31 Day Challenge - Day 1: Red

Well, this is it!  August 1st, the official kick off of the 31 Day Challenge!  Oh, I'm so nervous and stressed about it already!  But I'm also excited.  It is going to be a looooong month.

I have no intention of doing solid colors with no nail art, because, well, that's just not me.  So, even though Day 1's challenge is just "red", I had to add a little something extra to it:

Spoiled - Pick Your Poison, Shuffle The Deck (glitter)

For Day 1, I used one of my favorite reds, Spoiled's Pick Your Poison, which has a nice subtle shimmer to it, and I topped it with a coat of Shuffle The Deck.  My picture taking is still pretty terrible, but Shuffle The Deck is a red, silver, and black glitter combo which is pretty cool.

You can see what my fellow blogging challengers did for Day 1 via the inlinkz below!

Sinful Colors and side dots

The 30 Day Challenge is quickly approaching and I am getting nervous!  Don't forget, we are starting August 1st, and if you want to attack it with us we'd love to have you!  Just click HERE to join our little Facebook community :-)

By now, I'm sure everyone has heard about the ordeal with Sinful Colors, and also Revlon by association.
If you haven't, the story goes like this:  Within the last few days, many polish-aholics have seen some Sinful Colors displays and brochures that have featured photos belonging to nail bloggers, but being used without credit OR permission.  Not only that, the polishes used in the photos are NOT Revlon or Sinful brands, AAAAND, one of the stolen photos features a swirly designed Konad stamp which the brochure claims was done with wet polish and a toothpick.

Wrong on so many levels I don't know where to start!

But, after less than 48 hours of complaints, Revlon has issued the following apology on their Facebook page:


Dear Revlon fans --- We are aware of the issue regarding SinfulColors and are taking steps to resolve this unacceptable error. We deeply respect the rights of our blogger friends and are taking the following measures:

1. We have reached out to the bloggers, Jeanette and Mary, to apologize and quickly resolve the issue.
2. We are correcting any materials featuring the bloggers’ images as soon as possible.
3. We are putting additional measures in place to prevent this from happening again.

Please accept our heartfelt apology and know that we are doing everything we can to make things right.


I am a big fan of the Sinful Colors line, and this is a good starting response, but I'll be keeping a close eye on them to see that they keep their word as stated above before I continue to purchase their product.

...that being said, here is my mani from a few days ago *ahem*... featuring Sinful Colors *ahem* :-/

Sinful Colors - Amethyst (purple), Unicorn (yellow), Starfish (pink), Open Seas (greenish blue)

I wasn't quite sure where I wanted to go with this, I just grabbed a few colors that looked good together and decided to play around with a dotting tool and this is where I ended up.  This kind of dotting tool design is good if you are just getting used to using them because it leaves a lot of room for error.

My verdict:  Kind of a strange, bubbly look...but, I like the color combo.

What do you think?
How are your dotting tool skills?  Or are you like me, and too nervous to try very often?
...OR...if you don't own any dotting tools yet, stay tuned for a nail art tool giveaway I'll be doing soon and maybe you can win some! :-D

Naked moons! With glitter.

I have come to the realization that I need more one coater polishes in my life.  I think I actually came to that realization a while ago.  I hope I didn't blog about it then too :-|

See, what happens is, I wait until super late at night to do my nails, and I want something I can just slap on.  Boom, one coat, I'm done, and on the the artsy stuff.  The problem is that I only have like 4 good one coat colors, so I end up using those same colors a lot.

This is one of them.  The Milani one coaters are wonderful.  I've probably blogged about that before too.

Milani - Rapid Cherry

I placed my loose glitter with a toothpick as usual.  I lick the end so they stick to it.  That's probably TMI though.  

And my moons are naked.  I did that with reinforcement stickers.  If you don't have any of those yet, go buy some, they are only like $2!  I love how so many nail art supplies are so cheap.

Is anyone out there as addicted to loose glitters as I am?!

