Naughty Kitty: Color Club Yum Gum and Smash Hit

Hello ladies,

I wanted to create a fun, boudoir style manicure. I had a little help from a naughty kitty. Neon pink and black crackled French tips provide a stylish backdrop for a bit of mischief and delight. 

From image plate D26, I stamped the retro cats using black Konad special polish. I created a funky French with the fractured polish, Smash Hit. Rainbow crystal bows adorn the center. The French line sparkles with Art Club silver glitter. Kitty used her tail to steal a pearl.   

Yum Gum is a bold and pretty neon. The scent of bubble gum is subtle and pleasant. I appreciated the ease in application. Three coats over a whitening base brought perfect opacity.

I have been having a great time experimenting with the Fractured Collection. Painting Smash Hit across my tips created a lacy effect, and complemented the naughty kitty.

You will be seeing more of the Color Club Fractured Collection this week. The kitty might have a little something in mind.

Color Club Yum Gum and Smash Hit were sent to me for review. These polishes can be purchased at victoriasnailsupply.com.

I purchased the D series image plates from chez-delaney.com.

Happy painting, ladies!

Kiwi!: Color Club The Lime Starts Here

Hello ladies,

I have been enjoying all the fresh fruits that have been available in abundance at the market. I decided to create a kiwi manicure in homage to my favorite juicy snack of the moment.

Beginning with a base of Color Club The Lime Starts Here, I then formed white ovals with the polish in an Art Club striper bottle. I used a size 00 sable brush from the art supply store for the embellishments. From the side of the oval to the edge of the nail I painted 12 stripes with Glitter Envy. Then I dabbed topcoat line by line and placed black beads to form the seeds. These beads were from the Art Club Bewitching Gem Wheel, released for Halloween 2010. Each nail has 30 beads total. I applied these individually by hand utilizing a crystal pick up tool.

I tried the Art Club topcoat that came with the glitter striper set. I found two coats sealed the beads to my nails perfectly. I haven't lost a single bead of the 300 I am wearing in the course of the day! I will definitely be using this topcoat regularly for nail art.

I applied two coats of The Lime Starts Here over a whitening base coat. I wore this shade without nail art for a day and then added two more coats of color to refresh the manicure. To my olfactory senses, the fragrance of this polish does not resemble limes. It has a fresh clean scent that reminds me of the ocean and sliced cucumbers.

I hope you enjoyed the bejeweled neon kiwi and that it inspires you to add some fruit to your shopping basket.

The products featured in this post were sent to me for review. Color Club The Lime Starts Here is from the Wicked Sweet Collection. Glitter Envy is part of the Starry Temptress Collection.

For a chance to win the 7 piece set of neon glitter polish, stop by the

Starry Temptress Giveaway! to enter. Get your entries in since the giveaway closes April 24th, last time zone worldwide!

Happy painting, ladies!

My seldom seen right hand. For the curious, I always decorate all ten nails.

Hot Half Moon: Color Club I Always Get My Man-darin

Hello ladies,

The city of Philadelphia is decorated with brightly hued tulips. I found the urge to mirror their cheerful tones in today's manicure.

With a tiny brush, I created the half moons freehand style. An easy method is to paint a vertical line from the cuticle area upward and form an arch on either side. Because Ultra-Astral is a glitter polish, I first defined the half moons using Raspberry Rush. I couldn't resist adding a coordinating orange rhinestone.

While I love the look of the glitter French tips, I found Ultra-Astral difficult to sweep across the nail in a perfect curve. I would recommend layering the Starry Temptress Colors over a thinner neon of the same hue. This method worked flawlessly for the half Moon. I will try it for the tips in the future.

I Always Get My Man-Darin is a yellow-orange polish with diaphanous green shimmer. This shade appears more yellow in bright light and soft orange in medium to low light. I wore this polish without embellishment for a day before adding the funky french and the half moons. I painted two coats over a whitening base, which left a hint of visible nail line. This manicure shows two additional coats for opacity.

I hope my hot half moon manicure brought a glow to your day.

The polishes featured in this post were sent to me for review. I Always Get My Mandarin and Raspberry Rush are from the Wicked Sweet Collection. Ultra-Astral is part of the

Starry Temptress Collection.

For a chance to win the seven piece set of neon glitter polishes, stop by the

Starry Temptress Giveaway! to enter.

Happy painting, ladies!

Butterfly Season: Color Club Wicked Sweet

Hello ladies,

With the return of sun filled days and bright blossoms, I have been craving sweet things. My manicure today is a candy hued rainbow of hearts and butterflies.

