Sunday Stamping: New Year Party Nails

Sunday, December 30, 2012
I'm not fully back to blogging from all the holiday madness, but I didn't want to miss out on the last Sunday Stamping challenge this year. The challenge is to create New Year party nails. Even though this manicure won't last until actual New Years eve, since I have something else in mind, it was fun to make...


For the base of the manicure I used a sweet new indie brand InDecisive. The polish is a beautiful scattered holo named Sugar. My photos don't do justice to the gorgeous holographic effect, but sadly I was working on this late at night so the only photos I could get were ones in my light box. I will show full swatches of this in a few days...


I stamped the fireworks using Shany plate SH13 and KleanColor in Metallic Fuschia and Sapphire on the middle and pinkie fingers and Metallic Orange and Purple on the index and ring fingers. The "2013" was stamped using Bundle Monster plate numbers BM-201 and BM-203 with Cult Nails Time Traveler.




P.S. Blogger tells me that this is my 500th post! What a wonderful way to end the year!
I will be back with regular posts in 2013. Until then...

Happy New Year Everyone! :)

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)


** InDecisive polish was provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **
** For more information please see the disclosure policy **

Holiday Snowmen

Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Just a quick post today with some holiday nail art I did recently. I was thinking about families spending time together this holiday season and that somehow manifested itself as little snowmen on my nails. Maybe it is a sign that I have not been spending enough time with my family recently. On the other hand, maybe it just means I'm ready to head to the mountains and play in the snow. Whatever the reason behind it, I really enjoyed this manicure...


For the manicure I used NYC Pier 17 as the base. All of the drawing was done using acrylic paint and a small nail art brush. I really like the pop of white against the dark blue background...


On a completely whiny side note, I wish my nails were at least a little bit longer than they are now. I don't like doing nail art when my nails are this short, but they are not liking the cold and keep breaking so I have to settle for nail art on these shorties...



NYC Pier 17 is a dark navy blue shimmer. It has just the slightest hint of purple which my camera did not pick up. The shimmer itself is perfect and seems to glow from within. Application was good and it only needed two coats for full coverage. The first coat went on patchy, but it all evened out by the second coat. I'm really impressed with the color and I really like the flattened brush. I don't have very many NYC polishes, but I might have to change that if they are all like this one...




Swatch Details
Brand: NYC New York Color
Collection: In a New York Color Minute
Color Name/Number: Pier 17, 208
Number of coats: 2
Top Coat: No

Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Sunday Stamping: Colors of My Holiday Decorations

Monday, December 24, 2012
The holidays can get kind of hectic and I have been struggling to find the time to blog. That is partly why I am showing you the Sunday Stamping manicure on a Monday. This week the challenge was to create a manicure with the colors of the holiday tree decorations. I took that quite literally and went looking through my ornaments for inspiration. I wanted something that wasn't a "typical" bright color so I chose for a gorgeous matte white ornament with gold glitter and rhinestones...


To recreate the look of the ornament in my manicure, I started out with a base of Nicole by OPI Others Pale by Kim-parison, a soft milky white. I stamped using Red Angel plate RA-120 and Ulta High Roller, a champagne gold. I filled in a few areas of the pattern and added dots with High Roller to complete the design. To match the rhinestones on the ornament, I added small rhinestones to the tip of each nail as well...



I am happy with how soft and delicate this manicure turned out. Even though it was inspired by a holiday ornament, I think this look can be worn any time of the year and that is exactly what I wanted...




Of course I couldn't resist showing you the ornament itself...


I really had so much fun with this ornament inspired manicure. It is definitely something I will do again next year!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)


** Nicole by OPI polish was provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **
** For more information please see the disclosure policy **

Inspired by Fashion Contest Winners!

Saturday, December 22, 2012
It is finally time to announce the winners of the Inspired by Fashion Nail Art Contest!

I want to thank everyone who took the time to come vote and support your favorites! I wish I could award a prize to each of these ladies and I thank them so much for participating! Here is a reminder of all the beautiful manicures...


