Free Hello Kitty Image Plate!

Hi!

I love free stuff. Who doesn't, right? Well I was over at bornprettystore.com, window shopping for nail art stuff when I saw the most glorious thing: They're giving away 10 Hello Kitty image plates per day FREE here! And I was lucky enough to be one of the ten today! I nearly peed myself! I'm excited about this because I've been wanting that Hello Kitty image plate for a while now, but since I've been buying so many polishes, I figured it could wait. So it feels even better to have it finally coming at no cost to me! And yes, shipping is free :) I don't know how long this is going to last, so I would hurry on over there before they're all gone.
I thought this was too good a deal to keep to myself.So check it out, and good luck!

-SmokE

Lightning Bolts!

Hi!

In my previous post I predicted that I would get bored with my nails the way they were. And surprise surprise, I did :-/. So I thought, what better time to try Nailside's Double Lightning Bolt Tutorial again? I'm holding China Glaze Blue Sparrow in my hand unless otherwise stated. All pics are enlargeable when clicked!

Here I'm Holding Sky High-Top

I used 1 coat of Orly Shine for the silver lightning bolt and 1 coat of Wet n Wild Black Creme for the black bolt. Overall, I like the way it came out. I think it looks very cool :). With the shatter polish, it kind of looks like the lightning bolts made the ground crack! And I'm so glad Hurricane Irene finally departed and gave us back the sun so I could take pictures! My camera still didn't quite capture the depth of this color to me, but its still a pretty blue.
If you haven't checked out Nailside yet, DO! She has awesome tutorials of her tape mani's.
On a side note, my engagement party is Friday! So of course I have to do something pretty with my nails. I'm thinking something pink and glittery. Perhaps Teenage Dream will make an appearance?? So stay tuned for that!

Later!

-SmokE

Blue Sunday

Hello :)

It seems like we survived the storm! It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. All of mass transit is still shut down, so I decided to spend the day at home instead of going to work. And of course, I did my nails again:

2 coats Blue Sparrow (neon) over 2 coats Sky High-Top (Artificial light with flash)

I didn't really have an idea of what to put over it, so I just did 2 Black Shatter accent nails:

Artificial Light With Flash

Natural Light

Natural Light

Items Used (in order):
China Glaze Sky High-Top- 2 coats
China Glaze Blue Sparrow(neon)- 2 coats
Opi Black Shatter-Accent nails
INM Northern Lights Hologram Top Coat- 1 coat (accent nails)
Seche Vite Dry fast Top Coat- 1 coat all nails

I had a hard time photographing this color. In real life, it actually looks a little darker. I chose to layer Blue Sparrow over Sky High-Top because Blue Sparrow wasn't as opaque as I'd have liked and I thought Sky High-Top would compliment it well.
I'm noticing that if I like a color enough, I don't really like to cover it all up with nail art. Especially if it's a polish I'm wearing for the first time. Both true in this case :). But boredom will likely get the best of me tomorrow, I'll put a design on them, and I'll be sure to post it :)

SmokE

Nail Care Tips

Hi!

I'm always being asked how I'm able to keep my nails natural and strong, so I thought I should dedicate a post to it. I'll start off by saying that I'm not a nail technician and should not be considered a professional in any sense of the word. I'm simply sharing with you the regimen that has shown me results. (All products were purchased with my own money. I have no affiliation to any of the products mentioned in this post)
I've always been a very low maintenance person. I think I've had a professional Mani/Pedi done once in my life. And despite the amount of money I spend on nail stuff these days, I'm very cheap. So having to go to the salon weekly for manicures was simply out of the question.
I work in a field where constant handwashing is a must, so my hands are constantly exposed to water. Likewise, they are more prone to drying and developing ugly little hangnails. So constant moisturization is necessary.

Burt's Bees Almond Milk Beeswax Hand Creme is rich enough to keep my hands feeling soft, and not overly greasy. AND it smells great!

I apply Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream to my cuticles twice a day in the morning and before bed.

I moisturize my hands after each hand wash. I also use Sally Hansen Vitamin E Nail and Cuticle Oil twice a day in addition to the Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream. I got the Almond Milk Hand Creme, Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream, a .5 oz tube of Burt's Bees Shea Butter Hand Repair Cream, and a pair of cotton gloves (which work great for softening hands and can be used with any moisturizer) all for $12.99 here. This is a bargain considering the Almond Milk Creme costs $8.99 and the Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream costs $5.99 alone.
Whenever I polish my nails, I use a base coat. My current base coat of choice is CND Nail Stickey Base Coat. It extends the life of my mani, and I haven't had any major issues with staining/yellowing since using it.

