New Year's Day 2016

Happy New Year!

Purple: China Glaze Mix and Mingle

White: China Glaze White on White

Red: China Glaze Wine Down for What?

Glitter: China Glaze Brand Sparkin' New Year

For the past couple of years, I have always done nails like this for the new year. I like to do it to start new for the new year! It also makes my mind have to stop and think and remember what year it is!

I intentionally saved this glitter for this manicure because of the name of it. I love the color combination that I got for this one. It looked great and turned out really well.

Thanks for reading <3

Halloween 2015: Chevron & Candy

Welcome back!

Next up for Halloween nails…chevron! I love chevron, and I love candy. So what could be better than mixing them?!

Black: China Glaze Liquid Leather
White: China Glaze White on White
Orange: China Glaze Home Sweet House Music
Purple: China Glaze Violet Vibes
Green: China Glaze Treble Maker

For the chevron nails, I used some chevron nail vinyls, and started with a white base. Then I painted the desired color on top, and finished it up by using a small detail brush and adding the black lines in for accent. And then, for the candy nail, I just used dotting tools and the same small detail brush.

Happy Halloween! <3

Halloween 2015: Fuzzy Monsters

Welcome back!

Today I want to share my last couple of Halloween designs! First up, these cute, fuzzy monsters, inspired by Chalkboard Nails and the Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat. The post that inspired them can be found here.

I loved these cute monsters that she created, and I recreated them back before I was blogging, and I thought they were so cute! I knew I had to do it again when I got this special Halloween Fuzzy Coat last year.

Purple: Wet 'n Wild Megalast Thrift Shopaholic
Black: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Night Fright
White: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri OMGhost
Orange: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Pumpkin Queen
Fuzzy Coat: Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat Witch-ful Thinking

I love the way these turned out! I used the polish brush to create the body for the monsters, and to add the fuzzy coat. I used a small detail brush from Winstonia and dotting tools for the remainder of the details.

Happy Halloween! <3

31 Day Challenge: Day 20

Welcome back!

Prompt: Watermarble

Gray: OPI I Cannoli Wear OPI
Dark Purple: OPI O Suzi Mio
Light Purple: OPI Purple Palazzo Pants

I decided not to do a full hand of watermarbled, because it's a lot of work, and I wanted to do something different. So I marbled three nails and then added a dotticure to one nail and a solid color to another so it was a little different. I really liked it! I don't want to take this off!

Check back tomorrow for more nail art! <3

31 Day Challenge: Day 11

Welcome back!

Prompt: Polka Dots

Today starts a new category in the 31 Day Challenge! This category/section is "styles." This is probably my favorite section, because of the prompts. It makes me more creative, but gives me enough direction that I'm not lost or stuck. Hopefully after today, you'll be done seeing dots from me for a while! Sorry for all of the dotticures, but moving sucks!

White: China Glaze White On White

Purple: China Glaze Wanderlust

Light Pink: China Glaze Pack Lightly

Dark Pink: China Glaze Pinking Out the Window

I used about three different sized dotting tools for this. They can be found here!

Check back tomorrow for more nail art! <3

31 Day Challenge: Day 10

Welcome back!

Today's Prompt: Gradient

We are a third of the way done! ...basically. I think of the last day as being so different, and so I just count the thirds as the 10th and 20th, and the half being the 15th!

White: Essie Blanc

Light Pink: Essie Groove is in the Heart

Dark Pink: Essie Coacha' bella

Purple: Essie All Access Pass

I chose three polishes for this today, all of them being from the Neons 2015 collection. I used a latex free cosmetic sponge for the gradient, as always. My only tricks for gradients can probably be found anywhere, but my first "trick" is using a white base coat. I always use white, no matter what color gradient I'm putting down. I feel like the colors show up perfectly true, then, and they blend better. My other trick is to put down a top coat before sponging on, and letting it dry. I use a fast drying top coat, and let it dry for about 10 minutes, and then I will sponge on my colors. When applying, I move from side to side, dabbing up and down, as well as moving up and down on my nail to blend a little better as needed.

Check back tomorrow for more nail art! <3

31 Day Challenge: Day 6

Welcome back!

Today's Prompt: Violet

White: Zoya Purity
Purple: Orly Color Blast Olaf You A Lot

I don't know if this polish is technically violet, but it's purple, and to me, violet and purple are the same. I had to do these nails in a hotel room, and all of my nail art stuff is packed, so it was slim pickins'. I used a bobby pin to do the accent nail. It's supposed to look like confetti! I think it's fun no matter what. It was vaguely based off a manicure I saw done by Chalkboard Nails. Her post can be found here.

Check back tomorrow for more nail art! <3

OPI Hawaii Mix & Match

Welcome back!

Today I wanted to share with you what I did the other day using some more of the OPI Hawaii collection. So far, I love that collection! I bought 9 of the 12 polishes, and they are all so fun and pretty.

