March Tri-Polish Challenge #4

It is the final manicure with this tri-polish combo.  I wanted something simple and clean this time.  Something that was appropriate for Easter.  Here is what I ended up with:

The white base is Sally Hansen Ivory Skull.  This is my favorite white right now with pretty good coverage in two coats.  It is really easy to apply and cleans up well.  I used BM-315 to stamp my nails.  I used all three of my tri-polish colors on the plate in various patterns.

China Glaze Avalanche, Pure Ice Honey Do, Pure Ice First Time

Enjoy the holiday - if you celebrate it.  :)

Take a look at the other lovely manicures for the last challenge in March:

March Tri-Polish Challenge #3

It is time for look #3 in the March Tri-Polish Challenge.  This challenge is so awesome in that it really stretches my creativity!  I actually tried 2 other designs before getting to this one.  I absolutely love what I ended up with!

Here are the star polishes for this challenge:  China Glaze Avalanche; Pure Ice Honey Do; Pure Ice First Time

Like I said, I had tried a couple of things before I got here.  I ended up going with my trusty gradient skills to use all three colors again.  I used an "undie" for this look too - American Apparel Cotton -1 coat.  I played with a couple of stamps and ended up using Mash 39.  I used American Apparel Hassid to stamp with.  What a beautiful black to work with!

As I was working on this look, I was watching something on TLC and a commercial came on for My Crazy Obsession and there was this guy who is all about mermaids!  Yeah.  So, this is is my mermaid look!

One more photo.  I hope you like this as much as I do.

Take a look at the other lovely challenge manicures!

March Madness (Haul)

OK.  What I am about to show you is addiction at its worst...  Now, this isn't a ton of polish but it is a lot to accumulate in less than a month.  I went on a "no-buy" in January and I did well (other than 2 OPI polishes I got for $1 each).  February was pretty good too.  I definitely showed some restraint.  I avoided stores that I know would be problematic for my "addiction".  March is a whole other story.  This is what I have added to my collection this month:

Here is how it started: I was at work one day and I just had this overwhelming desire to SHOP!  I fought it as best as I could BUT it was the day Ulta had butter LONDON's on sale for $9 each!  Come on!  How could I not go?  That experience was harsh, BTW.  I love every color by butter LONDON!  I had about $180 dollars worth in my bag that day.  I just couldn't spend that kind of money and not get a lot for it.  I know that butter LONDON is a really coveted brand but my pocketbook just can't get behind it.  So, I put back all but 4 butter LONDON polishes (that was painstaking).

Then I went by the Ulta brand polishes.  I didn't have any of those in my collection yet.  I checked them out and they looked pretty decent!  Those were on sale for 2/$4 when regularly $6 each!  DEAL!   With that I went for the Ulta's.  I walked out of there with a stellar deal!  Then I kept thinking about that sale...and proceeded to buy the entire collection.

As if this wasn't enough!  I found the entire Avant Garden collection by China Glaze on eBay for a decent amount of money.  I absolutely adore this collection so, of course, I had to take advantage of the deal...

I also took advantage of the clearance sale at Sally Beauty Supply.  I had a coupon to use too so I got a few other things in addition to polish, but those aren't shown here.  :P

OK, now on to the really bad but totally awesome purchase...  I had to go to the mall today.  I usually avoid that place like the plague, but at work today my underwire snapped in my bra.  My favorite bra.  It turns out that Cacique was having a flash sale today and I could get a replacement for under $20!  But, the sale started at 5pm and I had time to kill.  So, I went to my hidden polish gem store (you wouldn't think they had polish in this store - but they do and they have a LOT at good prices) to see what was on clearance.  I stumbled upon both the 2012 & 2013 holographic polishes by Color Club.  They weren't on clearance but I knew it was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me so I snagged them.  ALL OF THEM!  Check it out:

With this purchase, I got 4 OPI Shatter polishes for free.

I have to be done now...oh, wait!  I have 3 more butter LONDON's on their way to my door.  There was an awesome deal on GMA this week for 3 pre-selected shades, so I got those too.  I think I am done now for a while.  That is, unless a really good deal comes my way...

