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
Thursday, July 28, 2011
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
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
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
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
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
Monday, July 11, 2011
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
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
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Graduation Nails
Hello!
This weeks nail design features a starry french tip design from Konad image plate m44. These nails were done to match the outfit I wore to my brothers 5th grade graduation. Congrats little bro!
I used to think french manicures were boring, but Konad brings new life to what would be an otherwise dull manicure. If you like french manicures, do yourself a favor and buy image plate m19. It makes stamping tips so much easier. My nails are longer than the length of the french tip images on m19, so I had to double stamp to cover the entire tip. I noticed that it left a dark line where the two stamps overlapped. But since I was stamping over it with the stars, it didn't matter.
Seche rose is awesome! After a bit of trial and error, it seems I have finally found the perfect base color for my french manicures. Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle in Bold Buff is a good one too, and i used that for my pedicure, which was done to match my mani. I'll snap a picture tomorrow if I remember.
Out of both Bundle Monster image plate sets, and the MASH set, I think the MASH set has the better sized french tip images. The image fit across my entire big toe no problem! Another plus? A couple of the plates are exact dupes for actual Konad plates, including the one I used for this mani. The french tip designs in the 2nd set of Bundle Monster plates were a little smaller, but a definite improvement from the first set of Bundle Monster french tip designs. Those were tiny...still haven't tried them out of fear that they would be a total disaster. I suck at double stamping.
More Later,
SmokE
This weeks nail design features a starry french tip design from Konad image plate m44. These nails were done to match the outfit I wore to my brothers 5th grade graduation. Congrats little bro!
 |
| Materials: Base Color: Seche Rose Tip Color: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Nail Color in Lacey Lilac (Stamped with Konad image plate m19) Stamping: Star tip design from Konad image plate m44 stamped in white Konad Special Polish Konad image plate m3 and Konad Special Polish in white for stars on thumb and ring finger Top Coat: Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat |
I used to think french manicures were boring, but Konad brings new life to what would be an otherwise dull manicure. If you like french manicures, do yourself a favor and buy image plate m19. It makes stamping tips so much easier. My nails are longer than the length of the french tip images on m19, so I had to double stamp to cover the entire tip. I noticed that it left a dark line where the two stamps overlapped. But since I was stamping over it with the stars, it didn't matter.
Seche rose is awesome! After a bit of trial and error, it seems I have finally found the perfect base color for my french manicures. Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle in Bold Buff is a good one too, and i used that for my pedicure, which was done to match my mani. I'll snap a picture tomorrow if I remember.
Out of both Bundle Monster image plate sets, and the MASH set, I think the MASH set has the better sized french tip images. The image fit across my entire big toe no problem! Another plus? A couple of the plates are exact dupes for actual Konad plates, including the one I used for this mani. The french tip designs in the 2nd set of Bundle Monster plates were a little smaller, but a definite improvement from the first set of Bundle Monster french tip designs. Those were tiny...still haven't tried them out of fear that they would be a total disaster. I suck at double stamping.
More Later,
SmokE
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Lisa Frank Inspired Leopard Nails
Happy Thursday!
As I mentioned in my last post, Thursday is nail day. This Thursday brings a fun, Lisa Frank inspired manicure. While surfing the web for nail art inspiration, I came across a video tutorial on You Tube by sayanythingbr00ke for Rainbow Leopard Nails. It does indeed remind me of a Lisa Frank trapper keeper I had in junior high school, similar to the picture below:
This manicure is colorful, fun, funky, and perfect for summer! I will warn you that this manicure is potentially time consuming, especially depending on the types of nail polishes you choose to use and their drying time. But its well worth the effort in the end.
After striping with alternating colors, I topped off with China Glaze 'Fairy Dust' for added shimmer. I'm holding the bottle in the picture because its my favorite glitter polish so far. The glitter is fine, and not difficult to remove, in comparison to other glitter polishes I've used. Make sure polish is completely dry before stamping. I fudged about 2 nails and had to re-do them because I stamped too soon. The polish took a little longer to dry than I'm used to, even with the Seche Vite. I thought it might be because some of the layers of color overlapped, leaving the polish a little thicker in spots than others. But then I thought that it could be the 95 degree heat messing with the polish. Either way, it took me about 2 hours to finish this manicure. But to me, it was worth the effort. I cant stop looking at my hands!
