tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83055467095728955592024-03-12T18:14:26.943-05:00The Polished PlatypusMuffin Nailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17791137101042699082noreply@blogger.comBlogger118125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8305546709572895559.post-74311673835927978072015-01-26T21:56:00.005-06:002015-01-26T21:56:35.464-06:00Birthday Nails!<div style="text-align: justify;">
Hey folks! This is going to be a quicky post because I've spent the entire day at school, and then a family dinner, all with no break, and this girl is ready to go to bed! Anyhoo, today is my eighteenth birthday, which is very exciting, but also kind of scary! I can get a tattoo. I can buy lottery tickets. I can vote. It's a wild time. As usual, I had to do some sort of nail art design to celebrate the occasion, so here are my birthday nails!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjByKqqe94kjUrmVlUxddLMaSwnOEjYyrW6V4cCkGpnfhnOuZo1UyQpJIYR0-DeEgPCJa2gKAmzq8ptRNfPQs4Eg691QydmunZYsTEjOo9rahEpJak2CCp4fLZAF-vF15m7_KJmiY7c-AI/s1600/birthday18.1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjByKqqe94kjUrmVlUxddLMaSwnOEjYyrW6V4cCkGpnfhnOuZo1UyQpJIYR0-DeEgPCJa2gKAmzq8ptRNfPQs4Eg691QydmunZYsTEjOo9rahEpJak2CCp4fLZAF-vF15m7_KJmiY7c-AI/s1600/birthday18.1.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Okay, I can't complain enough about how difficult numbers are to paint with nail polish. They're really difficult! I spent over twenty minutes on them on the one hand, and decided it wasn't even worth attempting with my non-dominant hand. I'm not 100% happy with them, but there was no way they were going to get any better. Plus, imperfect nail art has character, right? <i>Right? </i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHfKTSRqdVbdhY5BCzAi_-yOdIFkOFfLfaqa8YZ1QysWN7D2B1WkXkrrg-ZcmBRqBol67z1MR-AxxAeSXvfBA-teWhzKOaqwIL99iTGG4UGI5k469vH9QFMyf9OMM4NxcrvUTc6acxIJ8/s1600/birthday18.2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHfKTSRqdVbdhY5BCzAi_-yOdIFkOFfLfaqa8YZ1QysWN7D2B1WkXkrrg-ZcmBRqBol67z1MR-AxxAeSXvfBA-teWhzKOaqwIL99iTGG4UGI5k469vH9QFMyf9OMM4NxcrvUTc6acxIJ8/s1600/birthday18.2.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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As usual, I used a <i>huge</i> amount of colors in this design. On the cupcakes, the light pink is OPI - Steady as she Rose, and the darker pink stripes are OPI - Sparrow Me the Drama. The white cupcake frosting is China Glaze - Snow, the raspberry sprinkles are Sally Hansen - Cinna-snap (my current favorite color!), and the cherry on top is OPI - Cajun Shrimp. </div>
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The black background is China Glaze - Smoke and Ashes, the white on the numbers is from a dollar store nail art striper, and the pink is Sparrow Me the Drama again. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs_6fBPfGTyNoaLxfPAsZCe3cM-5UKh2dg4GWtMPZXRuWMcmjZ8CE2DsFdccYKWCCXNricUg48M0dYZU4SusBB0imwM1qUOmAVxl4yYDcacemt_XDHgZ6pF6ry1yA1KhnmxxH-MkPe26w/s1600/birthday18.3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs_6fBPfGTyNoaLxfPAsZCe3cM-5UKh2dg4GWtMPZXRuWMcmjZ8CE2DsFdccYKWCCXNricUg48M0dYZU4SusBB0imwM1qUOmAVxl4yYDcacemt_XDHgZ6pF6ry1yA1KhnmxxH-MkPe26w/s1600/birthday18.3.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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I feel like I'm starting to run out of birthday nail ideas here. I've done candles, and I've done cupcakes several times. What's there to do next? Maybe I should try switching up colors next time... but I love pink too much to do anything else on my birthday!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1OZH5hCv6Adippo-FfOQsNDmM8FkfiMdLAx28E6Rj-xUTeAEK2dcc7wfUDPXivi2stD4nwdgM1136xhNOsksjrHKf3cP7CW9HsfB0BlDTcSLDBLBVHPSPJAxVxXBCGNkAjol8vDUXqOE/s1600/birthday18.4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1OZH5hCv6Adippo-FfOQsNDmM8FkfiMdLAx28E6Rj-xUTeAEK2dcc7wfUDPXivi2stD4nwdgM1136xhNOsksjrHKf3cP7CW9HsfB0BlDTcSLDBLBVHPSPJAxVxXBCGNkAjol8vDUXqOE/s1600/birthday18.4.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Do you have any fun birthday traditions you like to do? I spent tonight at Biaggi's with my parents and grandparents -- that place has some incredible tiramisu. Are there also any silly things any of you have done to celebrate becoming an adult? I'm still saving up for a tattoo (I really want a blacklight one, so that no one will know it's there except for me -- unless I'm at a rave or something!) but dang, those things are expensive, so in the meantime I've got to find so me other way to celebrate being eighteen. Let me know in the comments, and also let me know if you have any requests for nail art designs/tutorials in the future! I've been having trouble getting the creative juices flowing recently, so any suggestions would be really helpful. </div>
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Thanks for reading!</div>
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- Allie</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01792049917665455312noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8305546709572895559.post-47353421822586120452014-12-21T19:27:00.000-06:002014-12-21T19:27:14.484-06:00Santa HatsEek, it's been so long since I last posted anything! It feels good to be back, though.<div>
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Anyway, since it's almost Christmas, I had to do a fun little design to celebrate the holiday. What better design to do than Santa Hats?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUNhDVwPD6C5x6AO3btYw8Rwdr-rbQwVhiyMf8rnbG-nf-raUwzJEEa2-62ydDxQiENUCzeY_Stc2wBNfNx8nMYEUcRtArJeo6Yn2ZHP7zntWJJ4USVh8P4IXsyIIFLxRZm2LAb51G1Kc/s1600/santa+hats+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUNhDVwPD6C5x6AO3btYw8Rwdr-rbQwVhiyMf8rnbG-nf-raUwzJEEa2-62ydDxQiENUCzeY_Stc2wBNfNx8nMYEUcRtArJeo6Yn2ZHP7zntWJJ4USVh8P4IXsyIIFLxRZm2LAb51G1Kc/s1600/santa+hats+1.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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What's more simple and recognizable for Christmas than a Santa hat? These only took me about ten minutes to do, but (I hope!) they still have a festive spirit.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtiZZo1wgqCI7Cy5Kcmz6TpwK6cRUiQOidnFiNBl1TPr8nYIKJaC_eq53ypONPqCMdr-utLdYDFSH-9QTX1S18muQzKqWdcGfNMh6PYB9WPLuWxnfhVkeJ7p6SYhjyb2ce_SrD83_oJIw/s1600/santa+hats+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtiZZo1wgqCI7Cy5Kcmz6TpwK6cRUiQOidnFiNBl1TPr8nYIKJaC_eq53ypONPqCMdr-utLdYDFSH-9QTX1S18muQzKqWdcGfNMh6PYB9WPLuWxnfhVkeJ7p6SYhjyb2ce_SrD83_oJIw/s1600/santa+hats+2.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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The red is Sinful Colors - No Text Red, and the white is China Glaze - Snow.<br />
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If anyone else wants to try these, all I did was lay down a base coat, paint on a triangle with my red, and use a dotting tool to add the white accent. Two coats of HK Girl later, it was a shiny finished manicure!<br />
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I'm hoping to be back with one more holiday manicure before Christmas (I'm thinking snowmen... or maybe Christmas lights?) so I'll see you all then, but to anyone going away for the week to distant lands without WiFi, travel safely, and enjoy your holiday!</div>
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Bonus picture: Abraham wearing a Santa hat (because what could be cuter than this!)</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01792049917665455312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8305546709572895559.post-8708877974579865822014-09-30T20:33:00.001-05:002014-09-30T20:33:43.471-05:00ESSC 2014: #inspired by one or more techniques <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Hey folks!</div>
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Okay, I really hope this isn't cheating, but today I pulled out a design from a month ago I wanted to post but ran out of time for. I've got a lot on my plate right now with college applications and all the crazy stuff of senior year, so I figured this would be a good time to pull out an older design. It still fits the theme, though, because as I did this just as school was really getting into full swing, I thought of it as a goodbye to summer and hello to the rest of the year. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHSRemeEiydl2afXXUtwN29BS_gzoRu9Jtg5PK5DBAAbEms9PVwF2xZuVw0SirFlTtODoIAPL_P8dKnuOiadZl9v9FKyr8mjjHcWez0iAdhAwv9ut768e_SW-kRYOx-h5ccYhYPQBAxyE/s1600/10653889_10204778266605293_2058915134_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHSRemeEiydl2afXXUtwN29BS_gzoRu9Jtg5PK5DBAAbEms9PVwF2xZuVw0SirFlTtODoIAPL_P8dKnuOiadZl9v9FKyr8mjjHcWez0iAdhAwv9ut768e_SW-kRYOx-h5ccYhYPQBAxyE/s1600/10653889_10204778266605293_2058915134_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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There's actually a funny story behind this one; it started out as summery flowers, but they completely failed, so in anger I smashed the brush against my fingers. And then I thought... abstract art?<br />
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I have seen this kind of design online before as a grunge nail art style, but I thought it was fun to mix it up and make it something very subtle and soft.<br /><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBT2Qczwjk3Nw4HJJ280swoqjh0R1kPTWgFmNTAOuKPw-r3pCN91O0ThbbR97dKADgPgp3su3KnTXYRd5qK6Abji3vKp871WCXJ9T8vvsK_axoCS2-yB4w97FkYkFE3cr6TTuzmbKmULo/s1600/abstract+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBT2Qczwjk3Nw4HJJ280swoqjh0R1kPTWgFmNTAOuKPw-r3pCN91O0ThbbR97dKADgPgp3su3KnTXYRd5qK6Abji3vKp871WCXJ9T8vvsK_axoCS2-yB4w97FkYkFE3cr6TTuzmbKmULo/s1600/abstract+2.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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My base color is Essie - Navigate Her. I then wiped off the brushes of my other polishes and painted on the remaining color, alternating going horizontally and vertically. The three polishes used for that are Essie - Mojito Madness, China Glaze - Secret Peri-wink-le, and China Glaze - First Mate.<br />
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Okay, I'm off! Time to ask some teachers about writing college recommendations. Gotta love senior year, right?<br />
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Oh, and this is the last day of ESSC! Aww, who else is sad. I love doing nail art challenges; even if I'm not always happy with what design I made each day, it forces me to step out of my comfort zone a bit and try new things. Thanks soooo much to Fuxia91 and Pedrìnails for making this challenge happen! You ladies are the greatest!<br />
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Catch you all later!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01792049917665455312noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8305546709572895559.post-45214086975758384632014-09-25T21:48:00.002-05:002014-09-25T21:48:54.492-05:00ESSC 2014: #Tropical<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Hey everyone! It's day 6 of the Endless Summer September Challenge, and the theme for today is Tropical!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG7K2oUVa-mWgfHW5VA1lgBMYPbU1rX_vBgwnNKTbxdM9Fg6_1hyphenhyphenVW1sl3_s-yGvVlzwmXUcTsfiYEhcwtmUugQpLLYcFHgsoZ-UqGBLEsSdB-lrGFDh8Wf6XOdyCanajWMG_2rTmSisg/s1600/10653889_10204778266605293_2058915134_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG7K2oUVa-mWgfHW5VA1lgBMYPbU1rX_vBgwnNKTbxdM9Fg6_1hyphenhyphenVW1sl3_s-yGvVlzwmXUcTsfiYEhcwtmUugQpLLYcFHgsoZ-UqGBLEsSdB-lrGFDh8Wf6XOdyCanajWMG_2rTmSisg/s1600/10653889_10204778266605293_2058915134_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Okay, so if you guys hadn't figured this out yet... I really love gradients. So whenever there's an opportunity to do one, you can bet I'm going to take it! For my tropical design, I decided to do a sunset with a palm tree in the foreground. </div>
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(Oh, if anyone's curious, I sort of attempted to do a better, updated version of <a href="http://polishedplatypus.blogspot.com/2012/09/nail-art-challenge-day-ten-recreate.html">this</a> very old nail art post). </div>
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Y'all ready for this?</div>
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I started out with two coats of China Glaze - Snow to make my gradient pop. </div>
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Wee, it's gradient time! From top to bottom I have Sally Hansen - Perfect Plum, OPI - Cajun Shrimp, and Sally Hansen - Sun Kissed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLd8ZLPwSaYjn-8AdMmkMDgIQIOTCOa0e3z7wl42nMzAesw45IkyJWeEUtaDhmEcYaGVY_1g12zCHxNbr5Mw4oPZWT6IRuHtxz7w3P1Zti-eQIVF9soWKOhgDqxF3AyJQv1WxMwKfaagQ/s1600/tropical+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLd8ZLPwSaYjn-8AdMmkMDgIQIOTCOa0e3z7wl42nMzAesw45IkyJWeEUtaDhmEcYaGVY_1g12zCHxNbr5Mw4oPZWT6IRuHtxz7w3P1Zti-eQIVF9soWKOhgDqxF3AyJQv1WxMwKfaagQ/s1600/tropical+2.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Then with my cheap dollar store nail striper, I added the palm tree in black. First I drew the trunk, then the branches coming out of it. I finished up with the leaves and a little island detail on the bottom. I also tried to make the tree extend onto the pinkie nail because I thought it looked kinda funky on its own, but I rather stupidly forgot that the two fingers don't like up right, so... woops.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwamvhuvEoJPl8REfriXu35M5MuazZIoQZfxy6hOtVK4VUWci-yII1TM3EtWHVHB2SCDEmiLYfcLu4iBTajI7-8xWjejOD0JAn1PHHPwkgIdJYVkaQQOgvTLqBFdMAZyUPELHgOXBHmbk/s1600/tropical+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwamvhuvEoJPl8REfriXu35M5MuazZIoQZfxy6hOtVK4VUWci-yII1TM3EtWHVHB2SCDEmiLYfcLu4iBTajI7-8xWjejOD0JAn1PHHPwkgIdJYVkaQQOgvTLqBFdMAZyUPELHgOXBHmbk/s1600/tropical+3.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Time for a top coat!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpODqLBl3aKw1L_PeqjwpIDyeCiBQXhz28rqJHaCDk60IdO7AAG3ARbfYmm5k_TQY_U7VzibtrWPqOOfNClxUr8mdL41VempEFHuDx8beXrMPYwvWY5xhc_VCD7x2npVjJ23O1Y2IwT5I/s1600/tropical+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpODqLBl3aKw1L_PeqjwpIDyeCiBQXhz28rqJHaCDk60IdO7AAG3ARbfYmm5k_TQY_U7VzibtrWPqOOfNClxUr8mdL41VempEFHuDx8beXrMPYwvWY5xhc_VCD7x2npVjJ23O1Y2IwT5I/s1600/tropical+4.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUtagsyjbH69YkqfPCIqb7bHUlNCZBbSKiXyPXlavkE3z-naSbUnmx0jb0meRnzTjpQLIfhVTzLawBZxKZIp5mej6dsavjl7JJAbG4RfDlJmxihZyudQgpFVvmP7aI9KcTXXIrNknjc64/s1600/tropical+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUtagsyjbH69YkqfPCIqb7bHUlNCZBbSKiXyPXlavkE3z-naSbUnmx0jb0meRnzTjpQLIfhVTzLawBZxKZIp5mej6dsavjl7JJAbG4RfDlJmxihZyudQgpFVvmP7aI9KcTXXIrNknjc64/s1600/tropical+5.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjinmVUbXUJksyrDYQs54tXRHjpTQ-wCk470xSCWUKLMBLOVJeHZ1QHUfjC9rTFKsZG650G6tI3e_o3WKH6pXIUM36g3oGVXxAPr6BACjXwVMPGFxyE3kJOhDwnPV3Cunl05hPHZqWSKiY/s1600/tropical+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjinmVUbXUJksyrDYQs54tXRHjpTQ-wCk470xSCWUKLMBLOVJeHZ1QHUfjC9rTFKsZG650G6tI3e_o3WKH6pXIUM36g3oGVXxAPr6BACjXwVMPGFxyE3kJOhDwnPV3Cunl05hPHZqWSKiY/s1600/tropical+6.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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There ya have it! After this there's only one day left of the challenge.. aww! I'm going to have to do a bit of brainstorming to figure out what I want to do for the last day. Lemme know in the comments if you have any suggestions for that, as well as what you thought of today's design! :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01792049917665455312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8305546709572895559.post-90561613668423671892014-09-20T20:28:00.000-05:002014-09-20T20:28:14.993-05:00ESSC 2014: #Summer Fruits<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Hey folks! It's time for day 5 of the Endless Summer September Challenge! Let's just jump right into it today.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGYuioJ6_eZnUB8qwb3PSYZvNb6-hFFW0URAwFqnMqEpo4iKXx954Gvh5vyE6zDlDTXNejhrQbvX2tQVAHpg29H1RJIYJgcHN5YNSkqV-DoyURntvuc2F-0LzwhcLYLTAJ8VNJnWzWoqA/s1600/10653889_10204778266605293_2058915134_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGYuioJ6_eZnUB8qwb3PSYZvNb6-hFFW0URAwFqnMqEpo4iKXx954Gvh5vyE6zDlDTXNejhrQbvX2tQVAHpg29H1RJIYJgcHN5YNSkqV-DoyURntvuc2F-0LzwhcLYLTAJ8VNJnWzWoqA/s1600/10653889_10204778266605293_2058915134_n.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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I chose pineapples for the summer fruits prompt because... oh, they're just cute. I also have a fun pineapple pattern tank top that I figured I could use for inspiration, so that made things way easier.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh54i9a3ofZeMVGvHX713Wnik4Kvl1QL50PzMEoeiBs8LZPPHqlPR5HnNiEaQmXOENMDyr2biH1hp8trXsMf1ub7G2_C5xi_jild0D-t59ZR8mQjmfkms0tdzoLJWCGxjv5qelkvWWjdZ0/s1600/pineapples+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh54i9a3ofZeMVGvHX713Wnik4Kvl1QL50PzMEoeiBs8LZPPHqlPR5HnNiEaQmXOENMDyr2biH1hp8trXsMf1ub7G2_C5xi_jild0D-t59ZR8mQjmfkms0tdzoLJWCGxjv5qelkvWWjdZ0/s1600/pineapples+1.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here I've got Julep - Winona for the base, Sally Hansen - Lightening for the pineapple, and Essie - Mojito Madness for the stem (I used a dollar store nail striper for the black dots).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGCbXoDWrDrssVhyYDno9vir8fknt4WV77cMEZyyBWMFX_M0zwwhvVZzfMR41JwRl3nwq_Mn4sVMS7iuCmHYQQhzljKoq70zOkZnuV6jN0vnQOMeWGGyIJ8A3a5kZsqm47O6ux8WNeb_k/s1600/pineapples+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGCbXoDWrDrssVhyYDno9vir8fknt4WV77cMEZyyBWMFX_M0zwwhvVZzfMR41JwRl3nwq_Mn4sVMS7iuCmHYQQhzljKoq70zOkZnuV6jN0vnQOMeWGGyIJ8A3a5kZsqm47O6ux8WNeb_k/s1600/pineapples+2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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I had a little trouble getting the pineapples in the right shape, because today I learned that my poor yellow nail polish is really getting pretty old and icky... but hey, pineapples are never perfectly smooth anyway, right?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOrH6gjX5Bkz6R4Mik56cowlZAzdgTylJj6heR1tXSp5rkARVePCaRyNXXfhFuOSouqz9Gr3AqtmgTVIhy50aree8bQyHMyvLFHI98OVhxPRWoJezI6EytpuReBQFw3yLRD41dCAJt8mw/s1600/pineapples+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOrH6gjX5Bkz6R4Mik56cowlZAzdgTylJj6heR1tXSp5rkARVePCaRyNXXfhFuOSouqz9Gr3AqtmgTVIhy50aree8bQyHMyvLFHI98OVhxPRWoJezI6EytpuReBQFw3yLRD41dCAJt8mw/s1600/pineapples+3.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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So... two more prompts left for ESSC! Aw, I'm already getting sad. Until next time... anyone have any other summer fruits they love? I'm a pretty huge fan of raspberries (we grow a little patch of them and always end up with a ton over the summer), but I figured those wouldn't look as cute translated into a nail art design, hehe. </div>
