Inspired by: Victoria's Secret

Hey everyone! I'm in a serious shopping mood right now and this past weekend I went out with the boyfriend and found a whole bunch of great stuff. I'm really in the clothes mood but there are a couple of amazing stores I think of every time I'm thinking of going shopping. This post was inspired by one of them: Victoria's Secret! Everyone knows the two-toned VS shopping bags that you get when you drop some money into the hands of VS sales associates. They look a little (or a lot) like this:

One of my favorite totes, bought by the bf :)

And the VS-inspired digits:

I used Finger Paints I Pink I Can for the lighter pink and Zoya Dawn for the darker. How do you like?

Hey sweetHEART!

Aw, these nails make me think of my boyfriend :) Who needs to come home from school so I can see him! Anyway, I used Zoya Robyn for the base and then kiss brush-on nail art paint in black (only it didn't really stamp well so it came out...grayish-blue instead) in Bundle Monster plate 202. 

One Year of Nikki's Nail Files

Hello everyone! Nikki's Nail Files is officially 1 YEAR OLD today!! August 10th, 2010 I sat down at my computer and put together my first post (a polka dot tip mani you can check out here). I'm so happy with what this blog has become and all the interest it has gotten from all you fabulous bloggers and polish-aholics! Thank you so much for visiting and commenting and sharing my obsession with me! Here's to many more posts!

Swatch: Simmer & Shimmer

If you remember reading this blog when the movie Burlesque came out, then you probably remember the obsession I had with going to see it and the nail polish collection OPI did for it. Well, here's yet another nail polish from that collection: Simmer & Shimmer. It's a GORGEOUS blue based glitter extravaganza for your nails. Usually I'd stay away from doing an eye-catching glitter like this on every nail but, you know what, today I wanted some eye-catching digits! Here are some pictures of OPI Simmer & Shimmer.

A few glitter shots:

   

See? Eye-catching, no? They kind of remind me of these shoes:

Swatch: It's Up to Blue

Blue is my favorite color (next to red and silver) and I'm always on the hunt for the perfect blue. Does anyone else feel like there aren't many different blues out there? Anyway, this long-time part of my collection caught my eye and I just had to use it. It is so perfect for summer and, while summer is winding down (ew) I want to use as many summer colors for as long as I can! Here's Orly's It's Up to Blue.

I love a French Accent

So I was going to do a simple, all black manicure for today but then when I saw them I changed my mind to add a little color and an accent nail. A french manicure with a black base and red tips and then an accent nail of the reverse? Sounds good to me!

For this digits I used China Glaze Cherry Pie and Orly Liquid Vinyl.

Swatch: OPI Mermaid's Tears

Hey everyone! Today's post is a Swatch post of OPI's Mermaid's Tears. It's raining outside hard enough that I can hear it bashing on my roof and I saw the bottle of Mermaid's Tears and went hmmm, perfect! This polish is from the new(ish) collection OPI did for the most recent Pirates of the Caribbean movie (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides). It's a really beautiful sea-foam green color and, though the application was a little annoying, it dries fast and leaves you with a great manicure. 

Application: I needed 3 coats (which I usually do anyway) and on some of the nails you could see the different layer lines (I guess I didn't really apply it as well as I thought!)

Color: Beautiful! I didn't have anything exactly like it in my collection. It was a worthy addition.

Drying/Hardening: Pretty quick but not as quick as Zoya polishes. Does anyone else feel like Zoya polishes are little fast-drying freaks of nature??

Wear: Surprisingly it lasted through a night at the diner (I'm a server) without major chips and that was WITHOUT a top coat. I'd say at the very least I'm very impressed!

Here are the pictures!! Does anyone else own this polish/ones from this collection?

29 Again?? Lookin' Fab!

Today is my Mom's *ahem* birthday! We bought her cake and presents and the whole family (+3 others) went midnight bowling to celebrate. One of my mom's favorite things is Hello Kitty and I thought that would make a perfect birthday design:

I got my inspiration from here. I used Orly White Out for the French Tip and then Color Club Art Club in black for the eyes and whiskers, Color Club Art Club in Yellow for the nose, and Orly Ole for the bow.

Anybody else out there love Hello Kitty??

Colorful Leopard

Hey everyone! Finally I'm taking the time to update the blog here with a new post. I was flipping through the channels the other day and came upon Style network. Has anyone heard of the show Jerseylicious? I hadn't seen it before but noticed they were sporting a ton of animal prints and my mind just went "AHA!" There was my inspiration: animal print. I went with lots of color because it's summertime and then a leopard stamp. Here my nails!

I used China Glaze Conga to My Cabana, China Glaze Solar Power, China Glaze Tree Hugger, and China Glaze Towel Boy Toy. Also I used Kleancolor True Purple and in Kiss Brush On Nail Art Paint in black with BundleMonster 221.

Father's Day 2011

Hey everyone! If by any chance I have any dads reading my blog (I doubt it though): Happy Father's Day! When I was younger I remember everyday my Dad going to work dressed in nice black pants, a button up collared shirt, and a tie. I figured that would make a good manicure to celebrate the day. Here are today's nails: a Father's Day Tie manicure. It's simple but...I thought it worked!

I used Zoya Shawn and Color Club Art Club in white.