ABC Challenge - "Z" is for Zombie Apocalypse

I'm playing catch up because my OCD will NOT allow me to skip 3 weeks.  It just won't...I've tried to ignore it, but it's like that one grain of sand in your shoe that feels like a boulder.  You know what I mean...

ABC Challenge - "Y" is for Ya Freak!

Last catch-up post!  Yay!!  So relieved.

Last couple posts detailed state of my hands....yadda yadda.  Long story short - they are in bad shape.  You will see cuticle oil in the photos.  Bad, bad blogger, I know. 

ABC Challenge - "X" is for...well, X

Still catching up...I'm a blogging maniac today!  I will be caught up before I go to bed tonight if it kills me!

ABC Challenge - "W" is for Watch it Shine

Long time everyone, but I am back to being able to post regularly!  The hell that was session B of the Spring semester at school is over, and taking 12 hours along with working full time was not a smart decision.  It was a necessary one, but definitely not smart.  I've got a week off before it starts up all over again, but I won't be working full time any longer, so I can breathe....aaaahhhhhhhh.

ABC Challenge - "V" is for Venus In The Sky

Hello all!  We are here for the letter V, so here we go.

First, let me say that my original idea for the letter U and letter V both tied in together.  But that was before I looked at the calendar, and realized that the letter U fell right after Memorial Day weekend.  So my inspiration for V started with the letter U...who cares, right?  Here's the finished look, and yes, I know my cuticles look awful.  There is a lot of oil glare that wasn't there IRL, and they look bad in these photos.  But you are only here to see the polish, right?

ABC Challenge - "U" is for U.S.A. (Memorial Day inspired)

Hope you all had a great 3 day weekend here in the States!  Weather was not as bad as predicted, but it still has been a lot cooler - and cloudier - than you would want at this time of the year. 

I had a little, I don't know, brain blockage, and couldn't decide between a couple of manicures.  So, I texted a friend of mine, and made her make my decision for me.  Thanks Jessica - this one turned out good.

ABC Challenge - "T" is for Theoretical Collection

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Hello all!  I had another manicure in mind for "T", but I FINALLY got my hands on these polishes, and the plans went out the window.  I. LOVE! THESE.  I am not really a huge fan of the big chunky glitter (but Different Dimensions Echoes collection has me smitten).   So when I first saw these, I had to have.  It took a while, however.  As you all know, trying to buy indie polishes during a restock is like those bridal dress sales.  If these polish sales happened in real life and not a virtual one, there would be a lot of broken bones and bloodied noses, let me tell you!  And I would feel really bad for causing all that damage (KIDDING!! Well...maybe not as much as I should be).

ABC Challenge - "S" is for Sponging and Saran Wrap

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I am getting back to my old schedule - it's rough, but I'm only 5 days late this week! That is a BIG accomplishment for me.  So, last week I posted something I was not really crazy about, and more than a couple comments told me that it looked more like a fall color than something appropriate for this time of year...I couldn't agree more.  So, my contribution this week is definitely more season appropriate.

ABC Challenge - "R" is for Reach for the Sky!

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Quickie post - I am running so LATE for the challenge for R, but I wanted to get my post in, even if I am not happy with it.  Not really a fail, but I am on a neutral kick all of the sudden and the glitter I chose this week is not really working for me.

Different Dimensions - LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this brand - put out a duo of polishes that was inspired by Toy Story, and this is one of them.  Formula is awesome, glitters go on easily, nothing AT ALL wrong with the polish...I'm just not feeling the yellow right now. 

Check out all the (better) submissions from the other ladies in the challenge...moving on to S!  But not until I finish my homework...ugh!

Liz

ABC Challenge - "Q" is for Queen of Speed

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Hello all!  I got very lucky this week.  I had this "Q" in my stash that was my fallback in case I didn't think of anything else better, so I didn't feel too pressured trying to figure out what to do.  And best of all, it is the perfect base for my themed manicure that fits right in this time of the year.

