July 4th NOTD with Incoco Nail Strips

Hi everyone! Happy July 4th to all my fellow Americans! After the last couples of weeks, I am feeling very proud of my country today. I truly hope the progress made recently continues to build momentum and we can look forward to more!

For my 4th of July NOTD, I did a simple accent with some Incoco nail strips I recently picked up at my local Walgreens. This is my first time using the Incoco strips, so I thought I would include a mini review along with my nails.

Please Note: Products shown were purchased for my own personal use.

Incoco Nail Strips in Brave Brilliance

Twinsie Tuesday: Anti-Valentine's Day

Hi friends! I am back to posting the Twinsie Tuesday themes! I felt like I had missed so much when the kiddo and I were sick. I know life happens, but I don't like skipping out so much because of it.

Today's theme is Anti-Valentine's Day. Although I am a big fan of supporting love in any form (not just your significant other), I kinda got into this week's theme! Lately I have seen gorgeous red/black gradients floating around Pinterest - this one in particular. Even though it was meant for a Halloween look, I think the idea translates really well for an Anti-Valentine's one.

Candy Corn Nails - #2 of the IG Totally Doable Nail Art Challenge in October

Hey y'all! Even though the day is almost over, aaand I have already posted once today (though it was just an info post), but look!!! I have candy corn nails!!!!

 

 

 

Used:

 

Zoya - Darcy

 

(Candy Corn Accent)

Zoya - Tomoko

Zoya - Beatrix

Zoya - Solange

 

Blue Painters tape

 

I love using Pixie Dust for nail art! It makes for a really fun accent design. Also, they are soooo easy to do tape mani's with! No bleeding through! Also, I have finally acquired Darcy. It has been on my wish list for ever! I also suspect it is very very similar to my favorite yellow, Julep Lexie. I may have to do a rare comparison post soon.

 

So what do you think about using Pixie Dust for nail art? Have you tried it yet?

Mock Gold Leaf Pixie Dust Gradient & TheTotally Doable Halloween/October Nail Art Challenge

Hey y'all! Happy October 1st! I cannot believe how frickin fast this year is going! So last month, I totally slacked on the nail art, and as a little kick I decided to do an IG nail art challenge. This should be super fun since it has Halloween themed nails!!!! Super fun! If you are on IG, you need to follow Califonails for amazing nail art and monthly challenges!

 

  

October 1st - Gold
 

 

Used:

 

Zoya Pixie Dust - Solange

Zoya Pixie Dust - Tomoko

 

Make Up Sponge

 

For the gold theme, I wanted to recreate the look of gold leaf and use pixie dust for a gradient. The two pixies I have that are gold-ish weren't the right shade, so I mixed them! They mix really well! Now I want to experiment with the rest of the colors to see what I can come up with! Once I was satisfied with the color, I just sponged it onto my nails, going lighter the closer to my nail bed I got. I am super pleased with them! Yay!

 

I am really looking forward to doing another challenge and getting my nail art groove back!

Zoya Fall Pixie Dust Collection Carter And Tomoko

Hey guys and gals! Happy Monday afternoon! Hope you all had a fun weekend! We have gotten a ton of rain over the past few days, which kinda ruined our weekend plans, but made the weather nice and cool! Yay Fall! I am slowly getting in the mood for fall colors, and after my recent Pixie Dust purchase, I am feeling a bit more festive!

 

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use.

 

 

 

Zoya Pixie Dust - Carter

 

Carter is a deep royal purple with a matte textured finish. I think this may replace Destiny as my all time favorite Pixie Dust shade! It. Is. AMAZING. If Zoya ever made a teal pixie, I would straight up die. For real. As with all pixies, it is way more sparkly in person. I don't think cameras quite know what to do with all the sparkle goodness. Formula wise, this was the first time I had issues. The first coat, all the little texture bits wouldn't stay put and it was very patchy. I applied a thicker second coat to cover the bald spots, but still had some dragging. But who cares when you have magic on your finger tips, right?

 

 



 

Zoya Pixie Dust - Tomoko

 

Tomoko is a pale silvery gold matte texture shade. Zoya describes it as "Champagne Gold" which is pretty accurate. I really love these kinds of colors, they are so elegant looking. In person, it is incredibly sparkly, almost like diamond dust. It also has a lot more silver tones to it than pictures show. I think this is probably the most versatile out of the entire Pixie Dust line. If you have been holding off getting a bottle, try this one and I'm sure you'll love it. Formula was much better than Carter, along the same consistency as the rest of the Pixies. Though a bit sheer, and I used three coats for full opacity. Also, I can see this being a perfect color for Holiday occasions!

