Stamped Accent

Happppy Hump Day!

I did this mani last week I think, and ended up convincing myself that I needed some actual stamping polish because I was having a hard time achieving what I was picturing in my head in terms of stamping.  Every nail that I stamped had a different stamp colour because I was trying to find one that made me happy, ha.

I started off with OPI - Dutch Ya Just Love OPI? and left it plain because I ADORE this purple polish.  I just wish the copper shimmer would better translate onto the nail.  

For the accent nails I started off with Essense Grey-t To Be Here. This polish is gorgeous, a soft grey with TONS of pink shimmer throughout.  Stunning, really.  Then I sponged Essence Oh My Glitter on the tips, which is a soft lilac with the same pink shimmer throughout as Grey-t to be Here.

 

I used Sally Hansen Insta Dri Grape Escape from the Fall 2011 Collection, to stamp the image (from the new BM set) on my ring finger.  This was the polish I was most pleased with to stamp, but I think that's true for most Insta Dri polishes.  

Gradient Dots

Hi lovelies!

I hope everyone is having a great weekend so far :) Here's a quick post showing probably my favourite manicure in the last little while.. I love doticures, they give such a cool look but they're incredible easy to do.

For this look I started with a base of OPI Planks A lot with an accent of OPI Steady as She Rose.

Taking my dotting tools I added dots in OPI DS Extravagance, OPI Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh? and then Planks A Lot on the accent finger and Steady as she Rose on all over nails.

 

I really like how this turned out, and now it kind of looks like a gradient effect.  I even rocked this mani for longer than my usual two days!

What are your thoughts on doticures?  Yay or nay?

Bombshell Gradient

Hi lovelies!

Happy Hump day!

I apologize in advance for the quality of these pictures.  I did these nails before heading out to my in laws camper for the weekend and had to take the photos there.  I was surrounded by three little girls and well.. these aren't my best photos!

 

  

 

I started off with a base of GOSH Deep Purple which is a beautiful blackened purple creme.  I then added a thin coat of Finger Paints Twisted 3/4 of the way down the nail, then sponged the tips with Orly Bubbly Bombshell to create the gradient.   I loved the look of the flakies and glitter on the dark base.  My accent nails have none other than three thin coats of Bubbly Bombshell.  Such a gorgeous glitter! 

What do you all think of accent nails?  I started doing accents maybe 4 or 5 years ago and I can't seem to stop :)

First Julep Polishes

Hi all!

I've decided to bite the bullet and hop on the Julep train recently.  I joined up using someone's code and therefore got my first box for a penny!

I ended up getting the American Beauty style profile box, and these are the two gorgeous colours I received.

Julep Eva, a gorgeous berry pink polish, and Renee a soft lilac.

Both polishes applied like a dream, and reached full opacity at just one coat, but I used two for good measure.  I finished off with a cute little rhinestone on my accent finger.

I really enjoy the idea of being a Julep maven.  Each box costs $20USD, and they are sent monthly but you always have the option to skip a month if you're not feeling the polishes.  Each box will always be worth more than what you actually paid for it.  In my first box I received two polishes at $14 each, plus the Best Pedi Cream Ever! which retails for $22.

   If you're interested in trying it out click here and sign up for your first Julep Maven box!  (Plus if you join and refer two friends with a special link like I'm doing now, you get a free box, win win!)

Chrome and Neon Chevrons

Hi all!

I've been loving the new Essie chrome polishes.  Yes, the formula is SUPER tricky to work with, and it's not very forgiving of any type of flaws on the nail but.. I love them!

I started with a base of Essie Good as Gold, then using tape created the double chevron in OPI - Black Onyx and China Glaze - Flip Flop Fantasy.  Such a fun look!

 

And because my little boy Swift always gets in the way of my picture taking I figure I'd add a little cuteness to this post ;)

Thanks for looking, hope you all have a great weekend!

Chrome Funky French

Hi all!

Sorry for my absence once again.. we've hardly been home due to the weather being so nice :)

Here's a quick post of a mani I did last week while playing around with Essie's mirror metallic polishes.  It's not a typical mani for me, I tend to lean more for the colourful manis but I must say I really loved this, it just felt like a classic mani with a bit of a twist :)

 

I started off with a sheer pink base of Essie - Sugar Daddy, then once that was dry I used tape and painted on the diagonal tips using Essie's Blue Rhapsody.

 

Then I added another strip of tape and added Essie's No Place Like Chrome to finish it off.  

I loved this look, it just felt super feminine :)  What do you think of the funky french nails?

EXPRessie, please vote for my mani!

Hi all!

So.. this is one of those posts where I ask my amazing readers to go vote for me in a contest on the Essie Canada facebook page.  I had to enter a mani using the new Essie chrome polishes, or a mani inspired by them, and 30 lucky winners with the most facebook votes will get 5 of the new Fall collection polishes.

