China Glaze Secret Peri-Wink-le and Sinful Colors Rainstorm

Hello, friends! I've had a long, yet relaxing weekend. I'm back at school for the week and settling into my normal routine. I wanted to share with you a manicure I wore a couple weeks ago. I've been very much into doing different dotticures lately and I especially like this one!

What I used:
2 coats China Glaze Secret Peri-Wink-le
Sinful Colors Rainstorm (dotting)
medium & large sized dotting tools

Secret Peri-Wink-le is very true to its name; it's a periwinkle cream! I love all shades of periwinkle and this is no exception. I feel like this specific polish started the periwinkle trend since this came out far before others did. The formula on this polish is not my favorite. As you can tell, there are some patchy areas (index finger). I used two coats here, but three coats or two super careful coats would've been better. I then took two sized dotting tools and decorated with Rainstorm, a dark blue creme. I love the pairing of the two colors from the same color family!

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

Brush Stroke Mani!

Hello ladies! I hope you all had a lovely weekend :) My family had a holiday party yesterday, so I've been quite the busy bee. It was well worth it though :)

A couple days ago, I did a mani that I saw on a couple tutorials- a brush stroke type mani. Hope you like it! :)

What I used:
OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls
Zoya Kristen
Essie Bikini So Teeny
Sinful Colors Lavender
OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui
OPI Ski Teal We Drop
China Glaze Fairy Dust

I loooove how this turned out! I used a medium-length striper brush to achieve this look. I was a little skeptical after the first couple colors, but I couldn't get enough of the final look :) I may have forgot to list a color, but I honestly can't remember.

Merry Christmas in case I don't post before then!

-Shelby

China Glaze Purr-fect Plum and Elephant Walk

Good afternoon! A couple days ago I experimented with my dotting tools and liked what appeared on my nails; thought I'd share it with you!

I used 2 colors from the China Glaze On Safari collection; they looked great together :)

What I used:
China Glaze Purr-fect Plum
China Glaze Elephant Walk

China Glaze Purr-fect Plum
China Glaze Elephant Walk

China Glaze Purr-fect Plum
China Glaze Elephant Walk

I used a large dotting tool to make a row of dots and then used a smaller tool to put dots in alternating spaces compared to the larger dots. I like how it came out! I've never used Elephant Walk before; I love the subtle shimmer/sheen it has :)

What do you think of this dotticure?

-Shelby

Sephora by OPI Seriously, It's a Naan-Issue and Orly Fowl Play

Good morning ladies! Today I have for you an exciting mani to show you- a matte glitter gradient! :D

What I used:
2 coats SOPI Seriously, It's a Naan-Issue
Orly Fowl Play (sponged)
Essie Matte About You

Sephora by OPI Seriously It's a Naan-Issue
Orly Fowl Play

Sephora by OPI Seriously It's a Naan-Issue
 Orly Fowl Play

Sephora by OPI Seriously It's a Naan-Issue
Orly Fowl Play

Seriously, It's a Naan-Issue is a gorgeous eggplant creme. The formula was amazing and it was perfectly opaque in 2 coats. Fowl Play was the perfect match for a glitter gradient. Once I added the matte topcoat, the different glitters were even more visible :)

What do you think of this?

-Shelby

31 Day Challenge, Day 24: Inspired by a Book

Good afternoon! Today's challenge stumped me a little. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy reading quite often, but the novels that I read wouldn't be easy to recreate on my nails. I like Nicholas Sparks' novels; I guess you could say I'm a sappy romantic. Instead of using one of his novels for inspiration, I used a very popular book (unread by me, though) for inspiration: 50 Shades of Grey

What I used:
Ulta Concrete Evidence (base)
Sephora by OPI Frankly, I Don't Give A-dam
China Glaze Recycle
Nails Inc The Thames
Essie Stylenomics
Orly Atomic Splash

Gray Gradient

Gray Gradient

I kinda took the easy way out with a gradient, but I like the outcome, especially with the dark gray glitter! All the polishes were fairly good for sponging, except Stylenomics was giving me a hard time on the tips. This is a very obvious mani: 50 Shades of Grey...different shades of gray on my nails, but hey, at least you get my inspiration :P!

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

Check out the other lovely ladies:

-Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful 
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista 
-Greta at How Was Your Day?
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish 
- Robin Sparkles 

31 Day Challenge, Day 22: Inspired by a Song

Good afternoon ladies! I put a lot of thought into today's challenge- I had plenty of ideas, but not the correct stamping plates to do most of them. I decided on the song I'm Like a Bird by Nelly Furtado; this song is special to me because I sang it for karaoke one of the first few times I went over to my boyfriend's house :)

What I used:
2 coats Revlon Vixen
Essie Penny Talk (stamping)
OPI Live and Let Die (dotting)
Cheeky jumbo plate B

Revlon Vixen
Essie Penny Talk
OPI Live and Let Die

Revlon Vixen
 Essie Penny Talk
OPI Live and Let Die

Revlon Vixen
 Essie Penny Talk
OPI Live and Let Die

I am head over heels for this manicure! This was my first time using Revlon Vixen- a gorgeous, easy to work with wine creme. I was very impressed and plan on using it a lot this season! I thought that Live and Let Die was the perfect accent dot color- a shimmery forrest green. I also had never stamped with Penny Talk before- it worked great! No complaints about this mani :D

What do you think?

