Nice Caboose!

I'm glad this week is over.  It has been a long week.  It definitely felt like I was burning the candle at both ends.  Too many projects and events, and what felt like no time to do them.  Tonight I am relaxing at home, cuddling with my dogs, and watching some TV.

This week I wanted to do something for Halloween.  I started with two coats of China Glaze Nice Caboose!  It is a great berry red color.  Perfect for fall or winter.  On top of that, I stamped the different images using Konad special polish in black and plates BM13 and Mash-38.  However, the spider image from Mash-38 isn't in the image here, as it is on my thumb.

I love this one.  The color is fabulous and the image is rather subtle.  You don't notice it until you are really close.

I already have an idea for this next mani.  Check back later to see what I come up with.

Until later,

Chess

Trying to keep up

Lately I have been rather busy at work and working on a few projects.  I have also been feeling so overwhelmed and tired, that I have only managed to paint my nails with single colors.  I am providing three swatches for you today.

The first one is China Glaze History of the World.  This one is from The Giver collection.  It is a fabulous grey blue, though the picture makes it look more purple.  I would highly recommend this one if you can get your hands on it.

The second is ORLY Darkest Shadow.  I think this one is from their Halloween collection.  It is a black polish with red glitter mixed in.  The glitter has a slight duochrome to it as well, making it look more coppery. It's a great color for Halloween.

The final one is China Glaze Well Trained.  It is a great teal color, perfect for fall.  I would have loved to have stamped a silver feather on this one, but didn't have time.  For whatever reason, I am completely obsessed with feathers right now.

I hope you find these useful.

Until later,

Chess

Strap On Your Moonboots and Sci-Fly By

It was nice that this last week was shortened due to the holiday.  This last Sunday was the last yoga in the park for the year.  Then Monday my husband helped me take some pictures for my yoga business.  It was a nice, relaxing day, and I'm grateful to have had the extra day away from work.

This week I decided to go with more of my holographic polish.  After the last experiment didn't work quite as well, I decided to try a different technique.  The gradient by sponge didn't really show the holographic effect well. 

I started with three coats of China Glaze Sci-Fly By on all my fingers but the ring finger.  This polish is thinner than most so it requires more coats. Then I used three coats of China Glaze Strap On Your Moonboots on my ring finger. Then I used Strap On Your Moonboots for the tip on my index finger and Sci-Fly By for the tip on my ring finger.

This method really shows the holographic effect.  I love how it turned out!  What do you think?

Until later,

Chess

Friends Forever, Right?

This past weekend I went to see The Giver with my husband.  I had picked up some China Glaze polish the day before from The Giver collection.  I bought a white with a pink tint and a blue.  I decided to wear one of those this week.  Since it is still summer, I decided to go with the lighter one.

I used three coats of China Glaze Friends Forever, Right?  It is a white with pink tint to it.  It was very difficult to work with.  It really did not want to behave.  For my last coat I ended up adding a little nail polish thinner to make it easier to use.  Even still, it wanted to streak some.

Once it dried, I stamped on the image using plate RA-119 and Konad special polish in black.  Then I topped it of with the Diamond Dry.

Overall, I would not recommend this color.  There isn't anything special about it and the formula is irritating.

Until later,

Chess

Penny Talk on Mauve

This week has been decent. The weather has been nice and I was able to walk to work a couple of days. I spent an evening with my mom for her birthday.  I was able to Skype my sister last night so we got caught up on events some. My belly dance troupe is performing tomorrow evening and I am excited about that.

This week I was lacking inspiration so I went to pinterest to find something to do.  I decided to replicate this look. I started with two coats of Sinful Colors Mauve.  It is a greyish purple and the formula is decent. Then I painted on the tips using Essie Penny Talk.  This one is a thicker formula and it tends to dry quickly. Consequently, it is more difficult to work with. After it all dried, I topped it off with China Glaze matte top coat.

I forgot how much I like the look of matte polish, especially over a metallic polish.

