Nails as Art: February.....

One of my main loves is art (I love it so much I majored in art history).  Which is why I love doing my makeup and creating art on my nails. I also enjoy editing photos and creating interesting effects with pictures. So, I decided at the end of each month I would take all the NOTD's I've done that month and edit them to add fun effects. Hope you enjoy...

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Leave a comment and let me know if this is something you would like to see every month. =)

Just Another Haul...

Sally's Haul...

Ahoy, Black creme over Strawberry Fields...

This mani didn't exactly turn out as plan. I was going for a half moon look but I put the sticker too far down and it came out more like a french manicure with an uneven line. So I decided to sponge the line and create a gradient look and topped it off with a swirl design.

I've decided I really need to start stamping more because this came out really good. =)

Techno Watermelon...

Along with my epic birthday haul I enjoyed an amazing spa day. I had a nice relaxing massage, deep cleaning facial(I've never had one before), a manicure(never had a professional manicure before) and a pedicure. It was such a great day, thank you Hubby!

For my mani/pedi I wanted something bright and fun so I chose Essie Watermelon for my mani and OPI Let Me Entertain You (check out Scrangie's swatch) for my pedi. 

Here's my mani after leaving the spa..

 She used a sticky base coat(not sure what it was), 2 coats Essie Watermelon, 1 coat Seche Vite

Then I did the swatches for me epic birthday haul and I noticed I got some ChG(China Glaze) Techno on my left ring finger. Fate told me to do an accent finger ;)

2 coats of ChG Techno

For some reason this didn't satisfy me so I thought why not do watermelons!

 green: Orly Fresh, black: Wet 'n Wild(WnW) Black Creme, 1 more coat of ChG Techno, SH Insta Dri

Side note- sorry about the color changes in the pics, I'm still getting used to the settings on my camera and I'm trying to figure out which setting work best.

Hope you enjoyed!

Epic Birthday Haul...

For my Birthday my wonderful husband let me go hauling. 

This is the result....

So excited about all of my new goodies!! 

PSA: use the code 'thanks' and get 15% off bundlemonster.com, expires 2/29/12 =)

Versatile Blogger Award!...

Accepting this award comes with a few rules:

1. Nominate 15 fellow bloggers.

2. Inform the bloggers of their nomination.

3. Share 7 random facts about yourself.

4. Thank the blogger who nominated you.

5. Add the Versatile Blogger Award picture to your blog post.

I was nominated by the lovely blogger Miss Vee's Nails, check her out!

 The bloggers I will be nominating are:

1. Polish Art Addiction  
2. Let Them Have Polish  
3. The Polished Perfectionist  
4. The Polish Haven  
5. Rachel Marie's Nails   
6. ThePolishHoochie
7. More Nail Polish
8. The Nailasaurus
9. Makeup Withdrawl
10. Polish All the Nails
11. Nail Polish Wars
12. Adventures In Acetone
13. Manicure Addict
14. The PolishAholic
15. Mama Loves Mani's!

7 Facts About Me:

1. I just turned 27.
2. I have a 3 yr old Australian Cattle Dog.
3. I met my husband on eHarmony and we've been together almost 4 yrs.
4. My husband and I have been married 2 and a half years.
5. I have 2 boys under 2 and had both of them before our 2 year wedding anniversary.
6. My favorite color is pink.
7. I love shiny stuff, the more glitter the better!

It's my Birthday, I'll have a cupcake please....

It's my Birthday today so I wanted my mani to combine all my favorite thing: pink, glitter and cupcakes..

Hope you enjoyed!

I Love Lacey with Black Diamonds and Red Carpet...

❤❤Happy Valentine's Day❤❤

 Accent nail is SH Black Diamonds. I wanted to make it more special so I added a little bit of Nfu-Oh #61 and SH Prisms Diamond.

Now for the love...

 I added one thick coat of SH Red Carpet then etched out the heart.

Valentine's eve mani ..

Just because you can't see my love....

..doesn't mean it's not always there..

This mani didn't exactly work like I wanted. At first I stamped with various love/heart images using China Glaze Glow in the Dark polish but the glow in the dark particles got scraped away(figured this out after trying to take the dark pictures). So after taking the light picture I free-handed the hearts for the dark picture. I think it still looks cool though =)

Major weekend Haul, Part 2...