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See y'all later!</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01792049917665455312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8305546709572895559.post-73207144822208816612014-09-15T19:34:00.000-05:002014-09-15T19:35:40.297-05:00ESSC 2014: #destinationcity<br />
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Howdy folks! </div>
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So, a lil side note before we jump into the post! For anyone who follows me on Facebook, you might have seen that this happened over the weekend.</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYT0S6vrJzPNnAclSnhO8BVZdNkwte9bbA1gTTJYhagnkWYxcNhK58nrNhzyE5_8cUuhvv_StrOjal2xF2XZKeze7wqtQstu3LHOIjpDzQxoxgdKkYPBlHKJEd1TuojNwxB1NlYLNPQIk/s1600/10705232_864171626926288_568181323_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYT0S6vrJzPNnAclSnhO8BVZdNkwte9bbA1gTTJYhagnkWYxcNhK58nrNhzyE5_8cUuhvv_StrOjal2xF2XZKeze7wqtQstu3LHOIjpDzQxoxgdKkYPBlHKJEd1TuojNwxB1NlYLNPQIk/s1600/10705232_864171626926288_568181323_n.jpg" height="608" width="640" /></a><br />
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Ten minutes later: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW0yD085K5AQEAOYF2md6o_JkOHkSlTYXkn1UnQ2Z7e6uDpEvjsghV4XgDSCRtyk3L0-zmS4PLEoB8xuHQzwvCtoW714HPTXoSjDO_oazMnJI63Y6qx5VX-sLnjoxI46BD19jE-odykeo/s1600/10685314_864177006925750_1546943367_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW0yD085K5AQEAOYF2md6o_JkOHkSlTYXkn1UnQ2Z7e6uDpEvjsghV4XgDSCRtyk3L0-zmS4PLEoB8xuHQzwvCtoW714HPTXoSjDO_oazMnJI63Y6qx5VX-sLnjoxI46BD19jE-odykeo/s1600/10685314_864177006925750_1546943367_n.jpg" height="534" width="640" /></a></div>
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Sigh. It's always sad when a nail breaks (although it's kinda fun to turn them into stilettos, I gotta admit). This nail break has a pretty entertaining story to it, though, so I thought I'd get into that a bit!</div>
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So on Saturday I ran the <a href="http://carxcrazyk.com/">Crazy K</a>, a local 5k run. The fun thing about this one is that it's not just a 5k... it's also got a ton of obstacles, most of which involved copious amounts of mud (see the picture below of me sliding into a mud pit), </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicQ-k5BAd6f4YZhm-RZTAB47A_wVgwCTrHZy5GGzCVBsst_R9aAz6e8ZMD4wBm-_62RE6E0R4joAuqV2YwEDr0aSNh_jQ8I3sMinSDxIXFTdFhR2F-eDQVz0lSF9SqMfxLrdslQ9mAfAk/s1600/DSCN9076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicQ-k5BAd6f4YZhm-RZTAB47A_wVgwCTrHZy5GGzCVBsst_R9aAz6e8ZMD4wBm-_62RE6E0R4joAuqV2YwEDr0aSNh_jQ8I3sMinSDxIXFTdFhR2F-eDQVz0lSF9SqMfxLrdslQ9mAfAk/s1600/DSCN9076.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wee, that's me in the brown shirt. </td></tr>
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We also had to climb over, under, and through random stuff, as seen here:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ybPSSSJl-vadDLLLsaMu-6sohba23tP2iLES7mdsGjBVKjExrqceTrSXWZ9Z_sau8g4vNj88jGMTtUw9hynhjWYISmbAVTEbudCmZte5mHgc4Fr2mHbZGv6aNgu8z1WxVvZZvZ7cXjE/s1600/DSCN9088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ybPSSSJl-vadDLLLsaMu-6sohba23tP2iLES7mdsGjBVKjExrqceTrSXWZ9Z_sau8g4vNj88jGMTtUw9hynhjWYISmbAVTEbudCmZte5mHgc4Fr2mHbZGv6aNgu8z1WxVvZZvZ7cXjE/s1600/DSCN9088.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I may have taken the longest shower of my life after getting home from this.</td></tr>
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So, all these obstacles are pretty fun, but sadly, my nails didn't enjoy them as much as I did. One broke on my left hand, and two cracked on my left. I'd already been planning to file them into points for October (wee, fun scary Halloween nail art), so I figured I might as well just cut them down a wee bit early! Hooray! ... Aanndd, that's the story behind my new nail shape, folks. </div>
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I guess I should move onto today's challenge, which I'm not as excited about:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPYLts9vtixQ3C6STBvnkRx1Bym3OvLh2B0eOC9AWTtfq0mbUP-L2A6SGt3baqFHQeY_LlOdDJHPZz4cbJuZeanuH7xuA8AtNFa6hpRbj9pqOOg6fLSI9x_qnge2xouOnZ0josp1sMnUI/s1600/10653889_10204778266605293_2058915134_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPYLts9vtixQ3C6STBvnkRx1Bym3OvLh2B0eOC9AWTtfq0mbUP-L2A6SGt3baqFHQeY_LlOdDJHPZz4cbJuZeanuH7xuA8AtNFa6hpRbj9pqOOg6fLSI9x_qnge2xouOnZ0josp1sMnUI/s1600/10653889_10204778266605293_2058915134_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Okay, it's okay to have those days where we're just not feeling the nail art, right?<br />
I tried three different designs, and all failed pretty badly, but I really don't feel like a fourth attempt (failing over and over again starts to get old pretty fast), sooo here's my destination city nail art nail fail. Sigh!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN21Ont1DFBl591J65_xjaLOX1NwypbTIJ-oFe1j0OszGaT2QUHDC2d2y7lOETHWLQUaiAXJ9DnSGCxW6IJotK5ii_l2PxwFqY-WovRkiH91rZZmgVfE-IQ4fW88dZVRt_H-Cdh2I24Gs/s1600/venice+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN21Ont1DFBl591J65_xjaLOX1NwypbTIJ-oFe1j0OszGaT2QUHDC2d2y7lOETHWLQUaiAXJ9DnSGCxW6IJotK5ii_l2PxwFqY-WovRkiH91rZZmgVfE-IQ4fW88dZVRt_H-Cdh2I24Gs/s1600/venice+1.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Y'all know I visited Italy over the summer (eee, so beautiful), so I decided to do something I saw there for my destination city design. Attempt one was some Roman-themed columns... nope. Terrible. And then I figured I could paint nail polish on tape and cut out some wavey shapes (for Venice's water... because it was pretty, ya know...) with a pair of one of those cool craft scissors, but they couldn't cut through the tape properly, so there went that idea too. I then decided to attempt to replicate this picture I took while I was there:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihPPMnRkOJeMwGbZmhE1AHF-jqezYzCAKNLRti-cLpMx61F_sfbHqlnN8Ygbzq_-J7bF9Qc4ZtBk7KcC3SKp9oUKKlu0vCFxmHWjZjnvjWiVgeDocFe5qsMbuNhNFosChblfaoH3XjAKI/s1600/DSCN7460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihPPMnRkOJeMwGbZmhE1AHF-jqezYzCAKNLRti-cLpMx61F_sfbHqlnN8Ygbzq_-J7bF9Qc4ZtBk7KcC3SKp9oUKKlu0vCFxmHWjZjnvjWiVgeDocFe5qsMbuNhNFosChblfaoH3XjAKI/s1600/DSCN7460.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Yeahhh... it's at least <i>sort of </i>similar, right?<br />
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K, that's all for now. I'm hoping I'll have an easier time with the summer fruits theme (I'm thinking pineapples!), so... see you all then!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01792049917665455312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8305546709572895559.post-18298281554745021792014-09-10T22:11:00.002-05:002014-09-10T22:11:48.585-05:00ESSC 2014: #flowersHey folks! Okay, this is going to be a quicky post because I have had one crazy busy day, got home at 8:30, and now what I most want is to flop ungracefully into my bed and sleep for forever. Here we gooo!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjGMWMrc737ysJcIXZPc92cptHJK39tWVvaOc0GbA1KpwsxlMzCX1gqgFC9M2rez_7ohqlWStb7T16UJvh9okVwaXBRDsbPaD3CdivQqplLRPXaRCeudCX0S2NdPIIupAF7TedFPOz5rQ/s1600/10653889_10204778266605293_2058915134_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjGMWMrc737ysJcIXZPc92cptHJK39tWVvaOc0GbA1KpwsxlMzCX1gqgFC9M2rez_7ohqlWStb7T16UJvh9okVwaXBRDsbPaD3CdivQqplLRPXaRCeudCX0S2NdPIIupAF7TedFPOz5rQ/s1600/10653889_10204778266605293_2058915134_n.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Yay, flower time! I tried to do some vintage-style flowers here, and other than the mistakes that happened as a result of me rushing everything (I'm looking at you, smudgy topcoat...), I think they turned out pretty well! I don't have a step-by-step of how I did these because honestly, you just make some random dots on your nails and they end up looking kind of like flowers. Easy peasy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicNbr_mTVGROgjo6dxwPdVTpvMC8Uxk6IUieB7NnuQYgUC_dI_uZjwdDlgZA9gvqcHoBIwTmzA41yFw3YaANAV79nckCxiMkwU1Jh46krp_kDtB6cmsR3murZYrgIk2WCdkKjWSjCscWI/s1600/flowers+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicNbr_mTVGROgjo6dxwPdVTpvMC8Uxk6IUieB7NnuQYgUC_dI_uZjwdDlgZA9gvqcHoBIwTmzA41yFw3YaANAV79nckCxiMkwU1Jh46krp_kDtB6cmsR3murZYrgIk2WCdkKjWSjCscWI/s1600/flowers+1.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Oh, if you're wondering, the background is Essie - Navigate Her, the leaves are Essie - Mojito Madness, the dark pink is OPI - Sparrow Me the Drama, and the light pink is OPI - Steady as She Rose.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEmhn_KzsInVXODWG0wuPs61D-kdH1WAIx-lp6xm1wi7pAGPDdZzEbZUYBlDjD0A2iWO6qWK7Vu2MIFcenovePjJN-xuQUVDk5SyIcNczFoGSQY8W8t72fq65UWR7mO6vtk0fKI_NJ9k0/s1600/flowers+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEmhn_KzsInVXODWG0wuPs61D-kdH1WAIx-lp6xm1wi7pAGPDdZzEbZUYBlDjD0A2iWO6qWK7Vu2MIFcenovePjJN-xuQUVDk5SyIcNczFoGSQY8W8t72fq65UWR7mO6vtk0fKI_NJ9k0/s1600/flowers+2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Apologies for the paper cuts on a few of my fingers! I don't think my school textbooks like me very much this year (although I guess that's fair, because the feelings are completely mutual).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9OKe8p37_l6NV6reJ0VUZeEnb3V4cGoyFX-QURrhf1TvqBMvEIrQvEeimqWO8B2KlXtlpyKTJFMzui4vFZAHwZGbfmy7CJvbPcjQjZMM5gTv-PaqERO2euYurf_UqwjHX7HPTkWbFgsY/s1600/flowers+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9OKe8p37_l6NV6reJ0VUZeEnb3V4cGoyFX-QURrhf1TvqBMvEIrQvEeimqWO8B2KlXtlpyKTJFMzui4vFZAHwZGbfmy7CJvbPcjQjZMM5gTv-PaqERO2euYurf_UqwjHX7HPTkWbFgsY/s1600/flowers+3.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Okeedoke, I'll be back... whenever. Hope you all enjoyed these! Even though nail art doesn't feel as fun when you're rushing to get it done at 9:00 at night, I still like the vintage feel of these, and I love any chance to use Mojito Madness in a mani (seriously, favorite green EVER).<br />
<br />Later, everyone!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01792049917665455312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8305546709572895559.post-86713178177205730402014-09-05T19:58:00.000-05:002014-09-07T21:03:30.019-05:00ESSC 2014: #Nauticalstyle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Howdy y'all! </div>
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Here's day 2 of the Endless Summer September Challenge:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYbaZ2ZszzWRH2lL4cIm2cUEJkryiWVicnOfAWVPsyoqFCv3U8oFIksKKi96lrbZmfl5wGlHEosdfrfxB0eJRYHPsbeww2HjSBzdVWU33mSv8jvovbZQxwvWI3W0y5FLO0XtSL-rbtjro/s1600/10653889_10204778266605293_2058915134_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYbaZ2ZszzWRH2lL4cIm2cUEJkryiWVicnOfAWVPsyoqFCv3U8oFIksKKi96lrbZmfl5wGlHEosdfrfxB0eJRYHPsbeww2HjSBzdVWU33mSv8jvovbZQxwvWI3W0y5FLO0XtSL-rbtjro/s1600/10653889_10204778266605293_2058915134_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Okay, so I've got to admit, as a Central Illinois native who's only been to an ocean once in her life, I know pretty much nothing about nautical style. I mean, there are anchors and stuff, right?<br />
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Anyway, I asked around for ideas and one of my friends suggested a rope pattern. It was actually a pretty awesome idea, but when I tried it I screwed up. Really badly. I mean, really REALLY badly. It looked like I had paintings of a tapeworm on my nails. Yeahhh, no thank you. So it was back to the drawing board, where I was kind of panicking because I had no other ideas.<br />
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I finally settled on using some striping tape and some textured nail polish, because it would be quick and easy (it was getting pretty late in the day at this point and I had school stuff to do and I was stressing out big time).<br />
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I started out with two coats of OPI - Honey Ryder on my accent nails. I've never been a huge fan of liquid sand and I know its fad phase has kind of passed by now, but it reminded me of sparkling sand, so there you have it. On my other nails I've got one coat (yayy, one coaters!) of China Glaze - First Mate, which is not only a gorgeous blue, but I thought the name was perfect for the nautical theme.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv8Fb0IZ_onW5hbSGM-TzYlLo-JTVvSpzgmWcBGLUrJG6Srq9_7Rlo8fmTIW1nbn7JKhlNPntvVTzuuoQPO5SG-nGuxOg1OExCp2RHTqdly-wq7fkAlLeupAS03NS8_nObuiTl0W9qWu4/s1600/nautical+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv8Fb0IZ_onW5hbSGM-TzYlLo-JTVvSpzgmWcBGLUrJG6Srq9_7Rlo8fmTIW1nbn7JKhlNPntvVTzuuoQPO5SG-nGuxOg1OExCp2RHTqdly-wq7fkAlLeupAS03NS8_nObuiTl0W9qWu4/s1600/nautical+2.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Woo, striping tape placement time! A.K.A. the time where I get super stressed out when the tape refuses to go on perfectly and I have to resist the urge to punch something.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkcDM2lpSBcBqVHrVudIQ3fXGrI0QuzEXf5Qx-wFbttP1pE3aE4zOW1JtpPHxa3d2N1Zafaq1BESRU1x63xZCDSxh7HRqRS3SoYPFLCEP3gkDulSz95dxL3TPtCapsLUIzvQm2DANwUC8/s1600/nautical+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkcDM2lpSBcBqVHrVudIQ3fXGrI0QuzEXf5Qx-wFbttP1pE3aE4zOW1JtpPHxa3d2N1Zafaq1BESRU1x63xZCDSxh7HRqRS3SoYPFLCEP3gkDulSz95dxL3TPtCapsLUIzvQm2DANwUC8/s1600/nautical+3.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Then I cut off the extra tape on the sides, because that's just not pretty!<br />
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Hellooo, topcoat! Well, topcoat on the non-accent nails. Putting a topcoat over liquid sand seems to be defeating the purpose a bit.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvmqjx1lPv_j67ywyjCyyEK8CgbCmaCq7Ww4jNWSkP4DtEOS3Rmn2HYE06QqMaAFzF6j-oDJLWvACH8_7zI-zT0BcRXAA8P9YuJjiGORkA6fVLKaPGdqvOqdxjGCgG8nYrSg32B1-gHY/s1600/nautical+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvmqjx1lPv_j67ywyjCyyEK8CgbCmaCq7Ww4jNWSkP4DtEOS3Rmn2HYE06QqMaAFzF6j-oDJLWvACH8_7zI-zT0BcRXAA8P9YuJjiGORkA6fVLKaPGdqvOqdxjGCgG8nYrSg32B1-gHY/s1600/nautical+5.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOjFMomf3EQYHupc6TwCDWNFi-V8m1u04CJuNXFFxGkhlfPg_ZoloXIqNoA8CJt9MYJgNWKRIVOxfbeNdDBR3dPsmO2t32_YNe7_O6ITSOQMsVLRSmWqKkAjP-pfuA9VIFsvoJ5p-S7BU/s1600/nautical+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOjFMomf3EQYHupc6TwCDWNFi-V8m1u04CJuNXFFxGkhlfPg_ZoloXIqNoA8CJt9MYJgNWKRIVOxfbeNdDBR3dPsmO2t32_YNe7_O6ITSOQMsVLRSmWqKkAjP-pfuA9VIFsvoJ5p-S7BU/s1600/nautical+6.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUCKsOeEQcba65he2ejvcH9HZuyh6wjHQ_iY4f0DjMfcS3PISs69VQtwY8kg9fal0-GcTPz_d9gsga2862i9NcD9vwlMIIzj6T4cj9X-GErFf8GGhNb3h2mEBUXy8jpUbp_xVR7ApNcw4/s1600/nautical+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUCKsOeEQcba65he2ejvcH9HZuyh6wjHQ_iY4f0DjMfcS3PISs69VQtwY8kg9fal0-GcTPz_d9gsga2862i9NcD9vwlMIIzj6T4cj9X-GErFf8GGhNb3h2mEBUXy8jpUbp_xVR7ApNcw4/s1600/nautical+1.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Also, like the watermark font? I tried <br />
to do something... nautical-y)</td></tr>
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Okay, I'll see you all Wednesday! Or maybe even earlier, if I have a chance to edit some photos I've had on my camera for a couple weeks. We'll have to see how intense the schoolwork is! Gotta love the craziness of senior year, am I right? </div>
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Later, everyone!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01792049917665455312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8305546709572895559.post-90527938968644169642014-09-01T20:20:00.001-05:002014-09-01T20:20:30.436-05:00ESSC 2014: #Summer!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Howdy, folks! Guess who's finally back on the blog! I might have not been writing for the past few weeks, but I've been doing a ton of nail art, so whenever I can find it in me to get off my lazy butt and pull together a blog post, I'll be here. </div>
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Anywayy, this month I'll be doing the Endless Summer September nail art challenge - the idea is about making summer last as long as possible. I'm actually a fall person, myself, but I loveeeee bright summer colors, so I'm super excited for this challenge! There are six different prompts for the month (one every five days), and I'm just going to post the picture instead of listing them all: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7bvFMKNdzcIx9prWENhImr6UzVo8qocwHaU5t5vK2MqTjkX9wJs5huYhipvHDn3r221L_7TyVDuJ6mT_wNFFOdp_1YLSA4dKLO8xnW7BH0ycYwVpQrZk80gAZnA8oraon9zM1ZEGYisY/s1600/10653889_10204778266605293_2058915134_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7bvFMKNdzcIx9prWENhImr6UzVo8qocwHaU5t5vK2MqTjkX9wJs5huYhipvHDn3r221L_7TyVDuJ6mT_wNFFOdp_1YLSA4dKLO8xnW7BH0ycYwVpQrZk80gAZnA8oraon9zM1ZEGYisY/s1600/10653889_10204778266605293_2058915134_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Woo, sounds like a fun month, am I right? Today's theme is summer, and although I think this design doesn't scream "summer" when you see it, it reminds me of all summer used to be about when I was a little kid, which was staying outside out late, running through the grass in bare feet, and staring at the stars (oh, and side story: I originally got my inspiration for these nails while listening to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-aJfcYzct8">this song</a>, which somehow really brought back all these fuzzy nostalgic thoughts... something about the whole "night sky" line). Here I've got stars in the background, with blades of grass (or ya know, it could be a cornfield... there was plenty of that from my childhood in Illinois, too) in the front.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTwoWAF6w20W-6Qkcd8mRqzGq3vmflfhG5VKqnxXP78Oap4zqnZwYPWUtt8JkDlX61UqoTQ9XzwmBc3pZEyhs3ZFSs0VBkJoSteVykBi0X5mno7pvEDTJAjfiV-QVrnCn2sshkCCBA1fQ/s1600/summer+sky+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTwoWAF6w20W-6Qkcd8mRqzGq3vmflfhG5VKqnxXP78Oap4zqnZwYPWUtt8JkDlX61UqoTQ9XzwmBc3pZEyhs3ZFSs0VBkJoSteVykBi0X5mno7pvEDTJAjfiV-QVrnCn2sshkCCBA1fQ/s1600/summer+sky+10.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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And of course my nail art posts wouldn't be complete without a breakdown of how I did it! </div>