One Product that I cant forget to mention is Duri Rejuvacote. If it wasn't for that, my nails would probably still be short, brittle and prone to breakage. I saw results after about 2-3 weeks of use. It was truly a miracle product for me.

Nubbins! (4 months ago)

Gels and Acrylics look nice, but there's nothing like having your own natural, strong nails. Good luck, and happy growing!

SmokE

Color Club Wild at Heart

Hi!

Unfortunately, I have but one picture to share with you today. I had to hurry to take pictures before I lost the sun, and in the end I was only happy with one of them:

2 coats Color Club Wild at Heart

My cuticles are a little messy because I really DID have to rush. We're currently preparing to be hit by a class 3 hurricane :(. So between weatherproofing the house and shopping for food at a crowded supermarket, I didn't have as much time to devote to nails as I would have liked :(.
I think this photo captured the beauty of this polish pretty well. To me, the holo effect wasn't as noticeable as with Fashion Addict and Revvvolution. But I love it all the same. I stamped with Konad special polish in black and bundle monster image plate BM-212.

Thanks for looking, and wish us luck with the coming inclement weather!

SmokE

Golden Cheetah!

Hi!

I just love the cheetah print image on Konad IP m57. And with Milani 3D Holographic in HD, it looks appropriately animalistic! Rwar!

Rwar (again)!

SmokE

Dominoes!

Hey!

These days, I find nail art inspiration in everything. I saw some people playing dominoes recently and the rest is history.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to take pictures until after work, so there's some tip wear. And a couple of the dots streaked when I applied my seche vite top coat :'(
The white polish is a Kiss polish that came in a french manicure kit I bought a while ago. I used Wet N' Wild black creme for the dots and horizontal line. For some reason, a lot of people at work today thought they were dice! Weird, they look like dominoes to me.

Thanks for looking!

SmokE

Color Club Fashion Addict

Hello!

I don't have much time, so I'm just gonna jump right into it: Fashion Addict is GORGEOUS.

All pics were taken in full sunlight. Click to see the beauty!

I can best describe this color as light pinkish lavender (If that makes sense at all). It needed 2 coats to be fully opaque, and applied like a dream; absolutely no streaking/bald spots. Drying time was quick.There's some slight tip wear due to having to wait for my lunch break to take pics. My job is BRUTAL on my hands and nails :(  As with Revvvolution, Fashion Addict is a holographic polish, and the holo effect is quite noticeable. Again, I only put art on 2 nails, but this time it wasn't laziness. I just love this color so much that I couldn't bear to cover it up!
I stamped the butterflies from Konad IP m1, and the rainbow from Bundle Monster IP Bm-201.


Hope you love it as much as I do. Holographic nail polish is awesome!!

SmokE

Windy French Tips

Hello!

I was going through my nail art pics, and came across a picture from June. I couldn't believe how my nails and hands looked back then. What a difference a little bit of care makes!

Take it from me: MOISTURIZE YOUR CUTICLES!!!

Base Color: Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle in Nurturing Natural
Tips stamped with Konad IP m19 in Konad Special White Polish (or you could just paint the tips white yourself)
Then stamp over white tips with Konad Black Special Polish using Konad IP m56 (I used a fauxnad plate)
One Coat of China Glaze Fairy Dust, a coat of Seche Vite Top Coat, and Done!

Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle boasts 30% longer nails in 5 days. I have definitely noticed an increase in the length of my nails, so maybe this stuff had something to do with it. But I don't use it enough to say with confidence that it has.

Enjoy!

SmokE

Color Club Revvvolution

Hi!

I recently got a little bit stupid and purchased 21 bottles of nail polish: The China Glaze Poolside Collection, Awakening (Halloween) Collection, Wizard of ooh oz Collection (except Dorothy Who which I have, and Ten Man which I didn't want), Jolly Holly, Midnight Kiss, Neon Blue Sparrow, Neon Flying Dragon, And Color Club Wild at Heart, Fashion Addict, and Revvvolution. Whew. Ive been like a kid in a candy store with all the nail mail coming in. And I'm still waiting for 9 of those bottles to get to me. Revvvolution came in the mail yesterday, and I couldn't wait to see what it looked like on the nail. I was feeling a little lazy, so the nail art is pretty simple. But this color is great even without art on it.

Enlarge pics to see it in its full glory!

Silver Dots: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Silver Sweep

Revvvolution is a charcoal colored holo. In the light you can see flecks of green and gold/copper. The holo effect is quite noticeable, which I love. It applied so smoothly and flawlessly.