 

I am loving the Pixie Dust polishes so hard, and I hope Zoya keeps cranking out beautiful colors. But seriously, Zoya, I need a teal. See if you can make it happen for spring. Kthanks.

 

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use. All opinions are my own. For more info, please read my disclaimer.

 

Zoya Pixie Dust is available on line. Pixie Dust polishes retail for $9 a piece.



Splatter Accent and Textural Contrast

Hey y'all! Short and sweet post today, I'm running a bit behind on things at home, so that leaves little time for blogging. Today is all about contrast. I love the textured nail polish trend, and have been looking for ways to incorporate it into nail art.

 

I ran across the new LE Wet N Wild Tough Girl collection a few nights ago, and grabbed a couple of the polishes. They are a little pricey for WnW and the small bottle, so for the time being, I only have two. Full swatches and review will be posted later on, but first a little nail art!

 

 

 

Used:

 

Wet nWild - Beauty Is A Battlefield (textured)

 

(Splatter)

 

O.P.I. - MBSW

Essie - Mint Candy Apple

Julep - Lexie

Wet n Wild - Who Is Ultra Violet (Pop Art Craze)

Bettina - Wild Orchid

 

Plastic Straw

 

Totally not planned, I had the WnW Ultra Violet on earlier in the day, and swapped it out for the textured when I got home from the store. But, holy crap, I love the outcome. Splatters are super fun and I need to do more of them! Plus this texture is so full of win. Yay for happy accidents!

 

 

Off to clean the house now! Fun times, I tell ya.

Nail Of The Day: 'Merica Nails

Heeeyyyyyy! Happy 4th of July guys! I'm sure everyone's blog readers are full of festive nails, so let's add one more!

 

 

 

Used:

 

Takko Lacquer - Va Va Voom

Zoya Pixie Dust - Liberty

 

Born Pretty Stud

 

Of course I had to go overboard with the sparkles! Holo and Pixie Dust in one mani, plus studs. I think I have created the polish-obsessed trifecta. Plus, they kinda remind me of Wonder Woman. Can't get any more awesome than that!

 

Hope all of my fellow 'mericans have a fantastic 4th. Be sure to grab a cold drink and watch some fireworks tonight!

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Inspired By A Color

Hey all, happy (late) Tuesday! My apologies for the late post, my daughter has swimming lessons every day this week, and I haven't had very much time to do fun stuff. We have been so busy since summer started, that it feels like it is going by so fast.

 

Speaking of my daughter, she is the inspiration behind today's post. The theme is "inspired by a color" and I chose Zoya Marley for my color inspiration, because Marley is my daughter's name!

 

Used:

 

Zoya - Marley

Zoya - Stevie

 

Make Up sponge

 

Not only is her name Marley, but her favorite color is purple! And just like her mamma, she loves sparkly things. So naturally I used, Stevie, a pixie dust shade. It was a little tricky doing a gradient with a pixie dust polish and a regular polish, so I ended up just sponging Stevie over a layer of Marley. I really am happy  with the way it turned out in the end, a new way to use pixie dust, yay!

 

 

I tried to get my little miss to do a "Mommy & Me" pose, but she wasn't having it today. To busy playing with her dolls & making play dough cookies for them to care about nail polish!

 

Next up is Inspired By A Song, and I have no idea what to do! Ha! Hopefully it won't be crap!

Sally Hansen Sugar Coat - Razzle Berry

Hey y'all! Happy June, hope everyone had a great weekend! Today I have one of the new Sally Hansen Sugar Coat polishes swatched for you guys. Since textured polish is all trendy right now, almost every brand is coming out with a variation of it.
 

Please Note: Products were purchased by me for my own personal use.

 

 

 

Sally Hansen Sugar Coat - Razzle Berry

 

Razzle Berry is a vivid cobalt blue matte textured polish. Of course I am a sucker for blue, so this is the one that I picked up. The texture is really prominent, more so than the Zoyas. However, the formula was a tad tricky. The first coat was fairly smooth, but the second was hard to paint evenly over the texture particles. Nothing a thicker coat didn't fix. Average dry time, as well.

 

I like it, but I'm not blown away. But that is a matter of taste, I prefer a little sparkle in my mani. There is a mint green and a pastel violet color that look really pretty and I may eventually pick those up too. If you are looking to give the texture trend a try, these are a good option. Cheap, about $6, with a great color selection.

So do you prefer matte or sparkle textured?