OPI Russian Navy Suede With Topcoat & A Giveaway Roundup

I love my OPI Russian Navy Suede! This is 2 coats and a topcoat. I love it with or without a topcoat. Gorgeous! My heart would break if I ever lost the ring in this picture. Without a doubt my favorite material possession. I picked it up in New Orleans several years ago.

There are some really good giveaways in today's roundup. I love blog giveaways because you actually have a pretty good chance of winning! (And you may find yourself some new readers!) Check out the Point Blank Art giveaway (#6) for example. There are only 4 entries at the time of this posting! Go enter and tell me if you win! Also check out #11. You can win an amazing prize pack that includes products from Illamasqua, MAC, Zoya & many more. Anyone who likes traditional tattoo art and handmade awesomeness should check out #15. Only 25 entries so far!

Giveaway Roundup

1. Win your choice of Flirty Aprons from Evenflo & Two of a Kind. Ends 2/1.
2. Win 2 pairs of socks of your choice from Ozone Socks & Mommy 2 Two Girls. I love over the knee socks & they have some really unique options! Ends 2/1.
3. Win a $50 gift certificate to Snapfish from Lipstick to Crayons. Ends 2/1.
4. Win Cowgirl Chocolates from Mommy Loves Giveaways. They make all sorts of hot & spicy chocolates that I have been wanting to try for well over a year! Ends 2/1.
5. Win a Slanket from a Mom's Balancing Act. (The word slanket makes me laugh.) Ends 2/1.
6. Win your choice of prints from Point Blank Art & Nerdlike. You may remember me telling you about Point Blank's prints in my Halloween post. Go enter this one now! There are only a few entries so far. Ends 2/1.
7. Win your choice of shapewear from DuMi & the Funky Monkey. Ends 2/1.
8. Win your choice of Flirty Aprons from Silver Savings. Ends 2/2.
9. Win a Shabby Apple dress from This Mama Rocks. Ends 2/2.
10. Win Hampton Sun Sunless Tanning Gel from Sweeps4Bloggers. Ends 2/2.
11. Win a prize package of beauty goodies worth almost $1000 from Krasey Beauty. Ends 2/3.
12. Win a Kodak Digital Frame from Mommy Goggles. Ends 2/3.
13. Win your choice of Flirty Aprons from a Little of This and a Little of That. Ends 2/3.
14. Win a Sodastream from Sweeps4Bloggers. Ends 2/3.
15. Win a set of articulated paper dolls (these are so cool!) from Illustrated Ink & Tattoo Tales. Ends 2/3.
16. Win a $50 gift certificate to Sanpfish from Rockin Mama. Ends 2/3.
17. Win a $25 gift certificate to Good Judy from Handmade Guru. ends 2/3.
18. Win Cowgirl Chocolates from Fab Find Foodie. Ends 2/3.
19. Win a CleanRest package (for folks with allergies!) from Emmys Boos ans Rawrs. Ends 2/4.
20. Win an Air-O-Swiss humidifier from Thanks, Mail Carrier. Ends 2/4.
21. Win a Parazul handbag from Theta Mom. Ends 2/4.
22. Win an Adi Bakshi scarf from Fashion Fling. Ends 2/4.
23. Win a $50 gift certificate to Omaha Steaks from the B Keeps Us Honest. Ends 2/4.
24. Win a sweater & shirt from Land's End & the B Keeps Us Honest. Ends 2/4.
25. Win your choice of Swanky Aprons from the Adventures of Paul & Natalie. Ends 2/4.
26. Win your choice of Flirty Aprons from Rockin Mama. Ends 2/4.
27. Win a $70 gift certificate to J. Fold from Born 2 Impress. Ends 2/4.
28. Win a $40 gift certificate to Skindecent and a jar of Manicure in a Minute from Handmade Guru. Ends 2/4.

Thanks for reading!
April

More about → OPI Russian Navy Suede With Topcoat & A Giveaway Roundup

Kiss Me!

Hey Y'all! This is my 1st entry to Configure1973's Valentine's Nail Art Contest. She is allowing 2 entries so I have done one more as well, so stay tuned for that!

For this design I wanted to do something really different so I decided to create lips puckered for a kiss. It didn't turn out quite as well as I wanted because the french manicure was messy. But I figured out a way to correct that mistake for next time.

