Too much of a good thing? Nah!

Hello Dahlings!

Tonight I have something a lil different to share with you! I admit I may have a slight fondness for purple neon polish. It's not quite an obsession as I only have 5! Five is the perfect number to do a comparison mani & show you that not all purple neons are the same.

Tonight's line up: Santee Power Play, American Apparel Neon Violet, Ruby Kisses Electric Purple, Nina Pro Punky Purple & Orly Purple Crush. In the bottle the Santee, American Apparel & Nina Pro look very similar. The Ruby Kisses & Orly look more fuschia & magenta.

Sorry for 'the claw', it was the easiest way to show all 5 nails at once without giving myself a cramp. On the nail they aren't much different than they are in the bottle. This is 2 coats of each polish by finger: pinky ~ Power Play; ring ~ Neon Violet; middle ~ Electric Purple; index ~ Punky Purple; thumb ~ Purple Crush. Most went on rather well, except for Neon Violet. That polish has one of those skinny brushes & a runny formula, making good coverage difficult & cuticle flooding easy. All could have used a 3rd coat for full opacity tho 2 is doable. If you have the Santee, American Apparel or Nina Pro version of this fav color of mine, you don't really need the other 2. (Since when is polish collecting about need? LMBBOLOL) The Ruby Kisses & Orly are different enuf from the other 3 & each other that I'm glad to have them. (Who ever at the Orly home office thot this polish looked like a purple anything needs their eyes examined! That one is definitely a pink, not a purple.) Now what? Well, I couldn't just leave my nails like this, now could I? Maybe? Nah!

To finish this mani off I added 2 coats of Wet N' Wild Take the Stage from the Fergie line & a coat of Seche Vite. This isn't the most spectacular fuschia glitter I have or have ever seen (the pic makes it look more purple) but the medium size chunky silver hexes add interest & the color worked for all 5 neons & made them look enuf alike that I can live with this mani for a day or two. I was going to add a silver French tip, but I'm enjoying the purple sparklies & (gasp!) decided this was good enuf.

Thanks for stopping by!
~ Inky

Green Sparkle

Hello Dahlings!

Tonight's mani is an effort at some holiday cheer. It sorta works? LOL The real holiday art will be seen in the 12 Days of Holiday Nail Art Challenge hosted by Pink & Polished & Over Polished that starts posting next Sunday, December 2nd. Interested in joining the fun? Head to either blog & sign up! I will be participating & hopefully won't blind anybody with my holiday nail art attempts.

Tonight's line up: Sinful Colors San Fransisco, Finger Paints LE Sparkle Top Coat & Santee Gold Bright. Sparkle has a hidden beauty that doesn't show in the bottle!

This is 2 coats of San Fransisco. It needs 3 for full opacity, but I didn't worry about it knowing I'd be putting glitter over it. It also stains the skin a bit, so clean up took a lil longer than usual. Still, it's a nice Christmasy green.

This 2 coats of Sparkle Top Coat with large dots in Gold Bright to break up all that green space. I should have picked a different gold or left them off altogether, but the Gold Bright was handy & I just can't leave my nails with out any attempt at nail art. You can see some of the glitz of Sparkle in this pic, but my camera was not willing to capture the full glory of this Limited Edition holiday polish on my nails.

Fortunately, it did come thru in this pic off the swatch wheel! This is 2 coats of Sparkle over black & the natural wheel color. Sparkle has a Flakey quality of not looking like much in the bottle or over light colors, but put it over a dark color & LOOK OUT! It has micro glitter in green, blue & gold and the shiney bar glitter flits between gold, pink & orange. Holiday cheer in a bottle! Finger Paints polishes are only available at Sally's Beauty Supply, so get to your Sally's ASAP or you'll miss out on this hidden beauty!

Thanks for stopping by!
~ Inky

Chrome Clouds

Hello Dahlings!

