NOTD: PHD Just Tips Challenge (Gold Holo)

(You can view the full Challenge Gallery HERE)

I wish that I'd done my tips in white or black or silver or something as a base, but when I started I was intending to overlap these kind of like fish scales, not have gaps between.  But when I started working with them, I realized they were thicker than they looked, too thick for that idea to work very well.  Blingtastic base is 2 coats of China Glaze Golden Enchantment ... which mad my nail beds appear a little more yellow than gold, but I'll forgive it because it's holo:

 

 

Oh also, I probably should have checked the packaging to see what these little things were actually called, so I could tell you guys, but I didn't so I'll just tell you what they are - little holographic circular stickers that came on a little strip from Michaels.  They're in the scrapbooking section, and there were lots of other cute stickers there that tempted me.

 

On the downside, although these started out smooth for the most part, not sure if it was gradual exposure to water as I washed my hands or what but some started lifting, and I started picking ... by the time I got home, there was only one nail that still had all of its circles.  The ones that didn't peel off however were very stubborn & required a bit of prying with an orange stick in addition to polish remover.

 

I know I keep talking about my hauls & then not posting pics - I just haven't had time.  Thanks for reading.

 

~Colette

NOTD: PHD Vampire Challenge (Zoya Pinta + Rihana)

So, this week's Polish Hoarder Disorder Challenge was vampire nails.  Not like, vampires on your nails, but what kind of manicure would a vampire have?  You can check out the Challenge Gallery HERE:

Something dark & chic I thought, but with a hit of something sharp ... I was going to do a tutorial, but the colors were just too dark to show up on video.  I started with a base of 2 coats of Zoya Pinta, gorgeous vampy purple creme, and I let that dry completely.  I cut painter's tape into a chevron shape, covered the tip of my finger, and then sponged the base with Zoya Rihana.  I am in LOVE:

Even being in love, I'm still only 90% happy LOL.  I had some bubbling, I'm not sure if from the uneven texture of the sponged area, I'm actually thinking my Seche is the more likely culprit.  I also wish I'd made Rihana just a little intense, sponged it a bit further down.  But that's OK, because I'm going to do this in another color combination so I can do a tutorial, so I can hopefully make the adjustment then =)

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: PHD Color Accent Challenge Entry (Black, White & Pink Water Marble + Tutorial)

Polish Hoarder Disorder's challenge this week was Color Accent, to create a greyscale manicure with a pop of a single color.  You can check out the Challenge Gallery HERE.

I decided early on, after she suggested it, that I'd do a marble with black & white.  It took a while to decide on the color but I finally settled on pink.  I was going to use Sally Hansen Byte, but it wasn't cooperating, so I slapped that on my toes & used Wet 'n' Wild Lust.  The black & white are Sally Hansen, Black Out & White On.  My favorite nails are left middle, and right pointer & thumb:

I'd like to do this design again once my nails grow out again.  Here's the tutorial:

Hope you guys like it =)  Thanks for watching.

~Colette

NOTD: PHD Summer Sponging Challenge (Entry 2 - Ocean Waves)

You can check out my first entry for this week's challenge HERE, and PHD's Challenge Gallery HERE.

My second entry puts me in mind of ocean waves, and is also done with all BB Couture colors. When I looked at the collection together, I immediately gravitated towards these colors to work with together.  I started with a base color of Kiwi Margarita.  This is 3 coats, I would have done a 4th if I were wearing it alone:

I sponged to the middle with Blue Bahama, and the tips with Adios Mo Fo (which is one of my favorite names of the collection!).  Stamping is done with Color Club Worth the Risque & Bundle Monster plate bm20:

Again, I like this but there are a few things I might change.  Except with this one I can't quite put my finger on what they are LOL!  Part of it is I think for once I would actually prefer the stamping a little more transparent, so it looks less silver & the background color came through more.  But overall I think this stamp does give the look of ripples I was going for.  I did have to double stamp, I used the full nail design what I think would be considered sideways (since BM images are thinner than Konad & not wide enough for my nail) & 2 was perfect to cover all my nails.

So, that's it for this week - can't wait to see what new challenge Monday brings =)  Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: PHD Summer Sponging Challenge (Entry 1 - Summer Sunset)

I'm having a ton of fun participating in these challenges.  This week's challenge was summer sponging, and you can check out PHD's Challenge Gallery HERE.  I decided to do 2 entries this week - and the Black Dolphins of Death on a Sea of Lava were actually a failed version of my first entry.

For my summer sunset, I started out this time with the yellow base that I should have used the first time, BB Couture Pina Colada.  Then I sponged with Tequila Sunrise to the middle, and Sex on the Beach at the tip.  I didn't take a pic of Pina Colada alone, but I wasn't too impressed with it to be honest, it would either need a ton of coats, or maybe a white base to start with, if I were going to wear it alone.  It was very patchy & uneven at 3 coats, but fine for my purpose since the sponging covered most of it up.  For stamping I used Konad Black Special polish & Bundle Monster plate bm01.  This is the exact same color & plate combination as the Dolphins, for a very different result:

I liked it ... but there were still a few things I would have changed.  I kind of liked the sun image more into the yellow, like it ended up on my thumb ... but then I thought maybe I would have liked the actual image at my tip instead of the base, so maybe I should have left yellow on my tips & gradated to red at my cuticle?

Stay tuned for my 2nd entry!  Thanks for reading =)

~Colette

NOTD: PHD Book Cover Challenge

So, the PHD's challenge this past week was the Book Cover Challenge.  You can check out the Challenge Gallery HERE.  I actually thought I might have trouble picking a book, but I got my mom started recently on the Kushiel series, and the cover for the first book fit right into my red & blue for the 4th theme that I've been using this week:

I started out with just one coat of Orly Snowcone, then I started sponging it with Sally Hansen Silver Lining.  Silver Lining really didn't change the color much, just added some cool sparkle, and I'm looking forward to trying it like this over more colors, since I know it's pretty sheer all by itself:

Then I did more sponging with Sally Hansen DVD, kind of just around the bottom edge & the tip.  I used Nubar Unfaithful Red to stamp with Konad plate m36:

What do you think?  It's my favorite mani of the week, and I've still got it on.  I'm about to head off & see Eclipse, I might change it when I get back & do one more 4th of July mani.  If you're already celebrating, have fun & keep it safe!  Thanks for reading =)

~Colette