Yo A Ra, Jerhume Brunnen G

When I saw the press release for China Glaze’s Avant Garden a few weeks back, I wasn’t all that impressed. There were a few stand outs, but not many. Let’s just say I was wrong. I was very pleased when I saw the polishes in person and I’m quite happy with my purchase. The moment I opened my nail mail, I knew Fancy Pants had to be on my nails. Hands down a winner in this collection. The shimmer is simply gorgeous. My picture makes it look for faded and more of a periwinkle purple than it actually is. It’s intense and more of a purple blurple, if you get what I’m saying. Vampy Varnish’s swatch is more accurate. Tart-y For The Party is also not as faded and light. It’s a richer lavender in person. I definitely can’t wait to play with the rest of the collection.

Just because Portland’s weather has been overcast and gloomy lately doesn’t mean my nails have to be. China Glaze’s High Hopes is such a gorgeous pink coral. It’s just so summery and fresh that I couldn’t not pair it with some pineapples. When I googled pineapple print to help get a reference, this popped up and it was exactly what I was looking for. There are other gorgeous and fun prints that I’ve now placed on my to paint list.

Colors Used:

China Glaze- High Hopes, Lemon Fizz, Happy Go Lucky, Electric Pineapple, Starboard (mixed with EP)

OPI- Nein! Nein! Nein! OK Fine!

Gettin’ my Get Nailed on.

My temp job ended so now I can go back to wasting my time painting my nails….. Well, that is until I find another job……. Anyways. Since Chelsea is disgustingly talented and her nails are disgusting fabulous, I was inclined to do an Chelsea inspired mani. I loved her Prabal Gurung mani, specially the lined pattern on her pointer and pinky. Not only was I hell bent on that pattern, but I couldn’t shake off pairing it with block pyramid accents. And thus this Southwest-esque mani was born.

Colors Used:

OPI- Barre My Soul, Alpine Snow

China Glaze- Swing Baby, Aquadelic

Charlotte Russe- Tangerine Dream, Periwinkle Twinkle

Sinful Colors- Black On Black

Shot through the heart! And you’re to blame! Darling, you give love a bad name!

I just had to submit a mani for OPI’s Happy/Anti Valentine’s Day contest. The rules were to simply submit a photo of either a pro-Valentine’s Day mani, or an anti-Valentine’s mani. Being me, I had to go with the anti-Valentine’s Day.

Colors Used:

OPI- Don’t Pretzel My Buttons, Alpine Snow, Red Light’s Ahead… Where?, Call Me Gwen-ever, Vampsterdam, Unforgreta-bly Blue (just a smidge)

Cover Girl Nail Slicks- Cabernet

Sinful Colors- Black On Black

unnamed Ross red glitter

Just a quick little mani I did a couple of weeks months ago. I’ve just been too lazy to post them. Oops. I was cleaning my room at the time, hence the tip wear. It isn’t all that noticeable in person thou, same with the stain on my middle finger. This is the first time I’m using FuchsiaRama, so I was pleasantly surprised to find out it’s a jelly! (I’m pretty sure it’s a dupe of Zoya’s Gloss in Paloma.)I have ideas formulating already. If you don’t already own China Glaze’s I’m Not Lion, get it now. I’m Not Lion and I Herd That are absolutely gorgeous.

Colors Used:

Wet n Wild Fast Dry- FuchsiaRama

China Glaze- I’m Not Lion

Wet n Wild- Black Crème

Bundle Monster plate number BM-319

Aw snap! A current mani!

The original mani I was trying to paint wasn’t working at all, so I changed plans and went with something simple and opposite color wise to what I was wearing earlier in the day (Zoya Blaze and Ziv).

Let’s see how long it takes for these to chip at work.

**UPDATE** No chips! Only minimal tip wear. Success.

Colors Used:

OPI- Did You ‘Ear About Van Gogh?, Alpine Snow, Wooden Shoe Like To Know?, You Don’t Know Jacques!

More old manis to fill in for the lack of recent manis! Yay….

