More Tronica

Just a quick, mostly pics post as I'm behind on my homework and need to get my nose to the grindstone.  Hi Def and Gamer Glam are my two favorites by far, unfortunately my camera tends to turn purples rather blue so the isn't color accurate.

Gamer Glam

 Pretty yes???

Thanks for stopping by.  Until next time, take care.

Worth Repeating - China Glaze - For Audrey

Aside from the ever present clouds and threat of rain I think spring has finally arrived.  The daffodils and tulips are spent and my flowering fruit trees are leaving drifts of petals on the drive way.  The robins are all in high gear for nesting material and bugs.

When I first put on For Audrey I was taken back to my childhood when a robin built her next rather low in a tree in our front yard.  My brother and I would wait for the mommy bird to fly off for food and ever so carefully climb up to peek over the edge to count the blue gems snuggled into the down of the nest.  (I'd like to add that no harm was done, the eggs hatched and the birdies grew up and flew away.)    It's been a while since I've seen a robins egg first hand but this color epitomizes spring to me.

 This color was actually based off of Tiffany's blue, yes, "that" Tiffany's, as in Breakfast At... and much like another classic (Wedgwood) blue I feel this color will be around for our enjoyment for a long time.  Soft but not too pale it can easily make the shift through winter, spring and summer and for some maybe even into fall.

Here I have 2/3 coats and as with most of my China Glaze polishes, application was a dream.

 As with all my Worth Repeating colors, China Glaze For Audrey is still readily available and under $12.  If you haven't added this lovely color to your collection as of yet I do highly recommend it.



Thanks so much for stopping by and reading and I do so enjoy getting your comments.  Until next time, have a lovely day!

I Juggle...Men by OPI

Whew, it has totally been one of those weeks.  Between work, school, family to do's and what not I've been getting more and more behind.  If I haven't responded to your comment I'm sorry, I'm getting to that, thanks for being patient with me, I appreciate all my wonderful readers.  So anyway, do you remember reading fairy tales where the hero or heroine would be gazing into a deep, dark, mysterious pool hidden somewhere deep in the forest?  In my imagination these pools were never slimy or gross, rather they were full of fairy light and secrets, hidden just below the surface.

I am totally, absolutly in love with I Juggle...Men because it gives that kind of dimension and mystery to nail polish.  It's from the Femme de Cirque collection that's out right now. Which is funny to me because the swatches I've seen of it over the rest of the colors of the collection are so pale you can hardly see it.  It's when you add it to a nice dark color that you get the full impact.  Ladies, run, don't walk and get this top coat!  I swear you won't regret it. 

I applied two coats of it over two coats of OPI's black (I should have done three, I noticed some streaks) and had to sit and gaze at my nails for the next bit.  Depending on the kind of light it radiates a beautiful blue or purple glow.  Blue in brighter light, purple in low or shadows.  When my boyfriend first saw it, his comment was "That's a really deep purple polish."  (I love it when he notices my nails.)  He had to grab my hand for a closer inspection when I told him it was black...with a top coat.

As a side note, I applied Seche Vite top coat which I've noticed is getting thicker and got my first bit of noticeable tip shrinkage as you probably noticed.  I was rather bummed about that but it's holding up quite well even though I've started my spring cleaning and am being pretty rough with my nails.

Do you think you'll pick up I Juggle...Men and add it to your collection?   Maybe you have already, do you love it?



Thanks so much for stopping by and reading and I do enjoy your comments.  Until next time, take care!

Put Some Glitter On It

I need to do more layering.  I realized that I have two bins of glitters/topcoats and hardly ever use them.  Maybe a topcoat week is in order.

I wanted to bling out my Secret Rendezvous a bit and found this NYX  Starry Silver Glitter top coat that went perfectly with it's little lavender and blue hex's in a holo silver glitter base.  I just let the hex's lie where they would rather than trying to place them myelf. This is two coats.

 I like glitter polishes once they've sat a bit, especially when they have larger bits in them. I know a lot of people swear by the toothpick and fish method, but I think the thicker consistency  makes it a lot easier to get get the bits on the brush and thereby to your nail.  Any goopyness can easily be smoothed out with a nice top coat.

How about you?  Do you have any tricks for getting your glitter polishes on?

Thanks so much for stopping by and reading and I love getting your comments.  Until next time, have a lovely day!

How about a Secret Rendezvous?

I showed you Color Club's Alter Ego collection that I picked up at Ross for $7.99.  I'm finally getting around to trying them.

This is Secret Rendezvous.  It's a lovely pale lavender that I really quite like. It reminds me of lilac petals, where they flare out from the little trumpets.  After the daffodils have bloomed, lilacs are my favorite spring flower.  I adore their scent and wished they bloomed all summer long.

This is three rather thick coats that got a bit dinged because I was over eager to do my clean up.  I started when the polish was still wet rather than letting it dry so I have some brush marks in there.  Oops.

This went on really easy.  I was afraid when I put the first coat on because it was so sheer.  I did get a little bit of bubbling on my pinky finger that I'm not sure the cause of, but other than that it came out quite lovely.

Thanks so much for stopping by and reading.  Until next time I hope you have a great day.

Madam Crimson, All Dressed Up

Still gray and rainy here in my neck of the woods.  I hope somewhere the sun is shinning.

