Be Mine - 2014

VDay 2014 mani #2

Pink ombre manicure using (from L to R) Orly Soul Mate, Finger Paints Louvre This Pink, China Glaze Go Go Pink, and Zoya Purity; All topped with Finger Paints Kiss By The Tree.

Brazen Butterflies

Today's manicure began with a base coat and two coats of Sephora X Brazen. Next, I painted small amounts of Starrily Euphoria onto a piece of cosmetic wedge sponge, and dabbed that to the tips of my nails until I achieved the desired glitter gradient effect.

 Euphoria has adorable little butterfly glitters that I just had to have!!

Lastly, I added a layer of Gelous gel top coat to smooth out the glitter, and finished with a coat of Sephora X top coat.

Products Used

Sephora X Nail Cleanser

1 coat Nailtek Foundation 1

1 coat Sephora X Base Coat

2 coats Sephora X Brazen

Starrily Euphoria

1 coat Gelous Advanced Gel Top Coat

1 coat Seohora X Top Coat

Sea Glass by Starrily

A short time ago, Ipsy sampled some Starrily glitter polish in their monthly bag. Since Ipsy offers discount codes for the brands they feature in their bags, I  decided to use my discount to pick up some Starrily mini glitter polishes. 

This manicure began with two coats of Sinful Colors At Sea.

Over that, I added one coat of Starrily Sea Glass.

Sea Glass is different sizes of shredded blue glitter in a clear base.

Lastly, I sealed the manicure with two coats of Gelous gel top coat, and a coat of Seche Vite top coat. Later, I added an extra coat or two of top coat to the nails that had a few bits of glitter sticking up. For the most part, the glitter shreds were not very difficult to work with or make smooth.

Products Used

Sephora X Nail Cleanser

1 coat Nailtek Foundation 1

1 coat Sephora X Base Coat

2 coats Sinful Colors At Sea

1 coat Starrily Sea Glass

2 coats Gelous Advanced Gel Top Coat

1-2 coats Seche Vite Top Coat

Happy New Year - 2014

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope you all have a safe and happy transition into 2014. Below is the manicure I will be wearing to ring in the new year :)

I am wearing black slacks with a red top and a silver clutch, so red with black and silver glitter just seemed like the right way to go!

This is two coats of Sephora X Flashy, with China Glaze Razzle Me Dazzle Me dabbed onto the tips, sealed with Sephora X Top Coat.

30 Mani Marathon - Manicure 30: Inspired By A Tutorial

The tutorial I have chosen as my inspiration is this Glitter Gradient Tutorial By Lucy's Stash

I began with a base coat and two coats of Nicka K Ripe Apple, and added China Glaze Twinkle Lights for the gradient. I covered that with one coat of Gelous gel top coat, and finished with a coat of Seche Vite.

30 Mani Marathon - Manicure 29: Inspired By The Supernatural

Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

Two coats of Finger Paints Louvre This Pink, dabbed with a bit of Finger Paints Van Gogh's Violet on the tips of the nails. Stamped with Konad Black Stamping Polish + stamping plates RA-111, RA-112, RA-113, Mash-33, and M28 . Sealed with a coat of Dreams Lacquer Top Coat. 

Unwhamable

I recently received The Twenty Two Sephora X mini polish set, and couldn't wait to put it on my fingers! 

The manicure I chose today began with two coats of Unmistakable. Over that I added one coat of Wham, a variety of white glitter. 

Lastly, I applied one coat of  Gelous Advanced Gel topcoat to smooth out the glitter, and one coat of Dreams Lacquer top coat to seal the manicure.

30 Mani Marathon - Manicure 19: Galaxies

For this manicure, I began with a base coat and two coats of Orly Androgynie. Next, using a piece of cosmetic wedge sponge, I alternated sponging small amounts of Zoya Giovanna, Sinful Colors Cool Gray, and Zoya Rory in random patterns on the nail. 

Over that, I applied one coat of Orly Shine Bright Crazy Diamond, and small amounts of Icing Frost Yourself. I finished the manicure with Zoya Armor top coat.

30 Mani Marathon - Manicure 17: Glitter

To represent Glitter, I began with two coats of Zoya Brie. Then, I painted small amounts of Zoya Twila onto a piece of cosmetic wedge sponge, and dabbed that to the tips of my nails where I wanted the glitter to be concentrated. I added two layers of Gelous gel top coat to smooth out the glitter, and finished with one coat of Zoya Armor top coat.

30 Mani Marathon - Manicure 5: Blue Nails

The 5th task in the 30 Mani Marathon is Blue Nails.

To represent Blue Nails, I began with two coats of Orly Snowcone. Next, I painted small amounts of  Wet n Wild At the After Party on a piece of cosmetic wedge sponge, and dabbed that to the tips of my nails. I sealed the manicure with a coat of Seche Vite top coat.

Click here for all the 30 Mani Marathon details, list of tasks, and timeline.