Before the photos, let me just tell you two things:  1) I live near Chicago, and 2) I am a rabid hockey fan.  So, regular season just ended on Saturday 4/27, and the best team in the NHL is...drumroll, please...the Chicago Blackhawks.  But the post-season is just beginning this week, and everything basically resets to zero.  It doesn't matter what they did anymore, it's what they do from here on out.  **UPDATE - And all they did was win game 1...in overtime.  YAY!**  So to show my appreciation for the best professional sports team in the city, I did a little Blackhawks inspired manicure.  Oh, and the team colors?  Red, black, and white.

Queen of Speed from Color Club is a VERY sheer red - it would have taken a lot of coats for full opacity.  I was not willing to wait that long, so I used a coat of Wisp underneath, with two coats of the Queen.  It made this polish a very bright red.  PERFECT.

Not sure why pointer finger looks so orange...
doesn't look that way in real life.

For my thumb, I did a base of Wisp, and sponged on the red, green, yellow and orange (these are the colors in the feathers in the logo).  Is it a little messy? Yes; my transfers weren't the best, and my lines...looks like I was a little drunk when I drew them.  Unfortunately, I was not. 

Colors used:
Black striper
Midnight in NY (black shimmer) - Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure
Wisp (white) - Sinful Shine
Queen of Speed (red) - Color Club
Fresh (green) - Orly
Let's Meet (yellow) - Sinful
Drive Me Crazy (orange) - Pure Ice

And here is my inspiration:

I used Lisa's at LOZLOSA newspaper technique (yes, again), for the tomahawks and the Indian head logos.  My only issue:  they are backwards on the nail (obviously).  I think I know how to correct that, so with a little tweaking and playing with my software, I can get these images flipped before I print, so they transfer correctly.  **UPDATE - found a free online flipping tool, and have reversed images in less than 2 minutes.**

I had a little bit of trouble this time, because I was TOO DAMN IMPATIENT.   I wanted this manicure on my nails, RIGHT NOW, and they are messy.  I don't feel as bad as I should - work has been brutal on my hands this past week, and they are already looking pretty sad.  I'm going to have to redo them, but as long as the Blackhawks are in the playoffs, I'll be sporting some version of this.

So, here is my weekly shout out to Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner, the master of ceremonies to this little challenge.  Even though we are (quickly) coming to the end of the alphabet, there are still 9 weeks left...plenty of time to join.  And just because the alphabet will be ending, doesn't mean that the challenges will be over.  If you are interested in jumping in, it is a closed group.  You will need to click on the ABC Challenge tab on her web page, and shoot her an e-mail to request to join.  Simple as that.

Now, onward.
Liz

ABC Challenge - "P" is for Pacific Blue

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Quick post for me this week...but first, I want to thank everyone for the wonderful comments last week.  I love the technique (thanks again to Lisa @ LOZLOSA), and I am pretty pleased with those results.  I will definitely be using the process again.

On to this week...I had so many choices for P  - purples, indie polishes by Pahlish or Polish Addict, a pirates theme with OPI and stamping, but what won out is Sally Hansen's Xtreme Wear in Pacific Blue. 

I have read stories of what polishes started everyone off, and for me, this is one of the two.  I just LOVE this color.  As much as I could have just done this color alone, I got some nail mail, and decided to use this pretty glitter as a topper.  Since there is pink & blue glitter in this, I chose pink for my accent nail. 

And yet again, by the time I am ready for photos we have cloudy skies and rain.  I got about a two minute window today - in my car, no less - so I got a couple of photos, but nothing great.  These photos make this color more blue than my eyes see it in real life.

Colors used:
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Pacific Blue
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Bubblegum Pink
Different Dimension Squarey Hexy

Again, still more blue than in real life.

 

 

  



















My weekly thanks to Kimber @ Kimber's Lacquer Korner for starting off this challenge.  Even though we are in the back half, this part of the alphabet is a little more of a challenge...plenty of time to join in.  Go to Kimber's page, click on the ABC Challenge tab under her header, and shoot her a request to join.  Everyone is welcome, but you gotta ask first.

