Dot Mani

The One With the Black, White, and Silver Manicure

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today?  It's Friday, which feels like a Wednesday.  I'm telling you, this whole four day weekend I took has just thrown me right off.  It threw off one of my coworkers too.  She was walking down the hall looking at me going "Am I working tomorrow?  What day is this?"  Holidays....they truly are something else.  And we aren't done yet, New Years is next week and that's going to throw all of us off again!!

Not going to lie, I have yet to start any New Years designs. I don't even know if I'm going to get around to doing so, but I hope I can.  Before Christmas, I did this fun silver striped heart manicure which because of the color scheme has a nice little New Years feel.  On my nails now which won't be posted until January sometime has a similar color scheme because it literally is one of my favorites.  How can you go wrong with black, white, and holo silver?

Let's take a look at today's manicure!


Colors Used:
  • Serendipity Polish - Holoday Lights
  • Serendipity Polish - #GoalDigger
  • Serendipity Polish - Call Me Boss Lady

All my favorite polishes in my favorite color scheme together.  As you all know, I have a huge love for Serendipity Polish.  My beautiful fast dry, one coat creams.  They work wonderfully for tape manicures like on my ring finger.  Nothing is better than being able to paint a coat on of a polish, add tape almost immediately, and add only one coat of the top polish and remove the tape and have that clean and perfect of a result.  I really wasn't sure I wanted to add the heart because the striping was so perfect!


Holoday Lights is the best accent for this manicure.  Love my silver holo glitter so much.  I'm so happy that I have two bottles of this one.  Ignore the fact I have dozens of holo silver glitters, I always go to Holoday Lights.

What do you think? Fan of this manicure?  SOmething you'd try?  Feel the New Years feel?

Until next time, <3.

Christmas

The One With the Final Christmas Manicure of 2018

9:00:00 AM


Good morning Polished World!!  Merry Christmas to you all!!!  I cannot believe Christmas is already here.  I have zero idea where this year went, but it is what it is.  Despite the fact the year went fast, it is Christmas, Christ was born and He's the greatest present we could have ever received.  Seriously, it bugs me when people write "X'mas."  We wouldn't have Christmas if it weren't for Christ.

Today I'm sharing with you all my last Christmas manicure.  I saw a similar idea on Pinterest of a little present and candy cane look, and I decided to make my own little twist on the idea.  I wasn't a huge fan of it, but I do like it.

Let's take a look!



Colors Used:
  • Nine Zero Lacquer - Santa Suit
  • Nine Zero Lacquer - Cat in the Christmas Tree
  • China Glaze - Merry Whatever
  • ORLY - White Tips 

So, here's my problem with this manicure.  It looks like two manicures put together.  I feel like my ring finger and pinkie are one manicure, then my index and middle finger are another.  I think I should have done my pinkie finger with Cat in the Christmas Tree, then my middle finger with Santa Suit.  It kind of comes together, but once I got the idea in my head that it looked like two different manicures, I couldn't get it out of my head.


Yup, see, looking at the mani in that photo I can see it even more like it's two different manicures.  I probably should have done the middle finger even with the candy cane design.  Hmmm.  Oh well, too late now.

What do you think?  Do you see what I see with the two different manicures??

Merry Christmas to all my followers.  Always remember the real reason for the season!

Until next time, <3.

China Glaze

The One With the Rudolph Nail Art

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  Happy Saturday to all of you!!  Are you all ready for Christmas?  I'm not!  Today starts my weekend of baking.  This year I'm going to attempt to make my great-grandmother's jam cookies which my mom fondly remembers from her childhood.  I'm sure I'll mess them up, but we shall see.  I did do very well with her Italian meatball cookies a few years ago.  Hmm maybe I'll add those onto my baking list.

I also have to get one more nail design in before Christmas.  I have a few ideas planned out, but I'm not 100% sure what I'm going to do.  Today I decided to do a Rudolph design using one of my new China Glaze Grinch collection polishes.  Every year I do a Santa suit manicure, but this year my friend Caroline said I should do a Rudolph design and give credit to those reindeer who are pulling the old man around on the sleigh.

