Snake Skin Mani

Snake skin is the new nail trend and while I will probably never put the real thing on my nails, I'm always down for a little stamping. Since brown doesn't allow enough contrast for my taste I thought I'd try it over pink. Not very realistic but still fashion foward and eye catching.

Products: Orly Cotton Candy, Color Club Kiss & Break Up, Konad White, BM-215.

And I leave you with a little breakfast video... and a little lunch. Todrick Hall is a former American Idol contestant. I just found out he was making a series of youtube videos. They are quite entertaining. Enjoy :)

Color Club Fractured Collection 2011 Swatches, Part 2

Today I have swatches of the second half of the Fractured Collection. You can see the first half of the collection here.

Spitting Image a medium blue over Maybelline Go-Getter Green. I love this combination! Very summer-ry.

Kiss & Break Up a pretty fuchsia crackle. It's somewhat sheer which allows the base color to show through. I layered it over Orly Cotton Candy.

Tattered in Gold is a sheer foil crackle that should be applied in a medium coat. It looks great over pastels. I used Finger Paints Blissfully Blue.

Close-up to show texture. It dries matte but a topcoat brings out the bling.

The colors are fun for the summer, easy to apply and crackles in a few seconds. They look best with a medium coat of fractured polish, too thick and you get too few crackles. My favorites are Tattered in Gold and Splitting Image. Tattered in Gold is a great alternative for those who haven't been able to find the Sally Hansen Gold Crackle, or are overall dissatisfied with the results.

ORLY Spring & Summer 2011 Collections

Pinup
ORLY Summer 2011 Collection

Unabashed Glamour Returns with Vibrant Shades to Suit Any Personality

The summer season encourages creativity and femininity to run wild, from carefree and casual beach days to flashy summer nights in the city. Bring a sense of sexy summer fun to the everyday with Pinup, the Summer 2011 Collection from ORLY. Inspired by the unapologetic glitz and free-spirited attitude of the most iconic pinup girls, the collection exudes a vivacious, dolled-up femininity that laces any look with sheer confidence.

Pinup offers a shade for every glamour girl, from the sophisticated seductress to the fearless rock ‘n roll goddess. Bright, feminine crèmes mingle with eye catching jewel-tone glitters to offer a range of colors sure to turn heads.

The six lacquers in the Pinup Collection include:

Va Va Voom: Pink Neon Crème
Here Comes Trouble: Sparkle Green
Coquette Cutie: Coral Crème
Bubbly Bombshell: Purple Glitter

Precious
ORLY Spring 2011 Collection
Luxurious, Sophisticated Hues to Covet

For centuries, people around the globe have been enamored with lush fabrics, rare stones and extravagant finishes. ORLY celebrates the refined glamour of porcelain, the vibrant sheen of silk, and the lush sparkle of priceless gems with Precious. Lend a sense of romance and richness to every spring ensemble by sporting lavish shades on fingertips and toes. The six lacquers in the Precious Collection signal a fresh approach to spring fashion and a renewed appreciation for the exotic workmanship, ornamental engravings, and sumptuous fabrics known to accompany the luxe life.

The six Lacquers in the Precious Collection include:

Pure Porcelain: Beige Crème
Gilded Coral: Coral Gold Shimmer
Fancy Fuchsia: Pink Crème
Ancient Jade: Green Crème
Sapphire Silk: Deep Teal Crème
Royal Velvet: Purple Blue Shimmer

All ORLY Nail Lacquers including the Precious and Pinup Collections are free of DBP, Toluene and all traces of Formaldehyde and Formaldehyde Resin.

The Precious Collection Lacquers will be available starting March 2011 and the Pinup Collection Lacquers will be available starting May 2011 for $7.50 each. ORLY Nail Lacquers and Treatment products are available at orlybeauty.com, Sally Beauty, Ulta and other purveyors of beauty throughout the U.S. and in over 70 countries worldwide.

Peacock Manicure Tutorial

As promised, here's the peacock tutorial.

Products you'll need:
-image plate M70 (loopy french tip)
-4 of your favorite nail polishes or water paints
-toothpick (optional)

Let's get started: First, select your colors. I chose blue, green, purple & gold Orly polishes. Click here to see the complete list. You can use whatever colors you like! I think this mani would also look great in purple & gold with blue dots/highlights. Don't be afraid to mix it up!

Paint your basecoat and 1 coat of white or off-white polish. The white will intensify the nail color and help protect your nails from stains.

Paint 3 columns of small stripes, alternating each color.

