Happy Halloween 2013

I hope everyone is having a wonderful time tonight, with whatever you are doing.  Trick-or-treating, staying in, watching scary movies, spending time with family.  I am watching some shows and probably will watch Hocus Pocus tonight, while my husband hands out candy to the little ones.

You may have seen my post on Facebook about this polish I chose this week.  I chose to try out L'Oreal The Queens Ambition.  I love the look of it.  The glitter helps lend the texture to the polish.  My only issue is that it is chipping quite a bit.  Usually I don't have that problem with polish on my acrylic nails.  I figure if I put a clear top coat over it, the mani would last longer, but then I would lose the fabulous texture.

Until later,

Chess

Lack of Creativity

This week I really just didn't feel creative.  I couldn't think of anything to do with my nails.  Earlier, I bought a few ORLY colors, and I wanted to play with one of the them this week,  but I didn't have any ideas.  So I have a swatch of this color for you today.  This one is ORLY Terra Mauve.  It is a great red with a pinkish hue.  The color really is fabulous, I just couldn't think of anything to do to it.

Also, to give you a little more to look at, I pulled out a mani I tried out a bit ago, but never posted.  I started witha few coats of Sinful Colors Ocean Side.  After that dried I used some glitter polish from Icing on my ring finger.  It came in a four pack, but there is no name on it.

I hope you like these,

Chess

Howl You Doin'

Lately, I haven't been feeling very creative.  I have been finding it hard to come up with new ideas and color combinations.  Luckily, this month China Glaze had a couple colors from the Halloween collection that I liked.  So this week, I used one of those.

I started with a couple coats of China Glaze VIII.  After that dried, I used tape to block off some of my nail near the cuticle, and used China Glaze Howl You Doin'.

I really love the different types of glitter in Howl You Doin' and it wasn't too hard to remove.  Usually I hate glitter polish, but this one was much easier to remove.

What do you think?  Any suggestions for another mani?

Chess

Leopard Print

This week, work went by fairly quickly.  I made a couple monetary decisions about bellydance and yoga that make me feel good about my future.  I'm excited about these opportunities next year.

Last week I saw this pin on pinterest, and knew I had a couple colors that I could use to recreate the look.  So that's what I set out to do.  To top it all off, the base color I used was given to me by a close friend, so it felt good to finally use it.

I started off with two coats of ORLY Rage.  After that dried, I stamped on the leopard print image using Konad plate m57 and Konad special polish in black. Then is used Sonia Kashuk Two Cent to place the darker dots on some of the leopard spots.  Finally, I used two coats of my Diamond Dry to smooth out the mani.

This one turned out beautifully, and everyone who has seen it in person has loved it.  It really did not take that much more time than any of the other manicures I have done before.

Until later,

Chess

Tongue & Chic

My co-worker has been on vacation in Florida all week, so it has been a little difficult keeping up with the workload.  However, I have taken on a new mantra at work.  I can only do so much, and the rest will have to wait until tomorrow.  It feels good.  I'm not as stressed as I usually am.

I decided to do something a little bit different for my mani this week.  I wanted to do a matte polish again.  So, I started with China Glaze Tongue & Chic.  Then I stamped on the peacock feather using Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Silver Sweep and plate VL 006 by Vivid Lacquer.  Then I used ORLY top coat to save the image, and ORLY Matte Top over all the nails.

For some reason, the matte top coat didn't work for all the nails, and I decided to take pictures so you could see it.  Some of it wears off anyway throughout the week, but two of my nails just wouldn't take the matte top coat.

Despite the issues with the top coat, I really like this mani.  I love the color and the way the silver contrasts it.

Until later,

Chess

Beads and Jewels

I'm glad this week is over.  It was slightly shortened from my time off over the long weekend we spent working on our main bathroom.  It looks so much better now, but I would love to have more time off still.  It didn't feel like time off because we were so busy the whole time.  I am very proud of what we managed to accomplish though.

This week, I wanted to go with something blue, and I had just received my new plates and special polish, so I figured I would use some of that, as well.  I started off with a couple coats of OPI I Saw...U Saw...Warsaw.  Then I stamped on the image using Konda plate m62 and Mash special polish in white.


I think I like the Konad special polish better than the Mash polish.  It wanted to dry a little too quickly, much like the issues I was having with regular nail polish.  However, the Konad special polish in white is harder to find, and more expensive.  So I will try a few more times before truly deciding.

I hope you like it.  Please let me know what you think below.

Until later,
Chess

Winner of the 3000 page view giveaway.

Thank you everyone for participating in my giveaway.  It ended in the middle of the night last night and I picked a winner this morning.  I have contacted the winner so that I can get the two bottles of polish to her as soon as I can.

Keep coming back her to view my newest manicure and you never know when I might do another giveaway!

Until later,

Chess

When Stars Collide

This week has been busy.  I took a couple days off from work for my anniversary and we have been remodeling our bathroom...ourselves!  Consequently, my manicure is looking rather sad.  At least I will be changing it tomorrow, and I won't feel so rough.  Also, I hit 3000 page views on the blog, and 30 followers on Facebook.  I know it doesn't sound like a lot, but it means a lot to me.  So please go check out my giveaway.

This week I decided to use another of the China Glaze holographic collection.  I wanted to try something a little different and see if it was possible to keep the holographic effect.  I used China Glaze Get Outta My Space for the base.  Then I used it and China Glaze When Stars Collide to sponge on the gradient. I had a problem with balding some on the tips when I sponged on the gradient, so I would suggest adding more polish on the tips.

Unfortunately, the holographic effect did not show up well, but I think it might work with foils.  I tend to have problems with brush strokes showing and sponging it on would probably remove that problem.

I hope you like this one.  I got many complements this week on it.  Also, please remember to check out my giveaway and try for two bottles of OPI polish.

Until later,
Chess

3000 page view giveaway

I now have over 3000 page views on my blog.  Thank you so much!!!  And to treat you all, I am doing a giveaway of two bottles of OPI nail polish.  To celebrate this achievement and the fact that it is Talk Like a Pirate Day, the two bottles are Mermaid's Tears and Steady As She Rose, from the Pirates of the Caribbean collection.   Good Luck everyone!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Vines

This week the weather changed significantly.  Instead of hot and dry, it rained so much there was a lot of flooding around here.  We were lucky enough to not have to deal with that.

Last night I went to this great presentation on Impermanence by one of the Drepung Gomang Monks, from Tibet.  It gave me a lot to think about, and maybe another reason to finally do the yoga teacher training that I've been talking about for so long.

This week I wanted to use a green polish, so I went through my pile that I haven't used yet.  I also wanted something that had a more fall tone.  I used one of the more recent China Glaze holos.  After about 3 coats of OMG a UFO, I stamped on the image using China Glaze  Liquid Leather and plate Mash-43.  I decided to do a reverse status nail, so I placed the image on all my nails except the ring finger.

I hope you like this one.  Please let me know what you think!

Until later,

Chess