It's hump day!  Hope everyone has a great rest of the week...but before you click off, take a look at all the other's ladies in this challenge.

ABC Challenge - "O" is for Orly, OPI, and Optical Illusions

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Step right up, step right up!!  I feel like a carnival barker...and I am beyond ecstatic about this week.  Now, before we get to the pictures, keep in mind this is not perfect work.  And, I need to give credit where credit is due.  Last week, Lisa @ LOZLOSA posted a FANTASTIC "newspaper" mani, with instructions (link to it HERE).  I loved this enough to try it this week.

Like I said, not perfect.  I was nervous because of the images I picked - very black heavy.  And a LOT of paper fiber left behind on the nail, some of which I didn't get because I was afraid of wiping off the black (yea, I should not have worried).  On top of that, my allergies are into overdrive, and trying to paint my nails with a staining red while coughing and sneezing, well, lets just say I did NOT color well within the lines.  I'm using my chitty cuticle pass this week.  Overall, I am SOOOO pleased with this - the options are truly limitless with this technique.  (The Orly red was crazy shiny, and pictures were taken at night.  Weather forecast for the next 3 days - rain.  I may update later if I can get something that resembles daylight, but otherwise...sorry, you will have to suffer through with the crappy photos).

 

 

**THIS IS MY FAVORITE**

 

Here are the original images I used.  I ended up inserting them into a Word document, and adjusted down the size from there.  They had to be drastically reduced, but the 12 original images I picked easily fit on one page.

Finally, colors used:
OPI - My Boyfriend Scales Walls
Orly - Unlawful

I SO wish I had better photos to do a little justice to how this turned out.  Thank you so much Lisa for the inspiration.

As always, Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner is responsible for the group you see below.  If you want to join, visit her website, click on ABC Challenge, and drop her a request.  And no cheating...if you haven't signed up, please don't link.

Good night all, but before you leave, check these out:

ABC Challenge - "N" is for Nicole by OPI

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Hello everyone...only 4 days late on the post.  No inspiration this week - work has me beyond aggravated, and when I finally got home each night, I had no energy or will to polish.  It's unthinkable, isn't it??  Finally, I am ALMOST caught up, so I feel like I have some breathing room, and my creativity is coming back.  I was a little nervous there...crazy as it is to some, doing my manicure is soothing and fun to me.  I figure if you are reading this, you feel the same way.

Soooo... N. Had no idea what to do.  Neon came to mind - too quickly - and I figured it would be an obvious choice this week.  That made it a pass.  I assumed (rightly so, seeing the posts up already) that others would do it much better than me.  So, here is my contribution this week for N:

 

 

This feels a little like Barbie goes Goth...The pink dries matte, which I why I bought it.  There is a shimmer in there that gives it a little 'something' that I can't really describe.  The black has a shiny glass flecked finish to it.  I like the combo - and the scrapbooking scissors design when I taped it off gives it just a little bit of an edgy look.

What didn't I like?  A couple of things.

1) I can't topcoat this sucker.  I did put an extra matte top coat on the pink first before taping off for the black (it did not change the finish - polish looked pretty much the same with and without it), but the black is kind of left on it's own.   This is one day - a rough day, albeit - but only 1 day.  Already seeing tip wear.  

2) The formula on these sucked.  I swear half the bottle stuck on the brush.  It was thick and goopy.  Both applied very streaky, and felt like it dried on the brush as I was polishing.  I could deal with it with the pink, since I was polishing the whole nail, but the black - had to do 2 coats to get full cover.  Not ideal when you have tape to remove.  I had to make the second coat pretty thick, so it would soften up the first enough for me to pull of the tape relatively cleanly.  Because of this, it took FOREVER to dry.  Definitely need to introduce both to some thinner before I use again.

Colors used:  Nicole by OPI  "Still Into Pink" and "Totally in the Dark"

 

 

Now I have to get ideas going for "O".  What to do, what to do....Until next week.

