Chrsitmas Baubles

Just a quickie tonight.  Finally just got the kids to bed and still have presents to wrap before Santa arrives.

Here is a quick Christmas mani I wore yesterday.  The base is OPI Designer de better from the Muppets collection.  Totally love that polish which I just got in the mail on Friday.  The baubles are stamped in Konad special polish in red and green, using the bauble image on the Bundle Monster plates.  

From a distance this mani looks nice a Christmassy, but up close I think they more look like upside down balloons.

Goodnight everyone. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with your friends and families.

KOTD: Random Ribbons Funky French

Lately, I've been finding myself trying to push myself to be more and more creative with nail art.  More times than not, it's just me thinking about designs before falling asleep, but sometimes it actually comes to fruition.  This was one of those ideas that actually made it to my nails.

I started by using a base coat of Orly Love Each Other, a purple shimmer top coat, so the color of my natural nails could show through.  I want to experiment more and more with konadding on bare (basecoated) nails.  I then applied a konad design using plate m63.  I used the ribbon stamp and three different colors, ChG Grape Pop (bright purple creme), ChG Light as Air (lavender creme), and ChG Devotion (a purple/silver metallic).  I made sure the pattern was completely random by only using a part of it, or turning it in a different direction before stamping.  I then topped with a coat of Out the Door.

I waited about 2 hours for my konad design and base coat to be completely set before I applied a funky french to my tips using one coat of ChG Grape Pop (I had to go back and touch up a few patchy spots, but the majority is one coat) .  To get clean lines, I used Orly French Manicure Guides and waited 20 minutes or so until they were fully dry. Lastly, as I felt it needed a final element to look cohesive, I added a glitter line using Art Deco Striper in Silver Glitter under the French line.  I then topped the entire nail with another coat of Out the Door to set it.

Okay, I realize it looks like I just threw everything but the kitchen sink on my nails, but I really love this.  I love my natural nail color peeking though the konad.  I love the subtle sparkle of the base coat, and I especially love my bright purple tips.  There's something so unexpected about it that I absolutely adore and I can't wait to try this same "formula" using other colors and konad designs.

Also, I'm not going to lie to you all and tell you that it wasn't completely time-consuming.  All-in-all, it took about an hour of stamping and painting to achieve this look, so it's not something that you'd want to do before you were rushing out the door, but I knew I'd have a bit of time while I was watching LOST and V to have my design set, and a little more time to complete the funky french before I went to sleep.  Which is where I'm heading now. LOL.

Hope you all like this one and I'll see you in the morning.  :)

N/KOTD: Orly Goth (with Misa Got to be Real)

For the longest time (okay, maybe a couple of months.  LOL), I lemmed Dior Black Sequins.  The concept just seemed so awesome... black polish with silver glitter.  I saw it on Sephora over the holidays and then by the time I'd worked up the nerve to spend $20 on a polish, it was sold out.  I consoled myself by reading reviews stating that it was a bit underwhelming, but I still wanted the look.

Enter Orly Goth.  I'm almost certain Goth is in Orly's regular line up.  Or, if it's not, it's around enough in special collections (like Halloween and the current one at Sally's w/ Beyonce on the ad) that you can certainly pick it up.  Also, it's usually less than $5, especially from an e-tailer. 

.......drumroll.........

Swoon.  I swear, I want to marry this polish and have it's babies.  I love it that much.  In fact, I usually change my polish everyday or every other day, and I've had this one on since Saturday morning and honestly, it's not going anywhere for at least another day (I did add a konad, but more on that in a minute).  This was one regular coat and one thin coat to even out a couple thin spots.  The application was perfect.  The formula was great.  :) 

For anyone that was looking at Dior Black Sequins, you may want to seriously consider picking up Goth.  Sure, it's not HE, but it's truly amazing.  It's multi-sized, round, silver glitter suspended in a black jelly-ish polish.  It's not a true jelly as you can make it opaque pretty quickly, but it does have jelly qualities.  The best part?  The glitter does not get lost in the black polish.  There's also a uniform randomness to it.  I guess that sounds ridiculous, but unlike some other polishes *cough* Funky Chunky *cough*, you don't get a little bit of glitter here and a little bit of glitter there.  There are places that have more and places that have less, but your entire nail is convered with a smattering of silver glitter.  I know Essie SSN is supposed to mimic a night sky, but this one truly reminds me of the sky at night.  Pitch black with shimmers of silver.  Sigh.  I think this has got to be the sexiest polish I own.

Also, like I mentioned, I added a konad, as yesterday was Valentine's Day (happy belated Valentine's Day, btw).  I had shows all weekend, so I didn't get a chance to switch to red, so I did the best I could w/ Goth.  I think it turned out amazing, if I do say so myself.  :P

This is plate m73 and I used Misa Got to be Real for the silver.  I am totally in love with this mani.  Pardon the pun.  LOL. 

PS- Here's a bonus pic of my nails now.  I know a few people were interested in seeing them w/o polish.  I think it's been 12-13 weeks since I removed my glue-ons.  It's still going to take a little bit of time to totally un-do the damage, but I think they look pretty dang good.  :)