Tuesday Tutorial: Horizontal Gradient no Sponging

Look out- it's another step-by-step tutorial for you.  This is going to feature a horizontal gradient that requires no sponging!  The finished look will be something like this:

As you can see- it's definitely a different look for a gradient, and if you choose not to use a blend of your two base colors and use a white instead, it won't be a gradient at all, but more like a "white noise" kind of effect.  If you want to achieve the effect in this look, here's what you will do.

1) Start with your favorite strengthening base coat and paint one half of your nail two coats of your first color.

2) Using two coats of your second polish, paint the rest of your nail so you have this two-toned appearance.

3) Now take a bit of each color and mix them together.  Use this new color and a striper brush paint haphazard lines horizontally across your nail.  Here's a first layer of the lines.

4)  Paint more lines using this color until almost the entire line dividing the two original colors is covered.

5)  Do this to every nail, and then paint a top coat over top of everything.  As you can see the top coat really smoothed the contrast of colors, so especially from far away, this basically looks like a gradient :)

Like I said, you could definitely use a completely contrasting color for the striping in the middle and transform this nail art into something totally different.  I hope you give this look a try and let me know how it turns out!
The colors used here are NYC Apple Fizz and Raindrop.

Here's some music for you to get creative with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GMQLjzVGfw

Over and out

Happy Earth Day!

Here's a nature-inspired mani for you to help you get in the mood for this special day to celebrate our Earth's beauty. 

This is a delicious dusty green from Revlon named Trendy and the petals are drawn using Revlon Fashionista, NYC Apple Fizz and Raindrop, and Milani White on the Spot.  I hope you enjoy this look and you get out and admire our gorgeous God-given earth.   

Some of the simple delicacies growing up in my neck of the woods.  It's so nice to get out and appreciate the small blessings we take for granted.   

And here's something for you to rock out with on Earth Day!  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z11GWaf6X8c

Over and out

Sweet Sunset

Here's a little nail art for you. It's a sweetheart sunrise look :)

It's basically just a gradient with a blue and orange sherbet polish from Avon called Blue Water Lilies and Swift Sherbet respectively.  Blue and orange are complimentary colors right? So I had high hopes for this look.  The gradient wasn't as smooth as I'd hoped, but I'm still trying to perfect that technique.  Then I took the three colors from the gradient(the two original colors, and then the mix of the two) and made three little hearts on the accent nail in the opposite order from the gradient.  

I hope you give this look a try- it really was beautiful on the nail.

Over and out.

Saturday Random Swatching 4/20/2013

Howdy Do!  It's the weekend, no not Friday, Friday- but Saturday!  (If you don't know what I'm referencing there, please tell me and I'll let you in on the most fabulous little song and my fav spoof that followed soon after; you're life will never be the same).  Time for some random swatching fun.  I hope you enjoyed my guest reviewer from last Saturday.  He could not be reached for a comment on his experience but it seemed to me like it was a mix of- "if I have to" and "finally I can publicly poke fun at my woman and her crazy obsessions!"

 Fingerpaints Bauhaus Burgundy is a deep, muddy burgundy crelly (cream-jelly hybrid polish).  I was crazy in love with the application and the non-staining quality of this polish.  I have tried some deep red/burgundy polishes in the past and been sorely let down by how bad they bled into my cuticle bed.  This one flooded just a tad, but it was definitely more manageable than what I was expecting.  Now seeing how the camera caught the patchiness of the swatch I am slightly disappointed that it apparently takes 3-4 coats to reach opacity, but still, the color was gorgeous on the nail.  A-

 Sinful Colors Sugar N Spice from the Sugar Rush 2013 Collection is a super-pigmented bright pink cream, as you can see :)  This color definitely gets the drama queen place in the polish yearbook.  Wow, it makes a loud statement of look at me :)  Incredibly useful for nail art, it's a tad too loud for every day wear for me, but bravo on the formula and ease of application.  A-

 Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Sun Kissed is perfection- no?  Wow, I'm lovin me some orange polish right now.  Look at how creamy and effortless this polish is!  Like usual, no disappointment in this brand.  They cook up some of the best little bottles of color wonder ;)  A

 Barielle Gold Digger gets props for a fun name, besides that I think they really did a stellar job getting a great metallic gold.  These metallics can sometimes be not so fun for clean-up, but well just like with anything- you weigh the good against the bad.  I would rather sport this fabulous greek goddess of a polish and have a little extra sheen on my hands from all the metallic wonder, well then so be it.  A

 Sexy Sundress from Fingerpaints just gives me the ooh, ahh syndrome :)  If you're not feelin this color, then I'm sorry cuz you aren't getting the joy I am from looking at this creamy limesicle goodness.  So fresh and lovely.  Definitely an A.

