Glitter Tip + Cartoon Nails

Hi Everyone! I just wanted to show you my latest nail looks from the past couple of weeks.  I have been working hard emptying out the boxes/bags I moved, and am happy that I only have 5 boxes left.  I have a set a goal of one a day, and I should be done in 5 days.  Err, minus the days I'm out of town, so in theory...by next Wednesday! LOL  Yes, totally a procrastinator at heart.

This look to the left is a glitter ombre, with a shatter on my ring finger.  I used OPI"s Suzi's Hungary Again as the base color.  Then put a layer of OPI's The Impossible on just the tips (except my ring finger, which I covered the whole nail with OPI's Turquoise Shatter) and let that dry.  Then I added another layer of The Impossible starting at 1/2 way down my nail and dragging it to the tips, so the glitter was kinda blended.  I'm calling it an ombre effect, lol.  It's a very simple look, but I think next time I'll have more contrasting colors instead (for the glitter tips).  The Impossible is part of the OPI Sand collection, so I will have to play around with it to see how it looks solo.

Next, I decided to change it up because I saw cutepolish's video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpWrrZhluF0&feature=em-subs_digest).  This is a cartoon style nail, with fake shine and evyerthing.  I decided to reverse the colors on my ring finger, just to see how I liked it.  And I actually think it looks pretty cute! LOL  She mentions 2 methods in the video, and I used the one where you put on the base color (for me that's 2 coats of Essie's Where's My Chauffeur) the drawing on the black border with a striping polish.  Well, except my ring finger...that used the other method of putting on Where's My Chauffeur first, and then putting on the black (leaving the turquoise border) and then adding a turquoise tip.  So, now that I think about it...I used both of her methods, hahhaha.  She uses a matte top coat in her video, which looks pretty cool, but I opted to just use my standard top coat (Seche Vite) because my matte is in LA. LOL   I am liking this look a lot!!  I'm glad my new work is pretty chill about stuff like this. =)  I would hate to have to temper my nail art...

In other news, I baked these sugar cookies inspired by Wreck-It-Ralph.  If you haven't seen the movie, I won't spoil it for you, but this cookie does say "You're My Hero" (with proper grammar, no less).  The bottom right cookie actually says "Taylor" on it, which is my son's name, lol.  So yes, he's my hero. =)

I followedRosannaPansino's YT video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeZ0HLTz8k0 to help me with the design.

I am getting used to this oven, so I actually overcooked the cookies a little bit (hence why they're brown, and not all pale).  My brownie PB cups also were overcooked, but that's because I left them in the tins overnight, instead of cooling them on a cooling rack.  So, yeah...so far not so much luck with baking.  Except my owl cake...which turned out pretty bomb.  Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of the inside, but I will tell you...I spent hours making this cake, because it's RAINBOW inside.  Yup...I split the batter into 6 bowls and colored each one a different color of the rainbow, and bam. Rainbow cake.

Speaking of rainbows...I happened to find out that this weekend was MLP weekend at Build-a-Bear.  So...of course I went down and got me a litte pony: Rainbow Tea.  I pumped her full of love, and then gave her a pretty skirt to wear.  Id din't bother with shoes (hello, horse already have shoes!), but I did get her a pretty garter (okay, it's really a bow, but I think it looks great on her leg, plus the sequins match her skirt!). LOL

Anyhoo, till next time!

Disclaimer: 

1. I bought everything that I mentioned in this blog.

2. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of products I mentioned.

3. I was not paid for this blog.

4. These are my honest opinions.

31 Day Challenge - Day 10: Gradient

Hi Everyone! Wow, I'm officially 1/3 of the way through this challenge.  I'm going to give myself a small pat on the back...could've been bigger if I was really able to keep up with doing this everyday.  I've read some blogs where the author has found it pretty frustrating...which I can totally identify with.  Once again, I'm not thrilled with how my mani turned out.

So, I chose my colors (the scented Eternal and Essie's Watermelon), and then I decided to do a gradient on each nail.  Unfortunately, I didn't have the makeup sponges I normally use for this, so I thought I'd try with a different one.  TOTALLY didn't work.  The sponge I used was too dense...so it litterally looks like i just did a bad french mani job.  UGH!!!  And of course, now that I'm working, I don't have the time to just do it over. 

