Design X - Toetally Tuesday 2

Hi all, hope you're all having a great day! :)  It's time for the second ever Toetally Tuesday post!! Just don't ask me what it's supposed to be because I have no idea. Tiger print? I don't know. It didn't start off that way and honestly, it's kinda boring. I used one of my new troops NYC Mulberry Street and Kiss Brush On Nail Art Paint in Black to make....whatever that design is. Hm, not one of my favorites. Anyway, here the toes are: Design X.


Caution: TOES below!

Leaf Me Alone

Here we go, after swatching a couple polishes today (now located in either the previous post or the "Swatches" tab above for your enjoyment), I have created my Thanksgiving appropriate nails! ALSO, since I didn't want to just paint my nails and then take the polish off I decided to make them fit for the fall season as well. Feast your eyes (lol feast, how appropriate when talking about Thanksgiving!) on these Turkey and Leaves nails :D

There we go, we have fall leaves (which I do believe was a request from my sister not too long ago now that I think about it) and a Thanksgiving turkey. I used China Glaze Solar Power, OPI Flit A Bit, and China Glaze Foxy for the background (Yay! I finally learned how to sponge gradients...kind of. ;) ) Then I used Color Club Art Club in Black and BundleMonster plates 10 and 19 for the two stamped designs. For the turkey I used China Glaze Solar Power as a base, OPI Holiday Glow for the turkey body, Color Club Art Club in yellow/red/orange for the feathers and white and black for the eyes. Not too shabby if I do say so myself!

Also, oh my gosh, I was perusing nail art blogs  and I came across one that contained something absolutely fantastic. In a page entitled "Symptoms" on the blog Polish Hoarder Disorder the blogger lists all the symptoms of said disorder. Of course, with me being me and all, it piqued my interest. This is the symptom that made me crack up...because it was so true:

"You have a hard time deciding on a color for your manicure because there 

are too many choices. In the meantime, you paint each fingernail a different color 

and wait until one "speaks to you" " 

If you're interested the complete list can be seen here. Anyway, after reading that I started laughing so hard because I DO THAT. Seriously. All the time. So here's to you, Polish Hoarder Disorder, I'm self diagnosing that I am seriously afflicted.

I have returned!

With new goodies! I'll be posting swatches of them up throughout the day. Man, that was a busy break. Luckily I did find time to purchase some kickass new polishes! And I still promise to catch up with a Thanksgiving design and whatever the second thing was I wanted to do!

Here goes, OPI Burlesque collection Take the Stage, an absolutely stunning orange shimmer, and Show It and Glow It, an absolutely blinding purple/pink/silver glitter.

and here's one where you can really see the glitter, look at it glisten in the light!

And Milani (ok I'll be honest I didn't just buy this polish--I merely found it with some other polishes I had left at home) Pool Party. What a brilliant glossy teal!

I do apologize for my lack of clean up with these but I was just so excited to get a new post going I couldn't wait!

Bring on the turkey!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! 

Here's the deal...I drove home and *GASP* didn't bring any nail polishes with me that are good for Turkey day nails! :o I know, I'm so disappointed! But anyway, I really was looking forward to doing something festive and here's my idea: I'm going to do some Thanksgiving day inspired nails when I get back to school. It's so lame because it will be late but I already have my idea and all! Hmm, or maybe this is an excuse to go buy polishes maybe??? As if I need an excuse to buy nail polishes! Lol

Until then, I think I'll just relax and watch all the Thanksgiving parades I can on TV. Did you know Kermit the Frog is the longest float? It's something around like 80 feet.

Pictures from here.

Cross the Ts (and the first To(e)tally Tuesday post)

Hey everyone! I get to go home today! My Wednesday class was cancelled which means within the next 20 minutes I will be leaving my college town and going to my home town! Niice! I'm excited. I'm even MORE excited for this post today! It's the first To(e)tally Tuesday post! My stance is that pedicures don't get enough love and, while some people hate feet, I like mine. I love a good pampering for my piggies! So here we go, feet below--but at least the toenails are polished right? What is more heinous than unpolished toesies? I won't lie...unpolished toes freak me out. Just saying. Feast your eyes on Cross the Ts!

