NCC Re-Creations #4

Happy Thursdayyyyy! We have almost made it to the weekend! And I just made it under the wire for July NCC manicure #4. Tonight, I'm recreating this easy-peasy Valentine's Day look:

Ch-ch-check it out!

To create this manicure, I started with Essie Grow Stronger basecoat. I followed that with three coats of Sinful Colors Prime Purple, which has a satin matte finish. This shade just hit shelves and I had to snap it up. This one was tricky because you have to let it dry fully. Once it did, I took one of my Migi Nail Art pens in a pearly lavender and free-handed a heart on the ring finger. To keep the contrast between finishes, I didn't topcoat this look. I wore it all day today, while typing away at work and it's good to go for tomorrow!

I can't wait for next month's theme. I'm starting to brainstorm and I absolutely can't wait to see what the other ladies dream up!

Be sure to check out what they re-created for their 4th mani of the month, below!

xo, ali

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

NCC Re-creations #2

Hey! I hope you're all staying cool in your neck of the woods, tonight. I am loving the summer sun and heat we have been having and I hope it continues!

I'm here with my second re-creation for the Nail Challenge Collaborative's July theme. And, I'm featuring two polishes that were recently released by Buffalo indie lacquer creator, Gridlock Lacquer, as part of the Niagara Falls collection (which I'll be reviewing soon).
The mani I'm re-creating is this one:

Let's look!

I used three coats of Gridlock Lacquer Grape Expectations (named for the Niagara Wine Trail) and a quick-dry topcoat. Once that dried, I laid down two pieces of striping tape in an X and used Gridlock Lacquer Lock It Up (named for the locks of the Erie Canal). I did one finger at a time and lifted the tape after painting. One more swipe of topcoat and I was done.

I do have to say, I like this type of manicure with glitter accents better and I might try it with some Deborah Lippmann's I picked up recently.

Be sure to check out what the other ladies re-created!

Nail Challenge Collaborative-Recreations

Hey there, everyone! We're back with another installment of the Nail Challenge Collaborative. July's theme is "recreate your first four nail art manicures." Kind of wordy, yes, but it's a great way to see how far we've all come!! Let's look at my first manicure for the month.

The manicure I'm recreating is this one:

You can read the original post from November 2013 here.

And now, 6 months later

I Summer-ized this look with some bright shades of coral. The base is three coats of China Glaze Flip-Flop Fantasy (old formula). I laid down scotch tape for the points and striping tape for the lines and painted over it with OPI A Definite Moust-Have.

I took other pictures of this manicure but I just could not get them to be color accurate. My lines are a lot cleaner this time around; I definitely took my time and it shows.

Be sure to check out what the other girls did for their first manicure of the month!

xo, ali

'

'Merica!!

Happy Friday! And Happy Fourth of July! The calendar gods smiled down on us, this year, and gave us a three-day weekend. Woo-hoo!

I'm heading out to spend the day with family but before I go, I want to share what I'm sporting on my tips to celebrate 'Merica!!

Oh, there's Pacific Blue. This was my first time using this and everything said about it was true--amazing formula, amazing color saturation, funky smell. I am so glad that one of my local polish friends had a bottle put aside for me at Walgreens so I could have a piece of unofficial nail polish history. The community has been up in arms since we found out that Sally Hansen changed the formula. See what G at Nouveau Cheap had to say about it, here.

I digress. I used two easy coats of Pacific Blue on all nails but the ring finger. For the accent nail, I used three coats of NYC French White Tip. Once it was topcoated and dry, I laid down striping tape and painted over them with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Cherry Red. I lifted the tape and just absolutely goggled at how straight my lines were. That is a first for me!

I put star studs from a Forever 21 wheel on my blue fingers and topcoated the whole shebang.

It's a manicure that Captain America would be proud of.

[source]

Have a safe and happy Fourth of July!

xo, ali

NCC Black & White-Week Four

Hey! Happy Monday (that's actually an oxymoron).
I have my final Nail Challenge Collaborative post for the month of June, tonight. Nothing like going down to the wire!!

For this cute kitty, I started with two coats of Zoya Storm on all fingers but my ring finger. That one took two coats of NYC French White Creme. I topcoated everything and waited a few minutes. Once it was dry, I took Wet N Wild Black Creme and drew my kitty friend. I started with a half-circle outline, filled it, added triangles for ears and added detail using Color Club Flamingo for the ears and nose, and French White Creme, Icing Get Lei'd, and Black Creme for the eyes. I let it all dry and topcoated once again. It was super easy and I'll definitely be doing this again for Halloween :)

I took the top two pictures in indirect sunlight, so below is Storm in full sun so you can see all the holo-y goodness.

I'm really proud of myself for doing all four manicures. I really want to impress the girls in this group-I look up to them all so much and have been reading their blogs for a long time. I can't wait to work on next month's theme!!

Be sure to check out the grand finales from the other NCC ladies, below!

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