Rock-On Red

After my fabulous week of dance, I needed a few days to recuperate.  I once again didn't feel terribly creative so my manicure is a little more basic.  Some times you just need to throw some glitter on it and be done.

I started with two coats of ORLY Rock-On Red.  This one is a bright pinkish-red.  The formula is great.  It's not too thick or too thin.  Then I used a coat of OPI Which is Witch? for the glitter top coat.  I had to strategically place the larger round pieces to make it more even, rather than clumped together.

A simple mani, but still colorful and bright.

Until later,

Chess

Artistic Expression

This week I am writing you from St. Louis.  I am at a fabulous belly dance event.  I pre-planned all of this so that I could just publish it on the road.

I started off with two coats of NYC Tudor City Teal.  It is a dusty green crelly, a little more opaque than a jelly.  After that, I sponged on the gradient using Tudor City Teal and OPI Eurso Euro.  Eurso Euro is bright blue cream.  The two colors together are absolutely perfect and give my nails an artistry touch.

Finally, I stamped on the white hearts using Vivid Lacquer plate VL001.  I think this is my favorite plate so far.  I topped it all off with the usual Diamond Dri.
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I hope you like this one as much as I do.

Until later,

Chess

My Address is "Hollywood"

It was another busy week.  After our performance this past Saturday, we were still rehearsing for our upcoming performance tomorrow.  Also, work has been long and tedious, with the option for more overtime, which I decided to take.  I bought two skirts Saturday, so it will be nice to have the little bit of extra income.

My troupe and I decided that we needed one set of skirts that were similar so we could remain cohesive without having to borrow skirts from other people.  I really wanted a purple skirt and found that the vendor had a fabulous light blue one as well.  I knew I would regret not getting the light blue one later, so I purchased it.  Now we have four different colors between the four of us.

Consequently, I didn't do anything special once again for my mani.  It is just another swatch.  However, this color is absolutely fabulous.  I would recommend this color to anyone, but I am truly partial to this salmon-pink color.

I used two coats of OPI My Address is "Hollywood" and that was the perfect amount of polish.  OPI tends to be really good at making their formula thick enough that you can use just two coats, without making it so thick that it becomes goopy.  It is a salmon-pink color with a slight shimmer.  It has more of a cream texture to it than a foil texture, so it didn't leave streaks.

Overall, the color is great, but I wasn't as fond of the staying power.  It flaked off my thumb nail some, which is highly unusual and didn't last on my big toes as much as my nail polish normally does.  I would still use it again, though, as I absolutely love this color.

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

Can't Find My Czechbook

This week has been rather long a frustrating on many levels.  I think I really need to take a vacation, but I always hate coming back to a huge pile of work.  It doesn't truly feel like a vacation. I found out some rough news at work, that really simply forces me to continue looking for something else, so any well wishes and such would be appreciated.

Now, on to better things.

I have been so exhausted lately that I haven't felt very creative when it comes to my manicures.  It's all I can do to figure out which color I want to wear, and then try to figure out something to do with it.

This week I decided to go with a bright blue, as I am experiencing some pretty strong spring fever.  The color is gorgeous, but I was having a rough time getting the image to transfer.  Maybe it is the special polish I used, or maybe since I'm not really feeling it right now, it was just fighting me.  The reason I tell you this is that maybe someone new might experience the same problems.  Even someone more experienced has problems with the stamping plates.  Keep practicing and it will get easier.

I started off with three coats of OPI Can't Find My Czechbook.  Then, I stamped on the two different images using plate BM-317 and Mash special polish in white.

I am hoping this next one I do will work much better.

What do you think?

Chess

Peace & Love & Duochrome

This week I started the yoga teacher training.  It is overwhelming and exciting at the same time.  I am working hard to do the best I can with it, while still trying to keep up with everything else in my life, such as work and belly dance.  This is only the beginning.

Sometimes when I do my manicures, I find that I cycle through certain colors, like pinks, blues, purples and occasionally greens.  So this week I wanted to go with a slightly different color.


I used three coats of OPI Peace & Love & OPI.  It was more thin than a lot of the OPI colors, so I used the extra coat.  Once that dried, I used plate BM-407 and the Konad special polish in black to stamp on the image.  I used my Diamond Dry on the nails with images, and left the rest without.

This OPI color has a fabulous duochrome and I had a hard time capturing that.  The second picture is rather dark, but you can see the multiple colors in it some.  I really love this color!

What do you think?  Is this color for you?

Until later,

Chess

Mesmerize

My sister is now on her way to her destination with her husband.  It seems weird knowing that we will have to use all the technology at our hands to keep in contact now.  I truly hope things go smoothly for her out there.

This week I was inspired by this pin, though my manicure didn't quite turn out.

I started with two coats of OPI Vant To Bite My Neck?  Then I sponged on a gradient using the same color and Sinful Colors Mesmerize.  The distinction between the two colors wasn't quite enough.  You can only barely see the difference in the pictures.

After that I put on a coat of OPI Which is Witch? while trying to keep the glitter thin.  The coat was uneven, so I topped it all off with Diamond Dry.

I really would have liked the colors to be a little more definable, but overall, I love the look.

Until later,

Chess

Another Favorite Color Combination

I am very glad it's Friday.  This week was rather frustrating again at work.  It seemed like the week would never end.  I have been trying to work on my novel for NaNoWriMo, but have been rather busy, so haven't been able to get far.  I am planning to work hard this weekend on it.

This week, I put two colors of polish together that I love.  Right now, I really love a blush pink color and I love pairing it with navy blue.  So that's what I did this week.

I started with a couple coats of OPI A Butterfly Moment.  When that dried, I used OPI Incognito in Sausalito for the tips.

It is relatively simple, but it's my favorite color combination right now.

I hope you like it,

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