Zoya Stevie Curly-Q Nail Art :)

Happy Tuesday, polished world!  How are you today? I just want to start this post off by saying that my thoughts and prayers are with all of those in Oklahoma whose lives were turned upside down from these awful tornadoes.  Also, this post is kind of short and may not make much sense since I'm writing it at 1am.

As I stated in my last post, I graduated from college!!!!  I can breath again!!!  Of course, the night before my graduation, I had no idea what to do with my nails.  I sat for hours planning, debating, and swatching out nail art ideas.  My dress was black with white polka dots, and my gown was navy blue.  I was thinking of wearing one of those colors, or at least doing black nails with white dots, but I wasn't really feeling that.

On Facebook, I posted that I wanted to do purple in remembrance of my great grandmother, especially because my graduation fell on her birthday.  I can clearly hear her now asking me how my classes are like she always used to when I was just starting college.  I know she proudly was smiling down on me from above watching me cross that stage :).

Let's take a look at my purple graduation manicure!!!!

Colors Used:

• Zoya - Stevie (Summer 2013 Pixie Dust)
• OPI - My Boyfriend Scales Walls

I've stated in my last few posts where I have utilized Stevie how much I love it.  It is such a gorgeous lavender, and with the glitter flecks, it gives the polish a whole new dimension.  Then, you add the texture look, and it's even more amazing.  I did my curly-q design using it also, and this polish is so easy to work with when doing nail art.  Love it.

Everyone has also been pressuring me to purchase My Boyfriend Scales Walls, and after months I finally caved.  I always thought "oh it's an off white polish, I'll just use white, I have no use for this."  After two coats on my thumb, I quickly was wrong about this polish.   It's just such a gorgeous white.  With the hint of grey, it mutes it so it isn't as stark white and the PERFECT base for nail art.  I can't wait to use this for polka dot manicures or floral ones.

How I Got the Look (Yes, another tutorial):

1. Start off with a base coat of white (or whatever color you like).
2. With the color you want to do the Curly-Q with, using a nail art brush, trace on two main curls.  These will be the base for your next curls
3. Still, using the nail art brush, swirl off from the main curls creating a look like a fountain.
4. On every "rounded" corner of the curl, keep adding little curls in opposite directions from the main one.  You can do as many or as little as you like .  For this tutorial, I kind of went crazy, but you can see on the nail I didn't do as many.

What do you think?  Lover of the Pixies?  Lover of My Boyfriend Scales Walls?  Lover of the Curly-Q?  Does anyone remember drawing these on paper in school and making them go on forever and ever?  Lol

Well, I am off, I hope you enjoyed my graduation nails.  I have a few posts I need to get working on, I've been slacking lately at editing photos.  I have some pretty lilacs and other blooming flower nails.  Then there are fire burst nails.  Ahhhh so many posts, so little time!!!! Must concentrate on the blog!!!!

Until next time, <3.

**Zoya Stevie was provided by Zoya for Promotional Purposes.  I purchased OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls.  The opinions expressed are my own, please view my disclosure policy**

Crazy Leopard Nails!!

Happy Graduation Day to me!  That's right ladies and gents, I'm graduating from college today!  This isn't the manicure I will be walking the stage with.  Actually, as I sit here and type this on the night before this post goes live, my mind is blank as to what I'm going to put on my nails.  Yup, 9pm the night before my graduation, and my nails are still naked.  Ugh.

These nails I loved though when I did them.  They were obviously neon, but my camera went crazy as they typically do when you try to photograph neon manis.  I got the idea after seeing MissJenFabulous's nails on YouTube of the extra large leopard print.  I loved the neon skittle gradient with the bold print.  Since I wasn't feeling the large spots, I went for my normal, small leopard print.  I posted this image on Instagram and well, you can see how awesome they were while I was holding my delicious Caramel Swirled Frosty. yum yum.

Let's take a look!

