Gemma & BM 202

Hello Dear Readers,

Here is last week's manicure.  I started with the lovely "Gemma" from Zoya.  Two coats form the base of this mani.

 (click on pics to view larger images)

Then I added the pattern from Bundle Monster plate 202. I used Konad Special Black for the stamping.

If you look at the thumb/pink, you can see I had a few problems keeping the pattern from breaking up or stretching, but I still like how it turned out, overall.

Hope you are having a great week.  Please leave me some feedback, if you have a minute.

Thanks,
glitterM

"Stone Cold" Stamped

Hello Dear Readers,

Here's another stamped mani I wore recently.  I used Orly's "Stone Cold" from their Mineral FX collections.  It is an amazing bright blue colour!

(click on the image to see a larger version)

I added a design on the tips using China Glaze "Millennium".

Hope you like this mani. I love hearing from you, so please leave me a comment, and I'll be sure to respond!


Have a great day. :-)

Stunning Stilettos with Stamping

Hello Dear Readers,

I have a stamped manicure for you today. I am behind in posting!

For this manicure, I used Finger Paints "Stunning Stilettos" as the base colour.  I bought it and then realized it was pretty close to the Barry M "Grey" I already bought awhile ago. Oh well...I'm sure you all have some dupes in your stashes too! Am I right, ladies?

(All images are clickable for a more magnified view.)

Then I added the curlicue design from BM 225, in China Glaze "Millennium", which I use often as a stamping polish.  It really stands out against a darker background, but it dries super fast, so you gotta hustle with it!

I wear a lot of silver or white gold accessories, so this manicure worked well with many different looks.  The neutral grey/silver makes it an easy manicure to wear, in my opinion.  

I hope you all enjoyed your long weekend, and I wish you all a great week.  Please leave me some feedback, as I love to read your comments.

Do you try to avoid buying dupes or near-dupes, or do you buy them anyhow...just can't resist?

Snakeskin Manicure - My take on it

Hello Dear Readers,


I finally got time to do a stamped manicure, and I wanted to try my hand at the snakeskin look I'd seen on a few blogs.  I got inspired by Once Bitten's blog (scroll down the page) and The Nailsaurus' version is awesome too.

(all pictures are "clickable" for larger version)

Here is my try... I used Finger Paints "Purple Pinstripe" as the base and then added some random splotches of Sally Hansen "Lacey Lilac" and China Glaze "Purple Panic".  On top I stamped the snakeskin pattern from Bundle Monster 215 in Konad Special Black.

I did this one late at night and couldn't really tell how the colours worked together until I saw it in daylight this morning. I am pretty stoked with how it turned out after all.  

Have a great week, everyone.  And please leave me your comments, because I really love reading them!

It's been soooo long!

Dear Readers,

Sorry I have been away so very long.  We were away on a great family holiday to Turks and Caicos, right before the hurricane hit! Here is a pic I took while we were away.  My hands are so dry - sorry for the flaky skin! Anyhow, I figured, better late than never....

This is a stamp from BM 212 in Avon Mirror Shine "glisten" over Finger Paints "To-teally Chic".

Even though I swam and applied lotion to the kids and then swam some more, re-applied lotion, did snorkelling, jet-skiing, laundry, etc., this mani lasted almost the full two weeks we were away! (My pedicure wasn't quite as resilient, so no pics of the toes.) I think that Seche Vite topcoat is awesome and combined with Orly Bonder base coat, it's a winning combination!

Hope you are all enjoying the last few days of summer....

Blue Bundle Monster 201

Dear readers,

Here is the manicure I've been wearing for the past few days.

I used Orly "Royal Navy" (2 coats) for the base colour.  Here's a pic in front of my bookshelf. I arranged my books according to spine colour.  I'm so conflicted about my books... I love books, but in the last year I've been reading off my beloved Kindle.  Books.  Kindle.  Books.  Kindle....they each have their pros. Kindle is much more practical, but there's just something about holding a book and looking at the cover and seeing them stacked up on your shelf...ah, I'm getting way off the topic of nails, aren't I?!

 I added stamping from BM 201 in "Millenium" by China Glaze.

In this one you can see I tried a different design on my pinkie first, but I changed my mind because that pattern, while pretty, didn't leave enough of the blue showing for what I wanted this time.

Holding a weird part of a phone case.  I like finding odd props for my photos.

That's it. You made it to the end of my post.
Have a great week everybody. Please remember to leave me your comments. I love reading them!

