Pastel Gradient with Born Pretty Store Studs

Hello again! Gradients seem to be the thing for me lately. I think it's the coming of Spring and Summer; I'm just preparing! So I dug out the most pastel colors I own for a pretty and feminine spring gradient � a little early, but it would be perfect for Easter.

Those most pastel colors I own just happened to be Sally Hansen Pink Blink, Petites Color Fever Creme Blue, and Revlon Enchanting. I decided to try a makeup sponge with this gradient instead of my usual eyeshadow applicator. I like the smooth fade between colors, but I didn't like the extra work it took to get the colors built up. I also thought it was beyond time to break out my Born Pretty Store gold metal studs. I received these by mistake with an old order and they were nice enough to let me keep them while also shipping out the ones I did order. It's been too long since I played with these studs. ;)

I'm thinking it's also been too long since I ordered anything from the Born Pretty Store. I forgot how awesome their nail decorations are! And they've come out with so much more since my last order. I'm dying for the hearts ... and the squares ... and the stars ... and ... well, I think you get the idea! I'll definitely be ordering something. 

You can use the code MLE10W21 at checkout for 10% off your order if you decide to purchase something from the Born Pretty Store too!

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I'm Having Mixed Feelings

Hello everyone!! Today's post is a very simple Valentine's Day mani since I've been hard at work on the really awesome nail art coming tomorrow and Thursday.

I started with a saran wrap mani using Sally Hansen Pink Blink and New York Color Sidewalkers. I admit deciding to change my original idea of stripes to a saran wrap mani wasn't the best choice; I'm not perfect! Still, topping it all with Mixed Feelings was the right choice. And I guess with a name like Mixed Feelings the pink and grey kind of fits.

Mixed Feelings is an unreleased Valentine's Day polish of mine. If there's enough interest I may decide to release it later on though so definitely let me know if you want it. It's perfect for Valentine's Day, but would make a good every day polish. Also, don't forget to check out my Etsy shop next week for new polishes!!

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Sinful Colors Pinky Glitter Swatch

I can't resist a pretty glitter. I really can't! Who can? Sometimes I'm disappointed and other times I'm stunned. Can you guess which I am this time?

Sinful Colors Pinky Glitter is stunning in the bottle, but there really aren't many polishes that live up to what you see in the bottle once on your nails. They almost always leave you slightly disappointed. But not this one! I am amazed at how well it photographs as well.

Pinky Glitter looks like a very bright hot pink in the bottle. However, it goes on a very pretty light pink if it's not layered. I used two slightly thick coats � only thick because the polish had gone slightly gloppy. I've had this in my 'to swatch' pile for a few months so I did expect it; Sinful Colors doesn't seem to hold up long � but what can you expect from a polish on the lowest end of the price scale? Two thick coats got me full coverage and the lovely color you see above.

Pinky Glitter is filled with small holographic glitter and a fine, sandy holographic shimmer. These holographic glitters are those perfect holo glitters that flash rainbow with the slightest movement. Perfect! It has such a beautifully soft and sandy texture that I left it without any top coat.

Color: A bright hot pink in the bottle but over naked nails it is a fairly light, yet very pretty, pink. It is filled with small and fine, sandy holographic glitter.
Finish: Glitter suspended in a pink base that dries to a really nice textured finish.
Application: It actually went on pretty well for being thick. There was none of the patchiness that some glitters have where the glitter clings to the brush more than your nail. Overall, the application was pretty much perfect.
Coats to Opaque: 2
My Rating: 4.9 � The only negative I have is the thickness. Sinful Colors does turns thick quickly, and it was something I expected. You can't expect much more for the price. Other than that the color is perfect, the glitter is so gorgeous, and it works great on its own and as a layering glitter.

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V is for ...

Is it Wednesday already?? This week is going way too fast! Still, it is Wednesday and you know what that means: ABC Challenge nail art. Can you believe we're up to the letter V already?

V is for ... Vampire's Valentine.

I loved last year's Anti-Valentine's Day nails so much that I decided to use it as inspiration for this mani. Honestly, I really can't believe how far I've come in a year.

I loved the entire design of this mani, every step taken to create them, so I took many pictures! A base of black, some tape, and some white polish created this star-burst design.

I used white polish to create a heart on my index nail. The white creates a barrier over the black; this means you don't need to use a ton of pink to cover the black. It also creates a very pretty border around your pink heart if you make it slightly smaller than your white heart. This alone would make for a gorgeous Valentine's Day mani!! You could even create hearts on all your nails instead of just as an accent or use red for the heart to make it really stand out.

