Week 5: Newspaper fail and win

Hello, sorry this is late. I actually did this Saturday night, but didn't get pictures/time to post it until now.
     So i'm not sure how everyone gets great results doing newspaper manis....mine sucked! I planned to do QR codes (you know those things for smart phones) and barcodes on all my nails. However, the newsprint only transferred on 3 of my nails......fail. So i took little pieces of the paper (it just so happens I was using a flyer with my name printed on it) and stuck them into my still tacky topcoat, then did 2 more coats of topcoat. Now when I say "stuck them into my tacky topcoat", I mean that I literally used my other nails/a pen cap to sink it into the polish as much as possible, focusing on the edges. That way, when i did my subsequent coats of topcoat, it leveled out nicely. The smoothest one is my middle right; my pinkies still have a ridge on one side but it's not enough to bug me.

This is the left hand.

This is the right hand.

This is 2 1/2 days of wear, so please excuse the tip wear! I used my Sally Hansen base coat, 2 coats of Revlon Timeless (I picked this up with my newspaper mani in mind lol), and a coat of Sally Hansen on all nails, plus another coat on the nails with paper stuck on them. Not sure how removal will go, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it eh?

     A quick note about the Sally Hansen Continuous Treatment base and topcoat....This is great as a base coat. Keeps your manis looking great for days. Since I started using it, I've yet to have a mani chip before i was tired of it.....the same could be said for my Orly Bonder. However, the Sally Hansen hasn't destroyed my nails. I have used it as a topcoat, and it works well, but I'll stick to my Out the Door Quick dry. I'm usually doing my nails before bed, and I just don't have the time to wait for the Sally's to completely dry (it takes FOREVER).

Anyway, time to take the baby to the doctor, six month check up today!

-Lynnette

Matte Whimsy

I decided to try Whimsical matte. I think the matte topcoat made it a smidge dusty/lighter, which i actually like better. I think the franken i used under Whimsical was a little dark.

The photo makes my hands look a little weird, but the polish is the most color accurate in this one.

Revlon Whimsical and Fingerpaints Brushstroke Blush

Hello again! The plaid didn't last long lol. The poor polish didn't stand a chance with all the cleaning i did!
The manis i'm going to show you needs a little back story: I have horrible knees. We're talking 2 dislocations of my left knee cap, and tendinitis in both all about 2 years apart; all resulting in physical therapy. I'm pretty in-tune with what's going on with them. So when i recently started having knee pain in my right knee, i had an idea what might make it feel better. It felt like the muscles in there were too tight; bending was like stretching a tight rubber band even tighter. Enter my best friend Hannah. She's a massage/occupational therapist, and agreed to give me a rub down and i did her nail in return! I feel much better; not perfect, but much better.

This is 2 coats of Revlon Whimsical over a light blue franken i made (it's a whole bottle of a Sally's mini white and dark royal blue, plus a shimmery white mineral eye shadow). The franken made Whimsical more blue; i think next time i'll try it over white and see the difference. This time i used Sally Hansen Continuous Treatment Base&Top coat for my base and top coats. This picture was taken before i went to bed and got sheet marks (and i just noticed my bad clean up job! eek!).

For Hannah, I did 3 coats of Fingerpaints Brushstroke Blush; it was good formula wise, but a bit sheer (hence 3 coats). Then we stamped the butterfly from Mash-18 with Sally Hansen Xtreme wear in Flirt. It stamped over the pink quite nicely. Next I placed one of the hearts from Nicole by OPI's Step 2 the Beat of my <3. On Hannah I used my INM Out the Door quick dry topcoat (since it was getting late, and she needed to dash out the door lol). It turned out very sweet and spring-like!

I think i might try my Whimsical mani matte in the near future. If i do, i'll post a pic!
See you later!
-Lynnette

Week 4, Plaid mani

This prolly would have looked better on longer nails. However, due to my recent basecoat issues, I've had to trim them.....again. So instead of using my Orly Bonder, i used Sinful Colors clear (I think that it's supposed to be a topcoat). I was feeling like warm colors, so i picked out Sinful Colors Rich in Heart a lovely warm brown with a little bit of red shimmer. Then i used my gold glitter stripper (Art deco by L.A. colors) to create what i call a "mini plaid". I wish that i had a metallic gold stripper in my arsenal, i would have been able to get thinner lines......another thing that would have made this mani would be copper and gold stripes.

