007 + Giveaway Reminder

In honor of James Bond, I have come up with this manicure which I absolutely love. I hope you love it just as much as I do!

I hope you are able to see the little gun. I was inspired by this picture:

I used a basic black polish and Goldeneye from the OPI Skyfall collection and I can't even tell you how amazingly gorgeous that polish is. Unfortunately, it doesn't work well with my skin tone and that will going to my swap pile.

I don't know about you but I'm actually not really a James Bond fan. I have never seen a single James Bond movie, but if you're interested, and are a Bond fan, check out the top 5 grossing Bond movies. $900 million dollars? That is crazy. It's making me wonder if I'm missing out on something.

By the way, can you believe that Christmas is only 3 days away?! This month has definitely gone by!

What do you think? Are you a Bond fan?
Anna

And don't forget to check out my 555 followers giveaway! There are only 3 more days to enter! I'm getting the jitters already!

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Washed Out Or Vintage?

So I am really trying to execute this method. I want to get the right combo, but so I am really liking this one. If you haven't already seen the previous manis of this method, you can check it out here and here.

I really love the way this look is. I don't really know what to name it but I really enjoy it! Some people say it looks vintage and some people say it looks washed out. However the name is still out in open. So if you have any ideas, shoot it out in the comments!

Hopefully you can how it's faded more towards the center and downwards.  I used a just plain black polish, Milani Black Magic and then topped it off with a franken, sort of.

The one thing that I really love about this mani is the drying time. It kicks butt. Literally in 5 minutes, or even less, it was dried. I wiped it away with a napkin and not a single smudge. Of course if you dent it, there will be dings. But if your on the go and need something with quick drying time and you want something different on your nails, I'd say this is the way to go!

With my last mani, there was a request for a tutorial but I'm really not a tutorial type of person, but I if I get enough requests, I may consider. So let me know what you think!

Would you say this is washed out or vintage looking?
Anna

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Twinsie Tuesday: Color Block

I have to say that color blocking is one of my least favorite nail arts to do. So you already know, this week was a real challenge: color blocking.

Originally in my mind I agreed to only do 1 nail as an accent but somehow as I began polishing, I totally forgot about it and started polishing all of them. I guess they turned out okay but definitely not something I would showcase again on my blog.

 

So I straight up just free handed the lines. I don't have the patience to tape each and everyone one of the colors, though it may have looked better. But hey, it is what is! I'm usually a perfectionist but I just could not get this right. 

Like what Amandalandish said, I'm not even sure if these pictures deserve a watermark.

For the teal'ish, I used Sinful Colors Athens, for the black, I used Sally Hansen Black Out and Ulta High Roller. Color blocking manis are totally not my thing and I probably won't ever try them again. And lines that aren't crisp just drive me crazy! 

What do you think of color blocked nails?

Anna 

Excited to see my Twinsies' color block manis?

Amanda at Amandalandish

Anne at Grape Fizz Nails

Ashley at Art Evolve
Brandi at The Collegiate Nail

Chelsea at Nailed Blog
ChiChi at I''m just me...ChiChi
Cordia at Seriously Swatched

Elizabeth at Did My Nails

Jenn at All That is Gorgeous...

Jenna at I'm Still Thinking...

Katherine at Haul of Fame

Maribeth at Obsessive Cosmetic Hoarders Unite

Marisa at Polish Obsession

Meredith at Polish and Charms

Nory at Fierce Makeup and Nails

Rachel at Top Coat It

Sarah at See Sarah Swatch
Tara at Polishy of Truth

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Coral Stripes

These summer days have been a killer. Blasting the A/C in the house like cray cray! How's the weather in your neck of the woods? Hopefully better than here!

This is what I have for you today!

I truly love the simplicity of it. I used Sally Hansen White On as the base, for the coral I used OPI Call Me Gwen-ever then a regular black acrylic paint for the black stripes as I didn't want any smudging, or whatever, you know what I mean.

This was so simple and easy. All polishes were very easy to work with and are very pigmented. So I hope you enjoy it!

By the way, happy July 4th once again to the Americans! Are any of you planning to watch the fireworks?

Does this seem a bit nautical to you?
Anna

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Ikat

It is finally the weekend! And it is my first actual summer break weekend! Incase you're wondering, I passed my summer course with a B+. I hate those "+" and "-". It makes me feel like, if only I did a little bit more, I would've done better. But what can I say? B+ is passing.

So, I have finally had time to start doing more stuff on my nails. And it feels good!

I am sure you have seen this design around but this is my interpretation. I have been wanting to do this for a while but didn't think it would turn out as decent as it did. So I am glad to say that I am pretty proud of myself. Fortunately, it was much easier than I thought it would. You should give it a try as well!

For the base I used China Glaze For Audrey then I used a non-toxic acrylic paint for the red, black and white. It was very simple and I really enjoyed looking at my nails. Luckily, this particular design doesn't acquire much skill so that's a plus!

Digging the ikat designs lately?
Anna

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Funky French Tip

Back to reality Monday. I think I'm coming down with something. My son had a very high fever last night and now, I think I caught it. Better me sick than my son - gladly, he's back to normal. All the glory to Abba.

Something weird and something different. I didn't really like it and took it off right away. But this is 2 coats of  China Glaze Shower Together. This was a bad boy. It was super duper runny. It flooded my cuticles all over. The brush applicator was super nasty - sorry I didn't but should've pictured it. However, I think it's a really pretty color. For the black tip I used Sally Hansen Black Out.

