when the mind wanders, a spam post happens...

It's been a while, hasn't it?

Some spam:

Mermaid texture nails, done with Twinkled-T mermaid nail vinyls, a white base, and some whimsical texture polishes sponged on.

Geometric nails, inspired by @lacquerandspice on Instagram, with a nude-pink base and handpainted white and rose gold lines.

Marble nails with Essie Udon Know Me, a dusty teal, and gray marble lines over a white base.

Beach nails, done with a blue gradient and random white wavy lines and a nude texture polish, Zoya Godiva.

Whatever these are, done with a pastel neon rainbow gradient, Twinkled-T Cyclone nail vinyls, and KBShimmer Alloy Matey! a silver holo glitter.

XOXO

Is

Nails Niche Peeks: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri High Speed Glitter Gradient Nail Art

A SFW neutral color with a glitter twist.

Base color: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri High Speed, a purple-toned neutral cool gray (2 coats)

Glitter Gradient:

Fine glitter: Wet n Wild Kaleidoscope, a fine holo multi-sized glitter

Chunky glitter: Formula X Hubba Hubble

XOXO

Is

Sally Hansen Giant Peach

Hi guys! Happy Easter to those who celebrate! Today I have a swatch of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Giant Peach for you.

Giant Peach is a pretty warm coral-leaning pink creme. It's on the muted side, so it can be worn to work as it's not too bright. It's very flattering, and I wore this for a few days, which is saying something for me... Usually I change my polish every day! 

The formula was pretty good, a little streaky on the first coat but evened out completely by the second. This swatch is two coats with topcoat (I apologize for the tipwear--I may or may not have been playing in some acetone right before this picture).

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear's are so reliable and affordable. I love them! What's your favorite?

XOXO

Is

City Skyline Nail Art

Hey guys! I went to New York City this past week for a visit to the Museum of Natural History, and I did my nails to match!

These are my city skyline nails...

Here's how I did it:

I started off by doing a sunset gradient. I used a makeup sponge and blue (Sinful Colors Blue By You), pink (Sinful Colors Cream Pink), and yellow (Sally Hansen Mellow Yellow, the original). 

I then used black (Sinful Colors Black on Black) and created buildings by stroking down with the brush. Using the same yellow, I used a tiny dotting tool to make windows. I then finished off with topcoat.

Done!

I love the Museum of Natural History. The human origins exhibit is my favorite. Have you ever been there? What's your favorite exhibit?

XOXO

Is

Sinful Colors Midnight Blue

Hi guys! Today I have a quick swatch to show you. This beauty is Sinful Colors Midnight Blue.

Perfect in two coats, this dark blue had a gorgeous lit-from-within glow.

My camera couldn't capture the depth it has, but the next photo is closer to reality....

The flash really shows off its depth.

I'm thinking this'll look great mattified. Thoughts?

XOXO

Is

I've Got the Blues: Two-Tone Nail Art

Hi guys! How are you all on this lovely day? Today I have some simple nail art to show you.

Look, it's light blue!

No, it's dark blue!

No! It's...two-toned!

For this manicure I started off with the beautiful but streaky Essie Bikini So Teeny, the light blue. (Three coats.) I used a small paintbrush and Sally Hansen Pacific Blue (the original, bright, medium blue) to section off half of my nail and filled it in. Then, using a dotting tool and OPI Happy Anniversary! (a sheer white pearly shimmer) to make dots at the midpoint between the two blues. I finished off with Wet n Wild's matte topcoat and then added NYC Grand Central Station topcoat on the dots for some shiny contrast. 

The great thing about this nail art is that the sectioning doesn't have to be perfectly neat because you are covering the midpoint with dots. This look is very versatile. You can do it with any colors and maybe even use studs instead of dots down the center! What do you think?

XOXO

Is

Sinful Colors Folly

Hi guys! Today I have a quick swatch for you, a few different ways. 

Sinful Colors Folly is a reddish pink creme. It is perfectly opaque in two coats. The formula is a little thick, but that makes it easy to control.

