Christmas in July Nail Art

I figured I already showed you my Hawaiian nail art, which didn't win for a contest, so why not show you another non-winner? They are both wins in my book though and I loved wearing them!

This was for a Christmas in July contest, which the boyfriend actually requested as a manicure before I actually saw the contest! Coincidence?! I went all out and spent wayyyyy too long on this!

I started with a base of Color Club Take Me To Your Chateau, covered by one coat of Sinful Colors Cinderella. Then sponged on Essie Smooth Sailing and OPI I Don't Give A Rotterdam and FINALLY, ended by sponging on Fast Track. I ended with some white clouds. PHEW. And that was only for the base. Then I added my Christmas scenery.

I have to say this was the most annoying manicure to photograph. The glitter wanted to not sparkle at angles that showed off the details and what not. But alas, here it is. I have a Santa flamingo, A sweating gingerbread man, a Christmas palm tree, and a melting snowman. Enjoy!

Here is a super quick and dirty picture of the base

What do you think of my nail art? I know it's a little sloppy but I had just chopped off my long nails so I ruined my canvas!

Hawaiian Flower Nails

Whenever I see the nail art I love, I usually write it down as a "manicure to recreate." I actually have a folder of pictures with this as inspiration for future manis. I really loved Sarah from Chalkboard Nails Hawaiian nail art, so I had to try it.  The glitter lover in me added some accents to the art, so I thought it was really fun. I love getting inspiration and then somehow making it my own. I added green bar glitters to the stems and some random glitter to the middle of the petals.

I actually entered this into a contest, so you may have seen it before. I didn't win, but I still love the result.

I used Wet N Wild French White with a layer of Orly Shining Star as my base.You can really do this with any colors you like, but I chose to keep it summery with the pink and orange flowers.

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NailVenturous Joker: A Bottle of Squishy Love

I really cherish my NailVenturous polish collection. It is an indie brand that I completely trust and am always blown away by. Not to mention, Amy's polishes wear SO well on me. Usually glitters tend to chip easily, but her polishes always manage to stay at least 4 days of my nails before I decide I'm aching to try another one of her polishes.

Today I am showing you Joker. Joker is in a vibrant purple jelly base (see bottle shot) and it has larger lime green hex glitter, smaller clear/white glitter (I can't even figure it out) and microglitter in blue and copper. I'm probably missing some. My camera kept pulling the green glitter as gold, but it is definitely green.

Well I decided I wanted Joker to be super squishy. Although you can absolutely wear Joker on its own, I decided to layer it over two coats of Zoya Katharine. My version is from the Peter Som box that I won from Pointless Cafe's 1000 follower giveaway (and now she hit 1,500! Congrats Sheila!). Obviously two coats of Katharine is not enough to cover your nails, but I knew I was adding glitter over it.

I added one coat of Seche Vite, which you see pulled my tips. Boo. I had a brain fart and forgot that Zoya and Seche Vite don't get alone. But nevertheless, loved this combo and how Katharine somewhat transformed the base of Joker. I will add this was the meanest polish to remove, but utterly worth it.

Zoya Katharine at two coats. Squishy base

See how Katharine morphs the base of Joker?

So gorgeous on the bottle and the nail.

So tell me...what is your favorite NailVenturous Lacquer? I love them all!

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Essie Shelter Island and Nails Inc. Pudding Lane Nail Art

Last Monday, July 16th, one of my blogger friends, Jacki from Adventures in Acetone, gave birth to a beautiful baby boy named Owen. He is just precious! To celebrate his birth, we decided to dedicate our manicures to him! Check out the other manis at the end of this post.

I wanted something special for this one. First I started out with two coats of Essie Shelter Island, which my amazing friend Gina got for me! It is super glossy and squishy, so I didn't want to cover it up entirely. Then I grabbed my Nails Inc Sprinkles in Pudding Lane and freehanded a diagonal line. Then with Orly Stone Cold and Venique Hurray Huarache (another polish from awesome Gina) I alternated dots where the two polishes met. 

I *love* this manicure. I'm still wearing it because I don't want to take it off. I got a lot of comments on it at Sephora and MAC! I can't wait to do this style manicure with different colors. I am always looking for easy nail art!

See how squishy it is? If you plan to wear Shelter Island alone, you will probably need three coats

If you find this color, snatch it up!

Freehanded stripe with Sprinkles

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KB Shimmer Shipwreck

This might be my favorite KB Shimmers out of all the ones I own. Shipwreck is in a navy jelly base, and while you certainly could get away with 2-3 coats of this polish alone, I'm a habitual layer-er. It makes removal easier, plus I like how the glitter can change personalities based on the underwear.

I layered 1-1.5 coats of Shipwreck over one coat of Color Club Rev'd Up (an awesome purple. You need it if you are a purple lover). Shipwreck has tiny orange glitter with different hues of green, blue, gold, and purple circular glitter. It is so complex and a million times better in person. I was on vacation when I did this mani, so these pictures really do not show off just how beautiful it is!

