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! 

Silver Glitter Gradient + New Nail Shape!

Hello everyone! Today I have a really simple design and a brand new nail shape. I decided to switch to almond shape nails after ogling Christine's gorgeous nails for a few months now. Not sure how long I'll have this shape for but I'll enjoy it while it lasts!

On my nails I have a silver glitter gradient over a sheer pink. This look is extremely elegant and perfect for a wedding, holiday parties or any time you want some glam nails!

I started this look with three thin coats of Mademoiselle by Essie. Mademoiselle is a new polish of mine and I really love it. It's sheer enough so you can slightly see your nail, but it's opaque enough to cover any stains I have on my nail. After the sheer polish was dry, I took Tiara by Orly and a makeup wedge and sponged the fine silver glitter onto 3/4 of my nail. 

To add even more glitter, I sponged on Set In Stones by Essie to the tips of my nails. Finally, I added one coat of Seche Vite to seal all of that glitter in! I am honestly in love with these nails and I want to keep them on forever! I hope you like them too :)

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 :)

  

Dazzling Chevrons

I finally decided to try out the famous chevron mani by @SelenaDee_Nails on Instagram! This design is not only popular, but very simple and appealing. I thought this design would be perfect for the Jonas Brothers concert I was going to that day, yes I was totally there for their comeback, and they were just as great since the last time I saw them in 2008!

I swapped out the bright red that Selena used on her thumb, index and pinkie fingers for Essie's Butler Please, a rich blue. This was the first time I used my new polish and I was honestly a bit confused. To my surprise, Butler Please is a crelly polish! It applied like a cream but was somewhat sheer and dried matte. It was opaque in two coats but with one more coat it was much brighter. 

When I know I'm doing a full silver glitter nail, I always apply one coat of a metallic silver polish first. I do this so that there won't be empty spots if the glitter doesn't cover my whole nail, meaning I'll need less coats of the glitter polish. My go-to glitter is Essie's Set in Stones, it's packed with sparkle and will never disappoint! I layered three coats of that over one coat of Silver Mercedes by Pure Ice, a metallic polish.

For the accent chevron nail I started off with a few coats of Superstar! by Pure Ice, a creamy white. This isn't my favorite white polish, its a bit old and thick. I thought I had grabbed I Will! by Loreal but realized I hadn't and was too lazy to walk a few steps to my room to switch them out, haha so I thought this would do. When doing this tape mani, you have to make sure the white is completely dry before moving on, or else the tape could ruin the wet nail. I added a coat of Seche Vite to speed up the drying time. 

In the mean time I was cutting up the pieces of tape for this design. I don't own any zigzag scissors so I followed @Jewsie_Nails tutorial for her easy chevrons. Using a regular piece of tape I folded it (sticky sides out) and cut an angled line down the fold, and then did it once again to get a thin v-shaped piece of tape after I opened it up. 

I placed the pieces of tape on my dry nail and pressed them down to make sure no pieces were oddly lifted up. Then I painted two coats of Liquid Leather by China Glaze on my whole nail and quickly but carefully lifted the tape off of my nail. Ta-da! You're left with a beautiful chevron accent nail! I used my black and white nail art stripers to clean up any empty/uneven lines and I had a very clean and pretty chevron. 

One coat of Seche Vite on each nail and the design was done! I'm pleased with how this came out and I'm definitely doing more chevron manis in the future now that I know how to do them. I hope you all like this and try this out! Have a great day!

Flashy Lilac

My mind is still spinning from a One Direction concert I attended on Sunday, so I decided to have something simple yet cute on my nails. I recently bought my very first OPI nail polishes and I was very eager to try them for the first time today!

I began with four coats of You're Such A Budapest by OPI. This polish was surprisingly thin which was kind of a bummer, but the formula was very smooth which made up for it. You're Such A Budapest is a soft lilac color that is perfect for the spring and summer time. I would definitely wear this alone but I decided to add a touch of sparkle. 