The Limelight Can't Be Tamed

Today's manicure began with two coats of Bondi New York The Limelight. I then painted small amounts of Orly Can't Be Tamed onto a piece of cosmetic wedge sponge, and carefully dabbed that to the tips of my nails to create the glitter gradient. I added two coats of Gelous gel top coat to smooth out the glitter and let that dry overnight. The next day, I sealed the manicure with a coat of Seche Vite top coat.

Products Used 

One coat Dreams Nail Lacquer 2-in-1 Base and Top Coat

Two coats Bondi New York The Limelight

Glitter Tips of Orly Can't Be Tamed

Two coats Gelous Advanced Gel Top Coat

One coat Seche Vite Top Coat

Taffy Sandwich

Today's manicure uses the jelly sandwich technique, sandwiching glitter polish between layers of jelly polish.

After beginning with a base coat, I added 3 or 4 layers of China Glaze Heat Index, a neon pink jelly polish. To that, I applied two coats of Hard Candy Pink Taffy, a silver/pink/black glitter polish in a pink base. 

Then I applied one layer of Heat Index over the glitter, and finished with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

Products Used:

One coat Beauty Secrets Moisturizing Base Coat

Four coats China Glaze Heat Index

Two coats Hard Candy Pink Taffy

One coat China Glaze Heat Index

One coat Seche Vite Top Coat

Funky Pippa - Are You Drunk?

Today I wanted to do a look using an unconventional color combination. Something fun and funky and out of the box. This is what I came up with!

This manicure began with Zoya Anchor base coat. Next I added two lovely coats of Zoya Pippa, and then a layer of Zoya Armor top coat. I then let the polish dry and cure overnight.

The next day, I dabbed some China Glaze Scattered & Tattered onto a piece of cosmetic wedge sponge, and dabbed that to the tips of my nails, creating glitter tips.

I finished the look with two coats of Gelous gel top coat, and one layer of Seche Vite.

Products Used:

One coat Zoya Anchor Base Coat

Two coats Zoya Pippa

One coat Zoya Armor Top Coat

China Glaze Scattered & Tattered Glitter 

Two coats Gelous Advanced Gel Top Coat

One coat Seche Vite Top Coat

Color Club - Holiday Splendor

Today I am wearing Color Club Holiday Splendor.

Products Used:

One coat Beauty Secrets Moisturizing Base Coat

One coat Color Club Holiday Splendor

One coat Gelous Advanced Gel Top Coat

One coat Seche Vite Top Coat

Malia Tastes Like Snozberries!

Today's manicure began with base coat, two coats of Zoya Malia, and one coat of Zoya Armor top coat.

To that, I added two coats of Jindie Nails Taste Like Snozberries.

Over the glitter, I added one layer of Gelous gel top coat, and a layer of Seche Vite top coat to smooth everything out and seal the manicure.

Products Used:

One coat Beauty Secrets Moisturizing Top Coat

Two coats Zoya Malia

One coat Zoya Armor Top Coat

Two coats Jindie Nails Taste Like Snozberries

One coat Gelous Advanced Gel Top Coat

One coat Seche Vite Top Coat

Independence Day 2013 - Star Spangled

Happy Independence Day!

I love doing festive holiday manicures, especially for July 4th! *Bonus footage of last year's July 4th designs are at the bottom of the post.*

This year's 4th of July manicure began with one coat of white polish, Zoya Purity. When the white was fully dry, I created red, white, and blue stripes on each nail. With the pictorial below, I have attempted to show how I created the stripes using french tip guide stickers, Zoya America, and China Glaze Starboard.

After giving the stripes a while to dry completely, I then dabbed Lush Lacquer Snap Crackle Pop onto a piece of cosmetic wedge sponge, and gently dabbed that to the tips of each nail. Over that, I have applied two coats of Gelous gel top coat to smooth out the glitter, and one coat of Zoya Armor top coat to finish.

Below is a before/after of each step from base color to glitter tips!

Products Used:

One coat Beauty Secrets Moisturizing Base Coat

One coat Zoya Purity

Stripes of Zoya America & China Glaze Starboard

Glitter Tips of Lush Lacquer Snap Crackle Pop

Two coats Gelous Advanced Gel Top Coat

One coat Zoya Armor Top Coat

*Bonus Footage*

July 4th 2012 Designs

Dazzling Monica

Above is two coats of Zoya Monica, followed by one layer of Zoya Armor Top Coat.

To that, I have used a piece of cosmetic wedge sponge to dab a bit of Sally Hansen Gem Crush Razzle Dazzler to the tips, and a bit down the nail.

A layer of Gelous gel top coat helps to smooth out the rough glitter, and after 24 hours I will seal the manicure with a coat of Seche Vite. Seche Vite does not mesh well with Zoya polishes, so it is important to only use it after the Zoya has had plenty of time to cure.