Topped with Essie Pure Pearlfection. Ooh! Nice and shimmery.

Folly+Pure Pearlfection mattified. Eh. Kinda takes the life out of it.

Have you tried any Sinful Colors cremes? Tell me what you think! What's your favorite?

XOXO

Is

An Abundance of Ugly Greens

Of all the pretty colors in the nail polish world, ugly greens are some of my favorites.

Huh?!

I don't know. I've always loved lime green and for whatever reason "ugly" greens are strongly reminiscent of that certain shade of punchy neon lime that got me hooked.

This ugly green, Spoiled I Only Eat Salads is unfortunately OOP (Out of Production), so good luck finding it. You may stumble across a threadbare Spoiled by Wet n' Wild display at your nearest underfed, if you will, CVS. This brand was exclusive to CVS and they have now replaced it with Pop-arazzi, a deathly-smelling concoction disguised in cute polka dot packaging. Sigh. 

Spoiled made some pretty good polishes. I have features several on this blog and I have a lot. I Only Eat Salads has a great formula, creamy and opaque in two coats, no streaks. 

I accented this color with a coordinating glitter "party nail." Sinful Colors Call You Later is an ugly-toned (lol) spring green microglitter with some yellowish glitters sprinkled in. It could probably become opaque with four or five coats, but it's perfect as a topper with one or two.

Where do you stand on ugly greens? I'd love to know!

XOXO

Is

Nails Niche Peeks: Sally Hansen Tickled Pink and Sinful Colors Glass Pink

Three coats of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Tickled Pink, a light pastel pink, topped with Sinful Colors Glass Pink, a sheer pale pink with gold shimmer.

So pretty! SFW and delicate, with some pizazz!

XOXO

Is

Punk Floral Nail Art

Today's NOTD is a cool combo of girly and grunge! I was in the mood for some floral, but not too much pink. After Valentine's Day I tend to be recovering from pink overload, so I incorporated some edgier elements into this manicure. 

I started off with my base coat (Essie Fill the Gap) and then painted all my nails but the ring finger with two coats of Sally Hansen Satin Glam in Silk Onyx. This is a very dark charcoal with subtle glints of rainbow specks that dries to a satiny matte finish. For my ring finger, I painted two coats of OPI Alpine Snow, my new favorite white polish! Once that dried, I stroked OPI Alpine Snow down one half of my middle fingernail and allowed it to dry. I then used Sally Hansen Tickled Pink and a large dotting tool to make a big light pink circle in the corner of my ring fingernail. I did the same on the white half of the middle nail. Once that dried, I used a toothpick dipped into Nicole by OPI Something About Spring to make darker pink lines on and around the light pink circles. This creates an effortless rose! I then made leaves by dabbing a toothpick next to each rose, dipped into Color Club London Calling, a light green, and OPI My Dogsled is a Hybrid, a medium seafoam jade green. I then added topcoat (NYC Grand Central Station) to the floral half of the middle nail and to the ring nail, but not the matte nails, as I wanted to preserve the different finishes. To finish, I added a stripe of topcoat down the center of my middle nail and put a line of Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art rhinestones where the two sections met to jazz it up.

I love this mani! Maybe because it's the perfect balance of punk and feminine, or because of the different finishes... Either way, this is one of my favorite manis I've ever done! 

Thanks so much for reading!

Nails Niche Peeks: Glitter Gradient

Glitter gradients are some of my favorite looks. They are so versatile and you can change up the colors and glitter until you're happy... There are endless combinations!

For this mani I used Essie Go Overboard, a dark green-toned teal (OCW!) and the glitter is Essie Set in Stones, a silver hex glitter (it looks a bit gold in this picture... Sorry about that!). 

What's your go-to simple nail art look? 

XOXO

Is

Quilted Nail Art

Hi guys! Happy Monday! Did you guys tune into the Super Bowl last night? I didn't except for Katy Perry, because I'm not much of a football person! Haha!

