Wednesday, October 31, 2012

And the Winner's Are.....

Congratulations!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Maggie from The Daily Lacquerista - Winner of Prize Pack C
Kim from Kimber's Lacquer Korner - Winner of Prize Pack A
Becca from Nail Narcotics! - Winner of Prize Pack B

Thank you so much everyone for entering and for leaving such kind comments - I had a smile on my face everytime I read them and I so wish I had a prize for each of you!!  I truly appreciate everyone's support, this nail polish blogging thing has been a blast and I'm so thankful for all the amazing people I've met.

Thank you again and congrats Maggie, Kim and Becca, I hope you enjoy your goodies :)

Holla, N

Wally's Fashion

Hi all, quick post today.  I've got lots to do to get ready for Halloween tomorrow.  I'm actually dressing up, nothing too fancy, but I need to paint my nails to match, so gotta get this off asap!!

This mani is inspired by my 'pj's' I picked up from Wally World on sale for $10, I think.  These are my fave wearing around the house 'pj's' - it's actually a dress that I would never wear out - the hubby calls it my mummu.  It's actually much more stylish than a mummu and I'm glad he talked me out of buying it when it wasn't on sale, because I managed to snag it for way cheaper!!

Inspired by Fashion Nails

Inspired by Fashion Nails

Inspired by Fashion Nails



I used:
Finger Paints - Tangerine Tint
Wet n Wild - Sunny Side
Barielle - A Bouquet for Ava
Essie - Yogaga
Top Coat:  Pro FX Quick Dry

Please check out the other ladies still sticking with the 31 Day Challenge by clicking on the link below.

My giveaway ends tonight at midnight, I hope you've had a chance to enter - if not, have a look here and see if there's something that catches your eye!!

Holla, N

-Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful 
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista
 -Greta at How Was Your Day?
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish
-Robin Sparkles 

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Black, White and Red All Over

Hiya polished peeps!!  Today is inspired by a book day for the 31 Day Challenge - this was a toughy for me - not because I couldn't think of a book to inspire me, in fact it's just the opposite!!  I'm an avid reader and would normally average a book or two a week depending on how long it is so the choices for this one could potentially be endless!!  Since getting into this whole blogging thing, reading has taken a back seat, but I still love it and try to get in as much as a can, when I can!

My current read - that I've let expire about 4 times on my library app for my phone is The Birth House by Ami McKay.  I've been enjoying it, but because it's taken me forever to read, with weeks between when I could get it again, I might have to start from the beginning the next time I get it!  I've really gotten into this whole e-book thing, you can get any book from the library, you may have to wait awhile, but free is free.

For anyone else who loves to read, here are a few of my must reads - I'm always on the look out for recommendations, so please let e know if there's something I've missed on my list that is a must!!

1.  Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
2.  The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
3.  Anything by Maeve Binchy
4.  Bedtime Story by Robert J. Wiersema
5.  Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth
6.  The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber

Okay, I could totally go on and on, but you came here for nails - so here they are!

Newspaper Nails Books Nail Art

Newspaper Nails Books Nail Art

Newspaper Nails Books Nail Art

Newspaper Nails Books Nail Art

For the main color, I used Essie - Yogaga an extra Nail Narcotics sent me in my winnings from her giveaway!!

I used acrylic paint for the books and used the ol' alcohol and newspaper trick for the rest of my nails.  Tip:  don't use hydrogen peroxide that you thought was alcohol for this, it eats the poop out of your skin - thankfully by the time I took pictures the white skin was gone!!

Don't forget to check out the rest of the amazing mani's inspired by a book by clicking the links below!

4 Days left for entering my giveaway - if you haven't done so already, check it out!!

Holla, N

-Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful 
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista
 -Greta at How Was Your Day?
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish
-Robin Sparkles 

Friday, October 26, 2012

Guest Post - Mimi Manicures

We interrupt your regularly scheduled post for my very first guest post from the lovely Mimi from Mimi Manicures!!    If you need your Nicole fix for the day head on over to Mimi Manicures to see what I created for my guest stint over there!!

