Dot Mani

The Nail Art Squad Does Halloween

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  Happy Halloween!!!!  I'm so excited to put away my black and orange polishes for awhile and go back to using all my other colors.  I'm kind of upset that I didn't do any manicures using my neon purples or greens for Halloween.  Oh well, there's always next year.

Today I'm posting alongside The Nail Art Squad for a Halloween Collaboration over on Instagram!  I decided to do a jack o'lantern manicure for the collaboration to match my shirt I'm wearing today.  I'll try to remember to post a photo of myself on Instagram or SnapChat so you all can see the shirt and how it does match my manicure!

Let's take a look!




Colors Used:
  • FingerPaints - Tie Dye Tangerine
  • Zoya - Storm
  • Serendipity Polish - Holo-Day Lights
  • Jessica Cosmetics - Black Lustre
Had to be one of the simplest designs that I did this year, but it took me forever to complete!  That dang pumpkin on my ring finger kept smudging or bubbling.  I literally did not finish this manicure until about 1am.  I was so frustrated with them that I did not like them at all, but the next day they grew on me, and now that Halloween is here, I like them.



I've been rotating through all my black polishes this month.  Serendipity, to Sally Hansen, back to Jessica Black Lustre.  You think I would be able to pick a clear winner after using nothing but these black polishes all month, but I really can't.  Each have their own positives and negatives.

What do you think of the manicure?  Like the jack o'lantern?  

Here's the collage of all the other ladies manicures!  I'll tag the other girls on Instagram when I post the collage, so make sure to head on over to see their pages!


Have a happy and SAFE Halloween!!!!  

Until next time, <3.




Bestie Twin Nails

The One With Round 29 of Bestie Twin Nails With Fashion Footing

9:00:00 AM


Happy Saturday Polished World!  How are you all doing today?  Halloween is a few short days away, so that means I'm still here posting Halloween manicures.  I'm actually shocked I was able to get Amanda to do a Halloween themed manicure for this month's Bestie Twin Nails feature.

This month we did a simple dot manicure using orange and black polish.  After showing her a googly eye manicure, I was able to talk her into doing the design on the index finger.  Guess what?  She actually was happy we added that!

Let's take a look!




Colors Used
  • Sally Hansen - Black to Black
  • Sally Hansen - Orange Zest
  • Zoya - Storm

 I'm so happy I have pushed myself to do different manicures this year that I've never done before.   I really love this Halloween design!  Not spooky, not creepy, just fun, cute, and appropriate for work.  Some of these gory bloody manicures are definitely not work appropriate when you're in a an office setting.  Sure, these nails are not going to be appropriate everywhere either, but luckily I have amazing bosses who let me do whatever I want on my nails.


We have a one coater black polish here!  Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Black to Black applies perfectly.  My only complaint about this polish is the wand the brush is attached to.  Like all other Insta-Dri polishes, it's super flat, so the polish pools on it.  While you're painting your nail, the polish on the wand drips down and floods the nail.  You really have to pay attention to what you're doing.


Orange Zest is quite lovely.  Two coats for me.  I believe Amanda said hers was patchy and she had to use three coats.  Maybe it's different depending on how we applied it?  Who knows.

What do you think?  Fan of this look?  Something you think you would try for Halloween?

One more Halloween manicure coming your way Monday!

Until next time, <3.

Halloween

The One With the Ghosts

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today??  It's Wednesday so that means we are halfway through the week!  I feel like it's already Thursday.  Oh well.

Halloween is almost here, and as you are well aware, my nails have been ready.  After receiving the Sally Hansen colors for Halloween, you know I became more inspired to create different designs.  As I said in my previous post, I'm trying to create new designs that I've never done before.  It's been challenging, but I keep finding inspiration all over the place!  Today's nails are loosely inspired by a ghost design melcisme on Instagram.

Let's take a look!