Today I have a quilted manicure to show you. I first saw this type of manicure on The Polishaholic, and was inspired by two of Jen's quilted mani's, this blue one and this matte and shiny black one. 

For my quilted manicure, I chose to do black matte and shiny but add some flair with gold microbeads!

I had to include this picture... so shiny!

I first applied a base coat and then my OCW black polish, Sinful Colors Black on Black. I then applied NYC Grand Central Station to speed up the dry time.

Once the black was fully dry, I used striping tape to create the quilted pattern. I then painted over the whole nail with a fairly thick coat of  matte topcoat. I used Wet N' Wild Wild Shine (irony) Matte Top Coat. Seriously, this topcoat rivals Essie Matte About You, my former go-to matte topcoat. However, once I ran out (actually, I still had about 1/4 left, but it was too thick and flecked with white specks to be usable) I decided to try out Wet N' Wild's. In terms of mattifying abilities, it's fantastic! Probably just the tiniest smidge less matte than Essie's, but I find that this gives it more depth and a "plush" look.

After applying the matte topcoat, I immediately peeled off the striping tape and was left with a cool, luxurious looking mani!

From there, I decided to enhance the feeling of luxury by adding gold microbeads at the areas of intersection of the shiny lines. 

Done! (No topcoat to preserve the texture.)

For my "Cinderella" hand I did plain matte black with an accent nail of OPI All Sparkly and Gold, a fine cool gold glitter topper. These kept the mani cohesive, but allowed me only spend two hours on this mani instead of four, lol. Because really, ain't nobody got time fo dat. ;)

What do you think of this mixed texture mani? Thanks so much for reading!

XOXO

Is

Spoiled by Wet N' Wild Spam

Hi guys! Yesterday I showed you swatches of a high-end brand, Deborah Lippmann, but today I'll be sharing some polishes that are a bit more affordable. Priced at only $1.99 per bottle exclusively at CVS, they're practically giving them away!

First up is The Parking Meteor Expired. (ha, ha.)

Flash

Normally I always try to show you pictures in natural light, but this polish was tricky. The Parking Meteor Ran Out is a blackened teal shimmer with a slight purple duochrome in the bottle which sadly does not show up on the nail. Bummer! This polish looks pretty much black in most lights, but in broad sunlight the teal shimmer comes out to play! It is very subtle, but a nice alternative to plain black. The formula was okay, a little thin, so be careful as it might flood your cuticles.

Next is Paying With Platinum!

Natural Light

Natural Light

Natural Light

Paying With Platinum is a gray polish with a lavender to green duochrome. The duochrome isn't majorly strong, but it is there. The purple is visible at most angles in the murky gray base, and at extreme angles the green can be seen. The formula is quite thin and sheer. You could probably build it up to full opacity in three or more coats, but I chose to layer it over a dark gray, Maybelline Impeccable Grays. Duochromes tend to show their full shifts if layered over a darker color, anyway.

The last polish I have to show you is Club Rat. Gross name, but such a pretty polish!

Artificial Light

Flash

Club Rat is a pretty pink jelly with magenta/purple shimmer! For the first picture (mmm... so squishy) I used three coats of Club Rat on its own for the first picture. This creates a full coverage, squishy jelly look that's so fun and sunny! For the second picture I layered one coat of Club Rat over my favorite black creme, Sinful Colors Black on Black. This creates a COMPLETELY different look! I love layering sheerish shimmery colors over black. It brings out the colors of the shimmer like you wouldn't believe! Over black it shows a cool purple and magenta shimmer blast! So pretty.

What do you think about these colors? I just want to talk a bit about the brush. Spoiled brushes are wide and round, and are sometimes cut very wonky. I have had good luck with the brushes, however. The brushes in these particular bottles of mine are cut fine, and although the wideness and roundness of the brush takes some getting used to, it is manageable. Honestly, most nail bloggers out there make such a big fuss over it, but it is really okay.