-Shelby

Check out the other lovely ladies:

-Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful 
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista 
-Greta at How Was Your Day?
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish 
- Robin Sparkles 

31 Day Challenge, Day 21: Inspired by a Color

Hello! I'm so excited that we are onto the final third of the challenge: the "inspired by" section!

Today's theme is "inspired by a color", which was very convenient for me since yesterday I did a gradient! Made things extra convenient :)

What I used:
OPI If You Moust You Moust
OPI Dim Sum Plum
OPI Casino Royale

OPI If You Moust You Moust
OPI Dim Sum Plum
OPI Casino Royale

OPI If You Moust You Moust
OPI Dim Sum Plum
OPI Casino Royale

As you can see, I chose pink/berry as my color! Casino Royale and Dim Sum Plum are more on the berry side, but when layered over If You Moust You Moust, they look more pink! I still really like gradients, they don't take a lot of time or effort, but look awesome! No complaints about any of these formulas either :)

My 12 year old cousin recently went to a Justin Bieber concert (she's a huge fan) and she requested that I feature her manicure on my blog. As promised, here are Phoebe's creative nails!

She told me she used a picture cut-out, placed it on her ring finger and topped it off with clear coat. 

I think the purple with the hearts is very cute :)

What do you think of these manis?

-Shelby

Check out the other lovely ladies:

-Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful 
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista 
-Greta at How Was Your Day?
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish 
- Robin Sparkles 

31 Day Challenge, Day 20: Water Marble

Hello! Today's challenge is the notorious water marble. I've only tried water marbling once before today, so I was a little hesitant, but determined not to miss another challenge day!

What I used:
Sation Ring Around the Horsie (base & marble)
China Glaze Exotic Encounters (marble)

Sation Ring Around the Horsie
China Glaze Exotic Encounters

Sation Ring Around the Horsie
China Glaze Exotic Encounters

Both colors were pretty easy to marble with. Exotic Encounters spread super easily, so I was happy about that! I like this color combo, kinda unexpected, but not too risky. I'm still wondering how not to get the water/air bubbles on the surface of my nail when I marble. It's quite frustrating!

What do you think?

-Shelby

Check out the other lovely ladies:

-Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful 
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista 
-Greta at How Was Your Day?
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish 
- Robin Sparkles 

31 Day Challenge, Day 18: Half Moons

Hello! Today's challenge is half moons, which was kinda hard for me, considering I don't have rounded tape guides! I saw someone do a "necklace" manicure and I thought it'd work great for the challenge!

What I used:
Essie Lapis of Luxury
OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls
Pure Ice Silver Mercedes

Essie Lapis of Luxury
OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls
Pure Ice Silver Mercedes

Essie Lapis of Luxury
OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls
Pure Ice Silver Mercedes

I like this alternative for a half moon mani! Lapis of Luxury is gorgeous- a little sheer, but 2 careful coats will make it opaque. I like My Boyfriend Scales Walls because it's not stark white, so it's perfect for detailing! It also went well with Silver Mercedes! :)

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

Check out the other lovely ladies:

-Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful 
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista 
-Greta at How Was Your Day?
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish 
- Robin Sparkles 

31 Day Challenge, Day 15: Delicate Print

Good morning! As you can probably figure from the title, today's challenge is a delicate print. I'm not quite sure what that is (lace?), but my first instinct was to go for floral, which unfortunately was day 14's theme. So I went for bows...that's delicate enough right?

What I used: 
OPI My Very First Knockwurst
Revlon Impulsive (for stamping)
Cheeky ch24

OPI My Very First Knockwurst
Revlon Impulsive

OPI My Very First Knockwurst
Revlon Impulsive

OPI My Very First Knockwurst
Revlon Impulsive

This stamp was definitely not easy to use! So my stamping job here is far from perfect haha. I like the color combo, I think My Very First Knockwurst is a delicate pinky nude, even though the name is far from delicate! Impulsive has been my go-to shade for so many things lately; it's the perfect jewel-tone purple, but maybe not the greatest for stamping. I like the look of this. I hope this fits the bill of a delicate print!

Hope you enjoyed!

-Shelby

Check out the other lovely ladies:

-Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful 
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista 
-Greta at How Was Your Day?
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish 
- Robin Sparkles 

31 Day Challenge, Day 14: Flowers

Good evening! I know I'm a little late with this challenge day post, but I've had a busy day! I've been running around getting things for my dorm that I realized I needed once I was there. I actually did this mani last night, but didn't photograph it until today. I was super excited for this challenge day, I love flowers! I decided to do an untraditional flower print, rather than do the norm :)

What I used:
Essie Mint Candy Apple (as base)
China Glaze Devotion (for stamping)
Cheeky plate Ch12

Essie Mint Candy Apple
China Glaze Devotion

Essie Mint Candy Apple
China Glaze Devotion

Essie Mint Candy Apple
China Glaze Devotion

Surprisingly, this was my first time using Mint Candy Apple. I have so many mint shades, which caused me to put off using this one, but I'm so glad I finally used it! Mint Candy Apple is more vibrant on the nails than it appears in the bottle, which I adore! I recently got my hands on some of the China Glaze Romantique collection polishes, Devotion being one of them. It is great for stamping! I thought it was a silver metallic, but in some lights it is also purple, way cool!

What do you think of this floral mani?

-Shelby

Check out the other lovely ladies:

-Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful 
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista 
-Greta at How Was Your Day?
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish 
- Robin Sparkles 

31 Day Challenge, Day 12: Stripes

Good evening! I had a tricky time with today's challenge; not only were my new Cheeky plates giving me trouble, but I've been scrambling to pack (I'm moving into my dorm tomorrow!). So sorry if the stripes aren't the best :P

I got my inspiration from Candy Stripers! I like the vertical pink and white stripes on their outfits. I took a spin on it and did pink and red stripes!

Below I used 3 coats of China Glaze Gelato and Sally Hansen Cinna-snap for stamping with Cheeky plate Ch6!

China Glaze Gelato
Sally Hansen Cinna-Snap

Several of the new Cheeky plates just didn't want to work for me :(. I hope I didn't just get a bad batch! I got these just in time for this challenge :). Hope you guys still like them! Sorry for my short post, I'll be back again soon!

My inspiration:

-Shelby

check out the other participants:

-Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful 
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista 
-Greta at How Was Your Day?
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish 
- Robin Sparkles 

JulieG Dream in Pretty & Color Club Magic Attraction

Good afternoon! Today I have for you an end-of-summer mani; it's my last chance to pull out the summer shades!

Below I used 2 coats of JulieG Dream in Pretty and Color Club Magic Attraction for the accent nail & dotting!

JulieG Dream in Pretty
Color Club Magic Attraction

JulieG Dream in Pretty
Color Club Magic Attraction

JulieG Dream in Pretty
Color Club Magic Attraction

Dream in Pretty is a gorgeous pink-leaning purple creme. The application of this wasn't the greatest, but I was able to deal with it! I added Color Club Magic Attraction as an accent nail and then used a medium-sized dotting tool and made dots along my cuticles with the same glitter! Magic Attraction is a pink and silver glitter with some holo running throughout it. This had an okay formula, too!

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby 

First Attempt at Water Marbling!

Good evening ladies! Today I tested out water marbling because I know it's going to pop up in the 31 Day Challenge later on! It didn't turn out perfectly, but I like the outcome :)

What I used:
China Glaze Bahamian Escape (base)
Essie Neo Whimsical
Sally Hansen Blue Me Away
Essie Marathin

My ring finger is definitely my favorite! My middle finger didn't turn out as planned :P

What do you think of this? 

-Shelby

31 Day Challenge, Day 11: Polka Dots

Good afternoon! Today's challenge theme is polka dots, which I adore, but I feel like I've done polka dots quite a few times; I decided to do an untraditional polka dot manicure with one of my jumbo cheeky plates!

Below I used 3 coats of Color Club Super Saturday Teal (part of a duo for ovarian cancer awareness) and China Glaze Awaken (part of the Romantique collection) with Cheeky jumbo plate "B"!

Color Club Super Saturday Teal

Even though Super Saturday Teal required 3 coats, it gave me no problems and had a wonderful consistency! I've heard great things about China Glaze Romantique collection in conjunction with stamping, all of which I feel are true due to Awaken! Awaken was awesome for stamping and I adore how this looks! These don't look like traditional polka dots, but I'm okay with that :)

I've also decided to go on a no-buy for quite a while! I'm starting my college classes next week and a college student needs to budget! For now I'm going to focus my funds on school-related things. Also my birthday is next month, so if I get any b-day money or something, that could be my treat to buy nail polish :). 

What do you think of this polka dot mani?

-Shelby

Check out the other participants:

-Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful 
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista 
-Greta at How Was Your Day?
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish 
- Robin Sparkles 

31 Day Challenge, Day 10: Gradient Nails

Good morning ladies! I was very excited to do my nails for today's challenge. Lately I've been obsessed with gradients of all sorts! I figured I could link it up with my boyfriend's request: he wanted me to do extra special nails for our 9 months, which is today. This is a scheduled post because we are going to a local reservoir and spending the day together. Today I could not be more proud and thankful for him and for us :) <3

Enough with my sappiness, straight to polish!

What I used:
China Glaze Something Sweet
OPI Sparrow Me the Drama
China Glaze Sugar High
China Glaze Heli-Yum
OPI Kangarooby

 I know what you're thinking: this screams Valentine's Day, but what the heck, I don't mind adding to the romantic mood today and I happen to like pink! Sparrow Me the Drama kinda got overtaken by Sugar High, so that would be my only complaint! Other than that, I really like this mani! I used BM 317 to do the heart; it was a full-nail stamp, but I only used one heart from it.

I originally only had the gradient; it looks so bare without the heart!

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

Check out the other lovely ladies participating!

-Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful 
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista 
-Greta at How Was Your Day?
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish 
- Robin Sparkles