Pretty Serious Nightopia

Welcome back! I have for you one of my absolute favorite polishes. Ever. Yes, I love it that much!
This is Nightopia by the Australian brand Pretty Serious.

Pretty Serious Nightopia

Look at this delicious shimmery teal duochrome! At this angle it's teal.

And at this angle, it's blue!

 And look! Another pretty angle!

 So pretty! The formula on this polish is fabulous, this is two coats topped with Seche Vite. I wore this all day, and could not stop staring at them. I decided they looked like a peacock, so I decided to make it official

For this I used Essie Good As Gold and Bundle Monster BM-212, I then used Color Club Harp on It to fill in the dots. And viola! Peacock nails!

Hope you enjoyed this mani half as much as I did!
Til next time!
-Kara

Layla Ceramic Effect 52 Butterfly Effect

Happy New Years Eve Eve! I say this because I had no idea that tomorrow is NYE until about 10 minutes ago. Crazy, right? I have been so wrapped up with life and kids, that I haven't even glanced at the calendar since Christmas Eve!

Tonight I want to show you a gorgeous new polish. I found this at Ulta and HAD to have it! This is Layla Ceramic Effect 52 (apparently named Butterfly Effect, though I couldn't find it anywhere on the bottle). This is a beautiful purple jelly jam packed with red/green shifting flakies.

 

This is two coats of Butterfly Effect. Gorgeous, isn't it? I just love this polish! And bonus, it's a dupe of Nfu-Oh 51 which is much harder to find!

I'm sorry for the awkward angle of this next photo, while the color shift is very apparent in real life, it was difficult to photograph!

Look at that color shift! Beautiful! I feel like this is one of the more stunning polishes in my collection. I am so happy to have found it.

Til next time!

-Kara

Saturday Swatch Spam

 Welcome back! Thanks for bearing with me during my brief hiatus, between the holidays and crib training B, then beginning a new nail treatment that required 3 days of no polish...you get the idea. To make up for lost time, here is some random swatch spam I never got around to using previously. Enjoy!

 

This is Ninja Polish Pinkerbell. Tons of pink, blue, and yellow matte microglitter. This is 3 coats with Seche Vite topcoat. As with Pinkerbell's "sister" polish, Floam, it's best to use thin coats and wait for them to dry completely before applying the next. Here's a macro-shot:

Next is 365 Days of Color Summer Dream. I was given this polish as a gift from a dear friend, and I absolutely love it! Two coats, topped with SV.

Next is Pretty Serious Morning Java. I actually really love this golden brown color. Two coats topped with SV.

Here's Morning Java again, I feel like this photo is more color accurate.

 

Last for today's swatch spam is OPI The World is not enough, from the Skyfall collection, a gorgeous gold foil with pink shimmer. This polish is pretty sheer, so this is three coats topped with SV.

I hope you enjoyed the swatch spam! Til next time!
-Kara

Beauty Blogazons Weekly Roundup

Here's something new and fun for you! Are you looking for more awesome nail art to check out? Makeup tips? Tutorials? Check out these amazing beauty bloggers!

