Starry Nights in Montana (Glittah Bomb!)

I know the name is not that creative, I don't care, this is pretty! 

I am trying to make my gel nail underwear last for 2 weeks, so I better be careful when I remove my polish, and how often I use glitter polish!

On to the glitter fest :0)

1 coat of Wet N Wild Black Creme, with 2 coats of Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Ice Queen. 2 coats of SV to shine things out!

Teal/blue  and pink hex glitter along with fine holographic glitter. I have been wanting to wear this over black for months...

Please ignore the blurry fingers...this was a bugger to photograph. Either that or I really need to pull out my DSLR. I hate to do that though, because uploading takes much longer and I am a bit lazy when it comes to doing that!

I thought this one out and I want to stamp over the top halfway through the week....right about the time I get bored with my mani...3-4 days in, hahahaha, Let's see if that works-could be questionable!

Zoya Experiment Follow-up and other Mani Spam

Here are a few quick pics of me following up on this post . I wasn't patient enough to go longer than 3 days, so you are going to have to trust me on this-Zoya polishes appear to bind to gel base coat. Probably a generalization, but what can I say?!

Day 1 with different top treatments over 2 coats of Zoya Adina.

Day 3, same hand. Some tip wear, which I always have, but no peeling at all and no sign that it was going to happen, I was pretty stoked! I really love the Zoya colors and didn't want to give them OR my gel base coat up :)  I use IBD Gellac Base coat for strength and also it helps the  shape of my nails-evens out the tiny upwards tilt at the tips.
SO on to my next mani/experiment. I was inspired for this by The Nailsaurus, who in turn was inspired by nail art she saw on TV. I am not as talented at she, so I used scotch tape

1 coat of Zoya Ginessa over IBD Gellac base coat, and a PIA application of tape, Catrice Big City Life- New York (Thanks to the lovely Buzzwheedle)

This is the "franken" topcoat I used over my Zoya experiment, so this should work fine, since there is only a very tiny amount of SV in it.

 Sorry about the poor picture quality-

Not the cleanest application, I know...but I had this idea and I really wanted to try it. Drying time for this particular mani was long-hence the dents, but I LOVED this look and this mani!! What do you think?
I want to try this with other polishes, non-Zoya polishes to see if it is a bit easier.

Zoya experiment

So , yes, I broke down and bought some Zoya polishes, 1) great sale and  2) awesome colors!
However, I forgot what my friend told me about Zoya not playing nice with other topcoats. The first mani I did with a Zoya (Unicorn mani) started peeling off the next day. TOTAL bummer.

So I talked with my friend (a Zoya addict, btw), did some research and decided to start experimenting. Since I typically wear 2 coats of Gellac base coat under all polishes-that is its own experiment....

Tonight I tried 2 manis, Zoya Anchor over gel polish, 2 coats of Ginessa, 1 coat of Nina Ultra Pro speed dry (3-free) OMY that turned into rubber cement on my nails....bad move. Removed the glittery, silver mess that is now all over.

NEXT-yes, I was stubborn! N Zoya Anchor, just Zoya Adina-2 careful coats. So far, so good.

I alternated the Zoya fast dry drops and a franken topcoat. Not really an intentional franken, just leftovers from SV, Sally Hansen triple strength and a few other remnants of TC.

So here are some really bad pictures of a messily done mani-but hey, it is a process I guess!
Live and Learn :0)

My intention is to take some pictures of how this mess plays out-I will warn you...it might not be pretty! If there is anyone else out there that has used gellac/gel/shellac under other polishes....have you tried Zoya??



I love the colors of Zoya, so I hope it works over the gellac...at the very least.
OK, I am done rambling...g'night!

Funky Half-Moon Mani

I have never tried a half-moon mani-simply because 1) I stink at drawing neat lines and 2) They are not my favorite style (probably because I can't DO them!)

BUT...I came by sort of a half-moon by accident. I used scotch tape and fancy scissors and Viola! I had always wondered if I could figure out how to do the half-moon with scissors and tape and now I know, lol!

Two coats of Sally Hansen Complete manicure Thinking of Blue-one of my post-holiday hauls.

