Hot Pink

So, instead of cleaning or any of the other things I probably should have been doing today, I decided to give my blog a little makeover!  I was reading through a blogging FAQ post that was posted on Tes Did It Nails today.  She has some interesting things to think about as you start or work on expanding your blog, but the best little nugget was her link to The Cutest Blog On The Block. 
Oh.  My.  Goodness! 
Their templates are so adorable and I while I really like my new look, I am so excited to try out a new one!  These ladies have so many amazing free templates for all different looks and seasons--I'm excited to keep playing around with them!

I had been waiting to do this mani that I found on Pinterest for a while and was so excited to get around to it!  I tried really hard to find the original post, mostly because I wanted to know what the glitter was, but couldn't.  I really hate when pins lead to collections of manis with no sources!  If this is yours, let me know so I can give you credit!  The funny thing is, the more that I looked at the photo trying to figure out the polish, I realized I already owned it!

*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Hardener
*2 coats Sally Hansen Xtreme wear Black Out
*1 coat Milani Hot Pink
*1 coat Out the Door

 This is such a simple combo of a black cream base and glitter top, but I love how it looks!  Hot Pink is a clear base with medium sized silver holo glitter and magenta glitter.  I realized, once I started putting it on, there is also a really sparse micro silver glitter in it.  I added a thick layer of Out the Door over the top.  The polish is a little tricky to maneuver because it's one with a thick clear base, which means you dab the glitter more than brush, but that is in no way a deal breaker!

The top coat and thick base make the glitter look almost suspended in real life, which was the coolest part of this.  So cool, in fact, that a customer asked to see it and then she kept touching my nails and asking how I "did that." 
I'm super flattered when my customers like my nails and let me know or ask about them.  I also notice their nails and will comment on the manis I like.  I know you look at nails too, otherwise you would not be spending time looking at this.  So, here's my question: do you ever feel like it's okay to grab someone's hand to check out their nails?  Is it super weird, or is it just me (which is ALWAYS a possibility)?

Deck the halls

I am loving my Christmas nails this week!  I know I've said it before, but my biggest regret has been that I didn't start them sooner so that I can wear them longer.  So it goes...
Today I wore holly nails.  I got an order from Amazon last night with some Christmas presents.  When I ordered I wasn't quite to $25 (and who doesn't go for free shipping?!) so I added on some rhinestones!  I found this awesome mani on Pinterest (sense a trend here?) by More Nail Polish and was dying to try it out.  Here are my holly nails!

*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hardener
*2 coats Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Golden-I
*1 coat Finger Paints Elves Bells
*2 coats Zoya Logan
*1 coat Milani Jewel FX Red
*1 coat Out The Door

I loved the look of Golden-I and Elves Bells when I used them before, so I decided to use a gold base like my inspiration.  As I tend to do, I went to use a green I had handy when I remembered that I had some Zoyas that I had not tried yet.  I decided to use Logan for this mani, part of their most recent Ornate collection.  It is a really pretty deep green with shimmer that gives it a foil finish and great coverage.

I was going to use Ruby Pumps for my accent nail, like the one I found, but went with Logan instead.  To make it look a bit more like holly, I added Milani Jewel FX in red.  I used red rhinestones from my little wheel and some top coat to make berry clusters (except for my pinkies, which looked better with just one).  Once those were in place, I used a paint brush and Logan for the leaves.  I alternated where I placed the holly to make things a little more interesting (and forgiving!).

These are a bit classier than I usually go, a little more refined, and I love them!  I'm so excited to play with stones more and am sad to see these pretties go.  That's the beauty of a blog, though, right?  I can come back to them whenever I want!  As usual, these are so much cooler in the sun in real life, but they're not too shabby on screen either!

Oh Christmas tree!

Let me just say that I wore these little guys today and was SO sad tonight to take them off for a new mani for tomorrow.  I didn't give myself enough time to get through all the Christmas designs I wanted to wear this year (I'll do more "winter" ones I passed on in January) and have to move quickly.  That being said, I couldn't take my eyes off my hands today and think that I'll do these again for Christmas day.  Here are some cute little Christmas trees:

*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hardener
*2 coats China Glaze The Ten Man
*1 coat China Glaze Fairy Dust
*Color Club Holiday Splendor
*China Glaze Angel Wings
*Milani Gems
*1 coat Out The Door

I have become pretty obsessed with The Ten Man.  I used 2 coats of the shimmery, glittery silver goodness for a base.  It is not quite opaque, which made for such a pretty, ethereal background.  It was like glowing lights and sparkling snow behind the tree with a thin coat of silver-holo Fairy Dust.  Gorgeous! 
I was going to just use Skip the Gift Wrap because it was on my desk when I thought about pretty little Holiday Splendor in the drawer.  I taped off triangles and used this squishy, holo green glitter for the trees.  I know I've said it before, but if you ever get your hands on this one, don't let it go!  The bright, minty greed has an amazing holo glitter to it with a jelly consistency.  A-mazing!

I was going to leave the little trees alone, with a dot of Angel Wings on top.  I saw some manis earlier this month (edit: Amber Did It was the one that sparked my interest) with with multi glitter as ornaments on the tree, and I knew I only had a couple of chances to do tree designs, so I dabbed on Milani Gems, a typical though really pretty multi glitter.  The big and small hexex in so many colors looked so cool on the trees!

