China Glaze Cherry Blossom Appliqués nail art

Hi!

Today I have a mani that I came up with rather spontaneously. I had some left over China Glaze nail appliqués and I decided to put them to use. Using some nail vinyls from Miami Hand Jobs, I decided to make a somewhat rustic look, given the fall season we're in. Take a look at the pics below to see what im talking about! 

I ended up having mixed feelings about this look. One side of me feels it doesn't look bad, and the other half of me wishes I had used a brown underneath the cherry blossom print instead of the reddish orange. This is one of those situations where it looked better in my head than it does in real life! It happens! I've got plenty more nail appliqués from China Glaze (which happen to have a great shelf life) to play with and create better looks like this. Trial and error...

Well, I hope you have a good Thanksgiving, if you celebrate it, and enjoy the rest of the week! See ha next time! 

- Tiff 

Scratch Nail Wraps in"Animal Party"

Hi everyone!

The weather here in Miami has just been the worst. It has been cold, and rainy, which means I haven't been able to go for my long jogs that I love to do every once in a while. I knew I wanted to put some golohraphic nail polish on my nails, but the lack of sun here lately made me worry about not being able to capture the effect of them in photos. Luckily there is a way of getting around lack of sunlight if you're like me, and don't have a light box like many other nail bloggers do. I went into a room, turned off the light, and used the flash on my phone camera to snap the pics you'll see below. I think it captured the hologram effect just fine! Check out the look I used combining holographic polish with Scratch nail wraps in "Animal Party". 

See? No sun, no problem! The grey holo, which photographed more on the blue side, is Jade "Extasy", and the brown holo is Hits "Morfeu". I believe you can still get these from Llarowe; I got ordered mine some time last year. As usual, Scratch's clear nail,wraps are a win for me, because they allow you to layer them over any kind of nail polish you want! 

So, how do you feel about these animal wraps? I think with the exception of the raccoon and frog faces that came in the set (I chose not to use those because I'm terrified of frogs and raccoons!) theyre very cute! See ya next time! 

- Tiff 

Scratch nail wraps in "What Lifts You"

Hi!

I have a really cool look to show you today. I went to a concert with my mom this past weekend, and I decided to put on some nail wraps from Scratch's latest monthly mani box for November, created with artist Kelsey Montague. I was also in the mood for some sparkles, so I added INM's Northern Lights hologram top coat to them, and I love how they looked. Check out the pics below! 

I filtered the pics a bit to try to capture the holographic glitters from the top coat. It's a bit hard to get the glitter to show in pictures, just as you see in person ...

Sara M Lyons Cats & Crosses and Cute & Sleazy nail decals

Hello!

We're half way through the week! 

I am really excited to show you this look I have today. I discovered artist Sara M Lyons on Instagram, and immediately became a fan. I first saw her 90s inspired nail decals (which I'll have here soon) and then decided to check out her Etsy shop and get a couple of nail goodies from her there. I decided to grab some of her faulty nail decal sets (the errors are hardly noticeable) because this was first time trying them out, and they were available at a discounted price. I love cats, so I went with her "Cats and Crosses" and "Cute and Sleazy" design packs. I used them both to create the look you'll see in the pics below, and I love how it came out!

What I love about Sara's decals besides the illustrations themselves, is the fact that they have adhesive on them, so all you have to do is cut out the decal you want to use, place it on your nail, and submerge the nail in water; the paper backing slides off after a few seconds. Sometimes the hardest thing about using nail decals is placing and keeping them in the exact spot you want them, but these make that so much easier. It is suggested, as with most decals, that you wear them over light colors or pastels, so you can see the images clearer. The polishes I used are Zoya "Kristen" (thumb nail), and "Throwing Shade", and "Life is But A Cream" from Jenna Hipp. 

So, what do you think? I love Sara's illustrations so much; she definitely has a new fan over here! She also makes me want to put my drawing skills to work and create my own nail decals. Stay tuned, we'll see how that goes. I think you should support artists like her, and many others out there. Check out Etsy and see what cool things you can find. Thanks for taking a look today!

- Tiff 

Virtuous Polish in "Patience" plus Incoco "High Voltage"

Hi!