Colors Used:

• Pointer/Pinkie - China Glaze - Hang Ten Toes to China Glaze - Flip Flop Fantasy
• Middle Finger - Funky Fingers - Riot! to China Glaze - Splish, Splash
• Ring/Thumb - Favorite nail - China Glaze - I'm With the Lifeguard to China Glaze - Sun Kissed
• Orly - Liquid Vinyl
• Sinful Colors - Snow Me White
• INM - Northern Lights

I decided over my gradient to add some INM Northern Lights, the best holo glitter top coat ever.  Quick story before I get into my how to.  I purchased this bottle at Sally Beauty Supply.  After using it once, polish somehow got into the cap.  Now, whenever I use it, polish drips out and all over my hand.  When I close the bottle, it comes out around the cap, and literally my bottle looks like a wreck.  I contacted INM and voiced my concern, and literally ten minutes after sending an e-mail, they contacted me saying that the cap is defective and they will gladly replace it.  Best customer service ever.  Just yet another reason why I will never purchase SV and will be sticking to my beloved Out the Door Top Coat.

How I Got the Look:

1. Start of with a base coat of white polish.  For my manicure, I used one thick-ish coat.
2. Create a two/three color gradient on the nail.  To do so, paint the two/three colors on a make up sponge and dab onto the nail.  Dab as many times as you want to get the color darker.  If you want to add a top coat like Northern Lights of Fairy Dust, this is the time to do it once the gradient is done.
3. With a dotting tool, dot on uneven dots using a white polish.
4. With a tooth pick or nail art brush, out line the dots unevenly as well.  Do not fully outline the circles as shown in the picture above.
5. Add uneven black spots to fill in the empty space.  When dry, add a fast dry top coat.

Viola!!!!   What do you think?  Love or hate the neon gradient?  Should I try again to get better photos?  Still loving the tutorials?

Well, I am off to eat some food and figure out my nails for the morning.  I should take an outfit of the day picture and show you the whole thing!  Hmmmm.  Well wish me luck and I shall see you all in a few days <3.

Dandelion Nail Art

Hello polished world!  How are you today?  I've been enjoying the Spring weather.  It rained here a few days ago and that washed all the pollen out of the air, so finally I can go outside without sneezing a gazillion times.  It's been wonderful.

With the burst of Spring and warm weather, the lovely dandelions made an appearance in the yards.  As a kid, I used to always run around and pick every single one.  They would be my little bouquet of flowers that I'd carry around with me or attach to my bike.  My favorite was when they turn from flowers to those puffy puffs balls.  I would always pick those and then blow the seeds everywhere making little wishes.

Last year, I saw the puffy make a wish dandelions on Pinterest and the idea was always in the back of my mind.  Whenever I wanted to sit down to do them, I never had the perfect color, or it was the wrong season.  Now, with all the dandelions in the yards, the perfect base color, I decided it was time.  

Let's take a look.  It was cloudy out, so it was back to the lightbox for this manicure.

Colors Used:

• Orly - Boho Bonnet
• INM - Northern Lights
• Orly - Liquid Vinyl
• Sinful Colors - Snow Me White

I received Orly Boho Bonnet as a giveaway prize from Nailed It Magazine.  When I saw swatches of it, I thought it was going to be more blue, but in real life it is more gray toned.  Regardless, it's a gorgeous polish which isn't as dark as normal grays because it does have a hint of blue in it.  I have light gray polishes which technically could have worked for this design  but I couldn't bring myself to do it, Boho Bonnet was screaming to be used.  I had full coverage in two coats, and mixed with Northern Lights, it was a perfect base for nail art.

Overall, I'm in love with this look.  I think if I used a different base I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much.  They're just so simple and vintage looking.  One person at first thought they were snow and quickly caught their mistake and realized what they were on second glance.

How I Got the Look

1. Paint your nails the base color of your choice.  For this manicure, I used Orly Boho Bonnet with a quick coat of INM Northern Lights.
2. With a nail art brush or striper, create the stem of the dandelion.  Put a little scooped base for where the puff ball will sit.
3. Drip some white polish onto a paper plate.  With a nail art brush, pick up some of the polish and rub the excess off before painting on the nail.  Lightly brush the white onto your nail giving it a fluffy look.  If you push too hard on the brush or have too much white polish on the brush, it will not give you the same look.  You want to have brush strokes.
4. Add some little white brush strokes around the dandelion flower and onto your other nails to represent the seeds blowing in the wind.

