Skimp or Spend? # 3

Good afternoon everyone! How are you all doing? I'm home sick today (I just woke up with a really sore throat, nothing major) and I decided I'd post another Skimp or Spend? post for you! Thank you so much for loving this series, your positive feedback makes me so happy! :) 

Skimp or Spend? # 2

I'm back with another post on my series, Skimp or Spend? I am so happy that you guys loved the last post, I received so many positive responses both on Instagram and on my blog. Thank you so much, you have all motivated me to keep this series going ❤ Today I'll be speaking about one of my favorite colors for spring, mint green!

I recently purchased Fashion Playground by Essie and as soon as I got home I wondered if I had any similar minty colors. Revlon's Jaded is pretty darn close. They look different in their bottles, but on the nail they actually look very similar. I purchased both polishes at Target, the Essie for $8.49, and the Revlon for $4.59. 

Crisp Striping Tape Mani!

How is everyone doing? Today I am thrilled to share my newest nails with you! I recently saw a design by @Rachell_Rachell and fell in love! I've done something similar before on my sister but her design took it to the next level! I also took this as a great opportunity to use my new striping tape!

(Do you see the holo in that China Glaze polish?!?)

Skimp or Spend? # 1

Welcome to the first post on my new series, Skimp or Spend? In these posts I will compare two polishes in my stash that are similar (not always exact dupes) but have two very different prices. I want to share that inexpensive nail polishes can often have a better quality than an expensive polish, and vice versa. Although I will be explaining my thoughts on the two, it's ultimately your decision. Would you rather skimp, or spend? ❤

Mix & Match Valentines Day Nails!

I am super excited about today's post! These nails are one of my all time favorites that I've ever done! :) Since Valentines Day is in just three more days, I knew that I had to create something for this occasion. I'm usually not one to do holiday themed nails but since V-day is all about hearts, the color pink and just cute things in general, I couldn't help myself ♥ 

Ruffian Nail Tutorial!

Today is the day that I get to share my pictorial with you all! Sorry that it has so many watermarks, I've had previous pictorials stolen before and they've been plastered with other people's Instagram usernames on top of mine so I wanted to make sure it wouldn't happen again. I spent so much time on this and I really hope you love it! :)

Coral & Rose Gold Ruffian Nails

Good afternoon everyone! Right now I'm enjoying a Girls marathon (is anyone else in love with that show?!) and stressing out about how much homework I have on this gloomy Sunday evening, which means that this is a perfect time to procrastinate and blog :) Today I have some super cute ruffian nails to share with you that I'm honestly in love with. If you read yesterday's blog post, you'd know that I was thinking of adding a ruffian design on top of my swatch of Zelda by Julep, I tried it last night and they came out great!

Polishes I Received this Christmas!

Hey guys! I know Christmas was over a month ago but I never had the chance to show you all what polishes I received this past holiday. I'm so grateful for the friends and family that fed my polish addiction and I'm so excited to share my new pretties with you!

*Disclaimer* I am in no way trying to brag about things that were given to me. I simply want to share them with you and show you my collection as it grows. I love reading about what polishes people bought/ received so I thought this would be a good idea :) I also want to mention that this will be a picture heavy post! 

To start, I'll show you polishes from one of my favorite brands, Essie! These polishes were given to me by my aunt, my friend Madi, and my mom!

From L to R: Off the Shoulder, Shake Your $$ Maker, Sable Collar & Using My Maiden Name

Stars and Half Moons

Hello all! Today I have exciting news to share, I finally received my light box in the mail which means I don't have to depend on daylight to be able to take my photos! Many of you on Instagram were curious as to where I purchased this. I bought everything from Amazon, my soft box was $14.95, my lamps for $13.99 each (I bought two, one on each side of the light box), and my daylight bulbs for $10.67. So far I'm pretty impressed, if anything I bought is out of your budget or you're looking for something better, I encourage you to browse Amazon.com, you can find anything!

