Are You Ready For Some Football (Nails)?!

This week is opening week of the NFL season, and I couldn't be more excited! Football is my favorite sport, and it means that fall is right around the corner. I am so ready for sweaters and changing leaves and fall everything!!

So in honor of opening week, I came up with this football mani. My team (practically my whole families team) is the Dallas Cowboys, and we have a big game this week! Sunday night against the Giants!

I had to get a little creative here, because I knew I wanted my "turf" to be textured. I searched everywhere for the right color green, but in the end I ended up using Sally Hansen Sugar Coat in 250 Spare-A-Mint (which is really teal, don't let the name fool you) and then I did a coat of NYC 298 High Line Green on top for a real grass color, that you can see below.

My football brown is China Glaze 648 Unplugged, and my Cowboys blue is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear 250 Blue It. By the way, stars are hard. Especially trying to get the "turf" around it! So please excuse my mess.

Leopard Print Nails

It's a gloomy Monday here in CNY, but I have a bright mani to share with you! Jeffry and I went to look at rings yesterday so I had to have some flashy nails! 

This was my first try at leopard and it was easier than I thought. There are a ton of tutorials on Pinterest. I'm not sure what the name is of the base coat I used. It came in a multi-pack of mini's that I don't have the box for anymore, but I do know that it was Sally Hansen Insta-Dri, and it might even be a few years old. Here is a similar pick.

Then I used my trusty Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Golden-I to make random sized gold dots. And once the gold was dry, a black nail pen to do some random splotches. I really think the key here is random. Which can be hard, but I love the way they came out!

We also saw Reba last night at the Great New York State Fair. It was awesome!! I have loved her since I was little. She was the only famous redhead I had ever seen when I was a kid! And speaking of the fair, if you are in NY while it is going on, it is a must-visit!! I love going and eating the food, seeing the baby animals and people watching. It's a great way to end the summer. 

I almost forgot to tell you we were 5th row!!! My parents got me the tickets for my birthday. I can't say thank you enough!!

Birthday Nails

I wanted to paint my nails in a fun way for my birthday Sunday, and I have seen cupcake designs all over Pinterest, so I decided to give them a try! Here's how it went down:

The colors above are the colors I used for base coats. On the left is April Showers, a nail polish I picked up for super cheap one day at Aeropostale! I was skeptical but it was so cheap that I couldn't pass it up. And it turns out, I loved it!! The coverage was awesome, as was the color. Who knew! I was pleasantly surprised. I used that darker pink for a few nails, and for the cupcake base (or wrapper.) I used Essie Boom Boom Room for the lighter pink nails, and to do the stripes on the cupcake wrapper and on my ring finger nail. And I used Ivory Skull, my go-to white for the cupcake "frosting". It was a little tricky to get the frosting part to look how I wanted, and it still didn't turn out super perfect but oh well.

after base coats

These colors above are what I used for accents. On the left is It's Chiffon, which I used on my thumb and pinky for a little sparkle. In the center is Heavenly, I used that as "sprinkles" on the cupcake frosting, and Rockstar Pink and the cherry on top. Most of the ones I have seen on Pinterest used a rhinestone but I didn't have any, and this worked great. I just used the brush to make a big dollop on top. Oh, I did use an accent brush to make the stripes and the polka dots, and for the color of the polka dots, I mixed some white with some Boom Boom Room on a piece of aluminum foil.

the finished product! don't mind the mess... 

And since I couldn't possibly have enough nail polishes, check out these ones that I got for my birthday!!

A friend shared this on facebook last night and I really liked it...

Maybelline Color Show Nail Stickers

The subtitle of this post should be:

Or Why Maybelline Should Stick to Cosmetics

For anyone who may not know, I have a love-hate relationship with nail stickers. I love how easy they are to apply, and who doesn't love zero dry time?! However, nail stickers are not without their downsides either. I tend to have issues with the corners peeling up (my number one complaint) and the price is quite a bit higher than a bottle of nail polish also. But since I love to try out new products, I decided to give these Maybelline ones a try. I have also tried Sally Hansen Gel Strips and Kiss Nail Dress Stickers.

I wanted to give these Maybelline stickers a whirl, mainly because I wanted to know if they were any better than the Maybelline Color Show nail polish, which I HATE, to put it mildly. This polish is so watery, I had to apply practically 7 coats to get good coverage. Seriously, steer clear people. Not worth your money.

The Maybellibe stickers apply just like the Sally Hansen and the Kiss ones. One thing I did notice is the Maybelline pack does not contain as many size option and the Sally Hansen and Kiss brands. This is an issue for me because I have small nails. So for a few I actually had to trim them with scissors before they were applied.

