Neon Summer Flowers

Hey Y'all!  Ugh!  Do any of y'all have kids?  If you do, you know how much they love to share with Mommy...especially their germs!  Well, even though mine is a teenager, she still felt the need to share her cold with me.  Only, it seems to always make me sicker than it does her!  But I'm finally feeling well enough to get this post up :)

Since it is "officially" summer here (quotation marks because, really?  The temps have been in the high 90's for a month and heat index in the 100's, but no.  Now it's summer), I decided to do a summer neon version of my Spring Flowers:

I Used:
China Glaze- White on White, white crème
LA Colors- Black crème (name is missing)
Color Club- Sweet Getaway, ultra bright neon pink crème (scented)
China Glaze- DJ Blue My Mind, ultra bright blue neon crème
Studio M- Grape Escape, bright purple neon crème
Studio M- Lemon Drop, bright yellow neon with gold shimmer

For the tutorial, just check out the Spring Flowers post.  I loved how this turned out.  And as you may know, I'm more of a bright and bold colors than a pastel colors kind of gal.  This was fun to wear, and I did get a lot of compliments on it.

One mistake I made is above...don't put the purple on the black background.  You couldn't really even see it in person.  Oh well. 

I hope y'all enjoyed today's mani.  Happy Polishing!!

Neon Green & Purple Glitter

Hey Y'all!  Happy Hump Day!  So how is your week going?  Is it hot?  Buggy?  Vacation-y? (Yes that's a word...I just made it up)  I'm doing pretty good here.  Still in major combat with the fleas.  My poor little fur babies.  And it's hot.  I mean really hot.  Even in the house with the a/c set at 4 degrees.  It's hot.  But I would rather be hot than cold.

So for today I have a fun mani in my favorite color:  GLITTER!!

I Used:
Lyn B. Designs- Nineteen Miles A Second
China Glaze- Treble Maker

I started with two coats of China Glaze Treble Maker, an ultra bright neon green crème from their 2015 collection.  Then I topped it with two coats of Lyn B. Designs Nineteen Miles A Second.  Let me start by saying I love this polish!!  I say that because it's really hard to describe.  It's a clear base with various shape and size glitters.  Lyn B. Designs describes it as a "flakie topper that shifts from pink to blue to green", but I saw more.  To me, the prominent color was purple.  Maybe because I'm a purple person, I just want to see that most, but seriously, its main color is purple.  I also see flashes of gold, pink, blue, and magenta. 

However you describe Nineteen Miles A Second, it's fabulous!

Have a wonderful day and Happy Polishing!!

Holographic Skittle

Hey Y'all!!  How was your weekend?  I've had better, I've had worse, so I can't really complain. Except for one thing:  Fleas!!  Maybe y'all can help me.  We've been going back and forth to Florida over the last few weeks and had a sitter for our fur babies.  Well, with us gone, and the incredibly hot weather, we've been taken over by these *&%& fleas!!  I hate fleas!!  And not only are they making my poor babies miserable, they keep biting me too.  And only me and the fur babies.  The teen and the hubby seem to have yucky blood.  Now, while I do enjoy the fact that I have superior blood to my family, I'm tired of being a big, jiggly, itchy, scratchy mess.  My house smells like apple cider vinegar and flea dip.  The babies and I are tired.  Any advice?

Now on to today's mani!  Today I have a Holographic Skittle for you:

I Used:
Color Club- Harp On It, a silver linear holo
Orly- Mirrorball, silver linear holo with small holo glitters
Loreal- Masked Affair, a soft gray linear holo
Color Club- Beyond, a charcoal gray linear holo
Celestial- Reaper Crew, a black linear holo

First off, I know the color differences don't show up very well in the photos.  But in person, it was obvious.  Taking pictures of holos is really hard...taking pictures of holos and trying to capture the subtle differences in color, really, really hard!

Now for the mani.  Ombre nails are very easy to do.  All you have to do is pick five polishes in the same color family and paint each nail a different color.  For this ombre, I started with Color Club Harp On It on my thumb.  Harp On It is a bright silver linear holo.  On my index finger is Orly Mirrorball.  This is also a silver linear holo but it also has small holographic glitter.  My middle finger has Loreal Masked Affair.  Holy cow!!  Loved this one.  It's a gray linear holo.  Next up is Color Club Beyond, a dark, charcoal gray linear holo on my ring finger.  Finally, on my pinky, is Celestial Reaper Crew, a black linear holo.  Love that one!!

