Category: Aco by Ardene

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Out of this world Galaxy Nails–with a bonus tutorial!

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After being inspired by two of my fellow nail art girlies on Instagram (mymintnails and banulovesnailpolish) the other day, I was in the mood for Galaxy nails. The last time I did them was in April during the early weeks of this blog, and I hadn’t tried them since so it felt like a good time.

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The polishes I used for this manicure were:

  • OPI Who Are You Calling Bossy?!?
  • Unnamed Blue Joe Fresh Metallic Polish I got as part of their holiday collection this season.
  • LA Splash Heiress.
  • LA Splash Glitz & Berry.
  • LA Splash Maroon.
  • Quo by ORLY Trashy Glam.
  • ACO by Ardene Showtime.
  • China Glaze Fairy Dust.
  • Sally Hansen Diamond Flash Top Coat.

I’m seriously so happy with how my galaxies turned out. I’ve done galaxy nails a couple of times now, and always get frustrated by the fact I don’t find they look very Space-y. However thanks to using ACO by Ardene’s Showtime for glitter placement (the stars) and China Glaze’s Fairy Dust I managed to create my very own galaxies on my nails.

And I thought since I’m trying to create more tutorials I would share my steps for creating this manicure. I know everyone has their own way of creating galaxy nails, these are just the steps I took for the above manicure.

 

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  1. Paint all nails black (OPI Who Are You Calling Bossy?!?) and apply quick dry top coat.
  2. While that is drying, applying OPI Glitter Off Base Coat around cuticle area. I do this to keep the sponging I do when creating gradients and other like manicures off my fingers and minimize clean up.
  3. Sponge on first colour (the unnamed Blue Joe Fresh polish with shimmer.) Depending on how sheer the polish is, you may have to sponge a couple times to be able to see the polish.
  4. Continue sponging using a variety of other colours. I try to keep my sponging in a line so you get that galaxy look. I also will apply some polishes thicker than others, or just sponge small spots so that it’s not too heavy handed.
  5. Using a dotting tool, place stars in random places on nail. (ACO by Ardene Showtime.) I also used some of the bigger glitters in Showtime for along the sponging.
  6. Apply a coat (or two) of Fairy Dust over everything. Then, after a couple minutes apply your top coat to seal everything in. Once that’s dry, you’ll be able to peel off your protective layer around your cuticles, and clean up what you might have missed around your cuticles.

And tada! You now possess galaxies on your finger tips. Galaxies are one of the easiest nail art designs you can probably do because they can be done with pretty much any polish, at any level, in whatever style you want! And the plus side is–it’s almost impossible to screw them up.

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In case you’re interested, my ring is courtesy of Kristalized_Designs on Instagram (who also happens to be my sister!) She designed two gorgeous midi-rings for me, and is going to be designing a little something special for an upcoming giveaway I’m going to be holding. She’s in the process of getting her Etsy page up and going, but you should definitely check out her page for a sneak peak at her designs. Everything is hand made and one of a kind (there is even a picture of her making the above ring.)

 

So what do you think of these galaxy nails?

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Comparison Post: OPI My Dog Sled is A Hybrid vs. ACO by Ardene Jungle Green.

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The other day, I picked up My Dog Sled is A Hybrid by OPI (which you may have noticed in my chevron moon post the other day.) When I used it, I couldn’t help but think it looked an awful lot like an ACO by Ardene polish recently released — Jungle Green. So obviously I had to compare the two to see just how close they are and if maybe I found a less expensive dupe for MDSAH.

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I have Jungle Green on my pointer finger and pinkie, and My Dog Sled is A Hybrid on my middle finger, ring finger and my thumb. As you can see–definitely not dupes. Jungle Green is definitely brighter and a little more Neon than MDSAH. Comparing the two, I’d called MDSAH more of a Jade even, especially when side by side of Jungle Green. Both colours are absolutely gorgeous, but they had no twins. Not at all.

