End Endo: Bloomin' Uterus love

This is a special post for me because it's a post for a special lady.

I work with Lisa. 
Lisa is a badass.
Lisa rides motorcycles and fights fires and makes me laugh like no other at work.
Lisa is brave and strong and incredibly open and vulnerable.
Lisa is fighting endometriosis.

She is incredibly candid and inspiring as she goes through life with her diagnosis, which unfortunately came much later than it should have.  She has a blog, Bloomin' Uterus, where she writes about life after surgery, the disease, how she copes, and life.  She has begun to build an inspiring community of people who are in this battle together, because she took the leap and spoke about her own experience.  I get chills when she tells me about the women she's meeting, online and in person, who all feel the same--they think they're the only ones.  They want to hear someone else understands.  They want community.  She is giving them that.

Lisa is a rockstar. 

One of the things she did, to remind women with a disease that attacks what's fundamentally female that they are still beautiful and feminine, was create the Bloomin' Uterus.

Isn't it adorable?!  It's a reminder that endometriosis doesn't break you.  It doesn't ruin you.  There's life and beauty after diagnosis and strength in numbers.  I'm so proud to carry my pin on my bag every day.  If you are interested in one for yourself (or a bunch for your friends) check out her GoFundMe page: End Endo.

So, since March is endometriosis awareness month and the awareness color is yellow, I'm going to do some yellow manis for Lisa and women like her.  Today's is obviously inspired by her brilliant Bloomin' Uterus:

*1 coat Gelous base
*3 coats Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mellow Yellow
*1 coat Julep Tilda
*2 coats Out the Door

I used Mellow Yellow, a cream base, for my (duh!) yellow.  I used thin coats and it streaks a bit, so I went with 3 coats.  I added Tilda, a teal shimmer topper, for a little sparkle.  Then I added some rhinestone flowers, which I love, for my accents.  I really like how these turned out and like even more that they make me think of Lisa and her beautiful work every time I look down.

I would love it if you'd take a moment to check Lisa's pages out this month, especially if you or someone you love are dealing with endometriosis--there's strength in numbers!

Faded holo

I hit a bit of a "polishers block" last week.  I REALLY wanted to use one of these polishes, Fashion Addict, and was trying hard to find something creative to do with it.  Honestly, I really just wanted to wear it all on its own, but my polish and photo skills aren't up to par to be a swatcher.  After agonizing and finally settling on something much too late at night, I had to remind myself that my blog started as a way to remember looks and polishes I liked--not to impress anyone.  I might need to gently remind myself again, but next time I  really just want to enjoy a pretty polish, I am going to let myself be okay with that :)

So, here's how I enjoyed the beauty that is Fashion Addict:

*1 coat Gelous base
*2 coats Color Club Fashion Addict
*4 coats LynB Designs Defender of the Downtrodden
*1 coat Out the Door

Fashion Addict is a gorgeous dense scattered/linear-leaning lavender polish.  I used 2 coats to even out a couple of thin edges, but this one is actually a one-coat polish if you want.  I love the dusty shade of purple and the intense holo--can you blame me for itching to wear this one?

I bought Defender of the Downtrodden in one of LynB Designs' recent sales (which she generously has all the time--take advantage!).  This soft dove gray has scattered holo throughout.  I used 4 VERY thin coats that dried really fast.  It sounds like a lot, but really wasn't bad at all--the pale gray just needed some layers to cover my nail line, but would be perfect over another gray cream.  I added a little lavender rhinestone to the gray to tie them together and sealed it all up in top coat, which made the holo come alive!
For winter, I really liked this faded coloring and this was a look that I couldn't take my eyes off of in the sun!

A Couple of Late Valentines...

As I've focused on decorating my apartment (only about 6 months AFTER moving in) and trying my hand at a Pinterest craft or two, my posts got a little forgotten, but the manis didn't! 
Overall, I really enjoyed my Valentine's Day manis this year.  Here are the last 2 that I wore:

*1 coat Gelous base
*2 coats Sinful Colors Cream Pink
*2 coats Sinful Colors Snow Me White
*1 coat China Glaze Make A Spectacle
*1 coat Out the Door

This one was inspired by this pin (if you know its origin, please let me know so I can credit the creator!)  Cream Pink was a bit brighter than I remembered, but just as pretty.  It's not a cream at all, but a gorgeous pink packed with golden shimmer.  I used Make A Spectacle, an iridescent multi-sized glitter, to add some sparkle to my white accent and added a heart sticker that I recently found while cleaning out my mani drawer.  I didn't love the sticker, but overall liked this bright look!

