Major Stainage = UGHHHH!!!

There is nothing worse than stained nails...ugh! Berry Sweet by OPI Nicole just lost some major points tonight which is quite a disappointment considering I absolutely LOVE the shade and was super excited to have it newly added to my collection. But unfortunately, I dislike the "leftovers".

 

 

This pic doesn't show it THAT much but it's pretty bad...I'd say  the worse yet for me. Now the dilemma is..should I paint over it or wait till it comes off? I had a manicure in mind that I was inspired to do from another nail enthusiast but it's a light toned gradient using glitter that is to go on only my tips which means that my bottom half of my nail will be exposed! So, so disappointing...LOL!!!

 

I wonder if anyone else has this problem from time to time and what others do to help prevent this from happening and how to get rid of it? I'm all for quick fixes so if your reading this and have any suggestions or tips, please help!!! That is all..

 

 

 

 

 

Starting off with Red and Gold

This year surely went by quickly...

Christmas is almost here!

 

 

 

 

This is Berry Sweet by OPI Nicole. A beautiful red tone that I can't wait to use again. Just picked it up yesterday and I am very happy to add it to my collection.

This is simply Gold by OPI Nicole.



Keep Calm...

I saw this on my facebook and had to share. To all fellow nails fanatics like me, I hope you can relate!!! FYI, I did not come up with this and am unsure of where it came from but it makes me think, "Why didn't I come up with this before?"

 

 



Rewind

 

It's been awhile since my last post..sheesh things have been so busy. I've accumulated a whole bunch of photos on my cell that I need to get rid of.  Amazing!  Every time I think I've got a hold on uploading my pics, I fail to keep it up! Nail photos are seriously dominating my cell photo gallery!!  So this post will be of manicures that I've done since my previous post.

 

This first set of pics, I used Panda-Monium-Pink by OPI. A fairly old polish that I have but always love as a go to neutral, everyday, manicure. The only problem I have with this polish is that it tends to go on streaky. I believe I used three coats on this one.

 

 

This pic below was taken a few days after. I ended up adding a stamp to just my thumbs to make it different. My only treat this month was on a set of plates from bundle monster. I got it for about $18.00..a pretty good price for 20 plates! In the mid of my workout session, I couldn't help but chuckle at how cute my nails looked sticking out all painted pretty in my gloves..haha!!!  Kickass with a touch of femininity!!

 

 I hadn't done zebra in awhile and felt in the mood. It came out quite nice up until I added the top coat and it totally smeared. Utter disappointment! Ugh!!

 

I love the top coat...it's by China Glaze and the shine that it produces is by far the best out of all the other top coat brands I have. So, I didn't quite give up on it and decided to use it again on this next manicure below.

I'm not sure if it's visible, but the same top coat SMEARED my manicure AGAIN!!!!

 

The plate I used for the stamp was another one by bundle monsters. Besides the slight smearidge (I made that word up, I got a lot of compliments on this one.

 

Below, I used two coats of Pink Me Up! by Loreal and for the top layer, I used Crystal by NYX. I love Loreal and the colors they offer. The price of the polish is between $5 - $6 which is not that bad and I like the brushes and how nicely it paints on.

 

The glitter in this polish is iridescent and sparkles blue, green, and gold. This pics are once again from my cell so it's sooo hard to see detail. It's a pretty glitter color though I like it.

After a day or two, I ended up adding spiders to it (I think this was on Halloween day). 

 

The last manicure, I used a coat of L.A. Colors (name not provided on bottle) then I painted just my tips with Metallic Red by Nabi. I then added some dots with my dotting tool to just my thumbs and pinky nails.

 

I thought it looked to dull so I added a top coat which totally altered the entire color. In the picture below, I only painted my pinky to give an idea of what I'm talking about. Can you see the difference?

 

I think with or without a top coat looks good. I just hadn't expected it to look so shiny.

 

Look at that shine!! Wow!! It reminds me of a candy apple or glass Christmas ornament. Pic below was taken today after about a week of having this manicure on. My tips are chipping but for the most part of it, the shine is still there!

 

 

Well that wraps things up for me! Thanks for reading!!

P.S. Does anyone have a favorite top coat that they'd like to recommend??

 

 

 

Wailoa Park

Taking a break from nails and spending time with my family.

This has been a long weekend for us and unfortunately went by to quickly.

 

 

 

 

 



Four Elements Challenge: Earth

This will be the last entry for the Four Elements Challenge and I have to say that this has been great. I'm happy to have been involved with this challenge and I thank Taya at http://tatjanag.blogspot.com/ for putting the challenge together. This was my first ever challenge and I hope to continue more in the near future!!

 

Today's design is based around the element Earth. When I think about Earth I think earthy tones like green and brown colors. I also think of trees and plants and life in general which begins in the soil.

 

For my manicure, I decided to go way out of the box and literally incorporate soil/dirt into my manicure.

 

 

 

I started with one coat of Jade is the New Black by OPI and then dipped my finger in a container of dirt. To finish, I used a top coat to seal the dirt into my manicure. This was a very messy task but I think it was well worth it. This was done at night so no outside camera shots were taken...maybe I'll get a chance to tomorrow!

 

 

 

Till then, Aloha and thanks for reading!!

 

The other challengers are below...

 

 

 



I Love Purple

So my birthday is coming up this Saturday and tonight I will be going out with a few friends to "celebrate" turning <<gulp>> 31! It's crazy how this year is just flying by. On a brighter note, my kids are looking forward to it (more than I probably because we get to eat cake) and I get to have a girls night out away from motherhood/wifeyhood, AND I get to do or did my nails!

 

The black I used was Liquid Leather by China Glaze and I Miss You by Sinful Colors.

 

 

 

I love this glitter combo and how it plays in light. Purple is the dominant color but it also sparkles blue, yellow, red, and green too.

 

 

 

Aloha and thanks for reading!

 

 

Styled Out by Maybelline

 

I don't usually wear blue but I allow this color a particular exception.

This is Styled Out by Maybelline.

  

 

 

 

Here I used just one coat. The coverage was really, really good and it went on super smooth. This picture was taken at night and I think it doesn't capture it's uniquenes but it is this amazing shade of blue with just a touch of silver. Also, this was a last minute shot before I removed it to do another manicure. Really reminds me of denim material. I love it!

 

Once again, thanks for reading!!

Four Elements Challenge: Air

Up in the Clouds

 

I created a gradient with the blues using three different shades. The first layer, with two coats of Calypso Blue by Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure and then Blue Goose by Icing (painted on just the tips). Lastly I went over just the tips again with a coat of Yodel Me On My Cell by OPI. For the "clouds" I used I Will by L'oreal. This was a toughy!

 

 

 

 

Aloha and thanks for reading!

 

 



A Lil-Bit-A Jaded

 

This Jade is the New Black was one of the colors I picked up during my last haul. I love green.

 

 

This was a random, very late night manicure that I did while resting after my workout last night. I used just one coat of the Jade is the New Black and it came out pretty opaque. I thought it was a lil too plain so I decided to brush on a quick coat of OPI's black shatter over--kind of a Halloweenish look huh?? I don't know but I like it! Since I am on a NO BUY restriction, I figure it's a good time to try on all my new editions...sigh.

 

Aloha!



Four Elements Challenge: Water

Living in Hawaii, I am surrounded by water. So I was excited to do this weeks challenge creating a water inspired design. But, after beginning to put my thoughts together on what I wanted to do, I soon realized that capturing the essence of a fluid like this would not be an easy task. Not exactly what I pictured but still fun! Too bad I couldn't get a better photo of these colors...

 

 

 

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