Mani Monday: Opalescent Topper

It is Mani Monday and this paint job has an opalescent topper to finish it off! This is actually the mani I did last week, I never got a chance to post this. I gave my nails a rest this week, which I think is good to do once in a while. Your nails need to breathe too you know! Anyway on to the mani! Can you guess what polish I am using? It probably may come as a shock that it is Sinful Colors lol! I love this polish! This really is a basic polish change, with a twist. I wanted to try one of the new polishes I got. So I painted Sinful Colors Calypso on my nails. It is a beautiful, dark blue green polish with a creme finish; and it is part of their permanent line. And guys Calypso is a one coater, which makes it even better! I loved it on it's own, but I was really itching to try the opalescent toppers I had also bought. I was going to use the green one,but then changed my mind and decided to use the purple one and it turned out perfectly! It is a sheer, shimmery purple topper called Flight To See. It was released this year as part of the 2015 Sinful Colors Spring Collection and it was a new release. It was, however, limited edition, but I am sure it will pop up again in another collection, which is pretty normal for Sinful Colors. Anyway, on it's own Flight To See is a really pretty shimmery purple with a silver flux. When paired with Calypso, it turns into this very deep jewel tones purple, that has beautiful metallic looking finish! It stays dark around the edges of the nail and as your eye moves toward the middle of the nail, the light picks up the silver flux and make this purple pop! I am a fan! I can't wait to try out the green opalescent topper that I got too! So keep your eyes out for a post about that soon. Happy Monday and happy painting everyone!  

Sinful Colors Calypso

Sinful Colors Flight To See
over Calypso with flash

Sinful Colors Flight To See
over Calypso without flash

Mani Monday: Sinful Colors Beaches And Cream

It is Mani Monday; and this week is another basic polish change using Sinful Colors Beaches And Cream. This is a limited edition color, that was released last summer and re-released this summer. I saw it last summer and really wanted it, but never got around to purchasing it before it disappeared off the shelves. So, when it was a sale a while back and I saw it, I decided to just get it along with a bunch of other shades that you can see in a haul video here. I love the color, but I am not a huge fan of the formula. It goes on streaky, making it a little tricky to work with and it took three coats to make it opaque. I don't mind the three coats, but streaky is a little annoying. I love Sinful Colors! The formula is almost always perfect, but every once is a great great while, you get a dud. It's a shame too, because the color is an almost perfect neutral. It isn't totally white and has the perfect amount of yellow undertone in it, making it a really nice warm neutral. It is a creme finish, which I like, but it isn't a true creme. When you see it in the bottle, you don't see the yellow as much. It looks more cream colored and it has a slight pink shimmer. Creme finishes, don't have any shimmer. However, once you paint this on your nails, you see the yellow more and that slight pink shimmer is barely noticeable, in fact you can't even see it in the picture below, which is why I would say it is more of a creme finish. I do think Beaches And Cream will be a good neutral base for nail art, which is always a plus if you like nail art! You can never have too many neutral bases! That's it for this Mani Monday review! I hope everyone has a happy Monday and happy painting everyone!

This is actually how it looks in the
bottle, you can see the slight pink
shimmer down the center of the
bottle that the flash picks up.

Sinful Colors Beaches And Cream

Mani Monday: Easy Nail Art With A Toothpick

It's Mani Monday and here is an easy nail art manicure using a toothpick! I am loving Mani Monday, it definitely makes Mondays more bearable! This is an easy manicure and the only thing you need is two nail polish colors and a toothpick. I saw a video on YouTube quite some time ago by Cutepolish, using this technique. However, she used three colors and I am only using two. Check out her tutorial here! The colors I am using are Sinful Colors Daredevil and Sinful Colors Navy I Do. Both have a creme finish according to the Sinful Colors website, however, Daredevil does have a slight shimmer to it. I think these colors work perfectly together, but you can use any two colors you like.

Step 1: Apply a base coat. I used Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Strengthener.

Step 2: Apply a base color. I used Sinful Colors Daredevil.

Step 3: Pick another polish color and paint a stripe of it down one side of your nail. Then while it is still wet, drag a toothpick through the stripe of color and base color and stop just before reaching the other side of the nail. I used Sinful Colors Navy I Do for this step. I chose to only do an accent nail, but you can do all of your nails like this and it would look super cute! I would recommend working one nail at a time with the second color and toothpick though, as you don't want this color to dry before dragging the toothpick through it.