Then there was my actual Valentine mani:

*1 coat Gelous base
*2 coats Sinful Colors Snow Me White
*2 coats Zoya Gaia
*Zoya Kimber
*Zoya Rory
*1 coat Out the Door

This was a twist on a Christmas mani I did, inspired by The Swatching Sprite.  I'm not sure why, but I think I liked the first one better--maybe I sized the dots a little better.  This was still fun, though!  I used Gaia, a sheer "white" polish that is really more of a gold shimmer, over my base.  Then I used the amazing Kimber (magenta) and Rory (lavender-pink) from the Surf collection shimmers that I NEVER get tired of.  I was a bit down on this one at first, but it really grew on me.

So that's the end of Valentine's 2015 (although it's never the wrong time for a pretty pink mani)!

Fairy Love

My love-hate-mostly-love relationship with Valentine's day is in full swing.  Bring on the pink!  Bring on the sparkles!  Bring on the hearts!  Bring on the love!  (Pretend to ignore my lonely singleness!)
Here's my first mani for the season.  I wanted to have some sparkling red on my nails, and went from there once I got some new decals in the mail that I ordered from RLR Creations.

*1 coat Gelous base
*2 coats Zoya America
*2 coats Sinful Colors Snow Me White
*3 coats Butter London Fairy Cakes
*1 coat China Glaze Fairy Dust
*1 coat Out the Door

America is 2 easy coats for perfect red coverage.  Adding Fairy Cakes as a second accent was a last minute decision, but I'm glad I did it.  Sometimes too much red makes me feel...old.  I like breaking it up like this.
I used Snow Me white as a base for my red heart decal.  This comes in a really cute Valentine's set.  I was kind of off as I was finishing up this mani and left the first decal in the water WAY too long and it got folded as I slid it off.  This one lost a little bit of the red as I patted it on, which is really only noticeable up close.  I've never had this happen with these decals, so I'm assuming it was a fluke--we'll see with some of the others from this set that I can't wait to use!
 

I was having a rough day when I I painted this, so I figured a little more sparkle was in order.  I added a coat of Fairy Dust, the perfect micro holo glitter, and then shined it all up with a top coat. 
I've been doing a lot of cleaning/decorating/crafting lately, so I've gotten some chips on my right hand.  At first I was bummed because this was such a fun look, but now I'm a little happy because it gives me an excuse to move onto the next festive look!

Do you have any "love" looks you love?  Let me know!

Crumpet's 31DC: Holo

Too many options again!
If you look at my tags over yonder ==> you'll see that "holo" is one of my most used.  I thought about holo glitter toppers, linear holos, scattered holos, holo accents...there are too many options and I really struggled to narrow things down!
So, I went relatively simple.  I stopped myself from going overboard and am enjoying the end result!

*1 coat Gelous base
*2 coats Color Club Halo-Graphic?  Miss Bliss?
*2 coats Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out
*1 coat Out the Door

Due to a tragic disaster in shipping, a broken polish bottle in the Halo Hues collection ruined my other bottles and most are missing their bottom labels, so I'm not entirely sure which of the pinks this is, but I think it's Halo-Graphic.  It could be Miss Bliss.  It is gorgeous!  My photo skills are basic, at best, and even I can't take a bad picture of this one! 
I went simple and dotted the Halo Hue over Black Out for an accent.  It looked a little plain, so I added a second accent reversing the polishes.  I almost continued and dotted all the nails, and it probably would have been cute, but I'm really loving this as is! 

What's your favorite way to rock a holo look?

Crumpet's 31DC: Inspired by Pinterest

Also known as "My Blog."

I try to be as up front as possible about where my ideas come from, and they are 70% Pinterest ideas, 28% blogs I already read, and about 2% my own.  I'm a word girl, not an art girl.  I do, though, enjoy trying new things, so I'm so thankful for all of the ladies out there who ARE art girls and creative and inspiring.  I also try to always give as much credit as possible where it is due.
So, this post is basically any other post for me :)  I browsed through my nail board and decided to go for a subtle-ish look that I love:

*1 coat Gelous base
*2 coats Essie Lady Like
*3 coats I Am Strong (middle)
*2 coats China Glaze I'm Not Lion
*1 coat Out the Door (2 on I'm Not Lion)

The colors that Anne at Grape Fizz Nails used in the original mani are a bit more muted and a little different in tone, but I like how these went together (and now have hers on my wish list).  While I Am Strong is brighter than I thought it would be, I like how the 3 colors work together.
I'm becoming more and more of a double accent nail fan, so I'm digging this.  I'm also learning to let creams be and NOT add shimmer/glitter/sparkle on top. 

