Sheer Black French with Silver "Dagger" Accent, and I'm a Flippin' Fashion Designer Now

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade add tequila and salt and have a party :D

When life gives you a broken corner, file that shiz into a point and roll with it.

(click to enlarge)

I kind of love that pic. Read on for more details!

Born Pretty Store Review | 3D Rubber Flowers

Hullo! Last mani before I take off for a week, and last review item from my latest Born Pretty Store haul :) I saw Anna review some similar 3D rubber flowers years ago, and finally got to try them myself!

Born Pretty Store Review | Metallic Glitter/Dots :D

Good day :) I received more nail art items from Born Pretty Store to review for you! As always, their service is great, the prices are great, and the items are gorgeous. Here's the design I have for you today!

Valentine's Day 2015 - Gradient Glittery Tips & Bows

Hello! Today, of course, I have my Valentine nails :)

This design is heavily inspired by one of my favourite YouTube artists--her channel is now called ArcadiaNailArt, but her old channel is IndigoNova1, and this video is beautiful. I used the same idea, but in seasonal colours, plus some handpainted bows!

Blingy Tree on Crackle

Merry Christmas, everyone! (Or Christmas Eve for some of you.) My second-to-last holiday mani features a tree made of rhinestones on a sparkly-crackle background!

The base is Ulta Snow White, topped with China Glaze Luxe And Lush, a big chunky iridescent flakie from their first Hunger Games collection. I think it makes a white base look all wintery and snowy :D

Once that dried, I added a coat of OPI Red Shatter, then Seche Vite topcoat. While that topcoat was wet, I made the little tree out of green rhinestones, then added a star glitter on top and a brown square stone below for the trunk. Cute, right? :D One more topcoat sealed that off and I'm good to go.

I'm still stuffed from a big Christmas lunch. What are you doing for festivities this year?

I'll squeeze in one more holiday mani before the day is totally over, so check back soon for that one. And have a wonderful day! xoxo

The Classic Christmas Lights Mani

Happy weekend, everyone! I hope yours is going wonderfully so far :D It's been rainy here the past couple of days, but I don't mind--I rather like the rain, plus it's a welcome reprieve from the hot summer weather.

For today's nails, the title says it all. Painting Christmas lights on your nails is not a unique idea, but it's one I really wanted to do. I did add my own unique touch, though--I used a matte base and lots of clear coat to make the bulbs really stand out and look like glass! Check it out:

Gilded Imperial Nails

Hello my lovelies :)

It's been an exciting week over here! We're almost finished with the paperwork needed for me to have permanent residency in Australia *yay* and on Wednesday I went to the piCture pOlish HQ and met Jules East, the company's founder!! It was really awesome to see where the magic happens :D and she (and the rest of the Girls) are so nice! It was also really awesome to buy lots of polishes and not have to pay for shipping ;) Check out my Facebook post if you want to see pics from the PP Headquarters :D

Obviously, I had to have an appropriate manicure for the visit... so I pulled out their Imperial again, and gave it the royal treatment it deserves :)

 

Elegant Dragonfly & Stripes: Born Pretty Store Nail Charms

Ciao a tutti! Boy, it's getting warm here in northeastern Australia. It was about 40C yesterday. Summer is fast approaching! It means I'm sweating my bum off, but it also means I have lots of bright sunlight for showing you the third review item Born Pretty Store sent me: these beautiful dragonfly charms!

(The website says they are bowknots, which I can kind of see, but I think they look more like dragonflies, so that's what I'm calling 'em!)

The charms are about 1.5cm across the wingspan, and 1.7 from the top of the pearl to the end of the diamante tail. They are thin and delicate, but still seem well-made. The tail is free-swinging, and I was able to bend the wings gently to fit more around my nail. I wouldn't recommend doing this very much, because I think they would break off eventually.

I didn't realise they had the little loop on top when I saw them on the website. I think I will actually wear these more often by attaching a hook and wearing them as earrings! Because as gorgeous as they would be for a special occasion, they are a bit on the large side for everyday wear on the nail.

As a backdrop for the dragonflies, I used two coats of Zoya Hudson, a shimmery lavender from their Spring 2014 collection, and a white striper to add some vertical lines. That was pretty, but I wanted even more shimmer, and to soften the contrast between the purple and white, so I added a coat of L'Oreal #802 The True Diamond (one of their "Magic Topcoat" polishes). Seche Vite sealed that in, and then a drop of nail glue adhered the charm! (If you have access to it, a drop of acrylic would definitely keep it in place as long as you wanted!)

