Blue Nail Art

Hi Lovelies!

I was inspired to do a blue mani due to all the recent Spring rain we've been having here in Texas! Also, it happens to be Autism awareness month, so I've been seeing a lot of blue nails for Autism out there and thought I'd do one too!

Colors used were: Zoya Jo (medium blue), China Glaze Midnight Mission (dark blue), Essie Borrowed and Blue (light blue), and OPI Last Friday Night (glitter).

I really wanted to do a mix of designs here, so I thought ombre, striping, fishtail, and a glitter gradient would be fun! I have to say this is one of my favorite manis to date.

Let me know if anyone is interested in a post on a tutorial for any of the above techniques. I know there are probably a million out there already, but I'd be happy to post how I do it.

Springtime Half Moon Mani

Spring has finally sprung and I couldn't be any happier. 

To celebrate I did the below half moon mani.

Polishes used for pastels were China Glaze Refresh Mint, OPI Pink Friday, China Glaze Lemon Fizz, and Zoya Kennedy. I topped it all off with OPI My Vampire is Buff. 

This turned out really great! A fairly simple, yet fresh spring mani.

OPI You're Such A Budapest

Hi Everyone!

Today I have for you You're Such a Budapest from the OPI Euro Centrale collection. This is my new favorite spring polish! At first I was unsure, but it is gorgeous on. It's a perfect spring lavender. It goes on a little thin, so you may need 3 coats depending on how thick your coats are. Is anyone else as in love with this as I am?

Don't forget to follow my new Instagram page @the_beauty_b

OPI Steady As She Rose

Hello everyone!

It's been a while since I posted, but no worries, I'm still here!

Today I have for you Steady As She Rose from OPI's recent Pirates of the Caribbean collection.

This polish is a dusty pale purple and is so pretty!

I decided to add some pretty butterfly water decals from Viva La Nails to give it a little more oomph.

These are the water decals. I just love them! So easy to put on and super cute!

Steady As She Rose had great application! This was two easy coats. This is a really great understated polish and is perfect for when you need a quiet manicure. This is also a pretty unique color, so it's a definite must have!

OPI Sorbets

I am truly loving the sorbets from OPI's Texas collection. I have already posted about Y'all Come Back Ya Hear? and Too Hot Pink To Hold 'Em, so here are the rest!

Guy Meets Gal-veston - This is a gorgeous red orange jelly.

Houston We Have a Purple - A yummy berry jelly.

Do You Think I'm Tex-y? - A pinkish red jelly.

I did not include Big Hair Big Nails because it was way to similar to Guy Meets Gal-veston. These all applied extremely well and are 2 coats. I really hope OPI does some more sorbet polishes for future collections!

OPI Y'all Come Back Ya Hear?

As I have mentioned in a previous post I am in love with OPI's new sorbets! I am also loving orange this season, so it goes without saying that I adore OPI Y'all Come Back Ya Hear? This polish is a tangerine orange jelly.

First, here is the gradient I did!

I feel like the sorbets from the Texas collection go together really well and would work perfectly for a gradient. I started with YCBYH and then used Guy Meets Galveston as my middle color and Do You Think I'm Texy as my tip color. I think this looks so tropical and juicy! A yummy summer mani!

Here is Y'all Come Back Ya Hear? on its own. This was very sheer compared to the others, so I did 3 coats. This polish is juicy orange love!

On a side note I just started a new job, so I may not be able to post as frequently. I used to work part-time retail and am now doing full-time corporate - my first grown up job! So it may take me a few weeks to get used to it and find time for updating. I will definitely still be posting, just not as much :)

OPI Austin-tatious Turquoise

Just a simple swatch for today! Here is OPI Austin-tatious Turquoise. This polish is a bright shimmery blue with a slight purple duochrome.

I was really excited about this color in the bottle, but it was a little disappointing on the nail. The color seemed very dull and washed out. Also, the duochrome was not very apparent. Application was good, but the formula was very thin so this is 3 coats. Pretty color, but could have been much better.

Were any of you disappointed with this polish too?

OPI Simply Smash-ing! + Crackle Glaze

Today I have for your Simply Smash-ing! from OPI's recent collaboration with Serena Williams. This polish is a lime green shimmer with a hint of gold to it. Very reminiscent of a tennis ball!

Application was great and this is 2 coats. This is a really bright and fun polish for the spring!

I wanted to add crackle, but instead of OPI's crackle I used China Glaze Cracked Concrete. I really like the gray crackle! It crackled a lot which is important because you can still see your base polish. Loves it!

OPI Too Hot Pink to Hold 'Em

Today I have for you Too Hot Pink to Hold 'Em from OPI's recent Texas collection. Since I live in Texas this collection is very dear to my heart! Too Hot Pink to Hold 'Em is a hot pink jelly leaning almost red. It also has that wonderful sorbet finish, which I am loving!

The application on this was flawless. This is 2 coats. Also, this is really shiny on its own so you don't need a topcoat. I used one just to accelerate dry time. My favorite way to describe the sorbet polishes from this collection is JUICY! They are all so mouthwateringly juicy jelly sorbet goodness! Too Hot Pink to Hold 'Em is a great polish for spring and summer!

Nicole by OPI My Lifesaver + Crackle Glaze

Today I have for you My Lifesaver from Nicole by OPI's recent Justin Bieber collection. I'm not really a fan of his, but just had to get this color! My Lifesaver is a light aqua creme.

As you can see My Lifesaver dries brighter than it appears in the bottle. Application was great and this is 2 coats. Really a fresh pretty color for spring!

I'm still working my way through my China Glaze crackle collection and decided to use one on this mani. I applied one coat of Fault Line to My Lifesaver. This actually crackled a lot better than I had thought! I heard this one wasn't very crackly, but I was quite pleased with how it came out.

Katy Perry Polish Giveaway!!! *CLOSED*

I love the Katy Perry Collection so much that I want to do a giveaway with it! Here is what you can win:

A complete mini set of the Katy Perry Collection (The One That Got Away, Teenage Dream, Last Friday Night,and Not Like The Movies) by OPI

A full sized bottle of Black Shatter by OPI

You must be a follower to enter! This is open to international followers as well. Just fill out the form below to enter! The first two entries are mandatory, the second is for 5 extra entries. Giveaway ends Feb. 20th.

Good luck!

*CLOSED*

OPI Yodel Me On My Cell + Glitter

With the weather getting cold again, I needed a wintry manicure! I decided to use OPI Yodel Me On My Cell. This polish is a shimmery teal blue.

This is a really pretty color! I went to dinner right after doing this mani and the waitress was in love with this polish! It's very eye catching!

I wanted to jazz it up a bit, so I added this blue Hello Kitty glitter I bought from a Sanrio store. The polish has no name, but it's a dark blue base with tiny silver glitter and larger hexagonal pieces. The bottle is really cute too!

I want to remind everyone that my giveaway ends tonight @ 11:59 p.m. So enter while you still can! I will announce the winner in a day or two.

OPI Katy Perry: Not Like The Movies

Today I am wearing the final polish from the Katy Perry Collection, Not Like The Movies. This color is very different. It's a silver base that flashes green and pinkish purple. There is also some tiny silver glitter floating around. I would say this is my favorite from the collection!

This polish has such an apparent duochrome that I could turn my nails one way and they would look completely green, then turn them the other and they were purple. It was fun moving my nails back and forth while saying, "Green, purple, green, purple" when each color flashed lol! The polish applied nicely and took 2 coats for my desired coverage.

Here it is with Black Shatter!

I bought a mini pack of the Katy Perry collection and will be doing a giveaway with it right after my current giveaway closes. So if you are loving these polishes stay on the look out for that!

OPI Katy Perry: Teenage Dream

Today's Katy Perry swatch is Teenage Dream. This polish is the second and final glitter in the collection. It's filled with tiny pink glitter and larger holographic pieces. Very pretty and sparkly!

As you can see this polish is definitely more opaque than Last Friday Night. I would actually wear Teenage Dream alone, but it would look great layered too. This was such a pain to remove! Even while using the foil method, I felt like I needed some sandpaper to get the rest off, lol.

Here it is with Black Shatter. Very different, but still girly!

OPI Katy Perry: Last Friday Night

Next up from the Katy Perry Collection is Last Friday Night. This is one of 2 glitters from the collection. It's a light blue base with tiny blue glitter and large silver/iridescent glitter.

This is 3 coats. As you can see it's very sheer. I don't know if I like this polish on the nail by itself. I think this gorgeous glitter would be better suited for layering over another polish. I plan on trying it soon!

Here it is with Black Shatter on top. It creates a nice contrast! I love how pieces of glitter peek through and when they catch the light it's really pretty!

OPI Katy Perry: The One That Got Away

The much anticipated Katy Perry Collection by OPI is finally here. I actually want to wear each polish for a full day, so I will post the next few days about this collection. Today I am wearing The One That Got Away with Black Shatter!

The One That Got Away is a gorgeous raspberry shimmer. It's the darker sister of OPI's Let Me Entertain You. It's not terribly unique, but is a pretty polish nonetheless. Application was flawless, but watch out this polish is a stainer!

This is with one coat of Black Shatter on top. I am really loving this! It's such a fun and easy way to add something different to a mani.

Have any of you tried this? If so, how do you like it?

OPI I'm Suzi & I'm a Chocoholic + Extra-Va-Vaganza

Lately, I have been using my polishes from the OPI Swiss collection. This is the first chance I've had to wear them! Today I have I'm Suzi & I'm a Chocoholic.

This polish is a great brown red creme. It's like a brick red. It reminds me of the color of the chocolate river from the original Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory! The application was great and I'm really lovin' this polish!

I wanted to add a little extra oomph, so I made glitter dots with OPI Extra-Va-Vaganza. It looks like jewels encrusted onto some sort of royal tapestry to me. Loves it!

OPI The Color To Watch + Show It and Glow It

Today I have for you The Color To Watch from OPI's Swiss collection. I'll have to admit that when this collection came out this was the color that least interested me. However, I actually really liked it once on the nails!

The Color to Watch is a shimmery pale purple. It has somewhat of an iridescence to it which makes it glow. It goes on pretty sheer, so this is 3 coats.

I then decided I wanted to try a glitter gradient. I decided to use OPI Show It and Glow it which is a pink/purple glitter filled with random colored glitter. The gradient didn't turn out very well because this is such a thick glitter. However, it still looked really cool and girly. I felt like I had dipped my tips into candy sprinkles or something!

OPI Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous

Lately I have been going through my "never been worn" drawer in my Helmer. This is always fun because I always discover a great new to me polish! Today that polish is Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous from OPI's Swiss collection.

This polish is a pretty gunmetal silver with flecks of silver glitter. It's such a great color! Very unique and sparkly. Application was a breeze and removal wasn't too bad either especially for a polish with glitter.

OPI Ski Teal We Drop

I've been craving a great creme polish lately and OPI Ski Teal We Drop fits the bill!

Ski Teal We Drop is a lovely deep dark teal polish. It appears darker in person and is very elegant! At first I was unsure of it, but once I had it on I loved it!