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I started out with two solid coats of white polish to really make the ombre pop. This is China Glaze - Snow Globe... or is it White on White? I honestly don't know why I own both, but I'm still 99% sure they're the exact same polish. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg74xkl8zNZiRXfIcKms4eEfPjgwxcWkKu-jfVFK8c9dtD80eai-mu_MIRTq095LTZuSgf7jaeIAfTsvPP19OrwNcr3Zt9CLsVg34qcT-6OxVsNZbY5TrL5r2gZeu-FWx1uNBvpS07KbVc/s1600/summer+sky+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg74xkl8zNZiRXfIcKms4eEfPjgwxcWkKu-jfVFK8c9dtD80eai-mu_MIRTq095LTZuSgf7jaeIAfTsvPP19OrwNcr3Zt9CLsVg34qcT-6OxVsNZbY5TrL5r2gZeu-FWx1uNBvpS07KbVc/s1600/summer+sky+1.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Now it's ombre time, woot woot! Grab three different shades of blue polish, a dark, medium, and light. From left to right I have Julep - Michelle, China Glaze - First Mate, and China Glaze - Secret Peri-wink-le.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4EU_L_SV-ZRYpHq84F3Y0fxpNfGgD19B8mtAPGpkKkjrojq0MK9-KcUxIFz0DOpr3FTtixQs8iyFsHy0xhEMn3Fw5mGD7gpOpdFCCNEE6P5PYhyphenhyphenl6pnuMbls8OuIEMe2Gm9_ZCAfOt9E/s1600/summer+sky+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4EU_L_SV-ZRYpHq84F3Y0fxpNfGgD19B8mtAPGpkKkjrojq0MK9-KcUxIFz0DOpr3FTtixQs8iyFsHy0xhEMn3Fw5mGD7gpOpdFCCNEE6P5PYhyphenhyphenl6pnuMbls8OuIEMe2Gm9_ZCAfOt9E/s1600/summer+sky+2.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Whip out a makeup sponge, and... well, you all know the drill at this point!<br />
If you're new to the blog, or gradients, it's super easy. Just brush all the colors onto the sponge like I did below (it helps to have them each overlap a bit) and then dab the sponge on your nail, moving both up and down, and side to side.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtpNgqkAgGY85VFo6gbhHiyLQ2gFdjApIKRQaK5AfpZzw-gSiceBwlPnF0_0Go5v5ujUBHiDkwO1tGkte32GBggNNI0FkCKcZMOHItHX-ziRMqDYIch_mEY8y4-jF2UkI9YYNvNoXsF20/s1600/summer+sky+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtpNgqkAgGY85VFo6gbhHiyLQ2gFdjApIKRQaK5AfpZzw-gSiceBwlPnF0_0Go5v5ujUBHiDkwO1tGkte32GBggNNI0FkCKcZMOHItHX-ziRMqDYIch_mEY8y4-jF2UkI9YYNvNoXsF20/s1600/summer+sky+3.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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I'd recommend going over each nail with the gradient twice, just to get everything as blue as possible.<br />
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After finishing the gradient, slap on a quick topcoat ASAP to smooth everything down. Then, it's time for the stars! Grab a tiny dotting tool (or pencil, or toothpick, or whatever floats your boat) and the white polish you used for the initial white layers and dot on some little circles. Make them random. Put them in different places and make them all different sizes. Whatever you want to do will work! I chose to make one star on each nail larger than the rest, to stand out. I also didn't put stars on the lower third of my nail, since it will be covered up later anyway.<br />
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Now choose two stars on each nail to add some fanciness to. Draw vertical and horizontal lines spreading from the stars you chose (oh, I don't actually know how to explain this... just check out the picture). This gives them that shiny realistic star look.<br />
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Grass time! Use a black striper to draw thin little lines of different heights starting about a third of the way up the nail and going down to the bottom.<br />
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Then it's just time for cleanup, a topcoat, and then photos!<br />
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Ta-da, that's it! You can check out the #EndlessSummerNailChallenge and #essc2014 tags on Facebook and Twitter (and Instagram, maybe? I've never gotten into Instagram so I've got no idea on that one). I still have that one last bottle of polish I got from Italy to post a swatch of, and then I'll also be back in five days with a nautical style design. Hm, I'm going to have to get thinking on this one...<br />
I'll see you all then! Here are some questions in the meantime:<br />
- Does anyone else use music to inspire them when painting nails?<br />
- What do you think of when you look back on childhood summers?<br />
- Why in the world do brands make multiple, most likely identical, white nail polishes? Grr!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01792049917665455312noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8305546709572895559.post-3524022255428568902014-08-10T21:53:00.001-05:002014-08-10T21:53:31.804-05:00Nifty Nail Polish Finds: Kiko <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Howdy folks! How were your weekends? I was lucky enough to have a great one- yesterday was spent waking up early for fancy donuts from the local farmer's market, back-to-school shopping, and doing one of those pedal boat ride things with a few of my friends. Fun times, right?</div>
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Anyway, today I've got another of the nail polishes I found in Italy. I'll be honest- I had a really tough time photographing this one! In the bright light I use for photography, it appeared teal, but in almost anything darker, it leans more towards the green side. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDUdQLJZlgso42k_CDwXWO5Oru3LRQDF0Cl5wRB-rbbKKh1EDXyd1XSrWCZkCQI66t6vW8SDfQIgT2xQlzZPbgc_afas9hByXeBktSUV96mkkLoqgjQu5xP89EqZHP3MWkJFSZ9czm97w/s1600/Kiko+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDUdQLJZlgso42k_CDwXWO5Oru3LRQDF0Cl5wRB-rbbKKh1EDXyd1XSrWCZkCQI66t6vW8SDfQIgT2xQlzZPbgc_afas9hByXeBktSUV96mkkLoqgjQu5xP89EqZHP3MWkJFSZ9czm97w/s1600/Kiko+1.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here I've got two coats of Kiko - 532 (side note: am I the only one who hates when brands don't name their polishes? Grr!) with one coat of HK Girl.<br />
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I'm pretty sure that if mermaids wore nail polish, this would be the color all of them would own.<br />
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So much sparkle!<br />
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You can kind of see the polish's normal color in the bottle in this picture. Still pretty, but a bit less blue!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT__cJ_K8C4pap8es_eeJyO99FSBRYffBCPGMWs2arMd4Nu87N9lVjNGyUJdx_rGsxuj_PTrFHx6LxpjxD11Jj3yhEPsUcwoIKwVd8OZEUfrel6DGZpz6xklPqVVH-CCCNFVSHQbG1P-M/s1600/Kiko+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT__cJ_K8C4pap8es_eeJyO99FSBRYffBCPGMWs2arMd4Nu87N9lVjNGyUJdx_rGsxuj_PTrFHx6LxpjxD11Jj3yhEPsUcwoIKwVd8OZEUfrel6DGZpz6xklPqVVH-CCCNFVSHQbG1P-M/s1600/Kiko+5.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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This picture's also a bit more accurate to the real color. Gorgeous, huh?<br />
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In my next post, I've got another polish from Kiko, a this time a bright red-orange. And school starts exactly a week from tomorrow for me, so I'll also have to get in a back-to-school nail art design! In the meantime, let me know what you think of Kiko 532. Love it? Hate it? Tell me in the comments, and I'll see you all soon!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01792049917665455312noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8305546709572895559.post-42221244004869270372014-07-29T17:12:00.001-05:002014-07-29T17:14:50.630-05:00The Great Polish Giveaway of 2014!Heyo, everyone! Okay, I know this week was supposed to be another post on my Italian nail polish, but I'm just going to push that to the side for a bit, because THERE'S A GIVEAWAY AFOOT, FOLKS! That's right. I'm pretty sure most of you have heard about this by now, but pretty much, Nail Polish Canada, Cirque, NCLA, and Picture Polish have all teamed together for... well, the only proper way to put it is "<a href="http://www.nailpolishcanada.com/categories/the-great-polish-giveaway-of-2014.html">one big-ass giveaway</a>." It starts at zero polishes, and bloggers are able to nominate one to add to the prize, all the way up to 200 total polishes that one extremely lucky winner will receive.<br />
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<img alt="" class="__mce_add_custom__" src="http://www.nailpolishcanada.ca/Giveaway.jpg" height="150" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="350" /><br />
Okay, but onto the fun stuff! I decided to nominate Zoya - Aurora for the giveaway, because... just look at it.<br />
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Yepp, it might just be the most gorgeous polish on the planet. And not only that, but it holds a special place in my heart - my own bottle of Aurora was gifted to me by one of the most amazing friends I've ever had the pleasure of knowing, so sentimental value alone places at the very top of the list of "Allie's favorite nail polishes ever."<br />
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For everyone that skimmed past this post to get straight to the giveaway, here it is!<br />
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<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/5e27504c157/" id="rc-5e27504c157" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//widget.rafflecopter.com/load.js"></script>
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Good luck to everyone that enters! And if you're a blogger, here's where you can <a href="http://www.nailpolishcanada.com/nominate-a-prize-to-be-added/">nominate a polish</a> for the giveaway yourself. If you're not a blogger, I'd love to hear in the comments below what polish you'd nominate for the giveaway if you could.<br />
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Until the next post... I'll catch you all later!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01792049917665455312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8305546709572895559.post-19027826454317141092014-07-20T18:48:00.001-05:002014-07-20T18:48:24.212-05:00Nifty Nail Polish Finds: CollistarHey y'all, long time no see! Boy, have I had a crazy past two weeks. Before I jump into the post, how about I do a little insight-into-Allie's-life section? Here we go!<br />
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On the Saturday after the 4th of July, I headed out on a road trip with my mom to visit a couple colleges and get a taste of what I liked and didn't like in a school (for the record, Kenyon College is my favorite as of now, with nothing coming even close). We stopped for four days to visit my grandmother in New York, visited a few colleges in her area, and then spent last Friday driving home. For twelve. Long. Hours. Ick! So of course all I wanted to do when I got home was spend the weekend sleeping, relaxing, and maybe painting my nails, right? Nope, I wasn't getting off that easily. The next morning we had a HUGE amount of rain (four inches in one hour, I think I heard?), and our basement flooded. Hoorayyy. I've spent the last week helping my mom drag stuff out of the basement, talking with the people from Servpro, and trying to find whatever little bits of peace and normality I could. We lost a few little things, and the carpet's wrecked, but other than that we got pretty lucky with the whole flooding disaster. It still hasn't been fun to have our entire house turned upside down, though (half of our main floor has turned into emergency storage space for everything that was earlier stuffed in the basement), which is why it's nice to get back to the blog and jump back in to the magical, comforting world of nail polish. Enjoy the post!<br />
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So as you all know, I recently took a trip to Italy, and there would have been something very wrong with me if I hadn't brought back any nail polish to remember it with! I bought three different polishes while I was there, and today I've got swatches of the color Bordeaux Perlato by Collistar. I did a bit of research and I don't think it's possible to buy this brand in the US (maybe there are some bottles on eBay?), but if anyone can think of a good dupe, let me know, because this polish is STUNNING!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkzDwMo9aJdxwI-ioxl3K-MW_vgRrcvGH2s2u9NZpgBka2g4m_3wu_MGcepJEFLolZEPHkSLSQyWCnsjwuXDuOFgeXkqgxk1a6B3ulP2WR8LNW3SStEFJrAyFPe6rZKRrfJN9dBjJp81Q/s1600/Collistar+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkzDwMo9aJdxwI-ioxl3K-MW_vgRrcvGH2s2u9NZpgBka2g4m_3wu_MGcepJEFLolZEPHkSLSQyWCnsjwuXDuOFgeXkqgxk1a6B3ulP2WR8LNW3SStEFJrAyFPe6rZKRrfJN9dBjJp81Q/s1600/Collistar+1.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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*Swoon*<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilatXO7xNXrrQWh-cMpOH5uSqfZqUP-awvyAhZuOVL_HLvPAiX-b-AH7qyUePAjCaVKIFTn8Q-ZPx1QP5__OB6rdQnLIaK0MoS9HInKCBxIiz84eBIb9_FRsqpUwmVPLhvIzN7Te6Z-oY/s1600/Collistar+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilatXO7xNXrrQWh-cMpOH5uSqfZqUP-awvyAhZuOVL_HLvPAiX-b-AH7qyUePAjCaVKIFTn8Q-ZPx1QP5__OB6rdQnLIaK0MoS9HInKCBxIiz84eBIb9_FRsqpUwmVPLhvIzN7Te6Z-oY/s1600/Collistar+2.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Seriously, just look at this gorgeous color.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-2d_-xENmvwILPLUK73NgGQQPT3LnhjtGyV06a9vUflhJADDAhfrc_uGEtiBYETJmr1aQ1XrRPlHIk3CLxpSQWEpe7OWVukGfwihKfQdJNREfgaAyAfptFfBliYEa1EYNVy4fXHWPQeo/s1600/Collistar+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-2d_-xENmvwILPLUK73NgGQQPT3LnhjtGyV06a9vUflhJADDAhfrc_uGEtiBYETJmr1aQ1XrRPlHIk3CLxpSQWEpe7OWVukGfwihKfQdJNREfgaAyAfptFfBliYEa1EYNVy4fXHWPQeo/s1600/Collistar+3.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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I ended up paying eleven euros for Bordeaux Perlato (around $15), but it was totally worth it because this polish has great application, shine (even without a top coat, although I've got a healthy coat of HK Girl on in this photos), and wear-time. Perfection all around!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1LNqyYybYdWcOd9vwIkORsEOtO2Hg6Kp9stpEiZOyWs-ufGQ4FH07koPme23Ve4p_QBua_DOUTsfywyuldQqTjhDm44vRJ8HTAfFXQLMaBkWJP_C4YaHc35RLgcXZDExpiyVB-9Zb_Hs/s1600/Collistar+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1LNqyYybYdWcOd9vwIkORsEOtO2Hg6Kp9stpEiZOyWs-ufGQ4FH07koPme23Ve4p_QBua_DOUTsfywyuldQqTjhDm44vRJ8HTAfFXQLMaBkWJP_C4YaHc35RLgcXZDExpiyVB-9Zb_Hs/s1600/Collistar+4.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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I'll be back soon with my two other polish finds, both from Kiko (although I'm not sure yet if I'll swatch them both in one go or split it up into to seperate posts). These two are more like our average drugstore brands here, so I'm curious to see how they hold up compared to Bordeaux Perlato.<br />
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In the meantime, let me know what you think of my Collistar polish! Know of any good dupes? And do you have any favorite brands from other countries? Tell me in the comments!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01792049917665455312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8305546709572895559.post-29356502452952232482014-07-03T22:52:00.001-05:002014-07-03T22:52:52.380-05:00Fourth of July Nails<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
*Mini pre-post rant: Sheesh, you guys won't believe the trouble I went through getting this post up. For whatever reason, my computer's been getting progressively slower over the past two days, becoming practically unusable. I've been able to slowly get around by opening tabs and letting them load for five minutes, but I ran into an issue an hour ago when I learned that my computer was now too slow to use my favorite online editing tool. Gah! After some research I discovered it'd probably be a smart idea to reset the little wifi box thing, which I asked my father to do (yeah, probably not best to make me mess with the techy stuff), and bam! My computer was all back to normal speed and ready to edit photos. Huzzah!*</div>
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I had a bit of a rough time figuring out a design for the fourth of July- this feels like one of those holidays that everyone ends up doing nail art for, and I really wanted to find something that hadn't been done before. Enter sugar-spun stripes!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZKEapQF_y78BFpieIlWeZJ1uKOlKu0VS-K2Cm8AZvc2oWuBj1xPXTKo-qjNxbUuOWuiApmpckyBBBRAsVvb1LTm5iOWXy6DnpFag6MnG7pCxEP93qDe3UCrXu3UNHU9ZuDIa3S17yOkE/s1600/4th+of+July+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZKEapQF_y78BFpieIlWeZJ1uKOlKu0VS-K2Cm8AZvc2oWuBj1xPXTKo-qjNxbUuOWuiApmpckyBBBRAsVvb1LTm5iOWXy6DnpFag6MnG7pCxEP93qDe3UCrXu3UNHU9ZuDIa3S17yOkE/s1600/4th+of+July+1.png" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Okay, yeah, I know the whole sugar-spinning technique has been around for awhile, but I thought it'd be cute to switch up the typical perfect-straight-line-stripes of the American flag for something a bit more... unique.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS10BekzT8r0iPHACtWofozxdZdO6W1vb79ZGVkcOh0srnY9AKOsc8Mh4Km-l1MX-nSVkp46Y9I4Le5HcnE4s1DmzI1B57rwuHeLnr9YFT4sfcW4N6TteyCJGbOPmmYAmyj48nEy0T8KA/s1600/4th+of+July+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS10BekzT8r0iPHACtWofozxdZdO6W1vb79ZGVkcOh0srnY9AKOsc8Mh4Km-l1MX-nSVkp46Y9I4Le5HcnE4s1DmzI1B57rwuHeLnr9YFT4sfcW4N6TteyCJGbOPmmYAmyj48nEy0T8KA/s1600/4th+of+July+3.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">... oh my god, they kind of look like blood splatters in this picture. <br />NO, THAT'S NOT WHAT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE.<br />Gosh dangit. </td></tr>
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I wasn't quite able to think of something as special for the accent nail, but polka dots are still fun, right?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1h2TuWrugZxSJrn7stEl4-SwOv7Bpha-4M123I2g5qBrOa_5pgwU6eCWMBzmVkS9sMfVQ29NgiZBeD4R-BAbqPUlFPZqWGji6jcxsA_PU5nvKq2jzjPWM2v_aPpGXMZuIh911_kAobak/s1600/4th+of+July+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1h2TuWrugZxSJrn7stEl4-SwOv7Bpha-4M123I2g5qBrOa_5pgwU6eCWMBzmVkS9sMfVQ29NgiZBeD4R-BAbqPUlFPZqWGji6jcxsA_PU5nvKq2jzjPWM2v_aPpGXMZuIh911_kAobak/s1600/4th+of+July+2.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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The white background and polka dots were done with China Glaze - Snow, the red is Elf - Smokin Hot, and the blue accent nail is Sally Hansen - Blue Me Away.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIOoJCuCF15ESb00snYEyFffEYNM5ez5qkUqxwMTf8X2tu0EBzOKyd3mzI5_-TUxtS3TIHBD8TtL_r6xEdM8PAkL2M3nIobYu8gjGFWrDJUqLpB8FOHGV8bR7iinMEb1qkSZ3Rpup7TgQ/s1600/4th+of+July+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIOoJCuCF15ESb00snYEyFffEYNM5ez5qkUqxwMTf8X2tu0EBzOKyd3mzI5_-TUxtS3TIHBD8TtL_r6xEdM8PAkL2M3nIobYu8gjGFWrDJUqLpB8FOHGV8bR7iinMEb1qkSZ3Rpup7TgQ/s1600/4th+of+July+4.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>Bonus:</i> I've been trying some different hand poses recently, since I usually just do the same two in a few different angles, like this one below... yeah, I don't think I'm going to be using The Claw as one of my regular poses anytime soon.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV83v8kqYc0K-vQ-bPNQF9ob_fk_8gsWzcwUyk_xIT5U4jvkovyjkwBG1mriqzibDvdwvmJJFyppwcpOXI_XWBcDHW5XGMNUlYAgeDak27bYhfskz9P3NVm32HgZSvxaFeWswFlbeYWlw/s1600/4th+of+July+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV83v8kqYc0K-vQ-bPNQF9ob_fk_8gsWzcwUyk_xIT5U4jvkovyjkwBG1mriqzibDvdwvmJJFyppwcpOXI_XWBcDHW5XGMNUlYAgeDak27bYhfskz9P3NVm32HgZSvxaFeWswFlbeYWlw/s1600/4th+of+July+5.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See, the pose was so awkward to do that I didn't even take enough time to focus the camera properly... woops.</td></tr>
