China Glaze Sun Worshiper & Konad M10

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I have a fun one for you today: China Glaze Sun Worshiper with the paw print pattern from Konad plate M10.  I love Sun Worshiper.  It's such a unique yellowish orange, and so neon it nearly glows in the dark.  I also broke into Konad plate M10 for the first time with this manicure - I got the plate specifically for this pattern.

I would have been better off using two coats of Orly White Out and a couple coats of Sun Worshiper than using Sun Worshiper on its own.  I don't even know how many coats this is - I lost count.  I just know I like the color, but a white base would have cut down on total coats required.

For the stamping, I used Konad Black Pearl. For smaller patterns, it looks no different than Black, but does not smudge with top coat.  So I used a zillion coats of Sun Worshiper, a coat of Diamont and drying drops, waited a bit and washed off the drops, then stamped and just added another coat of Diamont with no smudges.

China Glaze Sun Worshiper Nail Polish and Konad Plate M10 in Black Pearl

Now I'll tell you why I wanted this pattern - if you don't care, please skip to the end.  

I had the best dog who ever lived, so I'm partial to puppy footprints.  Mine was a black miniature poodle, but when he was a puppy we gave him an XL studded black leather collar which he wore all his and life I still have, and which my dad cut down and added extra holes to so it would be small enough for his neck, making him  one badass poodle.  No bows and puffballs for this one.  My parents had his uncle, and mine would "help" the uncle play tug-of-war with my dad by holding on to the uncle's ear and pulling with all his might.  When he got older, my guy was blind and deaf but still happy, but we eventually put him to sleep when his arthritis got really bad - he was such a good dog that he'd be perfectly quiet in the house, then howl in pain when he'd go out in the yard.  He died about a year before my mom did, so he's not that long ago.  He was also smart and really beautiful - he'd been reserved to be a show dog, but at 12 weeks there was a developmental glitch that made him imperfect, so I got him.  The very best dog ever.  So I like this pattern because it makes me think of him traipsing around leaving his delicate little footprints.  That's a happy thought for me.

That's the manicure and the story I have for you today, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

Get in Lines

Happy Sunday, folks! I'm wornnnn out. Had bread class this morning, we learned decorative breads. (inedible and non-rising... the dough is called Pate Morte, which translates to 'dead dough', meaning that since there is no yeast in it, it doesn't rise!) We also had a 'potluck' of sorts, which is why I made my ice cream yesterday, it was a hit, and everyone's food was yum!! :-D Chef Ray even brought in chicken leg quarters for us to cook up for lunch! :) It was definitely a fun class! :) Right now I'm house-sitting and dog sitting, and I have a little white dog that is helping me type right now, and earlier 'helped' me paint my nails. :-D Whenever I sit on the couch with the computer in my lap, he crawls up on my lap and tucks his head under my chin... meaning I get little to no work done. :-D (he's just so damn cute) Today's nails are simple and sweet, with bright color and glitter (who doesn't like glitter?!)



I used Orly Pixy Stix as a base, with Sally Hansen Black Orchid for the black lines, and Nubar Violet Sparkle for the glittery purple lines. Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

My little white 'helper', Homer (aka Homey):



My Pate Morte bread art (everything is bread dough- even the flowers):



*yawn* naptime.

Essie Splash of Grenadine & Konad M79

Good evening, Dear Reader!

It turned out that Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Midnight in NY was a complete failure for me.  As I'm sure you could tell from my last post, I wasn't thrilled with it.  I decided to fix it up a little with Chanel Illusion D'Or.  I added one coat and another coat of top coat.

Chanel Illusion D'Or over Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Midnight in NY

That was sufficient for me, and I would have been happy with it, but a full hour after adding to it I took a nice Sunday nap, and woke up with the polish smudged all the way down several nails.  It would seem the formulas are not friends...

Rather than spend the rest of my day with squishy, smudgy nail polish, I changed it, and I'm thrilled to bits over the replacement which is why I'm showing it to you now.  I'll likely have to go into The Vault for something to show you tomorrow, I like this one so much - I want to keep it for at least a day.  As the title tells you, it's Essie Splash of Grenadine from The Resort Collection, which took two coats for a perfectly even, opaque, super glossy finish, to which I added a pattern from Konad plate M79.  I used the dotted net pattern in Konad Blue Pearl Special Polish (or Pearl Blue, whatever...), and added tips from plate M19.

Essie Splash of Grenadine, Two Coats, and Konad M79 and M19 in Konad Blue Pearl 

How fun is my new mani???  Since Splash of Grenadine is between pink and purple, I thought the blue would bring out the purple, and this is my other favorite Konad Special Polish, along with Psyche Pink.  Both were introduced with the Coraline Konad plates, and the two are far and away my favorites because they're glowy and striking.  I love many Konad polishes and likely use Black and White the most, but these two are my top picks, so I'm happy when I get to use one of them.

That's my new manicure and all I have for you today.  Fortunately, I have some stuff in The Vault to show you tomorrow, so until then, love and nail polish to you!