Easter Basket

Okay, so it doesn't look exactly like an Easter basket but that is where I found my inspiration. The green cross-hatching is like that plastic grass that usually fills baskets. I added the bow because most Easter baskets are wrapped in cellophane and tied shut at the top. I probably didn't need to explain but I did just in case ;)

Base - 3 coats of OPI Bikini Envy

Followed by - 2 coats of OPI Significant Other Color

Cross-hatching - Konad M45 (Apple Green Special Polish)

Bow - Konad M56 (White Special Polish)

If you didn't realize, the base color(s) is from earlier. It looked ugly by itself but makes a great base color for all of this stamping!

Significant Other Color Layering

OPI Significant Other Color OVER OPI Bikini Envy

I bought Significant Other Color knowing it was very sheer but I thought it had potential. This is my second attempt at using it layered over another polish. I tried it over OPI Have You Seen My Limo and now over Bikini Envy... and truthfully, I'm not impressed by what I've come up with. It is so blah! Next time I will layer it over light purple. Then it will have a similar appearance as in the bottle and hopefully be more pleasing to look at! :)

Easter Eggs

White- OPI Alpine Snow

Pink- OPI Pink-ing Of You

Wavy Design- Konad M62 (Apple Green Special Polish)

Polka Dots- Konad M79 (White Special Polish)

Whoa. Creating Easter inspired nails is hard! Do they look Easter-y? I knew I wanted to use white for sure... to represent Easter eggs. But after that, I was stumped. I searched my Konad plates for anything that would be similar to designs drawn on eggs, specifically zig-zags. The green image was the closest to it that I found. Then I "googled" Easter and found loads of images, many of which were polka dotted eggs. So there you go. That's how I came up with this idea! I'm curious to see what everyone else creates!

Pink-ing Of You

OPI Pink-ing Of You

Pink-ing of You... my favorite light pink from OPI. I consider it a "baby pink". This is 3 coats and my nail line was still slightly visible but as I've told you before, I don't mind. I absolutely love this color!

Bikini Envy

OPI Bikini Envy

Here is 3 coats of Bikini Envy. This is the second time I've shown this color. I'm posting it again for 2 reasons: A) It is a Spring-y color and I'm ready for Spring! ... and B) The first time I swatched Bikini Envy, my nails were long and more round. In my opinion, they were ugly. So I want to redeem myself.

I've really learned a lot from reading other blogs: about filing, polish cleanup, etc. I think I've come a long way since my beginning posts. Looking back at them makes me want to gag! :) Haha, especially at my first tries with Konad. I suppose all of us could say the same. This has been quite a learning experience and I'm thankful for everyone's tips and tricks!

OPI Avoplex

I decided to give cuticle oil a try. I've done the cream thing but I didn't like how my fingertips felt greasy. I was afraid to touch anything! At the salon the other day, I picked this up. It is OPI's Avoplex Nail & Cuticle Oil. So far, so good.

I just apply a tiny bit of oil to my cuticles and let it absorb. Yes, your cuticles will look wet/greasy for a while but at least it doesn't feel gross! Avoplex doesn't have much of a smell. That could be good for some of you or disappointing for others. Personally, I loved the smell of Burt's Bees Lemon Cuticle cream. I just got tired of the application and feeling like I dipped my fingertips in butter!

Below is a photo to show you how the cuticle oil looks when applied. The oil pretty much stays in place. It's not like it runs all over your fingers. All-in-all, it was a good $13 investment.

Flashbulb Fuchsia

OPI Flashbulb Fuchsia

Here is 2 coats of OPI's Flashbulb Fuchsia. It's a little difficult to describe. The color is a bright magenta with a hint of pinkish-purple flash. It reminds me a lot of Pompeii Purple... just with less of the "flash" that PP has.

My nail line is still visible. With another coat it would probably be covered... but that doesn't bother me like it does some of you all.

Dating A Royal

OPI Dating A Royal

I don't know about you guys but I definitely wouldn't want to date a "royal". I'd hate to be in the spotlight and have to worry every second who is watching me and if I were doing anything wrong/improper/etc, etc...

But I love to wear Dating A Royal. It's such a pretty blue, creme polish. This was just 2 coats.

Lucky Lucky Lavender

OPI Lucky Lucky Lavender

Yikes! This is the first time I've tried this polish and I've had it for over a month now...

Is this really lavender? I thought lavender was more "purple". Hmmm?

Anyways, this is 2 coats. I think the formula on the Hong Kong collection is shinier than usual. Anyone agree? (I did not apply a top coat in this photo.)

Hey! Get In Lime!

OPI Hey! Get In Lime!

Wow... this looks awfully similar to Essie's Mint Candy Apple and Nfu Oh #172. Might need to try another side-by-side comparison. I've also heard that this color is quite close to Chanel's Jade. I don't have that polish so I can't confirm it...