March Tri-Polish Challenge #2

Ah, we are on look #2 in the March Tri-Polish Challenge!  I spent all kinds of time going through my stamp plates to pick out something awesome.  I had about 10 contenders and have sampled them.  I knew exactly what I wanted to do!  How exciting!  You know what I ended up with?  NOT THAT!

Here are my polishes for the March challenge:

• purple = China Glaze Avalanche
• coral = Pure Ice Honey Do
• green = Pure Ice First Time

Sometimes you just have to go with what makes you happy.  That is what I did for this one.  I LOVE to do a gradient!  I started with 2 coats of Milani White, then a thin layer of Seche Vite.  I use a make up wedge for my gradients.  I apply the polish directly onto the sponge and dab it on my fingers.  Here is a picture of the sponge:

I used the coral and purple only for this manicure.  I applied 3 coats of the gradient and followed it up with Seche Vite to seal it in.  Here is what it looks like:

I loved this look so much that I didn't want to go any further.  Plus, I can build on it later if I want to.  YAY!

Check out the other lovely manicures for challenge #2!

March Tri-Polish Challenge #1

This challenge is so interesting!  So, we pick 3 colors from designated shades (coral, purple, green) to use throughout the challenge.  I enlisted my spouse to help me pick colors.  He pondered over my swatch wheels and picked 3 of each color family then we narrowed it down together.

Here is what we chose:

• purple = China Glaze Avalanche
• coral = Pure Ice Honey Do
• green = Pure Ice First Time

I struggle with coming up with designs.  I am just not that creative.  I was in a rush to do the manicure last night since I didn't get home from work until after 8pm and I am getting up at 5am these days to get on the elliptical.  So, I knew there wouldn't be enough time to do the manicure and the post.  I went with a dotticure to use all 3 colors in my first mani - knocked that off the list!

I used 2 coats of Milani White as an "undie" for this manicure.

These colors are super cute!  We picked all shimmers that may or may not be conflicting with each other.  Now to think of something to do for tomorrow...

Look at all of the other wonderful creations!

A Little Bit of Sunshine

I am also participating as much as possible in another challenge group.  Rambles of a Polish Addict is running the Extra Laid Back 31 Day Challenge.  It is once a week rather than daily - something I might be able to keep up with. 

The theme this week is yellow.  I am craving Vitamin D.  It hasn't been too sunny here lately!  But, we had spots of it today.  If it weren't so cold outside, I would think Spring was here. 

I am not a big fan of yellow, so I wanted a more subtle look.  I got my inspiration from one of my favorite bloggers: A Girl And Her Polish.  You can see her post here. 

This is what I came up with:

I used 2 coats of Pure Ice Superstar! as an "undie" color to make the yellow pop.  The yellow is 2 coats of Revlon  Sunshine Sparkle.  I put one coat of Seche Vite on to get a barrier under the stamping.

I used plate BM316 for this look. I used Pure Ice Superstar! & Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Quick Canary. I placed the stamps in random directions to get a very artistic look.  I topped this off with another coat of Seche Vite.  I love how this came out! 

YAY!  Sunshine!  I can actually get a sunlight photo!

For a color I don't wear too much and one I have very few polishes in, this came out pretty great!  Spring starts this week and this is a good way to welcome it in.

 

Check out the other yellow mani's!



St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day.  I will admit that this "holiday" does nothing for me.  I just don't get into it.  I was always a "rebel" and refused to wear green visibly.  I just never liked being a "follower".  I would always tell my friends that my eyes were hazel and that should cover it.  LOL!  The population here in Buffalo is a lot of Irish or Polish.  I am neither.  Actually, I am not much of any nationality.  I'm a mutt, just like the dogs we had when I was growing up. 

Well, enough of that...on to the challenge!  It is the last week in the Let it Snow! challenge.  I am happy and sad about it.  I know we are moving on to another challenge next month, but these girls are amazing and I really have enjoyed being part of the group!  Here is my inspiration for this one.  Cutepolish has a tutorial on this look here.

I am super pleased with how this came out! There is so much free-hand in this, so it is good to know that my technique isn't too bad. 

