Pink & Bronze Fan Brush Design

Hey Y'all!!  Happy Monday!  I hope you had a good weekend.  We didn't do much which was a nice change.  We caught up on our "America's Got Talent" shows...love that show!  And just spent time loving on our fur babies and each other.  Plus I spent time trying to teach my 90+ pound fur baby that she can't do the same things as the 9 pound fur baby.  In other words, no Tillie, you can't run across the room and jump in Mommy's lap...you are going to squish Mommy!  But I do make that fun sound when she lands on me and all the air rushes out of my body...she likes that sound.

I do have a new design for you today...I think I've finally figured out how to do a Fan Brush design:

I Used:
Studio M- Hot Zone (neon pink with blue shimmer)
Orly- Hot Tropics (neon magenta with a gold shimmer)
Sinful Colors- Gold Medal (antique gold/bronze gold metallic)
Fan Brush

I started this manicure with two coats of Studio M Hot Zone, a gorgeous neon pink with a blue shimmer.  Next comes the fan brush.  This takes practice, at least for me, lol.  Put a little polish on a piece of paper (or foil, or paper plate) and dip your fan brush into the polish.  Then dab the excess polish off.  You want to remove the majority. Then, just run the fan brush vertically across the nail.  Start on one side, then start on the other side of the nail.

You may have to go over the nail several times to get the look you want.  I also went over the nails with the base color, using the fan brush, to make it stand out more.  Once you get the look you want, top off with top coat.

I hope you enjoyed today's mani!  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!

Memorial Day Manicure Stars, Stripes & Water Marble

Hey Y'all!!  Happy Saturday!!  I hope y'all are having a great weekend!!  Here in my corner of the south, we're taking it easy this weekend.  I think it' going to be a movie marathon weekend :)

And of course it's Memorial Day Weekend here in the states, where we remember all those who gave their lives for our country.  So, along with the Salon Perfect challenge, which was red, white and blue, I wanted to do a manicure honoring everyone who has ever served in our military.  I came up with a red and white water marble along with hand painted stars:

I Used:
Sinful Colors- Snow Me White (white crème)
Orly- Unlawful (red crème)
Pure Ice- French Kiss (blue crème)
White Acrylic Paint
Fine Detail Brush

I started this mani off by painting 4 of my nails on each hand with Sinful Colors Snow Me White,  The last two nails I painted with Pure Ice French Kiss.  I also painted half of two nails with the French Kiss.  Then I water marbled 3 1/2 nails on each hand with Sinful Colors Snow Me White and Orly Unlawful.

The stars were hand painted using a fine detail brush and white acrylic paint.  For the how I did the stars, I turned to my idol, Robin Moses!  You can watch her tutorial by clicking here.  Basically the directions are to paint an A and give it arms.  Then just connect the arms and legs.  Easy Peasy!  I don't think I did to bad for a first try.  And I was able to do both hands :)

I hope you enjoyed today's mani!  And I hope you have a fabulous, fun and safe Memorial Day weekend!  Happy Polishing!

Brazil Water Marble

Hey Y'all!!  TGIF!!  So do you have any big plans for the weekend?  Let me live vicariously through you.  Do you have any small plans?  As for me and mine, the teen has dance class and rehearsals all day Saturday, and I hope, on Sunday to get some blog posts ready.  I have so much to share.

For today, I have a water marble using the two polishes from the OPI Brazil collection I reviewed yesterday, Taupe-Less Beach and Black Cherry Chutney.  I kind of did it two different ways.  On the left hand, I made the lines thinner:

And on the right a little wider:

Which do y'all prefer?

I really like both.  And I really love these two colors together.  You may be seeing this color combination a lot :)

For my Water Marble tutorial, Click here!!

I hope y'all enjoyed today's post!  If there's something you would like to see, or would like a tutorial for, leave me a comment and I'll see what I can do!

Have a fabulous Friday!  And Happy Polishing!!

Mish Mash Challenge: Cheapest

Hey Y'all!!!  Can you believe it??  THREE POSTS in one day!!!  If you haven't already, please check out the other two.  And if you are a blogger, be sure to check out our blog hop!!

Ok, since this is my third, straight to it.  Today's theme is Our Cheapest Polish and while I know I have cheaper, these two were pretty darn cheap....they cost 99 cents each.

And the polishes:

They are:  Nanacoco Surfer's Dream and Wet-n-Wild Who Is Ultra Violet?

Then to make the design, I just used striping tape which is super cheap.  You can find it on Amazon for about $2.00 for 10 rolls.  I started with two coats of the Nanacoco (I've never heard of this polish before, but found it at a new beauty supply store in my town and had to try it).  Then place the striping tape:

It did take two coats of the Wet-n-Wild.  Just leave the tape in place while the first coat dries.  Then immediately after painting the second coat, remove the tape.