After letting this dry, I added one coat of Which Is Witch by OPI on top. I don't think I've said that I've added only one coat of something in a very long time, it's very refreshing! Which Is Witch is packed with holographic hex and bar glitters. This glitter top coat truly does sparkle like crazy when you're in the sunlight, it's going to bring you much attention!

I hope that you would all know by now that I am an absolute sucker for matte glitter. Not only is it easier to photograph, but it just adds something unexpected to any glitter mani. I finished this off with one coat of OPI's Matte Top Coat. A lot of you have been asking what the best matte top coat is, in my opinion this one by OPI is the best I've tried. It turns your nails matte right before your eyes in about 5 seconds, it's truly amazing! If you're looking for one that's more affordable, I would recommend NYC's Matte Me Crazy. It only costs a single dollar and it achieves similar results. 

I hope I feel in the mood to do some nail art this week, I have some new polishes I want to try out! I hope you love this OPI combination, I know I do!

Freak Show Polish: Strongman II

To be honest, I was hesitant when trying this polish on. I didn't know how much different it would be to Strongman I. I'm happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised!

I started off with 4 coats of I Will! by L'oreal. It's one of the best white polishes I've tried so far! It's not thick or troublesome, it's thin but opaque. I could've gone with three coats but I'm a bit crazy and had to add an extra layer. 

When the white polish dried, I topped it off with two coats of Strongman II by Freak Show Polish. I was absolutely blown away with how this looked! It was very similar to Strongman I but unique in it's own special way. 

As you can see, it is gorgeous and looks different in different lighting. I love the large circle glitters and the smaller hexes, it is absolutely perfect and my favorite from all of the polishes that Carissa sent me.

Up close, you can tell that this polish is a glitter bomb. You will be getting tons of compliments if you wear this! Here's my rating of this polish:

Application: This polish isn't lumpy or thick, went on with ease.

True to Color: Yes, the glitter is just as vibrant as in the bottle. 

Dry Time: 1-2 minutes.

Consistency: Normal.

Coats Until Opaque: With two coats, the glitter was mostly everywhere on the nail. I did place a few on myself just because I really love my nails to sparkle. 

Additional Comments: This is up there with one of my favorite polishes I own! I will be wearing this all the time, I love how the bright glitter contrasts against the white base. You will not regret purchasing this!

Final Rating: 10/10

To purchase, visit FreakShowPolish.com or visit Carissa's Instagram (Instagram.com/FreakShowPolish) to view more swatches and polishes!

Freak Show Polish: Strongman I

Strongman I is a glitter topper with round blue and green glitters to make any mani pop. In the bottle this polish is to die for, the glitters were just calling my name!

I first started with three coats of Mint Apple by Sinful Colors which was also my Mint Mani for Talia Joy. I really wanted to be a part of that tag so I planned this swatch to go up on Friday. Mint Apple is a gorgeous shimmery mint polish.

I absolutely love this color and think it's perfect for summer. I topped this off with two coats of Strongman I and let me tell you, I was in circle glitter heaven!

This polish is a glitter bomb! Two coats did fill most spaces and I didn't have to fish for glitter too much, but being the perfectionist that I am, I did fill in a few empty spaces on my own. Other than that this polish is gorgeous! Since the base is clear, you can layer it over any base color that you wish!

Don't these glitters make you swoon? Here's my rating for this polish:

Application: This glitter topper went on pretty easily. 

True to Color: The base is clear but the glitters are as vibrant as they are in the bottle. 

Dry Time: 2-3 minutes.

Consistency: The clear base did get a bit thick at times but it wasn't too hard to work with.

Coats Until Opaque: It's a clear base but it does take 2 coats for the glitters to fill most spots on the nail.

Additional Comments: I think this polish is beautiful! I did have a hard time taking it off but that's not necessarily a bad thing! That just means it's definitely long lasting. I also did have to place a few glitters on myself but that's only because I'm picky and I need glitter to be EVERYWHERE!

Final Rating: 7/10

To purchase, visit FreakShowPolish.com or visit Carissa's Instagram (Instagram.com/FreakShowPolish) to view more swatches and polishes!