Saturday, January 26, 2013

Birthday Nails Part 1&2

Hey all! Boy has it been a busy week! I turned 27 on Wednesday and along with celebrating with family I have been planning my birthday bash. I just wanted to pop in and show you what's been on my nails this week.

My amazing boyfriend has been so sweet and sending me an Ulta gift card each day of my "birthday week" so that I could get myself some new polishes (seriously, how lucky am I?!?)


I will be posting my birthday polish haul on Sunday but here is a sneak peek 





Can't wait to share everything with you all.

Now onto the nails! For my birthday mani I did a bit of a glitter gradient with a stamped accent nail.




I totally loved these! To get the look I used 3 different Ulta polishes




From left to right: Broken & Blue, Walking On Broken Glass, In Hi-burr-nation


The accent nail was stamped using Cheeky plate CH33 and Avon's  Glisten Scintillant 





I kept that mani on until this evening and was sooo sad to take it off...but alas tomorrow is my party! The theme: mustache, tall socks karaoke party ( fun right?). Naturally I had to do a mustache mani





Eeeek! I just looooove them :0)


For this magnificently fun mani I used a few new products from my birthday haul





I did a base coat of OPI's Nail Envy (original formula) followed by 2 coats of Sally Hansen's Grass Slipper. After letting it all dry I used my nifty new mustache/kisses stamping plate that my mom gave me as a b-day gift ( which I have been wanting sooooo badly after seeing them on amazon. I apologize again for not knowing the manufacturer). I used a black striping polish that I received in my January Nail Art Society bag to stamp the images. I know that's a strange use for a striping polish but it seriously gave me such an opaque color for my stamp.

I am very proud of both of these looks. What about you? Which of my b-day manis did you enjoy?


Can't wait for Sunday when I have time to show you all my goodies from the week :0) For now its bed time. Have a great weekend!


Keep it polished!!!!

<3 Jess

Monday, January 21, 2013

Quilted Nails

Hello again! As promised I am back with my second post of the day.
I gotta say I am proud of myself for being so productive!

As I mentioned in my last post, I was watching football with some friends while doing my nails, ( now that is my idea of Sunday fun day!) Anyways I have been wanting to do a quilted nail for a while and decided today was the day.




I started with 2 coats of Ulta's Blue Streak for my base. I have had this color for a while but have not tried it until today. I really enjoy Ulta polishes, they have a great brush size, amazing color, and go on really smoothly.
After letting that fully dry, I carefully applied strips of striping tape to produce my quilted pattern and once I was satisfied with the spacing I applied a generous coat of yet another unknown Sephora mini shown here

Sorry yet again for not knowing the name. Now that I am aware the minis do not have their names I will be sure to write down the next set I get.

Now for those of you who haven't used the striping tape in this way its important to know when you do this, the key is to remove the tape ASAP after applying the second color. When I first used striping tape I was not aware of this and it didn't end well.

I didn't like just having the one accent nail so I decided to spruce it up with some pinkish-purple rhinestones and topped it off with a generous coat of Seche Vite.


While I like these nails, I was hoping to achieve a bit more of a quilted texture. Will have to read up and see how other bloggers are doing it.

Well I'm off to bed, have a great night!
Keep it polished!
<3 Jess

Sunday, January 20, 2013

the wishing flower

Hey all! Long time no post! So sorry for that. I have been crazy with work and planning my birthday party, yay!!!!

Anyways just a short post today to show off a little something. Yesterday I got together with my mom and had a chance to do her nails which was so fun for me. 

We decided on a "wishing flower" design. This "flower" is special to us because when I was young I would often pick them for her  on special occasions (mothers day, birthdays etc.). I had no clue they were actually weeds, to me they were beautiful and I loved making wishes.

After seeing the design on pintrest I knew it would be something my mom would enjoy. Please be warned the picture isn't great and,love my mom, she just couldn't sit long enough for me to clean up the edges so its a bit messy.




:0) even though its a bit messy, I like it for the pure sentimental value.

Now for the info: I used China Glaze Exotic Encounters which is an awesome forest green with a slight undertone of an almost blue? Lol obviously these are my descriptions and not those of the polish maker ;0). For the flower I used acrylic paint and nail art brushes, this was my first time using the acrylics and I like it much better than trying to paint with nail polish.

I did my nails as well today while watching football but will have to make you wait till later as I am about to meet up with one of my besties.

Have a great day and as always...keep it polished!
<3 Jess

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

saran wrap mani with rhinestone cascade

Hey there everyone! How was your Monday? Mine was filled with work and cleaning but I finally took some time to re do my mani. This is technically from the 31 day challenge, though I am not fully committed to doing that anymore. Not because I don't think its an amazing idea, but because when you work full time it is difficult to do a new mani every night ( not to mention the fact that sometimes I just really like what I have on and want to enjoy it for a few days).

So I have decided to use the challenge days as inspiration without a specific time frame :0) which is exactly what I did tonight.


My version of the saran wrap mani. What do you all think?