I feel so pretty and dainty with these on! Makes me want to attend a wedding or fancy dinner. It would certainly be a conversation-starter!

You can find these charms here, as well as so many other beautiful nail art supplies. As usual, don't forget to apply discount code CITYG10 for 10% off any order!

Thanks for stopping in today. Have a lovely day and I'll see you next time! xoxo


*product sent for review--the experience described above is my honest opinion and was not influenced in any way by the retailer*

Glowsticks & Glitter

Hello! It's getting warmer here, and with spring comes hay fever. I've been feeling under the weather, so sorry for the long time between posts. But in celebration of the sunshine, and to cheer myself up, I've been wearing neon nails, plus my new Born Pretty Store bows!

Outdoors in sunlight

So simple, yet so fun! Click the jump for the details!

#31DC2014 - Day 30 - Inspired by a TUTORIAL

Hello :) day 30 of the challenge, where we take inspiration from a tutorial. I watch so many talented ladies on YouTube, and follow so many awesome bloggers, it was really hard to choose one for this! But a recent video by ArcadiaNailArt caught my eye. She did three Halloween looks, and this second one called Vintage Vampire is so beautiful, I decided to use it!

I won't go into too many details of how I created this look--it's fairly simple, and you should watch her video to see it! But I used a striper brush and three China Glaze polishes for it--Adventure Red-y (red creme), Liquid Leather (black creme), and Ruby Pumps (red glitter). The pearls are both from different craft-store sets. :) Oh, and it's topcoated with KBShimmer Clearly On Top.

I am sorry to report that my hand burst into flames after I took the last photo. (Because... vampires... sunlight... yeah...)

I will bandage it all up and crank out one more pretty manicure for the last day of the challenge tomorrow! See you then! xoxo

#31DC2014 - Day 2 - ORANGE nails

Hello! Day 2 of the 31-day challenge is for orange nails!

Outdoors in sun

I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Sun-Kissed as the base for this. It's my go-to when I need orange, because it's such a classic shade of the colour, and glides on easily, covering in two thin coats. On the index finger I placed some orange rhinestones from a sheet by Queen & Co. For the others, orange hex glitters from Born Pretty Store.

Topcoated with Seche Vite.

Indoors with flash

I wore these to work, and got a lot of compliments! The stones really stood out and flashed in the light when I moved my hands :)

Join me tomorrow for day 3 of the challenge, and don't forget to check out all the other orange-themed nails today! Just search the hashtag #31DC2014 on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc and enjoy! xoxo

Mosheen the Rebel

Hiya! Wanna see the last two Zoyas from my birthday box? Say hello to Rebel and Mosheen!

There's a Scarab in my Midori! Diagonal Two-Tone French

Hello, beautiful people! It was such a pretty sunshiney day today, I was literally skipping around the back yard. And of course, taking pics of my latest nail design :D

Fantasy Fire Layering & Stars

Hullo, my beauties :) Today I have a pretty layering combo to show you. I went out with some friends I haven't seen in months, and did these nails to match my primarily blue and silver outfit :D

Nina Star Bright & Striping Tape Bow: An Impractical Yet Adorable Mani

Hola, mis dulcitos! :3 Who's ready for a mani that's pink and girly and entirely impractical to wear whilst doing anything, but is super cute?

Chinese Royalty Inspired Red & Silver Nails

Hello! I hope everyone is having a nice weekend.

I was browsing randomly the other day, with a vague idea for a design in mind but wanting to be inspired. I ended up looking at some beautiful images of the type of fashions worn by ancient Chinese royalty and higher-ups. Bright, rich colours with ornate and intricate details, usually in gold. I ended up using silver for my details instead, but I hope you can still see the link :)

Outdoors in indirect light. Please excuse the slight error in stamping--was hardly noticeable IRL!

The silver nails are two coats of the polish shown above--OPI This Gown Needs A Crown, from the 2013 Miss Universe collection. A beautiful silver that has a matte/satin finish, yet still manages to sparkle and gleam in the most captivating way. It looks so impossibly rich and deep. I want polishes with this finish in every colour imaginable. OPI has really outdone itself with this stunner!!

Over that, I added a row of red metallic studs from Born Pretty Store. Usually I would adhere these with topcoat, but I didn't want to mess up the finish of the silver, so I used dots of nail glue instead. I got it all over one of the studs on the middle nail and it isn't as shiny as the others, and I know nobody else would notice, but it bothers me! However, it did the job and I think it looks very refined.

