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

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

Let it Snow!: Inspired by a holiday movie, song or carol

Yay for Thursday, cause that means it's almost Friday!  It's challenge mani day, yay!  I am in a really good  mood this morning.  I got up early, took a shower, did my hair and makeup and then went to my son's school assembly where he was awarded student of the month.  I am one proud mama!  And, I feel all pretty cause I got fully dressed today.  Not an every day occurrence as a stay at home mom LOL

OK, this weeks Let it Snow! challenge is a mani inspired by a movie, song or carol.  I am not gonna lie, I don't watch Christmas movies, listen to Christmas music or have anything to do with caroling.  I am not a Grinch,  I love the holidays, I am just not into the movies and music.  I am weird, I know.  That being said, I chose to do my mani based on a cartoon I used to watch as a kid.  I can't remember the name, but it was about frosty the snowman.  All the kids trying to get him to the north pole so he doesn't melt, cute movie. 

So with out further ado, here is my snowman mani:

Base Coat:  Rejuvacote

Base Color: Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby

Glitter:  China Glaze Fairy Dust

Stamping Plate:  Bundle Monster BM 318

Stamping Polish:  Konad Special White

Snow:  Sinful Colors Snow Me White (applied with a sponge & dotting tool)

Top Coat:  Seche Vite

I hope you are have an awesome day, and don't forget to visit the other girls participating in the Let it Snow! challenge :)

Let it Snow!: Snowflakes

Hey everyone, happy Friday!!  It's time to get back to some challenge mani's.  You probably remember I did the Spring and Summer challenges.  I started the Autumn challenge, but things were hectic around here and I dropped out :(  Now it's time for the Winter Challenge!!  Our group has named it the "Let it Snow!" Challenge.  Here is what we are going to be doing

Alrighty, here we go.  First challenge is snowflakes.  Who doesn't love snowflakes?!?!  I am really happy with how my mani turned out.  Blue, sparkly and of course full of snowflakes.  

See......

Base Coat:  Rejuvacote

Base Color:  China Glaze Dorothy Who? (2 coats, no underwear)

Stamping Plate:  Bundle Monster BM323

Stamping Polish:  Konad Special White

Top Coat:  Seche Vite

I actually did this a few days ago and I am still wearing it.  No chipping and still as pretty as the day I did it.

I am excited to do this challenge, be prepared for a new challenge mani every week :)

Don't forget to check out the other gals doing the challenge.

Halloween

Hey every one, I know I have not been posting here much.  I am a slacker.  I apologize.  I was into some challenges and then it got so busy around the house I didn't have the time :(  So I have decided to pass on the Halloween and Fall challenges this time around.  I still wanna enjoy Halloween on my nails, so I am just going to do what ever I want when ever I want :)

 I had to chop off all my nails so designs are a limited right now.  What looks best on short stubby nails?  Dark vampy colors!  I had recently picked up a few of the Fantasy Makers polishes from CVS.  Perfect time to try them out.  I have one that is a black base with a ton of tiny purple glitter, it's called Rest in Pieces.  It looks so pretty in the bottle.  I wasn't too thrilled with it on my nail :(  It comes off as just a black polish.  If you look really close, you can see some of the purple glitters.  Oh well.  It covered really well in 2 coats and the RIP bottle is really cute.  So it's not a total waste LOL.  Here is what I came up with:

Base Coat:  Rejuvacote

Base Color:  Fantasy Makers Rest in Pieces

Stamping Plates:  Bundle Monster BM225 and Shany SH25

Stamping Polish:  Sally Hansen Insta Dri Silver Sweep

Red Rhinestones

Top Coat:  Seche Vite

I am quit enjoying this vampy look :)

This is Halloween: Water Marble

It's time for another installment from the This is Halloween Challenge.  Next up, water marble.  I have attempted this technique a couple times.  Neither time did it come out all that great.  So I wasn't too excited about doing a Halloween water marble.  I don't have lots of creme polishes nor do I want to go out and buy a bunch for one challenge.  So I am working with what I got, and what I got is a stamping plate.  Surprised?  I didn't think so.  The new Bundle Monster set came with a water marble design and I have yet to try it out.  The perfect time is now!!

