12 Days of Nail Art: Day #6 - Water Marble...?

Hello everyone!

So today is Day #6 of the 12 Days of Nail Art and the prompt is water marble!

However, I have bad news.

As much as I love water marbling, I have to stand before you all and admit that this particular form of nail art is the BANE OF MY EXISTENCE!!!

Yes, i did say the bane of my existence (and the fact that I have a bane makes me feel like I've truly accomplished things in my life haha).

All of that being said, this is all one big lead up to me telling you I'm a HUGE fail and have absolutely no manicure to show you for this prompt. :(

But I'm not empty handed...OH NO!

I have some pictures (though not the best quality) of some of my favorite old nail art!

Essie Ole Caliente Strawberry

Sally Hanson Complete Salon Navy Baby Star Glitter

My very first fish egg manicure!  Nina Ultra Pro Emerald City w/ clear micro beads

My Avengers premiere manicure! (Way too many polishes to name, feel free to ask!)

Summer Neon manicure with China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy

I'm really sorry again you guys for not having a water marble to show you, but I hope you enjoyed my retro picture spam!

I'll be back for the next 12 Days of Nail Art prompt, I promise!!

Feel free to leave comments, questions, suggestions, and requests!

Hugs & Kisses & Great Polishes!

~ Cat

12 Days of Nail Art: Day #4 - Snow

Hello everyone!

Back with another entry of Plump & Polished's 12 Days of Nail Art Challenge!! 

Today was another fun prompt...SNOW!

Now, I live in South Texas, the last time we saw snow here I was in middle school or high school.  We got snow a few times where I went to college, but nothing like some people get to see.  That being said, this prompt is probably the closest I'll get to actual snow this year, since its about 85*F here right now :(.

For this manicure I had to put my thinking cap on.  Originally I thought of snow flakes and lots of glitter, but I wanted to really challenge myself.  Then I remembered something I keep stashed in my nail art stuff.

And this is the result!

That's right...FLOCKING POWDER!! 

For this manicure I started with a base of China Glaze Want My Bawdy.  To add the flocking powder, I worked one nail at a time, putting down a coat of top coat and sprinkling on the powder while it was still wet.  Then I used a white striper to paint the white tips and coated that with flocking powder as well to look like snow banks!  If I may say so myself, it looks pretty realistic actually haha.

Here's the close up:

So what do you guys think?

Feel free to leave comments, requests, suggestions, & questions below!

Hugs & Kisses & Great Polishes!

~ Cat

12 Daysof Nail Art: Day #4 - Inspired by a Holiday Movie

Hey all!

It's Day #4 of the 12 Days of Nail Art Challenge and I have another manicure to share!

Today's prompt was Inspired by a Holiday Movie, and of course inspiration strikes like lightening.

I had a few early ideas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Merry Christmas Charlie Brown, Miracle on 34th Street, Elf, etc.  But then the perfect idea came, as it does, and I knew what I wanted to do!

I'll give you a hint....

Yup!  National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation!!

More specifically the Griswold's Christmas Light Spectacular.

It's an iconic moment in Christmas cinema, when Clark Griswold finally manages to light his 250 strands of Christmas lights, adorning the family home.

I'm sure many of you have a "Griswold House" in your neighborhood around this time and know just how fantastic and frightening it is to see that many lights on one house's power cell, haha.

But the idea made for a great manicure!

For this one I used two coats of China Glaze It's A Trap-eze! for a base (chock full of glitter) to give the effect of a TON of lights everywhere.  Then I used a Milani striper and some acrylic paint to paint a strand of Christmas lights across my nails.

Here's you close up:

What do you think?!

I think my nails may be giving the Griswold's a run for their money...

If you like this manicure, or have questions, suggestions, or requests, leave a comment!!

Hugs & Kisses & Great Polishes!

~ Cat

P.S.  Speaking of Christmas lights, and in honor of this Saturday being the Heisman award, I wanted to share a little tribute someone made to my alma mater's favorite son, and Heisman nominee, Johnny "Football" Manziel!

Thanks and Gig 'em!

December Julep Maven Subscription (Pic Spam!)

Hey all!

I have another Julep Maven box to show you! 

It's my December box, and this month I decided to opt for the American Beauty box rather than my usual It Girl box.

The American Beauty box for December came with two polishes and a product.

The polishes included were Julia, what Julep describes as a "purple orchid with golden micro-glitter metallic", it's a nice kind of pink-purple base with lots and lots of gold shimmer to it, almost a duochrome effect.  And Patti, described as a "full-coverage black multi-dimensional glitter, a black jelly base with a pewter-charcoal silver glitter in it. 