Tonight I have 2 polishes from one of my all time favorite lines. About a decade or so ago Sally Hansen offered a wide variety of really yummy satin finish metallics called chromes. I bought Titanium & by the time I decided I wanted more...they were gone from the stores. Waaaa! Recently, I discovered a company called Cassie Cosmetics on eBay & they also sell thru Amazon. They specialize in discontinued make up & accessories that had been sold in drug stores. Everything is new & unused, just retired & offered at great prices! Some of the rarer polishes are at collector pricing, but the majority are offered at below their retiring retail price. Their customer service is excellent & I highly recommend them! On to the nails...

Tonight's line up: Sally Hansen Baby Blue Crystal & Aquamarine Chrome. For some reason, Sally Hansen decided painting the bottles the color of the polish was a good marketing idea. Alas, the bottle paint has a tendency to chip & scratch. This in no way effects the polish, it just looks odd. The polish covering part of the bottle volume info on the label is a swatch of what's inside. The painted bottles aren't always an exact match for the polish within.

This is 3 coats of Baby Blue Crystal with 1 coat of Seche Vite FDTC. Look at that shine! Being a chrome, it does show every nail imperfection in the 1st & even 2nd coats, but a 3rd will usually smooth most, if not all, of this all out. It also goes on a bit streaky, but if you're careful with your brush strokes, it will dry to a fairly smooth satin finish. Where is the blue? The Crystal Chromes are ultra pale versions of the color they are labeled. So pale that they tend to appear a very bright metallic white unless the light hits them just right.

I used the cloud full nail design from Bundle Monster plate 312 & Aquamarine Chrome to stamp the clouds I then used Aquamarine Chrome with my short striper brush to mark off French tips & my short detail brush to fill them in. Another coat of Seche Vite to finish it off. The skies in the Great North Wet may be cloudy more often than not these days, but my clouds have a silver lining for sure!

Thanks for stopping by!
~ Inky

Black Friday Blue Braid

Hello Dahlings!

I hope you're not all worn out with early bird black Friday shopping. If you are, I hope you got some great deals on polish for the effort! LOL Tonight's mani is a lesson in color choices for nail art. I used THIS tutorial from Lucy at Lucy's Stash, but didn't do as good a job at picking my colors as she does. Of course, she is Lucy & we have come to expect good stuff from her. LOL

Tonight's line up: Milani Key West, Orly It's Up To Blue & Witch's Blue. Key West & It's Up To Blue look more disimilar in person.

 

This is 2 coats of Key West. It's a lovely, shimmery teal that needs 3 coats for opacity. See the hint of VNL on my ring finger? It also tends to stain a bit, making clean up tedious.

 

Because Key West was on the sheer side I had to do 2 coats each time I used it to add a section of braid. It was also too close to It's Up To Blue & the 2 blend together in most lighting. So while not a total nail fail, it could have been better. Live & learn!

Thanks for stopping by!
~ Inky

 

1 nail, 2 nail, red nails blue nail!

Hello Dahlings!

Are you ready for Thanksgiving? I know I am, cuz I got my Seuss on!

Tonight's line up: L.A. Colors Live, Whimsical Ideas by Pam Seuss & Wet N' Wild Red Red.

This is 2 coats of Live over base coat. Shiney underoos!

 

2 coats of Seuss over Live.

 

I used my short striper to add French tips & the red stripes. And as an added layer of fun:

 

I undercoated my nails with Red Red! I've seen this done a few places, but the inspiration to do this tonight came from Anutka of Wacki Laki. She has a tutorial on how to undercoat your nails with color that you can see HERE.

Would you like to see more yummy indie polishes made by Pam? Check out her Facebook page HERE. She offers a high quality hand made polish! I haven't gotten into the indie craze like so many other bloggers have, but when I saw Pam's Peanut Butter & Jelly, I had to have it & have since bought several more of her polishes with no regrets.

 

 

Have a Safe & Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky

 

Punk Plaid

Hello Dahlings!

