Lazy Days of Summer - Flip Flops

I have to admit, I wasn't too excited about this theme. I'm not awesome at delicate freehand work and I don't have any feet/flip flop stamps so I just went ahead and did something simple.

Flip Flops:

Polished Used:
-Nailtiques - Formula 2 Plus
-Beverly Beauty - Cupcake
-Kiss - Nail Art Striper White
-Kiss - Nail Art Striper Silver
-Cina Nail Art Filmo
-Out The Doop - TopCoat

This is very simple, but it I think that the fun pink makes up for that a little. Also, I got to try out some of the filmo flowers that Amanda got me for my birthday. Have you used filmo's or any 3D nail art before? How do you keep them from getting caught on things?

Also, my poor middle finger nail got caught on my shirt today and somehow tore so I had to file my nails down, you all know how disappointing that can be :-/

Make sure to check out the other lovely ladies participating in the Lazy Days of Summer:

Victoria Vertel
http://www.manicurator.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Manicurator

Alyson Epstein
http://beadsnailsfood.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/BeadsNailsFood

Amanda Murphy
http://mandyspolish.blogspot.com/

Hannah 
http://polished-prisms.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/PolishedPrisms

Sue O'Connor
http://creativenaildesignbysue.blogspot.com

Katee Baum
http://www.agirlandherpolish.com
http://www.facebook.com/AGirlandHerPolish

Charlotte-Louise Bennett
http://charlottes-nails.blogspot.co.uk/

Jessica Francis
http://nearlynaturalnails.blogspot.com
https://www.facebook.com/NearlyNaturalNails

Karine Assemien
http://karinea0a.blogspot.com

Jen Guin
http://thepolishedzombie.blogspot.com

Jessica Brown
http://jessicasnailtales.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/JessicasNailTales

Ashley Rowlands-Vanderzande
http://onenailtoanother.blogspot.ca

Pryanka Arora
http://nailsparks.blogspot.com/

Anna Freedman, Erin Obriecht, Robin Storesund
http://www.polishedcousins.com
http://www.facebook.com/PolishedCousins


Maribeth Robienczak
http://obsessivecosmetichoardersunite.blogspot.com/

Kayono Lan (aka Johanna)
http://kayonolan.blogspot.de/

Sharra Farivar
http://alira23.blogspot.ca/search/label/Polished%20Prisms%20The%20Lazy%20Days%20of%20Summe\

Amanda Schott
http://countingdowntobliss.blogspot.com/

Nichole Mowery
http://aotnf.blogspot.com

Becky Barnett
http://glamfiend.blogspot.com

Lazy Days of Summer - Flag Day

Today's theme in the Lazy Days of Summer is "Flag Day". I was thinking of saving this mani and posting on July 4th, however, since we have to go in order for the LDOS I didn't want to wait that long; i've been having fun with this one (and I'm sure i'll be able to come up with another fun mani for the fourth.... already have some ideas brewing)

Flag Day:

Polishes Used:
-Nailtiques - Formula 2 Plus
-Sinful Colors - Snow Me White
-Wet 'n Wild - Saved By The Blue
-Konad - Special White (Salon Express Stamping Plate)
-Red Striping Tape
-Out The Door - TopCoat

This was my first time using striping tape since probably middle school or high school. My biggest issue with it then was that it always seemed to peel up off my nails and not stay put; I was hoping with my improved nail skills and advancements in adhesive since then that I would have better results with this, but even as I am typing this I just feel like the tape is starting to lift (I used 2 layers of topcoat - any suggestions for next time? Maybe I should use Gelous?)

Onto the accent finger, the Salon Express plates stamp well but their "full nail" designs don't cover my entire nail at all, hence, why I went for a tips/half nail look with this. The plates would probably be fine for someone with smaller nails or even a child, on a positive note, the individual designs are pretty big and they all transfer very well.

Even with all my ranting and raving, I really do like the look of this mani and hopefully it lasts until tomorrow without me picking at it. LOL. So, some final questions, have you ever had any issues with striping tape, and if so what did you do to "fix" it? And, on a more personal note, do you have any plans for the 4th of July?