Anyways, here is 3 coats of OPI's Hey! Get In Lime. After the first coat, I thought for sure that I had bought a faulty bottle because it was so sheer. Fortunately, it did build up in opacity and I got almost complete coverage with 3 layers. Still, that doesn't seem consistent with OPI's other polishes... Oh well. It's pretty :)

I think this polish is kind of hard to find. I saw an extra bottle of it downtown today. Would this be a good color to include in a giveaway?? What do you all think?

Just Groovy

OPI Just Groovy

It's official. As of yesterday, Friday-March-19th, I am an aunt to a little boy :) His name is Anthony and he weighs 6lbs 5 ounces!

So here is a color to celebrate the tiny lil' guy... OPI's Just Groovy. A light, bright blue. It's a creme polish and looks so good on tanned toes! I'm ready for summer!... Too bad it snowed last night!

Multi-Print & A Crazy Cat

I added some nail art to yesterday's Black Cherry Chutney. This image is from Konad plate M78. I used silver stamping polish for the zebra print and gold for the leopard print. It's ridiculous how simple this was to do. Hope you like!

Oh and another thing... found Pete sitting like this the other day. I thought it might make some of you chuckle.

"Should I sit? Or should I stand? Decisions, decisions!"

Black Cherry Chutney

OPI Black Cherry Chutney

I have wanted this color for what seems like forever now... I finally broke down and bought it. I didn't want to spend anymore money on another dark, shimmery, purple/red polish but when I saw it at a salon for 60% off, I didn't hesitate. I'm so glad I got it. Can't beat $3.40 for OPI! I also bought myself a backup bottle of OPI's Sand In My Suit :)

This color has tiny reddish/purple shimmers when viewed in the sunlight. Under tungsten or indirect lighting, it is almost black. It is gorgeous! And, on another note, I think dark polishes make my nails look longer!

Irish Plaid

I've got another St. Patrick's Day manicure for you today. This time I was inspired by the pattern on kilts and the colors of the Irish flag (seen at Lacquer Laine)!

Green- OPI Green-wich Village

Orange- OPI Brights Power

Konad Image- Plate M60

Ugh, I hate how the white turned yellow on top of the orange polish. It is fine over the green though... So weird!

St. Patrick's Day

Here is a simple manicure I've done for St. Patrick's Day:

First Color- OPI I Get A Kick Out Of Gold

Second Color- OPI DS Glow

Third Color- OPI Green-wich Village

Glitter- China Glaze's Cleopatra

Below is a photo pre-glitter. It looks very unfinished.

I chose to use gold because: St. Patrick's Day is an Irish holiday. The word "Irish" makes me think of leprechauns. Annnnd... Leprechauns make me think of a pot of gold! :) Oh, and I was obviously inspired by the latest nail trend: the "Ruffian" manicure.

Here is one thin coat of glitter that I tried to fade out toward the tips of my nails. I eventually added another full coat.

Oh, one last thing... I tried the new decorative elements on the pictures but they were just too distracting. I guess I will have to save them for items photographed in my lightbox!

Hope you liked the nails! They are so sparkly and fun!

OPI Nail Glue

Look what I found today at Trade Secret...

It's OPI Nail Adhesive! The packaging said it was good for natural or fake nails. I'm going to give it a try the next time I've got a break. I'm guessing it is pretty similar to super glue. I'll let you know how it goes :)

Check It Out!

Hello Everyone! I just wanted to let you know that I've finished my compilation of OPI bottle photographs... and I did it in record time! I've worked on it for literally HOURS! I hope some of you find it useful! It's like a picture-dictionary for nail polish:)

CLICK on "Inventory (OPI)" in my horizontal navigation (located above) to be moved to my list!

Lightbox

I made this about 2 weeks ago... I know, I've been M.I.A. but hopefully I can start posting regularly. Riiiiiight after this humongous paper cut heals! I don't want to get any acetone in it.

It's really fun to have my own mini "studio" :) I've already used it to photograph ALL of my bottles of OPI. (My next project is to link all of the polishes on my "My OPI" list to the photographs I took of them... By now, you know me. It probably won't be complete until summer. Who knows!) I should have gotten another lamp. It is on my to-do list. I'm going to get a lamp with a halogen bulb. I think glitter polishes will sparkle more under halogen lighting.

Pete (the cat) likes my lightbox too. Thirty seconds after having set it on the floor, he ran and curled himself up inside of it! I shooed him out right away. Thank goodness he didn't crinkle the poster paper inside!

Also, I'm adding some decorative elements and text to my photos. I hope you don't find it distracting.

AND... I'm so dumb. I didn't even realize that I'd have to worry about bandwidth usage with my Photobucket account. I got an email yesterday telling me I had almost reached my limit for the month so I had to upgrade to a pro account ($25 a yr). Well, I didn't HAVE to but I did so I wouldn't need to worry about it.

Lastly... I'm like 85, maybe 90, % of the way to having a new camera. I just have to keep saving! I can't wait :)

Thanks for reading!