Christmas

The One With the Annual Christmas Light Manicure

9:00:00 AM

Nothing to Disclose


Good Morning, Polished World, and Merry Christmas!!!!!!  Now, I'm going to say I'm a bit disappointed in myself that I only had 4 Christmas Manicures this year.  I really wanted to create a whole lot for you all, but life really got in the way.  Let's just say I'm really tired of COVID and everything associated with it.  It just is allll consuming in my line of work and it's quite exhausting.

Despite all that exhaustion, I did find time to paint my nails one more time for Christmas.  Every year I create a Christmas Light manicure. I've been doing this since The Little Canvas was born, and I wasn't going to miss this year.  Last year I created a red and green light manicure using Christmas Cookie from ILNP as a base.  I loved it so much that I decided to re-create it this year.  Maybe next year I'll go back to the classic look over the snow.  

Until then, let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • ILNP - Christmas Cookie
  • Acrylics
Yes, I cheated and used acrylic paint for my lights, but it's so much easier, especially when you're painting your nails at 11pm and just want to go to bed.  Christmas Cookie is my all time favorite Christmas polish.  It's a sheer white polish with tiny tiny red and green flecks.  I'm not sure how ILNP did this, but it's gorgeous and I love it.  It builds perfectly in two coats for full, Christmas-y coverage.  The best part - it dries rather quickly so you're able to just start your artwork.  Or throw on a top coat and go to bed.


This was the first year where I was able to paint the "string" perfectly in the first try.  Probably because I didn't do any curly q's like years prior.  Despite the one imperfection on my pinkie finger on that green light, all the other lights are perfect.  I'm really happy with how this turned out.

What do you think?

I wish all my followers and readers a Very Merry Christmas!!  I'll be back with at least one New Years Eve look. Hopefully.

Until then, <3.


Christmas

The One That Looks Like Wrapping Paper

9:00:00 AM

Nothing to Disclose


Good morning, Polished World!  Less than seven days until Christmas!!!  Are you ready?  I am not!  I'm so behind this year because work is kicking my behind and taking all my time.  I had so many plans to create a bunch of Christmas manicures, but alas I've been unable to.  I'm hoping to have at least two more by Saturday.  We shall see.

Today's design is....well....amazing.  I really don't know how else to describe it.  The look took forever to complete, but in the end it was well worth it.  I wore in on my nails for much longer than I normally wear nail art, but who could blame me??  It's so cute, beyond Christmas-y, and just all around perfect.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • ILNP - Versailles
  • ILNP - Say Love
  • ILNP - Lucky One
Amazing, right?!  I cannot get over how perfect this manicure is for Christmas!  At first I thought it looked like ornaments, but the more I looked at it, the more I realized that it was a dead on duplicate of wrapping paper.  All that was missing was a little bow in the middle.  The glitter, the holo, the colors, everything about it just screams Christmas.


ILNP never ceases to amaze me.  Her polishes are beyond perfect, especially when it comes to nail art.  You wouldn't think glittery holos would build so well, but they do.  To get the look I started off with two coats of Versailles, then threw on some quick dry topper.  When that was done, I started adding the 10, yes that's right, 10 pieces of nail art tape to each nail.  I then filled in the areas I wanted with Say Love and Lucky One.  Pulled off the tape, added a top coat, and admired my work.

What do you think?  Fan of the look? 

Until next time, <3.




Christmas

The One With the First Christmas-y Manicure

9:00:00 AM

Good Morning Polished World!  I am so sorry that I have been gone for so long, but work really took over my life.  As you know, I work in the healthcare industry and we just are going through a rocky patch.  I'm trying to keep my life as sane as possible by doing the things I enjoy, but that seems to be more baking than nail painting.  Doesn't help that my nails are so dry from the constant hand washing and it now being winter that I've suffered many breaks and right when my nails are long again, they snap.


Regardless of all of this, I am determined to bring you all Christmas manicures throughout the month of December.  Similarly to my promise of the Halloween Manicures in October.  I did start sooner with another Christmas design, but it was a complete failure and I'm deciding not to share them with you.  So we are jumping right to my second design of the season, a fun simple dotticure using one of my favorite reds.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • Morgan Taylor - All Tango-ed Up
  • ILNP - Christmas Cookie
  • Zoya -  Tomoko
Isn't this red Morgan Taylor polish to die for?  It is by far one of my favorite red polishes, and if you know me, I'm not a huge red fan.  This color doesn't make my nails look nubby like other reds.  It's more muted and vampy, which is why  I think I love it.  It applies perfectly in two coats, and I'm sure you're going to see it a lot more this month.


