Studly Punk

Hello, Fireflies!

I've gotten a little sidetracked this month, and fell behind on my Punk/Rock & Roll challenge.  I went for the ultimate classic punk nail art first, and now I'm moving on to the next most stereotypic punk accessory - the pointy metal stud.

Ruffians From The Vault

Hello, Fireflies!

It's a new year, so what better way to start it than by digging into the vault for some nailart that just never made it to the blog?  Today, I have two different Ruffian nailart to show you!

Are You Getting Enough Vitamin D? #skinauthority

Press Sample.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

As a pasty-skinned, cave-dwelling Night Owl, I know I'm probably not getting enough Vitamin D from the sun.  I drink my Vitamin D-fortified milk, and take a multi-vitamin, but is it enough? I'm going to check with my doctor to get my Vitamin D levels checked, and I've been using Skin Authority VitaD Fortified Topical Elixir to help my skin get more Vitamin D.

Peels & Petals - an eye gel that feels like a peel. #VITAMINCEYEGEL

Press Sample.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

For most of my life, my eyes have been a bit hidden behind my glasses.  I never really gave them much thought beyond a bit of shadow and mascara.  They did what they were supposed to do, and that was fine by me.

Now that I'm a little older, I find myself paying a little more attention to them.  I like using shimmery shadows that can sometimes make old eyes look even older, and I also like more dramatic looks that bring attention to my eyes.  This has also meant paying attention to the skincare I use to keep my eyes looking their best!

Bottles, Bottles, Bottles! #Fruitissimo #CB8ozClearGlassBottles #CBCobalt2ozBottles

Press Samples.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

I grew up with a mother who saved plastic containers and bottles to reuse and re-purpose, so I became a person who also saves bottles and jars to reuse and re-purpose.  But, then I found out that the store-bought water bottles are not only bad for the environment, they can leach chemicals the more you re-use them.  And plastic bottles bond with oils and fats, so they're not good for re-using, either.  Today, I have a few bottles to share with you that I've been loving for my bottle needs!

Love that color!

 Hello, Fireflies!

Today's challenge is about the color I love.  Well, my favorite color is midnight blue, but it's hard to find a perfect midnight blue polish that doesn't go too black.  Plus, it doesn't really say 'Valentine's' to me.  So, I picked my husband's favorite color, purple.

Square Studs

Hello, Fireflies!

It's geometric month for the Nail Challenge Collaborative, so I'm breaking out purple and square studs today.

I started with Sally Hansen Salon in Trouble Maker, a dark-orchid purple creme. I think this brand may have my all-time fave polish brushes.

Then, I layered it with OPI Next Stop...The Bikini Zone, a green/purple frosty duochrome.

Look! An elusive left hand! Because I forgot to take a pix of the right before I started putting studs on.  Derp.

Y'all know that I love sticking stuff to my nails.  So I took alternating purple and lilac square metal studs and stuck them on with a little topcoat.

How cute are these studs?

It wasn't easy, but I managed to do both hands!

Bottle shot:  Sally Hansen Salon Trouble Maker and OPI Next Stop...The Bikini Zone.

So, are you a square stud on a round nail kinda person?

An InLinkz Link-up

Beauty Bloggers of Central Florida Black and White Linkup!

Hello, Fireflies!

I have a special place in my heart for black & white manicures.  There's something so clean and striking about them.  So when the Beauty Bloggers of Central Florida suggested a Black & White roundup, I was excited.

I started with a new-to-me Indie, Glitzkrieg War Paint.  This off-white/dove grey with a subtle holo is called Purity. 

I used Cult Nails Ignite to freehand a chevron tip.  This is an interestingly textured polish - the black is very jelly, but is opaque in two coats.  It really allows the tiny silver sparkles to shine through!

Removal wasn't hard, either.  The black polish comes off first, leaving a smattering of silver, but they just wiped off with a little pressure and a felt pad.  No scrubbing required.

A white striper helped clean up the lines and give a little contrast, and then a textured square silver stud finishes the look!

All the points actually help visually elongate my nubbins. Science!

Bottle shot:  Glitzkrieg War Paint Purity, Cult Nails Ignite, and a white striper. 

I love wearing black and white nails and outfits, and want to experiment with black and white makeup looks, too.  How do you like your black and white?

An InLinkz Link-up

Swirls in Purple and Gold

Hello, Fireflies!

When I saw this nail art from Les Ongles de Lucie, I loved it immediately, and knew I'd have to try it, even if I couldn't do it justice.

I started with Koco Plum's The Word, an orchid color with a lovely subtle gold shimmer.

A black striping brush, a steady hand, and stopping constantly to check Lucie's original art is what I needed for this step!