Here's the Challenge:

As a side note, I've been wearing these looks to work.  Now, I wouldn't wear these looks to court....and I don't really think they look "professional", but what harm is there?  I'm not meeting any clients (except my own private ones, and seriously, they don't care that my nails look funky), and I do my work well.  No one's said anything, so Imma keep at it.  Randomly, I bought a pair of work slacks yesterday...but now that I look at them in the office, they kinda look like jeans....I wonder if someone will reprimand me, hahaha.
Day 11 is going to be Polka Dots....I think I'll have to choose some more colors....

Till next time!

Disclaimer:
1. I bought every product I'm showing by myself (nothing was sent to me for free).
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this video or blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

31 Day Challenge - Day 8: Metallic

Hey everyone! Day 8! Wow...I had such a hassle with this look. I know I'm reusing the crackle, but I didn't have the polish I originally had planned.

Anyhoo, so these are the colors I used:

Pink Base Color: Essie's Watermelon

Black Base Color: Orly's Goth

Metallic Crackle: China Glaze's Latticed Lilac

I'm not sure if I've reviewed Essie's Watermelon before.  I absolutely love it!  The color goes on wonderfully, and has a pretty good look with just one coat.  I usually add a second coat just to even out the bald spots (although they aren't that noticeable).  In this look that I'm wearing, I have 2 coats on my thumb, and one coat on the rest of my nails.  I don't think you can even tell...Also, Essie's brushes are a little on the skinny side, but it does the job. =)  Essie's polishes aren't too cheap...usually around $7 a bottle.  However, I feel like Essie is a little inconsistent.  You'd have an awesome coverage, awesome non-chipping polish (like Watermelon), but you also get ones that chip easily (like that Minty one).  I would definitely recommend this color, but I'm not sure if I would recommend Essie as a brand in general.

Orly's Goth is also a pretty cool color.  It's a nice black polish with silver glitter.  I don't really have too much to say about it.  It needs two coats to get a good, opaque coverage.  It seems to take longer to dry than other polishes.  It's pretty, and it works for this purpose. 

If you read my Day 5: Blue post, you might remember that I was complaining about the China Glaze Crackle polish in pink metallic.  I have found out that I have a pale purple (not pink), and I am still complaining about it.  Maybe I still haven't figured out the trick to the crackling part yet....I've tried laying it on thinly, and that seems to work TERRIBLY.  I only tried it because other people who have reviewed it claim the crackle effect works better when you apply a thin layer.  Not for me.  I actually think it works better when you apply a thicker layer, HOWEVER, you have to apply it quickly and evenly.  I think my problem comes when I'm swiping my third swipe (I usually do one stripe down the middle, one to the left, and one to the right) I accidently go over my first stripe.  Then that creates a non-crackling area.  Did that make sense?  Maybe in simpler terms, if you go over the same area more than once, it doesn't crackle.  At least for me.  Let me know if you have had different experiences!  I think I will give this polish one more chance.  Probably not for any more challenges, but for just a regular day sometime in the future. =)

I also wanted to let you guys know I bought a Silk'n Flash & Go, which I am using right now.  I think in a few more weeks, I will post a review on it, just so I have some definitive idea of how well it works. Hehehe

I have a couple ideas for the next challenge, Rainbow, so I'll try to get that out to you soon!
(The Challenge:)

Till next time!

Disclaimer:
1. I bought every product I'm showing by myself (nothing was sent to me for free).
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this video or blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

31 Day Challenge - Day 7: Black & White

Hi Everyone! I have my Day 7 look here for you.  I did  Black & White flames...inspired by The Hunger Games.  Yes, I know...Katniss didn't have anything to do with black or white, but I just chose colors that fit the challenge. =)

The colors I used are Orly's Liquid Vinyl (the black) and Orly's Orly Platinum (the white).  I also have Essie's Happily Ever After as the nudish base color.  Basically I put a few drops of the polish on the tips of my nails, then used a pushpin to drag it up to make the flames.  After I finished with the black, I let it completely dry before doing the same with the white.  I think it turned out pretty cute for a first attempt. =)

Hmm...if I were to use colors truly inspired by the Hunger Games and Katniss, I think I would've chosen a shimmery red and a golden-orange color instead.  I've seen this look done with 3 colors, and that looks pretty cool too.