What do you think?  Do you like the matte polish?

Until later,
Chess

Purple Butterfly Wings

This weekend I was busy vending at an event, trying to sell some things that I no longer need.  I spent a fair amount of time getting everything together, and most of the day yesterday sitting at the table.  It didn't really net me much.  Consequently, I am just now getting this post up.

I started off with two coats of China Glaze Spontaneous.  Then I placed one coat of ORLY Purple Poodle on top.  Purple Poodle was too thin to use alone.  It is a great fushia-purple with blue glitter.

Once all that dried, I used plate BM-424 and konad special polish in black to stamp the butterfly wing image. I then placed the white dots using a white polish toward the tips with an improvised dotting tool (a straight pin shoved into the eraser on a pencil).

I absolutely love the color and the way that this one turned out!  I hope you like it too!!

Until later,

Chess

Wait N' Sea

This week has been extremely taxing for me.  I got sick and took Monday off.  I worked hard to make up some of that time the rest of the week.  I had a meeting with a friend's husband who works with small businesses a lot.  We brainstormed for a couple of hours on ways to get my business name out there, so I can bring in more clients.  I'm exhausted and overwhelmed by this process.  I'm just hoping that something starts rolling soon.

This week I found a little of my creativity again.  I started with two coats of China Glaze Wait N' Sea.  It's a fabulous teal-blue.  Once again, the picture does not do the color justice.  Once that dried, I stamped on the leopard print image using Konad plate m57 and Konad special polish in black.

I decided to not use top coat this time and see how the special polish lasted without it. I'm quite surprised with the durability of this special polish.  It only started to wear away a little, much like any other color I suspect.

I like the way the special polish has a somewhat matte finish to it.  The contrast is awesome.  I hope you love it as much as I do.

Until later,

Chess

X-Ta-Sea and Liquid Crystal

I've mentioned lately that I have been really busy and feeling overwhelmed.  I'm trying to determine how to back off from some things so I can focus on what I love.  I want to get back to my manicures and blogging them each week.  I  have lost my creativity, I think mostly due to being overworked and overdrawn.  Hopefully I can figure something out so I can get back to my usual routine some.

This week I have a couple more for you.  The first is another swatch.  I loved the color so much and didn't know what else to do with it.  It is three coats of China Glaze X-Ta-Sea from the most recent summer collection. The color is a fabulous plum purple.  One of my friends liked it so much I lent it to her.  I would highly recommend this color to anyone who loves purples.

The second manicure is fairly simple, but also more than just a swatch.  I really wanted to do something with white polish, and decided to do white on every nail with a glitter accent nail.  The white is three coats of Sinful Snow Me White.  Then my ring finger has two coats of China Glaze Liquid Crystal. The glitter is a blue base with hints of pink to it, though the pink didn't really show up well in the photo.

I hope you like these.  Do you have any suggestions for future manis?

Until later,

Chess

Seas the Day and Hang-Ten Toes

I have been a little overwhelmed lately with life lately.  Nothing too major, just stretched a little thin with work, yoga, belly dance and trying to spend time with friends and family.

This week I have a couple swatches for you. I decided I wanted to use some brighter colors now that it is summer.  The first one is three coats of China Glaze Seas the Day.  This one is a great red for summer.  It is a bright neon like color without being to bright.  Unfortunately, my camera could not pick up the exact color, and does not do it justice.

The second one is three coats of China Glaze Hang-Ten Toes.  This one is a neon pink.  It is very bright, perfect for summer. It dries with a satin finish, rather than a complete matte or gloss.  Over the week, it buffed to a more gloss finish.

I really loved wearing Seas the Day.  I would definitely recommend this color to anyone, as I think it would look good on everyone.  Hang-Ten Toes didn't do quite as much for me.

Until later,

Chess

For Audrey

This has been a crazy week.  I got sick this last weekend and ended up calling off work Tuesday to go to the doctor.  She didn't really have an idea of what the problem is, and gave me a prescription for antibiotics and an antihistamine.  I'm feeling only marginally better.

