Bright Skittles

I hope you are enjoying your Thursday! Most of the pictures you will see over the next week or so are old-ish. This particular manicure is from February. Poor thing is happy to see the light of day. Or at least the light of the blogosphere.

These bright skittles were fun and easy to do. From thumb to pinky: Cosmetic Arts Limelight, Zoya Pippa, Color Club Poptastic, Ulta Blue Streak, and Julep Anne. Each is two coats. The little design on my ring finger is an Essence French Glam Nail Stickers. Each sheet has several designs.

Little Devil

I hope you are enjoying your Sunday! Or what's left of it anyway. Its not even Sunday anymore here. I'm very late with this post.

Little bit of devilish fun for Halloween! I started with two coats of Julep Alyson. Then I stamped on my devils with Julep Demi and stamping plate BM-301. Demi stamps well. I love this! Not only are the devils adorable, but I'm very happy with my color choices.

Giraffe Print

I hope you are enjoying your Tuesday! Sorry again for my absence. Things have been crazy.

My little giraffe print nails. I wish they would have turned out better. They are part stamping and part freehand. I started off with two coats of Julep Alyson. Then I stamped on a giraffe print with China Glaze Mahogany Magic and BM-313. I had the ceiling fan and a stand fan going at the time, so the stamping did not transfer well. Thus the freehand. I got several compliments on them today though. One woman did not know about stamping. I have never seen someone that excited to learn about nail art.

Mahogany Magic is part of the China Glaze Capitol Colours Collection and retails for $3-6 at various stores and websites. Julep retails for $14 on their website. BM stamping plates are part of a 25 piece set (the 2012 one) that retails for $22 on Bundle Monster or their Amazon store.

Julep Molly

I hope you're enjoying your Friday! Sorry that I've been gone. Its been a hectic month. But I'm back with a classic color to show you.

You cannot go wrong with a gorgeous red. Julep Molly is classic red creme. Everyone needs a classic red. The application is great and opaque in two coats.

Julep retails for $14 on their website.

Speckled Green & Pink

I hope you are enjoying your Monday! Its Monkey See, Monkey Do time again. Basically you take inspiration from or recreate a mani done by someone else.

I took inspiration from this post by Jen of The Exotic Lacquer. Mine are a bit different. I used Julep Cameron and Cosmetic Arts Limelight as my base colors. Both two coats each. Then I did one coat of Love & Beauty Black Knight. I love this look.

Cosmetic Arts retail for $2 at Ross (I'm unsure where else they are sold, if anywhere else). Julep retails for $14 at Julep and Sephora. Love & Beauty retails for $2.80 at Forever21, online and in store.

Please check out the other lovely bloggers participating in this challenge. :)

Amber Did It

Angelina's Nails & More

Beauty Bumbles

Dressed Up Digits

Fancy Phalanges

Fanning the Fumes

Geeky Owl

Gnarly Gnails

Jen's Painted Tips

Kawaiinize Your World

LeSamowen

Macabre Manicures

Maquiclub Girl

Nail Polish is my Crack

PishPosh and Polish

Polish Crazed

Polish Lover

Tales of Knit and Nails

The Clockwise Nail Polish

The Crumpet

The Manicured Monkey

The (mis)Adventures of a Wanna Be Martha

Toxic Vanity

Double Gradient

I hope you are enjoying your Monday! This week's theme on PAA for the Monday Nail Art Challenge is Sponging. That theme instantly brings gradients to mind for me. I originally intended to have a simple three color design, but it did not turn out the way I intended, so glitter was added.

I started with one coat of Pure Ice Super Star! as my white base. Using a sponge, I created a gradient with NYC Times Square Tangerine, Wet n Wild Red Red, and Julep Helena. The orange and red blended very well together, but the purple sponged on horribly. It was patchy and did not blend. I have not used Helena for sponging before, so I'm unsure if it was to blame or not.