Onto my nails, the other day I was browsing through Candice's lovely Instagram (@MrCandiiPants) and was completely inspired by her twist on half moons + a french tip! So inspired that I revolved my whole mani around them, adding stars for an extra touch of chic.

#NailArtJan - Fresh

It was honestly really difficult to think of a nail design that is seen as "fresh." I first think of fresh air, freshly cut grass and fresh fruit, but I didn't really want any of those things on my nails. So I decided on fresh flowers. I had seen a design a few weeks ago by @OrlyNailGirls and completely fell in love. The design included a sheer background and crisp, white flowers on top of it.

To start, I grabbed the nail polishes that I needed. For the nudey-pink base, I used Essie's Mademoiselle. I also needed a white polish for the flower petals so I used Sinful Color's Snow Me White. Lastly, for the center of the flower I used Mellow Yellow by Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear. 

After painting my nails with two coats of Essie's Mademoiselle, I used a large dotting tool dipped in white polish to create a big flower at the top of my nail. As the flowers go down my nail and decrease in size, so do my dotting tools. I used a large, medium and small sized dotting tool for the flowers and a toothpick for the smallest daisy. 

Once the flowers were dry, I took Mellow Yellow and created small dots in the center of each flower. I then added a matte top coat and I'm done! I love this design and I think it looks very fresh and it's such a palette cleanser compared to all of the sparkly and intricate New Years nails. I hope you guys love these as much as I do and I hope you all had a fun and safe New Year! 

Diamonds In The Rough

Hi everyone! I had some time to spare yesterday and I decided to paint my nails! I've had this idea in my head for a while and I finally had the time to execute it last night. I used one of my new sparkly nail polishes that I got for Christmas and I really love it! I hope you like these nails as much as I do!

After my base coat, I began to paint my ring finger, middle finger and thumb with Superstar! by Pure Ice. This polish was difficult to work with, but after three coats it evened itself out and was streak-free. Since the layers came out thick, I allowed ten minutes for the polish to dry between coats. 

As I was waiting for the white polish to dry, I began painting my index and pinkie finger with Some Like It Haute by China Glaze. I got this from my uncle for Christmas and I really REALLY love it (not only because of the adorable silver cap). Some Like It Haute is a clear base with small charcoal grey glitter with larger holographic glitter scattered through it. Because it has a clear base, this is five extremely easy coats of the nail polish. If you're impatient or running out of time, I would suggest to use grey undies but I really loved watching the layers build up and become opaque. I noticed that this polish dried rough, almost like a textured polish. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be worn like that but I did add one coat of Seche Vite to add shine. 

The holographic glitter >

Once the white polish was dry, I took my black Stripe Rite striper and began by creating a diamond on a random spot on my nail. To make the diamond, I started by creating a black triangle. Then I painted a trapezoid on top of it with lines going through the trapezoid and triangle. It's really easy to figure out when you look at my nails, all of the diamonds are different shapes and sizes but have the same concept.

Once one diamond is done, I drew more and more on arbitrary spots on my nail. You can't do this wrong! I seriously just painted a diamond wherever there was space. When the polish was dry, I added one layer of my favorite top coat! These nails really make me feel bad ass and I love it! If you try these out please use the hashtag #InspiredBySabrinasNails or send me the picture through kik or email. I hope you like these and become inspired, see you next time! 

Pink & Gold

Merry Christmas! :) I'm finally back to posting regularly on Instagram and on my blog because of Winter Break! These past few weeks of school have been stressful and I haven't really had time to do my nails (which is why I didn't do any holiday themed nails). But today after spending time with my family, I had time to paint my nails with two of my (29) new nail polishes that were gifted to me by my friends and family. (Anyone want to see all of my new pretties?)