I am very excited about this new PF Youthful Wear line. Not that I need to look 10 years younger but I'm always on the hunt for a good covering concealer, foundation and powder, and after seeing swatches of these I'm looking forward to using them.

 click here for more info

Step 1-

 The concealer went on really nice and had full coverage without being cakey or drying.

And I was skeptical about the roller applicator but it blended both formulas very nicely.

Step 2-

 This is a mousse-like cream foundation that offers medium to full coverage. It goes on very lightweight and blended out amazingly with out getting cakey, I used my fingers instead of the brush that came with it (not really a fan of foundation brushes in general). Very excited about this one!

Step 3-

 Even though it's called Translucent it does offer light coverage and gives a nice matte finish to the face. This has the same brush as the Mineral Wear Airbrushing pressed powder, flat top with short bristles.  

I can't say much about this powder because 5 minutes after putting it on I had to wipe it off. Unlike every other PF product this contains fragrance, which I have both a sensitivity to the smell and a skin allergy to =(. 

Hope you enjoyed my weekend haul. =) 

You want me to put what on my what?!..

Lansinoh® HPA® Lanolin has been a staple for breastfeeding moms for over 20 years but this isn't a one trick pony there are so many uses for this product. It is mainly used for dry cracked skin that occurs during breastfeeding, but it's also great for dry lips (I use it every night and it keeps my lips nice and soft), cuticles, and even stubborn diaper rashes (rub in diaper cream then apply HPA lanolin on top and it creates a waterproof barrier that allows the rash to heal faster).

I was first recommended Lansinoh HPA Lanolin* by my Lactation Consultant when my first son was born and it has been a lifesaver. However, you need so little that when I stopped breastfeeding I was left with about half a tube so I started using it as a lip balm and cuticle cream. There are many products that contain lanolin like Medela Tender Care Lanolin, BagBalm, NOW Foods pure lanolin, etc., but Lansinoh's version is the only one made with medical grade lanolin ( meaning if you have allergies to sheep, wool, or lanolin you should be able to use this with no issues). I liked having medical grade lanolin because I didn't have to remove it before breastfeeding as it is safe to ingest, also means you don't have to remove it before eating (if you were to eat something with your hands, like a candy bar yum!)

This can be found in the baby section of major drugstores (CVS, Walgreens, Wal-Mart, Target, etc. and is also available on Amazon)

*- this used to be called Nipple Cream and was recently changed to HPA Lanolin when they redid the packaging and even more recently they have reduced the amount from 2oz to 1.41oz.

 This is a super thick cream and it helps to rub it between your fingers before applying, to warm it up.  When you first get it you must squeeze, squeeze, squeeze it can be very difficult to get out, it gets easier as you use it though. After rubbing it on my cuticles whatever is left on my fingertips I rub into my hands like you would with lotion.

I use this as the last step in my nightly moisturizing routine. I use it to "seal" in my lotion and Nutra Nail Growth Formula( see here). I simply love this stuff!

Oh, holo I love you...

My love for holo expressed on nails ;)...

This mani gave me so many problems. I had to redo it about 5 times but I was determined to wear it because Rose Diamond is just awesome! I also tried stamping the hearts but the stamp just wasn't cooperating so I had to freehand them. sigh.

Haul...

This is my "great deal"haul.  Sally's Beauty had a coupon for a free bottle of FingerPaints polish with the purchase of 2 Ion Color Brilliance haircolors, so I stocked up on haircolor. While I was at Sally's I saw they had all their China glaze Crackle polishes on clearance, I don't really care for the look of crackle polish I don't know why it just doesn't appeal to me. However, there was something about the color of Latticed Lilac that just looked so pretty and I had to enforce my 3 touch policy. What's my 3 touch policy you ask, it's simple: if I see a color and I can't decide if I want it I continue with my shopping and if I have come back to it and picked it up at least 3 times then I have to buy it. I've learned that if I don't buy it I can't stop thinking about it and 1 of 2 things happens, 1-I go back and buy it, 2- I go back to buy it and it's no longer there =( so to avoid 2 I created the 3 touch policy =) .

 This is a gorgeous color that was hard to photograph. It's a warm café au lait color with a copper shimmer and bits of gold flecks.

 Brushstroke Blush is a pretty pale pink, it's on the sheerer side and 3 coats probably would have made it opaque.

 I did one thin coat over Sally Hansen Inst Dri Whirlwind White

 Then I wanted to see what it would like like not crackled, and it is gorgeous!