After looking at Amanda's (from Pretty Girl Science) Instagram, I've discovered that CVS is introducing a new exclusive line of polish at the same price as the Spoileds called Pop-arazzi. The color she tried out seems to be identical to Spoiled I Only Eat Salads, which leads me to think that the Spoileds may be fazed out soon and replaced by the Pop-arazzis, but I am not sure. Thoughts?

Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time!

XOXO

Is

Deborah Lippmann Good Girl Gone Bad Swatch

Hi guys! Today I have a GORGEOUS polish to show you. Deborah Lippmann makes some pretty glorious sparkly, over-the-top polishes that are complex and still classy. Good Girl Gone Bad is no exception!

Good Girl Gone Bad is a berry-wine-maroon dark reddish-purple microglitter. It is full coverage and dries down to a gritty matte finish, so you'll want to gloss it up with some topcoat. The formula is a bit thick, but manageable.

Here I've done three coats of GGGB with two coats of Essie Good to Go topcoat, as it is a bit topcoat-thirsty.

Natural light

Flash

Flash

The photo with natural light is the most color-accurate, but the flash photos really show off the depth and sparkle!

Deborah Lippmann's are high-end and retail for around $20 each.

Thanks so much for reading and have a lovely polished day!

XOXO

Is

NOTD: Picture Polish Lagoon by Fashion Polish

Hi guys! Today I have a quick NOTD to share with you. This is the beautiful Picture Polish Lagoon, created in collaboration with Fashion Polish. This polish is so special to me... It is one of three that are my first PP's! I got two others that I'll show you soon, but for now, here is Lagoon!

This picture gives my skin a lovely red hue, but the polish color is mostly accurate, however, it is a tiny, tiny smidge greener in person. Lagoon is a gorgeous turquoise jelly packed with minuscule holographic specks and some beautiful turquoise hex glitters. The shade of turquoise is absolutely perfect. It's not too green or blue. This polish has so much depth, to make it even better. Two coats were perfect for my short nails, but you might need three to pack maximum punch if you have longer nails. This polish isn't terribly shiny, so I added NYC Grand Central Station topcoat to shine it up. 

I love this polish. What is your favorite Picture Polish?

Chrome Geometric Negative Space Nail Art

Hello ladies! How's your 2015 going? I hope it's a happy healthy one filled with lots of achievements and blessings. 

Today's nail art is a really cool design, in my opinion. I tend to do intricate nail art on the weekends, since that's when I have time to relax. 

I was inspired by this manicure that I saw on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/pin/312366924127751652/

For this manicure I started with a base coat and a layer of topcoat, then added two coats of Sally Hansen Color Foil in Titanium Flush, a pink mirror-like chrome. These polishes are pretty finicky, so be sure to see my post on How to Make Your Sally Hansen Color Foils Look Perfect: http://nailsniche.blogspot.com/2014/07/how-to-make-your-sally-hansen-color.html 

Once that was dry, I took a nail art brush and Essie Spin the Bottle, a creamy nude, and free handed a thick horizontal line in the center of my nail. After that, I used Sinful Colors Black on Black to make the outline of the nude stripe and the zig zags. I finished off with topcoat.

I initially was going to use tape over my bare nail and add Titanium Flush, but because of the quick-drying nature of the Color Foil I just couldn't get a clean line, so I substituted the negative space bare nail look with a nude polish and a tiny brush. 

I really liked this look. The geometric strip across the center combined with the reflective metal finish was really cool. I went to get a pedicure after I did this and I got so many compliments from the ladies who work there! 

What's your favorite nail art look to do when you have time? Have a great day!

XOXO

Is

I Like Sandwiches...

I'm on Team Turkey. Panera is rather delicious. How bout you? Peanut butter? Jelly?

I'm expanding my horizons and trying a jelly sandwich today...

...well, not exactly.

A jelly sandwich is technique where you apply a layer of a translucent jelly polish, then a chunky glitter polish, and top that with another layer of jelly polish. I have a tutorial on this technique (you can find it in the Tutorials tab--it's the very first one in that category!) if you want a more in-depth description.

