Plenty of Purple

Have I ever mentioned how much I am drawn to purple?  I simply love the versatility of it.  My nail polish collection is drowning in pink and purple!  How is it that there are so many different shades?  I have combined a bunch of purples for this mani!

I'm not even sure why I turned to purple for this look.  I guess I just wanted to show it some love.  You know I love a gradient look too!  Had I not been circling the nail art forums so many years ago, I wouldn't have known the beauty.  I love this community so much and everything it teaches me.  :)

I started with my usual base coat to protect my nails and then started with 2 coats of In A Lily Bit.  Once that was completely dry, I started the gradient.  I use a make-up sponge for my technique.  I put a stripe of each color on the sponge and lightly add it to each nail.  Once each layer is dry, I go back over it until I am happy with the color.

I can't even begin to express how much I love Winterberry!  It has the deepest color with such a hint of shimmer.  A lot of people like to do gradients with only 2 colors, which are absolutely stunning.  I, somehow, typically gravitate towards three colors.  For my accent nail, I applied 2 coats of Stevie to my ring finger.  In my opinion, Zoya makes the best textured polishes.  They can be worn with a top coat (which is my preference).

Once the polish is dry, I put a layer of Seche Vite on to even out the color and to prepare for stamping.  I used BM-711 for this image.  I love the fine lines and MDU Copper was a perfect accent.  Another layer of Seche Vite finished this pretty manicure off.

I also, for the first time ever, stamped my big toe while I did a matching pedicure.  It is the first time I have been able to bend that far over since having 2 major back surgeries two years ago.  That was fun!  Not to fret, I won't ever post a picture of my feet on here.  Thanks for stopping by!

Cranberries In The Sand

I wanted to do something with a neutral color and red.  That is all I had to work with for this design.

I ended up with cranberries lounging on the beach.  LOL  That is all I can think of when looking at this.

Wocka Wocka! is just divine!  The color is irresistible and it paired wonderfully with On Taupe of the World.  I used a make-up sponge to apply these two colors over a base of the ULTA nude.  I did this on ALL of my nails then added the glitter only on the accent nail - with a make-up sponge to get the glitter spread out without the weight of the clear base.

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One thing I learned on this manicure is that Seche Vite will spread the red color!  I lost a couple of fingers on my non-swatching hand learning how to really "float" the top coat on.  Once I had that down, it was much better!

A Teal Surprise

What I have to show you today was such a pleasant surprise!  I didn't have too much direction for a theme this time around but I had seen some amazing blue manis so that is what I used for my inspiration.  So, I went to my untried blue swatch sticks and randomly picked one as a base.  From there I thought: "oooohhhh a semi-nautical stamping theme would be good".  So, I then grabbed a dark blue that I thought would go well and a glitter for the accent nail.  This literally took me 30 seconds to make the decision on these polishes!  I love it when a plan just starts to unfold!

• Sinful Colors Love Nails
• OPI Gone Gonzo!
• American Apparel Passport Blue

I used a black base for this manicure (new for me).  I started with my usual base coat followed by 1 coat of Wet n Wild Ebony Hates Chris.  Then I added 2 coats of Love Nails.  This is where I was so pleasantly surprised!  My swatch stick shows this as a somewhat sheer BLUE!  When I put my swatch stick down on my photo tent background, I really liked how the blue "popped", so that is why I used a black base.  I just wasn't expecting to get a teal color rather than a blue tone.  

On to the stamping: I was really timid about how it would turn out because of the color swap but I went for it!  OMG!  I love how it turned out!  I used MoYou Sailor Collection - 03 for all of my nails in the Passport Blue.

I used 2 coats of Gone Gonzo! as my glitter accent nail.  Everything has a layer of Seche Vite for added shine and seal.  I'm super pleased with this one!

January Tri-Polish Tuesday #4

It's the last Tuesday in January already!  I have loved this challenge so far!  I loved my colors for this one, that I kept them even though we didn't have to.

• OPI Animal-istic
• Pure Ice Twinkle
• Orly Melodious Utopia

I also did my very first stamp nail decal with this manicure.  I can't even tell you how proud of myself I am on how well this turned out!  Not too shabby for my first go!  It seems like I am not the only one who is giving it a try right now - it is hot in the community.  :)

I am in love with this red polish!  I started with a base coat and then painted each nail with 3 coats of the respective polish.  The white is Milani White and then there is the decal..

I used MoYou Princess 08, stamped with American Apparel Hassid, and then colored in the wings with both the red and orange colors.

What a great end to the January TPT!

January Tri-Polish Tuesday #3

I can't even believe we are 3 weeks into 2014 already!  So, it is back to Tri-Polish Tuesdays...  I used the same polishes as last time, only a little differently.

• OPI Animal-istic
• Pure Ice Twinkle
• Orly Melodious Utopia

These colors are so great together that I wanted to do a gradient...I love gradients!

I started with my usual undie polish (Milani white) then added 2 coats of the Orly.  Once that was dry, I sponged on my gradient using all three polishes.

I added a layer of Seche Vite to seal it all in and added my stamp to my ring finger and thumb.  I used GA15 for this look and I used American Apparel Hassid.

One last layer of Seche Vite and it is finished!  This is so tropical and beautiful.  I am going to stick with these polishes for the last Tuesday too...I just love them together!