This post has been sitting in my draft folder for months. Whoops. When I did this mani, I was planning on doing a freehanded print, but it didn’t go well… at all. So instead, stamping! My right ring nail broke while I was removing the fail manicure so I had to file all my nails down. Ugh.

This manicure started off as just stamped accents. Then the next day I added some flakies and then later on that night I stamped the rest of the nails. Seaweed stamped pretty well for being a 2.5 coater polish. I’m impressed.

Colors Used:

Sinful Colors- Seaweed, Leap Flog

Finger Paints- Flecked

Bundle Monster plate number BM-204

Look! Another mani….. from a month ago…..

It’s still cold as balls in Portland, so snow manis still count! I originally did this for a nail art contest Color Club was having last month, and it’s just been sitting in my iPhoto since. Oops.

Colors Used:

Essence- I Love Bad Boys

Color Club- Jingle Jangle

Sally Hansen- White On

I LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVVVEEEEEE!!!!

So, yeah. I’m back…ish. If you don’t know, I work full time at Moonstruck Chocolates here in Portland, and it is exhausting. I’m so tired by the end of the day that I barely have enough energy to repaint my chipped nails, let alone paints some design on them. I never had a problem with chipped nails until I started working at Moonstruck. Orly Bonder and Seche Vite top coat are helping reduce the amount of chips, but they still happen. Poop. Anyways, I finally did some ‘art’ on my nails! It’s only been about a month…..

This design is brought to y’all by Joshua Mckinley from Project Runway! I love Project Runway, and I love Joshua and his fabulous shirts like this one:

I’m still planning on busting out some Mondo inspired manis, and I’m hoping to start on those in the coming weeks. I promise! As well as some nerdy nails for a certain show that’s returning in March.

Colors Used:

OPI- Barre My Soul (base for moon accents)

China Glaze- Electric Pineapple, Aquadelic, Escaping Reality

Sinful Colors- Black On Black

This weekends mani brought yo you by Pshiiit.

So, I have some good news and some bad. The good news is that I gots me a job! The bad news, I work with chocolate so I can’t wear nail polish (even though we wear gloves the entire time).

So if you thought that I posted far and few between before, it’s going to be even worse now. I’ve been reduced to only painting my nails from Friday afternoon to Sunday night. I think I’ll survive. I think.

Colors Used:

China Glaze- Winter Holly, Glittering Garland, Poinsettia

Milani- Gold Lamé

L.A. Colors Art Deco- White, Silver Glitter

Everything, including the kitchen tile.

I was definitely inspired by Sam’s disco squares with this mani. Her’s were so darn cute that I couldn’t not recreate it. But instead of cute Springy colors, I went with Fall colors since it’s till Fall. I felt obligated to do one last Fall mani before fulling jumping into the Chrsitmas manis. The combination of colors reminds me of kitchen background tiling like so. The red based colors decided to smear on me, even after I let them dry for 10 minutes. :(

Colors Used:

China Glaze-  Kalahari Kiss, Desert Sun, Exotic Encounters, Elephant Walk, Man Hunt, Jungle Queen, Purr-Fect Plum, Prey Tell, I’m Not Lion, I Herd That

e.l.f.- Light Red

Is it too early to start the Christmas manis? Whatevah, whatevah, I do what I want. I’ve been dying to play with some of my new China Glazes and I can’t help but think of Christmas designs when pretty much all I’ve been listening to for the past three weeks has been Christmas music. I. Love. Christmas music. Ain’t even sorry.

Colors Used:

China Glaze- Re-Fresh Mint, Party Hearty, Poinsettia, Starboard

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear- White On

LA Colors Art Deco- Red Glitter, Green Glitter

Diamond Cosmetics stiper- White glitter

My love of China Glaze has grown tremendously over the last year or so, to the point where I can make a perfect glitter ombre with ease. It’s going to be so much fun removing all this glitter…

Colors Used:

China Glaze- First Mate, Glistening Snow (thumb), I’m Not Lion, Champagne Kisses, I Herd That, Fireside Glow