I ♥ dogs!

I have several posts to do but I just did this manicure and I wanted to go ahead and share it. I really wanted to do a tribute to Zeus and Apollo but I didn't have the right polish. Of course, I could have just stuck with paw prints and their initials, but I really wanted to see if I could work out something that at least looked like a dog!


I started with a French manicure and added the paw prints with a toothpick. I really need to spend the $5.00 and get some dotting tools from eBay. I think they would be a lot easier to work with!

On my ring finger, I made a half oval of white, two coats. Then, using the toothpick, I made the ears and eyes and followed that up with a top coat.


Let me first say that I branched out from my love, Seche Vite, and tried Orly Sec'n Dry. So not impressed. You can see the drag lines on my nails. Especially on that right ring finger. I used the SV on the rest once I realized how the Orly was completely messing up the designs. That will be used only for single color polishes from now on.

I finished up the dog with a glimmer in his eyes, a nose, mouth and little pink tongue. Rather than trying to recreate this on my right hand, I just doubled up on the paw prints, as you can see from the picture before this one.

I love this manicure! It's fun and it's something close to my heart. If it wasn't for the Orly mishap, I would consider this an A+. But at least now I know for next time.

Stripes!

I wanted a quick and easy manicure to wear for a couple days. I started with OPI Blue My Mind (still my favorite blue so far!) and then free handed some white diagonal stripes. Topped with some Seche Vite and off I went!

Light to dark.

For this manicure, I started with a base coat followed by two coats of OPI Moon Over Mumbai. Once that dried along with a coat of Seche Vite, I moved onto the next step.

I wanted to do some sort of gradual change so I opted to do steps of color with the circle reinforcers. I used the reinforcers and gradually covered more and more nail with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Gunmetal.

This mani was OK. I didn't love it and it wasn't one that I kept. I may have liked it better with different colors so I haven't completely written it off.

I have a couple other manis to post about but I think I will skip ahead to the one I have on now which is Halloween inspired! Another post to follow soon.

Halloween idea #1.

Since Halloween is coming up, I've been experimenting with Halloween inspired manis. This one is simple and easy.


I started with a base coat and two coats of Orly Liquid Vinyl followed by Sech Vite. Once that dried, I topped it with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Pumpkin Spice which is a fun polish with orange glitter.

This was a basic manicure that didn't require much work. I have a couple other manis that I've done that I'll post between now and Halloween.

Floral half moon.

I had so much fun with my last half moon than I decided to go ahead and do another one. I opted for more contrasting colors this time with an accent nail.

For the base, I used two coats of Sinful Color Easy Going. I loved this polish! Even on it's own, it's a pretty great mani. I had no top show through and that's surprising when you realize how light pink this polish is.


After the base coat and a coat of Seche Vite, I taped off all but my ring finger with the round reinforcers so I could make the half moons. I painted a coat of Orly Liquid Vinyl on top. I waited a few minutes and then pulled off the stickers and using the Kiss silver glitter, I highlighted the half moon.

I really liked this manicure as is. I could have painted my ring finger the same and still liked it but I was feeling the accent nail that day so I went with a simple black flower. To make it, I used the flat end of a toothpick to make the dots and then used the pointy end to kind of drag a line from the center of the dot to the middle of the flower.

Since I was on the flower kick, I decided it should extend to my toes. It's hard to tell, but there are darker pink flowers along with the light ones. I really should have chosen a better pink that would have shown up more on the black but I liked the concept. There are three flowers on my big toe and then a partial flower on each of the rest.

I'm pretty proud of this manicure/pedicure. It turned out better than I had hoped and I will be using this Sinful Colors again in some more designs.

Breast Cancer Awareness month

Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and pink is it's signature color, I decided to go with a pink/zebra stripe mani. I used Sinful Color Snow Me White, Sally Hansen HD Byte, Kiss Nail Art silver glitter and a black nail pen.


