China Glaze

The One With ORLY Bling

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world and Happy Sunday!  I forgot to put this post up yesterday because the days kind of got away from me.  Plus I really wasn't feeling well, so I wasn't thinking about the blog.  Then when I came to the blog, I realized that I hadn't edited any photos and I did not at all feel like editing photos.

Thankfully I got a second wind yesterday and finally edited all my photographs....six posts worth.  I had no idea that I had that many to share still.  I thought I was at four.  Anyways, today's design is an abstract color block manicure I did a month or so ago and forgot to ever post.  I absolutely loved this design because I used one of my favorite polishes - ORLY Bling.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • ORLY - Bling
  • ORLY - White Tips
  • ORLY - Liquid Vinyl
  • China Glaze - That's Shore Bright
  • China Glaze - Too Yacht to Handle
  • China Glaze - Flip Flop Fantasy
  • China Glaze - Lime After Lime
  • China Glaze - I'll Pink To That
Isn't this the greatest manicure?!  I love, love, love Bling by ORLY.  Two coats and full coverage of this gold/bronze holo glitter.  I remembered why I don't use it as much when it came to removing this manicure.  It literally took a good 30 minutes because Bling glued itself to my nails.  Good for an accent nail, but not all 10 unless you really have some patience or a super amazing remover.

I love the neon creams over the glitter.  It gives it this Saved by the Bell 90's look!

What do you think?  Fan of this manicure?  Enjoy ORLY Bling but hate the removal?

Until next time, <3.


Flowers

The One With The Holo Grey Floral Design

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world! Wednesday is upon us!  Hope everyones week has been going well.  Mine has been super busy as usual.  Actually thought today was Thursday...that's how crazy it's been.  What's also crazy is the weather.  It was windy alllll last night so of course I didn't sleep well.  Two things I can't sleep through, thunderstorms and windstorms.

Today's design is one I saw on Pinterest and is actually a twist on one that was inspired by One Nail To Rule Them All.  If you can remember, I re-created the original look and was in love with the color combination and the floral pattern.  Naturally, when I saw the design on top of a holo base, you know I had to paint it again.

So I grabbed a holo and got to work!  Let's take a look!


Colors Used:

  • Serendipity Polish - CaLOVEfornia
  • Acrylics
Absolutely in love with this look.  The holo is AMAZING.  CaLOVEfornia is from the Summer in the OC collection by Serendipity Polish.  This polish was released as a holo top coat, but it can be worn on it's own and have full coverage in just two coats.  By far one of the strongest holo polishes I've ever seen.  I'm so sad that Serendipity Polish is no more.

I love the grey floral design on top of the holo.  It's subtle and doesn't take away from the holo polish.  I kind of wish I painted the design on all my nails.  Well, maybe I'm not because then I would have covered up that gorgeous holo!!!

What do you think?  Like this design?  Loving the holo?

Until next time, <3.

Dot Mani

The One With the Purple and Silver Tape Manicure

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world and Happy Sunday!  Hope you all are doing well today.  The weather here is starting to level out.  It's no longer below zero, but honestly it feels colder to me when it's 40 degrees and the snow is melting.  That dampness is just awful.  Constant chills.  And no, I do not have the flu, I'm just always cold.

Today's manicure is one I did actually right before I started my Christmas nails.  I probably could have posted it in the beginning of December and said it was like a present themed design, but to me it really was more tribal.  The colors though have that December present look.  Really though, it works any time in the winter.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • INM - Futuristic Fantasy
  • OPI - This Crown Needs a Gown
Futuristic Fantasy by INM is such a gorgeous royal purple color.  Is royal purple even a thing?  Seriously though, to me it's the royal blue of purples.  Two coats and full coverage.  The shine is incredible!  Maybe it's because I added a top coat of Out the Door, but it truly is one of the shiniest polishes that I own.

It dried super fast so I was able to do the tape design without having to wait a long time for my base to dry.  I applied the tape pieces (which was a pain for this design) and added my favorite silver polish - This Crown Needs a Gown.  I need to go to a discount store and see if they have any of these lying around.  The easier option would be for OPI to re-introduce it.

What do you think?  Like this design? Like the color?

Until next time, <3.

