Thursday, June 23, 2011

Animal Print Week- A Painterly Zebra of a Different Color

Click this photo to see a close-up view of
the loose, painterly quality of the print.

Another update for animal print week! (Also, animal print week may carry over to next week, since I seem to be failing at updating daily!) Today's how-to is a somewhat painterly approach to a zebra print.

Instead of making a zebra print with very crisp lines, I wanted something a bit more loose and zebra-inspired. Because of this, I didn't even bother to look at any photos of actual zebra print. Instead (since I've painted zebra print quite a few times) I just started in painting.

Exact polish colors and brands aren't really important here. Instead, pick out three or four shades that you think will go well. I went with a bright almost-neon warm red-violet, a cool lavender, a very pale grey and white. These colors are similar enough to work together, and yet different enough to really stand out. The cool lavender really pops against the warm background.

I began with my standard base coat (Qtica Nail Growth Stimulator),  then 2 coats of the red-violet background color. Once this was grey, I loosely painted in the base stripes. I then added the lavender bottom lines on, then the white at the tops of the stripes. A quick coat of Seche Vite then leveled the art out, making everything seem pulled together.

Click this image to see it full-size!
Tell me- do you prefer a sharp, crisp zebra print or do you like my looser, zebra-inspired print? Let me know in the comments!

Til next time!

Some products may have been provided by the manufacturer for consideration.
See my disclosure statement for more information.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Would you like to win an instant digital camera?

“LIKE” JORDANA ON FACEBOOK TO WIN A POLAROID POGO INSTANT DIGITAL CAMERA



Be the lucky winner to get a Jordana Polaroid Pogo Instant Digital Camera and start capturing your hottest summer looks! Encourage your friends to “like” Jordana on Facebook for a chance to WIN. Once you “like” Jordana you will be directed to the Pogo Giveaway where you can ENTER NOW to win. Simply click FACEBOOK below to be directed to Jordana’s page

“LIKE” JORDANA COSMETICS ON FACEBOOK

*Contest ends July 15h at 11:59 AM PST
Visit http://www.facebook.com/jordanacosmetics to enter.
Information and graphic were provided by the manufacturer.
See my disclosure statement for more information.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

New Limited Edition Summer Items From Milani

OMG, I'm in LOVE!!! Have you seen the new polishes and eyeshadows coming out from Milani? I love the colors, and I cannot WAIT to get my hands on these shadows! Just look!


Milani presents its hottest and brightest shades that complement every summer glow
July Limited Edition Summer Products

STOP! Wardrobe change? No problem, create a gallery of nail looks with Milani’s New Limited Edition High Speed Fast Dry One Coat Formula Nail Lacquerfast and luxurious, to get you on the GO – their new flat brush for fast and flawless application that dries in 60 seconds. For an additional pop of color use Milani’s High Speed Fast Dry One Coat Formula Nail Lacquers for extreme shine and electrifying nails.  These high voltage bright pigments are available in eight high fashion shades and great for the summer season! 

Available Shades: Purple Rush, Instantaneous Blue, Racy Green, Fast Fuchsia, Jiffy Orange, Violet Dash, Yellow Whiz, & Hot Pink Frenzy.
 
 
Brighten your lids with Milani’s Limited Edition Paint Eyeshadow Palette---fashion forward neon colors in one super-soft, silk-like application. Brighten your eyes by using shades separately or swirled together to create your own unique hue of art. 


Limited Edition Items available ONLY the month of July at select CVS drug stores.
High Speed Fast Dry One Coat Formula Nail Lacquer, Retail, $3.99
Paint Eyeshadow Palette, Retail, $7.99


‘LIKE’ MILANI COSMETICS ON FACEBOOK OR FOLLOW THEM ON TWITTER!

For additional information, please visit: www.milanicosmetics.com.

Photos and information were provided by the manufacturer's PR department for consideration.
See my disclosure statement for more information.

Animal Print Week: Pink Leopard Print-ish

Wheee! I can't believe I missed Monday, but I was having technical difficulties. Whatever... I'm here today with a fun animal print-inspired nail design that I hope you love as much as I do! It's super easy, too, and I couldn't help but call it Glitterlicious

I have to admit, it's not exactly leopard print. I showed it to a good friend who wasn't sure exactly what animal would have this design, but who cares, right? It's hot pink and cool blue, and it's perfect for summer!

This design starts, like all the others, with a coat of your favorite base coat. This makes sure your art lasts longer than your favorite sitcoms. I've been using Qtica Natural Nail Growth Stimulator, and my nails have been growing like mad! They're seemingly stronger than ever, and they're growing longer than I think I've ever had them! YAY!

After that, you simply paint your nails in whatever color you choose for your background color. I chose a bright hot pink. Two coats should do it, but of course it varies based on which polish you choose.  Then comes the fun part!

To add the splotches, I used Sally Hansen's Nail Art Pen in Blue. This way I didn't have to worry about controlling a brush- I just doodled in vague spots from memory. I probably should have looked at a picture of leopard print, but you know what? This is inspired by... I can do it any way I want to! :D

One tip to remember- be sure your background color is completely dry before you try and use the Sally Hansen Nail Art Pens. Otherwise, they just don't work, and that's no fun at all!

Once my splotches were dry, I decided I wanted a bit more color. I dug around in my nail art box til I found my Kiss Nail Artist Paint in Soft Purple. This was just the ticket! I used the thin artist brush to just brush a thin line of color right under the bottom sides of each little blob. I thought of it as if each blob were a 3d shape and I were shining a light from the base of the nail, and everywhere that light would hit I put a touch of purple.  Easy- remember, you can't really mess it up. Even if you do, it's just nail polish!

When I finished with the purple, I realized it still wasn't ready. I knew what I needed: GLITTER! I grabbed my superfine glitter in royal blue, tapped out a small bit into a plastic cup, and poured just a bit of clear nail polish on top of it. A bit of mixing, and it was perfect! I dabbed this custom glitter polish over the blue splotches, loving the way the glitter caught the light and made the whole design pop!

After that, it just needed a coat of Seche Vite and it was done! I love the finished result, and I'm seriously tempted to do this on my own nails now! (This was on a false nail, or I'd show you a whole set of them!) Check out the animation below for the how-to!


So, what do you think? Can you see yourself wearing this design? If so, let me know in the comments! I'd love to see what you come up with!

Til next time!
Some products may have been provided by the manufacturer for consideration.
See my disclosure statement for more information.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Win a Beach Bag FULL of Awesome Kiss Supplies!

Wow!! I just saw this amazing summer giveaway that might make me hate summer just a little bit less! It's doubly awesome because I love Kiss products!

Kiss Products, the leader in artificial nail technology, has teamed up with lovemyshoes.com for a “Step into Summer” Sweepstakes.  Each winner will receive the colorful beach bag shown above, a Kiss branded beach towel, an assortment of Kiss toenail and at-home pedicure tools, plus a pair of Havaiana Sandals from lovemyshoes.com.

                To Enter:
       Entrants must “Like” the Kiss Nails facebook page, submit name, address & email to the contest form (click on image)
       Facebook fans will have 4 chances to enter on 6/21, 6/28, 7/5 & 7/12 only.  One winner will be selected from each day’s entries using a third party random draw service.

To enter, visit:   Facebook.com/kissnails  & click on “Kiss Freebies”   

Til next time!
Information and photo were provided by KISS.
See my disclosure statement for more information.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Tagxedo is AWESOME!!

OMG, I am having the most fun with this new web application! Seriously, Tagxedo is the coolest thing ever! I made the cutest word cloud using my Twitter ID... LOOK!
(oops, tried to submit the wrong thing... here we go!)



Isn't it cool?? It's so simple to make, and you have full control over the colors, shapes, and what words you use. You can even input your own list directly, or use a link to your blog if you like! I've only been playing with this for an hour or two... and I'm even considering a quick blog redo!

I hope you guys love this as much as I do! Show me what you come up with if you visit Tagxedo!
Penguins, penguins everywhere yet not a one to snuggle...
See my disclosure statement for more information.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Simple Fun Nail Art: LSU Nails!

Hi guys! This is just a super quick post to share a look I did over the weekend. It was so fun and so easy I wanted to share! It's perfect for any sporting events you may want to attend, or just for the fun of it!

I'm from south Louisiana, so of course LSU pride is thick. We're brought up to know purple and gold before we know our own names, almost! While I was digging through my polish box trying to figure out something to wear, it hit me- purple and gold!

I used Maybelline Express Finish Matte Gold as my base color, because it's one of my absolute favorite golds. Also, it's one of my only golds... I need to remedy that! Then I added a layer of Sally Hansen's new Crackle Overcoat in Vintage Violet. I love this one because it's got a gorgeous blue shimmer in it.

These polishes did a pretty good job of showing Tiger Pride, imho! They were lots of fun and they made me want to spend some time on campus at LSU, maybe lunch on one of the indian mounds or just tossing the frisbee at the student union. Talk about fond memories...

One thing I love about this look is that it's not polish dependent. You can use any color pair you like, and with crackle polishes being so popular you can find lots of them! I even found some crackle polishes at Walgreens last week for $5 each! There was a great selection of colors too, from metallic gold and silver to basic black and white to fun colors like orange and green! All in all, I think there were 8 or 10 colors total. It's definitely worth a look!

So tell me, are you enjoying the crackle trend? I wasn't that interested in it at first, but it definitely seems to be growing on me. I'm dying to find a way to incorporate it into more elaborate nail art! Maybe this weekend I'll get a few minutes to work on it... :D

Til next time!
Crackle polish was provided by the manufacturer for consideration.
See my disclosure statement for more information.