Monarch Butterfly Nail Design

This was inspired by Here Comes the Sun's butterfly post.  She followed the tutorial done by Deez Nailz, so I referred to that to do this design.  This was my first attempt and I was pretty pleased, but too tired to do all of my nails, or even an accent nail on my left hand.  I have no confidence in drawing this design with my left hand (I'm right handed).  Maybe once I get some thin brushes.  I drew mine with a regular polish brush and I thought I had relatively clean lines, but the camera is so unforgiving.

I used CG First Mate as the base color than sponged on CG Techno Teal and CG Starboard in adjacent diagonals across the nail.  For the black I used Sinful Colors Black on Black, then finished the design with white dots using Milani Nail Art polish in white.  For the top coat, I used one coat of Seche Vite.

What are those white specks? -_- 

If you were to use one color for this design, I'd definitely recommend using either a holographic or glittery polish since they really stand out.  What do you think?  I'd definitely do it again once I get a thin brush. :)


P.S.  Sorry about the quality of these pictures.  I don't know what those white specks are...dust maybe?  Hopefully no more of those in the future. 


Liz

Pink Wednesday: Treasure on Sunset Beach

On Wednesdays we wear pink!  Here's CG Strawberry Fields with Zoya Rica layered over it as a gradient.  On the tips I put Milani Gems.  I think the gold glitter from Rica looks like sand over Strawberry Fields, and the glitter treasure, hence the name of this post. Enjoy! :)

Close up :P

P.S.  Sorry about the Strawberry Fields spam.  I promise you blue tomorrow! :)

Liz

Strawberry Mani! Yum :)

I know I know, it's been overdone, but I could not resist.  After all, a strawberry field means strawberries!  First, here's China Glaze Strawberry Fields alone.

Sunlight

Indoor lighting

Strawberry Fields is a medium pink jelly with golden glass flecks.  The glass flecks really dance in the sunlight, and it was cloudy today.  I was a bit hesitant about getting this since it got compared to Ahoy a lot when Ahoy first came out.  However, they are two very different polishes.  I do prefer Ahoy's deeper pink to this one, but still this is a lovely polish.  If you like CG's glass flecks, this would make a nice addition.

Now the strawberries!

This is a super easy and fun to do.  I used CG Starboard for the green and Milani Nail Art polish in white for the seeds.

Mmm...this makes me crave strawberries or strawberry flavored gummies.


Hope you enjoyed this post! :)


Liz

Challenge Tag: Fail Mani

Cristina from Opinionated Little Finger tagged me to do this 3 polish challenge tag.  Cristina's a new nail blogger from France!  She has lovely polish pictures and good reviews so be sure to check out her site. :)

Here are the rules for the challenge:

1. Go to your lacquer stash

2. CLOSE your eyes and pull 3 random items - JUST 3

3. Create a mani from them

4. Post your mani when you post the tag

5. Tag 3 bloggers

I have this things where I need my polishes to be standing upright.  I cringe whenever bloggers post pics of their polishes in a pile, lying on their sides or upside down.  I don't know why, it bothers me. -_-  I feel like it's better for the polish to stand upright, but I have no logical proof for this.  So I gently placed my polishes in a large bag, quickly grabbed three and set them back on their shelf upright. ^^

The three I picked were:
Sinful Colors Mint Apple
Sinful Colors Unicorn
China Glaze Strawberry Fields

I hope this wasn't cheating, but I also used Milani Nail Art polish in white.

I know this challenge has been going on for a while now, so I'd like to tag anyone who hasn't done it yet and would like to.  If you'd like, link your challenge post as a comment, and I'll go check it out. :)

So here's what I did.

Sorry, dry cuticles. >.<

In other words, it was a fail mani.  This was my first time doing legit free hand art, so be gentle. :P  Weirdly enough, I did kind of like it.  It must be that weird pride you get in doing something for the first time.  In case you can't tell, the white is supposed to be a tree branch and the pink flowers. -_-;;

Anyway, if you're eyes are suffering from that, I have a cute mani I'll post later today!


