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!

Metallic Gold and Black

Hello, everyone!
I am still not feeling 100%.  This year's flu is a nasty one!

I decided to go with another simple two-color manicure.  This is Essie Good as Gold stamped with Konad Special Polish in Black using a design from the Pueen 12 plate.

It's simple and strangely interesting.

Here's another shot of the golden goodness!

Well - that's all for now, Konaddicts!  

Bollywood Paisley

Hi, everyone!

I'm loving today's manicure!  It's a design based on a beautiful sari I saw on Facebook.  I couldn't afford this beauty, and goodness knows that  I wouldn't know what to do with it once it arrived (haha!), so I decided I would see if I could capture the look in polish.

Wow!  Isn's that absolutely stunning?  The model's vampy look cracks me up.

I started with a gradient of Sally Hansen Inst Dri Sea Breeze, Nail Savvy Electric, and Sally Hansen Insta Dri Blazing Blue.  I gave it a coat of glitter, a purple glitter in a clear base - Rimmel 60 Second Twisted Chic.

The paisley is BM 315 and I used China Glaze Hi Tek for the stamping.

We've had pretty cloudy days so it's hard to show the actual colors, but I managed to snap a photo in sunlight (I hadn't finished the clean up, but the colors are closer to how they look in real life).

Well, I have to confess that I'm not smirking like the model in the photo, but it's hard not to feel glamorous with this design!

Take care, Konaddicts!  I hope your'e enjoying our Thanksgiving lead-up!

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!

Parchment and Roses

Hi everyone!

First, you may have noticed that I have 50 followers now!  Thank you so much!  I so much appreciate that you stop by to see what my polishes and I are up to!

To celebrate you, and one my one year blog anniversary later this month, I'll be posting details of a little giveaway later in the month.

So...on to today's manicure!

I was feeling nostalgic and trying to think of a design that was romantic, elegant, and kind of old fashioned.  I thought back to all those photos of roses on old music sheets (now you know what all my screen savers were back in the day!) and ultimately came up with this design.  I also wanted to try a new technique, so I created this look using saran wrap.

I started first with a base of that lovely caramel, L'Oreal The Perfect Trench (I am not yet over this color!).  I sponged on a little Revlon Top Speed in Stormy to add a darker color.  I covered the entire nail with white - Pure Ice Siren - and dabbed it using saran wrap.  That worked perfectly to give me the mottled-type background for the roses.  (Doesn't that seem like a weird combination?  It worked, though!)

I used BM 323 and Pure Ice Rumors for the roses.  I added the leaves from XL Plate I with Revlon Top Speed Emerald.

Ah...this suits my mood perfectly (isn't it great when that happens?).

Take care, Konaddicts, and see you soon!

Teal Tones

Hi, everyone!  I decided I would try to catch the last rays of this autumn sun to show you this simple teal manicure I'm wearing.  

This is Nail Savvy Electric, a blue green pearl.  I used a chrome blue, Pure Ice Pussy Cat, for the stamping.  The design is from XL Plate A.

I love it!  It's another case of a simple design that looks very elegant.  Gotta love Konad - even the quick manis can look good!

Be well, Konaddicts!  Treat yourself to some roses - that's what I did!

31 Day Nail Challenge - Day 26: Inspired by a Pattern

Today, I was supposed to have "tribal" nails.  I turned to Bollywood - as I always do! - for inspiration.  I chose a movie filmed in Rajasthan, a part of India known for its beautiful folk art and patterns.  Instead of picking a nice tribal pattern, I was enthralled (as I always am) with this beautiful wedding costume that our heroine wears - that's her, peeking out from under her bridal veil.

Rani Mukherjee in the film Paheli

Her beautiful saree inspired this mani.

This is a base of Sally Hansen Insta Dri Rapid Red stamped with the lovely palm design on Konad M83.  I useed Sally Hansen Insta Dri Snappy Sorbet for the stamp.   I freehanded the tips with Snappy Sorbet.  My other golds or bronzes didn't stamp well over this combination, so I pulled out my "heavy".  I used the Sally Hansen Gold Chrome Nail Pen and BM 11 to stamp the accents.

Wow!  I love this!  It's simple and surprisingly quick (especially using the fast dry polishes).  Every time I look down, I want to start singing songs from the movie!

If I ever take this off (haha), another attempt at "tribal" nails is next!

See you soon (at least when this wears off!), Konaddicts!

Can-Can French Manicure

Hi, everyone!
I've opted for a simple mani today using a design from DRK-A.  For a base, I used two coats of  Orly French Manicure Sheer Nude.  On top of that, I used one coat of Bella Il Fiore - it's a blue-tinged sheer that came from an old French Manicure kit.  Milani Black Magic is my stamping polish.


The blue tint keeps the mani interesting, the pattern is simple and sweet, and, best of all, it was quick and easy! The result reminds me a bit of those leggy French Can Can dancers!


Don't be afraid to kick up your heels, Konddicts!