This is the mani I entered:

 

I used Essie's Nothing Else Metals as the base for this polish.  The chrome polishes are BEAUTIFUL but they really are a pain to apply, and they show every single imperfection on the nails.  I'm willing to put up with that though!

 

Then using tape, Gosh - Deep Purple and OPI - Kiss me on the Tulips I sponged the gradient triangle across my nail :)

 

What do you all think, is it worthy of enough votes to win five of the new Essie polishes?  If you think so, would you kindly click here, find this manicure and vote for mine in particular?  I would really appreciate it :D 

Thanks so much for looking!

A couple of awards

Tu Blog Me Inspira and Por Tu Naturalidad Awards

I was awarded both the "Tu Blog Me Inspira" and "Por Tu Naturalidad" blog awards by Chrissy over at ChrissyAi (check out her blog, it's so cute!).  Thanks Chrissy!


Tu Blog Me Inspira

The rules for this award are:
1. Post who gave you the award and link to it.
2. Tell 5 strange things about you (a little tag).
3. Give the award to 5 other blogs.
Of course, you have to post the image, which is the award itself.



5 more or less strange things about me:

01.  I broke my nose on my cousin's head in the middle of a lake once.. we fell off a tube and smack!  broken nose.
02.  I'm 27 and have only taken 8 months off of school, ever.
03.  I still have a baby tooth.
04.  I've never really left Canada save for a few trips to the state of NY
05.  I've never read Twilight or watched any of the movies :P

Por Tu Naturalidad



The rules for this award:
1. Post the award photo on your blog
2. Link back to the person who nominated you for this award
3. Nominate 10 bloggers
4. Tell me what makes you hooked on following a blog





I get hooked on blogs if there are nice photos (not necessarily professional looking but easy to look at photos), if the blog posts aren't terribly long (not too much writing unless it's a review of sorts), colours that don't hurt my eyes, and when bloggers interact with their readers - (something I'm working on). 

Liebster Blog Award

I was also awarded the Liebster Blog Award by Chrissy :)

 

"The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. What is a Liebster? The meaning: Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome."

The Rules:
1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
2. Answer the questions that the person who tagged you created and then make 11 questions of your own for the people you tag.
3. Choose 11 people and link them in your post.
4. Go to their page and tell them.
5. No tag backs!



I'm cheating a little bit and not posting 11 things since I just posted 5 up there ^^ :)  And I feel like everyone has been tagged so I'll just say tag yourself and answer the questions below ;)


1. Where were you born? Do you live in the same area now?





I was born in a little town in northern Ontario... I moved away in 2004 to Nova Scotia and still live here now.  My parents still live at home though :)

2. What inspired you to start blogging?

I just wanted a place to share all of my nail photos.


3. What is your most prized possession?
Probably my degree.. I nearly flunked out of high school but managed to get straight A's in University.. I'm quite proud of my accomplishment AND am close to getting a second degree.

4. How often do you paint your nails?
Every 2 or 3 days.. I work in a lab, my nails chip a lot.

5. How many siblings do you have?
One brother and one sister, both older than me by 10 and 12 years.

6. What kind of phone do you use?
HTC Incredible S

7. What social networking sites do you use?
Facebook and Blogger.

8. What is the one place you've always wanted to travel?
EVERYWHERE!  Italy, Greece, Thailand, South Africa, Australia... everywhere.

9. If you could only use one brand of makeup, what brand would it be?
I'm really not partial to any one brand, and I don't like to spend much money on makeup, so likely just a drugstore brand :)

10. What is your favorite TV show?

There are several :/  For sitcoms there's New Girl, Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, for other shows:  Dexter, Bones, True Blood (except this season is really annoying me) and Burn Notice.. eep.  I really don't spend that much time in front of the tv, I promise.

11. Who is most important in your life and why?
Every single member of my family, my best friend and my darling boy.  Why?  Because they're always there, no matter what. 

Thanks Chrissy!

Nautical Nails

Happy Humpday!

These are nails I've been wanting to try out for a while now, seeing as my darling fiancé (I don't know if I'll ever get used to saying that) is a sailor for the Canadian Navy.  He's currently at sea for the week, so before his ship left the harbour I sent him a picture of my nails with a cute little note :P

 

I kept these simple enough, but a quick google search will yield amazing nautical nails that are floating around the blogosphere! 

 I started with a base of GOSH - Silver, then using small strips of tape I added a coat of Essie - Bobbing for Baubles on top of the silver to create the navy stripes.

 

For the accent I just used one coat of Bobbing for Baubles (such an amazing, opaque, navy creme polish with an equally amazing formula!), and using a striping brush I drew on the anchor using the silver polish.

 

 

And to add a little cute touch, I used a medium sized dotting tool and China Glaze's Hey Sailor and added the little red hearts on the tip of my nails! 

 

Gosh - Silver

Essie - Bobbing for Baubles

China Glaze - Hey Sailor

Have you tried nautical nails?  Leave a link in the comment so I can check them out :)