right.  Thankfully I found one, but as us polish addicts know trying to do the nails is usually another difficult choice. The dress, super easy.

My dress was navy with orange/red flowers and tan/green foliage.  The first mani I came up with was a total fail.

So, for my 2nd attempt I went the super easy route.

I started out with a base color of Rimmel Midnight Blue. It's so dark that it's almost black.

Over top of that I used China Glaze Fairy Dust to add some sparkle.

And for the accent nail, I went with OPI DS Glamour. It's the polish that re-started my addiction back around the time I started blogging.

Super easy, and they lasted for at least a week. :D

Navy & Turquoise Marble with 18k Gold Glitter

Hey y'all!  So I recently saw THIS video from@Laqvid (Instagram) for a gorgeous mani & was kinda inspired.  I, of course, went with different colors and techniques, but I wanted to share the inspiration for this because she does some beautiful work. 

If you saw this recent instagram post, you'll know kinda how I did this.

Up kinda late, but figured I'd play with making some decals.

A photo posted by Harri (@trailerhoodchic) on Nov 28, 2016 at 5:32pm PST

I used my Uber Chic Beauty Mat and made some decals.  I had to let them dry overnight, though when I did a few the next day I just waited a few hours and it was fine.

For the decal I used all China Glaze shades....First Mate, I Sea The Point, DJ Blue My Mind, and Rain Dance The Night Away.

I used Laqvid's method of putting the polishes down, but then I used a tiny nail art brush to randomly swirl it all around.  It was a little difficult to apply the decals due to my nail shape, but I used a silicone tool from BPS and it wasn't so bad. The ones that had dried longer were more annoying than the fresher ones. 

For the accent nails, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do.  Originally I thought ombre, but once I applied Rain Dance The Night Away it was really too pretty to mess with.  So I just pulled out my unused bottle of Sephora by OPI Real 18k Gold top coat out & brushed a layer on, then dabbed more on with a makeup sponge.

I really like how it turned out and definitely plan to do more of these in the future as it's way easier for me than trying to water marble. 

I just did these 2 days ago and I definitely do NOT want to ever remove them.

Win or Fail - Navy & Orange Wedding Nails

Hey y'all!  So back in October, of last year, my little sister got married.  My dress was super easy to find, but as usual the nails were the difficult part.

I thought I'd do something easy, and with colors that matched the dress.  Little did I know that I'd absolutely hate what I ended up with.

For this I used Zoya Ember and Lauren B. House of Blues to create an ombre, with the accent nail being a reverse of the others.

Then I added China Glaze Fairy Dust, because usually it makes everything look great.

THEN I went even further and added OPI Servin' Up Sparkle over the accent nail, so it wasn't left out....and hated it even more.

I mean, it doesn't really look THAT bad, but I was SOOOOO not happy with it.  What do y'all think?

Red/Black/Silver Football Colors Mani

Hey y'all!  As today is my birthday I thought I would share a favorite mani that I recently did.  It incorporates the colors from both of my fav football teams, the Atlanta Falcons and the Georgia Bulldogs. This could really work for any team with those colors, or you could change it up to suit your colors.

I wanted to do something with the 3 colors that would be different than I have done before.  I am horrible at stamping, so I decided to try marble stamping.  And this is how it turned out.

The base colors for the index and ring fingers are Sally Hansen Silver Sweep with Make Up Store Greta over top, while the base for the middle and pinky fingers is OPI Coca-Cola Red.

For the ring finger I went a little basic.  With the stripes down the sides of pants, I did a somewhat thick stripe of red with Wet N Wild Black Creme on each side. It left most of the holo open and easy to see.

Then for the rest of the nails I used a marble stamping technique using OPI Coca-Cola Red, Wet N Wild Black Creme, Sally Hansen Silver Sweep, and Make Up Store Greta.

I wasn't 100% perfect at it, but I did get it to transfer in spots and made it look different.

Messy, but pretty....at least I think so.

I really hated taking these off when it was time, and definitely plan to try to perfect this technique.

OPI - Muir Muir On The Wall

Hey y'all!  So while trying to empty out my swatch basket, I came across this polish.  I believe that I bought it last November for my birthday & it was on clearance.  I can't remember for sure though.

Muir Muir On The Wall is part of the 2013 Fall San Francisco Collection.  It's super sheer so I'd suggest layering it over a black or dark brown base, unless you want to apply multiple coats.

It has like a brownish black base packed with burgundy (and maybe copper) micro shimmers.  For these pics I used 3 coats.

It's perfect for fall.  The burgundy is almost purple and it's deep and vampy. 

OPI The Sky's My Limit

Hey y'all!  Today I have the other polish I own from last years Ford Mustang collection that OPI released.  It took me a while to find it, including trips to different Ulta's in my area, but I finally got it for my birthday last November.  I'm so happy about having this!

For these pictures/swatches, I used 3 coats plus top coat. 

This is a sheer ocean-y blue jelly with teal/gold shifting shimmer.  It shows up more on the nail in this picture than it does in the others.  Trust me, it's there and does show up to the eyes.

Later in my Dads life he had a Mustang that was similar in color to this.  I seem to remember it being more blue than blue/green though.  It was nice to drive, but OMG I hated opening those doors.  Especially when pulling up to an ATM & not being able to reach anything. 