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So do you all have any fun traditions for the fourth? Lemme know in the comments! My family usually gathers at my grandparents' for hot dogs, burgers, and swimming, but as their pool's under repairs right now, we're switching over to my aunt and uncle's. I hate breaking the tradition, but ah, well, it shall still be fun! </div>
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I'm heading out for another week-long trip on Saturday, so there probably won't be a new post until the weekend after, unless I find wifi somewhere while I'm gone. So, thanks for reading, and I'll see you all then! </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01792049917665455312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8305546709572895559.post-74321427883212266802014-07-03T20:37:00.000-05:002014-07-03T20:37:12.105-05:00Life Update!Howdy, y'all, I'm back from my vacation in Italy! It was completely beautiful, but I've got to say... other than our terrible humidity and lack of gelato shops every ten feet, I really ended up missing home. Hello again, constant wifi access and free bathroom access (did you know you have to pay to use the public restrooms in Italy? I didn't, and as a girl with a teensy tiny bladder, lemme tell you, it was NOT FUN)!<br />
Anyway... wow. I'm not really sure what else there is to put in this post. Nothing interesting's happened to me nail-wise recently... right now I'm wearing LynBDesigns' England Would Fall (which has now beaten out Cajun Shrimp as my favorite polish ever... sorry, OPI!) Although it's the most stunning pink holo you will ever see, my town's been shrouded in the gloomy sadness of clouds for the past week, preventing the perfect shiny holo-ness from coming out to play.<br />
Okay, I'm just going to bombard you all with my Italy photos, because the only thing that's happened in my life over the past month other than my trip was a bunch of sleeping. Huzzah (or, as I learned from Italy, "hurrà!")! If you're here for nail-stuff, I'd go ahead and skip this post and wait a few hours until my 4th of July nails are up. If you want to read more about the life of the gal behind the nails, then read on!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimj09oRR3BLHMxwc19O1NotObd-r9qafxDXWyj_K-vt48ASy30-5OLQPFvLd2tgodP_rOG6i9eBqM_Di6FT1WaWmm1r8IHB8w5Im8wx_dVDdhOyXKB_d8S3OceWQrhkogSKqXi1tCShWw/s1600/DSCN7397.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimj09oRR3BLHMxwc19O1NotObd-r9qafxDXWyj_K-vt48ASy30-5OLQPFvLd2tgodP_rOG6i9eBqM_Di6FT1WaWmm1r8IHB8w5Im8wx_dVDdhOyXKB_d8S3OceWQrhkogSKqXi1tCShWw/s1600/DSCN7397.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Okay, you see this face? This is the face of a girl trying to keep it together after 24 straight hours awake. No one told us we were stopping at Verona before going to the hotel... by the end of the day, my vision was blurry, I swayed in my chair at dinner, and my hands were shaking so much I could barely hold anything. Fun times, eh?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZD7iLtqRcfPJk6NQNXBHoFXo8Cn1H_XyJV4cirPSUUdi70yg0FHqdGccFnwyCaMVs-kdfUcOfv4vu07zNaP8WIvqwXZOpyGSpFI623xzwlz7s4hQpNdo24jG5CmqKqIBueBmCpsJW5uc/s1600/DSCN7419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZD7iLtqRcfPJk6NQNXBHoFXo8Cn1H_XyJV4cirPSUUdi70yg0FHqdGccFnwyCaMVs-kdfUcOfv4vu07zNaP8WIvqwXZOpyGSpFI623xzwlz7s4hQpNdo24jG5CmqKqIBueBmCpsJW5uc/s1600/DSCN7419.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Allie's Travelling Nails #1: Taken on the bus. A lot of time was spent on the bus.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5bRVr92ewrutkQZ6TdiMXpD-qVenjv6dlnlPpB_m1UudKPrWlzom_6Si36Wo_DvW9iHRLw9hV37DyI03ZCSdzHRFRWHG20M7AjmhvUz0UqxAtiIokjO6KduPi1DBO7SdNPlyPY6UQwtI/s1600/DSCN7422.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5bRVr92ewrutkQZ6TdiMXpD-qVenjv6dlnlPpB_m1UudKPrWlzom_6Si36Wo_DvW9iHRLw9hV37DyI03ZCSdzHRFRWHG20M7AjmhvUz0UqxAtiIokjO6KduPi1DBO7SdNPlyPY6UQwtI/s1600/DSCN7422.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Allie's Travelling Nails #2: Taken on the boat-bus into Venice. Hooray for crummy focus, awful back-lighting, and a photobombing water bottle!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk4PLfyJlU2dxltgN1_U3pK350u6FmvRRMbTjDsm3uLsMfEewfbmPSOkxFSHv1pIxO4Yiq2bYa30wYIUn_sV9NwXtgnpplVHOoo75GoZ2wT09x-83Tw61TisilpwwiVp9Vx8oyqUE9N8c/s1600/DSCN7494.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk4PLfyJlU2dxltgN1_U3pK350u6FmvRRMbTjDsm3uLsMfEewfbmPSOkxFSHv1pIxO4Yiq2bYa30wYIUn_sV9NwXtgnpplVHOoo75GoZ2wT09x-83Tw61TisilpwwiVp9Vx8oyqUE9N8c/s1600/DSCN7494.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here's a picture documenting what may have been the most terrifying gondola ride in history. Somehow we ended up with all the heavier people on one side, and we were dangerously close to tipping over the entire time. At least we got to hear our gondolier sing Madonna, though!<br />
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Allie's Travelling Nails #3: Taken in the Doge's Palace. This was the point where I realized how much I hated the fact that this camera had no manual focus setting.<br />
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So I found this Italian movie on the hotel TV... I think there were mummies and Nazis and some really messed up CGI monsters? Someone tell me if you know the name of this one. It's a must-see.<br />
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I need this bike. So. Much. I also think I deserve bonus points for matching my shirt to the painting.<br />
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LOOK WHAT WE FOUND.<br />
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Allie's Travelling Nails #4: Taken in an American restaurant. Yeah, I totally did go to an American burger shop in Italy. Their fries were great, too.<br />
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So swagadelic, man.<br />
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Note to anyone ever going to Italy: make sure you eat at Grom at least once. It might be the best gelato place ever. <i>Ever. </i><br />
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Heyo, Colosseum.<br />
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So... erm, yeah. I hope you all enjoyed hearing me talk about something other than nail polish for once! I'll be back with my 4th of July post once I can get pictures taken, uploaded, and edited. In the meantime... uh, enjoy this bonus picture of a pigeon.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01792049917665455312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8305546709572895559.post-80502355977731763022014-06-15T21:53:00.000-05:002014-06-15T21:53:08.593-05:00Nail FailsI've never addressed this on the blog before, but today... we're going to talk about nail fails! That's right, all the nail art attempts that aren't quite good enough to make it on the blog. I feel slightly bad about the huge amounts of time that passes between each post, so I want to discuss all my nail fails, which are (usually) the reasons behind my slow posting. Enjoy this collection, working backwards in time, of all my "brilliant ideas" that turned out to be less brilliant once on my nails.<br />
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<b>The Boring Picnic Blankets</b><br />
Okay, I guess I'm not totally dissatisfied with these. I don't know. For some reason they just bore me- I think there needs to be more to them. I tried to paint some ants on the thumb nail, and failed, so I gave up on any creative idea for the rest of the nails.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6rtaX59o-SL4-T33loQXHFWzOIVci1K3kEhaKHtSG5dnmXde8PZpzmy1l4trgvYxEeEEhFGzb6u7zdw2390uHQCGewXBiNb6qOdTarFeRotsUpG-E1HubpZ7GtY1iOAT2XGxofREsAKY/s1600/IMG_7533.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6rtaX59o-SL4-T33loQXHFWzOIVci1K3kEhaKHtSG5dnmXde8PZpzmy1l4trgvYxEeEEhFGzb6u7zdw2390uHQCGewXBiNb6qOdTarFeRotsUpG-E1HubpZ7GtY1iOAT2XGxofREsAKY/s1600/IMG_7533.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>The Smudgy Ice Cream Cones</b><br />
Eh. I tried. They look kind of ice-cream-y, I guess. I loved how the cones came out, but the actual ice cream just kind turned into smudgy blobs. Woops.<br />
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<b>The Sloppy Gradient</b><br />
I actually adore this gradient. I just forgot the cleanup before taking photos. Oh well.<br />
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<b>The "Damn You Seche Vite" Nails</b><br />
It's a short story: my Seche Vite started shrinking. Now I'm a happy user of HK Girl.<br />
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<b>The Chubby Smiley Face</b></div>
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See, I was all pumped up for the Sherlock season 3 premiere, and I attempted to replicate the wallpaper design on my nails. It resulted in this mess. </div>
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<b>The Office Finale Nails</b></div>
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I forgot the yellow polish I used wasn't opaque. I hate visible nail lines. </div>
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<b>The Horrendous Nail Break</b></div>
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Of course my nail had to break <i>before </i>I could take my photos. Eh, the nail art wasn't that cute anyway (Also. Ick. The photo quality here. *shudders*). </div>
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Those are the only ones I could find for now- I think I may have deleted some of the worst offenders. I'll let you all know if I ever find the penis-gingerbread-men pictures, though (... don't ask).<br />
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I won't be seeing you all for a little bit- I'm heading off to Italy (Eee!) tomorrow, and I'll be back a week from Tuesday. I'm hoping to take plenty of pictures of my nails while travelling, so I'll put those all together in a post when I get back. Catch you all later!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01792049917665455312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8305546709572895559.post-40383330432503322562014-06-02T17:20:00.001-05:002014-06-02T17:24:26.100-05:00I'm backkk! Yeah, wow. Two months. I won't get into it all too much, but life in these past couple weeks has been crazy, stressful, and really not all that fun. This resulted in me feeling so exhausted by the end of every day that I couldn't find it in me to sit down for an hour or two to just paint my nails and pull together a post.<br />
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However, it's finally SUMMER! I survived the torture that is finals, and I'm done with the stress of social interaction for a whole three months. Don't get me wrong, I love (most of) my classmates, but I go to a tiny school with 60 kids per grade, and by the end of the year I'm honestly just sick of everybody. Now I get to chill at home, sleep in until twelve every morning, wear my pajamas all day, and sit around like the lazy couch potato I always dreamed of becoming. Huzzah! All of this relaxing has lowered the amount of stress I've been going through a TON, and so now I've (finally) got the motivation to whip up a post again.<br />
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Okay, a lot has happened in the past few months, so I'm just going to to quick little summaries of everything, plus the pictures that go with them. Enjoy!<br />
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<b>Minecraft Creepers</b><br />
These actually started out as a suggestion from my school's college counselor (long story... and yeah, guess who's starting to plan for college? This girl!). Y'all already know I'm a hugeee Minecraft addict, so of course I followed the suggestion!<br />
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The only reason I chose Creepers over anything else Minecraft-related was because they ended up being the least complicated design I could figure out. I might try something a bit more difficult in the future if I'm feeling motivated, but square shapes and nail art don't quite go together all that well. These are my second attempt at the design- the first time I used black polish and a dotting tool, and was left with a bunch of smudgy oval shapes on my nails. For these I used a fine-point Sharpie instead, and they came out ten times better. The base color is Essie - Mojito Madness (one of my favorite greens!). </div>
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<b>Pastel Polka Dots</b></div>
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Fast forward to Easter, with a different nail shape and a happy little holiday design. Yes, I can never decide what shape I want my nails to be. Square's so much better for nail art, but I gotta admit, stiletto nails make me feel just a bit bad-ass. Heh. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLSYFAcpHxRybSXRfykugsExGz2jELeIZjKr6ea8w0Q5S3U9xismBbKAH76MX2uqspqiarXo0smDefb_ZFZx9tKycMDzN8v8xBUFldjWVPLRNaly94BYHkGU4G2pN9vbrunP8DBhbSAMM/s1600/easter+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLSYFAcpHxRybSXRfykugsExGz2jELeIZjKr6ea8w0Q5S3U9xismBbKAH76MX2uqspqiarXo0smDefb_ZFZx9tKycMDzN8v8xBUFldjWVPLRNaly94BYHkGU4G2pN9vbrunP8DBhbSAMM/s1600/easter+1.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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I'm really satisfied with these! I'm not a pastel fan at all, but I had fun trying something bright and spring-y. These bring back memories of my Easter nails two years ago- my very first attempt at nail art! I tried to do cute little chicks, but I didn't have as steady of a hand back then as I do today, and they all ended up with really creepy misshapen eyes and messed up feet. Ah, well, we all have to start somewhere.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWHfGFdFuASAXWTbnEEJPyP1w2s9RvaWiEArRBnhjKKGpyTaYNVH-8wJoXtdGVanmhIAi0N9LU4gJLS1pYNKwjDn54tkDS-MnxkA1Z22Ale-ZevOI_QWIcULhq1iHPoqce2xEVzdUw4RU/s1600/easter+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWHfGFdFuASAXWTbnEEJPyP1w2s9RvaWiEArRBnhjKKGpyTaYNVH-8wJoXtdGVanmhIAi0N9LU4gJLS1pYNKwjDn54tkDS-MnxkA1Z22Ale-ZevOI_QWIcULhq1iHPoqce2xEVzdUw4RU/s1600/easter+2.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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From left to right (including the thumb) I used: Sally Hansen - Lightening, China Glaze - For Audrey, Essie - Play Date, OPI - Sparrow Me the Drama, and Essie - Navigate Her. The polka dots were made with China Glaze - White on White and a dotting tool. </div>
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<b>Prom Nails</b></div>
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Oh, yeah, I went to prom this year! Hooray! Not only did I get to spend a fun night dancing, though- a bunch of my friends let me paint their nails for the occasion. I somehow never got a picture of my own nails (the color I used was LynBDesigns - Purple Polish of Sex, if anyone is curious), but I took plenty of everyone else's. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuDjU9CgfvPr5jYwkG8Ef65WN3YSmWjErz7LGnGzGLiQIDSH1KvtSka-AkLK_XpspR1KnykRzpuoAguUmfIFv6aSzMTQ-BXcGgWAPWrRlyU9xbhr7xVbDaBC2x8W6bxUZemc476PNtA_c/s1600/Prom+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuDjU9CgfvPr5jYwkG8Ef65WN3YSmWjErz7LGnGzGLiQIDSH1KvtSka-AkLK_XpspR1KnykRzpuoAguUmfIFv6aSzMTQ-BXcGgWAPWrRlyU9xbhr7xVbDaBC2x8W6bxUZemc476PNtA_c/s1600/Prom+1.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here are Sally's nails. She just wanted something nice and simple to match her dress, so we just did two coats of China Glaze - For Audrey (okay, it might have been Aquadelic... I can never remember which one I used. Those two are pretty much identical anyway) with a coat of HK Girl on top. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1wCv2pv4uQJ_kzPnQpE2RYhSh690izaF06nPMlo5O6IeLp6XktJ_oXCdnx60KJW5cPNZA_qgmE03qb6nWgHPk7JTpxENDD5WxCo0L76WKkJhd6GP7pfMe9l22lnbeblwCLpr-eOcBAc4/s1600/prom+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1wCv2pv4uQJ_kzPnQpE2RYhSh690izaF06nPMlo5O6IeLp6XktJ_oXCdnx60KJW5cPNZA_qgmE03qb6nWgHPk7JTpxENDD5WxCo0L76WKkJhd6GP7pfMe9l22lnbeblwCLpr-eOcBAc4/s1600/prom+2.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Up next are Alice's. We used LynBDesigns - So Changeable for her because her dress had both the blue and purple shades found in the duochrome polish. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-KWVMO0H7YWXJlS94xgS2UWxh_Lpo_E-Dz329V9r9zfOoPo5shZLaZqGxgvdNgGAx1suHWXhiaLqcWxbYZ_sjxUKg-YQ6T58TWZxtDUvIm41tKuGBt1-hfKDiJEorOieTRsrntWwqRJQ/s1600/prom+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-KWVMO0H7YWXJlS94xgS2UWxh_Lpo_E-Dz329V9r9zfOoPo5shZLaZqGxgvdNgGAx1suHWXhiaLqcWxbYZ_sjxUKg-YQ6T58TWZxtDUvIm41tKuGBt1-hfKDiJEorOieTRsrntWwqRJQ/s1600/prom+3.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Donna originally wanted this same design but with silver instead of gold, but turns out I don't own a silver polish (gasp! There's actually a shade of polish that Allie doesn't own?), so we improvised a bit with the gold instead. This is Orly - Luxe with ELF - Smokin Hot on the tips (with a black line from a striper in between).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQiO3wWKImq5Jn2EPiB6bKivBSGEiTuYPUjiRpS-YiqlvJfUCUUsZGyXGcd851gBCrawibLP4UQelf7_WUv4bwsaVCW0eLQ0AvsEJJIlmipysu98-6VEAcMU7apKln2OzsSXPEursY1FM/s1600/prom+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQiO3wWKImq5Jn2EPiB6bKivBSGEiTuYPUjiRpS-YiqlvJfUCUUsZGyXGcd851gBCrawibLP4UQelf7_WUv4bwsaVCW0eLQ0AvsEJJIlmipysu98-6VEAcMU7apKln2OzsSXPEursY1FM/s1600/prom+4.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here are the nails I'm most proud of! The prom's theme was the Great Gatsby, so Adina found some Gatsby-themed nail art for us to work off of. I couldn't find the reference we used for these, but I don't take credit for the design- the inspiration for the accent nails was found through a Google search. </div>
