Essie Skirting the Issue

Hi loves!

If you remember a while back I had posted this mani and asked the lot of you to kindly head to the Essie Canada's facebook page and vote for me.  Out of the 50 manis with the most vote, 30 lucky ladies would win the entire Stylenomics collection from Essie. 

Well, thanks to all of you lovelies, I was chosen as one of the winners and was sent a prize of 6 bottles of polish!

 

Here's the first manicure I did with Essie's Skirting the Issue, a beautiful wine colour jelly polish.   I have to admit, I absolutely adore red nails.  They look so classic and elegant to me, and lately I've been craving red polishes.  This arrived at just the right time and I couldn't wait to use it.

 

I started with two coats of Skirting the Issue, then I added one coat of OPI Pirouette my Whistle, and topped that off with a thin but even coat of Skirting the Issue.

I had a really, really hard time taking photos of this without the glare.  If I wasn't out in natural light, the photos wouldn't reflect the gorgeous glitter so.. I settled for these.  And the pictures still don't do show just how sparkly and glossy this manicure was!

Have a great weekend guys, and thanks for reading!

xo

OPI Ink Suede

Hi loves!

I hope everyone's Monday was good!  It's cold and rainy here, and has been since Thursday, boo.

I've had so many nail fails lately that I finally decided to just keep it simple and let the polish do the talking.  I've had OPI Ink Suede in my stash for a little while now but never really used it.  I'm not completely in love with the suede or matte looks but I DO really, really like this one!

 

The reason I decided to use it this time around is due to it's fast dry time.  After having an epic nail fail and having to strip my nails down, plus it getting fairly late.. I was getting pretty sick of painting my nails.  So I pulled this out, plus I had OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest sitting on the desk so used that on my accent nails.

I stamped the flowers using Essie's No Place Like Chrome and BM-318.  I added a quick drying top coat then once that was dry I mattified it using one coat of Joe Fresh Matte top coat.  I'm digging these, I've never sported matte nails before!

Have you sported a matte manicure before?  What did you think?

Thanks for reading!!

xo

Glittery Zebras

Hi lovelies!

Quick NOTD post - I have a migraine (which I never ever get so I don't know how to deal) and staring at the computer screen is making me have to squint!

I was in the mood for something a little 'over the top' last night and decided on this:

 I started with 2 flawless coats of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, stamped the zebra pattern using BM-223 and Konad Black special polish.  Once that dried I used scotch tape and added two coats of NOPI - Kendall on the Katwalk.  I love this glitter - it's very "me" :)

 

 

Then to finish off and to add a little bit more bling I added a silver glitter strip using one of the Milani striping polishes :)

What do you all think - over the top or just right?

Thanks for reading!

OPI Germany Marble Mani

Hi all!

Sorry for my short absence, I was enjoying the last weekend of summer at my in laws camp which is always a nice break from anything technological :P

Quick post today - I apologize in advance for the crap photos, I couldn't get a decent picture of this mani. 

This was super simple.  I started off with each nail painted differently, then using cling wrap I dabbed on every other colour onto the base.  So each nail has the remaining three polishes 'sponged' on top of the base.  It gives a really cool marbled effect when you use shimmer polishes like these!

Index:  Deutsch You Want me Baby?
Middle: Every Month is Oktoberfest
Ring: Suzy and the 7 Dusseldorfs
Pinky: Unfor-Greta-Bly Blue

Love the marbled look?  Have you tried a saran/cling wrap manicure yet?  Thanks for looking!

Jewel Toned

Hey lovelies!

I don't know what to call these nails, but I loved them!  Actually, that red polish was bought by Christopher after I sent him into the grocery store to buy cereal.  He came back with this and was beaming.  That boy loves red polish.  But not cremes, they have to be sparkly.  lol.  I get a kick out of him getting excited over polish!

They kind of remind me of something you would see at an Indian wedding, rich jewel tones with a touch of gold highlights. 

The red polish is Joe Fresh - Ruby, it's a gorgeous glass flecked red.  My thumb and ring finger have Color Club Jewel of a Girl (I think!) a gorgeous vampy purple shade, stamped with Essie - Penny Talk.  The glitter bits are from Wet 'n Wild - Light with Caution.  I just used a tooth pick and placed them on the nail before applying top coat :)

Happy almost-Friday!  Thanks for stopping by :)

Blue Skittles

Hey lovelies!

I have a really fun mani to show you today, which I kind of sort of copied from this mani by the Polished Perfectionist.  I had naked nails, seen her post and had this strong urge to recreate it because it's just soo pretty!

 

She stamped some roses but I didn't have a nice floral stamp that wouldn't cover most of the nail so I settled for this cute fishnet-like stamp from the new BM set.

I got to use a lot of untrieds in this mani.   I tend to gravitate towards my tried tested and true polishes and ignore a lot of untried polishes but the only polish I had previously used was Baker Street.

Index finger: OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, Finger Paints Blue Raspberry Taffy. 
Middle finger: China Glaze Liquid Crystal. 
Thumb and ring finger: Nails Inc. Baker Street, stamped using Konad White special polish
Pinky: Color Club Take me to Your Chateau.

Thanks for stoping by, I hope you're all having a great week so far!

Fall Sweater

Hi all!

I hope you are all having a fab weekend! 

Essie Canada is having a Facebook/Instagram contest again, and I entered these nails to try and win their upcoming Winter collection (which I can't find any info on yet!).  Contest closes October 4th so if you either want to enter or vote (please & thank you!), you still have plenty of time - there are 30 winners so odds are pretty good if you do decide to enter!

