Swimspiration: Part 1

Available for purchase here.

Hello everyone!

Today I'm introducing a new blog series called "Swimspiration". I'll essentially post nail art that's inspired by swim wear! I'll include links to where you can buy the swim wear if anyone is interested. 

I've got the nubbiest little nails right now so I'm saving the best designs for later in the series when my nails grow out a bit. 

Today's nail are swimspired by a blue and pink leopard print swim suit. 

What I used:

• Essie Grow Faster
• China Glaze At Vase Value
• China Glaze Neon & On & On
• Sinful Colors Black On Black
• China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat.
• Tooth picks or dotting tools

I hope you like the series, thanks for reading!

XOXO,
MAD DOG

NOTD: Rainbow Fish

Hello!

Today, I have some nail art inspired by the book The Rainbow Fish! I remember reading that book as a kid and I just loved it! My inspiration came from the fish's scales. I haven't read the book in a long time so I can't actually remember the significance of the shiny scales but, nevertheless, it made for some great nail art. The goal with this design was to use as many of my untrieds as possible and I managed to use FOUR, woohoo!

Bottle: China Glaze Fade Into Hue

What I used:

• OPI Nail Envy
• China Glaze Sunday Funday
• China Glaze Fade Into Hue
• China Glaze Passion For Petals
• OPI Your Royal Shine-ness
• Sinful Colors Black On Black
• China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat
• Ciate Nail Foil
• Ciate Foil Fix
• Mash-39 Stamping Plate

Bottle: China Glaze Fade Into Hue

Let me know if you want a tutorial for a look like this!

XOXO

MAD DOG

NOTD: St. Patty's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

These nails are actually from about a week ago, but I thought I should wait to post them! I was going for a tweed kind of look, but I'm not sure how successful I was. There isn't much to say today so.. Here are the nails!

Bottle: OPI Honey Ryder

What I used:

• OPI Nail Envy
• Sally Hansen Mint Sorbet
• OPI Honey Ryder
• Green Acrylic Paint.
• Color Club 0-60 Speedy Top Coat

Have a wonderful and safe St. Patrick's Day!

XOXO

MAD DOG

Polish Picks: Spring 2014

Photo Credit Here

Hi everyone!

   Today, I decided to share my six favorite nail colors for Spring 2014 with you all! I'm really feeling pastels this spring which is very unlike me. This post will also serve as a Swatch + Review for the polishes I'm sharing with you today. 

   All photos are WITH OUT top coat. The number of coats will be listed in the caption of each photo.

With that being said, let's get into it!

Zoya Stella 

Zoya Stella
(3 coats)

This is currently my only Zoya polish and I love it! Stella is a nice creamy orange that reminds me of sherbet ice cream. Yummy. The formula is thin but easy to work with.

China Glaze Highlight Of My Summer 

China Glaze Highlight Of My Summer
(3 coats)

The formula for this isn't fantastic but the color is well worth it! Highlight Of My Summer is a nice, bright mint. The brightness of this mint really sets it apart from others and makes it feel really fresh. This color dries a little chalky looking though, so make sure you apply top coat to make it nice and shiny.

Color Club Blue Ming 

Color Club Blue Ming
(2 coats)

My boyfriend described Blue Ming as a "vintage light blue" and that feels really accurate to me. I just love this color, end of story. 

China Glaze Tart-y For The Party 

China Glaze Tart-y For The Party
(2 coats)

I'm not a huge fan of purples but this is just too gorgeous and how cute is the name?? Tart-y For The Party is just perfect for spring!

Color Club Coast Line 

Color Club Coast Line
(2 coats)

This polish is obviously textured and those are super trendy right now! White + texture = mega perfect. I love that this polish combines two of my favorite things!

China Glaze It's A Trap-eze 

China Glaze It's A Trap-eze
(1 coat over white)

This polish reminds me of a lot of the polishes that Indie brands put out. It's A Trap-eze is very unique in my collection and I think everyone needs a polish like this! It's got different sized green, yellow, pink, orange, and silver glitter in a milky white base. It reminds me of cake! 

I'm really excited for spring to come; it's been so cold here! My spring polish picks are making me feel a little bit warmer. Let me know what your favorite spring polishes are!

XOXO
MAD DOG

NOTD: Neon Watercolor + Tutorial

Hello wonderful internet people!

I broke a nail at school on Friday so right now I'm in the nub club again! I'm not too upset about it though, nails grow back!

The weather is bumming me out today so I decided I need a little neon in my life.I thought I'd even share a tutorial with you guys. I love making tutorials, so I hope you like it!

