Fourth Of July... Stars, Stripes and Fireworks...

In the spirit of celebrating Independence Day (USA), I created a Stars, Stripes and Fireworks manicure. I really wanted to incorporate the Statute of liberty, but since I do not have a stamping plate of that image, that idea was out the door. I would not dare to try to free hand that one! OMG...you would never make out what it was supposed to be! You might make out the basic outline of it somewhat resembles the figure of a person. But that is probably it. The torch would probably look like she is just holding an extra large hand above her head. I know my limitations. Maybe one day I will be able to do that...certainly not on this day! So, anyway this is what I came up with.

I didn't want to go with a stark white base and I didn't want anything that was looking more silver than white, because I wanted to stick with the colors of the American flag. So I had to do some layering for the base. I used one coat of Wet n Wild in French White Creme and then one coat of Sinful Colors in Out Of This World. It took the edge off the solid white and gave it a bit of sparkle...sparkle is always a plus! : )

Then added stamping of some stripes on the diagonal and topped that with some stars in the opposing color. I think that is pretty reminiscent of the American flag. And the Forth of July is never complete without some fireworks, so I had a stamp for that too!

For this manicure I applied the following:

• Sache Clear Base Coat...1 coat
• Wet N Wild, Wild Shine in French White Creme...1 coat
• Sinful Colors in Out Of This World...1 coat
• Out the Door...1 coat
• Nail Plates: CH5, BM02 and BM20
• Konad Special Polish in Red For Image Color
• Revlon Top Speed in Royal For Image Color
•  Sache Vite Top Coat...1 coat

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My Giveaway!

If you missed my 50 Follower Giveaway Posting...check it out! I am giving

 away some awesome polishes in honor of you all being so awesome! : ) 

 Thanks to those following my blog and Good Luck!

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GIVEAWAY ...My 50 Members Milestone!!

When I started this blog I really did not think I would have any followers! I am truly happy that I have acquired so many followers that read my blog in a relatively short amount of time. This group of "Nail Addicts/Enthusiasts" within the bloggers world are truly a very special, kind and encouraging group of people. You are all very talented and a great inspiration for me to try to do more creative manicures.

I wanted to thank you for visiting my blog to see what I have created and for being so kind, helpful and encouraging in your comments. What better way to show my appreciation then to have a Giveaway... thank you all so much! 

 

The Prize For This Giveaway...

There will be one winner drawn. The winner will receive the following 8 bottles of polish:

• (1) The Hungry Asian Polish in "I Hate Pink" - 5ml Mini Bottle, AND
• (1) The Hungry Asian Polish in "Pony" - 5ml Mini Bottle, AND 
• (1) Zoya in "Katie" - 15ml, AND 
• (1) Zoya in "Belle" - 15ml, AND 
• (1) Zoya in "Bijou" - 15ml, AND 
• (1) Zoya in "Coraline" - 15ml, AND 
• (1) Revlon in "Whimsical" - 15ml, AND
• (1) Revlon in "Popular" - 15ml.

The Rules For This Giveaway...

This giveaway will run from July 1st, 2012 (12:01 a.m. EST) until July 28th, 2012 (12:01 a.m. EST)

1. You *must* follow me publicly via GCF ...new followers are welcome and qualify.
2. You *must* provide your email address. This should be the email you want to be contacted at if you are the winner.
3. Earn extra chances to win by... leaving a comment on my Giveaway osting page.
4. Also earn extra chances to win by...  creating a link to this Giveaway on your blog. You can earn these extra points daily by creating a new link on a new blog posting daily. Limit is once per day. **All links will be verified as new links on new posts.**
5. Open Internationally...however, please look into any customs regulation against accepting nail polish to your country prior to entering.  Your country may not be accepting nail polish, so please consider this before you enter. I will not be held responsible for customs regulations. Any issues with customs are not my responsibility once the package has been mailed to you.
6. You must be a minimum of 18 years old... and if you are not please have your parent's permission because I will need your mailing address if you are the winner.
7. The winner will have 48 hours to respond via email notification. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours another winner will be selected.
8. The winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter.

 Any questions email me at BullieChick "at" gmail "dot" com.