I didn't do anything fancy, so here is my final design

Base Coat:  Rejuvacote

Base Color:  Sally Hansen Extreme Wear Green with Envy (1 coat)

Glitter:  Sinful Colors Smoking Hot (1 coat)

Stamping Plate:  Bundle Monster BM320

Stamping Polish:  Konad Special Black

Top Coat:  Seche Vite

There are over 50 of us gals doing this challenge, there are 2 challenges a week and one link up each week.  So there are going to be a bunch of thumbnails of others Halloween mani's.  Take a couple mins and check them out :)

Teal Tuesday: Geometric

This weeks theme for Teal Tuesday is Geometric.  I knew which base I wanted to use.  I had gotten China Glaze Atlantis from Copious, for just a penny, and I had to give it a try.  I used the glue as my base.  You can get more info on that HERE  Then applied my base coat and 2 layers of Atlantis.  No underwear.  This covered very well and was opaque in 2 coats :)  Finding the geometric shape I wanted to stamp with was going to be a bit harder.  A few gals have already stamped some awesome designs and I have already used some other designs here on my blog.  I went with the design on the new Bundle Monster set BM320.  I LOVE the Atlantis with a design stamped over it.

Base:  Elmer's Glue

Base Coat:  Rejuvacote

Glitter:  China Glaze Atlantis

Stamping Plate:  Bundle Monster BM320

Stamping Polish:  Konad Special Black

Top Coat:  Seche Vite

You are probably wondering why there is no polish on my index finger.  If you read my previous post, then you know how easy glitter comes off when you use glue as a base.  When I rolled on my image, I used a little too much pressure and it just came off, in one sheet LOL  So, if you use the glue method and stamp, be careful.  You don't want to peel off all your polish before you get the stamping done. 

I put on Atlantis yesterday afternoon, so far it has held up to normal wear and tear.  I am going to keep this on for a while and see how long it will last.  I will keep you updated :)

Teal Tuesday: Ovarian Cancer Awareness

It's been a while since I was able to participate in a Teal Tuesday mani.  But this week I decided that I HAD to participate for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.  This didn't come out exactly how I had imagined it, but I still like it.  There are a few layers that went into this design.  All in all, I am pretty happy with it.  I may do a few more mani's this month.  Keep a look out :)

Base Color:  China Glaze For Audrey

Glitter:  China Glaze Fairy Dust

Stamping Plates:  Konad M60 & Bundle Monster BM321

Stamping Polishes:  Konad Special Black and Special White

Top Coat:  Seche Vite

Will you be doing a special awareness mani this month?

Code n.2

Lazy Days of Summer: Thirst Quencher

So, I am really behind on my Summer challenges.  But I am going to try real hard to catch up so I can do the Fall Challenge.  This is #9, Thirst Quencher.  I don't know about you, but I seriously love water.  I know a lot of people who hate to drink water and I just don't understand.  On a normal day, that is all I drink.  However, once in a while I love me some lemonade or other citrus-y drink.  So instead of trying to do a mani about water, which prob would have been just plain blue nails, I decided to go for the citrus mani.  This is a fun design and I was lucky enough to have a friend over who wanted to help.  So she did my gradient.  Lucky me!!  Here is the final design

Base Coat:  Rejuvacote

Base Color:  Sinful Colors Snow Me White

Gradient:  Color Club Sparkle and Soar, Daisy Does it and Fly With Me

Stamping Plate:  Bundle Monster BM308

Stamping Polish:  Konad Special White

Top Coat:  Seche Vite

This was a fun mani to do, especially because I got to spend the day with my friend and do my nails :)

Lazy Days of Summer: In the Garden

We all know that I have been a slacker lately.  But I have some good news, I have a new challenge mani for you :)  I went and got a mani/pedi recently and decided to amp up my otherwise crappy mani to a challenge mani.  Seriously, I am so mad at how bad my cuticles looked when I left the salon.  I thought it was just because she got too close to my cuticles when she was painting.  Not the case.  So I apologize for a not so great polish job.  But that isn't really the star of the show here any way.  I just got some of new Essie Mirror Metallics, which means more stamping polishes for me!!  I had been looking for a good gold and the Good as Gold in this collection is great!  

The inspiration for my mani is my own yard.  I don't have a garden or fancy flowers.  I do have a lot of rose bushes that line the front of my house.  They are so pretty when in bloom.  So I decided a rose garden mani was it. Plus, my nails were already red, perfect!  I have no idea what the brand or name of the red polish is, it was an off brand in the salon.  It does remind me a lot of A England Perceval.  I have a post on that lovely HERE

Alrighty, so here it is :)

Base Coat:  Unknown

Base Color:  Unknown

Stamping Plate:  Bundle Monster BM 306

Stamping Polish: Essie Good as Gold

Top Coat:  Unknown

I took this photo in the shade so the sun wouldn't wash out the gold.  I wore this for a couple days, I really enjoyed this mani :)

Lazy Days of Summer: Flip Flops

Challenge #4 for Lazy Days of Summer is Flip Flops.  I thought for a sec and decided I wasn't in the mood for bright or neon nails.  Besides, when I think of flip flops, I think of my black sandals with some awesome red toes.  One of the favorite pedi polishes is China Glaze Ruby Pumps.  I WILL be getting a back up of this color.  I hope they never discontinue this one.  

