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Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Galactic Ice Queen...

Happy New Year's Eve Everyone!

Today I would like to show you some quick nail art that I created using two of the Incoco designs from the Merry & Bright collection which I showed you yesterday. This manicure was inspired by Work / Play / Polish. I fell in love with her cup up triangles manicure using these two shades and just had to try it out for myself...


Monday, December 30, 2013

Incoco Merry & Bright Winter Collection...

Today I would like to show you three shades from the Incoco Merry & Bright Winter collection. The collection contains 12 Holiday designs and 11 New Year's Eve ready shades. I showed you three of the Holiday designs a little bit ago so now I present you a few glittery beauties from the New Year's Eve selection. Worn either alone or in combination they would be perfect to ring in the New Year...


Saturday, December 28, 2013

Snow woman...

I wanted to show you some nail art that I created while swatching the Elf-tastic Christmas collection by 365 Days of Color. I thought it would be fun to play off the snowflake glitter embedded in this beautiful gray polish by adding a few stamped snowflakes. Of course once there was snow, a snow woman decided that she would fit right in with her bright red hat, scarf and buttons...


Friday, December 27, 2013

365 Days of Color: Elf-tastic Christmas Collection

Hi Everyone! Today I would like to show you the Ef-tastic Christmas Collection by 365 Days of Color. This fun collection features three radiant glitters and one gorgeous holographic beauty. Although created with the Holidays in mind, I think most of them can be worn any time of the year...


Thursday, December 26, 2013

Guest Post for Lacquertude

Hi Everyone! Today my nails are making a guest appearance for Kate on her blog Lacquertude. I thought it would be fun to create a wintery scene for Kate to share with her readers while she is enjoying her Holiday break. I liked this manicure so much that I wore it for most of my Winter break a few weeks ago and I hope you'll enjoy it as well. For all the juicy details and lots more photos head over to Lacquertude...


Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)


** Polishes were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **
** For more information please see the disclosure policy **

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Happy Ho Ho Holodays!

Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates!

I have been having too much fun playing with nail studs lately and although I had something entirely different planned for today, this happened at the last minute and I love how it turned out. Truly I think often the best manicures are the spontaneous, unplanned ones...


Tuesday, December 24, 2013

In My Santa Suit...

It doesn't happen often, but I was itching for a new manicure and at the same time I didn't want to part with the previous one, so I compromised... with myself. Yup! I'm pretty sure that's allowed/possible/not crazy at all. In any case, I changed most of the manicure while leaving my favorite ornament as an accent nail. I really like how this turned out and think that having the ornament as an accent nail makes it pop even more...


Monday, December 23, 2013

Tutorial: Stamped Ornaments

As promised, I've got a tutorial for you on how I stamped my ornaments which were featured in my manicure this morning. This tutorial assumes that you are familiar with stamping and does not attempt to explain the details involved in that process...

Supplies:
  • Various nail studs
  • Polish for painting the studs
  • Polish for stamping + desired stamping plate
Steps:



My Favorite Ornament

December seems to be flying by at rocket speed and I'm realizing that I don't have much time to execute a lot of the ideas that have been floating in my head. This is one such idea that I'm happy to have found the time to create. It was in one way or another inspired by a number of talented ladies, so I thank Beaching Nails for the idea of using nail studs for ornaments, Drama Queen Nails for the idea that studs can be painted with polish and Eeek! Nail Polish! for the idea of stamping onto rhinestones. Sheesh! Feels like I'm making some sort of acceptance speech here, but truly I learn so much from seeing everyone's manicures that even though my manicure doesn't resemble theirs, I did get the idea from their beautiful art. And now without further adieu, my ornament manicure...


Saturday, December 21, 2013

Incoco Holiday Cutouts...

I showed you some of the Incoco Holiday nail wraps yesterday and promised to show you a manicure that I created with a few leftover wraps. I combined two of the nail wrap designs for a simple, but fun look using an inexpensive little punch...


Friday, December 20, 2013

Press Release: Nicole by OPI Carrie Underwood Collection

Color Me Carrie!

