Swirl Design with Nail Craze

Why yes!  That is nail art you see.  I haven't been big into nail art lately (or blogging at all actually) and especially with stamping.  It's not my forte, but I finally got my hands on a couple of Nail Craze plates and they make stamping so fun.

The design above is from the Nail Craze plate NC02.  It's the one with the unicorn and pegasus in case you don't know which one I'm talking about.  I have lots of other plates from different makers and this is by far the best one I've used.  The etches are just right so that the design lifts perfectly off the plate and onto the stamper with ease.  It transfers perfectly without any "bald spots" or lifting like I've gotten with many other plates.  The colors I used underneath are Color Club Blue-ming (mint), China Glaze Pool Party (pink), and Color Club Hydrangea Kiss (purple).  I just sponged them on individually if you wondered.  When I was dry I added one coat of China Glaze Fairy Dust and then the swirly stamp over that.  I absolutely love how it turned out and feel like it was the best way for me to ease back into nail art without too much effort.

I'm gonna try to keep this up so keep coming back.  Have a wonderful Sunday!  (:

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.

Textured Gradient with Stamping

Good Evening Readers!  Thanks for checking in tonight.  I have a really cool gradient to show you and I even stamped over it.  (:

This is my textured gradient using OPI Jinx from the Bond Girls collection and Claire's Paradise that I showed you all the other day.  I really just can't get enough of how gorgeous that purple is and that's why I keep featuring it on the blog.  I promise I'll stop soon.  lol

I haven't done a gradient in awhile because I ran out of sponges but I finally purchased some today and I was ready to gradient everything.  I really love how these two colors work together.  At first sponge I didn't think they would make it because I could clearly see the line between the two.  Obviously that line was blurred and created a really beautiful gradient.

I wanted to use three colors but I also didn't want to go crazy since I was planning on stamping over it.

This is the gradient stamped with a striped design from Bundle Monster plate bm-207.  I think it came out looking more like zebra than the actual design suggests which I'm not crazy about.  I just don't like zebra print unless it's on a real zebra.  lol  Then again it's not the worst design because I think the textured gradient makes up for it.  (:

On my left hand I used the same gradient but a geometric type stamp and that looks pretty cool too.  I put them on all crooked or else I'd show you.  lol

I plan on doing more gradients in the upcoming weeks because I've been having withdraws so if there is any color combo you'd like to see, textured or not, let me know in the comments below or you can hit me up on my Facebook page.  Don't forget to hit the "Like" button while you're there.  ;)

Tribal Stamped Mani

Happy Saturday Everyone!  Today I have a pretty fun mani for you all.  It's a little different from my usual mani.  Jacki from Adventures in Acetone mentioned in a conversation that she wanted to use some of Target's swimwear as inspiration.  With that being said, I had to try it myself.  This is the one I found and HERE is the link.

*7.21 UPDATE: THIS is the link to Jacki's Target swimsuit post.  I got to see it before she posted to her blog today.  Enjoy!*

Not only do I love this as a mani, but I want to own this swimsuit as well.  I love the design and the simple color choice.  Yeah.  I need it.

So there you have it.  I know on the swimsuit the tribal goes across and not the green but I stamped this so I couldn't figure out how to make that happen.  lol Even still I loved this mani so much I wore it for a good 3 days or so.  I started with the white base coat and then I did the stamping first using a sparkly black polish.  The stamp is curved on my middle and ring fingers because it's a design that is meant for a "funky french" mani.  For the other two, I just taped off my nail in a diagonal and used the same design.  Then I applied my neon green over the remaining white and done.

It was a lot simpler than I thought it would be.  Of course if I had freehanded the tribal design, it would have been more difficult and it also would have turned out sloppy.  I know that from past designs I've attempted.  lol

WHAT I USED:
Sally Hansen White Tip - white base
BBCouture Dark Knight - black
China Glaze I'm With the Lifeguard - green
Bundle Monster plate bm-219

Product Review - Born Pretty Store QA37 Stamping Plate

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

Today I have a wonderful product review from Born Pretty Store.  I got a super cute stamping plate with really fun designs.

