Happy New Year!

The first two design were done on my sisters for the new year. The glitter gradient was done with "midnight blue" (Avon), which is a very dark navy, and "sparkling gold" (Avon).

The crescent moon design is done with "oui Madame" (Essie) and "black swift" (milani). I really love how both of these came out. The only thing I would change about the gradient design would be to do it with smaller glitter so that it would be easier to work with.

I did the next design on my mommy. I was very surprised that she let me do her nails....she is very particular about how things are done and her nails are no exception. Plus, she is an incredibly busy person so free time is not something she has a lot of. Anyway...the bluish color is "for Audrey" (china glaze) and the flowers were done with "sexy divide" (Essie) and "revvvoluton" (color club).

The last mani in this post was one I did on myself. I didn't really like how it turned out so it didn't last long. First I applied a couple coats of "oui Madame" and then I sponged a thin layer of "golden vision" (Avon). Then I wrote peace on one hand and love on the other with (rimmel) "black satin" but peace looks more like place to me...fail. I liked how the mani looked before I wrote on it with the black, so maybe I will do it again and stop while I'm ahead.

Candy cane lane

In honor of the holiday season and the plethora of candy canes undoubtably in everyone's homes right now, here are a couple designs inspired by the holiday hook :)

The first was done on my sister....white is "moonlight" (china glaze) and red is "sizzling red" (Avon). The glitter is "fairy dust" (china glaze).

The design on myself is with the same red, but the white is "French tip white" (Avon). In order to get the striped candy cane design on myself I used a water marble technique.

Hanukkah nails

My husband grew up celebrating both Hanukkah and Christmas, and this is a water marble in honor of the Jewish holiday. I love using Avon polish for marbling! The colors I used are "vintage blue", "arctic waters", "cosmic blue" and the dots are done with "starry sky" (Avon). I followed the curves of the water marble when placing the silver dots on the design.

O Christmas tree

Christmas tree inspired nails....the green is "Ho Ho holly" (color club)....which I found out during this mani, is scented!! I started smelling evergreen, which confused me...since I don't have a Christmas tree in my apartment. Since I love the smell of evergreen, it was awesome!!

..These are a few of my favorite things...

Ok, so I am a huge fan of movies and musical theater...when those two things are combined, it makes me happy :) lol. Growing up my mom would show us movies like My Fair Lady, The Music Man, and Funny Girl...but by far, my favorite movie musical is The Sound of Music! It was a huge part of my childhood, and I am still obsessed with it to this day. This mani is inspired by one of the songs from the movie: "My Favorite Things." The line in the song goes: "raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles, and warm woolen mittens, brown paper packages tied up with string--these are a few of my favorite things..." Those 5 items are what I tried to capture on my nails.

The base color used for thumb and ring finger is "French Rose" (Rimmel); pointer is "Desert Sun" (China Glaze); middle is "Black Satin" (Rimmel); and pinky is "White on White" (China Glaze).

Colors used for thumb ("raindrops on roses) design are: "Sizzling Red" (Avon), "Exotic Encounters" (China Glaze), and a mixture of "Dreamer" (Revlon) and "White on White.

"whiskers on kittens" was done with "White on White," "Black Satin," "For Audrey" (China Glaze), and "Got a Date To-knight" (OPI).

"bright copper kettles" nail was done with "Lucky Penny" (Avon), "Starry Sky" (Avon), and "Hazy" (Revlon).

"warm woolen mittens" are done with "Noir Emerald."

The pinky was done with "A-Taupe the Space Needle" (OPI) and "White on White."

wrapped up :)

Continuing the trend of holiday themes, I decided to use a wrapped gift as my inspiration. I started with a white base of "White on White" (China Glaze). The 2 green colors are: "Entourage" (China Glaze) and "Exotic Green" (Sinful Colors). The bows on my ring fingers were done with a few reds: "Sizzling Red" (Avon), "Red Wine" (Avon), and "Sparkling Red" (Avon). I really like how this one came out...hope you guys do too :)

Back to life, back to reality!

I did not fall off the face of the planet...just been really busy. Grading, meetings, trainings, trying to get back into working out, and spending some time with the family for thanksgiving. I hope you all had a wonderful time with your families. This post is going to be kind of random, sort of like my life has been lately lol.

Now that nail art is my hobby, I try to do my family's nails when I visit. Below is a mani I did for my sister. This purple gradient design was done with "Midnight Plum" (Avon) and "Wild Orchid" (Rimmel).

My maternal grandmother is obsessed with the color purple...to the point that we have taken to calling her "Grandma Purple." She has a purple couch, purple towels, shoes, and sheets...and now purple teddy bears on her nails. The pale purple base is "Lilac" (Revlon), and the glitter on top is "Full Spectrum" (China Glaze). I even put polish on the band-aid so that she could be stylin' as she covered up  her broken nail. That would have been the end of the manicure, but then she saw that I had purple teddy bears. She couldn't be stopped lol.

This is the quick mani I did on myself when I returned from Thanksgiving weekend visiting my family. The red is "Sizzling Red" (Avon), and the white snowflake is with "French White" (Rimmel).

I did not do any black friday/cyber week nail polish purchases. I know that might sound crazy for someone who is obsessed and addicted to polish, which I am. However, I do have a solid collection already (over 100 bottles of polish), and I am working with a teacher's salary here. I know there were some great sales/deals, but we all have to work with what we have. As my dad would say: "it is what it is." :)