What do you think?
-SmokE
As I mentioned in my last post, Thursday is nail day. This Thursday brings a fun, Lisa Frank inspired manicure. While surfing the web for nail art inspiration, I came across a video tutorial on You Tube by sayanythingbr00ke for Rainbow Leopard Nails. It does indeed remind me of a Lisa Frank trapper keeper I had in junior high school, similar to the picture below:
 | |
| Items Used: Base Coat: Sally Hansen Double Duty Strengthening Base & Top Coat Green Color: China Glaze 'Paper Chasing' Purple Color: China Glaze 'Harmony' Blue Color:China Glaze 'Sky-High Top' Pink Color: Sinful Colors 'Cream Pink' China Glaze 'Fairy Dust' Seche Vite Top Coat Konad Image Plate m57 Stamped with Konad Special Polish in Black Top Coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat |
After striping with alternating colors, I topped off with China Glaze 'Fairy Dust' for added shimmer. I'm holding the bottle in the picture because its my favorite glitter polish so far. The glitter is fine, and not difficult to remove, in comparison to other glitter polishes I've used. Make sure polish is completely dry before stamping. I fudged about 2 nails and had to re-do them because I stamped too soon. The polish took a little longer to dry than I'm used to, even with the Seche Vite. I thought it might be because some of the layers of color overlapped, leaving the polish a little thicker in spots than others. But then I thought that it could be the 95 degree heat messing with the polish. Either way, it took me about 2 hours to finish this manicure. But to me, it was worth the effort. I cant stop looking at my hands!
What do you think?
-SmokE
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Argyle Nails
I think this is my favorite mani to date. My husband wears argyle all the time, so when I saw Konad image plate m60, I couldn't resist. And even though he's not usually interested in my manicures, he couldn't help but notice this one! After all, It looks exactly like his favorite argyle sweater.
This is day 2 of this mani, and you can see the ugly chip at the side of my thumb nail. There's also some tip wear on the other nails, but I'm not surprised. My job is very rough on my hands and nails. Usually I'm pretty lucky if I can go 2 work days in a row without a single chip. Actually, I don't think that's ever happened :(. But it's holding up pretty well considering all it's been through over the last 2 days.
Thursday is usually my day of self pampering, and I cant wait to do my nails again. I'm super excited to try out my new Bundle Monster image plates. There are a lot of full nail and french tip designs in this set, and they're all larger than the ones in the first set. I am in LOVE with these image plates, and I don't know which one I want to use first. So stay tuned for that :)
Today, I get to indulge my passion for the macabre thanks to '1000 ways to die' becoming available on Netflix. I never got a chance to watch it while it aired on SPIKE, so its cool to be able to just sit and watch all of them. I'm waiting to see a nail polish related death....
SmokE
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| Base Coat: Sally Hansen Double Duty Strengthening Base and Top Coat Nail Color: China Glaze in 'Sea Spray' Konad Image Plate m60 Stamped with Konad black special polish Top coat: Seche Vite Top Coat |
This is day 2 of this mani, and you can see the ugly chip at the side of my thumb nail. There's also some tip wear on the other nails, but I'm not surprised. My job is very rough on my hands and nails. Usually I'm pretty lucky if I can go 2 work days in a row without a single chip. Actually, I don't think that's ever happened :(. But it's holding up pretty well considering all it's been through over the last 2 days.
Thursday is usually my day of self pampering, and I cant wait to do my nails again. I'm super excited to try out my new Bundle Monster image plates. There are a lot of full nail and french tip designs in this set, and they're all larger than the ones in the first set. I am in LOVE with these image plates, and I don't know which one I want to use first. So stay tuned for that :)
Today, I get to indulge my passion for the macabre thanks to '1000 ways to die' becoming available on Netflix. I never got a chance to watch it while it aired on SPIKE, so its cool to be able to just sit and watch all of them. I'm waiting to see a nail polish related death....
SmokE
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Opi Black Shatter with Milani Blue Flash
Hey there!