I hope you all are having a wonderful Monday!

What do you think of the tips?
Anna

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Wing Zero

Happy Saturday!

Yesterday was such a beautiful day! Hopefully today is just as bright. Well, today I bring you another franken! My husband helped me name all of my franken polishes (so thanks husband, I know you'll be reading this sometime soon). Hopefully you're not getting bored of my frankens.

My husband said that this reminded of space, that's how he came up with Wing Zero - I think it's a pretty awesome name.  Anywho, I wish I was able to capture the true beauty of this polish in pictures. But I think this is so beautiful! It has purple/blue/gold/pink shimmers with slightly larger glitters. Just so beautiful. I think this turned out great. I wish I did a regular black base coat. Once I applied the 2 coat, the larger glitters sort of got lost. However, I am still enjoying this.

What do you think?
Anna

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Dooney and Bourke

Fail.

Dang. Have you ever had one of those days where you took 516515681x pictures and non of them turned out right? Yeah. That's me. For the first time ever. I don't why know. And the worst part was that this manicure did not turn out to be what I had in my mind. But tell me what you think.

Look my ring finger. My husband said it looks like white blobs. It's suppose to say D & B, you know, like the initials for the brand. But this was a horrible attempt. Unfortunately. I don't think everyones manis always turns out the way you want it to and/or imagined but you embrace it and continue to practice because practice makes perfect!

However, it turned out to be a failure. I don't like it at all. Below is my inspiration for this mani.

My failed attempt.

What do you think?
Anna

PS Happy Friday! Have a great weekend everyone!

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Dots And A Bow

Good afternoon Thursday! Tomorrow is Friday, YAY!

I wanted something chic and fun and so here it is.

For this mani, I used Sally Hansen Black Out and White on with 2 coats then one lovely buttery smooth coat of Zoya Kristi. This was very simple and easy since I didn't want something too time consuming. I was really surprised that Kristi only took 1 coat?! How often can you find polishes like that? Amazing! Zoya, you never cease to amaze me!

I hope you enjoyed this super easy mani! Have a happy Thursday!

What do you think? Yay for 1 coaters?
Anna

Sorry for the blurry pic but he was moving around a lot. Anywho, he is officially 8 months old today. That number scares me. Soon enough, he'll be asking for candy. His top two teeth are beginning to poke out already. My, my they grow up fast. I can't believe it's been long months already.

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Cloudicure

Hello hello all!

YAY for Friday! Unfortunately I work mostly the entire weekend. Poo. Anywho. This is what I have for you today!

I am really enjoying this but I messed up a bit. Can you see the ring finger? The french looks horrible and my accidentally somehow went unsteady and painted that little spot there. I only did one opaque base coat which I regret not doing 2 because there are bald spots. I didn't have enough time for it to dry, so it turned out a little rough with a few dents.

For the pink base coat I used one coat of Fuschia by Elf. Is it just me, but I feel like the Elf polishes literally take forever to dry. Seriously. Then I used a Sally Hansen Black Out (black polish) for the first set of clouds, then added Sally Hansen Blue Me Away! for the 2nd set of clouds. For the ring and thumb, I used Blue Me Away! and then added white acrylic paint for the dots. I didn't want to use regular white nail polish incase if it smeared. So there you have it! I hope you enjoy it. Have a wonderful weekend!

What do you think of Elf polishes?
Anna

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Half Matte Glitter Bomb

Just messing around some more with the matte. I'm sure if you can tell if the glitter is supposed to eventually fade down the nails but my nails are so short you really can't tell. I did it on a fake longer nail and it looked absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately that wasn't my case. However, I really liked the way it turned out. Sort of feathered. My sister said she really didn't like the matte black part that was close to the base of my nail because it looks like I colored it what a sharpie. I took a second look, now I'm not diggin' the matte black so much anymore. I sort of have to agree unfortunately. But what do you think?

It was really hard to get a clean crisp line with the glitter as I am sure would be able to imagine why. It didn't turn out exactly perfect but it's definitely fun to look at. Can you tell the ends of my nail were glossy not matte? I hope so. In this mani, I used Milani Black Magic with China Glaze Lorelei for the glitter then Elf Matte Nail Polish Finisher at the base of the nail. Lastly, I hope everyone is having an awesome weekend so far! Only one more day and we're back to Monday, sadly. Oh! One thing, for the first time ever I franken'ed my very own polishes. It was so much fun! A lot of thought and creativity! I can't wait to share!

Do you think matte black nails look like a Sharpie mani?
Anna

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Black and Gold

Praise God it's Friday! Yay! Yesterday, I attempted to do my nails. I sort of like the outcome but didn't have enough drying time. My little guy started getting really grumpy and my husband who originally said he was going to watch him didn't - he went to sleep. So that led me with no choice. Some polish had gotten all over my face and his face. So I only got a picture of what was left. The right now looks pretty now. So now, I have to do my nails again, I actually sort of liked it even though it looked sort of fail.

See the bubbles?

I used 2 coats of Milani White then sponged on Milani Black Magic and with a dotting tool, I added in the gold using Sally Hansen Guilty Pleasure. I really enjoy the color combo just not exactly the design. I'm not sure if you can tell but I barely had time to put on my top coat and was in a rush hence all the bubbles (especially on the ring finger). Other than that, I hope to redo this mani. I'm still gonna keep it for a day or two. In the mean time, try to come up with something else. Is it just me, or it sort of has a grungy feeling? Well, I hope you all have a great weekend! (=

What do you think of it?
Anna

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