Products Used:

One coat Beauty Secrets Moisturizing Base Coat

Two coats Zoya Monica

One coat Zoya Armor Top Coat

Sally Hansen Gem Crush Razzle Dazzler

One coat Gelous Advanced Gel Top Coat

One coat Seche Vite Top Coat (after 24 hours)

Diamond Studded

Today's manicure begins with a gradient of Sinful Shine My Kryptonite and Sinful Shine In The Limelight.

These are the steps I use to create a gradient. *Normally, I will paint one coat of the lightest color that the gradient will contain as a base color for the gradient polishes to grab on to (or a coat of white for a neon gradient). This time, however, I forgot to start with a base color, doh!, and just started with plain base coat.* Using the back of a metal stamping plate for a palette, I placed some Kryptonite and some In The Limelight next to each other. Taking a small piece of cosmetic wedge sponge (very lightly dampened with water and squeezed out), I dipped the sponge into both colors at once, and lightly dabbed it onto the nail keeping the lighter color toward the tips, and darker color toward the cuticle. Since I forgot the base color, the polishes didn't want to *grab*, and I had to repeat the dabbing 3 or 4 times for each nail (waiting a bit between dabs to let the polish dry) to reach desired opacity. I then added a layer of Seche Vite to smooth out the gradient.

Next, I used individual holographic glitter pieces from Sinful Colors Watch It Shine, stacked against each other to create a wavy pattern down the length of the nail.

For this step, I used the 'water marbling tool' from my Bundle Monster Nail Art Kit to fish the glitters from the bottle and place them in a stacked design. This was not as tedious as I had thought it would be, it took maybe 5 minutes to complete each hand. 

The diamond glitters have lots of pointy sharp edges, so it took 3 or 4 coats of Gelous gel top coat to smooth them out completely. When applying the Gelous, I kept it concentrated to the strip of glitter, rather than covering the entire nail with each coat. When they were fully smoothed over, I finished the manicure with a layer of Seche Vite top coat.

Below is a picture of the polish and materials used for this design, minus base and top coat.

Products Used:

One coat Beauty Secrets Moisturizing Base Coat

Gradient of Sinful Shine My Kryptonite and In The Limelight

One coat Seche Vite Top Coat

Glitter accents from Sinful Colors Watch It Shine

Four coats Gelous Advanced Gel Top Coat (Concentrated to the strip of glitter)

One coat Seche Vite Top Coat

Cookies & Cream

This manicure begins with two coats of Zoya Carey

Then, I spaced out and put a layer of Seche Vite on top....forgetting that Seche makes Zoya shrink back from the tips and sides, doh! Normally, when doing a glitter mani, I'll lay the glitter right on the color with no top coat in between. However, I did the the color last night and the glitter today...so I needed to have a top coat for overnight, and just grabbed Seche cause it's my fave! Shrinkage was minimal this time, thankfully.

Anyway...today I added the glitter, two coats of Hard Candy Sugar Rush.

I then added one layer of Gelous top coat to smooth out the glitter, and ended with a coat of Seche Vite.

This manicure reminded me of Hershey's Cookies & Cream Chocolate Bars!

Products Used:

One coat Beauty Secrets Moisturizing Base Coat

Two coats Zoya Carey

One coat Seche Vite Top Coat (Oops, Zoya doesn't mix with Seche!)

Two coats Hard Candy Sugar Rush

One coat Gelous Advanced Gel Top Coat

One coat Seche Vite (OK to use over Zoya after it dries for 24 hours, and over glitter that is over Zoya that is dry.)

LC's Black Tie

I've been loving the new Hard Candy Crystal Confetti Collection, so today I have another one to show you. This manicure begins with a base coat, two beautiful coats of Zoya LC, and one layer of Zoya Armor top coat. (Be sure to scroll past the before/after at the bottom of this post, for some bonus 'fail' footage.)

I followed that with one, very easy to apply, coat of Hard Candy Black Tie Optional. I just love all the different sizes and shapes of black and white glitter in this polish.

I then added one coat of Gelous gel top coat to smooth out the glitter, and finished with one more coat of Zoya Armor.

Products Used:

One coat Zoya Anchor Base Coat

Two coats Zoya LC

One coat Zoya Armor Top Coat

One coat Hard Candy Black Tie Optional

One coat Gelous Advanced Gel Top Coat

One coat Zoya Armor Top Coat

Bonus 'Fail' Footage

My good friend Soguesswhat11 posted a lovely manicure the other day that had a soft pink base, a metallic green wavy design all over, and red flower stamp accents. This was my attempt to recreate her design with my own twist, see her video tutorial here.

I chose two coats of Zoya Erika as my pink base color, Sinful Colors Moss Have and stamping plate Mash-50 for the vines, and Zoya LC and stamping plate Mash-28 for the flowers. 

In the end, I just didn't think it was as successful as I had hoped it would be. I love the base color, but perhaps should have chosen a darker or more vibrant green for the vines (Moss Have is the only metallic-ish green I own), and maybe a different flower stamp. It's OK, but it isn't a total win in my book. I'll have to give it another try someday!