As far as application–MDSAH is actually a dream to apply. It takes two coats, but they go on like butter, with no streaks or bald spots to be seen! I wish I could say the same for Jungle Green–it was not a dream to apply. It was also two coats, but when I went to apply the second coat the first coat seemed to drag, which was not fun considering the top had already dried some. So strange. Top coat balanced everything out, but… yeah. I’ve never had that happen to me before.

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So what do you think of these two polishes? While Jungle Green is not a dupe for My Dog Sled is A Hybrid, it is a pretty polish–application issues aside. For my Canadian girls, you can pick up Jungle Green at your local Ardene’s location or online for $3.50 or as part of a promotion (usually 3/10). I picked up my bottle of My Dog Sled is A Hybrid as part of the OPI Little Northies Collection at my local Chatters.

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Silver Stamped Snowflakes.

 

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Last month, I made my first ever Born Pretty Store purchase, after dawdling about the idea for a while. I was in awe over all their options for stamping plates. I’m totally in awe of all the stamping I’ve seen around. I haven’t stamped in a while–almost a year! So I decided to order some fun plates with images I could never create freehand. One of my favorite plates I ordered was a collection of sweater-style winter prints. So when they arrived the other day, I knew I had to use them–immediately!

I stamped these nails at 7am, before having to get ready for work so they’re not perfect. But for my first time stamping in a long while, I’m really proud of how I did.

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The polishes I used for this manicure:

  • China Glaze Frostbite (applied over undies of China Glaze I Sea the Point)
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Celeb City — stamping.
  • ACO by Ardene Style Icon –gorgeous chunky silver and holo glitter.
  • Born Pretty Stamping Plate ID #6457 (Lace Snowflake Pattern).
  • Seche Vite Quick Dry Top Coat.

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This is about as close to a Christmas Manicure as I’ve gotten so far this year, but I really love this sweater print. I’m already collecting a whole bunch of designs in my head I want to do for Christmas this year, so I have a feeling once December hits, there will be a lot of Christmas/Holiday manicures to share. There are also a few I did last year that I’m really itching to recreate and see how things have improved.

What Christmas manicures are you itching to do?

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Poppy nails in honor of Remembrance Day.

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Today, November 11th, is Remembrance Day and in honor of that I did a special manicure.

I grew up as part of a military family — both past and present generations have served in the Air Force, Army and Navy. I even have a Great Uncle who was held prisoner in a POW camp during WW2.  Because of that I’ve always made sure to take the time to stop, reflect, and remember those who have fought so hard to defend our freedom–those who came, those who didn’t, and those who were forever changed all in the name of Peace and Freedom. I wanted to do a simple Poppy manicure in memory and remembrance, and I think they came out perfectly.

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The polishes I used for this manicure were:

  • ACO by Ardene Day Dreamer — base color.
  • ACO by Ardene Strawberry Fields — red.
  • Mariposa Black.
  • OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls — white.
  • Seche Vite fast dry top coat.

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So what do you think of these Poppy Nails in honor of Remembrance Day?How do you mark the day? I went to my local Remembrance Day services this morning with my father (who is retired from the Air Force) and the boyfriend and it was amazing to see everyone gathering together to pay tribute.

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Happy Halloween Nails! part two–Blood Dripping Nails.

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Is there anything more Halloween-y to wear on your nails than dripping blood? I was feeling another Halloween manicure the other day, and decided I should give the blood drip manicure a try. I decided to go with a very simple base color (Essence Color and Go Dare it Nude! with a coat of China Glaze Fairy Dust over top) before adding my dripping blood to the tips of my nails. I did the dripping blood using ACO by Ardene Strawberry Fields, and dragged it down my nails using a dotting tool. Everything was topped with Essie Good to Go Quick Dry Top Coat.

And BAM! An awesomely creepy manicure, perfect for Halloween festivities.

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I’m loving seeing all these different Halloween manicures popping up on Instagram and Pinterest. I move the end of this week (Halloween in fact) but I’m hoping to have a couple more Halloween themed manicures to share before the week is over. =)