What do you think?  Cute?  Have you tried this design?  Like the tutorial?

I'm going to be including more tutorials over the next few weeks like this when I can.  I hope that you enjoy them and they are easy to understand.  Do you have any designs you would like to see or recommendations as to how I can make them better?

**Orly Boho Bonnet was given to me as a giveaway prize from Nailed It Magazine.  I purchased Sinful Colors Snow Me White, INM Northern Lights, and Orly Liquid Vinyl.  The opinions expressed are my own, please view my disclosure policy**

Teal Nails for Allergies - Featuring Tweets Polish

Well hello polished peeps.  Happy Mothers Day to all the mommies out there, including mine.  I am not posting a Mother's Day manicure, but instead posting some teal nails to kick off Food Allergy Awareness Week.  I'm sure my mother will be okay with this my whole family has at least one or more food allergies.  My mom has been amazing in researching and figuring out what allergies we do have, so I guess in the end, this still is a bit of a tribute to her.  For example, about 8 years ago, I was getting hives all over my lips after eating things.  No doctor knew what it was, even after blood work.  So, my mom made a list of everything I ate and hand wrote out all the ingredients to each item to see what the common factor was.  The common factor; Food dyes.  Who would have thought.  If it wasn't for her, I would have never known.

My sister (Happy Mother's Day to her, too) suffers from Celiac Disease.  For those of you who do not know, those who suffer from this are allergic or have an intolerance to wheat/gluten.  She was diagnosed with this in her adult years, leading her to change diet, and even all her make-ups.  This is because if a person suffers from a food allergy, they can also have a reaction through skin absorption of that item.  For example, I will get a horrible rash if I come in contact with peanut oil.

This is what attracted me to Tweets :) water based nail polish.  I originally heard about this polish on Twitter and decided to take a look at the companies website.  I saw that not only are these polishes water based, but they are also Gluten Free (GF).  Who would have EVER thought that nail polish had Gluten in it!!!  I started searching the web and found that there are some brands that are GF, but some base and strengthening coats do contain wheat proteins, which can give a person who has an intolerance an issue due to the absorption.

Curious me wanted to see how Tweets :) Nail Polish worked!  I ran to my local Wal-Mart to quickly find that they weren't sold in my store.  I contacted the company directly, and well they are the nicest group of people!  For this week, they sent me a teal polish!!!  How awesome is that!!!  They also sent me a Fuchsia one but I will use that in another post because I wanted to use a water based polish side by side with a regular polish to see how the two compared.  Let's stop my rambling and get to the nails, shall we!

I wanted teal to be the main color of my manicure.  On Instagram, I stumbled upon this manicure by Madicures and I had to copy it.  It was perfect.  I grabbed B4N and Hang Ten Toes by China Glaze and started painting.  Here's how my teal nails for allergies turned out!  **B4N is very teal in person, depending on your monitor it might look a little blue due to resolution**

Colors Used:

• Tweets :) - B4N
• China Glaze - Hang Ten Toes
• Sinful Colors - Snow Me White

Not only did the people at Tweets :) send me B4N, but they also sent me B4C (Before Color Base Coat) and FUMTC (Finish Your Milk Top Coat).  Don't you just love the names?  So stinkin cute how it's internet lingo.  With all my allergies, I was thrilled to use a water based base coat.  I have a thing about all these chemicals sucking into my nails and skin.  I started with a base coat of B4C on all my nails except the pink, where I used my regular base coat.  On all my nails, I applied 2 coats of B4N and Hang Ten Toes.  I added a top coat of FUMTC to B4N and Out the Door to the nail art nails.