Today I have a new bright-colored look to show you, featuring a polish from a brand I first introduced you to in my Blogaversary post a couple of weeks ago.Virtuous Polish is an indie brand that offers highly pigmented matte polishes that are sure to make a bold statement on your nails.I decided to create a look with one of their polishes in "Patience" with some left over nail appliques from Incoco. There's lots of fluorescent and matte action going on in the pics below! ;)

 

"Patience" is insanely pretty isn't it? I mattified the Incoco applique accent ("High Voltage" design) using "Matte Magic" from China Glaze. Unfortunately, highly pigmented matte nail polishes tend to not last for more than a day... I had major chips after about 24-hour wear with both polishes. I cannot explain the science about it, but for some reason, the more pigmented a matte polish is, the more prone it will be to chipping. If you've used matte polishes from Zoya and OPI, they mention that their mattes are not meant to be worn for more than that amount of time. The only matte polishes I know of that last quite long for them being matte are the ones from ManGlaze, but again, those aren't as pigmented as the ones I mentioned before. They're great polishes, I have a good handful of them, but the colors aren't as bold as the ones from Zoya and Virtuous Polish. I guess you have to figure out what you want before you put your mani together: a matte look that will last for more than a day, or a matte look just for a special night out.

Overall, I would absolutely order more from Virtuous Polish in the future because they make matte polishes in colors that I have not seen done yet, including a bright yellow. Also their prices are very reasonable, and their customer service team is the best. I say if you are wanting bright, bold matte polishes for a night out on the town or a party, definitely go for these.

So, what do you think about this look? I know most people feel colors this bright should be saved for the spring and summer, but I like to wear brights all year round; as I live Miami and that seems to be acceptable! ;)See ya next time.

- Tiff

Sally Hansen "Purple Craze" plus Fingrs nail art

Hello!

I have a super cute look to show you today. I must admit, that I'm starting to like purple more and more lately; it was never a favorite color of mine. Maybe it's because so many nail polish brands are coming out with so many great shades of purple that it is making me hard to pass them up. A recent trip to a Walmart tempted me to pick up some nail goodies including "Purple Craze" from Sally Hansen, and some nail tattoos from Fingrs brand. I thought they would look great together, so check out the pics below!

I really love the squishy jelly finish of "Purple Craze"! I used flash to better capture the jelly finish of the polish. The nail tattoo set I picked up will also make a great addition to my nail art stash. What you see on the accent nail went on very easily, just like a temporary tattoo or any nail decal you may have used before  would. I cut out the right size with some scissors and held it in a cup of water for a few seconds, and pressed on the nail. I sealed it with top coat, and I was ready to go!

I'm not a huge fan of the overall Walmart experience, but I do love their super low prices! ;) I want to say I spent about five dollars for both of these items together. The stores can be a bit messy at times, and the employees aren't always the nicest (at least not in Miami), but you really can find some great items there if you're patient enough, and go at a time when the store isn't too busy. They also have brands that I don't see at most places, like Salon Perfect, which I happen to be a fan of. We'll see when I decide to venture out to a Walmart again... lol.

So, what do you think of this look? Are you liking the purple trend? See ya next time!

- Tiff

Orly nail polish in "Starburst"

Hi! 

I'm happy to finally be blogging again! I've been super busy between my two jobs (teaching and working at the ticket office of a sports arena), but I managed to paint my nails! I would never leave the house with bare nails, of course... There's always time to put on a couple coats of polish ;) At one of my last trips to a Sally's beauty supply store, I browsed through the clearance section and grabbed a couple of Orly polishes that caught my eye. I don't happen to have many polishes from Orly in my collection, so I was looking to try something somewhat new. One of the Orly's I picked up is from their Spring 2014 collection, but the color combinations in it remind of Fall, so I decided to put it on just the other day! Check the polish in "Starburst" in the pictures below.

I wondered at first how the formula would work, since most indie polishes (it can be assumed that is where the inspiration came from) with the same idea of glitter mixed in a milky base tend to be a bit clumpy. "Starburst" went on quite easily for me with two coats that dried fairly quickly. I also did not need to "smooth" out the glitters like so many of us do with glittery polishes, using the handy Gelous nail gel (also available at Sally's and CVS); as the glitters spread out very evenly across the nail. Even though this polish is from a spring collection, I feel it would be perfect to wear this time of the year (see the red, yellow, and orange glitters? Can we say Thanksgiving colors, maybe?).

I hope you liked this nail polish as much as I do. It looks like Orly is trying get more creative with their color combinations; that's always a good thing in my opinion. I'll see you with a new post later this week! Thanks for taking a look.

- Tiff