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Pink Tips

After a relapse in nail biting a few months ago my nails have finally grown long enough to french tip again. I was in a pink mood (to be honest I'm always in a pink mood) so I went for a fuchsia pink tip. Unfortunately this bottle was part of a multi-pack of Sally Hansen HD mini polishes and it wasn't labeled, so the best description I can give is a shimmery fuchsia. I really like all of the HD polishes I've seen so this bold mani can be done with any color I'm sure.


After a base coat I used 1 coat of OPI 'In The Spot Light Pink" Its a really nice pale almost sheer pink. Whenever I french tip I like to use a light pink base just to even out the color of my natural nails. Then I put a coat of OPI 'I Juggle Men'  This is my favorite shimmer, its very subtle and beautiful in person, but sadly hard to see in these photos. I finished everything off with a coat of SV.


I liked this mani a lot, unfortunately it shrank really bad and sort of wrinkled. I don't know if I put the polish on too thick or if its because I was in a hurry to finish it but I was sad that I had to take this off after a few hours (during which I spent most of my time sleeping). Oh well I suppose I'll try again another time.
~Nailed by Jen~
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Royal Snowcone

I've finally pulled off a manicure with the dotting tool that I really like :) Hooray!!
 I started off with Orly - Snowcone. I really love this color, although I haven't used it in a really long time (I just posted about it this week, but that mani was from this summer.) The application is great and it is opaque in one coat.

For my dots, I decided to use OPI - Alpine Snow Matte and Revlon Top Speed - Royal. This was a really good use for the Alpine Snow Matte. I don't love the application when using it as a base color. It is streaky and balds really easily (more reasons to add to list of why mattes are hard to deal with). However, as a dotting color, the matte worked wonderfully!
I was really happy with the outcome. I decided to go with the ring finger and the thumb since I loved the look once I did an accent nail and had to add another. I definitely surprised myself :)

Please excuse my ridiculously dry hands!

Outside by the snow

Taken with a flash outside
~ Nailed by Ericka ~
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Blue La La with Dots

I just quickly wanted to show you my nails from Tuesday.  As I had stated earlier, I'm slightly obsessed with Instagram and I found an mani design that I just had to try :)  The original was done with a nude and red polish  (rachell_rachell is who originally posted it and you can just search her screen name).  I wasn't in the mood for those colors and had recently gotten some new polishes that I wanted to test.

I started with 2 coats of Nina Ultra Pro Blue La La on all my fingers except my ring finger.  This color is a beautiful dusty cornflower blue.  I really liked this color and the formula was great.  I did 3 coats of Nicole by OPI My Lifesaver on my ring fingers.  Next I used my dotting tool and did 2 dots on each nail (alternate color of the base).  Overall, I was really happy with the way that this came out.  Of course, I ended up smearing my pinkie nail dots but other than that it looked nice.



Here is my Instagram pic.  My username is blw1605.
I've decided that I really love these simple...but not just a plain color manis.  They make me feel like I have some skills :)

~Nailed by Brittany~
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Zoya Charisma

Today I wanted to show you one of my newer Zoya polishes.  I bought Zoya Charisma from Bloom.com at the end of 2011.  I didn't really remember the polish that I had chosen, so I was a little surprised when I opened the box.  I didn't remember picking such a bright, bold color.  But after putting it on, I was much more content with my choice.

Here is Zoya's website description of this color : Charisma can be best described as: Ultra bright neon fluorescent magenta/red-toned purple cream.  I would agree with that color description.  As always the formula was wonderful.  For being a matte polish, I didn't have any issues with streaks.  But I definitely love the look of shiny nails, so I added a coat of Essie Good to Go.

Taken in the sun :)  Sunshine always makes me happy.
 
I also recently participated in Zoya's promotion to get 2 free polishes by only paying shipping.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I will finally receive them today!

~Nailed by Brittany~
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Crooked Crackle

I've been wanting to try a diagonal crackle mani for quite some time and finally got around to doing it this weekend. I had already been wearing Orly - Velvet Rope for a day and was too lazy to take it off, but wanted something new.

With the Velvet Rope already dry, I was able to jump right into taping. I cut strips of tape and placed them diagonally on each nail. I decided to use OPI - Silver Shatter as the diagonal crackle. I haven't used crackle in quite some time and was pleasantly surprised by how well it worked. I usually don't love the OPI shatters (I prefer the Pure Ice ones instead), but it did the job for me. After topping this with SV, I wanted a little something else so I added in a black line from a nail art brush.


