Challenge (Bling-Bling)

It's time for a nail design challenge!

As you can see, I'd like for you to go over-the-top with your designs this week. Do something you wouldn't normally be comfortable with if you were walking around the mall. Make them uber fantastic and EXTRA SPARKLY! Make it fun! And have fun :)

Send me your "Bling-Bling" nail designs by Friday (6-04-10) at midnight (CST) to polishhoarder@gmail.com. I can't wait for the "glitter overload" to hit my inbox!

Preferred file size: 7" wide x 5.25" tall @ 72 dpi

If you do not know how to crop and resize your image, let me know and I will gladly do it for you!

Challenge Gallery - Animal Print

It's that time of the week again!... Time to see what everyone created for the weekly nail design challenge! This week's theme was "Animal Print" and it surely won't disappoint you! The entries range from neutral color schemes to bold, in-your-face prints. I hope you enjoy :)

[In the order which I received them:]

A Day In The Life Of Dollface's Blog:

Entry by Martina:

Ravishing Talons' Blog:

Polish And Powder's Blog:

Squared Nails' Blog:

Pimp My Nails' Blog:

Milan And Vanaily's Blog:

And lastly, my little penguin tips.

They are all so fun, aren't they?! Thank you to all the ladies that participated this week! If you didn't have a chance to make a design, there is always next week! And... until I post again,

Have a nice Memorial Day weekend!!

My Candy Land Nails

Hey guys! Here are some photos of my "Candy Land" inspired nails from last week's challenge. I really wanted to do something fun like:

• Add sprinkles (they ended up being way too big for my nails) or...
• Draw swirly lines to look like frosting (never got around to buying the nail art pen) or...
• Stamp sweets on my nails (but the space was getting limited after the crazy Ruffian manicure I did)

I know, I know. I'm full of excuses! Sorry for my lack of creativity.

I also REALLY wanted to put some of those color changing glitters (not multi-colored... I'm talking about the "almost-white" glitter that flashes pastel colors) BUT of course, I don't have that kind of glitter... YET! :)

So, I ended up just doing this Ruffian manicure inspired by the path on the game board. It took FOREVER to do. I think I worked on it for at least 2 1/2 hours. That includes drying time though. Want to know the process?

• I painted the 4 colors of the path on all of my nails.
• When dry, I cleaned up both sides (near the cuticle and the opposite side where the white would be painted).
• Then I carefully added the white. It took 2 coats. No cleanup necessary.
• Next, I put on a topcoat to give the nail a nice smooth-looking surface.
• After that, put some silver glitter on half of the white.
• Last, I added the rhinestone!

Zoya - Mimi

Zoya - Mimi

I may or may not have told you that I bought several other Zoyas the day I bought "Ivanka". This is one of them. Zoya "Mimi". It's an uber sparkly purple polish. "Mimi" made me think of OPI "Visions of Sugarplum" when I first applied it. After comparing the bottles, "Visions of Sugarplum" has a warmer hue. "Mimi" is more blue. Shown in the swatches is 2 coats, which is definitely enough polish. In real life, I do not see my nail line like in the photo. There must have been too much light coming from behind my nails...

Nfu Oh #59 (Revisited)

Nfu Oh #59

This is the color I chose to wear today. I've worn it plenty of times before and yes, I still have colors in my polish boxes waiting to be swatched... but I was in the mood for red and obviously, not just any red. I wanted to wear some flakes! Nfu Oh #59 is a jelly. After one (sheer) coat, you would think the polish is magenta, but no. It builds into a lovely shade of red (This is 3 coats). The flakes shift from orange to green, though they mostly shine orange... What I love about flake polishes is how well they sparkle. The flakes are essentially giant pieces of glitter and we all love glitter, don't we? Oh yah, except the removal... and flake polishes are just as bad to remove. You'll definitely need some pure acetone to get those stubborn pieces off!

Here is a shot outdoors. The polish really comes to life in the sun!

Do you all have any Nfu Oh flake polishes?

If not,

Do I recommend them? ABSOLUTELY!

Kitty Picture

This is Will. Willy. Wilbert. Whichever... He goes by all 3 names.