Nicole by OPI Announces Partnership with Country Superstar Carrie Underwood for 2014


Nicole by OPI launches 14 new nail lacquers inspired by award-winning recording artist Carrie Underwood. This collection features a colorful mosaic of hues in a variety of finishes, including pink, red and coral crèmes; chunky and textured glitters in gold, silver and white; and rich eggplant and khaki green shades.

Incoco Winter Collection - Holiday 2013

This Winter, Incoco released a two part collection named Merry & Bright featuring 12 Holiday designs and 11 New Year's Eve perfect sparkly shades. There are lots of fun patterns and glittery shades to choose from. Today I would like to show you three of the Holiday designs...


Thursday, December 19, 2013

Press Release: Nails HQ Magazine

Hi Everyone! I would like to share with you some exciting news about the new interactive Nails HQ Magazine now available on iTunes. This premier issue is packed with beautiful nail art and wonderful nail care articles...


Wednesday, December 18, 2013

OPI Mariah Carey Holiday Collection - Liquid Sand

Today I would like to show you the Liquid Sand shades which are part of the OPI Mariah Carey Holiday collection. These beauties pack quite a bit of sparkle which is just perfect for the Holiday season. Who am I kidding, sparkle such as this is welcome any time of year...


Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Time Well Spent...

Hi Everyone! I mentioned yesterday that I took last week off to get a bit of rest. I actually only painted my nails once during that time and I have to admit it was quite refreshing. I was only slightly tempted to catch up on swatching, but I resisted the urge. Instead, I spent time with family and friends. I even did a few manicures for my friends who visited. They each picked out the polishes and stamping images for their manicures.

My apologies in advance for the poor photo quality, but these were rushed and I must confess that I'm not very good at taking photos of other people's hands. Colors are not absolutely accurate.


Monday, December 16, 2013

piCture pOlish Collab-Fest 2013

Hi Everyone! I have been getting some much needed R&R over the past week and I return today with a very special post for piCture pOlish Collab-Fest. This end of the year celebration aims to show off all the amazing shades created by piCture pOlish in collaboration with bloggers. Each blogger will create a manicure featuring their own shade to share with you. I'm super excited to get an excuse to show you my collaboration shade, Sea Jewel, again and bring to life the manicure which has been floating around in my head for a while now...


Tuesday, December 10, 2013

A Transformation...

Last week I showed you a sheer little El Corazon Poly-Chrome beauty. As a rule of thumb I like to try the sheer shimmery shades over a black base and this was no exception. The beautiful brassy color that resulted did not disappoint. Accented with a bit of stamping, it was transformed from a delicate beauty last week to something much more bold today...


Saturday, December 7, 2013

MoYou Stamping Plates

Today I would like to show you the MoYou London stamping plates that I recently added to my stamping plate collection. MoYou London (not to be confused with MoYou Nails) has taken the stamping world by storm. They feature some of the most unique designs I have seen and have quite an extensive assortment of themes and patterns. If that wasn't enough, new plates are released weekly to keep tempting us even more. If you follow me on Instagram than you may have already seen my excited post about this epic nail mail from MoYou London. Although only about 1/3 of these plates are mine (I purchased together with a couple of friends), I just had to show this awesomeness to you. Keep reading for a closer view of the 13 plates that I got...


Thursday, December 5, 2013

El Corazon Floral...

Today I would like to show you a manicure with one of the El Corazon beauties that I received for review. It made the perfect base for some delicate stamped flowers. I love how this looks as though someone just doodled on my nails...


Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Press Release: Nicole by OPI Top Coats & Treatments for 2014 + Holiday Contest

Pampered and Polished!

Nicole by OPI announces four new Top Coats & Treatments for 2014 – essentials for a perfect at-home manicure. Developed and inspired by OPI’s in-salon favorites, the line includes Oil to Go; 3-in-1 Base, Top Coat & Strengthener; Quick Dry Top Coat; and Matte Top Coat.


Press Release: Zoya Naturel Collection

Sometimes less can be so much more...

The natural nail only better... The Zoya Nail Polish Naturel collection masters delicate tone on tone color with six new, full-coverage (opaque) neutral nudes with a pink undertone, that can be worn beautifully alone or stunningly together to create modern tonal accents.