Here's the Challenge:

I have some ideas of what I want the next couple looks to look like, but I don't have them ready to go yet.  Hopefully you guys won't have to wait long for the next post! I'm workin' on it! =)

Till next time!

Disclaimer:

1. I bought every product I'm showing by myself (nothing was sent to me for free).
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this video or blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

Merry Christmas!

Yes, finally a free moment in my life to sit down and work on my YouTube channel and my blog!  As an update for you all, I actually won the Juicy Couture Nail Art Contest hosted by skyecolispeedo.   Hurray!  I'm so excited to see what I won.  I'm supposed to get Luxurious Bourghese Nail Lacquer Kit.  I checked it out on Google, and it's pretty pricey!  So I definitely will have to see how it is, and maybe do a mini-review.  =)  How fitting it is that my Juicy Couture inspired nails won a contest & my blog is called Juicy Nails & Makeup, right?  Lol, yes...I'm a dork.  

Anyhoo, so some of the latest stuff with me.  Of course, I have my latest swag!  Christmas present from my mom:  Juicy Couture Purse!  I LOVE it...it's like the perfect size...although it gets pretty heavy cuz I stuff it to death.  But still, it's awesome...doesn't my mom have great taste?  She got these for a really good deal @ the Juicy Couture outlet in State Line.  I think the original price is like almost $200, but she got it for $90.  Pretty awesome right?

I also got most of my stuff from the Holiday Gift Wrap in Vegas (from both MGM & Ceasar's).  I have my nifty new camera (the purse is taken with it...and isn't the quality amazing?  At least compared to my last camera!) and my Monster Beats by Dre headphones.  The sound quality is frickin awesome!!!!  I just love to listen to music with these!  Yes, I know..I have that dorky sticker on my camera still.  Just FYI, I've already taken it off.  The camera looks sooo much nicer without it!

The only thing that hasn't come in yet, is my new iPod Nano with video camera.  I ordered a purple one...and I should be getting it hopefully tomorrow or Monday.  These holidays kinda tweak the shipping schedule!  Totally can't wait for it to get here, so I can use my new headphones w/ it!

Now onto the beauty stuff!  I got this Kat Von D perfume solid ring.  It came with a little thing of Saint and one of Sinner.  I'm actually not that fond of Sinner...but I think it's growing on me, lol.  But I absolutely love Saint!  It's a nice light floral-ish smell.  And this ring is sooo cute, and totally her style.

I believe this is exclusive to Sephora, but I know people on eBay are selling it too.  I got this for $30 (+ tax), and I use it all the time.  Some people are getting it just for the ring, and some people don't like the ring, but like the solid.  I LOVE both!

I got a bunch of Essie nail polishes from Beauty Headquarters.  I'll just list them from left to right, top to bottom: Queen of Hearts (from the Judith Ripka collection, it's supposed to have real diamond dust in it!), Cherry Pop, Status Symbol, Tennis Corset, Secret Affair, Happily Ever After, Curtain Call, Ridge Filler, Apricot Cuticle Oil, and Matte About You (a matte top coat).

I actually haven't had a chance to try too many things out.  I used Cherry Pop as part of a holiday French Mani I did (will post pics soon!), and I have a swatch for Curtain Call.  The Ridge Filler Base Coat was pretty cool...I got a tiny bottle for just $1.  I think it works pretty well was a ridge filler, but I think I'll only use this if I'm covering the entire nail with an opaque polish.  Alone, the ridge filler has a nude tone to it, and I don't really like that part of it.  But, like I said, it actually does fill in ridges, so it's something I'll have to keep in mind.  I also have used the cuticle oil...it smells sooo good!  I keep it at work and just apply it once a day during a break or lunch.  I have noticed a difference in my nails since I started using a cuticle oil daily.  They feel stronger and don't curl in as much (yes, I'm bad...I don't drink water so my nails are all thirsty and curly in like crazy!).  Maybe another month or so of this and my nails will start looking fantastic (I hope!), lol.

