Showing posts with label OPI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label OPI. Show all posts
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25th Birthday Mani

So it has been a crazy long time since we have posted, but life has been beyond crazy.  This tax season is completely kicking my ass, therefore causing me to be more lazy then general once I get home.  However, I did have a birthday since the last post.  I'm now officially a quarter of a century out...yay!

So here is my birthday mani. It was completely copied from Deniz.  Click here to see the original.  She is amazing! I used OPI Pink Friday, Sinful Colors Pink Creme, Essie Main Squeeze, OPI Alpine Snow and a pink nail art polish.  Hope you like it!

~Nailed by Brittany~e

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OPI DS Opulence

So last Friday Ericka and I went to Ulta to use my card awards.  It was both exciting and a bit sickening knowing how much money I have spent there.  However, I was excited to get a new curling wand :)  I also picked up OPI DS Opulence.  This color is extremely similar to OPI DS Reserve, but its a little more mauve.  I love the Designer Series polishes and really enjoy the lovely holo that these polishes have. Enjoy!

~Nailed by Brittany~
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Essie Obsessed

Up until a few weeks ago I didn't own but one or two Essie polishes and I never even used those but after finding one color that I loved (Essie Sexy Divide) I have been using and buying a ton of Essie polishes, I guess you can say I'm a little obsessed now. Today's mani started out with 2 coats of Essie E-nuff is E-nuff on every finger except my ring finger. I've had this color around for a while but never really used it, it turned out to be a really pretty red with an orange/peach tint and like all of the Essie's I own it was beautiful and had great application.


For the accent finger I used to coats of OPI Alpine Snow and then stamped with the same Essie E-nuff is E-nuff. I can't remember which stamp I used, it was one of the new Mash stamps I got for Christmas, but honestly I'm too lazy to get up and see which one. I liked the circle pattern a lot though.

~Nailed by Jen~
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Happy Valentine's Day!

Today we wanted to show you our Valentine's Day manis :)

Ericka's:  She started with 2 coats Zoya Kennedy and then topped it with a coat of Essie Good To Go.  Next, she stamped cheetah print with Orly Liquid Vinyl on all the fingers except the ring fingers and thumbs.  After the stamping dried, she used Ulta Non-Stop Red to add little dots of color to the cheetah print.  On her ring fingers and thumbs, she folded a piece of tape in half and cut out half a heart.  After unfolding it, she stuck it on her nail and used OPI Black Shatter to paint it in.
Brittany's:  I started with 2 coats of Ulta Non-Stop Red on all of my nails.  After adding a coat of Essie Good To Go, I used the same cheetah print stamp with OPI Pink Friday on all my fingers except my ring fingers.  I also added Ulta Glitter Top Coat dots to the dots on my cheetah print.  On my ring finger, I stamped with one of my new Red Angel plates with OPI Alpine Snow.  I also added Ulta Glitter Top Coat to my ring fingers.


Jen's:  She started with 2 coats of Essie Watermelon on all her fingers except the ring fingers.  Next, she used her dotting tool to add 2 dots of Essie Raise Awareness to all her fingers, but on the ring finger she did the opposite, with Essie Raise Awareness on the nail and 2 dots of Essie Watermelon.  She topped everything off with a coat of SV.
 Hope you like our manis!  Have a wonderful day!

~Nailed by Brittany, Ericka & Jen~
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DS Classic

Keeping it quick today with the post :) I'm showing you the mani I did with OPI - DS Classic. Jen showed you this color as a base in her giraffe print mani (check it out) last week. I loved the color and had been wanting to try it out for quite some time.

This polish had great application and was a 2-coater. I loved the way the color looked in the sun (although I apologize for not getting any photos in the sun for you.) I definitely will return to this color in the future :) I was a great neutral color and actually didn't look too bad with my skin tone.


~ Nailed by Ericka~
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Animal Prints

Today's post is not so much about one manicure but about the mood I've been in lately, and that is the mood for animal prints. Over the last few days I've had zebras and leopards and giraffes on my nails so for today I'm showing you one of each. Also I should disclaimer this post by saying sorry if the photos aren't great they were all taken on my phone.
The first mani is zebra print. This is done with Konad plate m57. I used 2 coats of China Glaze Pink Voltage (my favorite neon!), stamped with Finger Paints Black Expressionism and then for a bit of glitter used Sally Hansen HD LCD.


For the leopard print I used the same plate (Konad m57). I put 3 layers of Sally Hansen HD Spectrum then stamped with Essie Sexy Divide. Sexy Divide is actually a purple color but in the photos (and to a lesser degree in person) the spots look blue. It was still pretty but I wish the spots would have turned out more purple, perhaps if I hadn't used such a strong glittery base.


The final print I have is a giraffe print, I was really excited about this one because I got some new image plates for Christmas and this was on one of them. Since giraffe is a more abstract print I went for neutral colors that way it was obvious what I was going for. I used Mash plate Mash-20. I put 2 coats of OPI DS Classic as the base, I'm not a big fan of neutrals but this is a lovely gold with a holographic shimmer so its not too boring for me. Then I stamped with Sinful Colors Rich in Heart.

~Nailed by Jen~
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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~
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Shrimply Devine Zebras

Ever since our very late "Christmas" exchange, I've been eye-ing up Brittany's new Red Angel plates. Although these plates are super sharp and have already sliced a place mat on our table, I'm still eager to test them out. I've used a few of the designs so far and have really liked the outcome.

After swatching our Sally Hansen collection this weekend, I rediscovered my love for Shrimply Devine (part of the Complete Salon Manicure line). This color is a great cream pink that is bright, but not too crazy for work. I used OPI - Skull & Glossbones to stamp with Red Angel plate 113. (Brittany just did an awesome mani using this color which I'm sure she'll be sharing with you soon!) I finished up the look with Ulta - Glitter Top Coat. I picked up this top coat on clearance over Christmas break and I absolutely love it :)


~ Nailed by Ericka ~

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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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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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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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