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[Update: <a href="http://lillianloveslacquer.tumblr.com/post/50190230236/gatsby-art-deco-nails-i-h8-striping-tape-those">Found the source!</a>]</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKkfDn-cxtVUUejCmzwziHXuhG1xN87aMvZcr9IC-P3ig59AG1uE4JPRlIaqX4bxPEo11aQyHp9aloHO7cLNq7GxvZPRsx7-zIG5nlsMMGHiD_XlGxggEnjZuWfjejbucXmC7KjSdiUY/s1600/prom+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKkfDn-cxtVUUejCmzwziHXuhG1xN87aMvZcr9IC-P3ig59AG1uE4JPRlIaqX4bxPEo11aQyHp9aloHO7cLNq7GxvZPRsx7-zIG5nlsMMGHiD_XlGxggEnjZuWfjejbucXmC7KjSdiUY/s1600/prom+5.jpg" /></a><br />
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Here's a closeup of the thumb, which I was super proud of. I hate how time consuming it can be to use striping tape, but that always makes it feel worth the effort when the design comes out perfectly!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHXsrbAMq-6mfNgyCuAuAVY8M_5p37CeUAxAwDKNU9mgTOXI0p0dr8dd1FJtUal0fez-s1iEnMGrVM3Q38UEK7RuUN30W2121QvrQAuOAGIU7kfdkiQGP319N2L6ydMp7uqW08ccbjnZY/s1600/10291106_494246494009757_8755642067431151711_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHXsrbAMq-6mfNgyCuAuAVY8M_5p37CeUAxAwDKNU9mgTOXI0p0dr8dd1FJtUal0fez-s1iEnMGrVM3Q38UEK7RuUN30W2121QvrQAuOAGIU7kfdkiQGP319N2L6ydMp7uqW08ccbjnZY/s1600/10291106_494246494009757_8755642067431151711_n.jpg" height="406" width="640" /></a></div>
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Can you figure out which nails go with each girl? Hehe! </div>
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<b>Conclusion</b></div>
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Whew, it's nice getting back to blogging. I'm leaving in about two weeks for a trip to Italy (Eee!), so that will be another short break from the blog for me, but other than that I'm hoping to get back to a weekly post schedule. And speaking of Italy, let me know if you have any ideas on what I should do with my nails for the trip. I want to do a fun little "travelling nails" post where I take pictures of my nails in front of all the different places I'm visiting there, so of course my nails have to look extra cute for everything! </div>
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Annnd that's all for now! I shall be back soon with a new tutorial- catch you all later! </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01792049917665455312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8305546709572895559.post-22209494828183795402014-03-26T14:56:00.002-05:002014-03-26T14:56:31.977-05:00J'adore VoxBox ReviewHello universe! Geesh, I haven't been on here in a really long time. Hooray for school, stress, and life for getting in the way of my nail painting. Bleh!<br />
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Luckily, all that stress and icky stuff has disappeared for the moment, because it's spring break! Woot woot! Instead of vacationing in Florida like everyone else, I'm hiding inside at home recovering from the last three weeks of school (which have been insanely rough- I swear teachers secretly plot together to ensure all the tests and essays end up being due at the exact same time). Now that I've finally recovered enough (this recovery involved eating copious amounts of chocolate and marathoning all the seasons of Teen Wolf in less than a week), I'm back to the blog! Hooray!<br />
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Today, I'll be reviewing the J'adore VoxBox from <a href="http://www.influenster.com/">Influenster</a>. If you haven't signed up for Influenster yet, you definitely should- all you have to do is sign up on their website, and you have a chance to get sent free items in the form of a VoxBox. Here's the one I got!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGROEkQd-0PRIYNJ01GjywQg38gFT5NaMqAomoFjX0SKzDcs0lyLZCaZoAnOcobK2IHTZ24qRguGtgo09uxVe0xHrKRvyMUSSA3TeKtt7WAqUE8QHOsRbFbxt7Am-8BxORW-jF6b6eBIs/s1600/IMG_0554.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGROEkQd-0PRIYNJ01GjywQg38gFT5NaMqAomoFjX0SKzDcs0lyLZCaZoAnOcobK2IHTZ24qRguGtgo09uxVe0xHrKRvyMUSSA3TeKtt7WAqUE8QHOsRbFbxt7Am-8BxORW-jF6b6eBIs/s1600/IMG_0554.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Ooh, so pink! The J'adore VoxBox was a Valentine'sday themed box, which is the reason for all the pink and red. I'm not exactly the largest fan of that holiday, but... look at that ginormous bag of Hershey's Kisses on top. So much chocolate. Thank you Influenster for providing me with chocolate as a suitable replacement for a relationship on Valentine's day. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7t0CLhGGBgCwzwc5LAwZ_vedB_yvRDKhGjJPibGJ-rTs26uIyM_Si7Ql3ze9xvWNo84InYeJfNSxuu_DIts-wXqLAcrX7QSLG8gd58jzi3kPEn5GV1DCfWhhx_Adgx7lAZJeVqWamVDM/s1600/IMG_0556.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7t0CLhGGBgCwzwc5LAwZ_vedB_yvRDKhGjJPibGJ-rTs26uIyM_Si7Ql3ze9xvWNo84InYeJfNSxuu_DIts-wXqLAcrX7QSLG8gd58jzi3kPEn5GV1DCfWhhx_Adgx7lAZJeVqWamVDM/s1600/IMG_0556.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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This silly kitty discovered the box pretty quickly:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtqZVwZfanCiBLy2BRELJW8-wolsPfQh3mIlrEGq5BenjWH-6S5PEVrPQl9seRf8D8L1brnpqrF1b3lE5hQNL4C0loApG3Fc5ic5T8FzFSys0oc1KEVLzXbG7ZpNmh6D3C_IWGf8ZK59o/s1600/IMG_0569.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtqZVwZfanCiBLy2BRELJW8-wolsPfQh3mIlrEGq5BenjWH-6S5PEVrPQl9seRf8D8L1brnpqrF1b3lE5hQNL4C0loApG3Fc5ic5T8FzFSys0oc1KEVLzXbG7ZpNmh6D3C_IWGf8ZK59o/s1600/IMG_0569.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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... and then deemed it a suitable spot for a nice nap.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaRar_Il-kEvKX1255tlLmsX0MMQ30N4RkblxrsKJCgIahTiJHR7W6b7v7sy8yZucs6RKeAY_1Pv7OAVocbcnlmAoxRNksXTgUxBwX5N0ogFZV38enHi_-MRldXJhT9Dw2KV4MEXGDGyU/s1600/IMG_0573.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaRar_Il-kEvKX1255tlLmsX0MMQ30N4RkblxrsKJCgIahTiJHR7W6b7v7sy8yZucs6RKeAY_1Pv7OAVocbcnlmAoxRNksXTgUxBwX5N0ogFZV38enHi_-MRldXJhT9Dw2KV4MEXGDGyU/s1600/IMG_0573.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Now, onto the products! </div>
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<b>Boots Botanics Shine Away Ionic Clay Mask: $9.39</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX4tOPKDi1Bon2P6p7X6rYaeZkSruxF5U3JlPqls9KAiaOBRUaxxAH9A6LeHIS1NTiu08_hm4ROaspshhZQ-J3hXkUeXVSrG6g1vTPf_ykcHRo4PGnjQokJREOy18b3tzYugNtPQ41bMc/s1600/DSCN0699.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX4tOPKDi1Bon2P6p7X6rYaeZkSruxF5U3JlPqls9KAiaOBRUaxxAH9A6LeHIS1NTiu08_hm4ROaspshhZQ-J3hXkUeXVSrG6g1vTPf_ykcHRo4PGnjQokJREOy18b3tzYugNtPQ41bMc/s1600/DSCN0699.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Yay, a clay mask! I'd actually really been wanting to try one for awhile, so I was super excited when this arrived in the box. The color was slightly icky, but the mask was really nice. It applied very easily, dried quickly, and washed off well. It left my skin feeling clean, but not too dry- I hate when masks completely dry out your skin. Ick! </div>
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<b>Hershey's Kisses Milk Chocolates: $5.29 for 18.5 oz. bag / $3.28 for 11 oz. bag</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYF4iILyX6Z5-mTYjpDsz3o6GKr55aL2fpKrzPj3bT3lhrBkHnN8uRAUB90EYUNaLKRvHGMS-u3x5QeSBvcrlG2W7QqTzyRQvafBdtp_YQ5yziRA9CJfsSwyGrHujiyJx_ahip8z-6D-E/s1600/DSCN0711.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYF4iILyX6Z5-mTYjpDsz3o6GKr55aL2fpKrzPj3bT3lhrBkHnN8uRAUB90EYUNaLKRvHGMS-u3x5QeSBvcrlG2W7QqTzyRQvafBdtp_YQ5yziRA9CJfsSwyGrHujiyJx_ahip8z-6D-E/s1600/DSCN0711.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Look at that beautiful bag of chocolate. So much chocolate. I have been constantly munching on these since this box arrived- om nom nom. I'm not really sure how I'm supposed to review this one. Come on, it's chocolate- what else am I supposed to say? Hehe. </div>
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Frizz Ease 3-Day Straight Flat Iron Spray: $9.99</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8bGBOngTueiSFnD-5Av1FiKdJsTdERovZ9YA9asR0S7qEg4CjOmNiwgyWI2cDvwAt_GK8Ul8bVwKd19ekfTYwmazA9tOIp-rm22yoLissPPmWwwVXbgRtw3xy8WG-p6SKN2LqGjIld_A/s1600/DSCN0703.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8bGBOngTueiSFnD-5Av1FiKdJsTdERovZ9YA9asR0S7qEg4CjOmNiwgyWI2cDvwAt_GK8Ul8bVwKd19ekfTYwmazA9tOIp-rm22yoLissPPmWwwVXbgRtw3xy8WG-p6SKN2LqGjIld_A/s1600/DSCN0703.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I seriously doubt it works this well...</td></tr>
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Oops, so I actually haven't tried this one yet. You're supposed to apply it after getting your hair wet/showering, blow dry your hair, and then straighten it. Since I shower at around 11 every night, I'm pretty dang tired by that point. That means that after my shower, I have no motivation to spend another half hour blow drying and straightening my hair and all other sorts of time consuming stuff. I'll update this post if I try it eventually. I'm still hunting for someone else I might be able to try it on- even if I use it myself, I only have slightly wavy hair, so it wouldn't make much difference on mine.<br />
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<b>KISS Looks So Natural Lashes: $3.99</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOz1_BrBFAQbsFUKz_0vWvyyJRpAKyr04ccRch5SLwIGPpy7uIwbAzh_bsd-34zMNvKS1WuAoVXKyiRqcmOT3SOd6cLGb2G3O8nRheedGpI9qSMPl4n5A5Ky5cLpKN0ShzNdj4TTTrk2k/s1600/DSCN0709.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOz1_BrBFAQbsFUKz_0vWvyyJRpAKyr04ccRch5SLwIGPpy7uIwbAzh_bsd-34zMNvKS1WuAoVXKyiRqcmOT3SOd6cLGb2G3O8nRheedGpI9qSMPl4n5A5Ky5cLpKN0ShzNdj4TTTrk2k/s1600/DSCN0709.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpzbSK1J2_eRm4vyY7Lp-hifBgRYaUZQJwwcW_skPapoq1vq8pHAtNSGsqMu6Xnah5pmyEXNexFciFfQJc0CaPHcTRhipqwBwYnXQeVkTMc4GgfFbNqiBc78zvC12v514C_iDGzCSFfJI/s1600/DSCN0710.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpzbSK1J2_eRm4vyY7Lp-hifBgRYaUZQJwwcW_skPapoq1vq8pHAtNSGsqMu6Xnah5pmyEXNexFciFfQJc0CaPHcTRhipqwBwYnXQeVkTMc4GgfFbNqiBc78zvC12v514C_iDGzCSFfJI/s1600/DSCN0710.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Ah, fake lashes. Sorry, but I'm just not a fake lash person. I know it works for other people, but as a seventeen year old, I have a feeling it'd be a bit strange for me to wear these in public (also, I have no idea how it's possible to wear false lashes with glasses). I'll stick with my more subtle mascara, thank you very much. I did try them on, and for fake lashes, these look pretty natural, which I like.<br />
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Red Rose Simply Indulgent Teas: $4.49 for carton of 20 tea bags<br />
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TEA! Okay, I am a huge tea addict, so I was a teensy bit worried about this. I take my tea quite seriously, and I'm super duper picky, so I had a feeling sending me tea to review might not end too well. Keep in mind that everything I say is only my opinion- we all have different tastes in tea!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieaw2tYb0MBBeIRaOTIi2LyTmLredJA2s8F75K4ybux9xf-HqR-oR3POSpRz2gwDS1FXXlNr_cf1oqxvm1XKx5iLoSKZwykoxpCRyds0GS-HCFOickYXhL2swRNEx3vaTQrrSHtBLeAzI/s1600/DSCN0707.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieaw2tYb0MBBeIRaOTIi2LyTmLredJA2s8F75K4ybux9xf-HqR-oR3POSpRz2gwDS1FXXlNr_cf1oqxvm1XKx5iLoSKZwykoxpCRyds0GS-HCFOickYXhL2swRNEx3vaTQrrSHtBLeAzI/s1600/DSCN0707.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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I got sent three of the creme caramel tea bags, and one of the lemon chiffon. I tried the creme caramel one first. This one's a bit strange. Since it's a caramel flavor, you'd expect it to be sweet... but it's not. It tastes like caramel, but it's not sweet. I don't get it. You'd have to add honey or sugar to sweeten it up a bit, but I feel a bit strange doing that because if I were to buy a caramel tea, I'd assume it'd be sweet in the first place. Not liking sweeter teas anyway, though, I wasn't too annoyed about it. I still probably wouldn't recommend this one- it's just odd.<br />
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Onto the lemon chiffon- I liked this one much better! I was surprised about that, since I'm not a fan of lemon tea either, but this one's very nice. It reminds me of those lemon Girl Scout cookies that they stopped selling a couple years ago. I can't remember what they're called, but they were really yummy. This tea's very soothing and... lemon-y. It had just the right amount of sweetness for me. I also like that it's decaffeinated, because it would be a perfect tea to drink right before bed.<br />
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Hooray, that's it! Let me know in the comments which of these products you'd love to try, and if you've already tried any of them, what your opinions are. Hopefully (fingers crossed) I'll be back in a bit with a nail-polish-related post. See you all then! </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*Disclaimer: The products in this post were provided for free for the purposes of testing. All opinions are my own.*</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01792049917665455312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8305546709572895559.post-28399065615008672452014-02-23T12:43:00.002-06:002014-02-23T12:44:54.568-06:00Swatch/Review: Polish Your Hooves - Buttercup and In the Farmer's Garden <div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">*Disclaimer: The polishes in this post were provided by Polish Yer Hooves for the purposes of reviewing. All opinions are my own.*</span></div>
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Howdy folks! Boy, have I been MIA for a while! Darn you life, getting in the way of my nail-polish-ing! Hehe. Anyway, that doesn't matter, because I have a whole bunch of stuff coming up in the next few weeks to make up for it. Just you wait! </div>
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Anyway, today I have a slightly bittersweet review for an amazing indie brand, <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/PolishYerHooves">Polish Yer Hooves</a>. It's sweet because... the polishes you're about to see are completely gorgeous! It's bitter because yesterday, it was announced on the Polish Yer Hooves Facebook page that Leigh Anne, the owner, would no longer be making her polishes. It's a sad day in the nail polish community when an indie brand shuts down, but it's always especially rough when it's such a new, promising brand. However, her Etsy store is only in vacation mode at the moment, and not shut down, so THERE'S HOPE! We're just going to keep hoping while I write this post that maybe the store will come back eventually, because her polishes are all completely stunning, and you are definitely going to be wanting these two once you read this post.</div>
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Here's how the polishes arrived. Look at this cute packaging! If you hadn't caught on yet, Polish Yer Hooves' brand is completely centered around cows. And boy, Leigh Anne definitely goes all in for the cow theme! Cow business card, cow labels, cow tape around the polish lids, a Cow Tale (yes, you're seeing an empty wrapper in the bag, because I couldn't restrain myself long enough to take a picture before it was eaten), and even little cow-shaped confetti in the bottom of the bag. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsD9a79q_xou4tr-hyWsPOv8FL_HQ9zrupohOdjTm5sjC1c_YlcACl616828IRtZInAaaJ8thaGjvxGUDtNsrxFU1_k4WqGZ75PJ1skHx9jGexsuKXTnIzIbBwUqn3rpuq2TnvtnyRPI0/s1600/1922926_749849321691853_207806261_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsD9a79q_xou4tr-hyWsPOv8FL_HQ9zrupohOdjTm5sjC1c_YlcACl616828IRtZInAaaJ8thaGjvxGUDtNsrxFU1_k4WqGZ75PJ1skHx9jGexsuKXTnIzIbBwUqn3rpuq2TnvtnyRPI0/s1600/1922926_749849321691853_207806261_n.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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And onto the polishes inside the bag:</div>
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First off, we have Buttercup. Buttercup is a STUNNING bright yellow polish with a pearl finish. I was a little skeptical of this one before trying it, since I'm pretty picky about my pearl polishes, but just look at it! SO GORGEOUS! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr8zO6UwFSt-gRJYLGCI0ps1hog60UJTOgg10Kp4NQVwVjBzbCqdAKdyHcJlli8VUwpHPgIbAFq_HlTl650Zdo2vqhqtLMigcwvO-UpxWHt2MHrQO8mcEKwF2RsZgBnvqYn1vyDV0C_qw/s1600/Buttercup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr8zO6UwFSt-gRJYLGCI0ps1hog60UJTOgg10Kp4NQVwVjBzbCqdAKdyHcJlli8VUwpHPgIbAFq_HlTl650Zdo2vqhqtLMigcwvO-UpxWHt2MHrQO8mcEKwF2RsZgBnvqYn1vyDV0C_qw/s1600/Buttercup.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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As you can see, one coat wasn't quite enough, but you could definitely get away with two if you wanted. </div>
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In the next three photos, I have three coats of Buttercup with one coat of HK Girl top coat. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPU5FP5hlDFpVkMp32Xsqfyqo4ob5U_B38L8q4Br0_HPBwlMJDuzUHBWvH6pjo27mJ0SHd_cjFc3N0cUcI1GeAGge8TyNA1BjT9Pw6zalAeCT0NWD6WgDOs-suT5LD-bXwuWxvZC-GHjo/s1600/Buttercup+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPU5FP5hlDFpVkMp32Xsqfyqo4ob5U_B38L8q4Br0_HPBwlMJDuzUHBWvH6pjo27mJ0SHd_cjFc3N0cUcI1GeAGge8TyNA1BjT9Pw6zalAeCT0NWD6WgDOs-suT5LD-bXwuWxvZC-GHjo/s1600/Buttercup+4.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Eee, isn't this so perfect for spring? I feel a little strange wearing such bright polish in the middle of Illinois' disgusting weather, but once everything warms up and the grass is no longer covered in two-week-old snow, I'll be rocking this polish all the time!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpPX0RhlbRqwx1PnKaj-PSY8rWZo5KwdnUHfbIMDReMDk1k8V5S7lPPQUJ1_KzPBDFbU9H9SaWpKnfWwkge7_fxZdI0fqFl7y8KLAVJt1X7ANSdwCFwDDVQU5NAR5hU5IZ0GiNNi6_tH8/s1600/Buttercup+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpPX0RhlbRqwx1PnKaj-PSY8rWZo5KwdnUHfbIMDReMDk1k8V5S7lPPQUJ1_KzPBDFbU9H9SaWpKnfWwkge7_fxZdI0fqFl7y8KLAVJt1X7ANSdwCFwDDVQU5NAR5hU5IZ0GiNNi6_tH8/s1600/Buttercup+2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_33ha3uSUNCbF0Ux6Sk3Odwfnd4drV5ZhcFpUnmWRZttMJe-tyljRzuKhiLzGpUWvbokLtU_4xD097cQpdtm0ATjhLtM96g2bQMATtXnv_nMglku2YctSlaEBazBlums8pZRGmutJfhk/s1600/Buttercup+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_33ha3uSUNCbF0Ux6Sk3Odwfnd4drV5ZhcFpUnmWRZttMJe-tyljRzuKhiLzGpUWvbokLtU_4xD097cQpdtm0ATjhLtM96g2bQMATtXnv_nMglku2YctSlaEBazBlums8pZRGmutJfhk/s1600/Buttercup+3.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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And now for the second polish, In the Farmer's Garden (which I'll be shortening to ITFG, because I'd really rather not write the entire name out every single time). ITFG is a mix of pink and lilac flower glitter, small silver hex glitter, and various shapes of small green glitter, all in a clear base.<br />