For the past few weeks, my brand new bottle of OPI Black Shatter polish has been sitting untouched. I'm a bit of a Konad junkie, and have been going Konad crazy since April. So I thought it was about time to try something new:
I LOVE this look! It screams edgy, and looks incredibly unique. I think the brighter the polish under the black shatter, the better. And from this trial, it would probably look awesome over anything glittery. I am dreading removal though. Blue Flash is a pretty dense glitter polish. Will definitely be needing foil :(
Black Shatter dried pretty quickly, with a matte finish. I didn't like the matte look, so i used Sally Hansen Insta- Dri Anti Chip Top Coat over it.
Milani Blue Flash is supposed to be a one coat glitter polish, but I had to use 2 coats for full and even coverage. It dried pretty quickly also, and had a rough grainy finish. Not surprising, considering how dense the glitter is. A coat of Seche Vite Top Coat smoothed it out some, providing a smoother surface for the shatter polish to do it's work. Polish used under shatter polish MUST be completely dry for best results, so I always use a coat of Seche Vite just to make sure.
Hopefully I can wear this Mani for at least 5 days, or until my new Bundle Monster plates arrive...whatever comes first :)
Toodles,
SmokE
For the past few weeks, my brand new bottle of OPI Black Shatter polish has been sitting untouched. I'm a bit of a Konad junkie, and have been going Konad crazy since April. So I thought it was about time to try something new:
OPI Black Shatter over Milani Blue Flash (Natural Light)
(Artificial Light)
I LOVE this look! It screams edgy, and looks incredibly unique. I think the brighter the polish under the black shatter, the better. And from this trial, it would probably look awesome over anything glittery. I am dreading removal though. Blue Flash is a pretty dense glitter polish. Will definitely be needing foil :(
Black Shatter dried pretty quickly, with a matte finish. I didn't like the matte look, so i used Sally Hansen Insta- Dri Anti Chip Top Coat over it.
Milani Blue Flash is supposed to be a one coat glitter polish, but I had to use 2 coats for full and even coverage. It dried pretty quickly also, and had a rough grainy finish. Not surprising, considering how dense the glitter is. A coat of Seche Vite Top Coat smoothed it out some, providing a smoother surface for the shatter polish to do it's work. Polish used under shatter polish MUST be completely dry for best results, so I always use a coat of Seche Vite just to make sure.
Hopefully I can wear this Mani for at least 5 days, or until my new Bundle Monster plates arrive...whatever comes first :)
Toodles,
SmokE
Monday, May 30, 2011
Happy Memorial Day!
Hello blog world! And a Happy Memorial Day to all :)
On this Memorial Day, I played hooky from work, and decided to start a blog. Good use of my time, no?
At the moment, I know that I want this blog to be, primarily, a means to share my nail art creations with the world. But I'm sure that my ramblings on other subjects will find its way in here from time to time. In addition to an almost shameful addiction to nail polish and nail art, I love horror movies. Zombies in particular! So maybe a movie review will find its way in here at some point...who knows? Expect other random ramblings, because I am a very random individual :)
So to kick things off, here's my Memorial Day mani:
The photo doesn't do this mani justice. Orly 'Royal Navy' is very vibrant, and China Glaze 'Fairy Dust' just kicked it up a notch. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to photograph it in the sun. The sparkliness is beautiful :'(
Until next time,
-SmokE
On this Memorial Day, I played hooky from work, and decided to start a blog. Good use of my time, no?
At the moment, I know that I want this blog to be, primarily, a means to share my nail art creations with the world. But I'm sure that my ramblings on other subjects will find its way in here from time to time. In addition to an almost shameful addiction to nail polish and nail art, I love horror movies. Zombies in particular! So maybe a movie review will find its way in here at some point...who knows? Expect other random ramblings, because I am a very random individual :)
So to kick things off, here's my Memorial Day mani:
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| Base Coat: Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Hardner Flag Background: Wet n Wild Wild Shine in 'French White Creme' Flag Stripes: Orly 'Star Spangled' Tip Color: Orly 'Royal Navy' Smile Line Polish: Kiss Brush On Nail Art Paint in 'Silver Glitter' Stars: Konad Image Plate m3 stamped with Konad white special polish China Glaze in 'Fairy Dust' (for added shimmer) Top Coat: Seche Vite Top Coat |
The photo doesn't do this mani justice. Orly 'Royal Navy' is very vibrant, and China Glaze 'Fairy Dust' just kicked it up a notch. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to photograph it in the sun. The sparkliness is beautiful :'(
Until next time,
-SmokE
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