Happy Valentine's Day!

It's been awhile since my last post ( 2 months to be exact).  I really wanted to show you my Valentines nails. I finally picked up Revlons Starry Pink (Popular rerelease) yesterday and thought it would be a great color for today.  I used two coats on my thumb, pointer, and pinkie.  On my index and ring fingers are two coats of OPI Designer De Better and layered with Jordana Pink Hearts  and Red of Hearts.  There are tiny red glitter in the Red of Hearts that I thought really completed the look. 

I love Valentine's Day!  I made 100 cake pops for my daughters to give out at school.  They are my Valentines this year. 
In the background are my freshly painted yellow walls.  Which is the reason I haven't been blogging.  I still have more painting to do, but all the large areas are done.  My nails will be ruined again this weekend because I need to caulk my daughters closet and possibly prime it too.

Bond... James Bond...Magnetic

 

Being a fan of the James Bond movies, OPI, and magnetic polishes, picking up one of the new Skyfall magnetics was a must.  The magnet design was unique to all other magnets I've seen.  It is comfortable and simple to use.  The gold tone of Bond..James Bond is warm and complements my skin tone.

 

 

The magnet brings out the silver design.

 

I wanted to add a little color to make it more "Holiday Festive".  I decided on green gems vs red ones.

 

Does anyone remember the James Bond Jr. cartoon.  It was a favorite of mine.  I still remember the phrase  "The name's Bond..James Bond...Jr".  They should bring it back for the new generation.

My China Glaze Crackle Dried Up!

Every six weeks or so, my daughter and I go through my nail polish collection and give each one a good shaking up.  The glitters get flipped opposite of how it was standing, thick polishes get some thinner, etc, etc...  This month, the Revlon Moon Candies needed thinner.  This is a little too soon, considering I just got them about 3-4 months ago. But what I'm really surprised about is how my CG Metalic Crackle completely dried up.  The bottle was shut tight and it looked fine last time I went through my polishes.  I'm not sure how long shelf life is for a Crackle/Shatter.  I've had it about 1 1/2 years.  Some of my OPI Shatters I've had longer and they are still good (the white IS getting thicker).
Has anyone else had this happen?

Snowflakes

It took three days to complete this look and I'm liking the results. I hope it lasts awhile. This is a simple manicure, but I had other things going and wanted to take pics before I did the stamping. I used Essie Smooth Sailing as my base color. It is a nice periwinkle blue infused with silver sparkle. A perfect winter color ( even though its from a summer collection). I sponged on Sinful Colors Cinderella ( a slightly sheer baby blue with pink sparkle). The two blues blended nicely. It stayed like this for a couple days before I used the full snowflake BM-323 plate design with Konad white polish. Sealed the design with Konad top coat. I really like the silver and pink sparkle combo that shines through the snowflakes. I'm thinking this will be my favorite manicure this month and have no intention of removing it anytime soon.

Claire's Sun Changers and Special Edition BM plate

I normally don't buy Claire's polishes because they usually chip within a day (on me anyway), however, these Sunchangers were too fun to pass up.  They don't change under a lamp-sunlight only. The color change is almost instant.  The two I picked up are sheer and best layered over another color.  I didn't try them on yet, but I wanted to post these up since they are Buy 1 Get 1 50% off.  Priced at $7.00/each. 

I also received my Bundle Monster SE1 plate.  Since I live in Hawaii- it was a had to have design plate.  It was free with order.  Great excuse to finally get the Nail Gem wheels I had been wanting.  The images are large and don't all fit on my nubbies right now.  I'm really liking the gift wrap with poinsettia on it.   Maybe by the end of the month my nails will have grown out enough to fit some of the images.

First Holiday Manicure and what I've been doing through November

Oh my! I've neglected my blog for a while. It's because I painted both of my daughters rooms during the November month. My nails were covered in primer and paint. Paint also sticks to nail polish and does not scrub off. I had textured lime green nails that looked like a version of the upcoming spring China Glazes. I finally stopped so I could decorate for the holidays and focus on all things Christmas. I still have to finish the windows in one room and the entire closet in the other. That will have to wait until after New Years.
My nails got chopped short due to all the wear, tear, and breakage.  By the time it grows back, I will have started to paint again.
This is my first official December manicure.  I wanted something frosty and glittery-like a holiday ornament.  Here is what I came up with.

For this manicure, I used
Seche Vite base coat
2 coats SH Gem Crush in Big Money
I coat OPI Don't Touch My Tutu
A dot of Big Money along my cuticles and spread it down using a dotting tool
A dot of Milani Lavender Jewel FX and spread it by brushing over a top coat

Here are some pics of the rooms.

This pic shows up more yellow but it is actually a honeydew green.

My 5 year olds room.  It has a princess theme that suits her well.

My 3 year olds room.  It's fun and playful.

Her bed is a mess, but I love this pose.

This is what the room walls looked like before. 
It was dark and her room doesn't catch the sunlight well. 

Grape purples

I was in a purple mood so I reached for my favorite grape purple- Funky Dunkey. I then sponged over Grape, Set, Match over. The gradient is really subtle. My Funkey Dunkey has reached the halfway level in the bottle and I've only had it for less than two years. I didn't realize I wore it that much. I was going through my stamp plates and ended up choosing something I've done before using BM-323. Barbed wire (Celeb City) with fimo roses alternating with full roses (The Color of Minnie). I sealed everything using Out the Door. I like this version better than the black/white one I did. It's less "in you face".