Magnesium for Muscles #earthnatura

Press Sample.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

When I'm teaching, I'm standing up for hours, and walking around the room. I am pretty energized by the energy of the classroom, so I don't notice how sore my legs are getting until I get home and get a chance to plop on the couch!  Sometimes, my muscles ache and twitch so much that I can't even get a good night's rest afterwards.  I would have to take pain relievers, but they wouldn't always address the muscle twinges. Then, I discovered magnesium oil.

Berry Good Stamping

Hello, Fireflies!

AIS has temporarily suspended official themes for Stamping Sunday, but that isn't going to stop me from stamping! I've come up with my own theme today - two ways I've used one of my new favorite polishes in stamping nail art!

Raspberry Butterfly

 Hello, Fireflies!

Sometimes, I love being all matchy-matchy with a look.  I wore a raspberry shirt with a butterfly pattern, and matched my makeup and my nail polish to the colors and patterns!

Meteoroid Garden

Hello, Fireflies!

I recently discovered a new-to-me Indie called Celestial Cosmetics, out of Australia.  Can I just say, LOVE!

This is Celestial Cosmetics Meteoroid, a multichrome holo that morphs between gold and green and bronze.  It's really hard to pin it to one color! The formula was *amazeballs* too.  Just flowed onto the nail.

I bought these water decals from Born Pretty Store during one of their sales. (If you'd like to go shopping, feel free to use my coupon (GVX31) for 10% off!)  I love water decals - they are so easy to use.

This set has flowers AND butterflies, so it's perfect for today's challenge!

I thought it might be risky putting these reddish pink flowers over Meteoroid, but I love how they look together.  Hubby wasn't so sure it was going to work, but he ended up loving it.

I love proving him wrong.  One of the basic building blocks to our successful marriage, really.

This kinda makes me think of Japanese art.

Such a short Challenge Your Nail Art challenge this month! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Stamps like a Butterfly, Stings Like a Bea

 Hello Fireflies!

Today's Sunday Stamping challenge is butterflies, ladybugs, or fireflies.  I totally need a firefly stamp!! Does anyone know where to find one?

I thought it would be funny to stamp butterflies over a polish named "Bea Stings." Bee stings.  Get it? I knew you would.  Bad puns aside, it is a gorgeous hot pink holo, that flashed orange at times.

This was so distracting when I was driving around today! I would see red and purple and orange in the rainbows. 

I bought plate QA53 from Born Pretty Store during one of their sales.  I was pleasantly surprised at how easy this plate worked.  It's been a while since I had a plate that worked perfectly for every image.

I wasn't sure about using plain old black (Finger Paints Black Expressionism) to stamp such beautiful butterflies, but I love how it looks over that crazy, bright, stunning holo.  That lace pattern on the middle finger butterfly is sweet.

I changed the angle of the light for this pix, trying to bring out more of the rainbow colors.  Can you see the purple and orange?

Bottle shot:  Colors by Llarowe Bea Stings, and Finger Paints Black Expressionism.

It's not a complicated nail art, but I love it.. and I love bad jokes, too! If you have a favorite bad joke, I'd love for you to share it in the comments!

Coral 'n Acrylic

Hello, Fireflies!

This may be the Pantone year of Radiant Orchid, but this season is all about coral.  I love it in so many different variations - the electric, soft, more peachy, more pink - all of a sudden, I can't get enough.

This is Ulta Professional Cabana Coral, an electric reddish-coral. This is going to be a pedicure fave for me this summer, I'm sure!

I did a gradient with Maybelline Gilded Rose, a rosy gold shimmer with glitter.  Shouldn't that be a gilded lily, as in 'don't gild the lily,' not a rose? People and their mixing of metaphors. Bah.

I'm not a crafty person, but somehow I decided that I wanted to make my own acrylic doodads for my nails.  I bought some acrylic powder, pigments, the monomer, and some molds, and I used some glitter I already had, and mixed up these blue glittery butterflies, and what I hoped looked like a hot air balloon.

Bottle shot: Maybelline Gilded Rose, and Ulta Cabana Coral.

I don't know why, but my latest fascination with nail art is to stick things on my nails.  I can't keep them on, because I pick everything off, but I love it.  I'm finding all kinds of cool 3-D stuff on eBay, and I have a bunch of these molds I'm going to play with. 

What do you think about 3-D nail art?

Nail Challenge Collaborative - Summertime Flowers

Is February almost over?  What happened? It just zoomed by, with my birthday, and getting sick, and long weekends with the husband.  There was a challenge? Really?

Well, part of my reticence is because this month's theme is 'summer'. Well, it's been really, really, cold - even here in Florida.  And, I kinda like it.  I have been *loving* this seasons dark, vampy shades, textures, metallics, everything.  I am not the biggest fan of summer here, because it's HOT. Yes, I'll start complaining now.  During the summer here, I just want to stay inside with the A/C on.

So... I hadn't gotten around to doing any summery manis.  Then, I looked in my vault of unused manis, and found this perfectly summery one to get the ball rolling!  This is Sally Hansen Sugar Coat in Pink Sprinkle - a fun, bright, lightly sparkly pinky-red.

It isn't quite as sparkly as their newer line of Sugar Coat polishes, but it's not matte at all. Perfect for a fun, but not too in-your-face type mani.

Well, you know me, Ms. Subtlety.  A layer of topcoat gives this polish a candy-like quality! Perfect for a few sugary-sweet flowers and butterflies.

See?  Subtle.  I knew you'd agree.

I've got three more summery nail arts to fit in before the end of the month! Can I make it?  Are you even ready for summer colors yet?

An InLinkz Link-up

Sunday Stamping - Butterflies!

