Black Heart Beauty KSM

Hello Dahlings!

 

On my birthday I went to da mall for a lil Sephora fun, but before I got there I passed a Hot Topic & took a lil detour. I had seen da Black Heart Beauty Polishes on several blogs & wanted to get some of those cute lil skull bottles for myself.

 

Da line up: Black Heart Beauty unnamed neon purple (I couldn't find it at Hot Topic's shop ) & Cursed Nail. They went on just dandy fine but da dry time was a lil slow & I had dingage issues cuz I have a wait problem.

 

This is 2 coats of da neon. Surprisingly it didn't stain my cuticles like many neons do.

 

I've become a bit of a Kitchen Sink Manicure ho thanks to Nicole at Young Wild & Polished. She taught me that a lil randomness is a good thing! I used a round yard sale sticker to do my 1st half moon nails, a large dotting tool for da polka dots, my short striper for da 2 striped nails & chevron nail guide stickers for da thumbs. Da thumbs are where I had issues with da slower dry time of these polishes. When I pulled one of da stickers off after applying da black stripes, it pulled some of da neon polish off. Blerg. So I licked my finger & stuck da sticking up bits down then dabbed a bit of neon in da hole. A coat of Seche Vite smoothed it all out! Why can I use French Tip sticker forms, but not striping tape?

 

Hurry! You're almost out of time to enter my Birthday Give-a-way!

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky

 

 

 

Welcome Back, Frankens!

Hello Dahlings!

 

Just a quickie today cuz my MIL arrived last night & German brunch is nigh! So I've been on a franken fit of late & was chatting with @SkeeterStyle23 on Twitter da other day & she commented that da After School franken I showed on Friday had a fun name. The plum colored polish I used for color was part of a collection with school themed names. Skeeter made a joke about my making a Welcome Back, Kotter polish & my inky lil brain cell started percolating...

 

This is 5 of da 10 polishes I frankened Friday night. Da line up: Hotsie Totsie, Washington 'Hi There!', After School Detention (I renamed it.), Welcome Back, Kotter & Kotter 'Did I ever tell u about...'. All of these dahlings started with L.A. Colors Live & various polishes I wanted a foil version of in my collection.

 

Here's a bit of a close up.

 

I was in such a hurry to get these done I didn't take base color pics. Hubs was headed for da airport & I wanted to be done before they got back. I failed on that but my nails turned out KEWL! I used da 2 colors on either side of each finger to do gradients using bits of sponge cut to 1/4" x 5/8", one for each combo.

 

Only a few days left to enter my Birthday Give-a-way!

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky

 

 

 

Franken February Fridays #4

Hello Dahlings!

 

Where did February go? Is this really da 4th Friday? Really? Dang! Oh well, all good things must come to an end, while da bad things seem to go on forever. LOL I had a quandry over what to do for today's mani...show another fav color combo or show something different. I caved to my comfort zone:

 

Da line up: After School & Hocus Pocus.

I use pigment powders & craft glitters for most of my frankens,

but these 2 are polish only.

 

This is 2 coats of After School. It started as 1/2 a bottle of L.A. Colors Live silver foil & I added a plum colored shimmer polish called Homework. This is 15+ year old polish that was part of a collection with school related names from a company called Townley Cosmetics. I tried to find a site that showed their current products, but they seem to have evolved into a teen beauty forum. Oh well.

 

This is 2 coats of Hocus Pocus over After School. I started with 2 mini bottles of Claire's polish; one was round silver holo glitter & da other was round black & silver holo glitter. I also had a mini franken of black shard glitter I made a while back, but it didn't have suspention fluid so it needed mondo shaking to use. All 3 minis got poured into an empty SV bottle & this is da result. It's VERY sparkly, even in low light & it lies down flat on command. I only needed one coat of Seche Vite to finish.

