Guest Post

Today I am guest posting for lisas nail obsession.

Go check out her post HERE with all the details :)

TTFN!

XOXO Mandy

NCC~April~Pastel~Week 3

It's time share another pastel mani from the NCC group.  April is pastels and here is my 3rd mani

Base Coat:  Rejuvacote
Base Color:  Zoya Arizona
Stripes:  Pink and White from L.A. Colors
Top Coat: Seche Vite

So, you are probably thinking that this doesn't really look pastel.  When I did my base, I had no idea what I was going to do but a light orange would be fun.  After adding the pink stripes, it quickly started to look like a bright neon mani.  Adding the white gave it more dimension and even though it may not all be pastel, I really like how this one came out :)

Another quick shot in the shade.
 As always, check out the other ladies doing the challenge with me.

Happy Wednesday!

XOXO  Mandy

NCC: April~Pastel~ Week 2

It's challenge mani day!  If you remember The Nail Challenge Collaborative, then you know we just started a new series where every month is a new theme.  April is pastels and here is my week 2 pastel mani.

Base Coat:  Rejuvacote

Base Color:  Zoya Neely

Nail Art Stickers (eBay)

Top Coat:  Seche Vite

I have had these nail art stickers for quit some time now.  I received them as a "sorry you didn't receive your striping tape order, here are some stickers and a replacement is on the way" kind of thing.  They sent a lot too!  Soooooo, with it being pastel month, I thought it was a good time to try these out.  And I have to say, I am really liking them.  They make a plain mani cute and summer-y.  

I had a really hard time photgraphing this mani and didn't know if it was going to make it to the blog.  I tried all kids of light sources, angles, indoors, out doors.....nothing was looking good.  This is the best I could do.  Here is another shot

 Not the usual pose, but I was getting desperate!  

Well, there you have it, a simple, cute and fun pastel mani.  Don't forget to check out the other ladies participating in the challenge :)

XOXO  Mandy

2nd Day Nails: Matte

Soooo, I recently shared my review of Copper Waters for BadAss Polish, you can check it out HERE if you missed it.  I really enjoyed the look, but of course, I wanted to change it up a bit.  As I was walking through my bedroom, I saw my matte top coat, so that was that, matte it was!!  I love the look of matte glitters and this was no exception.

Please forgive the tip wear, I used a cheap drug store polish as my base, Wet N Wild Ebony Hates Chris.  I don't think I will be using this one any more.  It always starts to wear off about the 2nd day.  You will notice that my ring finger with Essie Good as Gold has no tip wear or chipping.  

I need a good black, any recommendations?  I picked up Sinful Colors Black on Black, we will see if that one holds up any better.

Glitter toppers are so fun and you can do so much with them.  Right now, I am loving the matte glitters, I am sure there will be more in the near future ;)

Happy Hump Day!

XOXO  Mandy

BadAss Polish: Copper Waters {Review}

Evening ladies!!  I had planned on doing this post this morning, but I go wrapped up in getting Birthday Club polishes put away and re-organizing some baking stuff to make room for more crochet stuff.  Yeah, lots of moving stuff around today.  I am not quite done, but I will prob get to it again after the kids go to bed.  So for now, here is my review for BadAssPolish Copper Waters.  This is a new addition to the core line.  It's a mix of blue holographic glitter with copper glitter in a clear base.  It's quite pretty.  Check out the bottle:

I swatched this baby over quite a few colors and it was hard to choose my base to show you.  In the end I went with black and gold.  I did just one coat of my base colors, Wet N Wild Ebony Hates Chris and Essie Good as Gold along with one coat of Copper Waters.  I topped with a coat of Seche Vite and I was good to go. 

Isn't it pretty?  The formula was great and I definitely didn't have to do any fishing here.  You could do as many coats as you like, but I like to see the base color under this one.

Here are a few more pics for your viewing pleasure :)

I am enjoying all my BadAss Polishes.  