And last, but not least...I got the Zoya polishes I ordered on Black Friday!  It actually came in two shipments, because some of the polishes were backordered.  I waited till everything came in so I could take a picture of it all together.

In the left picture, I have: Astra (which I love...but it's kinda hard to remove!), Midori, Veruschka (a matte polish), Suvi, Envy, Irene, and Tangy.  In the right picture, I have the holiday gift set which includes the nail polish remover, base coat, top coat, and drying drops.  As much as I love green (with a name like Emerald, how could I not? Lol), I didn't just randomly decide to buy 6 green nail polishes from a brand I've never tried before!  On Black Friday, if you had a coupon code, you could get these 6 lovely green colors for free w/ any order!  So I ordered Astra and the holiday gift set.  I figured I'd try Zoya properly, with its own base coat, top coat, and everything to see if it really lasts as long as they say.

I've only tried Astra, and I think it wears pretty nicely.  I don't recall how long it stayed nice and unchipped, though.  I'll have to try again and really test it out soon.

So yup, I had an awesome Christmas, and I hope all of you did too!  I think this blog is long enough with all the swatches and nail art, so I'm going to do that in the next one!

Disclaimer:
1. I bought everything product I'm showing by myself (nothing was sent to me for free).
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this video.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

Swatches & Candy Cane Nails!

Hey everyone...I know, it's been forever!  I've just been super busy with wedding invitations.  I'm really tired, but I wanted to make a quick post so y'all know I'm alive!

To the left, I have essie's Strawberry Shortcake on.
  I think it's a cute spring-like color.

To the right, I have essie's Mint Apple Candy.  I'm actually a little disappointed with this color...it chipped easily, although it looks GREAT. Maybe next time I'll try it with an essie base coat and top coat.  I've used other essie nail polishes with NailTek for a base coat and  Seche Vite for a top coat and those lasted at least a week.  This was a fun, festive color. I'll be trying out the other two soon!

And lastly, I was watching my subscriptions last week, and came across a nail tutorial by easynails.  Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj28EJBJu0o .  Basically, it's a Candy Cane nail design, and let me tell you...she does it way better than me!  Here are some pictures of my first attempt!

As you can see, my lines are crooked, and my green is all over the place.

I've done a set on my mom, and I plan to try these again on myself in the very near future (xmas is next week...so it's gotta be soon!).

So yeah...expect a do over soon! LOL

In the holiday spirit of things, my mom actually got me a baby christmas tree.  (This was after my parents original no to the 5-6 footer I wanted).  So I ran to Kmart and bought a bunch of stuff to decorate it with.  It's kinda overdone, but I don't care...I love it!  It's my first xmas tree in about....15 years?  Maybe less....13 years probably.  Plus, it'll be the first time my parents have been home for xmas in awhile.

So here's a quick shot:

Cute, eh?

There are lights on it, but I'll have to wait to take a pic of that...I couldn't find an extension cord. =(

Expect my latest swag on my next post!  I have quite a few new goodies!

Disclaimer:
1. I bought everything product I'm showing by myself (nothing was sent to me for free).
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this video.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

Polymer Clay Slices

Another recent purchase I just received in the mail yesterday were a couple polymer clay slices.  They are totally the rage in nail art right now, and of course I had to get into the action!

I bought two from Japan, and about 50 from Hong Kong (it was like $7 including shipping...couldn't resist!).  The ones from Japan arrived...the ones from HK will probably arrive...around Thanksgiving.  Damn that ship time for HK/China!

So here are the two canes I got:  a pink rose and a grey cat.  I used the rose ones on my mom.  They are really thick and uneven because I had a hard time slicing them.  But I've been practicing on some canes I made myself (silly cheesy stuff), and I think I'm getting the hang of it.

I put the cat slices on myself.  My brother had cut them for me, so they are a lot thinner.  They look almost like stickers.  When apply thin slices, they bend easily and are simple to mold to the shape of your nail.

I'm not sure what the point of having clay slices over stickers would be, but I have to say I'll be using these for awhile.  They are pretty sturdy, and probably don't fall apart as easily as a sticker would.