I used Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Greenlight (which, by the way, doesn't seem to exist. Literally, I can't find any swatches of it online.) Greenlight is a squishy green-toned teal jelly, and when I bought it I actually thought it was a creme. To my surprise, it was a jelly! Hurray!

The glitter I used is Maybelline Clearly Spotted, a really versatile topper of black and white matte hex glitters. 

What would a peanut butter and jelly sandwich mani be? I'm thinking a jelly, a glitter, a shimmer topper, and another layer of a jelly. Huh! I might have to try that out...

XOXO

Is

Edgy Negative Space Nail Art

Hi guys! Today I have some nail art to share with you.

Negative space has been a big trend lately. I personally am a huge fan!

Here it is! I really enjoyed wearing this- I wore it for two whole days, a rarity for me!

First I used my base coat (CND Stickey) and let it dry completely. If you have stained or discoloration, you may want to use a ridge filling base coat or a sheer pink polish, but be sure to let it dry fully before moving on to the next step. Using Scotch tape, I cut of the jagged edges on one end and then positioned it at the base of my nail in a triangle shape and then user Sinful Colors Black on Black to fill in the exposed area. Then I immediately removed the tape.

Next, I used a striping brush dipped into Essie No Place Like Chrome and made two intersecting lines, each parallel to the edges of the bare triangle. (Geometry, guys. Yes.) 

I finished off with topcoat (Essie Good to Go) and added a silver Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art rhinestone. 

What do you guys think? I really like negative space nail art. You can really do a lot with it! How bout you guys! Do you like negative space nail art?

XOXO

Is

Nails Niche Peeks: Sinful Colors Mauvelous

Sinful Colors Mauvelous is a murky purple-toned gray-brown. It's a really nice work-appropriate color that's quiet but still really unique. The formula is great, as are most Sinful Colors. Creamy and opaque in two easy coats.

With colors like these I enjoy added some extra sparkle, perhaps with Essie Luxeffects?

Sinful Colors Mauvelous topped with one coat of Essie Pure Pearlfection.

What's your favorite SFW (Safe For Work) color? 

Fall Floral Nails (elleandish // Janelle Fall Floral Nails recreation)

Hey there! Today I have some fall floral nails to share with you.

This look was inspired by the talented Janelle, the nail artist behind her channel, elleandish // Janelle. I absolutely adore her channel and videos. Every tutorial is meticulously edited--and it shows! Her voiceovers are so calm and chill. Her designs are really cute and fairly easy to do. She's also a terrific teacher and super easy to understand. Really, guys, you should check her out because her videos are the best I've ever seen! One of her videos is a tutorial for fall floral nails, and I decided to try it out. Here is a link for the video: http://youtu.be/tsL1dvKSLj4

I have done floral nails before, and while there are many ways to create flowers on the nails, my favorite way to obtain abstract roses is Janelle's way, which I'll describe in a moment.

(Keep in mind that the instructions I'm giving you are all from Janelle's tutorial, and they're not my own--I simply switched the colors a bit.)

I started off by painting my thumb, pointer, and pinkie nails with a dark green polish. I used Sinful Colors Last Chance, a dark forest green crelly that doesn't creep into the black territory like most dark greens. It's a gorgeous color-- a must if you like green polishes! Beware, this color MAJORLY stains, so I would use two coats of base coat and steer clear of your cuticles! I think I did two or three coats.

I painted my middle and ring fingernails with Sinful Colors Beaches and Cream, a cream color with shimmer that doesn't show up on the nail, but gives it depth. I did three coats because it was a bit streaky.

Then, using Essie Big Spender (a berry-magenta) and Essie Tart Deco (a very orange-toned coral) I made big spots of color on my middle and ring nails using the brush. 

Then, I dipped a toothpick into the cream colored polish and swirled it with the dots to make roses. 

After that, I dipped another toothpick into the dark green and dabbed it onto the nail to make easy leaves. I learned this technique from videos by Cutepolish!

I finished with Essie Good to Go topcoat. 

I really love florals! Do you? Comment down below! See you soon!

XOXO

Is