I really do love Madam Crimson by QRS but I wanted to dress it up a bit.  But how does one dress up a red as deep and elegant as this is to start with?

I decided on black french tips with an extra bit of glam on my ring finger in the form of a faux-nad rose.

I really like the way it came out.  Very classy.  I think if I'd had a teeny tiny, deep red jewel for the center of the rose it would be perfect but oh well. 

I'm getting the hang of my shorter nails finally.  I would rather have more of a free edge for french tips, but I'm learning to like the very narrow french as well.   Also, I don't have as much free space as I would like for artwork but it's becoming fun figuring out how much I can fit onto them now.

Thanks so much for reading.  And I do so appreciate the comments you leave.  Until next time, take care.

Madam Crimson by QRS

Madam Crimson is a lovely, deep, red, think Miss Scarlet all grown up.

Unfortunately I'm scheduled for gray skys and rain for the next several days (at least it's not snow) so full sun pictures are not likely to happen, but it's a very pretty color and I thought you might enjoy it. .

It does have a tendancy to bring out some ruddyness in my skin but I still like it. This is three/four coats topped with a thick coat of Seche Vite.  Love S.V.  Look at the reflection!

It needed a good mix when I started using it, there were some rather undesirable lumps in the polish when I first started using it that also necessitated a good brush wipe.  An exception rather than a rule for this brand of polish.

Now, I need to solicite some advice from you my readers.  I am slathering on loads of lotion (Curel Intensive, Gold Bond, Aquaphor) as well as my Burt's Bee's cuticle cream but working with fabric and paper and washing my hands frequently because I handle money is just sucking any moisture out of my hands.  My cuticles  are a hot mess and I was so frustrated with them snagging on things and looking so ratty that I broke down and...I hate to admit it, but... I cut them.   Arrrgh, I know, I know.  Bad me!!!  So, any suggestions? (Preferably something I can run to a store to get and isn't too expensive.)

Cherry Blossoms - Inspiration and Tutorial (Pic Heavy)

Happy Mothers Day!  In honor of the day I want to share with you my most absolute favorite nail art that I've done in a long time.  I'm practically dancing I'm so excited with how well it turned out!  This is going to linger on the nails for a few days (or until work destroys it). 

This is what I see whenever I look out my back door.  A beautiful tart cherry tree that after a rough start is blooming away. 

 

Aren't the blooms just so pretty?  They are the inspiration for this mani that I want to share with you today.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.   

 

Interested in trying this look yourself?  Let's get started!

You will need

Base color of your choice (Nubar Baby Blue)

Clear coat (not quick drying)

Quick dry top coat (Seche Vite)

Coordinating glitter (Princess Nail Design, no name)

Acrylic paints in tan, white and pink (or whatever color of blossoms you would like)

A small liner brush

A fan brush

A small dotting tool

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Step 1:  Apply your base color to get full opacity .   

Grab some blue glitter  and your fan brush.

Step 2:  Apply a coat of the non-quick drying top coat and using the fan brush dipped in glitter barely sprinkle it on the tip of the nail.  Brush off any excess and follow with another clear coat.  Let the surface dry before moving onto the next step.  This is also where I did any cleanup from where I painted outside the lines.

Next grab your your liner brush and your tan acrylic paint

Step 3:  Draw in your branches.  I start at the base of the branch and work my way to the tips so there's naturally less paint on the brush toward the tips where I want them thin.  Make them all jagged and forked, just like a real branch.  Each one is unique.

Now for your blooms, grab your dotting tool and a drop or two of the white and pink acrylic paint.

Step 4:  Using your dotting tool and white paint, dot in the beginnings of your blooms.  You'll notice in the main pic that they're made up of three dots.  So put down some that are two dots side by side and some single.

 Step 5:  Using the pink, go in and add the dots to finish off your blooms.  Sprinkle in some single dots for buds that haven't opened yet.

Final Step:  Once the paint is completely dry go over it with a thick layer of your quick dry top coat then sit back and enjoy!

  I think that the addition of those clear coats really help to create the look of depth, what do you think? 

I want to thank you so much for reading.  If you decide to give this a try come back and tell me so I can check it out!  Have a lovely day, and until next time, take care. 

Why I love Ross Dress for Less...

Cause I can get a seven polishs of Color Club's Alter Ego collection for $7.99.

Score!!!

I do wish they'd label the bottles rather than the packaging though.  Oh well, small price to pay.

Thanks so much for stopping by and reading!

Sapphire Silk by Orly

I picked up another of the Precious collection by Orly.  This time it's Sapphire Silk. 

 

It's a bit ragged, I painted them the night before and was going to get pictures before I left for work but it didn't work out that way.  Pretend they're all pretty and perfect ok?  Actually I'm starting to think my work is a good indicator of a good polish.  The constant friction of fabric is the demise of most 

This was two coats of deep teal, almost jelly, squishy goodness. 

 I'm not sure why but this seemed a little stark on me.  I usually don't have any problems with dark polishes, especially dark, blue polishes.  Maybe it was just an off day or something.  

Again, I am totally loving the Precious Collection.  So far not one disappointment.  If you can get your hands on it, I highly recommend doing so. 

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Until next time, take care!