D is for Decades of Dysfunction

Happy Hump Day my polished lovelies!

Yay, finally time for "D" day!!  Why is it that every time I look in my stash for polish that starts with the letter of the day, I can't find ANYTHING?!?!  Seriously, I have a LOT of polish - it may be time for me to get the Nail Book app to sort my stash.  Normally I pick what I want to do based on the colors that catch my eye that specific day or I pick something I haven't tried yet. I can't imagine picking something using an app!

Here's my Decades of Dysfunction dotticure inspired by Rachel at Top Coat It! - Polka Dot Waves.

I will now be checking out what my fellow bloggers did for "D" day, be sure to check back next Wednesday for "E" - eeks!

Holla, N

Monday Review

Hiya!  Today I have a review of Born Pretty Store's silver square studs.  I love love love studs - the nail accessory, not the man variety, okay I like the man variety just as much.  Justin Timberlake is my weakness, his voice - dreamy, his bod.....oh wow, his bod - to die for!

Now that I've cleaned the drool off my face, let's get back to business!  Studs are everywhere these days, I picked up some of the sticker variety a while back and used it for my Tell me About it, Stud mani.  I loved the simplicity of what I did with them, but you only get a few in a pack and I wanted to try out some designs using more than one.  The package you get from the Born Pretty Store comes with about 100 individual studs (likely more, I've never been good with guess how many jellybeans are in the jar games!).  They come in a resealable clear baggie so they are easy to get at and easy to store.

Application was a little difficult for me because I don't own any inexpensive top coat - I'm a loyal Seche Vite user (yes, despite the shrinkage).  I think if you used a coat of inexpensive top coat to stick the studs on, it would work out way better.  I used nail glue - it totally worked, but you can see the line of glue I applied even though I applied a generous coat of Seche.

This design was inspired by Nicole at Polish Me, Please first attempt at a studded manicure.  Nicole is the QUEEN of stamping and her mani's always inspire me to break out the ol' Bundle Monster plates - which she recommended I buy!!  Check out the inspiration here.  If you're not following Nicole, DOOOO it, she is fabulously creative with her stamps and is also the sweetest nail blogger out there - she was the first person to comment on my blog AND follow me on Twitter!!

Just to show Nicole my stamping skills - I still need some practice, but I'm glad I managed to get the stamp on the  whole nail!

If you're interested in picking up some studs of your own (unfortunately no man varieties for sale yet!), visit the Born Pretty Store and look up Item ID: 2859 or click here.  You get the whole package for $5.73 - total steal!!  Plus, here's a 10% off coupon code - major score!!

Tune in Friday for my review of the Born Pretty Store black flocking powder - super excited to share this mani, so don't forget to stop on by!

Holla, N

Ikats All Been Done Before

Hello polished friends!!  Happy Friday!!  Yay, we've made it through another week!!  Time for the weekend - woot woot!

I've been wanting to try out ikat nails for a while now, but as with any new technique, I always think it's going to be way more difficult than it really is.  I did some ikat-like nails for the 31 Day Challenge, for my inspired by fashion day, but I wanted to try the real thing.

I had to google to make sure I was spelling Ikat right (every time I type it, it's underlined in red!) and while I googled, I realized that I did the same color combination as everyone else that's done Ikat nails lately - I was surprised to see so many with the same color combo.  I didn't copy anyone on purpose, but you know how some things stick in your head and then you create it and realize you're not the first to do that?  Ya, that's my day today :)

Holla, N

C is for Cobalt

Hiya, welcome to the next installment of the ABC challenge - C.  I had originally thought I had a bunch of polishes that started with a C - ya, I was wrong.  I have a lot that start with D, not C.  Yes, they are different letters, my brain just didn't recognize that at the time!

