I'm back for day three of The Digit-al Dozen's 'In My Garden' theme...One of the reasons I plant flowers is to attract dragonflies, since I totally adore them.
Today is day two of The Digit-al Dozen's 'In My Garden' theme, and today's manicure celebrates something I really love about my garden: growing herbs!
For today's mani, I started with a base of The Lady Varnishes Destiny. First I stamped some texture with MoYou London's Ginger Rust stamping polish and UberChic Beauty's Texturelicious 2 plate. Then I stamped my herbs with UberChic Beauty's Garden Love & Woodland Chic plates, using Messy Mansion Ivy, Forest, and Spring Green:
UberChic Beauty Woodland Chic, Garden Love, and Texturelicious 2 over The Lady Varnishes Destiny
UberChic Beauty Woodland Chic, Garden Love, and Texturelicious 2 over The Lady Varnishes Destiny
UberChic Beauty Woodland Chic, Garden Love, and Texturelicious 2 over The Lady Varnishes Destiny
I hope you had a good weekend--I went on a writing retreat with several friends, up to the trees in the hills to sit in the sunshine and write. Very relaxing!
Today we're gonna take a look at UberChic Beauty's most recent collection, Collection 26. Here's the video review I did of the collection:
And here's a closer look:
UberChic Beauty 26-01
UberChic Beauty 26-02
UberChic Beauty 26-02
UberChic Beauty's full-nail images are 1.7 x 2.1 cm.
Here are some sample looks I put together while testing out the plates in my video:
UberChic Beauty collection 26
Although I'll be back with more looks using this set, today I'm going to show you two manicures that fit with this month's Digit-al Dozen theme, "In My Garden." We have several types of flowers in my garden, including my favorite, roses, and my husband's favorite, gerbera daisies. So here are two manis to represent those.
For the first, I started with a base of Zoya Saldana, then stamped the negative-space rose image with Messy Mansion Sterling, then the outlined rose images with Messy Mansion Royal Purple:
For my second look, I started with a base of Moonflower Polish Lemon, and Zoya Snow White and Wyatt. Then I stamped with Messy Mansion Banana Bender, Chalk, and Spring Green:
UberChic Beauty 26-03 over Zoya Snow White, Wyatt, and Moonflower Polish Lemon
And here it is matted:
UberChic Beauty 26-03 over Zoya Snow White, Wyatt, and Moonflower Polish Lemon
What do you think? Do you like one better than the other?
You can find this collection on sale now in UberChic Beauty's store, and you can stalk them around the interwebs here:
So, I started watching World of Dance, and from there started watching America's Got Talent. I am completely addicted and am YouTubing past seasons. Totally a guilty pleasure, and I'm reveling in it. :)
Today we're gonna take a look at UberChic Beauty's Bottoms Up plate...Of course I did a video review of the plate for you discussing my ideas for using it:
And here's a closer look:
UberChic Beauty Bottoms Up
UberChic's full nail images are 1.7 x 2.1 cm, and here are two shots with a rulers so you can judge the size of the other images:
I did three test looks in the video, here are swatches of them:
For my first manicure, I wanted to do a tea manicure, and went for a vintage look. I started with a base of The Lady Varnishes Nobody's That Heartless, and stamped it with Hit The Bottle Polish's Everyday I'm Truffling, Moonshine, and A Rose By Any Other Name (also available at Lantern & Wren):
UberChic Beauty Bottoms Up over The Lady Varnishes Nobody's That Heartless
UberChic Beauty Bottoms Up over The Lady Varnishes Nobody's That Heartless
For my second look, I stayed a little truer to my heart, and celebrated coffee! I started with a base of Spellbound Nails Marauder's Map, then stamped with Messy Mansion Pudding, Carbon, and Chalk:
UberChic Beauty Bottoms Up over Spellbound Nails Marauder's Map
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Finally, I had to do something fun with the ice cubes image...I love sparkling water, so I thought I'd do a naked nail mani with it...I stamped my images with Kaleidoscope White, then put on a coat of Spellbound Nails Comet. Then I added BeautyBigBang Chameleon Flakes, and then stamped a second time:
UberChic Beauty Bottoms Up over BeautyBigBang chameleon flakies
UberChic Beauty Bottoms Up over BeautyBigBang chameleon flakies
I made a tutorial showing how I created this one:
So what do you think, do you love coffee, tea, or just plain water--or is there another beverage you adore?
So, have you ever wanted to have a nail blogger to a create a manicure based on something you love? Well, read on--'cause I'm offering up a chance to make me dance like a manicure marionette!
So, I've mentioned before that I'm a writer. And, every November, I participate in National Novel Writing Month (or, NaNoWriMo), where writers all over the world try to write 50,000 words during in 30 days. By coordinating that each year and providing tools that help novelists be successful for FREE, NaNoWriMo.Org does a tremendous amount of good every year.
BUT they also have a Young Writers Program that encourages children and teens to write.
As a research psychologist who has studied and taught child development, I can assure you the benefits of writing for these kids are many, and valuable to all: not only will encouraging children to write provide the books, TV shows, and movies you'll enjoy in the future, encouraging them to write also increases their overall academic success, their future job skills, helps them channel their emotions, and encourages them to think creatively. I saw a year-end report last year for all the good this program does, and was so impressed, I decided to join their fundraising efforts this year.