While blog hoping over the weekend I saw THIS tutorial on The Lacquerologist's blog. She did a great job of showing step by step how to create what looks like a complicated plaid on your nails without going crazy or having your eyes cross. I used different colors, but that's the great thing about plaid. You can do it in any colors you like! I do suggest using more opaque polishes unless you want the crossover lines to show thru. If you want that color overlap look, make sure you pick colors that will blend well. Sheer blue over yellow will make green; sheer purple over yellow will make brown. 

Here's da line up: Ruby Kisses Electric Purple, Wet N' Wild On A Trip (my all time fav blue voilet!), L.A. Colors Black Pearl & Revlon Pure Pearl.

This is 2 coats of Electric Purple. It's a typical neon in that it dries to a dull finish & needs 3 coats for full opacity. It stained my skin a smidge, but I think I got most of it off in the final clean up. If not & anybody notices, they obviously have way too much time on their hands & need their own hobby. LOL

I started this mani last night later than I wanted, so by 2am I had to call it a night & go to bed with my nails dry to the touch & unfinished. I'm just glad my sheets are flannel & not corduroy. LOL I used my short striper brush to paint all the lines. On the thicker blue violet lines I painted 2 lines touching.

Seche Vite to the rescue! One coat mostly smoothed out this very textured mani. 8 coats over lapping at the crossings makes for an interesting quilted effect. LOL

Thanks to The Lacquerologist for making this way easier to do than figuring it out for myself!

Thanks for stopping by!
~ Inky

Bling! I made Bling!

Hello Dahlings!

What happens when you take a 20 year old bottle of Wet N' Wild silver glitter polish (bought for $.71 at a drug store chain that doesn't exist anymore) & you add half a bottle of silver holographic glitter from the craft store? You get BLING! Yep, I made a franken polish & I'm gonna show it to you. (be still my thumping heart...)

Tonight's line up: My very own Bling Bling holographic polish (the holo effect is hiding, but you'll see it, I promise!), Zoya Gilda & Orly Liquid Vinyl.

I started with a thick coat of white glue base coat, so I can get this off someday. You're looking at 2 coats of Bling Bling going commando! (dang, the holo is still hiding...) This is without top coat & notice there's no VNL? This polish is packed with glittery goodness!

There's my holo baby! This is after adding a coat of Seche Vite to smooth it out.

Ta Da! I used Gilda with a large ball dotter & short liner brush to make the bows & then outlined them with my short striper brush & Liquid Vinyl. I then added the dots with the small end of the dotter. Another coat of Seche Vite finished this mani off. I got the idea for the bows from Nicole Gets Nailed. She painted roses under her bows & I was not feeling that artistic tonight. LOL You can see her wonderful mani HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!
~ Inky

Foiled again!

Hello Dahlings!

I debated if I should post both versions of this mani or save one for later, but the Twitter vote was unanimously for me to show both. You win! I recently watched a YouTube video from ArcadiaNailArt on how to make your own gold leaf mani rather than pay big bucks for one of the gold flake polishes currently available. I don't know about you, but I ain't paying no $30 for a bottle of polish! LOL To see how ArcadiaNailArt made being gilty easy, go HERE.

Let's start with my left hand. Following ArcadiaNailArt's basic instructions, I shredded some Mardi Gras crafting gold leaf in a lil plastic jar. This did take almost 1/2 an hour cuz the pices need to be really small. This foil has green, gold, pink & orange-ish copper colors wafting thru' it.

I then painted my nails with 2 coats of China Glaze Awakening to get full coverage. Love that duo chrome look!

I then applied a 3rd coat, tidied my cuticles & used a soft flat paint brush to place bits of foil on my nails. Once I had foil where I wanted it I  carefully smoothed it down with the brush. A coat of Seche Vite & I was done, but it really could use a 2nd layer of top coat. Like some glitters, this really sucked up the top coat & feels a lil rough.