China Glaze

The One With the China Glaze Smoosh Manicure

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today?  It's Friday which means another work week has come to a close.  Kind of sad about this work week ending because it is my co-worker's last day.  I hate seeing people go but sometimes it has to happen.  I'll miss her a lot....ahhhh not going to have a good day.

Anyways, today's design is a random smoosh manicure I did.  With all the blue on the blog lately, I felt I should throw a little pink in here.  I love doing the smoosh designs, although this one didn't have as much as a marbled look, but more of a random blob and "oh no I put too much white in this" look.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • China Glaze - Big Hair & Bubbly
  • China Glaze - Pinking Through the Window
  • ORLY - White Tips
  • ORLY - Liquid Vinyl
This post reminds me that I need to re-stock on Liquid Vinyl and White Tips.  I guess I have a use now for my Sally Beauty gift cards I received at Christmas!!!  Oh, that and I need some more base coat.  Can never have enough base coat.  

I do love how the colors came together in this manicure.  I like that I keep using gold for accents instead of silver.  I really think that over half my manicures consist of a silver accent nail of some sort, be it holo or plain silver. 

What do you think?  Fan of this design?  Like the color combination?

Until next time, <3.


ILNP

The One With the Mani Swap With 25 Sweet Peas

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today? Cannot believe that January is halfway through.  Probably because of this cold weather, I'm really just enjoying the fact the days are going by quickly.  That means Spring is right around the corner, right?

Well since Winter is still in full swing, I thought it would be appropriate to share yet another snowflake manicure.  This design is inspired by Sarah from 25 Sweet Peas.  After showing her my design, we decided we should do a mani swap!

Let's take a look.


Colors Used:
  • ILNP - Honor Roll
  • Acrylics
Oh. my. goodness.  This has to be my all time favorite snowflake manicure.  Honor Roll by ILNP is beyond gorgeous.  It's a dark blue holo polish which has full coverage in two coats.  I wish I was able to get the full holo goodness on camera, but this was the best I could do.  It was just so lovely.  I love the white and light blue snow flakes on top of it too.  Ahhh, favorite design.

Sarah decided to re-create my night winter sky manicure I posted a few days ago!!!  Below is the little collage she made.  Seriously, she's amazing at putting these things together.

So much blue!  I love it!!!  I think this is my all time favorite mani swap!

What do you think?  Like these looks??

Until next time, <3.



Animal Print

The One With the Nude Leopard Manicure

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today?  I went ice skating yesterday and didn't break anything!  This is a miracle because I'm the clumsiest person known to man.  Now sure, my dad taught my sister and I how to roller skate and ice skate, I know how to do it, but balance and me aren't friends.  I forgot how fun it can be...I need to go again.

Today's manicure is a simple nude leopard design.  I feel like I've been posting a lot of blue the last few posts so I decided to just give us all a neutral pallet cleanser.  Is that what you'd even call it?  Anyways, I've done designs like this numerous times in the past when I'm feeling uninspired or need a break from a color.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • OPI - Pale to the Chief
  • ORLY - Liquid Vinyl
  • China Glaze - Big Hair & Bubbly
Simple, easy, cute.  Love the nude, gold, and black combination.  Pretty sure my new favorite gold glitter is Big Hair & Bubbly.  This polish was from China Glaze's holiday collection, which I was able to snag early thanks to the lovely ladies who work at the Sally Beauty close by me.  They always let me have sneak peeks of the collections before they put them on display and let me buy what I want.  I should get in there in the next few weeks and see if they have any of the Spring Collections.

And you already know how much I love OPI nude shades.  Pale to the Chief is no exception.  Two coats, full coverage. Slight shimmer which is different from the other nudes that I own.

What do you think?  Like this design?

Until next time, <3.


OPI

The One With OPI I Can Never Hut Up

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today??  We are supposed to get 2 feet of snow this weekend, so you know, I'm just trying to let that sink in.  It's 55 degrees today, and by Saturday we are going to have two feet of snow.  The weather is so weird!

Today's manicure is a semi bright manicure which still has a winter feel because of the grey polish.  I've seen a lot of diagonal tape manicures lately all over Instagram and I've been wanting to do one and combine colors that I normally wouldn't.  Of course grey came to mind because I never use that color.  Once I picked the grey, the mint was an obvious choice....you'll see why after we take a look!



