China Vases

Hello, everyone!  I'm so glad to have a post today!  I know it's been a while since my last post.  I got an iPhone!  I went from a basic "just makes calls" phone to a smartphone and I seriously haven't looked up from it in over a month!

I have finally (!) stopped asking crazy Siri questions, playing Threes, and downloading apps that I'll never use long enough to polish my nails!

This is a base of NYC French Tip.  I stamped it with Sally Hansen Insta Dri In a Blink Blue using a design from the Cheeky European Romance Jumbo Stamping Plate.  I used the sheery Pure Ice Splash to fill in some of the patterns.  I dotted it with Kleancolor Cappuchino
and filled in the center square with Kleancolor Metallic Yellow.

Thanks for stopping by, Konaddicts!  I hope each of you is doing well!  Thank you for reading!

Christmas Cheer

Hi, everyone!

It's hard to believe that we've only got 11 days until Christmas!  Well, I was feeling in the spirit this week, and decided to whip up some off-beat Christmas nails.

I chose two different patterns - the traditional candy cane stripes from BM-423and some circles from Gals GA-26.  I used a simple red and stamping white for the candy cane stripes.  For the circles, I chose Sally Hansen Insta Dri Lickety-Split Lime stamped with Revlon Top Speed Emerald.  I used L'Oreal Walk on the Beach and Wet n Wild Red Creme to fill in the circles.  I topped off my red with a lovely red glitter, Pure Ice First Party.

I'm loving my holiday nails!  I think that means I'll have to try more!

Hope you're having a good start to the Christmas season, Konaddicts!  Thanks for stopping by!

Simply Polish: Hard Candy Sweet Tooth

Hello, everyone!
I hope you're having a great week!  Today I'm just wearing polish - it's Sweet Tooth, part of a new collection by Hard Candy.

When I was grocery shopping this week, I saw this display of new polishes from Hard Candy.

O, the glitter!  O, the chromes!  And only $4 each?  Wow!

In an rare act of extreme self-control, I bought only one bottle - Sweet Tooth.

For those of us who don't like to mix our own polishes, I think this is an awesome option.  It took about three thick coats to appear opaque and I didn't use any topcoat.

Here's a HUGE macro shot:

Something tells me that I that will be back for more of these!

Stay sweet, Konaddicts!

Stacked Deck

Hi, everyone!  Happy Friday!
So, I've been eyeing the QA 29 plate for quite a while but I kept trying to convince myself that I didn't need any more plates!  Well, this plate was on sale at the Born Pretty Store for, like, $2!  Irresistible, right? (Well, that's what I keep telling myself!)

My plate finally arrived!  I decided to try out a tape manicure to create the look of playing cards.

I started with Sally Hansen Whirlwind White.  I used tape to create the "card" corner and used Kleancolor Metallic Black over the tape.  Then, I stamped the card designs with Wet n Wild Black Creme and Sally Hansen Insta Dri Racin' Red.

So...I had some technical difficulties - my tape edges weren't straight, I ended up with another color (from where?  who knows?) in the white while I was cleaning up the edges.  Then I had some smearing with my topcoat.  So, this one's got some flaws, but it's still pretty fun to wear.

I decided to call it "Stacked Deck" when I noticed two ace of hearts on my left hand!

Take care, Konaddicts!  See you soon!

Pueen Nail Plates Mini Review

Hi everyone!
I'm sorry I've been missing lately.  I came down with a terrible case of the flu!  Now, almost SIX days later, I'm finally well enough to show you a new addition!

When I spotted my Christmas Amazon gift card, I knew exactly where it would go - a set of Pueen nail plates I'd accidentally run across!  It's a set of 25 plates, you can see the designs in the Amazon listing here, for about $18.

The plates come individually packaged including the film to protect the engraving.   Each plate has a backing and the edges are smooth.

In terms of stamping quality, the designs that I've tried have stamped beautifully, which is great because some of the designs are really interesting and different - I think the alligator skin pattern is going to be a favorite of mine!

