Claire's Sea Glass Manicure Set

Is this my NYE mani?  No.  Do I have a NYE mani?  No.  lol I've been really slacking on keeping up with my nails because holiday season in retail is just too stressful.  Add trying to execute a perfect mani on the daily and I'd be pulling my hair out.  I've already sprouted some grays and I don't plan on getting anymore.  Instead I dug into my un-blogged photos to see if there was anything interesting in there and this is what I found.

I thought this was an interesting concept.  I knew I probably wouldn't ever wear it again, but I'm always up for trying new things.  The sea glass effect is essentially the same concept as the caviar mani.  You paint your nails, I used Zoya Malia, and while it's still tacky you dip your nails into the beads, or in this case the sea glass.  It's really just multicolored bits of shell I think.  It looks a little jagged like it would stab you but it's not.  They actually lay pretty flat.  The only thing I didn't like was that I couldn't get it to cover my whole nail without pieces sticking off.  And that's about it.

Have a wonderful NYE tonight and please be safe.  Don't drink and drive and remember there are lot's of services out there to call for a free ride.  At the very least, call a cab.  Let's start out 2014 with a bang...in a good way!  (:

Product Review - Born Pretty Store Cat Water Decals

**I received this product complimentary for testing and review purposes from Born Pretty Store**

Afternoon Everyone!

Today's post is a review of some super cute water decals.  I have reviewed them before, but this is a different design with a different outcome.  To see my first post, click HERE.

For those who don't know, water decals are basically just temporary tattoos for your nails and they apply the same way.  The instructions are also printed on the back.

1. Trim, clean, and polish the fingernails; paint the background color on the fingernails and dry it out.
2. Remove the film of product, cut out the pattern and plunge it into water 10~20 seconds (use warm water in winter).
3. Moisten the fingernails; stick the pattern in position.
4. Sop up the water with a paper towel and blow dry.
5. Apply top coat and blow dry.

To be completely honest, it's a lot more simple than the instructions even imply.  What I did was paint my nails with two coats of Sinful Unicorn and let that dry.  I chose my design and dipped it in room temperature water for literally 2 - 3 seconds.  Once you stick the design to your nail, it's almost instantly transferred.  There is no need to hold it down or rub the backing.  It's super easy.

Here we go...

uuummmm...what?  lol So this is my first attempt at using this particular design.  It transferred quickly and easily but it was backwards.  The actual details are on the other side.  So I'm gonna try again.

Hmmm.  I have come to the realization that these don't apply the same way as the cow print did.  For some reason the back of the design is not transparent.  It's white which means when the design is reversed I can't see anything.  So one last time and then I give up.

Success!  Wanna know how I did it?  I used steps 1 - 2 but instead of sticking the design to my nail in step 3, I stuck it to a nail art stamper.  Then I immediately stamped the design onto my nail and voila!

Review Wrap-Up
Price: $ - $3.99.  A great price for such adorable, realistic kitty cat designs.
Variety: There are tons of water decals in so many different designs.  You can view them all HERE.
Quality:  Just like the ones I reviewed before, the design was flush to the nail and didn't peel up.  The realism is great too.  The only thing I was not thrilled about was the decal applying backwards.
Would I Purchase Again:  Now that I know I can work around the transfer issue, yes, I would definitely purchase these again.  The designs are just way too cute to pass up and the stamping method is still easy.  If you like them you can purchase yours HERE.  And don't forget to use my Born Pretty Store code DRJ61 to get 10% off your order.  Once 10 orders are placed using my cope, BPS will host a giveaway for all of you.  You all want to win free goodies right?!

Merry Christmas!