This pretty Cobalt blue, that is actually called Cobalt, is from Nina Ultra Pro - they are on sale right now at Sally Beauty for 2 for $8, I've gotten four so far and this lovely is one of them.  I actually prefer this over white, it makes it so bright, but it still works with no undies.  Nina Ultra Pro polishes have the thicker "pro" brushes, which are great when the brushes are perfectly straight - when the brushes have the least bit of a kink or hair sticking out, it defeats the whole purpose of a pro brush.  I had a little trouble with the brush on this one and on one of the other colors I got, but because I'm a trooper - read that as cheap polish whore - I will of course use it again, but it was still a little bit of a bummer for higher priced polish!

Please join me in checking out the ladies below and what they came up with for C day!

Holla, N

Color Changing Leopard

Happy Monday!  Don't you just cringe reading that?  I cringe typing it!!

I've been eyeballing some really pretty polish at Winners the last couple of times I went in and I couldn't justify the $7.99 price tag so always put them back.  Last week I was lucky enough to find them on sale for $5 - score!!  The brand is Butterfly Wing, something I've never heard of and it's color changing polish - not really my thing, but the color and the price sold me.

Here's a bottle shot, I really couldn't capture how bright yellow the orange-y color is on camera and the pink-y red is more coral than pink, but IRL they are really lovely and bright.  You can't really tell from any of the photos, but the yellow was iridescent - something I don't normally go for, but it didn't bug me that much in this polish.  What did bug me was the formula - it was runny and streaky and one of the brushes had a huge chunk out of it, which made application even more difficult.  I had to wear the yellow with white undies and it still took 3 or 4 coats to make the yellow not look streaky.

I'm so glad I didn't pay full price for these; however, I wouldn't buy this brand again.  I would rather continue my search for the perfect yellow than struggle with application!!  Have you tried this branch or another type of color changing polish?  How was the formula?

Holla, N

B is for Black Expressionism

Hiya!!  Welcome to the second day of Kimber's ABC Challenge - B!

I was searching through my stash for a polish that starts with a "B" and was getting really worried when I had pulled out 20 or so polishes and none started with a "B".  I finally managed to find one and of course it had to be something boring like Finger Paints Black Expressionism!!  Oh well, I have found a tone of polishes that start with "C" so I'm off to a good start for next week!

The second photo makes me giggle, I was trying to hid the HUGE chip on my pointer finger and had to pose really funny - the first photo isn't the best either, I wasn't planning on using this mani for today, but I haven't had any time to create anything else, so there you have it!

Join me in checking out my buddies and their "B's"!!

Holla, N

Spirit Indestructible

Hello everyone!!  Hope you had a wonderful weekend.  This is a day late for my regular Monday, Wednesday, Friday posting, but I promise it's worth it!!

I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to go to Nelly Furtado's first concert for her Spirit Indestructible tour last week and of course I had to come up with an amazing mani to wear while I attended!!  I wanted to recreate my S*@t on the Radio mani, but I just wasn't feeling it and I've been so inspired by the talented ladies of Instagram, I decided to try out one of my favorites.  Have you heard of Lucy from Lucy's Stash?  Ya, she's pretty amazing, she's done some of the most beautiful half moon mani's that inspired this look, one in the prettiest green (yes, I just admitted a green was pretty) and one with the brightest pink.  I ended up doing things a little different, but those two mani's are definitely the inspiration behind this look!

Here's my first vision, but I was having the hardest time getting straight lines and I'm SO anal, it had to go!!

I took a couple of really crappy photos, if you're interested in seeing the view from my seats, keep scrolling!!

I would totally recommend purchasing this album, click here to get it from iTunes - my fave song is Big Hoops or Parking Lot or Spirit Indestructible or Be OK or or or or - ya, she's that good!!

Holla, N

Enviously Green

Happy Friday friends!

So glad it's Friday, I've had a full week this week, and after coming back from two weeks vacation it's hard to put in a full week.  I work an extra 47 minutes each day so that I can take every second Friday off - it's called flex time and I swear, it's my sanity!  Although sometimes my four day weeks feel longer than my five day ones.

