Outta This World Galaxy Nails

Galaxy nails are one nail art trend that I really like and keep seeing.  What is cooler than space?  Nothing!  So I had to take a stab and space-ify my nails.

Polishes Used:

Kleancolor Metallic Aqua

Kleancolor Metallic Purple

Sinful Colors Secret Admirer

Sinful Colors Queen of Beauty

Wet N Wild Kaleidoscope

Revlon Gold Coin

Sally Girl chunky Gold glitter



I really need to get a better camera because these pictures do not do these nails justice!  First I started with a shimmery black base color with Secret Admirer.  I then used a makeup sponge to deposit small areas of color with first the Metallic Purple, then Metallic Aqua, and finally, Gold Coin.  Unfortunately, the aqua doesn't show up much in the picture but its there!   I then used a sponge to put in areas with first Kaleidoscope glitter then Queen of Beauty glitter.  Last I put in larger random pieces of Gold glitter with my dotting tool. 

*Tip*  If I had them to do over again, I would try to heavily concentrate the small glitter in the middle of the nail.  I did manage to get most of the glitter near the middle but on some nails I probably should have used smaller pieces of sponge.  I think that this little detail would make all the difference!


I do want to note that I am going to try to start watermarking photos from this site from now on.  I found an awesome tutorial by BloggingwithAmy on Youtube that teaches you how to use the free site Picnik to watermark.  So far so good!

Multi-color Metallic Crackle Nails

I wanted to showcase several of the Kleancolor metallic polishes from my first giveaway.  Please keep in mind that these polishes are from my Metallic polish set.  The giveaway polishes remain unopened!  In addition, since I purchased Sinful Colors Black Crackle polish, I had to try it out too!

First I painted all nails with swipes of five different Kleancolor metallic polishes in a random patchwork fashion.

I then applied a thick coat of Sinful Colors Black Crackle polish to each nail...

As with a lot of Crackle and Shatter polish, the Sinful Colors Crackle polish dried with a matte finish. Using the topcoat on these nails not only sealed them but brought back the shine to make the nails pop!

Polishes Used:

Kleancolor Metallic Yellow

Kleancolor Metallic Aqua

Kleancolor Metallic Purple

Kleancolor Metallic Green

Kleancolor Metallic Pink

Sinful Color Black Crackle

Julep Fast Drying Topcoat

  Overall, I am very satisfied with the results and look forward to using Crackle polish in many other different applications.

*Tip*  If you are wanting less definite lines between your base colors, first try paintng your nails with a white base color and then sponging on each metallic color in random spots,  Not only was I feeling a bit lazy but as you can tell from the final results, it really doesnt make too much of a difference with the Crackle finish.  Depends on how much time and energy you want to spend!

Studded nails

I've been playing around with this design in my head and finally had an opportunity to put it to the test.

Polishes Used:

Julep's Amy

Kiss Nail Art Black

Wet N Wild Black Creme

Kleancolor Chunky Silver

Since I received Amy a few days ago I've been wanting to see it on my nails.  This design offered the perfect opportunity.  After applying a clear basecoat, I applied two coats of Amy to each nail.  I then used Kiss Nail Art Black polish and striping brush to make two lines crossing each nail.   I then filled in the space between the two lines on each nail with Black Creme.  I poured out Chunky silver and using a toothpick I placed the largest size glitter along the black polish band to simulate studs. Last, I used Julep's Fast Drying Topcoat to seal in the art.

This design was quick, easy, and fun.  Don't you love Julep's Amy?

My first Polish Giveaway...CLOSED!

Due to a mixup with an amazon vendor, I recieved an extra order of Kleancolor's Metallic polishes.  I kept the extras with the vendor's blessing but trust me, one set is enough!  I have been using these colors in some of my nail art.  Most recently I used Metallic Yellow in my Betsey Johnson print nails. My gain becomes your gain!  Metallic polish is soooo in right now!

In this giveaway, you get all the polishes seen above.  The colors are Metallic Purple, Pink, Sapphire, Aqua, Yellow, and Green. 

Rules:  (THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED!  Keep checking back though for other great giveaways!)

You must live in the U.S. or Canada

You must comment on this post

You must be at least 18 years old

An extra entry:   if you follow me on Twitter (NailsActually), my facebook page (Nails, Actually Nail Art), and this blog share your Twitter, Facebook, and gmail names with your comment so that I can check.  You will recieve an extra entry per account followed.   Please include your email address if you do not sign under a Google/Gmail account. 

Deadline will be my birthday, January 13th, 2012.   I will draw the name of the winner and notify them by January 15th, 2012 for an address.

Good luck, darlings!

Pet Adoption Nails for my favorite cause!