What I used:

• Essie Grow Faster
• Color Club Look, Don't Tusk
• Color Club On The Rocks
• Color Club Sex Symbol
• China Glaze You Drive Me Coconuts
• China Glaze Celtic Sun
• China Glaze Keepin' It Teal
• Color Club 0-60 Speedy Top Coat

1. Apply a base coat and base color. The base color should be light so that the colors you apply over it will easily stand out. I opted to have a glitter accent nail as well. 
2. Apply the polishes of your choice for the water color aspect of this design to a cosmetic sponge. Apply dots of polish onto the sponge in a random pattern, you can do this using the brush that comes with the polish

   

   Step 2

3. Take the sponge and dab it up and down, left and right onto the nail to blend the colors. If you do not the vary the dabbing direction, the colors will not blend. If you vary the dabbing direction too much, the colors will look muddy.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for each nail except for your glitter accent nail if you chose to have one. You may need to sponge multiple layers on your nails to get the colors to be more opaque. 

   

   Step 4

5. Using a small paint brush (I use an Elf Concealer brush), clean up around your nails by dipping the brush into polish remover or acetone. 

   

   Step 5
   Elf Professional Concealer Brush

6. Apply top coat over the design to smooth out the sponging. 

   

   Step 6

7. Add any studs or nail adornment you want.

   

   Step 7
   Assorted stud wheel from Bornprettystore.com

So that's my tutorial! I hope it was helpful. Let me know if you try this out, I'd love to see.

XOXO

MAD DOG

Swatch + Review: Color Club Safari Garden Collection

Hello everyone!

Today I have swatches and reviews for the polishes in the Color Club Safari Garden collection. I'm so excited to have these beautiful colors in my hands. I was going out to check the mail every five minutes, I'm so glad these babies are finally mine. I love Color Club's new logo, although my OCD doesn't like that the caps don't match the old ones. This is my first time swatching for the sake of swatching; It felt really wrong to immediately take my nail polish off after taking a picture. I hope I don't leave anything out... Wish me luck!

All photos are WITH OUT top coat.

Look, Don't Tusk:

   This off-white polish is AMAZING. It really does look like an elephant's tusks, google it! My all time favorite polish is Color Club Poetic Hues; this is like a cross between that and white, so of course I love it. I think a lot of people will enjoy this because it isn't as harsh looking as regular white polish can be. The formula is nice but thin, not too streaky. I used three coats although I think two coats would be doable with a more careful application.

Color Club Look, Don't Tusk
(Three coats)

Nail-Robi:

   This is probably my favorite from the entire collection. It's navy blue creme polish with purple undertones. I'm seriously in love. The formula is great and guess what! It's a ONE coater and super shiny! Everyone needs more one coater polishes in their life.

Color Club Nail-Robi
(One coat)

In De-Nile:

   This is easily my new favorite pale blue. It's creme formula just makes me think of the sky, I love it! The formula was good, I used two coats and it self levels nicely.

Color Club In De-Nile
(Two coats)

Tribe And True:

   Can I just say these "fugly" colors are amazing? This mossy green isn't for everyone but I can't get enough of shades like this. The formula was like a creme-jelly combo so the color built really well. You could use one coat if you really wanted too but the second coat really makes the color pop. And just look how shiny this bad boy is! 

Color Club Tribe And True
(Two coats)

Safari Sunset:

   I don't think my photo does this justice at all. This color is incredible in the sun, all the shimmer is just beautiful. Safari Sunset is a peach metallic-y type color with gold shimmer throughout. I wish I could capture it's true beauty. The formula was good but use as few brush strokes as possible to avoid weird lines.

Color Club Safari Sunset
(Two Coats)

Lion's Den:

   I really just don't like this one. The formula was gooey. It's just gross. I painted two coats and it was weirdly opaque and not at the same time. Lion's Den is a gold-ish metallic-shimmer with pink shimmer in the light. That combination sounds good in theory but I'm just not loving it. 

Color Club Lion's Den
(Two coats)

Over all thoughts:

   I love this collection for the most part; the safari garden collection is so unique, especially for a spring collection. Lion's Den kinda sucked but the amazing-ness of the other polishes made up for it. I wouldn't bother buying Tribe And True if you already have China Glaze Budding Romance; they're too similar to really justify having both.

If you are interested in this collection you can purchase it from Color Club's website.

I hope you enjoyed my first time swatching!

XOXO

MAD DOG

NOTD: Glitter Gradient

 I LOVE MY NAILS! So much sparkle!

   I did this glitter gradient for last night's Imagine Dragons concert. I had never been to a concert before but I felt like glitter was a necessity... That's probably weird. Anyway, the concert was great, I was really tired though.

   I'm starting to get the hang of blogging now; I haven't accidentally erased any posts since the first one.


   I  haven't done a glitter gradient in a really long time and I realized why, it's hard! I applied my Savina glitter to a cosmetic sponge and repeated with few layers to concentrate the glitter towards the tip of the nail. Sounds easy, right? Well, I somehow managed to get glitter all over my knee and face. I actually think it's still on my knee...

Bottle from L to R Sinful Colors Black on Black
Savina Gem Stones

What I used:

• OPI Nail Envy
• Sinful Colors Black on Black
• Savina Gem Stones
• China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat

Bottle: Sinful Colors Black on Black

I hope you guys like my concert nails, I can't stop looking at the awesome sparklyness on my fingers! Feel free to leave comments with nail art suggestions, I'd love to do what you guys want to see. Have a great day!

XOXO 

MAD DOG