Thoughts about Tweets:

B4N applied just like my chemical polishes, but with NO ODOR!  It was smooth and I had full coverage in two coats.  I filled in some bald spots (due to my own stupidity in applying) on a few nails, so I think the pinkie ended up with 3 coats.  I was very nervous about adding FUMTC because it is a milky looking top coat, almost like what you would expect a matte top coat to look like.  I applied a thin coat of the top coat and held my breath.  At first, I really thought it was not going to dry clear or it was going to make the B4N really matte.  After a few seconds, my nails were SO shiny!!!  I literally couldn't believe it.

After a day though, on my pointer and middle nail on the right hand, the top coat went from clear to kind of purple-ish.  Like there was a film on my nail.  I'm not quite sure why it happened only on these two nails and all others were fine.  I'm thinking maybe I didn't let my color dry enough before?  I thought I did because dry time on this polish was rather quick.  Maybe I layered it on too thick.  It was my right hand and well let's face it, I'm a rightie and that hand always looks a bit off.

I did have some staining when I removed the polish.  My polka dot even stained through the Hang Ten Toes.  No big deal, I took off my other manicure tonight and it has faded.  Staining comes with all polishes, and well if you are like me and constantly have your nails painted, it really isn't that huge of an issue.

Overall, I enjoyed the polish, and cannot wait to try TGIF!  It is such a sparkly color, I love it, even when I swatched it.  And as a lover of blue and teal, I love how this turned out.

What do you think?  Have you ever used a water based polish??  Used Tweets yet?  Are you participating in #tealnailsforallergies??

Well, this was a long post which I really hope you all read!  I really also hope you all participate in #tealnailsforallergies!!  This will be my only teal manicure for the week because with work and graduation, life is a tad hectic, but I am happy I did one mani!  Food allergies are a serious issue, and can take a life in a matter of minutes.  Anaphylactic shock is scary (take it from me, I've gone through it twice), and I pray that one day they can find a way to prevent this from happening.  So help raise awareness, and paint your nails teal!!!

Until next time, <3.

**B4N, TGIF, B4C, and FUMTC were provided by Tweets Cosmetics for Promotional Purposes.  I purchased Sinful Colors Snow Me White and China Glaze Hang Ten Toes.  The opinions expressed are my own, please view my disclosure policy**

Food Allergy Awareness Week!

No nails today, just a quick post!!!  Tomorrow is not only Mother's Day, but it is the kick off of Food Allergy Awareness Week.  As a person who suffers from many food allergies, this week means the world to me!  To show support and raise awareness for the 15 million Americans who suffer with these potentially fatal allergies, I have painted my nails teal!!!

For those of you who do not follow me on Instagram or Facebook, I created and posted this little awareness banner, and wanted to share it here as well in hopes to get more of us painting our nails teal!!!!  So tag your nails and help raise awareness!!!!  Can't wait to see <3

Zoya Irresistible Gradient Butterfly Wings

Hey everyone!!  How are you today?  Are you enjoying the Spring weather??  I think I would be more if my allergies weren't totally kicking my behind.

A few weeks ago I received the Zoya Irresistible collection.  I really like foiled polishes, but not in the summer.  To me, foiled polishes are a Fall/Winter look.  I was beyond stumped with what I should do with these polishes.  I was almost at the point of just swatching them and bringing you all a swatch post.  My Little Canvas mind though could NOT bring myself to do that though.  I was DETERMINED to make these beauties into a Spring/Summer manicure.

After much consideration, I remembered my monarch wings I did last year using Zoya Lianne.  I thought to myself "how gorgeous would monarch wings look with these polishes??"  I grabbed my nail art supplies, and got to painting.  Here's what I came up with.