Anyway, i wore this shiny for a little while when out with my mom. While out at Hot Topic, i found out that they carry matte topcoat (Warpaint Beauty is the brand, their house brand i think)!! For only $4!!! So i nabbed it up, and put it on this mani for a little extra something.

You get pictures of my right hand this time because it looks better than my left!

Until next time!
-Lynnette

Revlon Radiant

So the color black mani didn't last too long lol. I went over to my mom's house to show her my Mash stamping plates. Originally i was going to do her nails, but she didn't want them painted :(. So i just played with mine instead! This is one coat of Wet n' Wild Black Creme, stamped with Sinful Colors Why Not using Mash plates mash-18, 15, 17 (butterfly and 2 different flowers), then covered it with Revlon Radiant.

 I tried to do a very thin coat of Radiant so i had glitter, but not so much that it covered my designs. This picture shows both the glitter and the stamping pretty well.

This picture is a bit dark, but you can (faintly) see the butterfly on the right and flowers on the left (and the horrible clean up job! eek, sorry!).

On another note, i Picked up Revlon Whimsical on my last polish shopping trip. I found it again at K-Mart this time. My K-Mart had the whole new Revlon display, so i picked up Whimsical, Radiant, Timeless, and Scandalous. I might have to start doing haul posts lol!

As much as i LOVE my Orly Bonder, i think it's slowly destroying my nails. They are peeling/flaking more and more :(. So i am on the hunt (again!) for a base coat with some grip....any suggestions?
Until we meet again!
-Lynnette

Week 3, Color block mani

So, I don't hate it like i thought i would. I'm not thrilled with how my topcoat dragged the lines, but other than that i like it. I used Bianca, Savage, and Why Not all by Sinful Colors. A few surprises in Savage and Why Not; Savage dried really matte (even with top coat), and Why Not was a one coater! I think this is the first time that i've encountered a polish that had even coverage in ONE coat!. 

For the accent nails, i first did a coat of Bianca (actually, 2 coats on the half that shows. Bianca needs that lil extra to show up well). Then i followed up with Why Not over 3/4 of the nail, then Savage on half. I tried my hardest to keep the lines neat, but not too hard because i knew that i would be using my L.A colors Black stripper polish. 

All in all, while i like this mani, i'm not doing everything i can to save it. It's just not my cup of tea. However i really like Why Not and the fact that it's a one coater. I'm going to have to try some stamping with it!

Orly Rage & Nicole by OPI me+blue

Decided to take a break from super bright colors for a little while.Well at least until week 3 of the nail art challenge (my idea for a color block is bright colors again). This is Orly Rage, with a coat of Nicole by OPI me+blue on my ring fingers. I was "naughty" and went pretty much naked; no base coat and no top coat. Just 2 coats of Rage and 1 of me+blue.

Rage is a great shimmery foil, and me+blue has a ton of holographic micro glitter. The final result is just enough shimmer/sparkle, but not too over the top. A bit mad that my ring finger smudged near the cuticle. me+blue had the funny "perfect stroke brush", which i actually really like! I kind wish that all polishes had this brush......I guess we'll see how long this polish lasts by itself.

Well that's all for now, happy polishing!
-Lynnette

Week 2 of the 52 week nail art challenge

So week 2 of the 52 week nail art challenge is a French manicure. Normally i don't dig french's, and i did a french mani before this one that i HATED. I loved the polishes (a franken blue and China Glaze Snowglobe), i liked them together, but the end result? Not so much.....i didn't even take a picture. I used the franken blue over the whole nail, then dabbed on Snowglobe over the nail minus the tip. I used too heavy of a hand while dabbing Snowglobe and the polish was so thick on my cuticles and the side of my nails that it felt gross. I ended up picking it all off!

Besides, i needed some pink! This pink in Sinful Colors Bianca, tipped with Sinful Colors Black on Black. I did the staggered tips because i'm no good at regular tips, and the tips on my Mash plates don't fit very well :(.

Well that's all i have for now, I'll blog again when there's another mani (or if i get off my butt and hem the shirt I've been working on lol).

-Lynnette

Revlon Fashionista

So i first saw this polish a little before Christmas at a Walgreens in Revlon's display of new colors (they even had Whimsical, the dupe of Deborah Lippman Glitter in the Air). I passed on it because i didn't have the extra money then and i figured that i'd see it again. I just now saw this color again. I guess Revlon came out with a different display for Walgreens, because they didn't have a spot for Whimsical this time.

