Sunday Stamping: Color Wheel Opposites...

I was really excited about today's Sunday Stamping challenge of using complimentary colors on the color wheel, but I hate to say that I'm not nearly as excited about the result. I knew I wanted to use yellow/gold and purple for the challenge. They happen to be the colors of my alma mater so it seemed fitting. The problem for me is that the purple didn't stamp purple enough. Although I still like the manicure overall, I can't help but be a teeny bit disappointed. Hopefully you won't mind terribly since it is still kind of cute...

To create this manicure I used three Zoya shades, Zoya Darcy, Zoya Kerry and Zoya Rihana.

Index: Kerry sponged with Rihana. Accented with two square rhinestones
Middle & ring: Darcy lightly sponged with Kerry. Stamped with Rihana using Bundle Monster plate BM-322
Pinkie: Darcy sponged with Rihana and Kerry

I would really love to know what you think of this manicure, so don't hesitate to comment!

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 **

Born Pretty Store: Black Rhinestone Studs

Hi there lovely ladies (and gentlemen?). Today I've got some nail art to show you that I created recently. It features black rhinestone studs form the BornPrettyStore.com which I used to accent my Zoya Blu manicure. There are tons of possibilities for these studs, but for this manicure I chose to incorporate them into a stamping pattern...

For the manicure I started out with a base of the lovely Zoya Blu and stamped with a pattern from Bundle Monster plate BM-322 using KleanColor Metallic Aqua. I used nail glue to adhere the black studs to the nails since I did not want to top coat over the studs to seal them in place...

I love using rhinestones to accent my manicures and these are perfect for the job. They are a bit edgier than the standard rhinestones for sure. Granted it is probably difficult to tell that with my chosen color palate. Making a baby blue manicure "edgy" is no easy task...

The black studs are made out of aluminium and measure 1.5mm in diameter. They are convex (or concave) depending on how you look at them. One side is shiny black and the other is a dark gray. They come packaged in a small ziplock baggie and there is plenty of them in each package for many manicures. In my opinion  you definitely get your money's worth with these...

A closer look at the studs...

I transferred them to a small container for storage along with my other accessories, but that is certainly not to say that they can't be stored in the sturdy bag they are sold in...

I would love to know what you think of these! Have you tried accenting your manicures with studs before?

Thanks for looking and commenting!
Anutka :)

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

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

Ulta Concrete Evidence Stamped with Barielle Surf's Up

As soon as I swatched Barielle Surf's Up*, I knew I had to try to stamp with it. My first thought was that it would work perfectly stamping over white to create a nice traditional porcelain china look, but I ended up going a slightly different way. As you might know, I tend to inject a bit of gray into my manicures. Maybe it is the gray Seattle weather, maybe it is to match my mostly black/gray wardrobe, maybe just my personality. Whatever it is, I like it and I'm sticking with it and I hope you don't mind...

I started out with a base of Ulta Concrete Evidence, a new gray in my growing collection. I stamped it with Bundle Monster plate BM-322 using Barielle Surf's Up as my stamping polish. As anticipated, it is so pigmented that it worked perfectly for stamping for which I was pretty excited...

This pattern and color combo makes me think of a nice fall coat...

Ulta Concrete Evidence is a soft gray cream. It has a nice smooth formula with full coverage in just two coats. The latest Ulta polishes seem to have a slightly flattened/widened brush, which I found very easy to use. It is a nice improvement, although I didn't have problems with their old brushes either. These swatches are with no top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Ulta Collection: main line Color Name/Number: Concrete Evidence Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** Polishes marked with an asterisk (*) were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

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