  I am not knocking purebreds and breeders.  I do think they have their place, however overpriced and overbred some poor animals can be.  I do advocate for people to consider adopting a pet from a shelter.  My beloved mixed breed, Cassidy, has truly been the best dog I've ever parented.  Cassidy is a 6 year old Brittany Spaniel/Terrier mix that knows over 30 tricks and commands.  She speaks, growls, high fives, twirls, rolls over, jumps, fetches, begs, and bows.  Not to mention she loves me to pieces!  Cassidy was also adopted from a shelter at a Petsmart adoption event.  It was one of the best decisions I've made:0)  Cassidy also does not escape from my nail polish hobby.   The picture below is her recently sporting Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri Brisk Blue.  Never fear, I have cleared all polishes with my vet!

So for my Adopt design, I wanted to incorporate paw prints, kitty cats, and hearts.  Below is what I came up with...

Polishes Used:

Sinful Colors Snow Me White

Sinful Colors Nirvana

Sinful Colors Sugar Sugar

Wet N' Wild's Black Cream

After applying a clear basecoat, I painted each nail with two coats of Snow Me White.  I then painted a paw print on the first nail and a cat silhouette on the last nail in Nirvana, a muted brown.  I also drew a heart in Sugar Sugar on the middle nail.  Finally I drew in the letters "A", "d", "p", and "t" on the respective nails in Black Creme with the middle,. red heart subbing for the "o."  Last, I outlined the cat silhouette with Black Creme also.  I think stamped paw prints from an image plate would also look very cute!  I finished with a clear, protective topcoat. 

These nails turned out soo cute and meaningful!  Please adopt a shelter pet and have no regrets!

Star Trek Nails, Boldly Going There!

So as I said in a previous post, my husband is a big fan of Star Trek.  He recently purchased the first season of the original Star Trek series on blu-ray and we've watched a few episodes.  Me, I'm a geek in my own way, hoarding Buffy and Big Bang Theory seasons among other things!   So when I saw the ensignias on the original Star Trek uniforms I thought they would makes some interesting nails.  Did they ever...

First let me just say that even I find my interpretation of the USS Enterprise to be funny but I still think I caught the gist.  I would also like to point out that in the first couple episodes I didn't see red uniforms but come on, those later red uniforms were hot!

Polishes Used:

Sinful Colors Secret Admirer

Sinful Colors Let's Meet

Sinful Colors Why Not

Sinful Colors Cloud 9

Sinful Colors Snow Me White

Sinful Colors Tokyo Pearl

Sinful Colors Love Nails

OPI's Skull & Glossbones

China Glaze's Recycle

Revlon's Scented Polish in Mon Cherry

Revlon's Gold Coin

Wet N' Wild's Black Creme

So yes, it takes a LOT of colors to make this design work but it's worth it.  After applying a clear basecoat, I paintied my thumb and pinky nails in a shimmery black called Secret Admirer.   I then painted my index finger with one coat of Tokyo Pearl.  After allowing the polish to dry, I then painted my index finger with two coats of Let's Meet, a shimmery yellow.  Painting your nails white is a good way to ensure that sheer or shimmery polish shows true and clear, plus you reduce the number of coats needed. Next, I painted my middle nail in Why not, a pretty blue and my ring nail in Mon Cherry.  For the "STAR TREK" lettering on my thumb nail, I first did the lettering in Snow Me White and then painted over the dry white letters with Let's Meet.  I then used dots of Tokyo Pearl and Snow Me White to simulate stars.  On my middle three fingernails, I freehanded the Star Trek insignia in Gold Coin, a shimmery gold polish.  After the gold polish dried, I drew in the symbols for command, Science, and engineering and outlined the insignias with Black Creme.  On my pinky nail I painted a large circle, two tubes, a slaning line, and a small circle in Skull & Glossbones, a light grey polish.  These shapes all connected to form the outline of the USS Enterprise. Using Snow Me White, I put two white dots at the end of each tube above the large circle and a small white dot on the smaller circle.   After the white dots dried I filled the top two dots with Cloud 9, a shimmery orange and filled in the bottom white dot with Love Nails, a shimmery blue.  Catching on to my shimmery theme yet?!  I then outlined the ship with Recycle, a darker grey polish.  Using more Snow Me White dots, I added stars to the black shimmery background of the nail.  

Overall, these nails are what I envisioned and properly pay respects to a great show that boldly went "where no man has gone before..."

Burt's Bees Nails

One of my favorite brands of chapstick and lip color is Burt's Bees. My favorite products are the Burt's Bees Beeswax lip balm tubes and Burt's Bees Lip Shimmers!  I saw the little bee design on their website and came up with a quick design.