• Pinked Polish: Holographic Snowflakes on my nails? Why yes :) Stay festive without having to wear red and green. :)
• Confessions of a Sarcastic Mom: Twilight Venom? Destany at Confessions of a Sarcastic Mom tries out this themed lip stain.
• TheFabZilla: TheFabZilla demonstrates how to get those perfect winged (cat) eyes using black eyeliner.
• Amber Did It!: You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch, but you look so cute on Amber's nails.
• Liesl Loves Pretty Things: Liesl loves lippies! Here she plays around with a couple festive Butter London Lippy shades.
• Never Gonna Give You Up: Kara's nails are inspired by a holiday movie.
• datyorkLOVES: datyorkLOVES Weekly filled with nail art, current events, challenges and more!
• Makeup Demon: Black eyes makeup - makeup idea for a party or as fashion makeup.
• Lola's Secret Beauty Blog: If you love a vampy lip, but prefer a more sheer version- then check out the Burberry Lip Mist in Blueberry- it's a favorite at Lola's Secret Beauty Blog!
• Just Skin, Bones, and Nails: Check out these awesome quirky and rustic Christmas nail designs.
• Love At First Site!: Vichy Dermablend Foundation. A review.
• Très Beau Glamour: Winter's near and it's time to really think about what's important and needed. Nay shares her favorite fashion winter essentials.
• Lacquer Buzz: This week's Monday Blues is festive! Check out these beautiful snowflakes!
• Beauty Professor: The Beauty Professor is always pressed for time...watch her "five minute face" video tutorial for a full face in a flash!
• SoFlaJo: In Remembrance - Nails for Newton.
• Lisa's Nail Obsession: Check out these layered dot flowers in pink and white.
• MakeUpMom123: Custom Candles for a Life Boost!
• Mama Fashionista: It's not too late to scoop up some of these awesome bath and body gifts (if you're willing to brave the last minute crowd)!
• Beauty by Miss L: Check out Miss L´s Christmas manicure.
• The Convenient Beauty: Cheating high cheekbones with Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate Intensity 2.
• Emily Hudspeth, hair design and makeup artist: Quick and Easy DIY Styling Tips for Flawless Holiday Hair.
• Beyond Beauty Lounge: Easy Nail Art with Striping Tape .
• Rachel's Makeup and Skincare: Rachel shares the goodies she received in her December Glossybox and Winter USA Luxebox.

Gifts nails

Today's challenge for the Show Me Your Top Coats Holiday Nail Art Challenge is A's favorite part of the holidays - Gifts! I had big lofty plans for gifts, unfortunately, they didn't work out, but I think these turnout out well anyway! I wore these nails for a very special Mommy and A holiday themed outing!

Here they are:

Presents / Gifts Nails

This is Essie Good As Gold as a base. I then layed down striping tape and painted over it all with Zoya Jem - isn't Jem GORGeous? - When it was all dry, I stamped the bows on using Good As Gold and Cheeky plate CH24. Viola! Presents!

Next up is Santa. Gonna have to test out a few ideas for this! Off I go!
-Kara

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Holly nails

Day 9! This month is just zooming by! Today's challenge is Holly!

Holly nails

This simple mani was made using Butter London West End Wonderland (2 coats), and the Holly was added with a dotting tool and my two favorite Holiday nail colors! Color Club Berry & Bright and Ho Ho Holly. Fitting, eh?

Next up, A's favorite part of the holidays - PRESENTS!

-Kara

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Inspired by a Holiday Movie: A Christmas Story Nails

Hey everyone, I hope you've had a good weekend. It's been really rough on me, between the kids running me ragged and the horror stories in the news lately, it's been a little much for me. I've decided I need to stop paying attention to the news, it just freaks me out! And focus on the things that bring me joy - my kids, my nails, preparing for the holidays!

Which brings me to today's Holiday Nail Art Challenge: Inspired By A Holiday Movie. This one had me intimidated. Like, a lot. I asked my mom what I should do. Her answer? Two words. Leg. Lamp.

Viola, the "A Christmas Story" mani

I'm actually pretty proud of this, this was my first really art-intensive mani, and it came out okay!
All of this is on a base of 3 coats Nicole by OPI All About The Glam, for the art...On the thumb "Ooooohhhh Fuuuuudgggge", haha, classic! It's written on with China Glaze Liquid Leather. For the Red Ryder BB Gun - okay, full disclosure, I have no idea what the Red Ryder BB Gun was supposed to look like. Cut me some slack, it's been a year since I've seen the movie, and this was never a detail I payed much attention to. I do, however, have a basic idea of what a rifle looks like, so I went with that. I used NYC Sidewalkers and Pretty Serious Morning Java. For the "pink nightmare" I used Sinful Baby Doll, NYC Prospect Park Pink, Barry M Strawberry Ice Cream, and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Blue Me Away. Of course, the Leg Lamp! This is Sinful Baby Doll, Butter London West End Wonderland, and China Glaze Liquid Leather. The pinkie. Okay, this one might have been a stretch. There is a wreath on the cover of the movie, so, yeah, I was reaching, lol. Surprise surprise, it's Color Club Ho Ho Holly and Berry and Bright.

