Camel Whoa

Today, I managed to snag my major nail polish lemmings- China Glaze Classic Camel and China Glaze Ingrid! :) (I decided to grab Swing Baby as well. I love the Vintage Vixen collection!! Today in Vegas it feels disgusting. I know that I shouldn't complain, but after living in the desert for 2.5 years, 41% humidity is HELL. (on top of the 100°+ temperatures. It makes me think of the days in Michigan where you step out of the shower, and then feel like you have to shower all over again. Humidity is the devil, and the devil is in Las Vegas. I did another relatively simple design today, since a few people expressed that they dug the simpler stuff. I think it sort of has a vintage feel to it as well, so I think it fits with the color collection I used. :) BTW Class Camel was so totally worth the wait. I am in love with this polish, even though it looks horrid with my skin. :-P

I used China Glaze Classic Camel as a base, China Glaze Ingrid for the scrolls, China Glaze Swing Baby for the dots. Topped it off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

There's No Place Like Home!

It's GIVEAWAY time!!! To thank all my lovely readers, (new and old) I decided to do a giveaway!!!

The theme? HOME.

The challenge? I want to see a nail design that reminds you of home, whether it's a place you love to go when you're home, what you think of when you think of home, or what home means to you.

The rules:

You MUST be a follower. When you send your entry, please put your Google ID in the Subject. Also, I ask that after you send the entry, please comment on this post. :) All entries should be sent to thedailynailcontest@gmail.com by August 8, 2010. One entry per person please! Depending on the number of entries, I will post all of them in one post for you all to vote on, or I will whittle them down to a reasonable number if there are a lot. YAY!

Now the important part: THE PRIZES!!

A special thank you to reader Patti, who donated some fun (and a tad naughty- sorry dad) chapstick holder keyrings, and to the First Place winner, an eyeshadow quad palette with choice of colors! Check out her sites Etsy (chapstick holder) and Bella Sugar Cosmetics.

FIRST PRIZE:

The Daily Nail cosmetic bag (hand screen-printed and sewn by yours truly!)
Color Club Rebel Debutante Set
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Nail Color Collection mini set
essie Berry Hard
Claire's Mood Polish in Calm/Wild
Piggy Polish Free Toes
Piggy Polish Teeny Pink-ini
Eyeshadow quad with choice of colors from Bella Sugar Cosmetics!
Naughty Chapstick Holder- ADULT WINNERS ONLY

SECOND PRIZE:

The Daily Nail cosmetic bag (hand screen-printed and sewn by yours truly!)
Sally Hansen Lacquer Shine Nail Color Collection mini set
Orly La Playa
Orly Top 2 Bottom
Dare To Wear Inspiring Surrounding
Rimmel Tequila Sunrise
Revlon Lavender Light
LA Colors Live
Naughty Chapstick Holder- ADULT WINNERS ONLY

THIRD PRIZE:

The Daily Nail cosmetic bag (hand screen-printed and sewn by yours truly!)
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Nail Color Collection mini set
Orly Bailamos
Orly Top 2 Bottom
Rimmel Night Before
LA Colors Phenomena
Naughty Chapstick Holder- ADULT WINNERS ONLY

Who else is excited?! I love giveaways!!

dont hate the player (or the electrolyte-enhanced hydration)

I hate that I'm a sucker for advertising but when I saw this smartwater Ad Campaign with Jennifer Aniston it made me want to go for a run, do a yoga a class, pick up my skipping rope and buy a bottle of smartwater!

Retro Zig Zaggin'

Today's nail design was quick, I'll admit it, I'm in a rush today- lots to do- Colin Hay concert tonight! woo! The design was inspired by the paint job I saw on the side of a building in southern California, I just thought that it had a really retro vibe to it, which, of course, I love. I also got to use a new polish I picked up from Milani- they have a new collection of nudes out now!! :)

I used Milani Teddy Bare (which is pretty close to Essie Mink Muffs) as a base, with American Apparel Cotton for the ivory line, and Zoya Jancyn for the orange line.

Sorry for the lack of complexity today, I feel kinda guilty when I don't do crazy stuff. :-P

Olivia Palermo ASOS Magazine Autumn/Winter 2010

Grease is the Word

Lately, Paramount decided to re-release the movie GREASE in select theaters, but this time with a little twist- it's a SING-A-LONG! They added graphics throughout the movie when there were songs to be sung, and how they handled some of the lyrics was pretty damn amusing. The graphics were amusing, but some were distracting and too much. All in all it was a fun experience. In honor of the re-release, I did GREASE nails!! :-D

I used:

Thumb:

American Apparel Hassid as a base, with Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud as a base for the red, and for the letters in 'GREASE', with Nubar Sexy Red for the red of the car.