Since I was going to create bleeding fang marks on my heart I knew I couldn't use red. :) The bleeding marks add depth and give these nails a nearly 3-D look�all a pretty illusion of course. With the dark fang marks, the bright red blood, and the white outline, doesn't it look like the heart is really bleeding?

Finally, I created white outlined blood on the tips of my nails. I added a small amount of Venique Runway Sparkle over all of the blood. Sadly, I couldn't seem to get a good picture with the actual sparkle.

So, which are you this Valentine's Day: hearts and roses or vampire bites? Will you be rolling out the Anti-Valentine's Day red carpet?

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I Give You My Hearts

Continuing with the Valentine's Day theme, the mani I bring you today is another of my attempts to use colors other than the standard red, white, and pink ... though I do seem to be using a lot of pink with my recent manis. :)

When I first started with Sally Hansen Pink Blink and Revlon Enchanting, I was told this looked like an Easter mani. I lost some of my confidence at that, but I rallied and finished this mani as I had planned: with a line of hearts down the middle of each nail using the opposite color. Personally, I think it turned out really well for trying something slightly nontraditional!

If you're not comfortable using colors other than red, white and pink for Valentine's Day, this mani will work just as great with any combination of those colors! You could even use them all if you want, using pink and red on opposite nails and finishing with white hearts or use pink and white on your nails with red hearts. Maybe even spice it up with your own color combo! Be traditional or be daring, but whatever you choose: have fun!

A bit of real life news: I entered my adorable pup, Shiloh, in the World Spay Day 2013 Pet Pageant. The pageant runs until March 15th, and you can vote once per day in each category. I would love it if you would give Shiloh's entry a look and give her a vote if you think she deserves one. It will ask you to login or create an account to vote. If you click 'create an account to vote' you can then select to vote with Facebook. Thanks!!

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Blogs to Love Friday #1

Welcome to the first post of the Blogs to Love Friday linkup. I was so excited when I first heard of this linkup and I'm even more excited now that it's time to share my favorite posts I read this week. But first ... if you want to join this linkup being hosted by My Beautiful, Crazy Life and Mrs. Monologues read this post and add this button to your posts.


 
<br /><a href="http://mybeautifulcrazylifex33.blogspot.com/2013/01/new-linkup-blogs-to-love-friday.html"><img src="http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x401/mrsmonologues/blogstolovebutton_zps827e2b62.jpg" /></a><br />
Now onto some of my favorite posts of this week. They may not have been posted this week, but I did find them and read them this week.

• These Mattified Splatter Nails by modnails may not have been posted this week, but I did find it this week. Be sure to check out her other nails because they are all amazingly awesome!!
• I use this Coconut Banana Bliss Smoothie recipe almost daily so that has to count, right? It doesn't really come from a blog. I found it on Pinterest though, which is kind of like a blog, lol. I made two very simple changes to the recipe: substituting the coconut oil with coconut water and the Sustain packet for 1 tbsp of yogurt.
• I look forward to every new post by Sensible Stylista and her newest outfit post has me wanting to rush out and buy some printed skinny jeans. Seriously? Her every post has me wanting to rush out and buy something! I know some of these things won't look good on me, but she makes them look so great that I want them anyway!
• There are many things to love about The Freckled Fox: her wonderful fashion sense, her adorable crafts, her yummy looking food, or even her amazing photos plus much, much more. However, I adore The Freckled Fox for her hair tutorials! The one I think most deserves sharing is the Posh Faux Hawk. OMG, I am so in love with this look. What odd and slightly weird girl has never dreamed of having a Mohawk at one time in their lives? I certainly have. Almost went for it too, but the reality of having to wear it day in and day out hit hard. This is one hawk you can love and leave and love again!! Still, if faux hawks aren't your thing, I'm sure she'll have a tutorial that is more your style. 
• This Double Saran Wrap Tutorial video by DullLikeGlitter is another very old post, but one I was super lucky to find on Preen.me this week! She also has a picture tutorial post on her blog. I tried this with light pink, white, and baby blue but can't wait for summer to try her bright red, yellow, and blue look!

I keep trying to expand my V-Day mani ideas to incorporate colors other than white, pink, and red. I decided to substitute the often used red for blue in this one, and I think it still has all the makings of a good V-Day mani.