Colors Used:
  • Orly - Mirrorball
  • Sally Hansen - OMGhost
  • Sally Hansen - Blacky-O
  • Sally Hansen - Tribal Sun
Isn't this the cutest thing ever?  I absolutely love the little ghosts!  I'll be completely honest with you the ghosts were a pain in the booty to position properly on my nails.  I had to re-do my ring finger three times before I got it to look how I wanted it to.  I'm sure the other attempts were okay, but my OCD was not having it.  Practice made perfect though, because by the time I did my ring finger on my right hand, I had it down to a science.



Be still my heart, there is now a black Sally Hansen Miracle Gel.  If you've been a reader of the blog for awhile, then you know my love for the Miracle Gel polishes.  These polishes do not chip, they apply smoothly, and they're a reasonable price!  Now I just need to get my hands on a Miracle Gel in white and my life would be complete.  Blacky-O (a play on the name Jackie-O I assume), is wonderful.  Applies evenly in two coats.  Really thought it was going to be 3 coats because the first was so watery, but 2 coats and it was PERFECT.


Tribal Sun is a gorgeous orange polish.  Not your typical bright Halloween orange, but a perfect Fall toned orange.  Two coats and full coverage.  Beautiful shade which I can see myself using a lot, especially around Thanksgiving.

What do you think?  Love the little ghosts?  Have you used any of the Miracle Gel polishes?

Two more Halloween manicures in store for you all!  Any guesses for what I'm going to do??

I just realized I don't think I'll have a Monthly Mani Favs post this month....maybe I'll do it in the beginning of November!

Until next time, <3.

FingerPaints

The One With the Halloween Smoosh Manicure

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today?  Monday is here and it's time to start another work week.  We are also officially one week away from Halloween!  Are your nails ready??  If you need inspiration, then check out my Halloween Nail Art Wheel and Tutorial Post!

This year, I have tried to stay away from re-creating designs on my nail art wheel, and try different things.  Today's manicure is for sure different and something that I have never done before!  Have you all heard of a smoosh manicure?  I first started to see smoosh manicures pop up on Instagram a few months ago when some bloggers started collaborating for #smooshsunday.  It's where you literally smoosh the colors on your nail and get a cool marbled look!  Kind of similar to a saran wrap manicure.

After seeing Jessica's (Lalalovenailart) awesome Halloween smoosh manicure, I decided to give it a go!  Let's take a look!




Colors Used:
  • Jessica Cosmetics - Black Lustre
  • FingerPaints - Paper Mache
  • FingerPaints - Tie Dye Tangerine

Isn't this the coolest looking thing ever?  I have to say, this is hands down one of my favorite techniques and I really can see myself doing this a lot more now that I figured out how to do it!  Dianna, also known as Dsetterfield74 on Instagram, told me that she achieved her smoosh manicures by dabbing the polish on a stamper then stamping it on her nail.  I was very leery that this would work, but I gave it a shot anyways. I dabbed a few drips of each color on the stamper, stamped it first on a paper plate because I thought it was too much, then stamped it on my nail.  I was amazed when I saw that this was the end result!!!  So cool!!!


I love the color combination.  So happy I saw Jessica's smoosh design, otherwise I wouldn't have ever thought of making one with these Halloween colors.  Hmmm, I wonder if anyone has done one with the purple and green Halloween colors.  Maybe using the China Glaze Halloween polishes from last year??  I wish I wasn't already planned out until the end of the month, otherwise I would have tried it!  I bet you anything that Dianna has one already on her page using those colors.  That lovely is the queen of smoosh manis!


My suggestion if you are going to do this, make sure you are using opaque, close to one coat polishes.  The first orange I was using was too sheer and it did not blend at all with the other colors.  It actually disappeared and looked more like just a black and white marble with a random orange huge in the white.  I'd have to say that all the FingerPaints creams I've ever used would be perfect candidates for this design.

What do you think?  Something you would try?  Don't you love how every nail is different?!