I put too much time in to just start over, so I saved the design by sponging Love & Beauty Black Knight onto the tips. A creme gradient and and a glitter gradient. A double gradient.

Pure Ice retails for $2 at Walmart and Bari Cosmetics. NYC Long Wearing Nail Enamel retails for $1 at Walmart, Riteaid, and Family Dollar. Wet n Wild retail for $1-2 at CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Ulta, and many other stores, all of which are listed on their website. Julep retails for $14 at Julep and Sephora. Love & Beauty retails for $2.80 at Forever21, online and in store.

Julep Helena

I hope you're enjoying your Friday! I have a polish to show you that I've intended to wear for a long time. I wore it awhile ago on my toes and loved it.

Julep Helena is an ultra-saturated fuchsia creme. The color is insanely vibrant and opaque in two coats. The application is very good.

Julep retails for $14 at Julep and Sephora.

Floral

I hope you're enjoying your Monday! Another Monday Nail Art Challenge is here. This week is Floral. I wish this had turned out better. 

I was inspired by this post on the Nail Nerd. I used e.l.f. Fire Coral as a background for my flowers. The rest of the polishes I used were Sinful Colors Black on Black (outline), Love My Nails Orange Blossom, Ulta Peach Parfait (petals), China Glaze Mahogany Magic, and Julep Olivia (flower center).

Tipped with Glitter

I hope you're enjoying your Tuesday! I'm starting a new weekly challenge called Monkey See, Monkey Do. Its a nail challenge for Monday (though mine will be on Tuesday since I already do one for Mondays) where we take inspiration from or recreate a mani done by someone else. Anything you see on blogs, Facebook, Pinterest, or anywhere else online. 

I was inspired by this gorgeous mani I saw on Pinterest from The Nailasaurus. I would have never thought to pair gray and glitter together. I'm not even a gray fan. I have this polish (my only gray) for nail art. For my nails, I started with a base of Julep Dendrie. Its a lovely gray creme with great application and is opaque in two coats. Next I sponged on Jordana Gemstones. I've found that for glitter, it is best to paint the polish on the sponge. I absolutely love this combination. Its given me a whole new appreciation for gray polish. I actually love it. Now I don't have any colors I won't wear. I only shied away from brown and gray.

Julep retails for $14 at Julep and Sephora. Jordana Specialty Glitters retail for $3 at Jordana and Kmart

Please check out the other lovely bloggers participating in this challenge. :)

Amber Did It
Angelina's Nails & More
Beauty Bumbles
Dressed Up Digits
Fancy Phalanges
Fanning the Fumes
Geeky Owl
Gnarly Gnails
Jen's Painted Tips
Kawaiinize Your World
LeSamowen
Macabre Manicures
Maquiclub Girl
Nail Polish is my Crack
PishPosh and Polish
Polish Crazed
Polish Lover
Tales of Knit and Nails
The Clockwise Nail Polish
The Crumpet
The Manicured Monkey
The (mis)Adventures of a Wanna Be Martha
Toxic Vanity

Girly Girl Nail Art Challenge Day 7 - Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice

I hope you are enjoying your Tuesday! I have another design for the Girly Girl Nail Challenge for you today. This challenge lasts a month and includes eight different days of nail art. Instead of trying to keep up with a new nail design each day, we have two each week. Day Seven is Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice: That's what little girls are made of! Show off your sweet (or spicy) inspired nails.

I took the theme a bit literal. Sugar on my index finger with Bon Bons 1060 and Sinful Colors Pinky Glitter, both two coats. Spice on my middle finger with two coats of Julep Demi. Everything Nice on my ring finger with Finger Paints Easel Come, Easel Go and Ulta Glitter Top Coat, both two coats. On my pinky, I combined Sugar and Spice with 1060 and Demi. Every girl is a combination of them after all. :)

Ulta Nail Lacquer retails for $6 at Ulta. Bon Bons retail for $1 at Walmart and Bari Cosmetics. Sinful Colors retail for $2 at Walgreens (online/in store) and Target (in store). They're also available for $2.50 at Cherry Culture. Julep retails for $14 at Julep. Finger Paints retail for $5 at Sally Beauty Supply.

