I'm Going to Nail School!

Over the last couple of years, I've really started to love nails and polish, and especially nail art. I figured I would have to wait for my youngest daughter to start school (in 3 years) before I would be able to go to nail school. Then I heard about a school in town that was going to have a night class! Now with some amazing friends and neighbors, and my wonderful, supportive husband, I'm making my dream come true! 

The first thing I did was go and take a tour of the school, I decided I needed to have awesome nails for the occasion, so I went with a neon gradient with chevrons! Because who doesn't love chevrons right now??

I used SquareHue- Kalver Straat and P.C. Hooft Straat for my gradient, then stamped the chevrons with Milani- White on the Spot and Messy Mansion plate MM12.

 After taking the tour, I was really excited. It took awhile working with the bank to get the finance side all figured out, and then the day came to go in and fill out paperwork and sign a contract! It was finally really going to happen!

For these, I randomly sponged on Sally Hansen Insta-dri- Pink Blink, Essie- Mint Candy Apple, Loreal- Meant to Be, and NYC- Water Street Blue. Then I stamped with Milani- White on the Spot and Pueen 26.

Then came my first day of school!

I used SquareHue- Placa Catalunya and Rambla de Raval for my gradient, and I absolutely loved how that turned out! Then I stamped with Konad Black and BM-223. 

I'm so excited to start this new phase of my life. And to turn this hobby into a career!

Girly Zebra with a holo topcoat!

I saw a post recently in the Polishaholics Annoymous Facebook group about a holographic top coat. The ability to make every polish holo? Tell me more! Jenn, the maker of Daily Hues Lacquer posted some swatches of before and after applying Ricca, her holo topcoat, and I was sold!

Here's my first look using my amazing new discovery. This is 3 coats of SquareHue- Happy creme, topped with 2 coats of Daily Hues-Ricca. So much gorgeous.

 I added some zebra print with BM-223 and Essie- Watermelon.

 

I just LOVE how this one turned out. I didn't get a very good picture of it in the sunlight, it was overcast the entire next day that I was wearing it. The lightbox just doesn't do it justice. It's incredible. 

To get your own bottle of Ricca, GO HERE!! She also just listed her new summer line, and they are gorgeous as well!

May SquareHue Box

The Passport Collection: Rio

These colors just scream carnival to me! Granted, all I really know is what I saw from the movie Rio, but that's what these instantly reminded me of.

First up we have Ipanema. A bright golden yellow microglitter. This is 3 coats, no top coat.

 

 

 Next is Leblon, a kelly green shimmer. This is 3 coats, no top coat.

 

Last is Copacabana, a bright, gorgeous blue glitter. This one is packed full of turquoise and holographic glitter. The picture absolutely doesn't do it justice. It's an amazing glitter bomb. I used 4 coats with no top coat for this swatch. It could use some undies though for more opacity.

 I think SquareHue nailed this month! Stay tuned next month for The Passport Collection: Maui.

Check out SquareHue.com to order your own box!

April SquareHue Box

The Passport Collection: Amsterdam

The preview for this month looked very colorful, and as you can see, it is!

The first color is Beethovenstraat, a neon green high gloss creme. This color is so bright and fun! It's not my favorite, I don't usually like greens on myself, but it's perfect for summer nail art! The formula was a bit thin, I used 4 coats for full opacity, no top coat.

Next up is Kalverstraat. A beautiful, hot pink, almost a touch the salmon side. This one is also very bright, perfect summer color. I used 3 coats, no top coat.

Last color is P.C. Hooftstraat, they call this one a duochrome, but it almost looks like more of a shimmer to me. It's a gorgeous purple with bright blue shimmer in it. This one was also a little sheer, I used 4 coats, no top coat.

And here's a fun little dotticure with all 3 colors! I also used Sinful Colors- Snow me White.

Stay tuned next month for The Passport Collection: RIO!

February SquareHue Box

The Passport Collection: Tokyo

Nails Ablaze, Harajuku Style

I don't know much about Tokyo, or about Harajuku, but from a little googling, I could tell it was a little wild and very colorful. And SquareHue didn't disappoint!

The first color is Roppongi, a bright green glitter with a hint of golden shimmer. It's full of iridescent glitters. I'm not a big fan of this shade of green. It may look better layered over something rather than on it's own though. The formula was a bit sheer, I used 3 coats for the photo below and there is still slight VNL.

Next up is Shibuya, a bright pink/magenta with blue microglitter. I really love this one! This one started out a little sheer, but built up easily. I used 3 coats for full opacity.

Last is Ginza. A kind of sky blue shimmer. I think this one is gorgeous. Its almost got more of a frost finish than a shimmer, as you can tell by the slight brush strokes. I used 3 coats for full opacity.

Overall, I think this box is very fun! It's bright and glittery, a nice change of pace for the yucky winter weather we're having!

Next month is The Passport Collection: Paris. Sign up now so you don't miss it!

Go Niners!

To be perfectly honest, I don't care much about football. But my husband is from Sacramento and is a huge 49ers fan, so these are for him :) They're playing the Seahawks tomorrow and he says he thinks this game is going to be bigger than the superbowl, so I decided I probably should do some nails for the occasion.

I'm really loving the braid look lately. It's easy and just looks so cool! For this one I used OPI- My Boyfriend Scales Walls, Color Club- Berry and Bright, and SquareHue- Honor. My accent nail was done with Berry and Bright and black and white Nail Ritz pens. My husband loved them, so mission accomplished!

 My girls also wanted 49ers nails! This picture is of my almost 2-year-old's nails. I had to be quick for obvious reasons, so don't mind the messy job with lack of cleanup :) I've been painting her toenails since she was 3 months old, but this is only the second time I've done her fingernails. It's cute how she wants to show everyone :)

This one is my other two girls. The top hand is my 4-year-old, the bottom is my 8-year-old. They thought it was so fun that they all had matching nails. I tried to get a picture of all 3 of them, but my baby wasn't having it.

Anyone else rooting for the Niners??

January SquareHue Box

 I realized when I got the shipping notification for this box that I never did post the swatches from last month's box! So if anyone is interested in seeing those, just let me know and I'll post them :)

The Passport Collection- London

I was pretty excited to see what was in store for this box. I went to London with my brother when I was 17 and it was incredible! So it was fun to see the names of the polishes were places that I've been to :) To be completely honest, I was slightly underwhelmed when I saw the colors, and then I swatched them...and it totally changed my mind!

First up is Buckingham, a gorgeous deep burgundy. I absolutely love this! Upon first glance, I wasn't too impressed, but on the nail it was incredible. It's so rich and dreamy, and once again, crazy awesome shine. This is 2 coats, no topcoat.

 

 Next up is Westminster, sort of an off white, cream color. The formula on this one was a little streaky and probably could have used one more coat to even it out more. I used 3 thin coats for this photo. I don't love this color on it's own, but I think it will be great to use for nail art!

 Last, we have West End, a dark blue shimmer. I thought this one looked the most interesting at first glance, and it's an absolute stunner on the nail! You can see a hint of the bright blue shimmer in this picture, so pretty!! I used 3 coats, no topcoat. Even thought this one isn't one of the hi-gloss cremes, it still has great shine.

Have you signed up for SquareHue yet?!?

Do it!!

Fall Braid

Sorry about the lack of posts lately! It's been a rough few weeks, we've all had one sickness after another around my house. I have an appointment tomorrow to schedule a date to have my tonsils removed. I'm a little nervous, I've heard the recovery is pretty bad for adults, but I'm so tired of being sick all the time, so hopefully this will help!

I've been doing good to even paint my nails once a week lately, which has been rough. But I was finally in the mood to do a fall look, and I really wanted to try the braid look again. I used Honor, Scorched Summer, and Swahili Charm, all from SquareHue. I can't say enough great things about their polish! Both the gold and the orange are something I would never pick out for myself, and yet they're perfect for this look! They look amazing in nail art. That's partly why I love SquareHue, I don't know what colors I'm getting and I get some colors that would be out of my comfort zone, and end up loving them.

November SquareHue Box

The Coastal Collection

First off... I LOVE this box!!! The colors are all amazing!

The first color is Nantucket. It's the most gorgeous teal blue. The formula is perfect as always. Opaque in two coats, crazy awesome shine.

Next is Chatham. It looked like I dipped my fingers in hot chocolate. Perfect color for fall for sure. This one was a little thinner, I used three coats for full opacity.

 Last color is Portsmouth. An incredibly beautiful dusty grayish blue. I LOVE this one! It seems a little more gray in real life, it photographed slightly more blue. Two easy coats.

All of these colors are so pretty, it makes me even more excited to see next month's colors! All three of these are HiGloss Creme formula, they're my very favorite. I'm always amazed by the shine, they're absolutely perfect!

If you haven't signed up for SquareHue yet...you're missing out! Check it out...SquareHue...next month is The Passport Collection. Sign up so you don't miss it!

Holographic and Monochromatic

I've been really lacking inspiration lately. I keep sitting down with the intent to do some Halloween looks, and I'm just not feeling it. I end up doing bright, sparkly, very non-fall looks. So I handed my binder of stamping plates to my husband and told him to design my nails. He decided on some dots and said I should do something dark with a little lighter stamp of the same color, and this is what I came up with...

I started with 3 coats of SquareHue- Iron Horse. Then stamped with Color Club- Beyond and W112.

In this first picture, you can really see the gray on black combo I was going for. This is how it looked indoors most of the time or in the shade.

This is in the lightbox, where you can see the holo-y dots!

I'm always amazed by how great the Halo Hues stamp! Even over dark colors!

Welcome to the World!

I got two new nieces within 4 days of each other! My younger sister had her first baby, unfortunately, she lives in Tennessee and I live in Idaho, so I haven't been able to hold baby Brynlee :( But they're coming home for Christmas so we can meet her! My oldest brother had his little girl 4 days later, and I got to meet baby Dani the next day. Naturally I had to have some super girly nails for the occasion!

I used 2 coats of SquareHue- Happy Creme, sponged China Glaze- Ahoy! on the tips, and added some dots with Sinful Colors- Snow me White. Stamped the bow with Snow me White as well.

And this one is just the sweetest! Me and Dani showing off our nails :) I was wishing I had some polish with me, she could have had her first mani!

 And of course, I had to show off the gorgeous girls!!

Brynlee Hope

Dani Lynn

Congratulations to Lisa & Larry and Chad & Tasha!! I love you all! And welcome to the world Brynlee and Dani!!

October SquareHue Box

The Moto Collection

Based on the photo preview for this collection, I was excited, but nervous about what we were going to get. I was pleasantly surprised!

The first color is Iron Horse. It's a gorgeous black creme. I think SquareHue makes some of the very best cremes. I mean, look at the shine!! It blows me away every time. I just love it. This is 3 coats, no top coat.

  

Next, something we haven't gotten from SquareHue yet...a textured polish! This is Desert Grit. Absolutely perfect pumpkin orange. Great for Halloween! The texture isn't super gritty, which I like. I'm not a big fan of textured polishes, so I like that this was pretty fine. This is 3 coats, no top coat.

 Next is my favorite...Oil Slick. An amazing grey/purple/teal duo chrome. Love it! It was difficult to photograph though! The first picture is in the lightbox, and shows hints of the purple and teal, the second is in direct light, look at the pretty shimmer! This is 2 coats, no top coat.

One last thing...as soon as I saw Oil Slick, I thought, 'that looks just like Essie- For the Twill of It! Upon further investigation, it appears to be a dupe for both OPI- Peace and Love and OPI, and For the Twill of It. I don't own either of the others to compare, but from other comparison posts I've seen, it looks identical.

September SquareHue Box

Now that I realize it's almost time for the October box, I really need to get the September swatches posted! I've been a slacker this month!

 

The Serengeti Collection

The first color is called Grassland Safari. It's kind of a chartreuse green...not my favorite. I'm not a big fan of this color green in general, but I really didn't like it on me. It completely matches the preview picture that they posted for this collection though. The formula was a little thin, I used 4 coats for this photo and still have slight VNL. As always, it's got amazing shine. That's probably one of my favorite things about SquareHue polishes.

Second color is Savanna Sundowner. I don't really know how to describe this color. It's greenish with a pretty golden shimmer to it. I liked this one more than I thought I would. This is 3 coats, no topcoat.

Last color is Swahili Charm. A beautiful chocolate brown. I love this one. I think it's going to be a great color for fall! This is 3 coats, no topcoat.

Have you signed up for SquareHue yet? I really like the variety of colors that I've gotten from them. A lot that I really like and probably wouldn't have chosen for myself.

August SquareHue Box

The Endless Summer Collection

I got this month's box super quick. I mean like, August 2nd kinda quick. It was great! I don't really know what I was expecting, but I was surprised when I saw the colors. I saw a gradient someone did with these, and it completely made sense. These are perfect for a summer sunset. That's on my to-do list for this week so you can see what I mean.

The first color in the box is Bikini Beach. A very bright, golden yellow creme. As always, their cremes are super shiny. The formula was a little sheer, kind of a pain...this is 3 coats, no topcoat.

Next up is Scorched Summer. It's more of a burnt orange color. This picture doesn't seem quite right to me, it's a little more red than it appears in real life. I couldn't get a photo that looked right. Look at that shine! It's so shiny you can almost make out my reflection in it! This was super opaque, I could have easily gotten away with one coat, but I used 2 here, again, no topcoat.

Last, and my absolute favorite from this collection, we have Surf Gypsy. The first glitter I've gotten from SquareHue! It's a gorgeous cranberry color packed with holo glitter. Unfortunately, I swatched these at night after my kids went to bed, so I didn't get a picture of this in the sun. You can see a bit of the holo though. It's super pretty. I'm sure this will be a go-to this fall. This is also 2 coats, no topcoat.

The September box is called The Serengeti Collection. Check out squarehue.com to sign up!

July SquareHue Box

I apologize if my photos aren't the best quality these days. I think the 117 degree weather in Vegas fried something in my camera! Every picture I take is super blurry and the color on the LCD is all sorts of messed up. So I've had to use my phone for my pictures the last few weeks.

Also, sorry it's taken me so long to get this SquareHue box swatched! I was really sick last week and didn't get much accomplished.

Down to business... the July box was called The Salute Collection.

The first color is Valor. A pretty sage green color. Very Army green. At first glance, I really didn't care too much for this color. It was prettier than I expected though. Although I'm not sure I would wear it on it's own. Like all of their cremes, it's super shiny. This picture is 3 coats, no topcoat.

The next color is Patriot. A very vibrant, royal creme. I immediately loved this one, and when I put it on, that didn't change. It was gorgeous! In this picture, there is a hint of visible nail line, but in real life, there was none at all. This is 3 coats, no topcoat.

The last color is Honor. A really pretty gold shimmer. This one is super pretty, but I don't like gold with my skin tone. It will be great for nail art though, and I have a couple of little divas that no doubt, will love it. This is 2 coats, no topcoat.

Overall, this wasn't one of my favorite boxes. I ended up not getting the June box, and kinda wish I had gotten that one instead of this one. Oh well, I guess you can't win em all! I'm anxious for the next box, it's called The Endless Summer Collection...very intriguing...