Kaleidoscope Whirlwind

Hi Everyone! I recently added a few more MoYou plates to my collection and I was itching to try them out. Starting out today with a manicure created using one of the Kaleidoscope plates. I'm pretty much obsessed with the images of this entire collection, although I only opted to purchase one plate due to image size issues. Insert really sad pouty face directed at MoYou here...

Olive Theory!

Hi Lovelies! I've got another manicure with one of the Dance Legend HoloDays shades to show you today! The manicure was inspired by the leafy polish color itself...

Press Release: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel

INTRODUCING MIRACLE GEL

THE REVOLUTIONARY NEW GEL MANICURE SYSTEM WITHOUT THE LIGHT

THINK: The fusion of color and science

WHAT IT IS: The first salon-quality manicure that combines pure nail color with high techno gel...exclusively from Sally Hansen. Love the high shine, glossy look of a gel manicure but could do without the complexity of LED lights, time consuming removal, and expensive price tag? Now, Sally Hansen, the leader in nail color innovation, is making manicure history with an entirely new way of thinking about long lasting nail color. Its new, patented Miracle Gel, is the first ever part lacquer, part gel manicure system that delivers up to 14 days of lasting color and shine in just 2 easy steps. Simply apply two coats of the Miracle Gel Color Coat, followed by the Miracle Gel Top Coat, to achieve the most convenient manicure, ever.

Scatter...

I would like to show you a manicure that I have been wearing for the past few days. I finally got around to trying one of the Ozotic shades that I purchased from piCture pOlish a few months ago and I'm in love...

Sunday Stamping: Over a Nude Base

It is once again that day of the week when I take on a Sunday Stamping challenge in the group Adventures in Stamping. Today's theme is to stamp over a nude base. The open ended theme really had me stumped with no idea what I was going to do until I sat down to do it. Then this happened...

Mint Mani for TaliaJoy

I'm a day late with posting this, but I really wanted to take part in Nail Polish Wars' wonderful idea to create a mint manicure in honor of Talia Castellano aka TaliaJoy18. If you have not heard of Talia, she was a beautiful 13 year old girl, a talented make-up and nail artist, honorary Cover Girl and an all around sweetheart who never stopped smiling. Sadly, she lost her battle with cancer last Tuesday. Her last Instagram pic was a mint manicure, so to honor her here this is my mint mani...

Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art Campaign

I got something interesting in my email box recently and thought some of you nail art lovers might be interested too! Check out this fun nail art contest hosted by Sally Hansen. For full details visit the Sally Hansen Facebook page...

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SHOW YOUR NAILS SOME LOVE

WITH THE SALLY HANSEN I <3 NAIL ART CAMPAIGN

Be your own nail artist for the chance to win.

WHAT IT IS: A monthly contest celebrating the best and brightest in nail art. Sally Hansen has always delivered the tools to express creativity and individuality through vibrant, vivid, bold nails. Now the nail authority is giving every aspiring artist the chance to show off her handy work with the I <3 Nail Art Campaign. Each month, Sally Hansen will post a new nail art challenge on Facebook and enlist fans to post photos of their most inspired, intricate and ingenious nail looks.

Sally Hansen’s own nail ambassador, celebrity manicurist Tracylee, will serve on the panel of judges choosing the winner. “I constantly take inspiration from fashion, architecture, events and pop culture in creating my nail art,” reveals Tracylee. “I’m so excited to see the kind of creative submissions we get and find new inspiration in my own work.”

Each month, a new winner will receive exclusive Sally Hansen prizes and a trip to New York to compete in the Grand Finale, where competitors will be asked to create nail art looks on the spot. The expert panel will select the grand prize winner, who will be named the Sally Hansen Nail Art Sweetheart and will win $2000. She will also be featured in Sally Hansen promotional materials, showcasing her winning nail art.

So if you <3 nail art and think you have what it takes to be the Sally Hansen Nail Art Sweetheart, visit Sally Hansen’s Facebook page beginning February 4th to enter.

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Thanks for looking!

Anutka :)

** Disclaimer: All information and images in this post provided by the manufacturer or their PR **

Born Pretty Store Studs Review

Sometimes two colors work so perfectly together that my heart skips a beat when I see the result. That is how I feel about the combination of Barielle Blue Cotton Candy stamped with Sally Hansen Color Quick Pen in Turquoise Chrome. I was actually worried it wouldn't turn out since they looked so similar, but man am I glad to be wrong in this case...

Sunday Stamping: With an Accent Nail

It is once again time for a Sunday Stamping challenge in the group Adventures in Stamping. This week's theme is a stamping manicure that includes an accent nail. I have been trying to think of something really clever and creative to show you for this challenge and came up with nothing. Funny thing though, inspiration often comes when you least expect it, so as I was playing around with the new Nicole by OPI shade, I got the urge to do an argyle print and just went with it...

Manicure for Mom

Yesterday was my mom's birthday and since she rarely does anything to pamper herself, I surprised her by showing up with a little box of manicure goodies. In the box were my stamping supplies and a few polishes I thought she might like. She picked out a little holographic beauty and requested a Scorpio stamp to match her zodiac sign. We got to chat and spend time together just the two of us which was so wonderful. Definitely a present for both of us...