Liz

Revlon Not So Blueberry: a scented polish

Whew!  Today was a busy day.  I have a quick post for you!  This one is like a review/ teaser.
I applied this polish at night, snapped a few pics knowing it'd look much more amazing in sunlight.  So I called it a night and went to sleep.  Unfortunately, I woke up with bedsheet prints on them! >.<  So I only have once decent pic for you.  Also while I was staring at my nails, waiting to fall asleep, I noticed this polish has some amazing duo?chrome!  It's like a light blue, pink, purple duochrome-y goodness!  For the most part you can't see this (I'm hesitant to label this duochrome), but in the shade at a certain angle...*sigh*...just prepare to be amazed. ^^  So...here's the not so great but something pic.

The formula was okay, this is three thin coats.  I'm pretty sure you can do two thick coats.  It's a shiny foil finish and it smells like blueberries!  Well the artificial kinds used to scent markers.  It's actually kind of strong, and I'm sensitive to smell.  It wasn't too bad for me though, it mostly made me realize how often my hand comes close to my face.  I'll post more pics of this when I wear it again, and I'll try to get a pic of the "duochrome" as well.

Have you tried any of Revlon's line of scented polishes?  Which ones, and what'd you think?

**edit
See more swatches here: Revlon Not So Blueberry Reswatched


Liz

NOTD: Easter Mani!

Happy Easter everyone! 

Since I don't have Konad or great free hand painting skills, my mani is really simple, but I hope you guys still enjoy it. :)

This is For Audrey, the infamous Tiffany blue look alike.  It's actually kind of darker on the nail than it is in the bottle, but very pretty.  Mine was a little gloopy, so I added some polish thinner.  Overall, this went on well, smooth and creamy, and leveled out on its own.  This is two coats.

To make it more festive and Easter-y, I did a french tip using Milani Gems.

Just pretend that stray glitter on my ring finger isn't there.  I tried to get it out, but consequently drove it in deeper, so now it won't budge. -_-;;

This pic is closest to the real color.

I still have this on my nails and I think it's cute.  It kind of reminds me of cupcakes, so I might do a cupcake mani once I get the glitter off my nails! >.<

Anyway, enjoy your Sunday! :)

Liz

Gray's Anatomy loves black

I've already done a review of Wet n Wild's Gray's Anatomy, but who knew it looked amazing over black?  This is one coat of Gray's over two coats of Sinful Colors Black on Black. 

Lovely, yes?  Layering it over black made the colors really pop and strengthened the duochrome effect.  Plus, only 1 coat!

Yummy olive green :)

duochrome!

It's almost Easter!  Sorry this is kinda dark for Easter.  I have pics of my Easter mani ready, so I'll show you guys that tomorrow.  :)


Until then, Happy Easter!  And goodnight.


Liz

Essie Coat Azure

Coat Azure is from the Essie spring collection, French Affair.  It's a dusty but bright sky blue with shimmer.  I always dismissed the shimmer as being white, but I'm also seeing pink and green!  Mine was a bit thick and gloopy so I did add some polish thinner to it.  This is two coats.

Click and magnify to see shimmer :)

I added Milani Gems to it, adding more near the tips for some pizzazz.  Unfortunately, as much as I love glitter, I also have glitterphobia *gasp.*  Yes, I love you glitter, but I can't be committed.  A long term relationship is not for us.  Basically, I hate removing glitter.  It's so clingy!  What I need is pure acetone polish remover.  Until then...I tend to shy away from glitter.  Especially since I change my polish every day.  So...I freaked out and removed this after taking the pics. ^^;;

Hmm... I don't know why the glitter pics gave the blue a nasty vinyl shine.  Don't like it :/  Anyway, does anyone else have a love-hate relationship with glitter?  :P



Liz

Sinful Colors: Social Ladder

Hey yas!  I'm feeling a lot better today, so yay. :)
I have a lot of pictures of polishes I took and want to be up to date on them, so expect polish spam!  Here's the first one. :)

Social Ladder is sheer pink white base with deep pink and mint green shimmer.  Very pretty, but very sheer.  I'm wearing five (yes, FIVE) coats here and you can still see VNL.  I don't know how I had the patience to apply five coats, which I don't recommend doing.  I just wanted to see if it'd ever become opaque, and the answer is... no.  As you can see it looks thick on my nails.  I'd stick to around 2 coats, maybe three.  This is a nice sheer color I'd use when I'm not in the mood for much color but still want my nails to have a nice healthy glow.  My nails are stained thanks to Sinful Colors Unicorn.  *shakes fist*

If you're wondering where the green shimmer is, click on the picture and magnify it.  You'll be able to see it more clearly. ^^

I'm editing my other pictures right now, so those will be up soon! :)

Liz

Who rear ends a bus?