 Ok, this one is fabulous!  Look at the depth See You Soon by Sinful Colors.  I know last week's guest review suggested that dark polishes, the like of this little diva, are too goth and should not ever be worn unless that's the fashion statement you're going for, but I just can't agree.  I suppose now we know that perhaps some men feel that colors like this make that projection, but I feel this almost-black/blue shimmer is rich and seductive :)  Mmmm me likey too much!  A

 China Glaze Creative Fantasy from the Cirque Du Soleil Collection is a super fun grape jelly polish.  Just like a jelly should be, it looks squishy on the nail and doesn't quite reach opacity.  Normally I'm not about that effect too much and I'll prefer my creams to jellies any day, but when I was swatching this one I could not have loved it more!  I know it looks super patchy here, but I was seriously in love with this one on my nails.  Hmm I guess you'll have to make your mind up for yourself if you're on the fence about this squishy purple polish.  I made mine up: A-.

 Sally Complete Salon Manicure Without a Stitch has a very tailor/sailor vibe.  I'm in love with it.  Now and again you need a good palette cleanser, right?  This one was three coats to keep it from being too patchy, but I can put up with that for this almost, almost tan cream color.  Yes please!  A.

 Ooh, this one almost didn't come home with me cuz I get sick of glitter removal if you leave it on any longer than ten minutes lol, but I couldn't resist it's teal/oceanic beckon and I'm glad it did.  This is Sinful Colors Lush Life over Starfish of the same brand.  This combination ended up being perfect.  I think I like the rosy-nude of the base contrasting with the glitter.  Very different and fun. I give it an A.

Ok, non-random feature here.  This polish was calling to me from it's display for months before I said, yes you may come home with me now....you don't have to beg... This is (as if you didn't know) Butler Please from Essie.  Ugh it's so brilliantly blue- so fresh and so clean :)  I was not disappointed with my decision to adopt her into my collection of lovelies, although some of the others are jealous of her pigmentation.  Side note- wear lots of base coat to avoid any staining.  A+ even with the tad bit of finicky-ness...Shows you how much I adore this color.

Brands featured can be found at the following locations:

Sally Hansen- Target, Kmart, Walmart, CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens

China Glaze- Ulta, Sally Beauty Supply, transdesign.com, head2toebeauty.com

Essie- Target, Kmart, CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens

Sinful Colors- Target, Walmart, CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens

Fingerpaints- Sally Beauty Supply

Barielle- transdesign.com

Song of the Day:  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiqIush2nTA

2013's Spice Girls lol

Over and out.

Time for Something Sweet

Hola Chicas!  

So with all these pretty, pastel/dainty/sweet polishes emerging for spring, I couldn't resist trying out a design I've seen floating around.  If you want a video tutorial of how to achieve this look, I found one for you at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HocHWFbv-VI  Her channel is FULL of great tutorials and inspiration for you if you're looking for some more new ideas and she has a great style of editing that is concise and easy to follow.  The way she did her cupcake mani employs a more uniform color scheme but I had too many sweet little pastels to try out so I couldn't limit myself.  If you recreate this look, make it your own and just have fun with it cuz that's definitely what this nail art is about :)

A lot of the polishes used in this look came from the Sinful Colors Sugar Rush Collection but there are some additional shades needed to get the contrasting darker shades to go along side the pastel counterparts in the cupcake paper.  Hope you enjoyed this look and that you indulge in this sweet treat that will have absolutely no affect on your waist :)

On a completely different note, I am in love with this song full of perfect harmonies, rhythms, and this man sings like an angel!  Ugh, just listen to those instrumentals!  Loove me some Two Door Cinema Club! Make sure you listen through til at least 0:39 for the pow and then 1:09 for the pow pow before deciding anything about this song ;)  Hmm, this music is the stuff that fills my lungs and breathes life and passion into my being.  Delish! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTuJuok5QK4

Over and out.