Today I decided to go for something simple because of how beautiful these colors are on their own. My aunt bought me two new mini Color Clubs that I am really in love with. The first is Modern Pink. This polish was a little bit hard to work with because of how streaky it was, but after four coats I was able to even it out. The gold polish is called Take The Stage. This nail polish is a clear base with medium sized hex glitters and holographic flakes scattered through it as well. Since this polish has a clear base I think it works way better with undies (I used Sally Hansen's Golden-I).

Overall I'm really liking this combo, I think it's elegant but still fun because of the bright pink. I topped this mani off with one coat of Seche Vite. I hope y'all had a great time this holiday season and spent a lot of time with loved ones and even might've gotten some nice gifts! I'll see you next time!

NOTD: Essie's Lilacism

For the past week I've been wearing the oh-so fabulous Lilacism by Essie! I recently bought this polish at Target on Black Friday thinking that it would be on sale, but everything seemed to be at regular price. Being me, I purchased it anyway because I convinced myself that all of my other light purple polishes looked nothing like this one.

Lilacism is from Essie's 2010 Art of Spring Collection but is now on Essie's Core Collection, meaning that you can find it at any time wherever Essie is sold. This polish is a dusty lilac color with blue undertones and is opaque in 2-3 coats. The first coat is streaky but once you add another, it's perfect. I used Seche Vite as my topcoat and this polish started chipping at day 6 which I personally think is great because I always like to switch my nail color up anyway. 

In outdoor lighting, you can really see the blue undertones. And indoors it can change lilac to looking like a light grey. This cream polish is definitely unique and perfect for Winter & Spring! What are your thoughts on this polish? Tell me in the comments below or on Instagram! Farewell!

Black & White Polka Dots With a Twist!

Hey! Today I was in sort of a rush so I wanted a nail design that was simple but still really cute. I decided on pink nails with black and white polka dot accent nails! This design was really easy to do and I hope you like it!

I began by painting my thumb, pinkie, and index finger with Essie's Boom Boom Room. I've talked about BBR so much since I've gotten it because it's my go-to pink polish. As always, the formula on this nail polish is perfection, opaque in two coats and it just glides on! This cream polish is amazing and I kind of feel bad for my other pink polishes because I use this one so much!

Next, I painted my middle finger with Superstar! by Pure Ice. It's not my favorite white polish but all of my other ones are streaky or thick. I then painted my ring finger with Liquid Leather by China Glaze. I feel like I've had this polish for years and it's still just as great as when I first bought it! It's opaque in two coats and it's also wonderful to use for nail art. 

Finally, I used black to add polka dots to my middle finger and white to add polka dots to my ring finger. One coat of Seche Vite and it's done! These nails make me very happy despite the fact that my index finger nail is a bit broken :( I hope you like these and have a great day!

Reviewing Curtsy and Bow Polishes

Recently I was contacted by Curtsy and Bow to review a few of their gorgeous nail polishes! I'd been a fan of their polishes for a while and was extremely thankful for this opportunity! After a short two day of making the arrangement, a package came in the mail with three full size bottles of their polishes, along with a lovely note!

From Left to Right:
Jetset In My Sunset, St Thomas Blue Me Away & Shiraz With Tha Stahz

I'm so excited to try these out, they are all so pretty and that is my favorite shade of blue! If you'd like to purchase any of these or see more of their products, go to www.CurtsyandBow.com!

Gradient Triangles

My sister and I decided to have a "Nail Painting Day" to paint our nails with a similar design. We decided on a design that we've been seeing everywhere on Instagram and Pinterest. There's no specific name for them but they look like triangles that start near the cuticle.

I started this design with two coats of white polish topped with Seche Vite for faster dry time. Since I used tape for this mani, I had to wait about an hour until the white polish was completely dry or else once the tape is added, it will pull polish up with it. Once the polish was dry, I added two strips of tape starting from the cuticle and meeting up with each other to create a triangle. I then applied a dark purple polish ( Spontaneous by China Glaze), a medium purple polish (Play Date by Essie), and a light purple polish (Sweet Hook by China Glaze) onto a cosmetic wedge and started to sponge it onto the nail. After a few coats of sponging and a coat of Fairy Dust by China Glaze, I carefully peeled the tape off to reveal crisp lines on the triangle. I added one coat of Seche Vite and Voila! They're finished! 

