Monarch Butterfly Wings Nail Art

I did my girlfriend’s nails last night- it was a fun and relaxing way to spend a friday night!  I had the idea to do monarch butterfly wings.  Which is kinda funny considering the first time I tried that technique was almost exactly one year ago (seen here).  I guess the beginning of spring must make me think of butterflies!

monarch_nail_art_collage

Her base color is OPI Live.Love.Carnival.. Then we sponged some Butter London Snog (raspberry) on to the tips to give the color more dimension.  The black was painted on with a striper brush and China Glaze Liquid Leather.  We used Zoya Purity for white dots.  We also added some flakies (Zoya Chloe) to add sparkle, but unfortunately the pics don’t show it.  But in real like the flakies add a hint of magic to this springtime manicure. 🙂

I think Vanessa loved her nails!  I sure do.   Next time I’d like to try this with duochrome polishes- I bet it would mimic the iridescent effect that you see on bugs in nature.

Enjoy your weekend, talk soon ! 🙂

My OPI Brazil Collection

I’m not the type of girl to run out and buy a new nail polish collection when it first gets released.  But there was something about the OPI Brazil collection that really called to me.  I couldn’t stop thinking about those bright tropical colors until I finally broke down and drove to the beauty supply store!  Good thing that store is a half hour out of my way.  If it was right in my town I would be penniless and drowning in OPI!

opi brazil collection

Even though I got a great deal on these, I’m not a big spender- so I only picked my four favorites from the collection.  All swatches are with no base coat, two coats of OPI, and no topcoat.  They are all shiny even without topcoat.

First is AmazON…AmazOFF.  This a deep dark teal with a slight shimmer running through it.  I was surprised how good this one looks on me.  Might be my favorite of the bunch.  However, I did get a bum brush.  I swear, if there’s a bad brush in the lot, it will find it’s way to me every time! I snipped the stray bristle with small scissors and now it works okay.

amazon amazoff opi amazon amazoffamazon amazoff brush

Next up is a neutral shade called Don’t Bossa Nova Me Around.  For some reason I want to call it Don’t Bossa Me Nova, but oh well!  It’s a nice opaque shade for nail art, I’m sure I’ll be using this one a lot.  It’s similar to My Vampire is Buff, only a little darker.  However, Don’t Bossa is a two-coater, so I might start using it in place of My Vampire from now on!

dont bossa nova me around opi dont bossa nova me around

This yellow shade is the one I was lemming after-  I Just Can’t Cope-acabana. What a crazy name, and considering that I’ve been a ball of stress lately … this one is fun for me!  Plus, I love to sample yellows out.  It’s like my personal mission to try out all the yellows to find the best ones, preferably two-coaters.  Hmmm I wonder if there are any one-coaters out there?  Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Jacqui!  But…. I Just Can’t Cope has quickly moved to the top of my yellow favorites list.  It’s a vibrant and creamy two-coater with a good formula.

OPI I JUST CANT COPE i just cant cope acabana

Last but not least is a super bright coral called Live.Love.Carnaval.  The formula on this one seemed a little chalkier than the others.. maybe because it’s borderline neon.  I actually messed one finger up and had to do it again.  Not sure what happened with that.  But still, I love how eye-catching it is…. it’s almost red, almost pink, but mostly coral, and very sexy!

live love carnaval opi live love carnaval

brazil opi nail artThose are my fave four!  Do you have a favorite from the Brazil collection?

If you read my blog you probably saw my floral Brazil nail art from the other day.  But if you missed it, here it is!

OPI Brazilian Floral Nail Art

I recently picked up 4 polishes from the new OPI Brazil Collection.  Swatches coming soon!  But first, I’m super excited to show you some floral nail art that combines all four of my new brazils!

brazil opi nail art

Here’s what I’m wearing:

♥ I Just Can’t Cope-acabana

♥ Live.Love.Carnaval

♥ AmazON…AmazOFF

♥ Don’t Bossa Nova Me Around

To complete the look I also used some rhinestones, OPI Black Onyx for the dots, and a light blue striper polish.

brazil floral nailart

This manicure is pure love to me.  It’s tropical, bright and feel-good! Plus, I’m psyched that I finally got my greedy little hands on the Brazil collection. 😀

opi brazil floral

See you soon with my Brazil swatches!