Woops, didn't take a picture of that color on its own...but you can see it clearly-lovely dark blue cream.
I used these scissors to make the shape

I had actually planned turning the pattern to follow my cuticle line, but I screwed that up and had to run with it :0)

I used Pure Ice Heartbreaker for the offset color, and went by after and made little dots below the ^ shape.

I found it hard to see the shape of the ^ after I added Poshe quick dry topcoat :0)

That is probably as fashionable as I will ever get with my nails, lol. I probably will  never try a ruffian-damn those look tricky!

I think our area ended up with a bit over 24 inches of snow, but since it rained on top of the snow (!?) right after, it was hard to be positive.

Right now, I plan to return to my warm butterscotch-chip cookie and ice-cold milk....I love cold milk....

Good Night!!

Unicorn nails in a Winter Wonderland (Spam alert!)

OK, there are NO unicorns on my nails, but the color combination reminded me so much of my childhood vision of Unicorns, that the name stuck! Also...a co-worker that I respect said it was very wintry-looking...I happen to think she was right as well :0)

I used my first Zoya favorite, Gaia, 2 coats and heavenly looking.

So pretty all on its own, but then it came to me, it needed some delicate sponging! I sponged with my new Essence Choose Me! I was a bit too heavy on that, so I sponged a bit more Gaia over E-CM

I loved how this looked, but no, it wasn't quite right.....

I sponged over that with Catrice Forget Me Not, Also from Buzzwheedle and put one coat of Sally Girl un-named glitter

*drools*

OK, now for the winter wonderland... We received 8-10 inches officially...but where we live it was closer to 20 inches of snow. Since I wasn't willing to go back OUT in that mess, here is a picture from my porch, LOL!

Fun, huh?! I am so glad we have a 4x4 vehicle! People sliding into other people, onto sidewalks and stuck in the middle of roads....you name it, we saw it! I feel very fortunate at times like this to have a home that is safe and warm. Our state is friendly to transients and homeless and we have a large population of homeless people. I just want to cry when I think of the people that are sleeping in cars or outside at times like this....their choice or not.
Take care and hug your loved ones...furry or not!

The Good kind of Flake!

I finally  got to wear one of my new polishes from a swap with Buzzwheedle, and it didn't disappoint!

I had picked up Orly Le Chateau, from a clearance bin, thinking it was black. Got home looked closer and went "Oh, Cr*p!" it was teal! Deep, dark and wow... I think I might have made an error in covering this with flakies...but really?! Flakies make Anything better in my book (kind of like bacon).
Silly me...here are the pictures!

*Sigh* I am really loving this color. Wonder if it stains? Oh, what was that? Yes, 2 coats of dark teal blackness...

Now 2 coats of Golden Rose Scale Effects from the lovely Buzzwheedle, in all of its multi-colored goodness.

Wow. I really had NO idea there were so many colors in this polish. I know I wrote that in my last post...but really.
My really bad Internet splurge arrived and I now own 4 Zoya polishes. Anita at Splashofserendipity did a Fingerpaint flakie over a nude, so maybe I will try that next. Go check out her mani-it is lovely.

Have a good week...a winter storm is blowing in here, so I may wake up to 10 inches of snow! I will take pictures! Be safe  :0)

Whoo-Hoo! Swap results

I finally received my swap package from Buzzwheedle! She sent awesome and amazing goodies, and it was fun going through looking at the different countries the polishes came from. OK, I'm easy-it doesn't take much to make me happy!

At any rate, I will probably be doing manis with these fun polishes in the next few weeks. I already did my toes...but I will be  merciful and NOT subject you to my winter toes, LOL!
Here are a few pics of my new loot!

The total loot pile...no breakage and it was like my birthday a month early! (Yeeks, I turn 45 next month!)

*Sigh* look at those flakies! I never thought I would have this particular polish...and I didn't realize how many different colors of flakies this has!

This is Essence Choose me! and I totally fell in love with it....this is what is on my funky little piggies.

I had never participated in a swap before and I was so glad that I had. Thank-you Buzzwheedle! I hope to see you blogging again when you find more time :0) *Hugs* to you dear lady!

I had picked up 2 of the Fingerpaints flakies before I received my Netherlands package. The thing is...the Golden Rose Scale Effect is like mixing FP Asylum and Flecked! Hands-down, Golden Rose SE tops the Fingerpaints in my opinion, just because of the range of color to get lost in....

