Wallpaper: Striped

Happy Monday! I fully believe that is an oxymoron. Especially since I woke up to 10 inches of snow, this morning and it snowed all day.

However, that's not stopping me from bringing you my last look for the Nail Challenge Collaborative's January theme. Yes, I know I'm a couple days late but the past couple months, I've only managed to complete one or two looks. I putting this in the win column.

My last inspiration comes from thick-striped wallpaper. Simple but very chic. I used two Julep polishes that came in my February box for this manicure.

I started with three coats of Julep Carla-a pale pink with just the tiniest hint of lavender-on my middle and ring fingers and two coats of Julep Colton-a creamy, vampy dark purple-on my thumb, index, and pinkies. With careful application, Colton could be a OCW (one coat wonder). Then, on my middle and ring fingers and after my topcoat had dried, I laid down striping tape and painted Colton over it.

I feel really great about January's prompt and I can't wait to get started on February's. I gotta hurry, though. It's a short month ;)

Be sure to check out what the other ladies did to end the month!

xo, ali

An InLinkz Link-up

NCC Re-Creation #3

Hey y'all! I'm really cutting it close with my NCC manis this month, but I've been incredibly busy! Four concerts in one month was crazy! I've never done anything like that before. I'll be doing a post with three of the concert manis I did. The only one I didn't do a mani for was Phillip Phillips.

Anyways. Tonight, I'm sharing with you my third re-creation and I re-did this manicure:

I really liked the idea of this manicure so I changed it up with some lighter colors.

You guys get to see my Cinderella hand, tonight. It actually turned out better than my left hand.

For this girly manicure, I started with three coats of Color Club Sugar Baby, which is a cream jelly with iridescent shimmer. Then I laid down striping tape on 4 out of 5 fingers and painted a generous coat of Victoria's Secret Troublemaker, a bright fuchsia with gold flecks. For my accent nail, I dotted on Troublemaker, highlighted with China Glaze Dance Baby, and did leaves with Avon Garden Green. It's all sealed with Beauty Plus Salon top coat.

I really loved the color scheme with this one. It was a lot less in yo' face than my first attempt. What do you think?

Don't forget to check out manicure numero tres from the other NCC ladies!!

xo, ali

Nail Challenge Collaborative-Black and White #3

Hey there! I'm back with another Nail Challenge Collaborative mani. This is number three of four for the month. The fourth will be coming later this week.
I hope to have a little more time to do some other fun manis and swatches in the coming weeks as things should be calming down for a minute, aside from the concerts I'm going to-Phillip Phillips, Fitz and the Tantrums, Miniature Tigers, and Bleachers/Bear Hands/Cage the Elephant. That's just July!! I'm planning on seeing Andrew McMahon from Something Corporate/Jack's Mannequin in August. Buffalo just got a rad new radio station that plays newer alternative and they've been bringing a lot of awesome bands to Buffalo. I'm most excited for Bleachers. I love Jack Antonoff. Did you know he was in fun. and Steel Train?

Isn't he just adorable? And he can write songs that are catchy as HELL. I've been listening to the few songs that have been released, non-stop. I can't wait for the album to drop on 7/15. I have plans to do a Bleachers themed mani for the show. Bleachers.

Okay. You're not here for eye-candy and rockstars (but that is an added bonus). Let's look at what I put together.

For this mani, I used two coats of a frosty white Migi nail art pen. It covered well in two coats and I wasn't worried about brushstrokes because I knew I'd be covering it up with some stamping. For the stamping, I used an image from Konad plate m95 and Wet n Wild Black Creme. I love Konad plates. They stamp so well and so clear!! After stamping, I took the pink end of my nail art pen, and using the tiny, pinpoint end, I colored in the empty diamonds. To me, this looks like a harlequin clown's outfit and I'm really proud of this manicure because I managed to stay inside the lines for the majority!

I have something really cute planned for my last NCC Black & White manicure and that's coming later this week :)

Be sure to check out the other week three manis, below!

xo, ali

It Came From Beyond the Vault...

Happy Monday! I just have a quick post for you tonight, as I am getting ready for my older sister's wedding on Saturday. I'm bringing you a manicure from the vault tonight with some simple tape art.

Flash

Indirect Natural Light

Sunlight

This is three coats of Zoya Layla-an eye-searing neon pink creme. It dries to a satin-matte finish so you will need top coat to shine it up. This went on really easy and there were very few streaks. I used that third coat just to even everything out. When it was dry, I taped off the lower portion of my nails and used OPI's Love. Angel. Music. Baby. from the Gwen Stefani collection. That also dries to a satin-matte finish but I liked the contrast between finishes, so I left it as is.

What do you think? I can definitely see myself recreating this for summer!

xo, ali

The Never-Ending Pile Challenge: Boutique

Bonjour!As you know, I am participating in the Glittah Pirates' Never-Ending Pile Challenge. It may be sporadic participation because I don't have as many untrieds as the other lovely ladies in the group, but I am participating!