 The Look: It’s not about matching - it’s about coordinating colors with slight tonal differences to create interest.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Kaleidoscope Stamping...

This weekend I got an amazing package from El Corazon filled with beautiful polishes all the way from Russia. I cannot wait to show you all of the pretties that were sent to me. One of the polishes in the package was this purple Mirror metallic shade from the Kaleidoscope brand. I knew it would stamp perfectly and I was so excited to try it out that I stamped right over the manicure I already had on...


Sunday, December 1, 2013

Sunday Stamping: Between Jelly Layers...

I decided to take part in today's Sunday Stamping challenge for Adventures in Stamping. The challenge for this week is to sandwich stamping in between layers of jelly polish. It sounded like a fun technique to try to give some depth to the manicure. This is actually my second attempt at this manicure. My first attempt was ruined by using a jelly that wasn't sheer enough. Turns out I don't have very many sheer jellies because I never felt I had a need for them. Now I'm on a quest to find more because this was messy but fun...


Saturday, November 30, 2013

Friday, November 29, 2013

Limited Edition Holiday Trio by Lacquer Lust, Polished by KPT and Serum No. 5

Thanksgiving is over and that means it is finally time for holiday and winter themed manicures. What better way to start than with a limited edition Holiday Trio of indie polishes. This trio is a collaboration between three wonderful indie polish makers, Lacquer Lust, Polished by KPT and Serum No. 5. Between the three of them, this set has it all... holo, thermal, glitter and glow in the dark. What more could you ask for?...


Thursday, November 28, 2013

Happy Thanksgivukkah!

I would like to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgivukkah (Thanksgiving + Hanukkah). Did you know such a term exists? I didn't, but I like it. Another one to add to my vocabulary for today is menurkey (menorah that looks like a turkey). I'm looking forward to a relaxing day off and a yummy dinner with my family. Hopefully you are having a wonderful day too!

My manicure today was inspired by this very image that I found online. I had been trying to decide how to combine the two holidays in one manicure and thought it would be fun to either paint a menurkey or a turkey lighting a menorah. Once I saw this image, I knew it had to be the later...

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Giveaway Reminder!

Hi Everyone! This is my quick public service announcement! In case you missed it, there are two giveaways going on right now and they will both end at midnight on Nov 28th! Don't miss your chance to enter!



  • Enter the Scavenger Hunt Giveaway for your chance to win one of two Bundle Monster Create Your Own stamping plate sets.


Thanks for looking and good luck!
Anutka :)

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

PolisHaus Spectrum Snowflakes...

Hi! Today I would like to show you some quick nail art that I created while swatching the PolisHaus lacquers last night. I really couldn't resist adding snowflakes over this periwinkle blue beauty. The combination of the two really put me into the winter mood. Might as well get into the mood since it has been really cold lately and the weatherman is threatening snow next week...


Monday, November 25, 2013

PolisHaus Swatches and Review

Hi Everyone! Today I would like to show you a new to me indie brand, PolisHaus. I must confess that I may have squealed a little as I unwrapped each one. They are so beautiful and sparkly it was hard to contain the excitement. In addition to being gorgeous in the light, three of these lovelies also glow in the dark!

These four beauties will be released tomorrow (Nov 26th) at 5pm PST.


Sunday, November 24, 2013

Sunday Stamping: The Great Thanksgiving Heist...

Is seems like ages since the last time I participated in a Sunday Stamping challenge for the group Adventures in Stamping. With the holidays quickly approaching, this week's theme is Thanksgiving or Winter nails. I chose to go with the Thanksgiving theme and I'm happy to present my manicure to you. I have affectionately been referring to it as "The Great Thanksgiving Heist"...


Saturday, November 23, 2013

Nicole by OPI Modern Family Winter 2013

Hi there! Today I would like to show you the five new Nicole by OPI Modern Family shades added to the collection this holiday season. You can see swatches of the full collection, which was released in the beginning of this year, here and here. The holiday release features three metallic shimmer shades and two glitter toppers to get you into the holiday spirit...


