40 Great Nail Art Ideas - Fashion

Hey there!  This week 40 Great Nail Art Ideas is doing Fashion nails.  I seriously pay zero attention to the fashion world.  If I had my way, all clothes would be black or grey and maybe have some stripes, if I was feeling super fancy.  In other words I had to spend ages googling fashion photos to find some inspiration.  And I did some nails that I really like but that weren't super unique.  THEN I was watching Project Runway All Stars with my sister last weekend and I saw a dress that caught my eye because the color immediately made me think of a polish I had.  Those are what I'm posting today.

Bundle Monster Fuzzy and Ferocious Set 1 Review

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Hey there!  Today I have a fun stamping plate set from Bundle Monster to review, the Fuzzy and Ferocious Set 1.  It's not the newest set of plates from Bundle Monster (there's even a second set Fuzzy and Ferocious set already) but I was so drawn to these plates that I really wanted to review them.  In case the name doesn't give it away, this plate is dedicated to animals, big and small...as in REALLY big (elephants) to REALLY small (rodents) and everything in between.  Follow the jump to see my thoughts on these adorable stamping plates.

HPB Presents My First Indie Polish and Stamping Plate

Hey there!  For those of you who don't know, there's a Facebook group called Hobby Polish Bloggers full of incredibly knowledgeable, you guessed it, nail polish bloggers.  Every month there's a link up organized with really fun themes.  This month we're doing posts dedicated to the first indie brand we purchased from.  So I went back through all my years of online purchases and found what my very first indie polish purchase was, polish AND stamping plate.  The culprits that I have to blame for my now rampant indie addiction?  Pretty & Polished Blood Clot and Nailz Craze NC01!

Sunday Stamping - Over A White Base

Hey there!  I know, I know, I'm late as always but I do have a Sunday stamping post for today/tonight.  This week "over a white base" was picked as our theme.  I could do anything!  And what do I do?  Simple black over white.  Not only that but I used a stamping plate that I've used so many times before (though I'm not sure I've ever posted a mani with it).  But you know what?  I LOVE these!  I don't know if it's because I used the new Crystal Clear Stamper that I was sent to check out from Clear Jelly Stamper which made placement and stamping easy peasy or because sometimes black and white is just nice but it doesn't matter.  I just like these.

The Digit-al Dozen does Nail Heroes/40 Great Nail Art Ideas - Red Patchwork KBShimmer

Hey there!  It's the final day of The Digit-al Dozen's Nail Heroes week AND Red week for 40 Great Nail Art Ideas.  I was given the prompt of Patchwork to go along with the red theme and here's what I came up with...a patchwork of KBShimmer polishes (mostly red) with Bundle Monster stamping.  It's not the worst thing I've ever done but I wish it could've been better, especially considering how much I love KBShimmer polishes.  I feel like I could've given them a better tribute.  But I like the challenge of combining multiple prompts into a single mani and sometimes it comes out a mess.  Luckily I have at least 47 other posts using KBShimmer polishes so you don't have to judge the brand on this one design.

The Digit-al Dozen does Nail Heroes - Sveta Sanders, Picture Polish and UberChic Beauty

Hey there!  It's the fourth day of The Digit-al Dozen's Nail Heroes week and today I'm celebrating THREE of my heroes - Sveta Sanders for her nail art magic, Picture Polish for their interesting, unique shades and UberChic Beauty for her always stellar stamping plates.  I wore this mani for days, first as Sveta's squish marble alone and then with the stamping for another couple of days.  This one was really easy but I loved wearing it.

The Digit-al Dozen does Nail Hereos - @kimiko7878

Hey there!  It's time for Day 3 of The Digit-al Dozen's Nail Heroes week.  For today I did a mani inspired by the first nail hero of mine that I was able to meet, @kimiko7878 on Instagram.  Kim is not only a hand painting nail art queen but she lives in my city!  I met her when she picked up some polishes in town that I was hunting for and couldn't find and she is seriously as sweet as can be.  I've tried mimicking her skills before but failed miserably.  I'm happy with how these turned out though!

The Digit-al Dozen does Nail Heroes - Clairestelle8, pipe dream polish and China Glaze

Hey there!  For Day 2 of The Digit-al Dozens week celebrating our nail heroes, I wanted to re-do a mani from one of my favourite instagrammers, @clairestelle8.  There's a couple of reasons why I love Claire's account so much.  Not only is she an amazing nail artist but she tends to use a lot of bright colors, all at once (which I LOVE) AND she's absolutely hilarious.  If you've never come across her account before, seriously, go read her captions.  They never fail to make me laugh out loud!  Since Claire's accounts are filled with neon, I used it as an opportunity to also celebrate a couple of my favourite neon polish makers - pipe dream polish and China Glaze.

The Digit-al Dozen does Nail Heroes - The Crumpet

Hey there!  It's a new Digit-al Dozen week!  With Valentine's Day being just yesterday, this week we're giving our nail heroes some love.  For me that means I'll be focusing on bloggers/Instagrammers/brands that I love and who always inspire.  And it means I get to copycat lots of manis which I love doing (hence my blog name).  As a group, we're starting with our friend and fearless DD leader, who just happens to be one of my biggest nail heroes - the always amazing Debbie from The Crumpet!  Debbie never ceases to amaze me with, not just her nail art, but who she is as a person.  Debbie recently announced her transition into nail blog retirement which breaks my heart but luckily we'll be able to keep up with her new blog, Debhoorah.  I've never met her in real life but I truly consider Debbie a friend, a mentor and a hero.  She is responsible for starting almost all of the  groups I'm in (seriously, who has that much energy?) and these groups give me so many happy feelings.  Because of them I've been introduced to the loveliest of ladies (I'm looking at you Digit-al Dozen girls) and for that I'll be forever grateful to Debbie.  So thank you for everythingDebbie!  Love you!

