Biker Gear

Racer stripes on my  nails. Now I need to start biking. Maybe tomorrow morning.

China Glaze “Turned Up Turquoise” (Neon)

Turquoise & Caicos

This is such a near dupe to China Glaze “For Audrey”…. (and my Tiffany pouch).  "For Audrey” is the tiniest bit bluer.

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Essie “Turquoise & Caicos”

The Essie formulation is a little thinner and streakier than I would have hoped.  This was three coats.  Still lovely.

But of course, I splashed all kind of dots over it.  This actually made me want to lay off the dots just a tad.

 

Midtown Magic…Set the Nude

China Glaze “Midtown Magic” – GORGEOUS!    it’s such a pretty color. Chocolate Burgundy -   definitely magical with a pretty gold glitter almost dissolved within.

I know, I know, I was supposed to be on glitter/shimmer hiatus….

….. BUT I COULDN’T HELP IT!  lol.  It’s so sparkly and it was making googly eyes at me.

I striped the tips with Ulta’s “Set the Nude”, but next time, I am just wearing the “Midtown Magic”.  all by its lonesome. 

 

White on White on Dots

The colors were sitting together on the polish rack…. like they wanted to be used together. so…

NO, I will never tire of dots.  :-) no. never. lol

China Glaze “Thataway” (dot)

China Glaze “White on White” (base)
China Glaze “Concrete Catwalk” (center dot)

it’s not Spring

It’s freezing outside, so I couldn’t bring myself to use a “Spring” color…instead, I moseyed on over to my China Glaze Metro Downtown collection.

I chose China Glaze  “Westside Warrior”

I still wanted it to be “girly”, so I added a flower of Sinful Colors “Vacation Time”, with a dot of gold metallic acrylic paint.

 

NO MORE GLITTER!!!

*in my best <and loudest> Mommy Dearest voice*

….or frosts and shimmers for that matter. 

In my blog browsing I have seen the most beautiful swatches of the tidal wave of glitter polishes available these days.  BEAUTIFUL! And, I, like the rest of the nail polish masses, LOVE them. They lure you with their sparkle and dazzle. Whispering your name like a irresistible lover…

I am putting my foot down.

I don’t want to read any more blogs telling me the easy way to remove glitter polish is by soaking cotton pads, covering my beds with aluminum foil and…….. waiting. Yes, I have a problem with patience.  LOL.  I’m working on it. haha

Removing the Nicki Minaj collection glitter polish (OPI – “Metallic 4 Life”) was a small test of patience.  I can’t even imagine how long it would have taken without my reliable Automatic Nail Polish Remover!  Even with it’s superb and consistent results, it took too long for my taste.

SO…. even though the task is still much easier with my polish remover machine….. I’m back on my glitter hiatus. 

But I will never forsake my beloved dots.

China Glaze “Concrete Catwalk”tan acrylic paint dots, China Glaze “Peachy Keen” dots, white acrylic paint dots

 

can you see the tan dots?!?!?! they are there!!! 

Beauty and the Beast

Nope, not the Disney movie….

Audrey Hepburn & Nicki Minaj

Now as much as I detest Nicki Minaj, that’s a pretty girl!!  She’s not a beast, but she is a M –Effin Monster.  lol, pardon my pun.  

Monster–Nicki’s verse

I am not necessarily a fan of Audrey Hepburn either.  I just have different honorees.  I haven’t even seen “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” but after my manicure, I DID add it to my newly acquired Netflix Instant Queue.  (shoutout to sweetheart KK…. and my should-be boo, Oh. )

China Glaze “For Audrey”
OPI “Metallic 4 Life” (Nicki Minaj Collection)

    

 

and it really matches:

PS. – I did use a base of black polish on my accent nails before applying 2 coats of “Metallic 4 Life”.

 

Mary Kay – Satin Hands

After my manicure, I used this sample from my new Mary Kay consultant---->> Nikki

(click for link to her site)
 

Yes, this stuff works!   With all the drying acetone and alcohol swipes I use, my poor hands take a beating.  My hands feel sooooooooooooo nice after using this! Moisturized without feeling greasy; And my skin feels protected! YES, you should try it. 

Soft, young looking hands are a good thing.

Ombré Vert

a/k/a  Money Tips.  haha.  Needed green in my life.  I've been thinking to attempt this for a while.

OmbréFrench derivation. meaning shaded. It is used in relation to textiles (a) as an adjective to describe fabrics with a dyed, printed, or woven design in which the colour is graduated from light to dark;

shaded or graduated in tone: said of a color
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Do you realize how difficult it is to find five shades of the same color family that GRADUALLY moves from light to dark??!?!?! Try it. -__-  Still easier than creating the shades yourself though.

I have three other color families to attempt. 

OPI “Gargantuan Green Grape”OPI “Green-wich Village”China Glaze “Four Leaf Clover” (showing up more blue in the photo than in real life)China Glaze “Starboard”OPI “Jade Is the New Black”

Matching

When did this become important?  From bra & panty sets….. to socks…. to belts & shoes.

I don’t even know when I started… or when I started caring.  But, I had to do it.

yep,  they match….. at least for today.  lol.

China Glaze “Sea Spray”topcoat “Northern Lights” – gold holographic glitter

 

look at that holo glow!
 

after a morning mani… on the way to work

Shhhhhh

I love this combination. It is such a light and nude display… but so whimsical and intriguing.  One of those manicures that doesn’t call attention to itself, but when you catch a glimpse, you’re taken.

Love Letters is polish that is the equivalent of a whisper.  So soft.

Pictures can’t do the holographic flakies in Shine of the Times justice. 

So if you’re not into bright colors or wild and crazy nail art…. this one is for you.  Finished and fancy.

China Glaze “Love Letters”

 

Essie Luxeffects “Shine of the Times”

 

Stained Glass

Inspired by Kamsamnida’s Mosaic design, which I thought was beautiful.

I treated myself to China Glaze’s “Anchors Away Collection” this past weekend.  It was the perfect collection for this design.

Lighthouse – yellow {jelly shimmer}
Ahoy! – dark pink (magenta) {jelly shimmer}
Hey Sailor – red
First Mate – blue
Starboard – green
Life Preserver – orange
outlined with Sinful Colors “Black on Black”

   

On my left hand I used larger blocks of color, but I think I like the detail of my right hand with the smaller blocks.  Of course, it takes longer, but I think it’s worth it.

Using all jelly glitter/shimmer polishes would make this truly shine like a real stained glass window!