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

4000 Page Views

My blog has hit 4000 page views.  Thank you all so much for coming to visit my blog so much.  I truly appreciate the fact that you find my work worth your time to view for a couple minutes.

Thank you to everyone who loves my work!

Chess

Taunting Teal

This week has been so long that when I woke up this morning I had to look at my phone to be sure today was actually Friday.  I'm so glad the weekend has finally arrived.

This week I decided to go with a blue color for my manicure, and to try out one of the new bundle monster plates I received recently.

I started out with two thick coats of Sonia Kashuk Taunting Teal.  Then I used Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Gone Grey and plate BM-419 to stamp on the feather image.

The blue is a great fall or winter color, and the grey/silver is perfect for stamping.

Let me know what you think!

Until later,

Chess

Pink Flakies

This week went by pretty fast.  I was finally able to Skype with my sister last night, so even though she is in another state, we were able to connect some.  That made the end of the week so much better.

Also, I had my usual belly dance class this morning, and it feels like I am finally beginning to get somewhere with dance.  I have been dancing at Bravo Belly Dance for about two years, but it has taken that long to learn enough vocabulary that I feel like I'm able to really create a flow while dancing.

This week I did another modified french manicure.  I found the ORLY MatteFX Pink Flakie Topcoat at Sally Beauty and knew I had to do something with it.  So I started with three coats of it, despite that it is called a topcoat.  This first picture shows the flakies a bit, and the matte effect.  The picture really doesn't do it justice, but the flakies are extremely hard to capture in photos for me.

Later, I used ORLY Pointe Blanche for the tips.  When that dried, I topped it off with my Diamond Dry to give it more shine.

Overall, the matte effect was ok, but I liked it better with a shine to it.  What do you think?

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

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

Best of 2013

Overall, this year has been rather frustrating.  However, I have a lot of hope and bright prospects for the next year.  So to close out this year properly, I am posting about some of my more popular posts from the year.  These are listed from most popular to least popular.

1. Steampunk, Take 2

2. Two-toned

3. Royal Blue and Gold

4. Green Texture

5. French Sparkle

6. Mint Mojito

7. AnomalyCon 2013

8. Cloudy Skies

9. Pixie Dust

10. Beads and Jewels

I hope you all have a happy New Year!!

Chess

Merry Christmas 2013

I hope everyone is having a great holiday season, wherever you are.  We will be heading to his parent's house, then my grandparents' house, and finally to my parents' house, so we will be rather busy.  I wanted to get this posted early today so that I don't forget with everything else that is going on today.

I went for a non-traditional manicure this week.  I didn't want to do the typical red and green.  I have also been eyeing a very special polish from the Essie winter collection.  I received a coupon for Ulta, so I used that to get that special polish at a slightly better price.

Without further ado....

I started off with three coats of Sinful Colors Hot Spot on all my nails except my ring finger.  This is a nice metallic royal blue, that doesn't leave brush strokes.  On my ring finger, I used Essie On A Silver Platter.  This one is a gold glitter with a couple different kinds of blue holographic glitter in it. I used the Essie polish on the tips of the rest of my nails.

After it all dried, I used Diamond Dry on top of everything. This helped cover the glitter on my ring finger so it didn't feel so jagged, and helped to smooth out the rest of the nails some.  I had to layer on the glitter polish more on the tips so it would show better.

I hope you all love this one as much as I do, and you have a wonderful day today!

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