I started with a base of some color "I have no idea what it is called" by Color Club.  I think it is number 1251 but I don't know a name.  *sigh*  I applied a coat of Seche Vite to expedite the drying process.  Then, I put tape on my nails diagonally across to paint the tips.  I forgot to do two things when doing this part: 1. remove most of the stickiness from the tape 2. do only 1 nail at a time!  I got some smudging but I covered most of it up with the art work.  The tips are 2 coats of Sally Hansen's Grass Slipper.  I quickly removed the tape for clean lines.  I let the polish dry thoroughly before the next step.  I used a striping brush from my Bundle Monster brush set for the accent colors.  I did the dark green lines in American Apparel Hunter.  The next part is incredibly interesting - to me.  I followed the tutorial by pulling out a white polish to do the lighter lines.  I used Milani White and as it dried, it turned yellow!  I swear the polish was dry when I did it, but it turned out yellow.  The ironic part is that I debated about using yellow for a brighter contrast...I got it anyway - so the surprise was pleasant.  :)  The diagonal line had kind of the same effect as the white.  It is a silver polish called Silver Dollar  by Revlon.  It turned gold on the green.  How awesome! 

I used some of my glequins to make the shamrocks instead of the way it is done in the tutorial.  I have so many of these things that I need to make good use of them.  They are so awesome to use!  I hope you like this one as much as I do!

P.S. the "yellow" got way brighter with time.  Now it looks like almost a neon yellow!  It looks even better.

 

Check out the other wonderful St. Patrick's Day looks!

Longing for Summer

Happy sunny Sunday!  It has been so long since the sun has shone here that it is a welcomed sight!  My dog was in heaven this afternoon lying out on the deck!  We all need the Vitamin D this time of year.  Anyway, on to the nail stuff.  This week it is Longing for Summer for the Let it Snow! challenge.  I want to participate in another challenge at the same time and was trying to knock out two birds with one stone here.  Why exactly are we throwing stones at birds?  I digress...

 

Here is my manicure for this week:

 

 

 

Since I wanted to incorporate orange into the color scheme I went with a gradient.  I do love my gradients!  LOL!  I started with 2 coats of Milani White followed by 3 coats of a gradient.  I use a make-up sponge to apply the gradient and I apply the polish directly on to the sponge.

• For the orange gradient: Sally Hansen Sorbet & China Glaze Peachy Keen.  I topped these nails off with 1 thin coat of Kleancolor Orange Holo.
• For the accent nail: yellow = Orly Melodious Utopia & pink = Orly Elation Generation.

Followed by 1 coat of Seche Vite and this one is done.  The gradient was much more defined before I put the Orange Holo on top, but you can still see some of it.  I suppose I should mention that I filed my nails way down this week.  I typically don't like them to be too long since I type all day at work and I annoy myself with the sound of my claws hitting the keyboard.  BUT, my nails were growing in so nicely that I let them go a bit too far.  As a result, I had a couple of breakages this week which helped force my hand on the filing.  I have to say that just typing this up on my laptop has been quite a relief!  Way fewer typos - LOL!



 

 

 

Please look at the other lovelies who did a Longing for Summer manicure this week. 

Winter Blues

Winter Blues is the theme for this week in the Let it Snow! challenge.  There were lots of options for this manicure.  I got my inspiration at work.  There is a box of tissues sitting there that I see everyday.  This is what inspired my look this week:

 

 I didn't want to do a gradient and I have been wanting to try the fan brush technique.  So, I went to Michaels and picked up a couple of fan brushes for around $3.00.  This technique is amazingly simple and you have quite a bit of control over your design.  I used several colors in mine and I really like the wintry feel of a snowy Buffalo.

 



 Here is what I used for this manicure:

• 2 coats of Sally Hansen Ivory Skull as a base
• 1 coat of Seche Vite
• "fanned" colors:
• Sinful Colors Aquamarine
• Sally Hansen Air
• Sally Hansen Himalayan Blue
• Sally Hansen Thinking of Blue
• 1 coat of Seche Vite to seal it all in.

 I had a major catastrophe 2 weeks ago when I snapped the goose neck to my OttLite.  I was devastated!  This is why my photos show more of a yellow light rather than a white light.  I am lucky that my hubby was able to ghetto-fy it to being in a semi-working status.  Hopefully it will be able to work for my light box.  :)

 

 



I really like it!  I hope you do too. 

 

Check out the other lovely entries!