Today's post is a super short one.  I want you all to spend time with your families today instead of reading my blog and I'm pretty sick so I honestly don't even want to be on the computer.  lol  I just want to lay in bed with my coffee and sulk while my lovely boyfriend waits on me hand and foot.  That's what it's all about.  Just kidding.  But really I do want to get back in the bed and sulk.  ;)

I wanted to do nails that reminded me of Christmas trees and since I didn't put one up this year I thought I'd throw one of those in there as well.  For the green I used three coats of Zoya Ivanka for full opacity.  Then on my ring finger I used Zoya Tomoko with Ivanka as the tree.  The nail studs were used to resemble colored lights on the tree.  I LOVE colored lights during the holidays.  White lights are pretty too but not as festive in my opinion.  I received the studs from Born Pretty Store for review so keep an eye out for that either this weekend of the beginning of next week.

Have a happy and safe holiday!

Ornament Nail Art

Last year I seemed to get a pretty great reaction to my Christmas Day mani which was inspired by tree ornaments.  I decided I wanted to recreate them but this time with a few of my new Julie G Frosted Gumdrops.

I tried to use the same color scheme so I started with the same base color of OPI DS Original.  For the green I used Julie G Mistletoe, the purple is Julie G Sugar Plum Fairy, and the magenta is Julie G Ho Ho Ho.  Of course I used striping tape to get different widths between the colors and, well...that's it!

I hope you enjoyed this mani and I will be posting something on Christmas Day, but I will make it very brief because everyone should be spending time with their families and eating yummy desserts.  Let me know if there is any particular design you'd like to see in the comments below.

Sinful Holiday Rebel

I know right now there are a lot of holiday manis popping up on blogs and some of them are pretty tame, but others are elaborate.  They are definitely amazing for someone like me that works in retail, but for those that can't go all crazy on their nails for work purposes or you just don't want to take the time to attempt the nail art, there are always less extensive manis.  I have one for you today.

From indie makers to dollar stores, you can find holiday glitters almost anywhere this time of year.  One of my favorites is Sinful Holiday Rebel.  It's a clear base with red and green glitters and even some holo glitters, but just a few.  I didn't realize until one reflected the light just right.  I used two coats over Zoya Trixie for a fun non-traditional holiday mani.

So what do you think?  Is something you think everyone could pull off?  Let me know in the comments below. (:

Peppermints Anyone?

I don't know about you all but when it comes to the holidays, I become almost addicted to anything peppermint flavored.  I don't even like peppermint the other eleven months of the year.  I especially love anything peppermint white chocolate...mmm!  So of course I had to do peppermint nails, y'all.

I used one coat of Zoya Purity as the white.  After that dried I used Bundle Monster plate bm-213 and Essie Forever Yummy for the design.  Then I added some little green and red rhinestones just to make it even more fun.  I know the stamp didn't transfer completely.  I don't know if it's my stamping technique (or lack thereof) or the stamping plate, but I honestly love this mani and wish I could wear this all the time.  I just think people would look at me nuts if they happened to see them outside of the holiday season.  lol

What do you think?  Let me know in the comments below.

NOEL

Another Christmas mani is here and I think it came out really pretty.  I know traditional Christmas colors are red and green but I would hate to do every single one of my holiday manis in the same colors.  I think I would get tired of looking at it so I'm sure you all would too.

I used two coats of China Glaze Frostbite as the base.  The name seemed really appropriate since a lot of people I know are getting lots of snowfall and it's been a surprisingly cold month so far here in Houston.  I used Zoya Purity, a nail art brush, and a sort of steady hand to create the letters.  I wanted them to be like cursive-y looking.  lol  Then for the final touch I added some glitter in a sweeping motion from my cuticle down the side of the nail.

What do you all think about this mani?  Is there a nail art design you are looking forward to seeing from me?  Let me know in the comments below.

Ugly Christmas Sweater

So I want to start off by saying that I am so sorry for disappearing yet again.  If you follow me on my Facebook fanpage, you may have seen my post about I needed a little bit of time to recollect and get my camera and laptop to work together.  I have been focusing a lot on my health and getting in shape and it's been taking up a lot of my time.  I think that's a pretty good reason to take some time away from blogging right?  Honestly I haven't actually painted my nails in about a month.  All of the photos you've been seeing are from a small stockpile.  However this "ugly Christmas sweater" mani is brand spankin' new!

