Guest Post at Popping Nails

Happy Wednesday Darlings! Today I'm guest posting for Charlie over at Popping Nails.

Here's a sneak peek at my look, for the color version, head over to Charlie's blog to check it out!

Guest Tutorial at AGirl'sGottaSpa!

Happy Saturday! Earlier this week I created a simple floral nail art tutorial for Shannon over at  AGirl'sGottaSpa!

Check it out below:

I created this for anyone who wants something simple, fun and easy to create. It was inspired off of my forth tea party look, which you can see HERE.

Let me know if you create a look based on this tutorial and be sure to check out AGirl'sGottaSpa! for step by step instructions and to find out what polishes I used to create this look!

Guest Post over at Polished to Precision

Today I'm guest posting over at Polished to Precision; here is a sneak peek at my look, but head on over there to see the real pictures and post!

Click the picture to check it out!

Guest Post at Color Me So Crazy

Yesterday I had a guest post over at Color Me So Crazy; here is a sneak peek at my look in case you missed it, but head on over there to see the real pictures and post! (CLICK HERE!!!)

Guest Post at Color Me So Crazy

Happy Wednesday! Today I am guest posting over at my friend Brigitte's blog, Color Me So Crazy!

Here's a sneak peak at my look:

Now go take a look!

Guest Post on Minding Minnesota

Recently, one of my friends from high school, Victoria, started a blog, Minding Minnesota, and I offered to do a guest post for her!

Here is a sneak peek, but go check it out for yourself! I am giving tips on nail care and did a Minnesota Themed mani!

If you're interested, you can follow Minding Minnesota here:
-Blog
-Facebook

I'm Guest Posting!

Today I'm guest posting for the lovely Karine at Karine's Vernis Club. Here is a sneak peek, but make sure to go check it out yourself!!!!

P.S. There is also a TUTORIAL on the post for the look ;)

Tips for Summer Skin by Skana Spa

Michelle from Skana Spa recently contacted me wanting to share some tips on how to protect and treat your skin in the summer. Below she provides some tips along with a DIY Body Scrub recipe which I have to admit sounds super easy to make, so I just may be trying that out soon. 

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Treat Your Skin

During the spring and summer months, skin can tend to get oilier. In some cases, it can get dehydrated and pump out more sebum to prevent any additional loss of moisture. An individual may have to treat their skin much differently during the summer than in winter or fall. Here are some excellent tips for developing a skin care routine from the experts of Skana Spa of New York Luxury Resort,Turning Stone, – this recipe combine centuries-old healing principles of the Oneida Indians to produce an experience that stimulates harmony of the mind and body is sure to revitalize your skin.

·         Select the Correct Ingredients

Scrubs can do wonders for skin that is dry or scaly. However, it is essential that they are chosen wisely and used in the proper way. Many products on the market harbor artificial dyes, fragrances, and harmful chemicals. You surely do not want isopropyl myristate and amino methylpropanol, two probable irritants used in body scrubs, on your skin. Fortunately, there are many natural formulas available. These contain almonds, sugar, and even rice.

·         All Scrubs Are Not Created Equal

You should look for varying properties in products for your face than for your body. Find different formulas that will target your sensitive parts or tough areas. The following will assist you in choosing the perfect treatments that will give you fresh and glowing skin, from head to toe.

Helpful Tips!

·         Look for formulas that contain bigger granules for exfoliation. These can include sea salt, coffee grounds, and raw sugar to name a few.

·         Do not use any scrubs on overly sensitive or irritated skin. This will result in unwanted and unnecessary pain.

·         Scoop up approximately two tablespoons of the scrub in your hand. Then, rub the scrub in circles. Work your way up from your toes. Make sure you wash your skin like normal before using a scrub, but do not shave.

·         Avoid heavily perfumed products can also irritate your skin. Use natural homemade scrubs to refresh your skin and leave a pleasant fragrance on your skin, without being overwhelming pungent.

DIY Body Scrub Recipe

 

(photo source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/41754875@N00/276578563/)

• 1/2 cup finely grained sea salt

• 1/2 cup finely ground coffee beans

• 1/4 cup sesame oil

• 1/2 teaspoon, or about 20 drops, eucalyptus essential oil

In a small mixing bowl, combine the salt, coffee, sesame, and eucalyptus oils. Mix all of the ingredients together thoroughly. Then, use the scrub in the shower while standing out of the water flow and away from the showerhead. Massage it into damp skin with long, firm, and semi circular movements. Take your time to activate the ingredients and then rinse. The recipe makes 1 1/2 cups, which is plenty for three separate treatments.

Exfoliating your skin will help to remove the dead skin cells and uncover the fresh skin that is hidden underneath. This will start a skin renewal system that will revitalize your largest organ and protect it from the summer heat!