Hey all!  Hope you guys are having a better day than me.  I woke up with a headache today, got dressed and made it outside in time to catch my bus.  I was out early so I got a good seat and was waiting for the bus to leave, but it didn't.  Next thing you know the bus driver says he can't leave cause he just got rear-ended!  So everyone had to get off the bus, and I was confused since I didn't even feel anything.  Turns out some kid rear-ended the bus with his truck.  Question...how on earth do you rear end a stopped bus?  I mean...was it not big enough?  Anyway, I had to wait for the next one and that made me 10 mins late to class. -_-''  On top of that it's rainy and I feel nauseous in addition to the headache, so...I'm just blech. 

Negativity aside, here's my polish for today!

-edit-
Hey guys.  I wrote the above in the morning and now it's night.  I pretty much knocked out when I got back from classes and slept till now.  Feeling really nauseous so I'll just post the pic!  Enjoy your Fridays for me. :P

Very briefly: This is Hell to the No from the Glee collection by $OPI.  It's a gorgeous purple with very fine gold and copper shimmer.  The shimmer is so soft, it reminds me of suede.  I've been debating about whether I should get this or not, so when I went to grab it for a swap I decided to get it.  Not at all disappointed!

Here I added $OPI's Traffic-Stopper Copper, which is basically medium hexagonal and fine copper glitter.  I love copper, so I had to have this.  I'm absolutely in love with it.  They look like crushed pennies, and the tiny square glitters remind me of freckles, which makes me happy.

Alrighty, back to sleep.

Liz

Pink Wednesday: Ahoy!

Ahh I'm typing this 5 mins before Thursday >.<  Sorry for the late post guys.  I want to get this out before 12am so here's the pic!  I'm sure you don't need a review of Ahoy anyway since it's been done by everyone. :P

Nights everyone!


Liz

YNOTD = Yesterday's Mani ^^

This is going to be quick!

So I put on two coats of China Glaze Techno Teal from the Tronica Collection.  I figured out how to apply it without having any drag.  I put enough polish on the brush to cover the nail and did one swipe.  For the second coat I went back and covered any spots I missed.  I did this real quick so I didn't cover the whole nail.  Dry time is really fast!  Then because I wanted my nails to be more complex, I dabbed on Zoya Faye with my brush, trying to do a gradient.  This is the result.



It looked a lot better in my head.  It wasn't much of a gradient but more like I dipped my tips in Zoya Faye.  I thought about erasing it, then decided to do one more thing to see if I could save it.  PS- Do you see the tiny bit of holo in Techno Teal on my ring and pinkie?  (Please say yes.)

Using Sinful Colors Black on Black and tape, I did a diagonal peek-a-boo look and added white streaks on my accent nail.  I still wasn't satisfied, but it got rid of the 'I have to erase this now' urge.  While I was taking pics it did grow on me.  I probably should've sponged Zoya Faye on, but I'm still not sure about this color combo.  With the black it did look better.  Oh and on the places where I did a better gradient the color changed from Teal to Indigo to Violet. 

Okay, now I'm off to study!

Liz

Sephora by OPI: Caliente Coral

Ack.  Where did the weekend go?  I'm pretty sure I didn't get enough rest or weekend hours... did someone just fast forward time when I was sleeping?  If you did- rewind it back!  Anyway, I've been meaning to post this all weekend. >.<  Ah it's so hard trying to post every day now.  I have two weeks till finals which means a boatload of projects and essays are all due this and next week before exam week.  On top of that I need to edit/ send out to a publisher a campus cultural guide book with another student by the end of April.  That's two people updating/ editing a book. >.<   And I still need to look for 8-12 sources for my upcoming humongous research essay. T_T  Why....?????  Okay, I'm done complaining- but if I don't post much, just know that^ is the reason I'm MIA.

On to the pictures...