This is 2 coats of Fashionista, with base and top coats.


crappy picture :( the sun had gone to bed before i got a chance to get a good one. the best description for this color is dusty navy. in the bottle it looked like it was more blue-green, pretty much the incarnation of my favorite color! However, i do still love the dusty navy color it is on the nail.

Now i just have to figure out what to do for my french mani on Sunday!
Take care! -Lynnette

Edit: ok i think i got a better picture this morning

Then i added the Peacock on my thumb using mash-15 and Professional 10 Old Hollywood.

New blog!

Hello everyone!
I'm starting this blog mainly to participate in the 52 Week Nail Art Challenge lol, but also to write about sewing, knitting and a growing polish addiction. Is that a bad reason? Anyway, here's the challenge!
1. Jan. 1st - "Make it Sparkle" Mani.
- Pull out your Best looking glitter, flakie or holo and bring in the New Year with a "Bang".
2. Jan. 8th - French Tip Mani.
- Are you classic, funky, modern or trendy! Your french tip doesn't need to be just 1 white line!
3. Jan. 15th - Color Block Mani.
4. Jan. 22nd - Plaid Mani.
5. Jan. 29th - Newspaper Mani.
6. Feb. 5th - Half-moon Mani.
7. Feb. 12th - "Valentine's Day" Mani.
8. Feb. 19th - Corset Mani.
9. Feb. 26th - "Vintage" Mani.
10. Mar. 4th - Polka Dot Mani
11. Mar. 11th - "St. Patrick's Day" Mani.
12. Mar. 18th - Skittle Mani.
13. Mar. 25th - Ruffian Mani.
14. Apr. 1st - Striped Mani.
15. Apr. 8th - "Easter Day" Mani.
16. Apr. 15th - Dotticure Mani.
17. Apr. 22nd - "Earth Appreciation" Mani.
18. Apr. 29th - Cartoon Mani.
19. May. 6th - Floral Mani.
20. May. 13th - Bows Mani.
21. May. 20th - Fruit Mani.
22. May. 27th - Splatter Mani.
23. Jun. 3rd - Ombre Mani.
24. Jun. 10th - Flag Mani.
25. Jun. 17th - Pride/Rainbow Mani.
26. Jun. 24th - Neon Mani.
27. July. 1st - "4th of July" Mani.
28. July. 8th - Gradient Mani.
29. July. 15th - "Rockstar" Mani.
30. July. 22th - Water Marble Mani.
31. July. 29th - Crackle Mani.
32. Aug. 5th - Needle Marble Mani.
33. Aug. 12th - Galaxy Mani.
34. Aug. 19th - "Bling" Mani.
35. Aug. 26th - Cupcake Mani.
36. Sept. 2nd - Tape Mani.
37. Sept. 9th - "We Remember 9/11" Mani.
38. Sept. 16th - Metallic/Magnetic Mani.
39. Sept. 23rd - Dry Marble Mani.
40. Sept. 30th - Animal Print Mani.
41. Oct. 7th - Patchwork Mani.
42. Oct. 14th - "Pink 4 Breast Cancer Awareness" Mani.
43. Oct. 21st - Spider Web Mani.
44. Oct. 28th - Halloween Mani.
45. Nov. 4th - Tribal Mani.
46. Nov. 11th - "Mustach, 4 Movember; Prostate Cancer Awareness" Mani.
47. Nov. 18th - Thanksgiving Day Mani.
48. Nov. 25th - Feather Mani.
49. Dec. 2nd - Glitter Sandwich Mani.
50. Dec. 9th - Snowflake Mani.
51. Dec. 16th - Red Mani.
52. Dec. 23rd - Christmas Mani.
- 30/31 - you've learned enough; go all out and show 2O13, what its all about!

Now, the first mani you're supposed to do is a glitter. However i didn't know about this until the day after the challenge had started :( Oh well, we'll do better for week two!
On New Years Eve/Day, I wore Orly Le Chateau by itself. On Monday i added some stamping with Wet n' Wild Metallica, and glittered my thumb with China Glaze Snowglobe. I really like how Snowglobe looks over Le Chateau, but I'm iffy about how the stamping turned out. I'm still getting the hang of stamping, so it can only get better.

My thumb.

The rest of my fingers.

I don't remember which Mash plate(s) i used for the stamping, but i'll look it up and add it later.

Well that's it for my first post. Later!
-Lynnette

Edit: Ok the mash plates i used are mash-12 for my fingers and mash-16 for my thumb.