Indecisive Tea Party

Hello, Fireflies!

Have you ever gotten all dressed up for a fancy date, and then just felt it was all wrong and started over, or changed something major about your outfit?

Well, I'm going to take my nails to a tea party, but I'm not wearing the same thing when I get there.

It started with a gorgeous scattered holo, Aly's Dream Polish Cherry Coke.  It's one of my faves of hers.  The color really does remind me of a deep caramel with cherry.

Which is why I thought it would go with these plummy tea rose decals.  I can't paint roses for anything.  I keep trying, but in the meantime, why suffer when there are decals?

Except, when I applied the decals, the color totally didn't look like what I thought it did.  I mean, what happened?  I felt completely color blind.

So, I changed the color of the polish, trying to carefully paint around the decals.  I like it better with this purple holo from Girly Bits, Remember Aja.

Two outfits, one tea party! Easy-peasy.  What would you wear to a tea party? I've never been to one.  Do they still wear white gloves?

An InLinkz Link-up

Tea Party Nudity

Hello, Fireflies!

Some of you might be into strip Poker, but I'm more into a Public Nudity tea party.

I mean, nail art done to match this month's Tea Party theme, with Glitzkrieg War Paint Public Nudity, a lovely nude with linear holo.

I had these rose decals from Born Pretty Store that reminded me of a blue vintage china pattern, like the kind you might find on tea cups.

I love how the polish almost gives me mannequin hands, but for the holo.

Even though the roses are a saturated blue, they still read vintage to me.  I'd totally love this in a china pattern.

What do you drink your tea out of? 

An InLinkz Link-up

Share The Love at a Wedding Reception

Hello, Fireflies!

Recently, I went to a wedding.  Well, not so much a wedding, as the couple had previously eloped.  It was a reception, but nothing fancy.  It was outside, and dress was casual.

So, basically, I went to a party where I really didn't know that many people, and there was no dancing, and I sweated a lot.  But, I am happy for the couple, and I'm glad they included us. 

Since it was a wedding, it's appropriate to share the love, right?  I mean, NailNation3000 Share The Love, a fuchsia holo! And some rose water decals.

Water decals are so easy and fun.  Simply cut out around the decal - no need to be precise - and soak them in water for 10-20 seconds.  When you pull them out of the water, they'll separate from their paper backing, and then you can place them on your nails.

I also did some pinkish makeup for the event.  I was running late, so hubby took this picture in the car at a stoplight on the way there!

Trying out my new Too Faced Pretty Rebel palette! I love Too Faced products.

It was hot, there was no A/C, but Cover FX saved the day! The CC Cream held on admirably over a mix of anti-aging and SPF primer.  Here's my makeup after I got home from the wedding.  I only reapplied lipstick - changing from Milani Power Lip in Raspberry Tart to Tarina Tarantino Floriculture after dinner.

Dang. My hair is a frizzy mess.  I hate Florida heat.

The stable of makeup for the day:  Cover FX primers in SPF30 and Anti-Age, Blemish primer and Eyeshadow primer, and also Setting Powder.  Kevyn Aucoin The Creamy Glow in Pravana, Hourglass Ambient Light in Mood Light, Rimmel Scandal Eyes RetroGlam mascara, Nars Black Valley and Maybelline Studio Eyes in Eggplant, Too Faced Pretty Rebel palette, and Milani Power Lip in Raspberry Tart (going) and Tarina Tarantino Floriculture (after dinner).

Not pictured, but I know I used a setting spray.. either ELF or Urban Decay.  Not sure. They both work well for me.

What are your tips for keeping your cool (and your makeup fresh) during this summer heat?

Stamping Spring Decals

Happy Sunday, Fireflies! It's Stampin' Time!

I started out with a base coat of Cult Nails Evolution, but, I must be slipping in my old age, because I forgot to get a picture of it.

And, it's not the only egregious mistake I made in this post.  Oh, yes, it gets better.

Today's theme is Spring Nails, so I found this really cute stamp with flowers and bees on Dashica Big SdP-M, and thought it might be time to try making my own decals for the first time.

I layered on some topcoat onto a piece of plastic, and when it dried, I stamped the image with Milani White On The Spot over the topcoat.

I bought the stamper that Cult Nails debuted this month, but I haven't been able to stamp successfully with it yet.  I'm so used to my squishy stamper, and this one is so hard.  It's a bummer, too, because the stamping head is red, instead of white, and would have been great to use with this white polish.

When that dried, I painted some yellow bees and pink flowers with Cult Nails New Day and Falling Hard. When that part was dry, I applied some topcoat to my nails and applied the decal.  I also painted an accent with Kelara Lacquer (now defunct) Hooray For Boobies 2.0, a Barbie-pink shimmer.

Notice anything about my thumb decal?  Yep, I noticed there was something weird about it, too, but it wasn't until I was editing this post that I realized what it was.

I put the decal on backwards.

*slow clap* *bow*  Yep, takes special talent to do that.

Bottle shot:  Cult Nails Evolution, New Day, and Falling Hard, Kelara Hooray For Boobies 2.0, and Milani White On The Spot.

Care to share your own bone-head moment in the comments?  It might make me feel better - misery loves company!

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.

Nail Challenge Collaborative - Royals

Hello, Fireflies!

All this month, the NCC challenge is Music/TV/Movies.  Which I thought would be easy, until I had to think of what to do.  I knew I couldn't top my spectacular Spinal Tap mani that totally went to 11.

Sometimes, inspiration has a roundabout way of coming to me.  I started with I Love Nail Polish Charmingly Purple, a gorgeous light purple holo that evoked thoughts of Prince Charming.

Every prince needs a crown, right?  So I used these crown water decals that were sent to me from Born Pretty Store.  I can't believe how easy they are to use - cut, soak for 15 seconds in water, slide off the paper, and put on the nail.  If the nail is wet, you can even slide them around until you like where they are, and then they'll dry and stay put.

The low-hanging fruit would be to go with Prince, right?  He loves purple, the polish is Charming-ly, like Prince Charming.. but while I was doing this, I kept hearing a song in my head, and it wasn't Prince's.

Nope, it was Lorde's Royals.

While she's not one of my favorite singers, I have to applaud her recent calling out of this photoshopped image of herself.  She tweeted it along with a regular picture of herself, reminding people that it's okay to have flaws.  Yay for positive body image!

image source: https://twitter.com/lordemusic/status/450460437998747650/photo/1

Oh, and the glitters are holo circles I pulled from my bottle of OPI I Snow You Love Me.  Can't be a royal without a little bling-bling, can we?

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