Color Club Lady Holiday & Williamsburg...

Today I would like to show you two shades from the Color Club Fall collections. I decided that the two of them complimented each other so well that they had to be combined into one manicure...

The gray base of this manicure is Color Club Lady Holiday. After applying striping tape, I added Color Club Williamsburg to the tips and quickly removed the tape. To complete the look, I added some square orange rhinestones from Cult Nails. I really like the contrasting pop of color that they provide...

Lady Holiday
A light gray cream. The formula is nice and smooth, easy to work with. Two coats provides full coverage as seen below. I'm a big fan of gray nail polish so this is right up my alley! Swatches are with no top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Color Club Collection: Harlem Lights, Fall 2013 Color Name/Number: Lady Holiday, 1010 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Williamsburg
A blackened jelly base loaded with blue sparkle. This one is truly stunning! The jelly formula is a bit streaky on first coat, but builds up to full, even coverage by the second coat. I can't get enough of that sparkle. Let me just say you'll be seeing this one again very soon. I am loving all the dark blues this Fall! Swatches are with no top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Color Club Collection: Girl About Town, Fall 2013 Color Name/Number: Williamsburg, 1001 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Let me know what you think of the nail art and these polishes!

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 4 - Green

Today is day 4 of the 31 Day Nail Art Challenge which means a green manicure. I initially envisioned this manicure with black lines instead of gold, but when I finally created the manicure I quickly realized it was too dark so I started over and tried it with gold instead. I'm glad I didn't scrap the whole manicure idea entirely because I love how it turned out in the end. It's a lesson I keep learning with nail art time and time again. Just because it doesn't turn out perfectly the first time around, doesn't mean we should give up...

The gold base of this manicure is Zoya Kerry from the Irresistible collection. When it was completely dry, I added striping tape and then using Zoya Hunter and Chita filled in different sections of the nails and quickly removed the tape. Since I wanted Chita to maintain it's beautiful PixieDust texture, I did not use a top coat...

When I first took the tape off, I instantly though that I've inadvertently created a Jamaican flag manicure. Have no fear though, the Jamaican flag has black and not just green, so I'm not quite there! Guess I'll still have to think of something for the 'inspired by a flag' challenge later on...

What do you think of this manicure? Do you give up if something doesn't work out or try it again?

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 **

Polish Days: The Number 5

The theme for this month's Polish Days is the number 5. I'll admit it didn't immediately bring to mind anything interesting for me. I was actually set on skipping this challenge until two days ago when images of Cinco de Mayo celebrations started popping up. I was mesmerized by the gorgeous, colorful dresses. It took me back to my childhood dream of having a gypsy skirt that I could twirl around in. Let's face it, I would still love to have a skirt like that to twirl around...

A look at the inspiration dress the I found online...

source

Another beautiful yellow dress. The yellow I chose to use was inspired by this dress while the stripes were inspired by the one above...

source

For this manicure I used Zoya Darcy from Stunning collection. I added the stripes using striping tape. I think the metallic tape really mimics the beautiful shiny ribbons on the dresses. For the white trim of the dress, I used acrylic paint and applied it with a small detail brush...

I'm glad I chose to participate in this challenge after all. The dresses are so colorful and inspiring that I couldn't resist! There are some purple and green ones I found that I plan to someday copy as well...

Let me know what you think of this!

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 **

Nicole by OPI Kellogg's Special K Lacquers...

Today I would like to show you three Nicole by OPI lacquers created in collaboration with Kellogg's Special K to encourage women to “show off your confidence with color.” The shades are available with proof of purchase of eligible Special K products. I had fun creating color blocking nail art with the three shades and of course couldn't resist taking a photo with my favorite Special K Red Berries cereal...

The manicure features three Nicole by OPI shades: Be Ama-zing! (teal), Challenge Red-y (red) and Pros & Confidence (pink). Full swatches of the three shades are below....

To create the look I started out with a base of the pink Pros & Confidence. After arranging the striping tape how I wanted on the nails, I painted desired sections using Be Ama-zing! and Challenge Red-y. I quickly removed the striping tape before the polish dried and replaced it with a fresh piece of striping tape to create sharp lines...

I don't often do color blocking manicures, but I really like how these colors play together. I initially wanted to use black striping tape, but discovered that I don't actually own any black striping tape. I am sure you are just as shocked as I was to find that out. I opted to use silver as an alternative and love the way it turned out...

Be Ama-zing!
A teal blue cream. This actually has a bit more greenish tint to it than what shows in the photos. It provides almost complete coverage at just one coat, but I did use two to even everything out. Very nice and smooth formula, easy to apply. This does stain the nail even with a base coat, so it was a bit disappointing since the color is so gorgeous. Swatches are with no top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Nicole by OPI Collection: Kellogg's Special K Collaboration Color Name/Number: Be Ama-zing! Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Challenge Red-y
A deep red cream/jelly. A classic red shade that I like a lot. Great formula and good coverage at just two coats. No problems with application. Swatches are with no top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Nicole by OPI Collection: Kellogg's Special K Collaboration Color Name/Number: Challenge Red-y Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Pros & Confidence
A bright pink cream. Perfect summer shade. The formula is very smooth and creamy, easy to apply. It provides full coverage in two coats, which is what I have in my swatches. No top coat in the swatches...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Nicole by OPI Collection: Kellogg's Special K Collaboration Color Name/Number: Pros & Confidence Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

For more details on how to get these polishes, visit Nicole by OPI Special K Challenge page or the Kellogg's rewards website...

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 Tuesday: Striping Tape and Gradient

Today I would like to share with you a tutorial for the technique used to create the striping tape and gradient manicure yesterday. If you read my spoiler alert at the bottom of that post, then you were probably already expecting this. It is a manicure that I think looks complicated, but is actually pretty easy to make. The fun part is experimenting with colors and tape placement for endless manicure possibilities. If you have not tried this technique yet, I hope this will encourage you to try it...

Supplies:

• 3 polishes of your choice (Barielle Banana Drop, Lilac Jelly Bean, and Green Apple Chew used for this manicure)
• Striping tape in any color 
• Makeup wedge or other sponge

Steps:

Instructions:

1. Apply desired number of coats of base color and allow to completely dry
2. Cut and apply pieces of striping tape in a desired pattern
3. Paint a stripe of each gradient color directly onto makeup wedge or sponge
4. Gently tap the sponge over the nail moving it slightly back and forth to blend the gradient
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 by applying more polish to the sponge and gently tapping on the nail  for a second coat of gradient. This helps build color opacity for the gradient
6. While the polish is still wet, carefully remove the striping tape one piece at a time
7. Using a Q-tip clean the cuticles of excess polish.
   Tip: clean up any fine details with a brush as demonstrated here
8. Add a layer of top coat (or two if the sponging is bumpy) and enjoy! 

As always, please let me know what you think of this or if you have questions!

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 **

Barielle Sweet Treats, Striping Tape and Matte-inee

I had quite a bit of fun playing with striping tape and a few of the beauties from the Barielle Sweet Treats collection. The resulting manicure is something that I have been wanting to try for a while and I am loving the result. It feels a bit like the cold gray winter transitioning to spring...

For the manicure I started out with a base of Barielle Banana Drop and after applying striping tape, I sponged over it with Barielle Green Apple Chew and Lilac Jelly Bean. This is my second attempt at the manicure. For the first one I tried to sponge a gradient of three colors with Banana Drop in the middle and it didn't quite look right. I really like the murky transition between the grayed out lilac to the bright chartreuse...

To experiment a bit more, I added Barielle Matte-inee. I generally love the look of a matte mani and this is no exception. It adds a nice softness and velvety feel to the final look...

In the bottle Barielle Matte-inee looks peachy, different than any other matte top coat that I have tried before. It is filled with strengtheners and conditions and meant to be used either alone or over polish. When used alone it provides strength and protection without the shine. Over a colored base it works as a matte top coat as seen in the photos above. In comparison to other matte top coats, it doesn't dry as fast, but it provides a softer, gentler matte appearance which I really like...

Spoiler alert for anyone still reading... I'm working on a tutorial for 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 **