For my accent, I used ILNP Christmas Cookie, but unfortunately you can't see the gorgeous glitter in it because it's hidden under all those dots.  I think I might have to use it for a holly manicure in the next few days.  That would really make the glitters pop.  Regardless, it's a gorgeous polish which works well under those fun dots.

What do you think?  Fan of this manicure?
 
Until next time, <3!


Christmas

The One With the Santa Nail Art - Merry Christmas!

9:30:00 AM

Nothing to Disclose Press Sample Affiliate Link


Good morning Polished World, and Merry Christmas!!!!  December 25th is finally here, and I successfully brought you Christmas designs the whole month.  I'm rather proud of myself for this one.  Not going to lie, I was editing the photos for this post at 11:30pm last evening.  Santa was getting impatient with me since I wasn't sleeping and he couldn't deliver the gifts.

Santa understood though when he saw what today's post is!  I feel it's been awhile since I've done a little Santa Claus nail art, but after doing the Elf ones, I felt I had to.  Not to mention, I promised my residents at work that I would have my nails matching my Santa leggings for their "party".  I use the term party loosely since you know, social distancing and small groups.  Sigh, COVID needs to go away ASAP.  Despite the small group, they had fun, and loved my nails.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • Nine Zero Lacquer - Santa Suit
  • Nine Zero Lacquer - Cat in the Christmas Tree
  • Acrylics and such
Isn't the big guy adorable?  I literally copied the design I did a few years ago because it matched the leggings so well.  While yes these are adorable, there's something about the original ones that hold a special place in my heart and I feel they look better.  Probably because my nails were in better condition than they are now and weren't constantly breaking.  Again, I blame COVID because I'm washing my hands constantly and bathing in sanitizer.


They're still adorable though.  I'm not complaining.  As always, Nine Zero Lacquer's Santa Suit is the perfect red for Christmas.  It reminds me of Say Love by ILNP except it is a tad lighter and a little more jelly-like.  Both are gorgeous, both apply wonderfully, both have holo, and both scream Christmas.  What more can you want?!

What do you think?  Loving the Santa?

Now it's time to try to do some New Years nails.  Wish me luck!!!

Hope you all have a very Merry and Blessed Christmas! 

Until next time, <3.

Christmas

The One With the Red and Green Christmas Light Manicure

9:00:00 AM

Nothing to Disclose


Good morning Polished World!!!  Happy two days before Christmas!  Can you actually believe that Christmas is right around the corner?  I feel like December flew right on by.  I blame COVID and the fact it just turns my world upside down on a daily basis.  Despite the crazy, I'm super proud of myself for completing six Christmas designs.  Looking back at the year I've had and the hiatus' I've had to take because of my job, this is a huge accomplishment.  When I started up the blog again and my nail art, I told myself that I wasn't going to go on another break for the foreseeable future.  This has been a huge stress relief for me, and we all need that escape from the real world one way or another.

Today's I'm sharing with you my annual Christmas light manicure!  This is a design I've been doing since I started blogging years ago.  Each year I switch up the design by changing the base polish.  The most common base is typically a snowy gradient, but I really wasn't feeling that this year.  Then I remembered Christmas Cookie by ILNP.  It just begged to have some Christmas lights painted on top of it. 

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • ILNP - Christmas Cookie
  • Acrylics
Super adorable, right?  I opted for the red and green lights because of the tiny red and green microglitters in this polish.  Christmas Cookie is a white jelly polish with the different color microglitters.  Two coats and I had complete coverage.  It removes off the nail just as easily as it applies.  I was worried because of the density of the glitter, but you'd have no idea that the glitter was even there.


I love, love, LOVE how the red and green lights really make those red and green glitters pop.  I wore this polish alone as a swatch a few times this season and while you could see the glitter on it's own, with the colors on top it just added a whole new dimension.

What do you think?  Fan of this manicure?

Just one more design to share with you all.  Can you guess what it is??

Until next time, <3.




Christmas

The One With the Christmas Dotticure

9:00:00 AM

Nothing to Disclose 


Good Morning Polished World!! How are you all doing today?  It's the 21st, which means Christmas is just four days away.  And I have two more manicures to share.  Well, I should have two more manicures to share.  I still need to paint my last one so maybe I'll only have one more to share.  I meant to paint last evening, but I didn't get home until late and I just did a swatch and called it a night.  Hoping tonight I can get my last design in.

