Snow in the Sky

So I was online the other day, looking for a Chanel Riva dupe, and I came across several blog posts that name Hard Candy "Sky" as the ultimate winner.  It is indeed a winner, but a dupe? I don't think so.  Hard Candy was big in the nineties, specially if you were a Clueless wannabe.  And they first hit it big because of a little jewel named Sky.  Alicia Silverstone made it famous, and Hard Candy was an instant hit.  More than a decade later, Hard Candy is now available at your local Wal-Mart, and they just re-released the one that started it all.  So for it to be considered a dupe, seems unfair to me.  Yes, they are very similar (from what I see in pictures, I don't own Riva), but Sky came FIRST!

The color is beautiful and you won't be disappointed with the final result, your nails will turn heads.  But the application is a whole other thing…. Very streaky, very sheer, needs 3 coats, kind of a bitch to apply.  I wore it alone for a day, I just wanted to admire this shade on my nails.

Today I stamped a snowflake over them with Konad White Special Polish, and added a few details with silver dots and glitter (Finger Paints Easel come, easel go and Kiss Nail Art in Silver Glitter).  I used plate bm14. 

Something else that happened and made my manicure more difficult is that my top coat is half way through so it got thicker and since the bottle is half empty, it's kind of hard to get the brush completely dipped in the polish and that was very annoying.

In the end, I liked the final result. It is cute, subtle, yet Christmasy, and I need to thank my sister because it was totally her idea and I stole it due to lack of inspiration and plane ol' laziness.

A sea of purple

This look was a little bit more complicated than what I usualy do but I will explain it step by step.

I used Sally Hansen's Deep Purple from their Xtreme Wear collection as a base.  Like most of their polishes, it was very easy to apply, smooth, and opaque in 2 coats.

We are going to apply a tape diagonally to each finger and then use our base color to paint the nail.

Then, we are going to stamp our nail with a swirly design from image plate bm19 and a Silver Foil Nail Polish (Finger Paints Easel come, easel go).  Remove the tape carefully and slowly to protect your design.

Apply silver glitter to the line that divides your design and your naked nail with a fine brush.  I used Kiss Nail Art Paint in Silver Glitter.  If you are shaky like me, you need to do this slowly so you can get a straight line.  Finish it with a nice and glossy top coat, like Seche Vite.

After removing the tape

Apply a thin line of silver glitter and voila! 

Nail Polishes that I used from start to finish!

The White Stripes

This was the easiest manicure ever.  I really wanted to take off that fall manicure attempt that I had in my nails but didn't have much time, so I went for the easiest way out.  I stamped the striped design on bm20 on my naked nails with White Konad Special Polish and topped it with 2 coats of good ol' Seche Vite. I was done in no time, and got a lot of compliments!  The only thing that gave me a hard time, was  trying to get the thumbs right, because Bundle Monster plates are TINY so if you have long nails, or fat thumbs like me, you'll have to get a little creative.  I stamped twice, tried to make it as unnoticeable as possible and I think it looks alright. My husband said it reminded him of candy canes and that I should try it over red for Christmas… Well, maybe I will.  Meanwhile I hope you like my lazy, fast and uncreative manicure as much as me. 

Fall

Sorry for the delay between posts, there's been TOO MUCH stuff going on in my life, but I am pretty sure you're not reading this blog to hear that, but to see some manicures… On with the nails!

I wanted to do a Fall or Thanksgiving inspired manicure but wasn't feeling so creative.  Also, I had just received some faux Konad image plates (Bundle Monster, 21 plates for 17 bucks) and I wanted to try them out.  

As a base, I used Sally Hansen Laquer Shine in Glossy. A-ma-zing shade!  I've had this for a long time but I forgot about it, and trust me, Im glad I found it! It has the most perfect goldish burgundy shimmer to it. Once the light hits this baby, it just comes alive. 

On top of it, I randomly stamped some leaves with Orly Luxe and White Konad Special Polish.

This is the final result.  I didn't really like it that much, I think it came out a bit matronly. 

I hope you guys have a great Thanksgiving!

The final result

Sally Hansen Glossy.  Can you see the shimmer?