For the mani I'm about to show you, I managed to knock out two untrieds. Yesterday's theme was "Boutique" and it could be interpreted many different ways. I chose to interpret it with two polishes that I picked up at Charlotte Russe, a couple years ago. Charlotte Russe is a boutique to me, because they specialize in selling to a specific demographic. Check it out!

I used three coats of Charlotte Russe Light Pink and used a quick-dry top coat. Then i applied Washi tape on a diagonal and painted Charlotte Russe Neon Purple. I did one finger at a time and took the tape off right after I painted to give me a clean line. One the accent nails, I used 4 clear studs from a Bundle Monster wheel. Easy-peasy.

That's all from me tonight. Be sure to check out what the other pirates did for their Boutique polishes, below!

xo, ali

Color Club Wildflower

Happy Tuesday! Hope you're all doing well in these last few days of winter! I just returned from a quick, weekend trip to Charlotte, NC for a bridal shower thrown in my sister's honor. What a great trip! It was the perfect weather for the shower and girl's night out on Saturday. Sunday was rainy and a bit chilly but it was cozy in my parents' new apartment with my whole family hanging out :)

I have a swatch post for y'all tonight of a color that screams spring for me. Check it out!

This is two coats of Color Club Wildflower, from their core collection. 

This is two coats and Color Club 0-60 top coat. 

Wildflower is a GORGEOUS, deep red-toned pink that is just so bright and cheery. I absolutely love it and will be wearing it again very very soon.

It's pigmented very well and is great as a stamping polish. I used it here with Bundle Monster plates and I think I'll be using it to stamp on my current mani :)

What's been your favorite polish for Spring? I'd love to know!

xo, ali

China Glaze Designer Satin

Happy Wednesday, y'all! I just have a quick swatch for you guys tonight. I hope you like it :)

This is China Glaze Designer Satin and part of their core collection.

-Two coats, no base or top coat.

Designer Satin is a rich berry-toned pink, perfect for Valentine's Day. While this was a little thin/runny and suffered from a bit of cuticle pooling, it covered well in two coats. This is definitely a go-to when I want a bright pink.

What do you think?

I'll be back tomorrow with another GOT installment!

xo, ali

Sweets for the Sweet

Happy Tuesday and Happy February! I can't believe it's February, already. But you know what that means! Valentine's Day nail art. Last year, I only had time to do one Valentine's Day mani but I have a few ideas, this year.

Let's take a look!

 Right hand.

Left hand.

For this conversation heart skittle, I used:

Thumb-Revlon Jaded

Index-Revlon Sunshine Sparkle

Middle-Revlon Cafe Pink

Ring-OPI You're Such a Buda-pest

Pinky-Color Club Evolution

Three coats of each and stamped with Kleancolor Metallic Pink and Bundle Monster 421 and 425.

I am absolutely "in love" with this manicure (hee hee hee) and I can't wait to do a few more.

I'll be back Thursday with another GOT installment. See you then!

xo, ali

A Cure for the Winter Doldrums

Happy Tuesday! I hope you are all staying warm. It was a balmy 3 degrees, here in Buffalo, today.

Just a quick swatch post for you guys. I did a swatch-a-thon on Saturday afternoon and I thought I'd share one of the polishes I swatched. They are nothing brand new but parts of my stash that needed some TLC.

China Glaze Snap My Dragon-two coats, no top coat.

Shade

Natural Light 

Snap My Dragon is a polish that you've seen on the blog, as part of a GOT challenge here. It came out as part of China Glaze's Spring 2013 Avant Garden collection. It's a gorgeous, vibrant pink-toned red with warm pink shimmer throughout. The shimmer give it a lot of personality and I love how bright this is. It's absolutely perfect for days like the ones I've been going through, with all the gray and cloudy skies. This is definitely a polish that will put a smile on your face.

This swatch is shown without base or top coat and two coats of polish. There is slight visible VNL so if that bugs you, you'd be safe to put another coat on.

Sadly, this is the only polish I snagged from the Avant Garden collection but I think I've seen it still in stock at some of my local beauty supply stores. Maybe I'll pick up a few more.

I'll be back on Thursday with another mani for the GOT challenge. See you then!

xo, ali

GOT Challenge: Stripes

Gooooood evening loves! I hope that you are all doing well, tonight. I'm back with another installment of The Crumpet's Golden Oldie Thursday polish challenge! The theme this week was Stripes and I used it to branch out my nail art into something that I've never tried before and I think it turned out pretty good. Let's take a look at the process!

I started with three coats of Sally Hansen CSM in Mousseline, which is a light and airy ecru. I love the name of this polish because of my slight obsession with Marie Antoinette. Mousseline was the nickname given to her oldest daughter, Marie Thérèse.

