Cheeky bunny slippers: Diamond Cosmetics Razzmatazz

Hello ladies,

I had two dwarf rabbits as a child and I have been dreaming of getting a lop eared house bunny. There may be a new cheeky faced and fuzzy tailed member of my little household in the fall. Until then, I will have to be content with rabbit slippers. 

The look was created with Migi Nail Art pens. I began by drawing the half circle of the rabbit face and the outline of the ears. I used the brush to paint white faces and the pen to shade in the ears. I left the center oval of each ear empty of color and highlighted them with an Art Club striper in Malmsy, a deep pink foil. 

To create the noses and mouths, I layered black over a violet shimmer pen. I think it gives it more of a watercolor feel. The eyes were done with the Migi pen as well, but it may be worth experimenting with a dotting tool. I love how each of the bunnies has a different expression. My middle finger is jolly while my pinky looks a bit disgruntled. I used pink rhinestones to make them cheeky. 

Razzmatazz is a beautiful pink with a strong violet shimmer and subtle duochrome. I wore Razzmatazz for a couple days before creating the bunny nail art. I loved the reflection in the sun and the soft color change in lower light. The formula is sheer, yet builds well. I am wearing three coats over Super Base. If you are a pink lover, I recommend adding Razzmatazz to your collection.

I received some inspiration for this manicure from the lovely Agnes from Beauty Vibes. She created a look called Blushing Bunnies and I kept thinking about white rabbits with pink cheeks! Are there any other bunny manicures you believe I would enjoy? Feel free to share a link in the comments. Do you love bunnies as much as I do?

Products in this post were sent to me for review. Razzmatazz can be purchased in the US from diamondcosmetics.com and internationally from boozyshop.nl. The Gold Nail Art Pen Set #100 is available at miginailart.com.

Happy painting, ladies!

Blue roses, sunlit sky: H&M Bella's Choice

Hello ladies,

After experiencing the grey and icy weather of the past two days, I may have enticed the sun with my vibrant blue manicure. I walked to the park shortly before dusk and the clouds opened to form a circle around the sun. After I took my manicure photos, the grey consumed the light once more.

I stamped the rose duo from plate H10 with Konad blue special polish. I highlighted the leaves and stems with blue glitter, using a Migi nail art pen. I prettied up the blooms with iridescent circles from Bundle Monster and tiny blue pearls. With Nfu Oh #54, I painted a funky french at the tips.

H&M Bella's Choice is a bright blue creme. I really think there is some neon pigment in the formula. The color looks like an amped up version of For Audrey. The consistency of the polish is thin and fast drying. I used three coats for opacity. This color is super pretty. It was just what I needed as an antidote to the weekly onset of ice and snow.

Bella's Choice was a sweet gift from Nathalie at jellynat. Nfu Oh #54 was a present from Laura at Sawan. Such generous ladies in the blogging community!

Many thanks! I hope you enjoyed what I created with these much appreciated presents.

Design plate H10 was provided for my consideration. To explore the full line of nail art stamping plates, visit chez-delaney.com.

Happy painting, ladies!

Bejeweled grapes

Hello ladies,

Today I am wearing Pelican Peak Purple from the Summer Beach Blowout Collection by Diamond Cosmetics. I find the name of this polish completely charming. I imagine a group of pelicans gathered together on rocks overlooking a purple toned sunset. To me, this shade seems more fitting to a Spring collection. This matters little since I absolutely love the color.

I was in the mood for a tone on tone purple look. Using Konad violet pearl special polish, I stamped the grape design from Bundle Monster plate BM05. I added rhinestones in two different shades of purple along with lavender pearls. I painted over the stem with a green Migi Nail art pen.

The perspective of this photo amuses me. There is actually a skyscraper to the left behind these flowers.

Hot pink chalcedony earrings by WildHeather. I wore these earrings today. The pink is so vibrant and lovely.

Pelican Peak Purple was opaque in two coats. I am showing three coats here. I decided to add a refresher coat and the bejeweled grapes to celebrate the sun returning after a few cloudy days. This shade was incredibly easy to apply for a pastel creme.

The polish was sent to me for review. Pelican Peak Purple can be purchased from diamondcosmetics.com. For international purchasing options, please see this post for details. The Migi Nail Art pen was reviewed previously.

Happy painting, ladies!

Peacock blue

Hello ladies,

This afternoon, I ventured out into the snow covered city. The accumulation of two storms this week left Philadelphia 40 inches deep in snow. To entertain my apartment bound self during the blizzard, I created peacock nails.