Hello there my fellow polish lovers, I am so so excited to be guest posting for the lovely Nicole today, thank you for having me my sweet and I hope you guys like my post.  So when I did a little shout out on my facebook page for some cool 'honorary Mimi's' the lovely Nicole approached me and the rest was history, she is such a lovely person and I love her blog so I managed to wangle myself a slot on hers to...yay!
 
So we decided on a theme of each doing a mani relating to each of our favorite color polish and style...Nicole said she loves neons and animal print.  Now for those who know me from my blog knows I rarely can just stick to one theme...so in true Mimi style I decided to do four different neon bases (and trust me they are neon but my damn camera kind of mellowed them out a little) with some good old animal print over the top and on my ring finger I did a contrasting finger of caviar micro beads!
 
I went on a lil shoppping trip with my girlie today and came across the beads and i HAD to use them tonight.... and i have to say i think they look ahhhhmazing!!! i cant wait to use these on a more toned down mani....i got them in black an blue as well (naughty Mimi).




I really hope you guys like this manicure and I hope to maybe popping up on here again in the future.  Once again thank you to Nicole for having me, polish love to you all xxxxxx

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Miss Spider

Hiya!!  Getting sick really puts a damper on the whole polish thing!!  Those two days that I wasn't able to do nails really messed up my schedule!!  I'm cheating a little today, I have very little time left to finish up datyorklove's Nail-Aween Challenge and today is Inspired by a Movie day for the 31 Day Challenge, so I decided to combine two themes into one mani!!

I loved loved loved James and the Giant Peach, both the movie and the book.  I was a huge Roald Dahl fan when I was a kid, I prided myself on reading every single book he had written - ask me now to name one of the books other than this one and I couldn't, but I do remember loving them!!  Without further ado, here is my spider themed James and the Giant Peach movie themed mani!!

Miss Spider James and the Giant Peach Nail Art

Miss Spider James and the Giant Peach Nail Art

For my pointer and ring finger I used:  Finger Paints - Tiffany Imposter
For my middle and pinky finger I used:  Wet n Wild - Black Creme and Finger Paints - Papier Mache for the the stripes.
I used acrylic paints for the details.

I also have a very exciting macro shot of Miss Spider's face for you.  Remember the Easy-Macro that's up for grabs in Prize Pack A in my giveaway?!?  Well, apparently they were getting traffic from my site and hadn't thought this was a market that could use the Easy-Macro, so they contacted me and asked me to take some photos they could use for their site.  I was all over that, but only had purchased the one for my giveaway, so they offered to provide one for me so I could get them some photo's - how cool is that?!?  This thing really is the coolest, you just snap it on to your phone, it doesn't cover the screen and if you have an iPhone 4S or 5 it will auto focus - so cool!!  The only thing is, is that you can't use your flash, this isn't a huge problem, especially for those of you with light boxes.  And the price is reasonable compared to some of the other macro lenses out there - I highly recommend it!!  For more info on the Easy-Macro, click here!  And if you want a chance to WIN one of these puppies, head over here to enter my giveaway - there's still time left to enter - closes October 31st at midnight!!

Miss Spider James and the Giant Peach Nail Art
I wish I had some amazing holo to show you with this thing, but I settled with this.  I wish there weren't streaks in the green and cracks in the acrylic, I hope to take some more shots to show you soon!!

Please show some love for my buddies doing the 31 Day Challenge and the Nail-aween Challenge by clicking the links below - I promise you won't be disappointed!!

Holla, N

31 Day Challenge Participants:

-Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful 
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista
 -Greta at How Was Your Day?
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish
-Robin Sparkles 

Nail-Aween Nail Art Challenge:


(List includes blogs and FB pages)

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Flashback!

Hiya folks!!  I'm on the mend from my cold, still feeling stuffy, but I went to work today, so all is good!  I'm pulling this mani from the vault, even though I should be posting some Nail-aween challenge mani's - I'm having brain block on something creative to do for spiders - any suggestions?!?!

Neon Orange and Pink Gradient

Neon Orange and Pink Gradient

Neon Orange and Pink Gradient

Neon Orange and Pink Gradient

This is a recycled mani - I wore the gradient first and then decided to stamp it when I got home and I think I mattified it - it looks mattified, don't you think?  This was also when my nails were so pretty and long - I miss them!!