Please check out the other lovely bloggers participating in this challenge. :)

Amanda of Nox Nails
Amanda of Berry Polished
Ashley of Smashley Sparkles

Bethany of  A Plethora of Nails
ChiChi of I'm just me...ChiChi
CR of Color Me Silly

Danielle of Polish. Glitter. Rock & Roll
Elly of Polishable

Emily of TheLacquerologist

Eugenia of Talon-ted

Jess of LuvMyLacquer

Jodi of CaptivatingClaws

Johanna of Neues vom Kellerkind

Kate of This Charming Kate

Kelly of Devilish Polish

Lindsey of Neverland Nail Blog
Lizzy of The Do It Yourself Lady

Olivia of Unprofessional Nails
Robin, Erin, and Anna of Polished Cousins

Sarah of See Sarah Swatch

Stephanie of A Little Polish
Tressa of O' Natur Nail

Girly Girl Nail Art Challenge Day 5 - Gotta Love Chick Flicks!

I hope everyone is enjoying their Tuesday! I have another design for the Girly Girl Nail Challenge for you today. This challenge lasts a month and includes eight different days of nail art. Instead of trying to keep up with a new nail design each day, we have two each week. Day Five is Gotta Love Chick Flicks: We just can't resist! Wear a mani inspired by your favorite chick flick.

My favorite chick flick is without a doubt The Notebook. Its an amazing love story. If you have not seen the movie, I will not spoil it for you by telling you about my mani, I promise. Noah writes Allie a letter everyday for a year. 365 letters.

I painted all of my nails with three thin coats of Essie Bone Chilling. For my ring finger, I used a L.A. Color Art Deco Black Striper then painted a heart with a dotting tool and Julep Cameron. For the rest of my fingers, I wrote out words with the tip of a calligraphy pen. I could not get the letters small enough with polish. And calligraphy pens will not bleed or run. 

Please check out the other lovely bloggers participating in this challenge. :)

Amanda of Nox Nails
Amanda of Berry Polished
Ashley of Smashley Sparkles

Bethany of  A Plethora of Nails
ChiChi of I'm just me...ChiChi
CR of Color Me Silly

Danielle of Polish. Glitter. Rock & Roll
Elly of Polishable

Emily of TheLacquerologist

Eugenia of Talon-ted

Jess of LuvMyLacquer

Jodi of CaptivatingClaws

Johanna of Neues vom Kellerkind

Kate of This Charming Kate

Kelly of Devilish Polish

Lindsey of Neverland Nail Blog
Lizzy of The Do It Yourself Lady

Olivia of Unprofessional Nails
Robin, Erin, and Anna of Polished Cousins

Sarah of See Sarah Swatch

Stephanie of A Little Polish
Tressa of O' Natur Nail

Polka Dot Owl

I hope everyone is enjoying their Friday! Its the very last one in February. Today I have a cute little owl design to show you. I did this with a nail art contest in mind. Sarah from Chalkboard Nails is doing a Dotting Tool Contest. You can only use a dotting tool (or something that counts as a dotting tool like a toothpick). No nail art brushes, just the brush that comes with your polish.

I just love my little owl! For the owl and polka dots, I used Julep Olivia, Miranda, and Sinful Colors Snow Me White. Everything was done with my nail polish brush (from Miranda) and my dotting tools. This design was inspired by CutePolish (she has the cutest designs).

I love these polishes. All were easy to work with. My nails with the dots have one coat of Miranda. Most of Julep's polishes seem to be one coaters, which I love.

Retro Stars Rainbow Gradient

Its Stamping Sunday over at Adventures In Stamping on Facebook. This week is Stars. And tomorrow's Nail Art Challenge at Polish-aholics Anonymous is Gradient/Ombre. I had this vision of a rainbow gradient with black stars. My nails are not exactly what I imagined, but the design is growing on me.