 

Playing Mad Franken Monster is FUN! You can take a polish you already have that you don't wear cuz it isn't quite what you wanted & turn it into a polish you love. I have more DIY polish fun to share tho it may not be posted on Fridays...stay tuned!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky

 

 Don't forget to enter my Birthday Give-a-way!

Hello Kitty Nail Fail

Hello Dahlings!

 

Have you ever seen something in da store & thought how cheap it looked & how crappy it probably was & bought it anyway? LOL That's what I did with some da polishes I used for this mani. I adore Hello Kitty & when I saw 2 polish packs for kids at Target, I just had to get them even tho I knew da polish would be crap. I was right!

 

Da line up: Milani White on the Spot, da lil square Hello Kitty bottles are da cheap kid polish, da lil round bottle is a Choco Cat polish from a store carrying Asian cartoon stuff & the larger square Hello Kitty black polish is from da Sanrio store. (Sanrio makes Hello Kitty) None of da HK polishes have names or #s.

 

I started with one coat w/wrapped tips of White on the Spot cuz I knew these polishes would be on da sheer & spotty side. I had to add thinner to all of da lil square bottles cuz they were more like liquid plastic that was congealing than polish. I think this stuff is intended to dry fast then it can be peeled off w/o hurting da kid's nails. I did 2 coats of each cept da Choco Cat polish on my index finger. That needed 3 cuz it was very sheer & it was da only one that didn't give me any application issues. I then added a coat of SV to even out da surface & BAM!...instant shrinkage from da cheap polishes. Seche Vite will shrink polish as it gets thicker, but in my experience, it will also shrink cheap polish even when da SV is fine. Da shrinkies went all around da edges so my nails almost looked tie dyed. You can really see it on my thumb.

 

Moving on...I decided to practice my skinny stripes using da Essence striper brush that comes in their nail art kit. Da black polish worked pretty well. Da silver was a gloopy pita like da rest of da cheapies. When I applied a final coat of SV to finish this monstrosity off, da silver polish shrank, but da black didn't. EPIC FAIL! LMBBO

 

The good news for me was that both sets of cheap polish came with 2 lil Hello Kitty head charms. I made 2 into earrings & have da other pair in reserve. A pair of HK earrings for $5 is a good deal! Also, the Choco Cat & black HK polishes work just fine! They are more of a novelty than anything, so I can't recommend them unless you're a Hello Kitty fan.

If you want good Hello Kitty polish, go to Sephora.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky

 

Have you entered my Birthday Give-a-way?

Why not?

 

Franken February Friday #3

Hello Dahlings!

 

This Friday's fab frankens are some of my earliest experiements.

 

Da line up: Psychedelic Pink & Bling Bling made by yours truly with Stripe Rite black.

 

So sparkly! PP started out as a bottle of clear polish that I added Martha Stewart's Fluorescent Pink glitter & Recollections Bling silver holo glitter. Because this is a regular clear top coat it doesn't suspend the glitter so I have to shake da bejeebers out of it to mix it up & keep it mixed while using it. One would think that da Martha glitter would be of a higher quality than the Michael's 'home' brand. NOT! It bled into da clear & tinted it. This is fine cuz I didn't have any specific expectations when I started mixing...I just wanted a bright pink & sparkly polish and I got it.

 

When I think I almost threw out the base for this polish, I want to cringe. LOL It started out a 20 year old bottle of Wet N' Wild silver glitter that had tarnished & turned the clear base yellow. I overloaded it with Bling & fell in love! In the bottle it looks almost like a linear holo, but it's scattered on da nail. I don't mind cuz it's uber shiny!!! Because I started with a glitter polish the added glitter stays mixed & floating.

 

This is 2 coats of PP. It's nearly opaque as is so I didn't go for 3 coats. It's also really textured...I think I may have found a DIY version of da textured polishes that are all da rage right now! lol Da thing is...not all glitter is da same. Some work just fine, others bleed & some melt. That's right, they melt into a blob of plastic that sinks to da bottom of da bottle. I highly recommend you test any glitter you wish to add to polish by placing a drop of da polish on a piece of foil & sprinkling a tiny bit of da glitter into da drop. If it's going to bleed or melt it will happen before da polish dries. Bleeders can be used, melters are better saved for other crafting uses. The same goes for any potential nail art supplies like glequins & 3D items bought in a craft store instead of a nail art source.