Each plate has about four full nail designs and two smaller designs (the reindeer, snail, and Mary Jane shoes were unique enough to sell me on the set!).

Pueen 23.  Sorry for the low light - it was way too cold to take pictures outside!

In terms of size, the full nail stamps most closely match the size of pattern in the 2nd and 3rd set of Bundle Monster plates.  Here's a quick comparison using a full nail pattern from Pueen, BM, and Konad.

Well - I can't wait to take more time to try out my new plates.  So far, I think they are a great addition to my collection (and for a very reasonable price) - thanks, Santa!

Take care, Konaddicts, and, if it's as cold where you are as it is here, be sure to bundle up!

*******
UPDATE 1/23

Jane asked for close ups of Pueen 20 and Pueen 24.  Here they are!

Icy Winter Nails

Brr...
It's finally beginning to feel a little like winter outside!
I have been mulling over ideas for an icy manicure for a while.  The weather's changed, so it seemed like a good time to give it a try.

I decided to start by sponging Milani Sail Away, the darker Kleancolor Metallic Sapphire, and Pure Ice Superstar over a base of Kleancolor Pastel Blue.  That gave me a few high and low lights for my ice.  I used BM 208 and Konad Special Polish in white for the "cracks" in the ice.

Good...but...what else can I add?

I decided to go with holographic glitter - Covergirl City Lights - to add a little sparkle to my ice.  I decided I would finish by adding snowflakes.  White wouldn't show up over my lines, so I decided to use Sail Away again for the snowflakes.  I used BM232 for the tiny snowflakes on the fingers and I used A39 for the larger one on the thumb.

I like the frosty final look!

Take care, Konaddicts!  Stay warm and toasty!

Paw Prints

Hi everyone,
I decided my new canine addition was a perfect excuse to try out some paw print nails!

This design was a fun change from all the Fall colors I've been wearing and I got to experiment with a few plates I haven't yet used.

I only used three colors for this one - Sally Hansen Whirlwind White as a base, Wet n Wild Black Creme for the designs, and a red nail pen.

Once I started looking, I couldn't decide which designs to use, so I used a combination from several plates.

The thumb design is Bundle Monster BM 306.  The other paw prints from my DRK-A plate.  The pooch on my ring finger is from plate T28 (an eBay plate from Beautiful Scratchers).  The hearts are from a QA plate (the one with the Statue of Liberty on it!).

I didn't wear this one for long - i'ts kind of like having a comic book on your nails! - but it was definitely a fun departure from my usual designs.

Take care, Konaddicts!  I hope your holiday shopping is going well!

She's settling right in!

China Blue Roses

Hi all!  I hope you've had a chance to enter my giveaway!  I wanted to take a moment to show you today's nails.

This design started with a base of Sally Hansen Insta Dri Whirlwind White stamped with Insta Dri In-A-Blink Blue using BM 323.  I covered the roses with a glitter in a sheer blue base, Milani Glitzy in Denim.  It provided the right amount of sparkle and softened up the white "petal lines" of the roses.

Today's mani is quick and easy - just my style!

Black Accented French Manicure

Today's post is actually from several weeks back.  I have mixed feelings about this one, but I'll put it out there anyway.  I really like the black accents in French manicures, but I can't decide what I don't like about this one.

This is simply a base of  Orly French Manicure Sheer Nude, tips polished with Wet n Wild Black Creme, stamped with Konad Special Polish in White using BM 218.  I figured it might be a good time to use the black rhinestones in the wheel I have (because when else will I use them?), so I stuck one on each nail.

Hmm...thoughts on this one?

31 Day Nail Challenge - Day 13: Animal Print

Sooo....my "animal print" mani is a bit of a bust.  I tried to come up with a cool looking rattlesnake but couldn't quite get it right.  I polished, stamped, dried...and then took it all off. :(

By then, it was late, my polishes were strewn everywhere and I still didn't have an "animal print" mani.  I decided I would opt for cows - they're only two colors and seem simple enough.

