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

Fun With Fimo

Hi :)

I came across Fimo Canes online and knew I had to try it. The result? A juicy, citrusy mani I cant take my eyes off of!

Tutorial by request...

SmokE

Hello Kitty Nail Sticker Giveaway!

Hey!

Want some free Hello Kitty nail stickers? You've got 4 days! Click here for all the info, and thanks a million Konad Addict!

While I'm here let me show you the magic that is Opi Teenage Dream. One little disclaimer: I'm still not entirely sure I know who Katy Perry is...I think I saw her picture on a radio advertisement on the back of a bus one time. So the fact that she's linked to it had no bearing on my desire to purchase the polish. I just loved the color.
Now, on to pictures:

 This was actually a simple Mani to do. I applied a coat of Seche Rose as my base, 2 coats of Teenage Dream, stamped over the tips with the flower image from Konad m53 (3rd image going clockwise from the plate number) and added the accent butterflies from MASH plate m78, which is a dupe of Konad m78. Top with a coat of Seche Vite top coat, and you're done!
Teenage Dream is too beautiful for words. The application was smooth, and it dried relatively quickly to a grainy finish. One coat of Seche Vite top coat was enough to smooth it all out. I was satisfied with the coverage after 2 coats. Removal was annoying, but again, it IS a glitter polish, so no surprise there. This color has definitely been added to my list of faves.

Hope you like it, because I sure did :)

SmokE

Black Fishnet with Flower Motif

Hola :)

I'm at the end of my 5 day mini vacation. The highlight was the Six Flags trip last week. Other than that, I've been happily seated on my steadily growing behind, web surfing, watching re- runs of  The Office, and eating any snacks with the misfortune of being within arms reach. I was supposed to work today, but had to run a few early morning errands. So its back to the grind tomorrow :(  These are the nails that I'll be showing off:

I loved the way this turned out. I used China Glaze Frosty as my base color (2 coats). I stamped the fishnet image from Konad Image Plate m57 and stamped the flowers from Konad Image Plate m60 over it. All stamping was done using Konad special polish in black. I didn't like the way it was looking at that point, so I filled in the flower petals with L.A. Colors Art Deco nail art paint in black, and added a pink dot to the center of each flower with L.A. Colors Art Deco nail art paint in a shocking pink color...I don't remember the actual name of it, and feel too lazy to go look. If anyone is ever interested in what the name of that pink one, I'll post it :)
I tried to do the same thing on my right hand, but it turned out to be an epic fail. It took forever to do my right thumb, and after i slightly botched my pointer finger, I gave up on trying to embellish my right hand. So the flowers stamped on my right middle, ring, and pinkie fingers only have the pink dot in the middle of them. My hand was steady enough to do that, but filling in the petals wasn't gonna happen. I thought I'd spare the world from seeing it, so I didn't take any pictures.

This design came about after a failed attempt at an uunderwater themed mani with Konad m27, and yet another failed attempt at a strawberries mani with the old Bundle Monster strawberry image. I realize that I suck at layering right now... but I haven't given up! I'm a bit behind with my posts, but I hope to catch up. Last weeks mani with Opi Teenage Dream was magical! But for now, I  must go.

Till next time....
SmokE