GIVEAWAY!!!

Whoo hoo! Time for my very first giveaway!

I recently hit 100 followers so I decided I want to thank everyone who reads my blog. At the same time, I also realized that I missed my one year blogiversary on October 28th. So I'm giving away two prizes.

Prize #1: Stamping polish

These three colors work great for stamping, or you could just use them on their own!

Color Club Perfect Mol-ten, Color Club Lumin-icecent, China Glaze Harmony

Prize #2: Sparkle!

I love sparkling colors!

Revlon Stunning and O.P.I. Ink

Giveaway is open to US residents only! (Sorry for this, but I simply cannot afford international shipping with prices rising even more.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

31 Day Challenge, Part 2!: Day 9, Rainbow Nails

For today's challenge of rainbow nails, I decided to try a technique I've been wanting to do: splatter nails! I really really really (really!) love these. They are such a fun look and so easy to do.

Next time I do them though, I'll try a smaller straw like a coffee stirrer or something instead of a regular drinking straw because that resulted in some of the large blobs you see. I'll also put tape around my nails because it makes a big mess. See?

I used a bunch of different colors of this mani. I started with a base of Sally Hansen Whirlwind White. Then I used Zoya Sooki (red), OPI Chop-Sticking to My Story (orange), OPI The "It" Color (yellow), Essie Mojito Madness (green), Sinful Colors Why Not? (blue), and Sinful Colors Dream On (purple).

Below are some close-ups of each nail.

Pinkie

Ring

Middle

Index (and my favorite)

Check out some other rainbow manis below.

31 Day Challenge, Part 2!: Day 8, Metallic Nails

I knew exactly what colors I wanted to use today, but I was feeling uninspired as far as designs so I went with a simple dot pattern. It worked really well with these two colors! Sometimes simple is better.

The two colors I used are E.L.F. Metal Madness (the black) and Nina Ultra Pro Mossy Britches. Metal Maddness has some beautiful micro holo glitter so I included a close-up for you below.

Enjoy other metallic manis featured below.

31 Day Challenge, Part 2!: Day 7, Black and White Nails

Just a quick post for today. I did these ahead of time because we had a family Christmas party on Sunday, and I wanted to wear something festive.

The base coat on this mani is Orly Androgynie. I used 2 coats here. Then I stamped using Konad White and plates BM-14, BM-319, and BM-323. I topped it with Sally Hansen fast drying top coat and then added Essie Matte About You.

Enjoy some other black and white manis below.

31 Day Challenge, Part 2!: Day 6: Violet Nails

For today's mani, I was inspired by Nail Nerd. I decided to use only 2 purples instead of multiple ones.

My base coat is O.P.I. Parlez-vous OPI? As I was putting it on, I went "Ooooo!" I forgot how much I LOVE Parlez-vous and how great it looks on me!

The other purple I used is China Glaze Cowgirl Up. I love the contrast between the creme and metallic polishes.

To create this look, I only used the brushes in my polish bottle. No special brushes or tools, and this mani came together quickly! I feel like it makes my nails look longer too. Can't wait to try this again with different colors.

Enjoy some other violet manis featured below.

31 Day Challenge, Part 2!: Day 5, Blue Nails

I didn't have time to do all the manis I wanted to before Christmas, but since it's still winter here (and will be for a while!) I figured that it would still be okay for this mani. I was inspired by this mani from Nail Polish Wars. 

To fit today's theme, I used A-England Tristam for my base except on my ring finger. On my ring finger, I used a base of Essie Marshmallow followed by Glitter Gal Light as a Feather.

For the snowflakes, I first painted on white polish then followed it up with Light as a Feather.  The black on the snowman is Hits Zeus.

Check out other blue manis below.

31 Day Challenge, Part 2!: Day 4, Green Nails

So I was staring at all my polish trying to figure out what I was going to do. I knew I wanted to use Essie Mojito Madness since I hadn't used it yet, but I wasn't sure how. Nothing was coming to me so I headed over to my Pinterest board and was inspired by this post from Nail Polish Wars.

I used two coats of Essie Mojito Madness on my accent fingers (I chose my thumb and ring) and 2 coats of A-England Dragon on the other nails. I also used Dragon to create my spots and Rimmel Black Satin to finish them off.

I'm so happy with how this turned out! I love green so this mani is pure love for me. Enjoy the other pictures!

Check out some other green manis below!

31 Day Challenge, Part 2!: Day 3, Yellow Nails

My first thought for today was to do bumble bee nails, but I really want to save that idea for summer. With flowers and the bee, I think it'll make a perfect summer mani. So I set off to every trusty Google and came up with the idea of smiley faces!

The base coat on this is Maybelline Sunshine. I used about 3 coats for this mani. The faces were all done with my Migi nail art pens.

The pinkie face is my favorite so here's a close-up!

Check out some other yellow manis.

31 Day Challenge, Part 2!: Day 2, Orange Nails

Every time I look on my Facebook feed, it seems like a new friend is getting sick! And my friends live all over the United States. These colds that are going around seem pretty nasty too. I've been trying my best to stay healthy so I don't get sick and that includes getting plenty of Vitamin C by drinking juice and eating clementines, yum!

This orange mani is inspired by all the juice I've been drinking! My base coat is Zoya Arizona. I love this orange, but it takes so many coats to be completely opaque that it makes me sad :(

I stamped on the oranges using Konad White Polish and plates BM04 and BM308. I haven't stamped in a while so it isn't quite as neat as I would like it.

I finished with one coat of Dollish Polish 1-Up to represent the green leaves and white pith of oranges. I love love love the combo of 1-Up with orange polish and I'm sad I have to take it off :(

I took a close-up with my macro lens so you can see the prettiness of 1-Up.

Here are some more orange manis for you to enjoy.

31 Day Challenge, Part 2!: Day 1, Red Nails

So I must be all sorts of crazy, but when two awesome ladies at Polish-aholics Anonymous were looking for people to join them in the Relaxed 31 Day Challenge, I decided to do it! Despite having a newborn (he'll be two months old in just a few days), despite having done this already in August.

But here's my reasoning: I love to challenge myself. Since I'm a SAHM mom now, my days revolve around nursing and diaper changes. While I love my little guy, I've been neglecting my creative side. This should get that motor running!
I also feel like I didn't do the best I could during the challenge in August. Granted, I'm waaay busier now, but I really want to try harder and challenge myself.

Plus this challenge is relaxed (no weekends!) so it should give me some extra time to get the manis done. *crosses fingers*

Enough jabbering! Onto today's mani: red. Last time I did a simple red polish with glitter as accents. This time I decided to rock a super girly look (the french mani) but make it sort of rock star-ish.  I started with a base of Zoya Loretta as a sheer pink base to smooth out my nails and hide any yellowing.

For my red tips, I used Savvy Ruby Pumps and just freehanded them with the polish brush. The black was doing with Wet N Wild Black Creme and a nail art brush.  I wish I could have done a neater job on the black, but the little man was pretty crabby while I trying to do this mani :/

Overall, I do really love this. I kept staring at my nails today, lol!

Check out other red manis.