P.S. Brittany and I have been swatching nail wheels like crazy the past week or two with all of our polishes. Once we finish it up, we'll share our collection with you :)

~ Nailed by Ericka ~
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See you in the Bubble Bath on Pink Friday with a Strawberry Marg.

So I think I may have just won for the longest title on our blog :)  But I always like to try to use the nail polishes names in my title.  So today I decided that I wanted to use some of the new polishes I got from the Xmas exchange with Ericka and Jen (yes....we know that it is the middle of January but this adult life can get in the way.)  So on Saturday I got the rest of the Nicki Minja OPI polishes and Jen also bought me OPI Strawberry Margarita and Bubble Bath.  With all these new pretty pinks, I couldn't help myself.

I decided that I wanted to try to do a gradient, and these new polishes were perfect for it.  I started with 2 coats of Bubble Bath.  I was actually excited about this color. Its perfect for making your nails look pretty and natural.  Which as any nail polish addict will agree that a polish that can hide the staining and make naked nails look good is always a good thing.  Next, I sponged on OPI Pink Friday 3/4th of the way up the nail.  Then I sponged OPI Strawberry Margarita on the bottom 1/4th of the nail.  To help blend the colors I waited until the polish was almost dry and then re-sponged on top of each nail.  I felt like the nails also needed a touch of sparkle, so added Ulta Glitter Top Coat. 

Taken in the sunshine. Sadly you can't see the difference between Bubble Bath & Pink Friday :(

You can see the difference a little better here.
I really like the way this gradient came out and will definitely try it again with some different colors.

~Nailed by Brittany~
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Instagram Nails

So my newest obsession is Instagram and all the beautiful photos that iPhone/iPod users are able to take and share :) I'm very new to the app and I don't currently own the iPhone, but I have shared a few of my recent nails. So now I want to share them on the blog :)
Do you use Instagram? Do you love it?

~Nailed by Brittany~
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Summertime Blues

With the snow storm that just hit today, I'm definitely feeling the blues for summer. I can't wait for the sunshine and sandals :) With the gray, snowy skies outside, I decided to search my photos for past mani's from the summer that were never shared. I stumbled upon one that I'm shocked I never posted about!

I started this mani with a base coat of Orly - Snowcone (what a fitting name for today!). After topping this with a coat of SV, I used the sponge from a paint brush to dab on a darker blue. Since this was such a long time ago, I honestly can't remember what blue I put on top. This was my first attempt at sponging and I was pleasantly surprised with the results. To finish it off, I stamped with Ulta - Scene Steeler. I've I said before, this is a great silver to have in your collection. Great for stamping, tape mani's, and so much more :)
Plate m73

Natural light

Look at that grass :)
Hooray for a glimpse at the sunshine to come. If you're enduring this snow like us, stay warm!

~ Nailed by Ericka ~
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Black Tie Affair

Anyone who knows me knows that I love celebrities, awards shows and celebrity news. So this weekend while watching the Golden Globes I spotted one of my favorite actresses, Zooey Deschanel, wearing a very fun looking manicure. I couldn't see exactly what was going on since it was an just a glimpse during an audience shot but the next day on ENews they were talking about her adorable nails. Heres a picture from her instagram so everyone knows what I'm talking about http://instagr.am/p/hiuYs/ Anyway she had the cutest little tuxedos painted on to her nails. They seemed simple enough so I decided to give it a try.
I started with 2 coats of OPI Alpine Snow, one of my favorite whites, then I topped it with 1 coat of Seche Vite and waited patiently for it to dry.


Then I taped off the tips and painted them with Finger Paints Black Expressionism.


I obviously used a dotting tool and the same Finger Paints black to do the buttons. My real issue came with how to paint the bow ties. Initially I tried to use a nail art brush, but I just do not have the artistic skill so I was mostly smearing black all over. Luckily thanks to the layer of SV I was able to remove the black and without taking off the white. I then settled on using the dotting tool to make the bow ties as well. Its hard to describe how it did it, and they didn't turn out perfect so I'm sure there's a better way, but basically I just made and H-shape with the dots and it turned out pretty much how I imagined.



Overall I was pretty impressed with myself! If I was more skilled I could've probably done better but I liked them. As a bonus I've also included a picture of my nails from the other day. I used Finger Paints Black Expressionism again with China Glaze Matte top coat. Then I taped off the tips and used SV which resulted in matte nails with glossy tips. The photo is low quality but I still think the nails look pretty nice.

~Nailed by Jen~
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DS Rock Solid Explosion

For today's post, I've decided to revisit a mani from my past. Back in August (I miss those days), I attempted my very first "explosion" tape mani. Thanks to the wonderful guidance of Jane over at Nailside and her awesome tutorials, I was able to somewhat get the desired effect. After a few more months of practicing my techniques, I decided to try again.One of the main reasons I decided to try this again was that I had already been wearing OPI - DS Extragance and did not want to take it off :) It is such a beautiful color and I love the way it looks in the sun!