I have to say I am super happy with how this turned out, it was my first attempt at this type of manicure but it was super easy! The hardest part was trying to cascade the rhinestones ( an idea I copied after seeing it on one of my patients nails)

I used 2 coats of a Sephora color from their tinsel town collection for my base ( sorry I don't know the name, I threw the box out without realizing the mini bottles do not have the color names on them). After waiting for it to dry I painted each nail with a coat of one of my all time favorite colors 'For Audrey' by China Glaze and used pieces of crumpled saran wrap to dab and pick up some of the color. Once that was all dry I gave it a generous top coat of Seche Vite to protect the designs and ensure that my rhinestones will not fall off.

All in all it was a successful first try and I think I will definitely use this technique again. But for now it is freezing and I am off to get all comfy cozy in bed. Happy Monday everyone!

Keep it polished!
<3 Jess



Saturday, January 12, 2013

pink and polished giveaway

Hey there! So I know I only have 8 followers as of right now ( and im so greatful for each and every one of you!) but Kristine over at pink & polished has passed the 300 Follower mark! How exciting is that!?! To celebrate she is holding an awesome giveaway with some great prizes. Head on over and check her out and enter yourself for a chance to win!

www.pinkandpolished.blogspot.com


Keep it polished!
<3 Jess

Friday, January 11, 2013

Zoya color swatches: Akyra, Reagan and Crystal

Good afternoon everyone! Today I am excited to show you swatches of the Zoya polishes I posted yesterday :0)



Meet Akyra. So again the pictures just do not do this color any justice ( I am going to look at cameras and lighting today so hopefully that issue will be fixed soon). I would describe this color as a peacock feather green. It has a hint of blue when the light hits it sometimes. The swatch shown is of 3 coats with no top coat.



Look at Reagan, what a beauty! So to be perfectly honest when I first got my package I was least excited about this color. In the bottle it looked different then what I had seen online, I still was excited for it but I was hoping for a little more at first glance. Boy was I wrong! After swatching this I fell in love. Its such a great pink, I don't really even know how to describe it, its just amazing!

Last but not least here is Crystal




I really like this color as well...it looked a lot darker in the bottle and again didn't photograph well. It is a great color though...I'd say its an ashy blue with pretty little gold flecks. It's so gorgeous when the light hits it :0). These pictures are of the color swatched  with no base color coat, which I don't recommend because it took 6 coats to get this coverage. I'd like to try it again using a base coat of another color and see what happens.

All in all I am very happy with these Zoya polishes and will more than likely be ordering more soon :0)

Until next time....Keep it polished!
<3 Jess

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Nail mail!!!

Nothing like coming home from a long day of work to nail mail!
Finally got my Zoya polishes that I ordered last week from zoya.com using the zoya2013 promo code (3 polishes for $10!!!!). These are my very first Zoya polishes and I can not wait to get them on. I promise to post swatches asap.
OK so from left to right the 3 polishes I chose were Reagan, Crystal, and Akyra. Did any of you participate in this awesome deal? If so what did you choose?
Feel fee to leave your comments below!
Keep it polished!
<3 Jess

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

31 day challenge: color family

7 followers!?! I am so excited!!!! Thank you all for taking the time to drop by and check this out :0) You are awesome!

Sorry for not posting yesterday... Had to be responsible and get organized. I now officially have both of my nail racks up and am working on getting a good workstation set up.

I am yet again a day behind on the 31 day challenge, but I am so excited for the mani I have today. Day 6 was a color family. Anyone who knows me knows I am obsessed with greenish blue ( or Tiffany blue) and I have been waiting to use my new bottle of China glaze "For Audrey"....I love Audrey Hepburn and Breakfast at Tiffany's, so its only logical I would fall in love with this color. Now before the pics I want to give credit where credit is due. This is not an original design. It is based on a nail post I saw on Pintrest. The picture was not watermarked and did not lead to any page but is titled "modern nails" search for it on Pintrest to see the real deal (it uses different colors and is waaaaaay better than mine). If anyone happens to know who the original artist is please let me know so I can fully credit them.

Now for the nails!!




Again my pictures are not the greatest and don't show the colors as well as I'd hope but I am really enjoying these.





So for these nails I used 3 colors...



I was hoping to get more of a contrast between them but two of them wound up being very similar as you can see ( told you I loved this color family ;0) )
My base was China glaze "For Audrey", I then taped off different sections and layered Sally Hansen's "The Real Teal" and an amazing creamy indie glitter called "Mint Mondition". This was another one of the indies that Jess from love for lacquer sent me, I apologize but I am not sure who is the talented person that developed it ( again if you happen to know, please comment so I can give credit to the polish maker). After letting all of that dry ( for as long as I could handle) I gave some definition to the edges using silver striping tape.

Please let me know what you all think, personally I think its my favorite one that I have posted here so far.

Well, I'm off to bed. Hope you all have a wonderful night!
Keep it polished!
<3 Jess

Sunday, January 6, 2013

OPI liquid sand

Well I didn't make the post by midnight but I have another great swatch for you all. Today is day 5 of the 31 day challenge and its all about purple! I am so excited for this one because I have fallen in LOVE with OPI's new liquid sand polish! Its so awesome!!! Its a matte glitter polish with loads of amazing texture. The purple is from the Mariah Carey line and is called "Can't let go"


Just look at that texture. OPI really did a great job with these! What do you all think??

