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!!

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!!

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!!

Spring Plastic Wrap

Hey Y'all!  How was your weekend?  Let me live vicariously through you, cause I didn't do anything but sleep.  The weather was so messed up here, freezing cold, thunder storms, now it's sunny.  I just hibernated waiting for it to all pass.  I'm so done with the cold.  So despite the 20 degree weather, I decided to do a Spring mani for you.

Today's mani is a Spring design using plastic wrap:

I Used:
China Glaze:  Five Rules, a soft barely there gray crème
Sinful Colors: Pink Smart, a pastel pink crème
China Glaze:  My Way Or The Highway, a turquoise crème
Plastic Wrap

This is one of my favorite types of manis to do because I think you get such a great effect for such a little amount of effort.  I started with two coats of China Glaze Five Rules, a soft, light gray crème.  Once that dried completely, I put a couple of drops of China Glaze My Way Or The Highway on to a piece of paper.  Then using regular plastic wrap, scrunch the wrap up and dab into the polish.  Be sure to dab it on to a piece of paper first to get off any excess polish.  Then just dab it onto your nails.

Then I repeated the process with Sinful Colors Pink Smart, a soft pastel pink crème.  Then just top off your design with a top coat! 

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

An Ombre Gradient Skittle

Hey Y'all!!  Oh. My. Goodness!!  I tried to get this post up on Friday, but my computer kept updating.  Does anyone else keep putting off updating their computer until it has hours worth to do?  No?  Just me?  Oh well.  Happy Monday!  I hope y'all had a fabulous weekend.  We had a quiet one.  The teen went to a friend's house and the hubby and I went out to a nice dinner.  And slept!  This time of year wears me out.  Not only does the teen have a million things to do and a million places to be, the weather kills me.  In one week we can have 30's, 80's, sun, tropical storms, wind...all leading up to everything about to be covered in an inch of pollen.

But on to today's mani!  I have something I'm calling an Ombre Gradient Skittle:

I Used:
China Glaze: One Track Mind (a deep cobalt blue crème)
Orly- Tiara (small silver glitter in a clear base)
Finger Paints- Ho Ho Happy Holidays (micro silver and light blue glitter in a clear base)
Icing- Sapphire (a medium blue micro glitter in a clear base)
China Glaze- Feeling Twinkly (a dark blue glitter in a clear base)
Make Up Sponge

To start this mani, I painted two coats of China Glaze One Track Mind, a deep cobalt blue crème.  Then using a make up sponge, I sponged on the glitter polishes.  They are:
Pinky:  Orly Tiara, a silver glitter
Ring Finger:  Finger Paints Ho Ho Happy Holidays, a silver and light blue glitter
Middle Finger:  Icing Sapphire, a medium blue glitter
Index Finger:  China Glaze, Feeling Twinkly, a dark blue glitter
Thumb:  all the above

When sponging on the glitter, start about three quarters of the way down your nail.  Then go back and sponge on just the tip of your nail to give you a more concentrated glitter.  For the thumb, paint stripes of the polish on the make up sponge and dab on your nail.  It is really important to use a sponge at least for your thumb...the sponge will soak up the excess clear polish leaving you a more concentrated glitter.  I did two coats on my thumb.  Then just add the top coat.

I hope you have a fabulous day!  Happy Polishing!!

Ombre, Gradient and Stripes

Hey Y 'all!!  Happy Hump-Day!  I hope y'all are having a fabulous day.  I feel better today.  Yesterday stunk, I had a headache that just would not go away!  But 11 1/2 hours of sleep cured that!  I can't believe I slept that long.  But now, at least I feel better!  And I have a new post for you!

For today I have an Ombre/Gradient and Stripe design for you:

I Used:
China Glaze- White on White (white crème)
China Glaze- Pelican Gray (pale gray with a silver shimmer)
China Glaze- Silver Lining (clear base with small silver glitter)
China Glaze- Black Diamond (shimmery black)
Striping Tape
Make Up Sponges

I love how this mani turned out, but I have to say doing the stripes was a pain in the butt.  That's why two nails are gradients.

For the stripes I placed the striping tape diagonally then painted the colors in the order listed in the "I Used" section.  The ombre was also done diagonally.

I hope y'all enjoyed today's design!   Happy Polishing!

Summer Neon Water Marble

Hey Y'all!!  Happy Monday!  Did you have a good weekend?  We did!  We went our 65+ miles to get the teen new pointe shoes.  And of course, since it was so far, we had to have lunch.  We went to Pappadeaux!!! I can't begin to tell you how much I LOVE that place!  They have the absolute best alligator in the world!  And this one had a BUFFET!  Ate myself sick and I'm not even ashamed!  The rest of the weekend was spent Spring cleaning and catching up on America's Got Talent.

Today I have a fun Summer Neon Water Marble for you:

I Used:
China Glaze- White on White (white crème)
Orly- Ablaze (neon orange with a micro gold shimmer)
Orly- Neon Heat (bright neon pink crème)
Studio M- Neon Greenlight (bright neon green)

For my water marble tutorial, just CLICK HERE!!!

