Vintage Gilded Nails

Hello again! Today I've got a classy, rustic-looking design using two shimmery, microflecked OPI polishes and a dash of striping tape.

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Seriously, click to enlarge that. The smaller preview does not do it justice *_*

Click to continue!

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

BPS Review | Colourful Feather Water Decals (plus, dry marble!)

Hello, my beautiful readers! Today I have a pretty design featuring some nice water decals from Born Pretty Store :)

These colourful feathers were sent to me to review for you today. Verdict? They're gorgeous! Click the jump to see more!

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 :)

Mocha Swirl Marble Nails

Water marbling! Some people hate it. I love it.

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I used three Zoya polishes--Purity (white), Chanelle (light brown), and Emilia (dark brown)--as well as OPI My Vampire Is Buff for this swirly marble. The latter polish doesn't even really show up, and if I could go back I'd probably skip it. But still, this came out so pretty! I was going for the latte-art look, but the dark brown made it look chocolatey, so I decided "mocha swirl" was a good compromise.

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These are such creamy, smooth polishes. It was really effortless to marble them--they behaved well in the water and the colours go beautifully together. I bought these polishes last year and only just got around to using them!

Do you like this water marble design? It makes me want a cappuccino...

Thanks for stopping by today! See you next time for more :) xoxo

Ingress Skittle Mani | Enlightened Nails

Hey hey hey! Any of you out there play Ingress? If so, you'll get today's nails... and either love or hate them ;)

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Christmas Day 2015 | Born Pretty Store Decals :)

Merry Christmas, everyone :)

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I've had this idea all month! The tips are done with a white base (OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls), red acrylic paint for the stripes, and a gold glitter striper for the frame around it. This part took ages, and the stripes aren't perfect, but considering how curved my nails are I think it came out pretty nicely. They look much better at a real-life size and normal distance :)

The stickers are from--you guessed it--Born Pretty Store! They aren't actually made of metal, as the description on the site suggests. They are, however, nice-quality stickers with pretty metallic gold accents and details. And they're the perfect size for this, even on my tiny nails! Someone with normal sized hands would have some breathing room around the cuticle ;)

This is all sealed in with Seche Vite for shine and protection.

I hope you have/had a lovely Christmas day if you celebrate it, and if not, that you've enjoyed some time off work and a lovely holiday season with family and friends.
(And of course, if you want to pick up these or any other great nail or beauty supplies at Born Pretty Store, don't forget to use my discount code CITYG10 to get 10% off your order, which ships free anywhere in the world!)

See you next time for some pretty New Years nails! :D xoxo

Born Pretty Store Review | Silver Snowflake Stickers

Hello! Today I have some wintery, snowy nails today featuring these lovely silver stickers from Born Pretty Store! More snowflakes? YES.

Chic Matte Red Tips

Hello my dears :) Happy Thanksgiving to those of you in the US!

I have been a bit under the weather and felt like a sort of palette-cleanser for my nails. I decided on this simple, sophisticated, matte French-tip look:

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This one's quite easy to describe :) I used my usual base coat (Seche Retain, by the way, which is discontinued and I am struggling to replace it! Why are there always a thousand things I don't need, and the one I do gets axed??) and then two coats of OPI Lost on Lombard for the French tips. I like this deep, muted sort of red. It reminds me of autumn... and wine.

The matte topcoat I added over it all is Picture Polish G'Day Matte.

This is one of those rare times when both hands match, and I've been wearing it for quite a few days now. It feels very clean... but I think next time I'll do something dazzling and sparkly. Stay tuned for that! xoxo

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:

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

Windows 10 Is Here!

Hello! Special post today in honour of Windows 10 launching today! My job involves dealing with the upgrade today in some local electronics shops, so I did a special manicure for the occasion.

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 | Silver Lace Decals

Aloha, my dear readers! Today I am back with a silver lace design. I think these are so delicate and pretty :)

Stars on an Orange Field

Hello my dears! I am still fighting this awful sickness, and I'm so sorry it's been so long between posts lately. I haven't been eating much, nor had any energy for nails or blogging.

Fortunately, though, I have a mani from a little while ago I'd been saving for just such an occasion! It's simple, but fun :)

This is two coats of OPI A Roll In The Hague, a pumpkin-orange creme from the Holland collection, plus a coat of Zoya Gabrielle. That one's an extremely sheer but sparkly orange polish that looks great as a topper!

The stars are just plain stickers that I've had for years. Little silver holo stars that are so nice as nail adornments! I need to put them over a purple base one day to look like a wizard's hat... but for now I added them to this shimmery orange base and then topped with two coats of Seche Vite to keep them in place.

I hope you liked this one, and I'm sorry again for the delay. Thanks for reading today! I hope to have something nice for you soon xoxo

Swatch & Review | Harvey Specter by Colores de Carol

Hello! Man, I feel horrible this week. It's either a severe cold or a mild flu, but I'm pretty sure I'm dying. OF THE PLAGUE. /melodrama

I did manage to get my nails painted once. Because my newest purchase arrived--the limited-edition Harvey Specter by Colores de Carol!

I've been following her blog for ages, and am always awed by her creativity, stamping skill, and the fact that she manages to post every day. So when she first started her own polish line, I knew that one day I'd buy some of her stuff. The time has finally come!

I can't get over how much it matches the sequins on this bag :D

Harvey Specter is a fantastic navy/royal blue, chunky holo glitter in a clear base. It shines in electric blue, pink, purple, and green at different angles. I wish the glitter was a bit more densely-packed, but it's totally fantastic! It looks like my blog background, and I love it to tiny bits.

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

Shimmery Rainbow Birthday Marble!

Hel-lo! Man, what an insanely busy few days! My birthday was the 16th, and as you guys know, I love rainbows and sparkles. I bought a brightly-coloured rainbow dress to wear for my special day, and did these shimmery marbled nails to go with it!

These didn't come out quite the way I expected, but I'm still quite pleased with them--especially the thumbnail! If I did it again I'd use a different orange, but I think they're still great. Read on for the deets!

Sally Hansen & the Blackhearts (BPS Stamping Plate Review)

(with apologies to Joan Jett)

Hello again!

I am sick of being sick. :P

You know what's good for that, though? Rest, hot tea, and having more Born Pretty Store goodies delivered! A few days ago, I received handful of stamping plates and a really cool colour-changing polish :D I'll show you the polish next time! I haven't been stamping as much lately, so I wanted to get my hands on the plates first, and ended up with this little mani I almost called "Garden of Hearts".