Monday, December 31, 2012

Happy New Year!

Hiya polished friends!  Wowza, it's been a while since I've been here, but have no fear, I'm here and I'm ready to get back at er!

I've been enjoying my holidays - Christmas was fabulous, lots of good food (3 turkey dinners) and quality time with family and friends.  I'm a little sad it's over, I wish the let down from Christmas lasted as long as the build up TO Christmas.  Think about it, folks get into the Christmas spirit at least a month in advance, yet after you've done all your dinners and opened all your presents, it's just.....over.  Our big family gathering is on Boxing Day, so it prolongs the spirit for at least one more day and my family was still around until a couple of days after, so there was a little bit of a gradual let down.  I guess I'm feeling it more this year because I'm still on holidays for another week and wish it was filled with more turkey dinners and family!!

I've been holding on to this mani for a couple of weeks now, I'm really in love with how this turned out and wanted to save it for something special.  This was inspired by my buddy Becca's from Nail Narcotics!, beautiful mani dedicated to her favorite nail blogger - ME (lol) - done completely with her winnings from my EPIC 100 Follower Giveaway - you can see her gorgeous mani here.  I loved that she did a special mani for me and I loved the idea of the acronym NGN for my blog.

Graffiti Nail Art

Graffiti Nail Art

I started out with a neon saran wrap mani and once I was done I realized it totally reminded me of the background of my blog so I decided to add my acronym NGN in my best attempt at graffiti!!  I could never recreate this on paper, I've always wanted to be good at graffiti, but I just don't have the knack for it.  I had to do a little research for this, I used a ton of graffiti generators and font samples before I found something I could actually recreate.  I think this turned out pretty darn good for first attempt at graffiti!

Graffiti Nail Art

Graffiti Nail Art

Graffiti Nail Art

Graffiti Nail Art

Happy New Year everyone - wishing you all the very best for 2013!

Holla, N

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays polished peeps!

I can't believe tomorrow is Christmas eve, I've finally done all I need to do for Christmas - two potlucks down with no major casualties - with the exception of a burnt finger - ouch, only I would burn my finger making mashed potatoes!!

I haven't done a lot of holiday themed mani's that are worth posting, but this one was definitely one of my faves!

Black and White Christmas Trees with Red

I actually used glittery polish again, I know, totally stepping outside the box!!  Here's some better shots to show the glittery goodness.

Black and White Christmas Trees with Red

Black and White Christmas Trees with Red

Black and White Christmas Trees with Red

Wishing you and yours all the very best this holiday season - I hope everyone gets to enjoy time with their loved ones, with lots of laughter, love and of course good food!!  Mmmmm turkey dinner!!

Holla, N

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Skittle it, Just a Little Bit

Hiya!!  I'm totally giggling at my post title right now - I was just thinking "uh, it's so hard to come up with clever post names all the time" and POP this just jumped on in to the ol' noggin.  I don't know if it's obvious or not, but I always try to come up with clever names for my posts - I want them to have a little to do with what I'm posting about, but they have to be some sort of pun or play on words.  I think that's my favorite part of the process, coming up with the title - oh the little things that make me happy :)  Thankfully blogger has a blog reader that shows the picture beside the post or I would get no traffic!!  LOL, I'm just thinking about Monday's title "Golden Nude."  Bring on the crazy search terms!!

Teal Skittles Black and White Roses Leopard Glitter

Teal Skittles Black and White Roses Leopard Glitter

This is the first time I've done leopard print with white, I like it, but I don't know if it screams leopard to me.  And, this is the second post in one week that I've used glitter - Gini, are you proud of me or what? LOL!!

Holla, N

Monday, December 17, 2012

Spreading the Word to End the Word

Hello polished friends!

When I saw Ooooo Shiny!'s call for entrants for her nail art contest, I was immediately intrigued - who doesn't want free stuff?  Then I read what the nail art had to entail:  design a socially engaged manicure that supports a cause and raises awareness about an issue that you care about.  I doubly in!

This isn't the original cause I wanted to blog about, but I had recently watched the Hollis Boys' video dedicated to their sister:

"We live in a small town in Central Illinois and woke one morning in April 2011 to find our home and cars had been spray painted," says Anne Hollis.
The family had been attacked because her two daughters have Down Syndrome: "RETARDS." "Get Outta here." And other unprintables. 
"That day changed my life forever." 
But her two sons said they wanted to make a video, to "Speak up for our sisters."
If you haven't seen the video, click here, it's worth the watch.  When I first watched this video, I thought the boys were super cute and it was such an amazing thing for them to want to speak up for their sister in such a public way.  I didn't relate it back to myself, but as I thought about this challenge, my mind kept going back to that video and how badly I needed to listen (or read) to what their message was - or what their message meant to me.

