Nail Art- Water Marbling with my Mom!

Hi everyone!

Today I have a special treat for all of you. Over the weekend, I got the opportunity to practice my water marbling technique on some very willing test subjects, er, willing volunteers. :) I did manicures on both my mom and one of my good friends, Tory, but today I'll just be showing you my mom's, and saving Tory's nails for later (solely because I'm too lazy to download those pictures to my computer right now, lol).

For my mom's nails, I wanted to do something bright and bold, since she loves summer colors. I chose her favorite bright blue, a bold green, and a hot fuschia. The colors I used are as follows:

White (for base): Sinful Colors "Snow Me White"

Blue: Wet N' Wild Fast Dry Nail Color in "Saved by the Blue" (what a great name!)

Green: Rue Beauté in Color 040

Pink: Ulta Salon Formula Nail Laquer in "Fuschiamania"

To do the water marbling itself, I generally use room temperature, or slightly warm, bottled water. I just find that works best for me. I draw the designs using pointed toothpicks, since I am not a fan of using orange sticks, or something like that. I use tape around my cuticles to prevent excess polish from getting on my skin, and remove any mess around my cuticles with warm water in the shower (it peels right off and is less drying than using nail polish remover or acetone, in my opinion). Below are pictures in artificial light, no topcoat, of course, with my beautiful mom modeling for me! She makes a great hand model, no?

 

I'm extremely proud of how this nail art turned out, I think my water marbling technique is greatly improving! What do you all think? Are you a water marble fan? Are you going to try a bright summer manicure? What nail art designs do you want to see from me in the future?

~Beth~

My Favorite (Inexpensive) White Polish

Hi all!

Today I have a bit of a "filler" post for you, because I have an awesome nail art design to show you tomorrow! (it's not quite finished yet though, I just got too tired to keep going, lol). Today I have for you Sinful Colors "Snow Me White", my favorite white polish of the moment! I like how it gives excellent coverage in just one coat (!!!) and isn't as streaky as some of the others I have tried. It's still on the thick side, but it's not unmanageable. I realize brands like OPI or China Glaze or Zoya might have better formulas than the $1.99 Sinful Colors, but at a price under $2, I'm willing to deal with slight imperfections. These pictures below are indoors, and are just one coat, no top coat, with Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Nail Color in "Flawless" as a base.

 

 

Sorry for the messy cuticles, I was in a bit of a rush.

What do you think of "Snow me White"? What's your favorite white polish?

~Beth~

Sinful Colors Mini-Haul!

Yesterday I was sent to Walgreens to pick up some milk for my mom. As soon as I walked in, I was greeted by a huge display for Sinful Colors nail polish, 2 for $3! Being the addict that I am, I couldn't leave without some, so I picked up 4 pretty amazing colors! Two are quite sheer, one is opaque, and the other is a delightful glitter mix. Let's get started!

Purple diamond is a sheer, shimmery lilac. It leans a little more to the red side than the blue side of purples. There are also some very fine silver glitters in this polish. I really like it! It's buildable in 3-4 coats if you don't want to see the vertical nail line, however, you should beware. This polish does take awhile to dry between coats, no matter how thinly you paint it on. Watch out for unwanted 'dents' in your polish! This is 3 coats of Purple Diamond, no top coat.

 

 

You Just Wait is a sheer duchrome pink, with green and gold glimmers that can be seen depending on the angle your nails are at and the type of light hitting them. Unfortunately, when I took these pictures, it was dark and stormy, so I couldn't get an outdoors shot. I actually really disliked this polish, it was too sheer for my taste, dried poorly, and even after 4 coats, I could still see the vertical nail line. I'm kinda disappointed, but for only $1.50, I can't be too upset. Maybe I'll try layering it over some other colors and see what it can do. Below are pictures indoors, 4 coats.

 

 

Amazonian is a gorgeous shimmery dark emerald green, almost a bit like an alligator green. There are very subtle gold flecks running through this polish. Opaque in just two coats. Definitely like this one. Pictures are indoors, 2 coats (and sorry for the sloppy cuticles and pictures, I had to do this one in a hurry).

 

The last color I have today is I Dream in Jewels. And how appropriately named, since this is a glitter dream! This polish is full of tiny hexagonal glitters in gold and red in a clear base. There are also holographic silver and gold diamond glitters running throughout the polish. Those need to be "placed" on the nail, but are pretty easy to get out of the bottle. I'm excited to try this one over different colors! Based off of the glitter density, this one might even be opaque on its own in 3-4 coats. Below is one coat over Amazonian, indoor lighting.

 

 

Overall, besides the one miss, I'm very happy with my purchases! Sinful Colors is generally pretty good about polishes- they have a great variety of colors and the price is definitely right! I'll always be going back for more. What do you think? Are Sinful Colors polishes on your must have list?

~Beth~

Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat in "Tweedy"

So here it is, my first post! Today I have for you a polish from Sally Hansen's new "Fuzzy Coat" line. It's basically micro black and white bar glitter in a clear base. In my opinion, it applies quite well. It starts off as a great topper for a brightly based color, and I think it would make an opaque "wooly-looking" polish in 2-3 coats, depending on how thickly you apply it. For the picture below (in indoor lighting), I used one coat of Tweedy over Sinful Colors' "Dream On", but I think it would look good over any bright, neon color, especially one with a pink base.

 

 

 What do you think? Have any of you tried the other Fuzzy Coat polishes?

~Beth~