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!!

Purple and Turquoise Swoop French Tip

Hey Y'all!!  Happy Friday!  How are y'all doing?  It's going pretty good here...except that Mother Nature hates me.  The yellow scourge is starting here in Georgia.  That is literally yellow-green pollen clouds!  Over the next couple of weeks, everything is going to be completely covered in the stuff.  I won't see it though, what with all the sneezing, nose blowing, and itchy, swollen, watery eyes :(  But on to today's post...while I can still see, lol.

Ok, the best name I could come up with for today's mani is the Swoop, lol.

I Used:
Orly:  Wild Wisteria, a dark purple, wine colored crème
Orly:  Steal The Spotlight, a micro turquoise/teal glitter with medium sized holographic glitter in a clear base

Sadly, the pictures aren't doing this design justice.  And of course it was cloudy for days.  But I started with two coats of Orly Wild Wisteria.  Once that dried, I just used the brush that came with the polish and swooped Orly Steal The Spotlight onto my nail.  I started near the cuticle and just swept the polish up and over to create a sort of French tip.  Then went back and dabbed polish anywhere that was thin on glitter.

This was such a pretty, glittery mani.  And I love the combination of teal/turquoise and purple.

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

Red and Gold Sequin and Gradient Mani

Hey Y'all!!  Happy Hump Day!  How is your week going?  Mine is ok.  It's that time of year when I'm miserable...pollen.  Everywhere!  I can't stop sneezing.  And the worst part is that the pollen isn't even that bad yet :(  But at least I still have a post for you :)

So here is today's mani:

I Used:
OPI:  Over & Over A-Gwen, a red crème
OPI:  Love. Angel. Music. Baby., a satin gold metallic
Orly: Lavish Bash, a micro gold glitter with holographic bar glitter in a clear base
Red and Gold Sequins

To start this mani, I painted my thumb, pinky and ring finger with OPI Over & Over A-Gwen, a pretty, bright red crème.  Then I painted my index and middle fingers with OPI Love. Angel. Music. Baby., a satin finished gold metallic.  Once that was all dry, I used the brush that came with the polish to dab on Orly Lavish Bash to form the gradient.

To place the sequins, I used a dotting tool and Seche Vite top coat.  I just put a dot of the top coat on my nail where I wanted to place the sequin, then sunk the sequin down into the dot.  Try to get the sequin as flat to your nail as you can.  Otherwise, they will pop off pretty easily.  Then just top off everything with top coat!

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