October Fan's Choice Poll

I've gone through the comments on my submission video and picked a baker's dozen of the suggestions to be voted on - please check out the poll in the upper right corner and vote for your choice!  The top 4 designs will be featured on Fridays in October =)

This poll will be open until next Sunday 10/2/16.

Also, please let me know if you think I should do Fan Choice Friday in November & December also?

And, stop me if you've heard it before ... I WILL be posting more here on the blog.  Like, for real this time.  I had a lot of trouble getting myself on a normal schedule after I quit my job, but I've managed to kind of get on track while I'm on vacation in California, which is unfortunate since all I have is my Chromebook so my productivity is a little limited.  But once I get back to my main PC & my external drives with all my old pictures on them, I am making it a priority to dig in and start editing & posting!

Thanks for reading and for voting!

~Colette

NOTD: Work-Appropriate Water Marble + Tutorial

I know that I'm lucky, but I really can't imagine working somewhere that restricted my nails, or any of my personal style.  I mean, I can't wear WHATEVER I want, but pretty close.  And no one batted an eye - much - when I pierced my lip.  But I know some people are restricted, either in length or in color; and so this design is for them - or anyone else who'd like something on the short and neutral side.

All of the polishes I used in this water marble are Formula X for Sephora.  For my base color I used Monumental, and if I remember it was the closest I've ever come to a "mannequin hands" color for my skin tone.  For the marble I used Monumental, Evocative & Perfection - they were all very smooth in the water.

Here are a couple of the nails I think turned out best:

And here of course is the tutorial:

Hope you guys enjoyed =)  And thanks for reading!

~Colette

NOTD: Christmas Reverse Waterfall + Tutorial

Busy holidays, and then busy with snow & cold, but things are getting back to normal & I'm only a few posts behind.  This was my Christmas manicure - I'd been wanting to try striping from the tip rather than the cuticle ever since I did my Harvest Waterfall Mani.  Base color for this attenpt is China Glaze White On White, then the waterfall is done with China Glaze  Red-Y and Willing, Goldie but Goodie, Tongue & Chic, & Gossip Over Gimlets - all from the Autumn Nights Collection:

Here's the tutorial:

I have 3 more posts to catch up with - my Super Blingy Ombre Glitter Mosaic, which was the last mani on my long nails, and then 2 "plain" manicures on my new short nubbins.  Then there'll be a nubbins tutorial up this weekend!

Thanks for reading =)

~Colette

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: Harvest Waterfall + Tutorial

This was my Thanksgiving design for this year - Thanksgiving is always a bit of a challenge for me ... it's not really a holiday that has a wide range of themes LOL, so since I didn't want to do a turkey again I just went with traditional colors.  This look was inspired by a couple of designs by the Nailasaurus: that are on my Pinterest inspiration board HERE and HERE

I started of with a plain black base of OPI Black Onyx, then did the waterfall with 4 OPI Liquid Sand colors: What Wizardry is This?, Jinx, Honey Ryder, and Magazine Cover Mouse:

Here's the tutorial:

While I did like the textural contrast, after a few days I did add topcoat so that the entire mani was glossy:

Have you tried a waterfall manicure?  Which version of this one was your favorite?

Thanks for reading =)

~Colette

NOTD: Blue & White Water Marble + Tutorial

I've been meaning & meaning to get this posted ... then I've had interruptions at lunch, connectivity issues, and yesterday a crapload of thieves that I had to file copyright infringements on.  So!  Finally here is my blue & white water marble, using Orly White Tips & Orly Angel Rain, a beautiful combination and one I took a lot of pictures of ... even so, the iridescence of the blue was nearly impossible to capture on camera:

Here are some close-ups:

And here's the tutorial:

Thanks for reading =)

~Colette