Royal Red

Hello, everyone!
I had a wonderful vacation and I'm just now getting back in the swing of things! I had a whirlwind trip to two places I've always dreamed of seeing - London and Paris.  What a wonderful experience - c'etait magnifique!

The manicure I'm wearing now is actually inspired by one of the awesome sights from my vacation - the Red Drawing Room at Windsor Castle.

The room is breathtaking - and apparently only open during the winter months - so I felt extra lucky to have the opportunity to see it.  This was, by far, my favorite of the rooms we visited.

From: The Anglophile

I came home determined to "nailify" this beautiful color and texture combination.  Once I got settled in, I got out my plates and polishes and got to work.

It took a bunch of tries before I got the combination I wanted.  I finally settled on a base of Love My Nails Pomegranate stamped with the darker and more opaque Sally Hansen Insta Dri Rapid Red.  The shape and width of the lines on BM206 was about as close as I could get to the brocaded image.  For the accents, I used Essie Good as Gold and Mash 27.  I added a rhinestone for shimmer and as a nod to the color and shape of those beautiful light fixtures.

Nothing, alas, can replicate a room fit for a king...but this mani is a little reminder of a glimpse into the life of royalty that I was fortunate to have.

The weather, however, has refused to cooperate with my little homage  - we've had overcast skies and snow! - so I've had to take my pics indoors with and without the flash.

Thanks for reading!  Even after a dream vacation, it's always a blessing to come home to family and friends.  Thanks for stopping by!

Harlequin Nails

Hello, everyone!  If you're here in the US, I hope you've got a great long weekend planned!

I finally had a little time for some much needed polish therapy; I decided to make the most of it!

This is a little tape mani made with Salon Perfect Baby Blues, Salon Perfect Pure Azure, China Glaze Spontaneous, and Sally Hansen Insta Dri Blue By.

I had my camera handy, and a couple of nails to redo, so I figured this would be a chance to take some step-by-step photos.

I'm redoing my pinky nail here.  You can see my base coat of Baby Blues with a freehanded bottom of Azure.

Here is the nail taped up, and ready to polish.  I pressed down the edges as firmly as I could to try to get those crisp lines.

Here I've polished Blue By and Outrageous over the tape.

I pulled the tape off and voila!

So, I wasn't ready to end my polish therapy, so I decided to add an accessory.  I couldn't choose between pale blue rhinestones and nail tape, so I chose both!

I couldn't find my good topcoat, so I had to use my kind of goopy one.  Other than that, I like it!  I'm sure it will look better tomorrow, when I've really had a chance to clean up the edges, but I'm always afraid that all the tapes and rhinestones will fall off before I get a good picture!

Well, Konaddicts, thanks for stopping by!  I really enjoyed by polish play time today; I can't decide whether to wear this one for a while or to pull off all the colors and start again!  

Corset Nails

Hello, everyone!  I decided I wanted to give the corset look a try.  I think I overestimated the steadiness of my hand because I had a couple of redos with this mani.  Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Cafe Au Lait is the base.  I used the design from Konad plate M16 for the sides.  The laces were made with a fauxnad plate B24 using Kleancolor Metallic Pink.  I thought they still looked a little naked so I added a rhinestone at the bottom.

I absolutely love the design of the laces with the bow.  For me, this one is a guaranteed smile.  Be sweet, Konaddicts!  Thanks for stopping by!

Light and Feathery French Manicure

To restore balance after all of the spooky nails in October, I've tried a flowery and feathery French Manicure using GCOCL plates.  

I started out with two coats of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Cafe Au Lait.  I cannot say how much I love this polish!  I searched long and hard to find a good base coat for French Manicures that fit my skin tone and had the right level of opacity.  After many tries across brands, I struck gold!   This is great polish!  One coat would probably have been enough to cover my nail line and I think I finally got the color right.  They have a number of color choices, so if you're looking for a good base polish for French Manicures, you should certainly take a look at them.

The design is from GCOCL plate A26.  One great thing about the GCOCL plates is that they usually feature mirror images of the designs so that you can easily get the same look on your right and left hands.

To complete the look, I added pink rhinestones for a dash of color. Presto!  Easy, quick, and very sweet!

Base color: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Cafe Au Lait

Stamping color: Konad Special Polish in White
Plate: GCOCL A26