I only used one coat on my ring finger and thumb, and didn't see too much of a difference from the other fingers that got 2 coats. So you can get away with one coat of this, but for a richer color, use 2. I personally don't own Opi My Private Jet, but I've read that the two are pretty similar.

I used a large dotting tool to make the silver dots, and a smaller dotting tool for the Revvvolution dots. Simple, yet cute!

Viva La Revvvolution!

SmokE

Lightning Bolt Pedi

Hola!

Not long ago, I came across a blogger that does beautiful nail art with scotch tape. When I saw her Double Lightning Bolt Tutorial, I knew I had to try it. The name of the blog is Nailside, and I recommend taking a look at some of her tutorials. Good Stuff!

This my take on the Double Lighting Bolt:

Base Color: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Presto Pink
Silver Bolt: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Silver Sweep
Purple Bolt: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Lively Lilac

 
For some reason, I only took one picture. Probably because I don't ever photograph my feet. But it came out so well, I may have to incorporate it into a mani sometime soon.

Enjoy!

SmokE

Water Marbling

Hiya!

Today I decided to give water marbling a try. I've seen so many fantastic youtube videos of the technique, and wanted to create a fabulous design for myself. I think I did okay for my first attempt. This is actually my submission to the Blue Kaffee August nail art contest.

Materials Used:

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Blue Away (Base Color)
China Glaze Sky High Top
Orly Snowcone
Orly Blue Collar
Milani Cyberspace

Enjoy!

SmokE

Nail Art Challenge Needed!

Hi,

I don't know if its just me, but oftentimes when I open up my nail treasure chest, I have no clue what to do with my nails. I was thinking that it would be cool if there were weekly themed challenges to motivate and inspire, and where fellow nail fiends could showcase their themed nail art.
Well today I found out that such a group DOES exist...but on Facebook. I erased my facebook account about 2 years ago, and have not looked back. And as much as I love the concept, I refuse to re-join facebook...personal reasons. So I've been on the hunt for nail art challenges on blogs. I found a monthly nail art challenge on Bluekaffe.com which seems pretty cool. To participate, your nail art must be hand painted. So no Konad, Fimo, Stickers, etc. It seems like a good one to be a part of if you want to brush up on your self produced nail art skills.  Also, Lindsey of Neverland Nail Blog is starting a weekly nail art challenge.
I'd love to start a nail art challenge of my own, but of course I can't do it alone. My challenge would be on the first and third Friday of the month. All forms of nail art would be acceptable as long as it followed the general theme. I want to do this! But again, I cant do it alone. That's where you come in.

Help!

SmokE

The Walking Dead Returns!

Great News.....(gasps for air)
Season 2 of the walking dead... (wheezes) coming back on October 16th....must get people to watch this show so it stays on the air!
Seriously though, I can't believe that someone made a zombie series that's actually good. I recommend it highly.
On to nails...

Lately I've been trying to improve my handpainting skills. Konad is great, but there's nothing quite like drawing a beautiful design yourself. And since I don't really like to change my nails every day, I practiced on some fake ones.

  I'm particularly proud of the cherries and the cherry blossoms, and hope to incorporate them into a full manicure soon. The purple with black slanted french kinda reminded me of a dinosaur egg. I kept thinking "Dino" on my head  whenever I looked at it :)
The trouble with nail art is that there's no limit to your imagination, but we only have 12 nails to decorate. I don't really have anyone's nails but mine to decorate, so all these ideas are just floating around in my head waiting to be materialized. Thanks to my new dotting tool, I'm going dot crazy...so expect some dotty designs!
More l8r,

SmokE

Orange Polka Dotted Nails

Hi!

Before I decided to get adventurous and wild with my nail color choices, I used to stick to pinks and purples...maybe the occasional blue. But for some reason I had never owned a bottle of orange nail polish. I didn't think it would look right, so buying China Glaze's Papaya Punch was a step way out of the box for me. But surprisingly, I love it!!

This was stamped with Konad Image Plate m60 using Konad white special polish.
Perfect for summer, wouldn't you agree?

SmokE

Pac Man Nails

Hello!

I recently bought some acrylic nail art paints and brushes from amazon, and have been DYING to do something with them. Lately I've been wanting to express my love for video games on my nails. With a little help from the hubby, I came up with my proudest, self produced artwork yet: Pacman Nails!

Please pardon my messy cuticles, I was feeling a little too lazy for the cleaning process at the moment.
I used Wet n' Wild Black Creme as my base, and acrylic paint for everything else. Used a dotting tool for the pellets.
Love!

SmokE