31 Day Challenge: Day 13

So, I lied. I said I'd have it up the same day as the stripes post, but once again, my internet was acting stupid and I couldn't connect to wifi. I don't know what I'm going to do. Anyway, Day 13 is ANIMAL PRINT, and I didn't want to do something generic, but maybe I did anyway. I googled "Animal print nails" and just browsed 'til I found something I liked, and this is my interpretation:

OPI Alpine Snow

China Glaze Sugar High

LA Colors Art Deco Silver Glitter

Seche Vite Top Coat

All I did was paint my nails white, then freehanded the pink stripes. The zebra was black acrylic paint with a very tiny paintbrush. Then I just used the thin brush that comes with LA Colors Art Deco polishes to stripe glitter along the edges. It was fairly simple to do, and I really like the way it turned out. :) I really don't know what I'm going to do about my internet, though. It's freaking out.

In other news, I am saving up to get a new camera, macro lens, speedlight and table-top lighting system. I hope with this fancy new camera I will be able to take better pictures of everything for you. I really don't like the way any of my pictures with this camera look. I plan to have better product pictures, better macro pictures, and hopefully better makeup pictures. I'll give the names of what I'm saving up for below. 

Well, all for now!

Thanks for reading!

~Emily

Camera: Nikon D5000 (here)

Macro Lens: Nikon AF-S DX (here)

Speedlight: Nikon SB-400 (here)

Table-Top Light System: Mystudio 20 Tabletop Photo Studio Kit (here)

31 Day Challenge: Day 12 and my first franken!

Hello everyone!

Today is Day 12: STRIPES and  at first I wanted to do a matte/shiny stripe combo, however,  it turned out horribly, and I have no idea what I did wrong. After that fail I thought I'd stick to something more basic and fool-proof, so I did what I'm showing you today- something on the nautical side:

I used OPI Alpine Snow as a base, then I used my Migi Nail Art Pen to make the stripes. Now, for those of you who don't know, Migi art pens are so good for nail art that involves making skinny lines, or teeny drawings. Here's a photo of what the tips look like:

image source

See? They are so tiny, and perfect for small nail art. I used my blue one for the stripes, and yes, I know they aren't the best stripes on the planet, but they were freehand and very small. Be gentle! After I made the stripes I went over them with a small brush and Essie Mesmerize to deepen the blue because it wasn't dark enough for me. 

Then on my ring finger I did a red anchor, and here's where the franken comes in. I was originally just going to use China Glaze Salsa, but I kind of wanted a more orangey red, so I thought I'd franken one. I used China Glaze Salsa, and Style Wars, and Orly Terracotta for this, and this is how it came out (I only made a little bit because I knew I'd just be stamping):

I thought it was a really nice orange-red. A little pink, but who cares? I was wrong. I don't know if the stamp (Bundle Monster BM08) was faulty or what, but it was very sheer, and the stamp didn't even pick all the color up. I was disappointed.. So I just used the same brush I was using to paint the stamp-and darken the stripes- and freehanded the anchor, using China Glaze Salsa. 

All in all this manicure was, in my opinion, way more trouble than it was worth. I got the idea for this manicure from here. I want to give credit where credit is due. See you tomorrow!

Thanks for reading!

~Emily

EDIT: I'll actually be seeing you later today, I typed this last night, but my computer had a complete freakout and said no battery was detected.. I couldn't figure it out to save my life, but today everything's right again and I have no idea what I did. So, see you later!

Back in the Saddle- 31 Day Challenge: Day 7

So sorry! I've had a busy last few weeks, and haven't had enough time to sit down and do my nails. But it's a Sunday night, and I have plenty of time, so lets dive right in!

Today is Day 6, BLACK and WHITE nails, and I came up with this:

 This is OPI Mummy Knows Best, and Konad Special Black Polish stamped with the Bundle Monster plate bm20, which I neglected to take a picture of. :(  Anyway, I knew I wanted to do stripes, but I was watching a eye tutorial on YouTube today that inspired me to do rhinestones on them! I only did the rhinestones on my ring finger though, as an accent. The last picture is a close-up. Hope you like!