So I took the polish and re-created a look by Nails by Cambria.  Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • China Glaze - Ho! Ho! No.
  • China Glaze - Merry Whatever.
  • Acrylics
Isn't.it.adorable?  I love Ho! Ho! No.  Not because of the color, but because of the name.  Actually I love the names of all the polishes in this collection that I bought.  This polish actually covers completely in one coat, but I used two for mine.  Kind of a pain in the butt to remove, but well worth it because it is a gorgeous shade of a Christmas red with a gold shimmer.



I love my little Rudolph too.  Seriously is the best one I have ever done.  If I were to re-create this manicure, I would probably add an accent nail in there of a different color to break up all the red.  I always feel like red polish looks odd on me, but I did get a lot of compliments.  Okay, maybe I'd do it exactly the same.

What do you think?  Like this manicure?

Until next time, <3.

#SallySquad

The One With the Miracle Gel Shiny and Matte Top Coat Comparison

9:00:00 AM


Hey polish world!  How are you all doing today?  As promised I'm back today to show you a comparison between the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Shiny top coat and the BRAND NEW Sally Hansen Matte top coat!!  I was so excited when I got the invitation to be apart of the #SallySquad and review this for you!

It is no secret that I love the Miracle Gel polishes, including the shiny top coat.  I have a few matte top coats that I like, but none that have become a staple in my collection because I don't like how the matte looks on my nails.  I feel like it's never matte enough....if that makes sense.

That all changes though with this Miracle Gel Matte Topper!

Let's take a look!!

Miracle Gel Shiny


Miracle Gel Matte


Look at the difference between the two!!!  Seriously, I haven't found a matte that is so visibly different from the shiny when photographing them.

Best part - I only needed one coat to get this matte look!  My other matte toppers have required at least two.  You know what else is great about this matte top coat - I didn't have to add a shiny top coat base down before adding the matte.  My OPI, China Glaze, and a cheap drug store one, all required me to put a shiny topper down first because if I just did the plain matte, the colors would drag and smear.  Not with the Miracle Gel matte!!!  Ahhhh love it!

If you want to get your hands on a bottle - click here and pre-order your own from Amazon!

Until next time, <3.

#SallySquad

The One With the Snowflakes and Candy Cane Nail Art

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!!  How are you doing today?  It's Wednesday, middle of the week, so close but still so far from Christmas.  I just painted my next Christmas manicure and I'm not feeling it, but we will talk about it on that post.  I'm just annoyed by it so I had to mention it here!

Anyways, today's manicure I did like but it didn't photograph 100% how I wanted it to.  Mainly because the green was gorgeously dark that it photographed almost to be black.  It matched the candy cane dress I wore to a work Christmas event perfectly though, and the dress was a lighter green.  My camera just loves me so much sometimes.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • Sally Hansen - Jealous Boyfriend
  • Sally Hansen - Can't Beet Royalty
  • ORLY - White Tips
I cheated using an ORLY when reviewing Sally Hansen Miracle Gels, but I don't own a Miracle Gel in white!!  Does that even exist?  If it does, I need to get my hands on it!!!

Let's talk about Jealous Boyfriend by Sally Hansen.  GORGEOUS dark green polish which covered completely in two coats.  Absolutely am in love with this color and am kicking myself that it didn't photograph perfectly.  It's so brilliant and I am so happy to have this polish in my collection.

Can't Beet Royalty is a gorgeous red, and I don't say that much about red polish.  Only one coat over the tape to get the candy cane look.  As you can see, it didn't even bleed under the tape, which means it's amazingly perfect for nail art.

What do you think?  Like this look??

Wait until tomorrow when you see it with a matte top coat!!!  Yup, that's right, Sally Hansen has a Miracle Gel Matte!!!

Until next time, <3.



Christmas

The One With the Holly and Snowflakes

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today?  It's Sunday, and I have a resident/family holiday party at work.  So you know, I'm dressed up all Christmas-y and have some nail art on that took utterly way too long.  Truly wish nails didn't chip because I would have just worn the manicure I'm sharing with you today for the party.  Well, I take that back, my nails perfectly match the little festive swing dress, so I'm not too bitter about it.  That's for next post though.