The polish she chose is a Sally Hansen Nail Prisms named Blush Diamond. I've tried swatching it before and failed miserably which is why I haven't posted about it, although I've used it a number of times. This is probably one of the best photos I've taken of it. She loves the rainbow and I love that it makes her smile while she is looking at it. I think we've got a new holo polish fan. The Scorpio is from Mash plate Mash-35 and was stamped using Sally Hansen Quick Brick on the thumbs and ring fingers...

I found out just how much I suck at centering stamps on other people. It is really hard to aim if you ask me. I cut of the tail from nearly every Scorpio in the bunch and none of them match. Guess I need a lot more practice and what better excuse than that to spend time with my mom!

The photos are not very good since they were last minute before I rushed out the door to get to work, but they are special so I hope you enjoy them...

Happy Birthday Mom! I love you! :)

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

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...

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...

Sunday Stamping: Leafy

I'm a little bit late with this weeks Sunday Stamping challenge, but better late than never. This week the theme of the manicure is "leafy". For a split second I was tempted to create a fall color leaf manicure, but I might still be in denial that fall is really coming so I chose to go with pretty greens. This continues my unintentional streak of green manicures for the last three Sunday challenges...

Fashion Friday: Coral Summer Wish

After last week's fashion inspired manicure, I seem to have gotten the message via everyone's sweet comments that you would like to see more of such fashion inspired posts. So, in response to that, I present you with another fashion inspired look. As usual, I stumbled upon this on Pinterest and the colors really caught my eye. With Fall so close on the horizon, this summery dress is just what I wish to hang onto...

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Tutorial: Geometric Confetti Decals

I'm not sure why, but I'm in a crazy tutorial making mood. I don't even have the patience to wait until a Tuesday and post it as a "Tutorial Tuesday" feature. Honestly, I was actually debating if I should post this since I've already done a nail decal tutorial, but I figure if I took the time to take photos, I better put it together and post it. Maybe it will be useful for someone. I've got a couple more planned and then I'll try to knock it off for a while :)

This tutorial is for the geometric decals manicure that I posted for Polish Days yesterday...

Supplies:

• Nail polishes of choice. Used here Sally Hansen Celeb City (silver base), Wet 'n Wild Red Red, Color Club What a Shock! (green), Barielle Sunshine* (yellow) and Surf's Up* (blue)
• Ziplock bag or sheet protector (my personal preference)
• Scissors, hole punch
• Tweezers
• Cuticle nippers

Steps:

Instructions:

1. Paint small strips of polish in multiple colors on a ziplock bag or sheet protector. Add a second coat if needed for sheer colors.
2. Allow the polish to dry completely or overnight. Using tweezers, pick up an edge of the polish strip and peel off the plastic
3. Using scissors cut out desired shapes (such as squares and triangles) from the nail polish
4. The cut pieces will look something like this
5. Using a hole punch, punch out circles in different colors. You can be the large office variety hole punch, it does not have to be a small craft one as I am showing here
6. Optional: sketch out your nail shape and arrange pieces to get a pattern you are happy with. You can skip this step if you are not the type to plan (or over-think things as I do) :)
7. Apply a base coat and your desired base color. Allow to dry. Sally Hansen Celeb City is shown here.
8. Apply a coat of clear polish and when it is still tacky, but not wet, apply the decals in your desired pattern
9. Using cuticle nippers, trim off excess polish around the cuticles, being careful not to cut yourself!
10. Add a topcoat to seal in the decals and you are done! (I did add a few more confetti pieces after trimming, sorry if that confuses anyone...)

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. If nothing else, it is colorful and fun to look at (at least in my opinion)!

I'd love to know what you think :)

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** Polishes marked with an asterisk (*) were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

** For more information please see the disclosure policy **

Polish Days: Geometry

I'm pretty excited today as it is my first time participating in Polish Days. I've seen it popping up on blogs over the past few months, but only recently figured out how to join in on the fun! The challenge this time is geometry which really made me think of school days, cutting out shapes and basic colors. This is my attempt to recreate that feeling. I think it looks like geometric confetti... or better yet pinata guts...

Sally Hansen Celeb City

I rarely post swatches of just a single polish with no nail art, but I will today because the nail art is coming a bit later. Sally Hansen Celeb City is a polish I have used many, many times, but have never actually swatched on it's own. It used to be my go to silver stamping polish (although has been recently bumped off that prestigious spot) and I'm down to less than half a bottle of this little gem. I had to swatch it and play with it before it is all gone...

Sunday Stamping: Something I Learned...

Every Sunday I try to participate in a weekly challenge in the group Adventures in Stamping. I have missed the last few weeks, but the challenge today was too good to skip. While most challenges are to use a certain color or stamp or even multiple stamps, today it is to create a manicure showing something that we learned from the group. Being a member of any group (and participating) you are bound to learn something. For example, this group is always tempting me with photos of new plates that I've never heard of, discussions of what polishes are good for stamping and even that you can create your own stamper using silicone. Who knew? Today though, my manicure is inspired by something I learned from the super sweet Diana of D.I.A.N.A....

Ulta Snow White Stamped

I'm not sure if any of you remember the Sunday Stamping gemstone manicure from a few weeks ago. I had mentioned then that it was my second attempt at a manicure for the challenge, since I didn't feel that the first one captured the gemstone look as I wanted. In any case, this is that manicure. I had attempted to create an opal base by layering flakes and even though the opal effect didn't show up well in photos, I still love the manicure...