Last week I went to Sally Beauty because they were having a bogo on Orly and I wanted to pick up some wishlist items for my pal Gini of Sassy Paints.  One of her wishlist items that I managed to find (damn you Miss Conduct, which I keep calling Miss Conception....) was Green With Envy.  Side note:  when I'm in front of a beautiful display of 100's of polishes, I find it very hard to pick out what I like - crazy I know.  Anyhoodle, after much hemming and hawing, I decided to pick up a Green With Envy for myself.  You may remember that I'm not a huge fan of green, but Green with Envy leans toward teal, so I thought I would give it a go.  Ya, it's more green, and ya, I'm not a fan of green.  I just think it looks horrible on me and I can never think of any nail art to do besides four leaf clovers and Frankenstein - not very appropriate for everyday wear!  So lesson learned, pick stuff I like and stop letting Gini influence me - LOL - kidding, she got me hooked on Sally Hansen Pacific Blue and it's become one of my fave colors!  Plus she's been trying her darndest to get me hooked on indies - not gonna happen girl, my nails are nubbins, won't look good, I promise!

It was hard to capture the glossy polka dots on the matte nails, so I had to try a couple of different angles.

Sad little nubbins, GROW, I beg you!

Holla, N

A is for Acrylic Awesomeness

Hiya!  Welcome to day one of the ABC Challenge, hosted by ma girl Kimber over at Kimber's Lacquer Korner!!  So excited to be joining some of the same ladies who did the 31 Day Challenge and meeting new blogger buddies for this amazingly awesome challenge - see what I did there - threw in some extra A's for "A" day!

I did this mani before I knew about the challenge and I didn't have time to find a polish that starts with an "A" so I choose to spotlight the acrylic paint I used.  I love using acrylic paint for nail art, you can mix colors easily and literally make hundreds of different colors and shades using only a handful of colors.  Plus it's super cheap, you can pick it at the dollar store and the selection is fabulous.  Acrylic paint dries matte, so a good top coat is a must-have, but for this mani, I mattified the base so I didn't need a further top coat - bonus!  This also reminds me a little of art deco - another "A"!!!

Please join me in checking out the other ladies doing this challenge by clicking on the links below!

Holla, N

Kimber @ Kimber'sLacquerKorner
Gini @ Sassy Paints
Kat @ Hooked On Polish
Lisa @ Lozlosa
Diana @ Nails By Diana
Nicole @ Nicole Gets Nailed
Nailista
Lariesa @ Me, Myself, and Polish
Patty @ Patty And Goldie's Day Off
Meredith@ Perfectly Polished
Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
Sammi @ GlitzNGlammer
RiaG @ Polishaholic
Dionne @ Glittery Fingers
Aly @ Wonderland Beauty
Kate @ Painted Pony Nails
Sarah @ Faithfully Polished
Small Budget Beauty
Brittany @ Pretty, Pink, and Chic
Alaina @ Dont Spill The Acetone
Simona @ Light Your Nails
Elle @ Miss Nail Polish 

Nicole's Nubbins

Happy 2013 polished peeps!!  I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and a fabulous New Years!  I've had a very relaxing two weeks off, it's officially over today - sad face.  Back to earning a living - ugh.

I've been having so much trouble growing my nails lately, I've considered changing the name of my blog to Nicole's Nubbins - full disclosure and all that!!  After taking off this mani, I had a break of my already short nails, so I had to chop them all off again - argh, so frustrating  especially after having such a successful summer of long beautiful nails!  I've even considered getting acrylics, but I want my natural nails to be healthy, and acrylics tend to do a number on your natural nails, so I'm staying away from those for now.  I want stiletto nails so badly, I love the look, but it's not happening here anytime soon!

I'm on a roll with trying to improve my stamping skills, plus I've been having major challenge withdrawals, so I haven't been all that inspired to do major nail art.  If you know of any challenges, let me know, I'm so down for the get down.  Kimber from Kimber's Lacquer Corner is hosting the ABC challenge shortly and I'll be doing that, but it's only a once a week deal and I'm committing to posting Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so I need to fill up two more days!

Have a wonderful Monday!!

Holla, N