Sunday Stamping: Under the Sea

I decided to participate again in a group Sunday Stamping challenge. The theme of this one was Under the Sea. I chose to go with a mermaid look. I started out with two coats of Sinful Colors Rise and Shine and sponged over it with similar blue/green shades including Essence Underwater, LA Colors Sea Siren and a no name LA Colors metallic blue. You can click on the links to see full swatches of each of those colors. Over the sponging, I stamped using Sally Hansen Celeb City and Red Angel plate RA-111. For an accent on the ring finger, I used Wet 'n Wild Black Creme and a mermaid stamp from a plate numbered M72 that I got from Ebay.

As I was processing the photos to post them here, I got the sudden urge to add black french tips to the manicure, so I used Wet 'n Wild Black Creme and did just that. Can't really decide which version I like better, so I'd love to know what you think!! Yes or no on the tips? :D


So here it is before the french tips...

And here it is with the french tips...

Which version do you like?

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Ulta Green with Envy Stamped with LA Colors Current

I joined a stamping group on Facebook and thought it would be fun participate in the Sunday Stamping challenge there. Today the challenge is green, so guess what... a green manicure it is. I started out with two coats of Ulta's Green with Envy and stamped with LA Colors Current. I'm pretty sure that I broke every stamping rule in the book with this, but that's just the rebel that I am. Not only did I stamp with a lighter color, but I also stamped a shimmer over a shimmer. Good thing there is no such thing as the stamping police :). I really like the subtle stamping effect of this combination.

For the stamping I used the Red Angel stamp RA-104. You might remember that I had trouble using the RA plates and even thought that mine were defective and warped. Thanks to everyone's comments and support on this issue, I believe that most people have slightly warped plates and it should not interfere with the stamping quality. So, I took a deep breath, watched a quick video on getting a good image (shared by Carolina on Facebook), and tried again. Luckily something clicked for me and the image transferred perfectly. I'm so excited!

And here it is...

On it's own, Ulta's Green with Envy is a blacked forest green with a green shimmer. Application with this was okay, but not perfect. It took two coats for full coverage, but did have a tendency to leave bare spots, so it really needed a light touch to avoid dragging. Also, no matter how hard I tried, I could not get this polish to warp around my tips. I love the color, but the formula left something to be desired.

Swatch Details
	Brand: Ulta Line: Professional Color Name/Number: Green with Envy Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the color and the stamping. Do you have stamping rules you follow/break?

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Day 29 - Inspired by the Supernatural

Quite honestly I wasn't feeling very inspired by the supernatural for today's challenge. There are lots of ways this could have gone, but I was not in the mood for anything loud and crazy so I decided to keep it simple. Plus, I wanted something that I would be able to wear in public :). I chose to do another take on galaxy nails and throw in a few UFOs for the supernatural effect. Yes, those little silver blips at the top of the nails and one that landed on the tip of my index finger are supposed to be UFOs.

It may not be the best take on the challenge, but I do like the manicure and I hope you do to...

The polishes used for this manicure:
- Borghese - Mezzanotte Blue (base)
- LA Colors - No name metallic blue
- Rimmel - Violet Metal
- Essie - Braziliant
- Wet 'n Wild - Silvivor

I'd love to know what you think. Are you sick of galaxy nails yet or still loving them?

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Day 19 - Galaxies

Sometimes the things I'm most scared of turn out to be less scary than I thought. This was one of those things. I have admired galaxy nails from the first moment I saw them pop up on other blogs, but have been too scared to try them myself. This is despite the fact that most bloggers reassured that they were easy to do. Today, I finally had to face my fear for Day 19 of the challenge.

I should had trusted all those other blogs sooner as this really was so easy to do and the result is stunning. I started out with the base of Wet n Wild Blackmail from this morning and then sponged different colors on top for the effect. I topped the whole thing of with a light layer of Spectraflair top coat, followed by a regular topcoat.

My only wish is that I had started with a different base color. I thought that the microglitter from Blackmail would be visible in the end and give it a star effect, but after all the sponging that went over it, the glitter completely disappeared. Since I used three coats of Blackmail and a topcoat on top of that, before I even started sponging and adding two topcoats here, it came out thicker than I prefer. Next time I will be starting with a one coat polish for sure. Oh, and since we are talking about next time, maybe less gigantic white "stars"...

