Summer Gradient with Nail Pattern Boldness

Howdy, everyone!  I hope you've all had a nice holiday here in the States.  I have a quick, fun manicure for you today.  I actually got this idea from The Polished Perfectionist so I can't say it's original, but I liked the look so much, I knew I had to give it a try! 

I'm loving how this turned out!  I used Sinful Colors in Innocent and Why Not for the gradient and then topped it with Flipping Out Hard by Nail Pattern Boldness.

FOH is a glitter bomb packed with tiny blue, green, and yellow neon matte glitters.  I bought it because I think it looks quite a bit like Floam, which is a total lemming of mine.  When I got the bottle from NPB, I was stumped at how to use it.  I did try to build it up on its own, but didn't have as much success with it as I'd hoped so when I saw The Polished Perfectionist's post, I knew FOH was just perfect for this look!

What do you guys think? 

Thanks so much for reading!

Neon Chevron Skittles Manicure

Howdy, everyone!  How's your weekend?  I know it's just about over for everyone, but Sunday evenings are usually about the only "weekend" I get anymore.  My work day is shorter than the rest of the week and I don't have to work in the morning.  Woohoo!  

I have a fun experiment for you guys today.  I say "experiment" because I really didn't know how it would turn out.  As it turns out, some good things happened and some not so good things happened.  I do love a good learning experience!  So, I'll quit jawing on about it and just show you the photos :)

....more after the jump....

12 of 31: Striped Nails

Howdy!  Just a quick post today for the Challenge, stripes!

You can see I've got some wear on these already, the polishes I used are from a set I bought at Marshall's called Simply Sweet.  I know nothing about the brand, but I've worn it a couple of times and always get a lot of chipping really quickly.  Oh well.

 I started with 2 coats of Mac Vestral White for undies and then painted each nail a different color.  After that dried, I taped off some stripes and painted over it with Wet 'n' Wild's Wild Shine in Black Creme.  Super simple but I got more compliments on this manicure today than I've gotten in awhile, so it must pack a visual punch!

It's on to animal prints for tomorrow's Challenge, thanks so much for reading!

Electric Slide

Howdy, everyone!  Do I have an eye-catcher for you today!  This manicure is so bright, you might want to whip out your sunglasses!

Say hello to Nina Ultra Pro in Electric Slide!  A very neon green packed with tons of gold and holographic glitter, this one is sure to grab the attention of everyone around.  It's a new one from Nina and you can also see that they have new bottles as well.  I like the change, the shape of the bottle is nice and the brush is easier to hold on to than the old style. 

Here I've used two coats of MAC Vestral White as undies and then I believe it was 4(!) coats of Electric Slide.  That's my one complaint about this polish, it's very, very sheer and you have to use quite a lot to build up the color.  Par for the course for a neon, but this one will take some patience.  After Electric Slide, I applied a coat of Seche Vite and got out my trusty craft scissors.  I used to scalloped edge scissors to cut some scotch tape and then used the tape as a guide for french tips.  I used MAC Black Enough!, a black matte polish, for the tips.  I love the look of this manicure, it's very bold and bright....even in the shade, as seen below.

Nina Ultra Pro polishes sell at Sally Beauty Supply for around $4.

Thanks for reading!

Sun Worshiper Glitter Sandwich

Howdy, everyone!  It's been a bit of a crazy day today.  I just found out the apartment upstairs got broken into and robbed, or burgled, or whatever they call it.  Always a little scary when crime hits so close to home.  Fortunately, no one got hurt physically, although I know the emotional trauma is just as bad.  It seems like it might have been more of a domestic thing, and maybe my neighbor knows who did it, but I'll be double-checking my door locks extra carefully now!

On to happier topics, my manicure!  I must warn you, this polish is a neon and it truly lives up to the name.  So you may want to don your sunglasses before you check out the pics!

Behold, China Glaze Sun Worshiper!  A very, very bright orange neon...this one will knock your socks right off!  As I was perusing my polish collection earlier today, I knew I wanted to try something sunny and Sun Worshiper definitely fit the bill.  After I put the first 2 coats on my nails, it occurred to me that the finish on a neon polish was pretty similar to a jelly, which got me thinking that I could probably do a glitter sandwich with a neon and it would look pretty much like a jelly sandwich.  And, you know what? I was right!  I actually used 3 coats of Sun Worshiper and then applied a thin coat of Julep's Oscar, a small gold glitter in a clear base, followed by a dab of Milani's Jewel FX 531 Gold, a larger hexagonal glitter in a clear base.  Then I swiped another coat of Sun Worshiper over the top and sealed with Seche Vite.

This manicure in the sunlight is so bright, it makes my eyes hurt.  My poor camera just can't capture the tear-inducing shade of polish, but it's done the best it can.  

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed my post!

Not-so-Mellow Yellow

Hello everyone!  It's a big day for me, this is the first day that I've cleared nearly over 100 views in a single day!  I'm not sure what happened, but I'll take it :)  It was a nice surprise to come home to after a busy day at work. 

I hit up Walgreen's yesterday for a few new Wet 'n' Wild Fast Dry polishes (sale buy 2 get one free).  At first, I was just going to swatch them and be done, but the first one I tried was so colorful, I had to bling it out a bit.  See below:

This is The Wonder Yellows. Wet 'n' Wild does this cute thing where they've named this line after TV shows; The Wonder Yellows=The Wonder Years, Sage in the City=Sex in the City, etc.  The Wonder Yellows is a bright yellow shimmer, verging on neon.  I started with two coats of MAC Vestral White as undies for this yellow, although I feel like it would look pretty, if not as bright, over bare nails.  Three coats of The Wonder Yellows topped off with Seche Vite and some fun little Dollar Tree gems goes a long way toward a sunny, summer manicure!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed the post!

China Glaze-Ride the Waves

Hello and happy Friday!  It would have been a happier Friday if I was at the park watching a movie with my friends as I planned to be.  However, the CTA decided that was not to be.  I waited for a half an hour for the bus, checking on it via text for that whole time, only to learn it wasn't coming.  I still could have made it to the park, but by then, I was in a horrible mood and was all hot and sweaty.  All I could think of was my couch, so I just headed home.  Not an auspicious start to the weekend at all.  Hopefully, tomorrow will be more cooperative.

In any case, I hit Sally's yesterday and picked up a few new polishes and I have one to show you!

 

This is China Glaze Ride the Waves from their Summer Neon Collection.  It. Is. Gorgeous.  End of story!  From the top is an indoor shot, a shot in the shade and a shot in the sun.  Looks pretty good from every angle, yes?  I have to admit when I started applying this, I was a little disappointed because it's pretty dark, almost navy, when wet.  It didn't look anything like what I'd hoped it would until it dried and I got a top coat on it.  Then it was love!  The formula was nice and applied easily.  It's kind of a like a jelly, but not exactly.  I'm wearing 3 thin coats here...you can kind of see the nail line if you look closely, but not enough to bother me. 

 And, because I couldn't possibly leave the house with just a single color of polish on my nails, I had to bling it up a bit.

I used the flowers from Cina's Midsummer Dream nail art kit and the glittery flower shapes from their Champagne Toast kit.  It's a nice touch for a summer manicure and the yellow and orange colors over the blue makes a nice contrast. 

So, I'm determined to have a better evening than how it started out.  I think I'll chill out on the couch and watch Say Yes to the Dress.  I love that show even though I have no real desire to get married myself :)  Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you all have fantastic Friday nights!