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Michelle, thanks for sharing those tips and the recipe with us! Hope my loyal readers don't mind a non-nail related post here and there, but who doesn't want nice fresh skin? :)

Guest Post by Katee of A Girl and Her Polish!

Happy Wednesday! Today I have one of, what I like to consider, my close blogger friends, Katee of A Girl and Her Polish guest posting for me while I'm in Belgium! Katee and I have gotten close thanks to our numerous challenges and groups together and I love pretty much every single thing she does with her nails!!!

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Hello again everyone!  I am so happy to be back guesting for Stephanie!

For my guest post I wanted to create a simple nail design that anyone can do at home!  I actually did the design on my toes first and liked it so much I wanted it on my nails!

I started with two coats of Bettina Marshmallow.  Bettina is quickly becoming a favorite polish!  The formula is amazing!

It really is the colors that make this design and I recently came into possession of some fabulous shades.
I added my first set of lines using a striping brush and butter LONDON Cake-Hole.  Cake-Hole is the perfect pink neon for summer!

I added a second set of lines using butter LONDON Slapper.  I am loving this blue!

I topped it off with two coats of HK Girl, my all time favorite top coat!

I love simple design like this!  These lines are so easy to create that anyone can do it!

I hope you all enjoyed my quick and easy summer design and that you try it yourself!

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Isn't this design so cute! It's simple and I am sure all my lovely readers can re-create it! I know I will be doing something like this when I get back! All of these Butter London shades are really pretty! I have a couple that I recieved as a giveaway prize (ironically from Katee) but I definitely need to get more.

Thanks again Katee for guest posting for me and this super cute design :)

Guest Post by Tricia of The Cat's Claws!

I love Facebook because I get to meet lots of great new people and fellow nails enthusiasts! One of those is Tricia of The Cat's Claws. I recently started following her blog and she has awesome long nails (that I am jealous of) and pretty swatches!

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Waiting For Summer!

When Stephanie of A Little Polish asked for a guest post I jumped at the chance. Stephanie showcases some wonderful nail art on her blog that I just cannot emulate. So after the initial excitement I quickly realized that I would have to actually come up with something rather than just painting my nails and then rambling about them on my blog.

My first thought was to just do a swatch rather than a full blown mani of something I do quite regularly, which is a colour and then glitter. So with that in mind I started with OPI Can’t Find My Czechbook, three nails later I had my Eureka moment and changed my mind and decided this was going to be a full nail art mani.

I hope you are enjoying lovely sunny weather wherever you are, and if not, you can easily copy this look with just a dotting tool. I used OPI Can’t Find My Czechbook, OPI My Vampire Is Buff for the clouds and OPI Oy-Another Polish Joke for the sun. And to prove anyone can do this look here is my right hand, please excuse my middle finger I lost a nail fighting with the dishwasher!

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This mani is super fun and great for summertime! It's just so cheery! I love that Tricia decided to jump in with the nail art and was even nice enough to show us her right hand (I can't say I have ever done that on my blog so kudos to you girl!)

I want to thank Tricia for sharing this mani with us and don't forget to check out her blog, The Cat's Claws.

Guest Post by Charlie of Popping Nails!

Today I have an awesome mani to share with you from Charlie of Popping Nails! Charlie was so sweet when I  mentioned that I needed guest bloggers in one group that I am part of on Facebook and she spoke right up. She does really cool nail art and I have been following her blog for a while now. So onto her awesome mani!

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Hi everyone! I'm Charlie from the blog Popping Nails, I thought I'd give you a quick bit of info before I start, I'm 18 and from England so this may explain some spelling differences and brands that might not be featured here on Stephanie's blog. When I saw Stephanie was looking for someone to do a guest post for her blog, I immediately put myself forward as I love doing guest posts and sharing the nail art love. Stephanie's style is a bit girlier than mine but I had had this idea in my mind for a while now so I thought it would be a great to do them now.

I wanted to do this floral/dot mix and was waiting until I got a good pale green so when I found one the other day, I knew it was meant to be. I did China Glaze Keep Calm and Paint On as my base colour with Barry M Matt White on top half of all my nails. Before putting on the white I made the flowers out of my new Gelly polishes using an unknown Barry M pink colour, Key Lime, Guava Matt White and then a dot of Mango for the inside of all the flowers. Once I put on the white, I then went in with Barry M Lemon Ice Cream, Rimmel Tangy Tangerine, Barry M Berry Ice Cream, Barry M Strawberry Ice Cream and W7 Sheer Blue. I know I used a lot of polishes for these nails but I really like how they turned out. I initially set out doing these as I thought they would be nice and simple but halfway through, I realised they weren't. I also used this silver striping tape down the middle of all the nails. I was going to use chain but when I put it on my right hand it looked awful so I took it off and replaced it with this striping tape.

