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

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

Let it Snow!: Ugly Christmas Sweater

Thursday is the typical day of the week that we share our challenge mani's from the Let it Snow! Challenge.  I am gonna try real hard to keep on that schedule.

This weeks theme is Ugly Christmas Sweater, should be pretty easy, right?  Except I didn't want to have an ugly manicure.  I do wear my mani's for a few days before I change it.  Unless I have had some horrible chipping.  

In general, all Christmas sweaters are ugly to me.  No offense if you wear them.  They are just not for me.  Coming up with a design was kind of hard.  There are so many possibilities!  Lots of super ugly sweaters and some not so bad.  I went with a not so bad design.  Remember, I am wearing this for a few days.  

I have been on a red kick so that is where we start.  I chose Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby as my base, I know, been using that one a lot lately, but it's right there in front of me :)  And to make my ugly sweater a cute mani, I added some snowflakes :)

I used my Konad M59 plate and Konad Special Polish in White.  There are 2 snowflake designs on this plate, so I randomly placed them on my nails.

I topped with a coat of Seche Vite and voila!  A cute Ugly Christmas Sweater mani.  My nails are so smooth and shiny, I can't stop rubbing them.  What do you think?

Here is a recap of the products I used:

Base Coat: Rejuvacote

Base Color:  Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby

Stamping Plate:  Konad M59

Stamping Polish:  Konad Special White

Top Coat:  Seche Vite

There you have it, my Ugly Christmas Sweater mani.  Please check out the other girls doing this challenge with me :)

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.

Nail Art Contest: Stamping Skills

The weekend is over, Thanksgiving is now behind us.  But there is still a ton of food in my fridge.  We will be eating Thanksgiving dinner for a week, LOL.  But now that the long week of no school is over, I can get back to some regular posting.  At least I hope so.  Before we left for the weekend I saw a nail art contest I wanted to enter.  It is based on stamping so it's right up my alley :)  I have wanted to do a few in the past, but never found the time to create the nail art and enter.  

I did a design a while back and although I wished it had turned out a little a better, I get compliments on that design a lot.  It was even picked out of my older photos by a fellow blogger as one of her favorites to share on her FB page.  So I decided it was time to re-do this one and make it a little better.

Here is the old design:

I didn't change much, just did added the glitter before stamping and added some fun rhinestones on my accent nail.  Here is the new one:

I think a couple slight improvements made a big difference.  I even like the length and shape of my nails better now than when I first started blogging back in March, which is when I originally did this mani.

Products used:

Base Coat:  Rejuvacote

Base Color:  Sinful Colors Snow Me White

Glitter:  China Glaze Fairy Dust

Stamping Plate:  Konad M57

Stamping Polish:  Konad Special Black

There are lots of great entries in this contest, wish me luck!

The deadline to enter is today, but if you are interested, go HERE

Hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving and aren't too bummed to go back to work today, if you indeed did go back to work today LOL

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 :)

Go Pink Wednesday

As I am sure most of you know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  I joined a group called "Go Pink Wednesday" where we will be wearing and sharing pink mani's every Wednesday in October to raise awareness.  I know, it's Thursday, but I just joined the group yesterday so I am starting today.  Better late than never, right?

I personally have not be touched by breast cancer, but that does not mean that I am not in favor of a quick cure.  Where you are a survivor, know a survivor or have never dealt with the disease, I encourage you to either donate to a cause or do as I am and try to raise as much awareness as you can.  

On to the pretty part.  I don't own hardly any pinks.  But I did have 2 that go great together.  I wanted some thing fun and up beat.  I went with a pink base, a glitter coat and of course some pink stamping!  Here is the final look

Base Coat:  Rejuvacote

Base Color:  Sally Hansen Insta Dri Presto Pink (1 coat)

Glitter:  Sinful Colors Smoking Hot (2 coats)

Stamping Plate:  Konad M57

Stamping Polish:  Sally Hansen Insta Dri Flashy Fuchsia

Top Coat:  Seche Vite

I am loving how the zebra print pops over the glitter.  I used a coat of sech vite over the glitter before stamping.  Mostly to help it dry.  It was taking FOREVER!  I think that coat of sech vite is what is making the stamping pop like it is.  Either way, I am super happy with how this turned out.  I can't stop staring at my cute pink nails :)

I will be back next Wednesday with another pink mani for you, Happy Thursday!

Fall into Autumn: Cloudy Days

Sooooo, last night I did the next challenge mani for Fall into Autumn.  I was excited for this one.  I had  a couple designs running through my brain.  A few of the other girls have already shared their mani's and some were very similar to what I wanted to do.  I brain stormed a little more, then went to you tube and did a little looking around.  There were a few cloudy mani's to get inspiration from :)  

Now, when you see the mani, you are only going to see one nail.  I was having a couple issues and then I was having more issues with my kids.  Hubby was working late and I just couldn't hang.  