Well...it turned out okay, but it's not one of my favorites.  It's a very simple base of Sally Hansen Whirlwind White stamped with Wet n Wild Black Creme.  I used fauxnad M61 for the spots and fauxnad S10  for the little cow...or is that a giraffe?

I'm not happy with this one, but I figured I would go ahead and share and move on to the next challenge - flowers.

Thank you so much to all of you who read and take the time to comment.  You all make my day!

31 Day Nail Challenge - Day 12: Stripes

Hello, everyone!  I wanted to (finally!) post pictures of my stripes nails.

I started this mani with a base of Pure Ice Love - a warm pink.  I stamped the stripes using Cheeky plate CH-10 and Konad Special polish in White.  They're the perfect stripe - not too thin, but also not too crowded.

I decided I would try to spice up my stripes a bit. I've always liked the combination of pink, white, and black so I decided I would give that a try.  I stamped the bows using plate QA-24 - a new (of course from eBay!) plate that just came in the mail.  I used that super cute kitty on Konad M83 for the accent nail.  I used Wet N Wild in Black Creme as the stamping polish.

This has been a fun one to wear but now it's off to work on the next one - animal print!  See you next time, Konaddicts!

31 Day Nail Challenge - Day 7: Black and White Nails

Hello, everyone!
Today's challenge is black and white, a bold combination that I don't use very often.  For this mani, I used Wet n Wild Black Creme as a base.  I stamped with Konad Special Polish in White and used one of the designs from my XL Image Plate B (which has been getting a lot of use since I started this challenge!).

I like it!  This has been another challenge that has forced me out of my (rather pastel) comfort zone!

Thanks for dropping by!  See you tomorrow for "metallic nails".

Newspaper Nails - First Try

Oh dear...that's a mess (not to blame maRyaa and her great tutorial).

And now for the remover... :)

Do any of you Konaddicts have tips for the newspaper transfer nails?  I sure could use them!  I'm feeling almost as perplexed as Dagwood looks on my thumb!

Hello Kitty Nails

Today, I'm wearing Hello Kitty Nails!  You're never too old for Hello Kitty - or, at least, I'm sure I might be one day signing myself into a nursing home using my Hello Kitty pen. :)

Here's what I used for this design:

Two coats of Love My Nails Angel is the white base.  It's a pretty pearly and shiny color (although a bit streaky).  I stamped Kitty using Milani Black Magic and unbranded plate B87 (mine came from Beautiful Scratchers). I made the polka dots (and filled in Kitty's bow) with a dotting tool using Love My Nails Rosebud, True Lilac, and Berry Nice.

I hope you like it!  Thanks for reading!

Falling Snow(men)

Christmas nails continue!  Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Brisk Blue is the base.  I used one coat of Pure Ice In the Mood to add the lavender blue sparkle.  The snowmen were stamped in Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Whirlwind White using plate H-12 (you can see a picture of the plate in the Asian Inspired Nails post).  The tiny snowflakes came from an unnamed plate that I received as a bonus with an order.

The snowmen were fun to stamp - even when their heads went on a little crooked! (Sorry about that, Frosty!).

Well, Konaddicts, there are only a few days left before Christmas!  I hope you like the mani and that you have your lists all ready for Santa!

Buttoned Up

I love the buttons on Konad Plate M16!  To get the black and white, I tried my very first tape manicure.  If you've never tried one of these, Jane at Nailside has a great tutorial here.  I stamped the buttons using M16.

I used Sally Hansen Insta Dri Whirlwind White for the base, Milani Black Magic for the accent, and the Whirlwind White for the buttons.  Konad Special Polish in white stamped better, but it also seemed to smear more.

As for the tape mani, I like the result, but I had a hard time getting the tape on straight, getting it pulled off without smearing everything and (because I'm impatient), trying to tape other fingers while the polish was still wet (not to mention trying to dispose of sticky tape with wet polish on it!).  It's also worth noting that it takes twice the drying time since you have to wait for your base coat and then your accent color to dry before moving on to your stamping.

Now...off to think of more designs with buttons!  Thanks for reading and happy stamping!

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