My Christmas Day Nails- Snowflakes and Santas

Stamps and freehand!  I haven't done either in a long, long time.  I loved these for Christmas, and my family loved them too!  I got an entire set of dotting tools today, so expect some polka dot manis in the future!

Santas!

Bonus Phone Pic:

Products Used:

China Glaze Electric Beat

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Silver Sweep

Essie Pure Pearlfection

BM 14

SH 17

Zoya America

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Petal Pusher

China Glaze Dance Baby

Wet n Wild 449C

Peachy Chevron for a Beachy Feel- 2 Weeks of China Glaze

Like I mentioned before, we are having some much needed sunny weather here in Oregon these past few days, and that has put me in the mood for some BEACH.  One of my favorite summer colors is Peachy Keen.  It just feels so happy to me.  So I knew I wanted to use it, but I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it... when I went through my stamping plates and discovered the chevron-ish stripes on Bundle Monster plate 201.  Sold!  I grabbed one of my metallics (GREAT for stamping) and hopped to it.  I was hoping the stripes would come out more blue, but I think it looks just fine as this silvery color.

Products used:

China Glaze Peachy Keen

China Glaze Devotion

Bundle Monster plate 201

So now a few questions for you guys- what's your favorite summer shade?  And what are your thoughts on chevron stripes- just a fad, or here to stay, and do you love em or think they are overdone?  

Red and a Copper Penny

I needed something bright.  My internship is wrapping up and the weather is just... bleh.  So I needed something fun!  Here's China Glaze's Make Some Noise with a metallic copper stamping on top.  It came out kind of subtle but pretty awesome I think.

They cheered me up for a while!

Products Used:

China Glaze in Make Some Noise

Sally Hansen Complete Salon in Shiny Penny

Bundle Monster Plate BM205

Way way way late Valentine's Mani

Well, better late than never I guess.  

Products Used:

China Glaze Sweet Hook

China Glaze Dance Baby

China Glaze Fuchsia Fanatic

Konad Plate m57

Bundle Monster Plate BM14

Christmas Sweater Nails

Here's my take on the Ugly Christmas Sweater manis that have been floating around.  I had to work with only the handful of polishes I brought home with me, so it didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, but I still like it!

Products Used
Sally Hansen Hard as Nails in In The Red Creme
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Black Out
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in White On
Konad Plate m57
Bundle Monster Plates BM14 and BM214
Shany Plate SH17

Another Winter Inspired Mani

I recently went on a bit of a splurge!  One of the polishes that I added to my collection is Revlon's Powder Puff, which is one of their matte suedes.  I was sort of expecting it to look like white out- just a flat white color.  Instead, it's pretty sheer, and it has this lovely opalescent shimmer to it.  It is very pretty, but I couldn't stand the visible nail line.  (I didn't take any pictures of Powder Puff on its own, but I will soon).  On top of Powder Puff, I went for a shimmery red/gold stamped pattern that reminds me of poinsettias!

Products Used:
Revlon Powder Puff
Essie Wrapped in Rubies
Bundle Monster BM205

Pink Stamped Floral Mani

I wanted something quick and easy, and boom!  Pink on pink, my nails have been hosed down with pepto-bismol.  Easy, fairly subtle, and work appropriate.

Products Used

Revlon's Pink Chiffon

Sally Hansen Beyond Perfect in Cassis Comfort

Bundle Monster BM16

Ten Minute Mani: Purple Polka Dots!

Sometimes I love spending an hour on my nails, hand painting with toothpicks or tiny paintbrushes or whatever, and sometimes I just want something that's done quickly and looks nice.  This was one of those times.

I wanted something fun, but that would also be ok to wear to my internship.  I decided to do some subtle stamping.  I chose my colors based on some of the nail mail I got from Ulta that's been sitting next to my desk for over a month- China Glaze Devotion was the one that I chose for tonight, and I paired it with OPI Rumple's Wiggin, my go-to light purple.  Some quick polka dot stamps, and voila!  A manicure that didn't take much time, and got me several compliments from the kiddos at my elementary school.  Success!  This is FOR SURE one of my favorite manicures I've ever done, and so simple!  I am definitely going to save this idea for a rainy day.

I seriously was racing the sun home to get these photos.
Totally forgot about Daylight Saving's Time screwing with my afternoon sunshine!

Products Used:

OPI Rumple's Wiggin

China Glaze Devotion

Bundle Monster plate BM19

Fall Leaves on Cheeky Chops

Since I felt kinda weird wearing around these yellow nails, and I'm too cheap to take it off immediately, I decided to go forth with some fall inspired stamping!

I used Butter London's Cheeky Chops as a base since I'd swatched it previously, and stamped on top with a Bundle Monster design in red, orange and brown.  I like it, but I thought it was missing something- so I topped it with my matte topcoat, and I like it.

Products used:

Butter London Cheeky Chops

Revlon Hot for Chocolate

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Sun Kissed

Gap nail polish in Admire

Essie Matte About You

Bundle Monster plate BM04

Stamped White Lace on Bare Nails

Well, it's kind of exactly what the title says!  I was feeling a little lazy and a little frilly, and I didn't have a lot of time to spend on my nails.  I also wanted something work appropriate.  I settled on doing this simple design- lace tips stamped on my bare nails!  I think it came out very lovely and subtle.  I am sad that they are already looking a little worse for wear after only a day, but I guess that's what happens when the focus is solely on the tips!

Products Used:

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in White On

Bundle Monster BM18

Sally Hansen Double Duty Topcoat

Floral Mani and Updates All Around

I've been absent for such a long time.  There's two reasons for that...
1. I started my internship.  It takes up SO MUCH of my time and is SO stressful, that I completely chewed off all my nails into tiny nubbins... and THEN I started working on the cuticles.  Not only that, but I've been super concerned with what is appropriate for work, and what isn't as far as nails/nail art.  And I have a confession: I wore the same mani for two weeks in a row.  And I'm using the term mani here very loosely- I slapped on two coats of a sheer polish with no base or topcoat and just called that good- for TWO WEEKS.  By the time I took it off last night, the polish was only in the very center of my nail, and my ridges had actually worn through in some places!  It was disgusting.
2. I lost my Seche Vite!!!!!! I don't know how that happened :(  But I kept saying to myself "no point in spending time on doing my nails if I can't use my SV.  I'll do my nails when I find it."  I hardly even looked!  Well last night I tore my house apart and there's no sign of it, so I just did my nails anyway, because I'd finally reached my limit.

So anyway, like I said, I finally hit my limit last night and said "enough is enough!"  Plus I had just seen this tutorial from Rebecca Like Nails, and was all over it like white on rice.  I love a good floral mani, and even though I was a little nervous to wear it to my internship, I figured go big or go home.

Ugh those cuticles.

Products Used:

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Wet Cement

Maybelline Express Finish in Prompt Petals

ELF nail polish in Fuchsia

Revlon Emerald City

Sally Hansen Double Duty as topcoat

Bundle Monster Plate number BM14

Blue and Purple Stamping

I got the new Bundle Monster plates a few weeks ago and just now got around to trying them out.  They look great, and I love the new wider designs.

Here is a simple design using Sally Hansen Pronto Purple over Essie's Borrowed & Blue, with Revlon Metallic on the accent nail.  Got all that???

Products used:

Essie Borrowed & Blue

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Pronto Purple

Revlon Metallic

Bundle Monster plate BM 201