Showing posts with label China Glaze. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China Glaze. Show all posts
Let's Get Nailed 1 comment

More Instagram Nails

So I've been crazy with work, so I haven't had as much time to focus on the blog but I really love Instagram. Here are a few of my nails from this last week :)

Hope you like them. I was so excited about how my first flower nail art attempt came out.

~Nailed By Brittany~
Let's Get Nailed 3 comments

Dots Galore

So I had originally attempted to post this mani on Tuesday, but Blogger freaked out or something and deleted all the content in my post.  Since that happened, I am going to show you 2 of my recent manis.  As of you have seen, I have been on a dotting tool kick lately.  And these mani are perfect examples of why I love it so much.

For the 1st one I started with 2 coats of Savvy French Cafe.  I love the look of this nude, but I always question if its the best nude for me.  Anyways, next I added two rows of dots to my ring fingers and thumbs.  I used Ultra Mint Condition and China Glaze First Mate.  I truly loved the color combination and the overall look. 

Next, I did another mani inspired by Instagram.  The original was posted by @beejustice and I believe that it was inspired by a necklace that she owns.
Here is a screencap.  I'm not sure how to tag her on this. Sorry!
She used gold and a mint green, but I just recently picked up OPI Skull & Glossbones and I really wanted to test it out.  So I started with 2 coats of it, and I'm really loving the color.  Its a great neutral.  Next, I added dots on all of my fingers except for the ring fingers, on which I used my new Red Angel stamping plate.  I chose to use Ulta Chic Peek.  I also really loved the way that this turned out.  The only issue that I had was that the stamped image is significantly lighter than the dots.

So what do you think?  Do you love the dots as much as me?


~Nailed by Brittany~
Let's Get Nailed 1 comment

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~
Let's Get Nailed 2 comments

Christmas Trees

So I'm just going to do a quick post for you today.  Sorry for the lack of post yesterday, but I was traveling most of the day and didn't have time to get a post together.

I wanted to share with you the Christmas tree manis that I did this week.  I had seen the tutorials from the amazing Jane at Nailside and just have to give them a try.  The first mani started with 2 coats of Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby on all my fingers with a nice coat of SV to finish it off.  However, on my ring finger I did 2 coats of OPI Alpine Snow and then topped that with a coat of SV and then taped off the Christmas tree and I used Sinful Colors Last Chance.  I then added an unknown multi-colored glitter to look like  ornaments/lights and one large sliver glitter as the topper.  I really liked the way this came out.  I definitely need to practice my taping skills, but I still think that they looked good.
That's snow is the background :)

This photo shows Ruby Ruby the most accurately.
The next Christmas tree mani that I did is a little more crazy. I started by creating a jelly sandwich with China Glaze Innocence and an unknown red and green glitter on all my fingers except for the ring finger.  On the accent nail I started with 2 coats of Finger Paints Scenery Greenery and added a layer of unknown green/silver glitter polish.  After topping that with a coat of Gelous and SV I taped off the tree and used OPI Wocka Wocka!  I also added a little bead (I received these with my December Julep Maven box) as the topper.  One last coat of SV sealed it all in. Its a little crazy but I still love it :)
Sorry about the lighting.  I'm at my grandparents and I didn't get a picture in the sunshine (I was napping :) )

I hope everyone is enjoy this holiday season!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

~Nailed by Brittany~

P.S. As you can see I was unable to tag my photos. Sorry!
Let's Get Nailed 2 comments

Fall Foliage

Welcome to November! Here in Ohio, that is a welcome to the blistery winds, frigid temperatures, and mountains of snow to come... thank goodness for snow days :)

After finishing off a pink-filled October, it is finally time to share some different colors. Yesterday, Brittany showed you Revlon - Tangerine... an awesome orange that we both wore to celebrate Halloween. Being slightly lazy, I decided to just stamp on top of this color. I gathered up colors that reminded me of fall and leaves on the ground and started stamping with one of our plates with a leaf stencil. I stamped with China Glaze - Vertical Rush and Emerald Fitzgerald, Revlon - Hot for Chocolate, Ulta - High Roller, and Finger Paints - Vintage Velvet.

I tried to make it look like the leaves were blowing across my nails, so I scattered them among my fingers, while layering them on my thumbs. Overall, I really like this mani. It was something I had been thinking of and couldn't wait to try out.






One of the gnomes from the Gnome and Garden Show at Holden Arboretum... my nails reminded me of him!
Do you have a fall mani you are waiting to try out?