Thursday, November 21, 2013

I'll Be Counting Sheep...

After wearing Zoya Dream for a few days, I wanted to add a bit of nail art to it. As it often happens, I let the polish name inspire my nail art. I thought dreams and counting sheep went well together so one thing led to another and here we are...


Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Welcoming My Baby Nephew...

Yesterday evening my brother and his wife welcomed into this world a little baby boy. I am beyond excited to go meet him today so I can cover him in hugs and kisses. Of course I had to have a manicure for the occasion (even though in hindsight it probably would have been wiser not to be doing this at 3am). I would have preferred to create something a bit more colorful, but I opted to go with a subtle manicure since I'll be going to work later in the afternoon....


Monday, November 18, 2013

Zoya Zenith Winter/Holiday 2013 Collection

Hi Everyone! Today I would like to show you the lovely Zoya Zenith collection for this Holiday. The collection is comprised of cool shades and really puts me in a Winter holiday mood. It features everything from metallics to glitter to scattered holographic flecks...


Thursday, November 14, 2013

InDecisive Nail Lacquer Harvest! (plus a Giveaway)

I have a really special polish to show you today. It is a custom lacquer created for me by Aleksandra of InDecisive Nail Lacquer. I had mentioned to her my recent fascination with small circle glitter and she responded with a most generous offer to create a shade for me. I truly don't know what I did to deserve her kindness and I'm so honored to present to you InDecisive Nail Lacquer Harvest...


Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Tutorial: Chevron Skittles

I got a few requests to do a tutorial for my Chevron Skittles manicure from last month. Dutifully I added it to my 'to do' list, which is about a mile long these days. Then I got to thinking that I might be able to show you how I created this manicure using the photos that I already have if you are willing to use your imagination. This really isn't my proudest moment and I still hope create a proper tutorial one day, but to avoid further delay I hope this will help those who wanted to recreate this look...

Supplies:
  • 3 polishes of your choice (OPI Miss Universe lacquers used here)
  • Striping tape
  • Small brush (optional, but helpful)
Steps:


Instructions:
  1. Start out by painting the nails using one of the polishes. OPI I'm Feeling Sashy used here.
    - When the polish is dry, place striping tape in a desired pattern (placement of striping tape illustrated here with gray lines). 
  2. Using either the polish brush or a different small brush, apply your second color in sections between the striping tape. Shown here using the silver OPI This Gown Needs a Crown.
  3. Repeat step #2 using the third color to fill in other sections between striping tape. Shown here using OPI Miss You-niverse.
    - Note: I did remove two pieces of striping tape on the index finger before adding the dark purple at the tip.
  4. Remove striping tape right away, while polish is still wet.
  5. Add a top coat and you're done!
For best results work one nail at a time rather than a full manicure as shown here. In other words, you can do step #1 to all the nails, but repeat steps #2-4 on each nail individually. It is best to remove the striping tape while the polish is still wet to get clean lines.


Please let me know what you think of this tutorial! Don't hesitate to ask questions if you have any!

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)


** Polishes were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **
** For more information please see the disclosure policy **

Monday, November 11, 2013

Dazzle Dry Dragonfly...

Hi Everyone! Hope you had a wonderful weekend! Today I would like to show you some quick nail art that I created while swatching the Dazzle Dry Blogger's Mystery collection. I really love this dragonfly image on one of the Messy Mansion plates and I have been looking for an excuse to use it again. As soon as I saw this Dazzle Dry lacquer named Dragonfly, I knew that I had found my excuse...


Friday, November 8, 2013

Dazzle Dry Blogger's Mystery Collection

As promised I would like to show you the Dazzle Dry Blogger's Mystery Collection. Five of the shades are collaborations with bloggers/nail artists including Vanessa of Nail Stories, Rina of Simply RinsRobin Moses, Jen of The Nail Polish Project and myself. One shade designed by Dazzle Dry...


Presenting Dazzle Dry Arctic Sunset by Wacky Laki!