I hope you enjoyed this week's Mish Mash Challenge.  Be sure to check out the other fabulous frugal ladies in the links below!!  Happy Polishing!!

 

Mish Mash Challenge: Tape

Happy Hump Day Y'all!!!  I'm so happy it's Wednesday!  I LOVE my challenge ladies and LOVE seeing all their art!!  So week two of the Mish Mash Challenge is tape!  And here is my entry:

I Used:
Sinful Colors- Snow Me White (white crème)
China Glaze- Turned Up Turquoise (neon turquoise)
China Glaze- Creative Fantasy (dark purple neon)
Orly- La Vida Loca (dark neon pink)
Sinful Colors- Heavy Metal
Orly- Black Vinyl (black crème)
Scotch Tape
Liner Brush

I really like how this turned out, and I received a lot of compliments on it.  But y'all know how I tell you, "trust me, this is easy and will only take you a few minutes"?  Yeah, not this one.  This one will take you a good hour to hour and a half.  But it's worth it!

I started with two coats of Sinful Colors Snow Me White since I used neon.  I wanted to make sure the colors popped.

Then using a liner brush, I painted stripes in various directions on my nails (In case you missed my Tip page tip on brushes, a strongly suggest you buy a cheap liner brush.  That way every polish you own can be used instead of buying all the different, and expensive, liner polishes.

Then using scotch tape, cut out triangles in different shapes and sizes:

Place the tape on your nails in random patterns and paint over the entire nail in black.  Immediately remove the tape.

I hope y'all enjoy today's post!  Be sure to join me and check out all the other ladies' amazing designs!!  They are incredible!! 

And if you haven't already, be sure to enter my One Year Blog-iversary Giveaway!!  Happy Polishing!!

Reciprocal Zebra Stripes

Hey Y'all!!  TGIF!!  Anyone have big plans this weekend?  For many around here, this is the last weekend before school starts...can you believe it?  What happened to Summer??  The hubby is supposed to take me out to a nice dinner tonight.  He's trying to make up for stepping on but not seeing the green hoppy thing yesterday.  Yep, a nice dinner out ain't going to get it.  He needs to do more!  I'm thinking something polish/make up related!

Anyway, I have what I'm calling Reciprocal Zebra Stripes for you today:

I Used:
China Glaze- Fancy Pants (blurple with pink and purple shimmer)
OPI- Pompeii Purple (fuchsia with pink shimmer)
Scotch Tape
Medium Liner Brush

I really love my mixed up zebra stripes, and really love these two colors together!  It didn't come out exactly as I saw it in my mind, but it's close. 

So to create this mani, start with two coats of the lighter color; in this case, OPI Pompeii Purple.  Pompeii Purple is a beautiful fuchsia polish with a purple shimmer. Once that has dried completely, use scotch tape to tape a diagonal line on your nails.  Be sure to place and remove the tape a few times first to remove some of the stickiness.

Then paint your second,darker color.  I used China Glaze Fancy Pants (love this color).  It did take two coats.  If you need two coats, you can wait a few minutes in between coats, but don't let the polish dry completely.  Immediately after the second coat (or your first and only), remove the scotch tape.  If you wait it will lift the new polish up.

When that has all dried, use a long, thin brush (I used a medium liner brush) to make the zebra stripes.  Zebra stripes are basically shaky triangles.  Make sure to use the opposite color, especially if your stripe covers both colors.  Then just use top coat to seal in your design!

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

Reciprocal Gradient

Hi my friends!!!!  I'm so happy to see you today!  And...it's Friday!!  Anyone have big plans?  I am so excited about this post today that I'm going to get straight to it!  This design is called a Reciprocal Gradient and was named and made up by Emma at Globe and Nail.  I LOVE THIS DESIGN!!  As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to try it.  The link above shows her original design and here is mine:

I Used:
Sinful Colors- Black on Black
Nina Ultra Pro- French White
Orly- Shockwave (gray crème)
Stripping Tape

Isn't is fun?  I would give you the steps to do this, but Colette at My Simple Little Pleasures, made a fabulous video with great directions for this design. So today I just have pictures for you. 

Thank you all so much for checking this out!  I appreciate each and every one or you!!  Whether you've been with me from the beginning (love you) or just joined (welcome), THANK YOU!!  Have a fabulous weekend and I'll see you soon!  Happy Polishing!!

