Moon Sugar Decals and Holographic Mani

Hello!

I am back! If you follow me on Facebook, I mentioned the other day that I have been super sick all this past week. There must be a bug going around here in Miami, because most people I know (especially at work) have been fighting off what I am finally getting over! Now that I'm better, I wanted to show you the mani I would have posted a few days ago had I not been ill. 

I had been eyeing sugar skull water slide nail decals for quite a while, and found these super cute ones from Moon Sugar Decals. I thought they would look cool over some holographic nail polish, so I decided to use OPI DS "Amethyst" (an oldie, but goodie and super HTF) and Glitter Gal "Dark Purple" holo; with some pink stripes drawn in with a Sally Hansen nail art pen.

Now, if you decide to order these adorable nail decals, READ the directions first. I had originally painted my nails with pink and purple holos that were a few shades darker than what I'm wearing above. As the instructions say, these decals are not printed on white ink, so in order for them to be visible on the nail,it is recommended to use them over LIGHT colors. I was all too excited to even bother reading the instructions when I attempted over my first color choices, as I've used water slide decals many times before, and ended up disappointed. Because I was determined to use holographic polishes, I was glad I had "Amethyst" in my stash. I'm happy with the end result, and feel that the skulls can be seen quite well! 

What do you think of this look? Are you a fan of the sugar skull look? If you want to give Moon Sugar Decals a try, check them out here. Also, I grabbed my Sally Hansen nail art pen from CVS, but you can also find them anywhere Sally Hansen products are sold. I hope you liked this post, and I'll see ya next time! :) 

- Tiff 

Scratch "Hug me, Kiss me" nail wraps

Hello, everyone!

Happy Valentine's Day! 

I have a super cute mani that is perfect for today. My favorite nail wraps brand, Scratch, created a set of nail wraps for the February monthly Mani Box with nail art blogger Hannah Lee (Hannah Rox Nails). "Hug me, Kiss Me" is the set of wraps that I am wearing today, and I have to admit I had a lot of trouble deciding what color to layer these clear wraps over. My nail buddies helped push me towards a blue color, and I'm so glad they did. I layered the wraps over two coats of Zoya "Kristen" and love how this mani came out! 

What do you think? I absolutely love this look. I guess I couldn't imagine the red and purple hearts in the wraps to contrast well with the blue polish, but they do! Great job, nail friends! ;) 

If you like what you see above and want to add them to your stash, check out Zoya's website here, and Scratch's page here. Are your nails ready for Valentine's today? I'm not a big fan of the holiday, but I least wanted to have something festive on my nails. See ya next week some more nail art posts to show you!

-Tiff 

The New Black Demi Lovato Safari

Hi!

It's Wednesday! I hope your week is going well (and fast instead of dragging on and on). Today I have one more look to show you from the Demi Lovato and The New Black collaboration. I picked up the "Safari" set a few days ago, and decided to have a little bit of fun with it. I hope you like how it turned out!

I used all of the polishes you see in the last pic, and played with some striping tape (not included with this kit). I painted on the gold and green flakes (my favorite part of this set) over the black and gold glitter polish on my thumb, index, and pinkie nails. I then painted the hunter green and silver polishes in free-handed stripes on my ring and middle nails, waited for that to dry, then placed down the look I wanted with the striping tape. I followed that up by painting two fast coats of the off-white creme on top, and pulled the tape off while it was still wet. I must say I'm quite proud of how this look came out because I'm honestly not very experienced with striping tape. This is probably just my third time or so using it. I'm getting better, though! 

If you like everything you see included in this nail art set, then you can either pick this one and other The New Black collections at your nearest Ulta store. If you do not have an Ulta within reasonable driving distance, order these online. So, tell me what you think! I'm so glad I decided to grab some goodies from The New Black! See ya next time!

- Tiff 

Scratch Nail Wraps in "M Loves Floral" and a pictorial (that kinda rhymed) !

Hi!

Happy Monday! I have been blogging for a little over a year now, and thought it would be cool to step out of my box a little bit for this post. People have commented on my nail wraps manis, and wondered how I get mine on so neatly. I don't think I'm an expert in applying nail wraps at all, but I am a huge fan of them and use them every week. I decided it's about time I put together a little pictorial on how I put my nail appliques on. Below, you will see my step-by-step guide on my method of applying nail wraps, and hopefully it'll help you give them a try if you haven't already. The nail wraps in the pics are from Scratch's collaboration with fashion blogger, Mara Ferreira, called "M Loves Floral".