Colors Used:
  • OPI - I Can Never Hut Up
  • ORLY - Vintage
So, I picked ORLY Vintage to go underneath I Can Never Hut Up because this polish by OPI has a subtle mint shimmer to it.  It's really a gorgeous grey polish which I had to have when I saw it on display at Sally Beauty.  Two thin coats covered over the mint perfectly.  If you can get your hands on this polish, I highly recommend it!

What do you think of this design? Like the mint?  Add a little brightness to the winter gloom??

Until next time, <3.


FingerPaints

The One With Snowflakes and Zoya Rebel

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today??  Finally the weather is evening out and we are no longer at sub-zero temperatures with negative wind chills and blowing snow.  It's supposed to get up to about 45 degrees this week, then dip back down into the freezing temperatures again.  That means I can get the Christmas lights off the house.

While we were at the sub-zero temps, of course I decided to paint a few different snowflake manicures.  The first one up is a re-creation of a design I did a few years ago.  It was originally inspired by the lovely Sarah at 25 Sweet Peas.  Actually I think most of my snowflake inspiration comes from her.

Anyways, let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • Zoya - Rebel
  • ORLY - Liquid Vinyl
  • FingerPaints - Sterling Sculpture
I forgot how much I love Rebel by Zoya.  This polish was from the 2014 Awaken collection for Spring.  I cannot believe I've had this polish for four years.  Honestly feel like it just came in the mail yesterday.  For a four year old polish, it still works like it was brand new.  Two coats and full coverage.  Not goopy, literally seems like I just got it yesterday.

I love the black snowflakes with the black accent nail.  When I originally did this manicure, I did it using a light blue with black glitter crelly from Madam Glam.  I was going to re-create the manicure exactly, until I remembered how much I hate removing glitter polish.  Plus, I kind of like it so much better with Rebel.

What do you think?  Like this manicure?  Think it's different using black instead of white for snowflakes?

Until next time, <3.


INM

The One With The Night Forest

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world! How are doing on this cold, chilly Saturday?  I feel like it's cold no matter where you are in the United States.  Where I am, it was 0 degrees yesterday with a -30 windchill.  The news said it felt like -45 degrees outside.  I decided to work from home and not leave the house.  It was a great decision, but now I'm stir crazy and will probably leave sometime today.

Today's design is a night time forest looking scene I did before Christmas.  I actually have a few manicures I need to share from before Christmas time that I didn't get around to posting.  Oops.  Anyways, this design reminds me of a calm winter evening, especially one right before a snow storm.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • INM - Humanity
  • INM - Dali
  • INM - Northern Lights
  • Acrylics
I kind of love how this turned out.  Maybe I'll re-create it but make it the calm after a winter storm.  The gradient of Dali and Humanity by INM was gorgeous.  I kind of covered it a little too much with the trees which annoyed me.  Next time I'll be more conscious of that.  Regardless, Humanity is a gorgeous shimmer blue polish which I need to try on it's own.  You know me and blue polish, I'll find a good use for it.

The trees were super easy to create.  I took my smallest nail art brush, drew a line up the middle for the trunk, then swiped back and forth to make the branches.  Pine trees do have this see through look in real life in the evening, so I love how they turned out.

I'm also super impressed with my moon.  Mixed some black and white acrylic to make the grey, then swirled the white around in it to give it detail.  I wish it showed up more in the photos because it was rather impressive.  As I said, I'm getting better with my layering of acrylics.

What do you think?  Like this look?  Remind you of a cold winter night?

Until next time, <3.


Year in Review

The One With the Favorites for 2017!

9:00:00 AM

Good morning polished world!!  How is 2018 treating you so far??  Pretty much feels the same to me as 2017 did.  Maybe it will get better, but for now, it's cold, busy, and hectic.  Oh and I don't feel well.  I make it sound so wonderful, don't I?

I honestly cannot remember for the life of me if I did a post like this last year.  I think I might have but only shared it to Instagram which really doesn't help the blog out that much.  Anyways, every month I have shared with you my Monthly Mani Favorites.  I decided to look back and pick my favorite from my monthly mani favs and came up with my favorite manicures of 2017!!!