Polishes used:

Sinful Colors Tokyo Pearl

Sinful Colors Sugar Sugar

Sinful Colors Let's Meet

Revlon's Gold Coin

First I have to say that the second picture is a more accurate representation of the base color used on these nails.  Something (or someone, me) was off in the first picture.  So I started with a clear basecoat and then painted each nail save one thumb with one coat of Tokyo Pearl, otherwise known as a pearly white.  I did that to make the Let's Meet shimmery yellow polish pop.  Mission Accomplished!  I then painted my one thumb nail with Sugar Sugar, a shimmery red.  I carefully painted the letters to spell "BURT'S" on the hand with all yellow nails and then painted the letters "BEES" on the other hand, using Sugar Sugar as the polish.  Last, I freehanded the bee design in Gold Coin polish on my red polished thumb nail.  I coated every nail witha protective clear topcoat.  

I love Burt's Bees and I think I love these nails too!

Julep Hauls from two shipments today!

I finally received my December Julep Maven box.  Also, Julep have a twofer sale last Tuesday so I bought a couple more polishes Ive been drooling over. 

The picture above is what came in the December Maven box.  The Pomegranate Body Creme smells soooo nice.  It leaked a bit in the decorative bag it was sent in but not enough to make a big mess.  I also received Julep's Helena polish which is such a pretty fuchsia color.   I compare it to Sinful Color's Dream On only I bet it dries 10x better.  Looking forward to using it!  I also received Julep's Fast Drying topcoat.  I tend to shy away from anything that says "fast-drying" for my basecoat and topcoats because I want my nail art to last.  Still, I will be trying it out soon!  Last, as an added bonus, Julep threw in these delightful little glitter balls with a business card explaining how to used them.   I recently saw these used in a studded effect over a shiny black base color.  Everyone has been raving about those nails so now I guess I can recreate them!

In the above pic is the two polishes I bought in Julep's two-for-one sale they had recently.  Julep's Amy is such a sweet pretty light blue.  Julep's Charlotte is a divine light purple and how could I resist a polish that shares my name?!  I cant wait to see how these two polishes hold up under stamping.  Last, I did get some samples which I throw in my purse for the days my hands need a little something extra.  

The last pic shows everthing all together that I received today. I wish you could smell the Pomegranate body creme.   Today's haul makes me happy. 

In other news, I do have some exciting new nail art coming up.   I recently came up with following designs:

• Pet Adoption nail art-I am an animal lover from way back!
• Star Trek nail art-  My husband is a big fan and we recently started watching the original series
• Chipotle nail art-  I love this restaurant and its roots are in Denver so I have to pay homage!
• Burt's Bees nail art- Another product I love, I always have two or three chapsticks floating around!
• Nails, Actually nail art-  Wanting to do some great nails that promote my blog!

So as you can see I'm going to be busy with all my new polishes and products and ideas.   There is never enough time in the day...

Swirling Snow Nails

I have been wanting to do winter nails but the only designs I keep seeing involve snowflakes and/or dots.  Since we just receieved several inches of the white stuff in Denver (not to mention single digit temperatures) I have been toying with the idea of swirling snow patterns on my nails.  Here is what I came up with...

Polishes Used:

Sinful Colors Midnight Blue

Sinful Colors Snow Me White

Sinful Colors Queen of Beauty glitter

Sinful Colors Hottie glitter

KleanColors Chunky Silver glitter

After applying a clear basecoat, I applied one coat of Midnight Blue to each nail.  I then poured out some Snow Me White polish and dabbed a small nail art brush into it, blotting away the excess on a paper towel.  I then started making swirly patterns on each nail using the brush almost like a tiny sponge blotting on dabs of white polish.  I then cleaned and used the same brush to place large pieces of Chunky Silver glitter throughout each swirl.   I also painted over the swirl with the much smaller Queen of Beauty silver glitter.  The nails still needed something so I pulled out Hottie a blue and irredescent glitter and applied over each nail.  Last, I applied a clear topcoat.

Overall, I think these nails were exactly what I was looking for to break the monotony of winter nails.  Plus, I can't convey how much I love glitter polish.  These Swirly Snow nails are a hit!

Ah Paisley Nail Art, an old friend!

As I've said in past posts, I cant get enough of Konad Image Plate M64's paisley stamp!

Today I used Sinful Color's Dream On as my base color after applying a clear basecoat.  I do have a bit of an issue with this color because it tends to dry with an unattractive matte finish.  So for this color I do recommend at least two coats of polish and a clear topcoat is a must to bring back the shine.  I used Konad Stamping Polish in silver for the stamping.  Last I topped off the design with some lime green rhinestones.  You'll be seeing tons more of this stamp a million different ways on this blog if I have any say in it!