Pinkberry Zig Zag

Hi Everyone!

Today I've got another manicure out of the archives to share with you. It feels so great to finally make time to go through them. This manicure features a PolisHaus lacquer gifted to me by a fellow polish loving friend. I have just a handful of other lacquers by PolisHaus and I adore them all. It saddens me that they are no longer being made, but I suppose that means I will just have to savor the ones I do have...

My 4th of July Mani!

Hi Everyone!

I hope all of you who celebrate the holiday had a Happy 4th of July yesterday!

I spent my 4th at work as usual, but I was able to sneak out for a break just in time to catch a bit of the gorgeous fireworks display over Puget Sound. I hadn't intended to do a manicure for the occasion because I really had nothing special planned for the day, but a co-worker shamed me for not rocking some red, white and blue on my nails as I used to. I promised her I'd get my act together at least for 4th! So that's how I ended up with some nail art for the first time in months! Just slightly ironic that on independence day, I gave up my freedom of sleeping in late to get up and do some nail art ;)

Flakie Firebird!

Hi Lovelies! Today I have more flakie nail art for you. This is another manicure that I created and wore a while back because I simply couldn't swatch the flakies and not enjoy wearing each of them at least for a little bit.

Tutorial: Racing Stripes

Hi Lovelies! As promised, I've got a tutorial for my last manicure to show you today. It is a quite simple look when you break it down and I hope that will encourage you to play around with striping tape as well. Whether it is this arrangement, one from a previous tutorial or something you create on your own. Give it a try and remember to have fun!

Supplies

• 3 polishes of your choice. Shown here OPI Coca-Cola Red, My Signature is "DC" (silver) and Today I Accomplished Zero (black jelly with red glitter)
• Striping tape of any color (I purchased mine on Ebay, but there are lots of other places to get it!)

Steps

Instructions

1. Paint your nails the desired base color and allow it to dry completely. 
• You can speed this up by using a quick dry top coat or drops
2. Arrange striping tape as shown above. 
• For my thumb, I used a similar chevron arrangement as on my ring finger, but a simple stripe would work just as well. 
3. Using the silver polish, paint in between the two sections of striping tape.
4. Remove the striping tape closest to the cuticles while the polish is still wet to ensure a clean line, but leave the other piece(s) of striping tape in place.
5. Apply the glitter polish covering the nail tips up to the remaining striping tape.
6. Remove the striping tape while the polish is still wet.
7. Add a top coat to seal in your work and enjoy!!

I hope you enjoyed this quick tutorial! Please don't hesitate to ask questions and let me know what you think of this!

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 **

Coca Cola Racing Stripes...

Hi! I've got a manicure form the 'archives' to show you today. There are lots of fun manis in this mysterious 'archive' that are just waiting for their time in the spot light. I would like to start out by showing you one that I created a couple of months ago using a few shades from the Coca Cola by OPI collection. This look makes me think of racing stripes. Hmm, I wonder if I should have attempted it with the Mustang collection instead...

Peanuts by OPI Swatches and Review

Hi Lovelies! Today I would like to share with you my swatches and review of the Peanuts by OPI collection. Inspired by the popular comic strip, this collection really captures it's essence with the four shades which include two beautiful creams and two fun glitter mixes...

OPI Pink of Hearts Duo 2014

Once again this year OPI brings us a limited edition Pink of Hearts duo to raise awareness for breast cancer. This duo is always released in October to coincide with the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and I do look forward to it every year. Just as the previous few years, the duo includes a creamy pink and a glitter shade...

Tutorial: Simple Stripes

Hi Lovelies! How about a throw back Thursday post for you today? This is a tutorial for a manicure that I showed you back in April of this year and somehow just never got around to posting the tutorial. I guess I need to dig deeper through my archives and see what else I've forgotten to post. Shame on me!

Supplies:

• 2 polishes. I used OPI 4 in the Morning and Over & Over A-Gwen
• Striping tape (any color). I purchased the striping tape that I use on Ebay.

Steps:

Instructions:

1. Apply desired base color and allow it to dry completely. Shown here is OPI 4 in the Morning.
2. Arrange 4-5 short segments of striping tape to each nail in a random crisscrossing pattern.
3. Apply the 2nd polish shade over the entire nail (making a mess as I did is optional!). I used OPI Over and Over A-Gwen for my red shade. 
4. Quickly remove the striping tape before the polish has started to dry to ensure clean lines
5. Clean up the cuticles if needed, seal with a top coat and enjoy!

I hope you find this simple tutorial helpful!

Don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions!

For a little bit of variation, you can also create this look with a gradient on top. Check out my tutorial here for full instructions!

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 **

OPI Mustang Collection Swatches and Review!

Hi Lovelies! Today I would love to show you my swatches of the OPI Mustang collection. This lacquer collection celebrates the 50th anniversary of Ford Mustang with 6 gorgeous shades...

31DC2013 Day 30 - Inspired by a Tutorial

Turns out today is 2 for 1 day because I'm really wanting to finish up the 31 Day Nail Challenge. Day 30 of the challenge calls to create a manicure inspired by a tutorial. I chose to try my hand at a quatrefoil print by Christabell Nails. I first saw her tutorial on Instagram, but she does have an extended version on YouTube as well which is what I would suggest you check out. It is so simple to create this look using just two shades of polish, a dotting tool and a small brush. Who could have imagined...