Wow, that was a lot. If you're still with me, congrats on making it through all of that!

Next time is Holly!

Til next time,
-Kara

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A White Mani For Peace

I'm sure by now, we've all heard the tragic news about Sandy Hook Connecticut. I don't want to go into it here, I've already spent the afternoon in tears hugging my children until A asked me to please stop hugging her. In remembrance of the innocent lives lost today, and in honor of peace, the nail art community has decided to come together and do white manis Saturday, Dec 15th. Please join us.

Here is my white mani in remembrance and honor. Our hearts go out to Sandy Hook

I don't really feel it is necessary to write much about this, I don't want the details to take away from the meaning, so very quickly, this is Nicole by OPI All About the Glam stamped with Vivid Lacquer plate VL001 using Pure Ice First Time. I chose this because green and white are Sandy Hook Elementary's school colors.



On a related note, I will not be posting my next Holiday Nail Art Challenge until tomorrow, I don't feel it would be right to do so at this time, I will be observing a "moment" of silence for the day.

Hug your babies, tell them you love them. 
Peace and Love,
-Kara

Snowman Nails

Welcome back! I'm sorry posts have been a little scarce these days, but I had finals this week, so between studying, and the kids, I haven't had a lot of time for my nails, but I'm finished now, and free until Winter Term begins! Yay!

Today's mani was super fun, I loved it so much, and my mom even asked me to recreate them on her toes, which was fun to do.

This is a base Sassy Lacquer Jack Frost, two coats (you can see my previous post on this polish here). I then used my dotting tool and China Glaze White on White on the tips for an uneven "fallen snow" look. The balck is China Glaze Liquid Leather, the brown is FingerPaints You're Kiln Me, the Orange is Zoya Arizona. For the holly in his hat, I used Color Club Berry & Bright and Ho Ho Holly. I think I've used one of those two in every day of this holiday challenge so far!

Tomorrow's Challenge is Inspired By A Holiday Movie. This one has me intimidated! Stay tuned to see what I come up with!

-Kara


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Christmas Tree Nails

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...
Welcome to Day 6 of the Show Me Your Top Coats Holiday Nail Art Challenge! Today is Christmas trees!

For this, I used Color Club Ho Ho Holly, then, using my dotting tool used Essie Good As Gold to make garland and Color Club Berry & Bright for ornaments. On my ring finger I placed large red hex glitters for ornaments, and dipped my thumb in green stick glitter for texture.

And, well, that's all I have to say about that, haha. B has been very sick, and I am very tired. I'll catch up with you later.

-Kara

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Reindeer nails

Wow, it's Sunday night already! Where did the weekend go? I've been super busy with the kids doing all kinds of fun Christmas-y stuff. I am so exhausted!

Today is Day 5, and that means Reindeer nails! I did these a couple of days ago, when I had some time and thought I'd get a head-start. Thank goodness I did, because I did not have time to do my nails AT ALL this weekend. That's right, I've had naked nails for two days in a row! *gasp**shock**horror*

For reindeer nails, I started with a base coat of Butter London's All Hail The Queen. Maybe it was 2 coats? I don't remember. This color is too gorgeous not to show, so here it is:

Butter London All Hail The Queen

This color is gorgeous, yet understated. Perfect for the work environment!
Here's a macro:

Anyway, I then added little reindeer heads with Pretty Serious Morning Java. I added antlers with FingerPaints You're Kiln Me and a striping brush, used China Glaze White on White and Liquid Leather and a dotting tool for their eyes, and finally, used large hex glitters for the noses. Now that I'm looking at them, I realize I forgot to give them ears. Oops. That's going to bother me...