Base Coat:  Orly Bonder
Gradient:  Finger Paints - Pink Perspective and I think Tangerine Tint
For the stamp, I used Sally Hansen Insta Dry - Quick Canary

Have you entered my giveaway?  The countdown is on, a little over a week to enter!!

Holla, N

Monday, October 22, 2012

S#*! on the Radio

Hi friends!!  I'm siiiiiick, that's me whinging - you know that commercial when the husband is in bed and calls in his wife and asks her to call his mom - that's me today......I actually did this mani yesterday in between naps and kleenex, but couldn't get it up until now.

Without further ado, here is my mani inspired by a song - which song you ask?  S#*! on the Radio by Nelly Furtado - I love this song and I love the video even more.  Click here to watch it and see what inspired this one!

Neon Old School Boombox Nail Art

Neon Old School Boombox Nail Art
The pointer and middle finger is the shirt she's wearing at the tail end of the video, the ring finger is the pants she's wearing.  My pinky is supposed to be her eye makeup but it didn't turn out how I wanted and my thumb is her bright neon lipstick!

Neon Old School Boombox Nail Art

Show some love to the links below - there are some fabulous song inspired mani's - definitely worth the clicks!!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway - to be considered, you have to leave a comment on the giveaway post, I've noticed some folks enter but don't leave a comment!!

Holla, N

-Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful 
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista
 -Greta at How Was Your Day?
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish
-Robin Sparkles 

Friday, October 19, 2012

Neon Inspired

Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday - I hope that song is in your head now - bahahahahaha!!

Day 21 of the 31 Day Challenge - I can't believe there's only 10 days left, this has been so fun and I've met some great blogging buddies doing this challenge and I'm sad it's almost coming to an end!!  Today's mani is inspired by a color and technically neon is not a color - but it should be - who wants to join the NSBCC (Neon Should Be a Color Club)?  or the NSBWAYC (Neon Should be Worn All Year Club?  I would like to nominate myself as the President - lol!!  I'm still digging the neon, I know summer is over, but I'm still wearing my sandals, so I should still be able to wear my neon polish, right???  This mani took me soooo long last night, I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do and I ended up with like 10 layers of polish, but I love it so much - so bright and happy and fun - perfect for the rainy days we've been having lately!!

Neon Pink Neon Leopard Skittles Nails

Neon Pink Neon Leopard Skittles Nails

Neon Pink Neon Leopard Skittles Nails

I used 11 different polishes for this (not including base and top coat) and they've all been put away so Gini and Bex, you are poop outta luck - this girl ain't gonna list all 11 of them this time - even if you ask nicely - lol!!

Please show some love to my new blogging friends by clicking on the links below and checking out what colors inspired them!

My giveaway closes in two weeks!!  I've gotten so many wonderful comments and entrants it's going to be so exciting to see who wins - I haven't even moderated rafflecopter yet - I wonder how many cheaters I'll find :O)

Holla, N

-Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful 
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista
 -Greta at How Was Your Day?
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish
-Robin Sparkles 

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Frankenstein's Heart

Hiya friends!!  I can't believe it's Thursday already, this week has gone by so fast!!

I'm having challenge withdrawls, September I had like three going on, right now I've only got two and one is do it at your own pace and the other is posting every third day - I'm missing the pressure of doing a new mani everyday, having to get it in on time - not having to do the housework - lol!  If anyone sees any fun challenges out there, let me know, I'm so in!!

For day 6 of datylovesyork Nail-Aween Nail Art Challenge, I wanted to do something different for this and found the cutest Frankenstein heart, I paired it with a Bride of Frankenstein heart to complete the set.  I tried the saran wrap technique again for my pointer and pinky with a bolt and the infamous scar - hope you enjoy!!

Frankenstein Heart Halloween Nails

Frankenstein Heart Halloween Nails

Frankenstein Heart Halloween Nails

I used a bunch of different colors so won't list them, but if you want to know what I used, let me know, I'll try to dig them out.  I also used acrylic paint for some of the details.

