Going batty!

I love Halloween. I also love bats! I have 6 bat tattoos on my arm. I am in the fall/Halloween spirit so I decided to do a themed mani! This is OPI "French Quarter for Your Thoughts" and Bundle Monster plates 305  and 213 with Konad black special polish. I love how they turned out except for the few streaks. Have a great few more hours of your weekend!

Under da Sea!

Although I originally wanted to use the Breast Cancer Awareness OPI color "I Think in Pink", I kept gauging it and it never dried quite right. So, I used the OPI Nicki Minaj color "Pink Friday" instead, and that seemed appropriate today :) Again, loving my water decals, I got a ton of Disney Princesses. This is Ariel (of course in the scenes where she has no voice after she signed it away to Ursula). I thought the bubbles seemed nice with the theme of "The Little Mermaid". I used Konad special polish in white with the Konad plate 16. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Playing around

I was looking for water decals and found some awesome ones online. I was playing around with Betty Boop. I love Betty Boop. The funny thing is that I wasn't sure what to do with the other nails. I didn't want to use up all of the Bettys, so I had to think up SOMETHING. :) The problem I found with the colors I chose is red is very "bleed-y" (no pun intended) and the white had pink iridescent action, which just exacerbated the bleed-y effect. Ok, so I started with a base of OPI "Alpine Snow" then a coat of OPI "Fit for a Queensland" (the one with the pink shimmer). Then the Betty Boop decal on the ring finger. I did the dots with Konad special polish in red, and used the same polish for the bows on Bundle Monster plate 317. It turned out cute, but a bit smeary. I may do this one again, but try to do it a bit cleaner. Thanks for checking in!

It's just.....ok

Dear readers,
I have been slacking on my polish posts! I hope I am forgiven. I still have no members on my blog, so I don't know if anyone takes offense :) At any rate, today's polish is not my favorite, but I thought it was ok enough to post. I believe I have an issue when using my black stamping polish. No matter how thin or thick I put it on, no matter how long I wait or how quickly I stamp, and no matter how lightly or firmly I press the design, it never really turns out as well as I hope for. I had originally wanted to put a purple stamp on top of this pink, but it wasn't enough of a contrast, but not a tone on tone sort of effect either. So I carefully removed the purple and did this black one. I always get streaks when I apply top coat on the black. I let it dry for at least 15 minutes. Maybe I just need a new bottle of black stamping polish! :) On to the items...the pink base is OPI "Strawberry Margarita", Konad special polish in black, and Fab Ur Nails image plate Fun 2. Thanks for stopping by!

Don't throw away unused Sally Hansen Salon Effects Strips!

I have a tip for you all today. As we know, I am a Sally Hansen Salon Effects strips whore. I'm not ashamed :) But what happens when you have those few extra leftover? Sometimes, I am able to use one package at a time out of the two. This usually means that I have broken a nail and have to start over with stubbies, but I still have that unopened package of 8! I am usually able to cut a few in half and use one strip for two fingers. However, I am usually rocking longer nails, so I can only use one strip for one nail. So then you have 5-6 strips left over, right? Do you wanna toss them? I just spent an average of $10 for this box and only get to wear it once? No ladies....NO! I store and save the extra strips. I thought about it and came up with a few ideas. Firstly, you need a fairly airtight container. I chose an empty prescription bottle. These are designed to keep pills dry and fresh, right? Secondly, you don't want them to fade from sunlight. I wrapped the bottle in black paper, blocking the sun completely. (Don't keep them in direct sunlight just like regular polish, because they still get hot and can dry out from that) That's it. If they do dry out a bit from being in there for like 6 months (which some of mine have been) OPI has a dropper bottle of polish thinner. Let a drop or two fall on the paper backing, and let that soak in for a minute. They are nice and pliable again. Is this method just as good as opening a fresh package? Not by any means, and I'm not claiming it as such, but you can at least do a little something with those extra ones! Use them on your toes the same day, use them as french tips, or do random nail art as I have done above. I used OPI "Nein! Nein! Nein! Ok Fine!" as the base. I wanted a little something extra, so I had some of the SHSE strips left in "Stud-io Time", cut them into small strips following the lines in the pattern, and viola! Studded Gunmetal!

