Sparkle + DuoChrome Giveaway!

SO chicas, just as I log on to MAC today and see that Bad Fairy is ALREADY SOLD OUT and want to cry my eyes out =*( the fantabulous Steph of Imperfectly Painted announces her 500 Follower (congrats!) Giveaway. Included in her giveaway is this elusive red/pink/fuchsia beauty along with some other amazing polishes. I did call my local Nordstrom's and their on the case to track down two bottles for me so my fingers are crossed. In the meantime, one of us could win it from Miss S. So what are you waiting for?

Jelly Gradient

Well hello there! After getting my jelly haul I couldn't decide what mani to do, miss Iris from Pimp My Nailz and Lacquer Ware for Tips and Toes requested a gradient so here 'tis. After seeing All Lacquered Up's awesome gradient mani with Butter London Jelly I knew I had to borrow the concept. Butter London Chuffed is a bright pink coral jelly with pink microglitter. I combo-ed it with a few polishes to see what would work best and settled on Sinful Beautiful girl, a bubble gum pink cream as a base.

I used Seche Rebuild, a base coat and two coats of Beautiful Girl. There was still a slight VNL but I figured the Chuffed layering would hide it. I then proceeded to add one, two, three and four layers in increments going up to the tips of my nails. A coat of China Glaze Fast Forward sealed the sucker off and I was giddy with the results.

I could have worn this a few more days but have a wedding this weekend. Can't wait to try this with different colors and test out the purple jelly Stroppy! Have you tried a gradient mani? What colors do you like to use for gradients?

Jelly Haul

Happy Weekend Girls! I just wanted to do a quick post to show some recent goodies. It seems I'm feeling the jellies ~

Left to right: Butter London Branwen's Berries Holiday Hand Creme (looked MUCH bigger online) Butter London Jelly Chuffed and Stroppy, Claire's scented polish in Vanilla Ice Cream and Bubble Gum, China Glaze Love Letters and Nina Ultra Pro Mermaid.

I'm having a hard time with my next mani, either a gradient jelly or a holo because it's been so sunny. Any thoughts?

Lastly I just wanted to show off the beautiful roses my wonderful husband surprised me with last weekend.

Fall Classic Camel

This week has flown by, it helps that I took Monday off =p. I had an amazing anniversary weekend with my honey, it was great to get away from it all. The leaves are starting to change so I guess I can't resist Fall any longer. I busted out my first polish from the 2010 Fall China Glaze Vintage Vixen Collection. I thought Classic Camel would make a good color for the start of the season. This cream is literally the color of a camel, a tannish toffee with gold shimmer. I used Seche Rebuild, a BC.

I really, really like this color! I think it fits this time of the year well. I spiced it up with some Viva La Nails butterfly stickers. Some of the stickers went well on my rounded nails and some of them were a disaster! I could feel the edges sticking up and even some parts of the stickers have ripped off. Two coats of China Glaze Fast Forward didn't smooth them out. Not sure if I did something wrong but I wasn't that impressed with them. Maybe my nails are just too round? I could wear this color for a few more days but since the stickers are driving me CrAzY they're coming off tomorrow. Have you been in the mood for fall manis?

Anniversary Mani & Awards

Hi cuties! I can't believe tomorrow will be my one year wedding anniversary! My how time flies. To help mark this special weekend I wanted to do a mani with my wedding colors. I have been saving Essie Turquoise and Caicos just for this occasion as Polish Hoarder Disorder pointed out that it's an exact Tiffany Blue. My colors were Tiffany blue and fuchsia. I used three coats of Turquoise and Caicos, it's a sheer cream but covered nicely. I added one coat of China Glaze Fast Forward before I went to work. I later added the adorable bow image from konad plate m56.

Indoor w/Flash

I used Nicole by OPI's Love Your Life with baby pink hearts for an accent on my index fingers. It's a clear base with pastel glitters and these larger hearts (which are difficult to get out of the bottle). I added some sparkle with some fuchsia rhinestones and sealed with another coat of Fast Forward. I absolutely love it, I do have to play with the bow image in the future since my nails are pretty small.

Outdoors Direct Sunlight

In other news, the lovely Ashley of Nails_r_us tagged me for the Sweet Friends Award and the lovely Ali of Ali's Nail News tagged me for the Sunshine Award. Since I've already posted the Sweet Friends Award I'll spare you all on a repeat =D. Thank you both for thinking of me~!

Here are the rules for this award:

1. Post the image on your blog

2. Link the blogger who gave it to you

3. Pass it on to 12 other bloggers

4. Link those 12 bloggers

5. Let them know you've tagged them by commenting on their blog

I'm super behind on this blog so I'm sure all of the fan-nail-tastic blogs I follow have already been tagged a few times so I welcome anyone to this award!

Bronco Water Marble

I hope everyone had a nice weekend! Mine was pretty much at warp-speed. I wanted to do a Bronco-themed watermarble for the season opener maybe pass a few good vibes to my Orange Crush since they were playing in hot ass Jacksonville.