Movie and a Mani: Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Hey it's time for another movie review.  I had so much fun putting together the last look and review that I went ahead and done it again :)  This time I picked a movie I hadn't seen before, and I picked an action/adventure to boot.  The movie of choice is Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief.  The most I knew about this movie was that Mr. Bear liked it- but I have to admit, I wasn't paying any attention when he and tdawg were watching it.

Cast
Ok so this film is another jam-packed with interesting actors(mostly among the adult characters).  Let me run it down for you:  Sean Bean, Pierce Brosnan, Uma Thurman, Rosario Dawson, Kevin McKidd (Gray's Anatomy...mmmmm....), to name a few.  The craziest casting I thought was Pierce Brosnan.  I know he used to be James Bond, but his role really surprised me...just watch it- you'll see :)  The kiddo who played Percy was pretty much unknown to me but he was great.  He was no Peeta from Hunger Games...sorry to you who thought the casting was good for his part in that movie- but Logan Lerman is totally believable and engaging.

Overview
So basically, again without spoiling any of the cliffhangers of the film for you, this family-friendly film is about a teen boy who's always felt out of place and comes to find out that he's actually a demi-god (kinda like Hercules).  After he learns that news, he finds himself on a hero's quest of salvation and it's your classic coming-of-age tale.  Even though I don't always reach for the action/adventure pics, I found myself completely entertained throughout the film.  It steadily moved through the plot points and didn't have a lot of dead space, which I liked because I have a tendency to lose focus.  The visual effects were spot on.  I think this would be great to see if 3-D if you can handle that sort of thing(which I can't) but a lot of the shots looked like they really lent to in-your-face action.  A little bit on the down side of things, there were a number of places that felt rather cheesy- in the writing and perhaps plot elements but perhaps the adaptation from novel to screen was a difficult one.  I did however feel after watching the movie that the novel would be a fun read for the little munsters and I so that's a credit to the film.  If you care to give the trailer a look-see here's a link to that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xko1Mx5w4tg

Manicure
Today's movie-inspired mani is a skittle of different fun images from the film.  I won't explain all of them to you- you'll have to do a little treasure hunt through the film for them, but I bet if you use your imagination you can formulate a few ideas of what these items are on each nail.

The base color here is Revlon Emerald City which is a gorgeous shimmer matte suede green.  It felt more manly to use a matte polish, so I covered each design in a matte top coat in the end as well.  As I look at it now, it does seem a little less pow than it was forming on the nails because of the matte I think, but I mean the movie was gruff and rough and full of fighting- even the chicks couldn't have gotten-by without going for a tougher nail lacquer option, so I guess it's fitting.  The rest of the colors used are polishes, not acrylics and I used so many to achieve each little detail and blending that we'll just skip mentioning all of them.

Nail Art in the Movie
So there was no nail art in this movie...although there should have been!  Athena totally should have been rockin some fantastic blinged gradient :)  But alas!  Perhaps my next movie and a mani will have some nail art in attendance.

Additional Review from Unnamed Male Source
"I found it very entertaining.  It was a great film for teens and those who are still young at heart alike.  The cinema-graphics were very well done.  It was actually a very good film.  I would give it
3 1/2 stars out of 5."

Conclusion
That's it- there you have it.  On the whole I recommend this film.  It was great to watch with youngsters, my 8-year old was totally into it, and due to the presence of a strong female warrior in the main characters I think young ladies would be able to relate to it as well.  Go pick up this one for a family movie night and I think you'll be glad you did :)  And do your nails ladies!  Do em up nice n' tight!  :)  xoxoxo to all yar cuties

Unrelated to this movie- Song of the Day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sj7qoaH1LRw
Yessssss!!

Over and out.

Going Up?

Ok so this was a pretty random look for me.  I started out with a couple coats of the delicious Basking in Gloria by Nicole by OPI from the Modern Family collection and I wore it out for my anniversary dinner the other night.  When I got home I decided it wanted to have some fun so I painted some black lines going horizontally across each nail.  The next morning I asked my little 8-year-old (as I sometimes do for the interesting creative notions) what he thought it was missing.  He said- why don't you make it like an elevator at a different level on each nail.  I couldn't resist.

The black paint is Milani Black Swift and as you can see the man on the thumb is ascending progressively until he is almost completely out of sight on the pinky finger.  :)  Don't you love the magic of a child's mind?  Too fun!  Hope you enjoyed this playful look.

Over and out.