Today's post is inspired by BadGirlNails on Instagram.  I think she came up with this design last year or the year before.  No idea why I didn't attempt the look before but I'm happy I waited.  It's so dang cute, beyond festive, and just perfect for the season!

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • ORLY - White Tips
  • Morgan Taylor - All Tango-d Up
  • Serendipity Polish - Cash Flow Queen
  • FingerPaints - Sterling Sculpture
I am in love with the darker colors of this Christmas manicure!  I never realized what a gorgeous green Cash Flow Queen is.  I've used this Serendipity Polish before but do not remember it being this gorgeous.  It's probably because the last time I used it, it was part of a disasticure.



I just love how everything comes together in this design.  The green, the red, the white, the holly.  Just all of it works together so perfectly!!

What do you think?  Like this manicure?  Something you'd try for the holiday?

Until next time, <3.

Christmas

The One With the Gingerbread Manicure I'm Blah About

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing on this fine Wednesday?  Does anyone else feel like this week is dragging?  Yesterday really dragged on, and on, and on.  I swore at 4pm it was really 6pm.  Who knows, maybe today will go faster.  I really do hope that time kind of slows down because I only have purchased like two Christmas gifts.  Sigh.

Even though I'm behind on Christmas gifts, I'm right on schedule when it comes to Christmas manicures!  I always am proud of myself this time of year where I'm painting, editing, and posting in a timely manner.  All other times of the year, all bets are off.

Today's design is inspired by NailsUponATime on Instagram.  I was scrolling along and came across this cute little gingerbread manicure and I had to re-create it.  Of course, mine did not turn out as well as hers did.  Maybe I should have used a darker green, but Zoya CeCe was calling my name.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • Zoya - CeCe
  • ORLY - White Tips
  • Pure Ice - Poppin' Bottles
  • Acrylics
Zoya Cece is what I imagine it would be like if you crushed up dozens upon dozens of peridots and put them in a nail polish.  Absolute gorgeous green.  This Pixie is a little different than others that I own.  It has larger flecks of green glitter mixed in with the Pixie dust.  It's absolutely gorgeous.  Do I like it for this Christmas manicure?  Eh, it's okay.  Do I like it on it's own?  YESSS.



It does look really cute as holly leaves, but I feel like I should have stuck with the darker Christmas Green like NailsUponATime did.  I don't hate it, but I don't love it.  I also feel like my little gingerbread man drank a little too much eggnog.  His smile is messed up and it bothered me.  Can you tell my OCD really kicked in on this manicure?

What do you think?  Love? Hate?

Until next time, <3.

Christmas

The One With the Christmas Light Manicure

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing on this cold, chilly Sunday?  I've had quite the relaxing weekend filled with sleeping, baking, and just a little bit of errand running.  Most of my errands consist of me returning all the clothes I ordered which didn't fit.  I much rather buy and return than go spend time in the stores.  Yes, I'm single handedly the reason why retail stores are caving in on themselves, but online shopping is so much easier and you don't have to deal with crowds.

One fun thing I was able to do this weekend was go around and look at all the Christmas lights!  If you follow me on Instagram, I posted a photo of one of the bushes out front of my house with some snow and twinkle lights on it.  It of course inspired me for today's nail art which is a re-creation of one I did yeaaaaars ago.

If you've been following me for a long time, then you know each year I have painted the Christmas light design.  When I first started the blog, I did the sponge french tip design which gave the illusion of snow.  The year after that I did a plain glittery white base, then the last two years after purchase Nine Zero Lacquer Twinkle Lights, I created the design on top of that.  Even though that polish is gorgeous, I didn't want to do that again this year.

Therefore, it was back to the sponged tips!  Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • ORLY - White Tips
  • Morgan Taylor - I'm Drawing a Blanco
  • Acrylics

Absolutely obsessed with this manicure!  The reason I'm posting it a few days late to the blog is because I wore it for four days and it delayed my painting of a new manicure to post later this week.  How could I take it off though when it was so perfect?  Seriously, I think this is my favorite recreation ever!


