Fuchsia and Teal Manicure

Hi friends,
Summer vacation is slowly coming to an end. Some kiddies are back in school or counting down the days until school starts. Parents are picking up schools supplies and shopping for new uniforms and school outfits.  I have done none of these things.  Not because my kids aren't going to school soon, and not because I'm a super mom and already have everything ready to go.  I'm just trying to hold on to this last week of freedom. We took a second mini vacation last weekend, and today I'm playing hooky from work.  By Friday, I'll be ready to start shopping for school supplies and uniforms.

I have very mixed feelings about the fall.  My schedule picks up and I'll find myself back in the rat race again.  On the plus side, however,  a return to normalcy comes with a sense of familiar security.  Are you ready for fall?
Ciao for now.

Harlequinesque

Hi there friends,
Yesterday was a circus, today's manicure is very Harlequinesque. At least, Harlequin is the design I think of.  Rows of black and red diamonds over a glittery red base.  Still reminiscent of clowns.  Is there a theme developing here?
Ciao for now.

Life's A Circus - Colors For The Big Top

Hello ladies,
As women, we strive to learn and perfect the art of multitasking. Not because we necessarily want to, but because we have to. We juggle our obligations to school, work, kids, parents, friends, spouses, and if we're lucky, ourselves. We are often like jugglers in a circus ring, with balls and bowling pins in one hand and fragile plates spinning on a stick in the other.  Our lives are colorful and full of surprises. And when time permits, entertaining and totally worth the chaos in the rings. Yes, we jump through a lot of hoops and fight to tame the beasts in our homes (and in our own heads). But, truth be told, when we finally get the monkeys off our backs, we sometimes miss the weight and look forward to the next round of shoving dear little clowns in mini vans and trapezing off to the next event. We may drop the ball on occasion because we aren't perfect, but as ringmasters, we're able to pull it all together again because the show must go on.

Today's manicure was inspired by the circus I'm living in. Lately, life has been like a circus, and I'm still adding more obligations to it like spinning plates. But I choose to stay balanced on that tightrope and spin those plates, and juggle batons of fire. Does that make me the clown?  Don't answer that, I'm speaking metaphorically of course.
Ciao bellas!

Vinyl Stripes

Hi ladies!
What colors are you into right now? For me it's blue and purple.  Today's manicure is a combination of the two. I wanted to do stripes so that I could try out some vinyls I ordered. Love them! They were only stripes, nothing fancy, so I used them both vertically and horizontally.

The purple/fuchsia is a raspberry jelly, and the blue is a metallic true blue.

I really like the vinyls.  I think I'll order more. But for now, I'll use my stripes.

Till my next stripy manicure,
Ciao Bellas!

Jelly Sandwich

Hi there ladies,
I'm on the mend and looking forward to real food. Yummy food. Fattening food. Like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. There's no peanut butter for this manicure, but there's plenty of jelly. To contrast the squishy jelly, I used a bit of matte black polish and black charms to accent the look.
Hmmm, I think I'm in the mood for another jelly sandwich, perhaps tomorrow.
Ciao for now.

A Graduated Purple Manicure With Floral Touch

Hello friends,
I haven't done a gradient is a while. Todays manicure would have been simple gradient stripes, but, I decided to add a stamped floral print over my pinky and ring fingers. 

I forgot how much I enjoyed gradients. I'll have to do another soon.
Till next time, Ciao Bellas!

MdU Velvet, Zoya Caitlin, Zoya Isa

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.

31 Day Challenge: Day 12 Stripes

31DC2015 Stripe Nails

Welcome back polished people! This is day 12 of the 31Day Nail Art Challenge and I'm excited about these stripes. This manicure reminds me of women's sporty workout gear. The Holo Pearls over white polish creates a shifting gray effect under the sporty stripes. The fact that I got to use my favorite Holo Pearls by Revlon makes this one a favorite for me.

Here's what I used.

Konad Yellow, High n Dry, Holo Pearls, Purplexed

Tomorrow, I'll have an animal print design for you. Hmmm, what animal will it be?

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.