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.

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

Falling Stars Nails

GOOD GRIEF AMANDA IT'S BEEN LIKE THREE WEEKS


...yeah. Between working heaps of overtime and getting sick twice in a row, I and my nails were in pretty ragged shape. I broke two of the ones on my photo hand, so I decided to give them a trim and a little reprieve. But I can't leave them alone forever...

I eased back into nail art with this falling-stars gradient design over black.

You know what to do...

So, the base is just a standard single coat of Wet N' Wild Black Creme. A classic. I then used my beloved L'Oreal The True Diamond, one of their Magic Topcoats, as well as OPI Happy Anniversary! (pictured) to created a shimmery gradient on the tips. I intentionally made this a bit messy, and then used the edge of the brush  to draw some lines falling down the nail towards the cuticle.

The little star stones are from the same wheel as the flower-shaped ones I used recently, from Born Pretty Store.

And! Possibly the best part... I used a relatively new-to-me topcoat, Sun Envy Gel Effect topcoat by UNT. And OMG, it's amazing. It doesn't need an LED light to cure--it just cures in natural light. I go outside in the sun so it dries faster. It's so shiny, and it doesn't damage stones, even these plastic-ish ones. Fantastic! GET IT.

So, I know these aren't my best work, but I do like them :)

I've had these on for days, and I have no chipping or anything--it's even still really shiny! Seche Vite is still going to be my go-to most of the time, but this will be my choice for going over stones from now on. Or if I need a mani to last a while :D

Thanks so much for reading today. Anyone who stuck around after that little unplanned hiatus is awesome and gets digital hugs from me <3 <3 <3

See you soon (HOPEFULLY) for more! xoxo

Czech Out These Birds!

Good day! I hope your week has started off well. Mine has been a little stressful, so I decided to do a relaxing, calming nail design. :)

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I just love birds! I think they're beautiful, and can be so cute, and I've always been jealous of their ability to fly and go anywhere they want. I don't believe in reincarnation, but if it is a thing, I'd really like to be a bird next time around.
Click the jump to see how I did these :)

Sparkly Neon Zebra Leopard Gradient Awesomeness

Hiya!

I love these nails SO MUCH. The title of this post comes from the ridiculously long file name I gave these when saving to my computer :D

I did a variation of this on a nail wheel a long time ago, but wanted to stick with a more similar colour scheme. I am sorry to report that these photos don't do this justice at all--the neon is so bright in real life. But click the jump to see more!

(Almost) Monochrome Dotticure

Well, it's been far too long since I posted! Have had zero motivation to edit pics and write posts lately D: but I've still been painting my nails and getting photos! I'll get caught up... one day...

Today I have a dotticure for you, inspired by Simply Nailogical on YouTube. Specifically, a comment left on this video by Nat the Otaku (hehe, love the username) suggesting an alternate colour combination. I don't think Cristine will ever do this one since she doesn't like plain creme polishes much--so I did it instead!

I started with plain nails, wearing only a base coat, and just used a dotting tool to cover these with five polishes: Zoya Purity (white), Soulstice Spa Manchester (light grey), Essence Movie Star (dark grey), China Glaze Liquid Leather (black), and Revlon #480 Revlon Red (red... obvs).

A little time-consuming, but easy-peasy! Once the nails were pretty much totally covered, I let them dry and then topped with Seche Vite for their protection. I intentionally left little bits of naked nail peeking out here and there--I like how it looks when the light shines through them from behind.

I know these aren't the greatest photos--by the time I looked at them full-size and realised this, the design had already chipped too much to re-take, so... oh well. They look great IRL :D

Thanks for the inspiration, random YouTube commenter! This would look really cool in rainbow colours, too... or glitter placement... or contrasting finishes...

See you next time! xoxo

Sparkly, Swirly Water Marble

Hello! Time for my first post of 2016!

...Yeah, delayed, right? My computer has been playing up since August and I am finally doing something about it. I will get my NYE design posted ASAP, but it's been a struggle just to get this one together! I'm sending off the computer tomorrow and will make some arrangements in the meantime. What a way to start the year, eh?

Aaaaanyway... I've been itching to do a water marble lately, so I pulled out a handful of my favourite China Glaze polishes and got to it!

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The base, and one shown in this pic, is Liquid Crystal. Two coats is all that's needed for opacity, and it's very pretty--multichromatic, very sparkly, awesome! My camera actually had a hard time with how glittery and reflective it is.

The marble was done with Liquid Leather (black), Icicle (silver), and Rainbow (sheer translucent shimmer). You can't even see the silver, and in retrospect I would have skipped it in favour of more black stripes. Oh well--the final result is really cool, I think! I did a spiral/swirl pattern in the water and tried to centre that on each of my two middle nails. Added a diamante in the centre of each swirl, topped with Seche Vite, and that's it!

I really love the unintentional gradient look of the ring fingernail. I definitely need to do more marbles!

Thanks for reading today! Hopefully I can get my New Years Eve and final review item from my Born Pretty Store haul up very soon. See you next time! xoxo

Born Pretty Store Review | Holographic Snowflake Foil!