Index:

Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud as a base with Nubar Sexy Red for the Rydell High logo.

Middle:

American Apparel Hassid as a base, with Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud for the T Birds logo.

Ring:

Yachty Yachty Yadda as a base, with American Apparel Hassid for the words.

Pinky:

Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud as a base, with Nubar Sexy Red for the lightning outline, and China Glaze OMG for the silver.

Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

We go together like rama lama lama ke ding a de dinga a dong, just thought you should know.

We're Gonna Rouge Our Knees

and roll our stockings down...

I have yet to come across a musical that I DIDN'T like, and CHICAGO is no exception. I LOVE this musical. I love the movie version, and though I've only experienced the soundtrack of the stage version, I adore that too! I love the glamour of it all, the sex, the crime, the Richard Gere?! :-P Anyway, today's nails were inspired by all that jazz...

The 'glow' is far more subtle in person, but the camera really seemed to pick it up.

I used American Apparel Hassid as a base, with the orangey red from the Color Club Yacht Club collection for the glow of the neon letters, mixed with a little American Apparel Hassid to try to fade out the glow a bit, and with Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud to create the glowing neon of the middle C. For the black of the other letters, I used American Apparel Hassid.

So who's your favorite Velma? Bebe Neuwirth? Catherine Zeta Jones? Someone else? Are you more of a Roxie Hart fan? Maybe Mama? Billy? *rawr*

Atomic Wedgwood

I've always been a fan of all things retro in the art world, and the plates that today's nail art was inspired by are no exception! I love the atomic era art style, so when my friend Chris showed me his plates and suggested they'd make great nail art, I completely agreed. So, I palmed a plate, and headed to my nail art desk, and got to work!

The inspiration:

The Nails:

I used Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud as a base, with a mixture of Essie Mink Muffs and American Apparel California Trooper for the beige, Orly Gumdrop for the turquoise, Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Spring Green for the green, and MAC Showy for the dark brown line work. Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Just Push Play

So, since I've been feeling pretty under the weather for the last few days, I've become very acquainted with the TV remote. I seem to have caught some sort of bug. *bleck* Anyway. There are a few things I make myself get out of bed/get off the couch for- and this is one!! :) (Groceries is another) Anyway, today's nails were inspired by my buddy, the remote, the clicker, the changer, your children, whatever you call the little thing that allows you to channel surf. :-P

I used American Apparel Factory Grey as a base with American Apparel Cotton for the symbols. For the red of the record 'button', I used Nubar Sexy Red. Topped it all off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Did you know the Travel Channel has wicked awesome shows? I'm totally addicted. between that, Discovery, History, and ID, I'm totally hypnotized. In addition, can I say I am loving Anthony Bourdain?

Puttin' on the Ritz

High hats, and arrowed collars, white spats and lots of dollars....

Who'd have thought that a song would inspire a nail design? Well, whether you like the Fred Astaire version or the Taco version, this is a great song, and it DID inspire today's nail design, spats!

I used Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud as a base, with American Apparel Hassid for the black of the shoes and the buttons. Topped with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Why don't you go where fashion sits?

Pillow Talk

Today's manicure was inspired by the design on some pillows at IKEA! :) I used the VILMIE RUTA pillow as inspiration, to be precise. :-D I've always been a fan of simple shapes and bold, bright colors, so of course this pillow caught my eye!

I used American Apparel Cotton as a base, with Nubar Sexy Red for the red, Zoya Jancyn for the orange, American Apparel Factory Grey for the lighter grey, and American Apparel Factory Grey mixed with American Apparel Hassid for the darker grey. For the blue, I used Pure Ice French Kiss, and for the beige, I used a mixture of American Apparel California Trooper, American Apparel Manila, and Essie Mink Muffs. I then topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Start Spreadin' the News

Today's nail art was a suggestion from a reader that was traveling to New York City, so she asked me to do NY themed nails. I looked through my emails a million times, and now I can't find her email- so PLEASE, if it was you- email me, so I can credit you!! I had a few other requests for NYC themed nails too, so here you go!! :) I decided to do the iconic I <3 NY image on the thumb, with a city skyline on the other 4 nails, and King Kong hanging off the Empire State Building on the ring finger. :-D (I thought it was a nice touch)

 I used Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud as a base, with American Apparel Hassid for the black, Nubar Sexy Red for the heart, and Nubar Milk Chocolate Creme for King Kong. Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

It's up to you, New York, New York.

