Christmas 2015: Candy Canes

Welcome back!

I loved these so much when I did them last year, I decided to do them again!

White: OPI Alpine Snow
Red: China Glaze Peppermint to Be
Silver: Essie No Place Like Chrome

I used nail vinyls to create the stripes and chevrons. This year, I did smaller chevrons than last year, and I think I like this look better. I also used a shimmery red, instead of just a cream red. I was really happy with how these turned out! It makes me want to redo them again next year, but I also want to experiment with more candy cane looks.

Thanks for reading <3

Halloween 2015: Stripes and Glitter

Welcome back!

I do dotticures so often, I thought I would mix it up this time and try some stripes instead! I love the way these turned out, and I love the accent nail with black glitter.

The stripes were done using some straight vinyls in different sizes. I painted the base white and then used a brush to fill in some of the stripes. Once they were done, I used the silver and added a couple accent stripes to make it stand out. To put the glitter on, I used a latex free makeup sponge to apply it.

White: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri OMGhost
Black: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Night Fright
Orange: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Pumpkin Queen
Silver: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear Celeb City
Glitter: Sally Hansen Luxe Lace Ruffle

Thanks for reading <3

31 Day Challenge: Day 12

Welcome back!

Prompt: Stripes

White: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri OMGhost
Pink: Orly Color Blast Winter Blush
Blue: Orly Color Blast A Happy...Puddle
Silver: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear Celeb City

I found a couple of fun colors for this, and thought multicolored stripes would be awesome! I didn't want to do five fingers of stripes, though, so I added some fun flowers and a solid accent nail. I love this color scheme so much! It's fun and girly, and it works for lots of seasons, I think! I love pairing the dark blue with bright pink, and the silver accents, because it works for winter, but I think it could also work for spring, too, especially with the flowers on it!

For the stripes nails, I used a variety of sizes of straight Nail Vinyls, found here. The flowers were done using dotting tools. The pink and blue polish were both a part of the Elsa collection that was in Walgreens around the springtime.

Check back tomorrow for more nail art! <3

Splatters and Stripes

Welcome back!

I tried something new! Again! There are so many designs and ideas out there for nail art, I couldn't possibly try them all. I'm doing my best, though! I thought the splatter would look good with stripes though. Something uniform, something not. And I really like to look of it!

Cream: Essie Wrap Me Up (Cashmere Matte)
Pink: Essie Brides No Grooms

To make the stripes, I used different widths of Straight Nail Vinyls. For the splatter, I followed the millions of tutorials out there, and stuck a straw in my nail polish, then blew it out onto my nail. So Easy! It actually dried fairly quickly, too. I was worried about smudges, but I did it, and topcoated it about 15-20 minutes later with no problem at all.

Thanks for reading <3

Mani By Annie: Fourth of July: Dots and Stripes

Welcome back!

Today, I painted one of my friends nails for the Fourth of July! Here's what I did.

Red: Sinful Shine Mirror Mirror

White: Essie Urban Jungle

Blue: Essie Style Cartel

Silver: Essie No Place Like Chrome

Glitter: Essie Set In Stone

For the stripe nails, I painted white, then used super skinny straight Nail Vinyls. I used a dotting tool for the polka dots, and then tape that I cut out in the shape of a heart to make the silver accent nail. It's hard to see the heart, but it's there. <3

Thanks for reading <3

Fourth of July: Dotted American Flag

Welcome back!

Today I finally have some Fourth of July nails for you! These are inspired by the flag, but I did dots instead of stars!

Red: Sally Hansen Patent Gloss Moto

White: Pop•arazzi Icing on the Cake

Blue: Sinful Colors Blue Persuassion

Silver Glitter: Sephora by OPI Flurry Up!

The blue polish was textured, and I used Nail Vinyls to make the stripes. The silver was done using the glitter sponging method.

Thanks for reading <3

Dr. Seuss Nails

Welcome back!

Today I have some fun Dr. Seuss nails to share! I teach summer recreation classes in my community, and today we did a Dr. Seuss themed class. It was so much fun, and always is, so I painted my nails for the occasion! I was inspired by five of his books for this.

Thumb: Oh, The Places You'll Go

Pink: Salon Perfect Put A Ring On It

Purple: Salon Perfect Lilacking Control

Blue: Salon Perfect Cold As Ice

Green: Salon Perfect Mint Julep

Yellow: Salon Perfect Mellow Yellow

White: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri OMGhost

For these, I started with a white base, because I wanted the pastels to be more vibrant. On top of the white, I painted three stripes, one each of green, purple and pink. I added top coat, then placed on some french tip Nail Vinyls on top of the larger stripes. Between the vinyls, I painted yellow and blue, creating more stripes like the front of the book.