Please check out the links below for some other fun Halloween themed mani's!!

My giveaway ends on the 31st, the countdown is on, don't forget to enter!!

Holla, N

datyorkLOVES
Erica's Nails and More
DreamyMM Nails & Make Up
 Tes Did It Nails
Sassy Paints 
Nicole gets Nailed 
Wicked Tips 
Fancy Schmancy Nails
Delight In Nails
Polish Groupie 
My Nail Journey 
Get Polished Up! 
Just A Girl and Her Polish
Spellbound Nails
Le nail's corner d'Alex
Hello.Lacquer
Color the world with polish
Cutie Cuticles (nail art by Laraib) 
Wacky Laki 
Nail-Aween Nail Art Challenge October 1-31st, 2012 
GLAMOROUS NAILS 
Over The Topcoat 
Polish Gone Crazy 
tragedystipsandtreats
Susy In Color
Countess Nails
(List includes blogs and FB pages)

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Water Mar-BOO-led the Sequel

Hey everyone!!  How's your fall going so far?  Here, it's wet, windy and gray, it makes taking decent photos next to impossible.  Now would be the perfect time to build that light box I bought all the material for months ago!!

We're onto water marble day for the 31 Day Challenge - ugh, hate water marbling, I always make the biggest mess and for the life of me can't get my finger where the best part of the pattern is - I can make the pattern, get it where I want it, dip my finger in and.....voila, a big splotch of not the pattern I wanted - really, I mastered the circle goes into a round hole etc. as a child, you would think I'd get this.  Oh well, I'm still going to show you all two of my tries, I would have gone for a third, but the day is ending and I wanted to get this up.

Ooooo and on a side note. I participated in my very first Nail Polish Secret Santa - everyone got assigned a name via Elfster - the lovely Amanda from The Nail Polish Enthusiast organized the Halloween/Autumn themed exchange.  The limit was $20 and you had to shop for your secret santa - Elfster makes it easy to create a wishlist or a don't need list for the person that drew your name and ask questions about the name you drew without giving away your identity - so cool!!  Anyways, I got my package last night from Amanda who drew my name and I was literally squeeing with excitement, the hubby was looking at me like I was crazy - lol!!  I got some lovely polishes and the best part the set of MASH nail art brushes - which are SOOOO cool, I can't wait to try them!!  I also got a mini bottle of my FIRST indie (Gini, you would be proud) - here it is over some yummy orange OPI polish that I got!!


Of course the photos don't do the glitter justice, but you'll just have to buy your own Harley by Hit Polish click the link if you want to see much better photos!!  Beautiful orange, black and silver hex glitters and smaller black glitter - ab fab!  I decided to recycle this mani I wore today and water marble over the orange - I also accidentally (how I did this, I don't know) marbled over the glitter so I quickly took the marble off repainted a coat of the OPI orange and did one coat of Harley  - a jelly sandwich of sorts....the pic above has two coats of Harely (which is amazing to apply by the way!).

Orange White Black Halloween Water Marble

Orange White Black Halloween Water Marble

Orange White Black Halloween Water Marble

I used cheapy NYC nail polish for the water marble in black, orange and white.  Pro FX was the top coat.

Now for the attempt I did yesterday, I wanted it to be neon yellow and pink, but it turned out orange so I ended up putting a coat of the neon yellow over top of it all because there was so many white spots.  I will master this one day, just need to practice practice practice.

Neon Yellow and Pink Water Marble


Side Note:  I've been having issues with my computer at home and just started a new job so if you haven't seen me commenting like I normally do, I haven't stopped looking at all your amazing work, I just haven't been commenting as much because it's next to impossible on my phone!!  Bear with me while I adjust, I'll be back to my regular commenting self soon!!

Don't forget to check out the other lovelies doing the 31 Day Challenge - I think we've got most with us still!!

If you want to win some amazing stuff, click here.  Is this getting annoying?  Should I end my giveaway now instead?  or should I just hold out until the 31st?  I feel like it's going on forever, I should have made it last two weeks instead of a month......

Holla, N


-Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful 
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista
 -Greta at How Was Your Day?
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish
-Robin Sparkles