Hopefully you all like these nails, I know they may seem a bit over the top if you're not used to my style but this was me pulling back. If you like these nails then you can check out the tutorial I did for them and see more over on my blog. Thanks to Stephanie for letting me do this post and I hope you had as much fun seeing it as I did doing it!

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This is seriously so cute! I will definitely be trying to re-create this look sometime myself! I have always wanted to do multiple patterns on my nails and Charlie has certainly mastered it! If you're not already following her, you should be!!!

Thanks again Charlie!!

Featured Blogger!

HAPPY JUNE!

Today I am the Featured Blogger over at Peace, Love and Polish.

Heather has a great blog and does some awesome manis. She recently had a baby and has been having guest bloggers, but I am amazed that she has still been able to get some of her own manis done too with a 1 month old!

If you check out her blog today, you can see my segment and also some pictures of her cute little man, Connor!

P.S. I recently hit 1000 GFC followers and I am seriously so excited! I appreciate everyone's support so much, and I hope you all stick with me, I have some fun things planned for this summer!!!

I'm Guest Posting at Kelsie's Nail Files

Happy Monday! Today I am guest posting for my lovely friend Kelsie, of Kelsie's Nail Files!

Here is a sneak peek but you must go check out the post on her site; I love the colored version of this!

Hope to see you over there!

P.S. Don't forget to enter my Eccentric Giveaway by clicking the button on my right-hand toolbar :)

Holiday Happy Hour - Guest Post by Creative Nail Design By Sue

Today is the final guest post of my Holiday Happy Hour series; and I think we are finishing with a bang, thanks to Sue of Creative Nail Design By Sue. I have gotten to know her this past year through some seasonal challenges and polish groups. She is so nice and her freehand skills make me weak in the knees!

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When Stephanie asked me to do a guest post, I couldn't resist.  Firstly, she agreed to help me judge my recent nail art contest which was a daunting task.  I felt I needed to repay her.  Secondly, the banner she designed is amazing!!!  Cocktails and manicures are the perfect combination.  I found some holiday wallpaper with a cute little elf and wanted to recreate it.  I knew it would take some time and required quite a bit of detailed, intricate work but I just thought it would be so cute if I was successful.  The little elf is sitting on the edge of a snow covered mountain drinking a cup of cocoa that she pulled out of the sky.  I hope you enjoy......

Here is the little guy up close and personal....

And, here is the inspiration picture.....

Could Stephanie have come up with a cooler banner?????  I don't think so!!!!

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How AMAZING is that little elf!? Too cute!!! Thank you so much Sue for showing us this awesome mani!!! 

Today I Am Guest Posting :)

Hello Lovelies!

Today I am the one guest posting, over at Lisa's Nail Obsession.

Here is a tiny sneak peek, but you need to go check out the full pictures and blogpost.

Holiday Happy Hour - Guest Post by A Girl and Her Polish

I hope that you readers are loving these guest posts as much as I am. Today, Katee from A Girl and Her Polish is showing off one awesome Holiday mani for us. I am in numerous polish groups with Katee, she is super nice, friendly, and like she mentions below, we live close to each other, so that's very fun. One of the things that I think Katee is AMAZING at is stamping (and swatching, and freehand, etc, etc, the list goes on), and she is showing us some of the awesome work with her mani today :)

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Hello all you fabulous A Little Polish readers!!  I am so happy to be guesting on Stephanie's blog today! She is one of the sweetest ladies I know and it has been a real pleasure getting to know her!  Plus her nails are amazing!  I am also very jealous of her indie polish collection!  We live very close to each other, so I might just start showing up on her doorstep begging for polish! :)

Anyway..on to the design!

My Holiday design is inspired by the polish I used, Sonnetarium Peppermint Kiss.  I haven't even shared this on my blog yet, so you are getting an exclusive!

I decided to layer Peppermint Kiss over a white base, to cut down on the number of coats.  I went with 1 coat of Milani White on the Spot.

When I ordered this polish I thought it was in a white base, because I did not read the description.  I was very surprised to learn that the base is slightly tinted red, which looks pink.

I added 1 coat of Peppermint Kiss.

Seeing that we are talking peppermint, I decided to add a peppermint candy swirl.  I used Red Angel plate 110 and Milani Rapid Cherry.

And I topped it off with 2 coats of HK Girl.

I don't know about you but I sure do like some candy themed nails for Christmas! Just don't try and eat your fingers! :)

Thank you Stephanie for asking me to guest post! I had so much fun creating this design for you!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

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This is super cute and it really looks just like peppermints; don't you just LOVE Katee's stamping?! Thank you for sharing this super sweet mani with us Katee!