Tri-Polish Challenge (May #4) - Layer It Up

Hello hello!

Today is the last post for May's TPC, can you believe it? May seems to have flown by!

Sorry for the late post. I decided to go see Star Trek, finally, and just got home! It's a good thing I had the pictures ready, otherwise I don't think I would have been able to put it up until later tomorrow. (In case any of you are wondering, Star Trek was really good!)

To refresh, the colors for May are Red, Grey, and Blue.

For today's mani, I decided to use all three polishes and just layer them, but so that you can see all three colors. Take a look!

To get this look:

• I first applied my base coat and then applied three coats of Revlon Coast is Clear because it is a very sheer polish, but I applied most of the polish over the lunula and a little down the sides.
• I then applied one coat of Revlon Midnight Haze in the same shape of my nail, but a little down the nail so that the blue polish was still visible.
• Using two coats of Revlon Revlon Red, I created the same shape over the grey but a little more down so that the grey was still visible behind the red polish. 
• I sealed everything up with my favorite top coat.

I actually love how this turned out! It is much better than I was expecting. The best part about this mani is that it is super easy! And if creating the rounded tops are hard to do with the regular brush, I think using a detail brush to create the outline would help. Either way, this mani is super simple but fun. Plus, I love how the whole look makes each color pop!

What do you all think of my last TPC mani for May? Let me know below! If you want to see some more great looks, check out the ones the other challengers have created below.

I have a busy weekend ahead of me so I am not sure if I'll be able to post anything this weekend. If I do, then I do. But if not, check back on Monday to see my next 31DC post!

Tri-Polish Challenge (May #3) - Tie-Dye Explosion

Hello everyone!

Today is the third TPC post for May! These TPC posts finish so quickly; I can't believe that there is only one more post left for May! And even though May is almost over, Chicago can't seem to get its weather in check. Oh well...

Remember, the colors for May are Red, Grey, and Blue.

For today's post, I decided to use a drag marbling technique. I found an awesome tutorial by Brie from Lacquerheads of Oz. Take a look at how my attempt turned out!

To get this look:

• The tutorial says to use white as a base polish to create the look but I tried to do this several times with a white base polish and even if it was completely dry, I ended up peeling it over when I was dragging the other polishes.
• I worked with one nail at a time and first put a long red blob using Revlon Revlon Red on my nail, followed my a long grey blob using Revlon Midnight Haze, and then ended with putting a small blue blob using Revlon Coast is Clear. I put the blue last because it's a very thin polish and whenever I put it first, the red would end up mixing in with it and would overtake the blue.
• Then I used a toothpick (you can use a needle or any other pointy tool you may have) to drag the polish outwards (from the blue polish blob to the grey polish blob). 
• To get rid of the bumps and ridges, I added my favorite top coat.

It's the not as clean as Brie's tie-dye design but I think with some practice, I'll get used to this. I only got this end result after trying this out about 7 times on one of my nails, and I still ended up having to redo my middle nail three times after the other nails were done.

I think it turned out quite nice for a first attempt, don't you think? Have any of you ever tried the drag marbling technique? There are several other designs you can make with this aside from the tie-dye look.

I also love how the blue gives the whole look a nice pop! The pinky nail, to me, turned out the best, which is odd because usually I am the most disappointed with my pinky nail. Take a look at my pinky in the first picture I posted and the next picture.

Clean up was really hard. I should have used tape around my nails but I thought that it wouldn't get that bad. Clearly, I was so wrong and the nail polish decided to get back at me for not listening to the tutorial! I was also surprised at how hard this was for me considering the drag technique with a single polish blob is not hard at all. I even made a tutorial for that! Practice makes perfect, huh? I'll definitely keep trying!

Anyways, let me know what you think of this! Also, don't forget to check out the other great manicures from today! Check back on Thursday for the last TPC post for May.

31 Day (Week) Challenge - Day 17: Glitter

Hi guys!