I'm off to eat some of my daughter's homemade bread with some honey...nomnomnom!  Stay safe, hug your loved ones, and paint your nails!

Polka Dot Insanity!

I was just telling a co-worker the other day that I would never be able to pull off a polka dot summer dress...BUT a polka dot mani is a whole other can of worms!

Many very talented ladies have done this mani in a stunning fashion. This is just my version of it. Work was hectic and stressful this week, so I needed something fun and carefree.
Two coats of Revlon Silver dollar, with 2 sizes of polka dots. I used my dotting tool for the small dots and the flat end of a bamboo skewer for the large dots. I have been wanting to try this mani for almost 6 months now, hehehhe.

 GAH! look at the smearing! I hate it when I think I did a great mani and pictures show me this kind of stuff...grrrr

Right hand...I don't use this one much for photos....I am right handed and need that for clicking pictures!

Here is what I used:

Speaking of dots....here is a recent mani that was not so successful, but the first time I did a mani with this franken. Meh, ok, but nothing to rave about!

Take care and be safe :0)

New Icing polish and mani

I HATE the mall...there is only one here in my town, but I really dislike it. I am fairly allergic to perfumes and that is the biggest reason I avoid malls like the plague...
BUT I went looking for something specific and got pulled into some stores by the lure of nail polish, hehehe!

So I bought 2 Icing polishes, one of which I used for this mani.

2 Coats of this gorgeous, sparkly beige polish.

I checked out the name for the blog and promptly forgot it, if you are curious, e-mail me and I will find out for you :0)

Gorgeous golden/green glitters in a beige base. Don't think it is a duochrome, but not positive...
Stamped with Sally Hansen Black Out using Bundlemonster plates...the newer ones.

I love this color, but I have to admit it probably doesn't look very good on me. Colors that are too gold in their tones tend to look pretty blah. I am bordering on lobster fingers, and that rarely happens to me. Go figure.

Take care everyone and if your weather is unseasonably nice, enjoy. Our Montana weather is sneaky and evil and last week it was in the 40's and 50's last week-that is unreal for Montana in January! I am waiting for the inevitable slam of harsh weather...it has to happen, ya know....

At any rate, drive safe, stay warm and enjoy your post-holiday hauls if you were able!

Zoya Special-2 Free polishes?!

Seriously kick-ass deal on the Zoya Blog...I had not purchased any of these yet, but I broke down and picked out 4 and only paid for 2. Has anyone out there seen this?!

Type in:  zoya2012 after you add your polishes and the cost for 2 are zero'd out. I am sure their newest line is exempt. The special is good until 1/9/12....sneaky trick to get lurkers like me to order BEFORE the fleck collection comes out. It worked....

My friend Saundie has many and I am always drooling, but too cheap to order them online, hehehehe. They have some really amazing colors and duochromes.

As far as I could see, no purchase required-just pay for the shipping cost.
OK, I am done saying WOW and I will leave you alone until tomorrow..TTFN!
(for those of you not familiar with Winnie the Pooh...Ta-Ta For Now!)

Delicate Diagonal Stamping

I picked up some clearance polishes at CVS Pharmacy over the last week and tried out one of these today. The polish I used was Sally Hansen's Gray on Gray. Pretty awesome color, in my book...Looks like a blued-out gray creme in the bottle, but looks and is more gray than in these pictures. As always...my camera picks up the blue more, so things are always a bit more blue than in real life.

Here is one coat of GOG (lol!), with no topcoat...

Now picture this a bit more gray.... Pretty darn good coverage in 1 careful coat, but I went for two coats, and a topcoat before I stamped.

I am already in love with this polish/color. The brush is flat and rounded at the tip. It was different at first, but I think I kind of like the brush. This was one of the Sally Hansen "complete manicure" polishes, and I had not tried these yet.

I used a slice of clear tape to mark off my nails diagonally and just stamped half of my nail with a Bundlemonster "full nail" pattern using NYC white creme.

Ignore the fuzzy lint on the tips, please! I had lotion on and wanted to swipe it off my nails and the lint free wipes left lint, hahaha! This is with one coat of quick-dry top coat over the stamping.

I really like the clean simplicity of this mani. Yes, I had to restrain myself from adding more! Every time I looked in my polishes and then looked at my nails, I thought nothing could do it justice, so I left it like this :0)