Now for my right hand: using the same method as before, I shredded up some Verigated Red gold leaf. This foil has reds from burgundy thru pink in it.

I then applied one coat of Sally Hansen Glossy. Yep, that's ONE coat! The polish is so dark a burgundy it looks black unless in bright direct light. Very vampy!

I applied a 2nd coat of the Gloss & added the foil as for the left hand, but alas, the red pretty much disapeared when I added top coat. Tho' the copper left behind is pretty, I was looking foward to the reds. (insert pouty face here lol)

Look at all the pretty colors! The Mardi Gras on the left is a go for this technique, the Verigated Reds on the right is not. I got both foils at Eureka Stamps. I know the $9.95 price seems like a lot, but those packages hold a lot of gold leaf! Like most of a sandwich size zip bag's worth.

Thanks for stopping by!
~ Inky

I have the Ruffle Mani Blues

Hello Dahlings!

Sarah from Chalkboard Nails does the most perfect Ruffle Mani I ever seen. (big sigh) This is my 3rd attempt & while its better than those that came before...I still need to practice this design more before I'll be happy wearing in on my nails. It also works for my Rainbow Challenge as my blue nails, so something good came out of this. I mentioned in my Dotted French Tip Glitter Ombre (a la Colette) post that I was trying the white glue base coat again. Here are the results:

Better! I still didn't get the polish off in one piece as reported by other bloggers, but I was able to get most of it off with just my jumbo orange stick. Both thumbs & my right pinky resisted all attempts to scrape the polish off the white of the nail, but like last time, the glue is no match for pure acetone & came off easily after a minute long soak.

Tonight's line up: Scandal Marine Blue, Sally Hansen Blue Me Away mini, Orly Snowcone, Finger Paints Blue Raspberry Taffy, Hello Kitty (no color listed), L.A. Colors Splash & Sally Girl 812097.

This 2 coats of Marine Blue over my usual base coat. In the bottle it looks like a very pale blue, but on the nail it has a hint of green to it. I could almost get away with 2 coats of this polish, but if I were to wear it alone w/o nail art (gasp!) I would do a 3rd coat to smooth out the smidge of streakiness & hint of VNL.

Check out the cuticle oil lube job! LOL

I used my largest dotting tool head & tried really hard to keep my dots the same size & in even rows. (Note to self: life is about progress, not perfection) I will master this design! Someday, after lots of practice, maybe? Anywho, after doing what I could I added a coat of the Sally Girl mini topper. It's a pearly sheer mint w/turquoise micro glitter. Last but certainly not least, a coat of Seche Vite.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky

 

 

P.S. Please forgive my wonky editing. I'm having 'puter coniptions tonight & hubby (the computer enginner) is asleep. I ain't waking da bear over this! LOL

Guest Post at Mimi Manicures!

Hello Dahlings!

I'm back again today to let you know that my beloved Mistress of Nail Art, Mimi from Mimi Manicures has graciously allowed me to guest post on her blog! If you want to know more about this mani, head on over to Mimi Manicures and check it out.

Well? Get going!

Thanks for stopping by!
~ Inky

Dotted French Tip Glitter Ombre

Hello Dahlings!

Wow! The title of tonight's mani is a mouthfull. LOL I got the idea from Colette of My Simple Little Pleasures & you can see her video HERE on YouTube. She is THE Water Marble Queen! My version uses different polishes, but follows her general idea.

