NOTD: Nude & Neon Polka Dots

Hello, Beautiful!

Sorry for a lack of nail related posts; I honestly haven't had the time to do my nails. I went almost an entire month without changing my polish - which is super unusual for me. I also shortened my nails super, super short because we have been remodeling our son's bedroom, and I just didn't want to even bother trying to keep them from breaking. They'll grow again, but for now they're short little stubs. Today I finally took some time to do my nails, and for some reason I was inspired by the Bobbi Brown Neons & Nudes makeup collection. I decided to go with simple polka dots, using a dotting tool.

To re-create this NOTD:

• 1 coat of CND Stickey Base Coat
• 2 coats of Zoya polish in Shay
• Using a dotting tool, apply Color Club polish in Almost Famous to all fingers except ring/accent finger
• Using a dotting tool, apply American Apparel Polish in Neon Red to ring/accent finger
• 1 coat of Seche Vite to finish off

Now let me know what you think...

What do you think of combining nude and neon shades? Discuss in the comments below.

NOTD: Crimson Flakes -- shiny & matte

Hello, Beautiful!

I did this NOTD a few weeks ago, before I had my surgery. I just haven't gotten around to sharing it with you all until today. On this particular day, I was in a red polish mood but also wanted to use flakies. I knew I'd reach for my Barielle polish in Elle's Spell, but it's rather sheer so I layered that over a red creme base. In addition, I wanted to use one of the Finger Paints Special Effects polishes, which I decided to layer over top everything. In the end, I liked the mani but I still wasn't satisfied. I went matte and loved it a lot more.

I prefer this look matte, but which do you like better? Matte or shiny?

Shown above matte, and below shiny.

To re-create this NOTD:

• One coat of Zoya Anchor base coat.
• One coat of China Glaze polish in Ruby Deer
• One coat of Barielle polish in Elle's Spell
• One coat of Finger Paints polish in Twisted
• One coat of Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
• To go matte: one coat of Hard Candy Matte Top Coat

Then I went matte....

NOTD: Metallic Wood Grain

Hello, Beautiful!

Today's NOTD (Nail Of The Day) was a simple and easy look, using Color Club polishes and a MASH stamping plate. It didn't turn out as good as I wanted it to because I was rushing (mistakes are really noticeable on my ring finger), but I still liked it enough to share with you all. I plan to re-do this same NOTD in the future, using the same color combo and even different color combos (I plan to play around with using a matte and metallic finish to really make the pattern pop). The brown color combo, at least to me, makes the pattern look more like wood grain instead of zebra or tiger print; my husband insists this is tiger print, I see wood grain. What do you see?

To re-create this NOTD:

• 1 coat of Zoya's Anchor base coat
• 1 coat of Color Club polish in Antiqued
• MASH stamping plate "Mash-12" with Color Club polish in Nothing But Truffle
• 1 coat of Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

[Shown Above: Color Club polish in Antiqued (on left). Color Club polish in Nothing But Truffle (on right).]

[I used the image shown in the photo above: top row, center.]

CND Effects in 24K Sparkle: lots of pics, swatches, and my review

Hello, Beautiful!

I am really excited to share with you my very first CND polish and this one is a beauty. It's from their Effects line and the shade is called 24K Sparkle. For me, this polish is special because it's a flakie polish! The Effects line of polishes are designed for layering over any other polish you have but you can wear them alone; 24K Sparkle is very beautiful all on its own. I have lots of pics below to show you how it looks by itself and how it looks over various colors. Enjoy!

Check out my pics, swatches, stats and review...

** click on pics to view them larger **

CND Effects

Shade: 24K Sparkle

Shade Description: A sheer polish with gold flakies and gold glitter.

 

 

Shown below using 2 coats:

This is 24K Sparkle on a blank nail; no polish underneath.

All photos from this point on shown using 1 coat:

The black polish is Wet n Wild Wild Shine in Black Creme

The white polish is Wet n Wild Wild Shine in French White Creme.

The red polish is Sinful Colors in Ruby Ruby.

CND Effects - 24K Sparkle

shown over 16 different polish colors:

CND Effects - 24K Sparkle layered over H&M polish in Petrol:

CND Effects - 24K Sparkle layered over Revlon Top Speed polish in Royal:

Basic stats for CND Effects in 24K Sparkle:

Formula: 3-free!

Coverage: sheer (just one coat is needed)

Shade Info: 24K Sparkle is a beautiful gold glitter and flakie polish

Cost/Availability: $11.00 each (0.33 fl oz full size). Available at Ulta, Bloom.com, and everywhere else CND is sold. For a full list of retail stores (including some online retailers), click here.

Packaging: signature CND shaped bottle; triangular-shaped nylon bristle brush

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Kisses!

Formula:

3-Free polish that adds that "ta-da" to any creme nail color. You'll have fun finding different layering combos; try it over shimmers, duo-chromes and whatever else your mind can think up!


Coverage:
The CND Effects polishes are sheer so you can layer them. You can wear them on their own; 24K Sparkle is beautiful enough to wear on its own (in my opinion). You only need one coat to get a beautiful effect.


Shade Info:
Available in a range of 15 different effects: Pearl, Shimmer, and Sparkle. I love the Sparkle ones! You can click here to view CND's website and see all their Effects!


Cost/Availability:
$11.00 each for 0.33 fl oz full size. Available at Ulta, Bloom.com, and everywhere else CND is sold. For a full list of retail stores (including some online retailers), click here.


Packaging:
Signature CND shaped bottle -- which to me, looking down at it, looks like both a C and a D. Each polish has a state-of-the-art brush with clear, triangular-shaped nylon bristles for flawless application.


CND Effects in 24K Sparkle Review:
If you couldn't tell by the number of photos I took, I am in love with this polish! 24K Sparkle is a beautiful flakie & glitter polish that adds something special to my nails. I couldn't wait to try layering it over a number of colors, but teal and blue were the two I decided to showcase on my nails. I did show it layered over black, white and red on my nail wheel, as well as showing it over various colors (but keep in mind it will look better on the nail than on a clear sheet being placed over polish already on paper).

The formula is fantastic; I had no problems applying it and just one coat is all you need. Although I did use two for some of my photos out of habit.

Seeing as how this is my first introduction to the CND world, I'm excited for more! In fact, I have another CND Effects in Sapphire Sparkle that I also can't wait to show you! That will be coming next week!

Overall, I highly recommend the CND Effects line and especially the shade 24K Sparkle!

Now let me know what you think...

What do you think of 24K Sparkle? Do you own this polish or any of the CND Effects? What are your thoughts? Discuss in the comments below.