Also in it was a bottle of Julep's Instant Warming Foot Scrub, a scrub with pumice particles in it to buff and smooth your feet.

Also, Julep is amazing and loves to add little surprises to the boxes that you don't know are coming when you pick your month.  This month, Julep sent a cabachon ring that you can paint with polish to make your very own nail polish ring (all the rage on Etsy about the polish addict set haha)!

It was a lovely box and I'm so happy with my subscription!

If you're interested in trying Julep Maven for yourself you can click this link and enter the code "COLOR2012" when you check out and you can get your intro box for A PENNY!!

The subscription is great at $19.99/mo, and you can change your style every month, get great discounts, and lots of fun special offers!  Plus, you can canel at any time!

What have you got to lose?!

See you all soon!

Hugs & Kissess & Great Polishes!

~ Cat

12 Days of Nail Art Challenge: Day #3 - Tape Manicure

Hello again!

Time for my Day #3 manicure for the Nail Art Challenge!

Today's prompt is a fun one for anyone who has an interest in nail art...the tape manicure!

There's a lot of ways to fulfill this challenge, all of them gorgeous of course.

Today however, I wanted to try a fun one I'd seen a few times and have been dying to try.  Thanks to Plump & Polished I had a great reason to!

To get this look I started with a base of two coats of Orly Rage, a gorgeous rose-gold foil!  Then once it was dry I cut some thin strips of masking tape and placed them in random patterns on my nails.  Over the top I painted two coats of China Glaze Cowgirl Up, a shimmer wine/berry color, very holiday feeling.  Let the top color dry for a few seconds before pulling the tape up.  MAKE SURE THE BASE IS DRY OR THE TAPE WILL PULL YOUR POLISH UP!!  Then I did two layers of top coat and was done!

Sadly I don't have a close up, because my OCD side doesn't like how tape manicures look close up hahaha.

But I do love looking at this one, it reminds me of presents with ribbons!

Can't wait to see you all for Day #4!

Remember you can leave comments, questions, suggestions, and requests!

Hugs & Kisses & Great Polishes!

~ Cat

12 Days of Nail Art Challenge: Day #2 - Penguins

Hello again everyone!

I'm back with day #2 of Plump & Polished's 12 Days of Nail Art Challenge!

Today's assignment was particularly adorable, and I'm really happy with how my nails turned out! 

Our inspiration today was to be penguins, and I can say right now if you don't find penguins even the slightest bit adorable...you have no soul!  Haha just kidding, but they are SUPER cute!!

I knew for these nails, I had to honor the cuteness of the subject matter and I think (or rather hope) I succeeded...

For these nails I used a base of three coats of Finger Paints Art You Blue? (I wanted to be a bit more colorful than the typical black and white...plus wet penguin feathers always look more shiny and blue/silver in pictures).  Then for the bellies I used Orly Au Champagne and just used the brush to paint from the middle of the nail and painted the shape I wanted.  For the beaks and the feet I used a fine nail brush and orange acrylic paint.  And then, to add a bit more adorable, I added some little googly eyes I had in my nail art stash!

Here's a close up!

I'm loving these little guys and how they keep watching me when I move! 

I'm hoping you're all having fun with your December nails, whatever they may be.

Remember if you have any questions, comments, requests, or suggestions, leave them below!

Hugs & Kisses & Great Polishes!

~ Cat

12 Days of Nail Art Challenge: Day #1 - Red and Green Only

Hi everyone!

Today begins Plump & Polished's 12 Days of Nail Art Challenge and Day #1 is the Red and Green Only challenge! 

For this one I wanted to do something kind of fun and cute since sometimes red and green combos can get a bit passe, if you know what I mean.

So I decided to embrace the "Nail Art" part of this monthly challenge and break out my dotting tools!

This is my result:

For these nails I used Icing Love Letters, a nice candy apple red with a bit of gold, silver, and red sparkle to it, and China Glaze Glittering Garland, a holly green with some green/gold glass fleck.  I think the two colors contrast nicely.  To make the dots I used both ends of the large and medium dotting tool I got in a three tool set.  For the big dots and french tip I used the large dotter and filled in a bit with the smaller end.

Here's the close up:

I'm really enjoying this manicure and I just know I'm going to have a TON of fun with this challenge!

If you have any comments, questions, requests, or suggestions feel free to leave a comment!

Also, be sure to check out Plump & Polished's blog too!

Hugs & Kisses & Great Polishes!

~ Cat