Today, I have for you the next post in the 31 Day Challenge: Glitter manicure! I had a hard time thinking of something to do for this one so I decided to go find some inspiration. Kayla from Nails by Kayla Shevonne is my absolute favorite nail blogger so I went through her blog and found this! The whole manicure looked like so much fun so I knew that I had to try it out! My challenge mani for today is inspired by her Mish Mash Mint Mani.

To get this look:

• After applying a base coat, I applied two coats of Sinful Colors Timbleberry to use as my base polish color on all of my nails. It's such a pretty coral!
• Pointer: I used a dotting tool and Sinful Colors In The Spotlight to apply glitter dots randomly on my nail. I then used a small detail brush to outline the dots with Sinful Colors Black On Black.
• Middle: Using a small detail brush and Sinful Colors Black On Black, I made a drippy outline. Then I filled in the drips with Sinful Colors In The Spotlight using my detail brush.
• Ring: I used my detail brush to add a rectangular section of glitter to the side of my nail with Sinful Colors In The Spotlight. Then, using my small detail brush, I added the black outline and random black lines to the non-glitter area.
• Pinky: With Sinful Colors Black On Black and a small detail brush, I painted a triangle and the triangular lines. Then I filled in the gaps with Sinful Colors In The Spotlight using a detail brush.
• I smoothed everything out by applying my favorite top coat.

I think my drippy nail would have better if I made the drips using the glitter first and then outlining it. But what's done is done! I also don't like my pinky nail. Oh well. Out of all the nails, I think the pointer finger nail turned out the best with the leopard print!

However, all together, I do like this mani! I think it's fun and it's definitely something that would be fun to wear over the summer. What do you think?

I think the glitter went well with the coral polish as well. So that's always a plus!

Let me know what you think of this! I would love to get some feedback/tips form you.

Make sure you check out my friend's 31DC mani at My Life In Turquoise.

I have several great ideas for next week's 31DC mani so make sure you tune in next Monday! But before that, I have the 3rd post for you for May's Tri-Polish Challenge tomorrow. There's a cool technique that I saw that I want to try out for it.

That's 17 down and 14 more to go!

Tri-Polish Challenge (May #2) - Put Me Together

Hello hello!

Sorry for being a little late on this post (it's only 20 minutes late!!). I had guests over at my house all day and then had to go to an awards ceremony for my brother at his high school. It was a fun, busy day!

To recap, the colors for May are Red, Grey, and Blue.

I didn't have much time to create my manicure so I went with something that was super simple to create but cute at the same time. I've seen this kind of manicure around on many different blogs so I can't really put up a direct link for where I got my inspiration from. Anyways, check out what I have for you today!

To get this look:

• I started off with using Sinful Colors Snow Me White as my base polish color (after applying a base coat, of course).
• Using a detail brush and Revlon Revlon Red, Revlon Midnight Haze, and Revlon Coast is Clear, I created colored squares/blocks.
• After letting the blocks/squares dry completely, I used a large-sized dotting tool and all of the polishes to add dots in between each of the blocks, creating puzzle pieces that fit together.
• I sealed it all with my favorite top coat!

Before I go further, I want to apologize for the horrible pictures! I was in such a rush because we were getting late for the awards ceremony so I quickly took the pictures and ran out the door.

This manicure was probably one of the easiest ones I've ever created. There's really nothing to it because the squares don't have to be perfect and the dots don't necessarily have to be perfect either. As long as the dots overlap the squares, you're good to go! If any of you want me to make a tutorial for this, let me know in the comments section below so I can add it to my list of things to take care of ASAP!

What do you all think of my puzzle pieces attempt? I really like it! It's cute, fun, and ended up being a conversation starter for me at my brother's high school because of the bright, bold colors!

I've seen this manicure created with actual color themes, such as shades of colors, pastels, warm colors, etc. That's why I was a bit hesitant at first to do this, since it has no real color theme (aside from being nautical colors). But I think the colors worked well together! What do you all think? Let me know below!

Make sure you check out the other great looks for the 2nd TPC post. And be sure to check back on Monday for the next 31 Day Challenge post! I have a great idea and I'm very excited to try it out and show you how it ends up looking!

