Grey and Yellow Skittlette

Good morning!

Here's a quickie post showing this cute mani that I wore a couple of weeks ago.

This mani started with a base of Essie Power Clutch, then using the dry brush method I added Essie Chinchilly and China Glaze Elephant Walk to create a neat marbled effect.

Then using Color Club Dressed for the Parade mixed with Konad White I stamped the zig zag pattern from BM 423 on my pointer and middle fingers.

On my ring finger is an image from Mash 37.

I mixed the white and yellow polishes on the plate itself, I covered the image with half yellow and half white and scraped a bunch of times quickly to mix the colours and make the yellow opaque so it showed up on the dark base.  I followed a tutorial but I can't find it anymore.. if anyone knows who's tutorial that was please share!

Then on my pinky I used one coat of Maybelline Color Show Street Art - Green Graffiti.  I love these matte glitters :)

Have a great Monday everyone!

Spring Time Water Marble

Hi loves!

I can start to feel Spring creeping it's way in, finally!  It'll take eons to get all that snow to melt but as long as the sun is shinning and I don't need to wear 17 layers, I'm happy ;)

I was craving spring-ish colours, but I had no idea what kind of mani to do so I went for a water marble.  It seems to be my go-to lately when I'm feeling uninspired.  I still need practice but they're starting to look pretty awesome *pats self on back*

For this mani I used Color Club Dress for the Parade (yellow), Color Club Pucci-licious (purple) and Sally Hansen Mint Sorbet.

I then topped it off with Finger Paints Asylum to give it a little more depth.

Now I'm crossing my pretty painted fingers for the warmer weather to keep coming!  I try really really hard not to complain about the weather but I. can't. wait. for winter to be over.

Hope you're all having a great start to your week!

Pink & Green water marble

Hi all!

Here is my second try at water marbling.  I used a bigger container this time and managed to get a lot of rings in my 'bullseye' and I actually like the way it came out :)  Now I just have to work on getting all the nails to look same-ish!

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For this one I again started out with a white base, then using Color Club Twiggie and Mrs. Robinson created my pattern.

Just a quickie tonight.. I'm having a lot of fun with this watermarbling business.. I wish I hadn't waited so darn long to give it a try!

I hope you've all had a wonderful weekend :)

My first Water Marble

Hi all!

I did it!  I finally, finally mustered up the nerves to try water marbling after my sister asked me about it.  I've always been so intimidated by the idea of it but for my first try I was actually pretty happy with the end result!

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I started out with a white base, then using Color Club - Express Yourself, Puccie-licious, Lavendarling & Warhol I created the bulls eye and just kinda of went shape happy having no idea what I was really doing.

I really liked these colours together!  I made the mistake of not watching tutorials before hand though and I had no idea how to get a nice design so but!  they still looked pretty cool I think :)

Happy Thursday!  What are everyone's plans for Valentine's tomorrow?  My guy and I have spent all but one Valentine's day apart thanks to the military and tomorrow is no exception so I'll be getting together with one of my girlfriends instead :)  I'm okay with that!

Valentine's Day Stamping

This is a bit early but I figured I'd get a head start :)  There are so many awesome valentine's/love themed plates out there - I had a hard time choosing what to use.  I think my mani came out pretty cute though!

I first started with a base of Orly Ma Cherie on my middle finger and pinkie.  This is such a gorgeous squishy, juicy red.  I then stamped the hearts from plate Pueen-41 with Konad White, and added a second coat of Ma Cherie on top to created a stamping sandwich.

On my index and ring fingers I added two coats of Revlon Cherries in the Snow and stamped with Color Club I Believe in Amour and used an image from BM-H17 on my index and Winstonia-207 on my ring finger.

I then stamped the image on my pinkie using BM-H17 also and the "Love" image from BM-H16.  The holographic dots were done using Gosh Holographic Hero :)

What do you guys think of Valentine's themed nails?  Too much? :P

Have a great weekend guys!

Soft + Advanced Stamping

Hi all!  I hope everyone's Monday went well :)  I had to shovel a whole lot of snow today.. bleh.

This is a mani I did over the weekend - I was supposed to go to a birthday dinner so I started basing my mani on that. 

