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 **

Sunday Stamping: Glitzy Glam

Well since one challenge is not enough for me, I decided to take part in the Sunday Stamping challenge in Adventures in Stamping as well. Someone smack me next time I have the idea to schedule enough posts to last my entire vacation! This week the challenge is Glitzy Glam nails. Here is what I came up with...

For this manicure, I sandwiched Essie Set in Stones in between two coats of the dark blue Color Club Williamsburg jelly. It is such a gorgeous combination and I'm sad I didn't get to wear it longer! For the stamping I used Pure Ice Silver Mercedes and Pueen plate Pueen26. I used this mirror image stamping technique to reverse the image on my ring finger...

Again, sorry for the lobster hands! I wish I knew why blogger is messing with me...

Here is what Essie Set in Stones looked like over Color Club Williamsburg...

And here is the yummy glitter jelly sandwich...

Let me know what you think of this! Do you think it is 'glitzy glam'?

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 :)

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

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

31DC2013 Day1 - Red

Roses are red

Violets are blue

I'm so excited for this challenge

I hope you are too!

Sorry, I just couldn't help myself with that little poem! Today is the first day of the 31 day challenge and I'm really excited for it! I want to start out with some pretty red roses. These are also supposed to double for my Sunday Stamping challenge in Adventures in Stamping. The theme today is tone on tone. Two challenge in one, how is that for you?

The base for this manicure is Nicole by OPI How Fairy Nice of You! which is a very pale, barely there pink. I stamped the floral pattern from Pueen plate Pueen27 using OPI Danke-Shiny Red, which was still on my work table from the Louboutin mani a few days ago.

Using OPI Liquid Sand Magazine Cover Mouse, I painted over each of the roses with a small detail brush. The inspiration for these textured roses comes from an incredible manicure by Work Play Polish. I have wanted to try a textured rose design ever since and even though our manicures at not at all alike, I credit her for putting the idea in my head!

I need lots of practice when it comes to free hand nail art and tracing over stamping in a way feels like baby steps for me. All I had to do was stay within the lines and not have to worry about placement. Sort of like a child tracing letters as they learn how to write. Baby steps...

Challenge countdown: 1 down, 30 to go!

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 **

Sunday Stamping: Over a Nude Base

It is once again that day of the week when I take on a Sunday Stamping challenge in the group Adventures in Stamping. Today's theme is to stamp over a nude base. The open ended theme really had me stumped with no idea what I was going to do until I sat down to do it. Then this happened...

To create this manicure, I started with the nude base of Zoya Avery. I stamped the flower pattern from Pueen plate Pueen25 using Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Quick Brick. I absolutely love the images in this set, but they are too short for my nails, so I must be creative. Oh Pueen, why do you torture me so? A few millimeters longer (or just minus the pesky curve) and I would be using this set all the time. As it is, I just glance at it and sigh! Okay, sorry, I digress...

To make up for the short images, I decided to try the latest cutout trend. Using a small brush and and acetone, I cleared the polish from the half-moon of each nail. Then with a detail brush, I lined the half-moon and the tips with Zoya Neve before adding the glitter...

The glitter bled as soon as I added a top coat! I didn't even think to test it first... so sad! FYI, this is glitter from the Nail Art mini bottles found at the Dollar Tree. Beware, they can bleed!

Ugh! Just look at that bleeding glitter! I cry and run to buy new loose glitter...

A few fresh swatches of the beautiful Zoya Avery because I'd like to think my swatches improved since I first swatched it here ;)

Avery is a full coverage nude cream. It is opaque in just two coats. Formula is very smooth and easy to apply. I used a top coat in these swatches...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Zoya Collection: Feel, Winter 2011 Color Name/Number: Avery, ZP596 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

This manicure reminds me of something, but I can quite place my finger on it... any ideas?

I'd love to know what you think!

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 **

Pueen Love Elements Stamping Plates Review

Today I would like to show you the second set of stamping plates by Pueen. In case you missed it, you can check out my review of the first set here. As I mentioned yesterday, I received a few plates from this set for review and after falling in love with their quality, I purchased the full set for my growing stamping plate collection...

This is the Love Elements set...

This set also comes packaged in a small storage case. The case is made of a sturdy fake leather like material. There is an individual pocket for each plate in the set and the pockets swivel out for easy plate selection. The pockets are a bit flimsy for my taste if using them on a regular basis, but I think it will make an ideal travel case. For storage, I have my eye set on the larger Pueen organizer. Although I still have room in my similar Bundle Monster organizer, it just makes sense to put Pueen plates in a Pueen organizer, right?

Each plates comes with a protective blue cover which needs to be removed prior to stamping. The back of the plate is covered with a vinyl material that prevents the edges from being razor sharp. In addition it features the Pueen logo and company website (http://www.pueencosmetics.com). The plates are sturdy, don't easily bend and are overall very good quality...

The Love Elements collection includes 24 plates which feature 96 full nail designs and 48 smaller images. Why this set contains 24 plates while the first one had 25 is a mystery to me. All of the images that I have tried so far have stamped extremely well. I have not had any problems with them thus far. Although I was initially more drawn to the first set for what seemed to be more delicate and detailed designs, I have been rather impressed with the selection of images in this set. There are lots of beautiful designs to choose from...