So there you have it, reindeer nails! Next up, Christmas Trees!

-Kara

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Aphrodite Lacquers Temper Tantrum

I hope you are all still with me, because I have a fabulous Indie to share with you today! Let's jusmp right in, shall we?

Let me introduce you to Aphrodite Lacquers Temper Tantrum:

Aphrodite Lacquers Temper Tantrum

First off, I have been lemming this  polish hard for a couple of months, and, let me tell you, it was so worth it! Temper Tantrum is a shimmery white jelly with small black hex, and medium fuchsia squares. I am a sucker for those medium sized squares. Love them. A polish has medium square glitters? Gotta have them. Really. It's a sickness.

This polish went on really easy and smooth. No dragging or having to fish out the larger glitters and individually place them. This went on like a dream! This is two thick coats, no undies!

Aphrodite Lacquers are all hand-mixed polishes and are available in their Etsy store.

What do you think? Let me know, I love reading your comments :)
-Kara

Holiday Bells

Happy Friday everyone! I hope everyone has had a good week, and is ready for the weekend to begin! A is very excited for Saturday because Saturday is our Art Project Day, and she has been looking forward to Christmas crafts all week!

Today is Day 4 of the Holiday Nail Art Challenge, and the Challenge of the Day is Bells, and here they are:

For this mani, I started with 2 coats of Pretty Serious BSOD, a fabulous blue jelly packed with blue glitter. Seriously. Packed. Pictures just don't do this polish justice. I then used Bundle Monster Plate BM-223 and Essie No Place Like Chrome for the bells. I topped this off with Color Club's Berry and Bright, and using a dotting tool added little red bows to the bells to make them a little more festive.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Holiday Nail Art Challenge Entries.

-Kara

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Snowflake Nails

Day 3 of the SMYTC Holiday Nail Art Challenge is Snowflakes. I've seen many beautiful snowflake manis lately done with stamps, and when I went through my plates and realized I don't have a snowflake image, I was very disappointed. This means I'm going to have to freehand this thing. Uh-oh.

I was inspired by snowfall at night for this mani. That and I really wanted to use Zoya Storm.
2 coats of Zoya Storm, Snowflakes freehanded on with China Glaze White on White, all covered in a light coat of Revlon Stunning to add some extra "flakes".

I just love a night snowfall, the world just seems to glow as ambient light is reflected off the snow. Ahhh, winter :)

I hope you like my snowflakes! Be sure to check out what everyone else is doing for Challenge Day 3. Next up, Bells!

-Kara

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Candy Canes

Welcome to Day 2 of the Show Me Your Top Coats Holiday Nail Art Challenge! Today's challenge is Candy Canes - yum!

I went for a simple red and white striped look. I used China Glaze White on White with Color Club Berry and Bright, and used tape for the color blocking. Simple, yet festive! I am so in love with Berry and Bright - it's the perfect holiday red!


Check out the other ladies' candy canes!


-Kara

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Holiday Art Challenge:Red/Green

As one Challenge ends, so another begins! The lovely ladies at the collaborative blog Show Me Your Top Coats are hosting a Holiday Nail Art Challenge. I don't know how many of these I am going to be able to get done on time, between the kids and the month of December being so busy, but I will do my best!

Day 1 (today) is Red and Green. I had really high hopes for myself on this one, but B REFUSES to sleep lately, so this was a rush job. I'm happy with it, in that I like the colors and the idea behind it, but I am unhappy in that I am totally OCD and misplaced dots and crooked lines really drive me up the wall. BUT it was the best I could do with what I have been dealing with tonight. B is literally laying (asleep FINALLY!) on my right arm as I type.