I painted two coats of China Glaze White on White as a base.  Then I used it and the other three polishes in the water marble.  I added the white in the water marble to make the neons really pop.

I really love this mani. And I think it works great for Spring into Summer time!

I hope y'all have a fabulous day!!  And Happy Polishing!!

Pastel Gradient

Hey Y'all!!  Have you ever had one of those days that no matter how hard you try you just can't get anything accomplished?  If yes, then welcome to my Wednesday! The teen spent the night at  a friend's house so I thought, yay, I'll get a ton done!  Nope.  Didn't get one thing done.  Started a bunch of stuff, but didn't finish the first thing.  Except this post.  Which is going up late.  Dang.

Oh well.  I do have a fun twist on gradient nails for you today, a four colored square gradient:

I Used:
Sinful Colors- Snow Me White (white crème)
Sinful Colors- Unicorn (pastel yellow crème)
Sinful Colors- Cream Soda (pastel peach crème)
China Glaze- At Vase Value (pastel mint crème)
China Glaze- Lotus Begin (pastel lilac crème)
Make Up Sponge

I started with two coats of Sinful Colors Snow Me White to help the pastels show up more.  Then, after wetting and wringing out a cheap make up sponge (from the dollar store), I painted the pastels in a square pattern on the sponge:

Then I just sponged them on to the nails in an up and down motion.  It took three coats to get the colors to where I wanted them.

Don't forget to top with top coat.

Hope y'all enjoyed today's post!  I'm going to give up on doing anything useful for the day and veg in front of the tv!  Happy Polishing!!

Spring Flowers

Hey Y'all!!  Whew! I'm exhausted and it's only Tuesday.  The next eight days are going to be insane.  And if I didn't have enough on my plate, I joined a contest on Instagram being held by Salon Perfect.  I am so ready for a day to do nothing.  Oh well, maybe in 9 days! 

But for today I have my first entry for the contest.  The theme was floral (and look!  I even used a prop!):

I Used:
Sinful Colors- Easy Going (medium cream crème)
Wet-n-Wild- Tickled Pink (light pink crème)
Sinful Colors- Pink Forever (bright pink crème)
China Glaze- 108 Degrees (dark pink glass fleck)
China Glaze- Put A Bow On It (magenta glitter in a dark magenta base)
Fine detail brush

This was a pretty basic mani.  I started with two coats of Sinful Colors Easy Going.  Then using a fine detail brush, I painted the petals using Wet-n-Wild Tickled Pink, Sinful Colors Pink Forever and China Glaze 108 Degrees.  Then I used China Glaze Put A Bow On It.

I really like how this turned out.  It really reminds me of Spring.  Fingers crossed on the contest.

If you're not already following me on Instagram, head over there.  It's the easiest way to keep up with me and to get sneak peeks on upcoming nail art!  Just click here!

Have a fabulous day and Happy Poliahing!!

Purple & Hearts & Circles & Holo & Oh My!

Hey Y'all!!  Happy Friday!!  I am so happy it's Friday!  The teen and I have an entire day to chill before another crazy 10 straight days((minus Mother's Day) that include dance, recital, end of the year school parties and oral surgery.  Dang!  It's all her stuff.  LOL, I guess I don't have a life anymore!  Do any of y'all have special plans for the weekend?  Mother's Day is Sunday.  I plan for the teen and hubby to wait on me hand and foot all day!  And crab!  I want crab for dinner!  And lunch!

Ok, so if y'all follow me on facebook, twitter or instagram, you know that a couple of weeks ago some of my blogger buddies and I had a swap.  And the person who had me was the incredible, fabulous, beautiful Natalie at Over The Top Coat!!!!  And she did an incredible job!!  She knocked off a bunch of my wants and loaded me up on jelly beans (my favorite candy)!!!  It was so hard to choose which polish to use first, but I was predictable.  I went with the purple and glitter!

Holy crap on a cracker!!!  These were AH-MAZING!!!!  Pictures truly don't do these justice!!

The lilac is China Glaze Lotus Begin, a beautiful lilac crème.  LOVE!!!  Pictures show two coats.

The glitter top coat is Above The Curve Circle of Love.  OMG!!!!  This is my first Above The Curve nail polish, but it won't be my last.  Circle of Love is mind blowing!  Ok, I will try to tell you everything in it...  Circle of  Love is a clear based topper with:  lilac hearts (hard to see because it's the exact same color as Lotus Begin), red hearts, pink hearts, white hearts, large holographic circles,  large red circles, medium white circles, medium pink circles, medium red circles, medium magenta circles, small magenta circles, small pink circles, small white circles, miro red glitter and micro holographic glitter!  Whew!!  That's a ton of glitter!  And a ton of fabulousness!!  I think I got them all!!

Pictures show one (yep, that's just one) coat of Circle of Love with two coats of top coat, just to make sure everything evened out. I didn't even have to dig for the glitters.  Not even the big ones!

I can not begin to tell you how much I LOVE these polishes!!  And I can't thank the fabulous Natalie enough!!!