I cannot wait to do more smoosh manicures now that I figured out how to do them!  I think they look cooler than water marble, and honestly, it's easier than doing a marble.  Clean up was not bad either.  Make sure you tape or liquid latex your nails before doing it!

Until next time, <3.

FingerPaints

The One With the Candy Corn Nails

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today?  It's a rainy, dreary Friday, but at least it is Friday!  So weird that two days ago it was 80 degrees and now it's in the 50s and going to be in the 40s tomorrow.  That's Fall for you!

Halloween is coming up, so I'm still bringing you Halloween manicures!  Today's design is a good old candy corn gradient!  Every year I need to some form of a candy corn manicure.  I wasn't feeling the idea of having the design on all my nails, so I grabbed my favorite black polish to break up the design.

Let's take a look!




Colors Used:
  • Zoya - Storm 
  • FingerPaints - Paper Mache
  • Fingerpaints - Tie Dye Orange
  • FingerPaints - Yellow Out Man
I think this is my second favorite candy corn design that I've ever created.  The first is last year's candy corn dot gradient.  I think my favorite part about this manicure is how the color pops next to the scattered holo black polish.  

My second favorite part of this manicure, my gradient.  Hands down, this has to be the best candy corn gradient that I have ever created.  It really shows that practice does make perfect.  Over four years I've created dozens of gradients, and finally after four years, I think I have mastered the technique.  It just hit me, it's going to be my five year anniversary of this blog coming up in February.  I should probably start planning the giveaway because it will be here before we know it!!



Zoya Storm, how I love thee.  My favorite black polish ever.  The scattered holo is just gorgeous.  Two coats and you have full coverage of this beauty.  Zoya came out with a Holo-Ween promotion where you get three of their new scattered holos for free with a purchase of $22.  I'm beyond excited to add those new ones to my collection, along with Blaze which I am shocked I never owned before. May or may not have grabbed myself two Pixie Dusts also.  Super excited for this order, it was an awesome promotion!

What do you think of this manicure?  Fan of the scattered holo and the cream candy corns?  Did you take part in the Zoya promo??  Rumor has it they're selling out fast so I don't know if they will have them much longer!

Until next time, <3.

Halloween

The One With the Vampy Spider Webs and Jessica Cosmetics Fruit of Temptation

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!!  It's Tuesday, and a very warm one at that!  It's expected to be somewhere between 81 and 86 degrees today.  It is for sure an Indian Summer.  Usually by this time of year we have had a few frosts, and we've only had one.  Hopefully this means we will have a mild winter.  I doubt it, but here's to hoping.

As promised, I'm continuing on with the Halloween manicures!  Today's design is inspired by BadGirlNails.  Totally not a design I would typically go for, but after seeing it pop up on my feed and on Pinterest, it really grew on me and I wanted to try it.  I'm so happy I did, because I absolutely LOVE this manicure!

Let's take a look!




Colors Used:
  • Jessica Cosmetics - Black Lustre
  • Jessica Cosmetics - Fruit of Temptation
  • Zoya - Dahlia
  • Black Sheer
Amazing, right?  I was so sad when I removed this manicure because as I said, I absolutely loved it.  I think my favorite part was the black sheer polish I made.  For ages, I've wanted to make my own sheer polishes but never really got around to do it.  I had an half empty bottle of INM Out the Door and a close to empty bottle of ORLY Liquid Vinyl.  I poured out a little of the Liquid Vinyl into the INM bottle and shook it around.  I swatched it and it wasn't quite dark enough, so I added some more, and viola!  A black sheer polish was created!!!  I used one coat for my base of the spider web.  Originally, I used two, but it was too dark and you couldn't see the spider web on top.  I learned the sheerer the better when it comes to using it as a base for nail art.

I did pull it out the bottle a few days later after I mixed it and found that it separated quite a bit, but when I shook it up it came right back together.