Once I decided to try the tape mani, I started prepping by cutting out triangles of tape. I needed 6 triangles per finger. I made sure to un-stick-ify the tape and carefully set it out on the edge of the table. Since by base color was already dried from the day before, I was able to start right away. I placed three triangles on each finger and painted one coat of Ulta - Scene Steeler. I have used this color time and time again. It has great coverage and works great for tape manis or stamping. I helped this layer dry quickly with some SV. For the top layer, I added three new pieces of tape on top of the silver pattern and painted a coat of Orly - Rock Solid. Again, I topped with SV.

I tried taking step-by-step photos to show you how I did this, but check out Nailside. Her tutorials really are so helpful!



Happy Tuesday :)

~ Nailed by Ericka ~
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Fly & Save Me

So to continue with the wonderful post that Jen did about the new Nicki Minaj OPI collection, I wanted to quickly show you my mani with 2 of the polishes.

I started with 2 coats of Fly and I completely love this color.  Its a vibrant teal that is just bright enough, but not so bright that it becomes too in your face.  I will definitely be wearing this color on a fairly regular basis.  The formula was wonderful, as OPI always is.  These photos were taken after 2 days of wear.  I also added 2 coats of Save Me on my ring fingers.  This glitter is beautiful.  The bar glitters are really unique and interesting.  I loved the rainbows that the glitter made.  I topped everything off with a coat of Essie Good To Go.
Photos taken inside w/ natural light.


Showing the rainbows off :)
Overall, I'm really loving these 2 polishes.  I haven't gotten the rest of the polishes from Jen yet and I'm trying to patiently wait...but its creating a bit of a challenge.  What you think of the bar glitter?  Are you liking it?

~Nailed By Brittany~
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Boom, Badoom, Boom

After what seemed like a very long wait I finally got my hands on OPI's Nicki Minaj Collection this week. My lovely cousin ordered it for me from Cosmoprof a few weeks ago and we were finally able to coordinate our schedules this week and go pick it up. She got 2 sets one for me and one for Brittany and Ericka. Apparently the girl at the store thought with that much nail polish we were going to be selling it in a salon. So much to my surprised (and pleasure) I also got the display along with the polish. So tonight I set everything up and got some decent pictures of the polishes and swatches that I'm going to share with you!

The whole collection
The collection consists of 6 polishes in total. 3 cremes, 2 glitters and a shatter. I've been anticipating this Spring collection since they announced it at the end of last year. Not only am I a big Nicki Minaj fan I also love bright polishes and glitters and that's all this collection is!
The 3 cremes in this collection include Pink Friday a pale pink, Did It On Em a bright green, and Fly a teal blue. I felt really iffy about Did It On Em when I saw the initial photos, I'm not especially fond of green polishes and this is a strange chartreuse lime-y color. But in person its really unusual and pretty. Fly is such a bright vibrant blue its perfect for spring. Pink Friday is a standard pale pink but honestly you can never go wrong with pink for me. All of the cremes get great coverage even in one coat but I used two just because I'm a perfectionist!

From L-R: Super Bass Shatter, Fly, Did It On Em, Metallic For Life, Pink Friday, Save Me
The glitters in the collection were for sure what I was most anticipating. Save me is a clear base with tons of silver micro glitter and rainbow bar glitter. I don't have any other bar glitter polishes so I was really excited when I saw this. I was very pleasantly surprised by Metallic For Life, in pictures it just looked like small and large silver glitters in a black base, which was pretty nice but in person it really shines. Its opaque in just 2 coats and the silver glitter is not muted at all by the black base. The last polish in this collection is Super Bass Shatter. I'm kind of over the shatter trend but this one is very pretty, a shimmery plum purple.

Close-Up of Metallic For Life

Close-Up of Save Me
Save me is pretty sheer but I was able to gain opacity in 3 coats. I did test it over all three of the creme polishes. I definitely prefer it over Pink Friday or Did It On Em, I feel like Fly is a little dark and you lose the color of the polish because the glitter stands out so much. But its such a pretty polish I could wear it on any base and enjoy it I think. I also tested the Super Bass Shatter on all 3 of the cremes. I prefer it on pink but thats just a personal choice, again I think it looks alright on any of the 3.