Purple: OPI Hello Hawaii Ya?
Green: OPI That's Hula-rious!
Orange: OPI Is Mai Tai Crooked?

The ring finger was the plastic bag method (again) and the middle finger was done using single chevron Nail Vinyls. The flowers were done using basic dotting tools.

Thanks for reading <3

Mani By Annie: School Spirit Single Chevron & Glitter

Welcome back!

My sister needed her nails repainted the other day, and so she decided she wanted something to support her husband's soccer team that he coaches!

White: OPI Alpine Snow
Purple: OPI Do You Have This Color in Stock-holm?
Glitter: Milano Jewel FX Gold
Striper: Salon Perfect Nail Art Striper Gold Sparkle

The school colors are purple and gold, so I went with just two accent nails and painted the rest a solid purple. The accent nails included one nail of all gold glitter which I sponged on using a latex free cosmetic sponge. The chevron nail was done by painting a white base to start, then using the single chevron vinyls from nailvinyls.com. Once those were on, I painted purple on top, and removed the vinyls. To add the glitter, I used the striping polish and just traced the lines with it to add a little more fun to it.

Thanks for reading <3

Summer Inspired Gradient and Stamping

Welcome back!

I am determined to get a hang of this stamping! There are so many awesome things you can do with stamping plates, and designs and such. I want to be able to do it all! Plus, I bought a ton of plates, some of which may not get used hardly ever anyway, because they are so specific. I don't want the others to sit unused, too, so I'm doing my best to try stamping, and make it something I can do more easily.

Nude: OPI Do You Take Lei Away?
Pink: OPI Suzi Shops & Island Hops
Purple: OPI Lost My Bikini in Molokini

Mermaid Stamping Plate: W108
Palm Tree Stamping Plate: W106
Floral Stamping Plate: W310

My ring and thumb nails were done in a gradient style using a latex free cosmetic sponge. My stamper is this one from Winstonia, and all plates came from Winstonia as well!

Thanks for reading <3

Plastic Bag with Subtle Stamping

Welcome back!

I'm so excited and sad all about the same thing...stamping. I'm excited because this was my first very successful stamping manicure! I'm sad, because it is hard to see the success! I thought the polish that I used to stamp with would be more shimmery and bright, so I thought it would show up better. Unfortunately, the base polish was a little too dark for it. It is possible to see, just difficult! I kind of like the subtly, but I wish it was just a little less subtle...

Purple: OPI I Carol About You
Maroon: OPI Just Beclaus
Shimmery Pink: OPI Kiss Me-Or Elf!
Glitter: OPI So Elegant
Floral Stamping Plate: W310 from Winstonia



















Here is a close up picture of the stamping nail!

It became more obvious when I put a matte top coat on top. Apparently I should have worn it that way! I actually really like the look of the matte on the stamping and on the plastic bag method nail. It's really different, which is awesome!


I sponged the glitter on for my accent nail, and did the plastic bag method for my middle finger and thumb. The pinky and pointer finger were both done with stamping!

Thanks for reading <3

Plastic Baggie Nails

Welcome back!

Today I wanted to share some nails that I did the other day using the Essie Resort 2015 collection! I found this collection in my box (yes, box) of untried polishes, and realized I'd never used them! They are all so pretty and cute, so I knew I had to find something to do with them.

To be honest, I had no idea what I was going to do when I sat down with them and began painting. I still had yet to ever attempt something with the "plastic bag" method, so I thought that would be fun to do, but what else? I added the flower accent nail, but still wanted one more nail with something beyond a plain color. When I painted the base, though, I knew what would fit perfectly...the Eiffel Tower!

Light Pink: Essie Time For Me Time
Brown: Essie Cocoa Karma
Purple: Essie Suite Retreat
Pink: Essie Stones 'n Roses
Black: Essie Licorice

I am so happy with how these turned out! I haven't been able to convince myself to take them off, because they are so fun and cute, but so easy, too! For the plastic bag nails, I followed the tutorial by Young Wild and Polished, which can be found here. Basically, all you do is put down big drops of polish, then put a piece of a plastic bag on it and smush it around to blend them all together a little bit. The flowers and Eiffel Tower were done using dotting tools!

Thanks for reading <3

Mix & Match Spring Nails

Welcome back!

Today I wanted to do something fun, so I did a mix and match with some spring colors! The Essie colors are from their spring collection.

Purple: Essie Flowerista

Nude: Essie Picked Perfect

Glitter: OPI Snow Globetrotter

I used a dotting tool for my thumb and pointer, and Nail Vinyls for the chevron nails.

Thanks for reading <3

#NailArtApr: Day 02

Welcome back!

Today was the first day of Nail Art April hosed by @californails on Instagram! The prompt for this was Pastel.

