A Transformation...

Last week I showed you a sheer little El Corazon Poly-Chrome beauty. As a rule of thumb I like to try the sheer shimmery shades over a black base and this was no exception. The beautiful brassy color that resulted did not disappoint. Accented with a bit of stamping, it was transformed from a delicate beauty last week to something much more bold today...

Shown here are two thin coats of El Corazon Poly-Chrome 322 layered over Sinful Colors Black on Black. The first coat was a bit streaky, but it evened out by the second coat...

I stamped with Black on Black using MoYou Pro Collection 06 stamping plate. This is such a gorgeous pattern that for me lies somewhere between stained glass and animal print depending on how I look at it. It also reminds me a bit of that stone man from comic books/movies. I've only seen pictures so I don't know what he is called. Anyone know what I'm talking about?..

The manicure was missing something and I debated adding black tips vs a black raffian. As you can see I went the raffian route and I love it. It just gave the manicure a more finished look while giving it a bit of pop and definition...

This is definitely one of those manicures that I don't want to take off...

Let me know what 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 **

The Snake...

While swatching the 365 Days of Color Horcrux collection last week, I thought it would be fun to create some nail art to go with one of my favorites from the collection. I love the beautiful color of The Snake and decided that stamping a bit of snake print would be just perfect for it...

To create this manicure I started out with a base of 365 Days of Color The Snake. I stamped the snake print from Bundle Monster plate BM-215 using SinfulColors Moss Have. They two laquers are very similar in shade and I love the subtle print that resulted. For my accent nail I stamped the snake from Mash plate Mash-50 using Essence Stamp Me! Black...

I would love to know what you think of this! Leave me comments below :)

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 **

31DC2013 Day 7 - Black and White

As this post goes live, I'm heading on vacation, but have no fear, I worked my little tushy off to keep up with the 31 Day Nail Art Challenge and have scheduled posts to entertain you. The theme for challenge Day 7 is Black & White. I have been wanting to try the water spotted technique for a while now and finally got an excuse to make time...

For this manicure I started out with a base of Sinful Colors Snow Me White. To create the dotted pattern, I put a drop of black nail polish into a cup with water and sprayed with a bit of hairspray. When the pattern had formed on the water, I dipped my nail into it. I then repeated that for each nail. Check out youtube for great tutorials on how to do this...

I tried putting Elmer's Glue around my nails for easy clean up and it completely melted when I dunked the finger into the water. Can we all just say a collective "duh Anutka, the glue is water soluble. What were you thinking?" Ok, so second attempt was with Liquid Palisade around the nails and it worked perfectly. Lesson learned...

This water spotted technique really sounds easy in theory, but came time to reality it was somewhat frustrating. The polish didn't always react as I would have liked. At times it either ended up with either no dots, tiny dots, or most often one large hole as the polish ran away from the hair spray. Then I found that after I had sprayed the water a few times, the polish no longer wanted to spread at all and I had to switch out the water. Quite a lengthy process to say the least, but I would definitely do it again. Love the look of it...

Are you seeing lobster hands here? I don't know what blogger is doing with my images since they are NOT red to begin with. Anyone else have this happening to their images?...

Sinful Colors Snow Me White is a pure white cream. The application is actually quite good for a white polish. I only needed two coats for complete coverage and it wasn't streaky. My brush was quite wonky, but that's a whole other story. These swatches are with no top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: SinfulColors Collection: core Color Name/Number: Snow Me White, 101 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

As always, I'd love to know what you think of this!

P.S. This post is pre-scheduled while I'm on vacation. I may not be able to respond to comments until I return, but I greatly appreciate them and will respond as soon as I return!

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

St. Patrick's Day Manicure

Somewhere halfway through the day I decided to change my subtle St. Patricks's Day manicure to something a bit... greener. Since I didn't have much time to work on it, I opted for one that was quick and simple...

The base of the manicure is Color Club Wild Cactus from the Fiesta collection released this spring. It is a beautiful deep green cream with a hint of blue. The formula is smooth and creamy making application easy. The color is very pigmented and it can be used at just one coat for full opacity. I used two coats anyway as that is my preference. Because it is so pigmented it works well for stamping as you can see in this first St. Patrick's Day manicure. Swatches are without a top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Color Club Collection: Fiesta, Spring 2013 Color Name/Number: Wild Cactus, 984 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

On top of Wild Cactus, I added a layer of Sinful Colors Green Ocean. This shade is released once a year for St. Patrick's Day by Sinful Colors. It usually sells out quickly and after missing out on it last year, I was finally able to snatch up a bottle and try it out for myself. I can't say that I incredibly impressed with it. The flakes are mylar and a bit stiff, so in some spots they would stick up off the surface of the nail, driving me absolutely crazy. This is just one coat of Green Ocean plus a top coat...

On closer look, it appears there is glitter in here in addition to the mylar flakes. It is pretty when everything lays flat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Sinful Colors Collection: Go Green Color Name/Number: Green Ocean, 220 Number of coats: 1 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

As a small accent. I added a Shamrock made out of four rhinestone hearts. That may have been my favorite part of the manicure. Since I was worried about loosing the hearts I attached them with nail glue and they easily lasted the rest of the day...

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 **

2013 Year of the Snake...

Yesterday marked the beginning of the year of the Snake according to the Chinese calendar. This year the snake's element is water and it's color is black. I wanted to feature both of these characteristics in my manicure. For the water element I used water decals as accents and the snake itself of course had to be black...

I wish everyone a wonderful and prosperous Year of the Snake!

For all except the accent nail, I started out with a base of Sinful Colors Black on Black and stamped using OPI Just Spotted the Lizard and Cheeky Jumbo plate D. I then added water decals from the BornPrettyStore.com. For the ring finger I used the base of Just Spotted the Lizard and stamped the Snake using Essence Stamp Me! Black and Mash plate Mash-50...

My mom made this little snake out of polymer clay to celebrate the New Year. The snake is actually contoured to fit on a rock where he will be spending his free time in between photo shoots. Isn't he adorable?..

The nail decals from the BornPrettyStore.com come in one large sheet and feature six different themes. The decals are silver with a transparent background...

The decals are very easy to apply, simply:

1. Apply base color and allow it to dry.
2. Cut out decals that you wish to use and remove the protective plastic film. 
3. Soak the decal in water for 10-20 seconds
4. Gently slide the decal from the paper backing onto the nail. You can move the decal around a bit on the nail to position it as long as it is still wet
5. Pat the nail with a paper towel to dry
6. Apply top coat and you are done!

The decals do come with instructions which are great for a chuckle...
Influenza A?!? Should I be thankful I got my flu shot before using these?

Feel free to use the coupon code AG5J61 for a 10% off discount on any purchases at the BornPrettyStore.com...

Thanks for looking and commenting!
Anutka :)

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

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

Sunday Stamping: Light Stamp Over Dark

Today's Sunday Stamping theme of light stamp over a dark base gave me the perfect excuse to create a manicure I've been wanting to do for a while. When I first saw this stamping pattern, I couldn't help but get the feeling of deja vu. At the time I couldn't figure out what it was all about and it wasn't until weeks later when I finally realized what it was. The trash can that stands under my desk has this exact pattern on it. Really, I mean this exact pattern. It would be a crime not to replicate it on my nails...

Are you ready for this? Here is the trash can...

And again, here is the manicure...
I started out with a pure black base using Sinful Colors Black on Black. I stamped it with my favorite silver, Pure Ice Silver Mercedes. The pattern comes from Cheeky plate CH6. It would have been perfect if I didn't hit my index finger and smudge it, but I still really love this manicure. I'll be keeping this one on the rest of the day today...

Yes, I am posing with the trash can. That is definitely a first for me :D

What was the strangest thing you have been inspired by?

Thanks for looking and commenting!
Anutka :)