To My New Zealand and Australian Readers

I have a special request for you, recently reader Kate brought to my attention the fact that my blog was featured with 7 other blogs in Cosmopolitan magazine, and I would LOVE to have a copy. If any of you would be willing to send it to me, I can paypal the money for the magazine and shipping! It is the Cosmopolitan with Leighton Meester on the cover. :)

E-mail Me!

Thank you!!! :)

On Orange Alert

So my goodies (and Chris) arrived from India today! He brought back awwwwesome stuff!! I posted yesterday about the nail polishes that he found for me, and today, I decided to use them for my nail art!! To my Indian readers, I need your help- do you know what color this is? I have two VERY different colors with the same color name label!

I used Lotus Herbals Colour Dew Orange Alert (different than the one on their website- it's an amazing orange creme, totally looks like the color of papaya) as a base, with American Apparel Cotton for the flower, outlined in the actual Lotus Herbals Colour Dew Orange Alert, which IS the shade on their site, a shimmery golden color. Topped it off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

My goodies!!

Pashmina shawls, the 2 on the left are mine, the green one flashes orange from different angles, and the one on the right is my roommate's, and is hand embroidered! The beads were the gift of a few of the men Chris was working with in India, they thought I'd like them, and they were right, they're lovely! :)

Emerald green Kurta, it's a type of Indian attire that women wear- somewhat like a tunic. :) Its hand embroidered and lovely!

Lilac colored kurta, this one is also hand embroidered, and is long-sleeved!

On the Mehndi

My friend Chris is currently en route to Las Vegas from Chennai, India, and with him, he carries 6 beautiful, super awesome Indian Nail Polishes!!!! (for me!) So today's manicure is dedicated to him! I decided to do mehndi nail art today, mehndi is a form of henna skin decoration generally done on the hands and feet of Indian women for wedding celebrations and festivals . I have always loved the look of mehndi designs, and thought it'd be a lovely nail art design. For my nails, I scoured the web for different designs, and chose parts of each design for the different nails.

I used American Apparel California Trooper as a base, with 2 coats of butter LONDON Crumpet on top. For the mehndi design, I used Zoya Dea. Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat. I'm also trying a new base coat out, it was given to me at the CosmoProf show by Nubar, it's called Nubar Foundation. I'm super curious to see how it holds up! :)

And here are the awesome polishes that are coming to me!! :)

Lotus Herbals Colour Dew Nail Lacquer

Nubar Foundation was given to me for consideration by the manufacturer.

Between a Rockabilly and a Hard Place

Today was another totally awesome day!! It was the last exhausting day of CosmoProf, and I got to meet celebrity manicurist Elle, from Barielle, Hannah and the gang from Nails Magazine, and I got the chance to hang out and chat with Michelle of All Lacquered Up for most of the day, which ended in some super tasty In N Out and a mad dash to the airport so Michelle could get to her flight on time! :) All in all, a great day!

Today's nails remind me of 'Rockabilly' style, with the cheetah print and red combination. I think I've been listening to Imelda May too much lately. You should check her out, she's amazing, my favorite is 'Big Bag Handsome Man'. These are going to be hard to remove, I like them so much!! :)

I used American Apparel California Trooper as a base, with butterLONDON Crumpet for the 'blobs', outlined in MAC Showy, with Nubar Sexy Red for the moon. Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

WOOT!! :)

Sympathy For the Devil

Woo! Day two of COSMOPROF and again, I'm worrrrrn out! Lots to see, people to talk to, and tons of walking! It was a GREAT day though, I had the pleasure and unique opportunity to meet Zoya Reyzis, founder and creator of Zoya Nail Polish! She was SO amazing to talk to, and it was so awesome to hear about her life, why and how she developed the Zoya product line, and how the names of the polishes came about! Did you know that when Zoya first started the line, she named all the polishes for famous women in history?! How amazing is that? I'm a true history nerd, so that makes me like Zoya even more! (is that possible?!) (check out after today's post for more Cosmoprof/Zoya!)