~ Nailed by Ericka ~
Let's Get Nailed 4 comments

Double Stamp, French Tip & Traffic Jam

So I recently saw on a blog (and of course, I can't find it now) where they did a double stamp.  I really liked the look of it, so I decided to give it a try.  I started with one coat of China Glaze Traffic Jam.  I love this polish. It is a beautiful raspberry creme.  Its lovely and so pretty alone :)  Next I used the cheetah stamp with Ulta Scene Steel-er.  This polish is beyond amazing for stamping and I would highly recommend it for anyone who loves to stamp with silver polish.  Once that was dry I stamped again with Orly Liquid Vinyl.  I finished the whole look with free-handed french tips.  This was the first time that I tried to free hand a french tip, and I'm pretty proud of the way that they turned out.
Taken inside with the flash.

Without flash. 


Here is the sweater I wore with my nails.  It matched the color :)
So as you can see my pictures are not the best.  There really isn't a color accurate photo, but I'm sure that you can find much better swatch of Traffic Jam on other blogs.  Overall, I liked this.  However, it was a little much for me.  I also tested (on paper) with Royal Cloak and actually liked the look of that better.  So maybe next time.  So what do you think?  Do you think there is any other stamp patterns that would look good double stamped?

Also, don't forget today is the last day to enter our 25 Followers Giveaway!  So enter now!

~Nailed by Brittany~
Let's Get Nailed No comment yet

Go Go Nubar

As the end of October draws closer, my options/ ideas for pink polishes are also coming to an end. Although I know that there is no way I have exhausted all of our options, I just can't seem to find pinks on the shelf that interest me anymore. I saw this one laying out the other day and decided to give it a try. I later realized that Brittany had shared this as well, but I am out of mani's to show you!

I put on 2 layers of China Glaze - Go Go Pink. The formula was great and went on without any difficulty. I wanted a little bit of something extra to spice it up, so I went to the old favorite... Nubar 2010! I thought that it would look best to put it on all of my nails rather than just doing an accent. The result was as lovely as I would have expected with Nubar flakes :)

Both of these were taken in the best light possible in our apartment :(

As the Ohio weather takes a turn for the worse, I promise that we will try to find a better solution for our lighting problem. Lighting (and more aggrivating... cell phone service) is extremely poor in our apartment!

Be sure to enter the Giveaway! Only 2 more days!
~ Nailed by Ericka ~
Let's Get Nailed 1 comment

Pink Cheetah

I decided to finally get around to using the cheetah print stamp. Brittany and Jen both have showed you this stamp before, but it's my first time using it. I usually gravitate toward the swirls or patterns, so an animal print was a bit of a change.

I started this mani with 2 coats of China Glaze - Strawberry Fields. This color has a lovely gold shimmer in it. The application was amazing and the finished look was beautiful. To spice it up, I used Orly - Liquid Vinyl to stamp the cheetah print. I know Liquid Vinyl also comes up quite a bit on this blog, but it is honestly the best black I've found to stamp with.

I'm going to apologize in advance for the poor photo quality. I've been getting home from work late and the weather outside has also been rainy, so indoor photos will have to do.




P.S. Keep entering the giveaway!

~ Nailed by Ericka~
Let's Get Nailed 1 comment

Fifth Avenue Left A Message

The mani I'm bringing you today is from a while ago, but it fits with our October theme. I wanted something simple, but with a little bit of pop.

I started off with 2 coats of China Glaze - Fifth Avenue. This polish has a creme finish and is a dusty mauve-y pink. The application was great and was an easy clean-up. I added Finger Paints - Hue Left A Message? to both ring fingers. This color is a pink glitter in a clear base. The glitter matched perfectly and really looked great. I topped off the mani with Orly - Sec' N Dry topcoat.

Indoor lighting due to the rainy weather outside.

Another indoor shot

On a side note, I use to love Seche Vite as a topcoat and still think that it is the best topcoat out there. However, I am trying to find topcoats that are "Big 3-Free." So far I haven't found any that are as wonderful as SV. Do you have any suggestions?

~ Nailed by Ericka ~
Let's Get Nailed No comment yet

Go Pink!

The school I teach at has also adopted Pink October. During this month, the student council has planned different activities to raise awareness about breast cancer. This past weekend, the students dressed in pink at school and football game to show support. Along with wearing pink, I decided show my support through my mani. With a little tape, some luck, and a lot of time, I was able to create what looked somewhat similar to the Breast Cancer Awareness Ribbon.