Lazy Days of Summer - Summer Ombre

Today's theme is Summer Ombre. I hadn't done a true Ombre mani before so I was looking forward to this theme. When it said summer ombre, I immediately thought of yellows, oranges, and reds, so here we go :)

Summer Ombre:

Polishes Used:
-Nailtiques - Formula 2 Plus
-OPI - On Collins Ave (Thumb)
-Mood Struck - Lt Purple to Lt Pink (Pointer)
-Sinful Colors - Hazard (Middle)
-Wet 'n Wild - Sunny Side Up (Ring)
-Finger Paint - Master Muse [Striper] (Pinky)
-Out The Door - TopCoat

I absolutely love how this mani came out. It's simple and fun and perfect for summer. (I apologize for the mess on my pinky, I used a striping polish/brush so application wasn't pretty) How do you like this mani and color combo?

Check out the other lovely ladies participating in the Lazy Days of Summer:

Victoria Vertel
http://www.manicurator.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Manicurator

Alyson Epstein
http://beadsnailsfood.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/BeadsNailsFood

Amanda Murphy
http://mandyspolish.blogspot.com/

Hannah 
http://polished-prisms.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/PolishedPrisms

Sue O'Connor
http://creativenaildesignbysue.blogspot.com

Katee Baum
http://www.agirlandherpolish.com
http://www.facebook.com/AGirlandHerPolish

Charlotte-Louise Bennett
http://charlottes-nails.blogspot.co.uk/

Jessica Francis
http://nearlynaturalnails.blogspot.com
https://www.facebook.com/NearlyNaturalNails

Karine Assemien
http://karinea0a.blogspot.com

Jen Guin
http://thepolishedzombie.blogspot.com

Jessica Brown
http://jessicasnailtales.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/JessicasNailTales

Ashley Rowlands-Vanderzande
http://onenailtoanother.blogspot.ca

Pryanka Arora
http://nailsparks.blogspot.com/

Anna Freedman, Erin Obriecht, Robin Storesund
http://www.polishedcousins.com
http://www.facebook.com/PolishedCousins


Maribeth Robienczak
http://obsessivecosmetichoardersunite.blogspot.com/

Kayono Lan (aka Johanna)
http://kayonolan.blogspot.de/

Sharra Farivar
http://alira23.blogspot.ca/search/label/Polished%20Prisms%20The%20Lazy%20Days%20of%20Summe\

Amanda Schott
http://countingdowntobliss.blogspot.com/

Nichole Mowery
http://aotnf.blogspot.com

Lazy Days of Summer - Beach Themed

I recently joined in another challenge with some lovely ladies, the Lazy Days of Summer Challenge. I liked the themes in this and it's a "go at your own pace" sort of thing so it's not so much pressure. Here is what the Lazy Days of Summer consist of:

Today is Beach Themed:

Polishes Used:
-Nailtiques - Formula 2 Plus
-China Glaze - Electric Beat
-Finger Paints - Blue Raspberry Taffy
-Sinful Colors - Snow Me White
-Revlon - Radient
-Out The Door - TopCoat

I was going for a waves crashing against the shore sort of thing. I use Electric Beat and Blue Raspberry Taffy for a saran wrap mani base coat, sponged on some white for the cresting waves and then added the Radient for some sparkle to mimic the mirrored effect of the water. What do you think? What is your favorite part of going to the beach?

Check out the other lovely ladies participating the in the Lazy Days of Summer:

Victoria Vertel
http://www.manicurator.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Manicurator

Alyson Epstein
http://beadsnailsfood.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/BeadsNailsFood

Amanda Murphy
http://mandyspolish.blogspot.com/

Hannah 
http://polished-prisms.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/PolishedPrisms

Sue O'Connor
http://creativenaildesignbysue.blogspot.com

Katee Baum
http://www.agirlandherpolish.com
http://www.facebook.com/AGirlandHerPolish

Charlotte-Louise Bennett
http://charlottes-nails.blogspot.co.uk/

Jessica Francis
http://nearlynaturalnails.blogspot.com
https://www.facebook.com/NearlyNaturalNails

Karine Assemien
http://karinea0a.blogspot.com

Jen Guin
http://thepolishedzombie.blogspot.com

Jessica Brown
http://jessicasnailtales.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/JessicasNailTales

Ashley Rowlands-Vanderzande
http://onenailtoanother.blogspot.ca

Pryanka Arora
http://nailsparks.blogspot.com/

Anna Freedman, Erin Obriecht, Robin Storesund
http://www.polishedcousins.com
http://www.facebook.com/PolishedCousins