What have you found on Pinterest that I need to see?  (Honestly, what ISN'T on Pinterest that I need to see?!)

...And Presents Under the Tree

My striping tape skills failed me again on this one, which I saw on Pinterest and traced back to the ever-amazing Manicurator, Victoria. I was SO meticulous in my taping, too, trying to make sure I could get the strips off quickly when I was done polishing so that I'd get clean lines.  Apparently I was not as fast as I thought...so, plan B:

*1 coat Gelous base
*2 coats Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Golden-I
*2 coats China Glaze Angel Wings
*2 coats China Glaze Ruby Pumps
*Zoya Logan
*Wet 'n' Wild Kaliedoscope
*2 coats Out the Door

I loved the gold on this one--Golden-I has such a gorgeous shimmer to it and the holo sparkle of Angel Wings were perfect together.  Angel Wings glows behind the tree!  I painted over my failed stripes with the perfect green foil of Logan.  I like that you can still see the edges (total accident) so it looks more like a tree than a triangle.  I dabbed on some Kaleidoscope for decoration and added a rhinestone topper. 
What's a tree without presents?  I love the "wrapped present" nails and used the ever-awesome Ruby Pumps.  While nothing ever looks as good in a macro photo, my "ribbons" weren't too bad on these accents.  I added a bow sticker, some glossy topper, and called it a festive day!

There are still a few polishing days left before Christmas--what's your favorite tree design?  What should I try before the season's over?

Christmas Stripes

It seems I took too much time away from nail art this year because the simplest things have given me a heckuva time lately!
I saw this pin, which is from Work Play Polish, in a guest post from Kellie Gonzo.  You following me?  The main point is, it's adorable and I wanted to give it a try!

*1 coat Gelous base
*2 coats China Glaze Winter Holly
*2 coats OPI Danke-shiny Red
*2 coats Cover Girl Boundless Color White Night
*Zoya Logan
*Salon Perfect Champagne Toast
*2 coats Out the Door

I've never been able to paint straight lines, so I pulled out my striping tape for the accent.  They were lined up beautifully, spaced perfectly.  Then, I painted with Logan and pulled the tape up...and was too slow.  Most of the stripes came up with it.  I had to freehand the stripes back on, which worked MUCH better on my left hand than my right (not that you've had that happen).  Hearts are a really easy accent to add, but again, I'm pretty basic in my skills, so I added a red rhinestone instead.
I used the always wonderful Danke-Shiny red, smooth, shimmery, and rich.  I wanted a little more sparkle, so I added Champagne This went went well with Winter Holly, a dense, dark green and holo gold glitter that dries very gritty but covers well.  This picture REALLY doesn't do it justice--it's gorgeous!
This original design is so adorable and luckily something I can try again with any color combo.  Overall, this wasn't horrible, just not as neat as I hoped.

Do you have any tips on painting crisp, straight lines?  Do tell!

A Legendary Christmas

I was doing so well!  Then life got a little busy...so it goes!
I never did a final Thanksgiving mani, which is okay because the design is one I'm itching to try and will work with any colors.  I had an amazing time at home and then an insane week back to work.  I've been wearing this mani for a week now (hence the chippage) and before I swapped it out, wanted to gush over a couple of polishes.  So, here's the first Christmas look of the season!

*1 coat Gelous base
*3 coats You Polish Godrick
*2 coats Aengland Saint George
* 3 coats OPI My Favorite Ornament
*2 coats Out the Door

Just a holo-y, sparkly, festive mani!  I ordered Godrick (as in,  Gryffindor) when You Polish clearanced out her polish to focus more on nail decals and art (there are still some polishes left to check out if you move quickly!).  I have been looking for a holo red, so I picked up Godrick.  This picture makes it a deeper red than it is in real life.  On the nail, it's a bit more muted, like a brick red, and pretty sheer, but still lovely--I think I might try it over another red next. 
I paired it with Aengland's Saint George, which is a good match.  The deep teal has a gorgeous formula and really didn't need 2 coats, except I bumped my nail when it was tacky...
The fine, linear holos look great together, but I couldn't stop there and grabbed My Favorite Ornament again and added a little sticker for Saint George.  Done.
You're only seeing half of my index finger because I have a little corner chip, but for almost a week of not-so-gentle wear, these held up magnificently!

Have you started rocking some holiday looks?  What are your go-to colors? 

Movember 2014

It's November, which means that lips are starting to get fuzzy and I get extra thankful for my daddy.  That's right it's...

MOVEMBER!