I started with a base color of Zoya Stacy.  For the reindeer I used Zoya Purity and a skinny nail art brush.  I tried to make them have that pixeled or cross-stitch look.  For the trees I used a green nail art pen by Nabi and that's it.  Since I have nubbins I can't fit very much on them.  lol  I hope you all enjoyed the first of many Christmas manis to come. 

Textured Gradient Tape Mani

Today's nail art was really fun to do.  Eventhough it's messy, it's awesome.  When you sponge a gradient with textured polish, the texture is so much more...textured.  lol I love how much more gritty it gets since the sponge soaks up a lot of the base polish.  Anyway here it is.

I chose this color scheme because it reminds me of Winter and it's getting really cold outside.  I mean Christmas is just around the corner.  So I started with one coat of Zoya Purity for the white.  After that was dry I added the stripes with striping tape and Julie G Sleigh Ride (blue) and Sugar Plum Fairy (purple).  These are by far some of my favorite textured polishes.

So what do you think of this gradient?  Have you tried nail art with textured polish?  Let me know in the comments below.

Girly Bits Well Isn't That Special

I really tried to come up with some fun nail art for you all, but my mind is completely blank.  I didn't want to force it and give you something crappy.  What better way to fill the void in my mind (and blog) than with a beautiful purple holo!

This is one of the Fall 2013 Girly Bits shades called Well Isn't That Special.  Not only did I have to have this for the beautiful color and holo but also for the name.  I have been an SNL fan for a long time but The Church Lady is one of my all-time favorite characters.  The holo on this is a lot stronger than I can capture but you can still see it right?  I used two coats for this swatch.

Are you a regular SNL watcher?  Do you own and love any of the Fall Girly Bits?  Let me know in the comments below?

Julie G Frosted Gumdrops Holiday 2013

I think the title of this post is pretty self-explanatory for what you will be seeing this evening.  I am super excited that I bought these.  There is not a bad one in the bunch and eventhough it's tough to choose, I do have a couple favorites.  I wanted to wait until the first day of December to put these up just to get everyone in the holiday spirit if you aren't already.

After two days of swatching and a little bit of staining (yep, you read that right) I can finally show you the Julie G Frosted Gumdrops Holiday 2013 collection and my first ever Julie G polishes.  (:

This is two coats of Silver Bells.  This is definitely one of my favorites of the collection.  It's such a clean, bright, true silver and super sparkly which is always great.  I can't wait to wear this one again...and again.

This is two coats of Gift of Gold.  It's not one of my favorites but still gorgeous.  I think if it were a little less yellow-toned I would have loved it as much as the rest.  I think this could be one of those great nail art polishes.

This is one coat of Mistletoe.  This one really looks like sparkly greenery to me and I love it.  I also love that it's a very true green and not leaning blue or yellow.  It has some bright green glitters that really make it something special.

This is two coats of Sleigh Ride and the only stainer of the bunch.  I think this is similar to Zoya Liberty which also stains so maybe it's just something the bright blue pigment does, but nothing a little scrub brush and baking soda can't fix.  Nonetheless, the polish is gorgeous and easily one of my favorites.  I got a lot of compliments on this one.

This is two coats of Sugar Plum Fairy and of course my other favorite simply because it's purple.  However it looks nothing like my other purple textured polishes which is good.  I can't have dupes 'round this place.  It also has beautiful bright purple glitters that really stand out in the right light.

This is two coats of Ho Ho Ho.  It's not one of those colors that I like to wear often but the glitter and texture really make me want to.  This magenta shade looks great on just about everyone.

The texture on these was great and trumps most of the textured polish I have.  They also dried super fast.  My only negative was the brushes.  Each one was fanned out at the end which made it a little difficult to get the polish on without having to clean polish off my skin.  It is definitely something I can look past because these Frosted Gumdrops are awesome.  Great job Julie G!