Sunday Stamping: Between Jelly Layers...

I decided to take part in today's Sunday Stamping challenge for Adventures in Stamping. The challenge for this week is to sandwich stamping in between layers of jelly polish. It sounded like a fun technique to try to give some depth to the manicure. This is actually my second attempt at this manicure. My first attempt was ruined by using a jelly that wasn't sheer enough. Turns out I don't have very many sheer jellies because I never felt I had a need for them. Now I'm on a quest to find more because this was messy but fun...

This manicure has a WAY more layers than I would normally want in my manicure. Waiting for everything to dry enough to stamp was a nightmare. It is a good thing I'm pretty stubborn. If you are curious as to what exactly makes up this manicure, read on...

I started out with a white base, a coat of OPI Blue it Out of Proportion and a coat of OPI Pirouette My Whistle. I then stamped the seaweed pattern using white nail polish with the MoYou London Sailor Collection 05 plate. On top of the stamping I added two coats of OPI Don't Touch My Tutu! and a coat of Pirouette My Whistle. I then stamped using the same pattern from MoYou London Sailor Collection 05 plate just slightly shifted down. I topped all of that off with Blue it Out of Proportion, added my self made decals of the sea creatures and stamped a little bit more of the same pattern in white along the corners. And just because that wasn't enough, I dabbed Pirouette My Whistle around for a bit of sparkle. Phew! It's about 13 coats of polish, not including the stamping.

To create the decals I used MoYou London Sailor Collection 01. I stamped using Color Club Lady Holiday and colored them in using white acrylic paint. This was my first time trying out MoYou London stamping plates and I'm really pleased with their quality...

What do you think of this manicure?

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 **

Tutorial: Chevron Skittles

I got a few requests to do a tutorial for my Chevron Skittles manicure from last month. Dutifully I added it to my 'to do' list, which is about a mile long these days. Then I got to thinking that I might be able to show you how I created this manicure using the photos that I already have if you are willing to use your imagination. This really isn't my proudest moment and I still hope create a proper tutorial one day, but to avoid further delay I hope this will help those who wanted to recreate this look...

Supplies:

• 3 polishes of your choice (OPI Miss Universe lacquers used here)
• Striping tape
• Small brush (optional, but helpful)

Steps:

Instructions:

1. Start out by painting the nails using one of the polishes. OPI I'm Feeling Sashy used here.
   - When the polish is dry, place striping tape in a desired pattern (placement of striping tape illustrated here with gray lines). 
2. Using either the polish brush or a different small brush, apply your second color in sections between the striping tape. Shown here using the silver OPI This Gown Needs a Crown.
3. Repeat step #2 using the third color to fill in other sections between striping tape. Shown here using OPI Miss You-niverse.
   - Note: I did remove two pieces of striping tape on the index finger before adding the dark purple at the tip.
4. Remove striping tape right away, while polish is still wet.
5. Add a top coat and you're done!

For best results work one nail at a time rather than a full manicure as shown here. In other words, you can do step #1 to all the nails, but repeat steps #2-4 on each nail individually. It is best to remove the striping tape while the polish is still wet to get clean lines.

Please let me know what you think of this tutorial! Don't hesitate to ask questions if you have any!

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 **

OPI Miss Universe Chevron Skittles...

I guess I was in the mood to play with striping tape while swatching the OPI Miss Universe lacquers. I wanted to try out different chevron designs so I ended up with a skittle manicure using the three shades in the collection. I'm pretty excited about these since I usually tend to shy away from skittle and skittlette manicures myself, but am always admiring ones created by everyone else...

For this manicure I used a base of OPI I'm Feeling Sashy (dusty lilac purple). Once it was dry, I sectioned off areas of the nail using striping tape and painted them using OPI Miss Uni-verse (dark purple) and This Gown Needs a Crown (silver). I finished the manicure off with a top coat to smooth everything out...

I really love how these all coordinate together. Makes the skittle mani a bit less intimidating for me :)

What do you think of this manicure?

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 **

OPI Miss Universe 2013 Lacquers Swatches and Review

Today I would like to show you the new OPI Miss Universe 2013 nail lacquers. These beautiful shades are inspired by the women in the Miss Universe competition which will be held in early November and aim to give us a bit of that glamour...

OPI I'm Feeling Sashy
A dusty lilac purple cream. This has a nice, easy to apply formula. The only issue I had was getting it to wrap around the tips where it seemed to behave more like a jelly than a cream. Otherwise it provides good coverage at just two coats. Swatches are with no top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: OPI Collection: Miss Universe 2013 Color Name/Number: I'm Feeling Sashy, NL U09 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

OPI Miss You-niverse
A blacked plum cream. It is very dark and in some light appears completely black. The plum undertones show under bright natural and artificial light. It has a very rich pigmented formula with smooth application. In most cases you can probably get away with just one coat. I did use two coats for these swatches. No top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: OPI Collection: Miss Universe 2013 Color Name/Number: Miss You-niverse, NL U10 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

OPI This Gown Needs a Crown
A satin metallic silver. It appears to be composed of small metallic particles in a clear base. At three coats, as seen below, it provides full coverage. It is meant to be worn without a top coat for a satin finish. The final finish feels very smooth and soft to the touch...