On a completely different, and slightly more serious note, I've really been getting into makeup lately, and I want to know if you think I should start doing makeup looks, reviews and such on here. Should I? I think it would be cool, and I think it would also give me a chance to practice a skill I'd really like to achieve. I already have a ton of makeup in my possession, so maybe part by part I could swatch it? I'm not sure, something to think about. It's really been weighing on my mind lately.

Another thing that has been weighing on my mind is that nobody ever voices their opinions! I don't know if you know this, but I can track how many people view my blog daily, and in what countries. It would appear that people in Europe and Asia have viewed my blog! Europe and Asia! Why don't you people comment or something? I'm a fourteen year old girl, and I get excited very easily. That would make my day! You have no idea how happy I get when I see someone I've never spoken to follow, or comment, or even view! So please, make yourselves known. I'm not asking you to follow, (even though that would probably make me pass out,) but when I ask questions, like above, I really do want to know your opinions. Think about it?

EDIT: For the record, people in the US, Brazil, Sweden, Canada, Russia, Thailand, Austria, Australia, Egypt and Chile have viewed my blog this week. Yep. I wasn't lying, I really can see you.

Thanks for reading.

~Emily

Unicorns and Glitter!!

Hey guys!

I always feel accomplished when I come up with an interesting title. :) Actually, the post is mainly about glitter, but for those of you who have seen the latest Progressive commercial, you'll know what I mean! So, I said in my last post (well, the last post where I talk about my actual mani) that I wanted to do something blingy next. Well, I have 6 VERY blingy glitters to show you, I just can't decide on one! Here they are all together:

Aren't they pretty?! Here are some close-ups. Don't forget you can click on the pics to see some major detail! These are pretty complex glitters.

Extra-Va-Va-Ganza Direct Sunlight

Extra-Va-Va-Ganza Flash

Sparkle-icious Direct Sunlight

Sparkle-icious Flash

Bring on the Bling Direct Sunlight

Bring on the Bling Flash

Glow Up Already! Direct Sunlight

Glow Up Already! Flash

Simmer and Shimmer Direct Sunlight

Simmer and Shimmer Flash

The Show Must Go On! Direct Sunlight

The Show Must Go On! Flash

 There they are! All 6 of them. I just love them. Now, your job is to go through all of them, and choose one for me to use! First to comment is chosen, and you will be featured in the post about that mani! Please do enlarge the pictures. You get great detail.

And just so I don't feel so bad about the title...:

Thanks for reading!

~Emily

Candyland NOTD Series: Mr. Mint!

Hi all! :)

Today I am showing you the "Candyland NOTD Series: Mr. Mint" manicure! I honestly don't have the words for this, so onto the pictures..

And now my thoughts...:

Honestly, I HATED this manicure. It was a pain to do, and it didn't even turn out right! Ugh. This cam off as soon as I took the pictures. It was painful.. :P I hope the others turn out better!

I've always loved Candyland.. The colors, the characters, the simplicity of the game... I think I have it somewhere.. I hope so... I need it for pictures... Must remind myself to rummage through the garage.. Now I'm rambling. I always feel like my posts are super short.. Of course, it doesn't matter since no one reads this anyway. I mainly do this for the invisible people out there... However, if somebody does by chance read this.. let me know! I would LOVE to hear from readers! I feel so alone.. I mean, the sidebar says I have followers... But when I ask for comments, or ideas, I get nothing.. I'm not even sure my mother reads this. Let alone the "friends" I have who encouraged me to start this dang thing, and even started ones of their own because of it! Am I such the nerd, that even my Harry Potter-loving, anime-watching best friend can't bother to comment and say "Hey! Keep writing! I'm out there! I read this stuff!" :/ I even "advertise" on Facebook... Nothin. Nobody cares about me.. *sigh*

Thanks for reading--if there is anyone.

~Emily