Simple Gradient

How is everyone this week?  I'm off from work with my husband this week.  It's nice to get away from the routine of work and little sleep.  We have been working on our floor some, so I'm rather sore right now.  Regardless, it feels good to get something like that done around the house.

This week, I tried out a more simple gradient.  I seem to be getting better at this technique.  My inspiration can be found here.

I used a base coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Blue By! and then used a sponge for both the blue and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out. 

I also decided to try something new with the pictures.  I read on another blog that a light box works pretty well.  I found a fairly cheap one and decided I'd try that to make my pictures look a little better.  The top picture is without flash, just the light from above the box.  The second picture is with flash from the camera.  The third one below this is without flash and using the camera to block some of the light coming through the top of the box.

I'm liking the last picture the most, so I will probably try to get the light a little farther from the box next time. What do you think?

Any suggestions for my next mani?  Colors or designs?  I don't want to start with the Halloween nails just yet.  I feel like fall just started.  Although, I'm waiting for the China Glaze Halloween collection to hit my local Sally Beauty Supply.  I was told October 1st by one of the wonderful ladies who works there.  And I keep checking my King Soopers for those new Sally Hansen polishes that are supposed to come out in October.  I don't want to miss out on those gorgeous colors, and I'd love to get the points for gas rather than spending all that money at Walgreen's or Target without the bonus. 

Well, enough about my polish stalking, leave me a comment on your thoughts or suggestions.

Until later,

Chess

Flakies

This week has been pretty good.  Next week will be even better.  I'm taking the week off from work to spend with my husband and to really do some cleaning out around the house.  I always feel like I don't have enough time to do the cleaning I want, so this is the time to get it done.  Maybe our floor will get done this week, as well.

For my nail inspiration this week, check out this pin.  While I didn't do the matte top coat, I'm very happy with the results.


I used the Revlon Nail Art Moon Candy.  Beware, I discovered these bottles break easily compared to regular bottles.  I was extremely sad when I dropped my purple one while trying to take these pictures and had to transfer the remains to another bottle before it dried out.

I did a coat with Orly Liquid Vinyl.  I didn't like it very much.  It chipped off my nails before I could add the flakies.  So then I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Black out.  It's one I've used before, but I wasn't sure if it was still good so while I was out I bought the Orly one just in case.  Then I did four stripes using the Moon Candy in Orbit, Galactic, Moon Dust, and Universe (from base to tip).

This is in natural light, fairly close to sun set.

This is under our LED light.

I love the look and had many compliments.  I'm just sad that my camera doesn't do this justice.  I tried playing around with the different settings and couldn't get it to look right.  It's kind of an old camera, so if anyone has any suggestions on a newer one for a decent price, leave me a message.  I'd love to get a new one, maybe for Christmas so I can experiment more.  I'm having so much fun with this and would like to continue doing it.

What do you think of this look?  Any suggestions for next week?

Until later,

Chess

Zebra

This week has been pretty long, already.  Maybe it just feels that way after the short week last week.  I'm really anxious for the weather to get a bit cooler after all the hot days this past summer.

This look that I did was inspired by two looks I found on Pinterest  here and here.

I started by putting two coats of Essie Pink Glove Service on my nails.  Then I stamped the zebra print with Konad special polish in black using Konad plate m57.  I put a clear coat over that and let it dry.

Then I used some circle price stickers I had left over from something else to section off the nail for the tips.  I painted the tips with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in White On.  Once that dried, I used the stickers again for the pink tips.  I used Icing Red Room, which is a deep fushia-pink sparkle.

I was a little disappointed with the Essie color. I was hoping to get a little more color out of it.  In reality, it's like wearing a clear coat.

However, overall, I'm very happy with this mani.

What do you think of my creation this week?

Until later,

Chess

matte top coat

After not really liking my last mani, I decided to try this.  I want to use my matte top coat to play around some.

The blue coat is Navy Narcissist, one of the new Maybelline New York Color Show lacquers.  I stamped the image using Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Silver Sweep and the BM-206 plate.

I tried using No Place Like Chrome by Essie for the stamping, but it just dried to fast.  I'm not sure if it was the stamp image though, so I will probably try again with these Essie colors on another image.

I'm still working on placing the images on the nail.

What do you think of this one?  Leave me a comment with your answer, or a suggestion for another mani.

Until later,

Chess

Stripes

This long weekend was extremely relaxing.  I hope you all had a great time.  I spent most of my time doing a bit of cleaning and then sitting around watching shows.  It was a very welcomed break from work.  

During this time, I decided to work on this manicure.  It didn't turn out as great as I had hoped it would.

I used Avon nailwear pro in Sunshine and Viva Pink for the base.  Then I used striping tape and painted over the base with Ulta Howl at the Moon

I think my right hand looks a bit better than my left.  Maybe I began to get the hang of it a little.

That do you think?  Should I keep experimenting with this?

Until later,

Chess

Something new

At the beginning of this week, I had a new color from Icing that I wanted to try.  It's called Teal for Real, but I wouldn't consider it real.  This green is almost a neon grass green.  Unfortunately, none of my pictures do it justice.  This looks more seafoam than true green.

Then I found these new magnetic polishes by sinful that are a little bit cheaper than the others I've found previously, and decided to give them a try.  All of these are $4.99 at the Target I went to and they have the starburst magnet instead of the wavy line one that is so popular.  This one is called It's Electric.

The only real issue I had was the magnet is a bit weak and didn't give the nail a full design.  However, most people who saw my nails thought that the effect was so cool, they didn't notice the sides of the nail didn't have the design.

All in all, I'm very happy with the color and design of this and would like to eventually try the other one I got with this one.  What do you think?

Until later,

Chess