In the past, I've told my story about why this month is close to my heart.  Due to early detection, my dad has been cancer free at every check-up since his surgery!  There is a lot of information out there to take in and I've started a board on Pinterest (fair warning--some pins may be slightly Not Suitable For Work due to the focus on men's bodies and health) with more info, links, and support for the movement to focus on and discuss men's health.  

I'm planning to do a couple of manis this month in honor of prostate and testicular cancer awareness.  This one is the first, and I'm kind of adoring it!

*1 coat Gelous base
*3 coats Lucky 13 Lacquer Cliffs of Heaven
*2 coats Butter London Fairy Cake
*Sinful Colors Snow Me White
*Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out
*1 coat Out the Door

Look at all that sparkly, holo goodness!  This is my happy place :)
Light blue is the color of prostate cancer awareness.  I recently bought my first Lucky 13 Lacquer polish.  I saw a message on Facebook that Kyoti was trying to get to her family due to a loss and my heart went out to her.  I've been there and was more than happy to do something, little as it was.  The good news--the polish community is awesome and she made enough to get home!  Also, this polish is amazing!  Also also, she is wonderful to work with when you accidentally screw up your order (Thank you!)!
Cliffs of Heaven is a light blue, slightly teal-leaning holo--these photos aren't quite true to color because it's a bit dustier.  I used 3 coats because they were VERY thin coats, which created some bald patches.  The holo particles are gorgeous in the sun!  I paired it with Fairy Cakes, possibly my favorite micro silver holo.
I dipped back into my awesome RLR Creations decals for the little mustaches.  I love these water slide decals and am planning another order because through Saturday there is a promo--order through PayPal on Facebook and you can buy 5, get 1 free or get 10% entire order, whichever is the better deal.  TOTALLY worth it at less that $3 per sheet of 20 decals!  I dotted on eyes and sealed it all with a top coat.

That last pictures is way out of focus, but just look at all that holo goodness!  I had to capture it somehow!

So here's to another November of talking about men's health!

If you've created any Movember manis, I'd love to see them!  

"Say something, I'm giving up on you!"

I'm alive, I swear!
Between the holidays, travel, school, finals, work, attempting to sleep, and the little things, like taking a shower or breathing, the end of the year was insane for me!
I painted my nails a few times, but they were basic, uninspired, and left on for far too long.  January was a nekkid nail month, so there was nothing to see.
Then it was Valentine's day!  I really wanted to do a bunch of different things, but then it was the 13th, so I had to just go with something.  I promise that I'll be around a lot more now, because I was reminded how much I miss this little "me" time.
So, here's the look I loved:

*1 coat Gelous base
*3 coast China Glaze Good Witch?
*2 coats Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out
*2 coats Butter London Fairy Cake
*Savina Hearts
*2 coats Out the Door

I used this pin of a mani by @yesnails.http://www.iphoneogram.com/u/278152314 as my inspiration.  I went with black instead of white on my accent because, well, it is Valentine's day, after all.  I used my striping tape that came in from Born Pretty instead of my shaky hand and a heart glitter from the Savina polish. 
I went with Good Witch? to match the pink heart from the glitter.  This polish is so odd.  It's a pretty metallic rose with matching micro glitter throughout it.  It's stunning in the sun.  The mini glitter gives it a bumpy look, though.  It sort of kills me because it looks funky, but the color and sparkle are great!
I never get tired of the beauty of Fairy Cake's holo goodness, so that was my second accent.
I am LOVING these and do not want to take it off, but they were quick and look awesome, so it's a good motivation to get back into things.
Thank you for your loyalty through my silence.  Today I passed 10,000 views, which is not much for some bloggers but really blows my mind!  Than YOU for stopping by and making me smile!

May the treats be ever in your favor!

I've been swamped with studying, class, internship work and work-work lately, so prepare yourself for a little avalanche of posts here!
This is my most recent one, a Halloween mani that chipped so it had to go.  To be honest, I wanted to do a few, so I wasn't TOO sad to take it off...

*1 coat Yello=Out
*3 coats China Glaze Harvest Moon
*3 coats China Glaze Riveting
*3 coats Sonoma Nail Art Sincerest Pumpkin Patch
*Zoya Yara
*1 coat Out the Door

The China Glaze Capitol Colors were/are phenomenal.  Plain and simple.  Tons of them lend themselves to fall art, and I used two of them for this main.  Harvest Moon is a gorgeous, warm coppery-brown with a sparkling foil finish.  I used this on my thumb, index, and pinkie fingers.