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Saran Wrap Valentine's Day Nail Art Tutorial

Hello again everyone! I missed my post yesterday, but I have a really great excuse! It was mentioned in an answer to one of the 1st Blogiversary Giveaway entries that one of you wanted to see a Saran Wrap tutorial. There were more than a few of you who wanted to see video tutorials. So, I was spending all day yesterday editing my first real nail art video. I have a whole new level of respect for video bloggers!

Here are the nails I'll be showing you how to create in the video. This is a very easy mani to do, and with pink and white polish it is perfect for Valentine's Day!

I don't really have the set up or the best software/know-how for this, but I gave it my best shot. Enjoy!

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Candy Coated Collection � Frosting Coated Sprinkles

Welcome to the last swatch of my Candy Coated Collection.

Update: This polish and the rest of the collection are now up for sale in my Etsy shop.

This is Frosting Coated Sprinkles inspired by the Candy Castle. Depending on which version of Candyland you look at you'll find some of the Castles with frosting, some with ice cream, and some with both. This polish was mixed up to look like the bright pink frosting decorating the Castle.

Contained in this bright pink shimmery frosting is 'sprinkles' of various colors and sizes in squares and hexes. I think this polish is the essence of Candyland melted down and bottled. :)

This is two coats of Frosting Coated Sprinkles over white. You'll have no trouble getting glitter on your nails with this polish!

This is two coats of Frosting Coated Sprinkles over bare nails. You can really see the shimmer contained in the polish in this picture.  Both pictures were taken after I applied top coat. There is so much glitter in this polish that it does have a rough finish when dry ... top coat really is a must with this one.

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Spun Sugar Gradient

Hey everyone! Sorry about the non-nail art related posts yesterday. There was a bit of an emergency Sunday that left me with no time to edit and type up posts. So, I went with what I did have. I do really hope to see a few of you joining me in the Blogs to Love Friday linkup. That said, today's post really is nail art!!

I have a few ideas for Valentine's Day nails and this was one of the first I thought of � spun sugar Valentine's Day nails done as a gradient.

Spun sugar nails are really easy. They are a bit messy but the wispy strings make it easy to clean up. I started with a base of two coats L.A. Colors white. This is Energy Source now that L.A. Colors started naming their polishes. The next step is probably the hardest and it's not hard at all! It just takes a bit of patience. I started at the tips of my nails and worked up using Sally Hansen Pink Blink first. Put a drop or two of your first color on a piece of paper, using a pin or a dotting tool mix the polish until it's thick. You can speed this along by blowing on it as you stir. You can start as soon as it's thick enough to start forming strings when you lift the pin out of the polish. I didn't wait long enough with my red polish and got some drips instead of strings, so make sure it's thick enough not to drip.

Once strings start to form you'll need to get your nail very close to the thick polish. Lay your finger on it's side angled towards the polish if you're having trouble getting the strings on your nail. Use your pin or dotting tool to quickly but smoothly pull strings across your nails, doing one nail at a time.

Continue doing the tips of each nail with Pink Blink. You may need to thicken more polish if you didn't start with enough or if it thickened too quickly. I used Sinful Colors Beautiful Girl next. I placed some of my strings over some of the Pink Blink strings to create a seamless fade of color. After Beautiful Girl, I used Sally Hansen Fuchsia Power and then finished with Wet n Wild I Red A Good Book.

Let the polish dry. It shouldn't take long! Then do a quick cleanup. I pinched off some of the wispy strings that were flying around my nails and then used some nail polish remover and a Nail Tee (a fancy pointed Q-tip) to clean up the rest.

Add top coat if you like and admire your new mani. Take into consideration when deciding whether to use top coat or not that, while it will make your mani last longer, it will smooth all those strings you just worked so hard on. It will likely take more than one coat as this is a very thick mani. It may also cause some bubbling if you're not careful applying your top coat.

That said, I did use top coat, two coats ... and I did get one large bubble that popped while the top coat dried and left behind a spot bare of top coat. It's really not noticeable though, even in my close-up pictures. I did kind of miss the stringed look though.

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Candy Coated Collection � Lollipop Princess

The only polish from this collection inspired by a character and not a location. Lollipop Princess was inspired by Princess Lolly, resident of the Lollipop Woods and princess of Candyland.

Update: This polish and the rest of the collection are now up for sale in my Etsy shop.

  

Lollipop Princess has pink, purple, and yellow hex glitters. And, since every princess needs some bling, small purple holo glitters.

I'm going to have to try to get some better pictures. The colors are slightly off in this close-up and in the bottle picture.