Tri-Polish Challenge (May #1) - Ikat Print

Hey guys!

The Crumpet'sTri-Polish Challenge is back for the month of May! I have the first post for that challenge for you today. But first, let me go over the rules again:

Rules:

• Crumpet's Nail Tarts will be choosing three colors each month and you must ONLY use those three colors to create the manicures
• The colors for May are Grey, Red, & Blue
• That being said, you have free use of white, black, silver, gold, and glitter toppers
• You must choose 1 polish to represent each color choice and use the same three polishes throughout the challenge
• The challenge has 4 posts each month: the Tuesday and Thursday of the 3rd and 4th week of each month 
• For May: 21, 23, 28, 30

 The brands/colors that I ended up choosing are:

Revlon Midnight Haze, Revlon Revlon Red, Revlon Coast is Clear

Revlon Midnight Haze is a metallic shimmery grey, Revlon Revlon Red is a bright red creme, and Revlon Coast is Clear is a light shimmery tiffany blue.

Now onto the good stuff! I decided to do ikat print for the first day of the challenge because I really wanted to do it in April but ended up not doing it. I also love how ikat looks and how the manicures for it end up turning out! Take a look at it.

 To get this look:

• I wanted to have a lighter base color so after applying my base coat, I used Revlon Coast is Clear as my base polish color.
• I then used Sinful Colors Snow Me White and a small detail brush to create white triangles on all of my nails.
• After the white had dried, I used Revlon Revlon Red to create a smaller, red triangle within the white triangles.
• Normally, the next step would use black polish, but since this is the first manicure for May's Tri-Polish Challenge, I wanted to use all three polishes. I used Revlon Midnight Haze to imperfectly outline the white triangles and then add a smaller triangle within all of the red triangles.
• I sealed the deal with my favorite top coat.

I absolutely love how it turned out! It's a cleaner version of the ikat because it is really supposed to be a little more rough looking (to compare, take a look at my other ikat print manicure) but I still like it.

What do you all think of it? Let me know in the comments section below!

Take a look at the other great manicures for the first post in the Tri-Polish Challenge!

31 Day (Week) Challenge - Day 16: Tribal Print

Hi guys!

I have the next manicure for the 31 Day Challenge for you. I think it looks fun and well...my brother said that it reminded him of the rugs that were in our hotel in Guatemala because of the print that I used. He's a little...odd? But in reality, they really do resemble them!

Anyways, let's get to the good stuff! This manicure was super fun to create and I now know that I love tribal print!

To get this look:

• I used Revlon Colorstay Bare Bones as the base polish on all of my nails and then decided to create the print over it.
• I used a small detail brush, thinnest striping brush, and dotting tools in various sizes, along with Revlon Lagoon Afternoon, Maybelline Color Show Orange Fix, and Sinful Colors Black On Black to create the various prints that you see.
• I sealed everything with my favorite top coat!

Coincidentally, my manicure ended up matching my outfit because I wore a nude colored dress. I love when things work out like that, don't you?

I hope you all liked my attempt at a tribal print manicure. This was my first real attempt at a tribal manicure (I had doodled on my nails in India and it ended up having a tribal-esque feel to it and my 2nd manicure for April's Tri-Polish Challenge mani had a tribal-esque quality to it). What do you think of it? I know that I need some work to make things a bit more even and cleaner, but I'm still happy considering it is my first attempt.

If you have any tips or suggestions, please let me know in the comments section below!

And as always, check out my friend's mani at My Life In Turquoise.

Now, that's 16 down and 15 more to go!! We're more than half way through this. No turning back now!

A quick word: My thoughts and prayers are with all of the families affected by the tornado in Oklahoma. It's devastating news but the heroic actions of the first response team lessened the blow. Stay strong, Oklahoma!

Weekly Challenge - Cocktail: "Shaken, Not Stirred"

Hi everyone!

