On Memorial Day


    In Flanders fields the poppies blow
    Between the crosses, row on row,
    That mark our place; and in the sky
    The larks, still bravely singing, fly
    Scarce heard amid the guns below.

    We are the Dead. Short days ago
    We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
    Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
    In Flanders fields.

    Take up our quarrel with the foe:
    To you from failing hands we throw
    The torch; be yours to hold it high.
    If ye break faith with us who die
    We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
    In Flanders fields.

    -John McCrae, 1915


    I remember every memorial day weekend growing up my mom would always have a crepe paper poppy attached to the strap of her purse, and I remember that whenever I was with her, she would give me a dollar to donate so i could have one too. I loved those little paper flowers, though I hardly understood their significance way back then. Memorial Day is for remembering, for honoring, and for thanking those who have given their lives, or are risking their lives to make sure that we have the rights and liberties that we have here in America. My grandfather was a veteran, and I remember visiting his and my grandmother's graves every Memorial Day and looking at the flags pushed into the earth of their graves. My sister played TAPS on her trumpet at the cemetery, so it was mostly my mom and I, since it was her parents. I suppose that I'm blessed in the fact that not many of my loved ones (friends or family) are in any branches of the military, I have a couple of friends serving in various branches, and for that, I thank them, but I never have to worry about a family member not coming home, like so many others in this country. Regardless of that fact, I extend my thanks and eternal gratitude to those serving this magnificent, though sometimes flawed, country of ours. In honor of our armed forces, I did the logos for the Marines, the AIr Force, the Navy, and the Army, as well as the American flag accented with what else, a poppy. :) I apologize that the logos aren't perfect, but I did what I could with the space I had. ;)



    I used:

    Thumb: American flag & poppy

    American Apparel Cotton as a base with CND Anchor Blue for the blue, and China Glaze Salsa for the red of the stripes as well as the poppy. for the black I used American Apparel Hassid, and for the green, I used CND Green Scene .

    Index: Marines

    American Apparel Passport Blue as a base, with China Glaze 2030 from Khrome Collection for the gold, and China Glaze Salsa for the red, over Sally Hansen All the White Stuff, so the red popped.

    Middle: Air Force

    China Glaze Millennium as a base, with CND Anchor Blue for the logo.

    Ring: Navy

    Sally Hansen All the White Stuff as a base, with American Apparel Passport Blue, China Glaze 2030 from Khrome Collection for the gold, Sally Hansen All the White Stuff for the shield, with CND Anchor Blue for the blue on the shield, and China Glaze Salsa for the stripes on the shield.

    Pinky: Army

    American Apparel Hassid as a base, with Sally Hansen All the White Stuff for the star, and outlined in American Apparel Manila.

    Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Lime Line


    Today is another simple one, my apologies- it's been a super busy weekend- I made about 10 dozen cookies along with a bunch of other stuff!! :-P I used another of the new ULTA polishes that I got, In the Limelight, a lime green foil finished polish. Anyway, sorry for the short write-up, it's been a long day and I think its about bedtime.



    I used ULTA In the Limelight as a base, with American Apparel Hassid for the lines. Topped it all off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

ULTA-mate!


    Today's manicure is simple, because I was busy busy today! :( I did get an AWESOME new Ulta Professional polish though, so I had to use it- unfortunately it was the only one left in the cardboard display (it's part of a special collection), and there is no label on it, so I don't know what the name of the color is, but I plan on investigating tomorrow... so not to worry, I'll update it in the info. It's gorgeous- a vivid pink with a LIME GREEN reflect?! Sign me up. Awesomeness. LOVE. Anyway. They also had in the same display a lime green FOIL polish- which had a label (In the Limelight), which is gorgeoustastical, I can't wait to use it too...I LOVE foils.