Step 4: Apply a fast drying top coat. I used Sally Hansen Insta-dri top coat. Then clean up the cuticles with acetone or nail polish remover, if necessary. Let the polish dry completely and then finish up the manicure by using a cuticle oil of your liking to moisturize the cuticle and around the nail. 

Toothpick Manicure using Sinful Colors Daredevil and Navy I Do.

There you have it! An easy manicure; and all you needed was a toothpick! Happy Monday and happy painting everyone!

**This manicure is from a few weeks ago. I finally had time to finish writing the blog and post it! Sorry for the delay!

Mani Monday: Sinful Colors Nirvana

It is Mani Monday! And this week is a basic polish change using Sinful Colors Nirvana. I am absolutely in love with this color. It is part of the Sinful Colors permanent line and I just purchased it recently along with a bunch of other polishes that you can see in a haul video here. I see it every time I go to the store and every time I ignore it. It was on sale and so I decided to buy it. I don't know why I waited so long to get it. I have no other colors in my collection that are like this one and it is so much prettier than I expected it to be! It is this taupe color that tends more towards a brown with cool blue/purple grey undertones. When you see it in the bottle it definitely looks like a muddy brown, but on the nails you can see more of those cool blue/purple grey undertones that make it more taupe in color. Nirvana has a creme finish and is opaque in two coats. If you are looking for a color that is unexpectedly different, definitely give this one a try. While I got it on sale for $.99, at $1.99 regularly, you can't beat the price and the quality is amazing! Happy Monday and happy painting everyone!

Sinful Colors Nirvana with flash you can see
those cool undertones.

Sinful Colors Nirvana with no flash this is what you see
when you look at in the bottle as is.

Mani Monday: Metallic Mani

Sinful Colors Mesmerize

Sinful Colors Supernova

It's Mani Monday!! I love nail polish! This is no secret! I think, however, the manicure I gave myself this week, could be my go to favorite. I am loving the color combo and the contrast between the metallic and creme finishes! I love how metallic nail polishes look! Funny thing is, when I see them in the store, I never buy them. So the other day I was in Target and I was perusing the Sinful Colors display and I picked up this metallic nail polish and decided to buy it! It is Sinful Colors Supernova. I was drawn to it because it is a rose gold color and I just think rose gold is so pretty. It also has a silver shimmer to it that gives it the metallic, tin foil looking effect. The picture of the bottle to the left is accurate, the pictures of it on my nails look more gold, but when I used a flash, you can see the silver shimmer. Anyway, I thought it looked familiar, so I did some digging and found out it was originally released in 2012 as part of the Fall Collection Hot Flash Metallics. Sinful Colors will sometimes re-release limited edition colors on their own or as part of a new collection. I am glad I spotted this one because there were only a few bottles left! I paired it with Sinful Colors Mesmerize. This is also a limited edition color. It was first released in 2012, also in the Fall in the Enchanted/Muse Collection. It was re-released again in the Spring of 2013 as part of the Haute Rebel Collection, which is when I picked it up. Mesmerize is a deep purple color with blue undertones that has a creme finish. When you see the picture of it on my nails, the camera makes it look more blue than it actually is. the picture of it in the bottle at the top to the right is more accurate. Now, on to how to get this manicure!

Step 1: As always start with a base coat to help prevent any staining. As usual, I used Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Strengthener.

Step 2: Apply your base color. I used Sinful Colors Supernova. This is other tape mani, so let that base color dry completely before going onto the next step!

With Flash

No flash

Step 3: Apply the straightest edge of the tape to the nail.

Creating the Nail Design

Step 4: Paint the nail below the tape, the part of the nail closest to the cuticle. Then, before that polish dries, remove the tape. It should leave you with a nice, crisp line! Repeat this on all of your nails!

Paint the Color and then remove the tape

Step 5: Let that second color dry a little bit, to prevent streaking. Then apply a fast drying top coat. Once again, as usual, I used Sally Hansen Insta Dry Top Coat. Clean up the cuticle and around the nail bed with some acetone or nail polish remover, if necessary and voila, an easy to create and pretty new manicure! 

Finished Manicure

Happy Monday and happy painting everyone!

Painting On The Go

Sally Hansen Ice Queen

Sinful Colors Endless Blue

My best friend Julia, from Enchanted Fantasy here on blogger, came to visit me at my second job last night, and she decided to do a little painting on the go. So while I was pouring drinks, she sat and painted her nails. I loved the color she was using so much, that I needed to share it with all of you! And surprisingly, it isn't a color I have in my collection. She used Sinful Colors Endless Blue. It is a beautiful cobalt blue shade, that I am now going to go out and buy so I can have it in my collection too! And on her ring finger she added Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Ice Queen as an accent. The Sally Hansen is one she borrowed from me! And it is one I don't reach for enough! I definitely love how it pairs with Endless Blue!

Finished Manicure

I hope everyone is having a fabulous Wednesday and happy painting!

Haute Rebel

Sinful Colors' newest collection is called Haute Rebel and it is beautiful! So I clearly love nail polish and it is no secret that one of my favorite brands is the Sinful Colors line. You can find it and any Walgreen's location. If you like colors that have a grey undertone, then this is the collection for you! A while back, sometime before the holiday madness started, I was at Walgreen's perusing the nail polish section as I often do, and I came across this smoky blue grey shade and I had to have it! It was Sinful Colors Rain Storm. I put it on immediately after I got home and I loved it so much that I had to go back and buy two more bottles because this was a color that two of my fellow nail polish junkies at work needed to have! The formula is amazing! Two coats was perfect and it has a perfect creme finish! Unfortunately, I never took a picture of it while I was wearing it, but I do have a picture of the polish in the bottle to show you. The next time I wear it, I will take a picture to add this blog. 

 

My flash makes it look a lot brighter than it actually is. It is a much more muted or toned down blue.

Skip ahead to a few days ago. I was at my local Walgreen's and I saw that Sinful Colors had actually released an entire line of these grey under-toned colors. I was looking at all of them and fell in love with them all. I decided to only buy one shade at the time and I settled on Beau Khaki. It is a gorgeous green, and I don't have a green like this one in my collection. I put in on and I was not disappointed! I applied two coats, but honestly one would have been enough. The best way to describe the shade of green, is that it is sort of a deep sage color or maybe a light army green color. And it also had that same perfect creme finish that Rain Storm had. 

Once again the flash brightened it up a little. The way it is showing here is almost right, but still just a little too bright.

Normally I will only get one or two colors from any given collection, because buying a whole collection can get pricey, but I loved these two shades so much, that I will definitely be purchasing the entire collection! At $1.99 a bottle, it's a total steal! And the quality is amazing! The entire collection consists of 8 shades: Rain Storm, Beau Khaki,  Cool Grey, Inkwell, Mesmerize, Mauve, Ardoise and Smokin. I cannot wait to add these to my ever growing nail polish collection and as soon as I do I will add pictures of them to this blog or I will write a separate review on them!     

Spring Is In the Air

Spring is in the air! Well, maybe not so much. It is only February after all. How do I help myself beat the winter blues? With nail polish of course! I've never been a stickler for beauty rules, and by that I mean I almost never follow the color rules. You know dark colors in the winter, jeweled tones and dark colors for fall, light and pastel for spring, and as bright as you can get for the summer. I just wear what I want when I want because it makes me happy! As much as I love the winter, February hits and I start to find it dreary. It's a total downer and I like to think that I am a generally upbeat person. Since I have to wear a uniform to work, there isn't much I can do to boost my mood in the wardrobe department, but I can paint my nails for that little bit of color I crave. So when I start to feel those winter blues, the dark polishes get shelved and the fun colors come out! It's proven that bright or pastel colors almost always lift your mood. Around this time of year I like to remind myself that spring is just around the corner. Two colors that are perfect for that are Sally Hansen's Xtreme Wear in Mint Sorbet and Sally Hansen's Xtreme Wear in Lacey Lilac. They are beautiful! The Mint Sorbet is this really pretty mint green color, almost a sea foam green, but a little brighter. The Lacey Lilac, is this gorgeous pastel purple. They kind of remind me of Easter eggs.They have a creme finish and you will probably need two coats, well I did at least. As a top coat I like to use Sally Hansen's Insta Dry in Clearly Quick to give it the glossy effect that I love! Here are pictures of what each one looks like!

Sally Hansen Mint Sorbet Swatch

Sally Hansen Lacey Lilac Swatch

See I told you they look like Easter egg colors! Easter eggs are perfect little reminders that spring is here and summer is not too far behind! Now if these colors aren't enough to boost your mood and you just need something more, go for a really bright summer color, like a hot pink or an orange, maybe even a yellow, if you're brave enough! Trust me it works!! :) Happy painting!