Copper Waters is not yet available, but will be soon in their Etsy Shop

In the mean time, check them out on Facebook, Amy likes to give away a bottle before you can buy it.  Also Facebook is where you will get all updated info, including release dates.

Hope you have a great evening, I am outta here!

XOXO  Mandy

Pretty & Polished: Bashful Bouquet (2 ways) NCC April~Pastel~Week 1

Afternoon everyone!  I am excited to be back into my challenge group again, known as The Nail Challenge Collaborative.  We have done weekly themes for the seasons all through last year.  I unfortunately, didn't finish the last 2 :(  April marks the 1 year anniversary of the group and I am excited to still be here and join the new challenge.  Things have changed a bit, and I quite like these changes.  It will make it easier for me to keep going with the challenge themes.  Instead of having a pre planned weekly schedule, we are going to have a them for each month.  We can do what ever we want each week of that month for the theme.  Make sense?  Ok, so our first ever challenge was a pastel one, wanna see mine?  Click HERE,  little nutty huh?  That was back when I first started blogging.  Any who, since our first challenge was a pastel one, the theme for April is pastel ;)  I have been saving this polish for this challenge cause I find it very appropriate.  Pretty & Polished Bashful Bouquet is a mix of pastel glitters in a clear base.  FUN!  I did my mani 2 ways, glossy top coat and matte top coat.  Which do you like best?

Base Coat:  Rejuvacote

Base Color:  Zoya Shelby (2 coats)

Glitter Topper:  Pretty & Polished Bashful Bouquet (1 coat)

Top Coat:  Seche Vite (glossy)

Top Coat:  Essie Matte About You (matte)

I prefer the matte look.  It's so soft and pretty.  I often forget about my matte top coat.  I think I am gonna leave it next to my Seche Vite so I can see it all the time :)

There are a few of us doing the NCC challenge.  Please head over and visit their blogs, great stuff!!

XOXO  Mandy

Nfu-Oh NFU 61 Zebra Mani

Morning!  Or afternoon, depending on where you live ;)  Hope every one had a great Easter, I know I did.  It was a lot of work and a lot of fun.  So much so that I did practically nothing yesterday, I was pooped!!  But I am back today to share my fun holo zebra mani.

I got Nfu-Oh NFU 61 from a blog sale a while back, and now that the sun has been peeking out, it was a good time to give it a try.  In general you are supposed to use an aqua base for this polish, but I don't have one.  So I did a little looking around for other options.  A lot of people sandwiched 61 with Seche Vite.  If you don't use an aqua base or some alternative, this polish is very streaky and leaves bald spots.  Not pretty!  I used my normal base coat of Rejuvacote, did a coat of 61, then a coat of Seche Vite, another coat of 61 and topped with Seche Vite.  Get all that?  Next time, I think I will start with Seche Vite as my base and go from there.  See if it works easier.  But hey, it turned out just fine with a little finesse.  And because I can't leave a holo polish alone, I decided some stamping was in order :)

What do you think?  I used Konad M57 and Konad Special Black for the zebra print and Bundle Monster BM317 and Sally Hansen Insta Dri in Flashy Fuchsia for the bow.  Then topped with another coat of Seche Vite :)  

Today is the 2nd day of Spring Break and I am already going nuts, I plan on sharing at least 1 more post this week, hopefully 2, but we will see how things go here.

XOXO  Mandy

OPI: I Theodora You Dotticure

Easter is this weekend people!  I have big plans with the family so I am popping in to share my cute Easter inspired dotticure.  I have been wanting to do one for a while, but when I am in a slump, it never enters my head.  I need to start keeping a list of techniques I wanna try.  Anywho, I also picked up OPI I Theodora You  (from the Oz the Great and Powerful Collection) when I went to Ulta this week.  It's a cute light pink jelly.  I will def have to use this one for a jelly sammie.  I did 2 coats and of course you can still see some of my nail underneath, but that is kind of to be expected.  I grabbed China Glaze For Audrey and Happy Go Lucky for my dots.  Kind of the only options I had, I don't have a lot of pastels.  So I gotta work with what I got ;)  Here is how it turned out.  Pretty good I think.  I have seen better, but for a first try, I am happy with it.