Hello lovely people! Look at this gorgeous foil from Born Pretty Store. It has holographic silver snowflakes on it!

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You guys know that holo is my favourite colour, right? :D Click to see more!

Holo At Ya Girl

hollaaaaaaaa

heya! Today I have some hot holo-on-holo action... can you handle it?! :D

click to enlarge... drool-rag at the ready!

Halloween 2015 | Kitty Skulls & Glitter!

Happy Halloween!

(click to enlarge) :)

Rustic Gold Stripes

Halloween is nearing, and this manicure has nothing to do with it :P

I've had so much going on lately that I haven't been able to post as frequently as I used to, nor have I been able to do all the themed manis I wanted! Today's design is, instead, a rustic, gilded sort of look that reminds me of old photo frames or tarnished jewellery:

Orange Shimmer & Stars

Good day, good day :)

Spring is here! It's getting warm and lovely outside, and while I really don't ever stop wearing neons (being confined to seasonal trends is sooo not my style), it seems extra fitting to wear them now! So I've created this bright yet simple mani with neon orange, glitter, and stamped stars!

Metallic Crackle Gradient

Hello!
I sometimes find it hard to leave trends in the past. I bought these crackle polishes when they were cool, and dangit Bobby, I will continue to use them, at least occasionally.

Attempting to come up with different ways to use them, I painted this stripe/gradient sort of look over silver :)

Super easy to create, and nice to look at!

The base is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in #220 Celeb City. Your standard silver foily polish. Over top of that, three OPI crackles--Red Shatter, Black Shatter, and Turquoise Shatter. I presume you won't need my usual parenthetical explanations of which is which. I just swiped these on side to side, trying to vary the heights of each line (most noticeably on the thumb). Easy-peasy! It's topped with two coats of Seche Vite for smoothness and shine.

I think one could make some pretty cool designs to represent their country, sports team, etc if you had the right crackle colours :D

Thanks for stopping by today! Enjoy the rest of your week xoxo

Pixie Dust Waterfall | A Nod to the Nailasaurus

Hello hello :) I am working on growing out my poor broken nails. Why do they seem to grow so quickly when they're long and I'm constantly filing them, but so slowly when I want them to regenerate? *douses hands in cuticle oil*

However, as promised, I've taken the opportunity to be inspired by the queen of short nails, Sammy the Nailasaurus! I'm not sure if she invented this technique or just popularised it, but she's definitely made it her own and even has a tutorial on her blog. It's a pretty easy one to do but looks so striking when done with the right colours! I've used some Zoya Pixie Dust shades over black and I really like the jewel-toned result:

Born Pretty Store Review | Diamond Glitter Placement

G'day! Almost through my newest Born Pretty Store haul :D I'm going to fast-track these last two before I head off to a conference in Sydney next week! I'll of course do some special travelling nails, as I always do... But for today, I've got a design showcasing these diamond- (okay, rhombus, you nerd) shaped glitters :D

Born Pretty Store Review | Stamped Stars

Hi everyone! Man, I cannot seem to keep myself out of trouble. No sooner had I recovered from the flu then I sprained my ankle. It's minor, but still enough to hurt a lot and make work that much more draining. AND I broke a nail :(  it's the middle one on my swatching hand!

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?

Fortunately it's just a small break on the side, and I was able to patch it up. It's behaving for now...

I got this stamping plate from Born Pretty Store and wanted to use that big star image in the middle, so that's what I did!

Born Pretty Store Review | Black Iridescent Gems

Hola! I'm back with another review--these pretty black gems from Born Pretty Store!

Travelling with Bling | Black, Gold, & Gemsplosion

G'day my dears! I just got back from a spontaneous trip up north to see a friend for a few days (once I finally recovered from the awful flu-ish thing I had). Any time I travel, I like to do extra-nice nails for the occasion, since 1) it just adds to the fun, and 2) in the airports and such you're often passing money and documents around, so it gives you lots of opportunities to show off your hands :D

If you follow me on social media (check the links on the right!), you'll already have gotten a peek at these black and gold tips with a super-blingy accent nail!

Matching Nails & Dress: Red, White, and Black

Hello! I'm finally getting better, woo! I'm always amazed (in a horrified kind of way) how much mucous one head can produce...

On a less gross note, I went to a wedding recently and wore a new dress, and decided to do a set of matching nails to go with it :)

I really love how these look, especially with the outfit! Read on to see :)

Black & Silver No-Water Marble

Hello! Today I've got a pretty swirly look that's a lot easier to do than it seems :)

Zebra Stripes & Bows

Hello! The last two weeks have been insane on my end! But I found some time for nail art, and did this relatively simple design I've had on my mind :)

The base is OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, topped with a coat of OPI Happy Anniversary! for some pretty shimmer. The stripes are painted on with my black Stripe Rite striper, and then the little bow is from Born Pretty Store :)

I hope you like this one! I'm really enjoying it.

Thanks for reading today! My schedule has calmed down now, so I should be able to post with a little more regularity. See you next time! xoxo