Pastel Peacock Nail Art using OPI Sheer Tints

Here’s another great way to use your OPI Sheer Tints…

collage_Fotor

Start with a white or light neutral base color.  Then do some nail stamping over top.   When that’s dry, light sweep some OPI Sheer Tints over top of your stamps to get this awesome effect!  One of the cool things about Sheer Tints is that they are so translucent you really don’t need to be neat or accurate when you apply them.  Yet the finished product makes people go “hmmmm how did you do that?”

peacock nails sheer tints

Udderly Smooth Hand Cream Review

When it comes to hand creams I have a few faves, but I also like to try new brands.  So when I ran out of the AVON cream that I keep at my desk at work I picked up this new stuff at Dollar General.  It’s called Udderly Smooth Hand Cream and it was around $2.50 for a 4 oz. tube.

udderly smooth

The tube says it was developed for dairy cows, I’m assuming to care for their udders that are always getting tugged at.  Poor babies’ boobies!!  But I’ll be honest, the fun cow print on the packaging is what motivated me to buy it.

The formula is much more runny than I expected.  When I flipped the cap I squeezed the tube to get some of the product to come out.  Turns out, squeezing isn’t necessary.  It’s very runny, so it oozes right out of the tube on its own.  Initially, I was turned off about how thin it was, but I have gotten used to it.  There’s an emblem on the tube that states NON GREASY, but doesn’t practically every cream say that?  In this case though, it’s true.  It absorbs very fast and doesn’t leave an ooey gooey feeling on my hands.  It feels much more squeaky clean than other lotions.  Also, it has a very mild scent, similar to baby lotion.  I like that although it’s not thick and greasy, it does seem to leave my skin soft and smooth.  So I’d say this stuff works just fine.

Usually I prefer thicker lotions, and I don’t mind a greasy feel since in my head I figure greasy = moisturizing.  But in comparison, Udderly Smooth has a nice light formula.  I’d assume that this could be great for people who dislike greasy formulas.  And could also be good if you wash your hands multiple times a day, and therefor have to re-apply lotion a lot.  This stuff’s convenient since it absorbs fast, has a clean feel to it, and you won’t be leaving moisturized fingerprints all over everything.

So there ya have it!  Udderly Smooth Hand Cream.

Hey, did you notice my nail art at all?  I’ll be posting these pastel peacock nails tomorrow.  See ya then !

UPDATE on May 5, 2014- So I realized that my cream is much runnier than it should be.  I spotted another tube at a pharmacy and I shook it and it felt solid.  Mine is noticeably very runny!  I contacted the company using the email address on their website about 5 days ago.  I haven’t heard back yet but I will let you know if they respond.  I still have my receipt so I might try to exchange the product at Dollar General.  I think the cream is nice, but it’s making a mess since it squirts right out if you open the tube without being really really careful. Not sure what the deal is there!

 

bumble bee nails

These nails have been in my head for a while now.  So many ideas, so little time!  But I’m glad I finally had the chance to make them happen.  Plus, I’m on a yellow kick since my group of Beauty Buffs posted about yellow yesterday.

bumble bee nails

I’m wearing Sinful Colors Pull Over then I did some bundle monster stamping in konad black polish on a few of the nails.  I used BM-422 for the full-nail honeycomb look, and I used BM-401 for my busy little bees.  I used OPI When Monkeys Fly! to add some glitter to a few of my nails too. The gold glitters sorta remind me of the chambers in beehives too. I actually applied the glitter under one of my stamps too to see what it looks like.  Here’s a close-up:

bee nail

I’ve never tried glitter under nail stamping before.  I just did it on one nail per hand.  But I quite like it!

My next post will be some hot pink nails with rhinestones accents for DIAMOND week of our April Linkup.  I hope the pics come out good because I just love how my blingy nails are lookin.  See ya then!

 

#TheBeautyBuffs – my favorite yellows!