I've also ordered some pre-cut ones, and I know those will be thicker than I've been slicing right now.  I'll try them out and if I think they're too thick, I'll probably use them to decorate stuff instead.  I guess I'll have to wait and see!

What I Used:

NailTek (Basecoat)

essie: Watermelon

Seche Vite (Topcoat)

1.5mm Rhinestones

Cat Clay Cane

Rose Clay Cane

What I Did:

1.  Cut the cane into thin slices.  For my personal preference, the thinner the better!

2.  Basecoat

3.  Watermelon - I put two coats on my mom, but I only used one coat on myself.

4.  While Watermelon was still wet, I put the slices of the polymer on.

5.  I put a drop of Seche Vite wherever I wanted the rhinestone, and added a rhinestone.

6.  Top coat over everything.

7.  I tested out the essie Quick-e drops, and was very impressed.  Since I was going out, I didn't want to stress test them, but I think I will in the future.  I want to know how fast it really dries (it says seconds on the box, but I gave it closer to the minute mark), and if it really dries all layers like it says it does.  I've seen some drops that only dry the top layer, and stuff still smudges really easily.

But yeah, as you can see, one coat of essie gave really great coverage.  The 2nd coat was just to make it more solid.  I definitely want to go back and buy more essie polishes.  Unfortunately, Beauty HQ doesn't have that big of a selection, but I think I know a few colors I want to buy.  In general. most of the stuff there are older colors, which is why they could sell them at such a discount (probably!).  I'll probably look online/YouTube for some ideas for colors. =)

Small Haul...

So I'm going to show a really quick Haul....

I ran to Beauty Headquarters again today because I really wanted to pick up some drying drops.  Of course while I was there, I couldn't resist a few other buys.

I got the essie quick-e drying drops.  I haven't tested them yet, but I will definitely do a review of it once I get the chance.  I'm pretty sure I'll be using them later today on either me or my mom...lol.

The next thing I got was the essie man-e-cure top coat.  Basically, it's a top coat that's got a natural matte finish.  I thought this would be pretty cool to try because I've really enjoyed wearing matte polish, and I hate going without a top coat (stuff just chips waaaay to easily!).

And the last thing I bought today (sorry this went from right to left, lol), are more rhinestones.  The last time I went, I found out where they keep all their rhinestones, and after I found out how much they were, I totally regretted buying them from anywhere else!  This set...I believe about 1200 pieces, was only $2!!!!  TWO FRICKIN DOLLARS!!!  In the past I've paid $5 for a small kit, $3 for like 20 stones, and I think $3-$4 on ebay for sets like this one.  GRRRRR!  Lol.  But yeah, I wanted to get this shape..it's like an oval with pointy corners, because I saw a tutorial with a penguin using these.  I will post that video + my attempt later.  LOL

Now on to what arrived from eBay:

Check this out!  I got this from eBay....and it was about $32 including shipping.  It's 48 bottles of nail polish, and there are two ways to use it.  The first way is to twist open and use like a regular nail art brush (the thin brush).  The second way is to pop off the top and use it like a pen.  I actually like these better than the Migi ones because they go on better, and they're like tons cheaper.  The Migi ones are about $4 each...and these were what...70 cents each?  On eBay you can find smaller sets too...like 12 pens for $8 or whatever.  I just got this set because it was decently priced and it came with tons of colors.

I have to admit they kinda scrimped on the purples, but there are tons of red, blue, and green lol.

As you can see in the pictures, some of the pens had leaked.  I took a picture of the 5 or 6 that leaked and sent it to the seller.  I'm not sure what they want me to do, but I'll keep you posted.  I guess it's inevitable that some might leak when they're coming from Hong Kong.

Here's a picture of me testing the pens.  I'll have to get used to them...they're pretty sensitive.  As you can see, I'm already practicing my penguin, hehehe.

I'll figure out what design I want to do for real after my nap!

As an update, I still have one more simple design post and one color swatch post left.  After that I want to do at least one or two posts on FrankenPolish-ing.  I just squeezed this one in here because I was super excited at all the stuff I got, lol.

So yeah...till next time!