Hello Kitty Loves Pink Confetti

Hello there! I hope the weather is treating you better than it's treating me. Honestly, it's bizarre to have snow in Louisiana in February! I've been snuggled up in my fuzzy socks, trying to keep warm while I dream up new things to do to nails.

Speaking of nails, I finally got around to testing the Confetti polish I bought a few months back. I know, I know, I'm so behind on things. I'm getting there, though! I chose a sweet pink glitter polish with multicolor transparent glitter in multiple sizes called Pink Confetti. I know, it's an original name, but it fits!


I wanted to see just how much color this polish had, so I put it over a white base. I put one coat on, then added two more coats to the top half of the nail. As you can see, you wind up with a lovely sheer pink with tons of glitter. Looking at it now, I think I'll have to test it over some dark colors next to see if I can bring out the colors in the glitter.

However, that's for a future post. Instead I decided to try out some decals I made a while back. You may or may not know this, but I absolutely love Hello Kitty. Since I couldn't find any HK decals that I liked enough to buy, I decided to experiment a bit and see if I could make some.

So, how did I make these? Easy enough, if somewhat fiddly. I went online and searched for Hello Kitty images. I saved several of my favorites, then resized them in Photoshop. Once I had them at a size I thought might be appropriate, I decided I needed to do a test print to see if they really were a good size. It's so hard to tell on the computer!

I saved the image then printed it on regular white printer paper with my laser printer. Once I had the test print in my hand, I realized that hey, I might be able to cut these out and use them as they are! I spent a few minutes cutting with my teeny manicure scissors, hoping I could cut them neatly without losing any details. Sure enough, I wound up with the tiniest little Hello Kitty wearing her cute glasses! I added a dab of clear nail polish and pressed the paper decal onto the nail, then topped it with a thick coat of clear polish, and what do ya know... I had Hello Kitty on my nail!

Then I remembered my Fing'rs nail gems. That set has lots of shapes of gems- hearts, teardrops, and one that looks like a dog bone... or a bow! I pulled the set out and realized that it would fit perfectly, so I quickly pressed it into the wet nail polish, and you see the end result! Hello Kitty has a sweet, dimensional bow.

What can I say, I think I love this look. Once my nails grow out a bit, I'll definitely have to try this on my own nails!

It's weird to see a celebrity you like, but not talk to them because you don't want to disturb them.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Dressing Up GOSH Black Passion: Decals

Whew! It's been a while since I wrote about my nails! Sorry about that, I've just been so excited by all the Halloween goodies out there! But I haven't forgotten about my nails...

Last time I wrote about my nails, I'd polished them with GOSH's Black Passion, a simply gorgeous charcoal shimmer. However, if you know me, you know I couldn't leave that alone for long. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it, though, so I spent a few minutes digging through my nail art box. Sure enough, I came up with the perfect accent- a set of nail decals that were sent to me by Viva la Nails!

I wanted something simple, something with a bit of color, and something that would show up well against the dark polish. These decals definitely did the rick. They're a set of white hearts and stars that are accented by a rainbow of tiny rhinestones. They also have a variety of sizes so that you're not stuck trying to put a giant sticker on your pinkie nail or a teeny tiny sticker on your thumb. I love that!

Are these adorable or what? Seriously, I absolutely love these! The only problem I ran into is that I'm not terribly good at placing them, so they sort of... well... let's just say I had to work at getting them where I wanted them. I'm pretty sure I'll get better at that with practice, though, so don't let that stop you from getting these.

I also love that these don't all swoop in the same direction, so that you can have both hands look right. I know I'm strange, but that sort of thing can drive me BATTY!

There's one thing I'm unsure of, though. I always feel as if my decals don't look quite right. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong, but when I see decals on other people's nails I love them. Do you guys think there's anything I could do differently to improve this look?

Ah well... I shouldn't complain. I still think this is cute as can be, and you should know by now that I'm a total sucker for cute! This mani is fun and simple, and I wore the heck out of it!

Now, the question becomes this: what else could I do to change up Black Passion? Stay tuned, and tomorrow I'll show you a look that even surprised me!

Decals were provided by Viva la Nails for evaluation.

Andrea Fulerton Nail Boutique- Everything You Need For A Fun Manicure At Home!

I'm strongly tempted to call this week, "Why Don't I Live In The UK Week" because of all the fantastic UK products I've been finding out about! Living in the US definitely has its advantages, but I'm just not finding goodies like these over here! If you're wondering what I'm babbling about this time, don't worry. You aren't alone...

I've just been struck with a severe case of blabbosity by the insane cuteness of the Andrea Fulerton Nail Boutique line. I saw a tweet by @AndreaFulerton stating that her new Nail Boutique was live on Superdrug.com, and I was curious. She's a celebrity nail technician with a heck of a resume, if you're wondering, and she has created quite a collection! This collection is clearly made by people who love nail art, for people who love nail art!

Let's take the polishes, for example. The Superdrug description says it best:

A treasure trove of colour. Be spoilt for choice with 24 professional finish Nail Colours that have a unique resin system formula that flexes with your nail and is easy to apply in just one coat. Keep your options open with the Trio Colour Layering System – a double ended varnish bottle of two colours that can be worn alone or layered creating a 3rd colour or effect, or try the re-worked French Manicure Sets with ultra slender brushes for effortless tip application or the experimental Flip Flop French with its especially angled brush and French tip stickers to make the French tip application easy. And finally, Peel Off Varnish is fast and fun with four shades to choose from.

Not only are there lots of choices, she's also got a range of colors that is wonderful for a new line. She didn't stick to safe pinks and reds. She's got a rainbow of colors that combine with her layering polishes to make an overwhelmingly exciting range! I so want to get my hands on these!

Then there are the nail art goodies, and you know that's what has me giddy! Stripe and Sparkles has a nail polish with a thin striper brush on one end and a glitter shaker on the other end. The Glitter Puff Dust and Overcoat comes with two colors of glitter in squeeze bottles plus their own topcoat. Then there are the crystal gemstones and nail tattoos. Finally, there are the finishing topcoats, from a simple quick-drying glossy topcoat to various special effects options. There's also something that I think might work as a "gradient liquid," although I'd have to test it to be sure.

And as if that's not enough, there's more. (I know, I know, I sound like I'm doing a cheesy infomercial. But wait, there's more... you also get this slicer/dicer/shredder/spooler/dishwasher attachment FOR FREE!!! What can I say, I think I need a nap... but back to the goodies!)

Where was I? Yes... there's also a line of tools that looks fabulous.  Files, buffers, cuticle pushers and trimmers, varnish remover, cuticle oil... Honestly, I'm wishing I could hop on a plane and go buy the entire line!

So do me a favor, lovely readers of mine. If you happen to be out and about and nab some of these luscious goodies, take pictures. Tease me with photos of all the wonderful things you can do with these, and maybe I can get some vicarious joy through you! ♥♥

My First Attempt at Nail Decals, or Hi, I'm In 6th Grade!

Ok, so it's no secret that I like to experiment. Well, unfortunately I've seen all sorts of fabulous manicures that incorporate nail decals, but no real tips and tricks as to how to do them well. I think I need those tips and tricks. Let's look at the damage, shall we?

The good news is that it's not horrible, totally. It's just a bit much. I used decals from the Little Fing'rs Girlie Nails Nail Art Variety Pack, the one with cheerleading decals, various animals, and these cute punkish skulls and hearts. I absolutely love them on the sheet, but I think I went a bit overboard with them.

I was hoping to add a touch of whimsy to my Deborah Lippmann Between the Sheets manicure. What I ended up with was more like a 12 year old girl putting Lisa Frank stickers on everything she owns. It's not bad, exactly, it's just not what I was hoping for.

Now, that being said, I have to admit that I love these decals. The little skulls and crossbones are so, so cute, and I adore the bit of iridescent glitter in the white middle of the bigger hearts. So CUTE!! And even if this was a bit over the top, well sometimes you simply need to go over the top with your manicure!

I learned some important lessons while working on this manicure, as well. First off, it's very, very important to make sure the edges of the stickers are away from the edges of your nails. If you don't, then those edges just might stick WAY THE HECK UP, and refuse to stick once you get your topcoat on. Then they will catch on absolutely everything until you've lost your mind, pulled the sticker off, and totally redone that nail.

Also unfortunate- stickers don't remove with nail polish remover. Instead, the nail polish remover will remove the polish all around the edge, letting the edge of the sticker come down enough to make a seal all around it, so that you then have a small raised sticker on your nail that refuses to come off, no matter how much acetone you throw at it. Those of you with some sense might be able to figure out a way to get that sticker off your nail without causing damage.

I, however, am not that sense-bearing person. I ended up scraping the sticker and the remaining polish off in one solid chip that left very angry, flaky, awful place on my pinkie nail. I then wanted to call a do over so that I could try again without being stupid. But it's life, and it's just nails, right?

When I took the rest of this manicure off, I did it in stages. I took off the clear topcoat just until I could see the sticker raised above the surface of my nail. Then, I used my pinkie nails to scrape the stickers off, and once they were gone I removed the rest of my polish. It took me an hour and twenty minutes to do this, and I am positive there's got to be a better way. I just haven't figured it out yet.

So, those of you who use nail decals... what did I do wrong? Is removing these little bundles of adorableness really that annoying? Is there an easier way to accomplish this? Help me, because right now I'm ready to never use a decal again!!

Polish was provided by PR for evaluation.
See my disclosure statement for more information.