Sunday Stamping - Valentine's Day

Hey there!  Happy Valentine's Day friends!  I hope your day is filled with love, even for those of you who might be uncoupled up today (like me).  I have saved my favourite Valentine's Day mani of the year for today, since it's actually V-Day today.  I used a mix of vinyls and stamping but this totally still counts for Sunday stamping's theme, right?  

Messy Mansion Valentine's Day Stamping

Hey there!  I saw on Instagram that Messy Mansion is having a Valentine's Day contest using their plates which was perfect timing for me.  I've purchased a lot of stamping plates over the years (including many Messy Mansion plates) so sometimes it's hard to decide which ones to use.  This contest helped me narrow it down and I did what is possibly the most bizarre (anti)-Valentine's Day manis ever.  The idea of dinosaurs and Valentine's got in my head and I couldn't get it out.  I think my coworkers thought I was nuts yesterday when I was wearing this.

40 Great Nail Art Ideas - Love

Hey there!  What with Valentine's Day coming up this Sunday, this week Crumpet's Nail Tarts are doing Love, the sweetest theme ever.  I think when most of us think of love-themed nail art we think of all hearts and flowers.  I included plenty of hearts in my mani for today but I mostly wanted to do nail art inspired by the everlasting kind of love.  The kind that we'd be lucky to find.  Personally I haven't found it yet but one day!

How to Store Stamping Decals

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Hey there!  Today I have a very different type of post for me....there's not a single nail photo in this entire post!  A few weeks ago Brittany from UberChic Beauty asked some of us if we had time to test how long stamping decals could be stored.  The scientist in me (because I really am a scientist by day) couldn't resist this test so I immediately jotted down the variables I wanted to test (clear coat, storage choice, paint vs polish) and the days I would test them on.  The following day, I made all the 100 decals that you see here!   The results mostly came down to a comparison of the two different clear coats I tested but it did teach me a few things about how I can store decals in the future.  I hadn't tried storing decals since getting the Uber Mat but now I know I can.  It just so happens that I made a few extra decals this week and then gave them to my sister a few days later and they applied great.  Follow the jump to read a whole bunch of words about the results of my two week test.  And find the link to an Instagram giveaway for a $25 gift certificate to UberChic Beauty!  

UberChic Beauty Furry Best Friends and Luxe Stamper Review

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Hey there!  Today I'm reviewing two exciting products from UberChic Beauty - the new Furry Best Friends plate and the Luxe stamper.  Furry Best Friends is one of UberChic's single plates (ie. not in a collection) that so many UberChic fans were crying out for.  People definitely love their fur babies so it's not surprising that they want to wear their love on their nails.  The other product, the Luxe stamper,  I couldn't wait to try because I had seen that it can be used to shrink images.  So today you get to see my results from that as well.  

UberChic Beauty Love & Marriage -02 Review

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Hey there!  I'm continuing my UberChic reviews this week with the latest of the Love & Marriage stamping plates.  UberChic recently came out with Love & Marriage -02, just in time for Valentine's Day.  But don't be fooled, this plate can easily be used year round.  I've used the first Love & Marriage plate plenty (and, honestly, don't even view it as overly love-y) and I foresee myself using this plate similarly.  Hearts and flowers are definitely not exclusive to February on my nails.

UberChic Beauty Collection 7 Review

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Hey there!  Today I have the pleasure of presenting you with UberChic Beauty's 7th collection of nail stamping plates.  I've proudly been reviewing Brittany's plates since she first started at the end of 2014 and I have never once been disappointed with UberChic Beauty's plates and Collection 7 is no exception.  As usual, the quality of these plates and the designs that she has thought of are second to none.  There's a reason why her plates are always the first ones I go for when I'm doing a new stamping mani.

40 Great Nail Art Ideas - Turquoise/Aqua

Hey there!  It's time for another Crumpet's Nail Tarts color prompt.  Today we're all doing Turquoise/Aqua and I have the personal prompt of "over a nude base".  I love turquoise so this should be easy right?  Nope, this one took me three separate attempts before I got a look that I actually liked and was willing to share.  I don't know know why I get so mentally blocked when it comes to certain prompts, always the ones I think are going to be simple.  Luckily, in the end I really liked today's design, so much so that I'm starting with the macro of it.

Picture Polish Red Holo Comparison

Hey there!  If you read my blog regularly you've probably heard me say that I love red, sparkly nail polishes but don't often wear them.  Because there's so many holidays in winter that seem to have a lot of red in their representation (Christmas, Valentine's Day, Chinese New Year) I took it as a reason to wear and compare a few of Picture Polish's red (or reddish) scattered holos - Bridget, Bordeaux, Monroe and Nemesis.  I've also included a comparison of the old Ozotic 621 (one of my all-time favourite polishes) with Picture Polish's newer version, Bridget.

Bundle Monster Mochi Stamping Station and Spring Time Occasions Review

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Hey there!  Today I have an exciting, huge review for a couple of Bundle Monster's latest/upcoming products.  And I do mean HUGE in a couple of different ways - first, because I did 6 whole manis with the new Spring Time Occasions stamping plates (the most I think I've ever done in one post) and second, because I'm reviewing the Mochi Stamping Station, a giant stamper that allows you to stamp an entire hand with one image pick up.  It is perfect for the buffet-style images that allow you to have slightly different images on your nails while still maintaining and cohesive look.  Please do keep reading to hear my thoughts on these new products and to get my tips and tricks.