Sea Creatures

I am over the 7 degree weather here. What better way to pretend it's not freezing by putting cute sea creatures on your nails! I am still not that great at advanced stamping but definitely getting better. My favorite has to be the bright yellow fish on my pinky. He reminds me of Flounder from The Little Mermaid.

Base color is Essie Mint Candy Apple

Waves were stamped using Rica Whiteout with plate BM 509

Thumb is Mundo de Unas Avocado filled in with Opi Taupeless Beach from plate Mo-You London Sailor 01

Pointer finger is from the same plate with Essie Carry On

Middle finger is Essie Aruba Blue filled in with Opi Funny Bunny also from same plate

Ringer finger is Essie Peach Daiquiri from same plate

Pinky is Nina Ultra Pro in Blue Blaze filled with Orly Glowstick with Mo-You London Sailor 08

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

-Samantha


*All photos are taken in my lightbox  

Sally Hansen Velvet Collection Swatches

I knew as soon as I saw that Sally Hansen was coming out with a velvet line that I had to get my hands on them. I dislike most texture polishes. They tend to be too gritty, even with some chunky glitters I have to use multiple layers of top coat. The velvet polishes are just slightly textured.

First up is Lush. It's a darker taupe color. It reminds me of Opi's I Sao Paulo Over There. This is two coats with no top coat.

Velour is this gorgeous purple color with a blue undertone. I actually don't have a color in my collection similar. This is two coats with no top coat.

Plush is a slightly darker aquamarine color. This looks like Essie's In The Cabana. This is two coats with no top coat.

Velveteen is your typical black. This one actually had the best formula out of all of them. This is two coats with no top coat.

I wanted to try out stamping over top to see how well it would do. The stamping actually turned out great. The slight texture gave something for the image to grip to.

Overall I think that these are a great concept but they just do not last. I didn't expect them to stay on for a long time but they barely made it an hour before chipping. I figured maybe they would last a day or so. These would be great for special occasions where you don't plan to have the polish on for long. I am thinking of returning them. For the price of $5.99 each I just don't see me using them. You could always top coat to help last but then you lose the point of the texture.


I hope you all have a wonderful day!

-Samantha


*All photos were taken in my lightbox. 

Stardust Blush Swatch

 

I have no idea what took me so long to try out FingerPaints polish but I am a total addict now. My local Sally's had a ton of different colors in their clearance bin so I figured I would give them a try and "Wow!" Stardust blush is this beautiful glitter polish that has fine light pink microglitters along with hot pink round glitter. I had the hardest time getting my camera to get an accurate photo. You can somewhat see the gold reflect this polish gives off. I will say that I used a coat of gellous and a coat of seche vite and you can still feel the glitter texture. I do prefer a smoother glitter because then you are less likely to snag it on something but the color makes it worth it. Two coats got me to the opacity I wanted.

I hope you all have a wonderful monday!

-Samantha


*All photos were taken in my lightbox 

Top 10 Looks of 2014

I wanted to do a collage of all my favorite manis from 2014 as we are now officially into 2015. A new year means plenty of new looks but first at look back. I am so proud of how far I have come with my nail art. I am still learning everyday but I feel much more confident now.

First up is a neon mermaid mani. Here is where you can see the original post.

Next is a pastel swirl stamping look. Here is the original post.

Cath Kidston nails are next. Here is the original post.

One of my all time favorite looks is my Lisa Frank nails. I am a sucker for bright colors. Here is the orignal post.

There is no way I couldn't show my micro chip nails. Too much of a geek for that. Here is the original post.

Cherry blossom nails=sucker again for bright colors. Here is the original post.

So hands down my favorite look ever (well so far) is my Sherlock mani. Original post here.

First time ever trying out the Leadlight technique. Original post here.

Cutesy little snowman scarves made the list. Original post here.

Last but not least we have these sparkly snowflakes. Original post here.


I hope you all have a wonderful 2015!

-Samantha