Then we had our steampunk meeting and had great discussions, food, and I sold a piece of jewelry.  I am a tiny bit closer to paying for my General Skills training in August.

Friday night I taught my first yoga class!  It was fabulous!  I really appreciate my students who allowed me to test out my first class on them.

This week I ironically did a mani that celebrated Audrey Hepburn's 85th birthday.  I started with two coats of China Glaze For Audrey.  It is a perfect Tiffany's blue.  Then I stamped on the dots using plate Mash-25 and Mash special polish in white.  Then I stamped on the bow image with plate BM-317 and Mash special polish in white.

I'm very happy with how this one turned out.

Until later,

Chess

Sweet Hook

This week I have been trying to work on my Yoga business and raise money so I can go to General Skills for belly dance in August.  I am trying to sell extra things that I no longer want or need.  That includes some Cookie Lee Jewelry that I tried to sell about five years ago.  I have a whole case full of jewelry, and it would be nice to not have it in the house anymore.

This week I decided to do a spring mani.  I started off with two coats of China Glaze Sweet Hook.  Then I stamped on the image using plate BM-224 and konad special polish in purple.  Then I used China Glaze Tail Me Something for the center of the flowers.

I love the light purple and the flowers. I hope you do too!

Until later,

Chess

Spring into Summer Fade

This week has been warmer, and I even walked to and from work one day.  It felt great to get out in the sun after so much cold.  Of course, it is supposed to snow again this weekend.  Probably another couple of weeks before it truly warms up for summer.  With this warmer weather, I have been itching to use brighter colors.

I started with two coats of OPI Kiss Me I'm Brazilian from the recent Brazilian collection.  I saw the pink color and fell in love.  When I placed it on my nails, I was surprised at how bright it was.  So, I decided to use another color to tone it down a bit.  I sponged onto the tips China Glaze Fade Into Hue.  The color in the bottle is more of a periwinkle color, but sponged over the bright pink, it turned more purple.

Finally, I used my China Glaze Fairy Dust on top of it all.  A girl can never have too many sparkles!

Overall, I love the color combination and I received many complements this week.  What do you think?

Until later,

Chess

Diva of Geneva

This week I wanted to go with something a little more glittery.  I tried doing a french manicure with glitter, but it looked like I was dead, due to the base color of the polish.  At some point, I'll show you how bad it was.  In the end I decided with a deep shimmery red, with a layer of glitter on top.

I started with three coats of OPI Diva of Geneva.  When that dried, I used China Glaze Fairy Dust on top.  It's really simple, something anyone can do easily.  I love that it takes so little time to finish.

Until later,

Chess

Teal the Tide Turns

This week I decided to try out another of the China Glaze textured polish collection.  Since Monday was St. Patrick's day, even though I don't really celebrate it, I decided to go with one of the greens.

I used two coats of Teal the Tide Turns.  I think I could have used another coat to make it more even.  It is a mint green with some dark green glitter scattered throughout.  The texture wasn't too rough and I love the color.

It is relatively simple, and a perfect way to bring in spring.  Thursday was the Vernal Equinox.  I'm so very ready for warmer weather and sunny skies.

Until later,

Chess

Fancy Pants

I am starting off my weekend right.  I already went to yoga and picked up some fresh, yummy food for the weekend.  It will be another long weekend of belly dance and yoga, with the usual chores in between.  On top of belly dance class, we also have rehearsal for our upcoming performance.  I'm excited to finally be able to perform, and now all my friends and family who keep asking about what I do can see it too.

This week I wanted to use a slightly brighter color.  I'm extremely ready for summer and the warmer weather that comes with the season.

I started off with three coats of China Glaze Fancy Pants.  It is a bright blue with a red shimmer that turns the color more purple in some light.  Then I used plate Mash-49 and the Konad special polish in black to stamp on the image.  Finally, I topped it all of with Diamond Dry.

I really like this color.  It is the perfect blend of color and shimmer.  What do you think?