The products I used for this design were red glitter & white glitter acrylics that I mixed myself. Clear Acrylic and a rhinestone. I have finished the tutorial so please enjoy! Check out Configure1973's youtube page for more info on the contest and some great tutorials!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

More about → Kiss Me!

SHOCKING PINK

These are acrylic nails in shocking pink and black onyx with 3d acrylic hearts. I used nail polish to paint the swirls.

These nails have clay dots and conversation hearts.

More about → SHOCKING PINK

Zoya Angel

Angel was one I had never been interested in before, until I saw it in real life. I really adored Angel, but it was just missing something for me to love it...

Angel is a baby pink frost. A little darker than OPI Suzi & The Lifeguard though.

Just two coats here. Formulas amazing and everything. I think maybe it was the frosty finish that put me off? Anyway she has found a new home :)

Angel is a part of Zoya's main line.

What do you think of Angel and 'Frosts'?

More about → Zoya Angel

From all my heart !

Yes with this manicure i am giving away a piece of my heart to my beloved reader :)
Wow, i guess this is the most "Hearty" manicure i ever had.
I realized that i missed stamping a lot, recently i was all about hand painting,m that have not done much of the Konad.
I am eying really hard all those new image plates available at OC Nails - they are delightful, i should definitely get it.

More about → From all my heart !

Sinful Vacation Time & A Giveaway Roundup

This is 2 coats of Sinful Vacation Time. This is a nice neutral shade if I need to be conservative with my nails. I really can't figure out what color it is though. Dusty, brownish pink? Help me out ladies. Nice formula & easy application. $2 at Walgreens. Here it is with Konad plate M63 in hounds-tooth. I used E.L.F. Dark Navy ($1) for stamping. Not my best Konad effort, but that hounds-tooth pattern sure is amazing!

Giveaway Roundup

• Win POM Wonderful from Mint Green With Envy. Hurry ends tonight!
• Win a set of pillowcases from Snooze City Designs & Sweeps4Bloggers. Ends 1/30.
• Win a box of Dove Chocolate Discoveries Truffles from Rockin Mama. Ends 1/30.
• Win a Price-Pfister Faucet from Multi-Testing Mommy. Ends 1/31.
• Win a Water Lily Showerhead from Evolve Shower Heads & Night Owls Perch. Ends 1/31.
• Win a Sodastream from Confessions of a First Time Mommy. Ends 1/31.

Thanks for reading!
April

More about → Sinful Vacation Time & A Giveaway Roundup

PERFECTLY PINK

This is my "perfectly pink" client. She loooooves pink so these nails are perfect for her. I custom mixed a glitter just for her. I named the glitter mix "cindie". Super cute nails for a super cute client!

These nails are acrylic in shocking pink and nebula. This client was a little shocked by the shocking pink but I think this might just be the start of her future pink nails.

More about → PERFECTLY PINK

OPI Play 'Till Midnight

This was the other amazing navy my partner bought me for one Christmas, Play 'Till Midnight.

Play Till Midnight came out in the 'Holiday in Toyland' collection for Christmas 2008. Far out that went past quickly.

Now Play Till Midnight doesn't look as amazing inside as it does outside. It looks like a dulled/greyed navy indoors or with no sunlight. But outside in the sun really brings out that blue and purple shimmer.

Truly amazing. So amazing that every female in my family has a bottle!

I remember I went through a phase where every time I wore white - this was my manicure.

Play Till Midnight's formula is perfection, wouldn't change anything about it. Wearing two coats here.

More about → OPI Play 'Till Midnight

Sinful Big Daddy

This is three coats of Sinful Big Daddy. Nice formula & easy application. This a great option for any orange lovers on a budget at $2 a bottle. As far as I can tell it's somewhere between a creme and a jelly. The picture is very color accurate.

Thanks for reading!
April

More about → Sinful Big Daddy

New nails and ring

This is what i came up yesterday . I really love love love the colors and the design, especially how it is on the ring, however it looks for me, like i need longer nails to really pull it off.
I ll keep the ring and do this design again, on longer nails

More about → New nails and ring

WARNING!

This is a warning to all of my clients: I just went a little crazy buying new nail art stuff. It may be even harder to choose what you want on your nails at your next appointment but don't worry, they will be super cool!
On these nails I used glitter from sparklesnailproducts.com.

I created little 3d acrylic flowers all over these nails.

