A Non-political Manicure. Did You Vote Today?

Hi there friends!

If you're in the good old U.S. of A, and age 18 or above, I have a question for you.  Did you vote today? Or do you plan to vote before the polls close tonight?  I hope you do.  It's your right as an American citizen.  OK, so, all politics aside, let's get to today's manicure.  

I played with a few techniques for this one.  Stamping, reverse stamping, and double stamping.  And since I didn't use any glitter, holo, or shimmers, I added a charm on my ring finger for a little pizzazz.  I was going for a floral plaid blanket look.  So,  no straight lines.  

That's it for today,  now I'm off to my library to place my ballet.  Now, go vote.  

Ciao Bellas!

Hot Floral For Hot July

Hi friends,
It's July, (my birth month) and the heat has finally hit hard. Some days I think I'll melt before I make it to my car. Despite the heat, I'm at my uptown office (Starbucks) sipping a hot Venti dark roast in the middle of the day. I'm always relaxed when I come to my uptown office. It's where I do my best work. Too bad I can't do nail art here. Maybe I could talk to the manager... No, I'd have a better chance getting free coffee than setting up a table to polish my nails. Perhaps I'll go for the free coffee then.

Today I have a hot floral design, well suited for summery flowers and sweltering heat. I used the reverse stamping technique. But if you're a regular reader, you knew that already, because you're familiar with my artistic handicap. I can barely draw a straight line, so flowers are out - abstract or otherwise. Im still trying to sign up for pre-K art classes, but the schools here are age biased and I haven't found one that will let me sign up. I'm a little older than 5 which seems to be one of the main requirements - silly rule I think. I'm not giving up though. I don't quit that easily!

Until next time,
Ciao for now.

O. P. I. - athon: Withstands The Test Of Thyme

Hi ladies, gents, family and friends,

For the first polish featured in our O.P.I.-athon, I chose a beautiful summery green cream polish named Withstands The Test Of Thyme.  This polish is a favorite for two reasons. First, it reminds me of a garden trellis scene complete with chirping birds and butterflies. It's a refreshing color that makes you want to sip lemonade on the front porch or on the patio. The second reason why I love this polish so much is because of its name. O.P.I. is famous for choosing names that are fitting to the color, whitty, puns, commical, creative, naughty, delightful and just plain old fun. Hands down, they own the Polish Naming award (if there were such a thing).

Choosing colors is serious business for this company. It's heavy, laborious work if traveling to great places, being sequestered for eight hours in top secret brainstorming sessions (and eaing cultural foods, ) sounds like heavy labor to you. What goes on in these top secret sessions? Probably a whole lot of laughter and fun when you consider the outcome. I sure would love to be a fly on the wall. Better yet, I'd be more than willing to work for them for free.  Yes, FREE!  That means I would pay my own traveling expenses and hotel and sit for eight hours or more even if I could only sit  outside the meeting room door. HEY O.P.I. FREE LABOR OVER HERE!!!!!!  I'll scrub your floors, empty your trash.  I do windows too!! I think I'm going to send them a letter begging them to work there for no pay and do anything, even the jobs that nobody else wants to do. I wish I could say that I was just joking, but....

Until I'm recruited to work for O.P.I., I'll keep posting and sticking with my day job.

Ciao for now.

[Correction: O.P.I. polish naming brain children might not actually travel to theses great places, but their hours long secluded polish naming sessions are probably a close second.]

Happy Tuesday - Floral Garden Escape

Good morning ladies,
Do you ever have those days when you see life through rose colored glasses, and all is right with the world? Today is one of those days for me. It's bright and sunny outside, the temperature is all but perfect (not too hot, not too cold), my kids are in school (whew), and I'm contentedly sitting on the platform waiting for my train.  I have my whole day before me and minimum obligations. Work, home, cook, study with my kiddie, and then a little me time. Honestly, today, I won't be painting my nails. I'll call and talk to family members who live far away (Hi Daddy!), and catch up on a little TV.  I watched Minority Report recently (the TV program, not the movie) and it seemed like a winner, so it might make my limited list of programs to watch.  Maybe it will inspire me to create interesting nail art.  I hope so.

Today's manicure happens to coincide with my mood. Happy.

Ciao for now!

Inspired by a Gold And Black Floral Fabric

Hello friends,
My mani for today was inspired by a beautiful embroidered floral fabric. If I'm not mistaken, this is a Chinese design.  I used a dark greenish polish as the base instead of black, but the resemblance is there.

Ciao for now.

Colorful Floral and Striped Manicure to Chase Away the Rain

Hello lovelies,
It's been wet and dreary in my neck of the woods. I don't know about you, but wearing a bright and/or colorful manicure helps to alleviate some of the dreariness from my day. For this mani, I thought of pretty flowers and painted them on my ring fingers, along with a little sparkle. I used silver and teal hex glitter, and a few rhinestones for the sparkle.

A few of the polishes I used are:

Talia is a teal crème from the Zoya 2015 Island Fun collection. Flying Dragon is from China Glazes  neon 2008 collection called Ink. It's not meant to be a matte, but the finish is rough similar to a matte polish. Flying Dragon is fuchsia with a hint of purple. Lightning, by Sally Hansen, is a bright sunny yellow cream.

Do you have a go-to color or design to combat dreary weather?

Ciao for now.

Blue Striped Pajama Party

Hello Sunshine, todays manicure makes me want to curl up in bed with a good book and a cup of chamomile tea. The blue on blue stripes reminds me of men's pajamas. Is it just me or do you think so too?  I wore the manicure one day without the roses and was complimented on them. Then I thought I'd overlay a bouquet of roses.  I think I've seen a similar fabric print like that somewhere.  I hope you enjoy them. Let me know what you think.

Blue on blue stripes with a pink floral overlay using China Glaze, O.P.I. and Essie

For this mani, I started with two colors from the spring 2015 Road Trip Collection. First I painted the light blue Dashboard Dreamer on all my nails.  Then, with Boho Blues, I stamped stripes using Moyou London stamping plate Pro Collection XL-01.

China Glaze Dashboard Dreamer and Boho Blues

Next, I used Gogoonly XL St. Happy stamping plate (Amazon for about $13), to stamp the roses with Essies Stylenomics deep green polish. I made decals using two colors by China Glaze. The first and peachier of the two (is that even a word?) is Pinking Out the Window from the Road Trip Collection (love the names). The second polish, which is a beautiful neon pink, is Glow With the Flow from the 2015 Summer Nights Collection.

China Glaze Pinking Out the Window and Glow With the Flow

Gogoonly St. Happy

For the leaves I used a minty green polish by O.P.I. called Withstands the Test of Thyme from the Infinite Shine line.

O.P.I. Withstands the Test of Thyme

I'm thrilled with my China Glaze minis.  I plan to pick up more soon.  Speaking of minis, I have a few Mundo de Unas to review for you soon. Several of the ones I purchased are cute little minis.  I placed a second order so I'm waiting for that to arrive.  As soon as it does, I'll get started on a review for you. I can tell you this, though, I'm loving the ones that I have so far.
Ciao for now.