[source]

*ahem* I've put my inner history nerd back into her cage.

This was such a good palate cleanser after the neon/holo mani I was sporting last week. It would also be a great base for lots of different glitter toppers.

Mousseline was sandwiched between Orly Nail Armor and NYC Grand Central Station.

I let this dry overnight and after my Saturday morning coffee, I got to work.

On all nails, except my ring finger on each hand, I put three pieces of striping tape and painted over them with one thick coat of China Glaze Snap My Dragon from last spring's Avant Garden collection. This was one of my favorite polishes that came out last year. It's such a gorgeous, saturated pinky red, shot through with pink shimmer.

On my ring fingers, I took a large dotting tool and dotted Snap My Dragon around. Then, I mixed Mousseline with Snap MY Dragon, and using a tiny detail brush, added some highlights. For the leaves, I used Avon Nailwear Pro+ in Garden Green, which is a leafy green with a silvery-blue shimmer.

I used the Nailasaurus' tutorial to make my little roses and, while they didn't turn out as perfect as hers are, I still think I hit the mark pretty well with these!

Have you been trying any new nail art techniques? I'd love to hear about it! And be sure to check out what the other lovely ladies have done for this week's theme!

xo, ali

The Crumpet's GOT challenge!

Good evening!

Tonight, I have a post that I'm really excited about. I'm participating in The Crumpet's Golden Oldie Challenge.

Basically the rules for this challenge are that the polish has to be at least a year old.

Easy-peasy.

Debbie is an amazing nail blogger. She always has great swatches, great stamping, and great nail art. I love reading her blog and I check it every day to see what she's posted.

This is the first challenge that I've decided to particpate in. I like that it's once a week and that it will force me to use some of my older polishes.

Today's prompt is Pink! Pink is one of my favorite colors and I know that I have tons and tons of different pinks in my stash but there was one that I really wanted to showcase tonight. And that's my first Essie polish!

For today's mani, I did three coats of Essie Pink Parka and an accent of two coats Color Club Harp On It.

Pink Parka came out as part of the Fall 2009 collection. I picked it up as part of a Halloween costume, last minute. I was a "scene kid."

It's a neon so there are some usuals that come along with it--streaky and dries matte. It took three coats to even it out and it's topped with NYC Grand Central Station to give it some shine.

I'm really looking forward to participating in this challenge and seeing what all the other talented ladies will come up with!

xo, ali

Baby, You're My Better Half

Well, hello! I know I've been a stranger but things have been NUTS over here at Casa de Phalanges. It feels like this weekend is the first chance I've had to breathe since the last time we got together.

Over the past two weeks, I've helped to put on a bridal shower for my older sister, celebrated Christmas, went to multiple family parties, and rang in the new year with my best friend. I'll share some quick snaps from all that at the end of the post.

Tonight, I'm going to share with you an Essie mini that I picked up just before Christmas. 

This is My Better Half from the Summer 2013 Bridal Collection that came out.

This is a sweet and simple pink-toned lavender that is shot through with a pearly purple shimmer. It applied really smoothly and I believe this is three coats with Orly Nail Armor base coat and Beauty Plus top coat. 

It was just a very simple, girly manicure and a great palate cleanser, as I wore this after the nail art I shared in my last post.

And before I go, I wanted to share a few peeks at the bridal shower I helped put on!

The shower theme was...

[source]

which is one of my all-time favorite movies.

So of course, I had to do my nails to match

What else could I use, other than China Glaze For Audrey? I did a Tiffany box as an accent nail using pearly white from my Migi Nail Art pen set.

(my phone case matched too..hee hee)

This is my younger sister, Ashley (upper left), myself, and our older sister, Aimee.

The bridal party girls!

It was such a fun shower and the food was delicious. It was great to honor my sister and spend time with family that I don't get to see that often!

What did you girls do to celebrate the holidays? Get any polish goodies for Christmas?

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and celebrated a happy New Year!!

xo, ali

She's always buzzin just like neon, neon

Good evening, lovelies!

I have a super-duper quick post for you tonight. This was for the Facebook group, Adventures in Stamping. I recently joined the group and followed their theme of a jelly sandwich with stamping. 

For this mani, I did base coat followed by two coats of Wet N Wild Wild Shine Vengeful Bride, which was out around Halloween times. I picked it up for .99 with two other colors from the collection.

After top coating with my trusty Beauty Plus Salon quick-dry, I stamped using an H&M white polish and Bundle Monster plate 409 from the CYO 2013 collection. More top coat and another coat of Vengeful Bride and a final layer of top coat completed the mani. 

I loved how bright this was. Perfect to perk up these December days in Buffalo. Despite this being a neon, this is pretty color accurate but it does dry to a satin/matte finish so top coat is needed to give it a shiny finish.

What do you think? I'd love to hear what you have to say!

xo, ali.