Without further delay here are the winners...

Prize 1 winner chosen by your votes:

ENTRY #9: Natalie (Israel)http://nailzcraze.blogspot.com
Natalie received 43 votes or roughly one third of the total votes for her gorgeous geometric gradient design. Congratulations Natalie!

Prize 2 winner was picked by my boyfriend who originally suggested the theme for this challenge and so I decided it was only appropriate that he choose the winner. His pick and definitely one of my favorites is:
ENTRY #7: Diana (The Netherlands)http://dutch-diana.blogspot.nl
Congratulations Diana! By the way, I think it is really funny that Diana's boyfriend picked the dress for her inspiration and my boyfriend picked her as a winner. They must be on the same wavelength... ;)

Prize 3 which is yet to be determined, since I didn't anticipate having a 3rd prize, goes to the manicure which blew me away for the complexity, style and perfectly capturing the inspiration:
ENTRY #4: Marta (Canada) - http://www.chitchatnails.com
Congratulations Marta!

A big thank you to all the ladies who participated! I hope you had fun creating fashion inspired manicures. All of your gorgeous manicures have inspired me to start thinking of my next fashion inspired manicure!

Thank you to everyone who voted! I'm overwhelmed by the wonderful response and support you have shown these ladies. Some of you had a hard time choosing and I can definitely sympathize with that! So many wonderful manicures to choose from!

There is one more winner today and that is of the Zoya Toni and Natty Giveaway.
Congratulations Kate of Fishing4Beauty! And if anyone was wondering the answer to the bonus questions... my favorite Zoya polish is Kelly. Lots of you got it right! :D

Until next time! Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Press Release: China Glaze Tranzitions

Thursday, December 20, 2012

COLOR + TOP COAT = ENDLESS CREATIVITY

China Glaze® Introduces Tranzitions Color Changing Collection

There’s nail art and then there’s China Glaze® nail couture.  Reverse French manicure, half moons, ombre, basket weave, dots or racing stripes: nail designs are intricate and multi-colored.  China Glaze® introduces a new way to get multi-color, unique nail art with fewer bottles of polish with the new color-changing Tranzitions collection!




China Glaze® Tranzitions’ revolutionary new nail lacquer reacts when a clear top coat is applied, changing the color from one shade to another for a stunning effect.  Wear any of the six beautiful, color-shifting shades alone, or allow your creativity to run wild and create intricate nail designs by applying a top coat in specific places.  Try different looks using nail art brushes, free-hand designs or nail guides.  Because each shade changes color, you get two lacquers in one, creating an entirely new look with just one swipe.


The China Glaze® Tranzitions collection features six shades, though with the color transition, you get 12 unique shades including:

  • Split Perso-NAIL-ity – Dusty pink shifts to fuchsia
  • Duplicityy – Mint green shifts to vibrant teal
  • Modify Me – Periwinkle blue shifts to indigo blue
  • Altered Reality – Teal blue shifts to turquoise
  • Metallic Metamorphosis – Silvery grey shifts to bluish-charcoal grey
  • Shape Shifter – Smokey violet shifts to dark purple

How It Works:
Step 1: Apply a base coat.
Step 2: Apply two coats of China Glaze® Tranzitions shade of choice.  Allow to completely dry.
Step 3: Lastly, apply one coat of clear top coat such as China Glaze® Fast Forward and watch the color change right before your eyes.

For more nail design ideas, click here to view the China Glaze® Tranzitions video.

The China Glaze® Tranzitions collection will be available in January 2013 at fine salons and beauty supply stores nationwide.

China Glaze is free of DBP, toluene, and added formaldehyde, and is never tested on animals.

China Glaze nail lacquers are available through salons and professional beauty supply stores nationwide. For more information, please visit www.chinaglaze.com or follow China Glaze on Facebook (@ChinaGlazeOfficial), Twitter (@ChinaGlaze) and Pinterest (pinterest.com/chinaglaze).

