Autumn Gold

I was sitting there staring at my polish hoping inspiration would strike. I love autumn nail polish colors. The deep, richness of the colors always appeals to me. I dug out Barielle Wool You Marry Me? a polish I chose initially for its name (not something I do very often). Its a great fall color so I painted it on my nails. After wearing it for a bit, I realized it needed something else. What pairs better with rich autumn colors that a metallic? Not much. So I chose Barielle Gold Digger. I "dry brushed" it onto the tips to achieve this effect. I'm pleased with the result. I think these colors are quite lovely together.

Polishes used: Barielle Wool You Marry Me? and Gold Digger

What colors/finishes do you like to pair together in the fall?

Thanksgiving Manicure--Art Deco

The holidays are that time of year when we see family more and want to look our best. Whether your upcoming holiday festivities are casual or formal, I have a few nail art ideas to help you plan that Thanksgiving Manicure!

I channeled my inner glamour to create a subtly stunning manicure. I chose none other than Art Deco as an inspiration. Art Deco has been very present in designs over the past year so it seemed like the perfect inspiration.

This is the most formal Thanksgiving manicure I created. You could easily change up the colors to match or compliment a party dress. And with a little striping tape, this was a breeze.

*Later I added a black rhinestone to my pinkie and index finger near the cuticle, unfortunately I forgot to take a picture*

Polishes Used: Barielle Gold Digger, OPI Spark de Triomphe, and Zoya Edyta

Thanksgiving Manicure--Texture and Typography

The holidays are that time of year when we see family more and want to look our best. Whether your upcoming holiday festivities are casual or formal, I have a few nail art ideas to help you plan that Thanksgiving Manicure!

Today I have a manicure that mixes 3 different textures/finishes to create a fun and festive manicure. I used a combination of metallic, glitter, and matte polishes to create dimension and interest. Once that was done, I added some typography with a sharpie to give a specific nod to the holiday.

 This manicure bridges the gap between a casual and formal affair. And your nails will be the envy of all around. To personalize this you could write specifics of what you are thankful for this year.

Polishes Used: Tuff Scent Wisdom, SinfulColors Leather Loose, Barielle Gold Digger

Valentine's Manicure--Take 4

This one really requires no explanation, it speaks for itself...

Valentine's Manicure #4

Xs and Os liven up this manicure as does the glittery pink heart.  Classy and themed enough without being in-your-face.  This is a very simple look to achieve, just pick your favorite polishes and go!

Nail polishes used to create this manicure: SinfulColors Easy Going, Barielle Gold Digger and Cherry Blossom Sparkler

Time Warp Challenge--Day 8

This is sadly the final day of the "Let's Do the Time Warp" Challenge.  I think this was my favorite challenge ever.  It was so much fun and everyone participating was so encouraging.  Thank you to all of you for making this so wonderful.  And a special THANK YOU to Lindsay from Neverland Nail Blog for hosting and creating this challenge.

Today's challenge is... 

Let's do the TIME WARP again!

This challenge was basically to recreate a manicure of another participant.  This was such a difficult challenge.  The manicures were all so amazing and well executed that I was intimidated to recreate any of them.  However, when I saw the manicure created for Day 4 (Lights, Camera, Action!) by The Polished Squirrel I new that this was the one I wanted to attempt.  Stephanie was inspired by the classic fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses.  Here is her incredible manicure & a bit of the story if you're unfamiliar with it.

The version I grew up with was slightly different from the one Stephanie recounts.  The book I remember is this one:

I always loved the story, but the illustrations in this particular book were to die for.  They were so stunning.  The story I remember is different from the one Stephanie told in that the soldier in her story was a gardener in the above tale AND in the one above the princesses were under a curse.  To solve the mystery, the gardener was given a magical golden flower to put into his lapel that made him invisible unlike the cloak of the soldier.  Due to these differences, I changed the manicure ever so slightly to include the flower instead of the cloak.  Below are the trees of the silver, gold, and diamond forests with the magical flower on my pinkie.

 I adore this manicure.  Thank you so much Stephanie from the Polished Squirrel for your inspiration and your beautiful manicure.  I could never do it justice!

Polishes used: SinfulColors Black on Black, Barielle Granite Glitter, Barielle Gold Digger, China Glaze Champagne Bubbles, NfuOh 61, Barielle Green Opal, OPI Stranger Tides, and marquis rhinestones

That's all.  Thank you to all of you for your wonderful comments and support throughout this challenge:)  Here's a quick recap: 

Playing with Polish--Tribal

You get a BONUS post for today:)

This is what happens when I take on a challenge, I get messy and crazy!

This week Barielle is hosting a mani-pedi contest on their facebook page (something they do often).  So I figured I'd give it my best shot & enter.  I racked my brain and came up with this random tribal print.  This manicure is 2 coats of Back to Nature as a base coat.  I followed that by making stripes with Eli's Magic and other paint blobs and lines with End of the Rainbow.  I outlined and added details with Berry Blue and finished it with some Gold Digger details.

It's a bit messy and a tad crazy, but it was fun.  I entered and so far I'm one of the only entries that isn't just a solid paint job or layering.  And the down side to their facebook contests is that they're popularity contests so usually the first entry or the person with the most followers wins.  *sigh* Oh well, this was still a BLAST:)

Have you tried a tribal print manicure?

Disclosure: The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR company for consideration.  For more information please visit the tabs below the header.

All That Glitters...Barielle Gold Digger

Press Samples

Confession: I am afraid of glitter polishes.

I LOVE glitter polishes in the bottle.  I LOVE the potentially amazing things you can do and create with glitter polishes.  BUT they're a pain to take off & sometimes they make me feel like a little kid.

This week I am going to share with you my silver, gold, & glittery friends that do not get the credit that they deserve.  "All That Glitters.." week has already taught me to love my glitters more.  Check it out:

All That Glitters is...

Barielle Gold Digger

Barielle describes Gold Digger as "gold w/ sparkles."  This is not exactly how I would define this polish.  I believe that saying it is a metallic gold polish that sparkles in sunlight, would be a better description.  Although, I see that "sparkles" is accurate looking at this picture, eventhough many of us jump to the term GLITTER when we hear sparkles:)

The Verdict:

Meet one of my favorite gold polishes (I have 2 favorites).  I love how neutral and wearable this gold is.  At times I feel as though some metallic shades can be really in your face.  I understand that many people enjoy polishes to be like this, but I prefer this as it compliments my skin tone nicely.  The application was extremely smooth and it was streak free.  This is only ONE coat of this beauty, I know that I could have used 2 but it still looks great.  This polish borders "gilver" (gold/silver) as it is not a very yellowy gold.  I recommend this lovely little polish if you haven't already found a great gilver.

Barielle nail polish can be purchased from their website and retails for $8.00 each.  ALSO Barielle sends out special offers often so be sure to sign up for their email list!

***Barielle is hosting a manicure contest on their facebook page Monday through Thursday this week!***

Disclosure: The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR company for consideration.  For more information please visit the tabs below the header.

Playing with Polish--Peacock

I've had this edited for a while and I've just been waiting for the right time to publish this.  Due to my lack of posts this week (*cough* grad school *cough*), I figured the least I could do would be to show you some lovely nail art:)

Here is my peacock feather accent nail:

Polishes used: 
base color: Pro 10 Moonlight
feather nail art: Diamond Cosmetics Don't Teal My Heart Away, Barielle Gold Digger, NOPI Turquoise Shatter, and (I think) essie Bobbing for Baubles

Thanks for checking it out:)

Valentine's Day Nails #4

Welcome to Valentine's Day inspired manicure week!

I will showcase my favorite valentine's day polishes, nail art, etc.

Valentine's Day Nails #4

Valentine's Day manicure #4's inspiration is...

Art Deco

Today we have a manicure inspired by a vintage design.  Art deco inspired EVERYTHING can be found everywhere.  This re-popularized style which consists of brights, metallics, and geometrics ranges from simple to opulent.  It's beautiful & fun!

I created this beautiful manicure using Barielle Pink Quartz as a base.  For the design I used Barielle Gold Digger and Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby.  

You can purchase Barielle Nail polish from their website for $8 each. And Sinful Colors Nail Polishes can be found at many drug stores/pharmacies, including Walgreens and Rite Aid.