Photos show two coats with top coat.  I really enjoyed this one.  But then, I love anything that glitters and sparkles!

Hope you have a fabulous day!  Happy Polishing!!

Spring Flowers

Hey Y'all!!  So as you may know, I'm not much of a pastel, flower kind of gal.  But occasionally, I am.  That's what happened today.  I saw a painting and was inspired to try this Spring Flower mani.

I Used:
KBShimmer:  Shore Thing, a medium minty green crème
Color Club:  Disco's Not Dead, butter yellow crème
Color Club:  Wicker Park, pinkish lilac crème
Finger Paints:  Sea Temptress, textured white polish with teal flakies
Liner Brush

I started this mani with two coats of KBShimmer, a pretty pastel mint crème that was a dream to use.  Then using Color Club Disco's Not Dead and Wicker Park, I painted splotches in random areas of my nails.  Then I made my mistake.  I ramdomly topped some of the splotches with Finger Paints Sea Temptress.  If you recreate this, do not use a textured polish.  Seriously.  It's really hard to paint a straight line over a textured polish!  And the flakies didn't even show up!

Then I used a basic black polish (sorry, I forgot which) and a fine liner brush to paint the petals.  The petals were basically parentheses.  And in some of the flowers, I painted little dots for the seeds.  Then just top everything with a top coat.

Other than the bad lines over the flakies, I really liked this design.  I hope you do too!

Happy Polishing!!

KPT Same Fall Different Beginning

Hey Y'all!  I'm so excited because today I have my very first KPT Polish!  Again, thanks to the fabulous Liz from A Mani Maniac!  Love her!!  She sent me KPT Same Fall Different Beginning:

I'm so sad, because no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get this polish to show all it's glory in the photos :(

KPT Same Fall Different Beginning is a very sheer nude with subtle scatter micro holographic glitters and micro and flake gold glitter.  The pictures show three coats with top coat.  Yep that's 3 coats so I wasn't kidding about it being sheer.

The formula was wonderful.  It applied smoothly without any issues.  And the finish is still sheer, you will still have a visible nail line.  But you won't care! This polish is so gorgeous!!  And very subtle.  This would be perfect to wear to the office.  Or in/to a wedding!  Any where you have to be more conservative, but still want to be you!

This was my first KPT, but won't be my last!

Have a fabulous day!  Happy Polishing!!

Blue & Purple Glitter Color Block

Hey Y'all.  I just wanted you to know that this is the first of several "scheduled" posts.  Scheduled means they will appear on their own, and because of that, there won't be this little intro part from me.  It will go straight into the design/review.  You may remember me telling you I had a family emergency.  It was that my father-in-law had been placed in hospice.  And now, his suffering is over.  I am so grateful that we were able to go and visit him, talk to him and spend some time with him last week.  I lost my own father 20 years ago to cancer and my father-in-law stepped right in and filled that void in my life.  And even though I'm heartbroken that he has passed....well, let's just say cancer sucks.

And on a lighter note, he was a huge supporter of my little nail obsession!  And for today, I have a Blue and Purple Glitter Color Block mani for you:

I Used:
China Glaze:  DJ Blue My Mind, an ultra bright sky blue crème
Studio M:  Grape Escape, a neon purple crème
CBL, Colors By Llarowe, Nitro, a clear base packed with blue and purple small glitter
Scotch Tape

First, thank you, thank you, thank you, to my love Liz at A Mani Maniac for sending me the Studio M and the CBL!!!  My very first CBL too!!  And it's glitter!!  And it's purple and blue!!  It's perfection!

Now on to the mani.  I love this mani, and this style, because I received so many compliments on it while I was out and about, and yet it's so easy to do!  I started by painting my nails with China Glaze DJ Blue My Mind, an ultra bright/neon sky blue crème.  Then, I placed scotch tape (remember to stick it to your hand a few times to remove some of the stickiness) on a diagonal across my nails, and painted a pretty thick coat of Studio M Grape Escape.  Grape Escape (drool), is a fabulously gorgeous neon purple crème.  Be sure to remove the tape as soon as you have painted the nail.