I love all the different designs of bows.  I especially love the ones that just have the outline and are blank inside so I could actually create my own nail decals.  More on that to come.  I also thought this plate was really great because I get 12 designs whereas the plates I already own only have between 6 and 10.

So I guess you all want to see what they look like on the nail.

I used two of the bow designs and applied a nail gem in the center...sorry for the glare.  lol I'm not crazy about the checkered bow because it has no outline.  I would have attempted to add one but I'm sure I would have ruined the entire mani.

And another...

Most of the designs reminded me of things I may be doodled in class when I was in Jr. High so I thought "scratch paper" was appropriate.  I was able to fit five on my nails.  Isn't this just the cutest mani?  I'm pretty in love with it.

Review Wrap-Up
Price: $ - $2.99.  I think BPS has a lot of really great products that are really inexpensive so kudos for that.
Variety: Born Pretty Store has a ton of stamping plates with amazing designs as well as stamping accessories including stamping polish and rubber stamper sets.  You can see them HERE.
Quality: I thought most of the designs were etched perfectly which made them stamp perfectly as well.  I did have some trouble with the full nail design getting bald spots or not picking up all the dots.  I even used two different types of stampers but to no avail.  Luckily that is not one that I will ever use.  It's just not for me.  (:
Would I Purchase Again: of course!  Yes this plate was sent to me for review, but I would definitely look into purchasing more stamping plates from BPS.  If you like this plate, you 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, BPS will help me host a giveaway for all of you.  You all want to win free goodies right?! 

Product Review - essence Nail Art Stampy Set Review

So I've been using this a lot since I got it about 2 weeks ago and I think it's about time you all got in on the fun.  I'm going to a little review on the essence Nail Art Stampy Set which I picked up at Ulta for only $3.49.

So here is what it looks like in the box in case you want to go pick it up.  I think in every Ulta (as far as I've seen) all of the essence products are on an end cap somewhere near all the "drugstore brand" beauty products.  The photo on the right shows what comes with the set.  I was pretty impressed that the designs were not lame.    I would actually use more than one of them.  lol

This is the best photo of the plate I could get but I stamped them on a white piece of paper for you to really see the designs.  This was my first time using a stamper like the one in the set so I had a bit of trouble getting them on the paper completely as you can see with the heart and the polka dots.  The stamper is super squishy and didn't want to pick up all the way.  Eventually I got the hang of it.  All of the designs (after more practice) came out with no bald spots.  The only "problem" design is the butterfly in the center.  To me it looks like all the color ran together or it's smushed, but I feel like the lines should be more defined inside the wings.

Ready to see them on my nails?!

I tried to fit all of the designs on all my fingers (in no particular order) just so you could see what they look like.  As you can see some of them, like the ones on my middle finger didn't come out so well.  I tried them over and over on paper first and they kept coming up with missing spots.  I think the heart and bow are my favorites from the whole plate.

These are the other two designs.  Ummm ewww.  These look terrible.  I'm definitely no stamping expert (yes it is super crooked...lol) but for some reason the full design wouldn't pick up.  As for the hearts (yes those are hearts), they kept coming out smushed like that butterfly design.  I tried a different polish, a different stamper, and they just kept coming out ugly.  Another thing that I don't like about the set is that the scraper scratched the crap out of my plate so I threw it away.  Now I just use an old credit card.

Now for some real nail art!

There we go.  Finally something that looks halfway decent.  I used the polka dot and bow design from the plate and just free-handed the stripes on my pointer finger.

WHAT I USED:

Sinful Colors Unicorn - yellow

Zoya Cynthia - dark teal

Ulta High Roller - gold

So was this worth my money?  Yes!  I think if I had paid double the price I might even still be happy with it.  But considering that I won't use half of these designs, $3.49 was the perfect price.

