Running Wild...

I'm not sure what has gotten into me, but something certainly has since this is my second tiger manicure this month. I got some fun neon nail studs for review from the Born Pretty Store and they really brought out my wild side. I wanted to pair them with an equally bright and matching color.

For my index, middle and ring fingers I started with a base of Nicole by OPI Sweet on Pete. I stamped the zebra pattern from Bundle Monster BM-223 using Essence Stamp Me! Black. I then sectioned off my nail using scotch tape and painted half of it black using Wet 'n Wild Black Creme. The pinkie finger is also Black Creme. While the polish was still wet, I added the nail studs and covered everything with a top coat...

I just get a fun 80s vibe from this manicure and it puts me in a good mood...

And as you might have expected, they do glow under black light. This photo doesn't do justice to just how bright they really glow!

These fun square neon nail studs (Item #6968) come in a variety of colors. The studs that I got are 2mm in diameter, but they are also available in a slightly larger 3mm size. Each bag of studs contains plenty for lots manicures...

What you think? Would I fit in back in the 80s with this mani?

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** Polishes were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

** For more information please see the disclosure policy **

Sunday Stamping: Metallic Madness

Sometime you look for inspiration and sometimes it just finds you. Such is the case with this metallic zebra manicure by Chickettes that I stumbled upon on Pinterest. Usually I would repin it for "some day" and move on, but I just happened to be wearing Barielle Jordana's Skinny Jeans at the time and couldn't resist

So what does that have to do with Sunday Stamping? Good question. Every week members of the group, Adventures in Stamping, vote on that week's challenge. I rarely vote, instead I just look at chosen challenge towards the end of the week. It is more exciting for me to get a random theme (voted or pulled out of a hat) by someone else. So as this manicure was done and photographed, I thought I'd check on the poll for this week's stamping challenge. To my surprise the top two contenders were "metallic madness" and "over a saran wrap method base." This mani is so close to meeting both challenges. I guess it is lucky for me that metallic won the vote in the end so I could show you this today...

The base color is Jordana's Skinny Jeans as I mentioned earlier. A beautiful metallic blue. I stamped the index and ring fingers using the zebra print from Bundle Monster plate BM-223. The rest of the nails were done using the saran wrap "sponging" technique. It was my first time trying the technique and it was so easy and fun. The silver used for stamping and "sponging" is Pure Ice Silver Mercedes, which is my absolute favorite silver for stamping.

I added lips to the ring finger as an accent using Bundle Monster plate BM02 and Pure Ice Outrageous. Outrageous is a metallic pale pink which also works beautifully for stamping. I thought the lips on the thumb in my inspiration manicure were adorable and I had to include them...

Make sure to check out the inspiration manicure here and let me know what you think of this!

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** Some polishes used in this post were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

** For more information please see the disclosure policy **

Sunday Stamping: Unnatural Animals

This week the stamping challenge for the group Adventure in Stamping was truly a fun one. The challenge was a stamped manicure with the theme of unnatural animals. I have been wanting to try a rainbow gradient animal print for quite a while, so this was the perfect opportunity for it. What could be more unnatural than a rainbow zebra?

For the gradient I used the technique of layering all the colors on a cosmetic sponge and then sponging them on all at once. I'm so in love with this technique that now I look for any excuse to do a gradient. I stamped using Wet 'n Wild Black Creme and Bundle Monster plate BM-223. I then matted the whole thing using Essie Matte About You. The matte topcoat smudged the stamped pattern a bit, so in hindsight I probably should have used a regular top coat first and then the matte.The good news is that the smudges are only visible up close :)

A few shots of what the gradient looked like before I stamped and matted it. For the base I used OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, a soft white with a hint of gray. Swatches of that polish are coming soon. For the rest of the colors I used nearly every polish from the Color Club POPtastic collection. Scroll down to see the full list...

Colors used (left to right): Wet 'n Wild Caught Red Handed, Color Club Wham! Pow!, Almost Famous, Twiggie, Chelsea Girl and Pucci Licious. I love this collection when I need primary colors for a manicure. The only thing it is missing in my opinion is a good red hence why I had to use a Wet 'n Wild Polish. The set contains two pinks instead which I didn't use for this manicure. You can see the cosmetic sponge that I used and my "palette" to dab on. The purple didn't actually make it onto my nails since they were too short. Guess there is always next time :D

I would love to know what you think of this! What kind of unnatural animal would you have created?

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)