Here is my lonely finger

Base Coat:  Rejuvacote

Base Color:  Essence Vampire's Love Into The Dark (1 coat)

Stamping Plate:  Mash 37

Stamping Polish:  Konad Special White

Grey: China Glaze Crackle Glaze in Cracked Concrete

Top Coat:  Essie Matte About You

I was very surprised at how well these little clouds stamped.  I think using my plastic Konad scraper is turning out to be much better than my old gift card.  I used the crackle as the grey accent cause I wanted it to be a little different and I wanted to see how much it would crack when using just a tiny bit.  I used a dotting tool to add the grey to the clouds.  Now, I let these dry for at least 15 minutes.  It took that long get my table cleaned up and deal with my little ones.  I chose a matte top coat cause I thought it would be fun and different.  I tested on a nail and liked it.  So I continued.  When I got to my hand I would be photographing, all went to hell :(  My poor little clouds were smearing!  Every finger except my pointer finger was messed up.  That is why you are only seeing one finger today.  I couldn't get a very good shot of my whole hand any way.  Like I said, it was a bad evening.  However, I think this one lonely finger came out great and this is what I hoped my entire mani would have looked like.

How many times have you been trying to do a special mani and everything just goes wrong?

Have you entered my giveaway yet?  You can do that HERE :)

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

Adventures in Stamping: Glitter

Good Morning!!  It's Father's Day.....any fun plans for the dads in your life?  All the dads in my family are headed to the bowling alley later this morning.  Should be a fun afternoon :)  

This weeks theme in AIS is glitter.  I love me some glitter!!  I love stamping over it even more.  Makes it pop.  What do you think?

Base Color:  Color Club Sugar Plum Fairy

Stamping Plate:  Red Angel RA104

Stamping Polish:  Konad Special Black

Top Coat:  Seche Vite

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!!!

Adventures in Stamping: Beth's Birthday

I haven't participated in  stamping challenge for a while.  I am as slacker :(  But, seeing as how it is Beth's Birthday (daughter of the AIS founder) I decided I needed to do a cute birthday mani.  I didn't have a lot of time so I went with cute and simple.  Plus, I got to try out a new polish.  I am loving this holo pink, and I don't usually go for pinks.  Aaaaaannnnnnd, I got to use my new MASH plates!  Fun Fun Fun.....Hope you like what I came up with: pink, holo-y and girly :)

Base Coat:  Rejuvacote

Base Color:  OPI DS Reflection

Stamping Polish:  Konad Special Black

Stamping Plate:  MASH mash43

Top Coat:  Seche Vite

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BETH!!!

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

Mother's Day Leopard Mani

Happy Mother's Day!!  I hope if you are a mom you are being spoiled today and if you are not, you are spoiling your mom.  I hope to be spolied and spoil my mom today :)  I wanted a cute fun out there mani.  I haven't tried out the Leopard image on my Konad M57 plate yet, so I thought today was a good day to give it a try.  Besides, I haven't gotten out my plates in a while.  I was having withdrawals LOL  I am quit happy with my Mother's Day Mani.....What do you think?

I decided to have a little fun with the roses in my front yard :)

Base Coat:  Seche REBUILD

Base Color:  Essence Glamorous Life

Stamping Plate:  Konad M57

Stamping Polish:  Konad Special Black

Silver Accent Polish:  Pure Ice Silver Mercedes

Top Coat:  Seche Vite

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!  ENJOY :)

Stamping Test

I have used quit a few polishes lately that were one coaters.  Naturally, I wanted to see if they would be good stamping polishes.  Since I am Going Naked this week, I thought it was a good time to do a test before I change my REBUILD.  Here are the ones I tried

Zoya Noel, Confetti Rock the Night Away, SC Midnight Blue, CC Revvvolution, CG Agro

I decided to do the same as my last Stamping Test and used the Zebra image on the Konad M57 plate.  I was very hopeful for these polishes, but was quit disappointed.  The test images are in the same order as the polish pic above, starting with the pinky.  Looking at both pictures, I guess I did this backwards, OOPS!

Thumb:  CG Agro_This one worked ok.  It looks pretty crisp, but there are some bald spots.  Could be operator error

Index Finger:  CC Revvvolution_ I am sure that I have seen this one stamped before.  I kind of feel the same way about it as I do Agro.  It might work.  Maybe with a different image?

Middle Finger:  SC Midnight Blue_This one actually stamped pretty well.  It's just not as dark as I had hoped.  

Ring Finger:  Confetti Rock the Night Away_This is such a great one coater.  I had high hopes for this one.  As you can see, it does not work at all :(

Pinky:  Zoya Noel_I remember this one being so awesome when I first used it.  High hopes for this one too.  Failed, again :(

Of these 5, I would say that Agro and Midnight Blue stamped the best.  Revvvolution might work out, but I think it will take some trial and error with that one.

Will be on the look out for more great stamping polishes :)

Don't forget to check out my current giveaway HERE

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!