**Update...since I have posted my email address I have been getting these ridiculous spam emails. I altered the email address, which I know we can all "decode" it. Hopefully this will help stop the spams. If not I will have to take my email down and just revert to posting comments and question in the postings comment section.** 

Good Luck to everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Revlon Scandalous MEETS... Orly Bubbly Bombshell

 Thanks to Tropical Storm Debby, I had an extra day off work. Along with ten inches of rainfall, Debby brought some of Florida a few tornadoes, trees down all over the place, flooding everywhere, and some new sinkholes! So my boss called and said she was closing and did not want us coming into work because the roads were too dangerous. What to do, what to do with the extra time…yup…manicure time!

 I decided on doing a very sparkly mani with a bit of contrast… Revlon Scandalous… meet Orly Bubbly Bombshell! Then to tie it all together I did a little stamping over the Bubbly Bombshell. I selected a smaller stamping image and kept it close to the cuticle line because I did not want to cover up to much of the AMAZING sparkle of the Bubbly Bombshell... I just wanted to tie it all together.

These are both fantastic polishes, but I have to say helloooo Bubbly Bombshell! I am in love with this polish and if you are on the fence about it or are looking for some phenomenal glitter then I highly recommend buying it! It is gorgeous! It has amazing sparkle and then when I put on the topcoat it blew my socks off! 

For this manicure I applied the following:

• Milani Smoothe Base Coat
• Orly Bubbly Bombshell (on all except the ring finger)...2 coats
• Revlon in Scandalous (on ring finger)...2 coats
• Nail Life Aromaherapy...1 drop on each nail
• Nail Plate BM10
• Konad Special Polish in Black
• Seche Vite...1 coat

Nicole by OPI... Iceberg Lotus

I was feeling like a bit of color this weekend, so I grabbed this gorgeous turquoise from Nicole by OPI in Iceburg Lotus. Overall, this is a great polish.

The color will have you staring at your nails all day. It is a beautiful bright, sparkly turquoise! It is green glass flecked with blue duochrome. The brush is pretty amazing. It is nice and wide and only took a couple swipes for each nail. It went on very easy, but did take 3 coats for full coverage.

If you guys have not checked out Jessica's Nail Tails yet you should jump on over there...

Jessica's Nail Tails is having an Indies Giveaway. She is celebrating her 100 member milestone that happen to fall on her birthday! Happy Birthday Jessica! < : )

Don't forget to enter! Entries end on June 26th.

For this manicure I applied the following:

• Milani Smoothe Base Coat
• Nicole by OPI in Iceburg Lotus...3 coats
• Out the Door...1 coat

New Job Suitable? Wet N Wild Megalast Sugar Coat, Revlon Starry Pink

Well, I started a new job and I am trying to keep my nails subdued for awhile...maybe the first couple weeks...blahhhh! My nails were naked for the first two days! I just had a top coat on them. For today, I went with Wet n Wild in Sugar Coat and it is a very nice pink, but it just needed a little something more! What could I possible add to this mani that would not be too much? I was searching my stash and lookie what I found...Revlon in Starry Pink...perfect...a little glitter that is not too much. ; )

I love both these polishes. Wet n Wild Magalast in Sugar Coat was a nice creme light pink with a good amount of color in it, but it still needed 3 coats. It has the "ManiCurve Pro Brush", which I love and have *raved* about it previous posts. It is a great full brush, but may not be for those with narrow nail bed.

The Revlon in Starry Pink is full of both small and hex silver glitters in a nice base of light pink. The base of this polish is almost a spot on match of the Wet n Wild Megalast Sugar Coat.

Is this "New Job Appropriate" to you? Well, we probably will all think that it is, so I guess the real question is... Do you think Non-Nail Polish Addicts would find this to be appropriate for the work place?  

For this manicure I applied the following:

• Milani Smoothe Base Coat
• Wet n Wild Megalast in Sugar Coat...3 coats
• Out the Door...1 coat
• Revlon in Starry Pink...1 coat
• Seche Vite...1 coat

 
See all Wet n Wild Megalast Polishes posts...
The entire line of colors are amazing!

Black to White Gradient... Revlon Snow Bunny... Inspiration

I really wanted to use this color, Revlon in Snow Bunny because I have been loving it since I bought it. It keeps catching my eye every time I pass my polish racks... but then again there are so many of the polishes *screaming* out my name as I pass by! I really did not want to do just a pure white nail in this color...it was just not appealing to me for this color, but I love, love this polish color. I snatched it off the shelf at Target as soon as my eyes laid upon it! 

Every time I think of this polish, Revlon Snow Bunny, my mind keeps going to my dog... her name is Bunny. So I used her as my inspiration and decided to do a black to white sparkly gradient, as she is black and white and she likes sparkles and glitters. Ok... I like sparkles and glitters on her, but she looks soooo good in them! ; )

This is Bunny...love her! She is the best little dog!

OMG...how she loves to go to Lowe's and all the workers know her too! She kept laughing at this hat when it was on the rack and would not stop carrying on over it, so I put it on me and she about went through the roof. Then I put it on her and she though it was the best thing since sliced bread. Look at that huge grin! Needless to say, I had to buy the hat! : )

Ok...back to the nails.

And so here is my first crack at a gradient...

As I am writing this post I am in a quandary regarding the proper way to go about a color gradient. I have seen many tutorials on this and several different methods used.  I think I may have used a "cheating" way to do this mani. A color gradient is really only supposed to me made of two colors, if I am reading this correctly... Wikipedia defines this as a "Linear Gradient" and reads...

"A linear color gradient is specified by two points, and a color at each point. The colors along the line through those points are calculated using linear interpolation, then extended perpendicular to that line. In digital imaging systems, colors are typically interpolated in an RGB color space, often using gamma compressed RGB color values, as opposed to linear."

Next time I do a gradient I think I will implement a different technique with this definition in mind.

Have you guys tried the gradient yet? How do you do your gradients? Do you use just 2 colors or 3 or 4 colors? :/

For this manicure I applied the following:

• Milani Smoothe Base Coat
• Pure Ice in Electric!
• Spoiled in Black Mamba
• Sally Hansen Extreme in Celeb City
• Revlon in Snow *Bunny* :D
• Out the Door...1 coat
• Sache Vite...1 coat

Wet n Wild Megalast... Tropicalia... Pink

Today I have Wet n Wild Megalast in Tropicalia and this is a great polish as well! It is a lovely creme in a nice, bright pink...full of color. It applies very nicely and it's probably due to the big, fat, full brush they call the ManiCurve Pro Brush! I only needed two coats for full coverage and it dried very fast. Overall, I love this polish!

This brush is my favorite brush I have used to date. It is called a "ManiCurve Pro Brush" and no other brush I have tried is better, in my opinion. Those with very narrow nail beds may have a hard time with this brush...mine are of average size. It applies and spreads over the nail so nicely and it only takes two swipes to apply the polish on my nails and one swipe for my pinky....love that! : ) 

For this manicure I applied the following:

• Milani Smoothe Base Coat
• Wet n Wild Megalast in Tropicalia...2 coats
• Out the Door...1 coat

This is a great one, especially if you love pink! : )

THE REST OF THE STORY
See all Wet n Wild Megalast Polishes posts...
The entire line of colors are amazing!

Tie Dye Under Waves and Circles... Psychedelic Design!

I had the day off work today so I had some extra time to try something new. I really wanted to try something with a bit of color and interest  to the design. So I decided to try a modified tie dye design for the base polish to create a psychedelic look to the stamping. 

And boy, oh boy was it sooo hard to get seven lines of seven different colors on each nail! Some were more successful than others...some you can barely see the purple, but thats OK, not a big deal.  Lesson learned...my beloved fat, thick brushes are horrible for this mani...yes, I am looking at you my favorite little Wet n Wild Megalasts! Keep in mind the width of your brushes when selecting your color palette! It is best to use polishes with narrow brushes for sure.

 Next, instead of smudging the colors lightly with my dotting tool to create the tie dye, I went a bit more heavy handed to take *off* some of the polish. My idea was to try to get that difference in the base color to come through the stamping to get that psychedelic look. You can see it better in the last pic in this posting. I can see it somewhat...not as much as I was hoping for...it's ok...I like it overall. : )

This mani took foreeeeever to do and my neck could use a chiropractor! It could certainly be better, but for the first time attempting something this intricate I am Ok with it. 

For this manicure I applied the following (loooog list!):

• Milani Smoothe Base Coat
• Wet n Wild in I Red A Good Book (red)...1 stripe on each nail
• Sinful Colors Nail Art in Bad Chick (white)...1 stripe on each nail
• Sally Hansen Extreme in Sun Kissed (orange)...1 stripe on each nail
• Confetti in Margarita Senorita (yellow)...1 stripe on each nail
• Sinful Colors in Exotic Green (green)...1 stripe on each nail
• Sinful Colors in Grecian Sun (blue)...1 stripe on each nail
• Wet n Wild in On A Trip (purple)...1 stripe on each nail
• Out the Door...1 coat
• Nail Plates BM-206, CH7 and RA-106  
• Sinful Colors in Snow Me White For Image Color
• Sache Vite...1 coat

You can see the psychedelic look in the stamping better in this closer up pic. Ok...I am exhausted from this mani, but it was fun to do. I need a nap! ;)

Double Stamping... Wet n Wild... Club Havana

I wanted to stretch this mani out because I love this color, Wet n Wild in Club Havana. So I decided to do a little stamping on it. I found a cute, simple little image of two basic flower shapes. I thought I would use this and try randomly placing them in multiple stampings so it did not look too uniform or identical across every nail...and here is what I came out with.

I am not much of a fan of the stampings on my pinky and ring finger...the overlapping of the same white colored flowers are too muddled. If they were stampings of different colors that overlapped it would probably look better?!? What do you think? Do you have any experience with that?
 I don't know...something to experiment with later.  : )

For the most part I am happy with it. It is cute and summery.

Ok...now what am I going to do next?....I think about this way too much...at work...when I should be sleeping, etc.  ; )

For this manicure I applied the following:

• Milani Smoothe Base Coat (applied previous day)
• Wet  n Wild on Club Havana...2 coats (applied previous day)
• Out the Door...1 coat (applied previous day)
• Nail Plate RA 106 
• Sinful Colors in Snow Me White For Image Color
• Sache Vite...1 coat

Other Wet n Wild Megalast Polishes:

•  
• Wet n Wild Megalast Tropicalia
•  Wet n Wild Megalast Candy-Licious / Rose Bonbon
• Wet n Wild Break the Ice
• Wet n Wild Megalast On A Trip
• Wet n Wild Megalast Sugar Rush
• Wet n Wild Megalast Club Havana
• Wet N Wild Megalast Undercover

A SWEEEEET ONE!...Wet n Wild Megalast...Club Havana

I really wanted to try another one of the Wet n Wild Megalasts colors I got a couple weeks ago. I loved everything about the purple one called, One A Trip so much I went and bought all the colors in this line...except one red one, but that's OK because I am not the biggest fan of reds.

So here we have Wet n Wild Megalast in Club Havana and I love everything about this polish as well! It is a creme and a nice vivid, bright orange, but not too bright. It applies like a dream mostly due to the fact that the brush rocks! It may be a tiny bit on the thick side though... the only con for this polish. I only needed two coats for full coverage and it dried very fast. Overall, I love this polish!

This is a great summery orange. I will surely be keeping this color in the forefront of my polishes for the summer months...and probably the winter months too. Sweeeeet color!

For this manicure I applied the following:

• Milani Smoothe Base Coat
• Wet n Wild Megalast in Club Havana...2 coats
• Out the Door...1 coat

This brush is one of my favorites I have used to date...no, actually... it is my favorite. It is called a "Manicurve Brush" and no other brush I have tried is better, in my opinion. Those with very narrow nail beds may have a hard time with this brush...mine are of average size. It applies and spreads over the nail so nicely and it only takes two swipes to apply the polish on my nails and one swipe for my pinky....love that! : )

THE REST OF THE STORY
See all Wet n Wild Megalast Polishes posts...
The entire line of colors are amazing!