Hair style tutorial - 4 Strand braid

Hey everyone!  I think I'm gonna like doing hair and nails on here, it's keeping me posting more often.  This is like day 4 or 5 in a row.  And I have nail art cued up for you tomorrow!

Today I have a great hair style for you to try, and I even filmed a video tutorial!

Today's style is the 4 strand braid:

Now, a little word of advice before you watch the video - while this braid is a fairly simple technique, it takes some practice to get used to juggling 4 strand of hair in your hands.  I have been doing this braid since I was 10 years old, and I STILL have a hard time with those first couple plaits.  

SO, don't get discouraged!  Practice, practice, practice!  Even if it's just on the ends of your hair or some string or something while you are watching TV.  And remember, those first couple plaits are the hardest...so if you feel like your hair's getting frizzy and your fingers are getting all tangled in the first few rounds and you want to stop and start over, don't!  Keep going just a little longer just so you can see how it feels to get into a rhythm.

That will help, I promise!

I hope you enjoy the video, and as usual, I'm happy to read comments and take any questions or hair style suggestions!  Also, if you try this, I'd love to see some photos!  Thanks for visiting :-)

Purple and gold striping tape lasers w/ tutorial

After doing a hair tutorial yesterday, it felt unfair not to do a nail tutorial.

This technique is a fairly common one among nail do-ers, but I have heard that some people still struggle with it so I thought I would mention some of the little tricks I find particularly helpful in pulling this off.

Striping tape lasers:

Zoya - Carly, Studio M - Gold Glitter

Sorry the picture is so bad, I was having a really hard time photographing this one, and I had to go quick because my camera battery was about to die.

Studio M - Gold Glitter

The under coat was so gorgeous and sparkly, I couldn't bare to cover it all up so I left an accent finger.

For a brief tutorial with some pictures, keep reading!

Hair style basics - Topsy Tail & Hair wrapped pony

As promised...well, maybe a day late...but almost as promised, here is my first hair tutorial!
Actually, it's 2 tutorials.

It might be little bit basic, but these are things I do in a lot of my styles so I thought it was important to explain them now so things are clear later on down the road.  I also felt it was necessary to introduce a couple of my favorite tools.

First, these guys:

I use these practically everyday in almost every hair style I do.  I love them.  Love them.  They are little, clear, plastic-y bands and they are wonderful.  Because they are clear, they are super easy to hide.  The material they are made out of makes them totally painless and undamaging to rip out of your hair.  AND, they hold tightly, even if your hair is really thick and heavy like mine.

If I was Oprah, you all would have a pack of these under your chairs right now.  But since I'm not, go buy some!  They sell them everywhere and they are really cheap.  This pack was from Wal-Mart, and I'm sure it was less than $5, but I know that I've also seen them at dollar stores. I definitely recommend the packs that have more than one size.

Next, the Topsy Tail:

The first time I remember seeing these was when I was in grade school, which was the early 1990's, but they may have been around even longer than that.  I got this one from Claire's a few years ago, but I'd recommend purchasing this one from Amazon because it includes the mini Topsy Tail for the same price.

This is not necessary, as I'll show in my tutorial, but it will certainly make your life easier.

And finally!
What I will be showing you today is the Topsy Tail ponytail and the hair wrapped ponytail:

Newsprint nails

Hello!

Today I have some nail art for you...something I've never tried but have been wanting to attempt for a long time...

Newsprint nails!

Color Mates - Little Blue Box

I really debated what color polish to use with these, and I think I made a wrong choice with the light blue.  I probably should have gone with something that would have made the newsprint stand out a little bit better.  OPI's My Boyfriend Scales Walls probably would have been perfect.

I think I also probably should have searched through the paper a little more for some text that was a tad smaller since my nails are so short.

The obituaries were a good size...but, um...somehow that just seemed wrong.

Have you ever tried newsprint nails?
What color did you use as a background?