Outdoors in sun. I love the little crown adornment on the bottle which can be a ring.. too cute! And look at that silver glow. It really is magnificent.

The red base on the other nails is actually one I made myself--I had an old bottle of topcoat that was about 1/4 full, and two red Petites cremes that were nearly identical and about half full each. The small reds were called Rockin' Red and Hot Sauce. I'm a Judas Priest fan. The resulting franken, therefore, was dubbed Hot Rockin'  :D  Here's a quick swatch of it:

Two easy coats, no topcoat (since it was made WITH topcoat, it doesn't need more!) I love that it's mostly a squishy plain red crelly, but has that blue shimmer at certain angles.

I used Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Silver Sweep to stamp the cascading diamond image from Bundle Monster plate BM-404. This was a plate in their "user created" plate set, and I think it's perfect for this look I was going for! These nails were topcoated with INM Out The Door.

Another in sun, along with the thumb.

My right hand was a reverse of this--the index and middle nails were red with stamping, and the other nails were silver. I didn't have enough studs, though, so I cheated and did red dots with Hot Rockin' in a line instead. I wish I could say "you could barely tell at a distance!" but that isn't true--the metallic, 3D look of the studs is very different to anything I could do with this polish. Oh well, it looked passable anyway, and still pretty.

One more, indoors with flash. I may never take this silver off...

I may be biased, since silver is one of my favourite colours to wear anyway (especially on my nails), but I think This Gown Needs A Crown is a must-have for any polish lover. It's AMAZING.

And now I shall stop gushing and let you go on with your day ;) thanks for stopping by. Have a lovely sparkly day!! xoxo

Sparkly Starry Nails feat. piCture pOlish Cosmos!

Hiya, ladies and gents! Today I have a manicure that's blue and glittery and electric and does my blog proud. I have had this polish for a few months now and can't believe I'm only just now getting around to showing you. It's piCture pOlish Cosmos, and here's what it inspired me to do!

Click to enlarge :D you should probably do that with all the pics in this post!

This is a pic-heavy post, because I couldn't narrow it down, this polish is just SO PRETTY... so click the jump to see the rest. Or close the window and go back to looking at pics of cats or whatever. But I encourage you to stick around for this glittery beauty!

Sweet & Simple Sunday: Two-Toned French

Good afternoon! After two weekends away, I am finally back with another Sweet & Simple design for you. You just need two polishes, ideally a creme shade and a shimmer or metallic shade. I chose Wet 'N Wild Black Creme and a polish I want to spotlight today--Darling Diva Bohemian Rhapsody.

The little stars aren't necessary! I just added them because they were cute and went well with the French manicure design :) But how gorgeous is that polish? :D

The two-tone French design is really simple and self-explanatory, but looks really striking and much more interesting to look at than a normal single-coloured one. Just paint a deep french tip with your creme base first. Even if you have short nails, this is still a cute look--paint the tip about halfway down. If your line isn't perfect, don't worry! You can clean it up with a cotton bud dipped into polish remover (this is easier to do before the polish dries). Even if you can't get it perfectly straight, it still looks great from afar. You can see my wibbly lines in this close-up shot, but from a normal viewing distance it seems perfect ;)

Once the base has dried, use your shimmery or metallic polish to paint about 2/3 of the painted tip, leaving 1/3 as an accent stripe of sorts. To clean up this line, remover would obviously mess things up, so instead you can use a bit of your previous colour to fix any mistakes. Grab a toothpick and dip it into your creme shade to get in close if you want to be more precise.

Once that's dry, add your topcoat and you're done! (Or you can add a cute accent of a sticker, rhinestone, or shape if you happen to have some, like I did. Just put a second layer of topcoat over it all if you do this!)

Now let's talk a bit about my second shade. Bohemian Rhapsody is an absolutely stunning polish that has it all. Multichromatic, shimmery, and linear holographic? Be still my heart! Darling Diva has lots of great shades, but I think she's really outdone herself with this one. It primarily looks silvery-sage-green in the bottle, but shifts to a stronger silver and sometimes a lilac. I never would have thought to do a holo-duochrome polish! It's just beautiful.

Here it is looking more silver..

Look at it glow ^_^

Bohemian Rhapsody is still available, along with a few other polishes like it but in different shades. You should check them out! She is based in the US, but does ship internationally.

Well, I hope you liked this design, and that you'll give it a try and spice up a plain French. Here's an idea--if you're already wearing a white tip, try adding a pop of colour over it like this when the tipwear starts to show. It adds some more interest and prolongs the life of your manicure!

Have a great week, and I'll see you next time! xoxo

Bling! Silver + Holo Glitter + Rainbow Rhinestones

Hi, friends! Today I have another blingy, sparkly, crazy nail design that does my blog title proud. I'm glad I got it done and photographed last week, because today it's been grey and drizzly. I'm so annoyed... my Lacquer Lust Birthstone Collection polishes just arrived, but I can't swatch them yet! I got three of these beautiful shades--Diamond (my birthstone!), Tanzanite, and Peridot--but I can't do justice to their sparkling, stunning, holographic beauty without the sunshine. I'll get them up here soon!

For now, here's some chunkier shinyness!

Grab your sunglasses :D

Yay! The base for these babies is a combination of two Wet N' Wild Fergie Collection polishes. First, two coats of one of my favourite metallic silver polishes: Going Platinum. It's definitely shiny silver, but has tiny golden microglitter in as well! It makes for a warm-silver/cool-gold, truly platinum look. It's SO shiny.

Then I topped it with the other Fergie polish I have: New Years Kiss. It's made an appearance here before when I did a similar manicure for New Years 2012. Densely-packed silver microglitter with holographic silver bars. Yummy! Just look at it in the bottle below:

You should probably click to fullview this. Drooooool... See all those colours? HOLO MAGIC :D

I love how much depth that glitter topper provides. So shiny and sparkly.

Then I just added slow-drying clear polish to each nail, grabbed an orange stick, and started whacking on random rhinestones from a wheel I got at Cult Nails. (They do not seem to have any in stock at the time of this writing, sorry! It's just random colours and sizes.) Once they were all on and the clearcoat dried, I carefully sealed them in with Seche Vite.

asfdjkl;   SO PRETTY. Look at the middle nail! That stone on the left is a teal-green, like a darker version of the large one on the index finger--but it looks purple here except around the edges! I could stare at this pic all day *_*

one more... shining in the sun and catching light with every slight movement :)

As you can imagine, I had a blast wearing these, and they got lots of attention! Would you wear blingy nails like this, or is it too crazy for you?

Thanks for stopping by today. I'll see you next time! xoxo

Alphabet Challenge: Y is for... Yellow Skittle-y Nails + Dried Flower

Hey, you! Today is the penultimate Alphabet Challenge prompt, and features the letter Y. I knew since about M what I wanted to do for this one... yellow nails featuring these gorgeous dried flowers from Born Pretty Store!

I never get bored of this kind of manicure :D

Taking a bit of inspiration from Marta and her "skittlette" look,  I used as many yellow polishes as I could fit! Here's the rundown...

Thumb: Orly Androgynie, yellow dried flower adhered with topcoat
Index and Small: Zoya Solange
Middle: Sinful Colors Neon Melon, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mellow Yellow, and black Stripe Rite polish
Ring: Orly Androgynie, neon yellow studs also from BPS

Let's talk about Androgynie. I've had this polish for ages and I have no idea why I don't wear it more. It's so interesting! It's sort of a gold/yellow-toned black jelly (if that makes any sense) and filled with gold microglitter and medium hex glitters in orange, yellow, lime, teal, and royal blue! It's such a weirdly awesome combination that I am surprised that Orly made it--but very glad they did. It took three thin coats to get the coverage shown above.

Solange is another beauty... yellow/gold Pixie Dust is SO lush. It looks and feels like I have real gold on my fingertips. I can't stop staring at it and definitely want to wear it again soon!

The flower was not as tricky to get on as I thought it would be. I applied a thick layer of a slow-drying clear polish, then used tweezers to place the flower and gently press the edges of the flower as the polish dried to stick it down. Then I used one thick layer of Maya Smoothing Coat For Glitter (tested, confirmed also works on flowers) followed by a coat of Seche Vite. Sealed in and smooth to the touch!

Before topcoat. Wanted to get a photo first in case the topcoat made it go horribly wrong. I am happy to report it did not!

And one more pic, out in the nice yellow sunlight, for good measure :)

Because sunlight makes the neon really pop! You can also see more of Androgynie's and Solange's true natures here.

Little pop of happy bright yellow to pick you up mid-week. Hope you enjoyed this one. See you next time! xoxo