 

As usual, a shout out to Kimber @ Kimber's Lacquer Korner for starting us off.  We have a new person joining the group, so it goes to show you - it's never too late.  Go on over to Kimber's page, click on ABC Challenge tab, and find out how to join.

 

And, check out all the other "N" inspirations.

ABC Challenge- "M" is for Magic Attraction

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Back for another week - wow, they are coming fast.  I had originally planned for this week to do a cute manicure of the funny little guys from the animated movie "Despicable Me" - Minions. 

 

But, I didn't feel like cute.  Holidays are still hard, and the depression still sets in, though not quite as badly as Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I needed something pretty and...girly, hoping that it would help lift my mood (trust me on this - cute and juvenile would have made things worse).  So the little twinkie guys had to go, but they are still a possibility somewhere down the line. 

While I was out shopping, I always take a walk down the cosmetic aisles - not that I need to, mind you - I just can't help but make a pass through.  I wanted to pick up another bottle of the fabulous flakie I used last week, and came across the beauty I have used this week - Magic Attraction.  Here is the finished product:

 

I had to take photos of this before I did the striping on it - check out the bling:  Had to take a blurry picture to get the colors flashing off the glitter.  Sorry that photos are so washed out - with flash too bright, and without too dark.

So, I used the following - all drugstore brands this week (from left to right in photo):

1. Sinful: Starfish /  2. Pure Ice: Superstar!  / 3. Sinful:  Folly /  4. Studio M:  Magic Attraction

I'm pretty happy with the final effect.  Lines were free-handed - not too shabby, if I do say so myself.  And it did perk me up - mission accomplished.  Oh, and had to share this photo - I put this box on the futon next to me, and turned around to pick up a couple of bags of things I wanted to put in the box.  When I turned back, this is what I was greeted with:

AND her name is Maize - she fits in with the letter this week!
 

So again, big thanks to Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner for organizing this weekly challenge.  
If you are interested in joining, just head on over to her page, click on the ABC Challenge link under her banner, and get the info to e-mail her your request to join.  This is a closed group, so you will need to get the OK to be added, but anyone & everyone is welcome. We still have half the alphabet left, so plenty of time to get in.

Please stop and take a look at all the other ladies in the challenge, and enjoy the rest of the week.  Only 2 more days till the weekend starts!

ABC Challenge - "L" is for lemon-lime

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Since I was so long winded last week, I will be short (for me) on this one. I don't think I'm keeping this mani on very long. It is below freezing, blustery winds, and snow is in the forecast - again!. It was meant to perk me up and make me look forward to spring, but it's just not working...

I took this week's letter to heart, and not only is the concept comply to the rules, so do the 4 polishes I used (all were in my stash, hard to believe):

Maybelline Color Show - Lustrous Lime

Jessica - Lime Cooler
Sinful Colors - Let's Meet.
Orly - Lemonade

First time sponging, and it was fun - definitely will be doing this again.  It seemed a little blah, so I put on a topper of iridescent flakies from Studio M, and a purposeful mistake - from a comment RiaG made last week - on my accent nail with Hard Candy, Piece of Papaya.  FYI - this color is AWESOME!  I may wear Papaya and make a blog post if I do. 


Before:                                                                                        After:  Topper is:
Not bad, but too blah for my mood...                                            Studio M - Covered in Diamonds

 

It was almost impossible for me to get a photo where the greens read as green - the "naked" one on the left was the closest I could get.  In real life, it's much more noticeable.  Probably because these were yellow-greens and not blue-greens, the camera couldn't make the distinction.

And as always, cheers to Kimber's Lacquer Korner for starting off this challenge - it's never too late to join. Just see her website, and request to be included.  It is a laid back challenge - once a week, as opposed to every day - because she realized that life sometimes comes before polish.  Shocking, but true!

Thanks for taking the time to read...and now, onward to all the other lovely ladies' submissions for the letter "L"...

ABC Challenge - "K" is for Khloe Had A Little Lam-Lam

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Here we all are again - wow, we are almost halfway through the alphabet!  This week is the letter K, and let me just start off with a rant.  I DO NOT like reality TV.  I think it is a major contributor in the dumbing down of Americans.  The stupidity and shallowness that runs rampant on this kind of TV is just...ugh!  Capitalizing on this type of "entertainment" is a family called the Kardashians.  I go out of my way to NOT purchase anything involved with that family, but they are not the only ones.  There are others, but I am getting too far off tangent here.  This is a nail polish blog, for crying out loud!

This is all leading me to the fact that the polish of choice today is from the Kardashian collection put out by Nicole by OPI.  Can I tell you...I hate myself for loving this color.  It was part of my St. Patrick's day exchange gift, so technically I did not buy it, so that makes me feel a little better.  Yea, I am going to run with that.

It is a dark teal, which looks like a dark evergreen in certain lights.  It goes on perfectly, is basically opaque in one coat, and dries to a glass-like shine.  Why, oh why, does it have to be part of the K-collection?  It does have one draw back - it stains like (a) _____ (insert favorite expletive here).  I was trying to be VERY careful with application, but had to do a second clean-up the next day for cuticles, which were a very nice pale shade of green, I must say.  These photos are three days in - constantly washing my hands, cleaning, hand lotions, and cold weather; my hands had a lot of abuse this week.

To add a little something to this color, I decided to do a cheat marbling.  I have not had much time to practice water marbling, and have issues with choosing polishes that will work.  Either they will not spread, or they spread so much that they break the pattern, and I need to clear the water and start over.  I didn't want to be staring at a cup of water all afternoon, so I brought out my trusty sheet protector from the letter "G" manicure, and did some pseudo marbling.  A few drops of polish, a toothpick, and 36 hours later, these are what I got. 

Yes, they look a little alien, but I did not want to drag the toothpick backwards through the polish.  The tentacles were cut off when I was shaping these to put on my nails.  But beware...you had better know exactly how you want this to sit on your nail, because once they touch the polish underneath, even if it FEELS dry to the touch, it WILL suction itself.  It was OK with this manicure, since I had so much base color mixed in the marbling, but if I hadn't, everyone would've noticed the big boo-boo on my thumb, not just me (and no, you can't see it in the photos above).

Didn't think to take a photo of these in, you know, DAYLIGHT, but you can see the shimmer that these polishes have in them.  Pretty impressive for such an inexpensive brand.

Couldn't quite capture the shimmers on the taupe and sage, but you can see a *little* bit of the blue peeking through in the green bottle.  You'll have to take my word on the taupe. 

Colors used are:
Nicole by OPI - Khloe Had A Little Lam-Lam (dark teal, used as base color)
Love & Beauty - Coral Glow (has a gold shimmer)
Love & Beauty - Taupe (has a silver shimmer)
Love & Beauty - Sparkling Sage (has a blue shimmer)

I am still working out some kinks with this method, and one of them is that I should NOT have used so much of the base color in the marbling.  With the darker color in the marble, and the dark base under the marble, once I put it on the nail a lot of the lighter coloring got lost.

Over all, I am VERY happy with how this turned out.  As long as I know what colors I want to use when I change things up, this is a very viable option to water marbling, at least until I get good at it.  There is nothing like instant gratification you get from that method, after all.

Sorry everyone...I think I am FINALLY out of breath!  If you made it all the way down to here, congratulations - you deserve a medal!! And thank you!

Take a look at everyone else involved in the challenge, sponsored and brought to you by Kimber from Kimber's Lacquer Korner.  I think "K" will give us a pretty diverse group of manicures.  Looking forward to them as much as you!

ABC Challenge - "J" for Jindie Nails

Another week, another letter.  This week is going to be short and sweet.  I was planning green with St. Patrick's Day theme - got the first color on my fingers and it did NOT look good at all.  Green - at least the light greens I have that start with "J" - are not working for me while I am winter pale. 

In the middle of this dilemma, I got nail mail from Jindie.  Problem solved.  Although I still look deathly pale, I love this polish.  It's just fun.  Excuse the nicks and cuts all over my fingers - spent the day at work filing and handling papers, and couldn't keep my hands moisturized enough and got pretty cut up.

Jindie Nails - Barbies Have More Fun (pink and black round and micro matte glitter)
over Pure Ice - Superstar! (plain white)






















Take a peek at all the other ladies in the challenge below, and thanks again to Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner for bringing us together.

Have a good week everyone!

ABC Challenge - "I" is for OPI's I Don't Give a Rotterdam!

Here we are again for the letter I.  Bad, bad day.  I tried 4 different manicures for this letter - I got them done, hated them, and started all over.  Pretty much wasted my Sunday on it.  So, the title of one of the polishes I used pretty much sums up my attitude by the end of the night.

I'm not really happy with this, but I am guessing that even if I had the perfect manicure I wouldn't like it right now either.  So, onward...

I used:

OPI - I Have a Herring Problem (left, greener of the two) and OPI - I Don't Give a Rotterdam! (right, bluer of the two).  Both from the Holland collection, and both are very close in color.  Photo does show the difference.  I do really like these polishes though; muted colors and multi-color shimmer. 

What I did:  full coat on the nail with the bluer of the two, I Don't Give a Rotterdam!.  I did a tip gradient with the greener one, I Have a Herring Problem.  The idea was to put a stamp near the gradient line with silver.  For that, I used Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Hi Ho Silver.  The problem?  The stamps I used were so delicate, they are not translating into the photos.  It's there IRL, but not as...bold?...as I would like it.  Poor choice of polish to stamp with too (I found out).

I tried to blur the pictures a little to show the stamps...






Oh, and FYI - this manicure wasn't even 10 hours hold, and there is already tip wear...overnight.  I'm guessing these OPI's don't like Seche Vite.  Another "good to know" thing.                  

So, here is a little darker and blurrier photo, but the stamps show up a little better.

Glad this week is done.  Not exactly a "fail" because I've got polish on my fingers, but far from a success. Oh well, I'm already moving on to J...

Give everyone else a look-see that is involved with this challenge, hosted by Kimber of Kimber's Lacquer Korner.  Want to join?  Visit her website and drop her a message - all are welcome.  (Isn't that a line from Poltergeist?).

Until next week!

ABC Challenge - "H" is for Holographic

This is going to be semi-short and sweet.  I had a lot of different ideas come to me for H, but once I started each one, I discarded.  The Color Club Halo Hues were calling to me...  Black base on all fingers, and each finger has a diagonal tip of color.  OK, "tip" may not be the right word, but you'll get the idea from the photos :).

I took the indoor night pictures because I love the way the holos look with the flash.  Still not a good camera...I may end up going through this whole challenge without one.  This is still just a fun little hobby for me, so a new camera unfortunately is not on the financial radar anytime soon (sigh).

Now for the daylight photos:



 

Here are the colors I used, and let me tell you there is not one color that I don't LOVE:

The original 6 Halo Hues are (in order of the photo):
     Angel Kiss:  minty green
     Halo-Graphic:  pink
     Harp On It:  silver  (this is the only color I did NOT use - ran out of fingers)
     Blue Heaven:  light blue
     Cherubic:  nude/beige
     Cloud Nine:  lilac purple

The new 6 darker Halo Hues are (in order of the photo):
     Over the Moon:  blue
     Miss Bliss:  pink
     Kismet:  lime green
     Cosmic Fate:  orange
     Eternal Beauty:  dark purple
     Beyond:  Black  (far and away my FAVORITE)



Again, many thanks to Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner for hosting this weekly challenge.  It is open to anyone - professional or novice (I can attest to that!).  If you would like to join, shoot her a request under the "ABC Challenge" tab on her blog.  And FYI - any attempts to just add your blog to the challenge WILL get you booted off the inlinkz group.  There are eyes watching, and the gatekeeper knows....muah ha ha ha!!!!!

Here are the other ladies participating...take a look at their great submissions for the letter "H".
Until next week!