For this mani I used Essie's 2011 Fall collection polishes and a tutorial written by Kelsie at Kelsie's Nail Files (check out her blog, she's great).  I used Case Study (beige), Carry On (burgundy) and Very Structure (rust), then using a white striping polish I added the lines.  This was probably the trickiest part - trying to get the lines straight and uniform in size!

I had a heck of a time doing this mani.  Halifax in incredibly humid right now and things just weren't drying fast enough :P  But in the end I think it turned out quite well, I really love this pattern!

Ikat Nails

Hi everyone!

As the title suggests, I have some ikat nails to show you today.  I first seen these on instagram, and one of my favourite nail girls on there (@lafemmelulu) did this amazing ikat mani, and posted a quick tutorial on how to do these.  In my opinion hers are much, much better but for my first try at these I don't think they were so bad.

I started off with a really nice neutral shade of (what I think is) Color Club Earthy Angel.  I love these shades of polish.  I just find them comforting.  I randomly added some red blobs in China Glaze - Hey Sailor, and added OPI - My Boyfriend Scales Walls in the centre of the red.  Then using a black striping polish I randomly added little black wisps around the red polish to complete the look.

I don't know what ikats are, but I like the print!  And so do many other bloggers because I've seen this popping up a lot this week.

What do you all think of the ikat pattern?

Have a great weekend everyone!

China Glaze Real Nail App Review

Hi guys!

I have a little something different on the blog today - I was given my first opportunity to review a product, thanks to the fabulous e-tailer Nail Polish Canada.  This was also my first time using nail apps, so I was a little nervous at first but got the hang of it really quickly.

China Glaze Real Nail Polish Appliqués in Shake Your Tail Feather

This was such a fun design.  I was afraid that there would be a steep learning curve in using these so I started with my right hand in case of screw ups since I never photograph it ;)  After not properly stretching it on the first two fingers, I managed to do it well from there on out and most applied like a dream.

The China Glaze Real Nail Polish Appliqués come in a set of 2 strips with 8 apps in varied sizes on each strip, a small orange wood stick to push back your cuticles, and a mini nail file to shape and buff your nails in order to prep them for application.  The instructions say for best result to apply to warm hands to make the apps more flexible but I found no issue in application even with slightly cold hands.

 

To apply you just tear off the strip that you want, peel away the clear hard cover, then the back plastic cover and apply it to your nail.  You can stretch these to your liking in order to better shape them to your nails and smooth them out.   Once your satisfied you just fold it at the nail edge and file off the excess strip in a downward motion.   Apply top coat and you're finished!

Closeup of the pattern

 

 Most of the strips fit my nails perfectly and didn't require any trimming.  The only one that was entirely way too big was the one on my pointer finger.  Once I applied it I just used cuticle nippers to trim away the sides. 

Final Thoughts:  I really liked using these!  It's a really cute manicure and takes a fraction of the time it would have taken me to do anything even remotely elaborate.  The only issue I had was with top coat - it kept peeling off in sheets and I had to keep reapplying.  And I think because of that the strips started lifting near my cuticle and every time I tucked my hair behind me ear my hair would get caught on a lifted part of the strip resulting in pieces chipping off.

This is what they looked like after 4 days filled with baking and dish washing.  I was not easy on these.  And to be honest the largest chip on my pointer finger?  I think it only peeled up because I have a patch on that corner of my nail.  Besides some minor chip, they held up quite well despite what they went through :)

You can purchase these here on the Nail Polish Canada website where they retail for $11CAD.  If you haven't heard of Nail Polish Canada yet you should check out their website!  They carry polish from China Glaze, Nubar, Orly, OPI, A-England, Deborah Lippman, Nfu Oh, Butter London and several more brands.  Shipping time is super fast, customer service is fabulous, and they have a reward program as well!

Thanks for having a look, feel free to leave me some feedback on whether or not this review was useful/useless/too long/etc.!

**Products sent for review - the opinions stated are honest and my own.

Fall Chevrons

Hi guys!

I'm so sad to see summer go already.  I feel like it went so fast.  Plus the weather here in Halifax has cooled down quite a lot so it also feels like summer is over.  Although I'm sad, I'm also really looking forward to sweater weather, boots, scarves and wearing darker colours.  Talk about mixed emotions ;)

I jump started on the fall manis the other day, too.

 

I love the chevron/reversed chevron looks.  They're so easy to do - all I do is cut off of a piece of scotch tape, cut the jagged edge off, then center the corner of the tape on my nail.  So easy!

 

I started off with a base of Orly Decades of Dysfunction.  I can't even put into words how much I love this shade.  So much so that I wore just the base alone for a little while before dressing it up.  It's a perfect shade of off white with beige/pink undertones. 

Then I added one layer of what I think might be Color Club Velvet Rope (the red, can anyone help me figure it out?  It's a dark red with a gold shimmer throughout), and once that was dried I taped off my nails again and added Orly Buried Alive, an amazing brown polish with beautiful gold and copper shimmer throughout.

Just a note:  I know my watermark keeps changing a bit, but I'm just playing around until I find something I'm happy with.  I hope it's not too annoying ;)

Thanks for reading!!

Dots and Bows

Happy Sunday!

I hope those of you who have a long weekend are especially enjoying it :)  I woke up this morning thinking it was Monday and I had to go to work, imagine how happy I was when I realized I still had two days off haha.

 

 

I have been loving the dotticures lately.  They're so simple, but dots can really transform a manicure.  I stamped a cute little bow using one of the large plates from You Mix Cosmetics, except I don't think they sell them anymore.  It didn't transfer all that well but that was just user error, it looked a lot better on my other hand :)

I used OPI Mermaid's Tears for the base, Essie Trophy Wife for the dots and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in White On for the bow.  

Enjoy your weekends!