Bows and Polka Dots

A friend of mine loves Hello Kitty and asked me to do a Hello Kitty manicure. She showed me a pic of it, but I don't know who originally did that manicure. All the nails, except the accent nail, were very much like my version of it. Unfortunately, I can't draw to save my life. So I tried to do Hello Kitty's bow instead of drawing her. I think my right hand turned our better but figured I would post both...it was my first time doing bows and this tutorial by The Daily Polish was really helpful.

I used SinfulColors Pink Forever, Orly Instant Artist Crisp White and Jet Black, Julep Kate, and, for the bow only, OPI Pink-ing of You and Nicole by OPI Here Kim's the Sun.

Left Hand

Right Hand

Ciaté Mini Mani Month Reds and Pink Review

Yesterday I swatched the Ciaté Mini Mani Month reds and pink. Compared to the blues and purples I have already done, I think that the reds have a better formula and look at those colors, gorgeous! The pink is very nice too, but I'm still blown away by the richness of the reds. All swatches are over Butter London Nail Foundation with no top coat.

Dangerous Affair is a deep berry red, deeper and darker than I was able to capture. I painted two coats here and liked the way it looked, but you still can see my nails a little bit through the polish on my index and middle fingers. I would describe this as a high pigmented jelly.

Enchanted Rose is a bright red glitter in a clear base. This is three coats over base coat. This glitter really glistens and I wish I was able to capture that in my photos. Like the other two glitters in this collection, there is no grittiness whatsoever.

Mistress is a bright red and reminds me of the most iconic shade of red lipstick possible. I'm not sure if that makes any sense, but that's the first that popped into my mind as I painted this. I would say that it is a jelly formula, but it was opaque in two coats. The reason I say it has a jelly formula is because I tried it over Enchanted Rose and could still see the glitters underneath.

Cupcake Queen is a bright/neon pink with an iridescent blue shimmer. It has a very smooth formula that is opaque in two coats. 

Underwater Abstract

I was inspired by Chalkboard Nails for this manicure using Nicole by OPI Mer-Maid for Each Other and Orly Instant Artist for the wavy lines. I wish I could find the exact post that Chalkboard Nails did, but she has such a great blog I recommend just exploring it and getting inspiration.

Because of the green/blue base and wavy lines, my nails ended up looking like abstract seaweed to me.

Nicole by OPI Mer-Maid for Each Other

I had been eyeing this polish for some time. I was mesmerized by the metallic finish and iridescent shift from green to blue. So far, I have not seen another polish like it. It has great application and I highly recommend it.

Mustache Nails!

With SinfulColors Hazard as the base, I did a mustache manicure by drawing one with Orly Instant Artist Jet Black. It took me a while to get the mustache just right. My tip is to draw the mustache thin at first and then thicken it up where needed for a full, luscious, and symmetrical mustache.

We also have a guest appearance by Aurora, my sister's Golden Retriever.

SinfulColors Hazard

I haven't found a SinfulColors polish that I didn't love. They have a very smooth and creamy formula and Hazard is the perfect example of that. I wish my nails had not chipped because then I would still have the square nail shape but I'm trying to embrace the round/oval nail shape I now have.

Ciaté Mini Mani Month Blue and Purple Reviews

My husband recently got me the Ciaté Mini Mani Month Collection which includes 17 colors, three glitter polishes, and four mini bottles of caviar pearls. There are so many new colors to try that I decided I would swatch the blues and purples all this morning. None of the swatches are with top coat.

The individual polish reviews are underneath the photos as a caption. Just wondering, does anyone else have issues moving the order of photos around and then the photos move on their own when you want to create space in between them and/or add text?

Magic Carpet is one of the three polishes exclusive to this collection. It is a small purple almost fuschia glitter in a clear base. I painted three coats over base coat and, as you can see, it would take several more for full coverage. But I do love how bright the glitter is.

Cabaret is a dark purple polish that requires three coats to be smooth and fully opaque, but I only did two coats here. 

Fade to Greige is the first greige color I have ever owned. It is a muted gray eggplant color that needs three coats so that there are not any sheer spots. However, the formula is very smooth.

Glass Slipper is another one of the three polishes exclusive to this collection. It is a small bright blue glitter in a clear base. I painted three coats over base coat and, as you can see, it would take several more for full coverage.

Headliner is a bright aqua cream blue. It is very smooth and only requires two coats to be opaque. It is my favorite out of this swatching session.

Power Dressing is a dark and smooth navy polish but it does require three coats so that it does not have sheer or streaky areas.

OPI Pedal Faster Suzi!

This is a swatch of OPI Pedal Faster Suzi! It is a shimmery and creamy light pink that I absolutely love.

Inspired by Aubrey Hannah

I was inspired by Aubrey Hannah's for this manicure. I used SinfulColors Pink Forever with Essie Pure Pearlfection and Matte About You. Then for the accent finger, I used Essie Licorice with Matte About You and, with a thin nail art brush, I applied To Dry For top coat for the (zebra) stripes.

Aubrey Hannah has an Instagram account and a blog. Check it out!