I love the color combination.  Fruit of Temptation is absolutely gorgeous and the perfect shade for this vampy manicure.  You can get away with one coat of this polish, which I did since I sponged more over the top to create the gradient.

I decided to keep the manicure shiny because I loved the end result.  Sonia put a matte top coat on hers.  I'm not against it, I just think that matte looks odd on me.  I should have tried a matte on it the the last day I wore the mani and compared which looked better.  Oh well, live and learn.

What do you think?  Like this vampy look?  Something you would try?

Until next time, <3.

Dot Mani

The One With the Itty Bitty Jack O'Lantern

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are we all doing today?  Are we getting ready for Halloween?? I decorated my house the other day.  And now my nails are fully festive.  So many ideas, so little time!

Today's manicure is a re-creation of last year's itty bitty pumpkin design.  I've seen the little pumpkin appearing all over Instagram and Pinterest, so I thought I would try it again.  It really isn't a total re-creation because I switched up some of the other nails and made it into a mish mosh manicure.  Kind of happy with the end result.

Let's take a look!




Colors Used:
  • Orly - White Tips
  • Orly - Liquid Vinyl
  • Serendipity Polish - HoloDay Lights
  • FingerPaints - Tie Dye Tangerine
I'm not sure if the edition of other designs made this manicure nice, or confused it.  Part of me thinks I should have left it simple and just had my pointer finger be a plain orange nail, but the other part of me loves the mix and match dots.  I guess next year I can always re-try it....right?



Holo-Day Lights is the perfect accent to this, and any manicure.  I put a base coat down of a holo top coat just so I didn't have to do two full coats to get full coverage.  I really am excited to see what Serendipity Polish has in store this year for their holiday collection.  If it's anything like last years, we are all in for a treat!


Tie Dye Tangerine is the perfect Halloween orange.  I really wish it was part of their core collection so more people could get their hands on it.  Side note, has anyone else noticed that their Sally Beauty is cutting back on popular brands, such as FingerPaints, and replacing them with gel polishes, or newer brands??  It's kind of disappointing, I hope they don't phase out my beloved FingerPaints.  I hope to get word about their holiday collection soon.....they have yet to disappoint.

What do you think?  Fan of this manicure?  Think it's too busy?  Like the little jack o'lantern face I added?

Until next time ,,3

Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday: All My Halloween Tutorials!!!

9:00:00 AM

Hey all!! How are you all doing today?? With Halloween being right around the corner, and my Halloween Nail Art Wheel being the most popular post on my blog, I thought it would be fitting to share all the tutorials I've created for Halloween over the years!!

To get you inspired, here's my Halloween Nail Art Wheel I created two years ago. I can't believe that it was two years ago since I did this. I could have sworn it was last year.


Head on into the post to see the tutorials!!!!

Dot Mani

The One With the Serendipity Polish Mish Mosh Manicure

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today??  It's Wednesday so it means that Friday is almost here!!!  It was freeeeezing cold the other day, and now it's warm again.  This Fall weather isn't really sure what it wants to do yet.  Even though the weather can't make up it's mind, Halloween is around the corner and I need to start sharing designs with you.  I have two done, but I just need to edit the photos.

Today's manicure is an all black one which could kind of be considered almost Halloween-ish.  Almost.  Okay not really.  But this design uses two polishes from Serendipity Polish's Call Me Boss Lady collection which is their Fall collection.  Therefore, it's suitable for this time of year.

Let's take a look!




Colors Used:
  • Serendipity Polish - Building My Empire
  • Serendipity Polish - CE0,000,000
Isn't this manicure awesome!?  I wasn't sure what I was doing when I started, and this just was born.  Building My Empire and CE0,000,000 are amazing together.  The best part, these polishes dry super fast, so the tape nails didn't take me forever to do, and I didn't have to put a top coat on before putting down the tape.  Love, love, LOVE.



