I've been TAGGED!

I was tagged by Shally at polishednotputtogether

This is my very first tag :D Thanks Shally

Rules:

Answer the questions

Tag 5 other bloggers

Let the bloggers know that they have been tagged 

by leaving a comment on their page

1. How many nail polishes do you have? 

Drum roll please............734! I know I about had a heart attack when I finished the count yesterday! But I know that y'all understand how easily this happens:) This is the first time I have every counted my polish. Mind you that number includes ALL bottles, polish, art tip polish, top and base coats, nail treatments, mini bottles, backups of my favorites, some cheap ones to franken with and a small stash for future giveaways :D

2. What is your favorite brand of nail polish?

I'm not sure I have a favorite. I have a lot of Color Club and I like them a lot but I also like my China Glaze collection (which is growing quickly) and I love the application of my Orly and my OPI.

Hmm, I think I like the brand that has just the right color at the time and it's on clearance ! lol

3. Do you like crackle polish or do you hate it?

I only have 5 crackle polishes. Hubby REALLY HATES THEM though so I really don't wear them. I think they look a little to messy for me. I like unusual and unexpected but messy......I'll pass most of the time.

 

4. What was your first nail polish brand? 

OPI years and years ago from my nail salon back when I used to have acrylics. My fav was Pompeii Purple, a beautiful shimmering hot pink with a blueish hue. I still have it too! lol 

5. If you are going to have a nail polish line, what are you going to name it? 

Hmm, yea, I don't see this ever happening so how about Gypsy Glitz

6. What nail polish colors do not compliment you? 

I'm still trying to figure this out by trial and error. I know I can't wear yellow or oranges (maybe a little during Halloween). I think I have found shades of every color that look crappy on me lol. Some just look like I'm 12 and others make my skin look like a Zombie :) The ones that look bad go straight to the 'future  franken' pile.

 

7. What nail polish colors do compliment you? 

Usually darker, deeper colors with smoky tones (I think).

8. Name two of your best nail art friends.

My mom and my cousin Tammy. Even though they don't do their nails nearly as often they are (almost) always interested in what I'm up to with my nails. I really wish though that I had a nail buddy that lived closer that I could 'girl out' with and go polish shopping with.

9. What was the best nail polish gift that you ever received?

Hubby gave me a $200 polish/nail shopping allowance for Christmas :D I still haven't spent it all. I'm using it on Ebay items.

10. Make a speech thanking the blogger who gave you this tag.

Shally, I just met you so although we don't really know each other I think you're incredibly sweet and down to earth. I think we could come to be good nail friends in the near future. Thanks for the tag, I think it's a great way to help people get to know each other.

 

11. What is your second favorite nail polish company?

Well I don't really have a favorite but my top four are probably China Glaze, Color Club, OPI and Orly. I'm still a little to cheap to buy some of the more expensive brands. I can't really justify spending $15 + per bottle when there are a ton of colors for $5 and under (on sale) that I would love to try.

12. Glitter or no Glitter?

GLITTER on top of my glitter please :) I don't even care how long it takes me to get it off! Bring it on!

13. OPI, China Glaze, or Essie? 

Probably China Glaze because it goes on sale often and they have a huge selection. I'm still a little bitter at OPI for charging $12.50 for their DS line :P And Essie just doesn't really stand out or impress me that much (except for Matte About You).

 

14. When do you change your nail polish?

Every 2-4 days lately but if I really love it I can wear it for 5-6 on occasion. I never just swatch a polish and I ALWAYS paint both hands. I enjoy my polish too much to take it off right away! I don't really care if it takes me forever to try all of my polishes. It doesn't bother me that I may be swatching a polish that came out 6 months before. The Internet is full of gals that have to showcase new polishes. If it's new to me and I want to share it then I do :D

15. What's your favorite color on your nails?

I love blues

16. Darks or Brights?

Darks

17. What are you wearing on your nails right this moment?

Funny, given the previous question. I'm wearing a shimmering neon pink that I will be adding black to for my first half moon mani challenge nail design.

18. Matte Nails--In or Out?

I think they are still in. I think they will last a long time because they are a subtle change and have a classic feel to them.

19. French Manicure?

BORING! No thanks, I have far too much polish and creativity to choose a French manicure. But if you say Funky French then I'm in :)

20. Favorite Winter Color?

Grey or Blue I can't decide. 

Bloggers I tagged:

Amy from imfeelingnail-venturous

Fingers at fingerspolishmania

Jenny at jemsfromjenny

naildesigns 

deeznailz

Week 5-Newspaper Print

This is Finger Paints 'Military Green' or as my husband put it "The OD".  I said "the what"?

He was a Sargent in the army for 10 years just before I met him and explained that they referred

to this color as OD for olive drab. Interesting tidbit I thought :D I love love love this color.

 It wasn't as thick as I have usually found Finger Paints to be. At least it wasn't on the first coat.

It was too thick applying the second coat though and bubbled a little :(

I'm not sure, maybe I'm doing something wrong?

 Any who, it still came out fine since I put the newspaper print over it.

On this first picture I added one of the new scan-able bar codes on my accent finger-so fun!