Purple: Wet n Wild Megalast Reject the Mainstream

Tan: Wet n Wild Megalast A Latte Love

Both of these polishes are from the new Wet n Wild Megalast Silver Lake collection. I used nail vinyls to make the chevrons, and a dotting tool to make the dotted nail! These were super easy, but I loved them!

Thanks for reading <3

Mani By Annie: Spring Nails

Welcome back!

The other day, I did my sister's nails for spring, and just wanted to share them!

Purple: Fingerpaints Endless Wear Hue Knew?

White: OPI Alpine Snow & Salon Perfect Nail Art Striper White Out

Yellow: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Sizzlin' Saffron

This was the first time I had used the Endless Wear polishes and I really liked it so far! It applied easily and so far my sister has not had any problems with chipping on the nails with both Endless Wear polish and top coat.

Thanks for reading <3

The Nail Art Guild: February 14

Welcome back!

Time for another bi-weekly Nail Art Guild prompt today! The prompt was "out of this world."

I was trying to think of a good, creative idea, but all I could think of was galaxy nails. I'd set my heart on that, but decided I would try different colors and maybe different effects than the last time or two I'd done them. Then it hit me: Valentine galaxies. It was simple, really. All I had to do was trade out all of the usual designs and colors for pinks and hearts! You can find my classic galaxy nails here.

Black: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Night Fright
White: Nicole by OPI Yoga Then Yogurt
Pink: L'Oreal Acid Watermelon
Purple: Maybelline The Color Show Bleached Neons Ultra Violet
Fine Glitter: Finger Paints He-Art Auction
Chunky Glitter: Essie Pinking About You

I did this just like any other galaxy nails, starting by painting my nails black, then topping with a quick dry top coat. After that, I took pieces of sponge and sponged on white, then pink, and finally a little bit of purple. The next common step would be to take fine glitter and paint it to look like little stars, so I did this, just with fine pink glitter! I also used chunky glitter to look like big stars, and of course it was somewhat pink. The final step would be to draw larger stars with white polish, but I drew hearts!

I'm so happy with the outcome of these nails! When I thought of it, I immediately tried it out on a nail wheel, and could not wait to do it again on my actual nails!

Thanks for reading <3

#NailArtJan Day 17

Welcome back!

The prompt for day 17 was "gradient." I was really excited to do these for some reason. I'm not sure why, because I've done gradients before. I started by applying one coat of white polish, and then a quick dry top coat. I let that dry for a few minutes, and then taped off my finger to help with cleanup in the end.

For my colors, I chose three colors from the China Glaze All Aboard collection. From lightest to darkest, they were All Aboard, Nice Caboose! and Conduct Yourself. These colors worked so nicely together. They blended well, and were opaque enough that I didn't need to do two layers on my nails, which was amazing because it saved a lot of time.

Thanks for reading <3

31 Day Challenge: Day 16

Welcome back!

Today's theme: geometric!

For this manicure, I used two polishes by Ginger + Liz in Bitch Fit (pink) and I'm So Over Him (purple). The silver is Salon Perfect Nail Art Silver Plated.

I first painted a base color on each nail; pink on the index and pinky, and purple on the middle and ring. Then, I applied a topcoat, and put striping tape down in different patterns. With the opposite color, I painted over the tape. Finally, I used the striper to trace the lines I made.

I really liked the way this turned out! Even better, it was pretty easy once you get used to using striping tape! The polishes were really good too. They were opaque, even and had a good formula.

Thanks for reading <3




*All opinions are my own. All polishes were purchased with my own money. I am not sponsored in any way.

31 Day Challenge: Day 6

Welcome!

Today's theme: Violet Nails!

I'm not too sure if this counts as "violet," but I just kind of changed it to purple. I used a nail polish from Francesca's for this. The name of the polish is Teeny Bikini.

I liked this polish. It took me three coats for full opacity. I thought it applied pretty smoothly, and had a decent formula. It was definitely not crazy opaque, but what I would consider to be pretty typical. At first it was streaky and not smooth, but each coat made it better. It wasn't too thin, but it wasn't thick either.

Overall, I would definitely give these polishes a try if you see them at the store! I don't remember exactly how much they are, but I believe it was around $4.00 or $5.00.

Thanks for reading <3

*All polishes were purchased with my own money. All opinions are truthful and my own.

31 Day Nail Challenge: Day 14

Day Fourteen: Flowers

Covergirl Outlast in Black Diamond

Sally Hansen in Mellow Yellow

Sinful Colors in Sweet Tooth

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Lively Lilac

Hello! Today is short and sweet. It was very easy to do, and I only used one polish that I had never used before.

The one that I had never used was the black Covergirl polish. I used this for the base, and it was nice! I really liked how I did not need as many coats as it takes with my black Sally Hansen polish. It also was a good choice, because it provided a nice background for the purple flowers. After that, I simply used a dotter for the center of the flowers, and the petals.

Also, I apologize for the poor quality, I'm having camera problems again :/

Thanks for reading <3