NOTD: Gilty Pleasure

Hey guys! I hope you all had a happy and fun 4th of July. Other than dinner at my in-laws, the hubby and I didn't do anything exiting to celebrate since the holiday fell mid-week. We both had to go back to work on Thursday unlike a lot of my friends so, I've just been sitting here envious of all their beach vacation photos they've been posting on facebook ever since. It's okay though... I have spiffy nails that I was able to paint in all my free time.

 
So for this manicure, I did a variation of the blue ombre nails from a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't a planned look... it just sort of evolved. I started out with plain gold nails using Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Nail Polish in Gilty Pleasure. Then I suddenly got the idea to do the ombre look using Essie Nail Polish in Licorice sponged on with a disposable eyeshadow applicator. And since I'm never ever satisfied, I topped it off with a coat of China Glaze Matte Magic and ta dah! Fierce gold and black nails.

I really like the ombre look because it's so quick and easy but still packs a punch. People always notice them and I get a lot of compliments or questions on how in the world I did it. So, do you like the ombre look and what are your favorite color combinations?


Thanks for reading!
Kim

NOTD: Pumpkin Spice

Ahhh... October! I love the fall! It is my absolute favorite season... crunchy leaves, the crispness in the air, pumpkin flavored everything, the World Series, boots and sweaters. What is there not to love about this time of year? So, with that being said, here is my first official Halloween inspired manicure. My base cost is OPI Black Onyx with one coat of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Pumpkin Spice on top. Good ol' black and orange!






Thanks for reading!
- Kim

NOTD: Third Place, Nailed It!

Hey guys! A did a super simple and quick manicure using Sally Hansen Intsa-Dri Bronze Ablaze and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Set the Stage glitter on my ring fingers. I was going to call this post Bronze Age but my brother suggested the much wittier title of Third Place Nails... as in the bronze Olympic medal. He's just so smart. :)





Bronze Ablaze is a part of Sally Hansen's Fall 2011 release and is supposed to be available for a limited time only. I love all of the Insta-Dri polishes but I really, really love this color! It's absolutely perfect for fall without being too plain... if you look really closely, you can see a subtle orange and green shimmer. Gorgeous! I think I may pick-up an extra bottle since it's only going to be around for a little bit.

So, what's your go to fall color? I'd love to know in the comments below!

Thanks for Reading!
-Kim

NOTD: Irene is Coming!

Unless you haven't looked at a computer or T.V. in a few days, I'm sure you've heard about Hurricane Irene that's heading up the east coast... I just happen to live in North Carolina but fortunately, I live about 200 miles inland. We're still expecting some rough thunderstorms though so I have my storm kit ready. I took this picture this morning about 11:30 and the storm clouds were already rolling in. Icky stuff!


So in honor of Ms. Irene, I went with gray and blue nails to match the storms clouds. The gray is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Wet Cement and the blue is OPI Ski Teal We Drop. I did a tape mani which I first learned about on Chloe's Nails oh so long ago. She has amazing tutorials and was one of the very first nail blogs I started following. She hasn't updated in a looong time but I hope she comes back soon... I miss her awesome designs.






I love the gray polish... the color reminds me of an elephant which means it's the prefect shade. It's an actual true gray which is hard to find sometimes since a lot of them tend to lean towards blue or brown. And at at about $3.00 a bottle, it's a great deal. :o)

Thanks for reading!
- Kim

NOTD: Pretty Purple Pansies

Hey guys! Before I get to the nails, I wanted get your thoughts on the new blog design. I was getting a little tired of the pale watercolor look I had going and wanted something a little bit edgier. I modeled it after my profile picture, lol. I think it's cute but I feel like it needs something else... hmmm.

Anyway, I came across this super simple tutorial by Nail Art Express and I was instantly inspired to do my own version. I love her nail art and if you aren't following her, you definitely should! She has some amazing ideas and is always willing to share what she knows.





For this mani, I used China Glaze VIII (the dark purple) and Sally Hansen Delphinium as my base colors, the flowers were done using China Glaze Spontaneous and VII, Sally Hansen Whirlwind White, and Zoya Gemma. The dots are the Whirlwind White and Essie Licorice. If I were to do this one again, I think I would make the outsides of the flowers the dark purple and the inside the light. But anywho, thanks for reading!

- Kim

NOTD: Big Beautiful Blue Blooms

Hey guys! I swear I am addicted to these flower mani's. I did this version using Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Whirlwind White and Blue Away and my newest Essie polish, Mesmerize which is a nice true blue. I love it! (Please ignore my worn tips and dry cuticles... I didn't get around to taking pictures until I had worn this look for a bit.)






I didn't have a specific image I was referencing for inspiration... I just knew in my mind that I wanted this to be a blue and white floral pattern like antique dishes my grandmother used to have. I was pleased with the end result but when I showed Mr. N&W this mani, he said "Oh, blueberries... that's nice." My little heart was broken, lol. So what do you guys think? Are these flowers or blueberries?

Thanks for reading!
- Kim

NOTD: Kind of Like 80's Wallpaper

I picked up this cute smocked tube top at Target the other day and I was feeling inspired by the fabric pattern... it reminds me of this hideous 80's bathroom wallpaper a friend used to have at her house. I like it better on the shirt than the walls so decided to see if I could imitate it, lol. I started to freehand the design but I thought better of it and broke out my Bundle Monster plates... I went with the feather pattern on BM-214 since it was the closet thing to the palm leaves.

To get this look, I painted my nails with a base coat of Essie Smooth Sailing and then layered stamps of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Blazing Blue, Pink Blink, and Brisk Blue and Essie Sand Tropez in no particular order. It was a little time consuming to do that many stamps but I needed the mental break today so I didn't mind. :o)





On a side note, if you're interested in this buying this top, you may want to check out your local Target before getting it online. Mine had these on clearance for $8.98 but the website is still selling them for $17.99 for whatever reason. I swear I will never understand why the prices vary like that, lol. But anywho... thanks for reading!

- Kim

NOTD: Gold Leaf

Keeping up with my current flower obsession, I did a metallic version of my five-dot flower manicure using Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Gunmetal, Sonia Kashuk Smoke & Mirrors, and Orly Luxe over Essie Licorice. I added a little gemstone on my pinkie nails for a little bit of interest.






As an aside, I'm also working on a little tutorial for the flowers which I hope to have up tomorrow. It's so easy and way quicker than a lot of other flower techniques I've seen on line and I promise, anyone can do it! The metallic look isn't the best example for these but if you look at my last two posts, you can probably see the details better. Anywho, thanks for reading!

- Kim

NOTD: A Little More Rosey

I liked my previous mani so much, I decided to do a similar one using girly pinks instead of blue. I used Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Whirlwind White, Fuchsia Flare, Magenta Motion, and Chartreuse Chase with China Glaze Tree Hugger and Fairy Dust. (The Fairy Dust is a light coat over the the flowers but the camera doesn't capture it all that well. It looks super cute in person though!)

Pardon my cuticles... they're quite overdue for some TLC. Eek!





Thanks for reading!
- Kim

NOTD: Roses for the Yankees!

This mani wasn't originally intended for the NY Yankees but since, at the time of this post, they're up 17 to 7 in the seventh inning, I decided to say it's for my boys since OPI Russian Navy is the perfect Yankees blue. :oP

I started out with just the OPI which was way too plain for my taste. (You know I can't leave well enough alone.) So I added some white flowers using Sally Hansen Whirlwind White and my large dotting tool. Then, I free-handed the green leaves using China Glaze Tree Hugger and the silver details of the flowers with Sonja Kashuk Smoke and Mirrors. The camera doesn't capture the silver that well... it's a lot more visible IRL. Then I added the polka dots using my smaller dotting tool and free-handed the white moons using Orly Pointe Blanche.

This is without any topcoat so I would have a matte finish:




I prefer the shiny look so I went back and added a top coat of Seche Vite:




So, which do you prefer? With or without the shine?

Thanks for reading!
- Kim

NOTD: Bold Color Crackle

Hey guys! Just a quick post today... Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Lightning with China Glaze Broken Hearted crackle on top. (Does this make anyone else think of lava or is that just me?)





Thanks for reading!
- Kim

NOTD: Gilty Pleasure and Delphinium

After my bright and bold mani last week, I felt I needed something a little soft and sweet this week. I picked up a bottle of Sally Hansen Delphinium at Target today (on clearance for $4.25, woohoo!) and I knew it was just the right color for this chevron zig zag idea that I had. I used my Bundle Monster plate BM-201 with Sally Hansen Gilty Pleasure which a nice antique gold to create a subtle yet interesting look. Not to sound like a narcissist, but I really like this one a lot, lol!






Thanks for reading!
- Kim