Monthly Archives: January 2013

28 Jan

Let’s go fly a kite!

Day 6 of the Pre-Spring Challenge is “Sun” and I grabbed my youngest sister for my model and came up with this cute cloudy sky with the sun shining and a kite flying. I even threw a bunny shaped cloud and a heart shaped cloud in there too. I think it is adorable and so cheerful. It makes me want to go out and have a picnic. How about you?
 
Adorable kite
Heart cloud.

To achieve this look I used:
Bichun – A65 (sky blue)
Sinful colors – Amethyst (purple)
Oh My Golly – Sunset (orangey pink)
Klik – Mango Shake
Jocarste – White
Kiss striper brush in black
I also used two different dotting tools and a striper pain brush.

On a side note, the Bichun light blue was a NIGHTMARE to use. It is pretty but so hard to apply. It is too thick and streaky. I did the best I could with it but if you look closely you can still see some streaks. Definitely not to be worn alone!

28 Jan

Subtle Galaxy Nails

I hooked both of my younger sisters into letting me do their nails so I could catch up in the Pre-Spring Challenge. The theme for day 5 is “Sky” and I had a little bit of an extra challenge coming up with a manicure that my more… let’s call her reserved… little sister would feel comfortable wearing and was suitable for her work. I wanted to do something different but “galaxy nails” kept coming up but my sister didn’t want galaxy nails like I did a while back so I thought about a way to tone it down a bit and tried it out with some subtle colors that don’t contrast as much. I also didn’t start off with sponging white to make the colors “pop” but chose a similar color to start my nebulas. A lot of these colors are holographic or have a hint of holo so I am excited to see what they look like in the sun.

 

Aren’t they pretty? They are different but I think they are a great option for someone like my sister who needs a little more subtlety. The pictures don’t really do it justice. They have a holographic magic to them.
To get this look I used:
Bobbie – Weng Weng (black soft holo)
Sally Hansen Beyond Perfect – peaceful plum
BK Holographic polishes in 01 (silver) 09 (aqua blue) 11 (pinkish purple) and 21 (light pink)
Sinful Colors – Let me go
Jocarste – White
Jocarste – 49 Holographic glitter
I also used a sponge and a tiny dotting tool to add the white dots for stars after I finished sponging.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let me know.
26 Jan

Spun pink sugar baby!

Oh yes! I am loving this look. This is my entry for the Pre-Spring Challenge Contest. I’m still catching up! The theme of day 2 is pink and I decided to try a new-to-me technique with this manicure. I. LOVE. IT!

I first saw this “Spun Sugar” look done by Top Coat It
and used it as my inspiration.

To get my look I used:

Jocarste – white (56)
Caronia – Crystal
Oh My Golly (OMG) – First date (light pink)
Caronia – Baby pink (medium pink)
OMG – Bikini (dark pink)

I am not a fan of white by itself so added one coat of Crystal to soften it a bit but next time I do this I will skip that step because the white is really the background and with the spun sugar look I hardly notice the mild sparkle of crystal anyway.

There are several tutorials out there and although it can take a while to do, it is worth it. I started with the lightest colors and moved to darker and I didn’t really like it until I added the final color and I was hooked! Even my husband has mentioned several times how cool it looks.

I used a dotting tool to achieve this awesome textured look and it some serious elbow grease for cleanup. Ladies, when someone suggests using Vaseline to help keep mess to a minimum baby oil is NOT a substitute. Oh well, lesson learned.

I hope y’all love this as much as I do. Please leave a comment and subscribe so I know you are out there watching. 🙂

26 Jan

Seeing Green!

Here is my entry for day 3 of the Pre-Spring Challenge Contest. 

The theme is Green and I tried a saran wrap manicure for the first time using:

China Glaze – For Audrey and
Jocarste – #36 Light pink

I started with two coats of For Audrey and painted on a thickish coat of the pink and then took a wadded up piece of saran wrap and patted it on the nail while the oink was still wet. overall I like the look. Next time I try this method I will be sure to do colors that have a better contrast. Also, it is a lot easier to do a saran wrap manicure when you use tweezers to hold the wads of saran wrap.  I like it. Can you tell I love minty greens?
What do you think? Please try to ignore the mess. 🙂

25 Jan

Mango shake

I’m pulling this manicure from a few months back for a nail art challenge since I’m joining late in the game. Pre-spring Nail art Challenge

The first day’s theme is yellow, and I HATE yellow on me so I couldn’t bring myself to do another manicure. I only own one yellow at the moment so maybe in the future I will find a magic yellow that I can fall in love with. For this look I used
Klik – Mango shake
Chic – Silky White
I also used a dotting tool, white striping tape and rhinestones which I bought cheap off eBay and a straight pin for the flowers on the thumbs.

While I don’t really love this look it was my very first skittle manicure and I was trying to think outside the box and go out of my comfort zone. 🙂 [Update: My good friend Jemma recreated this mani in a beautiful sea foam green.]

Mango Shake Skittle Mani

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