    I used ULTA Professional awesome color with no label as a base, with China Glaze Cherish applied with Bundle Monster plate BM03 just to the upper corner of each nail. :) Topped it off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Schlongs & Songs


    (sorry dad) :-P Tonight I'm going to a show called Naked Boys Singing here in Las Vegas. If you haven't heard of it, it precisely what it sounds like- buff, attractive men singing in the nude. Should be a good time. ;) So, today, for shits and giggles, I decided to attempt to paint the poster on my nails. What is it with me and naked men on my fingernails, seriously? :-D BTW, it is effing HARD to paint tiny little naked dudes on fingernails. HARD! (hee hee) Luckily, because I added the 'censor' bar to make it PG, I didn't have to paint any tiny penises.... or is it penii? ;)

    the inspiration:



    the nails:



    I used OPI Who the Shrek Are You? as a base, with American Apparel Cotton as a base for the dudes and the orange stripe. For the orange stripe, I used essie Tart Deco, for the boys, I used MAC Abalone Shell, then shaded with Nubar Milk Chocolate Creme. For the black bar, I used American Apparel Hassid. Topped it all off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

    How do you like your boys to sing? :-D

Getting Carried Away


    I'll admit it...I'm a HUGE Sex and the City fan. Love every fashion-filled, cosmopolitan-sipping moment of it. (especially those moments that include Aidan, AKA John Corbett... *drool* <---been dreamy since Northern Exposure) I would kill for Carrie Bradshaw's wardrobe and shoe collection (mostly the shoe collection- I'm a big shoe collector in addition to my nail polish ;)) Anyway, my roommate and I, along with a few other girls, are going to see Sex and the City 2 tonight, I'm super excited!!! I'm curious to see what happens with the Aidan bump-into. (hell, I'd pay the $12 just to stare at him on screen for 2 hrs). The ring finger nail in today's design is way over the top (hence the 'Carried Away' tie-in in the title). Hope you like them! :) Sorry they're a tad shaky though, I was shaking so badly while I was doing them that it was impossible to draw straight lines!! Also, check The Daily Nail: REVIEWS later tonight for a review of the ULTA Glam Goth collection! :)



    I used American Apparel Hassid as a base for the black nails, and Zoya Trixie for the jeweled nail. For the pink of the skyline, and logo, I used Massini Power Pack (an inexpensive brand that midwesterners can find at Meijer, but I'm not sure where else to purchase it), and the rhinestones were from Michaels Crafts. :) Topped it all off with some Seche Vite top coat, and away I go. :)

    Who's your favorite SATC character- male or female?

    Aidan....*sigh*

Mum's the Word


    So today I did some swatching of some new colors I snagged at ULTA (post will be up tomorrow), so I didn't have a ton of time left in the day to do an awesometacular design, but I love how simple and striking the palette and image I used for today's design are. I used another of the Bundle Monster plates for this design, I think that it looks like a stylized version of a Chrysanthemum, or 'Mum'.



    I used American Apparel Cotton as a base, with American Apparel Hassid for the black mums and Essie Foot Loose for the pink mums, which I applied with Bundle Monster plate BM02. Topped it off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

    Today was an awesome day- the story that was written about me for the Las Vegas Weekly Magazine was posted online, and the print version hits newsstands tomorrow here in Vegas!!! :) I'm thrilled!!

    Las Vegas Weekly: Nailed It!.

    I loved the article- and the last line was a perfect ending! :-P

How Geeky!

The Collection as of 5/24/10


    I get quite a few requests asking to see my collection of polishes, so for those of you that are interested....


    The Daily Nail polish collection, modest compared to some, excessive to some people (like my mom ;)) but perfect for me (until the next pretty polish comes along)....

    China Glaze:



    Zoya:



    Essie/OPI:



    American Apparel (not all are shown- I have all but the topcoat and Rose Bowl, just thought the polish rainbow was pretty ;)):



    American Apparel/butterLONDON/Sinful Colors/Color Club:



    Nubar/MAC/Creative Nail Design (CND):



    ORLY/Piggy Polish/Milani:



    Sally Hansen:



    Urban Outfitters/Pure Ice/ULTA/Barielle:



    Dare 2 Wear/ALDO:



    Miscellaneous 1 (Nfu Oh, Hot Topic, Kleancolor, Goldie, BB Couture, etc):



    Miscellaneous 2 (mostly minis, with some striper polishes):



    There ya go. :) Hope you don't think I'm as nuts as my family does. ;)

Beware the Koopa Troopas!!