It reminds me of a vintage tee where the edges of the images fade and become worn. I don't think this plate image was etched deep enough. I could not pick up the image in the same spots over and over.

Its a lot of color! I used Essie Bone Chilling, Zoya Pippa, Dahlia Orange, Love My Nails New Love, Color Club Poptastic, Julep Anne, Zoya Phoebe, and Sinful Colors Irish Green. I started with a coat of Bone Chilling then sponged on each of the other colors. Next I stamped the stars on using the BM21 plate and Sinful Colors Black on Black.

I really like how colorful this is!

Untrieds Day 22 - Funky Fingers Golden Coast

Today I wanted something simple that reminded me of Autumn since Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Brown and gold sounded perfect. So I layered Funky Fingers Golden Coast over Julep Olivia.

Olivia is a nice one coat creme polish, while Golden Coast is a gold glitter polish with holo glitter as well. It has amazing sparkle and is a dream to apply. I only needed one coat of each polish.

Please check out the other lovely bloggers participating in this challenge. :)

Alexandria at Je T'aime Lacquer

Alyssa at Always Polished

Amber at The Polished Momma

Andrea at Addicted to the Allure of Beauty

Caitlin at Something Creative

Carly at Lacquered Lover

Caroline at Good Lack, Nail!

Caroline at Shadow's Nail Art

Chelsea at Pretty and Polished

Ingie at Limited Addiction Nails

Jacki at Adventures in Acetone

Jamie at Nails Adored

Lindsey at Nailtopia

Nory at Fierce Makeup and Nails

Rachel at Cherry Glam Girl

Sarah at Lucky Lacquers

Shaina at Haute Lacquer

Taylor at Nailed to the T

Thalie at Glazed Talons

Untrieds Day 9 & 10 - Rainbow Nails

I've been sick lately, so much so that I haven't been to work most of this week. So I missed painting my nails yesterday. But I more than made up for it today. :) I painted all of my fingers a different color. Ten untried polishes!

These aren't exactly a rainbow, but it is a rainbow of colors. I used to work at a fabric store and this is how we organized the colors from light to dark. White, yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, blue, green, brown, silver/black.

From left to right, I used: Essie Bone Chilling, NYC Taxi Yellow, Sally Girl Amped, Wet n Wild Red Tape, Lavender Creme, Love My Nails Frosted Purple, Sally Hansen Pacific Blue, Wet n Wild SaGreena the Teenage Witch, Julep Olivia, and Beauty UK Gun Metal.

I think its a fun mani to do. And certainly eye catching considering the wide array of colors.

Please check out the other lovely bloggers participating in this challenge. :)

Alexandria at Je T'aime Lacquer

Alyssa at Always Polished

Amber at The Polished Momma

Andrea at Addicted to the Allure of Beauty

Caitlin at Something Creative

Carly at Lacquered Lover

Caroline at Good Lack, Nail!

Caroline at Shadow's Nail Art

Chelsea at Pretty and Polished

Ingie at Limited Addiction Nails

Jacki at Adventures in Acetone

Jamie at Nails Adored

Lindsey at Nailtopia

Nory at Fierce Makeup and Nails

Rachel at Cherry Glam Girl

Sarah at Lucky Lacquers

Shaina at Haute Lacquer

Taylor at Nailed to the T

Thalie at Glazed Talons

Julep Cameron

I have been wanting to try out my new Julep polishes since I first got my sneak peek Julep Maven box. Pink is one of my favorite colors so I wanted to try Cameron first. 

Cameron is a bright pretty pink. It applied perfectly. I used two coats, but someone with shorter nails could have definitely gotten away with just one.

The second picture with the flash is more color accurate. Indoors the color is a bright pink, then becomes even brighter, a very hot pink once outside in the Sun.

I'm in love with color! Such a nice bright pink.