Lollipop Princess over Wet n Wild I Need A Refresh-Mint.

In an effort to really showcase the holographic glitter I layered one coat of Lollipop Princess over Revlon Enchanting with a black accent nail. I think I caught the holo at just the right angle and light to make it flare. Mostly I caught the bright blue flares but it also turns a white/purple and a bright pink. You can see one small flash of pink on my pinky nail.

I have been dying to see this glitter matte since I first mixed it up so I decided to add a layer of NYC Matte Me Crazy. Wow! I don't ever want to take this off!!!

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Candy Coated Collection � Peppermint Pinwheels

I've been reading through the new giveaway entries for the 'what do you want to see on my blog this year' question and there were a few who wanted Valentine's Day nail art and a few who wanted holiday nail art so I decided to tie a V-Day mani into one of my swatches.

Update: This polish and the rest of the collection are now up for sale in my Etsy shop.

Peppermint Pinwheels was inspired by the Peppermint Forests of Candyland and their mesmerizing swirls of red and white.

With its red squares and white hexes, Peppermint Pinwheels is perfect for everyday wear. But, layer it over the right color and it works great for holidays like Christmas and Valentine's Day. :)

I layered two very thin coats of Peppermint Pinwheels over Sally Hansen Emerald City for a festive Christmas look (I did actually do this around Christmas). Sadly, I added a layer of top coat over Emerald City too soon and caused some pretty bad streaking.

For a simple Valentine's Day mani, I used a base of Sally Hansen Pink Blink and a thin coat of Peppermint Pinwheels. You may remember Pink Blink from my recent haul. I couldn't ask for a better color. I think this is the most perfect V-Day pink ... actually, I think this is the most perfect pink EVER!! This is definitely the color of pink I think of when I think of my favorite color. :)

Here is a second, thicker coat of Peppermint Pinwheels.

More Valentine's Day manis will be coming soon. There are definitely a few I have sketched up that I want to try. :)

So, what do you gals think of the Candy Coated Collection so far? Have a favorite?

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S is for ...

I was really inspired this weekend; I've really missed doing nail art! This is actually a design I sketched up and then realized that it worked perfectly for S in the ABC Challenge.

S is for ... Spring Scene.

You should be expecting this by now, but I used my eyeshadow applicators and Revlon Garden and Sinful Colors Exotic Green to create a leafy texture as a base. The white picket fence came next, hand drawn with a nail art brush, and the flowers were started with a dotting tool and finished with a nail art brush.

With recent temperatures reaching into the single digits, I'm really longing for some flowers!

Be on the lookout tonight for another ABC Challenge mani as I finally get caught up. :)

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Blog Pink

I don't know if you know this but October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I think this is something we should all recognize. Breast Cancer Awareness isn't just for survivors or the family of those diagnosed. It's not even just for all women everywhere. While breast cancer among men is rare, it does happen!

In 2012, it is estimated that among U.S. women there will be 226,870 new cases of invasive breast cancer (including new cases of primary breast cancer among survivors). An estimated 2,190 new cases of breast cancer will occur in men. It is also estimated that 39,510 women and 410 men will die of breast cancer this year alone in the United States. In 2010, it was estimated that 1.6 million new cases of breast cancer occurred in women worldwide. This is very real and very life threatening, and it's something that should be important to all of us.

In support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month I wanted to do a very simple nail art. I wanted this nail art to be something anyone, of any skill level, could do to show their support. I used a very thin coat of Wet n Wild Sugar Coat as my base. Sinful Colors Beautiful Girl was used on the tips of all but my ring finger and topped with a coat of Wet n Wild Sparkled. My ring finger became a standard french tip with the help of LA Colors white and I used Beautiful Girl to create a pink ribbon. This is a very simple design that you won't need any special tools for. If you don't feel comfortable creating your own french tips there are specially created guides (found in the polish/nail tools section of most stores) you can buy or you can use binder re-inforcers (usually found in office supplies). The pink ribbon can be done with a nail art brush, a dotting tool, or even a toothpick.

Go to sweetjellybean.com and pick up your own sidebar badge and post banner so you can blog pink too!

Breast cancer facts from Susan G. Komen for the Cure. 

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E is for ...

I had so many ideas on what to do for E in the ABC Challenge. I may still attempt some of them after Halloween. But, in the end E is for ... Eeyore!!

There's really not much to say about this mani. I'm pretty disappointed in my freehand Eeyore. It's not up to my usual standards. He started out so well too, and I have no idea where he went wrong. Still, I love Sinful Colors Beautiful Girl, and I love the cloud pattern on this pink! That and Eeyore's tail really saved this mani, in my opinion.

Check in tomorrow for my favorite Nail-Aween mani yet. I don't think anything else I come up with for this Halloween inspired challenge could beat it.

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No Hard Feelings

Today's featured polish is from a recent haul. There was a sale, and I couldn't resist!

This is Sally Hansen's No Hard Feelings and there are certainly no hard feelings about this polish!! I am in absolute love.

The color looks more true in this picture. It's definitely more of a floral lavender or a wisteria maybe.

To create this look I used tape to create a V on either side of each nail and filled it in with Sinful Colors Beautiful Girl. In my opinion, these colors look so amazing together!

What do you think?

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Welcome October

It's the first of October and that means Halloween is fast approaching. Halloween is my favorite holiday, always has been, and I am so excited to get October started right with an awesome post.

This polish has no name or even a brand listed. It just says Pumpkin Nail Enamel. However, I searched for the distributor and found this polish is from the Phantom Frights collection. It's an awesome neon pink and it glows in the dark. Yes, it glows in the dark!! I have been eyeing glow in the dark polish for months, and I am beyond happy with this polish. The only con is that it is very sheer. This is four coats and you can still see my nail line.

It also doesn't glow very brightly with four coats. No where near as brightly as it glows in the bottle. That's okay though because it's not hard to build up. It dries very quickly so I could do a few more coats no problem! I made absolutely sure to keep my coats thin and even to prevent streaking. I've had other glow polishes streak and it carries over into the glow. That was the last thing I wanted!

This is six coats and my nail line has disappeared. The pink has also gotten brighter which I love!

And with six coats the glow is at full strength!! Seriously, I could barely sleep with this polish on my nails! The glow was so bright I had to curl my fingers under my blanket and even then it still glowed through. I was nearly blinded when I had to rub my eye! This polish glows very brightly with very little exposure to light. It also doesn't fade horribly quickly like other glow polishes I could name.

Wanna know something else great about this polish? It only cost me $2.99 where a brand name glow polish would have cost me at least $4.99!

Will you be wearing glow in the dark polish on your nails for October?

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Neon Pink Stripes

I thought I should get all the neon out of my system before I have to pull out the Fall colors. So here goes ...

I am ashamed to say I have absolutely no idea what the name of this pink is. It is my sister's nail polish that accidentally got mixed in with mine. I couldn't resist using it before I gave it back to her. For some reason, she took the name sticker off the bottom. Seriously? Who does that??? Though looking at swatches it may or may not be either Sinful Colors Fusion Neon or 24/7.

The name of this color aside it is a beautifully bright pink. What better use for a pink this bright than doing stripes with China Glaze White on White?

How about taking it one step further? This was done with the help of some weird cut scissors. I put a piece of tape on some wax paper and cut it down the middle with ragged cut scissors. Cutting the tape down the middle let me have enough tape for two nails. I angled the tape just slightly on my nails and painted over with black. I think this created a really awesome pattern. It almost looks like the black is running down my nails in some spots. I can already see a few more uses for these scissors.

How do you feel about using weird cut scissors as part of a tape mani?

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Hazard

'ello girlies. I hope you guys have a great weekend. I'm going to keep today's post fairly simple. It's a color swatch. It's been a while since I did a simple color swatch.

This is Hazard from Sinful Colors. I was browsing the nail polish section of Walmart when I caught sight of this color out of the corner of my eye. It isn't my usual choice of color but I was absurdly drawn to it for some reason. I just had to have it!

I'm really glad I decided to buy Hazard. It is a lovely shade of warm coral pink that turns this equally as gorgeous cool shade of salmon in some lights. I don't know how Sinful Colors managed to capture such warm and cool shades together in one bottle, but they did an amazing job!

No matter if it turns coral or salmon, it is so beautiful! However, you know me! I can't just wear a plain polish, no matter how pretty. I had to do something.

I took some of my 2mm round gold studs that I purchased from the Born Pretty Store and used them to create tips over Hazard. The Born Pretty Store has come out with some really awesome studs (and other products too). They have round studs in various colors, square in silver and gold that can be turned to create diamond shaped studs, as well comma, rectangle, actual diamond, and star studs! My next order will definitely include some square studs and maybe some of those stars! Did I mention they also just came out with velvet powder? Yep, I'll have that too! :)

What do you think of Hazard?

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