Also, I'm giving the white glue base coat another try. Even if it doesn't all peel off my nails, it is easier to remove than glitter over regualr base coat. I applied the WGBC & let it totally dry then I added my base color:

This is 2 coats of Savvy Ebony Black without topcoat. It's a black jelly! I wouldn't want it on my samich, but I LOVE it on my nails! Now for da glitter fest:

Tonight's line up: Ruby Kisses Money Maker (small green glitter w/silver holo bar glitter), Tokidoki Latte (small purple, teal & fuchsia glitter w/silver holo bar glitter), Ruby Kisses Mardi Gras (small purple & light blue glitter w/silver holo bar glitter), Orly Be Brave (pink holo bar glitter) & Revlon Ruby Ribbon (red & fuchsia small glitter w/silver holo bar glitter). See a theme going here? LOL

I applied 2 coats of Money Maker on my pinky, 1 coat of Latte on my ring finger, 2 coats of Mardi Gras on my middle finger, 3 coats of Be Brave w/da 3rd coat dabbed on to fill in some gaps, & one coat of Ruby Ribbon on my thumb. I think Ruby Ribbon is going to be my fav holiday polish! So much BLING in ONE coat!!! I then used a large head dotting tool with Ebony Black to add the French tips & larger dots and the small end of that tool for the lil dots. All this glittery fun is topped off with a coat of Seche Vite.

Thanks for stopping by!
~ Inky

Going Green!

Hello Dahlings!

My stamp camp project prep is done & I only have 2 lil things left to do for tomorrow...so time for some new nails! I'm on GREEN for my personal Rainbow Challenge.

Tonights line up is a Sally Hansen green fest of Lime Lights, Resolution & Jumpin' Jade.

This is 2 coats of Lime Lights. Yep, it's really sheer. I figure 5 coat minimum for opacity & you still might have VNL. White or nude undies are a must with this one or you can use it as a top coat to add green shimmer to another polish. Since I knew I was going to be sponging over the nail line, I didn't worry about it.

I really do love gradients! I start by painting my nails with 2 coats of the lightest color I'm using, wrapping the tips.  Then I take a piece of sponge approximately 1/4" x 5/8" (to fit my longish nails, you may want a piece 1/4" wide but shorter or longer to fit your nails) & paint a stripe across the 1/4" width of each color starting with the darkest on one end & the lightest on the other with the middle value color inbetween. Then starting at the tip of the nail, with the darkest color lined up at the tip, I begin patting the sponge side to side across the nail. After I get good coverage at that spot, I move the sponge up towards the cuticle a smidge & repeat the side to side patting. Depending on the length of the nail I may do a 3rd pass a lil higher. I then pat my way back to the tip to even out the color & blend the demarcation lines. I could have blended this mani a lil better, but I know the next step would hide any badly blended lines.

To finish off the colors I added a coat of China Glaze Oxidized Aqua crackle polish. I've had this aqua blue & green theme going lately to match my hair & I figured this mani is probably the last one as I'm changing my hair color in the next week or so. By popular demand, here's a pic of my blue hair with tonight's nails:

I dyed it using Ion Brights Aqua on September 25. That was over 6 weeks ago & I still have lots of color left! I think part of the longevity of this dye job is my using the sealer differently than the directions say I should. The words on da bottle say to use the sealer after the 1st washing with shampoo. I lose a ton of color in the 1st washing & the color bleeds until I add the sealer. So I came up with my own method that works better for making my color last & is good for my hair too. I apply the sealer right after I finish rinsing the excess dye from my hair, comb it thru thoroughly & leave it in at least overnight. I left the sealer in after applying the aqua for about 36 hours. The sealer has conditioners in it & acts like a leave in conditioner to help compensate for the 2 washings without conditioner & the bleaching. So say Hello & Good Bye to my blue hair! It's been fun but it's time for something new. If you want to see what color I do my hair next...leave a comment please! Of course I'll be doing manis to match my new hair. LOL

Thanks for stopping by!
~ Inky

No H8!

Hello Dahlings!

Just a quickie cuz I have mondo stamp camp prep to do, but I couldn't let this special day pass without saying something. Why is today special you ask? Because 100's if not 1000's of nail polish & nail art enthusiasts are standing together against bullying. This is phenomenal!!!