Whoa! That is one BIG toe. Anyway, China Glaze Caribbean Blue, OPI Red My Fortune Cookie (which came out really dark over the blue) and then Color Club Art Club in Red and Light Blue for the crosses and White for the line

Alright, I'm off to drive home! I've got a sushi date with my sister finally! And maybe some polish shopping, too!

Dot the I's

Quick post today because I have studying to do! The yellow and green dots like really similar but I swear the yellow used was China Glaze Yellow Polka Dot Bikini and the green was China Glaze In The Limelight. For some reason they didn't come out like that though! Very weird.

For this I used: Orly Won't Chip (looove it), China Glaze Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, OPI Flit a Bit, China Glaze In The Lime Light, China Glaze Towel Boy Toy, China Glaze Pool Party, Orly Liquid Vinyl

I've got the power!

...and that is most certainly flower power I'm talking about! I'm in the process of figuring out something to do on a specific day every week like the "Friday Five" brought to you by The Brunette Suburbanite or "Funky French Fridays" as seen on Crystal Polish. I'm thinking of starting Sunday Swatcheroos where I'll put a new swatch up every Sunday (which would really help with the whole goal to swatch every polish in my collection idea that I have, lol) or maybe To(e)tally Tuesdays where instead of a manicure I'd do a pedicure. I love a good pampering of my piggies and I feel like pedicures don't get enough love. I don't know, any thoughts?

Color Club Wild Child, Color Club Art Club in white, and Orly 

Glitz and Glamour. The Color Club was so polished and shiny I didn't 

even need Seche Vite for these!

Sucky sucky day :(

Today basically was a hardcore mix of suckitude and ridiculosity. First of all, it was raining. I should know that when it's raining I should just stay in bed. One of the largest reasons that today sucked was due to scheduling for next semester. Turns out I was able to get all the classes I wanted but along the way I had to email like bajillion professors in order to get them to override one of the labs I was supposed to be in because it conflicted with my spanish. But before they said I could do that I had to go through and find other potential courses I wanted/could take. Yippie. I hate when I mess up scheduling. Ugh, before I bore you with all that let me just say--I will be happy when today is over. Shockingly, Monday was better! Anyway, NOTD! These illustrate the dark and light sides of a day. Seriously, they fit today perfectly. So far everything that has gone wrong I have been able to fix. Maybe I'll just stay indoors the rest of the evening and not go near windows! ;)

Sally Hansen Green with Envy, China Glaze Emerald Fitzgerald

Expeliamus!

...or insert whatever spell you know the name of as the title.


Today was a terrific day! Not only did I get to see my boyfriend...but we saw the new Harry Potter movie! Yes, the Harry Potter that isn't even showing in theaters yet. A big thank you to Comcast for having a prescreening and an even bigger thank you to my incredible boyfriend who chose to take me to go see it. It was fantastic. I will admit...I have not read any of the HP books. I should also admit that I probably will not read the HP books at all. I have seen almost all the movies though and the ones I haven't luckily my boyfriend has so he could keep whispering why a specific thing was important or who a character was when I had no idea. It was at the King of Prussia IMAX theater and seriously, you should definitely go see it when it comes out...this weekend I think? Maybe next. I don't know. Anyway, I kept trying to think of an appropriate Harry Potter/Spells/Wizards manicure and sadly enough my creativity decided to desert me today. Here's what I ended up painting: lightning bolts a la Harry Potter's scar. Also, on the index, the golden snitch....since it came up in the movie.

I used China Glaze Midnight Mission, an unnamed gray from a four set of LA Colors, and Kiss Brush-On Nail Art Paint in Silver for the Harry Potter lightning bolt. Also, on the index finger I used Orly Glitz & Glamour gold snitch :)

A Veteran's Day Thank You....

...to one hell of a Vet!