I drew my inspiration from the Bubble Nebula found on NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day. If you have never seen this blog, make sure you check it out for some amazing photos of the stars and galaxies above us. Isn't it gorgeous? The manicure just pales in comparison to the true beauty...

Polishes used for this manciure:
- Wet n Wild - Blackmail (base)
- Zoya - Stacy
- Essence - Just in Case
- Color Club - Almost Famous and Chelsea Girl
- LA Colors - no name metallic blue
- Spectraflair topcoat (don't let the Wet n Wild bottle fool you...)
- Wet n Wild - French White Creme

 

What do you think? Will you be trying your own galaxy nails soon?

Is is silly that I'm no scared for the next challenge? Oh, the water marble, how you have frustrated me in the past...

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

2 Month Haul...

I have had a really bad migraine for the past two mornings and just the thought of the smell of nail polish is making me queasy, so instead of doing my nails this morning I thought I would show you the reason why I should not be allowed anywhere near Ross or nail polish for that matter with a credit card...

In addition to the 50 polishes from the Wet n Wild haul, over just two short months, I got...

Cosmetic ARTS polishes. These are from the Forsythe Cosmetic Group, the same brand that makes Color Club. Unfortunately none of them have names, but most are from the Fall & Winter Collections that you can get more info on here.

Color Cub Back to Boho sets 1 & 2 and Foiled

LA Colors - Modern Metallics

Prisma - Fresh & Fabulous and Pastel... has anyone heard of this brand before? They look identical to LA Colors in packaging and bottle shape...

Elf sets -
Top set (l-r): Twinkle, Golden Goddess, Cranberry
Bottom (l-r): Mod Mauve, Sunset, Plum

That's it from Ross for now... they had lots of other LA Color and Prisma sets, but believe it or not I had to stop somewhere...

At Ulta I got...
Ulta Salon Formula (I just love the new bottle shape)
Top (l-r): Ruby Slipper, Army of 1, Chic Peek, Wild Night, Femme Fatale
Bottom (l-r): Chocolate Kiss, Devious, High Roller, Love my Blackberry, Smoke Screen

Essence Colour & Go (l-r): Irreplaceable, Choose Me!, Walk of Fame, Movie Star, Where is the Party?, Date with the Night

From Apothica, I got..
Sparitual minis:
Top (l-r): Epicurean, I Feel the Earth Move, Howl, Delight, Sacred Ground, Running with Wolves
Bottom (l-r): Spellbound, Emerald City, Idyllic, Smoke 'n Mirrors, Surreal 

Drugstore finds...
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear (l-r)- Plum Power, Red Carpet, Lacey Lilac, Flirt, Midnight Sky, Deep Purple, Grey Area

Sinful Colors (clockwise starting from the polish with "http://" on the cap :D)
Tokyo Pearl, Envy, Gogo Girl, HipHip, What's Your Name, Out of This World, Rise and Shine, Nirvana, This is It, Seaweed, Rich in Heart, Under 18, Easy Going, Daddys Girl, Amethyst, Hot Spot, Mercury Rising, Mint Apple

Wet n Wild Fast Dry -
Top (l-r): Gray's Anatomy, Buffy the Violet Slayer, Blue Wants To Be A Millionaire, Silvivor, Hannah Pinktana, FuchsiaRama
Middle (l-r): Teal of Fortune, Everybody Loves Redmond, The Gold & the Beautiful, SaGreena the Teenage Witch, 9.0.2.1.Orange
Bottom (l-r): How I Met Your Magenta, Cougar Attack, Behind Closed Doors, Buy Me a Drink, Ready to Pounce, Jungle Fever

Other (l-r): Wet n Wild Diving for Pearls, Revlon Facets of Fuchsia, Rimmel Rags to Riches, Oke.doke in Camo Loco, Goldilocks, and Pink This

Well that should last me a life time...

I'm putting myself on a self imposed no more hauling until I swatch at least half of my untrieds... although even as I type this I have a feeling it won't stick... :(

My mission after I finish the 31 day challenge, is to swatch like crazy!
If you would like to see any of these sooner rather than later, please let me know, because I have no idea where to even start!

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Happy 4th of July!!!