This is a mix of clear glitter I created that I named "Brandy" after a super cool client of mine!

More about → WARNING!

Flashy Zoya

I've been dying to try out these sparkly Zoya colors since before Christmas. I have "Luna" (Silver glitter) and "Nova" (bright pink glitter), and got out my Migi black/white pen and Essie "Matte About You" to experiment too. I started with two coats of Luna over Zoya basecoat. As you can see, my middle nail finally grew long enough for the break in the middle to tear off, so I'm stuck with a super-short middle nail for a couple weeks. I can't actually cut my nails that short anymore - the skin underneath has grown out past the tip of my fingers (presumably to support my normally long nails). I had to trim the skin off where my nail broke for that one - a painful proposition. You can actually still see the part I couldn't cut sticking up a little past the nail. Thank goodness my nails grow very fast!

Then two coats of Nova on the diagonal (I don't know why, but I'm really drawn to diagonal designs).

As you can see below, I experimented with the design I had in mind on my pinky finger. I often do that because if I need to redo it, it's a very small area to remove/re-polish. I liked it, so I started with white curving back and forth across the colors. 

Then I put black over it, going the opposite way. My lines aren't perfect by any means, but I think the "squiggles" give the design movement and a little dimension.

Then I tried the matte top coat over my pinky nail, just to see how it would look. You can see how the matte is definately a little different below - it accentuates all the little bits of glitter, rather than just being super-shiny. It doesn't really affect Luna much, but I liked it over Nova. Just not with this particular design. I'm still a high-gloss lover at heart.

So I went over them all with two coats of Zoya topcoat, and cleaned them up. Aside from a white mistake on my right hand middle finger, I think they turned out pretty well. They're quite eye-catching and flashy.

What's on your tips this week? Anything fun for these wintery days?

More about → Flashy Zoya

Queen of Hearts {entry for Dollface22772's nail art contest}

Hey Y'all! Here is my most recent contest entry to Dollface22772's Alice in Wonderland nail art contest. Be sure to check out her you tube channel she has great designs! And check out her blog while you're at it ;^)

Whenever I think of that story the Queen of Hearts always comes to mind. Being that it's almost Valentine's day I just couldn't resist creating a heart themed entry.I really love the way that the design turned out.

For this design I created a french manicure with Barely Legal polish from Sinful colors and Kaleidescope glitter polish from Wet n' Wild. I also used silver and silver glitter nail art polish to make the manicure line. All of these polishes I got from my local drug store and I got the nail art stripers at the local Beauty Mart. {AKA hair store =)}



Then I created the hearts with red and black glitter acrylics. I got the acrylics and the nail art sculpting brush set from Maytheps Ebay store. I didn't really like the way that it looked until...I added my favorite silver mini beads!!! LOL As you know I purchased them from karlinsu88nailexpert ebay store.

Hope you like this design and here are a few pictures.







And finally a full hand tutorial! Sorry it took so long to get to this point. Take care y'all. More Valentine's day designs coming up shortly!

More about → Queen of Hearts {entry for Dollface22772's nail art contest}

OPI Sugar Cookie Pink

I think Sugar Cookie Pink was my favourite out of the Sweet Pink collection. Especially with such a cute name.

Sugar Cookie Pink is really different. It's like its highly pigmented and super sheer at the same time! Confusing aren't I?

I mean with a regular sheer polish you eventually get some sort of build-up but with Sugar Cookie Pink you only build up the pinkness, not the coverage. I am wearing four coats here.

It looks really pretty as just one or two coats as well. It gives your nails a healthy but cute glow to it.

Sugar Cookie Pink's formula was a little bit different, it went on a little bit thick but you really only need thin coats as you aren't going to get anymore coverage than the first coat. Plus Sugar Cookie is super glossy. Which I really liked!

I can tell I'll be wearing this one a lot :D

More about → OPI Sugar Cookie Pink

China Glaze Black Magic Special from VNS

Good day everyone. I am bored out of my mind. I'm off work this whole week except Friday. And school starts Thursday. I'm kind of excited for school to start, because at least it'll give me something to do -_-

So today I have the special glitter made for Victoria's Nail Supply. I first saw this on Mary's blog and I thought to myself sure this is a must have.