Once the nail has dried completely, place the tape on your nail diagonally, going the opposite way.  Like in the above picture.  Then I added Nitro by Colors by Llarowe.

Add top coat and you're done!

I hope y'all have a fabulous day, and be sure give your loved ones an extra hug today.

Happy Polishing!!

Girly Bits: No Such Thing as a Purple Problem

Hey Y'all!!  First let me apologize for being gone for a while.  Life became insane at the end of the school year.  There were ballets, recitals, finals, extra classes, and on top of it all, a family emergency.  And because of the last one, I've been out of the state for a while and just unable to focus on my blog.  And, although things there are still precarious, I'm able to concentrate again and I'm back to blogging! Thank you so much to everyone that has stood by me and kept with me, despite a less than consistent posting schedule...love y'all!!

So today I have an incredibly gorgeous polish that was a gift from my darlin' Natalie at Over the Topcoat.  It's Girly Bits (my first!) No Such Thing as a Purple Problem:

Girly Bits No Such Thing as a Purple Problem is a blue leaning purple jelly filled to the brim with scatter holographic micro glitter.  The pictures show two coats with top coat.  The formula was a dream to work with.  It glided on without any problems, streaking or bald spots.  It does dry a little rough so you will definitely want to use top coat...which you should always use anyway :p

I can't even tell you how much I love this polish!  But what's not to love?  Purple? Good!  Glitter?  Good!  Holo-loveliness? Fabulous!  I know I say this a lot, but pictures don't do this polish justice at all.  You have to see this in person on your very own phalanges!

I hope y'all are having a wonderful start to your week!  Happy Polishing!!

Lyn B. Designs Our Little Infinity

Hey Y'all!!  Happy Wednesday!  How is your week going?  Mine's going.  This time of the year is so nuts...finishing this school year, planning next year, dance everywhere...I'm ready for a nap!

So I want to get to right to today's post because I'm so excited!!  We just had a swap and the incredible Natalie of Over the Top Coat got my name, and holy cow!!  She spoiled me!!  Here is what she sent me:

!!!!!!  Isn't she amazing??  LOVE HER!!  There was candy too, but it didn't make it to the photo...someone ate it all.  And today I have the first polish I tried, Lyn B. Designs Our Little Infinity (warning, this is picture heavy cause this polish is gorgeous!):

Pictures show two coats with top coat.

First off, the color of the polish is true to life in ALL the above pictures!  Yep!  Our Little Infinity is a duochrome jelly that shifts between a dark indigo to purple with small holographic glitters.  EEKKKK!!!  This is like, my perfect polish!  And the formula is incredible.  I was so surprised to have complete coverage in just two coats.    There was no streaking, no bald spots, just a dream!  And it wore so well.  These pictures were taken a day after putting it on, and there was doing great.

This was my very first Lyn B. Designs, and thanks again to Natalie, not my last!  Thank you again Natalie!!!  Love you!!

Hope y'all have a great day!  Happy Polishing!!

Neon Cheetah Print

Hey Y'all!  Happy Monday!  How are y'all doin' today?  Me?  I'm exhausted!  So sorry I was missing last week, but the teen had rehearsals all week then six shows over the weekend with her ballet company.  That meant many late nights, long days, and a lot of time sitting in the car for Mom.  But she, and all the dancers were wonderful.  So, I guess I'm actually a tired, but proud Mom.

But, it's a new week, and I have a new mani for you, a Neon Cheetah:

I Used:
Color Club:  Sweet Get Away, ultra bright neon pink crème
Barielle:  Sterling Silver, a smoky, silver metallic
LA Colors:  Black crème (the name is missing)
Dotting Tool
Fine Brush

I so loved this mani, and it's really easy to do!  I started by painting three fingers (thumb, ring and pinky) with Barielle Sterling Silver, a pretty, smoky looking silver metallic.  Then I painted the remaining nails with Color Club Sweet Get Away, an ultra bright pink neon crème.  This is from the scented neon line they did.  I think it was supposed to smell like roses, but I just got a slight floral scent from it.