Base Coat:  Rejuvacote

Base Color:  OPI I Theodora You (2 coats)

Dots:  China Glaze For Audrey and Happy Go Lucky

Top Coat:  Seche Vite

Easter plans this Sunday?  Got a cute mani in mind?  Share :)  Have a great weekend all! 

XOXO  Mandy

Nerdlacquer: Event Horizon

If you have been a polish lover or in a polish group of some sort, then you have probably heard about Nerdlacquer.  She has some awesome creations and her polishes are very sought after.  A while ago, she disappeared, no one knew what happened and if/when she would come back.  You can go check out her Google+ page for all the details, as she has explained her situation in detail.  When I heard she was back, I made sure to pay attention so I could grab a couple Nerds when she re-stocked, AND I DID!  I knew to get in and get out as quickly as possible, as her stuff sells out in literally a couple minutes.  I was nervous the whole time waiting for a message to tell me that my items were no longer in my cart.  But when I was finished, I got my confirmation e mail and that was that :)  My 2 Nerds were mine!  

Today I wanna share Event Horizon, I have had my eye on this one ever since I heard about Nerdlacquer.  It is described as a blackened teal with blue, aqua, green, silver and holographic glitters and boy is it pretty!  It's pretty packed and 2 coats was def enough for full coverage.  I put it on Friday afternoon, and today, Tuesday, no chipping with minor tip wear :)  I took quit a few pictures and I am gonna share a few of them.  Get ready!!

Sorry for the pic spam, but I just couldn't decide which pic I liked the best.  If you wanna get a hold of some Nerds, you should follow her on Google+ HERE, as that is where she posts updates and re-stock info.  You can also check out her store HERE, she has all her polishes listed so you can see pics.  Obviously, you won't be able to actually buy until her next re stock.  But at least this way you can make your list and go from there :)  

So I have to know, do you have any Nerds?  Have a wishlist?  Which are you hoping to get in the next re stock?

XOXO  Mandy

2nd Day Nails: Stamping (Snake Skin/Reptile)

Happy Hump Day!  I have some 2nd day nails I wanna share with you :)

Last weekend was my son's 4th birthday.  We took him to the Reptile Zoo, which he LOVED, and decided a mani to match would be fun.  I had done some Googling and saw THIS from Nail Polish Wars.  She does such great stuff.  I had A England Lady of the Lake and Color Club Worth the Risque in my stash, so I gave it a try.  Here are a couple pics in direct sunlight:

What do you think?  Here are a couple pics in the shade:

Base Coat:  Rejuvacote

Base Color:  A England Lady of the Lake (2 coats)

Stamping Polish:  Color Club Worth the Risque

Stamping Plate:  Bundle Monster BM215

Top Coat:  Seche Vite

I have been enjoying this design, I still have it on my nails today, 4 days total :)  No chipping and only minor tip wear.  If you want to see my post on Lady of the Lake, click HERE

Thanks for stopping in to have a look see!

XOXO  Mandy

A England: Lady of the Lake

Quick question......Do you like to hear a little background about the author of a blog or just the nitty gritty details about the post topic?  Sometimes I wanna chat here a little, but I don't know if any one cares.  Let me know what you like :)

Today I am sharing A England Lady of the Lake.  I have had this polish for a while and I don't know why I waited so long to use it!  It's gorgeous and glides on like butter!  It's purple with a light holo effect.  Lady of the Lake covers real well in just one coat, but I did 2, just for good measure.

