Star Wars Galazy nails...a bit late

So it's been about 2 weeks since May 4th (Star Wars Days)...ugh.

The past couple of weeks have been crazy...it happens...I'm sorry for being absent.

Even though it is late I thought I would show you the galaxy nails I did in honor of Star Wars Day.



Not the best galaxy ever, but seeing as though I did it in under an hour (on both hands) I'm pretty impressed.  I also stamped the Jedi (Imperial Era) seal on my ring finger from my MJ XIV plate.  You can't really tell from the pictures but the purple (Sinful Colors) is much darker and metallic, so it had a really interesting depth.  The yellow I used (Pure Ice) was also metallic, enough to show through the neon green jelly (Spoiled) I sponged over it.  I used a dotting tool for the large stars and for the finer "stars/space dust" I used an old toothbrush dipped in slightly watered down white acrylic paint and splattered my nails (you run your finger across the bristles), but it was a little too watered down....they dried a little transparent. 

Overall I think they turned out great! I really need to practice my galaxy skillz.  For a good tutorial head over to Coewless' YouTube channel for her awesome videos!

I hope to get back to regular posting asap.  Happy Monday y'all.

Coral Gradient

(source unknown)

Today's Coral Gradient mani was inspired by the awesome pic above (sourse unknown sorry)...mainly the colors on the surfboard.  I've never been a huge pink polish person, but lately I've been really diggin' the way corals look on my hands...makes me look tan..ha!

I really wish the true vividness of this showed up, but my camera just wouldn't have it.  In the pictures it looks like a nice petal pink but in real life its a neon coral gradient...and I mean NEON (much more orangey than showing here).  It's bright and happy and I love it. 

I used Sally Hansen White On, China Glaze Flip-Flop Fantasy, and Sinful Colors Tambleberry

What do ya think?

Purple Galaxy

So I finally tried a galaxy mani...

...and I think I did "ok" for my first go.  A couple of weeks ago I finally found the artist behind all of the rad mani's (esp galaxy ones) that I have seen shamelessly reposted all over Pinterest and Instagram.  I won't repost because I don't have her permission, but please go take a look at the very talented Coewless .  You will have to let google translate for you, but its worth it. 

I had seen her purple/pink version of a galaxy mani and knew I had to try my hand at it.  She has a couple of tutorials on YouTube if you need some help. 

This is what I ended up with:

The colors I used are listed above.  I started with a base of "Truth or Dare" from Sinful colors and sponged a combination of the others with a torn up makeup sponge.  I finished everything off with a coat of Northern Lights (it fixes everything doesn't it?!) and then used some white acrylic paint and an old tooth brush to splatter some "stars" and a striping brush to make some defined stars. Seriously, Coewless' tutorial is worth a watch!

What do you think?  I like the way they turned out, but I think with a little more practice I can make them look better.  I'm going to try a traditional galaxy mani soon...perhaps I'll find my stride. 

How was every one's weekend? 

Pink and Nude Gradient Mani (with easy cleanup?)

Remember how in my DIY Peel off Base Coat post I mentioned

that I would see if the glue helped in the cleanup process of a sponged gradient mani?

Well, I did....and it does!  Last week Sam from The Nailasaurus did a post on

Liquid Palisade, which is a masking product that allows you to simply peel off the mess after a mani is done.  This got me thinking...its pretty much the same idea of a peel off base coat which is really just glue.  Who didn't enjoy putting glue on your hand and peeling it off as a kid?

Anywho, I tried this technique this weekend by painting all around my cuticle and down my finger a bit (where I usually have mess from a sponge gradient).

After I let it dry (1-5 min) I painted as usual and then the fun began.

The mess just peeled away!  All I had to do was alittle cuticle clean up at the end and maybe a little warm water clean up to get any glue residue off.  Plus I got the added fun of peeling glue.

I have also read that Liquid Latex is a cheap alternative to Liquid Palisade.

Both dry to a rubbery finish, which I'm sure makes it easier to peel than glue, except that Liquid Latex is just pennies compared to Liquid Palisade.  I found this option on Amazon and it comes with a brush for around $4+shipping (around $8 total).  That's much better than $22. 

But if you don't want to spend any extra and you have some Elmers glue hanging around...go for it.  It works just as good!

Here is my finished mani.  My base was OPI "Don't Pretzel My Buttons" combined with a coral and hot pink from Sinful Colors for the gradient (dont remember the names at the  moment).  For grins I added a coat of Orly "Too Fab" mainly because I'm a little obsessed with the way it looks on top of everything.

Sinful Colors - Smokin'

Today I wanted to show you this awesome slate grey from

Sinful Colors Muse collection called "Smokin."

This by far is one of the best slate grey colors I have found in a long while.

Smokin is the perfect slate grey cream that was opaque in 2 coats. 

It applied nice and smooth and dried fast with a glossy finish.  I gotta admit I'm pretty impressed with Sinful Colors lately (the $1.99 price tag helps too). 

I decided to layer Orly's "Too Fab" on top.  It makes me happy.  Its just so sparkly and fun but still sophisticated.  Below is a bad pic with flash of Smokin on its own (from my personal instagram with sadly gets more attention than the LLL instagram @ezzimcgee)

FYI...this is 2 coats with NO top coat.  The color with flash is the true color. 

The pic above (with the glitter) is leaning a bit green/blue.

Anyone else liking Sinful Colors?