Each bottle of This Gown Needs a Crown comes with a little crown stretchy ring for a fun accent...

Swatch Details
	Brand: OPI Collection: Miss Universe 2013 Color Name/Number: This Gown Needs a Crown, NL U11 Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

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 **

Coffee Time!

I would like to show you this yummy coffee manicure that I wore a while ago, but didn't get a chance to post about until now. I'm hoping this coffee manicure will perk me up since I've been really tired lately...

This manicure started out with the OPI Liquid Sand It's All San Andreas's Fault. I stamped over it using Maybelline Bold Gold (70) and Pueen plates Pueen30 and Pueen32. The cup is stamped from plate 30 and the rest of the nails are stamped using plate 32. The pattern reminds me of cafe curtains and the dots just coordinate so perfectly with the dots on the cup. I added a bit of "steam" above the cup using that pattern as well.

I added a few gold stud accents to fit into the stamping pattern...

I really need to hide this gold polish from myself because I'm tempted to stamp EVERYTHING with it! I keep reaching for it every time and that's bad. OK, maybe not bad, but I do need to diversify. I just can't help it, gold looks great with everything... ;)

On a serious note... does this manicure make my fingers look fat? Maybe I put too much sugar in my coffee? ;)

Let me know what you think of this manicure! I love reading your comments! :)

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

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

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

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day...

I have another awareness manicure to share with you today. This is in support of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day which is today, October 15th. It is a cause that I was quite clueless about until recently when Wave of Polish began to share their stories and show their support on Instagram. Unlike other causes which aim to raise awareness and money for disease research, this aims to provide support to those who have lost a child. My heart goes out to anyone who has suffered such a loss and I would like show my support with this manicure...

For this manicure I created a gradient of OPI Pink Friday and Can't Find My Czechbook over a white base of SinfulColors Snow Me White. I painted the little footprints using Snow Me White. The pink and blue ribbon which is a the symbol for the cause is made out of heart shaped rhinestones. The hearts are meant to represent the love for all of the babies lost...

I had a bit of trouble applying a smooth layer of top coat over so many rhinestones which is why it bubbled...

For more information on this cause you can visit october15th.com who invite everyone to light at candle at 7pm their own time and create a wave of light across the world. Wave of Polish similarly invites everyone to post a pink and blue manicure and create a wave of polish...

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 **

OPI Pink of Hearts 2013

In support of Breast Cancer Awareness month, OPI has released their seventh annual Pink of Hearts duo. This year the set includes self adhesive ribbon decals and rhinestones which make it easy to create fun nail art and show your support for the cause...

For this manicure I used OPI Pink-ing of You as my base. On the middle and ring fingers, I added the matte glitter OPI More Than a Glimmer. Full swatches of each of these are further down in the post. I use a ribbon and rhinestone stickers from the set as accents and finished off the manicure with a top coat...

Although OPI recommends to wear the glitter without a top coat for a beautiful matte look I chose to seal it in with a top coat since I added a ribbon....

OPI Pink-ing of You
A medium pink crelly. This easily builds to full coverage at three coats and the formula is easy to work with. While it is not the most original shade, it is exactly what I want for a Breast Cancer Awareness color! Swatches are with no top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: OPI Collection: Pink of Hearts 2013 Color Name/Number: OPI Pink-ing of You, NL S95 Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

OPI More Than a Glimmer
A milky base jam packed full of silver, pink, blue, green and yellow glitter. I layered two coats over Pink-ing of You to ensure full coverage. It dries to a matte finish and can be worn with or without a top coat. It is actually fairly smooth on it's own so I didn't feel the urge to apply a top coat and therefore my swatches are without one...

Swatch Details
	Brand: OPI Collection: Pink of Hearts 2013 Color Name/Number: OPI More Than a Glimmer, SR E96 Number of coats: 2 (layered over OPI Pink-ing of You) Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

I would love to know what you think of these!

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 **

Purse Inspired...

I broke a few nails and so I am down to shorties right now and not feeling too artsy, but that finally gives me the chance to show you a manicure that I did a while back and didn't get a chance to post. This was inspired by a photo of a purse that I somehow stumbled across online...

(source for purse image)

To create this manicure, I started out with a base of OPI A-Piers to be Tan on all nails except for the pinkie where I used OPI Don't Pretzel My Buttons. I stamped the pinkie using Gals plate GA8 and A-Piers to be Tan. For the flower on the ring finger I used OPI First Date at the Golden Gate and acrylic paint....

Yeah, my freehand could really use some help and practice, but I'm really proud of myself for trying more of it. Someday my lines will hopefully be cleaner and smoother, but I'm happy with this for now. I really like how the flower turned out...

Let me know what you think of this manicure! I love reading your thoughts on it!

P.S. You can also come say hello to me on Instagram and tell me what you think of my manis... @wackylaki

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 **