Is there anything special about November 11? You betcha! It's Veteran's Day! A day where everyone should thank a vet they know. In my case, I'm thanking a Marine--who usually goes by "Pops" from me. I did these nails as a thank you to my dear old Dad who became a Marine February 24, 1974 (or at least I think that's what this says). I'm reading the date of the Marine Corps ring he got when he graduated boot camp. I took it a while ago and put yarn so it shrunk the ring enough to fit on my middle finger. Pictures below!
For these Marine Corps nails I did a flag on the thumb, "USMC" split across the index and ring, the Staff Sergeant Insignia (my Pops' rank), and dress blues (a Marine Corps uniform) on the pinky. The ring in the photo is my dad's USMC ring.

I used Ulta Skinny (from the Ulta I've Got the Blues collection), 

Orly Liquid Vinyl, Orly White on White, Color Club Art Club 

in Black and White, OPI Curry Up Don't Be Late, a gold 

striper from Icing, and OPI Color So Hot It Berns

Thank you Pops! Once a Marine, ALWAYS a Marine. Semper Fi.

All Hail the Daily Nail

I love checking the daily nail blog and seeing what Melissa can come up with. For 365+ days she has dazzled her readers with incredible nail art that honestly sometimes I'm shocked the art is only on a nail. Anyway, for tonight's nails I decided to try one of the recent manicures she did. This is the second time I'm using her as inspiration--she's that good! Her original design can be found here under her "What's the Mod-der?" post:

My Interpretation :)

For this look I used: Orly Won't Chip, China Glaze Purple Panic, Orly Liquid Vinyl, China Glaze Pool Party, China Glaze Flying Dragon, China Glaze Blue Sparrow, China Glaze In the Limelight, China Glaze Orange Knockout, and Orly White Out. Phew!

Bling It On

Yes, I'm talking about nail bling! This was my first time using rhinestone accents for my nails! To be honest, I just never gave it a try before. I found these rhinestone accents (do you recognize them Steph? They're from the Gaga eyelashes we wore) today and thought eh why not. While I was at the gym my entire left hand middle finger's polish came off. I didn't even notice. I just looked down at dinner and saw it was completely gone. And I'm talking completely. It was almost as if I passed out, some one nail polish removed the middle finger's polish, and then I woke back up. Crazy.

Look at how they sparkle in the picture! I love how they turned out after I put two coats of Seche Vite on them. The supplies I used were:

Sally Hansen Hard as Nails nail treatment, China Glaze Angel's Flight, 

OPI Blue My Mind, Color Club Art Club White, Seche Vite

In my skin tight jeans...

Yes, I'm quoting the new-ish Katy Perry song. However, Katy Perry has nothing to do with the nails of today. These were inspired by the college staple (hell everyone's staple)...blue jeans. Everyone wears them and everyone has a pair they absolutely love. This summer I bought a 5 polish set from Ulta I've Got the Denim Blues and I've been throwing this idea around in my head ever since then. I'm bored enough to give it a shot tonight so I bring you: Jean nails.

Each nail has the design that you'd see on the back pockets of some jeans. Bonus points if you can guess them! This is the set from Ulta, I've Got the Denim Blues.

Left to Right: Acid Wash, Stone Wash, Indigo, Vintage, Skinny

Lunar Eclipse of the Heart

Ok, so the real song is "Total Eclipse of the Heart." Big deal, I'm totally talking about this polish called Lunar Eclipse. This is one of the two Orly FX collection polishes I own that I bought with my sister when they were brand new. To this day I think it's still one of my most expensive polishes (it was only 10 bucks but still....I'm a poor college kid! lol). It's also one of my favorites due to its name--I bought an eclipse that I loooove this past summer!) As for the actual polish...eh, I'm not impressed. Visit the "Swatches" link for more info on it!


Anyway, today was pretty boring-I didn't have anything but a 12:30 class to go to. Luckily, I filled the day with a morning trip to the gym with Sarah and then went to pick up some things (a new eyelash curler and a cuticle trimmer among them). Other than that tonight is going to be pretty boring, too.  Thank god for polish to fill my boring nights. I think I'll swatch like a fiend tonight. Here's Lunar Eclipse. FYI I wouldn't be surprised to see a boatload of swatches tomorrow if I were you. Lol. These pictures really don't show the true color of this polish, it's sooo much more duochrom-y in person. Trust me.