Save Me and Super Bass Shatter over Pink Friday, Fly, and Did It On Em
I was eagerly anticipating this collection and overall I have to say it exceeded expectations. The cremes are bright and beautiful spring colors, the glitters are perfect and even the shatter is something new and fun. I can't wait to see more spring collections I'm ready for more light colors and sparkles!
One last thing in this wordy and pic heavy post, my nails today. Three coats of Save Me with Seche Vite as a top coat.


~Nailed By Jen~
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Play Date with Oreo Brownies

Over the past weekend, we had to take a trip to Wal-mart and I wanted to pick up a full size bottle of Essie Good To Go (I currently only have a mini bottle), due to the fact that I'm really like it.  Don't get me wrong, I still love Seche Vite but the Essie Good To Go smells a little better and does a really good job at drying quickly. Unfortunately, this Walmart didn't carry the top coat, but they did have Essie Play Date.  As soon as I saw this color, I knew that I needed it.  And I'm super happy with my decision.

I did 2 coats Essie Play date and topped it off with one coat of Essie Good To Go.  The formula was flawless and I love the brush.  This color was amazing.  A beautiful creme purple.  I do believe this will become one of my new favorites :)

 Bonus photo:  I made brownies with Oreos in the middle.  They are delicious!!! And look how pretty nails look with them :)

~Nailed by Brittany~
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Me + Blue

Last Friday, I took yet another trip to Ulta. Temptation (and honestly, clearance) led me to pick up a few more bottles to add to our collection. Sadly, I picked up a color that we already own... the troubles of having too many options. I've opted to finally print out our inventory to have with me (nerdy, I know) in order to prevent this from happening. We've decided to keep the spare for a giveaway to be held at some time in the future.

Regardless of it's state already on our shelf (and more currently, the helmer!), I had not used Nicole by OPI - Me + Blue which is part of the Justin Bieber Collection. If you need a reason to love Justin Bieber (or another reason if your like us :), this polish should help convince you. Me + Blue is a lovely blue holo with a great application. Thanks to a how-to on cleaning up your nails at Sonidlo's Nail, I was actually able to save my cuticles from destruction.

Luckily, we were able to catch some sunlight this weekend to get some photographs in.

Taken in the shade.



~ Nailed by Ericka ~
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Puppy Paws

For the last few years at every Christmas, birthday or other gift giving occasion I've only had one request.... a puppy! This year my brother finally caved in to my begging and got one. She is an adorable black Labrador/Airdale Terrier mix named Ellie. She is still a puppy but even now she is a big dog, I however have chosen to treat her like she is a tiny fashionable dog, pretty pink collars, sweaters and of course sharing my obsession with nail polish. I found some doggy nail polish on amazon and ordered it right away. The brand was Color Paw and the color Hot Pink.

 
She has 3 black paws and 1 white one, the polish really only showed up on the white. Plus she only held still long enough for me to paint 2 paws anyway :) 

I'll be totally honest the bottle says long lasting, quick drying and covers in one coat and while it did cover in one coat it didn't last long, about 1 day on the doggy nails. It took a few minutes to dry as well and anyone who has ever tried to make a puppy lay still for 10 minute can sympathize with the challenge this was. Anyway after I finished Ellie's nails I decided I liked the color for myself. In a collection of over 200 polishes at least 1/4 of which are pink I did not have a single color that looked like this one. So I painted my own nails with the Color Paw puppy polish.


While the formula was a bit thin but I was actually pretty impressed with the polish. It covered in 2 coats and had a particularly nice finish, glossy and sort of plastic looking when it was dry. Unlike on the dog it had good wear on me with little to no chipping, probably because I don't use my hands to walk like she does.

2 Coats Color Paw Hot Pink with SV in natural light.
And just in case you were interested here is what the rest of my adorable puppy looks like.


Thanks for reading... and I promise we'll be back to posting all human nails tomorrow :)
~Nailed by Jen~

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Designer...De Better

Just a quick post today.  I wanted to show you my NOTD.  I did 2 (3 on a few fingers where I had nicked them while painting...oops!)of OPI Designer...De Better and topped it off with 2 coats of Julep Fast Dry Topcoat.  I got this topcoat approximately 2 months ago and I haven't really used it yet.  However, I definitely didn't like the smell of this topcoat and it seems really thin to me and after using SV most of the time, it just doesn't seem right to me.  Designer...De Better is amazing.  I really love this color and the extra copper particles really make this silver foil different and much warmer. 
In natural light (shade)


Sunshine in January!
I also so excited because I purchased 2 new Zoya polishes with their current promo (code:zoya2012) and 2 polishes from a-england, who is celebrating their first anniversary with 30% any order (code:anniversary).  Can't wait to receive my new polishes!

~Nailed by Brittany~
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