GOT - Neon Dotticure!

Hello, Fireflies!

I, uh, didn't take any pictures of the build up for today's GOT.  I started off on the wrong polish, as it were.  Not that Orly Point Blanche is a bad polish, no.  But do you see there, on the front of the bottle where it says it's for French Manicures?

I think Orly took that a little too literally, and they made the brush small.  Which is a good thing, if you're doing a French Manicure.  Not a good thing if you're just trying to use opaque white polish to cover a nail. 

It wasn't small like a nail art brush, though, so I didn't know what was wrong at first.  Definitely a 'derp!' moment.

For the neon challenge, I took some of the Kleancolor neon minis I had in Mango, Neon Purple, Funky Yellow, and Neon Green, and dotted them on, along with Wet 'n Wild Black Creme.

Bottle shot:  Orly Point Blanche, Kleancolor Neon Purple and Green, Funky Yellow, and Mango, and Wet 'n Wild Black Creme.

Are you ready for neons yet?

An InLinkz Link-up

Sunday Stamping - Purple and Orange

Hello, Fireflies! 

Today's stamping challenge is purple and orange.  I was stumped.  I don't think I've ever worn purple and orange together on my nails.  I couldn't even think of where to start!

So, I went for a holo.  Always a good place to start.  This is Aly's Dream Polish Electric Indigo.

Like a lot of purple-blues, my camera was all stubborn and refused to give me the right color.  This is close... it's a really lovely, bright blurple color.

I thought maybe an animal print was crazy enough for this color combo, so I picked this zebra-like print from Shany 22.

I didn't think 'zebra' when I picked it, but it stamped that way.  I used Kleancolor Metallic Orange for the stamp.  Love how the metallics stamp, though I did have a little trouble.

I decided to add Color Club Spiral Stars for some added orange - flakie! Too bad it was mostly lost in the stripes.  Boo.

Bottle shot:  Aly's Dream Polish Electric Indigo, Kleancolor Metallic Orange, and Color Club Spiral Stars.

Aren't these LSU colors?  I don't know, I don't follow college (or any) sports, really.  But for some reason, it's ringing a bell.  Would you wear purple and orange polish together?

Battle of the red-hot flakies

Hello, Fireflies!

I love flakies.  Practically obsessed.  I want to BUY ALL THE FLAKIES!

So, it's no wonder why I have dupes.. or at least close cousins.  I picked these 4 polishes that all have a purple base with red flakies: Nfu-Oh 51, Color Club The Uptown, Layla CE 52, and Kleancolor Chunky Holo Purple.

Even though they are all similar, none of them are exactly the same!

Nfu-Oh 51 is pretty much the original of this type of polish.  The Layla comes closest, but has a more purple base, less blue.  The Uptown is lighter still, and the Kleancolor has almost no color on the nail.

Even the flakies are all a little different.  The Uptown has almost too many flakies - with 2 coats of polish, the flakies start to look like a whole layer, rather than individual flashes.  The Nfu-Oh has the finest, smallest flakies.  The KleanColor's flakies are bordering on glitter. Not to mention it has that hideous Kleancolor aroma.

Nfu-Oh has discontinued their flakie line, but you can still find a few floating around on Ebay and the like.  If the smell doesn't bother you, the Kleancolor is probably the cheapest option, and you could layer it over whatever purple base you'd like.  I'm not sure of the availability of the Layla, since Ulta stopped carrying their line.  The Uptown is part of Color Club's Winter 2013 collection, so it should be around for a while, and then it will hopefully end up in TJMaxx!

Have y'all seen other versions of this polish?  If you don't need them all, which would you choose?

More, MOAR Model City!

Today, I have the last two polishes in the Model City Spring collex.  They are all very subtle pastel holos, and I've decided to show them all as-is, with a matte topcoat, and stamped.  If you're just tuning in now, I started this collex on Stamping Sunday, and in yesterday's post.

Pretty In Pink.  I know I'm not the only one who has to sing the name of this polish.   I'm noticing a trend in all my pix that my ring finger seems to have more VNL than the other nails.  Not sure why that is, but I really love stating the obvious, so there you go.

Love this with a matte topcoat.  So far, they all look amazeballs with a matte topcoat.

Stamped, again with the DRK-C plate, and Finger Paints Black Expressionism. Groovy, baby.

You Blue Me Away.  If there was one polish in the collex that didn't work for me, well, it's the notorious pastel blue.  I could not get this to level out on me.

Note to self:  If a polish has mistakes, do not use matte topcoat - it only makes the mistakes more noticeable.

Another stamp with DRK-C, and Kleancolor Metallic Green.  I was trying to camouflage my bad paint job... but I only made it worse.  I should have waited longer for the polish to dry.. note the new ding.  Another note to self:  when it's bad, just start over.  Sometimes, you just can't hide it!
 

Overall, I really liked this collex, and if you bought the whole thing like I did, you got a free bottle of her holo topcoat, Seize the Rainbow.  So, if you wanted more holo, you could DIY. 

Is this a pastel collex you'd like?  What was your fave - as-is, matte, or stamped?  Would you add more holo?

If you'd like more information about Model City Polish, you can find them on Facebook, and her store on Etsy. 

Candy Cane Striping

For fun and simple nail art, you can't beat dots or stripes.  For a festive look, I used a tutorial from Sassy Paints to make candy cane nails! 

Milani White On The Spot is the best white polish I've found for doing a whole nail.  It dries opaque and glossy.

I found this set of holiday mini scented polishes at Claire's and decided to use some of them for candy canes. What better way then to start out with a sweet mint polish?  I love a sparkle over white.

The red glitter from Claire's was cranberry scented, and it actually went well with the sweet mint.  Who knew.

The green glitter in the Claire's set wasn't thick enough to use with a striper, so I substituted Kleancolor metallic green instead.   If you're one who is sensitive to the smell of Kleancolors, try pairing it with a scented polish! mmm.

I used the Milani silver art striper to add a little glitter.  

They almost smelled good enough to eat!

Do you like using scented polish?  I wasn't interested in buying a polish just for the scent, but I have to admit, it's a nice addition.

Stamping on a red base - a red, hot mess!

I enjoy my Stamping Sundays, I do.  But, more often than not, I'm not very good at this stamping thing.  When you see those really pretty stamped manis, you should know that they're not as easy as they look!  There's all kinds of techniques and color choices, testing formulas, and understanding the tools.

And, patience.  Which I don't have.

This week's challenge was to stamp over red.  I had just bought this Jessica polish, Heart's Desire, part of their holiday collection.  It is one of those reds that glows from within - my fave, as you know.

I used a bow stamp from my Cheeky Mega-Jumbo-VERYLARGE plate, and Kleancolor Metallic Green and Revlon Sequin.  To be quite frank, this is why my husband does all the present-wrapping at my house.  My Real-Life presents also look a hot mess when I try to wrap.  

Maybe next week! Happy Holidays!

Sunday Stamping - Birth Day Plate Number

Today's stamping challenge was to use a plate that ended in the number that corresponded to the date you were born.  I was born on the ninth of February, so I chose BM-309, and some owls!


This idea I had didn't really pan out in RL, but this isn't just about my successes.. it's about the journey, so here's my mani, warts and all...

I started with one coat of Kleancolor Holo Green.  So pretty and sparkly, though not exactly green.  I would have used more coats, but I knew I was layering.   On top, Sea Lore Adella.  I was going for a leafy green tree look. I liked this effect.

I used Finger Paints Black Expressionism and Maybelline Bold Gold for the owls.. but they just wouldn't stamp clearly.  I used top coat in between the glitter and the stamp, but I just couldn't get a good, clean stamp.

 My Thumb came out the cleanest, I think. 

I liked the idea, but the execution... whomp, whomp.  Try again!

Sunday Stamping - Metallics

I have been waiting a while to wear this polish - Butter London Trustafarian.  I don't know why I was waiting! I love a holo, even a scattered one. 

Like most BL polishes, the formula was impeccable, smooth...like butter.

And, even though this isn't a metallic, the frosty green looked like a perfect base for my waiting-for-fall stamping mani. 

This week's challenge is Metallics, so that's why I stamped with.  The cast:  Sinful Colors Super Nova, Kleancolor Metallic Orange and Metallic Green, and Maybelline Bold Gold.  I used this leaf pattern from Red Angel 129.  I was going for a 'crunchy, fallen leaves' look.

I love how all the different colors look together.  Leaf pile!

It's still in the 80s here in Florida, but I'm ready for some cooler weather.  This mani will probably be the closest thing I'll see to a leaf pile this year, though!

Are you stamping this Sunday?

Travelin' flower mani

Last time I went to visit my folks, I took a bunch of nail art stuff with me.  My family is pretty supportive of my habit, though they don't know *exactly* how much polish I've accumulated, and they've probably never seen my blog.

During some downtime, I decided to paint some flowers to wear on my last day there, and I ended up driving home with them on.

I used Jessica Nails Gone Bare for the base.  In the bottle, it looks like a peachy nude, but it definitely took on a whitish tone in these pix.  Even with two coats, there is still VNL, but I didn't mind, and the flowers and vines helped camouflage it.

Kleancolor Neon Sapphire and Red made the flowers and leaves, and then I touched over all of it with the Jessica NGB to soften the look a little.  I really like how that made it seem almost translucent in some places and lightened the design too.

Right hand:

Do you like to do nail art on-the-go?

Avon and Glitter II

MOAR AVON!

Today, the colors are a little on the lighter, earthy side.  The first color is a peachy-nude called Golden Sand.

I decided to use it as an accent color along with Venus, a frosty champagne.  These are a little more sheer, and even after 2 coats, I still had a little VNL under Golden Sand.  The frost in Venus camouflaged it for the most part.

I covered the whole thumb nail and parts of the other nails with Tokidoki Savana, a golden glitter with some holo microglitter.  I like how it blends right into Venus, but compliments Golden Sand and brings out the orange in it.

Again, I had problems with the drying time on these.  Hours later, I pushed all the polish off my nails with my thumb.  Perhaps these *need* a fast-dry topcoat, because I didn't use one.

 Last, a polish from Avon's Speed Dry line, Mink.

Mink is a cool-toned brown with a shimmer.  I really like this color, and best of all, it lived up to the Speed Dry name.  This polish dried fast and looked great.  I will definitely buy more colors from that line.

The Kleancolor glitter I paired it with turned out to be more full-coverage than I thought.  Sometimes, it's hard to tell with Kleancolor - usually their glitters are so thick and heavy on the base.  The holo and microglitters are fantastic, and so was this one.  The label on the bottom said it was Metallic Black, but the label on the handle said it was called Go Bunny.  I'm pretty sure it's not black.

Do you like Avon polishes?  I bought all of these when they were on sale or clearance, around $2-$3.50 a bottle.