Then, using a dotting tool, I made splotches that would be the base of the cheetah spot.  Then using a fine detail brush, I drew the black outline.  You don't need a brush for this, just use a fine toothpick or anything that is thin.

I hope you liked today's design!  And here's hoping it's the start to a fabulous week!

Happy Polishing!!

Spring Flames

Hey Y'all!!  TGIF!  So, who's excited for the weekend?  Anyone have fun plans?  Not much going on for us this weekend.  The teen has rehearsals for her ballet performance next weekend, so I'll just be playing chauffer and food getter.  And not just this weekend, but for the next 9 days.  That's the true job of a Dance Mom!

So, y'all know how much I love doing flames, so for today I have Spring Flames for you!

I Used:
Wet-n-Wild:  A Latte Love, a very light beige crème
OPI:  Lost My Bikini in Molokini, a pretty, violet crème
Nailtini:  Blue Magic, a bright cobalt blue crème
Orly:  Choreographed Chaos, a bright pastel pink with a blue shimmer
Liner Brush

First, please forgive the big chip on my index finger.  By the time the sun came out, I had worn this mani for several days and chipped it right before going to get sun photos.  To start this mani, paint one coat of your base color.  In this case I used Wet-n-Wild A Latte Love.  Once that has dried and only working on one finger at a time, paint a second, thick coat.  Then put stripes/drops of each color of your flame across your nail tip.

Then using a thin brush or toothpick, drag it through the colors towards your cuticle.  Wipe off your brush, and drag from your cuticle towards the tip.  Be sure to work on only one nail at a time because the polish needs to be very wet for this method.  And don't forget the top coat!

I hope you have a fun weekend!  Happy Polishing!!

China Glaze Ultra Bright Gradient

Hey Y'all!  How's your week going?  Mine is going good.  We finally got sun yesterday, after nine straight days of rain.  But then it got down to 45 degrees last night.  I can't wait until we get sun and warmth! 

So during all the rain I decided I needed to brighten my nails up with this China Glaze Ultra Bright Gradient:

I Used:
China Glaze:  More To Explore, an ultra bright peach neon crème
China Glaze:  Plur-ple, ultra bright blue based purple neon crème
Orly:  Shine On Crazy Diamond, micro holographic glitter in a clear base
Make Up Sponge

First, I love these new "Ultra Brights" from China Glaze.  They are neon without being neon and without the matte/waxy finish.  They are actually glossy.  I guess that's why they are calling them ultra bright instead of neon, lol.

I also love the peach and purple combination!  I love how they look together.  My bestie liked it too...I think.  She gave me the back handed compliment of, "I never would have thought to put these two colors together, but surprisingly, I like it." LOL!  Nothing like a true friend to tell you the truth.

It kind of reminds me of a galaxy, but in unicorn land.  Or maybe a sunset on a tropical island. 

I hope you enjoyed today's mani!  And I hope you have a wonderful day!  Happy Polishing!!

Atlanta Nail Meet Up Holo Water Marble

Hey Y'all!!  I hope you had a great weekend.  We didn't do too much.  It was rainy.  I mean, really rainy.  We got a couple of inches of rain.  And while there was flooding issues in the area, we were good.  Thankfully.  And since it's the last weekend until Summer break that we didn't have much going on, we stayed home and vegged.


But last weekend (which if you follow me on facebook or instagram you already know), was our semi-annual Atlanta Nail Meet Up!  We started at lunch (Pho), talked, had giveaways and raffles, and then went shopping!!  But first, here's what I had on my nails, a Holographic Water Marble:

I Used:
OPI:  Do You Have This Color In Stockholm, an absolutely perfect shade of purple crème
Color Club:  Harp On It, a silver linear holographic polish
Color Club:  Beyond, a charcoal/black linear holographic polish

I had SO much fun!!  My buddy, Harri from Trailorhood Chic, was there.  It was her first time at this shopping place, so I took about 6 seconds to show her around before I went nuts myself.  In my defense, it was only my second time there.  I really wish I had video of Harri and I!  We were so excited that we literally kept running our buggies into each other.  Like 15 times!!  No surprise, but she and I spent the most.  Instead of bags, we got boxes!  But we live a long way from there and everyone else is pretty close.