Here on my left hand I have a traditional bar code on my thumb and ,although hard to see,

I have a Fleur De Lise and a scroll print on my ring finger.

This is the most color accurate picture as you see it indoors.

 This is nearly identical to the picture above but I added it anyway because it's a better pic of the newsprint. Interesting enough the newsprint on this color comes off looking like a darker shade of green whereas on my first newsprint mani (I'll be posting that in a couple days) it looks black/dark grey.

And one shot outdoors. Every time I take a picture of this polish it looks a

different shade but I like all of them :D

Nails Inc Magnetic Polish- trafalgar square

I have been wanting to try magnetic polish for a while now. I finally found it at Sephora last week. I used one medium-light coat as a base, let that dry and a medium coat on each nail just before using the magnet. This is my first attempt on all except the middle finger on my left hand which I got a little too close to the magnet ;D and had to redo. This polish went on beautifully and was everything I hoped it would be. I did start to chip a little here and there on day 3 though. I may try 2 coats of SV next time.

On my right hand I turned the magnet 180 degrees on every other nail to change the pattern. I think it kind of look like a wave when you put them all together but you can't really see this in the photos. As the light hits it the refliction shifts making it look almost like it's moving. I couldn't stop looking at it :D Kind of mezmering!

And here are a couple pictures indoors:

So what do you think? Do you have this one? Are you going to get it? Are you looking forward to the China Glaze Magnitix? Do you think magnetic polish is the new crackle? Do you think it's popularity will last thru the year? longer?

Nail Spotting @ Walmart

I just noticed for the first time that Walmart now carries Stamping Image Plates! How cute is this? They were sold out of the original kit though that sells for $6 and has the stamper, scraper and I think two image plates in it. Right next to that though they sell two additional image plates for $3.

Here is a closer image of the plates. I wanted to get better shots for all of you but I didn't want to look like a crazy person snapping pictures with my phone in Walmart lol. I think this would be a great gift or a simple cheap kit to get your feet wet with stamping. If you do get it I would recommend buying Wet n Wild 'Black Cream' and 'White Cream' as well as Pure Ice 'Silver Mercedes' while your there. They are (imo) the best of the cheap polishes to stamp with.

I also saw these :D Remember how expensive these were at Sally's just a few months ago?? I have this exact pattern I got from Sally's. The only difference is that mine are longer for longer nails and these look a little short.

Then I saw this. A midnight blue french tip paint pen with micro holographic glitter and some clear polish to apply it. This looks really cute! I almost bought it but with all the crazy hauls over the past month I'm feeling a little guilty ;/

Here's a close up.

So what do you guys think? Have you seen these? Does your Walmart have them? Would you like to see a review of some or all of this stuff or is it just plain silly?lol

Sample Swatches Plaid

I thought you may like to see the 'runners up' :D Here are a few of my sample nails that I used to test with and figure out which colors and design I liked best.

The first is a green metalic base second is a blue third is a silver and forth is a dark blue. All but the third are from the Color Club Foiled collection.

Here are my pink designs. The third fourth and fifth are from the Color Club Foiled colection.

What do you think? Do you like seeing the sample nail designs showing the creative process or not?

I only paint my nails every 2-4 days but I play with my sample nails a little each day trying out ideas.

Goth Plaid Design

I really enjoyed doing the plaid design and thought I'd like to try it again :)

Here is my second plaid design using Orly 'Goth' and Color Club 'Red-ical Gypsy'. You know I HAD to buy a color that had Gypsy in the name :D I think this is my new favorite red too. Two coats and it was so pretty! Then I used my striper polishes to create the plaid design.

I am sooo loving this! I have it on right now and although I am dying to try some of my other new colors, I can't seem to take it off :(

It did take a while and was a bit difficult as I'm not used to nail art but I think it was totally worth it. The gal at Ulta loved it and assumed it was a pre-printed nail design like Sally Hansen's nail strips lol.

Here are a couple shots of my right hand. Hubby saw my Left hand before I added the white and silver stripe across the top and said it was a 9 of 10. Once I showed him the finished result with topcoat he said it looked too "busy". I said "well....it's plaid" duh lol. So I did my right hand with only one stripe of white and silver to tame it down a bit. But guess what? Once I showed him the milder version he said the first one looked better!!! MEN!! Oh well, they still go together and no one has notice yet that they are different :)

I'm going to continue to do the harder designs on my right hand too so that I can improve my left handed skills. Maybe one day they might even look the same on both hands :D

So, what do you think of this one? Which plaid do you like best? Did all of you other challengers enjoy doing the plaid designs?

Week 4 - Plaid

Here is my week 4 mani. I've never done plaid. I thought about using the Konad plaid stamping plate but then thought that everyone would probably be using that one. Then I thought to do something very classic like red or green but my sample tips looked a little too Christmas-y. Eventually I settled on doing something a little funky, a little unexpected, something out of my comfort zone-so here you are- here's my funky metallic plaid mani. Hope you like it too.

I started with Color Club Lunin-icecent then used a combo of Kiss and LA Colors nail art polishes in Black, White, Blue and Lime Green. These first two pics are outdoors in natural lighting.