There was some amusement when I walked to the park for picture taking. A man carrying a large bag of rock salt came face to face with me while I was walking holding a single peacock feather. In storm conditions, we all have our necessary supplies. Ah, whimsy!

Color Club Gossip Column, the star of the Rebel Debutante Collection, forms the base for the feather design. This is the perfect peacock blue. I could easily rate Gossip Column in my top ten creme formula polishes. I drew the feathers with Migi nail art pens. For visual interest, I alternated how the feathers were positioned on every other nail.

As with the rest of the Rebel Debutante colors, I wore three coats of Gossip Column. Shorter nails would achieve perfect opacity in two coats. I loved the look of this color without any embellishment. I will definitely be bringing this shade back for a more subtle design.

Gossip Column was sent to me for review. This shade along with the other Rebel Debutante polishes are available for purchase at victorianailsupply.com. For a chance to win all nine shades in the Rebel Debutante Collection, please visit the contest post.

The majority of the Migi nail art pens I chose for the peacock feathers are from the gold pen kit: glitter navy, green and orange. I also used a green from the neon kit. These nail art pens were sent to me for review. You can read more detailed descriptions about use of the pens by clicking on the Migi label. These pens can be purchased at miginailart.com.

For another peacock theme manicure, please visit Glammed Up. Lisa lives in the same region I do and both of us independently decided to do peacock nails while snowed in. Talk about birds of a feather!

Happy painting, ladies.

Egyptian

Hello ladies,

On a walk last night, I encountered the beginnings of the snowfall. I stayed up very late with the storm and awoke to the sight of a white city outside my window. I was thinking about other civilizations and what it would be like for a person of another time period to gaze outside. What colors would greet their eyes?

Charity Ball from Color Club's Rebel Debutante collection reminds me of red clay. It's darker than terra cotta pottery. I would classify the shade as a red brown. Considering the color took me on an inspired journey to ancient Egypt. I used Migi nail art pens to draw a serpent, the eye of Horus, a winged scarab beetle, an ankh and the horns of Isis. I added blue rhinestones to the eye and the ankh.

Charity Ball was opaque for me in three coats. I'm finding the creme formula requires a third coat on my long nails. I believe the majority of the Rebel Debutante polishes would be two coaters for most ladies. The formula of this collection has been consistent of Color Club's expected salon quality. I noticed adding the third coat makes Charity Ball lean more towards brown. I prefer the look of the color with three coats. If you have any red or auburn shading to your hair, Charity Ball would likely complement your look.

Charity Ball and other shades from the Rebel Debutante Collection are available for purchase at victorianailsupply.com. My bottle was sent to me for review. For a chance to win all nine polishes, please visit the Be A Rebel Debutante contest post.

I used Migi nail art pens from the shimmer Gold Kit: purple, aqua, glitter navy, white, green and gold. These pens were sent to me for review. They are available at miginailart.com. You can click on the Migi label to read more about the product. I have reviewed each of these pens in the past and now I am having a bit of fun with them.

Happy painting, ladies!

Ornamental grasses

Hello ladies,

The cold day in Philadelphia has made me long for a stroll in the meadow. In shifting my location, I would also alter the weather to include sun touching the strands of long grasses.

Color Club Best Dressed List added a warm and earthy element to my wanderlust. It's a pinkish brown neutral that made me feel like a hand model when I first applied it. I could imagine different types of women finding comfort in this shade. It could further the classic glamour of a well fitted black suit or be equally appealing with a white shirt and khakis. I loved the simplicity of this shade as a base for nail art. With a little adornment, Best Dressed List could be favored by artistic types as well.

Best Dressed List was opaque in two coats. The color evened out beautifully with a layer of topcoat. Applying a light colored cream to long nails is a test of a quality formula. Best Dressed List covered smoothly and I had a perfect application without needing to touch up any areas.

I painted the grasses with Art Club stripers in You're Golden and Penny Pincher from the Pretty Shiny Things kit. The brighter gold tone was created by layering a Migi Nail Art pen in gold with the glitter Art Club striper in Hologram Gold. I found the Migi gold too sheer to be paired on it's own with the more bold stripers. Going over the design with Hologram Gold created unity between the three metallic shades. Instead of using the pen nib to create the blades of grass, I applied the gold with a size zero sable brush from the art supply store. The tiny leaves were painted with the same brush.