Inspired by a Flag

Hi Everyone!!!  I hope you are having a fabulous and dry Thursday!!  I love the rain, but not the cold.  And today it's rainy and cold!  Yuck!  But my now a teenager is still sick, so no dance means I didn't have to go out in it at least.  Ok, so since this post is so late, I'll get right to it.  Today's prompt in the Relaxed 31 Day Challenge is Inspired by a Flag.  I chose Japan's Rising Sun flag:

I Used:
China Glaze- Swanky Silk (gold/purple duochrome)
Nina Ultra Pro- Cranberri (dark red crème)
Hole Reinforcements
Striping Tape

I started with two coats of China Glaze Swanky Silk, a gold/purple duochrome.  Once that had dried completely, I used the hole reinforcements for the half moon part of the manicure and striping tape for the rays:

And the finished look:

Be sure to check the other designs inspired by flags from the other fabulous ladies!  And check back tomorrow for inspired by the supernatural!  Until then, Happy Polishing!!

Inspired by a Pattern

Hi y'all!  How is your Tuesday going?  I hope everyone is staying warm and healthy.  I'm finally starting to feel better, but I think it's because I passed the plague on to my poor daughter :(

Deciding on a pattern was tough.  But since I felt horrible and knew I had a long day coming up, I decided to copy the pattern of one of my favorite shirts.  My bestie, who is not a poishaholic like me, is always saying that your nails and clothes should match. So I thought it would be fun to have my nails literally match my clothes:

I Used:
Nina Ultra Pro- French White (white crème)
essence- oh my glitter! (purple with purple shimmer)
NYC- Skin Tight Denim Crème (dark blue shimmer, don't know why it's called a crème)
Striping Tape

I started with two coats of white polish and once that had dried completely, I painted the essence oh my glitter by the cuticle.  Since the blue stripe was going to cover the purple, the edge didn't have to be perfect.  Finally using striping tape, I painted the dark blue stripes and finished it off with a top coat.  (If y'all would like to see the picture of how I taped up my nails, let me know and I will add it)

I hope y'all like this mani and please check out the other ladies and their patterns.  Happy Polishing!!

Butterflies!

I know that butterflies are more Spring than end of Summer, but the Monarch Butterfly's colors remind me of fall and that's why I picked butterflies for today's manicure.  And to be honest with you, I'm not ready to let go of summer.  Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to finally have football back (Go Bucs!!!), but I'm not ready to stop wearing shorts.  They're just so comfy! 

Here's the tutorial for the butterflies.  You can make these with any color you want.

I used:
China Glaze- Liquid Leather
China Glaze- White on White
Finger Paints- Vermilion $ Painting
Finger Paints- Prints & Printsess
Wet-n-Wild- 9.0.2.1. Orange
Pro-FX Quick Dry High Gloss Top Coat
Dotting Tool
Liner Brush
Detail Brush
Make-up Sponges (cut up)

I started with two coats of Finger Paint's Prints & Printsess.  It's a light peach with a pretty peach shimmer to it.  Next I sponged Finger Paint's Vermilion $ Painting on the top portion of my nail in a diagonal gradient.  That polish is a dark orange/red with a gold shimmer.  Once that was dry I sponged Wet-n-Wild's 9.0.2.1.Orange along the middle.  I love this polish, it has a gold micro glitter.  This is to help give the wing a more multi-dimensional look.  For the sponges, I use ones from the dollar store.  Just cut them into irregular shapes.  Also, wet them and they will expand to give you a better effect.

Then in the corner of your nail, paint a semi-circle.  Using a liner brush (a brush with long, thin bristles) or liner polish, make lines from the semi-circle out to the edge of your nail.

Connect the lines with a curved line.  Color in the space between the curved line and your skin with black polish.  Using a dotting tool (or toothpick), make random white dots in the black area.  Finish with a top coat.  I hope you enjoy this design! Happy Polishing!!

Left hand:

Right hand:

Stripes

I saw, what I thought was this design, on Pinterest and loved it.  I went to copy the look and it turned out I didn't, but I still love how it turned it out.

I used:
Orly- Royal Navy
Light Blue Stripping Tape
Pro-FX Quick Dry High Gloss Top Coat

I have to tell you that I love this Orly polish! It's the perfect royal blue and has a silver shimmer to it. Anyway, I started with two coats of Orly's Royal Navy.  Once that was almost dry, but still tacky, I put the stripping tape on.  If you put the tape on before the polish is completely dry it will last so much longer than waiting until it dries completely.  My manicure is 7 days old in the above picture.  Once the taping is done, remember to apply your top coat.  I used two coats of it on this design to even it out.

Let me know what you think! And as always, Happy Polishing!!