My first hair post

Well, I've decided to go ahead with the plan of making this a nail and hair blog.  Yay!  

I filmed my first tutorial today, and I am very excited about it!  

Actually, I say filmed, but it's more like photographed.  As it turns out, when I'm doing hairstyles on myself, they are pretty difficult to take video of because my hands are always in the way!  Soooo...my tutorials will probably be step by step photos for the most part, but I think they will still be pretty easy to follow.

Tutorials will start being posted soon, but, for my first hair post, I thought I'd just post a picture of my plain, ordinary hair.  

I often see hairstyles on Pinterest and wish I knew what the peoples hair looked like down so I would know what to expect when trying them on myself.  How long is this persons hair?  Is it straight or curly?  Is it layered?...SO, I thought it would be a good idea for everyone to see the length and texture of what I am working with so that when I start posting finished styles you'll know what to expect with your hair, or what you might need to do to adapt them to your hair if it is shorter or longer than mine.

And on that note, here is my hair!  This is first thing in the morning with nothing but a quick brushing.  No styling, no product.  As you can see, I've got a teeny tiny bit of wave and a few very long layers that are remnants of a short haircut that has grown out.  And it's thick.  As far as length goes, right where this photo ends is where my waist begins.  If this picture was a fraction of an inch lower, you'd be able to see my belt.

And that's it!  I'll have a style tutorial, and some new nail art, posted within the next 24 hours.

And lastly, if anyone is ever browsing Pinterest and sees a neat hairstyle with no tutorial linked to it, send me an email with the picture attached and I'd be happy to figure it out and post one!

Boy, this turned out long!

If you made it this far, thanks for reading :-D

Pink Houndstooth

Before I get to today's nails, I just wanted to remind everyone that I really want to try making some nail art tutorials so if there is anything specific that you would like to see, please leave a comment or shoot me an email!

Also, I've been toying with the idea of adding hairstyles and hairstyle tutorials to the blog and I'd like to know what people's feelings on that are.  I know that the people who come here come here for nails...but would it irritate you to have to scroll past hair related posts, or would you enjoy it?  My hair is quite long and I have loved doing styles on myself since I was in grade school.  I have gotten very good at it!  If too many people are turned off at the idea, I can always just create a sister blog to this one.

Also it should be noted that hair posts would NOT have any effect on the frequency of nail posts.

So let me know!

And now, on to today's nails!

I realized that it had been a while since I'd done any stamping!  I was flipping through my stamping plate binder and decided I wanted to do a houndstooth pattern.  I have been really liking other people's monochrome stamped mani's so this is what I came up with:

Wet N Wild Shine - Tickled Pink, Zoya - Kimber, Cheeky Plate - Ch8

I have about 6 different houndstooth patterns in my plate collection, and they are all slightly different sizes!  It was nice because I was able to pick one that perfectly fit my nails at their current length.

Unfortunately, most of them were vertically oriented. Has anyone ever seen a vertical houndstooth pattern?  Because I certainly never have!  So, I had to stamp at an angle, which was a total pain in the butt.

But at least the final product ended up nice!

Thanks for reading :-)

Giveaway winner!

Hey everyone! Just a quick info post today.

My giveaway has ended and I have a winner!

* drum roll*

Congratulations to...Alison T!

I want to thank everybody for entering and following, and I hope you'll stick around because I will be having another giveaway in the very near future!

In other news, beginning on August 1st, some fellow bloggers and I are going to be embarking on the 31 Day Challenge!

If YOU would like to join us, we'd love to have you!  Just click here to join the group on Facebook.

AAAAND, one last thing...I want to start doing tutorials.  Does anyone have any requests for anything specific that they'd like to see a tutorial on?

Wow, tuns out, this wasn't quick at all!  I don't have any new nails for you today because my watermelons are still in excellent shape!  They are the first mani I've done all summer that has withstood my harsh work environment!  And also, they are so adorable, I can't bear to take them off.

Happy Friday the 13th to everyone!