Pointer: One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

Yellow: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Sizzlin' Saffron

White: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri OMGhost

Green: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri I-rush Luck

Red: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Rapid Red

Blue: Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art Pen Blue

These nails were very simple. All I did was paint the nail yellow, add top coat to make the nail smoother for my drawings, and then draw on the fish on the front of the book.

Middle: The Lorax

Orange: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Pumpkin Queen

Yellow: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Sizzlin' Saffron

White: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri OMGhost

Blue: Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art Pen Blue

After painting an orange base, I used dotting tools to freehand the mustache and eyebrows on The Lorax. The center of the eyes were done with the pen, which was great because it was easy to make it a fine point.

Ring: The Cat In The Hat

White: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri OMGhost

Red: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Rapid Red

Another easy nail here. All it required was white base with the quick dry top coat on. Once it was dry, I placed straight Nail Vinyls on, and painted the red on top.

Pinky: Green Eggs and Ham

Orange: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Pumpkin Queen

White: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri OMGhost

Green: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri I-rush Luck

To freehand the eggs and ham, I used a couple of different sized dotting tools. This was one of the easiest nails.

Thanks for reading <3

Minimal Stripe & Glitter

Welcome back!

The other day I had a meeting for work, and I didn't want to have any crazy graduation nail art. I can't have just a solid color, so I wanted some simple nail art that would look good still! This is what I came up with.

Pink: Morgan Taylor Ella of a Girl
White: OPI Alpine Snow
Glitter: Essie Rock at the Top

To make the stripes, I painted my nail pink first, and then I used some straight Nail Vinyls and painted white on top of that. I sponged the glitter on, because that was the easiest way to get it on that heavy.

Thanks for reading <3

Halloween Nails 2014: Part 2

Welcome back!

Here are the rest of my Halloween manicures from this year!

These were a twist on the classic and simple french manicure. To create the french manicure, I used the Sally Hansen Diamond Strength French Manicure Pen Kit in Barely There. After that was done, I used the Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art Stripers in Orange and Black.

This is a sort of mix 'n match manicure. For the orange, I used China Glaze Stoked to be Soaked from their Off Shore Collection from this summer. The white was Salon Perfect Sugar Cube, and I used the Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art Striper in Black for the stripes.

Next up is my spooky Haunted House mani. The base purple is Wet 'n Wild Megalast Trippin' On The Boardwalk. The details were done with Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art Stripers in Black and Yellow.

This mani was inspired by a witch. The base is OPI Do You Have This Color in Stock-holm? from the Nordic collection. For the spider webs, I used Kiss Nail Art Stripers in White and Silver Glitter. I put the white down first, and then topped it all with the glitter to make it a little more fun and girly. The hat and cauldron, including the outlines of them, were done with the Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art Pens in White, Green, and Black.

My final Halloween manicure was a trick-or-treat candy manicure! The base color is OPI Skating on Thin Ice-land. The candy corn nail was done using Sally Hansen Insta-Dri OMGhost, Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear Sun Kissed and Mellow Yellow. I also used OMGhost for the white on my other nails. The words and details on the candy were done using the Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art Pens in Orange, Yellow, Blue and Pink.

I'm really happy with my Halloween manicures this year, and I'm happy I got so many done! I had even more ideas, but I guess I'll just have to wait until next year for them!

Thanks for reading <3

31 Day Challenge: Day 25

Welcome back!

Today's theme: inspired by fashion!

I was inspired to do a plaid and tweed mani! I had a new topper by Revlon that I wanted to try. It is called Tweed Mini, and it is what I have on my middle and ring fingers. I liked it a lot! I only needed two coats on top of my base color and it's very opaque! Especially for being a topper. The only thing to keep in mind about it that can be tricky, is that you have to work quickly. Normally with a topper, the pieces in it can be spread out, so wherever you put the brush first is not going to be where they stay necessarily. For this, the first place the brush touches keeps a lot of those pieces behind, causing that spot to be very dense. I think I did a good job about fixing it though.

My plaid nails were done with Milani Nail Art Blue Print and Salon Perfect Nail Art in Black Ink. I think they turned out well, but I've also done stripes a lot before!

The base for all my nails was Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Matte White Pick It Fence.

Thanks for reading <3



*I am not sponsored in any way.

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 12

Welcome back!

Today's theme: stripes!

For this, I really wanted to use a couple of new stripers that I had from Salon Perfect. It was kind of inspired by plaid, but I wanted to keep it a little simpler, and use less stripes than plaid would have.

My base color was Zoya Carey. For the stripes, I started by putting down the pattern that I wanted in white, using Salon Perfect Nail Art in  White Out. For the colors, I used Salon Perfect Nail Art in Pretty in Pink and Spring. Once it was done, I topped it with NYC One Minute Color in Matte Me Crazy.

I really like the way this turned out, but I just need to get better at making good stripes.

Thanks for reading <3


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

31 Day Challenge: Day 9

Welcome back!

Today's theme: Rainbow nails!

For this, I did a little less traditional "rainbow" look. I used all of the colors of the rainbow, in different patterns on each nail.

On my index finger, I used Wet n Wild Fergie in Velvet Lounge. For the green tip, I first put white polish down, then on top of that, I used Color Club Twiggie.

On the middle finger, I used Zoya Brooklyn, and the dots were done with Pixi Amazing Amethyst.

The ring finger was Orly Skinny Dip, and the stripes were done with Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art Striper in Orange.

Finally, on the pinky was Flower Beauty's Aster Place, with Nicole by OPI in Be Awesome.

Overall, this look was okay. Definitely for people who like having unmatching nail art.

Thanks for reading <3



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

31 Day Challenge: Day 7

Welcome back!

Today's prompt: black & white!

I went with a mix and match look for today. I had several polishes and such that I hadn't used that I wanted to try.

On my thumb, I used Salon Perfect Sugar Cube, and Sally Hansen Big Smoky Top Coat. I had never tried this top coat before. I liked it! It's definitely going to be best on top of white polish, but I'm also interested in applying it on top of a fire pattern, or something like that.

I used the same white base on my index and middle finger as on my thumb. On my ring and pinky fingers, I used Wet n Wild Wild Shine Black Creme. I had never tried this black before. It applied smoothly, and I got it opaque in just two coats! On top of my index finger, I used China Glaze Whirled Away. On my middle finger, I used the Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art Striper in Black, and the same one in White on my ring finger. Finally, on my pinky, I used the new Salon Perfect top coat in Spot On.

Overall, I'm very pleased with this look, and like the nail polishes that I chose! I would definitely recommend them, and all but the China Glaze are drugstore brands, so they are very affordable!

Thanks for reading <3

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

31 Day Nail Challenge: Day 25

Day Twenty-Five: Inspired by Fashion

Sinful Colors in Ruby Ruby

Sinful Colors in Snow Me White

Kiss Nail Art in Black

I was having a hard time trying to find a good "fashion statement" or something that was actually current. Then, I was flipping through my Glamour magazine, and found this picture on an ad for Banana Republic!

Creating it was really easy after that. The white nail with the black design is not the best, but it was hard to even see exactly what it was on the shirt underneath. But I thought it turned out okay! (Although the picture quality is not the best...)

Thanks for reading <3

31 Day Nail Challenge: Day 21

Day Twenty-One: Inspired by Color (Pink)

Base colors--

     Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Straw-Ready

     Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Petal Pusher

     Spoiled by Wet n Wild in Tip Your Waitress

     Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Gone Grey

     OPI in DS Radiance

Top colors--

     Ulta in Starry Night

     Kiss Nail Art in Beach Pink

     Kiss Nail Art in Silver Glitter

     Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat in Coral Collide

     Sally Hansen Gem Crush in Razzle Dazzler

I did what I do when I am "inspired" by a color. I use that color as much as possible, with different designs, shades, and a couple neutral colors thrown in.

There were 4 polishes I had never used that I used on this one.

1. Ulta in Starry Night--This was the glitter that I used on my thumb. I really liked it, and it was not horrible price! Most chunky glitters that I find are $8 or $9. This was only $6, or free, since I bought it on buy two get one free...
2. Spoiled in Tip Your Waitress--This was a hot pink color, which I have not bought one of in a long time! It was really good, plus it was mostly matte. Which is different for a bright color.
3. Crackle in Coral Collide--I have used Crackle polishes by Sally Hansen before. But this one has a shimmery finish, which the others were just shiny or even matte. I liked the color, but because of the sheerness, it made it hard to apply thick enough in one stroke.
4. Gem Crush in Razzle Dazzler--I liked the Gem Crush! It was pretty much just like any other glitter polish that you can get, however.

Thanks for reading <3