Today's manicure is a simple dotticure I painted last week.  During this time of year, I fall in love with my red and green holographic polishes and I have to talk myself out of using them for every single design.  I wanted to show them off and not add too much art because I wanted the polishes themselves to shine.  So, of course a dotticure was the only solution for this.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:

  • ILNP - Say Love
  • Zoya - Merida 
  • ORLY - White Tips
How gorgeous is Say Love by ILNP!?  This is by far my favorite red nail polish.  If you've been reading this blog a while, you know I'm not a huge fan of red polishes.  I feel like they wash me out and make my nails look super short.  I don't have that nice, long, pointed nail which reds look gorgeous on.  That was until I purchased Say Love.  This polish is everything.  Two coats of this gorgeous holographic red and my nails look amazing.  Not to mention, it's a perfect Christmas red.


The Zoya scattered holographic polishes have been a win since they were all released, and Merida is no exception.  Two coats of this dark, beautiful holographic green.  It compliments Say Love so wonderfully.  Both polishes work wonderfully for nail art.  They dotted perfectly on my index and pinkie nail.  Say Love dragged a little bit when I added my top coat, but that's because my dot wasn't completely dried when I applied it.

What do you think?  Fan of this simple Christmas design?

Until next time, <3.


Christmas

The One With Buddy the Elf Nail Art!

9:00:00 AM

Nothing to Disclose 


Good morning, Polished World!  How are you all doing on this fine Wednesday?  Can you believe we are a week away from Christmas?  Seriously where did December go?  I still have more manicures to share so I really need to get my booty moving and edit the photos.  Actually, I think I have two posts and two others planned.  It seems I'm overthinking when it comes to the time frame.  I have more than enough....maybe.

Anyways, today's manicure is going down in the history books of The Little Canvas. It is inspired by one of my favorite Christmas movies; Elf!  For years I've seen other nail artists create Buddy the Elf nail art designs, I just never had the guts to go through with it on my own.  What better year to attempt it than 2020 where I have been on a major nail art hiatus and am just trying to get back into the swing of it all.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • INM - Survival of Earth
  • China Glaze - Grinchworthy
  • OPI - Exotic Birds Do Not Tweet
  • ORLY - White Tips
Isn't.this.amazing?!  I'm so proud of this nail art, and I did it all with nail polish!!!  Do you know how long it has been since I've used only nail polish to create a design?  I'm not going to lie, I was so nervous when I started this manicure, but as soon as I grabbed my tools, it was like riding a bike.  My confidence in my art came flowing right back to me.  Sure, I'm a perfectionist and I still see things looking at the photos I would have done differently, but overall I'm so proud of myself.


INM - Survival of Earth and China Glaze - Grinchworthy are the PERFECT Elf green.  I debated on leaving my pinkie finger a swatch of the INM, but I craved that little bit of glittery bling.  I'm happy I did it because I think it rounded off the manicure quite nicely.

What do you think?  Fan of this look?  Think I need to do more crazy nail art again?

Until next time, <3.  


Christmas

The One With the Christmas Holly Manicure

9:00:00 AM

Nothing to Disclose Press Sample Affiliate Link


Good Morning, Polished World!  How are you all doing on this wonderful Sunday?  Last night I did some crazy nail art which is something I haven't done in awhile and I'm so proud of it.  I cannot wait to share it with you hopefully later this week.  It felt so good to sit down and do something a little more intricate than the normal dots or flowers.  Of course it's Christmas themed, so it fits in perfectly for the month.

Anyways, enough about that manicure, onto today's design! Not going to lie, I'm super happy with how this design turned out.  Every year I do a holly design, but this year I wanted to add a little spice to it.  In my mind, spice was adding a little glitter gradient to index and pinkie finger.  I think it worked.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • Zoya - Hunter
  • Zoya - Tomoko
  • Morgan Taylor - All Tango-ed Up
  • ORLY - White Tips
It's nice doing nail art with all nail polish and no acrylics.  I think that my holly are a tad messy, but hey give a girl a break.  I've been on a hiatus for the past year almost and now am just slowly sliding back into this.  If I were to re-create this design, I would have probably made the holly a tad larger and put it on the bottom corner of the nail.  There's always next year!


Tomoko worked wonderfully for a glitter gradient.  If you have been following me awhile, then you know how much I love my OG Zoya Pixie Dust polishes.  Tomoko is by far my all time favorite.  In all the years that I've owned them, it's never crossed my mind to utilize one of them for a glitter gradient over a cream polish.  Let me tell you, it worked WONDERFULLY!  I was super impressed.  Literally one dab on the nail with the makeup sponge and it was perfect.  The photos don't do it justice.

What do you think?  Fan of the simple Christmas design?

Cannot wait to keep sharing more Christmas manicures!! 