I started with a base of OPI Skulls and Glossbones then using the cupcake image from BM-H20 tried my hand at advanced stamping, which is basically leaving the image on your stamp, filling in where you want then while your polish on your nail is still pretty tacky, stamping it!

This was my first try.. and it turned out only OK, but ended up working awesomely on my other hand :)
 

Then I had full intention of doing some double stamping and adding more birthday themed images to my nails but after stamping an image from Pueen-26 with Color Club - Take Me to Your Chateau, I really couldn't bring myself to doing it. 

It's such a soft, pretty look! I absolutely love how this turned out.

I actually debated removing the cupcake image since the birthday dinner outing didn't end up happening.  And I find it doesn't really go with the rest of the nails but eh.. by the time I got around to change it the rest of the polish was cracking so I just removed it all :)

Black and Silver New Year's Mani

Another super late post but I'm all caught up after this one :) 

I'm not a huge fan of the crazy crowds on New Year's Eve and always opt for quieter evenings with friends and family instead.. but that didn't stop me from sporting some NYE appropriate nails!

These were pretty much inspired by Serene at Copy Cat Claws.. I loved her mani so much that I did something similar :)

This look started with a simple black base of OPI Black Onyx on all but my ring finger, which has a base of Gosh Silver.

Then using Essie Nothing Else Metals, No Place Like Chrome and Blue Rhapsody I stamped the fire works using BM-H14 although you really can't tell the difference between the three shades sadly.

Using the same Bundle Monster plate and Konad Black I stamped the Champagne bottle on my ring finger.  Everyone had a hard time figuring out what that image was until I told them what to look for though.. I feel like it's just too big for my tiny nail, plus I smeared it lol.

And to finish off I I added Color Club Platinum Record to my middle finger, topped it all off with Joe Fresh Matte Top Coat and went out to celebrate NYE with a handful of my aunts and uncles that live in the area :)

Pink and Purple Funky French

Hi all!

I'm so behind on posts!  I actually still have a Christmas mani to post but that will have to wait a few days since photos aren't even uploaded to my computer yet!  Holidays are just so busy.

This mani was entirely inspired by one of my favourite bloggers, Heather from Peace, Love & Polish.  She always does really fun french manicures and after seeing THIS one I felt the need to also do a funky french :)

I started with a 'base' of Finger Paints Flecked, which is a green to blue shifting flakie.  When my base was dried I used OPI Suzi & The 7 Dusseldorfs and Color Club Hot Like Lava to create the funky french.

Then to clean up the lines a little bit I used a blue glitter striper polish to outline the tip.

What do you all think of funky french manis?  I rarely ever do them but I have to admit I really loved this look!

And in the case that I don't post again before the 1st, I want to wish each and everyone of you a safe and happy New Year!

Color Club Holiday Splendor

Sometimes a simple glittery manicure is just as fun as any kind of nail art.  I wanted to paint my nails but I just didn't want it taking for ever so I pulled out this gem and happily painted!

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This beauty is Color Club Holiday Splendor from the 2011 Beyond the Mistletoe collection.  It's got a green jelly base and is jam packed with holo glitter bits - it's soo pretty!

 My lightbox kind of washed out the beauty of this polish which is unfortunate because in real life it's stunning :)  And thanks to Elmer's Glue removal of this was super easy!

Happy Wednesday :)

NPC Holiday Challenge Week 2: Decorations

Hi all!

Here is my entry for the second week of the Nail Polish Canada Holiday Challenge.  This week's theme was decorations.. I ended up redo-ing these nails three times!  Ha.  I'm pretty pleased with how these turned out though :)

I created an 'abstract tree' I guess you can see, with a string of lights and 'hung' ornaments :)

I started with a base of Gosh Forest Floor then using a fan brush I created wisps with Color Club Not Just for Kelly Green, China Glaze Gaga For Green and OPI Gargatuan Green Grape.

Then using a black striping polish and various colours I painted on the lights on the tip of my nails, and finished things off by adding different sized and coloured rhinestones for the ornaments :)

If you like this manicure please click HERE and vote for me, or vote for which ever manicure you like best :)

Thanks a bunch!

NPC Nail Art Challenge Week 1: Snow

Hi loves!

Happy December 1st! 

Nail Polish Canada is having it's second Holiday Nail Art Challenge and this weeks theme was snow.