If you have a chance to snag some of these, I would definitely recommend it.

Until next time, keep it polished!

<3 Jess

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Day 4: pink

Day 4 of the 31 day challenge was yesterday and the theme was pink. Again I was doing my mani quite late so I apologize for being behind schedule.

But never fear I am here and with a great indie color to share! Early in December the very talented Jess and love for lacquer was offering bags of 5 regular sized and 2 mini indie polishes. They all were so pretty ( and my very first ever indies!) I decided to swatch one of them for the 4th day of the challenge. This color is called "Tequila Rose" by Kawaii nail lacquer.

Its a really fun chunky pink glitter. As you can see on my thumb, its a little  lumpy. This is due in no part to the polish but has everything to do with me using 5 coats to get full coverage and being way to sleepy and impatient to wait for each layer to dry (oops!).

 

I really loved this color though. The pictures just do not do it justice. The view from the top of the nails is spectacular with such dimension after all the layers. I'd recommend this to any of my nail buddies :0).

Well sorry for the short post. Forgot to mention that I am blogging from the happiest place on earth today! Time for me to go say hi to Mickey Mouse and pick up some tricks of the trade from Minnie. Will try and post my challenge day 5 before midnight tonight.

Until then, keep it polished!
<3 Jess

Friday, January 4, 2013

guest nails

Hey all! Hope you had a fabulous Thursday! I know I did! Had a great day with my love...movies, shopping, visiting with family, and nails! I am one lucky girl who has been blessed with a great man...so great he even let me do his nails to keep up with the 31 day challenge! Such a sweetheart: 0)

I originally was going to do a double post today but time got away with me as it often does! So instead I will post both manis on this one post. Let's get started....

Day 2 if the challenge was silver. This is the one that my love graciously lent me his pretty little digits




Look at those little nubbins! :0) 
The silver challenge day was completed with a base coat of unforgettable moments platinium ( this is a polish that if I remember correctly, I picked up at Payless shoe store). The silver stamping was done using cheeky plates CH33 from their summer collection. The stamping polish was Nicole by opi positive energy.

Few notes about this design. For one thing positive energy is one of my favorite stamping polishes. It really covers well and gives me great pigment, if you enjoy stamping this is a great product to have in your collection. Also I am not the greatest stamper ( but I am hoping that practice will make perfect) but I have noticed what its hard to find plates that work easily, consistently, and where all the designed are deeply etched and give a good picture. However I received these cheeky plates for Christmas and the are amazing!!!! I have yet to find a design that doesn't transfer. Love love love them!

That being said lets move on to challenge day 3...gold.
This was difficult for me because I'm not a big gold girl. So it took a little scrounging and I wasn't very creative with the design. Regardless here it is.




I am working on trying to get some better pictures up. These actually have cute little flowers but they do not show well in the pictures. 

For this I used two coats of China glaze fast track followed by one coat of China glaze I herd that. The flowers were done with Essie penny talk, using a dotting tool and toothpick. Accenting them with rhinestones.

Hope you all enjoyed this long winded post! I am off to bed!!!

Until tomorrow.... Keep it polished!
<3 Jess


Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Challenge anyone?

Who hoooo! Day 2 of blogging! Thanks to any and everyone who has stopped by to check this out. I am trying to figure out exactly how people can follow me....not sure if you have to be on blog spot or not.

Any who, I am on my lunch break at work so I need to make this snappy. I have decided to try doing a 31 day challenge. Day 1 was yesterday and I wasn't able to get my post up in time so I will have to play catch up tomorrow on my day off.

Day 1 of the challenge was black and white. Its still early January and I have yet to do a snowflake mani this season so that's what I went with.



Its a bit messy because I did it super late and was in desperate need of some sleep so please forgive the messy edges and poor lighting.

For this mani I used sinful colors black on black for my base, the design was stamped using bundle monster plate BM 323 and sinful colors snow me white. I added some rhinestones to jazz it up a bit. 

Well that's all for now. Hope everyone is having a great day! Be on the lookout for a double post tomorrow.

Keep it polished!
<3 Jess

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

New years resolution

 Hello empty blog! It is new years day and I have finally decided to start this blog!! I am still very new to all this so anyone viewing please forgive me! :0)

I started dabbling in nails and nail art a little over a year ago and it has become somewhat of an obsession for me. So for this new years resolution (along with a few other things) I decided to try my hand at blogging. Mostly to document for myself what I have done but also to hopefully meet some lovely talented ladies who share my passion.

If any of you seasoned bloggers out there have any tips for me your feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Now down to business. Seeing as how this is a new years resolution I figured I'd start off by showing my mani from last night. I only had about 30 minutes to do them after work so they are not quite as epic as I had hoped for, but here they are none the less.

For this simple design I used sinful colors black on black for the base, used a make-up sponge to apply Avon's brilliant chrome loose glitter for the tips and did a full rhinestone accent nail.

Hope you all had a happy and safe celebration last night!

Keep it polished!
<3 Jess