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Here I have one coat of ITFG, plus another coat of HK Girl, shown over Buttercup.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg23yA0DLeCnh_o9MMiQPzgU9jb1U1xSOW3G_9VQMdL-ntrjDUf4GdKl7fHumymn50Y7Kr9H4I0Rpog-nWA3XZ1w-SNSEOI0Q9_zArEu2QSE4ELzMd_3pCWiy2SegaYPukl5fEcRzN3HSo/s1600/Farmer's+Garden+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg23yA0DLeCnh_o9MMiQPzgU9jb1U1xSOW3G_9VQMdL-ntrjDUf4GdKl7fHumymn50Y7Kr9H4I0Rpog-nWA3XZ1w-SNSEOI0Q9_zArEu2QSE4ELzMd_3pCWiy2SegaYPukl5fEcRzN3HSo/s1600/Farmer's+Garden+1.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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As the base was very thick, application was a teensy bit difficult, especially with getting the flower glitter to look nice, but since this really comes with the territory of larger glitters, I've got no troubles with it. Just keep it in mind when buying!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnOMphDj49QvY2uTyV_aNCt3WlvQ6oSDQxU6npOHj7xMMNop4PLcRkVzxKt4Jnm6Kw6Drlw41t73m6kKcS_SAFh4O0nM7ehmJ20o-StIEdmOcu9YNAoRjBbuCMd14EpPfORbS2-L7w0v8/s1600/Farmer's+Garden+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnOMphDj49QvY2uTyV_aNCt3WlvQ6oSDQxU6npOHj7xMMNop4PLcRkVzxKt4Jnm6Kw6Drlw41t73m6kKcS_SAFh4O0nM7ehmJ20o-StIEdmOcu9YNAoRjBbuCMd14EpPfORbS2-L7w0v8/s1600/Farmer's+Garden+2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNYZPVBE2TXWCrHjq9X81eZjg5reFkjwT2a0alhWVcnpEUenvVDWtAjw3bDk_PoNg7PZkP6xhIqJFvIt5es7ImisW9vecBOPKtK-4177YMiLf2bKRgwLgiTsaeb4KNOl-oIZGD0nPuQLQ/s1600/Farmer's+Garden+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNYZPVBE2TXWCrHjq9X81eZjg5reFkjwT2a0alhWVcnpEUenvVDWtAjw3bDk_PoNg7PZkP6xhIqJFvIt5es7ImisW9vecBOPKtK-4177YMiLf2bKRgwLgiTsaeb4KNOl-oIZGD0nPuQLQ/s1600/Farmer's+Garden+3.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTpmToM7QKmEBSGYhbl9zkBz9gFBa0k5l6B1KQuoSyu680O4Fobes0tHOKML0CaA89MysuprcihzOEwpHCcJvc4jA1o6I_gMEqiwfiWL4wshkgfwyJVBBQyIT9l7g0xSQOo5lmqYZLBZo/s1600/Farmer's+Garden+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTpmToM7QKmEBSGYhbl9zkBz9gFBa0k5l6B1KQuoSyu680O4Fobes0tHOKML0CaA89MysuprcihzOEwpHCcJvc4jA1o6I_gMEqiwfiWL4wshkgfwyJVBBQyIT9l7g0xSQOo5lmqYZLBZo/s1600/Farmer's+Garden+4.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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So there we have it! Let me know your thoughts on these two in the comments. It's a little strange writing a post for polishes that are no longer on sale, because I can't just refer you to the store and tell you how much I recommend buying them, but I can say that if you ever find Buttercup or ITFG in a blog sale somewhere, grab it, fast! I mean it! These colors are so sweet, spring-y, and adorable, and just plain fun to wear.<br />
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In conclusion: Cows+cute polish names+awesome application+flower glitter+happiness=Polish Yer Hooves=awesome nail polish. Yeah. Peace out.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*Disclaimer: The polishes in this post were provided by Polish Yer Hooves for the purposes of reviewing. All opinions are my own.*</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01792049917665455312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8305546709572895559.post-6922325514889171922014-02-05T19:24:00.001-06:002014-02-05T19:24:38.904-06:00LynBDesigns - Mind Palace (Swatch/Review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Well, hello there, everyone!</div>
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Wow, this post is really late in the week, isn't it? Please thank some darned malware for that. I got it fixed yesterday, but geesh, was that annoying. I could keep any web browser up for about three minutes or so until the computer would be attacked and I'd have to re-open everything, which meant writing a post was almost impossible. Sigh. But finally, I'm back with a post! I'd already written out some catchy intro related to the Superbowl (I'd started writing this on Sunday before all my computer issues) but as that would make no sense on a Wednesday, we're just going to jump right on into the post.</div>
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Enjoy today's swatch/review of LynBDesigns' <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/154065877/mind-palace-from-the-baker-street?ref=shop_home_active_3">Mind Palace</a>! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Oo_-PiJ1vj7jrac7amldBHgWEwKu8EnIAyk56GG2RCVLTx3v5u7u3STBzy2MUDRYTwtzIxqhKOiPRKqz13lApK6ONE8AKo3k6sH-CJHOuQ_WxJhfyLpboRfA7zPzKrNRKv1tNfWGw1w/s1600/Mind+Palace+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Oo_-PiJ1vj7jrac7amldBHgWEwKu8EnIAyk56GG2RCVLTx3v5u7u3STBzy2MUDRYTwtzIxqhKOiPRKqz13lApK6ONE8AKo3k6sH-CJHOuQ_WxJhfyLpboRfA7zPzKrNRKv1tNfWGw1w/s1600/Mind+Palace+4.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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First thought on this polish: Look at that glitter.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjGqi9DSJLsdhMiBx7o1wkN0qOB-lCxMknj5-juRoEQnzovJSDLwbeCLf06eYhFLv5dZHvXSXAzGJ9ydf2Pc438QZJMb4N5H-0AUlfGo1NGWSG9L1i7-mEOB27srHxHPBYm24ALtRKuww/s1600/Mind+Palace+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjGqi9DSJLsdhMiBx7o1wkN0qOB-lCxMknj5-juRoEQnzovJSDLwbeCLf06eYhFLv5dZHvXSXAzGJ9ydf2Pc438QZJMb4N5H-0AUlfGo1NGWSG9L1i7-mEOB27srHxHPBYm24ALtRKuww/s1600/Mind+Palace+3.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Second thought: That jelly, tho.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMINhpFnE3DbXOtAnu5R8RasewG35T3yG1cfa4XXMbvqzS6IGQA0d4Bkyqq1aRzUsa_-OuIIWabn5FEMDHIv7Gf0zd-WtwsnjJW3qHs1UlHR-UC460hJJDMUFcIYjE-uW6ve-imL6YJuo/s1600/Mind+Palace+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMINhpFnE3DbXOtAnu5R8RasewG35T3yG1cfa4XXMbvqzS6IGQA0d4Bkyqq1aRzUsa_-OuIIWabn5FEMDHIv7Gf0zd-WtwsnjJW3qHs1UlHR-UC460hJJDMUFcIYjE-uW6ve-imL6YJuo/s1600/Mind+Palace+2.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Third thought: And so much Sherlock fangirling to go along with it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbUUEvwfBKxkZ1ghGnEWGW4EsBN4NMrEwhoDw4dnsgIl2aKNUEk8HN6odWu14zuBNeYU1AmaPUbYK6zpC3jK1nhW6BCqpjEGt53tESvfTkRDlNZ-0romg-n3MA_1LSPLP3h6bJTr_FvuI/s1600/Mind+Palace+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbUUEvwfBKxkZ1ghGnEWGW4EsBN4NMrEwhoDw4dnsgIl2aKNUEk8HN6odWu14zuBNeYU1AmaPUbYK6zpC3jK1nhW6BCqpjEGt53tESvfTkRDlNZ-0romg-n3MA_1LSPLP3h6bJTr_FvuI/s1600/Mind+Palace+1.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Final thought: Pretty much the most awesome polish ever. </div>
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So yeah, in case my little commentary up there didn't give enough information, this polish is pretty dang amazing. Here I have three coats of Mind Palace with two coats of my good ole HK Girl top coat to smooth it out. Application was perfect. Drying time was wonderful. Seriously. <i>Perfection. </i>Add on top of all this the fact that Mind Palace is based off of Sherlock, and you have a complete winner. However, after putting on this polish, I wasn't able to think too much about the whole Sherlock side of it - this image below basically sums up everything going through my mind at the moment. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpkdFfyW0jC769f2ziEnXidcjkc5fZmH9FB4SQD3nsaso3CEhOmAdXLpbcPtQf5xdN4Cii6peiGdLEWeCbsaAp7AB_C9NE_MBBqTcG-zU2HXvdRStWXmU9jkny0s0TiPrmsQvZI4wUTII/s1600/squishy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpkdFfyW0jC769f2ziEnXidcjkc5fZmH9FB4SQD3nsaso3CEhOmAdXLpbcPtQf5xdN4Cii6peiGdLEWeCbsaAp7AB_C9NE_MBBqTcG-zU2HXvdRStWXmU9jkny0s0TiPrmsQvZI4wUTII/s1600/squishy.jpg" height="235" width="400" /></a></div>
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Yeah. I'm a huge sucker for jelly polishes, aren't I? Oh, who can blame me, though? Mind Palace is GORGEOUS. I can't say enough about how much I recommend this one- just go buy it, now, please. Seriously. You will not be disappointed. So much squishy jelly glitter perfection.<br />
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Annnd that's it! In case this post hasn't already sent you across the internet to order Mind Palace, it can by found at LynBDesigns' <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/154065877/mind-palace-from-the-baker-street?ref=shop_home_active_3">Etsy store</a> for $8 a bottle. Yupyup! </div>
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Thanks for reading! I'm going to try to get back on a weekly Sunday posting schedule again, but we'll have to see if that actually ends up working or not. So see you all Sunday... or... whenever!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01792049917665455312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8305546709572895559.post-17547029369817118782014-01-26T15:23:00.000-06:002014-01-26T15:33:01.305-06:00It's My Birthday! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
So yeah, I was planning on doing another Sherlock-themed manicure this week, but then I remembered- today's my birthday! Hooray! So enjoy this quick little post on my birthday manicure. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqih7I7arVADrp4dPAlQJhrZF5C1DnPwu6rDDk7PFp3K6EL9x4JyfpU-C-IbhDrtta4LcB6kT1wEewf1YaTd-IMHwDosZmVPfHQZguT9reTGzzhyphenhyphenXnMNVER6L4B2p6nOXJgtBvlAKKW5k/s1600/birthday+nails+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqih7I7arVADrp4dPAlQJhrZF5C1DnPwu6rDDk7PFp3K6EL9x4JyfpU-C-IbhDrtta4LcB6kT1wEewf1YaTd-IMHwDosZmVPfHQZguT9reTGzzhyphenhyphenXnMNVER6L4B2p6nOXJgtBvlAKKW5k/s1600/birthday+nails+1.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here I've got a gradient of China Glaze - White on White and OPI - Sparrow Me the Drama, with the '17' written with an Art Deco Striper in black. Yeah, I'm 17 now! Geesh. I feel old. Wow. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtfdDTiFYgZUofISEwOaxW3k90M8nvDvqUUA2qZuaCdf5HloX8Q_M78pvCHxMJK3o7OLHvynBDbGmPt_jySPUYDPC9UuUN8wu2y1bwudhzBXxRbNf9U4ahTa30AoPv_ZzvJP6KZVuB2M4/s1600/birthday+nails+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtfdDTiFYgZUofISEwOaxW3k90M8nvDvqUUA2qZuaCdf5HloX8Q_M78pvCHxMJK3o7OLHvynBDbGmPt_jySPUYDPC9UuUN8wu2y1bwudhzBXxRbNf9U4ahTa30AoPv_ZzvJP6KZVuB2M4/s1600/birthday+nails+2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Anyyywayy, the candles are OPI - Cajun Shrimp, E.L.F. - Purple Pleaser, and Mary Kay - Pink Bamboo, and the flames are Sally Hansen - Sun Kissed and Sally Hansen - Lightening.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePiB__x92xdkwYYQTBDnAWCQ-ftHO3MyxNw8FPjiHWYyVRqaKdxpu6eEophV5b4_VCLSkwhCwgk8dVXZJJO0TeMBeIOyHAUh1CbEw_LwQ0bDjzLEserZNKus4sKwF9YtKO_-JEj2swYM/s1600/birthday+nails+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePiB__x92xdkwYYQTBDnAWCQ-ftHO3MyxNw8FPjiHWYyVRqaKdxpu6eEophV5b4_VCLSkwhCwgk8dVXZJJO0TeMBeIOyHAUh1CbEw_LwQ0bDjzLEserZNKus4sKwF9YtKO_-JEj2swYM/s1600/birthday+nails+3.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_RUOHuuuJvJD_Euo9U8i8kEFv9-toIe273Zxw5ozZOAtp-cAEIBf4-LwpF00q0nltk08sEDzFlim5Nm0gadE1FtLG8G_CF_3OAsY3esqxTpz4eDX5FJM9_4CAEAPf_toFZFzaj7RRuMs/s1600/birthday+nails+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_RUOHuuuJvJD_Euo9U8i8kEFv9-toIe273Zxw5ozZOAtp-cAEIBf4-LwpF00q0nltk08sEDzFlim5Nm0gadE1FtLG8G_CF_3OAsY3esqxTpz4eDX5FJM9_4CAEAPf_toFZFzaj7RRuMs/s1600/birthday+nails+4.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Bonus: A (semi) accurate portrayal of the typical celebration of my birthdays. I'm </span><i style="text-align: left;">not</i><span style="text-align: left;"> a party girl in any way, so anything with large groups of people usually ends up with a grumpy Allie hiding in the corner. Instead of a party tonight, I'm quietly celebrating out at Biaggi's (ah, who else would die for their bread) with my family. That's the best way to celebrate, in my opinion! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcDk-7-aVFchds0WC6_ElEg3D1SOXS9g7P5YTA5h6-PphZzQmCsXS52Kv9qeLw4KW3upIw5jqXrEMtW9DsfAK4W8exxWwPmjjokSKWJ5A3C7DkHdlx22ELFyNaaFEwOnulOa51ul4aAo4/s1600/birthdays.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcDk-7-aVFchds0WC6_ElEg3D1SOXS9g7P5YTA5h6-PphZzQmCsXS52Kv9qeLw4KW3upIw5jqXrEMtW9DsfAK4W8exxWwPmjjokSKWJ5A3C7DkHdlx22ELFyNaaFEwOnulOa51ul4aAo4/s1600/birthdays.png" height="163" width="320" /></a></div>
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Oh, does anyone have any unusual birthday traditions? I was born during the half time of the 1997 Superbowl, and although they've changed the date so it will never line up on my birthday again, my parents always it as celebrate my "second birthday" and spoil me with my favorite foods. Ahh, the joy of birthdays!<br />
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Thanks for reading! Let me know in the comments what you thought about this manicure, or what strange birthday traditions you have. Next week I will (for sure, this time) be back with another LynBDesigns Sherlock polish, to mark the end of the show's third season. See you all then!</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01792049917665455312noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8305546709572895559.post-26243796994821897222014-01-19T15:21:00.000-06:002014-01-21T17:13:33.863-06:00LynBDesigns - Lost Without My Blogger (Swatch/Review/Fangirling)Howdy folks! So... guess what today is!<br />
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No, not Sunday, sillies! I mean, it <i>is </i>Sunday, but that wasn't what I was going for.<br />
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Nope, today is the day... a very special day... the day Sherlock series 3 airs in America! Yes, I may have possibly... not so legally... already seen all of the episodes online... but today's the first day I get to watch the first episode of the new series legally, without any streaming issues or crappy video quality. Huzzah!<br />
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In honor of this very important day, I figured it would only be acceptable to do a Sherlock related manicure. I mean, this day only comes three times every two years- better make it count, right?<br />
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And never fear, I shall be keeping this post completely spoiler free for anyone who had enough self control to wait and watch the episode legally; however, this does include some things we've seen in the released trailers, which could be considered spoilers if you've decided not to watch those.<br />
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Sound good? Then read on!<br />
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So for today's episode, I knew I just <i>had </i>to wear one of my Sherlock-themed polishes from <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/LynBDesigns">LynBDesigns</a>. If you haven't tried any of her polishes yet... seriously. Go buy one. Or two. Or ten. They are completely, utterly awesome. Anyway, I decided to put on <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/154060026/lost-without-my-blogger-from-the-baker?ref=shop_home_active_13">Lost Without My Blogger</a> for today, as I'd just ordered it the week before and figured this would be the perfect chance to try it for the first time. You ready to see the complete perfection that is this polish? Keep scrolling!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrE7HhclilewCtCqbVBoGc4D-xG7v9eNUj7pE7oaxXf_TOs544gipCjUDY5ypRYhYhhb2QjRmUPanV4Aa2Ycnfga0ItQXgXDvIY2BA5LZUukpr28yniVSaCbgxu6Dy7wfRx38p_UXUF4E/s1600/Lost+Without+my+Blogger+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrE7HhclilewCtCqbVBoGc4D-xG7v9eNUj7pE7oaxXf_TOs544gipCjUDY5ypRYhYhhb2QjRmUPanV4Aa2Ycnfga0ItQXgXDvIY2BA5LZUukpr28yniVSaCbgxu6Dy7wfRx38p_UXUF4E/s1600/Lost+Without+my+Blogger+2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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*Swoons* Look. At. That. Glitter.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpTX3LG9WuIQWgGyDpN4On63m91N00ZaBwXuojs3K8K50yKZCU_-MY1ONkiW7oaSVmLptpc6h4HnwDyCVDHBW3ol6V7Vni9hczYmntM4gQL-zgk9v37223e_iKvCHfUrHN94lr12YL2ZE/s1600/Lost+Without+my+Blogger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpTX3LG9WuIQWgGyDpN4On63m91N00ZaBwXuojs3K8K50yKZCU_-MY1ONkiW7oaSVmLptpc6h4HnwDyCVDHBW3ol6V7Vni9hczYmntM4gQL-zgk9v37223e_iKvCHfUrHN94lr12YL2ZE/s1600/Lost+Without+my+Blogger.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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So much glitter.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwV4ZxOYCD5BXLRBbI-0Bt3DtQePPeOLFQfN1c0mLBFEPzh6mGdIm0OAJjVi7IWSzPi2TTcQbohOr8mHVVE2OQsBoLQD3DOK8e5zV6tQ9doJYVRVNsq_TUPs2xcZH2lERBLnO2Jnk-c_8/s1600/Lost+Without+my+Blogger+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwV4ZxOYCD5BXLRBbI-0Bt3DtQePPeOLFQfN1c0mLBFEPzh6mGdIm0OAJjVi7IWSzPi2TTcQbohOr8mHVVE2OQsBoLQD3DOK8e5zV6tQ9doJYVRVNsq_TUPs2xcZH2lERBLnO2Jnk-c_8/s1600/Lost+Without+my+Blogger+3.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is two coats of Lost Without My Blogger, with one coat of good ole HK Girl on top. It's a gren jelly base completely stuffed with... well, a ton of different types of glitter that I'm not going to try to list. You've really got everything in here. Silver and green glitter. Circle, hex, shard glitter. Really, you've got the whols shebang in here. </div>
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Oh, and did I mention that application was INCREDIBLE? I have been known for being super picky about my glitter polishes due to their application... but I am in love with this one. </div>
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I would note that as this is such a glittery polish, you're definitely going to need a couple coats of top coat to smooth it down- one wasn't quite enough (but this polish was so gorgeous that I was too busy trying to get pictures taken to remember to add a second layer of top coat). That really just comes with the territory for glitter polish, though, so I wouldn't consider it as a complaint at all. This polish is too perfect to have any complaints about. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOhyphenhyphendM70W6m92x4rjKdoPb5ZQpv9j3Uo4FIIM9AmajgOzxbM7zOS7Wu-fDGGLpvlMB0c3GzDPJiMrulQZZT1Pe3RJOFImnJtNTlvtL8t0KSPnCBwrgNnm2yap-rzIVOLe-LTRRs544f14/s1600/Lost+Without+my+Blogger+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOhyphenhyphendM70W6m92x4rjKdoPb5ZQpv9j3Uo4FIIM9AmajgOzxbM7zOS7Wu-fDGGLpvlMB0c3GzDPJiMrulQZZT1Pe3RJOFImnJtNTlvtL8t0KSPnCBwrgNnm2yap-rzIVOLe-LTRRs544f14/s1600/Lost+Without+my+Blogger+4.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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*Bam* close up squishy glitter photo! LOOK AT ALL THAT GORGEOUS GLITTER.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD2H4ZgA6skNQfDLgZNO-eTKqbOCysVQ8-i1OgxNN5jsmXg5qZ7_py6gqcXVFOGWtYmGqvrwqr6dpFvejrorNhrG1mwJlxmLqTrjYp4nqbOnxtv1G8l1KV9Ie0XsoclLbl5TGwB7m5Q68/s1600/Lost+Without+my+Blogger+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD2H4ZgA6skNQfDLgZNO-eTKqbOCysVQ8-i1OgxNN5jsmXg5qZ7_py6gqcXVFOGWtYmGqvrwqr6dpFvejrorNhrG1mwJlxmLqTrjYp4nqbOnxtv1G8l1KV9Ie0XsoclLbl5TGwB7m5Q68/s1600/Lost+Without+my+Blogger+5.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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And now for the fangirling portion of this post!<br />