As I mentioned earlier, my sister also did her nails but she decided to do a pink gradient instead of purple. She followed the exact same steps as I did but her dark pink polish was Mod Square by Essie, her medium pink polish was Boom Boom Room by Essie, and her light pink polish was Muchi Muchi by Essie. We both loved how these turned out and kept these on for as long as we possibly could (a little over a week)! If you try these out, use the hashtag #InspiredBySabrinasNails or send the picture to me though Email or Kik! I'll see you next time!

NOTD: Sephora by OPI's I'm So Sari!

This week I've been wearing a gorgeous glitter polish from Sephora by OPI, named 'I'm So Sari!' This polish is from their 2012 Indian Summer Collection and my mom picked it up for me the other day at Sephora.

This is definitely a must have nail polish! This flashy polish has a teal crelly base, with dense teal glitter, and filled with silver holographic hexes. In three coats it's a complete glitter bomb and I couldn't stop staring at my nails this week! Do you own this polish? Tell me in the comments below or tell me on Instagram! Have a fabulous week :)

  

Floral + Stripes

Today's blog post is dedicated to a cute floral and striped mani! I found inspiration from a photo I saw on Pinterest and I decided to recreate the roses and ended up with a fun and detailed design!

I started off this mani with Royally Yours by L'oreal on all of my nails except for the ring finger, a light and dusty blue color that was opaque in three coats. On my thumb and pinkie finger I added vertical stripes with a white striper. On the pointer and middle finger I carefully painted white (acrylic paint) and pink (Boom Boom Room by Essie) roses with a thin nail art brush and topped it off with curly green (acrylic paint) stems! Lastly, on my ring finger I started off with a base of gold polish (Golden-I by Sally Hansen) and added two coats of a chunky gold glitter polish (The Golden Age by Sephora by OPI [RIP]). To complete the look, I added one coat of my trusty Seche Vite topcoat! If you like this mani, feel free to tell me in the comments of this post or on Instagram! If you want to try it out for yourself, use the hashtag #InspiredBySabrinasNails or Kik me the photo of your results! See you next time!

Soothing Dreamcatchers

Not only do dreamcatchers help filter out bad dreams, but they also look really cute on your nails! I've seen dreamcatcher nails everywhere lately and decided to finally hop on the bandwagon! They were much simpler than I thought they would be and they turned out nicely along with a white to lavender ombre on the other nails.

The lavender color I used is Sweet Hook by China Glaze, it's a creamy light purple that is opaque in two coats. I also sponged on white for the ombre with Superstar! by Pure Ice and topped it off with Fairy Dust by China Glaze. To create the dreamcatcher I first used a black striper to create a half circle at the top of my nail and then filled it in with cross hatching. I also added three lines at different lengths to act as the string to hold all of the accessories on the dreamcatcher. Finally, I drew on pink and yellow beads and added brown feathers to complete the look! You can really customize these nails however you want, you change the background color, the amount of feathers and beads, and you can also change the design that goes inside of the half circle! If you try these out, use the hashtag #inspiredbysabrinasnails and tag me in the Instagram photo, or send me the picture through Kik or email! Have a great day!

NOTD At The Beach

Today's Nails of the Day was actually taken while I was at a school field trip to the beach! The nail blogger in me had to get a cool shot of my nails close by the water, despite the weird looks I got!

I cheered my nubs up with two coats of Strawberry Margarita by OPI. I honestly could've gone with only one coat because this polish is so opaque but for some reason that just wouldn't feel right! This polish looks great on both fingers and toes and lasts a pretty long time with my trusty Seche Vite top coat. I had a great day at the beach and this bright pink polish made it even better! Have a wonderful day!