To get the look, I started off with a plain base coat.  I then sponged on some ORLY White Tips.  Once I had the white how I wanted it, I took Morgan Taylor I'm Drawing a Blanco and sponged some more on.  This gave the white a frosty, glittery fresh snow look.  I tried using a plain glitter and it looked horrible, so when I looked and found this polish it all came together wonderfully.

Once that was all dry, I went through with my acrylics and small paint brushes and got to work on my little twinkle lights.  A little bit of tooth pick details and outlining, and I was done.

What do you think?  Love this look?  Think you'd try it?

Until next time, <3.

Christmas

The One With the Christmas-y Looking Roses

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world! How are you all doing today?  It's cold here....yes, cold.  Winter has hit early, and honestly I'm not going to lie, I'm okay with it.  I love nothing more than being inside in the warmth baking all of the things.  On Sunday I was hoping to bake cookies upon cookies, but alas my day kind of got away from me, so I'm going to try tonight!

Even though my day got away from me, I still am managing to get my nails done and photos edited.  Only issue always ends up being is the whole writing of the blog post.  Since I've promised to bring Christmas designs all December, I had to get my booty in gear and get a kick start.  It's also motivating me to actually blog because I do not want to disappoint.

Today's designs isn't a traditional Christmas manicure, but it has the Christmas colors.  It's my kick off to Christmas.  I saw a cute rose design on Instagram and decided to put my twist on it.  Got to work, and I'm pretty sure the end result is my favorite rose manicure to date.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • Serendipity Polish - Peace, Love, and Sandy Feet
  • Serendipity Polish - Sunshine Rainbow
  • Acrylics/various polishes
Isn't this the best rose manicure ever???  I am so proud of my skills and how I've come along as a nail artist.  I don't like to toot my own horn, but I'm so pleased with my details in the mini roses, even right down on the little leaves.  They were tedious but so worth it in the end!



I love the color pallete as well!  The colors just go so well together, and really give it a Christmas-y feel.   That gold glitter accent nail really set it off and I'm so happy I did it.  I debated on doing all my nails with roses, but last second switched it to the gold.  So, so, so happy I did!

What do you think?  Like this look?

Until next time, <3.

Monthly Mani Favs

The One With November's #MonthlyManiFavs

9:00:00 AM

Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today?  It's the first post of December, therefore it's time to share my #MonthlyManiFavs from the month prior.  I meant to have this post up on the 2nd, but I thought today was the 2nd and not yesterday.  Fail on me for not looking at a calendar properly.

Well, anyways, it's time to share those monthly mani favs so I can get my butt onto posting Christmas manicures!  Cannot believe it's December and Christmas is just a few weeks away.  I have spent my whole weekend watching Netflix Christmas movies.  Top picks: Christmas Chronicles, Christmas Inheritance, and Spirit of Christmas.  All of you need to go watch those now, or after you read this post....

Let's take a look!


  1. The One With the Re-Creation of the Fall Dot Manicure - Absolutely have loved this one each year that I've done it.  It's been about three years in a row and it just never gets old.
  2. The One With the Pure Ice Floral Manicure - Guys, do you see that blue?  Okay, it's called Teal Appeal, but it looks more blue to me.  Regardless, one of my favorite manicures ever.  I need to use that polish a lot more.
  3. The One With the Pumpkin Mani I Meant to Post a Week Ago - This is the manicure I meant to post a lot earlier in the month but totally forgot about.  I did this in the beginning of November to match a cute leaf swing dress I bought for the Harvest Dinner at work.  Not only did the dress receive a lot of compliments, but so did this manicure.
  4. The One With the Fall Floral Manicure That I Forgot to Post for Thanksgiving - Do you notice a theme with the last two posts?  LOL . I loved this one though none-the-less.  I actually wore it for about 5 days which is abnormal for me.  Loved my glitter gradient.
Which do you like?  Ready for some Christmas/winter manicures?  I best get to work!

Until next time, <3.