31DC2013 Day 28 - Inspired by a Flag

Hi Lovelies! Today I'm forging ahead to Day 28 of the 31 Day Nail Challenge. The theme for today is a manicure inspired by a flag. I had a tough time deciding on a design for this one mainly because I was pretty set against recreating a country flag. I started racking my brain for other creative flag ideas and I was coming up blank. It wasn't until I saw the Messy Mansion stamping plate innocently hanging out on my table waving it's little pirate flag that inspiration hit!

31DC2013 Day 25 - Inspired by Fashion

Shame on me. I just resumed the 31 Day Challenge and here I am 2 (+365?) days behind already. Have no fear though, I'm still determined to catch up or at the very least complete the rest of the challenges. Day 25 is possibly one of my favorites with a challenge to create a fashion inspired manicure. I have drawn inspiration from fashion many times and lately in particular I'm drawn to shoes. This pair of shoes has been in my 'inspiration' folder for quite some time and this was the perfect opportunity to bring it to life...

31DC2013 Day 24 - Inspired by a Book

Today I would like to show you my manicure for Day 24 of the 31 Day Challenge. Now some of you might be thinking "Day 24? What happened to Days 1-23?" so let me explain. Days 1-23 are way back in September of last year when I started this challenge. I lost steam after the first three weeks and at the time thought I would finish up "soon". Well somehow "soon" turned into a full year and probably would have been even longer if a whole bunch of talented nail art bloggers and fanatics weren't in the midst of doing this challenge AGAIN! I thought for me this would be the perfect time for me to pick up where I left off and post my challenges along with them. Hopefully that will keep me motivated to complete the challenge and get that nagging voice out of my head that keeps reminding me that I left something unfinished.

The challenge for Day 24 is to create a manicure inspired by a book. I chose a fun little book titled, Everything Men Know About Women. As you can see, I was inspired by the cover because (SPOILER ALERT) all the pages in this book are blank and somehow plain white nails didn't seem like much of a challenge...

Press Release: Gwen Stefani for OPI

Gwen Stefani Joins OPI to Release 18 New Limited Edition Holiday Nail Lacquers

OPI announces the launch of 18 new limited edition holiday nail lacquers inspired by No Doubt singer/songwriter and L.A.M.B. designer Gwen Stefani. This seasonal collection includes an assortment of red, maroon, burgundy, and forest green hues, along with shimmer-packed silver, gold and black shades. “During the holiday season, women adopt a more glamorous beauty look,” explains Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI Co-Founder & Brand Ambassador. “OPI’s 18 new shades are inspired by Gwen’s edgy, sophisticated style. There are several rich, warm reds – Gwen’s signature color – deep, jewel-toned amethyst, garnet and emerald, as well as silver and gold. I recommend wearing these festive nail lacquers to instantly accessorize party dresses and elegant winter-wear.

Coca-Cola by OPI Collection Swatches and Review

Hi Everyone! Today I would like to share with you my swatches and review of the OPI Coca-Cola collection. I've had my little paws on this collection for quite a while now, but the darker hues scream Fall to me and I was rather reluctant to try them out during the hot Summer months. Now with occasional cooler days in the mix, it seems the perfect time to rock these beauties...

Nail Art Tutorial: Neon Triangles

Hi again! I guess I have been in a tutorial making mood so I'm just rolling with it. Some might be quite simple, such as this one, but I hope you enjoy them nevertheless. This is for the manicure that I showed you this morning featuring neon accent triangles. They are fun and easy to do. Try them out in different color combinations...

Supplies used:

• InDecisive Nail Lacquer Jawbreaker
• OPI Blue it out of Proportion (also used OPI You Are so Outta Lime!, Life Gave Me Lemons, and Pink Outside the Box for the rest of the manicure)
• Striping tape

Steps:

Instructions:

1. Apply desired number of coats of base color. Here I used 2 coats of InDecisive Lacquer Jawbreaker
2. Arrange 2 pieces of striping tape to create a triangle at the nail half moon. Add another 2 piece of striping tape parallel to the first as shown above
3. Using your desired accent color, paint inside the half moon triangle and between the striping tape. For this tutorial, I used OPI Blue it out of Proportion.
4. Quickly remove the striping tape before the polish begins to dry to ensure a clean line
5. Add a top coat and enjoy!

Easy peasy, right?

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Would you like to see more simple tutorials such as this?

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 **

InDecisive Lacquer Jawbreaker

Hi Everyone! Today I would like to show you the adorable InDecisive Lacquer beauty named Jawbreaker and some nail art that I created with it. I wanted to play off the fun neon colors within Jawbreaker so I pulled each one out into a triangle accent. This is my subtle way of begging summer to stick around a little bit longer. Does it really have to go so soon?

Pastel Jelly Sandwich...

There was a time not too long ago when I was obsessing over pretty pastel shades with tiny specks of black glitter. To be exact, I was drooling over the El Corazon Eggs of Wild Birds collection. After playing around with the OPI Sheer Tints skittle manicure from yesterday, I realized that with a little glitter jelly sandwich action, I could create just about any speckled shade that I wanted thanks to InDecisive Lacquer...

Sheer Tints by OPI

Hi Everyone! A little while ago, I showed you my nail art featuring the Sheer Tints by OPI. Today I thought I should share a quick skittle manicure and a few thoughts on these 4 top coats that have been popping up all over the nail art community.

Neon Parrot...

Feels like forever since I've actually done any sort of nail art so I'm rather excited to have something new to share with you. I have been seeing everyone showing off their dry brush manicures (which I believe all started with this gorgeous manicure by Chalkboard Nails). I thought I'd give this look a try as well. I kept it as random and messy as possible and totally love it. The bright neon colors that I used reminded me of parrots, so here we are with what might possibly be the brightest pirate themed manicure I've seen...