Happy Independence Day!

Just a quick post tonight because I'm sure you are all watching fireworks or popping your own.  I won't be because I have an early work day tomorrow.  Just be safe and be responsible this evening.  I want to see you all back here tomorrow.  (:

Basically I just recreated the American flag on my nails and eventhough my lines are a little crooked (I free-handed them), I think it came out pretty great.

WHAT I USED:
OPI Big Apple Red
Ulta Blue Streak
UO Silver Holo
Bundle Monster plate BM20

Happy 4th!!

Heart Stamps

Hey Everyone!  I'm not feeling very well today so I decided to skip Water Marble Wednesday.  Maybe I'll do one for you all tomorrow for July 4th...maybe.  I just don't really feel up to doing anything except sleeping, but unfortunately I still have to go to work.  However, I did manage to dig out this cute heart stamped mani.  Let me know what you think?

For this mani, I used 3 coats of a super streaky white.  Ugh!  It was all I had within arms reach.  lol Then I just chose 3 fun colors for the "drawn heart" stamp.  Enjoy!

WHAT I USED:
NYC French White Tip - white
Sinful Colors Pink - neon pink
China Glaze I'm With the Lifeguard - neon green
Hard Candy Beetle - shimmery heart
essence Stampy plate and stamper - bought it at Ulta for $3.49

Water Marble Wednesday

Better late than never right?  I had to work a mid shift today so my morning was spent making this happen and editing the photos and what-not, and now my evening is spent writing up the post.  (:  Enjoy it!

I really liked my last weeks mani with the marble and stamping combo so I did it again.  I know there is a lot going on and I don't care.  I love it!  lol

As you can see, I only did the marble on my pinky, ring and thumb fingers.  With the other 2 I did a 3-color gradient with stamps.  I chose cupcakes because the colors of the whole thing reminded me of sweet treats.  Mmm!  I tried to do 2 different colors for the cupcakes but it didn't quite work out.  The black "wrapper" is too dark and the blue "icing" on the other is too light, but whatevs.  I still think it's such a fun mani that those things don't matter.

When it was all complete I wasn't really digging the shine so I used a matte top coat and then I was 100% happy with the whole mani.  By the way, I used like 5 colors for the marble.  Crazy right?  I just love how the whole "rainbow" came out though.

WHAT I USED:
Sinful Colors Unicorn (not seen) - pastel yellow base color
Color Club Wing Fling - pink
Wet 'n' Wild 9021-Orange - orange
China Glaze Lighthouse - yellow - it didn't really show up ):
Color Club Fly With Me - light green
Color Club Metamorphosis - teal green
Love & Beauty Black Glitter
Bundle Monster plate bm-14

Tye-Dye Stamping

At least that's what I'm calling it.  I haven't seen this technique too much through the other nail blogs, but I have seen it.  Basically I couldn't decide what color to use so I used them all.  (:

This was my first attempt.  I think the tye dye effect came out just the way I wanted it to but the stamping didn't quite work for me.  I'm not the best stamper in the first place.  I used a bright green, neon orange, and blue polish over a baby pink.  I really loved how all the colors worked together but again, the stamping job is so sad.

So my second attempt came out much better BUT the tye dye effect didn't quite work.  However I did get tons of compliments today so it can't be all bad right?  Once I was finished and happy with how it all came out, I used a matte top coat to make the color really pop and it did.

WHAT I USED:
China Glaze White on White - white
popBeauty Loud Lime - green
Color Club Lava Lamp - orange
Ulta Blue Streak - blue
Hard Candy Matte-ly In Love
Bundle Monster plate bm-214

I hope you all love it as much as I do.  I'll definitely be doing this technique in the very near future until I get it perfect.  You may have also noticed that I changed my watermark this time around.  I'll be playing with it a little more until I get it just the way I want it so don't be surprised if it's different tomorrow.  lol

Water Marble Wednesday - Purple and White w/ Stamping

Hey everyone, 

Welcome to the a super fun Wednesday...why is it super fun?  It's my comeback to Water Marble Wednesday.  I originally stopped doing it because it was getting so close to the hectic holidays and then I didn't have any ideas so I just stopped.  I actually do have a lot of ideas running through my mind now so I'm hoping I can keep it up every Wednesday.

