TRI-ing on Talons

 

Hello, Fireflies!

Let's just get this part over with, shall we?  Holy Frijole!

You've seen my nubs, so you know these talons aren't real.  They're KISS Everlasting French press-on nails.  I got them from Influenster, and took them for a spin.  After a day, I got bored with the plain French, and started doing different nail art looks, which I'll be showing you in the coming days and weeks.  They do look pretty good, and with a layer of Rica's Glossy Glam, they actually looked more real.  Fooled a friend of mine that does her own acrylics!

For the nude part of the challenge, well, the nail already has a nude part! I accented it with Ooh La Lacquer Matte-terial Girl, a collection of tiny nude/pink glitters in a matte base.

I was inspired by Robin Moses' Heart Flowers design for this look.  It was kinda fun to have a long nail as a base for this nail art.

After setting the background branches with my black striper, I used Avon Mango Melon (which looks red, but it did seem like coral!) with a little Born Pretty holo #3 to make the heart flowers.

Mentality Pastille didn't work for the leaves, really, but I did love it for the 'pollen' of the flowers.   Who needs leaves? This turquoise holo is so pretty.

Some more Glossy Glam, and we're done!

Bottle shot:  Ooh La Lacquer Matte-terial Girl, my black striper, Mentality Pastille,  Avon Mango Melon, and Born Pretty Holo #3.

I'm okay with my nubbins, but it was fun to wear talons for a few days.  There was So.Much.Room on my nails! Do you have a preference for looking at nail art on long or short nails?

An InLinkz Link-up

Stamps like a Butterfly, Stings Like a Bea

 Hello Fireflies!

Today's Sunday Stamping challenge is butterflies, ladybugs, or fireflies.  I totally need a firefly stamp!! Does anyone know where to find one?

I thought it would be funny to stamp butterflies over a polish named "Bea Stings." Bee stings.  Get it? I knew you would.  Bad puns aside, it is a gorgeous hot pink holo, that flashed orange at times.

This was so distracting when I was driving around today! I would see red and purple and orange in the rainbows. 

I bought plate QA53 from Born Pretty Store during one of their sales.  I was pleasantly surprised at how easy this plate worked.  It's been a while since I had a plate that worked perfectly for every image.

I wasn't sure about using plain old black (Finger Paints Black Expressionism) to stamp such beautiful butterflies, but I love how it looks over that crazy, bright, stunning holo.  That lace pattern on the middle finger butterfly is sweet.

I changed the angle of the light for this pix, trying to bring out more of the rainbow colors.  Can you see the purple and orange?

Bottle shot:  Colors by Llarowe Bea Stings, and Finger Paints Black Expressionism.

It's not a complicated nail art, but I love it.. and I love bad jokes, too! If you have a favorite bad joke, I'd love for you to share it in the comments!

What's Black and White and Red All Over? #NailArtForNubs

Two posts today! If you missed it, click HERE to see my review of April's Beauty Box 5!

Hello, Fireflies!

The answer to that very, very old joke is, "a newspaper" - get it? 'read all over?' har har har.  Today, though, the answer is, "my nails."

Who'da thunk I'd love this cheap Wet 'n Wild Black Creme so much?  It's not as easy or shiny as my absolute fave, Cult Nails Nevermore, but it's also 1/10th the price.

I used Pueen4 and Revlon Spirit to stamp these cute button-esque flowers.  Cute as a button!

I could have stopped here, but no.  Are you ready to take it up a notch?

As Emeril would say, "BAM!" Red, rhinestone flowers!

I was sent these to review from Born Pretty Store.  They don't seem to carry them as single colors anymore, but you can buy a wheel of different color ones, which I think is better.

This makes my flowers look 3-D. whoa.

I just love black and white and red together. What's your classic color combo?

If you'd like to go shopping at the Born Pretty Store, feel free to use my coupon (GVX31) for 10% off! Born Pretty Store can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and their blog.

An InLinkz Link-up

Two posts today! If you missed it, click HERE to see my review of April's Beauty Box 5!

Tri-Polish Tuesday - Lily Gradient

Hello, Fireflies!

I'm so happy with the way this nail art cam out! Especially after it started with a streaky yellow base coat, Ulta Cream Of The Crop.

I tried doing a sponge gradient with Barry M Blue Moon, a soft pale blue, with a slight shimmer, but they're both so sheer that they just absorbed into the sponge.  I achieved pretty much the look I wanted by just painting the two colors on my nail!  Sometimes, the simplest solution is the best one.

I used these Lily water decals from Born Pretty Store in a mani earlier this week, but I actually created this one first.  I loved the decals so much, I just had to use them again! And then, I ordered another set that I paid for (these were sent for review.)

These are the epitome of Spring/Easter nails.  Pastels, light, airy colors, with bright lilies.

I fell in love, and I fell hard.  And, I'm so proud of myself for using all three colors of the Tri-polish challenge! (golf clap)

These decals are so easy to use - just cut off the decal you want to use (you don't even have trim it that close!) soak it in a bit of water for 10-20 seconds, slide the decal off the paper backing with your fingers or a pair of tweezers, and put it on your wet nail.  Slide it around until it's where you want it to be, and then blot gently with a lint-free cloth - or just let it dry on its own.  They don't lift like stickers, and they melt away with the nail polish remover, so there's no extra clean up.

Bottle shot:  Ulta Cream Of The Crop, and Barry M Blue Moon, along with the sheet of decals.

Do you love these as much as I do?  I can't even take most of the credit - the decals did most of the work!

If you'd like to go shopping at the Born Pretty Store, feel free to use my coupon (GVX31) for 10% off! Born Pretty Store can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and their blog.

An InLinkz Link-up

Spring Renewal - Water (decal) Lilies

Hello, Fireflies!

April showers bring ...Spring Flowers! I'm not waiting until May to show you these awesome nails!  I started with one of my new favorite multichromes, Dance Legend Roz.

Have you ever seen such vibrant shifts? And that violet.  Green, gold, copper, purple.  Amazing.

I'm using these Lily water decals from Born Pretty Store in two different manis this week, I like them that much.  I like them so much that, even though I got these from Born Pretty Store for review purposes, I bought another set of them during their water decal sale! Some were only 88 or 99 cents.

I love how the polish plays off the pink in the lily decals.  If these were stickers, you might see lifting of all those pointy flower petals, but that doesn't happen with water decals.

I wish I could paint like this, but I don't need to with these decals.  This is nail art anyone can do if they have some water and a pair of tweezers.

If you'd like to go shopping at the Born Pretty Store, feel free to use my coupon (GVX31) for 10% off! Born Pretty Store can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and their blog.

An InLinkz Link-up

TRI-Polish Tuesday - Roses

Hello, Fireflies!

Did I just show you a Northern Star Polish yesterday? It was good, wasn't it.  Yeah, I know.  Real good.

*ahem*

So, this is another Northern Star Polish, Printemps, a barbie-pink with a subtle holo.

I recently picked up some Washi tape in the dollar bin at Target (for 75% off! booyah!) and I'd heard that some have used it for tape manicures.  It's pretty good! It's really sticky at first, so I still needed to put it on my hand to remove some of the stickiness, but it stuck well, and made pretty clean lines with Wet 'n Wild Black Creme.

Can you tell I am just loving these water decals from Born Pretty Store?  Even though these were sent to me for review, I've already purchased another set of these, and some others.  They have a nice selection on sale right now - some as low as $0.88!

I thought this might give a sort of flowerbox or trellis effect over the French tips.  I'm not sure I'm loving the red roses over the pink, but I do love it over the black.

I know, I didn't manage to get any yellow in to this week's challenge.  Who knew that yellow would be my Achilles heel?

Maybe I should have done yellow dots or something like that?  Yellow roses are my fave, wish these decals came in yellow!  I'll keep looking.

If you'd like to go shopping at the Born Pretty Store, feel free to use my coupon (GVX31) for 10% off! Born Pretty Store can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and their blog.

An InLinkz Link-up

The Beauty Blog Coalition giveaway goes live at midnight, Central time! There are three CASH prizes - first is $500 dollars!

Water, Water, Everywhere - Use Them For Decals!

Hello, Fireflies!

I have a couple of looks for you today that I did with water decals courtesy of Born Pretty Store. 

First, I have to show you this multichrome from Dance Legend called The Knight.

I have never seen a polish change from purple to gold before!  Wowza. 

I ordered it directly from Dance Legend, but Llarowe also carries it.  A polish this unique and classy deserves some nail art that's just as classy, right? 

I received some water decals for review from Born Pretty Store, and they have been a nail art game-changer!  Water decals are super easy to use.  You may be able to tell that the decals are only as big as they need to be to accomodate the picture.  So, when you cut it out, you don't have to cut it out exactly around the picture.  The decal is smaller than the square I've cut out.

Soak the decal in a little bit of water (enough to submerge the sticker)  and in about 20 seconds, remove it from the water.  It should slide right off the paper backing.  Use your finger or tweezers to hold the sticker.  Wet your nail so there is some slippage, and then place the sticker on the nail.  As long as the nail is wet, you should be able to move the sticker around to get it right where you want it.

Boom, there it is! Fancy nails in about 5 minutes.

I did another example with China Glaze Santa Red My List, a red metallic foil.

See? You don't have to be precise or use the decals in any particular order.  You can cut them all out at once, or just pick out the ones you want to use. 

I chose a couple different kinds of bows, in different sizes.  They are so easy to put on - you can clean up any excess with a brush and some acetone, and then they come off with your polish when you remove the polish. 

If you're nailart-challenged, you may love all the things you can do with water decals.  Have you tried them?

If you'd like to go shopping at the Born Pretty Store, feel free to use my coupon (GVX31) for 10% off! Born Pretty Store can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and their blog.