 

Oh yeah, you might want to see the finished mani! lol

 

Ta Da! This is SO sparkly & bright my camera couldn't handle it & da pics kept getting washed out, even after I turned da flash off.

 

My inky lil brain has all kinds of ideas for new frankens rolling around in it, kinda like bb's in a boxcar. lol Me thinks I'll have to do something about da brain clutter...

 

I know Fitzy is bogged down with a new job & won't be joining us this week. I don't know about Morgana either. I think you're just getingt me this week!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky

Don't forget to check out my Birthday Give-a-way! 
 

 

Whimsical Ideas By Pam ~ Miss Wohelo

Hello Dahlings!

 

Today I have for you another yummy polish from Whimsical Ideas by Pam!

 

Da line up: Whimsical Ideas by Pam Miss Wohelo, Stripe Rite black & Claire's Mystical.

 

This is 2 coats, tho it could have used 3 for full opacity. It went on like a dream. Look at all that yumminess!

 

Take a closer look at da lil purple & pink sparkles in da bright pink jelly base. YUM!

 

I added my fav double line French tips using Mystical & da black. Mystical was a goopy hot mess to work with...thinner time! Da black striping polish however is easy to work with due to Stripe Rite nail art polishes having a very skinny brush that makes creating fine lines easy. A layer of Seche Vite & I am good to go!

 

Thanks for stopping by & don't forget to enter my Birthday give-a-way!

~ Inky

 

 

 

 

It's My Birthday & I'm Giving YOU a Present Give-a-way!

Hello Dahlings!

Yep, this is my birthday surprise mentioned in my 'dye if I want to' post this morning...a give-a-way! I've heard it said that the best present to give someone is one you'd like to receive & I know I'd like to get this present:

A set of 15 Elf mini polishes! Think of all the fun YOU could have with these little dahlings. This set contains:

Top row: Fairy Dust, Golden Goddess, Blush, Red Velvet & Metal Madness

Middle row: Nude, Smoky Brown, Mod Mauve, Chocolate & Plum

Bottom row: Dark Red, Party Purple, Emerald, Dark Navy & Black

Now for da rules:

This give-a-way is for peeps in da United States only. (Sorry! The size of the package makes international shipping awkward, but my next give-a-way will be open to everyone...PROMISE!)

The fun starts today, February 10th, 2013 & runs until February 28th, 2013.

Please only fill out da info in da Raffle Copter widget once, except for Tweeting daily. If you dup yourself or otherwise try to cheat, you will be disqualified.

Now get to entering:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Thanks for helping me to celebrate my 45th birthday!

I Luvs you ALL! ~ Inky

 

P.S. Please pardon my Raffle Copter oopsies? This is my very 1st give-a-way & techtardiness is to be expected. LOL

P.P.S. Did I say another give-a-way was in da works? Yes, I did! When my blog following reaches 150 peeps, I'll host a give-a-way open to everybody with lots of prizes!!!

It's My Birthday & I'll Dye If I Want To!

Hello Dahlings!

 

Yes, you read that right...today is my birthday! I am (drumroll please!)...45 today! I'm not as fussed about turning 45 as I thought I'd be. LOL One thing about getting older is you gain perspective on life & learn when to pick your battles & when to let go. I really enjoy hanging out in Twitterland & the things some of my polish pals get their knickers in a twist over just make me chuckle cuz I can remember getting upset over similar things at their age. Trust me when I say that many of these hot emotional issues will seem silly down da road & most will be forgotten no matter how important they seem today.