I filled in the gaps with a white striper for two reasons:  1) to help clean up some of the black lines, and 2) to make the gold glitter in the next step show up better.  I was not doing all this work and not have the glitter show up.

I do love it at this stage, too.  I could have just put on some topcoat.

Gold glitter and a gold stud complete the look.

I lurve this.  Someone told me that it reminded them of The Nightmare Before Christmas, and I totally see that, but of course I had no idea when I was painting it.

Swirls and swirls and swirls!

Bottle shot:  Koco Plum's The Word, and nail art stripers in black, white, and gold glitter.

I'm so grateful for the creative folks out there who inspire my nail art.  Do you take inspiration from what others have created, or do you look at raw colors and materials and get your ideas from that?

GOT Me Some Lime Green Buttons

Hello, Fireflies!

Today's GOT challenge is pretty simple! I put on Nubar Sour Apple, a bright lime green, and placed these ginormous button-esque studs on! 

When I order these things off the Interwebs, the studs seem like normal stud size, but when I get them, they're Amazonian/Gigantor studs.  Who are the people who can wear these?  I mean, I know I have small nail beds, but one button covers almost ALL of my middle fingernail.

I took these off right after I took the picture.  There was no way I could function with these things on! What do you think of these huge nail studs?  Should I just put backings on them and turn them into earrings?

An InLinkz Link-up

Galaxy Music!

Hello, Fireflies!

Today's Adventures In Stamping challenge was music, inspired by World Music Day.  When I did a Google image search, this was one of the images that came up, and it helped inspire my mani!

 If you saw yesterday's post, you may remember how completely ga-ga I was for Celestial Cosmetics Meteoroid.  I am equally enamored of this polish, Celestial Cosmetics Galaxy Field, a deep emerald-tealish linear holo.  Another amazing formula, too!

I used Essie No Place Like Chrome and Wet 'n Wild Black Creme double-stamped with the same stamps from this large YH809 plate that I bought off Ebay.  I'm not sure who the maker is.

 Swirly bars of music!

If this were a real piece of music, it would be in the key of F.  As in WTF.

These little metallic notes have been in my stash for at least a year, waiting patiently for their time... and back they go.  They wouldn't lay flat. Kinda messed up my mani.

Bottle shot:  Celestial Cosmetics Galaxy Field, Essie No Place Like Chrome, and Wet 'n Wild Black Creme.

What kind of music would you listen to to celebrate World Music Day?  I'm an 80's girl myself! Lately, though, I have had Crowded House playing over and over in my brain.  Earworm!

Tri, uh, Bi-Beachy Nail Art

Hello, Fireflies!

Ever go beachcombing and happen upon a perfect shell?  I wanted to capture that feeling in my nail art today.  I started with Aly's Dream Polish Unbleached, an oatmeal-ish nude holo.  

Waves lapping up on the beach were painted with Aly's Dream Polish I Dream In Aquamarine, and a glitter striper.  Makes me think of the foamy bubbles made when waves gently break on the beach.

These textured gold studs made me think of sand dollars.  I had a perfect sand dollar shell once that I found on a beach in Mexico when I was young.  I saved it for years and years.

My husband accidentally crushed it with a can of coins.

Bottle shot:  Aly's Dream Polish in Unbleached and I Dream In Aquamarine, and a Stripe Rite turquoise glitter striper.

I live about 20 minutes away from the self-proclaimed, "World's Most Famous Beach" in Daytona, but I don't go as often as I used to.  Maybe it's time for a little beach getaway this summer!  Do you like the beach?

An InLinkz Link-up

This Sunday Stamping is both A Comedy And A Tragedy

Hello, Fireflies!

I was going for a light/dark - comedy/tragedy theme today, and I think I succeeded, but not in the way I had hoped!

I started out with Wet 'n Wild Black Creme, and then free-handed a diagonal tip with Zoya Cosmo.

Cosmo is a textured Pixie Dust, one of the super-chunky varieties.  I had to lay it on fairly thickly to block out the black underneath, but it evened out okay with some topcoat.  Plus, now look at the holo glitters!

Today's Adventures In Stamping challenge was to use a plate that ended in 2, so I picked this comedy/tragedy stamp from Shany02, and stamped with Revlon Spirit and more Wet 'n Wild Black Creme.

It's comedic that I thought I could do a two-toned stamp.

It's tragic that I messed up that beautiful light/dark thing I had going on.

Bottle shot:  Wet 'n Wild Black Creme, Zoya Cosmo, and Revlon Spirit.

I seem to have lost my stamping mojo! I got a Magic Eraser and cleaned my stamper, so maybe next time it'll work better.  The masks are cute, though, right?