Green Cheetah

Hey everyone!

I can't believe it's been over a week since I've been here! And I can't believe my number of followers has increased! Thank you all so much for taking an interest in my little blog, it really means a lot :).
Even though I said I would this month, I decided I won't be attempting the blogger 31 day challenge. There's no way I can do my nails every single day, I simply don't have the time.
But anyhow, the nails I'm currently wearing were inspired by the Wet n Wild On the Prowl display at Duane Reade. I was lucky enough to snag Correction Tape, Cougar Attack, and Behind Closed Doors. The only one I'm still looking for is Tangled in my Web.

Materials Used:
Orly Bonder base coat
Wet n Wild fast dry Ocean Grotto (3 coats)
OPI Fresh Frog of Bel Air (2 coats)
Konad image plate m57 and Konad Special Polish in Black
Wet n Wild Cougar Attack (for filling in the spots)
Dotting tool
Seche Vite Top Coat

Green Cheetah!

Thanks for stopping by!

Opi DS Coronation + Bundle Monster

Hello :)

I'll start this post off by warning you: I cut my  nails down considerably. My pinkie nail had a crack in it, and rather than start cutting up tea bags and possibly driving myself nuts trying to salvage it, I cut it off at the crack. Since having one single short nail didn't look cute, I cut down and filed all the rest of my nails to match my fresh nubbin of a pinkie.
I immediately regretted the decision, and wished I had tried to salvage my poor pinkie nail after all. But after looking at my  hands for an entire day, I think I'm actually preferring the look and feel of my freshly cut talons! I'm usually able to type quickly and accurately, but my longer nails slowed me down considerably. Now that they're shorter, I type better again, my polish doesn't seem to be chipping as quickly, and they just look neater and more uniform in shape to me.
But enough chat, on to the pictures:

Materials Used:
OPI DS Coronation (base color)

Color Club Wild at Heart (stamping)
 Bundle Monster Image Plate BM-221


I rely on natural light for the majority of my pictures, and since its been raining for what feels like a month, I haven't had many photo-ops with ol' mister sun in a while. The pictures don't do OPI DS Coronation much justice. It's packed with scattered holographic particles that sparkle when the light catches it a certain way. To me, the brush looked diamond encrusted with the wet polish on it. The formula on this was really easy to work with, and it dried relatively quickly. I can't say enough good things about this polish. You can see a really good swatch of it here. Color Club Wild at Heart is great for stamping. In the light you can really see the scattered holo effect of both polishes. I'm really disappointed that the sun wasn't out :( But the sun will come out tomorrow...or so the weather man says :-). Maybe I'll get some brightly lit pictures then...



Thanks for stopping by!

Pink Glittery Funky French!

Hey!

Hope everyone is having a great Friday. Today I have some glittery, almost sickeningly feminine nails to share with you:

Pink Slanted French With Glittery Fimo Flower Accent Nail

Couldn't you see Barbie rockin' this look? :D

Materials Used:
2 Coats of Seche Rose (Base Color)
1 coat of Orly Fancy Fuchsia for slanted french
3 coats of OPI Teenage Dream on ring finger with 2 fimo flowers
1 coat of OPI Teenage Dream over slanted french tips

I was so proud that I was able to freehand the slanted french so well on my left hand! But I had to use tape on my right hand. I'm not that great at doing my right hand yet :-/
Teenage Dream is gorgeous. I recently ordered a 2nd bottle just so I'd never be without it!

Yesterday I took a little trip to Walgreens. Thanks to a heads up from a few blogs, I was able to get my hands on some Wet n Wild polishes for only $.99! I also picked up 2 Sally Hansen Xtreme wear glitter polishes at $3.49 each; It felt like a lot compared to the Wet n Wild :-/

L to R: Rockstar Pink, In the Spotlight, 9.0.2.1.Orange, Buffy the Violet Slayer, The Wonder Yellows, Saved by the Blue, Ebony Hates Chris, Party of Five Glitters

I also got a few more things in the mail. I really need to go on a no buy.

L to R:  China Glaze Party Hearty & Cosmic, Milani Jewel FX in Silver and Gold, Milani One Coat Glitter in Ruby Sparkle, Sally Hansen Whirlwind White

Last night, I came across a cool challenge that I see other bloggers doing: the 30 Day Challenge!

I'm a little late for this month, and I have a lot of stuff planned for my favorite holiday next month. So I'm thinking maybe I'll start this in November. I can't wait! Seems like a fun thing to do :). Are any of you doing the 30 day challenge?

Have a great day, and thanks for stopping by!
-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

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

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:

    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