I was worried the pink would be too pale so I did white as the base coat. I did not tape this manicure, just did a strip of pink diagonally down the middle of the white. I lined the pink with the silver glitter and then topped it all with Seche Vite.

After that dried, I used the black nail pen to draw random Vs and lines to make the zebra pattern.

I think this manicure turned out really cute. I need to work some more on the actual zebra print but it's not bad for my first time. I will definitely repeat this in different colors.

On another note, I finally received my first order of Konad along with my Monster bundle pack. I did a couple manis with the stamps today. Some I liked, some I didn't. I really need to see what polishes are best for the design. But I know I'll have fun practicing!

Green on green half moon.

I had seen several posts and pictures of the half moons and I really liked the look so I decided to try it out. I had two new green polishes I hadn't used yet so I grabbed those to get started.

I used two coats of Sinful Colors Happy Ending followed by a coat of Seche Vite to get started.


After that dried, I used the circle reinforcers to make the half moon at the base of my nails and then painted Orly Meet Me Under the Mistletoe on top of that.

I waited a few minutes before pulling off the circle and topping with another coat of Seche Vite.

I loved this mani! I was digging the color combo a lot. The Mistletoe has a great glittery component to it that really complemented the lighter green. And I'm definitely a fan of the half moon. I thought the overall look would be great for St. Patrick's Day so I will probably be repeating this one.

Grey checkerboard

I wanted to try a full checkerboard mani with a couple grey polishes I'd recently picked up. The colors are OPI Moon Over Mumbai and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Gunmetal.

I was not a huge fan of the OPI as an all over color. It's a bit sheer for me although I haven't tried it over another shade.

I started with the OPI and Seche Vite. After that dried, I taped off all my nails as shown and painted the open corner with the Gunmetal.

I gave that a couple minutes before pulling off the tape and applying another coat of Seche Vite. Then I reapplied the tape to open the opposite corner and repeated.

I really did love this manicure even with the nail tip show through. I liked the subtlety of the greys although I wish I would have done my ring finger the opposite way. I'm a huge fan of an accent nail. I will definitely repeat this with new colors.

And a shout out to my newest follower even though Blogger isn't showing me who it is! I have a feeling I know... Check out the links I've posted of my friend's blogs as well. They are incredibly creative and talented!

Red and black French

Sorry for the lack of posts. I was out of town, having a girls' weekend in Houston with some friends I met while we were in Okinawa. Crazy weekend. Too much fun, definitely.

Before I left, I did a fun French. My friend, Courtney, said it reminded her of a ladybug. I like that comparison.


I used a clear base coat and did the tips with Revlon Valentino topped with Seche Vite. I'm not sure what kind of Revlon it is. That bottle is old but I still love the shade.

I highlighted the tip with Kiss black and I really like the end result. It's a fun French that I will definitely do again with some other color combos.

Also wanted to give a shout out to my second follower! Hi Doni!

Not so formal French with a checkerboard.

I liked the Orly It's Up to Blue when I used it on the Liquid Vinyl for one of my previous manicures so I wanted to try it out full nail. I really love this teal and it's great coverage.

I started with a base coat, two coats of It's Up to Blue and a coat of Seche Vite. Since I didn't want to leave my manicure plain, I grabbed my OPI Honk If You Love OPI from the Roadies collection.

I wanted to test out the check pattern but didn't want to do all my nails so I opted just for an accent nail and tips on my other nails followed by a top coat.

I thought it turned out cute although I definitely need to work on taping straight. My squares are not even and that bothered me. I ended up taking the polish off and doing another manicure.

God bless Texas!

I'm heading to Houston for the weekend to visit two of my friends I met while we were living in Japan. In honor of going to the Lone Star State, I decided I couldn't pass up the opportunity to do a Texas themed manicure.

I started out with a base coat and two coats of Sally Hansen Xtreme White On followed by a coat of Seche Vite.

