Purple and gold leopard print nails inspired by perfectlynaileduk.

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Today’s post is totally inspired by perfectlynaileduk, who does some of the most awesome leopard print manicures I’ve ever seen. Actually she does the most awesome manicures in general! Seriously, you need to go check her manicures out right now if you haven’t yet!

The other day I was trying to think of something to do on my nails when I remembered a picture of a blue and gold leopard print manicure she had posted, and instantly knew I wanted to recreate it! I decided to go with some darker, more fall-toned colors.

 

The polishes I used for this manicure were:

  • Essence Color and Go Best Dressed.
  • Maybelline Color Show Gilded Gold.
  • China Glaze White on White.
  • Vernis Classique by Cherimoya Black.
  • Nutra Nail Quick Dry Top Coat with Green Tea.

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Is there any better combo than purple and gold? I think Gilded Rose by Maybelline Color Show has to be my new favorite gold polish, especially because of the pink undertones. I never used to like gold, but lately I’ve been completely obsessed with all things golden, especially nail polish. Maybe that’s why I seem to own so many now haha.

 

Also, you may have noticed I had a pretty obvious break on the middle finger of my left hand. It happened at work (what else is new…) and I was SO mad, as my nails have grown the longest they’ve been in a long time. I’ve decided though, for right now at least, I’m not going to file everything down to meet my shortie. The rest of my nails are holding strong and super healthy, so for right now I’ll stick with the one awkward shorty until the rest of my nails start to catch up.

 

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So what do you think of this gold and leopard print manicure?

What is your favorite color combination together?

Glitter Gradient featuring Essie’s The Girls are Out.

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Oh wow, we were having some seriously warm weather last week–a full Summer flashback even though it’s now September. I felt like doing something a little brighter on my nails, so decided to go with a glitter gradient as not only are they fairly easy, they’re also quick (but totally gorgeous.)

 

The polishes I used for this manicure were:

  • Essie The Girls are Out.
  • Color Institute unnamed gold polish.
  • Color Institute unnamed gold glitter polish.
  • Quo by ORLY Gold Rush Sparkle.
  • Nutra Nail Quick Dry Top Coat.

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Check out the holo bar glitter in Quo by ORLY Gold Rush Sparkle! Holy Moly–it’s another one of the mini polishes the boyfriend got me last Christmas as part of the holiday pack, and I’m still discovering how pretty these polishes are! I’m not usually a fan of bar glitters, but in Gold Rush Sparkle they’re more of an accent than front and center so I definitely love.

 

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So what do you think of this glitter gradient?

Glitter Gradient with Gwen’s Crush.

Still in my nail art rut, so simple manicures it is. Today’s manicure was a spur of the moment decision. I painted my nails with Gwen’s Crush by Revlon, but I wanted to make them a little more fancy so I decided a glitter gradient was the perfect solution. I pulled out a blue jelly Mariposa polish that my roommate gave me for Christmas, mostly because it complimented the blue shimmer in Gwen’s Crush.

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The polishes I used for the manicure were:

  • Revlon Gwen’s Crush (from the Spiderman collection.)
  • Mariposa unnamed blue gelly glitter.
  • Color Institute silver glitter.
  • Seche Vite Quick Dry Top Coat.

 

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I quite like how these turned out. Plus, the blue jelly in the Mariposa glitter darkens the tips of Gwen’s Crush. Plus the Glitter has great holographic glitters which looks great. Also this Revlon polish is going to be very well used this fall, I’m guessing. I love the dark purple-pink color, with the subtle hint of blue.

And a blurry shot of my nails below, that captures the holographic glitters  in both glitter polishes. So pretty!

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Jewel-toned fingers.

I am definitely in a bit of a nail art rut recently. I’m just hopeless with ideas right now… The other night I did my nails 5 times before giving up on doing anything pretty, and just going with a simple, but pretty, accent mani.

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The polishes  I used for this (simple) manicure were:

  • Color Club Disco Dress.
  • China Glaze Skyscraper.
  • Seche Vite Quick Dry Top Coat.

I was surprised at how well Skyscraper and Disco Dress ended up going together. Both polishes were picked up on my mini haul this week of Fall toned colors. The scattered glitter in Skyscraper is absolutely fantastic. And I don’t think I own another purple in my stash anywhere close to Disco Dress. Truthfully, I bought it because of the name (I do that sometimes) but the color is just so rich. It’s amazing. I definitely will have to try a glitter gradient using these two polishes. They just go so well together.

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Yep–I’m in a full fall mode now. And even better? Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte is  being released early this year!

So what colors are you feeling the most for Fall? I haven’t made up my mind on what Fall polish collections I’ll need to splurge on, but I’m definitely feeling all the jewel tones (as you’ve probably noticed already).

Nails for Days.

Wow, I’ve been MIA again…. we’ve been house sitting for my parents which means I don’t have all my polishes (or nail art tools) at my disposal. However, I have still been painting my nails the last week so I thought I would share with you the simple manicures I’ve been playing around with. I’ve been testing out the combination of using Essence Gel Look top Coat with Essie’s Good to Go top coat, and I have to say it’s been working for me. Usually I have chips in my polish by the end of day 1 (or sometimes half way through), but most of these manicures I’ve worn for 2+ days with minimal chipping. Considering I’m not gentle on my hands, that is actually kind of amazing.

 

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The polishes I used for this manicure were:

  • China Glaze Flying Dragon (purple)
  • Essence Petal to the Metal gold topper.
  • Essence Gel Look top coat.
  • Essie Good to Go top coat.

Oh China Glaze Flying Dragon… how I love you. You are now, and will forever be my favorite nail polish color…. I just wish you didn’t chip so damn fast! Thankfully though, adding my top look combo gave me these nails for THREE days with very minimal chipping until day three (when it all went to hell). I do love the combination of the Essence Gold Topper over dark colors though… looks so regal. (Also makes me crave fall a little bit… some one slap me!)

 

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The polishes I used for this manicure were:

  • Sinful Colors Be Happy (blue base color)
  • Icing Electric Graffiti (pink shatter)
  • Essence Gel Look Top Coat.
  • Essie Good to Go top coat.

I was feeling some crackle, since I haven’t used it in years. I used to love playing with crackle, and Icing’s Electric Graffiti was definitely my favorite of the ones I owned. That hasn’t changed. So bright, and so awesome.

 

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Polishes used for the manicure were:

  • Joe Fresh Latte (nude base)
  • Nicole by OPI Oy Oy Oyster (nude shimmer)
  • Essence Dive with me to the Island (teal ruffian)
  • Essence Gel Look Top Coat.
  • Essie Good to Go Top Coat.

Oh man, I had such high hopes for the manicure… I had visions of a gorgeous nude and teal ruffian… except the nude color my mother owns (which is dark for her) blends PERFECTLY into my skin… so it just looked like I didn’t paint for enough down on my nail. And the shimmer I added didn’t show up enough. Next time I’ll definitely go with something not so perfectly matched to my skin tone.

 

So as you can see, I’ve still been playing around with polish I just haven’t been as nail art crazy as normal. I’m also still bumming hard about my shorties, but they’ll grown… unfortunately just not over night (I wish!) Next week I’m on vacation from work so it will be A LOT more nail art time. In fact, in honor of my best friend who is getting married next week, I think I’m going to do a whole week of wedding manicures, for both bride and bridesmaids. And then at the end of the week, I can share the manicure my friend is letting me do for her nails for the wedding. =)

 

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Now it’s time to finish my coffee, and get started on a super cool manicure I hope to share with you tomorrow.