And for the design....Orly Lunar Eclipse, Orly Liquid Vinyl, and Essence Silver Surfer....

I've got a crush...

...on the polish of the day, Grape Crush! Ok, maybe that was lame. It's the name of the polish I'm about to show you. I did my nails tonight again and realized I haven't used any of the purples I have in my collection. That had to be remedied so...feast your eyes on an oldie-but-goodie, Grape Crush :)


It's a really pretty sparkly color that is really old (it's actually one I lifted from my mom's collection a many years ago). Notice the old school silver cap! Anyway, it's really thick and goopy now so on some fingers it still might look a little uneven. Eh, I blame the polish and the fact that I'm tired because I've been studying for a developmental psychology exam. Speaking of, I should probably get some sleep! Here is the manicure (which could hardly count as a manicure since I just tossed on a color and stamped a design on one finger but anyway)...

I know, isn't it gorgeous? Look at this polish! I took the picture so it came out a little blurry to show all the colors and flecks in it. It looks like a rainbow just flickering on my nail. This will probably be distracting during tomorrow morning's exam but why not. It's so pretty! I used Grape Crush (obviously) with Orly White Out and BM 11. I really should expand my horizons with the white polishes. I have so many but I never use them. Stay tuned for some major white polish usage!

Vote for ME!

Ok, maybe don't vote for me...but I do hope you were in the voting mood today! It was Election Day! Sadly, I still haven't been able to vote in my hometown--I keep having to vote via absentee ballot. Eh, it's still voting! Hope you went out and voted today!

A question for my fellow nail bloggers: Have you ever started a design completely excited and knowing it would look just absolutely amazing....only to get half way and accept that you have totally overestimated your artistic ability? 

I'm sad to admit that I've clearly done that with these nails. Seeing as today is Election Day, what is a more appropriate manicure than Election nails? That's what I thought! What did I come up with? Bleh-lection nails. Well, ok, alright, I only hate the index and ring finger. On the bright side, how often will I need to put the Democratic and Republican symbols on my nails?

For these I used China Glaze Salsa, Ulta Vintage (From the Denim 

Blues set), Orly White Out, and Color Club Art Club White.

Also, does anyone know of a perfect tan polish I could maybe use for the base of leopard print nails? The browns I have are either too dark, too shimmery, too whatever and I've been dying to try leopard nails for about a week and a half now. Any suggestions?

Painted by Me, Inspired by Mops

Happy November everyone! 

Once again I had NO ideas for a nail design. Grrr. I wonder if nail polish block exists (similar to writer's block of course). Anyway, suddenly my mom text me "Les Lapins" (French for "Rabbits"). I'm not sure if anyone else follows this tradition but, in my family, the first person to say "rabbits" on the first of a month gets good luck for a whole month. So, of course, I immediately think ehh I could try some rabbits. I quickly realized that rabbits may or may not be completely beyond my limited skill level. I called my mom and we ended up talking about nails for a bit. She described a manicure she'd seen with a pale base, black tip, white polka dots, and a brighter pink divider line. I haven't done pink nails recently (I don't think) so I decided why not? and gave it a shot. Please enjoy the following nails painted by me...inspired by my Mops :D

For these nails I started with a base of Orly Catch the Bouquet. Then I did a tip of Orly Liquid Vinyl and Kiss Brush On Nail Art White. I separated the black and pink with a Hot Pink Ink Nail Art line. I really like these nails a lot. Finished them with a coat of Seche Vite.

Also, on an unrelated note: my carved pumpkins! I am a total Francophile (at least I think that's the word) in that I am in love and obsessed with all things French. Hence, my pumpkin. Plus, drumroll please, I think this is the first photo of me and Boyfriend here on the blog!

And yes...that is an Eiffel Tower necklace around my neck. And no...I promise I didn't plan that, lol. The pumpkins really look sharp in the dark:

Props for using cell phones to light our pumpkins. College minds for the win!