 

I chose to go with a 'night' scene.. because what's prettier than seeing snow sparkle when taking a walk after the sun has set?!  It's just so magical!

 

I started with a base of OPI My Vampire is Buff, then did a gradient with Color Club Cold Metal and OPI Yoga-ta Get this Blue then added OPI Pirouette my Whistle and NOPI Make a Comet-Ment as the sparkly snow falling from the sky.

  The two snow flake stamps were done with Essie No Place Like Chrome and plates 323 and H02 from Bundle Monster.  I stamped the tree silhouettes on my ring finger using BM-407.  On the tip I used OPI Solitaire as my 'snow banks'.  And using Solitaire I made a little snow man on my middle finger.

Click HERE to go vote for your favourite snow themed mani!

Thanks for reading :)

Nimbus Nails

Happy Friday!

Here's hoping you're all having a good weekend :) Call me crazy but I'm in a Christmas decorating mood so all of our decor is going up this weekend!  All I need now is a little bit of snow ;)

So I'm sure you're all following The Nailasaurus (if you're not, you should be) and thus have seen her Nimbus mani tutorial.  I decided to give it a try not too long ago.  It's so fun and super easy to do, too.

 

I started out with a white base or Orly Dayglow, then using way too many polishes I started dabbing away at my nails. I really need to start writing down all the polishes I use because I can't remember them now.  But the ones I do remember were Sally Hansen Pacific Blue, Sally Hansen Blue me Away, China Glaze Electric Beat, China Glaze Too Yacht to Handle, Color Club Express Yourself and OPI Steady as She Rose.

On my pinky I added Color Club Jingle Jangle since the purple and blue glitter matched the colour scheme of the mani, and on my ring finger I stamped the chevron pattern from Bundle Monster plate 423 in Konad White polish.

Have you tried the Nimbus method yet? 

Thanks for reading!

Water Decal Review - KKCenterHK

Happy Sunday!  I hope you're all having a fabulous weekend :)

I have another review today brought to you by KKCenterHK.  I don't know what it is but I've been finding myself going ga-ga over peacock themed things.  Feathers, the colours, the clothes.. everything!  Maybe because they're jewel tones and I'm instantly drawn to those.. who knows.

But when I saw THESE water decals I knew they were coming home to me :)

 

For these decals you get a little sheet with 4 rows of masquerade masks and 4 rows of peacock feathers.  Enough to last you a little while if you choose to use them strictly for accent nails.  

You cut out the bit you want placed on your nail, soak it in water for about 30 seconds then carefully peel off the decal using tweezers.  I then dip my nail in the water before placing the decal as I find it helps a little bit with the placement - you can slide it around a little bit more.  Once it's place I dab off the extra water on a piece of tissue, wait for it to dry completely then finish it off with top coat!

 

They are super easy to use!  I thought they'd be delicate and that my tweezers might damage them but that wasn't the case at all. 

I chose to leave them plain here over a base of Color Club Antiquated but you can easily dress them up using a small brush and some polish.

My pinky has two glorious coats of OPI Alcatraz.. Rocks, which is probably my favourite textured polish, ever!

 For my index and middle finger I started with a base of Color Club Perfect Molten, then sponged on from tip to base Color Club Cold Metal, Color Club Lumin-icecent, Color Club Hot Like Lava and Perfectly Molten.  I had never done a gradient using anything other than creme polishes, but I really loved the look of this! 

What do you all think?

These decals retail for $2.54USD but you can take 10% off your order by using code "ofknitandnails" at checkout.

Decals provided for honest review.  All opinions are my own.

Halloween Nail Art

Hi all,

While my parents were visiting during our Thanksgiving weekend we took the opportunity to drive out to Upper Canada Village to visit their amazing display of 6000+ carved pumpkins.  It was a beautiful night, we walked around for 2 hours checking out all of the set ups.. just amazing.

I decided to go with matchy nails even though it'd be dark and no one would see them :P

I started out with a base of Color Club Dress for the Parade then using a triangle makeup sponge I created the gradient using Dress for the Parade, Essie Orange! It's Obvious and She's Pampered.

 

I then stamped using various images from the new Bundle Monster Holiday collection and Konad Black polish.  How cute are these?   Spider web on my pointer, creepy little eyes on my middle finger, skeletal face on my ring finger and a bunch of little pumpkin faces on my pinky.  I am loving the two new BM plate sets!