Let's take a look!!!  Starting in the upper left corner and moving around clockwise!
  • The One With Round 32 of Bestie Twin Nails with Fashion Footing - I miss the BTN feature Amanda and I used to do.  This is one of my favorites because of the color combo, and the fact my tape manicure was amazing. 
  • Bestie Twin Nails With 25SweetPeas! - Loveeee this interlocking dot design.  I cannot believe that I did this manicure in February.  Why didn't I do more interlocking designs throughout the year??
  • The One With the Floral Manicure Inspired by Paulina's Passion - I am so proud of this re-creation!  My taped base came out perfectly and the purple flowers just went so nicely on top!
  • The One With Yet Another Floral Manicure - You're going to start to see a pattern that I loved all my floral manicures this year.  This one is one of my favorites because I painted the resident's nails to match.  I'll always look at the design and think fondly of those times I spent with them!
  • The One With the Dot and Rose Manicure - Dots, roses, how can you go wrong?  I loved the color combination so much.
  • The One With Daisies and OPI No Tan Lines - Okay, I made a goof when making my collage, this was my favorite manicure for July.  Regardless, this one was a no brainer when it came to making the list.  Loved the orange, loved the big daisies, and loved the dots.  I for sure will be re-creating this next year.
  • The One With the Serendipity Polish Splatter Gradient Manicure - Absolutely loved this color combination.  I did a few gradient splatter designs this year, but this one is my favorite for sure.
  • The One With the Blue Serendipity Polish Flowers - This blue base....ahhh one of my favorites.  I'm so sad that Serendipity Polish is no more because I would have bought a few back ups of this beauty.  Love the cute little flowers on top.
  • The One With the Sunflowers - The best sunflowers that I've ever painted.  Love how they looked on top of the black base.  The manicure came together so well.
  • The One With the Halloween Paint Drip - This base color!!!  To die for!!!!  I cannot begin to describe how much I loved this green polish.  I'll be using it again in a few months when it comes to be time for St. Patrick's Day!  Also, why haven't I created more paint drips?
  • The One Inspired by One Nail to Rule Them All - November was a hard month for me to pick a favorite.  It came down to this one inspired by One Nail to Rule Them All, and the tape gradient manicure inspired by Coffee and Nail Polish.  I picked this one because of the color combination and the fact I'm most likely going to re-create this design with a different color combination.
  • The One With the Santa Claus Nail Art - My favorite Santa Claus design ever.  Santa Suit is the perfect Christmas red.  It was just so cute!
What do you think??  Which is your favorite for the year?!?

Here's to 2018!!!  Cannot wait to see what I come up with!!

Until next time, <3.

Monthly Mani Favs

The One With December's #MonthlyManiFavs

9:00:00 AM

Good morning and Happy 2018!!!!  I hope everyone had a happy and safe New Year!!!  Now we enter that awkward 3 week period where we continue to write 2017 on all our papers and documents.  Work will be super fun!

Today I'm here to share with you my Monthly Mani Favorites for December!!  Tomorrow I'm going to share my favorites of the year, which I probably should have planned this out better and had this as the last post of December, then the year recap on as the first post of 2018.  Oh well, maybe I'll learn this year.

Let's take a look!


  • The One With the Christmas Branch Nail Art - Super proud of this manicure because I was able to successfully create a layered tree branch look.  It's taken me awhile to figure out acrylics and how to blend and make them work to my advantage, and this is the first manicure I feel like I was really able to do so!  Can't wait to re-create this one next year.
  • The One With the Santa Claus Nail Art - Nine Zero Lacquer Santa Suit plus a cute little Santa?  How could this one not be one of my favorite designs for December.  I also loved this design because it perfectly matched my Santa leggings I wore for Christmas.
  • The One With the Annual Christmas Light Strand Nail Art - Love this design every year, and love Nine Zero Lacquer Twinkle Lights.  Love the polish, hate the removal process.  Took me like 20 minutes to take the polish off. Still think it's a great design!
  • The One With the Final Christmas Manicure - Another manicure where I'm super proud of my acrylic layering skills.  Ahhh this makes me excited for 2018 and all the floral designs I can create now that I'm not so scared of my acrylics.  Maybe I really can paint on a larger canvas.....
What do you think?  Fan of these designs?  Tired of me re-visiting Christmas???

Until next time, <3.