Life happens! On to da show:

 

Yep! A hair pic...where are da nails? Hold your horses, I'll get to them. This is my new do. I did some serious bleaching of da old dyed areas as well as root touch ups in my bangs, sides & nape plus I added new aqua over da old aqua that was fading. (I did da aqua the last week of September so I'm not complaining! lol) Tho it doesn't show in da pic, there are random areas of pale coppery apricot where the bleach lightened to a yellow blond rather than the white blond down the length of my hair, but I like da shifting contrast with the bright pink. With the colors of my hair in mind, I picked da following polishes for my birthday nails:

 

Da Birthday line up: It's a Sally Hansen Chrome fest featuring Bronze Chrome, Carnelian Chrome, Royal Purple Chrome, Pink Sapphire & Aqua Chrome. If you've been here before, you gotta know I love me some SH Chromes!!! They've been off da shelves for 10+ years now, but you can still buy many of them at Cassie Cosmetics on eBay and Amazon. They have an awesome selection of Vintage nail polish, most at below the price they last sold at in stores! Da customer service is fabulous & da shipping is FAST, like 24 hours out da door headed your way kind of fast.

 

My swatching hand is back! My pinky nubbin has finally grown back enough to not be so shy about posing. Poor baby cracked below the nail line da Sunday before New Year's & broke free 2 weeks later. Starting with my pinky ~ Bronze, ring ~ Carnelian, middle ~ Royal Purple, index ~ Pink Sapphire, & thumb ~ Aqua. While pretty much all chrome/metallic/foil polishes with this satiny finish are a streaky hot mess to deal with...these aren't so much. It's why I love them so! When I do it right I get a nearly air brushed look when the polish dries. Tonight wasn't one of those occasions. lol I've had 3 SU! events in da last 3 weeks & I'm a tired Inky. I did a decent enough job & moved on to da nail art:

 

Ta Da! Starting with pinky again ~ a double line French tip using Carnelian & Aqua, ring ~ double dots using Royal Purple & Bronze, middle ~ skinny stripes using Carnelian & Pink Sapphire, index ~ a gradient using Pink Sapphire, Royal Purple & Aqua, thumb ~ chevrons using Bronze, Carnelian & Royal Purple. For tools I used my short striper, skinny striper, large & small ball dotting tool.

 

It's Nicole's ( Young Wild and Polished ) fault I'm now addicted to Kitchen Sink Manicures! I blame her & she'll just have to suck it up, put her big girl panties on & go rule the universe like the Emperess Queen of Polish she is! <3 font="">

 

Thanks for stopping by & check back tonight for a surprise!

~ Inky

Franken February Friday #2

Hello Dahlings!

 

Today's post is a quickie cuz I have prep to do for my 3rd camp/workshop in 3 weeks. Blerg.

 

Meet my Wild Violets Holo! I only need 2 coats for full opacity...with no undies! This one started out as a bottle of clear polish from Dollar Tree then I added a serious amount of Wild Violets holo glitter (bought at a Rubber Stamp con like 5 years ago), a couple of shaker beads & voila: Purple bling in a bottle!!! I've had this on since Monday, with NO nail art added, cuz it's just so damn purple rainbow sparkly I can't bear to take it off. (Ok, so all da prep I've had to do may be part of why I haven't changed out my nails too. LOL) The only down side to adding glitter to regular polish is that it doesn't have the suspension ingredient that keeps glitters floating, so I have to shake da beejeebers out of it before I can use it & after applying it to each hand & between coats...it's SO worth it! This is one of my earliest frankens. I've since used cheap glitter polish as a base for franken glitters, but if I can get some of that magic glitter floating polish stuff I'll add it to da bottle.

 

The Fabulous Fitzy from LacquerLad & the Magnificent Morgana from Just Skin, Bones and Nails said they'd be joing me in this Franken Show & Tell, so go check them out & if they haven't posted yet, just keep checking...it will be worth it! <3 font="">

 

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky

Converse ~ Nailed It NZ style!

Hello Dahlings!