Beginning with Color Club Wicked Sweet as the base, I used the Art Club striper Hologram Black to form a diagonal line. I filled in the half the nail with two coats of Master of Disguise, a black mini polish. Next, I redefined the glitter stripe with a second application of Hologram Black. I sealed the nail with quick dry topcoat.

Over the black polish, I placed butterfly decals from the Art Club Technicolor Doll kit. On the turquoise side, I added brightly colored heart rhinestones in pink, green and orange.

The pink canopy.

For perfect opacity, I layered three coats of Wicked Sweet over a whitening base. This candy scented neon has an effervescent green shimmer that gives the polish depth and beauty. It's certainly worth owning.

I hope today's look added some sugar to your day.

The products mentioned were sent to me for review. The neon blue polish, Wicked Sweet, is the signature color of the new line of scented polishes from Color Club. The Wicked Sweet Collection can be purchased at victoriasnailsupply.com.

For a chance to win the seven piece set of Color Club neon glitter polishes, stop by the Starry Temptress Giveaway! to enter. Best of luck!

Happy painting, ladies!

I Love Watermelon!: Color Club Raspberry Rush

Hello ladies,

During my late night grocery shopping trip, I discovered an inviting section of watermelon, freshly cut and wrapped. I think even my spoon was delighted at breakfast this morning. My nails today pay homage to this delicious seasonal fruit.

I began with Color Club Raspberry Rush as the base and then created a glitter gradient using the Konad sponge nail art kit. For the first layer, I applied Space Case, a light neon pink glitter. Then I added a dappling of Glitter Envy to call to mind the green of the watermelon rind. I alternated placement of black teardrop crystals from Bundle Monster to represent the seeds.

Raspberry Rush is subtly scented, but still pleasurable. I began with two coats of a whitening base, sealed with quick dry topcoat, to ensure opacity. Three coats of Raspberry Rush brought a perfect, even application. I love how bright and glossy this polish appears!

I hope there is watermelon or some other delicious fruit available to sweeten your day.

The three polishes featured in this post were sent to me for review and are available for purchase at victoriasnailsupply.com. Raspberry Rush is part of the Wicked Sweet Collection. Space Case and Glitter Envy can be found in the Starry Temptress Collection.

For a chance to win the 7-piece set of neon glitter polish, stop by the Starry Temptress Giveaway! to enter. Best of luck!

Happy painting, ladies!

Starry Temptress Giveaway!

Hello ladies,

Welcome to the Starry Temptress Giveaway!. Here you will find six neon polishes twinkling with glitter, along with a topcoat to add even more sparkle.

One lucky winner will receive the 7-piece Starry Temptress Collection from Color Club.

Let's take a closer look at the polishes.

Space Case, Ultra-Astral.

Wink Wink, Twinkle, You Got Soul-Ar.

Glitter Envy, Otherworldly.

Starry Temptress Glitter Topcoat.

Many thanks to Color Club/Forsythe for sponsoring this giveaway. You can learn more about Color Club, Art Club and Cosmetic Arts products at cosmeticgroup.com.

The Starry Temptress Collection bottles featured in this post are my review set. The winner will receive a brand new set, shipped directly from Color Club/Forsythe. If the winner requires international shipping, I will re-route the package.

The Starry Temptress Giveaway! is open internationally for followers and e-mail subscribers. The contest runs through the end of the day April 25th. To keep this simple, I am willing to count the date as the last available time zone worldwide. As long as it is April 25th somewhere on the planet, you may still enter.

Here's how to enter:

Mandatory:

1) Become a follower or e-mail subscriber of painted Lady fingers. If you are currently a follower or subscriber, that certainly counts! Please let me know in the comments which option you choose for keeping up with painted Lady fingers. For example: I follow via Google Friend Connect or I subscribe via e-mail. Be specific. I check entries very carefully.

If you follow via Google Friend Connect, log into the proper account when you leave your comment. If you follow via Google Friend Connect, your account has to have some public aspect. It is okay if you don't follow publicly, but there needs to be some signs of humanity on your profile page. If you subscribe via e-mail, your e-mail address must be confirmed through feedburner. If you have never received an e-mail related to painted Lady fingers' blog posts, you do not have a confirmed account.

2) Include your e-mail with your entry to qualify. If you forgot to write your e-mail in with your contest entry, leave me another comment with your e-mail address.

Both 1 & 2 together = 1 entry.

Optional extra entries.

3) Let me know: Have you worn neon nail polish before? Do you have any manicure ideas you would like to see at painted Lady fingers or try yourself with the Starry Temptress Collection? 1 entry.

