Embarrassing!

Let me preface this post by saying that I am completely embarrassed by the state of my cuticles! These pics are horrendous!  I have been trying to treat them during the day with a new conditioner stick I purchased as well as at night...hopefully they will look better in my next post.

I wanted to do a blue manicure...not sure why exactly...think it may have just been my mood last week.

I had gone to Ulta and had purchased the new Essie collection (love them) and thought it would be a good time to try out the Lapis of Luxury. 

I love this color in the bottle but hate the way it applies.  As you can see in the first pic, it applies kinda streaky and part of your nails don't look even...very splotchy.  After three coats I gave up and just decided to apply a simple Konad since the base was already not looking too great and I really didn't have the time to start completely over.  I just applied the simply floral Konad pattern with OPI's Yoga-ta get this Blue (love it). 

Hope everyone has a great Monday!

Does laffy taffy really make you laugh?

As soon as I finished this manicure, all I kept thinking was that it reminded me so much of grape laffy taffy.

I used to love this stuff when I was younger.  I remember my friend and I going to the local 7-11 and buying tons of flavors.  I think they used to be like 2 cents a piece (boy am I dating myself here).  We used to try all sorts of wacky flavors, but grape was always one of my top choices.

When I set out to do this manicure, taffy was the furthest thing from my mind, now it's all I think about!

For this particular manicure I used a base of Essie's Lilacism.  I used Konad plate M57 for my design with NARS Purple Rain (byhillary reviewed it here and I knew I had to have it!)

Please excuse the messiness-was running a bit late and needed to get pics.

I think this mani is really fun but I am probably going to be changing it tonight or tomorrow.  Just a bit too unconventional for me this week since I have to conduct professional interviews.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

I Love Me Some Houndstooth

I really do!  I have shirts, skirts, and sweaters that all reflect the houndstooth pattern.  I love it in the traditional black and white, but I also appreciate the pattern in different colors.  When I saw that Konad had a houndstooth pattern on an image plate I was excited for all the combos I could possibly try.  For my first combo I decided to do a more traditional houndstooth, with a twist of course! 

I used Orly's Liquid Vinyl and Shine for my pattern.  I love the use of silver instead of white.  I do wish I would have used the Konad black though for a more solid look, the Liquid Vinyl looks almost like a grey on the silver.

I do plan on using the silver again with this pattern, I think it looks awesome.  It's kinda like foil.  I think it would be really cute paired up with a bright pink or maybe even a vivid blue.

Another Konad Attempt

Have I told you yet?  I LOVE my Konad manicure plates!  They are so fun and everyone just loves the cool designs and color schemes I show up with.

Here is my latest creation...

For this particular one I used Konad plate M60.  I did a base of two coats of OPI's You Don't Know Jacques! and the design was done with Essie Mint Candy Apple.  Mint Candy Apple is more of a mint green color but it showed up more like a light blue over the Jacques.  I still loved the results and have actually done this pattern and color combo on others who have requested one of my "manicures". 

This weekend has been pretty mundane.  Lots of stuff to get done around the house and the perfect rainy weather to make sure it gets done.  House is clean and all chores are done for now so I plan on watching some of my fave shows- I need to catch up on the DVR- and then head off to bed.  

My Spring-time Konad Manicure

Ever since byhillary did her first Konad manicure, I have been obsessed!  I have bought numerous plates (WowSoCool) and have been experimenting with them ever since.  I think I have increased my nail polish purchasing by at least 200% because now I want to have lots and lots of colors to experiment with!  Consider this fair warning...if you decide to try the Konad nail plates don't be surprised if you quickly become obsessed with the huge range of designs available and what you can do with them.

This was my Easter/First Spring manicure.  I know the colors are not very Easter-y but I just loved them and they matched my outfit on Easter. 

I used Essie Chinchilly for the base, Essie Tomboy No More for the lines and OPI Alpine Snow for the small flowers.  This whole look was put together utilizing Konad plate M60 (which is a great one by the way).

I have gottten so many compliments on my manicures.  And everyone is amazed that it takes me just mere minutes to get the intricate designs I show off daily.