To complete this mani, I started by painting all of my nails (except the ring) with China Glaze - Rich and Famous. I put on 2 coats to achieve a level, finished look. On my ring fingers, I used Ulta - Encore Pink. Once this dried, I used OPI - Alpine Snow to stamp a plaid design on these 2 fingers. The stamp was one of the designs off of the BM 60 plate.

Once all of my nails were dry, I started attempting to cut out ribbon designs with a razor blade and cutting mat. I probably attemtped about 10 different ribbons before getting 2 that I liked. I put the tape ribbon on my ring fingers and painted over it with Rich and Famous. Once the tape was peeled off, I was left with a plaid ribbon that really stood out!


Outside in the sunshine


Breast Cancer Awareness Ribbon

Overall, I was really impressed with the final outcome. Although I've done tape mani's in the past, this was the most intricate design I've ever attemtped. I was pretty pleased with myself :)

Don't forget to enter our Giveaway!

~Nailed by Ericka~
Let's Get Nailed No comment yet

Its Go Go Pink

To continue in our quest of honoring Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I have 2 more pink polishes to show you.  This past weekend was the wedding of a close friend and Ericka and I went back to my hometown to celebrate.  On the way there, I needed to return a dress that I had purchased and later decided to not wear.  Well it just so happens that there was a Sally's 2 doors down, and we just had to stop. I, thankfully, picked up 4 new polishes (3 of which were pink :)

Sally's is currently offering all kinds of polishes that contribute to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.  I picked up a double pack of Seche Vite Top Coat and China Glaze Go Go Pink.  I decided to use the Go Go Pink.  I did 3 coats and then added Finger Paints Pink Imagination to my ring fingers.  Go Go Pink is a lovely candy pale pink.  I had a little trouble with the application.  I had some bald spots, but after the second coat I probably would have been fine with 2 coats, but I did 3 for good measure. 
Taken outside with my body as the shade.

Taken in the sun.  Yay we had sun today!
I really love both of these colors and I think they worked pretty nicely together too!  I also wanted to mention that I'm so excited because Jen and I have been lucky enough to get some of the new polishes from the OPI Muppets Collection.  So we will be sharing those goodies later...yay!!

~Nailed by Brittany~
Let's Get Nailed No comment yet

TuTu Cute Jelly Sandwich

The weather is not making me happy.  I really wanted to show you pictures of my nails from a few different days, but there just isn't any sun in Ohio.  So unfortunately the mani that I'm going to show you was only photographed inside.  So please don't judge the photos too harshly, I know that they aren't the best.

So I started with 2 coats of Ulta TuTu Cute.  This color alone is a lovely creme lavender color.  The formula was nice and the application was a breeze.  I wanted to spicy it up a little, so I added 2 layers of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Set the Stage.  I truly love this gold glitter.  The mixture of small glitter and the larger hexagon glitter is just perfect for a jelly sandwich.  Next I added on 1 coat of China Glaze Innocence.  Overall, I was pretty happy with the way that this turned out. I felt like it was a really nice color combination, and that the colors were work appropriate.  But not too boring :)
Even though these picture were taken inside, they are pretty color accurate.

What are your favorite colors to wear to work?

~Nailed by Brittany~
Let's Get Nailed 1 comment

Polka Dots!

First let me start by saying Happy First Day of Fall! The weather here in Ohio is raining and chilly, which most people don't enjoy but I am very pleased about, perfect for sweaters and boots. I'm sure by February I'll be sick of the cold but for now its nice, I love when the seasons change. 
The manicure I have today isn't particularly Fall themed but I got a dotting tool yesterday and i couldn't wait to use it.
 Initially when I started painting I was planning to do a rainbow of dots on a white background, but then I saw the black, red and silver sitting together and I decided to go with that instead. I was very happy with the results. 
I started with 2 coat China Glaze 'White on White' and then put a layer of SV on top. I find that when I'm trying to do any nail art its best to put a top coat between the base and the other stuff that way if I mess up I can remove the nail art without taking off the base color. Its saves a lot of time because I tend to mess up a lot. The dots are China Glaze 'Ruby Pumps', Finger Paints 'Easel Come, Easel Go', and ORLY 'Liquid Vinyl'.
Well that's all for me for today. I'm off to have a romantic date night with Brittany. Hope everyone enjoys the change of season this weekend, I unfortunately will be working.
~Nailed by Jen~






Let's Get Nailed 2 comments

Heading Out of Town

So for this Labor Day weekend Ericka, Jen, and I are all heading to the remote hills of West Virginia to camp with Jen's family.  This means that we unfortunately will be without internet connection and since we have all been crazy busy this week, we were unable to setup posts for the weekend.  So please don't think that we have left you....I promise we will be back :)