Besides the fact that I am blown away that people actually had the audacity to spray paint someone's house, it was the words they used that really hit home for me.  I have to admit, I use the r-word, not just a little, but a lot.  When I think something is stupid, or hard, I use that word.  When I think someone is being stupid or annoying, I used that word.  I'm an educated woman, I work with professionals, yet, this is the word I used to describe almost everything bad - not good - not good at all.  I give my coworker a hard time for referring to a group of people the wrong way, I actually cringe, I get uncomfortable and look around to make sure no one heard - but yet I through out the r-word like it's nothing.  And it's not nothing, it hurts, it stings and it's in no way accurate of how I feel.
The R-word is the word 'retard(ed)'. Why does it hurt? The R-word hurts because it is exclusive. It’s offensive. It’s derogatory. The R-word is hate speech. See why supporters think the R-Word is hurtful when used in jokes or as part of everyday speech.

I found the r-word website while researching my design.  The website was launched in 2008 by the Special Olympics to combat the inappropriate use of the R-word in common usage.  The site focuses on the Spread the Word to End the Word campaign, there is a ton of resource material to help plan your own event and you can also take the pledge to support the elimination of the r-word.

I have taken the pledge and will be sporting that brand spanking new banner on your right until the end of my blogging days, not only to remind myself of the pledge I've taken, but also to spread the word to end the word!

I pledge and support the elimination of the derogatory use of the r-word from everyday speech and promote the acceptance and inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities.




For more information, please visit www.r-word.org.  The Hollis boys are encouraging everyone to watch, share and join www.everyonematters2012.com and www.facebook.com/everyonematters - to create a world where EVERYONE is free to be EXACTLY who they are, without shame, apology - or attack.

Holla, N

ps:  a HUGE THANK YOU to Moana from Ooooo Shiny!, not only for making me think about what is important to me, but also for extending the deadline for me - I read the due date wrong and was going to save this for another day, but she kindly opened up the link for me to add my post.  I know this isn't the most beautiful mani, and I totally don't expect to win, but I'm super proud of this post and myself for really looking at something about myself that I'm so not proud of and changing it.

Golden Nude

Happy Monday polished friends!

I can't believe Christmas is only a little over a week away! I'm so unprepared this year - we've picked up a couple of gifts, but we have so much more to do and next weekend will be a total write-off.  I have two potlucks to go to and cooking in my house is always an ordeal - at least both dishes I'm making are fairly foolproof, so I should have no issues - fingers crossed!

Nude with Gold Matte

Nude with Gold Matte

I've been seeing gold and nude everywhere lately and I love love love it.  I wish I had done this as a gradient, the gold glitter is a little overpowering in my opinion, but I'm still pretty happy with how this turned out.  I ended up adding a matte top coat and my friend at work asked "what's wrong with your nails?"  Not something a nail blogger wants to hear about their mani - I make myself feel better by thinking she doesn't know anything about style - lol!!

Base Coat:  Orly Bonder
Main Color:  Becca, recognize the color?  Why yes, it is my Essie Yogaga - soooo pretty!!!
I used the saran wrap method with Sally Hansen's Golden I and then layered the best gold glitter from Sally's over top.
Top Coat:  NYC - Matte Me Crazy

Holla, N

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Teal You What

Hello polished pals!!  I feel like I've been slacking on the blogging lately, for some reason I'm having a bit of bloggers block.  I haven't given up doing my nails, and I don't view blogging as work (yet, thankfully), I'm just so focused on other things!  Not that I actually have to do anything for those other things, it's just that they're there.  Plus, because I've dropped all my challenges, I don't have that timeline to get posts up by a certain time.  When I first started blogging, I was doing it everyday and then had to keep up with challenges, so I was posting mostly everyday.  Now that I have no schedule to keep, it's been hard for me to stick to regular posts.  I think I'll try for Monday, Wednesday and Friday starting next week, that seems reasonable to me - agree?

Teal with Silver Stamp and Glequins

Teal with Silver Stamp and Glequins


I'm not a huge fan of this mani, I wish I had used gold instead of silver, but I don't have any gold glequins, so I settled on silver.  I love this teal, but it stains so bad, there's no room to get this on your cuticles or you'll have it there for a while.

Holla, N

Monday, December 10, 2012

Tipped Review

Hello friends!!

Today, I have a review of Born Pretty Store's french tip stickers.  I've been dreading writing this review because I wasn't a huge fan of this product, but I've promised myself that I will always be honest with my reviews, so here it goes.

I received these with my glequins, the review can be found here, so the shipping was fantastic.  I'm always surprised how fast items from the Born Pretty Store ship, plus it's free shipping - double plus.  I know french tips are a little passe, but I thought these would alleviate my complete inability to do a french mani with two colors. The package comes with stickers to do chevron tips and also a swirly one, which is kinda neat.  The main issue I had with these was that the stickers are so thick it's hard for them to stick flat against your nail without some gaps, which of course leads to bleeding lines.  Plus, the stickers were too sticky and ripped off part of my mani - mind you, it could have been because I didn't let the base color dry enough, but it was still sort of a bummer.  I tried the "stick to your skin a couple of times before applying" trick and then they didn't stick!!  It was a bit of a balancing act to say the least.  The neat swirly stickers were so long, you loose the cool swirl and only end up picking up a slight swoop.  I also found that the stickers for the french tips were a little too straight for my nail, I think this is also due to the length.  Out of the three types of tips, I preferred the chevron ones, although I did have to maneuver my fingers so that I was holding down the sticker to prevent bleeding.

