Football is here!

Hey guys, here's a quick look at my football manicure - with the season kicking off this week, I didn't want to be impartial to just ONE team!

This look is super easy to achieve. All you need is 1. Light brown polish (I chose "OPI Score's a Goal!" from their Brazil collection, since it has a nice reddish tint to it) 2. A Dark brown polish (I chose Essie's "Lady Godiva, honestly my favorite deep dark brown) 3. White nail striper and 4. Top coat!

Paint your nails with the lighter brown polish. I wouldn't worry TOO much about patchiness, but you do want a good level opacity. Then, using a fine-point dotting tool, use the dark brown polish to add dots! I like to let it thicken up a bit so that the dots add some texure. THEN, I apply the topcoat before adding the laces with my white striper...It might just be me, but the top coat tends to drag out and streak my white, no matter how long it's been left to dry.

Hope you enjoy!




Happy Polishing,

Maggie

Rainbow Neon Gradient & Aztec Manicure

Hi All!

I wanted to share my latest nail art with you - this is the manicure I came up with for Firefly Festival/Birthday weekend!

This originally started out as black with a neon rainbow accent nail, and I decided it just wasn't enough!

The black is my FAVORITE black polish ever, Butter London "Union Jack Black". It's opaque in 2 coats, goes on super smooth and only where you want it to, and has such a high gloss finish that you don't really need a top coat unless you want it!

For the accent nail, I started with a base coat of OPI "My Vampire is Buff" - I find it goes on a lot smoother than Alpine Snow, but still gives your neon colors that POP!

After the base coat, I striped a cosmetic sponge with Essie "I'm Addicted", Orly "Glowstick" and Orly "Passion Fruit". Then, dab dab dab, and voila!

For the design, I was inspired by a photo on pinterest, though the designs are pretty arbitrary. This one I did freehand with a Sharpie, then allowed it to dry and then used Out The Door topcoat on it.

I hope you enjoy!

Happy Polishing!

Maggie

Hello world! I'm Back!

Hi All,

I'm so sorry for neglecting this blog. I've got a new full-time job that has been keeping me extremely busy! I do still paint my nails on a consistent basis (though not as often), and don't always have the time to take pictures or to share my manis here on the blog. I hope to get back into the swing of things soon, but for the time being if you're missing out on my manicures, be sure to check out my instagram!

Here are some of my recent favorites:

New York Yankees/Subway Series manicure. I used the OPI MLB Collection to create this look, using Short-STOP! (red) , Right Off The Bat (Metallic Navy), and Girls Love Diamonds (Cool White Shimmer). I used white acrylic paint for the NY logo.




Mother's Day Manicure. As soon as I *finally* picked up Essie's Knockout Pout I knew I wanted to do a white vertical stripe design. Roses done in Essie "Fiji" and "After Sex".



Glad to be back and hoping to post some more in the upcoming weeks!
Happy Polishing,
Maggie

OPI Gwen Stefani "Push and Shove" Swatch & China Glaze "Aztec Orange" Half-Moon Leopard Nail Art

I know...I know, it's been a while. Scold me all you want, but I've been busy with more than just the usual trials and tribulations of life. I finally landed a new job, and I've been absolutely loving it!

That being said, I've had a bit more disposable income *ahem* to get some new colors.

My first swatch of the new year is "Push and Shove" from OPI's Gwen Stefani Collection. I've picked up a few other from this collection, however this is the one everyone's talking about!

It's a silver "chrome"(ish) polish - it comes with it's own base coat ("Lay Down That BASE") to help you achieve a nice smooth underlayer to prevent streaks and unevenness.

I, however, paint over my LED gel manicure, so I didn't feel the need to waste my time with that base coat. Here's how it turned out (3 coats).

You'll probably notice some dust/scratches, etc. These are a bit more noticeable on polishes like these rather than your typical cremes or jellys. The one thing about this polish is that they tell you to NOT use top coat. I however, found that when dried appropriately & thoroughly, inm Out The Door didn't dull the polish very much - it's on my pinky finger in the above photos.

Below, I decided that with all of the snow here in the Tri-State, I wanted something a bit...well, hotter! Since I haven't posted any half-moons on the blog yet, here's my very first, using China Glaze's "Aztec Orange"!

This color personally looks a little more "red" than orange, but it's still firey nonetheless. The formula on this color is kinda crelly, and took 3 coats for somewhat opacity.

Well, as classic as this look is, I wanted to "spice" it up a bit with a design of some sort. I added some leopard print around the half-moon design to give it a little edge. 

What do you think? This is personally a look I'd love to rock around Valentine's day!

Thanks for staying patient everyone, and happy polishing!

-Maggie