Are any of you dressing up this year?  I went out with my guy and my sister this weekend and picked out our costumes for a party we're going to on Friday - I'm pretty excited about dressing up this year :)

Feeling Peacock-y

Hi all!

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend to my fellow Canadians!  I hope you're all stuffed with turkey.. I ended up having two turkey dinners this weekend, and both were awesome - there's nothing I love more than a good Turkey dinner with all the fixings.. yum!

Anyway.

Here's another oldie that's been sitting on my camera for more than a month now.  One of my faves yet!

This is pretty much the theme and colour palette for my wedding - jewel tones and peacock, I love everything about them!  I started out with Color Club Metamorphosis on my pinky, which is a lot more vibrant in real life but the sun kind of washed the colour out.

On my index and middle finger I used Layla Ceramic Effect in The Butterfly Effect a gorgeous purple jelly polish with flakies that flash red to orange to green. 

For my ring finger I started with a base of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls then using various striping polishes I free handed the peacock feather.  It was SUPER easy and so much fun.  I filled the 'eye' using Essie Good as Gold, Color Club Lumin-Icent and Metamorphosis.

I loved this one :)

Thanks for reading!

My first watercolour!

Hi all,

I've been feeling a little uninspired lately so I made a list of things I wanted to try out, and a watercolour mani was #1 on the list.  So I sucked up my fear and gave it a go.  I don't know why this technique intimidated me so much, but it ended up being super easy and actually really fun to do!

I started with 2 coats of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, then equipped with a little bit of acetone and a fluffy brush I started blobbing polish and moving it around with my acetone-dipped brush.

The colours used were Color Club Warhol (pink), Color Club Boys Wear Blue (blue) and Color Club Express Yourself (purple).  I loved the end results, and it ended up getting a ton of compliments, which made me super happy :P

Have you given the watercolout technique a try yet?  What did you think?

Happy Monday!

Pink Skittlette

Hi loves.

I'm not doing very well at keeping up with this blog, sorry!  I'm planning on having a nail painting and picture taking day this weekend to hopefully get ahead on here, I just haven't been home much lately :)

 This mani consisted of OPI Dim Sum Plum on my index and middle finger, and using OPI Pedal Faster Suzi and a small dotting tool I added the dots.  My ring finger is OPI Houston We Have a Purple with Color Club Backstage Pass sandwiched between.  I hadn't done a jelly sandwich in a while, I forgot how much I love them.

 

And on my pinky we have OPI Stay the Night.  I found the collection on sale at one of my drug stores so I picked up a few more liquid sands and Anti-Bleak, which I have yet to wear.  I do love the liquid sands a lot though, I cannot wait for the Bond Girl collection to be available!

Happy humpday and first of spring!  We got a huge snow storm last night and so was able to spend the morning at home until the snow got cleared from the roads :)  Thanks for reading!

Colourful Tape Mani

Happy Friday!!

To start the weekend off on a good note, here are some pretty nails ;)

This mani started off as something completely different, I wanted to use Revlon Girly and Whimsical, but didn't end up using them at all!

I had started with Essie Cocktail Bling on all fingers except for the ring finger which is Essie To Buy or Not to Buy.  These were going to be underwear for the Revlon polishes, but I sat there staring at the bottles and decided I wasn't in the mood for glitter. 

So I went back to my melmer and pulled out Color Club Pucci-Licious (purple),  Nicole by OPI Miss Independent (the rose gold) and Zoya Blaze (needs no explanation!).

These took a lot of time because I don't like to layer on a bunch of top coat, so I waited very patiently to tape my nails... twice!  I really liked how this turned out though so all that waiting was worth it :)

Have a great weekend, thanks for reading :)

Chevron Mani

Hi loves!

Quick post today to show you my NOTD:

 

I started with 2 coats of Essie Chinchilly, which was one of my first Essie polishes before I started seriously collecting.  It's such a great polish!  Using tape I then painted on Color Club Almost Famous and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Blue Me Away! on my ring finger.  To finish off this look I added Nicole by OPI Follow me on Glitter to the tips.

 

I love the muted grey with a little colourful pop thrown in there :)

Hope you're all having a fabulous Wednesday!  Thanks for reading!