January Tri-Polish Tuesday #2 (Inspired by a tutorial)

It's Tuesday!  I am so behind in getting this post written.  My wonderful husband decided to try and find some game cheat on my computer and now it is full of spamware and adware that I have to try and remove.  Gotta love him!  Anyway, I chose new polishes for this look as the textured polishes I used last time were more of a "one-time" deal.  :)

• OPI Animal-istic
• Pure Ice Twinkle
• Orly Melodious Utopia

I started with one coat of my usual Milani White as an undie polish.  I then just started dabbing the colors on each nail randomly.  I used the Nimbus technique from The Nailasaurus for this one.  I have done this type before and I love the simplicity of it and that each nail looks different.  You can do so many different looks with this technique - it has quickly become one of my favorites!

Using a cotton swab, I just kept going until I was satisfied with the saturation.  This manicure reminds me of a notebook I once had in school - it is just light and fun.  Please pardon the nasty break on my middle nail!  I debated about cutting it before pictures but decided against it.  It is cut off now though.  :(

You can see the tutorial by clicking on her photo.

2013 Favorite Color Challenge #2

My 2nd mani for this challenge is also my 2nd attempt at this technique.  A Jelly Stampwich is such a cool concept and I so want to be able to do it.  Katee at A Girl And Her Polish does a phenomenal job at them!  I got my inspiration for this look here.

What I used:

• Zoya Paloma
• OPI Designer...De Better!
• Milani White on the Spot
• Milani Black Swift

I started with one coat of Zoya Paloma, then stamped RA-113 alternating fingers with the black and white. On top of the stamping, I followed up with 2 more coats of Zoya followed by a coat of my trusty Seche Vite.

I used the OPI on my thumb as an accent nail.  It is a really pretty gold with pink shimmer in it.

I have to say that these polishes typically stamp really well.  I struggled with the plate.  I haven't been overly fond of my Red Angel plates.  I am not sure if I got a bad batch of them or if it is user error, but this one was a bit of a challenge.

Overall, I really like how it came out.  I wish the stamping had been a bit more defined...

I will definitely be trying this technique again.  I love the subtlety of it!

October Tri-Polish Challenge #2

This is my final entry in the October Tri-Polish Challenge as I just didn't have time to complete this one.  That along with the fact that I like this mani so much that I am not taking it off before November.

• China Glaze Glitter Goblin
• Sinful Colors Black On Black
• OPI Call My Cell-ery
• OPI Goin' Ape-ricot!

I started with a 1 coat of Sinful Colors Black On Black on all of my nails except the ring finger.  On that one, I actually left what was there alone (glitter is HARD to remove!) - 3 coats of China Glaze Glitter Goblin.  I even have a coat of Elmer's Glue under there and that stuff is not budging.  Not even a little chip and I have worn it for almost a week now.

I put one coat of Seche Vite on top of the black.  Once that was dry, I started with the taping.  I used 3 strips of striping tape on each nail.  That is tedious work!  I have such difficulty getting the tape exactly where I want it every time.  It is worth it in the end though!

I used 3 coats of each OPI polish over the tape.  I then slowly removed each piece of tape to reveal the black undercoat.  I sealed it all up with another coat of Seche Vite.  I love how it turned out.  It is really amazing what a different base color can do to these types of polishes!

This is perfect for Halloween!

October Tri-Polish Challenge #1

It is time to get back to Crumpet's Nail Tarts Tri-Polish Challenge.  This one is hard for me.  I struggled with what polishes to use.  I went with some sheers because I really wanted to try the Jelly Stampwich introduced to me by A Girl And Her Polish.

Here is what I chose:

• Yellow: Ulta Not From Concentrate
• Green: OPI Call My Cell-ery
• Orange: OPI Goin' Ape-ricot!
• Glitter Accent: China Glaze Glitter Goblin

This needed a lot of coats to build up the color as the polishes are all very sheer.  I used 3 coats of green on my pinkie and 2 coats for the orange and yellow polishes.  The glitter is 3 coats and a layer of Seche Vite.  Once all of the nails were dry with a layer of Seche Vite, I went to a stampin'. I used American Apparel Hassid with BM-305 and BM-314 for this devilish theme.  I tried inverting an image in this mani as well!  The devil tails on my pinkie are from one image but one is reversed.  It was really easy to do but you have to be fast!

Once The stamp was applied, I went over it with one coat of the same polish for the "stampwich".  I was disappointed that my black smeared!  But, I finished them all off with another coat of Seche Vite and went on with my day.  I am in love with that glitter accent nail!  The shimmer on it is amazing in the daylight and it is perfect for fall!

Be sure to see the other beautiful mani's in this challenge:

Halloween Nails - Orange Dotticure

I saw this on Pinterest and figured it was something I could recreate fairly easily.  I am in love with how it came out.  Sometimes I really do surprise myself!  This didn't even take me too long to do.  I am always in a rush on Sunday nights trying to get prepared for Monday mornings and it always goes by super fast.  I managed to squeeze this in though.

Here is what I used:

• Pure Ice Superstar! (undie & dots)
• Pure Ice Black Out (accent nail & dots)
• Orly Right Amount of Evil (accent glitter nails)
• Sinful Colors Unicorn (yellow dots)
• OPI Osaka-To-Me Orange (orange base)

This mani is so fun and is just right for October!  The dots on one side of the nail turned out so cute (in my opinion)!

As I used a white undie, I needed 3 coats of OPI to be completely opaque.  I am still trying to figure out my photography skills!  I have a light box but can't seem to get my big 'ol camera on a tripod in there.  I love my camera but it is a beast!  I am not fond of my iPhone for pictures either.  Oh well, you get the gist of what is happening here and it does capture true color pretty well.

Happy Halloween!!!  I just love how festive this is!

Take a look at the other Halloween mani's in the Nail Challenge Collaborative: