Martini Summer- A Simple But Striking Nail Art Design

I'm not quite sure how I came up with this one. I wanted something with varying sizes of dots, and then I remembered the hole reinforcements I used to use in grade school. They weren't that great for their purpose, but they might be just what I needed for this look.

I dug through my polish boxes trying to decide what colors to use, and somehow picked out these four colors. I wasn't sure they'd work together, but I was willing to give it a try. I think it turned out nicely...

And since I didn't film a video of this experimentation, I put together an animated gif showing how I did this. The background is a bit backwards, because instead of painting a white nail and adding yellow dots, I did the opposite- I painted the nail yellow, then added my reinforcements and painted around the outside of them. Everything else was pretty straightforward.

Hope you enjoy it!

I so love lime green!

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A Followup to My Last Post- Nail Art Storage Wheels from eBay

You know how sometimes you find a great deal on something, but then you realize you have to sort the items and place them into storage? My nail wheels arrived safely from Hong Kong, and I am absolutely thrilled with them. On the other hand, I spent something like 6 hours sorting rhinestones and studs, and that is... tedious, to say the least.

When I started sorting, I had no idea it would take me so long, but boy did it. I used a tray with raised sides to corral the various goodies, and I used my homemade rhinestone-picker-upper (for lack of a better term) (it's a bamboo skewer with a teeny bit of poster putty on the pointy end) to pick up each individual piece. Keep that in mind when you look at these next photos.

Image from DollarTree.com

Now, I have to be honest- my recent splurge only filled three of these wheels. However, once I went to put them away, I realized that one set of nail gems that was in the original container had spilled once again into the box I keep it in. This is at least the third or fourth time it's happened, so I figured to heck with it, I'd put them into my empty wheels.

Once I'd finished that, I realized I had several bottles of the Donna Michelle nail art embellishments that just didn't store well and were a nightmare to try and use as they were. So yes, I added them into the nail wheels as well. Once I was finished, I'd filled all 5 wheels and I realized that I want to buy more- at least 10, maybe 20. I figure they won't stay empty for long! So, feast your eyes on my newly-organized goodies!

These rhinestones came from my clearance splurge.

These are the Donna Michelle glitters and shapes. Much easier to use this way!

More goodies I had stashed away. I think I'm more likely to use them now that I can see them easily!

Can you see how many studs are in here? I'm so excited to play with these!!

 

And yet more studs and stones to play with. SO COOL!!

So, to sum up, I managed to get some wonderful, compact, usable storage for a whopping $3.70 and now most of my nail art embellishments are stored in a way that they're both easily accessible and easily viewed. I am SO in love!

If you're interested in picking up some of these nail wheels, you can take advantage of the same deal I did- you can get 5 brand new, unused nail art storage wheels for approximately $3.70 US dollars. It does take a while for them to arrive, but you aren't paying for shipping, so it's hard to complain.

Next time, I'll be sharing a nail design I called Martini Summer. You don't want to miss this one, so stick around!

Til next time!

I love finding good deals on eBay!

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Storage Ideas for Your Frugal Finds!

Welcome back! Did you enjoy my tale of rhinestone and stud shopping? I hope you've found some of your own as well, and that this post will help you store them sanely!

Don't do what I did- I put them into a single box which did me NO GOOD. Instead, I needed something that will let me sort my various stones and studs by size and color. But how to do this without spending a ton of money?

First I checked the crafts department of my local big box store. I found a cute little 6-well container for only $1, but I have WAY more than 6 colors and sizes to sort. This could get expensive, fast... I decided to look around for a better deal.

Since I'm not terribly fussy about things LOOKING a certain way, I headed over to the pharmacy department where I found this adorable little medication organizer for a whole 88 cents! You do the math- 6 sections for $1 or 14 sections for 88 cents... that's a no-brainer!

Unfortunately, I have even more things to sort, so I'd still have to spend several dollars to get things sorted the way I need. I decided to take my shopping online to eBay. Wouldn't you know, I found an amazing deal?

5 of these for less than $4? Sign me up, please!

The seller mokimay had a listing for a set of 5 empty nail art wheels with 12 wells each for around $3.72 and free shipping and tracking! Considering I'd need at least 2 of the pill boxes, this seemed like a total no-brainer. I haven't received my order yet, but I know it's shipped (the next day!) and I don't foresee any problems.

So, when in doubt, hold on to your debit card and check eBay before buying. You may find the perfect solution for less than you expected!

I love getting a good deal...

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Getting Nail Art Supplies on the Cheap!

Oh my goodness, it's JUNE!! How does this happen? I know, life happens, and all we can do is hang on and try to get done what needs doing. I've been failing on that front, but maybe I'm getting back into the swing of things?

On that note, I wanted to share a tip I've been using myself lately. I don't know if you've noticed, but rhinestones can be freaking expensive! Heaven help you if you want more than one color, or more than one size, or studs or something. You do have the option of going to a store like Dollar Nail Art, but you're gonna have a $25 minimum order plus shipping costs. What if you don't want to do that, or don't have an extra $30 to spend on nail art?