Here is my interpretation of a flip flop mani, it's very subtle and I am in LOVE with this red!!

Base Coat:  Rejuvacote

Base Color:  China Glaze Ruby Pumps

Stamping Plate:  Bundle Monster BM309

Stamping Polish:  Konad Special Black

Top Coat:  Seche Vite

Check out the other gals doing the challenge

Teal Tuesday: Feathers

Afternoon lovelies!  When I logged in today, I saw that I now have 160 followers, YAY!!  I am so excited to have you all with me :)

This weeks Teal Challenge is feathers.  I have to admit, I was not in the mood to do my nails these last few days.  I had on a gorgeous glitter that was wearing very well.  I just didn't want to go through all the effort to remove it.  I am just one tired mama!  But, I decided it was time to change my mani.  I had an idea all planned out.  A pretty teal holo and some gold stamping.  Complete FAIL!  The holo didn't want to dry :(  Then the furniture guy showed up and I had to unlock the gate, we have a pad lock.  Two nails ruined right there.  So I decided to start over and go simpler.  I did just one coat of CG Adore and stamped with a feather image using Konad Special Black.  It's simple, but cute.  I like it :)  You?

Base Coat:  Rejuvacote

Base Color:  China Glaze Adore (1 coat)

Stamping Plate:  Bundle Monster BM214

Stamping Polish:  Konad Special Black

Top Coat:  Seche Vite

So I started using a new treatment called Rejuvacote.  So far I love it.  You apply as your base coat and add a top coat each day.  It's nice and thick and shiny.  So I thought I would try to use it as a top coat over stamping.  No go :(  You can see that the image on my pinky is smeared.  I will be sticking with my Seche Vite for stamping mani's.  But, tomorrow, I will be adding my Rejuvacote on top :)

Happy Tuesday!!!

Teal Tuesday: Stars

I have another Tealicure for you today.  This weeks theme is stars.  I was excited this one won, but then I realized, I had no clue what I was going to do.  There was no way I was going to freehand some stars and I wasn't in the mood to try out some stickers.  So of course, I went to my binder with all my plates and started looking. I was sure I had a ton of star images.  I don't :(  This is actually my 2nd attempt.  I liked my first attempt, which was french tips, but I have plans for the day and wanted to show off this polish.  I LOVE IT!  So I started over and did a full mani with a cute star stamp :)

Base Coat:  Seche REBUILD

Base Color:  Zoya Charla

Stamping Plate:  Bundle Monster BM21

Stamping Polish:  Konad Special White

Top Coat:  Seche Vite

Teal Tuesday: Abstract

This weeks challenge is Abstract.  After asking a few questions, most techniques such as sponging, splatter, tape and gradients fall in the abstract category.  Honestly I wasn't in the mood to go through all that.  I just wanted something simple.  Then I remembered there was an image from my plates that I hadn't used yet.  Actually, there were 2 that I felt were abstract.  Time for a stamping mani!!  Here is what it looks like

Base Coat:  Seche REBUILD

Base Color:  Wet N Wild Ebony Hates Chris

Stamping Color:  Kleancolor Metallic Aqua

Stamping Plate:  Bundle Monster BM 203

Stamping Plate (ring finger):  Red Angel RA 108

Top Coat:  Seche Vite

I love how this turned out, will definitely be using these designs again.

Happy Tuesday!!!