CE0,000,000 is one of the most amazing holographic polishes that I have ever used!  Two coats to get full coverage.  I love how it looks on top of the black polish.  I think it makes the holo effect stronger.

Now we all know that I'm a huge fan of INM Out the Door top coat.  Always have been, and always will be.  Back when I purchased my first Serendipity Polish's, they broke in transport, so the lovelies at Serendipity sent me a bottle of their top coat Finishing Touch with my replacement polishes.  I'm always iffy when it comes to new top coats.  90% of the time I use a new one, it flakes off me, and just makes me go running right back to my Out the Door.

Well, Serendipity Polish Finishing Touch fell into that 10% that actually worked.  This top coat is a close second to my beloved INM.  I feel safe to say that if INM stops making Out the Door, I will switch to Finishing Touch.  Beautiful glossy finish, super fast dry, and does not chip!  I love that I have a back up in case I run out.  Am I the only one who has more than one top coat always on hand just in case??

What do you think of this manicure?  Fan of the look?  Do you own any beauties from Serendipity Polish?

Hopefully I'll have Halloween Nails at the end of this week!!!

Until next time, <3.

Jessica Cosmetics

Scarecrow and Scarecrow Patchwork Nail Art Tutorials!

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today??  Fall is officially here!  It's perfectly chilly, the leaves are changing, and the air smells wonderful.  Ahhhh, I love this time of year.  Apples, pumpkins, boots, and scarecrows.  What else can anyone ask for??

Two days ago I shared this scarecrow manicure which I think is one of the cutest design I've ever done.  Since it's a perfect design for Fall, I thought I would create a tutorial so everyone could get the design!  It's super easy, trust me.

Let's take a look!

First we will look at how to create the scarecrow accent nail.


What You'll Need:

  • OPI - Pale to the Chief or a nude polish
  • Jessica Cosmetics - Tangled Secrets
  • Acrylic Paints
  • Dotting Tool
  • Nail Art Brush
Tutorial:
  1. Start off with a base coat of nude polish.
  2. With a light brown acrylic or polish, use a paint brush to paint the hat by the cuticle and a line close to the bottom of the nail.
  3. With a yellow and orange acrylic paint or nail polish and add the straw at the base of the hat and at bottom of the nail.
  4. Start adding the details!  Use a dotting tool to create the eyes, and a paint brush for the mouth, nose, stripe across the hat, and a patch.
  5. With a small dotting tool, add the white dots to the button eyes, and finish the patchwork on the hat.
  6. Top coat and enjoy!!

Now for the patchwork nail!


What You Need:

  • Jessica Cosmetics - Tangled Secrets
  • Acrylic Paints
  • Nail Art Brush
Tutorial:
  1. Start off with a base coat of Jessica Cosmetics Tangled Secrets
  2. With a nail art brush, an orange, yellow, and blue acrylic paint, add the colored patches.
  3. With a nail art brush, outline the patches with a black acrylic or a striper polish.
  4. Finish the patches by adding the seams.
  5. Top coat and enjoy!!
What do you think?  Like these tutorials?  Something you think you'll try???

Alright guys, I think it's time for me to start doing some Halloween nails.  You ready??

Until next time, <3.

China Glaze

The One With the Scarecrows and Jessica Cosmetics Tangled Secrets

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  Happy Saturday!!!!  The weekend is finally upon us, but just like every other weekend it will be way too slow, and Monday will be here before we know it.  Clearly I am miss party pooper over here.

Since October is here, it's only fitting that I start doing some Fall themed manicures.  I know, I should be starting Halloween designs, but I just haven't had the want to start that quite yet.  Since I didn't want to start Halloween, I took to Pinterest and looked for a super Fall design.  I pinned a cute scarecrow manicure last year by Sensationails4u on Instagram, and lately it keeps getting re-pinned.  Almost daily I have 30 notifications from this pin alone.  I took that as a sign that I should re-create the design.