If you've every been bullied you know that awful 'Why me? Why am I not good enough?' feeling one gets when targeted by others, just for being different. It sucks! What you may or may not have realized is that many people who bully others are pitiful beings who can't feel good about themselves unless they can make others feel worse than they do. I think it's so very sad that they feel this insecure. One of my fav quotes is this one from Enigmatic Ramblings : 'I never wanted to be different, I just wanted to be myself.' This pretty much sums me up. Unfortunately, there are those who can't handle 'different'. Anything that doesn't fit their myopic world view is bad & must be changed, driven away or destroyed. This is also very sad, as diversity is what makes life interesting! NOBODY is perfect. EVERYBODY is due their own learning curve. We all started out as beginners in life & the goal is to improve one's self at one's own pace in the way one thinks is best for themself. To impose one's view point about how one should appear or how one should act on others by physical or emotional force is WRONG! I spent decades trying to fit the mold my family thought I should be in. All I accomplished was dissapointing them by proving I couldn't be who they thought I should be. Trying to be other than who I am was like wearing hand-me-downs in the wrong size. I was uncomfortable & everybody knew it while wondering why wondering why I just couldn't be 'normal'.

I finally had an epiphany: If somebody has an issue with me, my apperance or behavior, it's THEIR issue...I don't have to make it mine. People can only hurt you if you let them.

So much for 'a few words'! LOL Bottom line: Be yourself! Nobody does it better.

Much luv for YOU, my polish sisters & thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky

Finally!

Hello Dahlings!

Just a quickie to tide you over until my next mani post on Friday. I FINALLY got my inky claws on the 2012 OPI Pink of Hearts duo!!! As an added bonus I got the 2011 Pink of Hearts Shatter polish too. (I luvs me some nail crack! LOL) I hunted locally all thru October & couldn't find the 2012 set anywhere. I asked at every store I went to that normally sells OPI. Nada. Zip. Nothing. Some of them (including Ulta) had no idea what I was even talking about. Ed Wyse had ordered it, but as of November 1st, their shipment still hadn't arrived. Lame OPI! So off to Amazon I went & found a vendor called One41 beauty out of Georgia that not only carries both polishes, they also offer FREE SHIPPING! You can buy the 2012 set HERE & the 2011 Shatter HERE. I wasn't into polish last October like I am now, so I'm glad they still had a few bottles of the shatter left. Yes, there are vendors offering both for less $, but when I added s/h the price was more & I'd have to place 2 orders instead of one. 

And here they are! Methinks my 1st mani after dying my hair fuschia again may have to be with the shatter or the glitter. Not both at once, the pinks don't go well together, but you will be seeing these beauties in the not too distant future.

Thanks for stopping by!
~ Inky

NOTW #1 Double Dotted Ombre

Hello Dahlings!

Back to my personal Rainbow Challenge! Today we have Red-Orange-Yellow ombre nails with black & white double dots and a lil bit of sparkle cuz life is better with sparkles & sprinkles.

Today's starting line up: Finger Paints Lemon Sour, L.A. Colors Wired, Orly Crush on You, China Glaze Rougish Red & Wet N' Wild Red Red.

You're looking at 3 coats on my pinky, index & thumb. I had to do 4 coats on my middle & ring fingers. Crush on You is more of a jelly than a creme & Wired is a really thin creme with delusions of being a jelly when it grows up. Ain't gonna happen! My recommendation is to wear white undies with these 2 if you don't like umpteen layers of polish or VNL. Both could have used a 5th coat for full opacity, but I knew I could hide the VNL with dots so called it quits at 4.

For a lil added fun I added glitter. Tho' it doesn't show well in the photos, it has pinkish red, orange coral & yellow gold iridescent bits.

Here's the rest of the line up: Milani Black Magic & White on the Spot plus L.A. Colors Sassy Sparkles.

Ta Da! I love the fun contrast of black & white double dots! I think they pull this mani together. I used my largest dotting tool for the big dots & the small ball on the other end for the inside dots. The ombre part took way longer than the double dotting due to the extra coats needed. Dotticures are one of my fav quick nail art techniques!

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky