From The Vault - Blue Smoky Eyes

Ageless Derma and CoverGirl Supersizer mascara are Press Samples.  Everything else was purchased by me.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

This may be the first time I've done a 'vault' post on some older makeup looks!  Sometimes, I just don't get around to posting them, for whatever reason.  Today, I have two looks that used blues and teals that I wanted to share with you.

I Got The Blues #ColourPop #ItCosmetics

Hello, Fireflies!

I'm not exactly sure why I'm so drawn to blue makeup and nail polish, but I am - like a magpie to shiny!  I have a makeup look and nail art to show you today incorporating some amazing cobalt blues!

All Blue, All The Time

Hello, Fireflies!

Wow, it's November already.  I wish it felt like it a little bit here in Florida, but the temps are still in the high 80's and we're breaking record temps.  Maybe a little splash of blue will cool me off...

Sunday Stamping - Blue Glitter and a Bonus!

Hello, Fireflies!

Today's Sunday Stamping challenge is to stamp over a blue glitter.  I had a mani over a blue holo, but decided it wasn't truly glittery enough, so I did another one.. and then decided to include both in today's post!  Bonus mani! Woot!

All Things Blue - Light It Up For Autism Awareness

Hello, Fireflies!

Two posts today!  If you haven't checked it out, I finished this month's Nail Challenge Collaborative 3rd anniversary copycat month earlier today with a chic dotticure.

Right now, though, is the second installment of this month's Challenge Your Nail Art All Things Blue challenge!  Autism awareness' slogan is 'Light It Up Blue" and that's what I did with this blue puzzle mani.

Revlon Transforming Effects Top Coats

Hello, Fireflies!

Isn't this blue gorgeous?  It's actually a little deeper in color and so beautifully shiny and jellied in person.  It's KB Shimmer Low And Be Bold, a cobalt blue-lovers dream.  Though absolutely gorgeous on its own, I decided to see how the color was transformed by using the new (and not LE!) Transforming Effects topcoats from Revlon.

Blue Jungle Wallpaper

 Hello, Fireflies!

For the last installment of this month's wallpaper challenge, I went all out with this gradient, glittered, stamped mani.

Sunday Stamping - Frozen Snowflakes

Hello, Fireflies!

Today's Adventures in Stamping challenge was to stamp over blue.  One of my fave blue polishes, Lilypad Lacquer Sherbet, has been sitting on my desk waiting for me to use it again, so I decided to use it as a base for some stylized snowflakes and flakies!

Blue and Purple Quatrefoil Wallpaper

Hello, Fireflies!

I'm working on my third 'wallpaper' pattern for the NCC challenge this month.  I've seen a few nail artists do different versions of this Quatrefoil pattern, and I thought it would make a neat pattern to try as wallpaper.

I started with Azature Blue, an unbelievably sparkly, gorgeous medium bright blue. 

Sunday Stamping - Three-Color Vines

Hello, Fireflies!

Today's stamping challenge was to use three colors.  I assumed to use three colors in the stamp, but if was just three colors total, I went over that.  I am such an overachiever...

I started out with this pretty baby pink from Nails Inc, Mayfair Lane.

Scrolling Wallpaper

Hello, Fireflies!

Short post today - I was going to take the day off, and then I decided to look through the vault to see if I could find a mani that could satisfy this month's NCC challenge - wallpaper.

I think that this scrolling pattern on blue flakie and gold works!

Reindeer Games

Hello, Fireflies!

I know, it's supposed to be Stamping Sunday, but I just couldn't.  It was supposed to be about stamping your Christmas List, and I had a brain fart.  Plus, this week has been absolutely crazy, so I decided to forgive myself and show y'all another mani I did that I really liked.

Dress Dotticure

Hello, Fireflies!

Two posts today! I needed a little nail art in my life, so I wanted to show you this dotticure I did to match a dress.  I've used this dress as an inspiration for a stamped nail look before, too.  It's one of my fave dresses.

"Art Nouveau" Stamping

 Hello, Fireflies!

Today's Sunday Stamping challenge is Art Nouveau.  Guess we're getting fancy all up in here.  I had to Google it. 

MDSun (shine) on my face makes me happy...

Product provided for review.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

Have you heard about MDSun? The founder of MDSun, Dr. George Sun, is a plastic surgeon who specializes in biochemical research.  He created his pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical lines to give his clients the best products to either maintain their plastic surgery results, or to give the best non-surgical results.  I had the pleasure of trying two of their most popular products: the Super Hydration B Serum, and the Intensive Eye Gel. 

Did I like them?  I'll give you a hint - I did one an homage nail art that is one of my most recent favorites!

One Fish, Two Fish, White Fish, Three Blues..

 Hello, Fireflies!

I'm picking back up with the 52 Week Pick 'n Mix challenge this week, and combining the 3-blues prompt with the domestic animal prompt.  Let's see.. shall I make a blue dog, a la Blue's Clues?

I start with this really nice, bright, opaque blue from CoverGirl, called Out Of The Blue.  This is ONE coat.  Easy, breezy, beautifu-  wait.  Wow, that's good marketing. You were thinking it, too, weren'tcha.

I started to do a chevron French tip with OPI Keeping Suzi At Bay, a medium blue jelly, but then when I added Sally Hansen Insta Dri Teal-y Fast, I just kept adding stripes.  It's not a fishtail, but along those lines.

I really liked how this turned out.  These colors look good together.  I took a few pictures in case adding the animal part to the mani completely failed!

When I had all the blues picked, I thought of fish! And these cute goldfish from Cici & Sisi 11 fit the bill.  I stamped with Milani White On The Spot.

Up close, you can see all the lines of the blues, but from a reasonable distance, it just looks like light and shadows in the water.

Everybody, now, "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming!"

I've never owned any kind of fish before, but I do like watching them sometimes.  Have you ever owned fish before?  What's the attraction?

The Nightmare Before Christmas - Jack and Sally

Hello, Fireflies!

For my last NCC Stripes challenge of the month, I wanted to incorporate stripes and one of the most popular Halloween traditions - watching The Nightmare Before Christmas.

This mani was inspired by one I saw on Pinterest, but I cheated and used a 3-D charm for Jack's face.

I painted all but my middle finger with Revlon Spirit, and then used a black striper to freehand the black stripes.  The middle finger was painted with Milani Black Swift, and then the charm was applied.

Bottle shot:  Revlon Spirit, Milani Black Swift, and a black striper.

What's Jack without his girl?

 This was inspired by a mani done by The Nailasaurus, but it reminded me of Sally.

I started off with a white base to make sure that the colors were bright.  Then, I used striping tape to mark off the different sections.  Even thought it would be nice to paint one color at a time, it dries too quickly for that - and dry polish gets pulled off with the striping tape.  So, do one nail at a time.  I painted over the white lines with black polish and made the stitches, too.

Bottle shot:  Revlon Spirit, Nails Inc Bond St., Wet 'n Wild Pleasure Pier, Urban Decay Bang, Finger Paints Go Van Gogh!, and a black striper.

Wouldn't it be neat to have one hand done like Jack, and the other like Sally?

Neon Racing Stripes

Hello, Fireflies!

Welcome to October! New month, new NCC challenge.  This month, we're doing stripes!

I love stripes. They are the masters of illusion in nail art.  For today's mani, I was inspired by a black and white design from Wondrously Polished. 

I just picked up some summer colors on clearance at Cherry Culture, and while I wasn't aware so many were neons, it's suprisingly okay with me.  I'm ready for Fall, but it's hard to let go of summer when you live in Florida and the temperature is still in the 90s, even if the leaves have fallen off of the trees.

So I'm happy to pair China Glaze Grass is Lime Greener, a neon lime green, with OPI Incognito In Sausalito, a deep, blackened navy blue.  It's like the best of Fall touched by the last lights of Summer.

Bottle shot:  China Glaze Grass is Lime Greener, and OPI Incognito In Sausalito.

Are you immersed in Fall colors yet, or is there still room for a glimpse of summer in your look?

Abstract Triangles

Hello, Fireflies!

Today is the last day of the Geometric mani theme for this challenge! I dug into the vault for this one, for a mani I liked, but just hadn't posted yet.

I started with a gorgeous shimmery teal,  Carpe Noctem South Haven Sunset.

In an unusual move for me, I wore Sunset Haven for a day, and then dressed it up.  You can tell by the sheet marks and scratches! 

I used tape to create some triangles with LA Splash Ocean's Fairy.

And then, I added more triangles with gold glitter and blue shimmer stripers.

Finally, I finished it off with a black stripe.  Or, another way, 1/3 of a triangle.

Bottle shot:  Carpe Noctem South Haven Sunset, LA Splash Ocean's Fairy, stripers in gold glitter, blush shimmer, and black.

Next month's theme is stripes! Or, 1/3 triangles...or 1/4 squares...

Bonita Glitter Dotticure

Hello, Fireflies!

I found a new-to-me brand of polish last time I was at Ross.  I'd heard of Bonita, but hadn't ever tried it before.  All of them came in those clear packs with no names on them, much like the Color Club repackaged polishes.  I guess they don't think that our cheap polish needs a name, poor things.

This poor no-name is an aqua-teal color.  I was pretty impressed by the quality of these polishes.  And, I know the bottles are kinda weirdly shaped, but I dig 'em.

I thought this glitter was so pretty, and perfect for this challenge because it reflects both lilac and teal.

I couldn't resist a little dotticure for good measure. 

Here's the bottle shot, but no names!  Don't these just look like they were made to go together?

I love it when a collection is released and the polishes compliment each other so nicely. When you buy makeup or polish, are you ever surprised that they go together, or do you purposely buy makeup in sets, or do you go for the chaotic approach?

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