My Patriotic Play with Makeup - Red, White, and Blue!

OFRA and Cover FX are Press Samples.
All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

I didn't think I'd be doing a makeup look for Independence Day, but we got an invite to a friend's party, so I decided to have a little fun with my makeup and nails.  The pix above was taken as we were getting ready to leave, so I'm a little melted!  It has been so hot here in Florida, I scarcely want to leave the air conditioning!

Glitter: Above and Below

 Hello, Fireflies!

Happy Independence Day to my USA readers! Happy Saturday to everyone else..  I actually don't have a patriotic mani for you today, but if you're missing the stars and stripes, check out my Wonder Woman mani I did last month!

Today's manis - yes, TWO - are showcasing two of the many ways I use glitter!

Glitterati with the Beauty Bloggers of Central Florida

Hello, Fireflies!

This month's BBCFL roundup is all about makin' it rain! Yes, glitter!  I've rounded up a bunch of different looks I've created with different kinds of glitter used in different ways.  Hopefully, you'll find a look that inspires you to wear glitter your own way.

Happy Feet #insoles

Product provided for review.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

I've never been a big fan of feet, I don't know why.  I don't touch others' feet, I don't like pictures of feet.  When my friends ask me to paint their nails, they know I'm not doing any toenail art.

I do love getting a pedicure or a foot massage, so having healthy, pain-free feet is something that is important to me, and why I wanted to try Syono Gel Insoles.

NYE Nude Nails

Hello, Fireflies!

Happy NYE! Whether you're going out and partying, or bringing in the New Year with the TV, you can still have fabulous nails, right?  For me, the trend was nude, with a little (or a lot) of bling!  I reached into the vault to bring up some looks you might want to try to ring in your 2015.

My First Leadlight

Hello, Fireflies!

Ready for another post of 'Nidia Tries Something New and It Goes Sideways As Expected'?  Good! Here we go... my first lead-light technique!

Cheating

Hello, Fireflies!

Still working on the book prompt for this month's challenge, this time I took a book from my husband's desk. 

He's doing research in this area, and he really likes this book, so I see it hanging around a lot.  I thought the matte black cover with the blocks of color would make for a fun mani.

After painting all my nails with Cult Nails Fetish, a lovely matte/rubberized black creme, I made blobs roughly in the shape and direction of the ones on the book with different holo polishes.  I kinda dig how the holos look over the rubber black.

I tried to clean up with a little more Fetish on a teeny-tiny brush, but I really needed topcoat to cover my mistakes! Of course, then the texture of Fetish would change to a glossy black.

I did the lettering with OPI Over and Over A-Gwen, and that same tiny brush.  My kingdom for longer nail beds! lol.

Bottle shot:  Cult Nails Fetish, OPI Over and Over A-Gwen, Color Club Cosmic Fate, Angel Kiss, and Kismet, and Ludurana Aurora Boreal Magnifica.

Do you cheat when you play videogames?  I remember playing The Sims and putting in the code for more money... all I wanted to do was build houses!  I wish I could cheat my way through level 500 on Candy Crush.  I've been stuck for weeks.

Beauty Bloggers of Central Florida Wear Pink!

Hello, Fireflies!

This month, the Beauty Bloggers of Central Florida decided to think Pink! So, we all did some kind of look with pink.  I have a head to tips pink extravaganza to share!

I don't have a full picture of the dress I wore, but the dress is black with a fuchsia top that is has a sort of starburst pattern. I based the majority of my look today off that fun pink!

I know that not everyone was able to get the Lorac Mega Pro eyeshadow palette, but if you wanted it, I hope you got it! I really like Lorac shadows.  I used a few of the mulberry-type shades to create this look.

I had also just gotten the It Cosmetics new QVC collection, so I'm wearing their new Hello mascara with the melted fiber technology.  I don't get crazy long lashes with it, but that's fine with me.  If my lashes are too long, they touch my glasses, which makes me cray-cray.  I'm also wearing the It Cosmetics Black/Brown gel liner and I'm in love.  Really great liner, and the color matches my eyes.

Perfect ensemble to pair with a bright pink lip!  I picked up the new colors from the ELF matte lipstick line, and they are all fabulous.  This is ELF Fuchsia.

This nail look turned out a little more neon than expected, but I still liked it.  I started out with China Glaze Strike a Rose, which was so bright! Layering Wing Dust Feel The Burn over it gave it a little bit of a neon coral feel. 

I used Dashika Big SdP-D to make the stamp.  I like how they include reverse images of the same pattern!

I like stamping over glitter and seeing the little flashes peek through.  I wish my stamping had come out a little clearer, though.  I used Cult Nails Nevermore to stamp, and sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't.

Bottle shot:  China Glaze Strike A Rose, WingDust Feel The Burn, and Cult Nails Nevermore.

I'm also wearing the new It Cosmetics Celebration Illumination Foundation in Light, and the ombre' pink blush.  I'm a fan!

Need a pick-me-up? Try hot pink! How do you rock pink?

Feelin' Groovy Green

Hello, Fireflies!