Despite the negative experience with this product, I would totally continue to buy products from them even if they choose not to ask me to review products for them again.  The value for what you get is just too good to write them off for one bad experience.  Plus, the total cost for this was $1.58 for three sheets with enough to do your all of your nails twice, which is so worth it.  If you think this product would work for you, you can order it here, or search the Born Pretty Store with item ID 4093 or 3pcs French Circle/Arrow/Fancy Manicure Tip Guides Strip Nail Art Toes.

Black with White Chevron Tips and Black Stamping

Black with White Chevron Tips and Black Stamping

Black with White Chevron Tips and Black Stamping
Bonus right hand shot!!

Blue with Glitter Cut Outs Nails
Here's what I did with the regular french tip stickers, you can create some cool cut-outs , but again it was hard for the stickers to stick.
Until Jan 31, 2013 you can use the special code found in the banner below to get a 10% discount on anything you order from the Born Pretty Store - the selection is huge and it's not just nail products, they also sell phone cases, make-up and wigs.  There is so much to choose from, I promise it will totally be worth your while!


It's too bad these weren't thinner stickers with a little more stick, because then they would be fabulous for those of us newbs who can't do two toned french tips!!

Holla, N

Friday, December 7, 2012

Stamped Ring

Hello Polished Pals!!  I'm here, I'm here!!  I'm feeling so guilty for leaving you all for the last couple of days.  I've missed two 12 Days of Christmas posts (or one, I can't even remember...) and I had the same mani on for two whole days - who does that - lol!!

It's been a hectic couple of days - I bought my very first brand new car on the weekend and finally got it on Tuesday night.  It's sooooo nice, no more grinding noises when I turn left or right!!  The hubby was very concerned the car would break down and cause an accident, so I think I replaced it just in time!!  Our 7 year anniversary was yesterday and the hubby surprised me with my engagement ring all fixed and fitted.  Long story short, had to take it off because of eczema, when I put it on again, it no longer fit - it got stuck, I had to go to Emerg to have it cut off and it's been broken ever since (about 4 years).  I totally cried like a baby and it felt like he had proposed all over again, it was super sweet!  Something to know about the hubby, is that he is the absolute WORST at keeping secrets or surprising me, so he totally hit the ball out of the park this year with this gift, I had NO idea.  He got me again when we went to pick up the new car, he had gone there earlier in the day and got them to put my brand spankin new laptop in the trunk so when the sales guy opened the trunk, it was there - I was totally surprised!!  No easy feat, but he did it twice in one week.  I'm super duper lucky, he's pretty much the greatest man ever!


Here's my beautiful ring, so pretty....

Blue with White Stamped Nails
Here's the mani I wore for two days, at least it was pretty!!

Base Coat:  Orly Bonder
Main Color:  Orly - Shockwave
I used the special Born Pretty Store white stamping polish for the stamps
Top Coat:  Seche Vite

I think I'm going to have to bow out of the 12 Days of Christmas challenge, I will still be checking out all the lovely mani's, but I think I might have challenged myself out.....

Holla, N


Monday, December 3, 2012

Happy Dirty 30 Shawna!

Happy Monday friends!!  First things first,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHAWNA!!

Please join me in wishing my friend Shawna a Happy 30th Birthday!!  I've talked about Shawna a couple of times here, she's the one responsible for my nail polish obsession and has gotten me into super nerdy games like Munchkin and Settlers of Catan.  Shawna and I met when we worked in the same office and now that we've both moved on to new jobs, we get to do more fun things outside of work, like camp, play games and have all around fun times!!  I do miss seeing her everyday and sharing my nail art, but I'm super glad we still keep in touch because she really is a wonderful friend who makes me laugh and is sure to know the answer to any question I may have - she also kicks my ass in any game we play, I've been practicing though, so watch out sister!!

We celebrated Shawna's birthday this weekend at a local pub's music bingo.  It was super fun and judging by the photos below, I'm pretty sure she had a good time!!

I love how she had a variety of hats for the evening - a tiara, a crocheted party hat and goofy ears!  Shawna painted her nails all pretty for the evening - now I'm rubbing off on her!
Here's the special nails I did for Shawna's birthday party!!

Neon Polka Dots on White

Neon Polka Dots on White

Happy Happy Birthday Shawna, wishing you one of the best years ever!!

Holla, N

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Oh! Christmas Tree?

Hiya friends, I feel like I haven't posted in forever...the days just keep running away from me!

Anyhoodle, onto the good stuff.  I've joined another challenge - does that surprise you?  Ya, me neither!  I've joined the 12 Days of Christmas Nail Art Challenge hosted by the lovely Pink & Polished and Overpolished!  I'm super late getting this up, so I'll end my ramblings now and get to the pictures!

Christmas Tree Nail Art

Christmas Tree Nail Art

Christmas Tree Nail Art

As you can see, I used totally non-traditional Christmas colors, I'm going to see how far I can get in this challenge with using non-traditional colors, may be hard, but GO BRIGHT OR GO HOME baby!!

Please show some love to my fellow challengers by clicking the links below!

Here's what we'll be doing!


Holla, N