Teal Tuesday: Splatter

It's Tuesday again, time for another challenge.  This week is splatter.  I know, another technique I have never tried.  Still haven't actually.  I waited too long to do this mani and just barely looked up how to's on you tube this morning.  I decided that it was going to take too long and be quit messy.  I have lots of house chores I need to get done today.  So I pulled out my Image Plates and got to hunting.  I have 4 that have some sort of splatter design in them, YES!!  I can stamp my way through this one.  Kind of cheating I guess.  But hey, at least I didn't dismiss this one all together, right?  Besides, I had received some awesome nail mail yesterday and had already painted my nails last night.  I didn't want to take a chance on messing that up.  Here is what I ended up with

Base Coat:  Seche Retain

Base Color:  OPI DS Sapphire

Base Splatter:  Kleancolors Metallic Aqua

Main Splatter:  Konad Special Black

Stamping Plates:  Bundle Monster BM 202 and Cheeky B38

Top Coat:  Seche Vite

Stamping Sunday: Easter Mani

Yay!  It's Easter!!  Hope everyone has a special day planned.  I know I do :)  This week's challenge over in AIS is Easter.  I don't have any plates with cute little bunnies or eggs.  So I thought I would do a little grass scene on all my nails. It was looking ok, then I decided to start over and do a little layering.  My grass was so cute, green and sparkly....then I started to stamp some flowers, bees and butterflies.  Let me just tell you, this is not the mani you will be seeing today.  It seriously looked I let a 5 year old stamp all over my nails.  It was terrible.  So I decided to go simple and more Spring-y.  I chose to do a pink gradient with a silver full image stamp.  This is by far the best out of the 3 attempts.  Is it Easter-y?  Prob not.  But I WAS going to go with a black mani and call it Easter at night LOL I was sooooo bummed with my first 2 attempts.  What do you think?  Don't the the polish missing on the side of my ring finger.  Got a little carried away with the acetone.

Base Coat:  Seche Retain

Base Color:  NYC Wall Street

Base Color:  SH HD LCD

Gradient:  SH Insta Dri Presto Pink and Flashy Fuschia

Stamping Plate:  Bundle Monster BM 224

Stamping Polish: Orly Dazzle

Top Coat:  Sech Vite

HAPPY EASTER!!

China Glaze Agro with Devotion

Yesterday I showed my Mani using China Glaze Agro, you can see it here.  I decided last night was a good night to do some stamping and I had yet to try the polishes I have from the China Glaze Romantic Collection.  Which are supposed to be great for stamping.  My first choice was Chords.  Colors seemed good to me.  NOT!  Agro is too dark.  So the stamped image didn't hardly show at all.  Back to the drawing board.  I picked out Devotion from the same collection and was hoping it would work out.  It did!!  I quit like it!

Base Coat:  Seche Rebuild

Base Color:  China Glaze Agro

Stamping Plate:  Bundle Monster BM225

Stamping Polish:  China Glaze Devotion

Top Coat:  Seche Vite

Milani 3D Holographic: Hi-Res

Spring has sprung!  I don't normally do light flowery nails,  but I thought spring was a good cause.  Plus, I just got a new polish I wanted to try out.  I have heard of the Milani 3D Holographic polishes and have been wanting to try them out.  I didn't own any Holo polishes and this is a good place to start, at least I think so.
In the store I was a bit worried about the lack of holo effect so I picked up 2 to try out.  Last night was testing night.  I layered Hi-Res over black polish to get a nice opaque color.  The coverage was pretty good :)  Then this morning I couldn't decide on what kind of stamping I wanted to do, flowers or butterflies?  So I decided to do both!

I was pleasantly surprised when I went outside to take pics.  Nice sparkly holo nails, YAY!!  Not as holo as a lot of other polishes, but this is quit pretty out in the sun.

Base Coat:  Seche Rebuild

Base Colors: L.A. Colors in Black and Milani Hi-Res

Top Coat:  Seche Vite

Stamping Plate (Flowers): Bundle Monster BM 221

Stamping Plate (Butterflies) Bundle Monster BM 205

Stamping Polish:  Konad Special White

St. Patty's Day Mani

Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day.  Will you be celebrating with green beer?  A special dinner?  I am embarrassed to say that we do neither of these things.  And I am married to an Irish Man!!!  Obviously he doesn't mind much.  Although I know he would like a traditional corned beef hash one of these times.  This holiday just creeps up on me EVERY year!
So, in honor of St. Patty's Day, I did a themed mani last night.

No Flash

With Flash

I wasn't too excited about the green when I first put it on.  Thankfully, after the glitter top coat, I was in love.  I love how this turned out.  

This was also my first time using my new Bundle Monster plates.  I know this isn't exactly a 4 leaf clover, but it looks like a bunch of clovers and I thought "hey, it's my St. Patty's Day Mani"  :)

Basecoat:  Seche Rebuild

Base Color:  China Glaze Holly-Day

Top Color:  Wet N Wild Fast Dry The Gold and the Beautiful

Stamping Plate:  Bundle Monster BM 16

Stamping Polish: Konad Special Black

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