This week's challenge was either a 60's theme, or using a matte/texture.  Mine has a little of both, but doesn't do either particularly well.

This is my fave part:  I picked up this sweet green polish at Ulta the other day on clearance - One In A Chameleon.  I don't know if it's a green/gold duochrome, or green with a gold shimmer.  It's a little thin, and needed 3 coats to cover VNL, but I love this effect.

I used this stamp from Dashica Big-B plate, and Cult Nails Nevermore for the pattern.

I thought this stamp looked all groovy and psychedelic.  But it actually read more 'wood-grain' on my nails.  Fail #1.

This bottle of SpaRitual Citrine Luminary Matte Top Effect looks like fireflies in a jar to me.  It just glows!

On this mani, though, it was neither terribly matte nor luminous, though.  Fail #2.

It actually reminded me a lot of the Orly matte flakie polishes.  I think this one would look better over a dark polish, though.

Bottle shot:  Ulta One In A Chameleon, SpaRitual Citrine Luminary Matte Top Effect, and Cult Nails Nevermore.

I was trying for 60's groovy and matte, and ended up with something that reminded me of my mom's 70's avocado green kitchen.  Hey, when's the 70's kitchen mani challenge?

Mod 70s Baby

Hello, Fireflies!

Yep, today's challenge is yet another reminder of how old I am, a thought incongruous to the inner 12-yr old boy who lives in my brain and laughs at poop jokes.

For a mani from the decade I was born in, I decided to look to the 70's mod look.  I used Cici & Sisi 08 and did a black and white pattern with Cult Nails Nevermore and Sally Hansen White Tip (now mixed with Revlon Spirit because I was running out of the SH but loved the brush better than the Revlon.) 

Sometimes, Nevermore stamps like a dream, and sometimes it thins out and bubbles like this time.  I filled in a few of the patches with a black striper.  I wonder if it's due to age or evaporation because it never used to do that.

I paired it with a black and white striped dress and my funky-chunky black onyx necklace.  Black and White, head to toe... except for my red lipstick.

 Bottle shot: Sally Hansen White Tip and Cult Nails Nevermore.

What age is the person that lives in your head?

Geometric Angles And Dots

Hello, Fireflies!

I love this month's geometric theme - it's a little broad, but I love the general feel of geometric nail art.  Today, I have a simple interpretation for you.

I started off with Cult Nails Thrive, a mint green with shimmer.  It was pretty thick, and kinda difficult to work with, but the color was kinda worth it.  Soo pretty.

I made a chevron French tip with Cult Nails Midnight Mist, a gorgeous mushroom-y taupe with a copper shimmer.  I love complex shimmery colors like this.

I was trying to make these gold dots into a pattern I had seen on some water decals.  If you squint and turn your head, stand on one foot, and grunt three times, you might be able to see a shepherd's hook with the big dots, and then the little dots form a curve around it.

Can't see it?  Try grunting louder...

Bottle shot:  Cult Nails Thrive, Cult Nails Midnight Mist, and Maybelline Bold Gold.

Next time, I'll probably just use the water decals! Have you ever tried to freehand something, and thought - oh, I shoulda just used a stamp, or a decal? Oh, I coulda had a V-8!

Pirate Nail Art Challenge - Sea Creatures

Avast, Fireflies!

This here be a new challenge from the Challenge Ye Nail Arrrrrt Group.  Today's challenge be the Creatures of the Sea!

I started with Wet 'n Wild Gyp-Sea Green, a jelly.. well, blue, really. Not sure why it's called green.

This is my first time using one of these 'story' plates that you pick and choose which part of the plate to use.  This is MoYou London Sci-Fi 04, and I picked several tentacle-type parts of the plate to use for this mani.

I used Cult Nails Nevermore to stamp, and I can't believe how crisp the images are.  Way to go, MoYou London!

I just love the 'Princess Octopus' nail charm, too!  She has a tiara! (bonus points if you get the Big Bang Theory reference.)

Bottle shot:  Wet 'n Wild Gyp-Sea Green, and Cult Nails Nevermore.

Thank Ye, Matey! For comin' aboard me blog!

An InLinkz Link-up

Kittens Tangled Up In Yarn

Hello, Fireflies!

Today's Sunday Stamping challenge was to stamp over a purple.  Ok, here's my purple, Nikka K NY113, a soft lilac creme:

I used multiple stamps from plate YH809.  First, the one on the left that looks like flowers made of string, and then the different cat stamps on the right.

White yarn with Revlon Spirit:

Black cats stamped with Cult Nails Nevermore:

Hey, I'm just fulfilling the primary use for the Interwebz: cat pictures.

Aw, they're so cute when they're playing, getting all tangled in the yarn.  Awwwww.

So.Many.Cats.  I'm a craaaazy cat lady!

Bottle shot:  Nikka K NY113, Revlon Spirit, and Cult Nails Nevermore.

Are you a cat person or a dog person, both, or neither?  I grew up with cats, now I have dogs.  Interwebz animals of all kinds are totes adorbz, though, right?