Colors Used:

• Thumb Gradient
• Zoya - Bobbi to Hazel
• Pointer Gradient
• Zoya - Hazel to Rikki
• Middle Gradient
• Zoya - Rikki to Kerry
• Ring Gradient
• Zoya - Kerry to Amy
• Pinkie Gradient
• Zoya - Amy to Tinsley
• Orly - Liquid Vinyl
• Sinful Colors - Snow Me White

Since I wanted to use all six polishes, I decided to do a gradient on each nail.  I wouldn't suggest using these polishes for a gradient unless you have some patience with the clean up.  These polishes, especially Hazel, Rikki, and Kerry, are heavily flecked with gold foil pieces. They are gorgeous, but if it gets on your cuticle or skin, it takes a while to clean up, and gets everywhere.  It's like when you open a card with glitter and you find the glitter months later.  I still am finding the flecks on my clean up table.

My Thoughts about the Irresistible Collection:

LOVED these polishes, especially in the sunlight.  As soon as I was done painting and took a look at my nails, I quickly realized why these were released as summer polishes.  The colors are so bright that they are perfect for the summer!!!!

Tinsley is the rose gold foil finished polish.  It's a unique color which my collection is lacking.  It is a perfect, work appropriate color.  I'll be saving this polish for fancy occasions.  Bobbi is the most fun, in my opinion with it's bright magenta color. It's perfect for summer!!!  I thought Kerry was going to be more yellow, but it turned out to be a lot more gold then the little swatch on Zoya's site.  If you are a lover of gold polish, this one should go in your must have list.  As a lover of blue, Hazel  is an automatic win.  Not only will this polish be good for summer, but also for some winter snow nail art.  Rikki is a neat green with gold flecks in it.  I wish I had this polish at St. Patrick's Day!  I know, summer polish, but with the gold and green, my mind automatically is creating St. Patrick's Day nail art with it.  Finally, we have Amy, the orange foil polish, which is pretty, but not my favorite.  I'm not a huge orange person, I have them for nail art, but rarely wear them alone.  If you wanted to do plain foil monarch nails, this would be the perfect polish to use for it.

What do you think of the Irresistible collection?  Loving or hating the nail art I created using them?  Have you thought of any fun ways to use them yet?

Whew, that was a long post.  Until next time, <3.

**The 2013 Zoya Irresistible Collection was provided by Zoya for Promotional Purposes.  I purchased Sinful Colors Snow Me White and Orly Liquid VInyl.  The opinions expressed are my own, please view my disclosure policy**

Free Hand Color Block Nail Art Tutorial

Oh hello, posting on a day I normally don't.  Is this going to throw off my OCD?  Well we shall see.  Tutorials I guess are a breed of their own.  Maybe from now on I'll include a tutorial with each post?? hmmm.

After I posted my Tiger Tutorial on Instagram, @aydixiii stated I should make more tutorials like it.  I asked her which she would like to see, and she picked my free hand color block nail art, as shown below!  So, my wish was her command!!!  Let's take a look!!

1. First step is to paint your nails a base coat of white polish.  For my manicure, I used two coats of Ulta - Snow White.
2. With a nail art brush, striper, or toothpick, draw on the outline of the color block.  I used a nail art brush and Orly Liquid Vinyl.
3. Pick as many colors as you want to fill in the white space.  With a dotting tool or nail art brush, fill in the white space leaving as much of the outline as possible.  Notice the uneven black edges in the 3rd picture, it is supposed to be that way.  The base black is an outline for the color block, not your final lines.
4. With the nail art brush, striper, or toothpick, go back over the original black lines.  This will clean up the edges and give your manicure a more color blocked look.  Add a top coat, clean your edges, and viola   Done!

Even though I am obsessed with tape manicures, I really enjoyed doing this manicure by hand.  With more practice, my lines will be straighter, and I hope that one day I can make it look like I did accomplish it with tape.  If you are wanting to do this manicure with tape, I would start by painting your base coat whatever color you want your line to be, then place the tape on the nail, then dot in the color.  This is the technique I use when I do my checkerboard nails.  To me, both look different, and I prefer how the lines overlap the color block on this, instead of the color kind of sticking above the tape design, if that makes sense.

What do you think of the abstract color block.  Do you enjoy the tutorial?  Should I start including more of them in my posts??  What would you like me to re-visit with a tutorial??

Tomorrow I have a very neat post for you, so I hope you enjoy!!  See you then! <3