 

Todays design is a direct import from New Zealand! Jessie does really unique & well done nail art AND she puts together step-by-step tutorials so the rest of can have kewl nails too. Here's my version:

 

Da line up: Orly Dayglow: Essence Colours 3 duo polishes in (the 1st name is da top polish) front row or back stage?/ticket to the show, party all night/shopping trip in soho, it's just a little crush/boys are back in town, city that never sleeps/midnight date, stop for an ice cream/a walk in the park; Orly Liquid Vinyl. I didn't use front row or back stage? cuz it's fairly opaque & covers up it's mate when layered.

 

 

2 coats each, starting at da top: thumb ~ ticket to the show has a subtle rainbow of tiny glitter like lights at night, index ~ shopping trip in Soho has a subtle shimmer, middle ~ boys are back in town is a creme, ring ~ midnight date has a subtle grren shimmer, pinky ~ a walk in the park has a subtle lighter green shimmer. All went on pretty well but walk in the park wanted to stain my skin. Blerg.

 

One coat each of the toppers: index ~ party all night long is a small purple flakie in a dark pink jelly, middle ~ it's just a little crush is a purple & pink glass fleck in a pearly base, ring ~ city that never sleeps is a green flakie in a lavender jelly, pinky ~ stop for an ice cream is a blue & green glass fkeck in a peraly base. You can see a bit of the multi color micro glitter in ticket to the show on my thumb in this pic.

 

Ta Da!  OK. I failed at getting a good pic of this & I had some smearing from top coat. Oh well, it's still a fun mani! I used a small detail brush with Dayglow to make the toes & laces as well as with Liquid Vinyl to make the toe lines. I used a small dotting tool to make the holes for the laces. While I like the colors in this polish line, I don't like da bottles! I'm pondering if it would be worth da effort to decant them into single mini bottles. You thoughts on this would be lovely!

 

To see a really good version of this design, go check out da original at Nailed It NZ

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky

 

Franken February Friday #1 ~ late!

Hello Dahlings!

 

I do appologize for being 2 days late posting for my own idea. Work has been kicking my not-so-tiny tushie & making polishing my nails, let alone posting, a challenge. A big thanks to Fitzy for getting this going by posting on time! If any of you would like to join us in posting your own Franken Polish creations on Fridays in February, please do, and let me know so I can link you in at da bottom on my posts. <3 font="">

 

Da line up: Reflex Black Violet, Reflex Violet Pearl, Interference Purple & Stripe Rite white. I'll introduce you to each of my babies one at at time.

 

Meet Reflex Black Violet! It started out as a bottle of black Nail Fetish polish from da Dollar Tree & it had a bit of an opacity issue but wasn't a jelly. So I added Reflex Violet craft pigment powder to see what would happen. Me likey! It turned into a vibrant yet vampy violet black. An added bonus to using pigment powders in frankening is that the opacity of an existing polish can be increased.

 

Meet Reflex Violet Pearl! This one started out as a bottle of white L.A. Color polish from da Dollar Tree. Nothing wrong with it for a cheap white polish, but I bought with frankening in mind. I liked how RBV turned out, so I added da same powder to da white along with some white pearl pigment powder & got this. Da pic doesn't show how well these siblings 2 play together!

 

Meet Interference Violet! It started out as a bottle of clear L.A. Colors base coat from da Dollar Tree & I added Interference Purple pigment powder to it to make a topper. You can just see da hint of purple shimmer in da above shot. Like the store bought interference topper polishes, it doesn't look like much in da bottle, but layer it over darker colors and...look out! It does add a nice pinky purple shimmer to lighter colors, but I prefer da bolder look.

 

Ta Da! This is 2 coats of RBV & RVP with a line of white & 1 coat of IV over everything. I was SO tired last night that I kept dozing off between coats. lol So I kept it simple with a double line French tip, using opposite colors on my ring fingers for an accent.

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by & please go visit Fitzy at Lacquer Lad He has beautiful nails & a lovely as yet un-named franken to share with us today!

~ Inky