Best Dressed List was sent to me for review. This shade along with the rest of the Rebel Debutante collection will soon be available for purchase at victorianailsupply.com. For a chance to win this collection, please check out the Be A Rebel Debutante Contest.

Happy painting, ladies!

Slush Queen

Hello ladies,

Given the weather in Philadelphia, it would be inaccurate to purport this manicure had been inspired by snowfall. Based on the forecast, I created a new faery tale character: the Slush Queen. She is the estranged sister of the Snow Queen. The Slush Queen is far less menacing than her sister. Uninterested in kidnapping children, she sips from a magical mug of tea that turns snowfall into slush. As the tea warms her, it shifts the temperature outside as well. Her dark power is that she causes people to leave home without umbrellas. 

This manicure shows another option to create the look of a gradient. From the Sweet Time of Year collection, I used Essie Rock Candy as the base. I followed with the Art Club striper in You're Golden. This gold and silver glitter striper is from the Pretty Shiny Things Nail Art Kit. This striper a teaser of the full review to come. The melting icicles at the tips were created with a Migi Nail Art Pen. I used the white pen with the creme formula. The holographic glitter overlay was painted with Wet 'n' Wild in Gilded. This polish is from their Holiday Flirt display.

I was really surprised by how much I love Essie Rock Candy. I've seen many nail art creations that start with a nude base. While I have admired the designs, I never found the right shade to complement my skin tone and apply without streaking. Having long nails also makes sheer polishes undesirable in most cases. I applied two coats of Rock Candy over one coat of Brucci 2 in 1 Nail Perfection. It has a slightly milky quality that helps Rock Candy appear opaque enough to cover, but without changing the jelly finish. Rock Candy has a glassy shine. When I think of crystallized candy, I can see how the color fits it's name. 

For readers who enjoy classic French manicures, Rock Candy would be such a pretty component. I was on the phone with my friend Lisa while painting my nails. I remarked to her that I could imagine myself with a French manicure embellished with Konad stamping or a hand painted decoration. I plan on wearing Rock Candy again as a base for such looks. I am really happy Essie sent this polish to me for review. I may not have tried it otherwise and I certainly would have missed out on a quality basic.

To form the golden layer, I painted longer stripes at the sides on the nail and made them progressively shorter as I worked towards the center. I alternated sides while painting and ended at the middle of the nail. The Art Club Striper in You're Golden was easy to work with. The only recommendation I have is to keep watch on the brush wand because extra polish can accumulate and snowball. I had to remember to only dip the brush in and not the entire wand as I needed to refresh.

For the white layer, I used the creme formula Migi Nail Art pen. I liked how the edges were softer than the striper. The two styles worked together nicely. Because the pen will create thinner lines, I had to let the tip hover above the nail in spots and fill in any areas empty of color. The result before glitter looked a bit like white out, but it evened beautifully. 

I painted one coat of Wet 'N' Wild Gilded over the white portion only. This polish is a must have for glitter lovers. It has holographic glitter hexagons, silver round pieces and gold micro glitter in a clear base. Gilded is proof of the amazing things to be found in the drugstore.

Essie Rock Candy, Art Club You're Golden and the Migi Nail Art pen in white were sent to me for review. You're Golden is part of the Pretty Shiny Things Nail Art kit, which can be purchased at victorianailsupply.com. 

I hope you enjoyed the Slush Queen manicure and the whimsy inspiring it. Happy painting, ladies! 

Contest winner: The arrow points the way

Hello ladies,

In need of selecting a winner to the Migi Nail Art pen contest, I journeyed to the stream's edge to consult my ancient namesake.  

I brought a vessel filled with the names of entrants. 

and let them fly with the winds like arrows...

Whose name has appeared before the Lady of the Hunt?

Two names in fact!

Congratulations April and Ashley! You won the Gold Set of Migi Nail Art pens. For anyone not yet acquainted with these sassy ladies, they are sisters who share a nail art blog called Concrete and Nail Polish. I can't wait to see what they do with the pens. Take a look at their Halloween classic monster nails. I am sure we are all in for a treat.

Many thanks to Migi Nail Art for sponsoring this contest. For design ideas, you can click on the label Migi in the sidebar.

I also want to thank Lucy who inadvertently gave me the idea for the drawing. I found her comment with her entry inspiring. A special thanks to Pixie Rose who accompanied me out in Nature. The vessel and statue were borrowed from the store where I work on Thursdays, though I do have a version of this statue at home.

I have more for you this evening, so please check back in. 

Happy painting, ladies!