Honey, have I got you covered. Don't just look for nail art supplies in the cosmetics section. I often dig through the clearance department in both big box stores like WalMart and Target, as well as clearance at hobby stores like Michael's and JoAnns. Recently, I was rewarded by finding a big selection of clothing customization kits from a brand called Next Style.

I found several iron-on rhinestone & stud designs that included multiple colors and sizes of studs and stones. At a whopping $1 each, I wasn't breaking the bank and wound up with an amazing amount of goodies for nail art!

Unfortunately, I wasn't thinking too clearly and wound up putting all the stones into a single container, with all the studs into a separate container. This didn't do me a whole lot of good, because now I've got this jar of sparklies but I can't tell how many of each one I have. What to do??

You'll have to check back for the next post to see how I solved that particular problem. I've also got some hints for storage on the cheap, so check back soon!

No one sponsored this post, unfortunately. Ah well, such is life.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Lancôme Aquatic Summer Summer 2013 Color Collection

Holy cow, have you seen the new Lancôme polish collection? I am absolutely DROOLING, because these colors are calling my name. I'm such a sucker for cool beachy brights!

 The press release explains them like this:

Plunge into a turquoise pool. Jump off a yacht into the deep azure of the Mediterranean. Lancôme’s Aquatic Summer Collection transports you to the warm climates and refreshing seas of the world's most luxe destinations. Embrace the season and dive into an aquatic summer with Lancôme.

Vernis in Love in Simply Aqua, Ultramarine Green, Aqua Bleu and Plunge Pool, $15 –These new limited-edition shades of Lancôme’s iconic polish brighten up your nails with brilliant turquoise and azure tones.

They look to me creme colors, and that green is just delectable! Tell me, which one do you like best?

Information was provided by the brand for consideration.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Do you ever have one of those days?

This has been quite a day so far, at least the bits I remember. I have a strange sleeping schedule lately... and this last time I slept a whole 37 hours at a stretch. You have no idea how exhausting doing something for 37 hours is.

I don't want to do ANYTHING for 37 continuous hours. Let's just leave it at that.

When I finally dragged myself to consciousness, I was in the foulest mood. Everything made me angry- my husband, my socks, the air blowing on me (or not blowing on me)... everything SUCKED.

So, I did what I often do in this situation- I turned to one of my favorite musicians. You may or may not be aware of this, but Jack Conte is one of the most perfect specimens of musician I've ever encountered. Versatile, talented, and holy CRAP the music is good.

So, as I change my mood and eat (because dude, nothing by mouth for 37 hours leaves you RAVENOUS) enjoy some of my favorite Jack Conte music. You're welcome. :D


This song is like... sex. Just literally, sex.


Love this one. So violent, so cathartic.


Love. This one... *sigh* yea.


Have I mentioned how much I adore his harmonies? This one... *sighs* Yea.


Oh yes, those harmonies... :D *swooooon*

Blah. Just BLAH.

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I'm Alive... ALIVE!!!

This is an experiment for false nails.
Fun, but labor-intensive. It shows
promise, though!!

Wow. Are you sitting down? You may not be ready for this... but...

I'm alive. And CREATIVE!

I know, I know... it's crazy! But I'm finally starting to feel a bit more human, and with that has come an absolute explosion of creativity. So, while I'm working on a new video (yea, the one I teased like 4 years ago...) I thought I'd share these fun pics!

This first one is a technique I'm playing with. I haven't seen it anywhere, and I know why- it's a pain in the tush! But it's showing some massive potential, so I'm playing with it.

At the base of all this? Magazine pictures. Seriously... more info to come if I can figure out a good process for it.

Yet another gradient technique!

I've been having a lot of fun playing with gradient techniques. I've basically decided that no one technique is right for everyone and every situation. So, I've been playing around, and I'm planning to do a series of videos using different methods for creating different color transitions. This one is simple, but I'm not sure this is the best polish for it.

Still, it's a lot of fun. I used a couple of polishes from Zoya's Irresistible collection that is out for summer 2013. (Expect a review of these polishes, they are PHENOMENAL!!) I'll play with this technique a bit more and see if I can figure it out enough to share with other people.

Another attempt at the magazine technique, and I'm in LOVE!

Finally,  I wanted to share this second nail I did tonight using the magazine technique. I used some polishes from Zoya's Summer Pixie Dust collection to add a bit of glam and bling, and I find this just so delicious! (Again, showcase of the polishes coming soon...)

Granted, it needs a bit more work and these wouldn't work at ALL for natural nails, this is a very intriguing look for me. I can totally see wearing these for a special night out, and I'm really having fun looking at my magazines picking out images!

Check this detail shot out...

The golden and orangey tones of Solange and Beatrix make this look almost gilded! There's also a definite depth
to the nail that is fascinating to me.

Also, keep in mind that these photos were taken at 4am in really cruddy light. I can't wait to share these with something decent. I was just so excited to have actual CONTENT again!

Thanks for keeping up with me while I've dealt with all this. I love you guys!

Polishes were provided by Zoya for evaluation.

See my disclosure statement for more information.