Sorry for the tip wear, this was two days later

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Rainbow Dotticure with Orly Au Champagne

I felt like trying out a rainbow-type dotticure since it has been on my manicures to-do list for a while. I started out with 2 coats of Orly Au Champagne, my all time favorite white. It has a shimmery finish that dries satin. After it dried for a little bit, I got out my dotting tools and randomly placed colors.

For this manicure I used Zoya Zuza, Zoya Dannii, China Glaze Ultamate Holiday, China Glaze Frreside Glow, China Glaze Riveting and I *think* China Glaze Ahoy! It was a lot of polishes, whoops. Finished it off with one coat of top coat.

To be honest, I thought this manicure was hideous, but when I posted it on one of my Facebook groups, they loved it. Maybe it was the combination of colors since I didn't go with typical rainbow colors. Anyway, I think it is good to show the "fails" along with the "pretties."

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NVL Floam and NPB Flipping Out Hard Glitter Gradient

When I received Floam in the mail, I was jumping for joy. I had wanted this baby so badly, and I was even more excited that I was able to get an "original" NVL bottle. Then, I happened to stumble upon a new indie brand, Nail Patten Boldness, whose Flipping Out Hard polish completely blew me away. I bought it right away with a Floam/Flipping Out Hard gradient in mind. It was everything I wanted and more.

First I started with a base of two coats of  Spoiled I'm So Jaded, which I used in my neon dotticure. I cannot explain how amazing this polish is and for only $1.99. In my huge stash, this new polish already has a sizable dent in it! Then with a makeup sponge, I dabbed on Milani Key West, which is a gorgeous teal foil.

Then I grabbed my matte glitters and gradiated them with their corresponding base color. I loved it. It was bold and eye catching and fit the 95 degree days we have been having. I must also say that this manicure did not want to die. SIX DAYS PEOPLE. Then I basically purposely chipped it so I could change my color haha. Trust me, you need all this pictures.

 

Faraway shot. I love the cascading look.

This photo is from the end of day 5. Can you believe it?

Amy of NailVenturous Lacquers no longer sells her polishes, but Ninja Polish sells a select amount of her colors. Allison of Nail Pattern Boldness is currently out of stock at her Etsy Shop but check back for updates. Her polishes are opaque, reasonably priced, with fast shipping and adorable packaging.

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Claire's Candy Shop

Sorry for my absence! I really need to get in the hang of posting regularly and I will try my hardest to post at least every other day. I have so many pictures of polishes to show you and hundreds that still need to be used and photographed!

When I found out that there was a Deborah Lippman Candy Shop dupe, I *had* to have it. I loved the polish but not the $20+ price tag. For $4, this literal dupe (even the name is the same) completely quenched my need for the DL version. 

What you see here is 2 coats. This baby was surprisingly opaque. It is super girly and I loved it so much! Although, I will say the wear of it was not good. I think this manicure lasted two days, if that. Worth is to me though because I did not pay too much for it and it is one of the most fabulous glitterbombs that comes out of a singular bottle.

While the lighting here washes out my skin, it is the most color accurate of the pink jelly base.

I've got some AWESOME manicures to show you so be on the look out.

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Summer Neon Dotticure

On the East Coast, we are going through a massive heat wave. The humidity is just so out of control here. So the heat puts me in the mood for neons. For this manicure, I used two coats of Spoiled I'm so Jaded, which completely helps me lessen my need for China Glaze Limonyte. Then I used an accent of China Glaze Surfin for Boys, which is from the new Summer Neons collection. I did the opposite on the other hand (with I'm So Jaded as an accent). The accent was just too stark for me, so I added diagonal dots in the opposing color. I topped it all off with a coat of IMN Northern Lights. I absolutely loved this manicure. 

While this picture does not show the shimmer in the neons, 

it does show the glitter from IMN.

Here is that gorgeous shimmer.

Picture of my opposite hand. 

I realize this picture isn't the greatest, 

but it was the only one I had of both of my hands. DOH!

Ehmkay Designs is Live!

Maybe you are still on vacation or have not checked my Facebook Page, so I just wanted to announce that Ehmkay Designs is live and open!

I have received many e-mails about customs, and as stated on my Etsy shop, I love customs. Simply send me a message on Etsy with what you are looking for (pendant, earrings, silver, bronze, white gold, etc.) and the colors you want! I will work with you to create a perfect piece.

You can visit my shop HERE

Dollish Polish Putting on the Ritzzz!

Back in February, I sought to get the infamous Dollish Polish polish, Toxic Avenger. Of course, I had no idea how fast they would sell out, and overslept the 8am opening. But all was okay, because instead, I bought this beauty! Although I was on a waiting list for another infamous black and white glitter, I loved the look of this polish.

Who says glitter has to be layered over a creme? I used one coat of Dollish Polish POTR over two coats of Zoya Luna, a greyed out silver glitter polish. Although I wore this manicure a while ago, my mom just requested I do this one on her. Loved this combo all around. It's tame, yet still sparkly.

Don't you love when your manicure matches your purse, unknowingly, of course. 

What is your favorite way to layer a black and white glitter?