Triple Buena, Triple C #BUENASKIN

Press Sample.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

Have you noticed that as the seasons change, your skin's needs change a little bit, too?  I love changing up my skincare routine pretty often anyway, but there are times when I'm looking for a little more of this, or a little more of that, a little more help with blemishes, or a little lighter routine.  If you're looking for a little more Vitamin C, you might want to check out this Triple C serum from Buena Skin!

Purple Patchwork

Hello, Fireflies!

It's the last purple nailart for this month's purply NCC theme!  I reach back in the vault to mix it up with a little red and a lot of shine.

Natural Spa Scrubbing and Masking at Home with Valentia #skindetoxifyingclaymask

Press Samples.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

Have you got the dull skin blues?  Ready for a little spa experience at home, with an emollient scrub that turns over dead skin cells while nourishing the skin, and a clay mask that smells amazing, clears up excess oil and makes the skin feel so soft?

Negative Space Glitter Chevron Tips

Hello, Fireflies!

Time for the second installment of this month's challenge, Negative Space.  This week, I do a glittery twist on a classic chevron French tip.

Greyscale Nails

Hello, Fireflies!

Today's post finishes out this month's NCC's theme of Monochrome.  I just couldn't resist doing the ultimate monochrome nailart - greyscale.  But, with a glittery twist!

Ghost Tips

Hello, Fireflies!

Time for the last 'Funky French' for this month's NCC challenge.  I am totally stealing inspired by CDBNails post this month, and had to do my own version of her very cool ghostly tips.  Check out her post - she even has a video tutorial if you want to learn how she did them!

Chic Chevron Funky French

Hello, Fireflies!

Happy 'Back to the Future' day! I don't have any BTTF polishes, but I'm going to celebrate in today's post by diving into the vault for some older pictures that meet this month's "Funky French" challenge.  The polish I used as the base for this look was inspired by a movie made in the 70's, but it's coming back in a few months in a new way!

French Blue Dots

Hello, Fireflies!

"When in doubt, dot!"

That does seem to be my motto for nail art challenges! Time for another Funky French, so I'm dottin' it!

A Good Hair and Skin Day From Maple Holistics

Press Sample.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

Having clear skin and a good hair day can really add to my confidence and put a big smile on my face. So, when Maple Holistics offered me the chance to try a couple of their products that put me in a pampering mood, I was pretty happy about it! 

I've Been Carded! #DesiredDiva

Press Sample. All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

When I first became interested in African Black Soap, it was mostly for my husband's eczema-prone skin.  Now, he's lucky if he can pry it out of my hands!  I've used it in liquid form, bars, gel, and today I want to share with you this unique facial cleanser from Desired Diva.

Alll The Soap Scents You Never Knew You Needed! #Soapdotclub

Press Sample.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

One thing I have really enjoyed about blogging is finding out about 'normal' products that take it to the next level.  Like this Soap.Club soap. I've been a bar soap girl all my life.  I switch it up for shower gels and exfoliators, etc, all the time, but there is ALWAYS a bar of soap in my shower.  I am zipped back to my childhood home every time I smell a bar of Irish Spring or Zest soap!

If drugstore bar soap is the only stuff you've tried, you'll be surprised at the offerings of Soap.club!

Using Oils to Cleanse and Treat With Borghese Fango Skincare

Press Sample. All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

If there are two trends I've noticed on the rise in the world of skincare, it's Micellar Water and oils.  I've been on board with oil for a while now, and have reviewed lots of different kinds and brands.  Micellar Water is new to me, but I've been hearing about it.  I'm really excited to share with you my experience using these two products from Borghese!

Trilane Retinol + Vitamin C

Press Sample.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

If you've been wanting to try Retinol, but have avoided it because your skin is very dry, I think I have found the Retinol moisturizer for you!

Some of My Favorite Things - Gold and Black, Dogs and Chevrons

Hello, Fireflies!

Today's Sunday Stamping challenge is to mix animal prints with chevrons.  I wasn't sure what I was going to do at first, but I really like the mix of gold flakies and black chevrons, with my favorite animal print - dog paws!

Sonoma Palette Cleanser

Hello, Fireflies!

Have you ever just needed a breather from bright colors or patterns, and wanted to take your nail color down a notch?  Painting my nails a neutral color can be like putting on my favorite yoga pants or comfy t-shirt.

Purple-Grey Wallpaper

Hello, Fireflies!

I was playing around with some of my Black Dahlia Lacquers, and came up with a design I thought might fit this months NCC Wallpaper challenge.

It starts with Black Dahlia Japanese Painted Fern, a medium grey with purple shimmer.

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.

Ghosts In The Mist

Hello, Fireflies! 

Today, I have a boo-tiful no-water-marble-turned swirly ghosts mani to show you!  This is straight up a Robin Moses design.  I just did it in polish instead of acrylic, and with much less talent than she has.

Still, this is the first even remotely successful needle drag marble I've ever done, so let's celebrate!

I painted the nail with OPI Glints of Glinda, and then, while the second coat was still wet, dropped little bits of Revlon Sequin (silver), Sally Hansen Raisin The Bar (metallic pink), and Finger Paints Black Expressionism (black) and Paper Mache (white) on one nail at a time.  I ran a small nail art brush through the drops of polish to create the swirls, then pulled the excess polish off my finger the way Robin Moses taught me to.

Using a little more Paper Mache, thinned a little with polish thinner, I added the ghosties and outlined them with the black striper and added the faces.  Then, I added in some of the pink glitter.

Bottle shot:  OPI Glints of Glinda, Sally Hansen Raisin The Bar, Revlon Sequin, Finger Paints Black Expressionism and Paper Mache, and nail art stripers in pink glitter and black.

I think these may be the prettiest ghost nails I've ever done! Brava to Robin Moses for their conception and great tutorial.  Are you more of a fan of the gory Halloween, or the pretty costumes?

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!

TRI-ing on Talons

 

Hello, Fireflies!

Let's just get this part over with, shall we?  Holy Frijole!

You've seen my nubs, so you know these talons aren't real.  They're KISS Everlasting French press-on nails.  I got them from Influenster, and took them for a spin.  After a day, I got bored with the plain French, and started doing different nail art looks, which I'll be showing you in the coming days and weeks.  They do look pretty good, and with a layer of Rica's Glossy Glam, they actually looked more real.  Fooled a friend of mine that does her own acrylics!

For the nude part of the challenge, well, the nail already has a nude part! I accented it with Ooh La Lacquer Matte-terial Girl, a collection of tiny nude/pink glitters in a matte base.

I was inspired by Robin Moses' Heart Flowers design for this look.  It was kinda fun to have a long nail as a base for this nail art.

After setting the background branches with my black striper, I used Avon Mango Melon (which looks red, but it did seem like coral!) with a little Born Pretty holo #3 to make the heart flowers.

Mentality Pastille didn't work for the leaves, really, but I did love it for the 'pollen' of the flowers.   Who needs leaves? This turquoise holo is so pretty.

Some more Glossy Glam, and we're done!

Bottle shot:  Ooh La Lacquer Matte-terial Girl, my black striper, Mentality Pastille,  Avon Mango Melon, and Born Pretty Holo #3.

I'm okay with my nubbins, but it was fun to wear talons for a few days.  There was So.Much.Room on my nails! Do you have a preference for looking at nail art on long or short nails?

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