I used one coat of Seche Rebuild followed by a BC and one coat of Sinful's white cream in Snow Me White. I then water marbled with Sally Hansen's Xtreme Wear Sunkissed and HD Laser (blue purple glitter) and Snow Me White. The Hi-Definition Sally did not want to cooperate in the water, not sure if it is all the microglitter but it was just so pale and I didn't come close to a consistent design. The below right hand turned out better but I have two little nubs I'm still trying to grow out.

After I dipped my nail in, the HD was splattering into the white. It's OK but not the crisp separation I'm used to. I topped it off with one coat of China Glaze's Fast Forward. Considering my Broncos lost and this didn't work out as planned It was a lose-lose. I may have to attempt again with a different blue. Have you tried to watermarble with any of the HD polishes? Did it work better than this or is it a non marble-friendly formula?

Pink Lemonade

I'm not sure about you, but I just ADORE four day weeks and think we should have them every week =D!  I've been wanting something bright and fun so I grabbed Zoya's gorgeous pink duo chrome Happi. She is simply divine and went on nicely with three coats. This is a little bit brighter than a bubblegum pink with golden shimmer throughout, very warm. I've also really been wanting to use my new fruit konad plate m55. I figured Happi would be a perfect pink base for a "pink lemonade" mani so I stamped the citrus image with China Glaze Lemon Fizz. 

I added some diagonal dots with my dotting tool and topped it off with a coat of China Glaze Fast Forward and voila! 

I also wanted to share some great shots I got of Pikes Peak at dusk and the Colorado Balloon Classic BalloonGlo over Labor Day. I'm starting to feel the chill in the morning air and it makes me a dull girl *harumph.*

Mint 2 Be

I've had this little pretty minty in my untrieds for awhile now, oh my I'm so glad I went for it because honestly so far I think it's my favorite color! Icing's Mint 2 Be is a pastel cream green and went on nicely. It could have been opaque in two coats but I had to add a third since I was a little messy.

I figured I might as well add some holo stamping while I was at it, HEAVEN! I used Color Club's silver holo Worth the Risque. I used konad plate m63 for the swirly image. I also reversed the polishes on my index fingers.

You can see the stamping best on my pointer and pinky in the above picture. I also threw a direct sunlight shot.

Are you a fan of mints? If so, I definitely recommend this one!

1st Transdesign Haul

Happy, happy Labor Day Weekend to all my U.S. chicas! We plan on going to the Colorado Balloon Classic BalloonGlo either tonight or tomorrow and probably taking the pup to a lake somewhere close. Do you have any big plans? This is a bit late but I wanted to showoff my first Transdesign haul!

Of course as soon as China Glaze's Halloween Awakening Collection was available I threw it in my cart and what I wanted of Color Club's Untamed Luxury collection (minus Untamed Luxury and Red Velvet since they were out ~BOO). I haven't tried this yet as I'm still grasping onto summer like a small child latching onto their mother's leg before they get dropped off at daycare. I did get a chance to use the Fast Forward topcoat and am in love! I've been using Seche but I still have some trouble stomaching the warning label that says *cancer.* Fast Forward was quick and smooth like glass so I may be using that from now on.

Look at the other yummy-ness! Left to right Color Club Twiggie, Pucci, De-Luxe-Cious, Covered with Diamonds and Orly Winter Wonderland and Space Cadet. I think I may want Orly's Glitz and Glamour for the holidays but not sure. I also think I'll be getting Orly Halley's Comet since I don't already own the other dupes showcased by all you talented comparison bloggers out there. What have you been waiting to get your hands on?

100 Follower Giveaway Winner!

Whew! It took forever but I finally have a winner for my first giveaway ~ Joanne J. I've emailed her and she has 48 hours to respond. If for some reason I don't hear from her by then I'll draw a runner up. Thanks to everyone who participated and I hope you enjoy reading my blog! Let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions as they're always appreciated.

Hello Kitty Water Decal Fail =(

Hey lady loves! I'm working hard to announce a winner of my giveaway tomorrow, I don't have Excel on my home comp so I have to do what I can at work on my lunch break. I've had these gorgeous little Hello Kitty Chanel water decals in the closet and figured it would be a good time to bust 'em out. Welp let's just say my fingernails are way too tiny for these (at least with painted tips). I used a BC and two coats of Sally Hansen Star Opal Nail Glaze in Pale Lilac Opal. It's a very sheer micro pink shimmer. I then used two coats of the famous China Glaze Ruby Pumps to free-hand tips. I then free-handed the smile line with So Easy Stripe Rite in black.

While the water decals were fairly simple to apply and slide around, they just didn't fit nicely on my cuticle. I added two coats of Seche Vite topcoat hoping it would glue those little babies down. It worked for a few hours but as soon as I woke up this morning they were looking pretty beat. I couldn't stand the feeling of the edges coming up on my nail and took it off as soon as I got home. Luckily I have 13 more so I think I can at least use them for a thumb or index accent. Have you used water decals that were difficult?