Here they are indoors with artificial lighting and a nice coat of SV.

As usual, I attempted my right hand too. It's a bit shaky but came out OK. I wore these for 3days this past week.

One final shot including the thumb. This was just before I too it off so there's a bit of wear. All in all thought I though it held up pretty well.

Color Club Lumin-icecent

This is from the Color Club Foiled Collection. I was so excited about getting these but was a little disappointed about the application :/ They tend to be a bit gritty here and there and are a pain to clean up because it's more like a micro glitter than a regular polish which leaves microscopic glitter everywhere for days :P I also found them a bit too intense and flashy to wear on their own. The plus side, imo, is that they are truly brilliant colors to layer with and give that extra pop when you want it.

These first two pictures are in natural sun.

And here indoors with artifical lighting.

Trip to Sephora

Saw this at Sephora. This Nails Inc. kit has a teal black base with a topcoat 'special effects' full of blue and green shimmering flakies. Looks a lot like Essie's and Finger Paints products to me, just more expensive. This kit retails for $20 :P I'm not buying lol

This is a cruddy pic but my camera was freaking from the lighting in the store next to all that chrome. This is the new Kat Von D polish line. They look like neons on with a slight shimmer and they dry with a shinny finish unlike most neon that dry matte. The sales gal had a tested on on each nail and they were still pretty transparant with two coats on. I wasn't that impressed with the polish- no matter how cute the bottle is ;) These retail for $12 or $12.50 can't remeber.

Here's what I wen't in for! My precious! @ $16 it stung a little but I really can't wait three months for China Glaze! I also wanted to be have something to compare the CG to once I got it.

China Glaze Magnetix

I saw this add posted last Tuesday but I hadn't gotten around to posting about it ;)

Have you seen this? I'm really looking forward to this line coming out. I hear it will be out in March and will cost around $10 a bottle and $10 for a three design magnet. I will definitely be getting the blue and probably the copper/brown one too. I talked to my local Sally's gal and she hadn't heard anything yet but said that she would be ordering 4 displays worth of it as soon as she could :D

Here are a couple of swatches that China Glaze put out as (I'm guessing) teasers :P

I love how it covers the whole nail - side to side and top to bottom. That seems to be3 better coverage than most other magnetics I've seen.

How did they do a double design?!? LOVING THIS!!!

Have y'all heard anything else about these? Will you be getting them?

Color Block 2- Wet n Wild Black Magic

Here is the post I promised earlier this week. I did this back in September and planned on posting it during October because I used the new (at the time) Wet n Wild Fantasy Makers polish. Oh well, a day late and a dollar short :D But here it is anyway :)

I think it fits in with the color block theme.

I started with Wet n Wild Fantasy Makers 'Black Magic' plus Wet n Wild 'White Cream' on my ring finnger.

I really enjoyed Black Magic. I wish the gold/copper flecks in it were a bit more pronounced but I am pleased with it. It has a bit of a gritty texture to it but nothing a nice thick coat of SV can't handle if texture bothers you. I hope they come out with something similar next year :)

Then I stamped with Bundle Monster plate BM-203 with Konad special white and Konad special black polishes.

Then using a dotting tool I filled in a couple of the blocks with a blue franken cream that I made.

Here's another shot of my right (wrong/nondominant) hand. I don't know why but this mani makes me think of the movie Tron :D My mom said it looked like a computers motherboard and that I should title it 'Short Circuit' lol. What do you think it looks like (please don't say 'a hot mess' I have feelings over here ya know)?lol

What do you think? Is this Color Block or not?

Another Mondrian/Color Block Design

Once I fiished my left hand I really wanted to wear this but I didn't think I could manipulate the stirping brush with my left hand. I decided to use my Bundle Monster plates #203 to stamp the outline and then just fill them in. Easier said then done, obviously :P I don't think this made it easier AT ALL! I was tired by this point so I just fudged through it best I could.

There are definately mistakes and a heavy hand here and there but overall I'm really OK with it considering it's my 'wrong' hand.

I have done one like this before with this same stamp back in September that I never posted so I will be digging that out of my 'Vault' and  posting it later this week.

Thanks for looking :)

Challenge Week 3- Color Block Design

So here's my color block design. I based it off the modiran designs from the 70's

I am totally digging on this one :D

I started with two thick coats of Wet n Wild 'White Cream'. the shapes were filled in using dotting tools as will as Sally Hansen 'Pacific Blue', SH 'Cherry Red', and Wet n Wild 'The Wonder Yellows' then finished off with a Kiss black nail striper.

What a pretty day out today. Sharin' a little of our Big Texas Skies :)

No big ring today, I couldn't really find one that went well with this without taking away from its design.

This is full sun as well. Oh how I wish I had a black nail art pen! The striping brush worked but it took forever! I think it looks great from a distance but my heart longs for crisp perfection when I get up close. I will just have to redo this mani once I get that pen :)

This last shot is before the Seche Vite top coat.

I can't wait to go see what everyone else did for their week 3 challenge :D

So what do y'all think? Have you done color blocking? Did you like it? Any tips?