China Glaze® is a division of American International Industries.

About American International Industries
For 42 years, AII has been the leading manufacturer and worldwide distributor of innovative, quality beauty and skin care products for men and women.  Our product lines include Andrea, Ardell, Body Drench, Bye Bye Blemish, Checi, China Glaze, Clean + Easy, Clubman/Pinaud, Duo, European Secrets, EzFlow, Fright Night, Gena, GiGi, Gypsy Lash, IBD, It’s So Easy, Jeris-Lustray, LASH BeLONG, Nail Tek, No Tweeze/Micro Tweeze, 'N Rage, Poshe, Prolinc, RAW, Seche, SuperNail, Surgi-Care, Waterworks, Winning Nails, Woltra, Woody’s, and Youthair. For more information, visit our website: www.aiibeauty.com


Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)


** Disclaimer: All information and images in this post provided by the manufacturer or their PR **
** For more information please see the disclosure policy **

Press Release: Zoya Lovely - Spring 2013

Zoya Lovely
Beauty is a lovely state of mind

Lovely, just LOVELY!
Spring is awash in six soft and lovely new Zoya shades including three dewy metallics and three fresh blooms of cream. Poetic in nature, this collection is sure to capture the beauty of the season like no other....




ZOYA LOVELY – SPRING 2013
Piaf (ZP652) - Fresh Forsythia Yellow Metallic - Full Coverage (Originally designed for Fashion Designer Zang Toi )
GeiGei (ZP651) - Blushing Cherry Blossom Pink Metallic - Full Coverage (Originally designed for Zang Toi/SS13).
Julie (ZP650) - Soft Wisteria Purple Metallic - Full Coverage (Originally designed for Zang Toi/SS13).
Blu (ZP653) - Lucky Hyacinth Blue Cream - Full Coverage
Neely (ZP655) - Earliest Spring Green Cream - Full Coverage (Originally designed for Peter Som/SS13).
Jacqueline (ZP654) - Perfect Magnolia Nude Cream - Full Coverage (Originally designed for Peter Som/SS13)

Shipping January 01, 2013

Ultra long-wearing, nail lacquers by Zoya are BIG5FREE - all formulas are completely free of harmful industrial chemicals such as toluene, camphor, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) that are known to cause cancer and birth defects.
Zoya Lovely $8 (US)
Follow the Zoya Nail Polish and Treatments Blog and stay tuned on Twitter (@Zoyanailpolish) and Facebook for release date updates.
Hashtags: #ZoyaLovely and #nailpolish.


Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)


** Disclaimer: All information and images in this post provided by the manufacturer or their PR **
** For more information please see the disclosure policy **

Feather Skittlette

Wednesday, December 19, 2012
You may have heard of the Skittlette contest hosted by Marta on ChitChatNails. Skittlette is a term that Marta has come up with to refer to her unique manicure style. Unlike the typical skittle manicure where each nail is different, a skittlette by Marta's definition is "a manicure consisting of two, or three, different accent nails on each hand". I like to think of it as two to three nails are the same and the rest are different.

I was really excited to challenge myself to create this style and I honestly love how it turned out. Of course I waited until the very last minute to enter since I wanted my nails to grow out as much as possible after the break. Take a look at what I created and you can see more incredible skittlette contest entries on ChitChatNails...


This manicure features feathers which were given to me by a friend. After seeing my last feather manicure, she offered to collect a few feathers from her gorgeous blue and green parrot for me. The feathers were all naturally shed so no sweet birds were harmed for this manicure. I used the tips of smaller feathers in the manicure itself and I'm holding one of the larger feathers in the photos. The colors of the feathers inspired the colors of my manicure...


On my ringer finger is SinfulColors Happy Ending, a beautiful lime green with a gold shimmer. The rest of the nails were done in Cult Nails Time Traveler, a super pigmented dark navy blue. I thought it was so appropriate to use Cult Nails for Marta's challenge as it is her gorgeous photo spreads of the lacquers that made me want to get this polish in the first place.