So, because of this I absolutely HAD to have this polish.  I hope y'all have a fun & safe July 4th weekend.

#ShareACoke OPI Coca-Cola Red

Hey y'all!  With July 4th being this weekend, I though I had to show off a beautiful red.  Last year OPI released an entire collection based on Coca-Cola products.  Having grown up with Coke, and even living in the same state, I wanted them all. Kinda like Pokemon.

Sadly, I had to choose just one and this is the one I grabbed.  I have TONS of reds in my collection, but I'm one of those polish addicts who just HAD to have it for the name. 

I just happened to have a few different types of Coke packaging lying around, so I grabbed them to take a picture....or two.

Side note, before I forget....this is not a sponsored post I purchased this polish and the products in the pictures myself.

Coca-Cola Red is just that, a spot on Coke Red....and this cream is SUPER opaque.  I could've only used 1 coat, but went with 2.

Of course I have some glass bottles sitting around for display purposes(They're UGA Cokes) so I grabbed one off the shelf to snap a pic with.

Then I had to grab the bottle I keep for the kiddo with his name on it.

I see myself wearing this a LOT...even if I do have a ton of red creams. 

What's your favorite way to drink Coke?  Mine is cold straight out of a glass bottle.

Atlanta Nail Meetup & Shopping/Haul

Hey y'all!  So last weekend I had the fortunate opportunity to meet up with some local polish addicts, IGers, nail tech's, and a polish maker.  We went out for lunch & then did some shopping.  A great time was had by all and I have pics to share!

To start off with, we met up at a Vietnamese restaurant specializing in Pho.  I wanted something light and easy so I went with the steamed shrimp & pork spring rolls.  They were so yummy, but I couldn't eat BOTH of them. 

We ate, talked, and had some fun.  Also, there were a few giveaways and games.  So, yanno that was interesting.  Lets just say trying to find your first Instagram post when you have over 1700 is pretty difficult. 

Then, of course we had to go SHOPPING.  There were so many of us walking around that I only got one good shot of the stock. Dionne from Glittery Fingers & Sparkling Toes was shopping with me & we both went a little nuts. We kept getting our carts stuck & ramming into each other.  SO much fun.  Also, it helped me that she'd been there before so she showed me around.

 This was my haul, which I'll have everything listed from it down in the post.  I'll just say there were only 2-3 of us who needed a box like this.  #polishaddictproblems

 Then, when we all finished, we HAD to take a group nail shot.  If you saw yesterdays post, you'll know which hand is mine. :D

This is everything I got for myself...

From our destash swap:
- Orly Fowl Play
- Rainbow Honey Pink Cloud
- Jindie Nails - K.I.S.S.
- A England Dragon

From Fefe of Shop Eighty4:
- Candy(not pictured because I shared it)
- Wet N Wild Putting On Airs
- Eighty4 Liquid Lipstick in Chelease

SHOPPING:
- 2 pairs of Black Pedi Socks
- #14 Kolinski Brush

China Glaze:
- Sun Of A Peach, Surfin For Boys, Flip Flop Fantasy
- Keepin' It Teal, Fairy Dust, Choo-Choo Choose You

OPI:
- Coca-Cola Red

Orly:
- Sparkling Garbage x2

Color Club:
- Call Of The Disco Ball/ The Uptown
- Hot-Hot-Hot Pants/ Foxy Mama
- Not-So-Mellow Yellow / Peace, Love, & Polish

Of course I picked up a few back-ups and some stuff I've always wanted but didn't get.  I figured while I was getting a deal I might as well.

Also, I picked up the Color Club Poptastic Pastel Neon collection for a friend & boxed them up for her.

All in all it was a great day.  Even with the traffic in and around Atlanta on my way there.  This is honestly the most polish I've bought in a LONG time, and I felt kinda guilty.  Then I reminded myself that some of it was for a friend, some was for my giveaway stash, and I needed to treat myself because I've not been doing that at all lately. 

Now that my swatch basket is getting full I must get down to business.  What can't you wait to see?

L'Oreal - The Holographic

Hey y'all!  While I was recently pulling a few untrieds out of my basket I decided to put this one to use.  I layered this over OPI Girls Love Ponies from the Ford Mustang collection that was released last year.

In the bottle this appears to have like a blue/purple/green shift flakie.  However, when it went on the nail, they seemed to look more yellow/blue.

I figured this would look great over the pink base, but boy was I wrong.  I only applied one coat because they seemed to disappear.  

I don't know if it's because I found this hidden at WalMart way after it had originally been released or if it's the quality of the polish itself, but I'm not impressed.  In fact, this is going into my donate pile.  I have other flakie polishes that look a million times better than this one.  

OPI Girls Love Ponies

Hey y'all!  Super quick post today.  This is one of the two polishes that I was able to get from last years Ford Mustang collection.  This has been sitting in my swatch basket since I got it on my birthday & today y'all get to see what it looks like on me.

This is 2 coats of the beautiful pink, almost fuchsia pink, cream.  I had no issues with this, but did notice that it dried kinda satiny. So I would definitely recommend a top coat, which of course I used Seche Vite.

While I did use 2 coats, you could easily get away with just one if needed.  Which makes this a good candidate for stamping and water marbling.