A England is available depending on where you live.  If you are in the UK, you can order from http://a-england.co.uk/  Recently, Royal Mail has started destroying packages that contain illegal and flammable items, such as nail polish.  Luckily, A England has been working on the problem and if you live some where other than the UK, you can still purchase from http://shop.llarowe.com/

I have a few A Englands and non disappoint.  Keep an eye out on their FB Page or sign up for e mails.  They often have sales and discount codes :)

That's it for now, have any A Englands?  Which is your fav?  Have a great Tuesday!!

XOXO  Mandy

St. Patrick' Day

This morning I am going to start off with some Google news.  Google has announced that it is retiring it's Reader on July 1st.  There is an easy solution to this.  Just head over to http://www.bloglovin.com/, sign up if you haven't already and then on the top of the page, there is a notice about Google and a link to transfer all your blogs over to Bloglovin.  How nice of them!  I did it this morning, took about a minute.  I am happy that is all taken care of.  No worries here about losing my blogs in the shuffle.  Hope you do the same :)

St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner.  I did a quick and easy mani to celebrate.  Nothing too fancy, just cute and sparkly :)

Base Coat:  Rejuvacote

Base Color:  Essie Good as Gold (1 coat)

Glitter:  BadAss Polish Go Pack Go (2 coats)

Top Coat:  Seche Vite

See?  Super simple and cute.  Which makes this post short and sweet.  Have a great weekend!

XOXO  Mandy

BadAss Polish: Chocolate Covered Cherry {Review}

Sooooo, I have some good news for you today, but you will have to wait until after my review of this awesome polish from BadAss Polish.  Today I have Chocolate Covered Cherry.  It's very similar to Dusk, which you can check out HERE, except this one is a chocolate brown version and well, it's got some red holo glitters in it!  This polish is so versatile there are so many ways to wear it and depending on the light, you get different effects all through out the day.  I ended up taking pictures with 3 different light sources.  There is THAT much of a difference.  And all are beautiful and sparkly!

When I swatched CCC, I couldn't decide what I wanted to use for my base, so I went with 2 colors and did an accent nail :)  I used Wet N Wild Ebony Hates Chris and for the accent (ring finger) and Sinful Colors Mercury Rising.  Just one coat of CCC, a coat of Seche Vite and I was good to go.  I loved my mani and was excited to go outside and take some pics, but when I stepped out into the sun light, my nails were all kinds of holo-y & sparkly, it was so cool!  I have a couple photos from each light source I wanna share with you, so get prepared from a bunch of pretty pictures :)

 See what I mean?  Lots of different effects.  This beauty will be available for sale on Wednesday March 20th in their SHOP :)  Ok, so I told you there was some good news.  Amy, the creator, has a giveaway going on right now on her FB Page.  You can win this beauty before it's even available for sale.  All you have to do is go to her FB Page, like her page and share the ***FLASH GIVEAWAY*** status she has pinned to the top.  Easy right?!?!  You should go like her page any way to keep up to date on new polishes and release dates.  She has 4 more coming in the near future.  

The week is almost over, YAY!  I have a busy weekend planned for my son's 4th Birthday :)  See you here tomorrow to see my simple and cute St. Patrick's Day mani

XOXO  Mandy

2nd Day Nails: Stamping

Good Morning all :)  It's time for some 2nd day nails.  This time I went with some stamping.  When I did my review for BadAss Polish on Monday, which you can see HERE, for their newest polish called Brew Crew, I was reminded of space.  I knew exactly what I was gonna do in the next day or so :)  So I got out my plates and found a fun space inspired one from Cheeky.  Here are my cute space nails.

Base Coat:  Rejuvacote

Base Color:  Sally Hansen Ebony Hates Chris and Sally Hansen Silver Sweep

Glitter Topper:  BadAss Polish Brew Crew

Stamping Plate:  Cheeky 46

Stamping Polish:  Konad Special Black and Sally Hansen Silver Sweep

Top Coat: Seche Vite

Aren't they cute?  I am enjoying them :)

Have a nice rest of the week, I will be back with another BadAss Polish to share, so stay tuned!

XOXO Mandy