Today's manicure is different on both hands, so you get TWO pictures!! I did an angel vs. devil theme! I think my favorite part is the toenail polish on both of them, blue for the angel, and red glitter for the devil! (though it's hard to see on the devil) My seche got cloudy and weird, so the finish looks horrible on these, I need to get a new bottle instead of refilling the old, I'll do it tomorrow.

I used Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud as a base for the angel nails, American Apparel Rose Bowl mixed with American Apparel California Trooper for the cherub legs, shaded with the same mixture, only with more American Apparel Rose Bowl. For the toenails, I used Orly Snowcone. For the wings, I used a mixture of Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud, Orly Snowcone, and American Apparel Factory Grey on the outline, and the same mixture with more Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud for the shading. For the halo, I used American Apparel Manila, and for the glow, I used Dare to Wear Black Yoke. For the devil hand, I used American Apparel Hassid as a base, with China Glaze Salsa for the devil legs, and Milani Melt Down for the tail, pitchfork, and toenails. :-D Topped it all off with Seche Vite top coat.

Ok... now for COSMOPROF stuff!

Zoya and I

I also got to meet Erin, one of the Zoya polish fairies!!

Orly Cosmic FX Collection- AMAZING!!

ORLY 'Tis the Season Collection- LOVE Winter Wonderland and Meet Me Under the Mistletoe!

New China Glaze – Anchors Away!  (I'm in love, seriously) Set 1:

Set 2:

China Glaze Awakening- Halloween collection- Zombie Zest, Ick-a-Body and Mummy May I

Color Club's new collection– Untamed Luxury...

Covered in Diamonds might be a solution to your Sally Hansen Buried Treasure search!!

Color Club Halloween Sets- Betwiched and Cast a Spell

And since they might not all be new, (not sure) but I was totally unaware of their awesome collections:

L.A. Girl DISCO- brights that GLOW under a blacklight!!

L.A. Girl METAL

L.A. Girl Rock Star - awesome glitters!

L.A. Girl Urban Style Matte

Hopefully I can get more pictures, etc tomorrow! :)

I'm Sew Excited, I'm Sew Excited!

I'm so scared? :-P

Lately I've re-immersed myself in crafting- sewing specifically, after a decade hiatus. :-P I mean, all last week was fabric, so I guess it's only natural that I decided to do a sewing themed nail eventually, and that day is today! On the thumb is a tomato pin cushion, complete with glass head pins, and a measuring tape winding about the nail. On the index-pinky fingers is a winding thread complete with needle on the index and spool on the pinky. :) On the middle and ring finger, I painted a few buttons to complete the effect. :)

I used Orly Snowcone as a base on all nails, then for the others I used:

Thumb:

China Glaze Salsa with American Apparel Poppy to highlight. For the green, I used CND Green Scene, then I used American Apparel Manila for the measuring tape, and American Apparel Hassid for the measure lines. For the pin heads, I used American Apparel Hassid, Zoya Jancyn, Pure Ice French Kiss, and Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud.

Index:

American Apparel Factory Grey for the needle, highlighted with Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud. For the edge of the measuring tape, I again used American Apparel Manila, with American Apparel Hassid for the measure marks. For the thread, I used American Apparel Rose Bowl, and shaded it with a mixture of American Apparel Manila and CND Bloodline.

Middle:

For the thread, I used American Apparel Rose Bowl, and shaded it with a mixture of American Apparel Manila and CND Bloodline. For the black button, I used American Apparel Hassid, highlighted with American Apparel Factory Grey, for the white/brown button, I used American Apparel Cotton and Essie Mink Muffs.

Ring:

For the thread, I used American Apparel Rose Bowl, and shaded it with a mixture of American Apparel Manila and CND Bloodline. For the grey button, I used American Apparel Factory Grey, shaded with American Apparel Hassid, and highlighted with American Apparel Cotton.

Pinky:

For the thread, I used American Apparel Rose Bowl, shaded it with a mixture of American Apparel Manila and CND Bloodline, and highlighted it with a mixture of American Apparel Rose Bowl and Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud. For the spool, I used a mixture of American Apparel Manila and Nubar Milk Chocolate Creme.

Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

On another note, today was the first day of Cosmoprof, and holy cow was it overwhelming!! There are SO many booths and so many things to look at!! I love love love getting to see all the products in person vs. on my computer monitor. There were companies that I was really surprised by their selection, one of which was L.A. Girl, they have a few awesome colors in their collections, they have a ton of Mattes, Metals, even a DISCO line which looks like normal (not even neon) nail polish, but glows under a blacklight! :) The ORLY Cosmic FX polishes are incredible, I haven't seen anything like them, and I can't wait to get my hands on them. (or rather, get them on my hands!!) China Glaze has a few killer collections on the horizon from what I can tell, and Vintage Vixen is SO pretty in person- I reallllly want Ingrid and Classic Camel especially!! :) I also got to check out SpaRITUAL for the first time in person, and I must say, their polishes are gorgeous, and I was given a cuticle pen to check out, so I can't wait to try that!! (and I'll be sure to review it on the review site!) Tomorrow I get to meet with someone from ZOYA, and see some of their stuff in person- I'm super stoked! :) I'll let you know what I find out- and if I can convince them to make a polish named Melissa! (Why not, most of their other polishes are names!! Plus, Melissa was a hugely popular name when I was born, and now all of us nail polish gals named Melissa out there are prime nail polish buying age! :-P)

A Sparkle in My Eye

Today was 112°F here in Las Vegas, and I felt like I was melting even INDOORS with air conditioning. I saw a wonderful gradient on Michelle of All Lacquered Up's blog. She used one off the butterLONDON jellies layered 4 times to create a pretty effect. I loved the effect of the jelly layering so much, I decided to do my own- I used a polish that took about 5 layers to be opaque, and I think it worked perfectly for this effect.

I used Nicole by OPI Respect the World Matte as a base, with Confetti My Favorite Martian sponged over it in three layers. Topped it all off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Jerry Garcia in a Pouch, Man!

...and it won't even cost $400!!

Today's nails were inspired by the Grateful Dead bears! :) Gotta love them in their colorful goodness, so I thought they'd make fun nail art!!

Tonight I had dinner with an old friend from Michigan who was in town, it was good to see someone familiar, and to catch up on the last 2 years! :) Plus we ate at le Burger Brasserie, where the burgers are killer (le paris for me- caramelized onion bun, caramelized onions, melted brie, and smoked bacon, all atop a half lb. burger. *drool*

Anyway, to the nails.

I used Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud as a base, with Pure Ice French Kiss mixed with Orly Gumdrop for the blue bear, and highlighted with Orly Gumdrop as well. For the neck, I used For the green bear I used L.A. Girl Army Green, highlighted with CND Bicycle Yellow, and a mixture of China Glaze Salsa and American Apparel Manila for the neck. For the yellow bear, I used American Apparel Manila, highlighted with American Apparel Cotton, and Pure Ice French Kiss for the neck. For the red bear, I used China Glaze Salsa, highlighted with CND Bicycle Yellow, and L.A. Girl Army Green for the neck. For the purple bear, I used a mixture of China Glaze Salsa, Pure Ice French Kiss, and Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud for the body, highlighted with Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud, and Orly Gumdrop for the neck. Everything was outlined in American Apparel Hassid. Topped everything off with two coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Off the Clock

Today's nails were inspired by a super awesome retro clock in the house that I'm house-sitting at. It sort of looks like a stylized sun, with the clock face and lines going out at all different lengths like rays.

I used L.A. Girl Army Green as a base, with Essie Mink Muffs for the brown designs, a mixture of China Glaze Salsa and Zoya Jancyn for the red design, then American Apparel Cotton for the dot in the center of the design on all nails. Topped it off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Vive la France!

Today is Bastille Day, the celebration of the storming of the Bastille, a prison and fortress in Paris. Fun fact: there were only 7 prisoners when the Bastille was stormed. :) Reader Sonoma Bento suggested that I do a French/Bastille day themed manicure today, so here you have it, the French flag is on all nails but the ring finger, which is the Eiffel tower in the moonlight. :-P

I used Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud as a base with Pure Ice French Kiss for the blue stripe of the flag, China Glaze Salsa for the red portion of the flag. For the ring finger, I used Color Club Naughtycal Navy as a base, which is awesome, it was almost opaque in 1 coat!! Better yet that I got it in the Yacht Club set, which was $7.99 for 6 colors plus basecoat!! Anyway, back to what I used. I used a mixture of American Apparel Cotton and American Apparel Manila for the moon and stars, and a mixture of American Apparel Cotton and American Apparel Hassid for the tower. Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

I hope everyone enjoyed the celebrations!!