These are scans of my actual plates. Click to zoom in for a full size view...

One major improvement over the first set is that the full images do not contain that pesky curve which cuts into the design. Not only was the curve eliminated, but the images are also 1 mm longer and wider making their overall size 14x18 mm compared with 13x15 mm of the first set. That is a big difference and scores huge points in my book. Way to go Pueen! With the curve eliminated, I officially have nothing negative to say about these plates. Love them...

A few manicures that I've made with these plates so far...
(click on photo for original post...)

This set of 24 plates can be purchased for $18.99 and is available on both the Pueen website and Amazon.com.

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Pueen Sumptuous Gallery Stamping Plates Review

I guess the one good thing about having a nail break and taking time away from swatching is that I finally have no excuse to delay my review of the Pueen stamping plates. I have already shown you a number of manicures with these plates, but today I would like to show you the plates themselves and my thoughts on them. I received a few plates from both this collection and the second one (which I will show you tomorrow). I quickly fell in love with the quality and bough both sets to add to my collection...

This is the first set named Sumptuous Gallery...

The set comes with a small storage case which has an individual pocket for each plate. The case itself is quite nice and sturdy made of a fake leather like material. The pockets swivel out to display a fan of plates allowing for easy plate selection. The pockets themselves are rather thin and I fear they would tear easily. I plan on purchasing the larger Pueen organizer (which is similar to the Bundle Monster organizer that I already own) to store them and using these small cases for travel.

Each plate come with a protective blue cover on the front which needs to be removed prior to stamping. The back of the plates are covered in vinyl which features the Pueen logo as well as their website (http://www.pueencosmetics.com). In addition to providing company info, it acts a smooth out the otherwise sharp metal edges. The plates are high quality and very well made...

This set includes 25 stamping plates with 100 full nail designs and 50 small images. The images that I have tried so far have all stamped exceptionally well. I have not had a problem with any of the designs being stubborn or not transferring. I absolutely love the full size patterns in this set, in particular all the damask patterns that I have been wanting to see for so long. Of course there is plenty of variety including geometric patterns and some unique animal print as well. And how can anyone resist the adorable small images such as the snail on plate 20...

These are scans of my actual plates. Click to zoom in for a full size view...

The full images are a decent size although they do feature the dreaded curve. I refer to it as the dreaded curve because it takes away 2 mm of the image essentially cutting down the stampable (is that a word?) design from 13x17 mm down to 13x15 mm. My nails are often longer than 15 mm, leaving me with just the smaller images to play with. Of course there are plenty of people who have shorter nails and aside from this size shortcoming, these plates are excellent...

The thought is that with the curve in place, any of the images can be used as a french tip design. As far as I'm aware, most people don't like or use the french tip images to begin with. In all the sets that I own, I rarely use the french tip designs and when I do use them, it is out of sheer determination to not let them go to waste. Although I'm extremely happy that this set doesn't have plates full of nothing but french tip designs, cutting into every design to accommodate for the possibility of wanting to use them for a french tip just seems silly to me. I wan my 2 mm back. :)

A few of the manicures with these plates that I have shown you so far...
(click on photo for original post...)

This set of 25 plates can be purchase for $18.99 and is available on both the Pueen website and Amazon.com.

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Challenge Red-y!

I'm back from a fun 4th of July getaway with friends and starting to get back into the swing of things. Unfortunately, my nails have taken a beating over the said weekend and I had to file them down twice after some major breaks. I'm going to try to pamper them a bit and let them grow out, so in the mean time I'll be sharing swatches and manicures that I managed to prepare before the trip plus a few older manicures sprinkled in. I'll start out today by showing you one from the archives, a matted damask manicure that I really loved...

For this manicure, I used a base of Nicole by OPI Challenge Red-y from the Kellogg's Special K lacquers. I stamped it with the damask pattern from Pueen plate Pueen18 using Wet 'n Wild Black Creme. I absolutely adore these type of damask patterns and I was so happy that this one stamped perfectly...

I matted the mani using Essie Matte About You, giving it a beautiful smooth and velvety look and feel...

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 **

Sunday Stamping: Butterflies...

It has been almost and entire month since the last time I participated in a Sunday Stamping challenge and I feel guilty for not making the time for them. This month the challenge is a stamped manicure with butterflies or dragonflies and I just couldn't resist. I've been wanting to try out this butterfly pattern since I first saw it, but somehow have not had the opportunity or excuse to use it, until now...

For this manicure I started out with a base of Color Secrets My Fair Lady, a rich metallic purple which I posted swatches of a few days ago. I added a coat of Shimmer Wendy glitter on top for some bling. I will show you swatches of Wendy along with a few other Shimmer beauties very soon....

For the stamping I used Sally Hansen Color Quick pen in Pink Chrome. These chrome pens are so amazing for stamping! I really wish they would bottle this stuff as I'm always worried the pens will dry out. The butterfly pattern is from Pueen plate Pueen39. I tried to rotate the pattern and stamp at slightly different angles to get a unique pattern on each nail....

I love the way the way the gorgeous glitters of Wendy still show through the pattern...

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 **