Blue holographic skittle nails

Well friends, I had just about the worst day ever yesterday. Got rear ended on the way to work, and had back-to-back-to-back-to-back meetings at work. I'm currently feeling a little over extended in life, too many commitments making things rather stressful.

But one thing I like to come back to is this blog, because it deals with the things that make me happy – nails! No matter how hectic my life gets with election season, editorial duties etc. I know I can always look down at my nails and smile.

Today I'm sharing with you some blue skittle nail art I did awhile back. It seemed earlier this year I couldn't get my hands on enough blue holo polishes. I finally realized I had a ton when I put them all side by side (to make sure they weren't dupes) and thought they might make interesting skittle nails!



The polishes I used, from thumb to pinky, Colors by Llarowe Chillin' in Paradise, Color Club Over the Moon, Colors by Llarowe Soccer Mom, Colors by Llarowe Surf My Wave and ILNP Summer Stargazing.



Because I loved all the blue and it made me think of the ocean, I added a wave stamp on top to complete the look. For the stamp I used MoYou London Sailor 03 plate!



All of them had a great holo finish. Soccer Mom was a bit more of a scattered holo and dried a little textured (top coat fixed that pretty quick)! The holo in Surf my Wave, Over the Moon and Chillin' in Paradise were all very similar – linear and vibrant. The finish in Summer Stargazing was a different type of holo, scattered and linear at the same time.



I'm not going to lie, I think Color Club Over the Moon and Colors by Llarowe Chillin' in Paradise were VERY close and if you own one, I can say with confidence, I don't think you need the other. They weren't exact dupes, but pretty similar.

So that's it for my post today. I guess you can say this was apt timing for this manicure, because I'm currently feeling a little blue with how much stuff is going on in my life right now. Overwhelmed! How do you guys deal with stress? I typically paint my nails, when I can fit in a manicure! Something about switching off the really thoughtful side of your brain and just concentrating on art, on a tiny canvas is very relaxing! Don't you think?

Beach shore nail art

Today I am showing you one such a fun nail art I did when people so many people all around the internet started to do their ocean themed manicures I became inspired!



I started with a base of KBShimmer's In Bare Form – my ultimate most favorite nude polish, which I reviewed here.



I wanted to keep the holo going and I had the perfect polish for my waves crashing upon the shore. From Colors by Llarowe Summer Collection a beautiful blue called Surf my Wave, appropriate right? To make the waves appear as they did, I used a small portion of a kitchen sponge! It worked perfectly for creating the waves, as they have holes and it provided the perfect texture!



I topped the whole thing off a few sparkles from Deborah Lippmann's Va Va Voom and a crab stamp to indicate it is a shore!



How did you like it? Are you doing some beach themed nails for the summer? I love ocean themes on nails, I just love water all around! In fact right now I have blue holo skittles on my nails with wave-esque stamps – 'tis the season I suppose!

P.S. My MoYou London Stamping Plate Giveaway is still going on, check out this post to enter the Rafflecopter and good luck!

KBShimmer In Bare Form dotticure

First off, I'm going to start this post by gushing about KBShimmer's In Bare Form. You guys, I think I've found my perfect most beautiful nude polish. I forever have looked for a nude polish that would work with my neutral skin tone.

Now not only have I found it, it applies and wears like a dream and it is HOLO! This is such a perfect polish and I am so happy to have found it.



Seriously, after you've checked out my nail art click on over to the KBShimmer website and pick up this gem, it's only $8.75 - a steal!



So I did this nail art on a day when I got an awesome nail mail package. I seriously had so many amazing holo polishes in front of me, I didn't know where to start. So when in doubt, use all the polish for nail art!



So the dots, from bottom to top are Dance Legend Blanco, Colors by Llarowe Soccer Mom, Colors by Llarowe Chillin' in Paradise, Colors by Llarowe In Another Dimension, Colors by Llarowe Surf My Wave and ILNP Summer Stargazing.



So what do you think of this manicure? I really liked it and In Bare Form made the most gorgeous backdrop for this ombre type dotticure!

Holo stripes nail art

I loved this manicure I just did last week so much it skipped the line and I blogged about it as soon as I could. I actually just removed this manicure Sunday morning, I wore it for a whole half week! Which is really unheard of for me!!!



I started the manicure with a layer of OPI Alpine Snow and once it was dry enough, added some thin stripe nail vinyls to create the look.



The polishes I used were, from top to bottom, Colors by Llarowe Chillin' in Paradise, Colors by Llarowe In A Different Dimension, Colors by Llarowe Surf My Wave and ILNP Summer Star Gazing. The sunshine shots of this manicure are just amazing!!!





And as an added bonus and happy accident, I discovered (well it was pointed out to me actually) that my nails totally matched my iPhone case! Guess I really do love those colors.



I really loved this manicure, it was aquatic, without being too overly oceanic (a theme I've been going to a lot lately). The colors looked spectacular when I was at the pool on Saturday. This is definitely the best and most favorite nail art I have done in some time! What do you think? You could really do this with any color scheme, but I loved the blue/green theme as they are my favorite colors!

P.S. I am a part of my online friend The Mercurial Magpie's First Blogaversary and I have included a prize (1 of 30!!!)! So head on over to her site to enter the contest!