Monkey See Monkey Do Monday: Leopard and Stripes

Happy Monday! Well, as happy as a Monday can be, anyway... I see so much great nail art on blogs, so I thought it would be a great idea to try to recreate some of them through Monkey See Monkey Do (MSMD) Monday.  Today's design comes from Rebecca Likes Nails who copied it from Chalkboard Nails. I would have never though to combine stripes and leopard print, but i love it! I actually matched my outfit to my nails today with a striped shirt and leopard print scarf. I think it's my new favorite outfit.

Now on to the nails. My stripes are not as crisp as I would like, but hopefully they will be easier to do once the striping tape I ordered gets here. The leopard print was really easy to do. I followed this guide from Swatch and Learn. I use OPI Don't Pretzel My Buttons for the base of the leopard print nails with China Glaze Foie Gras and China Glaze Champagne Kisses for the spots.  China Glaze Liquid Leather was used for the spot outline and the black stripes. I used China Glaze White on White for the white stripes. Seche Clear and Seche Vite were used for base and top coats.

Thanks for reading!

Sincerely Stephanie's Skittles Nail Art Contest

Hello! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I spent most of my time at home, but went out and saw a movie with my grandpa today. We saw The Impossible about the tsunami that happened in 2004. So scary--I know I could never survive something like that! It was a very moving film. Now to the nails!

I learned about Sincerely Stephanie's nail art contest through a nail polish group on Facebook and thought it would be fun. I used a bunch of polishes for this one! I started with a base of Salon Sciences Instant Artificials. The base on my thumbs is OPI Sand on Your Own Feet and made dots with China Glaze Liquid Leather. I used Liquid Leather for the base on my index fingers and topped it with Sephora by OPI Come to Paparazzi. My middle fingers were polished with Orly Decades of Dysfunction and I then placed black rhinestones on top. My ring fingers were painted with OPI Pros & Bronze. The leopard spots were made with China Glaze Foie Gras and outlined with Liquid Leather. Finally, I painted my pinkies with OPI Love is a Racket and New York Summer Fire Red Glitter. All nails were topped with a coat of Seche Vite. 

Can I just say that Love is a Racket and Pros & Bronze are AMAZING?! Two of my favorites. I got them both on clearance at Ulta last year and WOW. The PolishAholic has some great swatches. Thanks for reading!

Lisa's Birthday Contest featuring Zoya Aurora, Urban Outfitters Chilly, and Ozotic 509

Hello! This is my very first post and I'm so scared! I think my photos look like crap, but I only have my cell phone as a camera. :(

This manicure is for Lisa's birthday contest over at Nail Polish Creations. She listed her style as purple, holographic, rhinestones, and sparkles. I tried to incorporate all of those, but struggled to come up with a cohesive idea. The final product is a little gauche but it'll have to do! Happy birthday, Lisa!

I started with a coat of my nail treatment, Salon Sciences Instant Artificials followed by one coat of Essie First Base. I then painted two coats of Zoya Aurora.  On m ring finger I painted on a bit of Urban Outfitters Chilly (on the right side and bottom of the nail) and made some circles with Ozotic 509.  On my index fingers I arranged some silver and purple-y rhinestones over a light coat of American Classics Gelous.  I painted one coat of Gelous on my ring finger and topped all nails off with a coat of Seche Vite.

Salon Sciences Instant Artificials, Essie First Base, Zoya Aurora, Urban Outfitters Chilly, Ozotic 509, American Classics Gelous, and Seche Vite

Rhinestones

Two coats of Zoya Aurora

Finished product!

Close-up

Instant Artificials is available at Sally Beauty Supply for $8.49 or $7.69 for members. I purchased Essie First Base as part of a set at Ulta. It came with Limited Addiction and A Cut Above and was on clearance for about $7.00. The normal price for this base coat is $8.00. Zoya Aurora is available at Ulta or Zoya for $8.00.  Urban Outfitters polishes are usually on sale 2 for $8.00 or 1 for $5.00.  I purchased Ozotic 509 at Llarowe. They sell for $14.50. Gelous is available at Sally Beauty Supply for $5.99 or $5.39 for members. Seche Vite is available at Sally, Ulta, Target, CVS, etc. I believe Sally has the best price : $7.99 or $6.49 for members. The rhinestones were purchased at Trans Design. It is $5.72 for the pack of 1440.

Thanks for reading!