Until later,

Chess

Wish On A Starfish

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!  Today isn't anything terribly special for me, other than the fact that I took today off from work.  I am going away this weekend for a mini yoga retreat.  It is part of the yoga teacher training thing I am doing right now.

I wanted to do something specific to the holiday this week, but had a hard time figuring something out.  I had just recently picked up some of the most recent China Glaze collection, so I decided to go with the pink one.  I used three thin coats of Wish On A Starfish. The color is a bright pink with gold flecks.  I tried stamping on some heart images using the white special polish, but it didn't show up well at all.  It might have worked with black, but I really wanted to use white.  After that, I gave up on trying to do anything else.

I hope you all have a great holiday today, whatever you make of it!

Until later,

Chess

Charmed, I'm sure

Yoga is going quite well.  I'm doing great with the memorization now, and I'm excited for the upcoming weekend.  We are going on a mini retreat so I will be able to get away from everything for a couple days.

Work has been stressful once again.  Quite frankly it is time to get out of there, but I have had no luck with any applications I have put out there.

This week, my inspiration was actually more from yoga.  The images I used remind me of some things that we have been talking about in classes.

I started off with three coats of China Glaze Charmed, I'm Sure.  After that dried I stamped on the two different images using Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Silver Sweep and plates Mash-35, for the lotus flower, and BM-409, for the tree.  The flower had a little more to the image, but I strategically placed the polish on the plate so I could get just the flower part.

After everything dried, I used the Diamond Dry, like usual.  Unfortunately I forgot to not drag the brush across the image heavily, and it smeared the image on my little finger.  Better luck remembering next time, I suppose.

I hope you like this one as much as I do.

Until later,

Chess

Flowers and Vines

I am glad the holidays are over and I can get back to my somewhat regular schedule.  I have been spending more time with my family, especially my sister, as she will be leaving with her husband at the end of next week.  They are moving to Mississippi for his pilot training.  It is a rough transition for me, as she and I have spent the last 26 or so years together.  It will be hard not seeing her every week, but I am proud of all that she has accomplished so far, and know she will soar to new heights.

This week I took some inspiration from this pin.  I love the color and the stamp image.

I started with three coats of Icing Lilacquer.  Then I stamped on the image using plate m73 and Konad special polish in black.  After that dried, I painted the black on the tips using China Glaze Liquid Leather.  Finally, I used the Diamond Dry top coat.

Unfortunately, the Diamond Dry causes shrinkage at the tips.  That isn't tip wear in the photos, but the Diamond Dry pulling the color back some as it dries.  Aside from that, and the slight smudging on a couple nails of the image, I thought this mani turned out very well.

Let me know what you think!

Until later,

Chess

Travel in Colour

I hope everyone is having a great day on the longest night of the year.  It is another cold day here, and I am welcoming the coming warmth.

This week I went with a relatively simple french manicure.  I started off with white tips in ORLY Pointe Blanche.  Then I put on a coat of China Glaze Travel in Colour.  This one has a pink shimmer to it.  The photo does not show the pink color of the shimmer well.  Try as I might to change the color in my photo editing software, the color just wouldn't show through.

I hope you like this one.  Sometimes it is nice to go with something a little more simple.

Until later,

Chess

Peach and Pastel Purple

This week I found some inspiration on pinterest for my mani.  You can see the original here.  The original was done with two pinks, based on the description, but the lighter one looks more purple to me.  So I decided to raid my stash and see if there were a couple of colors that would work well together.  I think my picks worked very well.

I started off with three coats of Essie To Buy Or Not To Buy.  I forgot how thin this polish is.  Once that dried, I sponged on the Essie color with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Peachy Breeze.  Over the top of that, I used China Glaze Fairy Dust.  It is getting a little old and goopy, so I used Diamond Dry on top of that to smooth it all out.

I absolutely love this combination and how it turned out.

I am still trying to figure out what I am going to do this coming week.

What do you think?  Do you like this one?

Until later,

Chess