10 Day Challenge: Day 10

Hello Lacquer Luvers and welcome to the last day of the 10 Day Challenge! I had such a great time doing this series with the lovely Ms. Kelly from Posh For Polish. And thank you to Marketta over at Pink Polish Addict for creating this challenge and allowing us to join in on the fun. I had a blast coming up with these manicures and reading each and every sweet comment you all left about them!

The last challenge theme is Ombre Nails. For those of you all who don't quite know what that is, ombre nails is a monotone manicure where the color shade varies from nail to nail. Essentially, this means you go from dark to light starting from your pinky towards your thumb. For this manicure I used Zoya Snow White & Lael to achieve a light to dark look. Snow White is a bright white creme and Lael is a gorgeous deep plum purple creme.

I began my ombre manicure with one coat of OPI Nail Envy for my base. Next, I applied two coats of Lael to my pinky. In a mixing dish, I put in 3 drops of Lael & 2 drops of Snow White. I mixed these two colors using the tip of an orange wood stick and applied two coats of this lighter shade to my ring finger using a brush from a bottle of nail polish that fell and shattered on me. For my middle finger I mixed 3 drops of Lael and 3 drops of Snow White & applied two coats and so forth goes the mixing to get the shades lighter on my index and thumb.

Although the colors aren't as pronounced in this manicure as I would've liked, I hope that you all can see how the purple shade varies from nail to nail. Have you ever tried the ombre manicure? What other colors do you think this manicure would look good in? Make sure to go check out what Kelly did for her ombre manicure today, as well! As always, I hope you all liked this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing tomorrow's post with you! Hmmm, now what will I do now without a scheduled post? Guess we'll just have to see, xo!!

~Jessica

P.S. Lacquer Luvers, my 50 Follower Bettina Giveaway ends today at 11:59PM EST so make sure you don't miss out and enter here! Good luck to all who enter and thank you so much for following me!!

10 Day Challenge: Day 9

Hello Lacquer Luvers & welcome to Day 9 of the 10 Day Challenge! Today's challenge is Favorite Color Combination. As you can see in my banner, my favorite color combo is pink, black and white. Although I have not always been a fan of pink, as I grow older this combination is one I am always drawn to. I absolutely love the way these colors pop off eachother and how fun they are together.

For today's manicure I did a water marble using my favorite colors and one of my favorite brands. To begin, I applied one coat of OPI Nail Envy. For the water marble, I used Matte (white), Pink Bikini (pink, obviously) & Onix (black) by Bettina. These are all cream polishes and spread nicely in the water. I tried to do  the same design on each finger. Even though these didn't come out exactly how I imagined, I still like them, especially my index finger. Once I water marbled all of my nails I applied a thick coat of fast dry top coat by Seche Vite.

What do you all think of this color combination? What colors do you think work best together? I would love to try this look with turquoise and chocolate brown or lime green, black, and white. Don't forget that Kelly over at Posh For Polish is doing this challenge with me, so please go take a look at her favorite color combination inspired manicure and make sure to follow her as well! As always, I hope you all liked this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing tomorrow's post with you, xo!

~Jessica

P.S. Lacquer Luvers, tomorrow is the last day to enter my 50 Follower Bettina Giveaway, don't miss out and enter here! Good luck!!

10 Day Challenge: Day 8

Hello Lacquer Luvers & welcome to Day 8 of the 10 Day Challenge! The theme for today's manicure is Favorite Movie or Inspired by a Movie. This manicure was inspired by my son and one of his favorite movies, Madagascar 2! Tyus loves the animals in this movie, & he especially likes the "I like to move it, move it!" song. We all have a great time watching this together =)

There were quite a few polishes used for this mani but as usual, I began with a base of OPI Nail Envy. I wanted to do a nail for each of the main characters in the movie: Alex (the lion), Marty (the zebra), Melman (the giraffe), & Gloria (the hippo). For Alex, I used one coat of OPI Rising star and sponged on E.L.F. Chocolate at the tip of my nail using an eyeshadow applicator. For Alex's pawprints, I used Chocolate again and image plate m35 from BornPrettyStore. Marty was done using 3 coats of Snow White by Zoya & konad special stamping polish in black. I used a design from BundleMonster's BM223 image plate for the zebra stripes. Melman began with 2 coats of China Glaze II & the giraffe print was stamped on using Chocolate by E.L.F. along with a design from BundleMonster's BM215 image plate. Gloria was freehanded and began with 2 coats of Grey Area by Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear. I used my dotting tool as well as E.L.F. Champagne, Zoya Snow White, & WetNWild Ebony Hates Chris for the eyes & used my striper brush for her eyelashes and eyebrows. Once everything dried, I topped this mani with fast dry top coat by Seche Vite.

I love how my Madagascar 2 inspired mani turned out so much! It was really fun to do and I hope you all like it just as much. What is your favorite movie? Let's all go see what Ms. Kelly from Posh For Polish was inspired by for this challenge! I'm sure she did something amazing! As always, I hope you all liked this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing tomorrow's post with you, xo!

~Jessica

10 Day Challenge: Day 7

Hello Lacquer Luvers & welcome to Day 7 of the 10 Day Challenge. Today's manicure theme is Favorite Freehand Nail Nail Art Design. I have always loved this freehand design and I hope that you all do, too! Not only was it simple and easy to do, this mani is so pretty and feminine & it's one that does not take many tools to complete.

My favorite freehand manicure is Japanese cherry blossoms. I have always loved seeing tutorials of this manicure on youtube and have seen other bloggers do it as well. Each time I say, "I'm going to do that one day.." but never gotten around to it so today was the perfect opportunity for me =)

I began my cherry blossom mani with a coat of OPI Nail Envy & 2 coats of Bettina Ocean. Ocean is such a gorgeous blue-green color, it reminds me so much of the beautiful beaches here & provided a nice base for my nail art to pop. Next, I used a nail art striper brush and some brown acrylic paint to create some branches for my cherry blossoms. I used Bettina Pink Bikini and a dotting tool from BornPrettyStore for the pink part of the blossoms and Bettina Matte which is white cream perfection along with my dotting tool for the petals of the blossoms. This manicure was topped with fast dry top coat by Seche Vite.

I love this manicure for so many reasons. It's very easy to do, it reminds me of one of my dream vacation places (Japan) & the colors work so well together! Would you girls ever wear this manicure? What's your favorite freehand design? Don't forget to go over to Posh For Polish & take a look at Kelly's, who is doing this challenge with me, freehand nail art for this challenge! As always, I hope you all liked this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing tomorrow's post with you, xo!

~Jessica

10 Day Challenge: Day 6

Hello Lacquer Luvers and welcome to Day 6 of the 10 Day Challenge! First, I want to say Congratulations to Kelly who is doing this challenge with me, she reached 400 followers on her blog today! You all should join the 400 of us who love her blog if you haven't already, it's amazing! Day 6 of the Challenge calls for your favorite celebrity manicure.

My favorite celebrity manicure is one I saw that Kim Kardashian wear back in August of 2009. It was a chic black on black mani that was simple & eye-catching with its matte and glossy finish. I just loved the look of the contrast between the base and french tip and knew I had to try this one for myself! Here's the pic of Kim's nails:

Hot, right?! To replicate Kim's manicure, I began with a base of OPI Nail Envy & 2 coats of Bettina Onix. Then I topped that with my fast dry top coat by Seche Vite. Once that dried, I taped off the tips of my nails and applied one coat of Hard Candy Matte-ly In Love which is a matte top coat. When I removed the tape I was left with that gorgeous matte/glossy finish that I loved so much.

This is the second time I've done this manicure and I can't wait to try it again with different colors. I think this would look great using my Zoya matte polishes, Mitzi & Lolly. So luvs, would you wear this mani or try it using a different color? Have you ever recreated a a celebrity's manicure? Don't forget that Kelly over at Posh For Polish is doing this challenge with me, please go take a look at her favorite celebrity inspired manicure and make sure to follow her as well! As always, I hope you all liked this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing tomorrow's post with you, xo!

~Jessica

10 Day Challenge: Day 5

Hello Lacquer Luvers and welcome to the halfway point of the 10 Day Challenge that Kelly & I are doing! Yesterday we both agreed that since we would be busy shopping for Black Friday it would be best to just hold off a day for the challenge. Today calls for blue nails. Whilst looking through my stash, I realized I don't have many blues. However, one did stand out far above the rest. Today I bring you the amazing Glitter Gal Marine Blue!

This post will be short because, well, quite honestly the pictures speak for themselves. I began with a coat of OPI Nail Envy for this mani and applied 2 coats of Marine Blue. The formula for this was a little thick but went on very nicely.  Now on to the blue holographic goodness!

I didn't think this mani needed any art since the holo is so pretty. Maybe next time...I don't know why I can't bring myself to put art on holographic polishes. What do you all think of blue polish? Which is your favorite? Don't forget that  Ms. Kelly from Posh For Polish is doing this challenge with me so please go take a look at her take on blue nails and make sure to follow her as well! As always, I hope you all liked this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing tomorrow's post with you, xo!

~Jessica

10 Day Challenge: Day 4

Hello Lacquer Luvers & welcome to Day 4 of the 10 Day Challenge! My apologies for posting so late luvs, today is Thanksgiving and I was busy spending the day with my son and sister at the beach! Yes, the beach! My hubby works out of town and since he was leaving this morning to head back to work, we had dinner as a family last night. This morning we got to spend the day sitting in the sun relaxing. It was fabulous!

Today's challenge calls for Animal Print nails. I admit, I did not have time before we left this morning to do a new mani for you all. I do, however, have not 1, but 3 animal print mani's for you today! These photos were taken previously but I hope you all like them either way.

Tiger print: This manicure began with base coat (not sure which I was using back then). I taped off the ring and index fingers, and put on two coats of Revlon Siren from their Fire & Ice Collection on all of my nails. Next, I stamped them with the tiger print design using image plate M57 by Konad with their special stamping polish in black. Next, I taped off my ring and index fingers and applied one coat of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out. I used the tape to create the black tips on my pinky and middle fingers, too. I used a no-name silver nail art striper for the lines & topped this off with Seche Vite fast dry top coat.

Camo-Animal Print: I wanted to do a mani using camouflage colors and went for this. I really like how this one came out. This mani began with base coat & two coats of Essie Sew Psyched. I stamped on the leopard print using Chocolate by E.L.F. & Konad's image plate M57. I used tape & Chocolate for the brown french tips and China Glaze II to fill in the leopard spots. This was topped with fast dry top coat by Seche Vite.

Pink Cheetah: My last animal print mani for you all today is one of my favorites, pink cheetah! This mani was inspired by Tamira over at naudii beautii. She was telling me that her dream polish is a black base with pink sparkles. I thought that was a killer combo & layered one coat Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear VIP Pink over one coat of SHXW Black Out, ah-maziiiing! I taped off the tips and used SHXW Hot Magenta for my pink french tips. My accent nail is 2 coats of SHXW Hot Magenta, then the cheetah print from Konad's image plate M57 with their special stamping polish in black. The tip was taped off & I used Black out for the french.

What do you all think of animal print? Would you wear any of these mani's? Don't forget that  Ms. Kelly from Posh For Polish is doing this challenge with me so please go take a look at her animal print nails and let her know what you think! As always, I hope you all liked this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing tomorrow's post with you & HAPPY THANKSGIVING, xo!

~Jessica

10 Day Challenge: Day 3

Hello Lacquer Luvers & welcome to Day 3 of the 10 Day Challenge! Today's challenge is Favorite Book or Inspired by a Book. As I mentioned in the 14 Random Questions post, I haven't read in a while so this was really a challenge. I thought long and hard and remembered this children's book that I read over and over as a kid. It was called The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.

