Nail-aween Nail Art Challenge Recap

With the Nail-aween Nail Art Challenge complete, I thought it would be fun to see all the manicures in one spot. Hard to believe that the challenge is over and scary to realize the month of October flew by so fast. At least it did bring some fun manicures and techniques to play with. As always, I'm sad to see a challenge end, but it opens up the possibility of starting a new one, so no all hope is lost...

Click on any of the photos to go directly to the post with all the details...

         

         

      

Here is the challenge that I took on from datyorkLOVES...

Which ones were your favorite?

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Nail-aween Challenge Day 10: Halloween Manicure

Happy Halloween Everyone!!

Today is the final day of the Nail-aween challege and gives the freedom to create any Halloween themed manicure. I want to show you a manicure that I actually created with the Bundle Monster contest in mind. The contest was held earlier this moth and is now over. Even though I made the manicure in time to enter, I changed my mind at the last minute and didn't actually submit it. I have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to show it to you and there can't be any better day than Halloween itself!...

Nail-aween Challenge Day 9: Pumpkins

It is hard to believe that the Nail-aween challenge is almost over, leaving just one more manicure to complete in time for Halloween. The theme for today's challenge is none other than pumpkins. Since I already did a stamped Jack-o-Lantern manicure, I wanted to try something with freehand art. I'm really excited about how it turned out and I hope you like it too...

Sunday Stamping: Plate Number Ending in Month of Birth

Today is Sunday Stamping in the group Adventures in Stamping and the challenge for the week is to create a manicure with a plate number ending in either the day or the month of birth. I chose to go with my birth month of June and picked a plate ending in six. I think this gray and kind of moody manicure really represents how I feel today as I'm still fighting this nasty cold that has drained all my energy. I need some little ninja fruit to come kick it's behind...

Sally Hansen Salon Effect - Batty For You

Today I have some more beautiful Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail polish strips to show you. These are part of the Halloween release for the season and are very appropriately named Batty For You. Another pattern from this collection is How Corny which I showed you a few days ago. I have been wearing these for the past two days and trying to find any reason excuse to keep them on longer...

Nail-aween Challenge Day 8: Witch

I hope you are all having a bewitching Friday. I'm trying to keep up with the Nail-aween challenge with just a few days left until the big day. The witchy manicure kind of had me stumped, the only thing I knew for sure was the witch was going to be stamped. I first thought to put her over a moon background, then maybe some sort of orange gradient and finally settled on a night sky using a few of my piCture pOlish favorites...

Sally Hansen Salon Effect - How Corny

Sally Hansen has released five fun Salon Effects Halloween prints this year and I've got two of them to show you. I think these nails strips are such a fun and easy way to sport nail art without much effort. My favorite thing about them is that they are made from real nail polish and can be easily removed with polish remover. I'm ever so curious on how these are made, but that might be a mystery to solve another day. For now I'll just enjoy wearing them...

Nail-aween Challenge Day 7: Spiders

In typical spider fashion, Day 7 of the Nail-aween challenge just snuck up on me. I'm not really ready to admit that Halloween is just a week away. For today's spider challenge I was really excited to play with the spiderweb pattern on the first Bundle Monster set. It may seem insignificant  but I'm pretty sure I bought the whole set just for that pattern. It is really one of those patterns I can picture a dozen or more different manicures with. Here is one that has actually made it onto the nails...

Dr.'s Remedy for Breast Cancer Awareness

Dr.'s REMEDY has released three pink polishes in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. Proceeds from the sale of these polishes during the month of October will be donated to the Living Beyond Breast Cancer organization. I think it is a wonderful way for companies to help raise money for a very important cause. I've already gotten to play around with these polishes and create a breast cancer awareness manicure, but, I'm overdue for the swatches of these lovely pinks...

Nail-aween Challenge Day 6: Frankenstein

For some reason I was really nervous about the Frankenstein manicure for Day 6 of the Nail-aween challenge. Maybe it is because I had no idea what I was going to do until I actually sat down to make it or maybe because I really wanted to do something unique and special since there are a lot of Frankenstein manicures out there already. Regardless of the reason, I was psyching myself out.

This morning I woke up feeling really under the weather and barely dragged myself out of bed by the afternoon. Funny thing about being sick (and wanting to go back to bed) is that you stop worrying about the little things. I stopped worrying about making it perfect and ended up with something I really like...

Sunday Stamping: Halloween

Just ten days left until the spooky day of Halloween so it is no surprise that the popular vote for this week's Sunday Stamping challenge in Adventure is Stamping is a Halloween themed manicure. I chose to skip the really dark and scary for today and go for cute instead. The idea for the manicure came from the fact that we are having some friends over later today to carve pumpkins. It only seemed fitting that I dig up all the jack-o-lantern images to play with for inspiration...

Nail-aween Challenge Day 5: Ghost & Goblins

It is time for day five of the Nail-aween challenge which calls for a ghost and goblin manicure. I wasn't in the mood for anything creepy or spooky, but definitely in the mood for silly and wacky. Luckily the little ghosts were more than willing to make silly faces for me....

