Alpha Omega Epsilon Sorority Nails

This is an old manicure of mine from 2014, but I've never shared it on my blog until now.  I'm part of Alpha Omega Epsilon, a professional and social sorority composed of female engineers and technical scientists.  I'm attending convention next week and thought it a fitting time to share this manicure.

For this manicure I used OPI Angel with a Leadfoot and OPI Russian Navy Suede for the base.  I stamped the designs using Vivid Lacquer VL017, Bundle Monster BM-320, Bundle Monster BM-415, and Bundle Monster BM-323.

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Happy Valentines Day!

I only did one Valentine's Day manicure this year and this was it.  I had an incredibly stressful January and bit all my nails way back down so I've been focusing on trying to regrow them out and curb my nail biting habit.  

I used OPI Race Red and Zoya Purity as my base, then stamped with Munda de Unas 32 Reddish and 1 White using Bundle Monster place BM-317.

Pillow Inspiration

While browsing Apartment Therapy this past weekend I found a throw pillow I just needed to have (this house tour if you're curious).  I tracked down the pillow to its source, Designer Fluff, where I was completely dismayed at how much it cost. Needless to say, you will not find one of these pillows on my couch.

You will, however, find a similar design on my nails. For this manicure I used two coats of OPI My Vampire is Buff, stamped Bundle Monster plate BM-422 on top using Konad Special Polish in Purple, then added gold accents with a dotting tool and Orly Luxe.

Del Sol Ruby Slipper

On a trip to California this summer I picked up a couple of color changing nail polishes from a Del Sol store I came across in a tourist trap.  This polish, Del Sol Ruby Slipper, was one of them.  I like color changing polishes because they're so fun to wear in the summertime!  They can be a bit of a hazard however.  Wearing color changing polish on your toes can cause you to trip and stumble when you look down at your feet and see a different color polish than you were expecting!  Hehe.

Pictured is three coats of Del Sol Ruby Slipper stamped with Bundle Monster plate BM-314 using Konad Special Polish in Black.  

Indoors, Ruby Slipper is a pale glittery polish.

Outside, Ruby Slipper turns into a red glittery polish.

One more. :)

Quilted Stamping

A quick and simple stamping manicure today.

For my base I used three coats of OPI My Vampire is Buff then stamped the quilted and reverse quilted designs from Bundle Monster plate BM-310 using a-england Tristam.

Green and White

For this post I was inspired by a manicure from The Nailasaurus.  What I really enjoyed about this manicure was the brilliance of using non-stamped accent nails (ring finger and thumb) so I had just to stamp six nails instead of ten.  That was a fantastic time saver, looked cute, and I think I'll be doing this for a lot more manicures moving forward.

For my base I used three coats of Essie Navigate Her.  I then stamped the zig-zag design from Bundle Monster plate BM-201 using Konad Special Polish in White.  On my accent nail I used All That Glitters Spotty Dottie Light.

Subtle Paisley

I was inspired for this manicure by a gorgeous blue and green paisley scarf I saw a few weeks ago.  I forgot to snap a picture of my inspiration piece but I thought the colors worked really well together.  That's what I tried to incorporate into this manicure.

For my base I used two coats of Kiko 401 Peacock Green then stamped Color Club Perfect Molten on top using Bundle Monster plate BM-315.  Incredibly subtle.

Circling Hearts

Today I'm showing you my last Valentines Day manicure (check out my other two: Minty Hearts here and A Little Love with a Kiss here).  I'm head over heels in love with how this turned out.  With last year's Pantone color being tangerine, I added several orange pieces of clothes to my wardrobe.  I don't want to be too matchy-matchy so I usually pair my orange pieces up with bright pink ones.  The orange and pink combination seems to work out so well I thought it would be a good combination for my nails as well.

On my nails I'm wearing two coats of Zoya Rory, a shimmery mauve pink, and for my accent nail three coats of Zoya Rica, a sparkling pink/orange coral.  On top of each nail I've stamped Bundle Monster plate BM-317 using Konad Special Polish in White.  What do you think of the combination of pink and orange together?

A Little Love with a Kiss

Good morning!  Today I'm bringing you my second manicure for Valentines Day (check out my first, Minty Hearts, here).  I've always wanted to do this style of manicure: newsprint style with a colorful accent.  One of the new Bundle Monster plates is a romantic lettered plate and I thought it would be perfect for this!  I was right.

For my base I used two coats of Zoya Dove and stamped the text on using Konad Special Polish in Black and Bundle Monster plate BM-311.  On my accent nail I added a pair of lips using Color Club Hot Like Lava and Bundle Monster plate BM02.  Dove is my go-to grey because the formula is superb  the coverage is excellent, and the wear time is fantastic.  As long as my nail bed is undamaged Dove easily lasts five days (or the longest amount of time I've ever been able to go without changing my polish) without chipping or much wear.

Minty Hearts

Good morning!  Today I'd like to kick off a short little series of Valentine's Day manicures.  To start I have a simple heart stamped design in red and mint.  I was inspired for this design by a red cardigan I wore with a mint bubble necklace.

I've used three coats of Essie Turquoise & Caicos for my base then stamped Zoya Sooki on top using Bundle Monster plate BM-317.  This was incredibly cute to wear and I got a lot of compliments on it!

Houndstooth Design

I was inspired for this manicure by the coat of one of my coworkers (similar to this one but no fur).  It's nice khaki colored coat covered in a houndstooth design so I've adapted it for my nails.  My quite nubby nails.

I used two coats of China Glaze Kalahari Kiss for my base than stamped the houndstooth image from Bundle Monster plate BM-322 using Konad Special Polish in White.  I have two houndstooth image plates, one is MASH plate 63 and this one; they're two different sizes.  I think the MASH plate is more like a puppystooth than a houndstooth since it's so little compared to the Bundle Monster one.  I'm much more a fan of the larger Bundle Monster plate.  Which size do you prefer?

Snowflakes

The only time there is ever too much snow is when it's outdoors.  Says the person who grew up in Blizzard Alley.  Heh.  Today it's snowflake nails.

To create this look I used four coats of Orly Angel Eyes from the Naughty or Nice Holiday 2012 Collection.  On top of this I used a coat of Seche Vite to distance the glitter from the stamping I was about to do.  In order to create the snowflakes I used Konad Special Polish in White and the following plates: Bundle Monster BM14, BM-319, BM-323 and Konad m59.

National Family Caregivers Month

November is National Family Caregivers Month.  Every disease is difference, but the selfless dedication of those who provide care to their family members is not.  For Alzheimer's Disease alone, there are 15 million unpaid daughters, sons, husbands, wives, and grandchildren who provide care to more than 5 million American's living with the disease.  To all the caregivers, thank you for all that you do.

For this manicure I'm wearing two coats of China Glaze Gothic Lolita and my accent nail has two coats of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Lively Lilac.  The nails are then stamped with the opposite color using Bundle Monster plate BM-321.

Alzheimer's is represented by the color purple.  There are currently five FDA-approved Alzheimer's drugs that treat the symptoms of Alzheimer's; temporarily helping memory and thinking problems in about half of the people who take them.  These drugs do not treat the underlying causes of Alzheimer's.

There is no cure.  There is no chance for remission.

Fall Leaves

Autumn is fully upon those of us in the Northern Hemisphere and if you're lucky to live in the colder climates you've probably gotten to enjoy the changing leaves.  Now Thanksgiving is here and it's time to enjoy the last of the nice fall weather before everything becomes snowed over.  Zoya Yara is one of the few quintessential fall polishes I have and I couldn't resist doing a manicure with her then dressing it up for the season.

This is two coats of Zoya Yara stamped with Bundle Monster plate BM04 using Orly Luxe.  The combination is quite subtle but nice.

Happy Anniversary Delta!

Back in August my sorority chapter celebrated its 20th anniversary.  Whoo!  For the celebrations that day I dressed up my nails in my sorority's colors and mascot.  This November (today to be exact) my sorority celebrates its 29th anniversary.  Whoo!  It's getting old ;)

The sorority colors are royal blue, white, and silver.  The sorority mascot is a dolphin.  So for my festive nails I used two coats of Orly Sweet Peacock stamped with Bundle Monster BM-320 using Konad Special White.

Happy anniversary Alpha Omega Epsilon!

Guest Post: Iconic Paisley

Good morning!  Today I'm guest posting over at Ruby's Nails about a simple stamping design I did using an iconic image from the most recent set of Bundle Monster plates.

[Click Here!]

Stop on over and check it out!

Getting Back into the Swing of Things

Hello there :)

I'm trying to get back into the swing of things with maintaining my nails but they're in terrible shape due to a relapse of habits I thought long gone.  Until my nails are in better shape I have a few old manicures I meant to post but never did.  Here's one to get the ball rolling.

This is two coats of China Glaze Pelican Grey then stamped with China Glaze Platinum Silver on top using Bundle Monster plate BM-301.  On top to add in some color I used one coat of Dollish Polish Random Dancing.

Dotted Outlining

I've had the idea for a while now to do a single stamp on a nail and add dots all around it.  I know I've seen at least one other manicure using this type of design but I cannot find it (if you know who's design I'm talking about please let me know!).  This was meant to be just a simple stamping manicure with a little bit of a flair.

For my base I used one coat of Wet n Wild French White Crème then added a full coat of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mellow Yellow.  I do this for my more sheer polishes because then I can get away with just one coat of underwear and one coat of polish instead of many many layers of polish to get it opaque enough.  On top of Mellow Yellow I stamped a hibiscus flower from Bundle Monster plate BM-313 using one of the colors from my favorite collection of the year (China Glaze Summer Neons!): China Glaze Love's a Beach.  To outline the flower I used China Glaze Beach Cruise-r and a tiny dotting tool.

The only downside to this manicure was that I used two polishes for my base that don't hold up with time: within less than a day of wear I had several chips on the free edge of my nail.  Other than that it was a lovely bright manicure to wear!

Blue and White Wares

After doing my black and white nails I thought blue and white nails would also be pretty.  I used two coats of Wet n Wild Wild Shine French White Creme as my base then stamped Bundle Monster plate BM-306 on top using Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Brisk Blue.

I thought this sort of looked like blue and white china.  I really like using the Sally Hansen Insta-Dri polishes for stamping.  They consistently deliver a nice opaque amount of polish when placed on the stamper.  I need to get more of them!

Black and White

A positive aspect of having shorter nails is that stamping images fit much better on my nails when they're smaller.  Well, no traditional plate will ever fit my thumbs, they're just too wide.  But the rest of my nails are completely covered when they're short.

Recently I've been seeing a lot of black and white designs and I think it's a really elegant looking combination of colors.  This is my contribution to the monochromatic scene!

To create this design I used a base of Sally Hansen White On, then stamped Sally Hansen Black Out using Bundle Monster plate BM16.  This was my first time using plate BM16 and I did have some issues with getting the image to fully transfer to the stamper.  However, I'm not sure if that's the plate fault or if I'm just out of practice.

I love how this manicure turned out!  The day I wore this manicure my clothing outfit was pretty colorful and I felt more balanced because of the simplicity of my nails.