I ultimately wanted to do every nail, but the white polish wasn't wanting to cooperate so I just marbled my pinky, ring, and thumb fingers.  This way the other two could be accent nails.

I started with one coat of the purple on all nails and then I used both the purple and white for the marble design.  I did like a chevron/zig zag design in the water and then I added the dots to spice it up a bit.  For the stamped nails, I used two coats of the purple and then stamped the same design on each nail overlapping.  And that's it.  It was super quick and easy and I think it came out great for the fact I haven't done a water marble in a while.  I did get some air bubbles, but the black dots covered it up.

WHAT I USED:

Color Club Lavendarling - purple

Sally Hansen White Tip - white

BBCouture Dark Knight - black

Bundle Monster plate bm06

There you have it!  If there are any color/polish combos you'd like to see in the upcoming weeks, let me know in the comments below.  (:

A Girl Obsessed w/ Glitter and Gradients

Hi Everyone!  Did you all enjoy your Monday?  I actually had a pretty good day considering I was completely bogged down with a huge project at work.  I also had to go in at 6am...ugh!  So you can only imagine how tired I am.  Aside from that though, I am really excited to show you this mani.  I feel like it's super fun and flirty and has a lot of my favorite things in nail art.

Here I have my glitter, gradient, stamping, star mani...all of my favorite things.  lol  I started with a base color of pastel yellow and then used a shimmery coral color to gradient my pinky, ring, and thumb fingers.  On my middle and pointer fingers I used 4 different polishes to stamp random stars which I thought was gonna look bad but actually turned out pretty cute.

The glitter topper is the main reason I'm so in love with this mani.  It is A Girl Obsessed Fruity Pebbles.  I'm not sure if you all heard about it maybe a month or two ago but she, the maker, wasn't happy with how the polish turned out because the glitter she bought was starting to break down in the base.  She had already mixed so many bottles and decided to sell them on HER ETSY SHOP as a Limited Edition polish.  I tried so hard to get my hands on a bottle and I just didn't make it in time.  They were sold out in seconds.

Well I just received a swap from an amazing lady and nail polish enthusiast, Jen from Jen's Nail Files and she included this in it eventhough I didn't ask for it.  I am so thankful because in the week I've had it, I've already worn it twice on two different manis.  lol I just love rainbow glitter.  I'll definitely do a proper swatch/review post on this polish in the near future but I couldn't go another day without showing you all this mani.

WHAT I USED:
Sinful Colors Unicorn - yellow
Sinful Colors Luminary - coral
A Girl Obsessed Fruity Pebbles - glitter
Bundle Monster plate bm-206

So that's all for this night!  Have a good one! (:

Crumpet's Nail Tarts Present The April Tri-Polish Challenge

Here we are at day 2 of the Tri-Polish Challenge.  Just to recap, the colors for the month are pink, orange, and turquoise so I'm using Zoya Kimber for pink, popBeauty Ablaze for orange, and Zoya Zuza for turquoise.

I started with 2 coats of Ablaze and then I sponged Zuza and Kimber in random places on each nail.  That effect was pretty cool, but I couldnt' just leave it at that.

Then I used Bundle Monster plate BM-201 and Kleancolor Metallic Black for the stamp.  It's not awesome, but whatevs.  I also thought my nails were completely dry before I stamped, but they weren't so I got some smooshing and cracking.  I think it looks kinda cool though.

I still can't get over my first Tri-Polish mani on Tuesday, but this one is still cool.  The colors just work so well together.  Great job on that Crumpet!  (: