Neutral Cheetah

Let me start by saying I am not a fan of any animal prints, never have been.  However, seeing work/play/polish's cheetah mani has completely changed my mind.  As I write this I am wearing cheetah print pajama pants. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Blurple Green Ombre

Yet another ombre ;) Is it obvious how ombre obsessed I am?  They are just such a simple way to do bright colors and nail art with very little time.

Can't Let Go & Miss Conduct

Not much to say about this mani other than I love it! These colors paired really well and the difference in textures worked great :)

The Influenster Violet Vox Box Review

Hi y'all! Today I have a review on some products from my most recent complimentary Vox Box from Influenster, the Violet Vox Box!  This box is definitely one of my favorites I've ever had :)

Let's start with a list of the products I received:
-Goody Athletique Ouchless Headwrap
-Montagne Jeunesse Red Earth Clay Spa Mask
-Sally Hansen Triple Shine Polish, in Make Waves
-Not Your Mother's Clean Freak Dry Shampoo
-SoyJoy Dark Chocolate & Cherries Bar

Turkey Day Stripes

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!  I am looking forward to a very full day (3-4 meals!) of food & family.  Then my mother and I are heading out shopping, even though we only need a few things.  It's just nice to have some mother daughter time with no time constricts.  The men are at home asleep so no one is waiting for us to get home and we just shop and talk :)

Halloween Skittle Mani

 Happy (almost) Halloween Y'all! Today I have my Halloween themed mani.  I consider this a skittle mani because each nail is different.  There's patchwork/stitches, spiderwebs, ruffles, and skeletons OHMY!

  Outdoor Flash

Wonder Beauty Products SuperChic Lacquer Moonshine Merlot

Today I have Wonder Beauty Products SuperChic Lacquer "Moonshine Merlot".  This is described on the Wonder Beauty page as "Super glistening burgundy wine crelly-chrome base embellished with bronze dust, burnt orange and iridescent glitter effects".  I would add that it also has gold glitters, in addition to the bronze. 

I layered one coat of Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Save the Date and 2 coats SuperChic Lacquer Moonshine Merlot.  The formula and glitter payoff was great, opaque in 2-3 coats but I chose to layer it for a quicker mani and to waste less of the good stuff.  This is a perfect fall color, the glitters reminds me of falling leaves or bonfire embers.

 Indoor, Evening, Flash

  Outdoor, Evening, Natural Light

Summer Hauls

I've been on a undeclared no-buy lately while we are trying to save money so I haven't had much to show for haul pictures.  I've recently gotten some new polishes through blog sales and Amazon so I'm going to show you all the new polishes since June!

First is OPI DS Extravagance, China Glaze Skyscraper & China Glaze CG in the City.

Peacock Ombre

Another ombre this week (I really love that I've gotten the hang of this technique).  This time I used a base of China Glaze White on White, then sponged on CG Def Defying (green), CG Flying Dragon (purple), and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Blue Me Away (blue).  This is topped with a coat of CG Fairy Dust and SH Instadri Topcoat. 

Jindie Nails Barbie's Pink Ferrari

Hi Y'all, today I have an awesome limited edition polish from Jindie Nails called Barbie's Pink Ferarri.  There were only 35 bottles of this created and I got bottle #21 (one of my favorite numbers!)

Orly Elation Generation & Revlon Heavenly

*Disclaimer- Im riding in the car so I just snapped a quick pic but I'll have better pics up soon*
Hi y'all :) We are out heading to the mountains for the weekend and I went to see Jillian Micheals Maximize Your Life last night with a friend so I had to do a super quick mani this week.  I wanted something fun and glitzy so this combination is perfect!
This is one coat Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Ruby Sequin, one coat Orly Elation Generation, one coat Revlon Heavenly and one coat Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Topcoat.
  I could have skipped the Ruby Sequin and just used Elation Generation but its a jelly polish and I didn't have time for multiple layers.

 

5k Walk Multiple Sclerosis Mani

Today I'm sharing a mani I did for another charity/fundraising walk this weekend.  This 5k walk is benefiting the Multiple Sclerosis Society, to help raise money for researching a cure.  If you would like to donate towards our team, you can do that here.

The orange nails are two coats of Zoya Sharon, topped with one coat Zoya Sienna.  The white fingers are two coats China Glaze White on White, the orange is Ulta Sun of a Gun, black is CG Liquid Leather, & green is Sally Hansen Grass Slipper topped with Milani Hi-Tech.  All nails have one coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri.

Valentine Ruffle Mani

Happy Valentine's Day Y'all!

The manicure I did today is a ruffle manicure based on Chalkboard Nails tutorial. This started with a China Glaze White on White base, then i did the ruffles with Orly Rock It!, Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Ruby Sequin, Pure Ice Strip Tease, & Zoya Kimber, and topped it off with one coat China Glaze Fairy Dust, a holographic fine particle glitter. I used the largest dotting tool I have, a straight pin, and just placed dots right next to each other in a row, overlapping slightly with each row. I finished this up with a coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat.  It's not perfect but I love it, I only wish I had used one coat polishes because strip tease was a little sheer.  For some reason my camera would not show the colors right so I took pictures on my phone also so y'all can get the right idea :)  Also this mani is on my new gel nails, which I will have a review of by Monday.

Natural Light 

Left: Blurry shows holo, Right: Macro

 Sunlight

Shade

Sunlight, See the holo?

*** Y'all please take a minute to also check out my jewelry page, the tab is at the top of the page, Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and thanks for looking***

Radiant Brown Beauty Giveaway!

I wanted to share with y'all about the giveaway I won over at Radiant Brown Beauty!  This was a great prize package and I am thrilled with everything :) Here's a look at everything I won...

The whole package was wrapped so pretty!

 Shot of everything included

(L-R) Jamacian Black Castor Oil, Salerm 21 Leave in Conditioner, Jamila Henna, & Twist n Clip hair ties

(L-R) Drawstring Loofah for bar soaps, Coconut Lemongrass Soap, Coconut Lemongrass Lotion bar, Coconut Lemongrass candle, & Sweet Almond Cocoa Cream

(L-R) Nail Tek Intinsive Therapy #2, CoverGirl Outlast Stay Brilliant Nail Polish in Always Autumn, Sinful Colors Nail Polish in All About You, & Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips in Haute and Naughty

(Ive swatched the two polishes on my nail wheels, the tab is at the top of the page. Fifth wheel, numbers 14 & 15)

I haven't gotten to try out everything yet but the things I have, I love!

The Twist n Clips- LOVE. I have crazy thick, coarse and curly hair. a claw or octopus clip only holds it maybe an hour before it starts to loosen. this held my hair 8 hours (i took it out to shower after 8 hours) without getting loose at all. i was seriously amazed.

Drawstring Loofah- I had been using half of a washcloth sewed up on the edges for my bar soaps, this is so much easier to use plus its more abrasive which helps exfoliate like I need!

Nail Tek- I recently posted about how my chevron mani pulled multiple layers off my ring and pinky fingers and after using this ONE time under my polish, my nails are already smooth again. 

Salon Effects Polish Strips-  You can read here for my full review of these strips. There were pros as well as cons with them, some of which will be resolved with more practice applying them.

Well, that's all I've had a chance to try out so far but so far so good!  I'm so grateful I won this package, I rarely win anything! Thanks again to Michelle at Radiant Brown Beauty for selecting such great items to giveaway :)

Please take a moment to check out my jewelry page, the tab is at the top of the page, Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and Thanks for looking :)

Christmas Polka Dots

Merry Christmas (Again) Y'all :)

This is what I had on my nails Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  I was really rough with my chevron mani and had a little tip wear (very little actually) and a few places were lifting up.  when I took it off, that mess was like cement! it took quite a few layers off my ring and pinky fingers :( 

This mani is made with Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips, in Haute and Naughty with polka dots in China Glaze Ruby Pumps, Sally Hansen Instadry Spring Green, and China Glaze White on White, with a coat of China Glaze Fairy Dust on top.  

I was not a fan of the strips, although this is my 3rd day of wear and i have no chips, lift or tip wear.  however when I applied them they looked as if i had immediate tip wear because i couldn't get the strips to wrap on my tips.  I also couldn't find a perfect size match on some of my nails so there is a naked strip on the side of those nails, and they didn't fit up to my cuticles so it looks as though my polish has grown out.  I did however like the ease of applying these and no dry time since this was a 2am rush mani.  I also really loved the color and the lack of wear after 3 days of opening presents and building baby toys.  I would be willing to try these again as i think maybe it's something i would like better after some practice.  These were part of a giveaway package I won from Radiant Brown Beauty. 

**update- i am now on my 5th day of wearing these and im bored so im taking it off. i have 0 wear. no more tip wear than when i applied them  and no chips!  on the other hand, I had a horrible time removing them! i used my usual method that works great even for glitter bombs, and it just made them gummy. when i finally got the color off there was a glue type residue left.  I didn't get it all off until i removed polish 3-4 times and filed my nails**

** Y'all please take a minute to also check out my jewelry page, the tab is at the top :)
Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and Thanks for looking :)

World Diabetes Day Mani

Today mani is for diabetes awareness because November is Diabetes Awareness Month and today, November 14th is World Diabetes Day.

 This hits home for me because my little brother has Type 1 diabetes. He was diagnosed around 15 years old and it has been a major struggle for him and our family. He had to learn a whole new life and i remember many late night scares with low blood sugars when he was still getting in the hang of thing. I really hope over the course of my lifetime that diabetes research gets enough awareness and funding that some advances can be made in preventing diabetes all together.

I chose the blue circles because that is the universal logo for diabetes. I chose the fishtail braid accent nail because my brother is an avid fisherman. I chose to add the sparkly glitter because when he was little he would look at something glittery and say its so spaaaarkly with these big blue eyes.


This mani is two coats China Glaze White on White, one coat Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Diamonds glitter, light blue is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Blue Me Away, dark blue is Revlon First Class. Top coat is Sally Hansen Insta-dri.

I hope y'all enjoy this mani and take a moment to check out the International Diabetes Federation's page for World Diabetes Day!
http://www.idf.org/worlddiabetesday






 *** Y'all please take a minute to check out my jewelry page :)
Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and Thanks for looking :)
http://steelandsashes.blogspot.com/

purple polka dots

Hi y'all!
This week is purple polka dots :) This is a color i got from Ulta a while back but haven't worn yet. Its called Femme Fatale. Its a shimmery dark red based purple. I used two coats for full coverage. The tan dots are Wet 'N Wild Megalast Wet Cement and the silvery off white ones are Sally Hansen Teflon Tuff in Rhinestone Frost (vintage polish).

I noticed less smudging withy new Sally Hansen Insta-dri Topcoat, but i also noticed my nails chipping very quickly (like one day quick) so this time i used one coat of through Insta-dri Topcoat then one coat of the Sally Hansen Instadry Clearly Quick polish. I'll let y'all know if this combo works better.


Just for fun, here is a stash picture :) just polish, tools etc are in another bag. Last count i'm at 84. I also got a new polish this weekend from target, N.Y.C. Matte Me Crazy Topcoat. I haven't tried it on a full mani yet, just a nail wheel but i like it!

 *** Y'all please take a minute to check out my jewelry page :)
Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and Thanks for looking :)
http://steelandsashes.blogspot.com/




 ***  Edited to add: the day i took this polish off i realized why i loved this color combination so much. Because i made a necklace back in march (before i even had the purple or tan polishes) that matches this mani perfectly and forgot to wear them together :( guess I'll just have to wear this again soon :) here's a link to the necklace on my jewelry page, fifth picture :)
 http://steelandsashes.blogspot.com/2012/03/more-new-designs.html

Week 5 of October manis- monster mash

This weeks mani is to match my Halloween costume for trick or treating with my son :)


Here is a picture of his costume...

And here is a picture of my hat,  and im also wearing matching legwarmers and fingerless gloves with a black sweater and jeans...

I went through 3-4 design concepts before i decided on this one so i hope y'all like it!

2 coats Pure Ice Splash, 1 coat Sally Hansen Instadry Spring Green, stripes are L.A. Colors Art Deco White, stitches are Wet N Wild Fastdry Ebony Hates Chris. One coat Sally Hansen Insta-Dri top coat.


The Splash was a bit sheer but workable, the Spring Green was thick but most the Instadry polishes ive tried are. Very little smudging with this new top coat. I was using Sally Hansen Instadry Clearly Quick which i think was just a clear polish.


Not sure what is up for next week so it will have to be a surprise!



 *** Y'all please take a minute to check out my jewelry page :)
Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and Thanks for looking :)
http://steelandsashes.blogspot.com/

Nail Wheels :)

1.  Wet n Wild- fastdry- ebony hates chris
2.  Sally Hansen- xtreme wear- black out 24
3.  Ulta- little black dress 3403
4.  China Glaze- stone cold 1125 (matte)
5.  China Glaze- lubu heels 601
6.  China Glaze- some like it haute 1052
7.  Max Factor- Diamond Hard- midnight silver
8.  Ulta - smoke screen 3423
9.  Ulta- chic peek 3409
10.  Wet n Wild- Megalast- wet cement
11.  The color workshop- chocolate brown
12.  Pure Ice- iced penny 827cp
13.  Finger paints- fall of surprises 806611
14.  Sally Hansen- teflon tuff- rhinestone frost 22
15.  Afterthoughts- attitudes- soiled silver 233
16.  Pure Ice- silver mercedes 988cp
17.  Maybeline Express Finish-Silver Aluminum
18.  Sally Hansen- crackle overcoat- fractured foil 03 (over black)

1.  Love My Nails- Milky way 1584 (over black)
2.  Sally Hansen- diamond strength- diamonds 120 (over black)
3.  Sally Hansen- teflon tuff- rhinestone frost 22
4.  The color workshop- peach shimmer
5.  Pure Ice- twinkle 984cp
6.  China Glaze- thataway 093
7.  Pure Ice- strip tease 979cp
8.  Pure Ice- Splash 970cp
9.  Sally Hansen- diamond strength- ruby sequin 43
10.  Revlon- passion punch shimmer 196
11.  Pure Ice- flirt alert 617cp
12.  Claires- neon fire (matte)
13.  Pure Ice- creme siren 603
14.  markwins- deep red
15.  The color workshop- dark red
16.  Goldie- wulung
17.  China Glaze- ruby pumps 182
18.  The color workshop- dark mauve

1.  No Name- Metallic purple
2.  CoverGirl- NailSlicks- grape ice 110
3.  Revlon- scented- grape icy 330
4.  Claires- vegas (matte)
5.  The color workshop- eggplant
6.  Love My Nails Franken- deep violet 120
7.  Ulta - chocolate kiss 3405
8.  Ulta- femme fatale 3404
9.  Sally Hansen- diamond strength- save the date 28
10.  Finger paints- Skeych-y 806235
11.  Sally Hansen-xtreme wear- blue me away 130
12.  Revlon- top speed- first class
13.  China Glaze- shower together 650
14.  Sally Hansen-xtreme wear- marine scene 280
15.  Sally Hansen- instadry- mint sprint 440
16.  Finger paints- Tough art to follow 806172
17.  China Glaze- paper chase 720
18.  Nina Ultra Pro- lime light 709 510 (matte)

1.  Sally Hansen- instadry- spring green 03
2.  Ulta - limelight 3413
3.  N.Y.C- lime 110a
4.  Ulta - sun-sational 3414
5.  Naturalistics- Inspire
6.  Ulta - sun of a gun 4018
7. Zoya- Storm 645
8. NYC- Matte Me Crazy Top Coat 274 (over black)
9. Orly- Nite Owl 48725
10. Orly- Winter Wonderland 48623
11. Pure Ice- Pardon My French 655cp
12. Pure Ice- Viva Las Vegas 845cp
13. Zoya- Opal 583 (over black)
14. Revlon- Blue Lagoon 92
15. Revlon- Radiant 441
16. Deborah Lippmann- Across the Universe 2006B
17. Daring Digits- Blood diamonds
18. Wet N Wild- Speak When Spoken To 33825

1. GlitterDaze- QueenB
2. 365 Days of Color- Funfetti
3. Treasures by Tan- Always A Bridesmaid
4. Sinful Colors- Call You Later
5. Sinful Colors- Ice Dream
6. Zoya- Daul
7.  Zoya- Fei Fei
8. Zoya- Natty
9. Zoya- Song
10.  China Glaze- For Audrey
11.  China Glaze- Water You Waiting For
12.  Orly- Fowlplay
13.  China Glaze- Fairy Dust (over black)
14.  CoverGirl Outlast Stay Brilliant- Always Autumn
15.  Sinful Colors- All About You
16.  LA Colors-  Wired
17.  LA Colors- Bashful
18. LA Colors-Reckless

1. China Glaze- It's A Trap-Eze!
2. LA Colors Color Craze Metallics- Pink*
3. LA Colors Color Craze Metallics- Fuchsia*
4. LA Colors Color Craze Metallics- Purple*
5. LA Colors Color Craze Metallics- Blue*
6. LA Colors Color Craze Metallics- Green*
7. LA Colors Color Craze Metallics- Grey*
8. China Glaze- Red Satin 1111
9. China Glaze- Frostbite 634
10.  China Glaze- Winter Holly 1115
11.  China Glaze- Pizzazz 1120


*The Color Workshop polishes and LA Colors Metallics are not named, these are just what i have labeled them.

*This doesn't include white creams, clears, base or top coats. 
 

 
*** Y'all please take a minute to check out my jewelry page :)
Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and Thanks for looking :)
http://steelandsashes.blogspot.com/

Week 4 of October manis - Frankenstein

Here are my Frankenstein nails :) i love how they came out except my back smeared :( this was a different black than last time since maybe its my clear making it smear? Anyways i still like them :)
Base coat then taped off with scotch tape diagonally. One coat (probably should have done two) of sally hansen instadry spring green, stitches and details done with nicole by opi pen and L.A. Colors art deco white. Two coats sally hansen instadry clearly quick

 *** Y'all please take a minute to check out my jewelry page :)
Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and Thanks for looking :)
http://steelandsashes.blogspot.com/