Breast Cancer Awareness with Dr.'s Remedy

I was really hoping to have swatches of three lovely pink polishes from Dr.'s Remedy to show you today, but after spending two days trying to take color accurate photos, I gave up (for the time being). Instead I would like to show you a little bit of nail art that I created with them. The three polishes were released in support of Breast Cancer Awareness so I thought it was appropriate to create a manicure for the same. The photos are taken outside since I'm not friends with my lightbox at the moment. I hope you enjoy...

Nail-aween Challenge Day 4: Mummy Nails

Day 4 of the Nail-aween Challenge is a bit later than planned, but I'm determined to catch up to my self imposed schedule. That is one thing that I love about this particular challenge, there is no time line other than to finish all ten manicures before the 31st. I am hoping that I can handle that. Now back to the challenge mani for today which is Mummy Nails. I thought it would be a fun one to stamp and embellish. It didn't turn out looking particularly like mummies to me and my boyfriend has a completely different theory on what they resemble, but I think they are pretty cute anyway...

Tutorial Tuesday: Nail Polish Stain Removal

I nearly had a panic attack yesterday when I discovered that my nails were stained neon pink after removing the gel manicure. I turned to a trick that I first learned about from Another Bottle of Polish?! and have been happily using ever since. This has saved my nails from all sorts of awful stains including yellow, blue and now pink. Hopefully you will find this quick trick as useful as I have...

Supplies:

• Whitening Toothpaste
• Nail Brush (or a toothbrush dedicated to nails...)

Steps:

Instructions:

1. Remove as much polish and stain as you can with nail polish remover
2. Apply whitening toothpaste to the nails and massage it in with your fingertips (pretty!)
3. Using a slightly wet nail brush scrub the nails being careful not to damage them
4. Rinse off the toothpaste. If needed, repeat steps 2 and 3 to further remove staining 
5. Done! Treat your nails/cuticles to some nice oils to restore the moisture

NOTE: This works best for "fresh" stains right after removing the nail polish. It does not work well for removing set in yellow stains that develop over time from wearing dark polishes.

I hope you find this useful! I would love to know what you think of this or if you have used this method before!

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Instant Gellish Removal...

A number of you asked me how the removal of the Instant Gellish manicure was, so I thought I'd snap a few pics along the way. I removed it after wearing it for almost three days which is not much in gel polish world, but too long for me. Since I did remove it prematurely I cannot comment on how long this particular brand actually lasts, but I will say that I have seen other gel and shellac manicures last for 2-3 weeks on my friends. While I can't imagine wearing anything on my nails that long, they generally remove it because of nail growth rather than the manicure chipping. I would expect this one to perform similarly. However, I'm anxious to get back to my Halloween challenge which is getting way off schedule, so time to remove...

For removal, I followed the same technique that I use for removing glitter. I first soaked a piece of felt in my acetone+glycerin remover and applied that to the nail. Then I wrapped the fingers in foil like little sausages and waited for 10 minutes per manufacturer time recommendations...

1Q32 Instant Gellish - QB45

Today I have something a little different for you. I was given the opportunity to try out a gel polish from 1Q32 Instant Gellish. I have never tried any gels on my nails so I wanted to test it and figure out what it is all about. I borrowed a lamp for curing from a friend and gave it a chance to impress me...

Barielle Facebook Sweepstakes

Barielle is hosting a Sweepstakes on Facebook giving ten people the chance to win some amazing prizes. Visit the Barielle page on Facebook or click on the image below to be taken directly to the sweepstakes...

Prize Details

Sign-up and automatically be entered for the chance to win Barielle’s Nail Strengthener Cream (full size) and a Barielle Base Coat, Top Coat & 2 Shades Nail Color 5-packs of your choice – a retail value up to $100.50. Multiple winners will be chosen.

Prize Eligibility

Only persons residing in United States who are at least 13 years of age can enter.

Sweepstakes Starts

October 10, 2012 @ 03:00 pm (EDT)

Sweepstakes Ends

October 31, 2012 @ 07:00 am (EDT)

P.S. Take a look at my swatches of a few of the Barielle sets:
Runway Fever (Fall/Winter 2012)
New York Style (Fall/Winter 2012)
Dazzling Diamonds (Summer 2012)
Some Like it Hot (Summer 2012)

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Cagedbird Nail Lacquer Swatches and Review

I was recently contacted by Sarah of Cagedbird Nail Lacquer with an offer to review a couple of her custom creations. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try out her glittery beauties. Not sure what to expect, I peeked at other swatches online and waited anxiously to see what she chose for me to try. What I got were two mini bottles that took my breath away. The colors she picked for me were just perfect. I suspect it was a ploy all along since now I want full size bottles!...