The nails that I'm showing you today are from this past weekend.  I felt like I wanted to be crazy and wear really bright colors, because I feel like its not really acceptable at work.  So I did just that.  I used Ericka's new set of Poptastic Color Club polishes.  I'm being lazy and still have lots to do to get ready for our trip, so I'm not going to list the colors.  If you would like to know the names just leave a comment :)  I did 2 coats of each color, and then added Hard Candy's Matte-ly In Love.  To add an extra pop I made a dot flower with China Glaze Seduce Me and Petites Black Diamond.  Unfortunately, the matte top coat smeared the flower :(  I decided to photograph these nails with the lemon again, because my dad said that he liked it and I didn't know which bottle to pick. 
I used blue, green, yellow, pink, and purple.

Also, I'm sorry that I haven't been adding pictures from the set of the Avengers.  At the beginning of this week they were filming on the street right beside me.  I was lucky enough to see a few shoots get filmed, but sadly I was not quick enough to get video.  I promise that I will add the few pictures that I was able to take from my office next week.  Work has gotten crazy due to the extended tax deadline....yuck!  Anyways,  we all hope that everyone enjoys this holiday weekend!

~Nailed by Brittany~
Let's Get Nailed 2 comments

Candy Coated

Earlier this summer, we got the chance to see Katy Perry in concert. She was amazing. Prior to the concert I was inspired to order the O.P.I. Katy Perry collection. Unfortunately it didn't arrive before the concert. In fact it didn't arrive at all. After a few weeks I sent an email to the sender, when that went ignored I turned to Amazon. My money was refunded immediately by Amazon which was nice, but I still didn't have my polishes. I used my refund money to buy the collection from another seller and thankfully it arrived within 2 days. And I couldn't wait to use it. Also I apologize in advance because this post is long and pic heavy.

 
Not Like The Movies; Last Friday Night; The One That Got Away; Teenage Dream


In my excitement to use the polishes I didn't really get any good photos of them. So this weekend Joe and I set up a photo shoot with swatches of the polishes and assorted candies and sweets, since that was the theme of the concert. I'm pretty proud of the pictures in spite of the terrible lighting we have in our house.
3 Coats of 'Not Like The Movies'
'Not Like The Movies' is a metallic that looks silver, lavender, or green depending on the angle and the lighting. There are also some small flecks of glitter in this shade. I liked the color but its definitely my least favorite of the collection. It took 3 coats to achieve opacity and still ended up a bit streaky. When I wore this for more than a swatch, I put Black Shatter (also included in the collection) on top and I really liked the results I got from that. 
Not Like The Movies + Some Gummy Bears
3 Coats of 'Last Friday Night'
Last Friday Night is a light blue base with tiny foil glitters and larger blue, pink and purple hexagonal glitters. This is by far my favorite in the bottles but sadly the bright blue of this polish does not translate well onto my nails. The photos show my nails with 3 coats and its still pretty sheer on its own. I tried this on a variety of base colors but nothing captured the beauty of the polish that you see in the bottle.

Last Friday Night + Blue Cotton Candy
2 Coats of "The One That Got Away'
The One That Got Away was a pleasant surprise for me. In the bottle it just looks like a standard raspberry colored polish but on my nails it was beautiful. Its hard to capture the glitter essence of this polish in the photos but it was shiny and glittery and it went on beautifully in 2 coats. I have some other photos of this in natural light that I will post later because it is gorgeous.

'The One That Got Away' + Some Peppermint Candies
1 Coat 'Teenage Dream' Over 2 Coats "Pink Voltage'
Teenage Dream is color that is similar in formula to Last Friday Night. I must say that I prefer Teenage Dream though, in large part because I found a base color that makes it look gorgeous. Teenage Dream is a light pink base with small pink glitters and large hexagonal holos. Unlike Last Friday Night, Teenage Dream actually layers pretty well and isn't so sheer, but I still like it better on a base color. I chose China Glaze Pink Voltage. Pink Voltage is a neon pink and is probably my favorite color at the moment. When I put Teenage Dream on top I was told that my nails looked like something a Barbie doll would wear. To some people this would be offensive, for me it was about the best thing you could tell me. I loved the way this one turned out.

Teenage Dream + Pink Cotton Candy
Katy Perry!!
So that's it for the swatches. I had very high expectations for this collection so I was a bit disappointed that I didn't absolutely love every color. Still in general I liked the collection and I'm sure these colors will be making future appearances on the blog.
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)