Maribeth Robienczak
http://obsessivecosmetichoardersunite.blogspot.com/

Kayono Lan (aka Johanna)
http://kayonolan.blogspot.de/

Sharra Farivar
http://alira23.blogspot.ca/search/label/Polished%20Prisms%20The%20Lazy%20Days%20of%20Summe\

Amanda Schott
http://countingdowntobliss.blogspot.com/

Nichole Mowery
http://aotnf.blogspot.com

Sunny Monday

Hope you all had a nice weekend and thanks for bearing with me while I was out of town. Today I wanted to show you a nice "sunny" mani that I did.

Polishes Used:
-Nailtiques - Formula 2 Plus
-Beverly Beauty - Key Lime Pie
-Kiss Nail Art Striper - White
-OPI - On Collins Ave
-Out The Door TopCoat

*sigh* I liked the idea of this mani and the Beverly Beauty Key Lime Pie was one of my untrieds - I don't really like this color on me though; oh well, that's why you try them out. I got a 5 pack of Beverly Beauty polishes as Ross Dress for Less; I am not familiar with this brand though and it was fairly streaky. It did come with 1 orange, 2 blues, and 1 pink that I'm sure I will eventually try.

Adding the stripes and flowers made this mani so much better for me. Alsmost nautical (if I would have done anchors instead of flowers, lol) maybe we can call it "preppy"? Do you ever try to jazz up a mani/swatch that you're not in love with, or do you just start over?

Essie - Cascade Cool

Today I am showing you a fun summer mani with Essie - Cascade Cool from their summer collection. Somehow, I was able to find this on sale at Target (not sure why it was on sale, but lucky me) This is a lovely pink and I didn't want to do too much to it so here we go:

Polishes Used:
-Nailtiques Formula 2 Plus
-Essie - Cascade Cool
-Pink Rhinestones
-Out The Door - TopCoat

I really love this polish and I think it may turn into my favorite pink polish (!) It is just a perfect pink for summer and really nice application.

Do you have any of the summer collection from Essie?

P.S. This weekend I will be out of town celebrating my husband's grandpa's birthday, so I may not get to post again until Monday; stay tuned!

Saran Wrap Mani

I have been wanting to try the Saran Wrap technique for a while. I have seen this on a couple different blogs and websites so I'm not sure who exactly "created" it to credit. Also, I am apologizing ahead of time, my fingers / cuticles have some staining on them because I was tie dying a couple days ago and it's not coming off (grr).

Polishes Used:
-Nailtiques - Formula 2 Plus
-China Glaze - Gothic Lolita
-China Glaze - Electric Beat
-Out The Door - TopCoat

The China Glaze polishes are two of the new polishes that I mentioned Amanda got me for my birthday. They both look great, as most China Glaze's do. I really like this technique. It gives a fun look to your mani and is sooooo easy to do. If you haven't tried it before, you must!

Matte Jelly Sandwich

The mani I am showing you today is inspired by Sammy's "Sandy Sandwich - Mattified", which you can check out here, at the Nailasaurus. I loved the look of this and wanted to do something similar, so here we go:

Polishes Used:
-Nailtiques - Forumula 2 Plus
-Sally Hansen - Petal Pusher
-Spoiled - Trust Fund Baby
-Essie - Marshmallow
-NYC - Matte Me Crazy

I love this mani and obviously loved Sammy's original as well :) What do you think about Mattified Jelly Sandwiches?

P.S. This is the mani that I wore on my actual birthday ;)

Sweet Summertime Collection Recap

Today we are doing a recap of all the GlitterFest Sweet Summertime Collection polishes.

Strawberry Lemonade:

Juicy Watermelon:

Water Wings:

Beach Bum:

Spray Tan:

Boys of Summer:

I really liked all of these polishes, my favorites would have to be Water Wings, Boys of Summer, and Beach Bum.

What's your favorite?!

GlitterFest: Sweet Summertime Collection - Boys of Summer

Happy Monday!

The final polish in the Sweet Summertime Collection is Boys of Summer. I saved this one for last becasue I had a feeling it would be one of my favorites and it didn't disappoint. Rachel describes it as: No one forgets the boys of summer, and no one will forget you with this polish on your digits! Perfect alone or over another color, this polish is gorgeous: blue, green, and white glitters densely pack this perfect polish for the poolside.