But, let's face it, donating is always a little more fun when you get something in return, right? So, if you donate to the program through my fundraising page, I will do the following:
For a $20 donation, I will create a manicure inspired by your favorite book*, or
For a $20 donation, I will write a bad poem on the topic of your choice*, or
For a $30 donation, I will write you a flash fiction piece on the topic of your choice*
(*in all cases, I reserve the write to veto topics I find offensive--but I'm pretty hard to offend!)
I am extending this offer to the first 10 people who take me up on it. Two slots have already been filled!
In the meantime, I created a manicure inspired by the wonders of reading and writing, in honor of the good work that NaNoWriMo does:
Clear Jelly Stamper CJS LC-30 over Spellbound Nails Beauxbatons
I wanted to show all of the cool adventures you can take coming up out of a book...I started with a base of Spellbound Nails Beauxbatons, which is inspired by the Harry Potter books, one of my favorite series ever, and used Clear Jelly Stamper CJS LC-30 to stamp my images. For my stamping polishes I used Sally Hansen Taupe To Go, and Messy Mansion Lilac, Red-y Or Not, Carbon, Sterling, Pudding, and Forest.
I hope you'll consider donating--even a dollar helps--and I hope I get to create a manicure or write a piece for you soon!
Hey, how's the week going for you? I voted today, tried to do my civic duty. If you had a primary today, I hope you did, too!
Born Pretty Store is releasing a bunch of new polishes today, several different types, and they sent me one of the multichrome holos from their Flower In Sunshine Series. Take a look at Years (BP-FS04), a blackened teal that shifts from blue to green:
Born Pretty Store Years (BP-FS04)
Born Pretty Store Years (BP-FS04)
Born Pretty Store Years (BP-FS04)
Born Pretty Store Years (BP-FS04)
Coats: 2
Formula: Excellent
Cruelty-Free: Unknown
I always love the combination of holo and multichrome, and this is no different. And of course I love the night-sky feel to this.
How ya doing? I just got done binge watching season one of World of Dance while doing manicures. I so wish I could dance...sigh...
Anyway, today I have five selections from Incoco's Coconut Collection to show you. What's their Coconut collection, you ask? Well, Incoco has sort of reorganized...you can buy their original brand through Ulta Beauty, you can buy the Coconut line from Walmart, or you can go through an independent stylist to buy from their Color Street line--you can't buy directly from their website anymore. So, let's take a look at a few of the Coconut offerings...
Selections from Incoco's Coconut Collection
The Coconut sets are a little smaller than the other sets Incoco makes (12 vs. 16 wraps). This means that you have fewer size alternatives. In my case, they sizes work just fine for me. But, if they don't work for you, they're extremely easy to cut down to size, and I have a video tutorial (below) to show you just how easy it is. The sets come with instructions, a nail file, and an orange stick:
So first up, we ave Sweet Style:
Incoco Sweet Style
Incoco Sweet Style
Roses, polka dots and stripes on a shimmer background--these are classic mainstays of nail art that never go out of style. And if you use my sizing trick (in the tutorial below), you can get more versatility to mix and match them however you want.
Next, we have Steal The Show:
Incoco Steal The Show
Incoco Steal The Show
This is a copper-brown and black leopard print on a gold shimmer background. Animal prints are another nail-art stand-by, so these wraps are an easy way to get the look quickly and easily.
Next up is Less is More, a sleek, elegant beige creme wrap with a minimal linear design:
Incoco Less Is More
Incoco Less Is More
This is a great neutral look for when you want a little art, but not much--very appropriate for work, very appropriate for when you meet the potential in-laws for the first time out on their boat in the Hamptons. Okay, so that's not a scenario I'm ever gonna face, but that doesn't mean my nails can't look like I will.
You all know me well enough to know that if you give me something that can be stamped, I'm gonna stamp it:
My stamping over Incoco Less Is More
My stamping over Incoco Less Is More
For this look I used Mani Defender (latex cuticle barrier) to mask off part of the design, and then stamped UberChic Beauty 25-02 and Kaleidoscope Black. Simple, fast, and if I do say so myself, kinda cute.
Then we have Trendsetter, another linear design, this time on a pale blue creme background:
Incoco Trendsetter
Incoco Trendsetter
I chose to go vertical and horizontal on my two middle fingers, and diagonal on the others, but of course you can combine them however you want for your own overall look. This has a Breakfast-at-Tiffany's-meets-Mondrian sort of feel that I really like.
And finally we have Right This Way, a mint shimmer with a scatter of gray arrows:
Incoco Right This Way
Incoco Right This Way
This is my favorite set of the group--the color is soft and feminine and the arrows are hip and a little bohemian.
But...again...if you give me a chance, you know I'm gonna stamp on it...:
My stamping over Incoco Right This Way
I used Dixie Plates Lines 01 and Hit The Bottle Polish Pool Party to stamp a little extra bling on it. What do you think? I love the Santa Fe feel the added stamping gives.
I love doing my own nail art from scratch, obviously--that's why I have a nail art blog. But I've always loved Incoco wraps. I don't always have time to do a mani when I need to, especially during vacations and holidays, and I can always grab a set of wraps and throw them on quickly, but still have a cute look. I've also been known to mix-and-match sets, or just pull out a couple one or two for accent nails.
I've tried A LOT of different nail wraps, and Incoco are my favorite. They apply easily, they remove easily, and they really to wear for a long time. Here's a video tutorial to show you how I apply them, for a super cute mani in no time flat:
