Every Month is Oktoberfest with Fantasy Fire

OPI's Every Month is Oktoberfest is my new favorite color for fall.  Of all of the Germany collection photos now, this one spoke to me the most.  It is really hard to even describe this color, because it looks like a purpley-red shimmer in the bottle, and when you apply the first coat it is in a purple jelly base, which is interesting. And when you apply two coats it becomes this amazing deep red purple, and the purple jelly base turns black.  It has a rich deep shimmer that I am in love with.

 Because this is such an interesting color, I thought i would layer MaxFactor Fantasy Fire over it, and it is gorgeous!

The purpley-red shimmer is the perfect base for Fantasy Fire. 

I love this color, and the color shift of Fantasy Fire. I think that this is a great combination, and I wish I had better photos to show the color of Oktoberfest and Fantasy Fire.

XOX Caitlin

Red Week: OPI I'm Not Really a Waitress

I accidentally skipped yesterday, I was busy and was not able to post, so today I have a pretty polish to show you, OPI I'm not Really a Waitress. I believe this polish is part of the core line, and it is a classic shimmery red. Two coats, no topcoat.

XOX Caitlin

Red Week: Red Snakeskin

These nails look pretty cool, but I don't think you can really tell that it is supposed to be snakeskin.  lol

I began this mani with one coat of Models Own Red Alert, and then applied 2 coats of China Glaze Ruby Pumps and one coat of China Glaze Ring in the Red for a little bit of a brighter red sparkle.  Then I applied a nail foil over the red mani to create the red snakeskin mani. The foil I purchased from Dollar Nail Art and is called Snakeskin.  Snakeskin has a clear base so it can be applied over a color.

Red isn't the first color that comes to mind when thinking of snakskin, but I think it turned out alright I think, even though it doesn't really look like snakeskin. lol

The Foil ate the topcoat badly, so I think I applied 1 coat of HK Girl, then 1 coat of Gelous, and then 2 more coats of HK Girl to even it out and it finally did.

And another angle:

I like this mani, and it certainly does catch the eye!

XOX Caitlin

Red Week: Star Gazer 160

For today's installment of Red Week here on the blog, I have for you another Star Gazer Polish.

 Star Gazer 160 is a gorgeous shimmery red.  This one took about 3 coats, because I wanted to make sure that it was opaque, and two coats looked a little sheer.  This color has gorgeous golden shimmers in it, which gives it added dimension. Just look how this color pops!  I added 1 coat of Hong Kong Girl Topcoat to the polish to make it super shiny!

I have been super surprized by Star Gazer polishes!  I am glad I picked them up, because they are all great polishes, and I wish I had grabbed more!

Just look at all that shimmer! 

 a close up to show the gold flecks in the polish.

I have a new love in stargazer polishes, the formula is nice, the brushes are decent, and for the price, they are great quality!

Tomorrow I have some awesome nail art for you with red, so stay tuned!

XOX Caitlin

Check out these other lovelies participating in Red Week!

Red Week Day One!

This week is Red Week on the blog, and a few of my blogger friends are also participating!

The Red I used is Models Own Red Alert, which is an awesome true red, with a creme-jelly finish. It took 2 coats to be opaque.  Then I stamped with my Salon Express SE11(dupe for Konad M57) down the middle of the nail using Sinful Colors Snow Me White.

Be on the lookout for other red posts this week! 

XOX Caitlin

Check out my other besties participating in red week, and add your own submission!

Orly: Grave Mistake

For these nails I started out with a base of 2 coats of Orly Grave Mistake.  Then I used the shiny mirror reflective dots placed on the nail.

To achieve the mirror dots, I had a metallic gift bag that someone had given me for a birthday, and I purchased a hole punch from Hobby Lobby(in the paper art section with the other hole punches). I used the hole punch to make the dots using the smallest hole available on the punch and this is what I got! I am happy to say that the dots did not crinkle or anything when I put the topcoat on. 

To smooth it out I used 1 coat of Gelous and 2 coats of HongKong Girl Topcoat.

Don't forget about my giveaway! Enter Here!

 What do you think about the silver dots?

XOX Caitlin

Swatch: Jessica Cosmetics: Oscar Ready

Last weekend I went to TJ Maxx and stumbled upon Jessica Cosmetics Nail Polish.  I had heard of it, and I decided to try them out.  The polishes came in a set with 4 polishes and a topcoat, in a pentagon shaped box.  I purchased 3 different sets that were different, and this polish came from one of them. 

The name of this polish is Oscar Ready, and this polish is FABULOUS.  It is a shimmery/metallic-ish red, with red glitters sparkling throughout. I think this is what I wanted China Glaze Ruby Pumps to be.  This polish covered in TWO COATS and is just gorgeous! I will definitely be wearing this pretty polish again!

And a macro, for your viewing pleasure.  It is just gorgeous, I can't get over it.

What do you think?

XOX Caitlin

Day 2: Chelcea Flower Show

I decided to participate in the Summer Challenge in the Purple Crumpet Challenge, which lasts all summer.  I don't know if I will be able to participate every single day, but I am going to try my hardest to do them all.


Ok, I had my day 1 mani, and right after I painted it I had to use my hands, and it got ruined, so thats why I am starting with day 2. :P

Day 2 is the Chelcea Flower Show.  The colors used in this mani are Essie Ole Caliente, Color Club Pucci-licious, Lippmann Almost Paradise, and Wet N Wild Black Creme.

XOX Caitlin

Union Jack Caviar Nails

Ok, so originally I was not fond of the Caviar Manicure, but.... these are just so pretty!

Once again I used my beads from the Dollar Tree, these 3 colors came in a pack together.

The polish Color is Revlon Royal, and on the accent nail are the 3 colors of seed beads from the Dollar Tree.

I really love these so much!

What do you think?

XOX Caitlin

Tutorial: Brushstroke Mani

I had a few people ask me to do a tutorial on the BrushStroke mani I posted here.  So here it is! Let's get started.


The tools you need:
a fan nail art brush
a palate for your polish
your base color (i would suggest a light color)
and  3 colors for the accent colors(or more depending what you want to do. :))

Step 1:  Apply base color (shown here is OPI Skull and Glossbones)

 

Step 2: put a few drops on to the palate to pick the paint up on the brush. 

Step 3: Pick up the paint on the brush and disperse it through the brush.  you only need a little bit on the brush to transfer. I kind of brush the paint out away from the dot and smear it out a little on the palate to get away excess. (shown in step 5 photo)



Step 4: apply lightly to the nail in random places, some big some small, apply as much or as little s you want. have fun with it!

Step  5: do the same with the 2nd color, and fill it in a little bit more leaving a little bit of space for your last color.
Here in the background you can see how I smear it away to only get a little on the tip of the brush.  you don't want too much polish on the tips or it will cover the entire nail. (personally I think I used too much blue in this one)

Step 6: Repeat again with the last color filling in any missing gaps.  It is great to overlap colors especially if they are sheer and create new colors!  I did quite a few times.  the point is to just make a piece of art on your nails. So it is your creation, do with it what you please! 

Here is my finished result with Seche Vite Top Coat and cleaned up the colors that got onto my cuticles.

Do you think you will be trying this?

XOX Caitlin

* (the lighting may be a little off in these photos, I got a new light, and am working on figuring out the settings for my camera. :D)*

Day 10: Creative Lacquer Challenge Superheros

For todays challenge I chose WonderWoman. :)

The Red is Cadillac Red from Color Club. That is my favorite red at the moment. 
The blue is Royal by Revlon.
The stamp is from the Cheeky Set CH4.

XOX Caitlin

Day 8 Creative Lacquer Challenge: Cartoons

For today's challenge I did Mickey Mouse.  Isn't he cute? :) I did the old school micky on my middle finger, and did a mickey motif on the other nails.

The colors used are the OPI Mini White from the Spookettes
Wet N Wild Black Creme
Color Club Almost Famous
Color Club Cadillac Red

XOX Caitlin

Barielle Elle's Spell

Sorry I have been missing the past week! School has been hectic. 

Today I have for you Barielle Elle's Spell.  This is a Red Jelly with awesome orange/gold flakies that flash green!  This polish is amazing.

Shown are 3 coats of Elle's Spell by itself.  It is quite sheer, and I think this one would be gorgeous layered, because you can still see the Visible Nail Line with 3 coats. I also think this one will be a beauty over black, and I will be trying it soon, to show you guys.

Here you can see the flashes of green.  The green pops at you when you look at certain angles.

What do you think? Do you own Elle's Spell?

XOX Caitlin


*This product was sent to me for review*

Purple Crumpet Fairy Challenge: Inspired by a Book

"Just for the record, the weather today is partly suspicious with chances of betrayal.”

For my choice in the Purple Crumpet Fairy Challenge I chose Inspired by a book.  My all time favorite author is Chuck Palahniuk(the Author of Fight Club), so of course I am doing one of his books. :)

My inspiration today comes from Diary, which is my favorite book.

"Misty Wilmot has had it. Once a promising young artist, she's drinking too much and working as a waitress in a hotel. Her husband, a contractor, is in a coma after a sucide attempt, an his clients are threating misty with lawsuits over a series of vile messages they've discovered on the walls of houses he remodeled.
Suddenly, Misty's artistic talent returns. Inspired but confused by a burst of creativity, she soon finds herself a pawn in a much larger conspiracy that threatens to cost hundreds of lives. What unfolds is a dark, hilarious story from America's most inventive nihilist, and Palahniuk's most impressive work to date."

This book has some really neat cover art, and i want to show you my nails inspired by it.

Waytansea:

My left hand:

And I wanted to add an artistic picture in here. :P

Have you read anything by Palahniuk?

What is your favorite book?

XOX Caitlin

Psych Week: Red + Shatter

On to the next color: Red

"The most emotionally intense color, red stimulates a faster heartbeat and breathing. It is also the color of love. Red clothing gets noticed and makes the wearer appear heavier. Since it is an extreme color, red clothing might not help people in negotiations or confrontations. Red cars are popular targets for thieves. In decorating, red is usually used as an accent. Decorators say that red furniture should be perfect since it will attract attention."

 What better to show you than a perfect red. I used Finger Paints Curators Crimson.  It came in a set from Sallys with a purple and a small bag.

This week in PAA the challenge was Crackle, so to Jazz this red up a little bit I added a Silver crackle from OPI called Silver Shatter.  I believe it was released with the Pirates of the Caribbean set originally, or atleast that is what was out with it when I picked it up from my JC Pennys.

I applied it quite thick, because my bottle is getting old from air exposure, so the bottle rim is caked with the polish, and was hard to open at first.  but the Shatter still came through. :)

XOX Caitlin

Christmas Argyle Print

Sooo I was in the Christmas mood yesterday, and I was excited to get my new Red Angel Plates, but I won't receive them until next week, so I used a stamp that I got in my set from Rite Aid.

I used an argyle print stamping plate, China Glaze Vertical Rush as the red base and Color Club Perfect Mol-Ten as the stamping polish.  I have found that the Color Club foils are the absolute best for stamping.

XOX Caitlin

Day 14 - Sinful Gogo Girl

For day 14 of the challenge I am wearing Sinful Colors Gogo Girl.  It is a red jelly which I am not too fond of because of it is soooooo shear.  This is 3 coats. You can't see the VNL because my nails are short and I buffed them before, but if they were longer you would definitely be able to tell.

On to the swatches!

First two swatches with flash.

Next two swatches without flash.

and a bonus picture!  I was playing around with my stamper again! I used China Glaze Concrete Catwalk for the stamper.  It wasn't as strong as I would have liked, but hey it did work better than some other colors I have tried.

Another bonus picture: NAKED NAILS! I never wear my nails nakey but I just wanted to go ahead an put this out there.

XOX Caitlin

Here are the other bloggers joining me in this 30 day challenge!

Alexandria at Je T'aime Lacquer

Alyssa at Always Polished

Amber at The Polished Momma

Andrea at Addicted to the Allure of Beauty

Ashley at Follow the Yellow Polish Road

Caitlin at Something Creative

Carly at Lacquered Lover

Caroline at Good Lack, Nail!

Caroline at Shadow's Nail Art

Chelsea at Pretty and Polished

Gwen at Pudgy Nails

Ingie at Limited Addiction Nails

Jacki at Adventures in Acetone

Jamie at Nails Adored

Lindsey at Nailtopia

Natalie at Gems in a Bottle

Nory at Fierce Makeup and Nails

Rachel at Cherry Glam Girl

Rachel at Top Coat It

Sarah at Lucky Lacquers

Shaina at Haute Lacquer

Thalie at Glazed Talons

Taylor at Nailed to the T