NOTD: Purple Holo

Not much to say today, but plenty of pics! China Glaze LOL:

I get SO behind with posting "extras" but I have to keep up with my NOTDs if nothing else because if I didn't I'd soon be buried in posts in draft. But I will say that I got my Helmers all put together - although not yet filled with polish - and as soon as I get around to editing that load of pics I will post them!

Thanks for reading =)

~Colette

Shooting Star Nail Tutorial

Found it! This is the tutorial that inspired me for my fireworks mani. Enjoy!



~Colette

Awesome Day On Schedule

OK, so here's my recipe for today's awesome day:

Get out of work - check. Since the 4th is on Saturday, we got today off! Which means not only did I not have to suffer through 8 1/2 hours on the job, but I got to sleep in!

Wake up leisurely - check. In addition to sleeping in, I was able to relax for a while in the backyard before I even had to bother getting out of my robe. Took a few pics of the animals, plus there's always something blooming in my mom's garden:


Have an awesome mani - check =). Having nails that make me smile at a glance is always a bonus. I've got a ton of comments on this that I don't have time at the moment to respond to, but I will say that I saw this design in a tutorial & as soon as I find it again I will post so you can see how easy it is. Here's a sun shot, or check out yesterday's post for the rest of the pics:


Spend the day with people you like - check. Friday is family day & unlike some unfortunate people I do actually get along with mine. Headed to grandma & grandpa's for lunch & staying through at least dinner, with the next "ingredient" in between.

Do something you enjoy - check. Well, I actually don't normally enjoy shopping, but since the trip down to Rochester to visit my cousin didn't work out, I suggested we go shopping ... at Ikea =) Yes that's right I'll be coming home with my Helmers today if all goes well!

I'll be sure to post up pics as soon as I have them assembled. Which will probably be soon given my lack of holiday plans. Until then, thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: Fireworks inspired

I am so totally pleased with this mani. It evolved a little from the original idea in my head, but that's OK because I love the final product. I was going to put them all in the same place, but I couldn't decide which corner I wanted to put them in. Then I decided a kind of scattered look would work fine for the fireworks motif. This is China Glaze Rodeo Fanatic, and the fireworks are done with Color Club Worth The Risque & Revvvolution:

I was going to do the steaks of Revvvolution over top of Worth the Risque, but then I decided to just kind of slip them into the between spaces ... I really probably should have done Revvvolution first, and WTR over top, and it would have been easier, less exacting, but live & learn ... I have not ever really done this kind of nail art before, LOL I had to hunt down & then open the brand new package with my liner brush inside.

So, there you have version 2 of my 4th of July mani =) And, just for fun, I dug through my old pics & found this of last year's mani - horrible picture really, as it was before I had a clue of good ways to pose my hand, and I'd ever heard of macro mode let alone realized my camera had it, but I think this was the start of me doing more dramatic stuff with my nails. I had such fun & such compliments when I wore this:

Well, that's all for now. I have no plans to speak of for the 4th, but I'm just hoping for happy & safe =) And I'll pass that wish along to all of you. Thanks for reading.

~Colette

Nothing Says Holiday ...

... Quite like a semi-cheesy, borderline-tacky, holiday inspired manicure =D LOL Something about a holiday trips a little switch in my brain & suddenly it's perfectly fine to have various-sized star-shaped glitter on all my nails. Hot Topic Red Glitter was my base:


I had 2 small problems with the stars: the first, as expected, is that some of the corners are evil & sharp even after 2 layers of topcoat. The second is that some of the color seemed to kind of wash away when I put on that top coat ... I guess maybe that's the price I pay for using dollar store confetti on my nails in place of "real" nail decorations?... for a dollar, I still think I'm satisfied.

This is 4th of July Version 1, since I'll be doing another mani before the actual day. Not sure if that one will be as extremely holiday as this one =) Thanks for reading.

~Colette