I must say that I am SLIGHTLY disappointed. The copper glitter on the bottle looks so opaque, but once applied on the nail is rarely to be seen. It took me 3 coats which was quite bumpy but after a top coat it was fine. I also used China Glaze magic matte to see how it would be like compared to Fortune Teller. Unfortunately it is nothing compared to Fortune Teller, as fortune teller was more glittery than this black magic. However, you still see the coppery glitters once mattified.






That is all I have for today. Once again, if you're a follower and you don't see your blog on my blog list, please let me know and I'll be glad to add you! Thanks again :)

More about → China Glaze Black Magic Special from VNS

Custom rings to match Nail design

Hello my Dear Readers.
I want to introduce you thE idea of custom made rings that would match nail design. I saw some pictures online and i think it looks really polished and stunning. The minute i saw this idea, i decided that i am going to have it :) For those sets i made freehand painted design, but i believe that Konad Patterns will work really great as well
As a base, i used transparent resin rings that comes really chip and in variety of sizes - i ordered it from e-bay - for about $8 for 50 pc. Rings can be painted with both - acrylic paints or regular polishes - to match fingernails designs.
When design is gone from the nails i guess ring can be left as a souvenir, or thrown away as disposable.
Please let me know how do you like it? On those pictures rings and nails that i made for my girlfriends this weekend, i was glad to know that they loved it. Would you try it yourself?
Sakura for Natasha

And sexy "Viktoria" for my friend Vika

More about → Custom rings to match Nail design

American Apparel Has NOT Been Recalled

Someone wrote an anonymous comment on my American Apparel post about the new line being recalled sometime last week. I couldn't find any information to support the assertion, so I chose not to publish the comment. I have since started to hear more rumblings about this but I couldn't find any information that seemed reliable. I decided to go straight to the company and ask them for the truth.

Here is American Apparel's email response.

Hey April,

Really strange about the comment and thank you for letting us know. The response to the nail lacquer completely exceeded our expectations and we sold out of the initial run almost immediately. We weren't totally pleased with some of the packaging and we worked with the manufacturer to make improvements last week. They should all be back in all the US and Canadian stores within the next week and half. It's all being bottled as we speak, but that's the reason you can't get them right now.

I'll send you some new samples when they arrive at the factory. There will be almost no discernible difference to an outsider but we obsess about quality. It's actually the reason we make all our products in the USA - so we can monitor it like this and make changes on the fly.

Thanks!

Nichole

PS: Same address?

Nichole has asked that I not post her contact information because she is not the company's official PR rep. She says she will be happy to answer any questions from my readers though!

So they have NOT been recalled. Instead they sold out of the initial production. My guess would be that they are changing the bottle a bit since some were breaking in transit.

Please pass this info along to your readers if you think they might be interested.

Thanks for reading!
April

Update: American Apparel also has this to say in response to the article on Jezebel this morning.

On another note, one thing we're taking very seriously is the disposal of the bottles we had in the stores. Even though our polish was DBP, toluene, and formaldehyde-free, we don't want our stores just tossing it in the trash. We're using our internal shipping and distribution line to arrange a pickup and removal of the polish to make sure it gets done right.

More about → American Apparel Has NOT Been Recalled

Lippmann Collection Don't Tell Mama

Hello fellow nail polish lovers! Today I have for you guys Lippmann Collection's Don't Tell Mama. A very vampy green with green micro-glitter shimmers. First picture was taken with no sun because of all these gloomy days -_- But in that picture you can see how dark the green is and the slight green micro-glitters. Second picture taken under fluorescent lights to see more of the greens. Done under two coats with a top coat.





So that is all I have for today! <3

PS- IF YOU'RE A FOLLOWER AND NOT ON MY BLOGROLL PLEASE LET ME KNOW SO I CAN ADD YOU!!!! THANK YOU!

More about → Lippmann Collection Don't Tell Mama

Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine picks Zoya Nail Polish

When recently asked to gather their favorite beauty goods of all time the staff at Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine gave Zoya Nail Polish in Ibiza a great navy nod.

More about → Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine picks Zoya Nail Polish

Honorable Mention for my entry to pinkpuppuya's Winter Wonderland contest!!!

 

I was very happy when I saw the video post of the winners for the contest! Although I did not win I did receive an honorable mention for my design so that made me feel great. There were quite a few entries for the contest by some if my favorite youtube nail artists.

Be sure to check out her channel, Etsy store and brand new blog!

More about → Honorable Mention for my entry to pinkpuppuya's Winter Wonderland contest!!!