Polishes Used:
-Nailtiques - Formula 2 Plus
-Essence - You Belong To Me
-GlitterFest - Boys of Summer
-Gelous
-Out The Door - TopCoat

Isn't this pretty?! I am so glad that I layered this over You Belong To Me because I think it really makes this glitter pop, and it falls into my favorite colored polish category, TEAL :)

Tomorrow I will be doing a re-cap from the entire collection, so stay tuned and start thinking about which one you liked best.

GlitterFest: Sweet Summertime Collection - Spray Tan

Today's GlitterFest polish is Spray Tan. Rachel describes this polish as: Need a little help with that tan? It's okay, so do we! Spray Tan will have you bronzed and shimmering in no time :) A gorgeous, sheer, iridescent bronze with gold flakes; this polish can be worn over darker colors or layered on to create the perfect shade.

Polishes Used:
-Nailtiques - Formula 2 Plus
-GlitterFest - Spray Tan
-Gelous
-Out The Door - TopCoat

This was a pretty bronze polish with gold flakies/shards. I have 2 coats on in these pictures and it's pretty much completely opaque. I dont like bronze colored polishes in general, but this one is very pretty :)

What do you think?

Since it is Father's Day, here's a picture of me and my dad :)

GlitterFest: Sweet Summertime Collection - Beach Bum

Happy Saturday Ladies! Today is my birthday! Whoohoo! I am officially closer to 30 than 20; lol, that's ok though :)

Today I am wearing the Beach Bum polish from Rachel's Sweet Summertime Collection. She describes Beach Bum as follows:  Plan to be at the beach this summer? This polish is perfect for the beach bum in all of us. A close cousin of our Limited EditionTutti Frutti polish, this pink jelly polish is the perfect shade for getting your tan on!

Polishes Used:
-Nailtiques - Formula 2 Plus
-Sinful Colors - Flutter
-GlitterFest - Beach Bum
-Gelous
-Out The Door - TopCoat

This is a pretty pink polish, it reminds me of a "Barbie" color :) The blue glitters were a little hard to get out on their own and I had to fish some out to make sure each nail got at least 1, but they look really fun against the pink in my opinion.

I have already gotten some birthday nail "mail" from my girlfriend Amanda earlier this week; I took the picture with my phone at the office because I was so excited, and it was so nice of her! Here is a quick look at what she got me:

Thanks Amanda! I can't wait to try out these polishes, microbeads, glitters and flowers when I am done swatching the Sweet Summertime Collection :)

GlitterFest: Sweet Summertime Collection - Water Wings

Today I am wearing the green color from the Sweet Summertime Collection - "Water Wings". Rachel describes this polish as follows: No swimming without your water wings! As a child, I had floaties of all colors. The colors I remember the most are neon green, pink, and blue. This polish is loaded with matte neon glitter, pink pearl glitter, and a shimmery blue.

Polishes Used:
-Nailtiques - Formula 2 Plus
-Sally Hansen - Parrot
-GlitterFest - Water Wings
-Gelous
-Out The Door - TopCoat

Do you love this, because I do!!! I decided to use two coats of Water Wings over a base of Parrot so the green really popped and I'm so glad that I did. The blue microglitters are shiny but of course, my camera didn't want to capture how pretty they are.

Speaking of "Water Wings", the weather has been hot and humid here in Pittsburgh and I really wish that I had a pool about now!!

GlitterFest: Sweet Summertime Collection - Juicy Watermelon

Today I am wearing the Juicy Watermelon color from my GlitterFest's Sweet Summertime Collection. Rachel descripes this polish as: What's summer without watermelon? A sheer pink jelly base with black glitter and white shimmer...almost like sugar-coated watermelon! This polish is perfect for creating your own watermelon mani. Just add the green tips, and you're in business!

And just for fun:

Polished Used:
-Nailtiques - Formula 2 Plus
-GlitterFest - Juicy Watermelon
-Gelous
-Out The Door - TopCoat

This is a pretty pink polish and isn't actually as bright and neon as it looks in the photos.
Watermelon is the quintcential summertime fruit; what is your favorite picnic treat?