Oh, yeah, and I had to take the picture with my phone, so, I'm sorry about the quality.

This is 3 coats of Nicole by OPI All About the Glam, using Color Club Winter Affair scented minis, they don't have names on them, I was told the red is called Berry and Bright, but still don't know about the green.

So, there you have it. Day 1, red and green. Day 2 is Candy Canes :)

Check out what the other ladies came up with for Day 1!

-Kara

 

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Kelara Uranus and Eight Crazy Nights

Welcome back! I hope everyone is doing well, I'm absolutely exhausted! These kids have been giving me a run for my money, and B is teething again and not sleeping well. Miraculously they are watching Winnie the Pooh right now, so I have a few minutes. Should I clean the bathroom, or blog? Errr, I'm going to put that bathroom off another day.

Let me tell you, I have been hitting the Indie train pretty hard lately, and I have discovered a new favorite! Before I get to the details, take a gander at this:

Kelara Uranus and Eight Crazy Nights

Say hello to Kelara Lacquers Uranus and Eight Crazy Nights.

Uranus, from Kelara's Planetary Collection, is a blue/green base with micro-holographic-glitters, and it is...well...out of this world! This polish is a little on the thick side and drags a bit at the tips if you don't have enough polish on brush, but it wasn't too bad, and all evened out with the second coat. Topped with HK Girl Topcoat.

Wowza, this polish is GORGEOUS and a new favorite of mine!

Here's a close-up of two coats of Uranus:

For the Accent nail, I topped Uranus with one coat - yes, one!- of Eight Crazy Nights from Kelara's Festivus For The Rest Of Us collection. Eight Crazy Nights is a clear base with tons of glitter in different shades of blue and silver. This polish is a Glitter Bomb!

Here's a close-up of one coat of Eight Crazy Nights over Uranus:

So pretty!

Kelara Lacquers are made by boyfriend/girlfriend team Tara and Kellan, all polishes are hand mixed, 3-free, and cruelty free! You can purchase Kelara Lacquers in their Etsy shop - I know I can hardly wait to pick up a few more!

What do you think of Kelara's creations? Have you tried them yet?

-Kara

Day 10: Re-Create Your Favorite

Well, we're here, Day 10 of the November 10-Day Challenge. Where has the time gone?

Day 10's Challenge is to re-create a challenge mani, and I am choosing to do Shea's half moon. I LOVE half moon manis, and I loved her twist of using glitter as the base color.

For this, I two new polishes I received as gifts, so this mani is extra special.

Here is the base color. Funky Finger Sand & Stilettos

Funky Fingers Sand & Stilettos

 This is one blinged out polish! I could not stop staring at my fingers! This is two coats, topped with Gelous and Seche Vite.

I'm sorry, but I don't know the name of this red polish! It was given to me in a Color Club Winter Affair Scented Minis set. One set, topped with Seche Vite.

Well, that's it for the November Challenge, I had a great time doing this challenge, got to try lots of new techniques, it was great. I'm sad to see it go, but rest assured, the Challenge train will keep moving after the holidays :)
-Kara

Liebster Blog Award

I want to thank the lovely and talented Amber from And Then There Was Polish who has bestowed the honor of the Liebster Blog Award upon me! The gist of the Liebster Award is that it is given to your favorite blogs with fewer than 200 followers. Once you have received the award, you must give 11 facts about yourself, answer 11 questions, then pass the award on to 11 more blogs with fewer than 200 followers. Kind of a blogger chain, if you will. Fun, right? Here we go!

11 facts about me...

1. I love books. All books. Paper books, digital books, audiobooks. Love them all.

2. I played fast-pitch softball from ages 8-19.

3. I am 6 feet tall.

4. If I could, I would live off of peanut butter and chocolate.

5. I'm taking college ASL classes.

6. I hate wearing dresses, but love dressing my daughters in them. Cruel, huh?

7. I love to watch trashy reality shows like "The Hills" and "America's Next Top Model" while I paint my nails.

8.I love to take hot baths, but I'm too tall for most bath tubs.