1. Gather all of your supplies: I use base coat, top coat, an orange stick (most, if not all nail wraps/appliques come with one), nail file, and a cuticle nipper.
2. Apply base coat to all of your nails, let dry.
3. Once base coat has dried, gently take the nail wraps out of their package.
4. This is probably the most important step- choosing the appropriate size nail wraps for each nail. I tend to go for one that is a hair smaller than my actual nail, but with everyone's nail shape being different, this can be tricky. You'll see why I try to go this route at step #12.
5. Place the nail wrap near the cuticle area (you don't want too much space between the cuticle area and the nail wrap because it will look like nail growth if you do) and press and smooth down.
6. Smooth out any left over wrinkles or parts of the wrap that are not completely adhered to the nail with the orange stick.
7. I like to cut off the extra nail wrap using the cuticle nipper, rather than jumping ahead to filing it off. I feel this helps to keep from filing off too much.
8. Fold what is left over on the edge of the nail, pressing and smoothing it out.
9. File the fold off in a gentle DOWNWARD motion.
10. Apply your favorite top coat, and let dry!
11. I normally wait until I apply all of my nail wraps before I put on some top coat, but if you're more of a one nail at a time person, that's ok too! In this picture, I am continuing on with the rest of my nails, choosing the best size nail wrap possible.
12. I really wanted to show you all this because, here, I accidentally applied a nail wrap that is too big for my nail. No problem! That's why I feel a cuticle nipper is one of the most important tools in putting together a nail wraps mani. I easily, and carefully, nipped away the extra nail wrap and kept on going!

Well, there ya go... My very first pictorial. I have to say I am quite happy with how it came out! I really hope this was helpful for at least one of my readers. If that ends up being true, then my mission with this is accomplished!

As some of you may already know, I am a subscriber to Scratch's Monthly Mani Box. Click here for more information on how you can become one, or how you can purchase individual nail wraps from them. Thanks for checking out this post, and I'll see ya with a new one in a couple of days! See ya then!

- Tiff

Ulta Salon Formula Nail Lacquer in "Ultra Violet Femme"

Hi!

Today I have yet another amazing nail polish from Ulta to show you today. I've told you guys before that I'm not a big fan of purple, but there was something about "Ultra Violet Femme" that grabbed my attention. This polish is a really nice and opaque metallic purple that often flashes blue in some lighting, because of the slight shimmer it has. I think this is another Ulta must-have, and hopefully you see why from the pics below! 

What you see here is two coats, followed by some quick dry top coat. The formula was also really nice; not too thick or thin. This will probably end up being one of my top favorite purple polishes. Nice job, Ulta! :)

Ulta nail polishes are now just $2 each, when they were normally about $6. Go and get some if you haven't already! See ya next time with a new post, and some more Ulta polishes I have left over from my haul (yep, I grabbed that many).

-Tiff

Sally Hansen Salon Effects "How Romantic!"

Hi!

I still cannot believe it is February already! Can you? This year is going by crazy fast... Anyways, with it being February, or "Singles Awareness Month" as described by a former classmate of mine (lmao), I will be doing some Valentines looks every now again before the month is over. I thought some more Sally Hansen Salon Effects, in "How Romantic!", would be perfect to get this going.

This is an older design from the brand that came out last year. It was still in great shape from being in my stash for so long, so no complaints here. They worked great, as usual. I love the color-blocking that you see in the design as well, and I will definitely try to free hand something like this in the future.

How do you like this mani? Have you created some Valentine's looks yet? See ya next time :)

-Tiff

Ulta Salon Formula Lacquer in "Blues Cruise"

Hi!

I hope you all had a great start to your week. I have another amazing Ulta nail polish to show you today. "Blues Cruise" is an awesome jelly polish, packed with blue and purple glitters. It is also very dense, and covered nicely in two coats. Because of the name of the polish, I decided to add some water decals from the Born Pretty Store to the mani to make it pop. Take a look at the pics below!

Pretty, right? I absolutely love this nail polish! Ulta has really surprised me with the selections they have in the nail polish department now. I think they have really stepped up their game, and can't wait to play with the others I grabbed from my last Ulta haul. Did I mention that all of their nail polishes are just $2 now? Go out and get to your nearest Ulta store and grab some of them! You will be glad you did; trust me! Oh, and for the water nail decals, visit the Born Pretty Store here.

What do you think of Ulta nail polishes? Have you grabbed any yet? Let me know what you think!

- Tiff