    Proof I'm a nerd, but the totally rad kind of nerd: if you call my phone, instead of you hearing ringing, which is a normal thing, you hear my ringback...which is the Super Mario Bros. theme. Awesome, right? Anyway, from time to time, I forget that I have that ringback, so when people comment on it after calling for the first time, it always makes me chuckle, and today, it provided inspiration for my nails!! (I didn't even know that there was a new Mario game out recently- I'm behind on things, obviously) I did the question mark blocks on one hand, and on the other hand, I did coins and a growth mushroom! :)


    I used



    Left hand - Question Mark Blocks

    American Apparel Palm Springs as a base, then mixed with American Apparel Pinto for the question mark symbol. For the black, I used American Apparel Hassid.



    Right Hand - Coins and Growth Mushroom

    Orly Snowcone as a base, with Love & Beauty Bronze for the coins (from Forever 21), Sally Hansen All the White Stuff as a base for the mushroom, China Glaze Salsa for the red, then American Apparel Hassid for the black on all 5 nails. I also mixed a little of the American Apparel Hassid with the Sally Hansen All the White Stuff to shade the stem of the mushroom.

    Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat to make it gleam. :)

    Now get going- you have to save the princess!!!


I Would Like to Buy a Vowel, Please.

Fiercely Fluorescent


    Ok, so it's not fluorescent, but I like alliteration in certain titles, and definitely wanted to used the word 'fiercely', since I used Fiercely Fiona as a base! :-D I adore this color, its a yellow with a springy green tinge, its downfall? it took 5 coats to be opaque for me. I dunno about you, but I rarely have that kind of time! Anyway, I also used two polishes from the new polish collection at ALDO Shoes! :) They're gorgeous colors, and I'll be reviewing them, as well as Fiercely Fiona on The Daily Nail Blog Reviews in the next couple of days, I bought three of them the other day! :)



    I used OPI Fiercely Fiona as a base, with ALDO Berry Flirty for the hot pink stripes, and ALDO Poolside in Malibu for the teal stripes. Topped it off with Seche Vite top coat.

You're Full of Hot Air

Burnin' Rubber


    So, if you've been reading the blog recently, you know that my sister was here in Vegas last week, and that it was awesome. Well, she's doing a month-long cross-country motorcycle trip, so today's nails are in honor of her awesomenosity, she's pretty much the most badass chick you're likely to meet. It was super awesome having her here, and makes me miss home, where I actually got to spend time with her more often than once/twice a year. (sucky) Anyway, enough saptastic stuff, she knows I love her, and think she rocks. Today's nail design was painted to look like tire tread rubber that was burnt onto cement. (I even tried to paint the same tread as her tires!)



    I used BB Couture Opposites Attract as a base, with American Apparel Hassid for the tire tread, with more BB Couture Opposites Attract sponged over part of it. Topped it off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

    Also- today L'Oreal held a makeover event at the Venetian Walgreens here in Vegas, and Collier Strong was there!! For those of you who are like- 'Who is Collier Strong?!' I recommend that you climb out of your hole and either watch some TV, read some magazines, or check him out a little thing called the internet!! :-P He is the consulting makeup artist for L'Oreal Paris, the beauty consultant for Project Runway, as well as many other things! Anyway, I got to meet him, get some tips, and he was SO super nice!! I also got a touchup from the lovely Monique, and chatted with a very friendly guy from L'Oreal named Gary. Overall it was a cool experience getting to try some new products and some established products that I hadn't tried yet, as well as meeting some nice new people!! I got my picture with Colllier (but I look like a total bum lol):



Bundled Up With Butter


    Howdy!!! So recently, I read about Bundle Monster on amazon, and of course, had to order the plate set, I mean come on - 21 plates for $17.99 with free shipping? Yup, I'm in. These plates are exactly like Konad plates, but with different designs. I've purchased all the Konad plates I really wanted in the last 6 months, so after I saw the new images on these- I had to get them- the images are awesome, and right up my alley, not a ton of girly stuff, great patterns, and other great images! Plus, for $17.99, I couldn't really beat it. Today, i decided to use one of the plates along with one of the new American Apparel colors, Butter, which I reviewed today on The Daily Nail Reviews. Hope you like it! I learned that Damone Roberts 1968 is not great for Konading, argh!! lol This is pretty subtle, but has a lovely spring feel to it.



    I used American Apparel Butter as a base, then used OPI Damone Roberts 1968 applied with Bundle Monster plate BM06 Topped it off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat

Daily Nail: UNGPLUGGED.


