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!

Happy Halloween!

Sorry I didn't get this post up yesterday! I hope everyone had a great Halloween! The night before, my brother and his family came over to carve pumpkins, we do this every year, it's a lot of fun. I decided I wanted a challenge this year, and about 2 hours into it, I was wondering what the hell I was thinking. I spent about 7 hours on it that night. The next morning, I took one of my daughters to school and came home to finish my pumpkin. It ended up taking me about 9 hours by the time I finished it...I've included pictures later on.

Anyway...I spent so much time on my pumpkin that I only had naptime to hurry and get my nails done. So I did this quick mani before the girls woke up to get ready for our neighborhood trunk-or-treat.

I used two coats of SquareHue- Iron Horse on my index and pinky fingers, and two coats of Desert Grit on the other two. I stamped with Sinful Colors- Snow Me White and Konad Special Black. I used the Halloween plate from the Winstonia collection, I don't remember what number it is, I could get up and look, but I don't think I can peel myself off the couch right now.

Here's a picture of my adorable little girlies!! Hailey was an elephant and Chloe was Ariel. They had a lot of fun even though it was only 41 degrees and started to rain during trick-or-treating.

And now...my pumpkin! If you don't have children, you may not recognize her...it's Abby Cadabby from Sesame Street. This was the first year I've tried surface carving, I used a little wood carving kit. It was a little ridiculous. But I wanted a challenge, and a challenge I got.

I may pick something a little simpler next year...it does look pretty awesome though, right?

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!

Suds n Stickers

My friend Sarah recently told me about this Facebook page, Suds n Stickers, they do custom vinyl stickers, and vinyl nail decals! Like their page to see all of their amazing stuff! I liked their page and they were doing a giveaway, and I won one of the grab bags!! I was super excited, I never win anything! They asked if I had a preference of design for the nail decals, and I said I loved the large chevron. So I was expecting a little sheet of the chevron design to try them out. I got way more than I thought!

This is all of the decals that they sent! There are so many cool things to play with!

As if that wasn't generous enough, they also sent a polish with it all! It's OPI DS Magic! I only have one other Designer Series OPI, so I was super excited to see this! It's a gorgeous blue/purple duo chrome.

I decided to start with something that seemed easy. I picked this cute little heart design. With a pair of tweezers I peeled it up and applied it to my nail. I like this one because you can basically use the same design for 3 different nails. One with the outline, which was my favorite, one with the solid heart, and then last you can use the remaining piece as a stencil. I haven't tried that yet.

 I applied the decals over 3 coats of Butter London- Disco Biscuit. I did two coats of HK Girl over the decals to make sure they were good and sealed in.

I had two main concerns, one was that they would stick up off the nails and catch on things, like I had happen with the Jamberry strips. That didn't happen at all! They were stuck down really well and didn't come up until I was ready to remove them. The other concern was that they might be difficult to remove. That wasn't the case at all. As soon as the acetone got through the top coat, they peeled right off. I'm really impressed with them and can't wait to try more designs!

Can't leave out a swatch of Magic! The picture doesn't do it justice. It's so pretty!

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.

Go Cardinals!

My husband is a huge St. Louis Cardinals fan. Oops, I mean...we all are :) I was informed that it's our household team. Anyway, he's been really excited because they recently tied for the best record in baseball and they're playing their first playoff game tomorrow against the Pittsburgh Pirates. So naturally, I had to do some nails for the occasion, and this is what I came up with.

I used two coats of Pure Ice- Crimson on my ring finger, then did the logo with Wet 'n' Wild- Denim Chrome, and Nail Ritz pen in white. My middle finger has 2 coats of Sinful Colors- Snow Me White, and Pure Ice- Crimson for the stitches. The rest of my nails are two coats of Wet 'n' Wild- Denim Chrome with a gradient of Pure Ice- Freedom.

I thought they turned out pretty cute. My husband loved them!!

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.

Dexter!

The series finale of Dexter was Sunday night. I was so sad to see it end! I absolutely love that show! However, I wasn't thrilled with the way it ended...

SPOILER ALERT!!

...I was bawling when he drove into the hurricane, but I felt like it should have ended there. Him showing up as a lumberjack was just weird. It didn't make sense, and it just wasn't realistic. We're supposed to believe that he survived the hurricane? I don't know if I would have been happy with any ending though, I'm just upset that it's over :(

Well, being one of my favorite shows, I had to have my nails done for the occasion. So I went with this drip technique. This is the first time I've tried it, and it was easier than I expected. They fit perfectly with the blood splatter theme I was going for.

We had a Dexter finale party at our house with a few other friends, so I made some awesome cupcakes! I was so excited with the way they turned out! Edible glass and everything! Thank goodness for Pinterest! And they were just as yummy as they look :)

The results are in!

Hello all! I'm so sorry it's been so long since my last post. This summer has been so busy, the last month with the kids returning to school being no exception.

This post may be a little text heavy, this mani has a story with it.

Awhile back, as I was getting into bed one night, I had a tender spot on my right breast. I started feeling around and felt a lump. I decided to wait a few days and see if it would go away, maybe it was just a sore muscle. A few days went by and it no longer hurt, but the lump had not gone away, so I made an appointment with my OBGYN. She checked me, and based on my family history, which has a lot of cancer, she scheduled me to get a mammogram and an ultrasound. I was starting to get nervous, I mean, I'm only 27! A couple days later I had an appointment with a surgeon, he reviewed the scans and said they weren't very helpful, and the only way to know for sure what it was would be to biopsy the lump. Two days later, I went to the hospital for surgery. While coming out of the operating room, still quite drugged up, I heard one of the nurses say, "She did awesome." So naturally I chimed in, "I am awesome." :) Then I'm pretty sure I fell back asleep. Then a bit later, a male nurse was going to get my husband, so he asked, "Are you married?" I said, "Yep, sorry." Then fell asleep again. Apparently I'm a little sassy when I'm drugged up! 

The night before I went in for surgery, I did my nails. And what would be more appropriate for a breast biopsy than breast cancer awareness ribbons? I started with two coats of OPI- My Boyfriend Scales Walls. Stamped with Calvin Klein- Sheer Sparkle, added dots with Color Club- Blushing Rose, and topped with HK Girl. They were perfect. And the nurses loved them.

About five days after my biopsy, I got a phone call from the surgeon's office and the biopsy was negative for breast cancer!! A huge relief after a few very busy, very stressful weeks.

China Glaze- Astro Hot

I want to begin by saying, I apologize for all the time you're going to waste with this information... Do you play Candy Crush on your iPhone or iPad? Hate waiting for your friends to send you lives? Here's a trick...when you run out of lives, change the date on your phone to a day ahead, switch back to the game, then change the date back to today's date. There you have it, infinite lives. I don't know if it will work on other devices as I've only tried it on these two. At times I wish no one would have told me this. Although it did help me pass level 65 in only about half a day, which according to my sister, is kind of a big deal. I'm now struggling through level 133.

Down to business...for my birthday, I got a few of the Hologlams. They're such pretty colors, but I do wish the holo was stronger, like the Color Clubs. Those are incredible. Though in the sun, or lightbox like these pictures, the holo looks great. This is 2 coats of Astro Hot.

This is such a great color! I should have taken a picture out of the lightbox so you could see it without all the holo goodness. It's still really pretty.

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!

Braided

So I finally did it. I took the plunge. I download Candy Crush. I probably shouldn't have, but at 3am when I couldn't sleep, I needed something to do! And now I'm hooked. And stuck. On level 34. I've heard about the dreaded level 65 and am not looking forward to it.

On to today's look...I have lots of braided nails on my Pinterest board. I love how they look. I've always wanted to try it, but like I always say, just never got around to it. I got so many amazing new polishes for my birthday, I really need to work my way through them! So I used 3 of my new ones for this look.

I started with 2 coats of Essie- In the Cab-ana on all but my ring finger. This color is amazing! The formula was perfect, I could have easily gotten away with one coat. On my ring finger I did 2 coats of OPI- My Boyfriend Scales Walls. I've been lemming that color for a loooong time, and finally got it :) For the braid part, I used those two colors along with Essie- Bobbing for Baubles. It looks pretty black in these pictures, but it's such a gorgeous dark gray. I love it.

I thought my braid actually turned out better on my right hand (weird since I'm right handed!) So I threw in a close up of that one as well.

Have you done braided nails? I thought doing it just as an accent would be easier, but after playing a round of Candy Crush in between each swipe to wait for it to dry, my phone died and I realized if I had done them all braided, by the time I got to my 10th nail, the 1st would be dry and it probably would have been quicker in the end. Talk about a run-on sentence!

Bliss Kiss Pure Nail Oil™

I've been following the Simple Nail Art Tips Facebook page for months now. I read pretty much everything that Ana posts, and I feel like I've really learned a lot, but I still hadn't tried her nail oil. I've seen so many amazing before and after photos from people using her oil from 3 days to several weeks. It really seemed to make such a difference! A few weeks ago, she dropped the price of the nail oil pen to just $4.99, and I guess that was the push I needed to take the plunge. I decided to give her "Get Naked Challenge" a try.

I ordered the pen from Amazon and the shipping was very fast. After I placed my order, I was disappointed to realize that I had selected the fragrance free oil. I was so anxious to see how wonderful it smelled since everyone raved about it. When I got the package, Ana had included little samples of all 3 scents! That was so exciting for me and an awesome touch. The summer scent smells incredible!

To be honest, I didn't think I would see much of a difference. I change my polish 3-4 times a week, I use cuticle oil every time I polish, and I use Lush Lemony Flutter, or Burt's Bees Cuticle Balm every night before bed. I felt like I took pretty good care of my nails/cuticles beforehand, so I wasn't sure if this would do that much. I was pretty shocked when I first put it on, unlike other oils I've used, it didn't bead up on top of my nails, it soaked in really fast!

Below is my before and after pictures from the 3 day hydration treatment. My cuticles and all the skin around my nails was so much more moisturized and my nails just look healthier. So far, I'm loving it and plan to continue using it for sure! You can tell from the pictures how much of the pen has been used after the 3 days, so I'll need more very soon. Apparently my nails were a lot more thirsty than I thought!

You can get Bliss Kiss Pure Nail Oil™ on Amazon here or straight from Ana's shop here. If you follow her page on Facebook, she does giveaways 3 days a week, and posts tons of great information. I just learned this last week the difference in the cuticle and eponychium. I had never even heard of eponychium before! It's all very interesting and informative :)