I also noticed that like the Sally Hansen strips, the Maybelline ones smell like nail polish, whereas the Kiss ones did not. (Sally Hansen touts their strips as being "real nail polish")

I am happy with the outcome so far, and I do like the design, which is part of the reason I decided to buy them in the first place. We will see how they last, the package says up to 10 days. We'll see about that! As far as how they stack up? The Sally Hansen gel strips require the extra step of the gel topcoat and LED curing, but the shine is to die for! And they lasted a nice long time. The Kiss ones come in fun designs and lasted forever also! In the future I would choose the Sally Hansen or the Kiss designs before I bought the Maybelline again. But you live and learn! And they'll be fun while they last.

Mani Monday

Well hello again Monday. Nice to see you. Not.

Anyway, here's a quick mani that I did over the weekend. Super simple, just a couple coats of white, then I used these nail art pens to draw different colored lines. The hardest part was waiting for each color of lines to dry in between!

Voila!

4th of July Mani

I know, I know, I promised this yesterday but I was just too busy and too grumpy. I'm the worst blogger in history I get it. But it's worth the wait ;) 

I have a lot of the Sally Hansen Xtremem Wear polishes because they're always on sale for $1.99 and I can't resist!!

1- Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Ivory Skull

2- Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in In The Spotlight

3- Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Celeb City

4- Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Cherry Red

5- L'Oreal Nail Polish in Jet Set to Paris

I also used my tried and true Essie All In One base coat and No Chips Ahead top coat.

After base coats....

Drumroll please............

The finished product!!

I'm super happy with how they came out. I even like how the flag is a little abstract/rustic/not perfect. I hope everyone had an amazing 4th and has a great weekend as well! Xoxo.

Mani Monday - Kiss Nail Dress Stickers

Hello again! Things are slowly but surely returning to normal over here in blog land. And today I have a fun mani AND pedi for you guys! I got a coupon in one of my magazines for these nail stickers, so I thought I would give them a try, since I haven't done anything really fun with my nails in a while.

The strips were $5.99 after my $1 off coupon. I also grabbed this Essie polish in Boom Boom Room ($7 I think?), and this Covergirl mini polish in Purple Freeze for $2.99. I was excited but skeptical to try the Covergirl polish, because I have tried the Maybelline polish and its terrible! It's super watery and I needed like 5 coats for good coverage. But the Covergirl polish I was pleasantly surprised with! I like that it's a mini so I could try it without spending too much. 

For the nails where I made a design, I just cut the strips with scissors!

I love the way they turned out! I have used the Sally Hansen nail stickers before, and those are more like real nail polish strips, where these are just stickers. I did feel like these stuck better to my nail, especially around the edges, where I usually have problems with the SH ones. I also really liked that these came with enough for fingers AND toes! There are a bunch of patters and I definitely see myself buying these again. My favorite part? The pedi! This picture is kind of weird but I LOVE the way my toes came out :) Now the question is how long will they last...

Mani Monday

Oh my gosh you guys I have been so M.I.A. today!! Uhg I just haven't been with it today at all. But I'm back, even if it is 10 pm. How was everybody's weekend? Mine was full of lots of sleeping and family time. Saturday Ruby and I went for a walk at a local park while we waited for Jeffry to get back from Albany. Then we went to dinner and the mall with some friends. 

We went to the Disney store and this happened...

Yes that is every. single. princess on that little lap.

And then of course Sunday was Mother's Day, so we spent the afternoon at my parents, and Ruby was spoiled as usual!

That's my mom, sister and I while my dad was in Desert Storm. Over 20 years ago and my mom looks practically the same. I hope I age as well!

So about that mani that I promised you...

I've had this Gel Strips kit sitting around for a while. I bought it at Target some time ago when I had a coupon and I've been waiting for a good opportunity to use them. I had some time today so I followed the directions and we'll see how they come out.

Applying the strips was just like if you have ever used the regular Sally Hansen strips before. I have in the past, and they are just ok. They are expensive so I will only buy them with a coupon and when they are on sale. A couple tricks I have discovered when using them:

- always use nail polish remover right before applying. 

I keep it near by and do each nail as I go. It really helps them affix to the nail.

- My nails are the size that I can actually do 2 nails with one strip. So I save by getting a 2 for 1!

I size the strips to each nail, then apply to one, line my fingers up tip to tip, and apply to the second nail, and tear the strip apart in the middle.

So I followed the directions, curing each nail under the included LED...