Welcome to another Wednesday with The Beauty Buffs! We are discussing YELLOW this week.  I’m always on a quest to find some yellows that don’t need a zillion coats… and today I’ll share my findings with you.  I’m showcasing my top three yellow two-coaters!

thebeautybuffsNow I know that yellow is not a fave among nail bloggers. The formulas can be disappointing and a lot of ladies find yellow unflattering with their skintone.  But, I happen to love yellow! This stems from my childhood where one year the Easter Bunny gave me two Revlon polishes.  (The bunny never gave me candy.  So sad.  Yet I wonder why I have food issues.)  So one year my easter basket contained two cream polishes- a robin’s egg blue and a pale butter yellow.  I cherished them.  If I got peanut butter cups they’d be gone in two seconds flat.  But my nail polishes… they were the gift that kept giving!  I still remember the exact images of the bottles in my head.  I can’t remember my school teacher that year, but I remember my pastel Revlons.  Oh, Jacqui!!  Anyway, I think those nostalgic feelings about yellow polish carried into my adulthood.  Plus, my mom loves yellow polish and the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

I don’t know if one-coat yellows exist or not.  But for now, I’ll covet these three yellows which need only two coats each to be opaque:

my fave yellow nail polishes

First up is I Just Can’t Cope-Acabana by OPI.  We’ve all seen a lot of swatches of this one lately.  It’s the perfect true yellow- nice and bright and most similar to the primary yellow on the color wheel.  I thought the formula would be a little chalky since a couple of the other Brazil collection polishes were a wee bit chalky to me. But honestly, the formula is really nice for a yellow.  It dries glossy and you can’t go wrong with OPI !

OPI I Just Can't Cope Acabana Swatch

Next I’ve got Pull Over by Sinful Colors.  This mustard shade has a touch of orange to it.  It’s similar to egg yolks, or a school bus.  I like that it’s a little different than your average yellow.  The formula is so fluid and juicy.  It has some jelly-esque qualities too it, but it’s opaque in two coats so it’s definitely not a jelly.  But it looks sorta glassy on the nail and I really enjoy the hue.

Sinful Pull Over Swatch

Last but not least is Inspire by AVON.  Remember when the 2013 Peter Som Trio came out by Zoya??  The collection contained a yellow, an orange and a mint?  Well AVON sorta copied them and came out with a trio of their own last year.  The AVON shades were darker, but still, very similar in concept.  I jumped on that train and picked up the AVON yellow called Inspire.  Wow, I love it.  How do I describe it?  It’s a bright yellow cream that has a tinge of green to it.  It’s almost a little bit pukey (especially in sunlight), but in the best way possible LOL!  It sorta has a 70’s retro feel to it.  The formula is really good and opaque (but as it ages I notice it’s getting a wee bit string-y).  I love how intense and opaque this yellow is, especially for nail art. I’ve used it tons and tons and now my bottle is getting low.  Good thing I have backup!  Surprisingly, Inspire is THE ONLY bottle in my entire stash that I own a backup of.  That says a lot I think.

AVON Inspire Swatch

My post wouldn’t be complete without a little yellow nail art…

yellow nail art

I hand painted some blue triangles on the base of my nails using Orly Sweet Peacock.  I think the metallic blue really looks cool against my AVON Inspire.  I loved wearing this to work yesterday.  It’s simple but a little quirky and definitely bold.  I hope you like it!

After all this, if you still hate yellow-  oh well, I tried.  I look forward to hearing your opinions though!