4) Like Color Club Nail Lacquer on Facebook. 1 entry.

5) Blog about the contest in a post or add contest info to your sidebar. I will definitely count your entry if your blog is not written in English. I will also count your entry if your blog is just getting started and has a small number of followers. These extra entries are meant to be inclusive and fun. Please provide a link. 2 entries. If you use the contest photo, add another entry. Please mention that you used a photo.

6) Tweet about the contest. Only once, please. Please mention @ladyfingersblog in your tweet so I can count your entry. You can also retweet one of my contest announcements to qualify. Here is the tiny url: http://tinyurl.com/3jkcsoo 1 entry

9) Have painted Lady fingers on your blogroll or add painted Lady fingers. Please provide a link if I haven't already commented on your blog. Otherwise please remind me. I want to be sure to count the entry even if painted Lady fingers has been on your blogroll for a long time.

If you have a nail polish blog and you would like to be on my blogroll, please e-mail me. Apologies, I do not update my blogroll while verifying entries. 1 entry.

10) In appreciation, I am going to add an extra entry for those who comment regularly on non-giveaway posts. I do enjoy reading your feedback! Thank you! Not to worry, I am very inclusive with this extra entry. 1 entry.

You are welcome to put all your entries in one comment or return to the contest post with comments for each entry. Either way works for me. Your entries don't have to be sequential. Enter in any way you like whenever you like before the end of the day April 25th.

Please feel free to enter all the giveaways I am hosting! You are wholly welcome to enter this giveaway even if you have won recently. If good luck is favoring you, I will gladly honor that!

Good luck, ladies!

Hearts and Harlequin: Color Club Gimme A Grape Big Kiss

Hello ladies,

The arrival of cherry blossoms is a sweet herald of Spring. With flowers blooming in the trees and present along walkways, in planters and window boxes, there arrives a certain levity. I wanted to create a playful look with hearts and glitter.

I began with Color Club Gimme A Grape Big Kiss as the base. I positioned a blue crystal heart slightly above the nail line. I made a curve with Otherworldly on one side of the nail and mirrored the shape with Starry Temptress Glitter Topcoat on the other.

Gimme A Grape Big Kiss is deliciously scented. My friend asked me today if the perfume I was wearing contained a grape note. The source of the scent was entirely the polish! I had just finished my manicure before meeting her for lunch.

As with most neon shades, I began with two coats of a whitening base and sealed this initial layer with quick dry topcoat. Gimme A Grape Big Kiss has a jelly consistency. To make it appear opaque and even, I applied four coats and used drops to speed the dry time.

Have any of you felt inspired to wear the latest neon shades? They are a refreshing departure from the recent Spring pastels. The addition of candy scents and glitter enhance their appeal. I am loving them.

The polishes featured were sent to me for review. Gimme A Grape Big Kiss is part of the Wicked Sweet Collection. Otherworldly and the Glitter Topcoat is from the Starry Temptress Collection.

Happy painting, ladies!

Counting sheep: Color Club Chelsea Girl

Hello ladies,

I am showing another bright blue manicure as part of the Light It Up Blue initiative for Autism Awareness. Throughout April, I will be featuring nail art with vivid blue polishes to promote the cause. Today's look was created with Color Club Chelsea Girl as the base.

With the emergence of Spring bulb flowers and the lengthening of days, I tend to experience a few weeks of insomnia. As everything in Nature is awakening, I don't seem to favor going to sleep. I find myself counting sheep amidst the stars. The stamping design I chose may be more accurately described as counting rams. There is your whimsy for the day!

With white Konad special polish, I stamped the sheep and stars from Born Pretty Image plate M54. I created a funky french by alternating placement of Art Club holographic stars. A silver Moon is aglow in the sky.

There is a hairline of separation in the design on my ring finger. This was caused by the brushstrokes of Konad topcoat not meeting precisely. It is only visible under magnification. The stamping image from Born Pretty transferred to the nail cleanly and precisely.

Chelsea Girl required extra layers for perfect opacity, but the formula is quick drying and easy to apply. I began with two coats of a whitening base and sealed this initial layer with CND Air Dry. Next, I added four thin coats of Chelsea Girl. I believe ladies with shorter nails would be satisfied with three coats. I love this vibrant blue!

I am curious! Are any of you counting sheep along with me as a rite of Spring?

Color Club Chelsea Girl was sent to me for review. Part of the Poptastic Collection, this shade can be purchased at victoriasnailsupply.com.

Image plate M54 was provided for my consideration. The nail art stamping set #518 can be found at bornprettystore.com.

Happy painting, ladies!