I'm so excited today to present to you Arctic Sunset, my collaboration shade with Dazzle Dry. I was so thrilled when they offered me the chance to dream up a shade for the Blogger's Mystery Collection for this Winter. As you can imagine, I jumped up and down with excitement and gave a resounding 'yes!' at the chance to collaborate on this venture. I promise to show you the rest of the gorgeous shades in the collection in my next post, but for now a little bit about this beauty...


Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Pipe Dream Polish Eternal Summer Slacking

Hi Everyone! Today I would like to show you my manicure with the beautiful Pipe Dream Polish Eternal Summer Slacking. It is another wonderful handmade creation by April, the mastermind behind the lacquer. The fun mix of colors in this polish quickly perked up my mood and gave me a bit of a summer flash back. Forget the gray and rainy weather outside, I'm going to be doing some Eternal Summer Slacking...


Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Giveaway Scavenger Hunt...

Last month I shared with you the exciting news that I had been chosen as a winner in Bundle Monster's Create Your Own Contest. My prize was six full stamping plate sets, one for each design chosen. Obviously I don't need so many! I have shared a few of them with my friends and now I've got a few to share with you...


Monday, November 4, 2013

OMG Nail Strips - Blue Bubbles

Hi Everyone! Today I would like to show you some pretty OMG Nail Strips in a pattern called Blue Bubbles. I tried their Viper strips before and loved them so I was very excited to try another pattern. This bubble pattern is so adorable, makes me wish it was summer outside and I could go blow some bubbles...


Thursday, October 31, 2013

Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Today I would like to show you a manicure that I created quite a while ago, but have not gotten around to posting. I have been sick the past two weeks and my energy for creating manicures is at an all time low. Luckily this candy filled manicure is just perfect for a day which has become synonymous with candy overload...


Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Zombie Nails...

Halloween is tomorrow and I want to show you my totally grody zombie manicure. I actually created these earlier this month, right before cutting my nails. Figured I might as well jack up the edges if I'm going to cut them anyway. I got the idea to do zombie nails from this manicure by More Nail Polish. Hope I'm not grossing too many of you out...


Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Incoco Fright Night...

Today I would like to show you another beautiful set of nail polish appliques from Incoco. These nail wraps named Fright Night are namesake for the Incoco Fright Night Halloween collection this year. These are perfect for some quick nail art to get you in the holiday mood...


Monday, October 28, 2013

Incoco Spooktacular

With Halloween just a few days away, I would like to show you another fun set of nail polish appliques from Incoco named Spooktacular. These are glow in the dark nail strips which feature what are quite possibly the most adorable ghosts ever...


Friday, October 25, 2013

The Graveyard After All This Time...

Today I would like to show you a fun Halloween themed manicure. I got this beautiful gray polish for review along with the 365 Days of Color Horcrux collection last month. I set it aside at the time because it was not part of the collection and it somehow managed to hide from me until now. I'm so glad that I finally saw this little one hiding among all the big polish bottles which clutter my table. It is appropriately named 'After All This Time?' as though to mock me in the fact that I took so long to play with it. It is absolutely perfect for a spooky graveyard manicure that even glows in the dark...


Thursday, October 24, 2013

31DC2013 Day 23 - Inspired by a Movie

It has been nearly a month since I created my last manicure for the 31 Day Nail Challenge. I think it is about time I picked it back up and tried to finish it. Today I would like to show you my manicure for Day 23 of the challenge, inspired by a movie. Since it is so close to Halloween, I couldn't help but try my hand at the always popular The Nightmare Before Christmas manicure...


Tuesday, October 22, 2013

OPI Miss Universe Chevron Skittles...

I guess I was in the mood to play with striping tape while swatching the OPI Miss Universe lacquers. I wanted to try out different chevron designs so I ended up with a skittle manicure using the three shades in the collection. I'm pretty excited about these since I usually tend to shy away from skittle and skittlette manicures myself, but am always admiring ones created by everyone else...


Monday, October 21, 2013

OPI Miss Universe 2013 Lacquers Swatches and Review

Today I would like to show you the new OPI Miss Universe 2013 nail lacquers. These beautiful shades are inspired by the women in the Miss Universe competition which will be held in early November and aim to give us a bit of that glamour...