NOTD: Winter Tree Branches + Tutorial

My second Sephora-sponsored video, this is a little more difficult than the first design which I considered to be a simpler design.  With Formula X for Sephora White Matter as a base, I sponged with White Matter & Gray Matter, then with Dark Matter and a striping brush I added the branches:

Here's the tutorial:

I hope you guys enjoyed =)  Thanks for reading.

~Colette
 (These were sent to me for review) 

NOTD: Black & Wine Water Marble + Tutorial

I wanted to do something for the holidays without being blatantly red & green - I thought this deep wine was festive without being too traditional.  I used China Glaze Don't Make me Wine as my base color, then marbled with that & China Glaze Liquid Leather:

Here's the tutorial:



Several more holiday design to come before the end of the month =)  Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: Hunger Games Catching Fire - Girl on Fire French Tips + Tutorial

I am a HUGE Hunger Games fan ... I didn't realize until after the fact how well the Harvest Waterfall would have worked out for the movie, so this is what I ended up wearing to go see the movie.  I started out with a base of OPI Alpine Snow, then a couple coats of Formula X for Sephora Spark, then topped that as a jelly sandwich with OPI Meet Me at the Bonfire.  Then I painted the flames with black acrylic paint:

Here's the tutorial:

Are you a Hunger Games fan?  Have you seen the movie and I'm guessing loved it?  Casting was so spot-on flawless, I think it was even better than the first one.  I can't wait for the next ones!  The last book is getting split into 2 movies if you didn't already know.

Thanks for reading =)

~Colette

NOTD: Skull & Crossbones + Tutorial

So, as far as old vs. new posts, I decided that I'm going to do both.  If I just try to do the old stuff, I'll feel like I'm just falling further behind & it would be true.  Plus, with Halloween today & the holidays right around the corner, no way I'd get caught up in time to share this year's themed manis with you.  So, I'll just try to state whether what you're looking at is old or new ... although in the end, it probably doesn't matter that much, right?  Nails are nails & a mani that was beautiful a few months ago is still beautiful today.

This post is a new mani, for this year's Halloween.  I wasn't sure at first if I was going to do any Halloween manis this year, I just didn't have much inspiration, and then I decided to do these ... they weren't my favorite ever, because as you know I'm a perfectionist, but it was fun to do & good practice at freehanding (which I need).  Base colors were OPI Black Onyx & OPI Alpine Snow, bones done with AS & the skull done with black acrylic:

Here's the tutorial:

And I actually ended up doing another, even free-handier, Halloween design - stay tuned for all of the little Goodwill Halloween faces from the commercial!

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: Layla Hologram Effect Flash Black

Ironic to be posting an old holo manicure as I'm wearing one of my new holos =)  (I'm enjoying Color Club Miss Bliss currently, if you're wondering)

Layla is a bit on the expensive side, but if you love holographic polish they're worth adding to your collection I think.  Here's a look at Flash Black:

And an even better look - in motion:

I wish it were still as nice out as when I shot this vid back in the summer - if I do a polish in motion for my current color I'm going to end up with pretty cold fingers LOL.

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: Claire's Teal Green + Color Club Steel of the Night

I still have so many magnetic polishes that I picked up & haven't even worn yet - but they are so pretty I can't regret it =)  This is Claire's unnamed teal green magnetic on the thumb & ring fingers, and Color Club Steel of the Night on the rest:

I love how dark SotN is, nearly as dark as Layla Black Metal (which you can see pics of HERE), & equally gorgeous.

I also wore it matte for a few days, although I don't remember which specific top coat I did it with:

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: Gemmed Funky French + Tutorial

I do wish I'd used slightly smaller rhinestones for this look, but other than that it turned out mostly as planned.  And while the tips & ring finger may look like a dark blurple, they're really Wet n Wild Black Creme topped with Savvy French Rose Opal Frost:  

Here's the tutorial:

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: Black & Silver Circles Nail Art + Tutorial

Whew! Time flies when you're ... well, I wish I'd been having fun but really I was sick for almost 2 weeks & absolutely drained tired by the time I dragged myself home from work.

This design started out with a base color of Savvy Chrome, which while it doesn't dry to an actual chrome finish, it is a very nice silver & does not have any issues with brush strokes:

On top of that I added some broken concentric circles with black acrylic & a clear rhinestone in the middle:

Here are my favorite nails:

And here is the tutorial:



Thanks for reading =)

~Colette