The Giving Tree is a tale of a boy and a tree. The tree always gave the boy what he wanted...shade, a swing, apples...and as the boy got older he needed more and more of the tree. One day the tree allowed the boy to cut him down to make a boat. When the boy returned the tree told him he had no more to give but the boy just wanted somewhere to sit. The tree allowed him to sit on it's stump & that made the tree happy that he could still be of use to the boy.

For my mani, I was inspired by the book's cover. I began with a coat of OPI Nail Envy and two coats of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Grass Slipper. This is such a great bright green cream. The formula was nice and the brushes are wide and tapered which made for easy application. I used Lucky Duck by Orly to stamp on some leaves from BundleMonster's image plate BM208. The red in the apple is Ali's Big Break by OPI & the stem of the apple is Chocolate by E.L.F.

The Giving Tree book cover:

What is your favorite book? What do you think of my book inspired mani? Don't forget that  Ms. Kelly from Posh For Polish is doing this challenge with me so please go take a look at her book inspired man and let her know what you think! As always, I hope you all liked this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing tomorrow's post with you, xo!

~Jessica

10 Day Challenge: Day 2

Hello Lacquer Luvers & welcome to Day 2 of the 10 Day Challenge! Today's post is all about RAINBOW NAILS! My mani was inspired by Liz of Nothing But Nail Polish & Amber of Rainbows&Sparkles. They both did this mani (or their own take on it) & I loved it so much I just HAD to do it for today's challenge!

To begin my mani, I used one coat of OPI Nail Envy and 2 coats of Bettina Matte which is a great white cream polish. For my rainbow, I chose to do a gradient using Yellow, Sherbet, Pink Bikini, Mojito, Purple, & Over Dyed. All of these polishes are by Bettina & I used a sponge tip eyeshadow applicator to create my rainbow gradient.

After my gradient dried, I water marbled over it using Bettina Onix & French 3. The french polish is sheer enough to allow the rainbow gradient peek through the marbling. Cool, right?! =)

This last photo shows you all of the Bettina pretties that were used to create this Rainbow manicure. L-R: French 3, Matte, Yellow, Sherbet, Pink Bikini, Mojito, Purple, Over Dyed, & Onix.

So, what do you ladies think of my RAINBOW NAILS? Lacquer Luvers, don't forget that I have a partner in crime with this challenge, the lovely Ms. Kelly from Posh For Polish, so please go take a look at her rainbow nails and let her know what you think! As always, I hope you all liked this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing tomorrow's post with you, xo!

~Jessica


p.s. I reached 50 followers on my blog and you can score 3 new Bettina polishes by entering my giveaway here!

10 Day Challenge: Day 1

Hello Lacquer Luvers! Before I share my post today with you all today, I just want to wish my son, Tyus, a very Happy 6th Birthday! <3

Today starts the 1st day of the 10 Day Challenge I will be doing with Kelly from Posh For Polish. Each day we will both be working together and showing our lovely readers our creations for the challenge! Today is Day 1: Pink Nails.

One of my most favorite pinks would have to be Zoya Barbie. Barbie is a soft baby pink full of hot pink shimmer. I really wish the sun was out when I took these pics, it was still early in the morning.

Today's mani begins with a base of OPI Nail Envy and 3 coats of Zoya Barbie. For nail art, I decided to use another great pink from Zoya, Areej. Areej is a nice warm fuchsia cream. She worked great for stamping on this leopard/cheetah print from Konad's image plate M57. This mani was topped off with a fast dry top coat from Seche Vite.

I really love this color combo & I'm glad the sun came out so that you girls could get a better color accurate picture of Barbie. What do you girls think of my pink mani? Lacquer Luvers, don't forget to check out Kelly's Pink Nails & again, Happy Birthday to my sweet son Tyus! As always, I hope you all liked this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing tomorrow's post with you, xo!

~Jessica

**Disclaimer - This challenge was created by Marketta at Pink Polish Addict. Please check out her blog as she is almost done with the challenge and has some amazing posts for you all to see!**