Continue your stripes until your nail is full. You can make more or less rows depending on your taste and nail length. Don't worry about it being perfect. The stamped image and topcoat will perfect the mani for you!

Let's get to stamping!

Stamp the image from plate M70.

Keep stamping until the nail is full. If you have longer nails you may need 4-5 stamps, shorter nails 1-2 stamps. Don't worry about perfecting your stamps. It will still look great :)

Using your highlight polish/paint, draw lines in the middle of the loops/eyes. I choose Orly Glitz & Glamour and used the brush from the polish bottle. For thinner stripes, use a toothpick dipped in polish and drag it in the middle of the loop. I like this effect the best because it looks more 3-D.

Allow the polish to dry for 10 minutes, then apply your favorite topcoat and you're done!!! Here's the end result.


Ta-dah! A super easy and eye catching mani. This is great if you're not a perfect polisher or stamper. The loopy lines are imperfect so mistakes are not very noticeable. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Click here to see the completed mani.

Peacock Inspired Manicure

Just a quick post to share my mani of the day. I've been meaning to do this mani for awhile but I kept forgetting. It may look complicated but its quite easy to do. I like the dramatic effect and how well the colors mimic the beauty of the bird.

Products used: Galaxy Girl, Glitz & Glamour, Royal Navy and It's Not Rocket Science.
Image plate: M70

Update. I just added a tutorial for this look. Enjoy!

Top 10 Polishes for 2010

Hello Dear Readers,

Here are a few of my top picks for the year. With so many to choose from it was difficult narrowing it down to only a few. Since today is the last day of 2010, I want to thank you for contributing and being a part of this blog. I've had a great year interacting and learning from you. May your New Year be great! Have a safe and fun night!

xoxo,

Kathy

Party Hearty! It was actually a tie between this one and GEMs. Both are great glitters but I liked this picture better (ha ha)

Charla. Amazing teal-green. Excuse my VNL, this was before I knew what VNL was ;)

Okay, okay. This is not a polish but I just had to sneak it in here. Yall know I love foils! Here's one of my favorites :)

Space Cadet. Need I say more :)

Prancer. One of my best finds for $1.99. WnW please make more of these great glitters!

Elle's Spell. My answer to Bad Fairy. Its everything I wanted Bad Fairy to be. Not that I expected it to be a flakie, but I wanted it to make my nails glow a golden red, like they were on fire.

See what I mean?

You can also layer it over other colors for more amazing flaki-ness.

Laser. One of the most amazing blues. See it glows!

Hidden Treasures. The polish that actually was hidden for many, unfortunately. It flashes pink over Laser. Can you say drop dead gorgeous!

Revvvolution. I like to call this one corporate chic. It reminds me of wool trousers I'd wear to work. Very professional with but with an edge.

Holographic. Last but definitely not least. One of the most beautiful polishes I own. (I usually don't do the dainty hand pose because my hands aren't dainty, but this one turned out okay, lol.)

Thanks so much for stopping by! Talk to you next year ;)

To the BatMobile!!!

Hey ladies. Here's a quick post to share my FNA Halloween Challenge nails. Do you remember Batman? Well one of his sidekicks is Bat Girl. I wanted to do a fun retro mani and this is what I came up with. Hope you like it. (Comic Art is by Michele Legendre, Nails are by me :)

I love the way this came out. She looks like she's ready to kick some butt!

Products Used:
-WnW Black
-Orly lemonade
-H17 (bat), T32(vixen), C04 (cape)

Thanks for stopping by!

Orly Cosmic Fx Collection Space Cadet Swatch

Happy Monday! Look and see what followed me home yesterday, Space Cadet! All I can say is wow to this amazing duochrome. When I saw it in person, the color changed as I moved the bottle from side to side and I just new I had to have it. It goes from bronzy to a smooth mauve/rose color. My camera didn't pick it up but there are also flecks of green/teal in this purple base. This is really beautiful and my pics just don't do it justice. Here she is with 3 coats.

(sunlight)

(indirect sunlight)

(shade)

I forgot to mention I cut my nails. Say hello to my new nubbins :)

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Orly Cosmic Collection It's Not Rocket Science Swatch

Don't you just hate when people tell you "It's Not Rocket Science". I know I do, but one thing I don't hate is this new polish. I'm in love, love, LOVE with this sizzling hot green! Now, I'm normally not a green fan, but this one has me wide open.

Do you find this color unsual? It reminds me of an army green turned up a few notches. It has a bronzy green base jazzed up with flecks of gold and green glitter. This is definitely one of my favs.

(shade)

(natural light)

So what do you think? Will this one find it's way into your basket this fall?