Candy Corn Nail Art

Hello!

Yes, I know...candy corn nail art isn't exactly new. But after a few failed attempts at it a few weeks ago, I was finally prepared to do it, and do it right. And I finally pulled it off! Although when I showed it to someone, they asked me why I didn't include brown so it would look like a candy corn...what?? I don't know about you, but until today, I was completely unaware that there was a chocolate candy corn.
What you see below is, to me, based on a standard candy corn!

Candy Corn Nail Art

Materials Used:
Orly Bonder Basecoat
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mellow Yellow (2 coats)
Wet n Wild Scratchiti (1 coat)
Quirius French White (2 coats)
Seche Vite Top Coat

Thanks for stopping by!

Frankenstein Inspired Nail Art

Hey guys!

Last night, I didn't know what the heck to do with my nails. I must have cleaned nail polish off of my nails about 4 or 5 times before I finally settled on the color I'm wearing now, Sally Hansen Xtreme wear in Green With Envy. I don't often wear green polish, but I really liked this one. After looking at it for a while, I was reminded of Frankenstein. At first, I wanted to do an accent nail with the face of Frankenstein. Unfortunately I didn't have the time or the dexterity for such fine detailing, due to the consumption of a couple of after work celebratory beers ;). In the end, I decided to just draw stitches, and they look awesome!
I'm pretty sure I've seen something like this done before, but as usual, can't remember where I saw it originally. Please pardon the appearance of my cuticles in these pictures. I take my best pictures in my mother's little garden, but I usually I don't make it over there until after nearly a full day of work. I wash my hands almost every 5 minutes at work, so my skin dries out really quickly during the day. I can never remember to lotion my hands after every hand wash, so my skin suffers for it :(.

 I used a Kiss nail art pen to draw the stitches, but I'm sure a fine tipped sharpie would work just as well. Just make sure that the underlying polish is completely dry before you try to draw on it. I made the mistake of drawing on nail polish that wasn't completely dry yet, and ended up having to clean the dented mess off my nail and start over.

Frankenstein Inspired Nail Art

  I decided to use the glow-in-the-dark top coat on a whim. But I realize that the glow in the dark factor isn't even that big a deal,  now that I'm actually wearing the polish. I'm not in the dark often. I found myself closing the bathroom door and turning out the light just so I could see the glow in the dark effect, and felt like a total idiot both times.

These nails proved to be quite a distraction to some of my co-workers. I work with mostly women, so my nails get looked at a LOT. People think I'm absolutely crazy. And I'm just crazy enough to be happy about that :)

 Materials Used:
Orly Bonder Basecoat
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Green with Envy (2 coats)
China Glaze Ghoulish Glow-Glow in the Dark Top Coat (1 coat)
Kiss Nail Artist Fine Art Pen in Black (to draw stitches)
Seche Vite Top Coat

I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't announce that The Walking Dead is back on AMC! And the second season is proving to be as awesome as the first so far. The show follows the life of Sheriff's Deputy Rick Grimes, who was shot on the job, fell into a coma, and woke up maybe a month later in the hospital to find that the world had been taken over by flesh eating zombies, or "walkers". It's a fantastic show, and I'm not just saying that because I'm a horror fanatic and an even bigger zombie fanatic. The show is about so much more than zombies. It's about people and their struggles, while in a hopeless situation. It shows both the ugliness and the beauty of the human spirit when pushed to extremes. I love love love it!! The first season is available to watch instantly on Netflix, but I'm sure free episodes can be found online. If you felt like just jumping in and watching from where it is now, new episodes come on every Sunday at 9PM EDT on AMC. If anyone out there already watches it, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Pumpkin French Mani

Hello!

Today, I'll just let the pictures do the talking. I freehanded the orange tips; no need to go crazy, since they're more or less covered anyway. Enjoy!

(natural light with flash)

(natural light without flash)

(artificial light with flash)

(natural light without flash)

Materials Used (L to R):
Orly Bonder Basecoat
Seche Rose
Wet n Wild Scratchiti
Konad Black Special Polish
Seche Vite Topcoat
Bundle Monster Image Plate BM-224 (not pictured)

 Thanks for stopping by!

Vampire and Bats Nail Art

Hey everyone,

I'm back home after a nights stay in the emergency room of the worlds worst hospital. I'm so happy that I'm a nurse and have medical knowledge, because doctors will take advantage of your ignorance and turn you into a pin cushion unnecessarily. I realize now that private hospitals are out to do one thing: make money. They'll come up with reasons to perform all sorts of unnecessary tests, just so they can tack on another hundred dollars to your bill. It's so sad to say, but healthcare is nothing but a profit driven business. They don't care about people...they care about the money going into their pockets.
The one highlight of my night? A couple of the staff members noticed my nails :). I always love it when people compliment me on them. One person even asked if they were my real nails! I figured that would be pretty obvious, considering that they're so short now.

Natural Light

Artificial Light (with flash)

Natural Light

Artificial Light (with flash)

Artificial Light (without flash)

All the pictures taken in artificial lighting were taken today, just a few moments ago. The ones taken in natural light were from yesterday, when the mani was still fresh. After the fact, I realized that I forgot to give my poor little vampire a nose! I tried drawing one in with a sharpie last night, but as you can see, it didn't last (since I didn't use a topcoat)
Drawing that little vampire was no quick task. By the time I was done with him, I made up my mind that one was enough. So on my right hand, I did the bats on every finger. I like it though :). It looks interesting with the single accent nail.
I used Bundle Monster image plate BM-213 and Konad Special Polish in black to stamp the bats, over Wet n Wild Writings On The Wall. For the vampire, I used China Glaze Frosty as my base (for the glistening 'Twilight' vampire effect), Wet n Wild Vandalize for the black parts, Sally Hansen Whirlwind White for the whites of his eyes and his teeth, and Writings on the Wall again for the drops of blood on his teeth.
It's times like these when I miss my longer nails. It's nice having a larger canvas to work on, but I think he looks pretty cute on the short nail anyway. What do you folks think?