Today is the last day for cocktail week! Something that I always think of when I hear the word "cocktail" is James Bond. Therefore, today's mani is inspired by 007! Two aspects of James Bond in particular served as my inspiration for this manicure:

http://scifipulse.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Bond_gunbarrel.jpg / http://0.tqn.com/d/cocktails/1/I/5/L/-/-/94116773_9.jpg

The first is the shot (no pun intended) of James Bond through a gun barrel and the second is the Vesper Martini, which James Bond always orders "shaken, not stirred" and claims to have created.

It's a rag tag mani but I think it works together just because I believe the main aspects of Bond were captured.

To get this look:

• Thumb: I tried to create the gun barrel by using Revlon Silver Screen as the base polish and Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen Black for the swirls. I also used Sinful Colors Snow Me White to make a white hole in the middle to show the open end of the barrel (the thumb was a bit of a fail; I tried to create a gun pointing back to towards the barrel, but I couldn't figure out how to do it in that small of a space).
• Pointer: The logo of James Bond "007" has to be in a JB mani! I used Revlon Top Speed Golden as the base polish and then used Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen Black to write 007. I had to add some "bling," aka glitter, so I used Sally Hansen Gem Crush Lady Luck.
• Middle: James Bond is always in a tux or a nice suit so I had to include that! I made the tuxedo using Sinful Colors Snow Me White and Sinful Colors Black On Black.
• Ring: The Vesper Martini! This is where the cocktail part of this challenge comes in. I used Revlon Top Speed Varnished as the base polish and then created the martini using Revlon Silver Screen and Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen Black. I tried to make the glass look frosted so I did that using Essie Matte About You and then I used Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen Yellow to make the hanging lemon peel. Again, I added some glitter from Sally Hansen Gem Crush Lady Luck to have a light, blingy effect.
• Pinky: What's 007 without his women, right? I added a strapless red dress to finish off the look. Revlon Top Speed Golden was used as the base polish once again and then the dress was made using Zoya Sarah. 

**I used a small detail brush and a dotting tool to make this mani**

I'm pretty pleased with this mani! It took a long time just because there were so many different polishes that were used and there was something a lot going on on each nail. Do any of you think of 007 when you think of drinks/cocktails? It's so classic for me!

Let me know if you all like it! I hope that you do. It was a little hard for me to make the mani because my nails are super narrow. I try to keep them a little longer to compensate; I need more room so I keep them longer since my nails are not wide at all. But I try! It definitely is a challenge trying to fit everything onto a skinny little section but it's not impossible.

Hopefully you all like it and if you want to take a look at my other cocktail challenge mani from this week, you can do so here.

Take a look at the manicures the other challengers created for this week below!

Now, I'm finally off to bed! I love the warm weather but my allergies have finally kicked in and they're definitely winning this war. Allergies: 1 | Ruthvi: 0   :(

Check back tomorrow for the next 31 Day Challenge post. Good night, everyone!

Nail Art Tutorial: Splatter

Hi everyone!!

I made my very first nail art tutorial today! The tutorial is for the splatter manicure that I created for Day 4 of April's Tri-Polish Challenge. I'm very excited to show it to all of you and I hope it helps!! If there is anything that I missed or if you would like me to include another step in future tutorials, please let me know in the comments section below.

To refresh, here's the manicure that I created for the Tri-Polish Challenge:

To get the look, you'll need:
The exact names of what I used are in parentheses, but you can use whichever brands/colors you prefer.

Base coat (Essie 3 Way Glaze) and top coat (Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat)

 

A toothpick/small-sized dotting tool/orange stick

White polish (Sinful Colors Snow Me White)

*Cream polishes work best*
**You can use any combination of colors*
Purple polish (Sinful Colors Amethyst), pinky coral polish (Sinful Colors Timbleberry), green polish (Sinful Colors Irish Green)

 

Now, onto the tutorial!

I hope this tutorial was helpful! And as I stated before, if any of you believe that I missed a step, or believe that I should explain something more clearly, let me know in the comments section below. Also, if you try out my tutorial, I would love to see pictures! Leave me a link in the comments section!

Weekly Challenge - Cocktails: Strawberry Peach Margaritas!!

Hi everyone!

I'm participating in weekly challenges by Laura. This week's theme is cocktails! What better theme could go along with the beautiful summer weather we've been having here in Chicago?

My favorite summer cocktail/drink is a frozen margarita, specifically, a strawberry, peach, or mango margarita! I chose to create a combo, strawberry and peach, frozen margarita. I got my inspiration from this picture:

www.barmano.com

Frozen margaritas usually have that frosty look to them and when they've been sitting for a little while, you can see the condensation on the glasses. That's what I tried to create with my mani: condensation on a frosty margarita glass!

To get this look:

• I started off with a base color coat of Revlon Mai Tai Ask? (perfect choice because even the name is cocktail-inspired!).
• The random gradient was created using Revlon Mai Tai Ask? and Revlon Colorstay Wild Strawberry (also perfect because I was going for a strawberry margarita and this one has strawberries in the name!).
• I then used Essie Matte About You to create the frosted look.
• A small sized dotting tool and Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat to add the condensation dots and drops.

What do you all think of my attempt?? I'm definitely in the mood for margaritas now!!

Check out the other great cocktail-inspired manis the other challengers have created below! The theme lasts until Saturday evening so I'm sure we'll be seeing more manicures throughout the week!

31 Day (Week) Challenge - Day 15: Delicate Print

Hi guys!!

Today's post might be a bit blah just because I had a hard time with this challenge. I have a stamping plate so I automatically knew that I would be using it to create today's delicate print mani. However, I had never used my stamping plate before! I thought it would be easy, but after trying it out, I realized I need a little practice with it; my print wasn't coming off the stamper cleanly.

Anyways, here's what that attempt ended up looking like:

"To get this look":

• I started off by applying Revlon Sunshine Sparkle as my base polish.
• I then used Revlon Midnight Haze and my B25 stamping plate to add the flowers, but as you can see, it didn't really work

I would have liked to spend the day practicing stamping, but as you can see from the picture above, the nails match my saree (Indian dress) that I had to wear for a wedding yesterday. I couldn't keep practicing because I had to go to the wedding in the morning and the reception in the evening! I ended up taking this all off and created a different mani.

This was my second, very quick, mani. I totally know that I'm cheating by using nail stickers, but I only had about 15 minutes left to do my nails before I had to start getting ready and leave for the day. It still satisfied the whole delicate print challenge for this day.

"To get this look":

• I used Revlon Silver Screen as my base polish.
• Then, I used some tweezers to put the CINA nail stickers on my nails after the base polish was mostly dry. I finished it all off with a top coat. 

To end result still matched my outfit and that's why I went with the colors and stickers that I used.

I am definitely going to keep practicing using a stamping plate and hopefully you'll be seeing me use them in some manicures in the future!! I love how stamping plates end up looking on manicures so I will be using them soon.

Make sure to check out my friend's post at My Life In Turquoise.

15 down, 16 more to go! We're basically half way done now!! So exciting :) Hopefully next week's challenge goes a lot better for me. 

Versatile Blogger Award

Hi everyone!!

I have some exciting news!! I have been nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award by Hetal from My Life In Turquoise. Hetal, thank you so much!!

The Rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you.
2. Include a link to their blog.
3. Select 15 new blogs/bloggers that you've recently discovered or follow regularly.
4. Nominate those bloggers for a Versatile Blogger Award, leave a link to their page and let them know they've been nominated.
5. Tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself.

7 Things About Me:

1. I love traveling. I've visited almost all of the 50 states and about 23 countries. However, I have not visited any South American country, so that's next on my list! Out of everywhere that I have been, my favorite countries (aside from India and the US, since I'm from there and live there, respectively) are probably Sweden and Luxembourg.
2. I read anything and everything! If you can't find me, I'm probably hidden away somewhere reading.
3. My favorite show, drama show, is LOST. To this day, and probably for a very long time, I think that LOST was the best show ever created. Season 3 kind of sucked, but they made up for ten-fold after that. There were tons of great hidden messages and lessons, and I'm pretty sure I liked it even more because it appealed to my Philosophy major.
4. My favorite color is deep/forest green.
5. I have a talent for baking and love to cook! I love finding new recipes, trying them out, and even modifying them to make them even better.
6. There are always concerts going on in my car and I am convinced I sound amazing. :P
7. I receive the most satisfaction when I am doing something that is directly helping another person. Because of this, I have been involved with a nonprofit organization for nearly 20 years.