Isn't he cute?

Willy is really old. You can probably tell from his picture. He also has arthritis and wobbles when he walks... Poor kitty.

Challenge (Animal Print)

Here is the nail design challenge that I am proposing for this week. Animal inspired! It seems easy but I think we can get a little more creative with it!

While I love animal prints/patterns the way nature created them, I'd like to see you jazz them up a bit! Try layering, adding a POP of color somewhere, or using animal print only on certain parts of your nails... Let's get creative!

INSPIRATIONAL ANIMALS

Zebra Tiger Panda Peacock Cheetah Mandrill Tortoise Flamingo

Clown Fish Snake Cow Parrot Giraffe Skunk Tree Frog Penguin

Send me your "Animal Print" nail designs by Friday (5-28-10) at midnight (CST) to polishhoarder@gmail.com. I'll be anxiously waiting for your submissions! I'm so excited to see what you all come up with :)

Preferred file size: 7" wide x 5.25" tall @ 72 dpi

If you do not know how to crop and resize your image, let me know and I will gladly do it for you!

Challenge Gallery - Candy Land

This week's nail challenge theme was "Candy Land". The entries are colorful and fun! Let's see the photos!

[In the order which I received them, starting with mine]

My Candy Land nails:

Lacquer Lady's Blog:

Dainty Darling Digits' Blog:

Iceomatic's Nails Blog:

Fleur's Nails & Stuff Blog:

Stephanie's 2 Entries (She doesn't have a blog):

Squared Nails' Blog:

AWESOME job guys! I love all the entries :) Thanks so much for taking some time to create a nail design for my challenge! I hope you will be able to join me again next week!

OPI DS Glamour

It's another blue! This is OPI (Designer Series) Glamour. I told you it was a super holo! (Not as super as Nfu-Oh holographic polishes but at least OPI's goes on in 2 even coats and you can wear a top coat without it ruining the holo effect!)

It has been raining soooo much here. When the forecast finally called for sun, I was wasn't going to miss my chance to show you guys this polish! I wanted you to see the difference between "Fantasy" and "Glamour". Well, now you have :) Oopsy. I did a bad thing. A really bad thing. I got careless... I bought an extra bottle of "Glamour" the other day because I thought I could include it in a future giveaway. Well, I was in such a hurry to paint my nails before Glee a few nights ago that I grabbed the NEW bottle instead of my previously used bottle! Now I've got two opened bottles of "Glamour"!

My fing'ns and toes are extra sparkly at the moment. I've got my toenails painted with Rescue Beauty Lounge Frugalista! It's glitter galore!

[Below] Look at all of those holographic specs!

OPI DS Fantasy

OPI DS Fantasy

This is OPI's (Designer Series) "Fantasy". This polish reminds me a lot of DS "Glamour" but the blue is more saturated and it doesn't have that mega holographic effect. It is just as gorgeous though. "Fantasy" is well pigmented. I only had to apply 2 coats to cover my nails! Some of you may do fine with one coat but I like to be on the safe side. DS "Fantasy" is amazing. If you ever find it, you should get it! That's all... I'm out of words for today :)

Over The Top Konad

OPI Ogre The Top Blue with Konad Stamping

I've outdone myself... I mean "overdone". I put a lot of work into this layered stamping. I did both hands. Yes, BOTH! And now I'm feeling obligated to wear this manicure for a couple days. I'm really more of a simple person. I like clean looking nails. Not only are these nails BRIGHT blue, they are also heavily stamped with butterflies and flowers.

Base Color - OPI "Ogre The Top Blue"

Floral Print- Konad Plate M61 (in Silver Special Polish)

Butterflies- Konad Plate M36 (in White Special Polish)

I know I said it is too much for me, but I do think it could use a rhinestone in the center of the butterfly...at least on a couple nails.

I like the fuzzy quality of this photo. It has a fantasy-like feel. Or maybe daytime soap opera feel... Haha! I hate the way those shows are filmed. The lighting is weird and the scenes are always blurry. They make me tired!

Ogre The Top Blue

OPI Ogre The Top Blue

Whoa! This is a BRIGHT blue. Probably my favorite OPI blue yet. I think I say that about all of them though...