    Today's nail were inspired by something we ignore, and something there is never enough of when you need them. (cue powerstrips) OUTLETS, PLUGS, POWER SOURCES, whatever you call them, without them, I couldn't do this blog (mainly because my laptop is almost 6 years old, and the battery lasts approximately 10 minutes, or 3 minutes when it is cold out). I used one of the new American Apparel colors, California Trooper, which I also reviewed and swatched on a new branch of this site The Daily Nail Reviews.



    I used American Apparel California Trooper as a base, with American Apparel Hassid for the plug holes, Sally Hansen Metro Creme for the shadow around the holes, and American Apparel Cotton for the highlight. Topped it off with Seche Vite top coat.

    So there it is, no acoustic guitar, just nails. :-)

    And because I get SO many people that ask if my nails are real, etc, here you go- naked nails.. very yellowed naked nails, I've tried everything, lemon juice soaks, denture cleaner, hydrogen peroxide, buffing, etc, nothing makes it go away!! :( If anyone has tips, lmk.




Not for the 'Weekly' of Heart

A Nightmare on My Street


    Today's nails are simple, but they are because I'm going to see Nightmare on Elm Street tonight... YES! (at a drive-in, no less- awesome!!) Should be a good time- I love the drive-in, I love scary movies, and I love movie popcorn. lol I also think that I love this red polish color... it shows a VNL with 2 coats, but the color is pretty much the perfect vixen red. :) I did today's nails to look like the sweater that Freddy Krueger wears in the movies. :-D



    I used China Glaze High Maintenance as a base, with American Apparel Hunter for the stripes.

    Tell 'em Freddy sent ya!

No Bones About It


    Hi everyone! Today's nails are for the skateboarders that I'm hanging out with tonight....Chris, Mark, Chuck, etc. I did the BONES Wheels logo. :) I hope they dig em!! (I get to meet Hank the puppy and eat grilled brats, too----these guys are the kings of grilling!) :-D YUM!

    Inspiration:


    Nails:


    I used American Apparel Hassid as a base, with China Glaze Millennium for the logo. Topped it off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat for the brang new wheel shine. :-D

Flower Power


    Hi! Today's nails were inspired by where I went today and what I did- my sister went up to Mt. Charleston and saw all the amazing views and plants and SNOW! :) I even made a mini-snowman :-D There were tons of awesome cactus flowers and normal flowers and the views were, as always, spectacular. :) I also bought the new American Apparel polishes (yes, all 5), I skipped the top coat because I'm such a seche vite devotee, but I tried the tester in the store, and it dried relatively quickly, and held up the glossy coat until today, so I can't say too much bad about it. :) I used one of the new polishes, Esprit for today's manicure, and while I'll give a more in-depth review in a day or two, I love it, it was opaque in two coats, was a tad problematic to apply, but that could just be where I was applying (near a semi-open window), so I'll have to swatch it again to get a true experience.



    I used American Apparel Esprit as a base, with China Glaze Grape Pop applied with Konad Plate m66, then I dabbed a dot of Nubar Violet Sparkle to the center of one of the flowers. Topped it all of with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.


    And here are some pictures from today! :) There are more, I just don't have time tonight to get them all edited! (some are panoramas!)






Working For Peanuts?


    Hey all!! Today is LION KING!!!! My parents were kick-ass enough to treat us to Lion King tickets. How awesome is that?! Thanks mom and dad!! :) I saw it shortly after it came here to Las Vegas, but still, very very excited to see it again- it was incredible!!! Not sure what our agenda is today, but I'm sure it'll will be fun regardless, its been really awesome to have my sister here!! Anyway, to the nails- today they're Charlie Brown nails! :) I tried to make the zig zags look wavy and squiggly like they do in the comic strips. :-D



    I used American Apparel Manila as a base, with American Apparel Hassid for the zig-zags. Topped it off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat. Some question has been raised about why I use 2 coats, and the reason why I do this is because it gives a much glassier, smoother finish. Otherwise, you still see the ridge of the different layers of polish used to create a design. :)



She Bangs


    At least my fingertips do! ;) Today's nails are simple (even though they were a pain to do because the design would NOT stick to the matte- which I finally top-coated) Today has been a less ambitious day with my sister, we went to Trader Joe's - her first time!! We also went to REI and one of the outlet malls, tonight we are going to the other outlets, Casa Don Juan, and either the Eiffel Tower or Stratosphere tower at night. :-D



    I used OPI for Sephora What's a Tire Jack? Matte as a base, with China Glaze Millennium applied with Konad Plate s5. I topped it off with a coat of Seche Vite top coat because the stupid gun wouldn't stick to the matte. I had to redo them in the 5 minutes it took to find my camera. *argh*

    Gives a whole meaning to 'finger guns', eh?