This week's challenge was either butterflies or dragonflies.  I love both, even in real life.  We will get the occasional baby dragonfly in the house, and they are the most adorable insect, if there is such a thing as an adorable insect.  They are one of the few interlopers that get a reprieve from immediate smashing, and either get left alone, or rehomed outside.

But, as the world works in mysterious ways, I saw this butterfly stamp and loved it, so no dragonflies today, so sorry.

I started with another abstract brushstroke mani, a la Gorgeois, because I love them so.  One layer of Milani Instant Pearl to start, because I thought it was white when I picked it up at the store, and now I'm determined to find ways to use it.  Then some pastels from L'Oreal.

I wanted to add a light, ethereal quality to the background, because it will be both the abstract flower field and the wings of the butterflies.  I added two thick coats of OPI I Juggle..Men on top.  It's a very subtle blue shimmer with a bit of blue flecks in the mix.

I picked this butterfly stamp from the DRK-A plate.  I love the Seussian quality of the butterflies. 

And, voila, the finished look.  The butterflies were stamped with Finger Paints Black Expressionism.

I really loved this and didn't want to take it off.  It just made me happy.

Bottle shot:  The L'Oreal pastels (Creme' Puffs, Pistachio Dream, Royally Yours, and Lacey Lilac) and OPI I Juggle..Men.

Which do you like better, butterflies or dragonflies?  Or maybe spiders that eat them both?

Mysterious Murder by #'s

Crow's Toes is a new-to-me brand that is getting some good press.  I'd seen swatches of Murder by #'s and I'm so excited right now by the dark base/holo glitter combos that I knew I'd want it.. and quick, because it soon became discontinued.

I started with a base of Sally Hansen Olive Branch because I thought it matched the green sheen in MBN pretty well, and because I've been wanting to try it since I picked it up.  It's even more beautiful on that I'd thought it would be, and like most Sally Hansen CSM, it has a wonderful, easy-breezy formula.

I wanted to show you the Olive Branch next to it layered because I thought, as beautiful as it is, it didn't seem to affect the deep color of MBN, which actually has more of an emerald glow compared to Olive Branch.

In this pix, MBN is taking on a purple shimmer!  It's a duochrome.  I love polishes with surprises.

I painted on some butterflies with Sally Hansen White Tip, and brushed on some L'Oreal Silver Sparkle on the wings.  I tried to copy a technique I saw on a Robin Moses video, but I need a little more practice!

Right hand:

Why so mysterious?  Seems I have a disappearing bottle shot, and where's the full mani shot?  I always take them, so it appears that Murder by #'s was just being camera shy that day.  Makes sense for a wanted murderer, I guess.  Can't be too careful.

Dog and Butterfly

This was my submission to Berry Polished Black and White contest.  I used three polishes for this look - the base is Seche Blanc, the black is Sinful Colors Black on Black, and the white is Sally Hansen White Tip. - Update:  I didn't win. :( to see all the entries, check out: Berry Polished

It's my homage to Heart's classic song, Dog and Butterfly.

I submitted the glossy version to the contest, but I wanted to try it mattified.  I like it. 

Ah, another dusty color, today it's green.  This is Essie's Sew Psyched.  I don't have many Essie polishes, but I like the ones I do have.  All the formulas work well, and they're very consistent.  You can tell that a polish is an Essie when you're applying it.

Practicing my stamping today, with the butterflies from the Salon Express 19 plate.   I tried doing straight color, but it didn't show up crisply on the green, so I used Sinful Colors Black on Black.  This is a great stamping polish.

Then, I went back with a tiny dotting tool, and added some bits of color to the butterflies with Zoya Barbie and Jo.  The colors blended together with topcoat and made it look purple overall, but you could still see some areas of just blue or just pink.  I loved this effect.

Right Hand:

Just for grins and giggles, I took Essie's Shine of the Times and put it on my ring fingers, and also on a cheap ring I got on clearance at Target.  I love how the SotT made the ring have a rose/copper flash.  It didn't do as much for my mani, though.  I liked it better without it.  I know this is Nail Blog Blasphemy, but not everything is improved by glitter!

orange ombre - butterfly kisses

I wanted to do a sunny, summery nail, so I picked Zoya Arizona for my manicure today.  I am just starting to use Zoya polishes - they are a little thinner than what I've been used to, but they do have a nice formula.  I wasn't in love with Arizona, but I do set myself up for failure with these oranges.  I love the color, but it doesn't always love me back.  To temper the color, I decided to do an ombre nail with OPI Take the stage.

The interwebs say that this ombre nail is very ON TREND.  I hear that a lot.  On Trend.  I've never been on trend before.  With, uh, anything.  I'm not sure how I feel about it.

The ombre nail is simply another color sponged onto the nail using a makeup sponge.

Put a little polish on the sponge, and dab it gently (you can always add more polish, it's harder to take it away) about 1/2 to 3/4 up the nail.  I like to dab another layer at the tip to make it opaque at the bottom.

I really liked this look, and it made the Arizona more wearable for me.

A few hours later, though, I started playing around again....

...and used a sponge to add some yellow (Sally Hansen Xtreme in Mellow Yellow) to the nail, so I could try a new-to-me nail art, the monarch butterfly.

After sponging on the yellow and orange, take a nail striper and black polish (I used Pure Ice Black Rage) and make a curved line from the cuticle to the side of the nail bed.  Then make diagonal lines out from the curved lines.  Cap off each segment with a curved line, and fill in the tip.

Add white hi-light dots along the edge.  I also added some near the cuticle, but I didn't like it there as much.  You'll want to use a top coat to make the art pop and to protect it.

I was happy that my husband recognized these as butterfly wings when I showed him the mani.  I'm proud of my first try!  It's a little busy of a look for me, but I'd probably do it again for a theme mani, or as an accent nail.