Studded Mint & Gold Half Moons

Press Sample

Hey Y'all!!  Happy Friday!!  Anyone have plans for the holiday weekend (here in the US it's Memorial Day)?  We only have plans to do nothing!  We've gone for 4 straight weeks, so we plan to be complete couch potatoes this weekend.  Plus the hubby has to work today and Friday.  But it will be so nice to sleep in!

For today I have an elegant twist on the Half Moon, Studded Mint & Gold Half Moons:

I Used:
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri- Mint Sprint (dark mint/turquoise crème)
Sally Hansen I Love Nail Art Stud Kit- gold studs

Preen.me sent me a bunch of fun and fabulous Sally Hansen products to try (and you will see them all in up coming posts)!  And this design leaped out to me the second I saw the products!  I think this is such a modern and elegant take on half moons and is a whole lot easier to do!

Start with two coats of Sally Hansen Insti-Dri in Mint Spring.  Loved this polish!  It was a dream!  And to be honest, you can get away with just one coat.  I can't...I just have to do two.  I just do.  Plus I think the mani last longer with two coats, but that is just my opinion.

The gold studs are part of the Sally Hansen I Love Nail Art stud kit.  It comes with gold studs, and black and white rhinestones and a rubber tipped stick to help with placing them.  This is such a fabulous kit!  And it contains a lot of studs.  After completing this many you could barely tell I used any of them! 

For the next step, you need to work with one nail at a time.  Paint a pretty thick coat of top coat then working quickly, place the studs.  I chose to place them in a more triangular shape...makes me think of art deco, which I love.  Once all the studs are placed, apply another coat of top coat to secure your look!

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

Orly Review: Teal Unreal & Purple Poodle

Hey Y'all!!!  I hope you're having a fabulous day!  My day is kind of quiet, which is nice for a change.  Hmmm, maybe I can even get a nap in today.  Hopefully, lol.

Today I have two more polishes from the Surreal Collection by Orly.  I only bought four of the six, but I love these four so much I'm going to have to find the other two!  First up is Teal Unreal:

Teal Unreal is perfectly named!  This is a highly pigmented, intense, perfect teal!!  The formula was perfect, no balding or streaking.  The pictures show two coats with top coat, so it was fully opaque in two coats. 

And the wear on this polish is phenomenal!!!  Further down this post is the "half moon" mani I did....the pictures were taken FIVE days after I did them!!  No touch ups needed!  I was actually sad to take this polish off.  I think it's going to be a staple for me this fall and winter!!

I really just can't say enough good things about Teal Unreal!!

Next up is Purple Poodle:

Purple Poodle is a magenta based jelly with micro blue glitters and small blue, purple and magenta glitters.  Pictures show three coats with top coat.

Isn't is purty????  The formula was great!  There was no balding or streaking.  There isn't really a visible nail line in real life.  What's not to love about Purple Poodle??  It's purple and glitter!! 

I thought this was going to be my favorite, but surprise it's actually Teal Unreal!  I loved it so much, I couldn't take it off, so I did my version of half moons using Purple Poodle:

Seriously, Y'all!!!  Run, don't walk to your nearest Orly dealer and get these!!!  You will be so sad if you don't!  Happy Polishing!!

Day 18: Half Moons (&Tutorial), R31DC

Hi y'all!!!  How is everyone?  Since I started complaining about the freezing weather yesterday, karma is getting revenge...we are expecting sleet and freezing rain on Friday.  And I have to be out running around in it.  So I'm thinking of taking up a collection to put a hit out on General Beauregard (yes, that is the name of the groundhog in the south...go ahead, laugh it up) if he sees his shadow.  We can take up one for our northern friends too against Punxutney Phil.  I mean it, Spring had better be on the way!! LOL!

Today in the R31DC is half moons.  I've done a tutorial on tradition half moons here.  And here is another version:

I Used:
Orly- Rage
Zoya- Jem
Scotch tape

I started with two coats of Orly Rage, a beautiful, light copper shimmer.  Once that had dried completely, I cut out triangles out of scotch tape:

And placed them down by my cuticles:

 



Then using the gorgeous, shimmery Zoya Jem, I painted one kind of thick coat.  Paint your nails one at a time and remove the tape before going on to the next nail.  Then just finish with your favorite top coat.



I hope y'all enjoyed this manicure!  And be sure to check out all the other wonderful half-moon designs!  Happy Polishing!!

Half Moon Tutorial

Hi Everybody!!  I decided to go with a more classic look today, well classic for me.  The half moon design has been popular for a long time.  It originated in the 20's and was the height of fashion in the 40's.  I remember my grandmother wearing her nails like this all the time. (She was so ahead of her time, she always painted the back of her nails, and she knew the secret to white iodine and your nails.)  So I have the steps for the classic half moon, but you know I had to change it up some. (The classic look-half moon color first- is nude and white, black and white or red and black.)  This is a very easy manicure, you just need to know the trick.

I Used:
China Glaze- No Plain Jane (purple/beige duochrome)
Icing- Golden Age of Glitter (gold and black glitter)
Diamond Cosmetics- Black Glitter
Pure Ice- Jaguar (gold)

So here's the finished manicure:

I started by painting two coats of China Glaze No Plain Jane.  This is such a pretty frosted purple with a slight beige shift.  This base color will be the color of your half moons.

Make sure that has dried completely, then grab your secret weapon: hole reinforcements!  Yes, those things you used in school are what you need to make this manicure perfect.  Place them down by your cuticles like in this picture:

Make sure they are down firmly so the polish doesn't leak underneath them.

Then I painted my nails with two coats of Icing Golden Age of Glitter, a gorgeous gold and black glitter in a clear base.  Because I painted two coats of Icing, I kept the hole reinforcements on until I painted the second coat.  Remove them immediately after the second coat.

To really show the half moons, I added black and gold lines.  Start with black and using a liner brush or very thin brush, follow the line made by the half moons.  Then follow the black line with the gold.  I used Pure Ice Jaguar.  It's the perfect gold and matched the glitter perfectly.  Don't forget the top coat!

So what combination are you going to use?  Let me know!  Happy Polishing!!