Royal Purple

After a drought of purple, I've been on a bit of a purple kick these days! I was watching the movie Gambit - with Shirley MacClaine and Michael Caine.  In the background of one of the scenes was a lacquered box in deep purple and gold.  I immediately got my polishes (because what could be better than polish and a movie?) and this is the design I came up with.

The background is Sally Hansen Insta Dri Violet Voom (is a deep purple that's almost blue).  For the stamping, I used a Sally Hansen Nail Color Pen in Gold Chrome and Bundle Monster plate BM 206.  I used a nail pen to add a pale, pearly blue to the design and dotted on Kleancolor Metallic Orange for the accents.

The movie was funny and fun - an unexpected pleasure - and now I have nails to match!

Be well, Konaddicts!
PS: I hear Colin Firth is in a remake of this!  How did I miss that?

Short Circuit

Here's a quick design using Sally Hansen Insta Dri in Jumpin' Jade.  I stamped with Color Club Gingerbread Man - a sparkly, metallic gold.  The design is from XL Plate B.

Chin up, Konaddicts, it's Friday!

Peacock Feather Nails

I love the peacock pattern on BM 212!  I had to experiment a while to get a look I liked, but I'm happy with my final result.

I started with two coats of Cover Girl Boundless Color in 603 Bronze Beauty.  I stamped the peacock pattern using BM212 in Kleancolor Military Green.

 I used a dotting tool to make a big dot in the center of each "eye" with Sally Hansen Insta Dri Blue Blast.  I used a smaller dotting tool to make another dot on top of that one with Kleancolor Metallic Sapphire.

What a beautiful and inspiring bird - and what a fun plate!

Strut your stuff, Konaddicts!

Simple Wine and Bronze

Today I'm wearing a simple and easy design.  The base is Sally Hansen Insta Dri Wined Up.  I stamped with Sally Hansen Chrome Nail Makeup in Bronze Chrome.  The plate is Konad M60 (another classic!).

My Red Angel plates are here; we'll see if I can't come up with something using the new plates for next time.  Take care, Konaddicts!

New Year's Nails

For this manicure, I have confetti and streamers (and a spotty glass of wine!) to welcome the new year.

The plate is A16.  I love, love, love the A-series plates (and eBay searches show that new designs have been released - hooray!).

I used Milani Black Magic as the base and Sally Hansen Chrome Nail Makeup in Gold Chrome for the stamp.  I used my brand new dotting tools to add color to the "confetti" in various metallics.


Best wishes for a wonderful start to the New Year, Konaddicts!

PS: Santa's Amazon Gift Card means that new nail plates are on the way - Red Angel, a brand I haven't heard of before (you can see them on Amazon here).  I'll give you the low down when they arrive, so stay tuned! 

Christmas Stripe Nails

Today I'm wearing a simple and festive design.  I used Sally Hansen Inst Dri Racy Red as a base.  Over that, I used one very thin coat of Kleancolor Metallic White, a shimmery type of white.

I stamped the stripe in Konad Special Polish in White using Konad Plate M44.  Hope you like it; thanks for reading!

Bollywood Peacock Nails

I love Bollywood!  I'm constantly awed by the colors, textures, and music of India in Bollywood movies.  Looking through my jewelry box, I was reminded of a particularly "filmi" pair of earrings I had purchased. I love the shapes and colors in this pair of earrings (a pairing that is pretty common in Bollywood costumes), so I decided to see if I could create the same look with polish.

The base coat is China Glaze For Audrey.  I stamped using China Glaze Hi-Tek and the peacock-like pattern on Chez Delaney XL Plate B.  I filled in some of the peacock design with a pin and used a nail pen to add a bit of glitter to the center of each pattern.

Hmm...I'm not sure how I feel about this design...the pattern is a little hard to see (and to photograph) in these colors.  I've got a few more Bollywood nail ideas, so stay tuned!

Here's a great song featuring my favorite actor!  I love all the costumes and colors!

Asian Inspired Nails

For this Asian inspired manicure, I used Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Racin' Red for the base color.  Next, I stamped various Asian designs from Konad S6 and BM203 in China Glaze Hi-Tek.  Then, I stamped the dragons from H12 (usually sold with other GCOCL type plates) in Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Sea Breeze.  I'm thrilled at how well the green stood out on top of the red!  Finally, I added a bit of glitter to each dragon's eye with a pin (I used Rimmel 60 Seconds Vinyl Stars in Eccentricity).  It was a surprisingly quick mani and I love the result!

Here are the polishes I used.  BTW:  I love, love, love Insta-Dris for base and stamping coats.  As a base color, they dry in a snap and they stamp beautifully!

Here's a closeup of the result.

Happy stamping, fellow Konaddicts!

Elegant Emerald and Stripes

I'm so excited to post my first blog entry!
The change in seasons and beautiful Fall colors inspired me to create this mani.  It's hard to fully capture the colors, but I like how the color combination turned out.
Hope you like it!  Thanks for reading!

Base color: Revlon Top Speed Emerald
Stamping color: China Glaze Hi-Tek
Plate: Konad S6

Here's a peek at the base before the stamping: