Nails Inc. Magnetic Nail Polish

November 20:

Magnetic nail polish is one of those things I have wanted to try since I've seen it pop up on European blogs. Thanks to Nails Inc. being sold at Sephora, I have finally gotten my hands on some. It is just as amazing as I thought it would be (even more so when I found out the design shifts on nails to look 3-d).

Here is two coats of Trafalgar Square. The way this works is you paint on coat of the polish (or any base color you want) without using the magnet. Then on the second coat you go one nail at a time. Polish, magnet, polish magnetic, until all nails are complete. I'd let this sit for at least five minutes before adding topcoat because I got some dragging (thought nothing too terrible). This polish dries really really fast and is great for an out the door manicure, however, I found it to be very chippy. It wasn't as bad as holo polishes but be warned it is not a good choice if you want something to last (like going on vacation without painting your nails would not be a good idea).

Overall, I am in love with this. I bought both shades Nails Inc. had to offer and I cannot wait to try some more!

Until next time,

Happy painting!

The Nailventuress

Butter London Wallis

November 19:

School classes are done, now all I've got left are finals. To celebrate I've been listening to Christmas music and wearing glittery nail polish, however, I feel as if I haven't paid my fall polish colors enough attention!

Here is Butter London's Wallis. This is a gorgeous bronze-y green that I picked up while on a mini-vaction. The color always appealed to me and I figured if I was ever going to buy it, it would be on a shopping trip! I am so glad I did bring this polish home because it just glows.

This was three coats to be safe. It lasted a long time, was very easy to apply and really stood out on my nails. This was also my first Butter London to try and I am so happy it was a good experience. Luckily, I have two more Londons to try (they had a buy two get one free sale but I split it with my mom and then got one for my birthday).

Until next time,

Happy painting!

The Nailventuress

Neon Red, Oh How Wonderful!

October 18

A while back I headed over to Sally's to take advantage of a coupon that I had and picked up some China Glaze nail polish. One of the polishes I picked up was Rose Among Thorns. To my surprise it is a bright red jelly neon. In Sally's I thought it was going to be a florescent pink but its more orangey red.

The application was one of the best I have had with a neon. This was three coats and it lasted for almost two weeks with minimal chipping! Can you believe it? Any time I don't have to apply 5+ coats of neon over a white I am happy. The non-chipping was a big bonus.

At the end of the manicure I added some grey crackle on top and got a look that reminded me of lava. This was a total win of a manicure as far as I am concerned.

Until next time,

Happy painting!

The Nailventuress

Manicure catch up!

August 25:

Has it really been a month? Woops.

Here are some manicures that I have sported recently!Fourth of July Manicure

Zoya Areej (a gift from Rita, thanks!)

Milani Cyberspace

Sally Hansen Cafe Au Lait

Until next time,

Happy painting!

The Nailventuress

The End of an Era: Harry Potter Nails (Pic Heavy)

July 15:

I can't believe that the Harry Potter series has come to a close. I started reading the books when I was ten and now I am twenty. It was hard waiting for the last installment of the movie, however, I kept telling myself to enjoy this anticipation because that meant the series wasn't over just yet. Now I've seen 7.2 and it was everything I could have ever hoped for in a Potter movie...well it was missing Peeves but what were the chances they were going to include him after leaving him out for the other seven films. Anyone else think Peeves was the best character (besides Fred)? Anyone?

For my manicure, I painted images from all seven books as well as Harry Hedwig and Harry's scar.

Left:

Pinky- sorcerer's stone and mirror of erised

Ring- Tom Riddle's diary and the sword of Gryffindor

Middle- Buckbeak and the time turner

Pointer- the goblet of fire and three wands to represent the triwizard tournament

Thumb- Harry Potter

Right:

Pinky- Harry's scar

Ring- Voldemort's eyes and the Deathly Hallows symbol

Middle- the Half Blood Prince's book and the horcrux locket

Pointer- a Phoenix to represent the Order of the Phoenix and 13 for 13 Grimwald Place

Thumb- Hedwig

Anyone else go to the midnight release? I can't believe it's all over but I truly loved the last film and the whole series! Oh, I totally cried through most of the film and then got teary-eyed when the credits came up, good thing I had water-proof mascara.

Until next time,

Happy painting!

The Nailventuress

Do Zombies exist?

July 6:

I am sitting in bed contemplating this question right now. See, I watched a horror movie and now I can't sleep because I've frightened myself into thinking I am going to fall victim to a random zombie attack. This is why I shouldn't watch horror films. Anyone else get like this? (Perhaps I am the only one haha, I get scared much to easily)

The one positive outcome of my zombie scare is I can post pictures from my China Glaze "Zombie Zest" manicure which I forgot to do a while ago. Perfect timing, no?

This was three coats of ZZ. I was lucky enough to grab ZZ and Ick-A-Bod-y for $1.99 at Sally's a while back. ZZ is gorgeous polish and quite a bit different from my other green polish. I think ZZ gave of some yellow flashes but I don't know if I would go so far as to call it a duochrome. The lack of opacity in the formula surprised me. I assumed it would be a two coater, though three is fine with me, but in the end I think being a sheer polish helped add to the overall effect. This is exactly what I think of when I think of Zombie skin...creepy? Just a bit.

Later today I am going for my first professional pedicure (or nail treatment) since I started on my nail polish obsession. I don't trust anyone with my fingernails but I figure a pedicure should be safe. Wish me luck!

Until next time,

Happy painting!

The Nailventuress

Manhattan 610K Winner

July 3:

Is this my third post today? Well the winner has already responded to my email so I am excited to announce that Janelle @ Life. Love. Nailpolish. will be the next recipient of the traveling polish. Feel free to drop by her blog and say hello.

Until next time,

Happy painting!

The Nailventuress

Essie Van d'go

July 3:

Essie "Van d'go" has quickly become one of my favorite pinks of all time. It is kind of peachy and makes my hands look tan and my nails look perfect. I wish I could wear this color all the time!

On a side note, I am about to head over to Sephora to pick up Tarte's new True Blood palette. Has anyone else seen/obsessed over this yet?

Until next time,

Happy painting!

The Nailventuress

Manhattan 610K

July 3:

The winner has been drawn and contacted as soon as I get a response from her I will link her blog and get the polish on its way!

Until next time,

Happy Painting!

The Nailventuress

Manhattan 610K Update!

June 28:

I am popping out for a mini vacation in a few hours so I will post the results of the Manhattan contest when I return. As such, you may still enter, if you wish, until Friday July 1. On Friday I will draw the winner and as soon as they reply to my email get the polish on its way.

Click here for the contest!

Until next time,

Happy painting!

The Nailventuress

Canada and Virginia: Pic Heavy

June 25:

We made it to Ohio so it is time for more manicure pictures!

Three coats of OPI's "At Your Quebec and Call." This is another polish that I got from Rita and I am in love with it! The olive green is so gorgeous and it flashes orange occasionally.

Anyone know what this is? Sadly I only had an ice capp the morning I left Canada and now I will forever be craving it! Why can't we have Tim Horton's in Illinois? Why?

Three coats of Essie "Flirty Fuchsia" (thanks Rita!) and one coat of Sally Hansen's "Byte." Fun and bright to go along with the hot weather in Virginia.

Outside the White House. This was kind of hard to take a picture of but so much fun!

Crumbs cupcake. Ever had one? It's amazing! We stopped at Union Station and I was surprised to see Crumbs there, I have only been to the one in Chicago.

CQ polish I picked up at Rite Aid. Idyllic looks like a berry/green duochrome.

Some cross stitch I did in the hotel.

Three coats of OPI's "Yodel Me On My Cell." Such a beautiful turquoise blue I cannot wait to put Deborah Lippmann's "Across the Universe" on top!

My travel knitting! A colorful stripped Noro scarf that I have only knit on while in the car. So much fun!

Until next time,

Happy painting!

The Nailventuress

Canada nails continued...

June 25:

We are heading to Ohio today and plan to stay overnight and enjoy Cedar Point tomorrow. I am so excited! The trip has been great and though I only ended up picking up a few polishes, I am very very happy with the ones I got. While in Virginia I grabbed a CQ polish from Rite Aid that I cannot wait to try out seeing as it is all duo-chromy and all. And waiting for me at home is a gorgeous bottle of Deborah Lippmann's "Across the Universe." AtU is my first Lippmann polish and I cannot wait to get back and put her on. I even painted my nails with three coats of OPI's "Yodel Me On My Cell" in anticipation of slapping on AtU as soon as I unwrap the packaging.

Here is my GOSH manicure. Miss Mole was my first GOSH and oh my goodness was it wonderful! One coat (though I am wearing two) was perfect and the color lasted for five days without chipping on me!

I have a few more manicures from this trip to post so I think I will do them in a large post. In the mean time here are some pictures from my stop at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto...otherwise known as one of the best days of my life!

Go Hawks!!!!! This picture was taken while we were still the reigning champs...congrats to the Bruins though I would have rather seen the Canucks win. (On a side note: I'll miss you Brouwer and Campbell!)

Until next time,

Happy painting!

The Nailventuress

Day 1 and 2: Niagara Falls, ON and GOSH polish

June 12:

So far our trip has been wonderful. The drive to Canada wasn't bad at all, I knit and slept for the most part. Yesterday we relaxed after we arrived. Today we went on the Maid of the Mist and ate a Tim Hortons (I'd been wanting to do this for a while!).

My sister and I asked our dad to take us to Shopper's Drug Mart and I was lucky enough to score some GOSH polish on sale for $1.99!

Meet Miss Mole and Miss Sweety. Tonight I think Miss Mole is going on my nails. This is my first time owning/using GOSH nail polish so we'll see how it goes. I might have to go back for more.

Still haven't found any Joe fresh polish but maybe when we go to Toronto I will.

Until next time,

Happy painting!

The Nailventuress

Off to Canada!

June 11:

I should be asleep right now but I wanted to get this post in before I left. I'll be gone on vacation for the next two weeks in Canada and the US East Coast! I am so excited to go and definitely hope to pick up some new nail polish, anyone have suggestions and where to go or what brands to get?

This is the manicure I have been sporting for the past few days, it is my celebratory summer manicure. Three coats of OPI's "Bright Lights Big Color" and some fimo fruit! This was a fun and quick manicure I did after all of my finals were over. Of course I needed some Dairy Queen as well ;)

I had intended to change it before leaving but I was behind in packing so that never happened. Instead I am bringing OPI's "At Your Quebec and Call" (Thanks Rita!) with me to paint my nails in the hotel.

Vacation polish list:

OPI "At Your Quebec and Call"

China Glaze "Lemon Fizz"

China Glaze "Light as Air"

OPI "Let Me Entertain You"

OPI "Yodel me on my Cell"

Zoya "Kelly"

Essie "Flirty Fuchsia" (Thanks again Rita!)

I think that's all!

Wi-fi permitting I will have some posts coming soon. For some reason, I tend to blog more while on vacation.

Don't forget to enter the Traveling Polish Contest!

Wish me luck on my trip!

Until next time,

Happy painting!

The Nailventuress

Traveling Polish Contest!

June 3:

As I mentioned a little while ago I was the recipient of the traveling polish. This polish started off in Germany and has been all over the world since then. Kamila was the last person to have this polish (as well as some other treats!) and she sent it to me from Poland! Although I'd love to keep this polish, the time has come to send it on its way. That means it is also time for a contest!

To enter:

If you have a blog and would like to be entered in to win this polish just leave a comment below with your blog url! Just make sure to pass it along when you receive the polish. I will be traveling in a few days so I am keeping this open until June 27th after which I will pull a random winner and ship this polish out.

Here is how I wore it:

Two coats of the lovely Manhattan 610k followed by OPI's "Show It and Glow It" SOPI's "Flurry Up" and China Glaze's "Fairy Dust". I love the way this sparkles and all of the purple makes me happy!

Good luck!

Until next time,

Happy painting!

The Nailventuress

Polish polish and the Traveling Manhattan 610K

May 24:

Hey! So a few weeks ago I found out I had won the traveling polish! This time it was coming to me from the lovely Kamila and I received it in the mail two weeks ago. That means that as soon as I get my manicure posted I will be holding a contest for the next blogger this beauty is going to end up with! Stay tuned.

In the package Kamila also included some Polish polish which I cannot wait to wear, they are all so pretty! Thank you so much Kamila :)

Look for a post in a few days with my manicure/contest!

Until next time,

Happy painting!

The Nailventuress

Royal Wedding Nails

May 20:

School. Takes up all my free time. Basically. I've had papers in every class and it has been non stop but there should be a bit of a down time for this weekend so I hope to get everything posted that I have been planning on.

For now here is my belated Royal Wedding manicure. Very simple but I rocked it for a week. This was two coats of Revlon's "Royal" and I drew on the flag design on my ring finger.

My nails are a bit shorter now because they were getting too long for my liking but I had to keep some length.

Up next will be a post about some traveling polish from Poland :D Can't wait to talk about it!

Until next time,

Happy painting!

The Nailventuress

Playoff Hockey Nails

May 4:

So both of the teams I did this manicure for were eliminated already but I loved this manicure so much I had to post it. Hockey is one of those non-makeup obsessions of mine and I simply love combining it with nail art. It gets me painting my nails and focused on the game at the same time!

My number one favorite team is the Chicago Blackhawks (big surprise? I live there haha) and I was happy just to see them in the playoffs. Got to go to a few playoff games, my favorite games out of the whole year, and did Blackhawks nails to match but that may be for a later post.

My second favorite team is the New York Rangers, just love them, no reason why really. They went in to the playoffs 8th, like the Hawks, and lost to the number one team, like the Hawks, but it was great getting to watch a lot of playoff hockey. (I missed the only Rangers win because I was at a Hawks game, oh well.

For the base on the Hawks nails I used OPI's "Thrill of Brazil" and for the Rangers I used "Dating a Royal." For the actual designs I used whatever I had on hand. This was one of my all time favorite manicures and I didn't want to take it off but eventually I had to.

Sports manicures anyone?

Until next time,

Happy painting!

The Nailventuress

While on the topic of neons...

April 20:

I figured I go ahead and post the other ones I have worn recently.

Eye searing neon #1 is China Glaze's "Pink Voltage". While I dislike the amount of coats neons require (which may just be China Glaze, my Color Club neon seemed fine) the pay off at the end it worth it. PV required 5 thin coats to be opaque, though I have seen people get away with three. Neons make up for numerous coats with quick dry time so 5 coats takes as long as 3 coats of a creme. Most dry matte so make sure to add some top coat! What I love about PV is the slight purple shimmer in the hot pink base. I think that brings up the intensity a bit more and adds an absolutely gorgeous effect.

Eye searing neon #2 is China Glaze's "Sun Worshipper". It is like a mac and cheese powder orange that requires just as many coats as any other China Glaze neon. Someone commented saying it made their hands look grey so I figured I'd post a picture of how mine looked. In most lights my hands looked fine but occasionally they turned blueish grey (see the difference in the pictures?). I still love this color and I want it to work. Maybe it will be better in the summer when I have a bit of a tan.

My favorite tip for keeping neons chip free, since they love to chip on my, is going of the tips and sides of my nails with top coat as soon as I apply top coat to the nail. This helps prevent chipping to make your manicure last longer!

Until next time,

Happy painting!

The Nailventuress

Got a blog? Plug it here!

April 19:

I have seen lots of bloggers with specific posts for plugging blogs and absolutely love the idea. What a great idea to find some new blogs to follow and give bloggers a chance to promote themselves :) So if you have got a blog, youtube channel, twitter, etc. post it in the comments below for all to see.

I'm looking forward to seeing your blogs!

The Nailventuress

Need a highlighter?

April 18:

Well I've got some on my nails. Not really but China Glaze's "Celtic Sun" comes pretty close to actual highlighter fluid.

This manicure it two coats of OPI's "Alpine Snow" and four coats of CS. Yes, four coats on top of two coats of white. On its own, CS dries very fast, but AS was not dry enough so I ended up with a ton of bubbles in this manicure. I am not sure which I hate more, bubbles or fuzzies in my manicure.

I don't even want to think about how many coats of CS I would have needed without AS underneath because the formula looks like highlighter fluid and clear polish. In the end it is worth it and this color is not as horrific or blinding as I thought it would be. Simply a wonderful neon. What's your favorite neon?

I've got some exciting news, but I'll leave that for later.

Until next time,

Happy painting!

The Nailventuress

Giveaway Winner!!

April 12:

Thanks to everyone who entered my giveaway! It was quite fun to have one :) After tallying up all the entries the winner is cushy!!! Congratulations! I will be sending off your package tomorrow. Go check out her blog and enjoy!

The Nailventuress

Giveaway Closed

April 9:

The giveaway is officially closed. Thank you to everyone who entered, I had over 60 total entries. I have contacted the winner so when she responds to me I'll post it on here. Thanks again and I am sure I will do more of these in the future.

The Nailventuress

Last Two Days to Enter the Giveaway

April 8:

Just dropping by to remind everyone that my giveaway will be ending tomorrow at 12:00 am CST.

You can still go ahead and enter here!

Good Luck :)

The Nailventuress

Merry Turquoise Polka dots

April 2:

Happy April! Is it really month four of 2011...I guess it is. And since we are already in April that means the end of my giveaway is approaching. But do not worry, you still have a week to enter which you can do here! The response so far has been great and quite a lot of you wanted to see more nail art so I have some for you today.

This manicure was intended as a scotch tape manicure but I fell in love with polka dots and went with them instead. Two weeks ago when I met up with my friend to watch Jane Eyre we traded polish and I ended up with OPI's "Merry Midnight" and "Austentatious Turquoise," both of which I had wanted to try for awhile. Sadly, they are returning to their owner soon but our time together was quite fun.

I painted three coats of each polish on my nails. MM surprised me at its opacity, I thought it would have been more sheer, and the formula was a bit think. AT on the other hand was a sheer mess. It looked better in the bottle but still fun on my nails. I don't think I will be purchasing this in the future though.

After letting the polish dry for a bit I added polka dots in one corner of the nail in the alternate color. The effect of both polishes was pretty neat in polka dot form. I will probably be doing this again with some other colors!

Don't forget to head over and enter my giveaway if you haven't so far, thanks to everyone who has already!

Until next time,

Happy painting!

The Nailventuress

Wet Cement and Bacon

March 27:

The giveaway is going great so far thanks to everyone who is entering :D You still have lots of time to enter here, good luck!

Last weekend I went to a Rockford Icehogs hockey game and the mascot for the team is a hog (duh) so I decided I would try to do something for the team. Usually if I am going to a Blackhawks game I will paint on jerseys or team feathers but I didn't really feel like doing that for the Icehogs. Instead I decided to go with the hog theme and stamped some bacon on my nails. Weird, yes, but oh so fun!

This manicure was three coats of Sally Hansen's "Wet Cement" which I wore as my Jane Eyre manicure. I thought gray was a very fitting color for watching the movie. Then I used OPI's "2o Candles on My Cake" which is one of my favorite reds for nail art. Unfortunately I think this color may be discontinued now so when I run out of this bottle I am not sure what I'll do :( Hopefully it is not and I am just imagining things.

Yesterday while at the radio station my co-host/fellow nail polish addict (the one who got me hooked on nail polish) surprised with a ton of gorgeous nail polish (I have one of the shades on now) and killed a HUGE lemming of mine with a tube of Sephora's Blue Waters lip gloss. I repeat, I am now the owner of blue lip gloss! I never thought I'd see the day and I was so surprised! Thanks so much Rita, I don't know if I can say it enough!

I'll have pictures from some of these polishes soon! Also, I am thinking of adding some other makeup bits on this blog, thoughts?

Until next time,

Happy painting!

The Nailventuress

{CLOSED} I can't wait...here it is, the giveaway!!!!

March 23:

I am too excited for this giveaway so here it is :D

The winner will receive:

1 bottle of Sinful Colors "Nail Junkie"

1 bottle of Wet'n Wild "Kaleidoscope"

Sinful Colors 5 piece mini set

Rules:

-Must be a follower through GFC (+1 entry)

-Leave follower name

-Leave email for me to contact you if you win

Extra entries:

-like The Nailventuress on Facebook; leave your profile name in the comment(+1 entry)

-tell me what you would like to see more of on my blog (+1 entry)

-blog about my giveaway; post the link in the comment (+1 entry)

This will run until Saturday April 9 Midnight CST. The giveaway is open to international followers as well. Good luck!!!

Happy painting!

The Nailventuress