Canadian Maples

Last weekend my husband and I went to Canada! It was our 1 year wedding anniversary and we wanted to go on a trip. Perfect reason to do a mani, not that I need excuses ;)  Although when I posted this mani in some FB groups, people told me that this time of year, Canada is more like the land of cherry blossoms. But I figured we've got enough sakura here so I can do that mani when I'm back :) 

MODI Peel-Off Base Coat

One big thing that's been keeping me from getting too many glitters is the pain of removing them. So when I heard about all these "peel off" base coats, I knew I had to try them and see if they'd help with my polish wear. Late some night while browsing polish who knows where, I stumbled on an Asian looking brand that in their collection, specifically had "peel off base coat" and for that price I thought it'd be worth a try. I got it at w2beauty for a little over $5, free shipping and not too long of a wait till it got to me.

Dragons are coming

Viserion - cream and gold. Drogon - black and red. Rhaegal - green and bronze.  Out of all these, Viserion was the easiest one to do, the stamping colors show up well enough, but the rest of them gave me a hard time, as I tried to use whatever I had, and I do not own any of the lovely MUNDO DE UÑAS polishes (yet.)

Pinkie - Revlon Timeless, Ulta Smoke Screen, stamped with Konad Special Black. MM21.

Ring finger - Julep Nicolette, stamped with Sinful Colors Gold Medal and Konad Special Black. CICI&SISI 02, MM21.

Middle finger - Sinful Colors Secret Admirer, Sinful Colors Unwrap Me, Sinful Colors Casablanca. MM21.

Index Finger - Sephora by OPI Already Famous, Ulta Envy, Konad Special Black. MM21.

Thumb - Julep Cleopatra, Sinful Colors Dancing Nails. JR-2. 

Red & Gold Lannisters

Despite not liking Joffrey, I do like like his clothes - the cloth is great inspiration for nail art. And lucky for me, I have stamping plates with similar enough designs to achieve the look I'm trying to go for!

The no nail-art restriction at work is really bumming me out. As my polish gets tip wear and slight chips by the time I can actually do stamping on it, so it's not pristine and pretty anymore :(

Dark red embroidered with gold thread is really pretty. The red is Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Wined Up, and the gold is Sinful Colors Gold Medal. Plates used: JR-2 and PUEEN 44.

Cloudy day

I really wanted to do a gray gradient, as it's been a long time since I attempted one. And of course, right as I started doing it I realized I misplaced my makeup sponges, so I had to improvise and grab a sponge from those I use in the kitchen...the yellow and green kind >< 

Well, now I'll know it's still possible to do gradient, but it's not as smooth (even after topcoat) and looks a bit porous. 

My grays are Revlon Timeless and Ulta Smoke Screen. I then stamped little clouds from a CICI&SISI stamping plate (which can be purchased here), using Konad Special White.

It might not be April yet, to have showers for the May flowers, but it's often rainy here, so gray skies are common :) 

Spring Sprigs

Yet another purple mani! This time using Essence Petal to the Metal and a polish I've been wanting for some time now - China Glaze Rendezvous With You. Not only is it a dark vampy purple when worn by itself, it's also great for stamping! Plate used is MoYou London Pro 07.

Julep Girls

Since Julep polishes have female names, I think I'll use the title "Julep Girls" whenever I post pictures of manis using those :)

With the new gemstones collection being slowly released (1 polish per month) a lot of people are going to be collecting them, but so far I only have February's Rosa (Amethyst.) I wouldn't call it "full coverage" as the description states, unless you used several coats to achieve the coverage. Otherwise it's like a glitter top coat.  I used Sylvia as the undie here, I felt they went together well. Seems like I haven't gotten over my purple polish phase yet ;) Stamped with a little bow.