    I also thought that I'd show you my toes, even though I abhor my feet. (I have wonky feet, the scar(s) you may see are from surgery I had as a teenager- fun fact, I still have a screw in my foot! I just thought the idea of bacon on my 'piggies' was funny. Please don't judge my hideous foot! lol



    :-D

Oh La la!


    Hey all!! Today was the first day my sister was in town, and boy did we pack it in!! I introduced her to In N Out for lunch, Grimaldi's (best pizza ever) for dinner, we saw the BODIES exhibit, the CSI Exhibit, and the Shark Reef, she won $21 on a Star Wars slot machine, and we went to Anthony Cools (so funny I had tears running down my face and my throat and face hurt from laughing so hard). Anyway, the final stop was the Anthony Cools show at Paris, so I did Paris themed nails!! I wanted to do a loose interpretation of the Eiffel tower...



    I used American Apparel Cotton as a base, with American Apparel Hassid for the Eiffel towers and 'Bonjour!'. For the red stripe, I used China Glaze Salsa and for the blue, I used Pure Ice French Kiss. Topped it off with two coats of Seche Vite top coat.

    à bientôt! :-)

Vintage Vroom


    Hey everyone!! Guess what I got in the mail the other day?! OPI Damone Roberts 1968!! Boy, did this color live up to the hype- its beautiful, and totally reminds me of vintage cars or stoves. :-P Today's nails are based on the vintage car colors and chrome. Not perfect, but it works. :-D Today was fun- I went bowling with some of my old coworkers- I bowled a 129 :-D (and an 88, and an 83, but let's not talk about those ;)) Also- my sister rode into town today on her motorcycle, and is going to be here a few days- I'm super excited to see her and show her Vegas! :)

    Swatch of OPI Damone Roberts 1968




    I used OPI Damone Roberts 1968 (which you can order by calling 310-271-2100) as a base, then painted American Apparel Cotton on the tip at an angle, then used China Glaze Millennium for the chrome, then mixed with American Apparel Hassid to shadow. Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

    Woo!! It sounds like a hurricane out here! (the wind is blowing SO hard!)

American Apparel Extends Nail Polish Line!


    Hi all!!I'm sure a lot of you that read my blog know that I'm a big fan of American Apparel's polishes- especially Hassid! Well, I got an email this morning with the news that they are extending their line to include 5 new colors and a base/top coat!



    The colors (l - r) are Base/Top coat, Malibu Green, Esprit, Summer Peach, California Trooper, Butter

    I hope these new polishes are as awesome as the first round!!! As soon as I get my hot little hands on some, I'll be sure to let you know- a pale yellow!??! I CANNOT wait!

Piece of Cake


    Ahhh, it's done, the cake is finished, the wedding is over. Thank goodness. I'm exhausted, since I didn't really sleep last night because I kept having cake-related nightmares. It was NOT good. lol Anyway, the cake seemed to be a success, and the bride was happy! :-D My bread class ends tomorrow, I'll be sad when it's over, I really enjoyed it! On monday, my sister comes to stay for a few days, so I'm super excited about that, it'll really be good to have some family around, even if only for a few days. Today's nails were based off of the illustration on the back of the wedding invitations, a red hand-drawn looking flowery design.

    The inspiration:



    The nails:



    I used American Apparel Cotton as a base, with China Glaze Strawberry Fields for the line work.

    Some pictures:

    The cake I made for the wedding as my gift:



    They killed it!!



    Chocolate:



    Vanilla:



    The bride:



    Food baby!! lol I have a great ability to push out my tummy and look pregnant. :-P (and the food was SO good, I ate until I couldn't breathe- I actually had to unzip my dress a little lol)



Total Pageviews