9. I love the smell of apple blossoms. If you ever come across a soap that is apple blossom scented, let me know.

10.My kids are my life.

11. I love to play video games, though I haven't had much time to play them since having kids.

And here are the questions Amber left for me:

1. What is your favorite brand of polish? Zoya. I have more Zoya's than anything else, they are so smooth and creamy! 
2. Do you have any pets? I have one cat, Bonnie.
3. How many polishes do you own? Oh, jeez, do I really have to answer this? More than 150, less than 250. Let's just leave it there, shall we?
4. What is the color you want most right now, but can't have? OPI Parlez Vous
5. What is your favorite TV show? Of all time? Friends. New shows? Modern Family, Big Bang Theory, Doctor Who...
6. Favorite food? Cheese. Specifically Boxing Cheddar, it's super aged and delicious. I discovered it when I was pregnant with B, and have been hooked since.
7. What is your worst habit? I bite my cuticles. Bad for a nail blogger, huh?
8. What is your dream career? Can I get paid to paint my nails and blog about it? If not, I don't know, but I'm thinking about becoming an ASL interpreter.
9. What is the strangest talent you have? I can clap one handed. It's so weird, you don't even want to know.
10. What is your favorite song? Shambala by Three Dog Night. It always makes me feel happy and upbeat.
11. Who is your celebrity crush? Ian Somerhalder

 I'm going to ask the same questions to:

1 Punky's Polish
2 Renolyn
3 Polish Insomnia
4 Painting Awareness
5 No Bottle Left Behind
6 Nail Engineer
7 Hawaiian Chicky
8 Polish Gone Crazy
9 Show Me Your Top Coats
10 Paper Thin Nails
11 Glitter Me This

Thanks Amber!

A Holiday Mani

Welcome back, polish lovers! I was playing around with holiday mani ideas and decided to pull out my new Butter London West End Wonderland. Here's the fun holiday mani I came up with :)

This is Nicole by OPI Kourt is Red-y for a Pedi, with Butter London West End Wonderland as an accent nail and free-handed onto my tips. A bit glitzy for everyday, but so fun for a holiday party or something. I am not much into gold glitter, especially the opaque kind, but I am loving West End Wonderland!

-Kara

Day 9 :Water Marble

Wow. Day 9! We're in the home stretch!

Today's challenge is water marble, and boy, was this a challenge! I tried 3 times before I got these results. Water marbling is just too random for my OCD self!

For this I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear  Blue It, Mellow Yellow, and Fuchsia Power. Boy, was clean-up a pain, thank goodness I was given the tip of putting Vaseline on my fingers before dipping, because without that, it would have been sooo much worse!

Not much else to say about this mani other than I definitely need more practice. And in the future, I will probably keep the water marbling for accent nails and not the whole mani.

Check out the other water marbling manis!

-Kara

Day 8: Gradient

Happy Black Friday everyone! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, and to my international friends, a happy Thursday! I am now officially done Christmas shopping, so I feel pretty good about that!

Can you believe it's already Day 8 of the 10-Day Challenge? Where has this month gone? Day 8 is Gradients. I had such a hard time with this challenge. I practiced for over a week, and had just convinced myself that I was incapable of doing gradients when it worked! I was so happy with the outcome that I had to wear it a second day - not the mani I had planned for Thanksgiving, but I couldn't bring myself to remove it!

For this I used Zoya Arizona and Zoya Lo. I think it looks like a sunset :)
By the way, if you are planning on trying a gradient, be warned - cleanup is ridiculous. I swear half my hand was stained orange!

The next Challenge is Water Marble - another pain to clean up, I'm sure. I'd better start practicing, as this is another technique I haven't tried before.

Make sure to check out everyone else's gradients.

-Kara