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Since this polish is based off of everyone's favorite army doctor, I figured it would not be complete without some bit of nail art to remind everyone what this polish is about. And that is why you might have noticed a very John-esque mustache on my accent nail.<br />
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I started out planning to have just a random mustache on the accent nail, without any eyes, but it ended up... not really looking like a mustache. Therefore, eyes had to be added so everyone could tell what it was! It was at that point that I realized I probably should've made the mustache blond. Ah, well, too late! Hopefully you still get the gist. If you're wondering, the white is China Glaze - White on White, the eyes are Sally Hansen - Black Heart, and the mustache was made with a black Sharpie (yeah, I was too lazy to get out my nail art brushes and do it the proper way, but I think the Sharpie was still pretty successful).<br />
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But can we just talk about that mustache for a second? Please tell me I'm not the only one who spontaneously bursts into giggles whenever she sees it. Seriously, John, what were you thinking? Maybe he's training to be a part-time plumber who chases a princess all across the countryside. Maybe he grew it to cope with the loss of Sherlock. Do people do that? Grow mustaches when their best friends die? Is this a thing I don't know about?<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw-tSRlN0smt3fbLx9kFwTDRtFrXmQ2UrlJpID0wfIsItgGuA4aDhWfQSlZDxWt8_D7cmZ9tAWptr-jd4udsTkJ4Zp6uvPkGu1QI4q9cZJdBT-ah5lf5iyj-enztAHuhGKSvl38paZ8nA/s1600/Sherlock's+back2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw-tSRlN0smt3fbLx9kFwTDRtFrXmQ2UrlJpID0wfIsItgGuA4aDhWfQSlZDxWt8_D7cmZ9tAWptr-jd4udsTkJ4Zp6uvPkGu1QI4q9cZJdBT-ah5lf5iyj-enztAHuhGKSvl38paZ8nA/s1600/Sherlock's+back2.jpg" height="243" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(had to insert a semi-polish-related reunion theory here- I am <br />
so proud of my Paint drawing skills, I have to admit)</td></tr>
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Anyway, let me know your opinions on mournstaches and army-doctors-turned-plumbers in the comments. Make sure to leave some fangirling about the upcoming episode below, too (no spoilers, of course)! And what do you think about this polish? Are you as in love with it as I am? Lost Without My Blogger can be found at LynBDesign's <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/LynBDesigns">Etsy</a> site for $8, and if this one isn't enough to feed your Sherlock obsession, there are also sixteen other Sherlock-themed polishes in Jenna's <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/LynBDesigns?section_id=13643726&ref=shopsection_leftnav_2">Baker Street Collection</a> for you to choose from.<br />
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Thanks for reading! I shall be back next week, with another Sherlock-related, fangirl-filled post. See you all then!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*Note: The polish in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.*</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01792049917665455312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8305546709572895559.post-11204447120683296942014-01-12T13:41:00.001-06:002014-01-12T13:42:28.657-06:00Holy Schnitzel it's my 100th Blog Post!^ Yeah. What the title says.<br />
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Originally, I was planning on just doing a simple 2013-in-review post for my 100th post, but then I realized I had too much to say to fit everything in one post, so that will be coming sometime this week. Right now... time to talk about all of my wonderful experiences. Enjoy this (slightly non-polish-related) post about my amazing past year and a half!<br />
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Let's start with a flashback to Monday, April 26, 2012. The date of my very first nail post. Here's what my photos looked like back then:<br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM51Z7domSWdJUr42v7IlqB2ONZIeOjyZWuwuNZyXhaQtpU3zggkW0E4jwyfYYg5MCeDTVXhYiXdqiaw5bA8GTP-qG5aQT9ySslumF6OXGXLLNm62nX1JhzCESFtwSzzHxAWjQ6WM-RpU/s320/Gradient+1.JPG" /></div>
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Yeah.</div>
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I have honestly thought about deleting some of these older posts loads of times, but they're definitely fun to go back and laugh at. </div>
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And now, a more personal background from that first blog post:</div>
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When I started writing this blog, I was fifteen, nearing the end of my freshman year in high school. I was unbelievably socially awkward, with the self-esteem of a dead snail, and no self confidence whatsoever. I hated everything about myself- how geeky I looked, how I couldn't talk to someone I didn't know without avoiding eye-contact and stumbling over words, how everyone in the world seemed to be better than be at everything. It was a really, really rough time in my life. At a school where everyone is insanely talented at everything, I felt like a complete nobody who had no talent to call her own. And then... yeah, I discovered nail art. </div>
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It is the most amazing feeling in the world to finally find something you're good at, that you can call your own. Instead of being that awkward girl no one cared about, I was finally someone interesting, because I had a real-life talent that was unique, and I turned out to actually be pretty good at it. </div>
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Now skip forward to a year and a half later: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3gUlfWLwVFQMlKQ-IrwlMf6FN5svEHBYXIlTFJqGK1MD0hHmw0XvbhfZKYQswGrr31RTQkm_e3joXKGE6FCz-RPGW5Wm4qGNabAZMFmZ2tDk4L92wlcYmFEvcDWvalhD3DJTChu-8Shg/s1600/christmas+nails+6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3gUlfWLwVFQMlKQ-IrwlMf6FN5svEHBYXIlTFJqGK1MD0hHmw0XvbhfZKYQswGrr31RTQkm_e3joXKGE6FCz-RPGW5Wm4qGNabAZMFmZ2tDk4L92wlcYmFEvcDWvalhD3DJTChu-8Shg/s320/christmas+nails+6.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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After months of photography and nail art practice, my photos have completely changed. No more awkward shadows, or pictures with only one finger in them, or polish in my cuticles, no siree! I still have a huge way to go, I'm sure, but I love looking back at older posts and seeing how much progress I've made. </div>
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And now, the personal background for now:<br />
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I'm currently in the second half of my junior year in high school. I've always felt a little strange being on the younger end of the spectrum of nail bloggers, but I love this community more than anything- everyone here is so amazing. I know there are always some oddballs and meanies out there, but for the most part, the nail polish community is full of amazing, wonderful people that I've been so glad to get to know. But anyway, personally, nail art has helped me out so much in my life. Yeah, I'm still slightly socially awkward, but having something I'm good at has completely boosted my confidence in myself. I've had people I rarely talk to go up to me and say they love my nails, or ask to see what design I have on that day. It's such an incredible feeling. </div>
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Finally, onto something huge (and amazing) that happened yesterday:</div>
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So know how I was talking about how wonderful everyone in the nail polish community is? Yesterday, I got to experience that when <a href="https://www.facebook.com/NailNation3000" target="_blank">NailNation</a> shared a link to my Facebook page on hers, to over 80,000 followers. </div>
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And then this happened:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp4msqnysciar_8rmw6_qWpVkVa1Qsf2tLIUI36Y5-4-9-M_ULZ4l9O0lapfINfAkHy2yQiaUpweC5EnUPc7jUSgel_Jms2yps8OpoeesbFvmN82wFQxbprSnOIuXpaE3xyU8DbdAwI1w/s1600/new+followers!.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp4msqnysciar_8rmw6_qWpVkVa1Qsf2tLIUI36Y5-4-9-M_ULZ4l9O0lapfINfAkHy2yQiaUpweC5EnUPc7jUSgel_Jms2yps8OpoeesbFvmN82wFQxbprSnOIuXpaE3xyU8DbdAwI1w/s1600/new+followers!.jpg" height="52" width="320" /></a></div>
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Over 92 followers within a minute? At this point I was making awkward hand flailing motions and messaging every person I knew to tell them how excited I was.</div>
I spent ten minutes refreshing my page, watching the number of followers grow, and grow, and grow... I went off to eat lunch and came back to this a half hour or so later:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhntjoanyKnjz7pffP4oSYfibPJnFU2jq014dfdvdKiA1NasMzQ720jsFdkLNYsQhawZwBVOLNYV11Y7f9cFR1M7cqdc4QiejIM4THWkCXMlK-S9Kka0y7RXAE0r8BEJ7M00TjKzhtInW4/s1600/OH+MY+GOD.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhntjoanyKnjz7pffP4oSYfibPJnFU2jq014dfdvdKiA1NasMzQ720jsFdkLNYsQhawZwBVOLNYV11Y7f9cFR1M7cqdc4QiejIM4THWkCXMlK-S9Kka0y7RXAE0r8BEJ7M00TjKzhtInW4/s1600/OH+MY+GOD.png" height="89" width="320" /></a></div>
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I was completely stunned. I really had no idea if I should be throwing confetti in the air and throwing a miniature celebration party, or if I should be sitting in my chair in fetal position, sobbing as a result of happiness. I ended up staring at my screen blankly for ten minutes, trying to comprehend what was really happening. </div>
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I checked Facebook again a bit after midnight, and the count was over 2,000 page likes. Silly sleepy me forgot to take a screenshot, but I was definitely an extremely happy girl. </div>
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And then I woke up this morning to this message from a friend: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBkgwFYtnJ-oege3IzhIEdd-FVCPQ-C-N3S2UqFQ5s_Vhb5LJWmXUfnsfoNfzNWPfG1CL-Ei7gwi3wyenuFhnTK5do5WL181E7BiyHkqMWjVpV1NmewPIIbkhaRvsjfSwi8G698fMVSBs/s1600/oh+my+god+part+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBkgwFYtnJ-oege3IzhIEdd-FVCPQ-C-N3S2UqFQ5s_Vhb5LJWmXUfnsfoNfzNWPfG1CL-Ei7gwi3wyenuFhnTK5do5WL181E7BiyHkqMWjVpV1NmewPIIbkhaRvsjfSwi8G698fMVSBs/s1600/oh+my+god+part+2.jpg" height="59" width="320" /></a></div>
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So yeah, definitely an incredible way to start off the day. I'm honestly the happiest girl in the world right now. All I've ever loved is being able to share my passion with others, and now there are over 3,000 to share it with. You all are AMAZING! But for such a huge page to share mine in the first place... that's what I love about this community. Everyone helping each other out. Maria at NailNation made a small dream of mine come true, and that's something I will never, ever, forget. </div>
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Oh, and I feel like this is a big enough accomplishment that it calls for a reproduction of my feelings via a Microsoft Paint drawing:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiStyG2l9nV4EwfPH0R7Nk2yPCWjyLKMI6bmRGe7XKpeMf3pg4db-19mATrvKy3w-VeWeGr9JlK6cyW6Ei8A_Asd3jIvXEf2VoyIx-lByN_zFuONw-_harebcIbhHK_EgNgPgca2bQO1jo/s1600/hooray!.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiStyG2l9nV4EwfPH0R7Nk2yPCWjyLKMI6bmRGe7XKpeMf3pg4db-19mATrvKy3w-VeWeGr9JlK6cyW6Ei8A_Asd3jIvXEf2VoyIx-lByN_zFuONw-_harebcIbhHK_EgNgPgca2bQO1jo/s1600/hooray!.png" height="164" width="320" /></a></div>
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^ Pretty accurate. Other than the confetti. But still accurate. </div>
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And now for my cheesy thanks:</div>
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First of all, of course, Thank you to Maria for sharing my page, giving it a chance, and allowing me to meet so many wonderful new followers.</div>
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Second, thank you to everyone who's been with me from the start. You all are the best for sticking through all of this with me, even some of my less-than-incredible first few months of posts. We all start somewhere, and everyone who encouraged me during that time had a part in motivating me to keep on going and improving. </div>
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Third, to Kathryn and Esther, who have been the most extraordinary friends throughout both my best and worst moments. You two have put up with all my nail art problems and adventures, from dealing with the "help, I have no idea what to paint my nails, give me ideas," to the "oh my god I suck at nail art I can't do this anymore I want to quit." You have kept me going with your endless motivation for forever and I love you guys more than anything in the world! </div>
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And finally, to all of my new Facebook followers! I haven't known any of you for very long, but I'm so glad to have you all here. I hope you enjoy my blog and my nail art, and I'd love to get to know all of you in the comments. </div>
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So... I think that's all! Wow. 100 posts done. I'm so proud of this milestone. I can't wait to see how much everything has changed by my 200th post, but that's a long way away, so for now... later taters! Thanks for reading! </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01792049917665455312noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8305546709572895559.post-15685549799003464902013-12-24T18:04:00.000-06:002013-12-24T18:12:35.789-06:00Super Quick Christmas Nail Art! So you've just got the cookies out of the oven, the green bean casserole made, and a pumpkin pie sitting in the fridge. The kids have unwrapped all their presents. You've got all the gifts packed up and ready to take when you meet with your family the next county over. Everything is going according to plan, with twenty minutes to spare, until you realize... you've forgotten to paint your nails!<br />
Oh no! Panic time! You simply <i>cannot </i>be seen in public without your nails painted, but you've got less than a half hour before it's time to be out of the house and off to your family's. Whatever shall you do? You need a miracle to pull this one off. Or... you need the world's easiest, fastest Christmas manicure. So run the food and presents out to the car, tell the kids to play with their toys for ten minutes and then put their shoes and coats on, and make a mad dash for your nail polish stash. Enjoy the tutorial!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3gUlfWLwVFQMlKQ-IrwlMf6FN5svEHBYXIlTFJqGK1MD0hHmw0XvbhfZKYQswGrr31RTQkm_e3joXKGE6FCz-RPGW5Wm4qGNabAZMFmZ2tDk4L92wlcYmFEvcDWvalhD3DJTChu-8Shg/s1600/christmas+nails+6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3gUlfWLwVFQMlKQ-IrwlMf6FN5svEHBYXIlTFJqGK1MD0hHmw0XvbhfZKYQswGrr31RTQkm_e3joXKGE6FCz-RPGW5Wm4qGNabAZMFmZ2tDk4L92wlcYmFEvcDWvalhD3DJTChu-8Shg/s1600/christmas+nails+6.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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For this quick and festive design, you'll need:</div>
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- base coat</div>
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- red polish</div>
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- green polish</div>
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- white striper</div>
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- quick-drying top coat</div>
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Start off by throwing on a quick base coat. Next, find your green and red polishes. There isn't time to spend debating on the pros and cons of different shades of green- grab the first one you see and go with it! Choose any accent nail pattern you'd like. Here I did green on the index and middle fingers, and red on the ring finger, pinkie, and thumb, but you could also use your ring finger as an accent, or do one hand all red and the other all in green. It's up to you, but choose quickly!</div>
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(Oh, anyone notice anything different about my photos? This is the first chance I've had to photograph my nails when it's light out in months, so I tried to take advantage of that natural lighting. Didn't have a fancy background, but oh well- it's always better than an artificially lit light box!) </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGI2_Fsv_3UbeFywNiVgPBW6stZyHl8Zwc372GCkt8mHCrR2W1JMbwuDC7y-jATfXTD1gt98gjYUOxRFhYJtEj16efxBg2IFVn8wccA5MBi-BDP7HrIRsphoHGvBA1tjvsl9JWNmY8vOY/s1600/christmas+nails+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGI2_Fsv_3UbeFywNiVgPBW6stZyHl8Zwc372GCkt8mHCrR2W1JMbwuDC7y-jATfXTD1gt98gjYUOxRFhYJtEj16efxBg2IFVn8wccA5MBi-BDP7HrIRsphoHGvBA1tjvsl9JWNmY8vOY/s1600/christmas+nails+1.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Essie - Mojito Madness<br />
E.l.f. - Smokin Hot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Break out the white striper and draw one stripe down the center of each nail, cutting it in half. Then draw two more on each nail, separating the color into fourths.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_EnbOBMnb00M0nICL5orv7O7gio-XsDQmCjH1VrMeu0OBnZEL0YNV-LzsIZgoU02BXipGpclX_hwWLv4vRDmgFYm-PyvO3As46ntUrntdFWZmbTEugRTe6VH3J1oSDQ8lRYCchvCfNdU/s1600/christmas+nails+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_EnbOBMnb00M0nICL5orv7O7gio-XsDQmCjH1VrMeu0OBnZEL0YNV-LzsIZgoU02BXipGpclX_hwWLv4vRDmgFYm-PyvO3As46ntUrntdFWZmbTEugRTe6VH3J1oSDQ8lRYCchvCfNdU/s1600/christmas+nails+2.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Art Deco - White</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Slap a quick drying top coat on those puppies, try to avoid touching anything for five minutes, and you're ready and out the door!<br />