My Nominees for the Versatile Blog Award:

1. 10 Blank Canvases 
2. A Polished Addiction
3. Amber Did It 
4. Bee Polished 
5. Criminal Nails 
6. Fall In...NaiLove 
7. From Glitter To Creme 
8. Gnarly Gnails 
9. Lethal Lacquer 
10. Mani's by Moore 
11. Nail Addicted Sisters 
12. Paint Those Piggies! 
13. Polish All The Nails
14. The Sequined Nail 
15. Wendy's Delights

Review & Swatches - Revlon Summer 2013 Haute Tropics Collection

Hello hello!

I hope everyone is having a great Wednesday. It feels like a Friday to me for some reason. Since summer is so bright, most of the summer collections usually have bright, bold nail polishes, and Revlon is no different! This is part of the Revlon Limited Edition Summer 2013 Haute Tropics Collection! Wow, that's a mouthful! The collection has eight bright, fun polishes, but I was only able to snag three, so those are the ones that I will be showing you.

The above three bottles are the only ones I was able to grab.

From left to right: Mai Tai Ask?; Lagoon Afternoon; Belize, Please
The names of the other polishes in the collection are: Cabana Queen; Plunge Pool; Coast is Clear;
Hello, Bali;  and Secluded Beach. They all look lovely so I hope I can get a hold of the rest soon and swatch those as well!

Mai Tai Ask? is a bright orange creme/jelly. It took about 2 coats to reach opacity, although 2 finger needed 3 coats, and the formula was a little runny, but not too bad. I absolutely love this color and I think it's just so fun looking that I wouldn't mind wearing it alone!

Just to see how the color would look with a topper, I added Sally Hansen Ice Queen.

Lagoon Afternoon is a deep, bright blue creme/jelly which totally reminds me of the ocean! I absolutely love the color and I needed 3 coats to reach opacity. The formula was also a tad bit too runny but after I got used to it, it wasn't a problem. My only concern with this one was that when I removed the polish, it stained my nails slightly blue (even though I used a base coat) so I'm not sure if I would use this one just alone on my nails, but then again, that always seems to happen with blue polishes so it isn't a big concern for me. I will probably definitely end up using it for some nail art.

Also, sorry about the pictures! I didn't even notice the blue on my palm until after I started editing the pictures.

Since this polish reminded me so much of water, I added Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Glass Slipper (flakies!!) to make it look like sparkling, crystal water! It really does look gorgeous!

Belize, Please is a hot pink/fuchsia creme/jelly. It required 2 coats to reach opacity and the formula was just like the rest, just a little bit on the runny side. This color is fantastic but I loved it even more after adding a topper! There were no stains with this one after removal.

My topper for this one was Sinful Colors Let Me Go and I think I liked this combo the best out of the three.

Regarding the formula, even though I said that they were a little runny, it's to be expected with jellies. They weren't hard to work with after you wiped off the excess polish from the brush.

Another quick note: I have been hearing around the nail community that this collection is full of dupes. I'm not sure if they are, but I love these polishes and the collection and in my opinion, there is always something that is different in every polish that is somewhat the same color, even if it's the slightest difference. 

Overall, these shades are very fun and perfect for the summer. This collection also really is Limited Edition because not only does it say "Limited Edition" on the displays at Walgreens, but the bottles also don't have numbers on the caps, which means they are limited edition. So get these while they're still here! Out of these three swatches, I would say that my favorite stand alone polish is probably Mai Tai Ask? because I've been liking orange a lot lately and then Belize, Please is my favorite with the topper that I picked out.

I have a great nail art idea with Lagoon Afternoon so hopefully I can show you all that soon!

The product(s) were purchased by me and I am providing an honest review.