When I sealed and smoothed it all up in a shiny top coat, it was so pretty!  This is just a huge glitter fest, but it's really cool because of all the different kinds of sparkle, from subtle shimmer to holo and chunky.  My pictures really don't do these justice--there is a real, pretty depth in person, especially with The Ten Man base.  Like I said, I think I'm going to do these again for Christmas day because I love them SO much!  Have you found a cool Christmas tree design that I need to try?  A new way to "decorate" your tree?  Let me know!

'Stache Celebration

Okay, it's technically December 1st, now, but this was planned for the last day of November until life got in the way.  It has a funny habit of doing that...
I want to thank you all SO much for your amazing response to the Movember movement and my own personal story.  You have created some amazing manis showing love to the men in our lives, letting them know that their health is important to us because they are.  I have been so humbled by your kind words, amazing art, and awesome response.  THANK YOU!

Today is my final Movember mani for the year, because the month is over.  Like breast cancer awareness, though, this is not the end.  These awareness campaigns are wonderful and really do cause people to pause and think about their health, but I worry that there is a danger in moving on afterward.  Yes, we think and talk a lot about breast cancer in October and prostate and testicular cancer in November, but what happens in March?  We need to be aware of our bodies and our health all the time, trusting our instincts and speaking up when we see changes.  Why?  Because it literally saves lives! 
So today I am celebrating.  Celebrating you, and all of your support that far surpassed my hopes.  Celebrating the promise that medical advances bring, thanks to pressure from the public and the hard fundraising work of people like you and me.  Celebrating my pappy, and his healthy new reality.  Celebrating early detection and the wisdom of those who have devoted their lives to saving others. 

 Celebrating the 'Stache!

I figured that I would pay tribute to all of you brave ladies that freehanded mustaches this month and do one of my own. Yup, it's a weird looking little guy! I know that the nails are a bit dark, but I really wanted to let the confetti stand out! However, that little mustache needed to show up, so I added an accent of Zoya Ginessa (2 coats).

I was going use my trusty Black Out, but instead tried out Jacob's Protection by Essence.  This was part of their Breaking Dawn quad.  I have no experience with the Twilight books or movies, but these polishes were pretty (and less than $2!).  This black base is full of a pretty blue shimmer, so I used 2 coats as a base and then again for the mustache.  Then came the glitter!  I wanted a celebration, but couldn't choose one glitter, so this also morphed into a comparison:

Insert more pictures here.

(Well, I'm at a bit of a loss right now.  As I was uploading photos I hit my 2G limit.  Now I have to decide how to continue this blog and how much I want to invest in it.  For tonight, though, no more pictures, I guess.  It's late and I have some decisions to make.  I do have shots of all of these glitters to compare though.  Oh well, this was really about something more important anyway!)

So there it is--glittery joy!  I love the names of the polishes, too, which are appropriate for this joyful post: Party of Five Glitters by Wet 'n Wild (pinkie), Milani Gems (middle finger), Pinata-Yada-Yada by Ulta (index) and Happy Ending by Cult Nails (thumb).  How perfect!  These are all so fun, with Gems and Pinata-Yada-Yada being the most similar (and my favorites).  Happy in a bottle! 

Life is short and can be scary, so why not embrace a little celebration?  Cancer can be so dark and daunting, but the reality is that there is hope and can be life after, which is worth some sparkling joy.  So thank you!  There has been a lot of good this month to celebrate and I can only hope that movements like Movember bring a lot more celebrations to many more people--here's to the power of the 'stache!

Go Pink Wednesday!

I've been getting a little cocky in the nail art department this week, what with all of the challenge work and all.  So, I figured I'd go out on a limb with my support this week.

*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hardener base
*2 coats Zoya Kimber
*2 coats Milani One Coat Glitter Pink Flare on accent
*1 coat Out the Door topcoat

I love the Zoya Surf collection, so I used that shimmery beauty Kimber as my dominant color.  I realized that I don't have a lot of darker pinks, but this one caught my eye.  This is such a pretty color in the sun, packed with pink shimmer (Zoya calls it a "foil" finish).

 

 

I think this might be the first time I used this Milani glitter.  It is so pretty, packed with micro light pink glitter and larger silver holo hexes.  I used 2 coats on my ring finger, and it's almost opaque.  A third coat, or base, would take care of my nail line.  I used Kimber and a thin paint brush to draw a ribbon over the top of Pink Flare.  It covered pretty well.  I think my ribbon's not too bad (it's just a good thing you can't see my right hand!).

 

 

 

Tonight I went to a book reading for a blogger that I really love (you have to check out Enjoying the Small Things!  It's not a polish blog.  It's a mommy blog.  It's a photo blog.  It's a special-needs blog.  It's a rad blog from a woman with amazing outlooks and outfits.  It's a life blog).  At the reading, she spoke a bit about blogging.  She talked about how different our world is, connected through the Internet and blogs.  People ask her (and I ask myself) if it's weird or creepy that all these strangers know about her life.  She looked at the crowd and said "This is why it isn't weird."  She talked about how this is a new way to connect, finding things we share around the world and connecting.

 

That's what Go Pink Wednesdays are all about.  It's about connecting.  This manicure, this ribbon, this blog post, they are all about about letting people know that they are not alone.  We can support each other in small ways, like a little pink polish.  This is what life is really all about--finding ways to connect.  This is why I'm wearing pink.