Then we all met outside to take a "nail pic":

 

 

The orange and blue to my right (I have the watch on) are Harri's nails!  To see what she used, just click here!

And here is my haul:

There are some things hidden in the bag, but they are a surprise for a friend.  And there is one of my babies in the corner!  Count Damon hates to be left out of photos!

I love our meet ups!  Part of me wishes that we would get together more than just twice a year, but my wallet is thankful that we don't!

I hope y'all have a fun day!  Happy Polishing!!

Dogwood Trees and Flowers

Hey Y'all!  TGIF!!  How is the weather where you are?  It seems nuts in most of the USA.  We had upper 70's, low 80's last week and this entire week has been cold, windy and rain.  Lots of rain.  I'm over it.  I'm ready for the heat.  And the rain isn't supposed to stop until Tuesday :(  And of course, I have a ton of running around to do today and tomorrow.  My blogger buddies and I have a swap this weekend and I have to go get the last few things for my person.  But I adore and love her, so she's worth facing the cold and rain!

But since it is "technically" Spring, and I am in Georgia, the Dogwoods are in full bloom and that is what I have for you today:

I Used:
Sinful Colors:  Love Nails, a medium, bright blue shimmer
Orly:  Frosting, a white with gold shimmer
Orly:  Rapture, a chocolate brown crème
Dotting Tool
Fine Liner Brush

In case you haven't seen a Dogwood tree before, I snapped this one when the teen and I stopped for lunch:

They are EVERYWHERE here!  Seriously.  They grow wild.  I have a strong love/hate relationship with them.  They are gorgeous for about two weeks a year.  The rest of the year, they are a weird yellow green color.  And I'm allergic to them.  But my girl wanted me to do Dogwood nails so I did.  I like how these turned out, but I think next time I will make more of the flowers (more white dots).  But still, I did like them.  Remember, you don't need a dotting tool or brush to do this design.  You can use a toothpick.

I hope you enjoyed today's mani.  Have a wonderful weekend!  Happy Polishing!!

First Water Marble of Spring

Hey Y'all!  How's your Spring weather going?  Hopefully better than ours.  It's been raining since Sunday!  And not just a little rain, but deluges.  It's the kind of rain that: 1) makes you want to sleep all day, but dang it, you have to get up and do something useful with your life, 2) makes the normally nice, warm weather both cold and muggy somehow, so you are chilly and a little sweaty, and the worse part, 3) makes all our old, beautiful trees fall over.  But today's mani was done over the weekend, when we still had some sun.

So for today I have my first Water Marble of Spring:

I Used:
Orly:  Key Lime Twist, a green leaning yellow ultra bright crème
Orly:  Frosting, white with a gold shimmer

Ok, so I had high hopes for this water marble.  The two Orly polishes looked great sitting next to each other, there was a lot of contrast between them...yeah, not so much.  They both worked great in the water marble, but you can barely tell them apart.  I do love these two colors, so I will be ding more with them soon; just not together.

I hope y'all are having a fabulous day!  Happy Polishing!!

Black & Silver Holographic Gradient

Hey Y'all!!  How's your Monday going?  We just had our Spring Break last week (which is why I didn't post), and I am so not ready to get back into the swing of things.  There is just SO much happening in the next 5 weeks...I need more rest!  And we didn't even do anything over the break.  Pathetic, I know, lol.;

But on to today's mani, a black and silver holographic gradient:

I Used:
Color Club:  Harp On It, a silver linear holographic
Celestial:  Reaper Crew, a black linear holographic
Make Up Sponge

I love how this one turned out!  I started with one coat of Color Club Harp On It, a silver linear holographic polish.  Once that was completely dry, I sponged on the Color Club and Celestial Reaper Crew, a true black linear holographic polish.

When sponging on the gradient, I decided to do it vertically and alternated the colors.  So it goes from side to side and silver to black to black to silver, etc.  And despite sponging on the polish, it still had the linear effect.  It wasn't as prominent as just brushing on the polish, but it was still there.

I hope you enjoyed today's mani!  Happy Polishing!!