I've been on a blue kick lately. I've got a some more to show you over the next couple days as well. Just thought I'd warn you... :) Here is "Ogre The Top Blue" from OPI's Shrek Collection. It's so bright that it is almost neon! Especially when under artificial lighting, using the vivid blue color set-up, like in my swatch photo. This color was easy to apply. I used the usual 3 coats to get complete nail coverage. I had only one minor issue with this polish... it stained my nails blue. Even after using OPI Expert Touch polish remover, there was still a hint of color left behind. Oh well. My nails are NEVER bare anyways. I'll just cover it up with more polish!

My Vintage Nails

Here was my entry for my vintage nail design challenge:

I was inspired by floral patterned wallpaper and antique mixing bowls. My grandma has some of those colorful bowls with the white pattern applied around the center... This reminds me of them.

Base Color- OPI "Greenwich Village"

Teal Dot- China Glaze "For Audrey"

Flower- Konad Plate M20 (in White Special Polish)

Red Dot- Stripe Rite (Red Glitter)

I never know when enough is enough. I'm glad I took photos of my nails before I added the red dots because I think I like them better that way.

I really wanted to use all 4 colors though...

Cup of Coffee

Good morning!

Have you ever taken a close look at steam in the sunlight? It's pretty magical... Those tiny specs of moisture swirl around themselves. It's like a water current going whichever way it pleases. Thought I'd share this moment with you all! :) Have a nice day!

P.S. Check out the starbursts around the edge of the mug! I didn't even use my 8-pointed star filter on this shot!

Challenge (Candy Land)

The votes are in and it looks like you guys chose "Candy Land" to be this week's nail challenge theme! That's quite exciting for me. I LOOOVE candy! AND "Candy Land" was my favorite game as a child... well, besides "Pretty, Pretty Princess" but I never actually played that game. I just wore all the jewelry!

Now here are your challenge specs:

Send me your "Candy Land" nail design by Friday (5-21-10) at midnight (CST) to polishhoarder@gmail.com. I'll be anxiously waiting for your submissions! Can't wait to see what you guys create!

Preferred file size:

• Width = 7 inches
• Height = 5.25 inches
• 72 dpi (a.k.a. "resolution")

If you do not know how to crop and resize your image, let me know and I will gladly do it for you.

By the way... Did you know that "Candy Land" was first produced in 1949 and each decade (40's, 50's, 60's, etc) has had an update to the illustrations on the board? Check out the history of "Candy Land" HERE and see how the game has changed to what it is today!

Challenge Gallery - Vintage

I want to give a huge THANK YOU to all of the ladies that participated in my first Weekly Challenge. It has been so fun seeing the different things they've created with a limited number of colors and with a theme like "vintage". After sitting down to start my own nails, I realized it was a lot harder than I thought it'd be. Yet, still fun!... and I created something that I never would have if it weren't for this project. Hopefully next week, you will join me to think outside of the box!

Now let's see the photos! (In order by which I received them)

Polish And Powder Blog:

Iceomatic's Nails Blog:

Emerald Sparkled Blog:

Amused Polish Blog:

Doo Polishing Blog:

And my Vintage nails:

Good work, ladies! This was so much fun!

I hope to see you return with an entry next week :) Have a nice weekend!

OPI Blues

I read a lot of blog posts that feature polish comparisons so I decided to do one of my own.

I hesitated to buy "What's With the Cattitude?" from the new OPI collection because I thought I owned a color that was nearly the same. I was wrong. Below are my blue OPI creme polishes. As you can see, none of them are at all close to the others. P.S. I just bought Ogre The Top but it was too late to make it into the photos...

... The Cattitude | Just Groovy | Suzi Says Feng Shui | Dating A Royal

I literally learn something new everyday! See that vertical line in between the polish names (listed above)? Well that's a key on my keyboard! I had no idea it existed! Now that's just ridiculous!! For the last 7 years I have LIVED on my computer and I JUST NOW find that key?? If you are wondering where it is... just above the "enter" button. I'm going to go on a keyboard adventure now to see what else I discover. Thanks for reading!