Until next time, <3


Christmas

The One With the Minimalist Rudolph Manicure

9:00:00 AM

Nothing to Disclose Press Sample Affiliate Link

Good morning, Polished World! How are you all doing today?  It's Wednesday which means....UGHHH the middle of the week.  You know, that day that feels like a Thursday but in reality you still have two more days left in the work week.  Actually, with my job, there really is no end to the work week, but whatever. I like to dream that my weekends are 100% work free.

Well, regardless of a crazy work schedule, I've still managed to start my Christmas manicures!  The trick is just getting the photos edited and up on the blog and Instagram.  So far, I have created three.  It would have been four, but I wore a swatch of Christmas Cookie by ILNP for a few days and it was too pretty to take off.

Anyways, today's manicure is a cute little simplistic Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer design that I found while surfing Pinterest.  I fell in love with the simplicity of it.  The original design that I found had a white three dimensional snowflake on the accent nail, but I of course opted for glitter.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • Sally Hansen - Bordeaux Glow
  • China Glaze - Big Hair and Bubbly
  • ORLY - White Tips
  • Black Acrylic 
Sally Hansen Bordeau Glow is the PERFECT Christmas red polish.  I don't know why I haven't used it until this year because I'm pretty sure I've owned this polish for awhile now.  I normally don't gravitate towards red, so when I have a few reds that I like I stick to them.  I think when I got this one, I avoided it because it looked like a frosty finish which I typically don't like.  When I found it in my drawer, I just thought it looked like the perfect Rudolph red.

After one coat of this, I fell in love.  It applied perfectly in two coats.  It had a gorgeous finish - it wasn't so much as frosted but a weird mixture of frosted and foiled....if that makes sense.  It just has such wonderful dimension and is beyond shiny.


For my little minimalist Rudolph, I took the red and made one big dot for his nose in the middle of my nail.  I then went through with a black acrylic and added the little eyes and antlers.  A coat of top coat and I really loved the look.

What do you think?  Cute Christmas design?

Until next time, <3.


Christmas

The One With the ILNP Christmas Manicure

9:00:00 AM


Good morning Polished World, and Merry Christmas!!!!  Hope you all are having a wonderful day with your loved ones!  Let us not forget all of those who are working today at hospitals, nursing homes, fire departments, and police departments!  Thank you all for your continued service to our communities.

Today's manicure was one I really was lazy about and was about two seconds from not even posting because I was just that tired from Christmas Eve to edit the photos.  The reason I forced myself to post was not only because I love the manicure, but I had to share the gorgeous ILNP Christmas polishes I bought this year.  I'm kicking myself that I didn't use them sooner.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • ILNP - Say Love
  • ILNP - Christmas Cookie
  • ILNP - Versailles 
  • ILNP - Lucky One
  • Serendipity Polish - Sunshine Rainbow
Yes, I know, I'm an idiot for covering up the beauty that is Versailles, but I wanted a little more of a glittery gem look on that nail for Christmas.  Any other time, I would have left it alone.  Two coats of that gold beauty and I had the BEST holographic gold accent.  Adding a thin coat of Sunshine Rainbow by Serendipity Polish really added a whole new dimension to the polish.  Part of me kind of wished I did an accent of Lucky One, the gorgeous green I used for the dots, but I like the gold accent.  I think it added a little something.

The main reason that I kind of kick myself that I didn't accent with Lucky One is because it probably would have blended in Christmas Cookie a tad better.  This polish though is amazing.  A white crelly with the most delicate mixture of red and green glitters.  I was so obsessed with the Say Love and Lucky One dots that I was half tempted to just do a full dotticure.  Maybe next year.


Say Love.....that gorgeous, GORGEOUS, deep red holographic polish that I have been searching years for.  This is the ABSOLUTE best Christmas red.  It reminds me of Dorothy's red ruby slippers.  It's just so flawless.  Two coats, full coverage, and just like all of Barbara's polish, the strongest holographic effect.  If the snowflake design looks familiar, it's because it is a re-creation of one of my designs from last year, just switched up all the other nails.

Looking at it again, I kind of do wish I accented with Lucky One.  Hmm.  Next year, right?

What do you think?  Loving the Versailles accent nail or do you think I should have done Lucky One?

Again, I hope you and yours have a very blessed Christmas!!

Now, onto New Years manicures.....where did my bottle of Versailles and Mega X go?

Until next time, <3.




Christmas

The One With the Annual Christmas Lights Manicure

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing on this last Sunday before Christmas?  I am behind in my Christmas manicures because I felt like I was coming down with a cold, so I decided to spend the last few evenings laying low and resting.  Good news is, I think I warded it off!  Still taking zinc around the clock, but I'm pretty sure if I didn't rest, I would have had a full blown cold by now.