Hope y'all enjoyed today's post and that you have an incredible weekend! Happy Polishing!!

Fuchsia Plastic Wrap

Hey Y'all!!  Happy Monday!  And yes, I've decided it's going to be a happy Monday.  After last week, ugh, this week started off much better.  We went to my cousins' house for Easter and had great food and great company!  What did y'all do this weekend

Today's mani is a fun, different finishes, plastic wrap manicure (I know, I'm a little plastic wrap happy lately): a Fuchsia Plastic Wrap:

I Used:
Sinful Colors- Get It On (dark fuchsia matte)
Cover Girl- Bombshell (fuchsia with silver shimmer)
China Glaze- Travel In Color (pale white with purple shimmer)
Plastic Wrap

To start there is not a top coat.  I wanted a variety of finishes, so even though it doesn't show well in photos, there is matte and shimmers.  I started with two coats of Sinful Colors Get It On, a fuchsia matte polish.

Next I balled up some plastic wrap and dipped into Cover Girl Bombshell, a fuchsia polish with a silver shimmer, and dabbed it on my nails.  Be sure to turn the plastic so you get a varied look on your nails.

Next, using a new ball of plastic, I did the same thing with the China Glaze Travel In Color, a pale white with a purple shimmer.  And again, no topcoat.  I'm so sad I couldn't get the different finishes to show better in the photos.  It looked amazing in real life!

Have a fabulous day and Happy Polishing!!

Multicolored Water Marble

Hey Y'all!!  Happy Hump Day!!  I'm so happy this week is half over!  I've had so many computer issues...it was driving me nuts!  I know, first world problems, but it's so frustrating when things don't work!!  Like, suddenly, all my pictures on my blog are missing (Monday's problems)!  But it's going to be a better rest of the week, right?  Just lie to me and say yes!

Anyway, as you may know (and if you don't, shame on you), my blogging buddies and I have entered a contest at Preen.me under the name Polish Mavens!  Just CLICK HERE to see, share and like our entries!!  Pretty please!!  So this week's theme is multicolored and here is my first entry:

I Used:
China Glaze- White On White (white crème)
Sinful Colors- Chick Chick (bright yellow crème)
Sinful Colors- Energetic Red (bright red orange crème)
Sinful Colors- Jolt (bright blue crème)
Sally Hansen Triple Shine- Kelp Out (bright green crème)

If you want to see my water marble tutorial, just click here.

Please excuse the dry hands.  I was out in the cold and wind all day and this was the only chance of getting a picture in the "sun".  I know it's not sunny, but this was as close to sun as I was getting.

If you want to vote for our manicures, just go to our page and like and share our photos!  You can also go to instagram and like our photos, that will count as a vote too!

Thanks so much Y'all!!  And Happy Polishing!!

Purple Camouflage

Hey Y'all!!  Happy Monday!!  I know, that's an oxymoron.  Especially since the next 6 weeks are going to be incredibly busy for me and the teen!  And the rain and cold are back.  I'm so sick of the cold I can't even begin to tell you how sick I am of it.  Have I mentioned I live in the South?  But, I can't complain too much.  At least we haven't had any Spring snow like y'all in the north.

For today's mani, I have a Purple Camo.  Why purple?  Where on earth could this be helpful?  In my house!!  I love purple so much that if you wore purple camo any where in my house, you would disappear!

I Used:
Orly- Flawless Flush (pale lilac with silver shimmer)
Rimmel- Wild Orchid (lilac/orchid crème)
China Glaze- Urban Night (dark purple crème)
Orly- Wild Wisteria (dark purple crème)
Dotting Tools

Since I've already done a full tutorial (Click here to see tutorial), I'll skip that part.  I used Orly Flawless Flush as the base.  Then, in order, I used Rimmel Wild Orchid, China Glaze Urban Night and Orly Wild Wisteria.

 

I hope y'all enjoyed today's mani!! 

And be sure to follow me on Instagram (by clicking here)!!!  If you like my pictures on Instagram, it will count as a vote.  So does sharing!!  And if my friends and I win...it's a big prize...I will have to have a giveaway as a thank you!!  So please help!  Thank you so much Y'all!!

Happy Polishing!!

Pink Dot Gradient

Hey Y'all!!  TGIF!!!  I hope y'all have had a great week!  Have you entered the Coupons.com Givaway yet??

So I have another Spring mani for you, a Pink Dot Gradient:

I Used:
OPI- Taupe-Less Beach (light taupe crème)
China Glaze- Wish On A Starfish (light pink with gold shimmer textured polish)
OPI- Hey Baby (bright pink crème)
OPI- Flashbulb Fuchsia (bright fuchsia with silver shimmer)
Dotting Tools

I started with two coats of OPI Taupe-less Beach.  Then using a couple of different sized dotting tools, start making the dots.

Starting at the cuticle, your going to make a "C" shape with the dots.  The polishes I used, from lightest to darkest, are China Glaze Wish On A Starfish, OPI Hey Baby, and OPI Flashbulb Fuchsia.

Have a fabulous Friday!!  Happy Polishing!!