Summer Brights

Hey people!

Today I have for you a short post featuring China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy (one of my top shades of all time) and Crushed Candy, the "For Audrey"-esque crackle. These two make a pretty pair!

WARNING: My auto white balance feature on my photo editing program made the bottom two pictures look really strange. Me being editing/photography-incompetent, I didn't know how to make it look normal. My background in these photos was white but the auto white balance made it look green. The polishes look brighter and accurate though, and that's why I kept the white-balancing on two of these.

un-white-balanced.

What do you think of this look? Are you over crackles? Or now that they're not as popular, are you wanting to reach for them again? I was never really obsessed; I just casually use them when I think of it to spice up a manicure. Still like them!

Thank you for reading!

Janna

China Glaze Pink Plumeria + Stamping

Hello!

How are you doing today? I'm spending my week volunteering at our Mt. Carmel festival serving sandwiches, so there aren't going to be many posts.

I had to stop in to show you my current manicure, a China Glaze Summer Neon: Pink Plumeria. I debated this one but it looked pretty unique so I got it. I actually need to go back and get Splish Splash and Orange You Hot? because I passed on those and am regretting it. Hopefully I won't be too late!

I started with a base of 2 coats of Pink Plumeria and then stamped it using the flower image on Mash plate m64 twice; the first time I used Essie Shifting Power and the second time I used Barielle Gelt Me to the Party. Neither polish is a good stamping polish since the image never completely transferred either time, but together they create a delicate look.

Oh, and please excuse these pictures. My white balance auto correct turned my hands/everything blue-ish, but the polish color is true to real life.

What do you think? What Summer Neons are your must-haves?

Thanks for reading! Wish me luck out there in the heat!

Janna

Berry Ombre Manicure

Hello!

I'm back today with a Clever and Colorful first: an ombre manicure. Ever since I started my blog in July 2010, I've wanted to try an ombre manicure. For some reason, I found them incredibly intimidating because I never thought I could create the perfect fade on my nails and I'm super picky.

But on Tuesday, when I was looking for a pretty berry color to compliment my beige dress and printed shoes, I pulled out OPI Ate Berries in the Canaries and then a bunch of other berries and reds from the OPI Colección de España and I put together a little group. I could have probably used other polishes to make a smoother fade but I decided to stick to all the same collection for some consistency.

Thumb: Pink Flamenco
Pointer: Ate Berries in the Canaries
Middle: Mix of Pamplona Purple, Ate Berries in the Canaries, and No Spain No Gain
Ring: No Spain No Gain
Pinky: Manicurist of Seville

The middle finger started out as just Pamplona Purple but it looked more like a skittles mani than an ombre so I mixed one. I'm really liking this look and it's fun to wear different shades on your nails! I can't believe I waited so long to try it..it's definitely not as hard as I thought!

So how about you? Have you tried an ombre manicure?

Thanks for reading!

Janna

Some Sally Hansen HDs!

Hey everyone! This post is scheduled because I'm away for the day....hopefully it posts.


Anyway, here's something quick to show you. These Sally Hansen HD polishes were at Five Below, advertised as 2 for $3. So needless to say, I got six. I'll show you all six even though my pictures aren't the greatest.

This is Lite, a standard yellow shimmer. Rather sheer and very shimmery. This was four coats.

This is Digital, a coolish pink shimmer. This was is also pretty sheer but a nice color if you don't have anything like it. Shown is 3 coats.

Hi-Def, a light, yellow-green shimmer. This one is rather unique for this collection, but sheer. This is also 3 coats.

Up next is Cyber, a really striking deep purple shimmer. This one is a bit more opaque, needing 2-3 coats. I really liked this one as I don't have many purples.

Here's Pixel Pretty, which I only got because I needed a 6th polish. Your run-of-the-mill turquoise shimmer, related to OPI Austin-tatious Turquoise and $OPI Who Let the Dorks Out. It's pretty if you don't have anything like it I guess. 3 coats.

And finally, the most unique and prettiest of the collection if I do say so myself, BLU. And blue it is. It's a rich shimmery cobalt that was very opaque. 2-3 coats needed. Really worth getting if you like blue!

My camera is awful. Anyway, last time I was at Five Below, these were still there, so take a look if you're interested. Do you have any HD polishes? I feel like this line was sort of a bust...

Thanks for reading!

Janna

China Glaze Surfin' For Boys + Mash m78

Hello there! How's your Monday going? I'm going to take a minute to brag by saying I love being a college student on summer break who slept in today. =] You love me.

So, today I have for you what I consider a staple manicure for all nailheads: the neon/animal print combo manicure. Now, if you know me in real life, you know I'm not one for animal print at all; maybe it's something I've subconsciously rejected since it's so insanely popular with girls my age. It's a little loud for my tastes. But today I was looking at my China Glaze Surfin' For Boys manicure that I did yesterday and was looking to spice it up, so I started digging through my plates and found Mash m78, featuring a leopard/zebra combo stamp.

This is something out of my comfort zone, so I thought, but I love how obnoxious it is and can't stop staring! Stamping polish is Design-a-Nail Voodoo. This is not the best stamping job of my life because 1) I'm super out of practice and 2) I was working with a new stamper and scraper (more on that in a future post). Anyway, check it out:

So I ask you, have you ever done a manicure that you thought would be totally out of your comfort zone but ended up being really awesome? I'll have to find my m57 plate so I can do full on zebra or leopard; hopefully it'll come out of hiding soon! What do you think about this manicure or animal print in general?

Thanks for reading!

Janna

Some China Glaze Summer Neons!

Hello!

Today I have for you just two of my picks from the new China Glaze Collection, Summer Neons! I seriously thought I was going to pass on this whole collection until I saw swatches that showed gorgeous shimmer! I love these =]

First I have for you Sun-Kissed, which is a lemon yellow neon with shimmer. The shimmer in this is really pronounced, borderline brushstroke-y, which made it really different from other neon yellows in my collection. The base color is also kind of unique too, since it's a little less green than, for example, Essie Funky Limelight. I've read rave reviews on the formula, but I still needed four coats of this polish to make it close to opaque. This might be because I do thinnish coats of polish, so I may be the exception to the rule. I liked this one well enough.

These pictures were all taken in indirect sun and they're very close to true color.


Now I have my favorite of these two, and possibly my favorite of the whole collection, which is a huge statement since I haven't even worn any of the other shades yet: Surfin' for Boys. This is a reddish coral neon with gorgeous pink shimmer. I don't think I have any other shades even close to this, so if you're looking for something unique, definitely give this one a try. I'm still wearing this one and am already contemplating a pedi with it in the near future, so maybe I should look into a backup bottle. This polish has already made my best of 2012 list is the reason I'm already starting a best of 2012 list! Oh, and I had significantly better luck with the formula; shown here is three coats but two would have been alright, just with some VNL (visible nail line).

LOOK AT THE SHIMMER *Dies*

These were taken in direct sun!

Overall, these were very fun to wear...not to mention, look how tan I look! Have you tried any of these? So far I've picked up Sun-Kissed, Surfin' for Boys, Pink Plumeria, I'm With the Lifeguard, and Love's a Beach. On my maybe list are Beach Cruise-r and Orange You Hot? Any comments? Which do you have?

Thanks for reading!

Janna

SpaRitual It's Raining Men

Hello!

This morning, I returned from a two-day trip to New York City, where I met Christian Borle, who, if you aren't into Broadway, you may know from Smash. It was a great trip!

Today I'm showing you a polish that I bought with an Apothica giftcard that I won. I wanted a "different" polish that was unique to this brand, and I think I found that in SpaRitual's It's Raining Men. This is a sheer baby blue with a strong pink flash, and I can't really think of anything else like it. I did three coats and could have used a fourth but I wasn't minding the sheerness. I bet it'd be pretty layered too.

Blurry to show the flash!

That's all for now. And sorry for the nasty paper cut on my ring finger...it's actually from cardboard and was pretty painful, lol. See you soon for another update!

Thanks for reading,
Janna

My Take on: The Ever-Popular Gradient!

Hello!

How's everyone been? So since I was so behind on my blog-reading, I only-recently came across the wave of gradient manicures that swept the blogosphere, so I had to try it.

For this manicure, I started with a coat of Sally Hansen No Hard Feelings, a really pretty lilac that was opaque and actually vibrant enough for me without looking washed out or almost-white. On top of that, I took a regular kitchen sponge and painted one "strip" of OPI No Room for the Blues (blue), then under that a strip of No Hard Feelings (lilac), and finallly a strip of Zoya Whitney (pink) directly onto the sponge, so it differs slightly from the technique of painting the colors onto a piece of plastic and swirling (I originally tried that but my sponge wouldn't pick up the color from the plastic baggie!).

Then I went crazy on my nails, sponging onto each one with No Room for the Blues near the tip and Whitney nearest the cuticle. I made sure to move the sponge up and down to create a more gradual fade, and I ended up doing two coats of sponging. These are also topped with a coat of Cover Girl Night Lights to smooth/distract from the lines. Check it out!

For some reason, I could not get this to turn out normal. Don't judge.

 I really loved this manicure and kept getting a ton of compliments over Memorial Day Weekend. Someone even asked, "How do you ask them to do them like that?!" thinking I had them done at a salon, and my boyfriend grabbed my hands (without being provoked) and told me they looked really cool, which we know are like two of the best compliments ever.

Oh, and don't mind my amateur watermark. I like watermarks on pictures because as I'm reading through Google Reader, I can remember whose post is whose as I read. There's also the added benefit of actually getting credit for your photos, but whatever. Let me know if you have any suggestions for it! I just did it very quickly whilst playing around on Gimp.

So that's it for now. Are you tired of seeing gradient manis? I'm going to do my best to do more nail art for you all while I have time!

Thanks for reading!

Janna

Summer Water Marble!

Helloooo.

As you could have probably noticed, my semester was rough. From mid-February to the end of April I was literally swamped, and then I turned 21 on April 23rd, so I had to go out and celebrate with my friends, of course!

Here's a mani that is epic enough to make up for my 3 month absence (....wow, that's a big claim). I had just gotten home from school when I did this - so, maybe a week and a half ago - and wanted to do something intricate since I usually just slap on polish during the school year and leave it there for a week so it ends up just about as chipped as can be and then I repeat the cycle.

I started with a base of Savvy French White White (not a typo!) and then water marbled with Sally Hansen Lightening (yellow cream), Wet n Wild Sunny Side Up (orange cream), Essie Olé Caliente (coral cream), and OPI Pink Flamenco (berry pink cream) using random dragging motions. The colors came out much brighter than I expected! I also got compliments and/or questions about how I did it from a ton of people, including my male relatives. I loved it and was sad to take it off!

Left hand! Sorry for the horrid lighting.

Anddd the right!

SO BRIGHT!

Mhm.

So my pictures aren't that great but hopefully you get the gist.

And if you'd like, check out my tutorial HERE and my past water marbles using the water marble tag on my blog and this post, a link to which I've conveniently provided for you HERE! You're welcome.

Thanks for reading!

Janna

It's Wednesday!

And for the first time ever, that means I'm wearing pink!

For those of you who don't know, a bunch of bloggers have decided that "on Wednesday, we wear pink!" which is a nod to the ridiculously-quotable movie Mean Girls. Check out http://onwednesdayswewearpink.com/ if you're interested in joining!

Now, I don't know if I can participate every week, but I'm gonna try! Pinks once a week might be too much for me =P

Here's a mani that's mostly pink. This is Sephora by OPI Who Let the Dorks Out? topped with two coats of Jesse's Girl Confetti to turn up the purple sparkle, and then finally topped with one coat of China Glaze Broken Hearted and top coat.










Here are some bonus pictures of WLTDO and Jesse's Girl. Look how awesome the purple is! WLTDO is shown alone HERE.







Thanks for reading!

Janna

ChG Innocence American/French Mani

LOL. Saw this as an ad on facebook. Thought you guys would appreciate it! What's with this spelling?!

Help spread savvy, colorful nails to your beautiful customers. Start giving mannies and peddies now!

In other news this was one of the best school days I've had in a long time. It was a high of 82 today...which is drastically hot compared to the winterish weather we've been having, and everywhere else has been having as well. I finally could wear flip flops!! I had two canceled classes and got out of my lab almost two hours early! I also got to take two naps! Very painless day, to say the least.

FOUR MORE WEEKS TIL SUMMER!

Just thought I'd share!

I'll leave you with some blurryish pictures of a mani I did a while back. Base is China Glaze Innocence, a sheer pink. Then I created a kind of American or French manicure with freehanded tips in Sally Hansen Polar Bare, a sheer white. I really like how fresh this looked. Hm...maybe I'll recreate this and stamp over it....






Until next time,

Janna<3