I used Riveting for my pumpkin accent with Harvest Moon for the lines and a little bit of Yara for the grass and stem.  I adore Riveting.  I won't waste your time here, but you can click on the tag to see me sing its praises again and again.  This orange just glows!
Finally, I used Sincerest Pumpkin Patch for a second accent.  I love Sonoma Nail Art polish!  Not only do the polishes come from very near to my hometown, but they are amazing!  They combos are so rad and the polish is wonderful quality.  I haven't used this one in a year and didn't need any thinner like I usually do with indies.  I like it a little better with a base, like Yara, but I didn't think that through before I started painting, so I just layered the beauty on!  I love this polish and the Peanuts--it just makes me smile every time I look at it!

33DC: Chevrons

Last week I really wasn't very inspired by the challenges, nor did I have time to do more than a simple polish.  Last night, as I read and tried to do ANYTHING but homework, I gave chevrons a try.  I've been dying to try this mani that I found on Pinterest and traced back to Selena at Pink U Rock.  I, like many of you, debated whether or not zig-zags were considered chevrons.  I took the technical road and decided not, so I tweaked the mani a bit, but love it!

*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hardener
*2 coats Sinful Colors Cream Pink
*2 coats Butter London Fairy Cake
*2 coats Sinful Colors Snow Me White
*Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out
*1 coat Out the Door

I love Cream Pink and couldn't find it for a while last night.  I know Sinful Colors are cheap, so it wasn't a big deal, but I had had my heart set on it.  I'm glad it surfaced (which is sort of a miracle in my room right now).  I used 2 coats for coverage, though long nails probably need 3.  I love that, even though it has "cream" in its name, it has a really subtle golden shimmer to it that you can see in the first picture.
Fairy Cake is an awesome gold-ish holo glitter that I used for my ring finger accent.  I love how this looks with the pink!  I used Snow Me White as a base for my chevrons and used striping tape to make the v's.  Then I used Black out over the top and peeled off the tape.
This color combo is so stunning that I am sad to see it go tomorrow!  I have to meet with my internship contact for school and don't really feel like this is appropriate, but I'm sure I'll give it another go or try a variation very soon because I can't take my eyes off of it!  Do you have any color combos that just steal the show like this?  Share!  Share!

Love-Hate

I love and hate Valentine's day.  This year was a pretty crappy one, due mostly to an insane amount of work between two jobs.  I felt, to be honest, like I should reflect this attitude in my mani:

*1 coat Yello-Out
*2 coats Color Club Ruby Pumps
*2 coats Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out
*1 coat Out the Door

This was a really simple one.  I used Ruby Pumps and Black Out for my accent.  I freehanded a heart on my thumb (which was...interesting...on my right hand).  I would say that I love this red, but I've learned that I am not allowed to fall in love with a red polish.  It's been more than a year and my bottle of Color Club Ruby Slippers still won't open (I can't bring myself to toss it) and I opened my box of indies this weekend to find that Annalicious had been killed!  I have no idea how, but the bottle broke right at the neck.  The top was laying next to the rest of the dry bottle.  I was going to buy a replacement this weekend with the promo, but just couldn't justify it.  I was so bummed!

New 31DC: Purple

Not long ago I went through a purple phase--not wearing, but apparently buying.  I don't know what sparked it, but suddenly I realized that I hadn't bought anything but purple in a while.  It was odd.  I wanted to take tonight to swatch some newbies, but also wanted to do more than a simple coat or two (not that there is ANYTHING wrong with that!  I can get too caught up in "art" or accents or layers and forget often how pretty my polishes are all on their own!).  So, I went with some dots!  This was an inspiration for today.

*1 coat Yello-Out base
*2 coats Zoya Aurora (index, middle and pinkie)
*2 coats China Glaze Gothic Lolita (thumb and ring)
*1 coat Out The Door

I have never done a double accent yet, but decided to go ahead and give it a try.  It's only for one day, right?  Why not!

I used 2 coats of both Aurora and Gothic Lolita for my bases.  Aurora was the darling of the Ornate collection.  I don't know that I am quite as in love with her as others are, but it is a beautiful polish!  It is a warm, deep purple with scattered micro holo glitter/shimmer.  Gothic Lolita is a lighter purple, not quite lavendar, that appears to be a cream but has a subtle, lovely blue shimmer to it.  Both polishes provided good coverage in 2 coats.

I used a medium dotting tip to alternate dots on the nails, Aurora on Gothic Lolita and visa versa.  I was worried that there would not be enough contrast until I saw the photos.  I really like how the dots look with these two!  I sorta wish that I had used a slightly larger dot and done fewer, but that's not a big deal. 

I think that I even like the double-accent look.  I don't know how I'll feel when I try it with colors that contrast more, but I haven't written it off.  Do you do the double accent?  Change up the nail you use?  Hate the trend all together?