Happy 4th of July everyone! In case you were wondering, here is what my Sinful Colors Sugar Sugar manicure turned into. I taped it off and added white tips using Wet and Wild French White Cream plus a top coat. Then taped it off again and added the blue tips using La Colors blue plus a final top coat. I originally wanted to stamp some stars onto it as well, but turns out I don't have any star stamps... :D

Also, don't know if this has happened to anyone, but the red bled into the white and turned it pink. Mind you this is bleeding from a day old manicure that had a top coat and everything. Strange!

So here is my red, white pink, and blue manicure...

I'm calling these Pepsi Nails as they remind me of a Pepsi can right now... :)

Thanks for looking & Happy 4th of July!!!
Anutka :)

NYC Flat Iron Green with LA Colors Current

This is a manicure I have been wearing since Sunday. I know, that's just crazy, but I love it and I have been busy this past week so I have not had time to do my nails. Last Sunday my cousin, Lana, came over to check out the stamps she has seen me blog about. While she was raiding my stash, she let me play with the NYC Flat Iron Green that she had in her purse.

It is a deep, blackened moss green. It can tend to look black without direct light, but as usual I'm a sucker for the dark ones! This was two coats plus a top coat. Application could have been better, it was somewhat runny, but at the same time tended to pull away from the cuticles.

I stamped it with the LA Colors Current, which is the actual name for the "lime" color I showed you last week. It brought out the green from NYC and just gave it a nice velvety look. I'm loving this manicure right now! It is hanging on perfectly for the 4th day of wear now... :D

I used Bundle Monster Plate BM-205 for the stamping...

Brand: NYC New York Color Collection: In a New York Color Minute Color Name/Number: 214 Flat Iron Green Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) Free

So while I was playing with that, Lana, chose a manicure in LA Colors Blue (still not sure what the official name for this one is). She stamped it with some cute flowers using WnW French White Creme. She really wanted to do them in yellow, but turns out I don't have a one coat yellow that would work. Time to go shopping?

My sister-in-law also stopped by in the evening and joined in the manicure fun. She painted hers in Zoya Isla, a gorgeous red I have yet to try. Hers were stamped with WnW Black Creme and a silver butterfly on the ring fingers (which decided it did not want to be photographed... shy?).

Both of them stamped with flowers from the Bundle Monster BM-224 plate...

Thanks for reading!
Anutka :)

LA Colors Color Craze Recap...

I have to admit that I am relieved to be done swatching the collection. Don't get me wrong, I had a blast playing with all these colors and I like them a lot, but I didn't like knowing that my choice in the morning was so limited... all the other colors were screaming "pick me, pick me" and I had to resist :P

So here they all are one more time...

Black - A very shimmery black that didn't seem to quite fit in with the other bright colors, but aside from that was gorgeous. I was hoping that by the time I was done with the collection it would be sunny and hot and I wouldn't want to wear black, but it is still overcast and looking at these swatches I want to wear a dark color again :)

Blue - A shimmery metallic blue that was opaque in 2 coats. I tried my hand at some gold stamping, but my gold was not gold enough.

Sea Siren - My favorite color in the collection is this turquoise. It doesn't have the glitter or shimmer that the other colors have, but it is gorgeous on it's own and does have a hidden shimmer when it is in the sun. P.S Thanks to lovely follower ABOP for the name of this polish :D

Current - This one required four coats and still didn't cover up the nail line. Other than that this is a fun shimmery lime green. I stamped it with the Turquoise from this collection and it turned out to be a nice color combo.

Orange - Another one that required 4 coats to cover up the nail line. It is very shimmery and looked great out in the sun. I'm not a big fan of orange on me, but it was fun with Zoya Kelly stamping and would be great for a Halloween mani...

Raspberry - This one also required 4 coats which is sad because the color was a win for me. Adding Zoya Sam stamping helped cover up the nail line more and gave it a nice subtle pattern and a slightly deeper color.

Purple - My second favorite was this shimmery purple. It only needed 2 coats and was packed with glitter for a for a wonderful shimmer. I almost ruined with with white angled tips, but it turned out OK in the end :)

Here are the little swatches of this collection that are up on the swatches page. You can always quickly access any of the posts from there simply by clicking on the swatch! :D

If you know any of the actual names for these please let me know!!!

UPDATE:
"Lime" = Current NP414
"Turquoise" = Sea Siren

LA Colors Color Craze - Shimmer Brights

So, which was your favorite?

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)