Let's take a look!




Colors Used:
  • Jessica Cosmetics - Tangled Secrets
  • OPI - Pale to the Chief
  • China Glaze - License & Registration Pls
  • Acrylics
Isn't this one of the cutest designs you've ever seen???  I haven't done a "hardcore" manicure like this in a long time, and boy have I missed it.  You think it would have been a difficult design to re-create, but really it wasn't.  I think I might make a tutorial for it just to prove to you that it wasn't bad!



Jessica Cosmetics Tangled Secrets from the Into the Wild collection is a gorgeous burnt orange red polish which I think was PERFECT for this scarecrow manicure.  Couldn't you see a scarecrow wearing that color shirt??  Two coats and full coverage.  Just a beautiful shade.


OPI Pale to the Chief is a real winner.  Just like all other OPI nude polishes, this one is a beauty.  Two coats and full coverage.  Dries fast, looks amazing. Cannot wait to use this one for more nail art bases.  From here on out, I'm purchasing all OPI nude polishes.

What do you think?  Cute design?  Something you'll re-create if I post a tutorial?

I'm super happy with how this turned out.  I'm sad it only lasted two days though because I used a new top coat which did not like my nails.  My index finger chipped off within 24 hours.  I patched it up....hehe....but it didn't last much longer after that.  Note to self: always stick to INM Out the Door or Serendipity Polish Finishing Touch.  All other top coats hate me.

Until next time, <3.

OPI

The One With the Watercolor Leaves

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today?  I apologize for not having a post up yesterday.  I meant to, but didn't feel 100% and didn't want to be on the computer at all.  I literally have about 8 posts to share with you, so I'm really mad at myself that I didn't force myself to post.  I guess that means I'm going to have to spam in the next week or so.  Actually one or two posts are blank, and one is a swatch, sooooo I guess it's not too far behind.

Today I'm sharing with you a watercolor leaf design which was inspired by 25 Sweet Peas design.  I loved Sarah's manicure so much that I wanted to attempt to re-create it.  I wasn't about to try to do the design on all 10 of my nails because I didn't have much confidence that I would do Sarah's design justice.  So, I just did a few nails and accented it all with a glitter and black.

Let's take a look!




Colors Used:
  • OPI - My Boyfriend Scales Walls
  • FingerPaints - Golden Glaze
  • Sinful Colors - Pumpkin Spice
  • Serendipity Polish - Building My Empire
  • Acrylics
I think, just think, I might have figured out how Sarah got this look.  It was really an experiment figuring it all out.  I started off with a base coat of My Boyfriend Scales Walls, the perfect off white polish for a design like this.  I think if I used a bright white, the design wouldn't have shown up the same.  After my base was dried, I went through with a small paint brush and black and added the outline of the leaves.

Once my leaves were dried, I took watered down acrylic polish and filled in the leaves, and created the water colored dots.  I let them dry for about 20 seconds before I took a dry paint brush and let the water absorb into the bristles.  Alternatively, you could use a napkin or q-tip to absorb the water.  When the water leaves, you're left with the water color look.  Now, you must make sure that they are COMPLETELY dried before adding the top coat, or you will smear the colors because there is water mixed in still.  Dry time is about five minutes, so it's not a long wait.



I bought Pumpkin Spice years ago, and honestly, I don't know if I ever used it.  I think it's a dupe of the China Glaze glitter that came out for The Hunger Games years and years ago.  It's a gold and red micro-hex glitter.  My bottle settled like crazy so I really had to shake it up big time.  It didn't effect the application what-so-ever.


My new favorite black polish, Building My Empire from the Call Me Boss Lady collection.  One coat guys....one coat!  I'm so impressed with Serendipity Polish and love their collections.  I cannot wait for the winter collection, which they confirmed to me on Instagram they're working on!

What do you think of this look?  Something you would try? Ever tried the watercolor look using acrylics??

 Until next time, <3.