And the finished product:

I am pretty happy with the result. I wish the strips were more opaque, but they do look nice. I absolutely LOVE the shine of the gel top coat. I always wished I could get that salon shine at home and these really are super glossy. The next test? How they wear! So we will have to see in a week or so how they're doing. 

Also, I am wondering if the gel top coat can be used with regular polish. Has anyone tried it? Does anybody know? Thanks ladies!!

Procrastination Is My Specialty

So I meant to have a mani for you today, and I meant to have a craft for you too (remember when I talked about being accountable?!) Well... I'm sucking at it lol. I guess I just haven't had much motivation lately. So today I'm sharing with you some of my favorite recent pins.

I'm wearing this top today from Kohl's. Right now it's on sale for $14.99 and the picture doesn't really do it justice. Its super cute, super soft and comfortable, and can really be dressed up or down. Right now I'm wearing it with slacks at work, but it could easily be paired with some cutoffs and moto boots, or skinnies and heels for a night out!


Can I have every single one of these please? (including the cookies) 
here


I would like one of these right now please
here


The cutest summer dress! It's unfortunately no longer available, but it's from ModCloth and I'm sure they have a bunch of other cute options


Who else is super excited for Great Gatsby?! See the step-by-step here


Hopefully I will need this article on how to freeze fresh summer veggies! I hope my garden does well!


This pin is gold because I've found out that I like making my own shorts so they can be a length that I'm comfortable in. My body is just not made for itty bitty booty shorts! I usually get jeans at the thrift store for a couple bucks (doesn't even matter if they're too short!)


I want this one to be my summer work uniform! It's so cute! Now if only 10 blazers were in the budget....

A Tribute Mani & Weekend Recap

Some of you might have seen on my Facebook that I was brainstorming ideas for a Boston tribute manicure. I also happened to order some nail polish pens that came in the mail last week. So here is what I came up with.

See how cool those pens are? Super easy to use. Don't mind how messy my fingers are btw.

For anyone who doesn't know and might be interested, there is a Boston tribute run at Onondaga Lake Park starting at the Salt Museum at 6. Jeffry has to work tonight and is super bummed he can't participate.

To find a run in your city check out pavementrunner.com

And as for what I did the rest of the weekend...

*Second hockey game in two weeks! We're getting to be regulars. Bonus! We won this time! 

*Spencer has never sat in this chair in his. entire. life. Until the day we decide to get rid of it. Now it is his little throne.

*Ruby loves my parents front door. The window it the perfect height for her! In this picture she is wondering why her friend Bill left all of a sudden. (My dad had to leave for a structure fire during dinner. and those two are besties)

*Ruby, my sister and I took an awesome walk yesterday. it was the perfect day, sunny but brisk so we were sweating our butts off. More about our activities for the week to come on Friday.

As you can see we didn't do too much. We went to a friends house Saturday night for cards and actually all just ended up sitting on the couch talking while the dogs played! It was still fun though :) 

Here's to an easy Monday!

Pretty Pins & A New Spring Mani

I didn't get around to taking pictures for the post I wanted to do today, so I did what any good blogger would do, and I painted my nails and went on Pinterest instead!

I just love the thought of this. It transports me to that summer night! 
here

Can you tell I have summer and vacation on the brain??
here

Found this one just using Google so it's from somewhere random, but it sure is pretty!

I also made this sort of summer "style board"

Sources:
Wagon Wheel Tank - here only $10!
Emerald/wood grain flip flops - Speedo $25
Emerald bikini - Victoria's Secret $68
Aqualillies for Tarte waterproof makeup palette - Sephora $38
Messy bun with side braid here

Pretty sure I'll be rocking those nails some time this summer so look out for a tutorial!

And that spring mani I talked about earlier:

1- I used whatever base coat I had laying around. I haven't found one that I'm in love with yet.

2- Two coats of color (At least. I think the pink I did 3) 

3- Used my trusty painters tape to make the chevrons. I folded the tape in half sticky side out to make sure the cut was symmetrical. I actually wish the navy line on my middle finger was a little thicker.

4- Essie 'No Chips Ahead' (Best top coat ever!)

5- Voila!!

I had never used L'Oreal polish before (I had a coupon) but I do like it. I was skeptical because I had tried Maybelline's new polish and did not care for it at all. It was super watery, I think I had to use like 5 coats. So I was pleasantly surprised by the L'Oreal, not to mention i love the teal-ish navy color! As far as the Sally Hansen, this coral is from their Complete Salon Manicure line and I have a couple of different colors from it. I love the shape of the brush, it widens out when you paint with it and you can almost do your whole nail in one swipe!

So that's pretty much is for today. I'm linking up with Shanna! And hopefully I can get my act together and have something fun for you tomorrow :)