Caliente Coral is a bright (but not neon) orange creme that leans towards coral in certain lights.  It is a teeny tiny bit streaky, but nothing a second coat won't get rid of.  Otherwise formula is superb and drying time is good too.  I love wearing this color in the summer and I think it's super flattering on me.  Sorry about messy application and bad pictures.  :/  I didn't have time to clean-up and wanted to get some quick snaps in while the sun was still out.

I'm actually behind again because I change my nails every day but haven't been posting every day.  I want to show you the mani I'm wearing right now, but alas I must get some more work done before I hit the sack.  I might just be keeping it short and posting pictures for the next three weeks at least, so keep checking back.  ^^


Liz

Essie Night Cap & Holographic Jelly?

I finally got the Essie Night Cap I won from Body & Soul in the mail about a week ago.  I've been meaning to post the swatches but haven't gotten around to doing it until now.  Also if you haven't already, please go check out Body & Soul!  Mary has some awesome polish swatches and reviews of other beauty products as well.

Now on to Night Cap.  Night Cap is one of the older Essie polishes and is classified as a watery-tint.  It is indeed very watery and dries quickly.  The color is more of a grayish teal leaning more towards one or the other depending on the light.  Since it's a tint, I decided to layer it over Nicole by OPI's Make a Comet-ment.

The result was grey/teal squishiness of Night Cap made super holo by Make a Comet-ment.  Night Cap kind of softened the edge off the holo glitter, yet made it more sparkly.  I really liked it.  Since it was my first time working with a tint, I did some experimenting.  The pinky (far right) has 1 coat of holo glitter and two coats of Night Cap.  Then I thought hmm...should I add some white since the tint is sheer?  I htought it might bring the color of the tint out more so that was the result of my ring finger.  But I thought it looked too busy with all the holo glitter, so for the next two nails I did 2 coats of holo glitter and 2 coats of Night Cap.  I think I prefer one coat of holo and 2 coats of Night Cap better since there's more depth and color from the tint.

In retrospect, maybe I'd add another coat or two of Night Cap.  Currently I'm trying to think of what other polishes I can layer this over without taking away its color.  Oh and if you were wondering what Make a Comet-ment looks like on its own, here's a swatch with 2 coats.

I kinda like it on its own.  It looks delicate and pretty like lace.


Anyway that's it for now!  Enjoy your Friday. :)


Liz

Pink Wednesday: Victoria's Secret Lover

It's Wednesday!  Half way through the week already.  Wow the weather has been so nice this week- warm and sunny.  Perfect for taking pictures ^^  I'm dreading the temperature drop next week though.  I want it to stay warm!

This is my second On Wednesdays We Wear Pink post, and I've decided to show you Lover by Victoria's Secret.

This is one of my first polishes, which I bought back in 2008.  It's a cool blue-toned pink with a silvery, blue/purple shimmer.  This is a one coater, but I'm wearing two for my swatches.  The formula was great back in 2008, but now it was kind of gloopy so I added some thinner to it.  Now it's good as new.  :)

I own one other polish from VS that I bought with this one.  These two are the only polishes I have from Victoria's Secret.  I'm not sure what kind of polishes are out on the market right now.  I should drop by sometime and see if there's anything interesting.

Do you own any polishes from VS?


Liz

Sally Hansen - Mint Sorbet ...Daiquiri Anyone?

The weather is so lovely these days- warm and sunny.  Made my Monday a bit more pleasant.  Hopefully everyone's Mondays went/are going well. :)  Today I have for you Mint Sorbet from Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear line.

I had such pretty pictures of this polish, but with the wrong color!  This was so hard to capture.  The above picture is a nice close up of the finish, but the second picture will show a better color representation.  Mint Sorbet was opaque in two coats.  It is a tiny bit streaky but evens out nicely with the second coat.  Dry time was pretty average with fast dry top coat.  I really wanted Lacey Lilac from this line too, but it was sold out! :(  Instead the display was flooded with 3 rows of Mint Sorbet.  I think Walmart overestimated Mint Sorbet's popularity and underestimated Lacey Lilac's...  Anyway for $2.48 I'd say this was a pretty good deal.  It is smaller though, 11.8ml. 

My roommate thought it looked like Baskin Robbin's Daiquiri Ice.  Actually, I think that pretty much sums up the color. :P

Yum

What do you think about mint polishes?  Anyone get their hands on Lacey Lilac?  Worth getting?  Yes, no? Tell me about it! :)


Liz