I did all this manicure free handed so I didn't have to wait for dry nails to tape them off. After the white, I added OPI Blue My Mind on a little less than half of my nail.



After the blue, I took Sally Hansen No Chip in Resilient Red in the bottom half of the white. I added a coat of Seche Vite.

After that dried, I used Kiss Nail Art Paint in white for the stars. The Texas flag is fairly simple and I experimented with the star a few times before I found the easiest way to make it.

I couldn't take pictures while doing the stars because I didn't want the polish to dry too fast in case I needed to manipulate it so I did a how to on an envelope.

The brush in the white is long and skinny so I started with a small dash straight up and down. The made one to the upper right, upper left, lower right and lower left. When the paint is wet, it's much easier to fix any place you don't like.



Overall, I like the manicure. It turned out better than I hoped especially since I wasn't using tape. With the white base coat, it was easy to add any additional white to correct any mistakes with the nail art brush.

Seeing stars.

I bought this bottle of Sinful Color Let's Talk at Target because it looked to be a lovely shade of purple. When I painted my nails, it still appeared purple but when I took a picture, it kept looking blue. I even had Chris look at my nails and then the pictures to be sure I hadn't been inhaling too much acetone fumes lately.

I Googled it to see if anyone else had had the same problem and it seemed fairly common. One blogger suggested photographing the polish under bathroom light and it did seem to help. The first nail picture is in the kitchen and the second was in the bathroom.


I still liked the polish, regardless, but the blue looks very similar to the OPI blue I used in my last manicure and I don't need dupes in my inventory just yet.

After a base coat, two coats of the Sinful Color and a coat of Seche Vite, I added some sparkle with a coat of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Rock Star. After another coat of Seche Vite, I wanted to add something extra to my nails. So I grabbed some gold stars (just like the ones you got in kindergarten for taking a nap - I would SO ace that now!) and put them near the sides or bottom of my nails. Then I followed with a coat of Orly Liquid Vinyl and a top coat.

I liked this manicure but I didn't LIKE like it. We didn't stay together long but are definitely going to still be friends. The stars didn't stick as well as I had hoped and the end product wasn't as clean as I prefer but it was still fun to do and I will probably attempt something else with the stars in the future. Just because we broke up doesn't mean we can't still hang out!

Patchwork

I wanted to experiment a little more with taping so I attempted a patchwork manicure. I wanted neutral nails so I went with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On, OPI French Quarter for Your Thoughts and Orly Liquid Vinyl.

I started with a base coat, two coats of white and a coat of Seche Vite.

Then I taped off individual angles and painted one section with the French Quarter for Your Thoughts followed by Seche Vite.

Once that was dry, I taped again and used the Liquid Vinyl and a final coat of Seche Vite.

I must say, I loved this manicure. I got a lot of comments and "likes" for it on Facebook. I will definitely do this one again in lots of different colors. Next time, I'll try and remember to take a picture while taping.

And let me give a shout out to my first follower! Welcome Dom!

This definitely Blue My Mind!

For this manicure, I used the base color of OPI Blue My Mind and Orly Liquid Vinyl for the tips and V. I've really been drawn to blue lately which is completely out of the norm for me. Before the past few weeks you would have only found shades of reds, a few pinks and dark purples and white in my stash. But this blue was exactly what I hoped.

I started with a base coats, two coats of the OPI and then a coat of Seche Vite. I LOVE this blue. Love it. I can't say that enough. I'm definitely not into one color manicures right now but I would do one with this polish.

I taped off my tips and the V on my ring finger and painted a coat of the Orly on top. You can tell I didn't tape very well as I had some bleed through. I wasn't too concerned since I knew I was going to be highlighting with silver anyway.

I did like the finished manicure. I liked the colors together. I even kept this manicure on for a whole day. I would do it again and change up the colors a bit. It kind of reminds me of the Dallas Cowboys with the blue and silver. Some people may see that as a negative thing but I do not!