Don’t miss what the other Beauty Buffs have to say:


 

 

Poshinality Dreamer- Review

Have you heard of this new nail polish brand called Poshinality?  If you’re into socially responsible companies then you’ll be happy to hear that Poshinality nail colors are vegan, toxin-free and they even donate some proceeds to charity.  Another cool thing is that all of Poshinality’s nail colors are named after a fashion style, or a personality trait – so every girl can find a bottle to help her express herself.   Oh wait, and men too, let’s not exclude them now!  My boyfriend’s a painter and I’m gonna see if he’ll let me do his nails with this purple called ARTISTIC.  Wish me luck with that.  Anyway, for my review I was able to select from a few different shades, so I picked the one that matched closest to my personality- DREAMER.  Let’s look at this pretty!

poshinality dreamer

I would always wear a glitter topper over another color, so for the purpose of this review I applied Dreamer over a black polish. Dreamer is a copper chunky glitter.  It’s a clear base with copper hex glitter, tiny copper glitter, and tiny gold glitter.  The addition of the gold specks really kicks it up a notch and in my opinion, gives it a ritzy luxurious effect.

dreamer copper glitter

I only needed one coat of Dreamer.  I got really great coverage with just the one coat.  No glitter fishing either.  I think all the tiny glitters in there make the formula nice & fluid so the glitters dispersed evenly on my nail.  The glitters lay flat and are not too bumpy either.  Huzzah!  One coat of seche vite topcoat made it pretty smooth.  No glitter food needed.

I also took a few photos outside so you could see the glitter in natural light.  Just as pretty I think!

copper glitter swatch poshinality glitter

I’m really happy with this polish and I look forward to picking out my next bottle.  I’ve been eyeing DRAMATIC since I tend to be a tad bit emotional and dramatic at times.  Just a tad (wink, wink).  But really, look at this bright blurple hue >> DRAMATIC!  Yowza!

If you’d like to find out more about Poshinality check out their site here at http://poshinality.com or track them down on pinterest, twitter or facebook.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Ruby Wing Moonstone

This is my first Ruby Wing polish!  This one is called Moonstone and it changes color under the sun’s UV rays.

Moonstone by Ruby Wing

Shown here is one base coat, two coats of Moonstone and one topcoat of seche.  I had a few bald spots, I could’ve maybe went with three coats of this polish.  But it was really late at night and I didn’t really feel like it at the time.  I painted them and then went to bed… then I woke up with some serious shrinkage on the tips of my nails.  It looked like big time tip wear.  I guess this stuff really shrinks with seche vite?  But how well does it change color?  That’s the real question.  I couldn’t wait to run out into the morning sun to check them out.  It was overcast that day but Moonstone still performed well!  My nails turned from a pale bright blue to a deep dusky purple.  The next day I demonstrated this polish to my mom and she immediately had to borrow it.  So, Moonstone is no longer in my possession!  I’ll have to pick up another one of these.  And here’s the kicker–  the Ruby Wing sales display is only a minute from my office.

2 Bobbie swatches

Today I have two Bobbie polishes for you which are made in the Philippines.  The Nailinator sent quite a few to me in our swap, and so far I love them all (see the other one here).  These are holographic, but not extreme linear-rainbow kinda holos.  The effect is much more subtle, but still epically beautiful.  I think they’re perfect for everyday wear.

weng weng

Weng Weng is a grey holo with a purple duochrome effect.  The formula is great.  Shown here is a basecoat, and two coats of Weng Weng.  Don’t you think the flash of violet makes it unique?  I don’t own any polishes quite like this one.

bobbie weng weng

Next up is Margarita.  Maybe it’s named after a woman?  Because the name makes me think yellow/green, not pink.

margarita

This one is much more sheer.  This is one base coat plus four coats of Margarita and I still have some visible nail line.  It didn’t seem to bother me though since the formula is very easy to apply and I really like the brush.  I enjoyed wearing this polish more than I thought I would.  The pink shade has such a romantic, soft, feminine feel to it.

bobbie margarita

After a day I added some gold studs to my Margarita mani.  I love how the pink has a really warm tone to it and I think the gold studs really play off that.  Here’s a shot with some photo editing, for fun. I also tested the waters with a new watermark.  Not sure if I’m ready to make the switch though!  Let’s see what my poll results say about my prospective fonts! What if I change my mind and decide to stick with my Katy Berry heart font?  Will you still love me?  Because I think I’m getting cold feet!

bobbie margarita holo with studs