Bundle Monster 211

Hi dear readers,

I wanted to post this manicure I did last night. Do you ever do your nails late at night and feel like you can't see that well due to using artificial lighting - and near exhaustion?!  The colours and stamping always seem to look a bit different in the daylight!

This is a base of Avon Mirror Shine in "glisten", a metallic, quick drying light blue.

The stamping design comes from BM211. I like the oval spotted pattern. I used Konad Special Polish in Blue.

Man, this macro lens shows flaws I didn't even know were there! Some of the stamping shows up a bit smudged or doubled but you can barely notice it in real life.  Unless someone had my hand really, really close to their eyes, it wouldn't actually show.

I really like using a cream over a metallic, or the other way around when I do a stamped manicure.  What about you?

Bundle Monster 206

Hello dear readers,

I'm up early today because we are taking our son to board the bus to sleepover camp this morning for his first time away for a whole month...Let's just say I'm a bit freaked out!!!!!


Anyhow, here is another green manicure.  I don't know why I was in the mood to use green again...

For this manicure I used China Glaze "White on White" as the base colour. I only used one coat, which was a bit streaky, but I knew it would mostly be covered with this full nail pattern from the newest Bundle Monster plate 206.

I used Konad Special Polish is green for the stamping.  Then I used my dotting tool to apply small dots of a neon pink, aptly, if not very creatively, called "Pink" by Sinful Colors.  I topped it all off with a coat of Seche Vite Quick Dry, as I always do!

The only thing I really don't like about how this turned out is that some nails have a white border that shows around the cuticle. You can see it on the thumb in the photo below. Oh well...

Enjoy your long weekend, everyone!  (Can you recognize what kind of soap I'm holding? I bought a huge package of these bars, but both of my sons hate it!)

Remember to leave me some comments because I love hearing from you all! ;-)

Snakeskin BM Manicure

Dear Readers,

I finished marking all of my exams and doing all of my report cards so I had time to do a really elaborate manicure, and here are the results of more free time...

I painted diagonal stripes, roughly, using Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in "Grass Slipper"  - a lime green that applies nearly opaque in 1 coat, and S.H. Insta-Dri in "Blue-Away"- a powder blue that applies similarly.  I randomly applied a few thin streaks of China Glaze "L8R G8R" - a holo olive green - to add some dimension.  Then, I stamped the pattern using Finger Paints "Evergreen Dream" (in the photo above) which is a shimmery dark green that is quite thin, but, surprisingly, it worked great for stamping!

Just in case that wasn't enough going on, I added a coat of Inglot 203, and holographic flaky polish.

I really think this has the look of snakeskin, and the texture too - just not sure if a snake this colour exists in nature!?

Have a great weekend, everyone, and let me know what you think of my latest design.

Last week's mani with BM stamping

Good Morning Dear Readers,

Here is the mani I wore last week.  It features Finger Paints "Curator's Coral" (2 coats) as the base colour. I really love this bright reddish-orange for summer!  

Then I added the full nail pattern from Bundle Monster's new plate BM-224.  I used Konad Special White polish for the stamping design.

As usual, I topped it off with a coat of Seche Vite Quick Dry Topcoat to seal the deal.

The colour doesn't look quite right in either pic, but this colour does look different depending on the lighting.

Hope you all have a super weekend.  Please leave me some comments because I read every one, and I really love hearing back from you!

Pink Piano

Finger Paints "Art District Delight" (2 coats)

musical design from Konad IP m73 in Special Black

Sally Hansen "Encore" - subtle glitter on top

Another pink post. I just love the detail in this Konad image, so I was really excited to use this design. I decided that black on white was a bit predictable, so I chose a pale pink for the background, to keep the contrast but soften the finished look a bit.

Finger Paints is a brand I just recently started using, and I really like the consistency and opacity of their polishes. I get them at my local Sally's.

It was a bit tricky getting this pattern to be crisp and lined up just so, but it was worth it, I think. When the design has very fine lines or dots like this one does, I sometimes add a few drops of thinner to the Special Polish to make sure every detail gets picked up onto the stamper.

I added a bit of subtle glitter with this Sally Hansen Hard As Nails polish I picked up when there was a $0.99 sale at my local drugstore awhile back. "Encore" has a very sheer peach tone with fine green and gold glitter in it.

I'll admit it; I couldn't wait to go to work and show this konadicure to the music teacher at my school. It tickled her pink - sorry, but I couldn't resist the bad pun. She honestly tried to hum the tune from the musical staff...how cute is that?!