Thanks for stopping by!

October Birchbox and Julep Maven

Hello everyone!

It feels a little bit like Christmas; yesterday my Birchbox arrived, and today my Julep Maven Sneak Peek Box!
I'm trying out both for the first time. I initially learned about Birchbox from Lindsey at Neverland Nail Blog. Based on her reviews,  I decided to give it a try. I rarely try new beauty products, choosing to stick to the brands that I know.  I figured Birchbox would provide me with the opportunity to give new products a try. At $10 a month, why not?

Birchbox 'box'

I was immediately impressed with how neatly everything was packaged! Inside was a card listing all the products in the box on one side, including prices of the full sized versions of your samples, should you choose to buy. On the other side was a little note from the Birchbox team, discussing the theme of the month and the samples inside of the box.  This months theme is Prep & Finish.

Ouidad Climate Control Heat & Humidity Gel (0.6 FL OZ)
AHAVA Mineral Foot Cream (1.3 FL OZ)
Pangea Organics Facial Scrub (1 FL OZ)
blinc Mascara (Net Wt. 0.141 oz)
Extra: Lash Card  (2 enclosed)

So far, I've only used the Foot Cream and the Facial Scrub. Both were amazing, and left my feet and face feeling baby soft. Overall, I'm happy with the items in this months box. I'm excited to see what Birchbox has in store for next month!

This brings me to my next box, the Julep Maven Sneak Peek Box. Thanks to a blogger, who I unfortunately forgot to bookmark and thus can't credit :(, I got a code that enabled me to get my first Julep Maven Box for $5! It normally costs $19.99 a month, so I couldn't pass up such a great deal. When you sign up, you have to take a quiz that helps them determine your beauty profile. I'm an "American Beauty". Julep also packages their box really nicely. My products came in a black paper bag with the Julep logo on it, and the handle had a pink bow tied to it.

Left to Right:
Julep SPF 30 Hand Cream (2 mL/ .07 FL OZ)
Julep 'Alfre' (8 mL/ .27 FL OZ)
Julep 'Cameron' (8 mL/ .27 FL OZ)
Julep Essential Cuticle Oil (8.8 mL/ .29 FL OZ)
Julep Glycolic Hand Scrub (89 mL/ 3 FL OZ)
Julep Glycolic Hand Scrub (2 mL/ .07 FL OZ)

I was a bit surprised at how small the polish bottles actually are. These are actually full sized bottles, and retail for $14 on the Julep website. At that price, I don't think I'd ever actually purchase a Julep polish on it's own. That being said, the Julep Maven Box is a great deal because you get 2 polishes that would normally retail for $28, for $19.99 (in my case $5), not to mention the hand care items they include (in this case, the cuticle oil and the hand scrub). So far, I've only used the cuticle oil. It's a roll on, which made it an ultimate win for me. Plus it smells great!
I'm very happy with the contents of both my Birchbox and my Julep Maven Sneak Peek Box, and I think I'll stick with it for now. It's going to be fun getting 2 surprise boxes in the mail every month :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Arrgh! Pirate Themed French Nails

Hello!

I'm back to doing Halloween themed nail art! My nails are once again at the perfect length for french manicures, so I decided to try one out. And I love it! There's something so classy about french nails...but any-hoo, on to the pictures:

Thumb

Materials Used (L to R):
Orly Bonder Base Coat
Seche Rose (French Base)
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Whirlwind White
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Rapid Red (stripes)
Konad Special Polish in Black
Diamond Shield Top Coat (for sticking rhinestones)
Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
1mm Rhinestones (not pictured)
Fauxnad Image Plate m28 (not pictured)

I used a striping brush with Rapid Red to make the red stripes. I wanted to make it a little more interesting, so I stuck red rhinestones on the skulls eye sockets. Simple and cute!

Thanks for stopping by!

Blog Awards!

Hey folks!

Yesterday I was pleasantly surprised with the 'One Lovely Blog' award from Laura of Clothes, Cosmetics and Chat. Her blog is pretty cool, so check it out if you haven't already! And thanks again Laura :)

 

Here are the rules of the award:
Link back to the blogger who gave you the award
Share 7 facts about yourself
Share the award with 10 bloggers

So 7 facts about me...here goes:

1) I love animals, especially dogs.

2) I work as a geriatric nurse, and I love the seniors under my care like family :)

3) I haven't finished college, but hope to go back once I develop a passion for something that pays well.

4) I love to knit and crochet. Hats are my favorite thing to make, since they take the least amount of time. But I can also knit gloves, socks, scarves, afghans, you name it. I've been called a granny on several occasions :)

5) I'm a major couch potato. I can spend hours watching television and feel no guilt whatsoever.

6) I'm engaged to my high school sweetheart. Getting married at the beginning of next year!

7) I love roller coasters!

I follow a lot of blogs, so having to choose only 10 to award this to was a bit tough. Know that I love you all!
So without further adieu, in no particular order, I present this award to the following 10 lovely ladies:

Nails in Nippon
Nevorpurify's Nail Art
I'm Feeling Nail-Venturous
Neverland Nail Blog
Adventures In Acetone
Nailside
Spellbinding Nails
Nail Nerd
My Nail Graffiti
The Nailasaurus

Check these blogs out, you wont be disappointed. And as always, Thanks for stopping by!