Nail-aween Challenge Day 3: Bloody Nails Attempt #2

I really couldn't resist doing another bloody manicure for Day 3 of the Nail-aween challenge. I have been wanting to try a splatter manicure for a while and this was the perfect opportunity to do it. I was about the clean up the mess, but what is the likelihood of true blood splatter just falling neatly on the finger nails? Therefore, you get to see all the whole bloody mess...

Nail-aween Challenge Day 3: Bloody Nails

Day three of the Nail-aween challenge brings us to bloody nails. My attempt at bloody nails last year resulted in something that looked more like they were dipped in strawberry syrup, so this year I was determined to make them look bloody. I used my boyfriend as a deciding factor on whether I succeeded or not and since his one word response upon seeing this was "bloody", so I think I've well. Hope you agree...

Tip Top NailChic Color Block & Swatches

I'm really excited today to be showing you a few Tip Top polishes from South Africa. It didn't take long to fall in love with this new to me brand. The brush is slightly widened for perfect application. The formula  is very smooth and the polishes are toxin free and enriched with vitamin E. I thought the three colors that I got were meant to be together so I played a bit with color blocking. I hope you like it. Full swatches are included below...

Polish Days: Sentimental

It is time again for the Polish Days monthly challenge. This month's theme is 'sentimental' with the challenge to create a manicure featuring a special polish that makes you sentimental or something that tugs at your heart strings. I had to go with something from the heart. Many of you know and I've mentioned it before on this blog, that I was born in Russia. My family left more than 20 years ago to move to the US and I actually have not gone back since. I often get sentimental when it comes to traditional Russian objects. One such thing is a traditional doll Matryoshka. I hope you'll enjoy this manicure which represents something very dear to me...

Nail-aween Challenge Day 2: Matte Dotticure

I was truly at a loss of any good ideas when it came to Day 2 of Nail-aween Challenge, a matte dotticure. A few ideas ran through my mind, but none of them seemed good enough. As soon as I saw ArcadiaNailArt's Witch's Brew manicure, I was in love. Not only is it sheer Halloween perfection, but it can be done for the most part with a dotting tool...

Sunday Stamping: Metallic Madness

Sometime you look for inspiration and sometimes it just finds you. Such is the case with this metallic zebra manicure by Chickettes that I stumbled upon on Pinterest. Usually I would repin it for "some day" and move on, but I just happened to be wearing Barielle Jordana's Skinny Jeans at the time and couldn't resist

So what does that have to do with Sunday Stamping? Good question. Every week members of the group, Adventures in Stamping, vote on that week's challenge. I rarely vote, instead I just look at chosen challenge towards the end of the week. It is more exciting for me to get a random theme (voted or pulled out of a hat) by someone else. So as this manicure was done and photographed, I thought I'd check on the poll for this week's stamping challenge. To my surprise the top two contenders were "metallic madness" and "over a saran wrap method base." This mani is so close to meeting both challenges. I guess it is lucky for me that metallic won the vote in the end so I could show you this today...

Nail-aween Challenge Day 1: Water Marble

It is finally time for me to dig into the Nail-aween Challenge that I mentioned a few days ago and what better way to start than with a water marble. I still have not decided if it is pure evil or sheer genius to start out the challenge with what I think if one of the most difficult techniques out there, a water marble. I took me a few days just to get my courage up to even try it, but I'm so excited to be able to show you something I'm really proud of today...

OPI Pink of Hearts 2012

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and to help raise awareness OPI has released its six annual OPI Pink of Hearts duo. The set includes a sweet pink and a fun sparkly glitter to top it off. OPI will also donate $25,000 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure® and $5,000 to Rethink Breast Cancer in Canada which I think is amazing. Walking the Susan G. Komen 3-day walk is something I hope to accomplish one day, but until then, let's just look at the pretty polishes...

OPI So So Skullicious Mini Set with Decals

Today I have a really fun OPI So So Skullicious set to show you. It comes with four mini nail lacquers and some fun skull decals which are perfect for Halloween. Believe it or not, this was my first time using nail decals and I love them. They are really easy to apply and a great way to add something special to a manicure. I ended up with a fun skittle manicure that I hope you'll enjoy...

Feature Blog: Raggio di Luna Nails

I love discovering and following new blogs and if you are anything like me, then you do too. Sometimes I find  a blog that I love which doesn't seem to get the attention that it deserves. My hope is to feature some of these blogs so that maybe you'll discover someone new that you love too!

Please allow me to introduce you to Tatjana. I have been reading and following her blog, Raggio di Luna Nails,  for quite a while and I am a hue fan of her work. She creates a lot of wonderful free hand nail art designs and has tons of amazing photographs to capture them from every angle. I often find myself inspired by her creations. Keep reading to find out more about Tatjana and her wonderful blog...

Barielle Runway Fever Collection (Fall/Winter 20...

Runway Fever is the second collection released for the Fall/Winter season by Barielle. If you missed the first collection, New York Style, make sure to check it out as well. The two collection offer a nice variety of colors with something for everyone. They include some classics as well as some edgier shades...