I added the feathers on my index and middle fingers and covered them with two or three layers (I can't remember for sure) of top coat to smooth it all out. The feather image on the ringer finger was stamped using Cult Nails Time Traveler and Mash plate Mash-29. Time Traveler is thick and pigmented enough that it worked perfectly for stamping. For the pinkie finger I used a lime green round rhinestone to match...




I'd love to know what you think of this manicure and don't forget that you can see more incredible skittlette contest entries on ChitChatNails...

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Joining the Cult of Cult Nails

I don't often post photos of my hauls, but joining the Cult and by that I mean Cult Nails is different. I resisted for quite a while, but I was too weak to resist the attraction of Flushed. It is said to be even more gorgeous than Max Factor Fantasy Fire which has been one of my lemmings for a long time. I even begged a friend who was living in London and oblivious to my affliction for nail polish to look for it. She was unsuccessful, but all that doesn't matter now since I have Flushed! This, ladies (and gentlemen... man?) is what happened when I tried to order just one bottle of Flushed...


It also happened that at the time I was ordering, any order over $50 received a grab bag full of surprises. Can I just say how stuffed this little grab bag was. All this fit into the beautiful damask print bag that is in the above photo. I never expected it to contain so many goodies...


Here is what I ended up with...
Purchased: Flushed (x2), Time Traveler, In a Trance, Disciplined, Charlatan, Seduction, bronze rhinestone studs, multi-sized silver studs...
Grab bag included: Happy Ending, Wicked Fast, a glass nail file, multi-colored square rhinestones, multi-sized clear round rhinestones, square gold studs, small round gold studs, large round silver studs... phew!


Both the square rhinestones and the clear rhinestones are something I really wanted to purchase, but they were out of stock at the time. I was so excited to get them in my grab bag...

P.S. I just have to put it out there that I blame a certain lady named Marta at ChitChatNails for this haul. Her incredible photo shoots of all the Cult Nail beauties are always in the back of my mind. If you have not seen them yet, what are you waiting for? You will not regret it! When it was time to order I spent a good hour (probably more) going through her blog to make my decision. There were so many I wanted that I'm surprised I managed to stop myself ;)

Have you joined the Cult of Cult Nails?

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Cheeky Summer Collection Stamping Plates

Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Today I'd like to share my review of the Cheeky Summer Collection stamping plates with you. This set of 26 plates features a fun assortment of themed images to get you ready for any occasion. Since this post is very photo heavy, I will try to keep the chatter to a minimum so let's get right to it...


The plates come packaged in a handy box which can be used to store them. Along with the plates themselves, each box contains a Cheeky Nail Artist License which can double as a scraper. It is about the thickness of a credit card and works just as well....


Each plate comes with a protective blue plastic cover on the front and a paper backing. The backing is great for minimizing cuts as it dulls the sharp edges...


Make sure to peel off the blue plastic prior to using! ;)


There are 26 plates in this collection numbered CH30 to CH55. I did a test of each image in this collection using Pure Ice Silver Mercedes stamped on black card stock. Below are the photos of each plate along with the stamping test of each of them. Feel free to click on any of the images for a closeup...

CH30


CH31



CH32
how adorable are these monsters?




CH33




CH34




CH35




CH36




CH37




CH38




CH39




CH40
That "nail art" image cracks me up!




CH41




CH42




CH43




CH44




CH45




CH46




CH47




CH48




CH49




CH50




CH51




CH52




CH53




CH54




CH55




Here is what my stamping test looks like in its entire form. I'm trying to create a page such as this for every stamping plate collection. I'll try to share them with you as I make them. As you can see, all the images stamped great...



The Summer Collection cheeky plates (white backing) are significantly larger than the first set (black backing)...


The full size stamping images are also larger than the first set. This make them great for longer nails...


There are so many fun images in this collection!

Have you gotten your hands on these yet?

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)


** Stamping plates were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **
** For more information please see the disclosure policy **