Kushy Feet and Lovely Legs! #Kushyfoot #CocoaBrownTan

Press Samples.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted after a weekend of intense shopping! I didn't have to fight anyone over the last hit toy of the season, or anything like that, thankfully!  If you were out and about this weekend, maybe your feet and legs were hot and tired, too.  I want to tell you about some things that have saved my feet and made my legs look better than ever!

MMMM... Pie! #ChallengeYourNailArt #FallingForNailArt

Hello, Fireflies!

Today's Challenge Your Nail Art prompt is for Fall Food.  Nothing says Fall to me more than baking!  It's too hot here in Florida to do a lot of baking in the summer, anyway, but the really good apples don't get ripe until the Fall.

So when I saw this nail art (original author unknown) for cherry pie, I thought, well, I'd rather have apple.

I started off with Revlon Orient Express, but it was too red, so I put a layer of OPI Glints Of Glinda over it, which gave it a milky, softened look that was more like what I wanted.

I used a short brush to daub Zoya Flynn in a cross-hatch pattern, like a lattice-top pie.  To give it more dimension (and golden-brown deliciousness,) I added little spots of Lacquerhead Polish Ashlyn, a dark brown holo.

Yeah, it still looks like a cherry pie, I guess.  Which is okay.  It's still pie, after all.

Bottle shot:  Revlon Orient Express, OPI Glints of Glinda, Zoya Flynn, and Lacquerhead Polish Ashlyn.

Will you be indulging in a little pie this week?  What's your fave?  It's so hard to decide, but a good peach pie is hard to beat!

Nothing Funnier Than A Drunk Monkey

Hello, Fireflies!

This month's Nail Challenge Collaborative challenge is 'Inspired by a Tutorial'.  Well, that's my specialty, isn't it, since I'm not creative at all, and most of my looks are inspired by someone else's mani?  This one was inspired by this tutorial from Adventures in Acetone.

I started with Nails Inc Swiss Cottage, a metallic yellow-green.  It's actually a great metallic, a thin formula, but it doesn't need much manipulation - and that means fewer brushstrokes.  It's kinda hard to photograph because the light just bounces! In the end, though, I felt it was a bit too yellow for my skin tone.

You can see how much Swiss Cottage was fighting me, here!  I tried a half-dozen ways to get a good photo, but it just teased me.  You can still sorta see the outline of the monkey's head that I painted with China Glaze Prize Winning Mare, a lovely shiny brown.

The monkey face is starting to take more shape with China Glaze Kalahari Kiss, a yellow-tan color. It really isn't opaque enough for nail art, but works with a few coats.

Sally Hansen White tip and a dotting tool for the eyes.  Zombie monkeys...  maybe next Halloween?

And, the devil's in the details.  Finally, they look like monkeys, and have some personality to them.

 Topcoat seals in the design! oooo-oo-oo-ooo! aaa-aa-aaaa! *scratches*

Bottle shot:  Nails Inc Swiss Cottage, China Glaze Prize Winning Mare and Kalahari Kiss, Sally Hansen White Tip, and Wet 'n Wild Black Creme.

Anyone else hankerin' for a banana?  What say you to monkey nails?

Sunday Stamping - Ready for Autumn!

Who's ready for Autumn?

This girl is, for sure. Autumn in Florida is so nice - well, once hurricane season is over, anyway.  I look forward to turning off the A/C, opening the doors, burning some nice-smelling candles, and cuddling on the couch with my sweetie and a nice, soft blanket.

Hopefully, this mani will help get you in the mood for it, too!  I started with Urban Outfitters Girrl Like You, a nice pistachio green creme.

Oops, I forgot to take a pix of the plate.  It's Anna's Nail Art W228, a branch with 5 leaves on it.  I had some trouble getting all the leaves to pick up every time, so I did a scattered leaf effect.

I stamped first with Layla Softouch Effect 11, a tan with a little bit of pink shimmer to it, and then with Zoya Channing, a gorgeous orange metallic.

Here's the bottle shot:  Urban Outfitters Girrl Like You, Layla Softouch 11, and Zoya Channing.

What nail colors do you associate with Autumn?

Cult Nails no-water marble

I know I based this off of someone else's marble, but for the life of me, I can't find it.  It was probably a design of Robin Moses, though.  I used different colors than the original.

All of the colors I used in this design are from Cult Nails.  Love their colors, the formulas, even the bottles!  I'm a fan.  These worked really well for needle marbling, too.  I've only done this technique a few times, but I'm sure I'll do it again.  Regular water marbling is so messy, and though I've only tried it a few times, I've never been successful.

 The base color for all the fingers except the ring is Vicious, an eggplant creme.  Cult Nails collections have a lot of purples, so I waited for a sale to pick up this one.  I shouldn't have waited!  It's gorgeous, and I know I'll be wearing it this fall.

The ring finger base coat is Tulum, a tan with a golden shimmer throughout. It's a great neutral.

The other colors in the marble are Bad D.N. (Devious Nature) and Awakening.  Bad DN is a pink that leans purple, but is apparently a different batch from the regular Devious Nature.  Awakening is a gorgeous dark teal that I am in love with.

After adding a few drops of color to the nail, I swirled it around with a small paintbrush.  I pulled the extra polish off the sides and bottom of the nail by pressing my thumb against the nail and then releasing. Before the ring finger dried, I placed three small square rhinestones (also from Cult Nails) into the polish, and sealed it with Wicked Fast topcoat.

A little glam, a little fun, a little messy.  I hope you like it, and try a needle marble!

Great Glue Experiment

Everybody is talking about the 'new' discovery of using PVA glue as a base for glitters.  Of course, the hipsters have been doing this 'forever' and what's the big deal?

Trust me, it's a big deal - no one needs to be scared of glitter polish removal ever again! Hurrah!

I did this experiment three different ways. There are a lot of pix, so please follow after the jump!