Regardless, I probably am going to end up sick because it went from 8 degrees to a forecasted 40 degrees today.  Of course, right before Christmas, my dreams of a white Christmas are melting away.  Hopefully the temperature plummets and we get some snow before Wednesday.

Today's manicure is my annual Christmas light design.  This is one that I have done since I started this blog oh so many years ago.  I've created the design on a white base, glitter base, holographic base, and a negative space base.  My favorite though has to be the gradient with a shimmer base because it really gives that illusion of Christmas lights on top of snow.  Nothing is prettier than when the snow falls on the lights and they melt through causing a gorgeous colorful glow.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • Morgan Taylor - I'm Drawing a Blanco
  • ORLY - White Tips
  • INM - Northern Lights
  • Acrylics
Last year, I created this design on top of a negative space where I added I'm Drawing a Blanco to the gradient.  I had a love hate relationship with the negative space because I felt like where the gradient met the naked nail, it looked a tad yellow.  Therefore, this year I decided to do a sheer base of I'm Drawing a Blanco to really give a shimmery snow look before adding the stark white gradient.  Overall, I was very pleased with the outcome.



This is also the first year since I started blogging where I fit all four colors on each of the nails.  It was a bit tricky on that pinkie nail, but look at me go!

The hardest part of this design has to be painting the lines.  My OCD really got to me and I erased them a dozen times before I settled with something I like.  When the nails were lined up, the wire really looked like it flawlessly connected from nail to nail. 

What do you think?  Perfect for Christmas?

Now to paint my final Christmas design!

Until next time, <3.

Christmas

The One With the Buffalo Plaid and Holly

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing on this fine Sunday morning?  Yesterday it poured all day then turned to a very, heavy, wet snow.  While I hate the heavy, wet snow, I am hoping this means we are on our way to a white Christmas.  Nothing is prettier than Christmas lights underneath some white, fluffy snow.

Today's manicure is a new one for me.  Usually each Christmas I re-create past designs, but I can safely say that I have never once attempted this design.  Okay, the holly I've done, but this combination....all new.  I was scrolling through Pinterest for some inspiration and found this design and fell in love.  I then decided to start researching how to do a free hand buffalo plaid, practiced a bit, and then attempted the design.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • OPI - The Spy Who Loved Me
  • China Glaze - Big Hair and Bubbly
  • China Glaze - Merry Whatever
  • ORLY - Liquid Vinyl
Look at that buffalo plaid print!!!  All free hand using acrylics!  I am super impressed with how straight my lines are and how perfect the boxes are.  I couldn't stop staring at them!  I also had the print on my thumb, which looked even better than my ring finger.  Most certainly going to re-create this design next year.



I also have to say that my holly is probably one of the best that I've ever done as well.  Every year I do a holly design but the leaves never turn out looking right.  These were perfect.  Had nice little definition and fit along the nail bed.

What do you think?  Fan of this manicure?  Love it as much as I do?

Until next time, <3.

Christmas

The One With the Christmas Dotticure

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all today?  Snowy and cold here. Since the weather has been so weird, literally everyone I know has either a cold or upper respiratory infection.  I'm doing my best to keep hydrated, while I overdose myself with zinc and vitamin C.  If I get sick, I get sick, but I can't say that I didn't try to stay healthy!

As promised, here I am starting with Christmas nail art!!  The other evening I had zero inspiration and it was late, but I still wanted to start my Christmas nails.  I went onto Pinterest and searched "Simple Christmas Nails" and came across a Christmas Dotticure by my friend Sarah at 25 Sweet Peas.  It was the perfect, simple design and I had the perfect Zoya polishes to complete the manicure.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • Zoya - Tomoko
  • Zoya - Blaze
  • Zoya - Merida
Isn't it perfect?! I don't know what polish I love the most.  We all know that Tomoko is one of my favorites of the original Pixie Dust polishes.  I have two bottles, one which has seen a better day, and this new one.  I really think I need to get a third now that I've started using my back up.  It's truly my favorite for accent nails because of it's textured appearance and gold color.  Two coats and full coverage.  I tend to put a top coat over it to make it extra shiny, but even without a top coat it's amazing.



Blaze and Merida are beyond perfect for Christmas.  I love the Zoya scattered holographic polishes. I should probably check out their website to see if they've made anymore in the last year or so that I haven't seen.When I disappeared from blogging, I stopped paying attention to new polish collections.  Since I have the ORLY Color Pass, that's the only company I kept up on when it came to new releases.  And of course, I paid attention to ILNP because, well, they're gorgeous.

What do you think?  Fan of this dotticure?

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 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.