<br />
(Hf anyone's curious what top coat I used here, it's HK Girl. No shrinking or smearing and my nails were rock solid in about ten minutes! Perfect for the nail-painting rush.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixADO495CHjc603azQqqt6l1Le521rXbmD7Zs_mQqTcrtn1OE7I63m8kSf91c6wcZJX_Nn1n8L8W4EtzGf7HVZYUZxqxEaoqakgD3mwZV5PQohtb2vem7pL82LN5VexXPmKQdQrCeZTAc/s1600/christmas+nails+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixADO495CHjc603azQqqt6l1Le521rXbmD7Zs_mQqTcrtn1OE7I63m8kSf91c6wcZJX_Nn1n8L8W4EtzGf7HVZYUZxqxEaoqakgD3mwZV5PQohtb2vem7pL82LN5VexXPmKQdQrCeZTAc/s1600/christmas+nails+3.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQt6GUA0svR8gS3o101gEhN1bMhdUXPME-n5nHABkOeb14OS2c9koqC2sjiXwKV52PlCSazUKYIx3iROo6o05NzzQjl5-mve4l4I3Znamf121eg7HqA0bs-8cH34lKnmzOInDrbRus3MY/s1600/christmas+nails+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQt6GUA0svR8gS3o101gEhN1bMhdUXPME-n5nHABkOeb14OS2c9koqC2sjiXwKV52PlCSazUKYIx3iROo6o05NzzQjl5-mve4l4I3Znamf121eg7HqA0bs-8cH34lKnmzOInDrbRus3MY/s1600/christmas+nails+5.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGIMN9GD-jtpNY2x4hg3f8Y_b_2uR3YuoA6T40_rhMgekTNDSU37fKKRXr4FLSBSK6BgMKd_inOZY6o4B0xqBIXPYKlMvgb7u1FW-8RBsiQd27mNFqP-6HKYgY9GTsJNjmrPp9DEN6Rh4/s1600/christmas+nails+7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGIMN9GD-jtpNY2x4hg3f8Y_b_2uR3YuoA6T40_rhMgekTNDSU37fKKRXr4FLSBSK6BgMKd_inOZY6o4B0xqBIXPYKlMvgb7u1FW-8RBsiQd27mNFqP-6HKYgY9GTsJNjmrPp9DEN6Rh4/s1600/christmas+nails+7.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(And one photo from the light box, because my camera <br />
wouldn't quite focus all that well in the natural light)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hooray! Twenty minutes later, you've made it into the car without a single dent in your new manicure. So pat yourself on the back, sit back and relax a bit for the drive, and crank up the "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" that's playing on the radio at the moment for a bit of fun. You've earned it!<br />
<br />
So merry Christmas, everyone! Or, if you don't celebrate it, happy... December? Happy holidays? Merry Tuesday and Wednesday? Oh, merry-whatever-floats-your-boat. I hope it's a great week, regardless! See you all after the holiday, when shopping and traffic have (hopefully) gotten less chaotic. Thanks for reading!<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01792049917665455312noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8305546709572895559.post-59030794886918158912013-12-22T14:45:00.001-06:002013-12-22T14:54:25.454-06:00Ugly Christmas Sweater NailsHowdy folks! IT'S ALMOST CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE! Ahh, I love the holiday season. There is nothing better than the smell of pine trees (or, the smell of scented pine sticks placed in a fake Christmas tree, but it's almost the same) and fresh baked cookies. However, one of my top favorite things from the Christmas season isn't all the trees, or baking, but the ugly Christmas sweaters! There's only one month of the year to break them out of the closet, so I make sure to give mine plenty of use in that time.<br />
Here's the beautiful little number I based today's design off of. It's actually not that hideous in the grand scheme of ugly Christmas sweaters, but... definitely still able to be classified as an "ugly sweater." My dear great-aunt Irene bought this for me years ago, and it's only been in the past two that I've gotten up the courage to wear it. I have to say, it's growing on me, and it's super warm and snuggly, but for the purposes of this post we're going to consider it as an ugly sweater. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsmbKuqdb0e4VnKxcHWXHww-AKDSXmssxAorwujG6g8gX-ZBR7JUUG1Vn_j6Nloyw4Q47TypxW33AikoulaI94YKpR8V4cpwkSBRjwnrEnhznZzSlRPVSpMgoaJCc9HGTPvrotDNRmfsg/s1600/DSCN0236.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsmbKuqdb0e4VnKxcHWXHww-AKDSXmssxAorwujG6g8gX-ZBR7JUUG1Vn_j6Nloyw4Q47TypxW33AikoulaI94YKpR8V4cpwkSBRjwnrEnhznZzSlRPVSpMgoaJCc9HGTPvrotDNRmfsg/s1600/DSCN0236.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Here's a close-up of the pattern I (loosely) based my design off of.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidkv6YJ52ZZqqRmx4FXkLPgJ-UrJCOn1Yyll7EHaism-hVCrnrUHNuKrbUWBqg8mw74W0KJlkGvngQVmjN_fyjWmz_zPmp1Vi1U-p6xRcAHaOAYf8Ivv4tZKwWNOT7lqA0OEQxHcA4exc/s1600/DSCN0237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidkv6YJ52ZZqqRmx4FXkLPgJ-UrJCOn1Yyll7EHaism-hVCrnrUHNuKrbUWBqg8mw74W0KJlkGvngQVmjN_fyjWmz_zPmp1Vi1U-p6xRcAHaOAYf8Ivv4tZKwWNOT7lqA0OEQxHcA4exc/s1600/DSCN0237.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Onto the tutorial!<br />
You'll need:<br />
- base coat<br />
- tan polish<br />
- black striper<br />
- red polish<br />
- dotting tool<br />
- green polish<br />
- black polish<br />
- top coat<br />
- matte top coat<br />
<br />
Start off with a base coat and paint your nails with a light tan color.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_-5iffT5T0uJW5Em5z_rU0pNKYw4MKIrGfxz9G6OI2E4my69MaxQUmWTgjhbZikoEp1ISooTKiN9qYdHkHnits7hmuVT17I6gJIDum9YCgyTXy37cBCDpGitgZkD0aWDL8hhpWAMX5HI/s1600/christmas+sweater+nails+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_-5iffT5T0uJW5Em5z_rU0pNKYw4MKIrGfxz9G6OI2E4my69MaxQUmWTgjhbZikoEp1ISooTKiN9qYdHkHnits7hmuVT17I6gJIDum9YCgyTXy37cBCDpGitgZkD0aWDL8hhpWAMX5HI/s1600/christmas+sweater+nails+1.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maybelline - Sandstorm</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
About one third down your nail, use a black striper to paint thin zig-zagged lines.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Zg2nYsEbarRqhyphenhyphen1KZDVZQmKQB2dFqH_khmFFfaQJ3nkB2iVQyTZj4ssMxo3O1h_yKNLo7TI19fQeTQLwmBzk2PTZJDKLRAXNUp21TYK6t4jHYCkczp7oXoypnLPLcged7s25JUANb90/s1600/christmas+sweater+nails+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Zg2nYsEbarRqhyphenhyphen1KZDVZQmKQB2dFqH_khmFFfaQJ3nkB2iVQyTZj4ssMxo3O1h_yKNLo7TI19fQeTQLwmBzk2PTZJDKLRAXNUp21TYK6t4jHYCkczp7oXoypnLPLcged7s25JUANb90/s1600/christmas+sweater+nails+2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Art Deco - Black</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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A bit farther down the nail, use the same striper to paint another, somewhat thicker, zig-zagged line.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Use a red polish to paint on quick red tips. Remember to rotate your finger, instead of the brush, as you paint to get a smoother line.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFL0VCX1_Iof_NhNIn5k8fQR-Ys4dgp7vadRRXNK7v7DC8KzplSH09zFb5U7G44rAGfpIvWviVWjc2crC-kZXKWr2EchBp_NlhpGZrzsdPw7JhKWhqedKp_NSu29VU-7Po0Jnhyphenhyphen0lmtsA/s1600/christmas+sweater+nails+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFL0VCX1_Iof_NhNIn5k8fQR-Ys4dgp7vadRRXNK7v7DC8KzplSH09zFb5U7G44rAGfpIvWviVWjc2crC-kZXKWr2EchBp_NlhpGZrzsdPw7JhKWhqedKp_NSu29VU-7Po0Jnhyphenhyphen0lmtsA/s1600/christmas+sweater+nails+4.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OPI - Cajun Shrimp</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Silly me forgot to take photos for a couple of the steps here, but use a green polish and a dotting tool to add dots along the red tip, and add a few dots in black above the first zig-zag. Then seal it all in with a topcoat.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhivP737fVLMSd7-jT7XvBGPJX9CTu7x_r5pEXG2cMaB2co4yjjhzo-uPc1lxlxfqlf-Ri-e7Vwyj8bsOynzX0Ai2CUUeWORvnehyvGWngPgrxRUyW4LpK0czGW2ZcVNEcRGls5vgs2rCE/s1600/christmas+sweater+nails+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhivP737fVLMSd7-jT7XvBGPJX9CTu7x_r5pEXG2cMaB2co4yjjhzo-uPc1lxlxfqlf-Ri-e7Vwyj8bsOynzX0Ai2CUUeWORvnehyvGWngPgrxRUyW4LpK0czGW2ZcVNEcRGls5vgs2rCE/s1600/christmas+sweater+nails+5.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">China Glaze - Exotic Encounters<br />
Sally Hansen - Black Heart</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Christmas sweaters aren't shiny, though, so add a matte topcoat to de-shiny-ify everything.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWJxu8SZq4lilpyvlQBmLU55SOIxXUPezXNc4HBghlt4OZpD45egwoTxDjyaPAisJjHRgljjqC92Y2hjqIYbA-Gf5juFbdgL9GwJQl2asyncFhyphenhyphenIOdF9uY-i6bTAYV2a8sH3dGu8FJLJM/s1600/christmas+sweater+nails+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWJxu8SZq4lilpyvlQBmLU55SOIxXUPezXNc4HBghlt4OZpD45egwoTxDjyaPAisJjHRgljjqC92Y2hjqIYbA-Gf5juFbdgL9GwJQl2asyncFhyphenhyphenIOdF9uY-i6bTAYV2a8sH3dGu8FJLJM/s1600/christmas+sweater+nails+7.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nails Inc. Matte Topcoat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Ta-da!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguN2BGlB8ZHABcrJa1xvxVOrwtOXeefShb6aaQTe0YSGJ7HjuNbBx8S7SNp_FKRFd14jRekDALD2Z0ucB74xvn0DfTdjYA6LteSf2Fyk9PEj5zFpTPslUxu7pfm2TCikpj5lzya9w5J_o/s1600/christmas+sweater+nails+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguN2BGlB8ZHABcrJa1xvxVOrwtOXeefShb6aaQTe0YSGJ7HjuNbBx8S7SNp_FKRFd14jRekDALD2Z0ucB74xvn0DfTdjYA6LteSf2Fyk9PEj5zFpTPslUxu7pfm2TCikpj5lzya9w5J_o/s1600/christmas+sweater+nails+6.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOwYoY36u2sS7ZP9H8KQ02pQ0SY6HzkICD18-GPWWe-gJHt4CDG966XGA-c7ODs-CARdF1t_Dreb5vRn7RM-rJcVCwJPm4LhOZSMlGdsBbfQo4e2GJSvfYhXis9EC4Dtj2m_Gz7f5GFjI/s1600/christmas+sweater+nails+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOwYoY36u2sS7ZP9H8KQ02pQ0SY6HzkICD18-GPWWe-gJHt4CDG966XGA-c7ODs-CARdF1t_Dreb5vRn7RM-rJcVCwJPm4LhOZSMlGdsBbfQo4e2GJSvfYhXis9EC4Dtj2m_Gz7f5GFjI/s1600/christmas+sweater+nails+8.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Thanks for reading! As usual, remember to follow on GFC/Twitter/Facebook/etc. using any of the buttons on the right-hand side of the blog if you enjoyed this post. Facebook doesn't seem to be sharing my posts with very many people anymore, so if you'd still like to hear from me, make sure to add my page to an interests list or follow using one of the other sites!</div>
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Does anyone else here share my love of ugly Christmas sweaters? Have a particularly hideous one you'd like to share a picture of? Let me know in the comments, or post a picture on my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PolishedPlatypus" target="_blank">Facebook</a> page. See you all soon! </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01792049917665455312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8305546709572895559.post-26557987297847007852013-12-01T16:04:00.001-06:002013-12-22T14:54:25.449-06:00Turkey NailsHello, everyone! Wow, it's been awhile, hasn't it? Four weeks without a post, acck! So what was Allie doing for the past month, if not painting nails and blogging, you may ask? I happened to be doing <a href="http://nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo</a>, or National Novel Writing Month. What you do is sit down for the entire month of November and try to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Sounds fun, right? This is the first year I've ever completed it, which I'm really proud of (clocked in about mid-day yesterday with 50,132 words), but it also meant a lot of other stuff in my life slipped that month. Namely, painting nails, and blogging about it. However, NaNoWriMo is over now (I'm not sure if I'm saddened by that, or a bit relieved) and that means I can devote my full attention to the blog again! So thanks to everyone who's stuck with me throughout my long absence. You're all the best!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsby5MkxqVCuzAU2ZDqHn1qaxTVonG7nid9w3AgOw2INlTKypIFc2HxiX36iR2B4MCtTNNPCl_1CYT6FsxNedt6rWN2uxRWZIXpq5YsKLxCwWO_EOLAECkXw9bf3sOihLCGzrzQzPDkK4/s1600/turkey+nails+6.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsby5MkxqVCuzAU2ZDqHn1qaxTVonG7nid9w3AgOw2INlTKypIFc2HxiX36iR2B4MCtTNNPCl_1CYT6FsxNedt6rWN2uxRWZIXpq5YsKLxCwWO_EOLAECkXw9bf3sOihLCGzrzQzPDkK4/s1600/turkey+nails+6.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Anyway, onto the nails. Here's the design that I wore for Thanksgiving. Just some simple turkey nails! Thanksgiving is past, but maybe you'll find some other reason to have little turkeys on your nails soon. Enjoy the tutorial!</div>
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You will need:</div>
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- base coat</div>
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- blue polish</div>
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- green polish</div>
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- striping brush</div>
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- dotting tool(s)</div>
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- tan polish</div>
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- light brown polish</div>
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- dark brown polish</div>
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- white polish</div>
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- yellow polish</div>
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- red polish</div>
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- top coat</div>
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Start off with a base coat and paint your nails a light blue color. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHe1Erg9qft9bkqc3Fd7ouiwvtIOquJjiJji1p8Hg8GFPH7j6-H5tkXi1qqddnvH6UvtTXP6-ofKf8XPz91TRUSjih39V0a73vUwqLkxawKf8M9uppf16bAX-7qrWbn9ywdSRxB2yAmfw/s1600/turkey+nails+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHe1Erg9qft9bkqc3Fd7ouiwvtIOquJjiJji1p8Hg8GFPH7j6-H5tkXi1qqddnvH6UvtTXP6-ofKf8XPz91TRUSjih39V0a73vUwqLkxawKf8M9uppf16bAX-7qrWbn9ywdSRxB2yAmfw/s1600/turkey+nails+1.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">China Glaze - For Audrey</td></tr>
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Dip a striping brush into green polish and make light strokes at the base of your nail to create grass.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQi8QyeSZIGml1wddVNDzNKK1EWyElujfUD4j7JVfhW_ikXlq_VQ9omUKToF8teCG9ynsCOmLt0tqnDbUfgD5M6yVm0Kv6GP_kCP6S3DrSfjVOmWued3sNO-bt6Ae1urNfybo_SgJFnbk/s1600/turkey+nails+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQi8QyeSZIGml1wddVNDzNKK1EWyElujfUD4j7JVfhW_ikXlq_VQ9omUKToF8teCG9ynsCOmLt0tqnDbUfgD5M6yVm0Kv6GP_kCP6S3DrSfjVOmWued3sNO-bt6Ae1urNfybo_SgJFnbk/s1600/turkey+nails+2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Essie - Mojito Madness</td></tr>
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Using a dotting tool and tan polish, draw feathers spreading out from a center point, leaving space in between each one.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUIWhdpZAR3PfqNiAOS95Fv-RJVIPSFkelcTX0JHDowh6TJ-9adR4KV4Fk7fpt42G4dCzz5vAB6wjJ1ERKmFbWKxg47nTT1ay-lgFGFVA6pNKrXdXJCTq6DNrWrB71AbbTA8ihplEJhqM/s1600/turkey+nails+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUIWhdpZAR3PfqNiAOS95Fv-RJVIPSFkelcTX0JHDowh6TJ-9adR4KV4Fk7fpt42G4dCzz5vAB6wjJ1ERKmFbWKxg47nTT1ay-lgFGFVA6pNKrXdXJCTq6DNrWrB71AbbTA8ihplEJhqM/s1600/turkey+nails+3.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maybelline - Sandstorm</td></tr>
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Fill in the spaces you left with the tan polish with similar lines made with your dotting tool and the lighter brown polish. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0HItwh3jFX4brLTsjV36qynnjmJQbtN5FxINIhlu4uuO7aWrsJeERicYY-f_yMlhjCoDyD2fmyNJdSaMKxWV0w7W9GtyqPOTca0LtJIDseLNoT9KwptWcbI1U9x836k4vjpS8rLZHwPo/s1600/turkey+nails+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0HItwh3jFX4brLTsjV36qynnjmJQbtN5FxINIhlu4uuO7aWrsJeERicYY-f_yMlhjCoDyD2fmyNJdSaMKxWV0w7W9GtyqPOTca0LtJIDseLNoT9KwptWcbI1U9x836k4vjpS8rLZHwPo/s1600/turkey+nails+4.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">China Glaze - Foie Gras</td></tr>
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Use a larger dotting tool if you have one (or just use the same one as before, if you don't), and create the turkey body and head. Then drag the polish down twice at the bottom of the nail to create little legs. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7_mNP0XVKazyQsBvlYfnYtdG9MnVK71Vj7ScfQYbqy2g_np-BlPKRQ2c5tLXP8x6KFlT3RgIjw0TmttuqBMjp8VoFe_Otkv3EyaF6IGcz3cffChpeOT9FC9fJAFLyYp2bu4cxkO3ECj4/s1600/turkey+nails+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7_mNP0XVKazyQsBvlYfnYtdG9MnVK71Vj7ScfQYbqy2g_np-BlPKRQ2c5tLXP8x6KFlT3RgIjw0TmttuqBMjp8VoFe_Otkv3EyaF6IGcz3cffChpeOT9FC9fJAFLyYp2bu4cxkO3ECj4/s1600/turkey+nails+5.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Essie - Little Brown Dress</td></tr>
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It's at this point that my camera chose to spaz out and not take nice pictures. I took tons and tons and tons of photos, with different angles and different lighting and everything, but for some reason, my camera wasn't having it. Guess who has just moved "new camera" to the top of her Christmas list? This girl!</div>
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Anyway, as all of the other pictures were complete fuzzy messes, I had to combine a few steps into one in the least blurry picture I could find. </div>
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Use a small dotting tool and white polish to dot on little eyes. Use the same dotting tool and yellow polish to create a triangular beak, and add a teensy bit of red for the wattle (does anyone else love that word as much as I do? I think it's completely hilarious). </div>
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After that, all you need is a top coat and some cuticle clean-up if you have any to do, and that's it!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsby5MkxqVCuzAU2ZDqHn1qaxTVonG7nid9w3AgOw2INlTKypIFc2HxiX36iR2B4MCtTNNPCl_1CYT6FsxNedt6rWN2uxRWZIXpq5YsKLxCwWO_EOLAECkXw9bf3sOihLCGzrzQzPDkK4/s1600/turkey+nails+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsby5MkxqVCuzAU2ZDqHn1qaxTVonG7nid9w3AgOw2INlTKypIFc2HxiX36iR2B4MCtTNNPCl_1CYT6FsxNedt6rWN2uxRWZIXpq5YsKLxCwWO_EOLAECkXw9bf3sOihLCGzrzQzPDkK4/s1600/turkey+nails+6.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">China Glaze - White on White<br />
Sally Hansen - Lightening<br />
OPI - Cajun Shrimp</td></tr>
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That's all there is to it! Thanks for reading. Did any of you do NaNoWriMo this year, and if so, how'd it go? Anyone have funny family Thanksgiving stories they'd like to share? I'd love to hear about everything in the comments, so don't hesitate to leave one below. And I will definitely see you all next week, with a new post, back on schedule!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01792049917665455312noreply@blogger.com2