Butler Please

I was recently at Sephora hovering around the nail polish display and I discovered the most beautiful blue I’ve ever seen- Illamasqua Cameo.  I tested it out and I fell in love with it, but I could not justify spending $14.00 on one bottle of polish!  Craftynail is way too thrifty for that!  So I hit up the nearest beauty supply store to find myself a cheaper dupe.  I came across Essie Butler Please and I think I paid less than $4.00 for it with my coupon!  After getting home and applying it I realized it’s not at all a dupe for the pricey Illamasqua!  The Essie is much darker and dried to a blotchy semi-matte finish.  The two coats did dry quick though (which is always a bonus)… so then I taped my tips off with painters tape and added some Sephora by OPI topcoat called Only Gold For Me.  Even though the Essie formula was not my fave, there’s nothing that some sparkles and a healthy topcoat of Seche Vite can’t fix!   I really love the regal look of this gold and royal blue together!   Apparently so does my mom- she came over tonight and asked me to paint her nails this color too… so now we are nail twinny twins!

Easy Valentine’s Day Nails

I had the idea to put regular stickers on my nails since it sounded like a super-easy way to get a cute effect for Valentine’s Day.  So I started rummaging through my sticker box (poke fun if you want, but I love my sticker box)!  It’s the same one I’ve had since I was a kid and I’ve amassed quite a collection.  My faves include my original E.T. stickers from when the movie first came out… and my cute Rainbow Brite stickers from the 80’s!  I have a lot of heart stickers too so I decided on these red foil hearts.  Then I picked a girly pink polish and started painting!

I used 3 coats of Sephora by OPI I’m Wired and then placed the sticker on my ring finger.  I didn’t know if the Seche Vite topcoat would bead up on the foil sticker or not- so I used a thin coat of Orly Bonder on my ring finger to create a nice sticky surface on top of the heart. Then I applied my Seche to lock it all down.

These Valentine’s Day themed nails are so quick and easy!  You could put more stickers on if you want, but after I placed the one down I felt like it would be enough.  <I’ve noticed that if I’ve ever ignored my instincts in the past… that I’ve gone on to muff up the manicure.>  So always trust your gut and have some fun with your stickers!

Temporary Tattoos!

I’ve been dying to test out tattoo nails forever!  So I recently picked up a couple packs of temporary tattoos at the local dollar store.  The tats that I chose for this mani were random.. I used the Japanese symbol for friend, a butterfly wing and some swirls.  I love how the pinkie came out- reminds me of that movie Nightmare Before Christmas!

I wanted the background to be reminiscent of my bare skin so I used two coats of Sephora by OPI Leotard Optional as my base color.

I tested the temporary tattoos on my dominant hand until I got the technique down.  Here’s some tips I learned:

♥ Wait for your base color to dry completely before applying tattoos.

♥ Cut down the tattoos with scissors to roughly match the size of your nail.  This makes cleanup non-existent (yay) and will also make for easy placement of the design.

♥ Apply the tattoo to your nail by following the same instructions on the package.  With one exception- use more water than normal!  That helps loosen it up so when you lift the paper off there won’t be any tattoo sticking to it.

♥ The glue that transfers from the paper to the nail may feel a bit bumpy.  You may need more than one topcoat.

I have some celestial tattoos that are calling to me now!  Man, these tattoo nails came out great and I can’t wait to try this again.  I love non-traditional nail art that can be created with everyday things or stuff lying around the house!

Moi, in a nutshell!

I love this e-card!

Rainbow Polish by AVON

I was digging through my stash of polish and I found this old gem!  I’ve had it forever, but I guess I forgot about it.  It’s from a special AVON collection called Rainbow Nail Enamel and the shade is named Rainbow Silver.

I’m realizing that AVON may have been ahead of their time with this one!  I think this polish is from 2003.  AVON calls this a rainbow shade….but by today’s standards it would be considered a holographic.  I think it’s pretty cool that they carried holos 10 yrs ago! I was under the impression that the holo craze was more of a recent trend…within the last few years or so?  If anyone knows when holographics hit the market, please let me know.  Cuz now I’m curious!

Wish I bought more of these back when AVON carried them!

purple dream giveaway entry

I’m entering a polish giveaway that Luchessa is offering!  Her blog post entitled New Purple Dream Giveaway explains it all.  Basically to enter the contest I must post a purple nail design … and on Jan 21st the random winner will be announced.  Thank you to Luchessa for the chance to win!  Here’s the purple design I came up with….

I enjoyed using all purple polishes!  Who doesn’t love purple?  In real life this mani sorta has a 70’s free-love hippie feel.  Here’s the colors I used along with a makeup sponge and a dotting tool:

♥ OPI- Dutch ‘Ya Just Love OPI? as the base

♥ Sephora by OPI- It’s Hippo To Be Square for the sponged area

♥ Wet n Wild Megalast- Through the Grapevine as the flower petals

♥ Sephora by OPI- I Don’t Bite as the center of the flower

Good luck to all the other entrants!

lavender and thyme

Today I’m wearing Sephora by OPI ‘Thyme for a Mani’ and China Glaze Crackle Glaze in ‘Luminous Lavender’.

With this mani I knew I wanted to use my crackle Luminous Lavender.  But what base color would go with it?  As a general rule when I use crackle… I always choose a contrasting base shade so the mosaic effect really stands out. So either a dark base color and a light crackle…or a creme base and a glittery crackle, etc.  I scanned my polish stash and couldn’t really find what I was looking for to complement my purple crackle.   Then I noticed my mini bottle of Thyme for a Mani and it hit me: LAVENDER AND THYME.  Yes, I like this aromatic herb theme!  Besides, it’s fun to pair polishes solely based on their names lol!

I love the end result…the color combo has a romantic feel…and the purple glitter crackle is extra-sparkly yet demure at the same time.  It did soak up all my top coat though.  I applied two thick goopy clear coats and it still feels a little bumpy on top.  But that doesn’t bother me… I like using lotsa layers!

What are your thoughts on crackle?