Oktoberfest...Wunderbar!

This is the OPI German collection "Every Month is Oktoberfest". The color is so much prettier in person. I used 3 coats, only because I don't like to hold my hand to the light and see through the tips of my nails. So, after almost 2 days, the wear is ok, but because I wear gloves all day at work, and I put it on thick, I tend to have a lot of tip wear no matter how good the polish. Even when I do a gel manicure, the tips wear in a few days. Have a great Wednesday!

I love a pink nude color!

I am becoming more and more comfortable with pastel creme colors. As I had said before, I was resistant to them as I had always opted for a shimmer color. This is from the new OPI Germany collection. The color is called "My Very First Knockwurst" and I find that hilarious. So as the name can implement a "naughty" connotation, I decided to do an equally "naughty" design. I used Konad special polish in black with Konad plate M79 to create that fishnet pattern. I free-handed the black french tip. I kind of see this pattern as black thigh-high stockings...hence "naughty". Have a great Thursday!

Germany!

Ok, I am first generation American, and my mother is from Germany. I am totally psyched about this collection. Set to be available August 8th. Who will be out approx $108 when this comes out? Oh yeah!

OPI Spotted

Happy Friday! I was so happy to finally find this OPI "Black Spotted" topcoat! It is only available in France, and according to OPI, it will not be released worldwide...from what I had read all over the web anyway. So, I had haggled with a seller on eBay, and got it for $40. Gasp! It seems like a lot to pay, but from what I had learned, it had cost 20 Euros in France, which is about $27. So, with the person getting it in France, the shipping, and them making a few bucks...I splurged. Yesterday I had the Layla Hologram "Jade Groove", so I decided to layer the Spotted over it. It works just like the crackle polish, but you have to put such a thin layer on to get a nice effect. My pinky had a little thicker of a layer on it, but I think the thinner ones like on my middle and index finger look better.

An oldie but goodie!

I found my favorite polish in the world! It's from 1997 (as far as I could find online anyway) OPI "Route Beer Float" I got it on eBay for $10, so I'm super psyched! I got a new haul of plates as well yesterday. Lots of Hello Kitty and different brand logos. Also, the Amazon seller was super awesome! Go to their site here. I had a great buying experience there :) I didn't want to cover the color that I love so much, so only one Kitty was used.

Oui!

Today, I busted out one of my OLD colors. It's "Eiffel for this Color" from the original La Collection de France. Still looks pretty good! Used one of my Bundle Monster plates, the number of which I can't remember, with Konad special polish in white.

Ante Up!

I rarely paint my nails red. I'm not sure why since that's my go-to for my toes... The weather here is hot and dry and my cuticles leave something to be desired, but what can you do when it hasn't rained in almost a month?! Anyway, this is OPI "An Affair in Red Square" which is a color I love. Such a nice staple red to have in your stash. It's classy and not too hooker-ish of a red :) Then I used my Fab Ur Nails plate Fun 1 with white Konad Special polish. Keep cool out there!

Asian Inspired

Happy Monday! I wanted to use a newer color that I have, but as before, I don't really like this color by itself on my nails. LOVE it in the bottle though! This is OPI "Thanks a WindMillion" from the Holland collection. I used Konad special green polish, and Konad plate M66. Even though the bamboo design didn't come out as sharp/crisp as I would have liked, I think it looks really good. Even though the color is that dusty green and a bit funky, I think the design makes them look kind of classy. Thanks for stopping by!

Blue skies smilin' at me

Hello! So it hasn't rained here in weeks and I thought in honor of clear skies I would do these. However, once they were finished, I was reminded of a child's nursery walls painted all kitchy. I love this blue color, but not necessarily for my fingers. Maybe in with a marble design or as an accent color or something, but not on their own. Anyway, I used OPI "No Room for the Blues", Konad special polish in white, and Konad plate M79. I just think it looked kind of childish. Hope you all had a great weekend!