The Digit-al Dozen Does Festiveness: Rudolph Accent Nail

Today I decided to bring you an easy fun accent nail of Rudolph! I was really happy how these turned out!

I started with three coats of Layla Softouch Effects 02 Golden Touch. Can I just say again how much I love the Softouch collection! Great formula and great durability! I did three coats and you can still see a bit of visible nail line in some lights. But I thought this was a great base as it is very holiday and magical! :) Oh and I am not a big gold person either and I love this!

I then used Layla Softouch Effects 11 Mudhattan (yep I bought this one especially for this mani!) for Rudolph's face. I used OPI Warm & Fozzie for his antlers, China Glaze Ruby Slippers for his nose, Pure Ice Platinum Magic Base Coat and Finger Paints Black Expressionism for his eyes.

Here is a different angle to show the texture of Mudhattan for Rudolph's face. It's sort of leathery! Can't wait to try this polish as a full mani!

A macro of Rudolph. I love OPI Warm & Fozzie for the antlers. I wanted something magical for them and have this polish with the two colors is great! Very shimmery! I think he turned out so cute!

I got my inspiration and help from this great tutorial over at Polish and Pearls (please click the link to see the video!).

Don't forget to check out the other ladies and their festive manis! :)

Surviving Black Friday!

By the time this blog post posts (I scheduled it ahead) I will have been at work for 5 hours with 3 more to go (my timezone), and hopefully I will be surviving!

How I hate Black Friday and retail! An 11:30pm (Thanksgiving night) to 7:00am shift is icky but that's the name of the game in retail for this "wonderful" day. A bunch of crazies will be out and I get the pleasure to help them out!

So I decided to create a stressed out crazy man mani! :) I used Finger Paints Black Expressionism and Pure Ice Platinum Magic Base Coat.

When I get off work I might go and hit up some shops (usually it's a bit more dead at this time). And then I'll probably go home and crash. Because I have to be up at 1:30am Saturday morning for my 3am shift!

>_< Bleh! When is the weekend over!?

Are any of you Black Friday Shoppers?

Monday Movember Mani!

November is a special month and is often called Movember by many. For the longest time I had no idea what Movember was all about. :)

According to movember.com:

During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces, in the US and around the world. With their Mo's, these men raise vital awareness and funds for men's health issues, specifically prostate and testicular cancer initiatives.

Once registered at www.movember.com, men start Movember 1st clean shaven. For the rest of the month, these selfless and generous men, known as Mo Bros, groom, trim and wax their way into the annals of fine moustachery. Supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas, Movember Mo Bros raise funds by seeking out sponsorship for their Mo-growing efforts.

Mo Bros effectively become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November. Through their actions and words they raise awareness by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health.

At the end of the month, Mo Bros and Mo Sistas celebrate their gallantry and valor by either throwing their own Movember party or attending one of the infamous Gala Partés held around the world by Movember, for Movember. 

Sorry for all that quoting but I felt it would be best explained by the source itself! I think it is brilliant!

So my this is my Movember Mani! I chose OPI Russian Navy Suede (because guys like blue and not super shiny right?) and Pure Ice Platinum Magic Base Coat. I stamped using Konad Black and QA28 plate that I got from ebay. As you can see there was a little mustachio mishap. Well, things like this happen, it's all for a good cause though right? :)

Have you done a Movember Mani? Do you know any Mo Bros or Mo Sistas?

Fall Haul-age!

 

So I haven't posted about my hauls in like almost 2 months! But I have been saving them up to do in a bigger post. Now, this isn't a crazy big post because I tried not to go crazy! :)

But check out my new little mascot that I found at Target! How perfect is he?! I try to get an ornament each year that represents that year and this one is perfect because of my blog! :) He is my image on my facebook page.

Ok, this isn't polish related but I had to show you this! It's hilarious! The picture on the right is how you deposit the money and retrieve it! Got to love Target! :)

First up, some new Pure Ice polishes. These are their newest lines too! (l-r) Viva Las Vegas, Grunge, Black Velour. Grunge and Black Velour are part of their Velour Finish line!

Now, you have seen most of these already on TGIF: Thank Goodness Indy Indie Friday. But I figured I should show them to you with the rest of my haul! (l-r) Glimmer by Erica Spicy Pumpkin, Glimmer by Erica Harvest Moon, Glimmer by Erica Season's Change (TGIF tomorrow!) and Lacquistry Witches Warts.

More Indies! Rainbow Polish's Star Set 2! (l-r) See CP Ohhh, B-Fett, Chewie, and Sky Walker.

Had to show you the backsides of (l-r) See CP Ohhh, B-Fett, Chewie, and Sky Walker. Can't wait to use them! :)

Some clearance shopping and then some not! China Glaze Elephant Walk, China Glaze Gothic Lolita, and OPI Don't Talk Back to Me.

More clearance! Orly Preamp and Finger Paints Sketchy Character (I heard this one stamps well. We shall see!)

Essie Power Clutch (got it in my Birchbox), Essie Recessionista (my Klout perk!) and Color Club Put a Pin In It (Birchbox). Love free (free-ish because I do pay for the Birchbox subscription) polishes!

Wet n Wild Black Creme (I found this at my Halloween store and had to grab it because I am almost out of my other bottle!) and Sally Hansen Presto Pink (I needed a stamping pink but then didn't use it for a mani. But might need a stamping pink again soon!).

 

So I was at Ulta the other day and was just browsing (had to use my $5 off $10 coupon of course!) and spotted the one new color that I think is just gorgeous! This is Orly Miss Conduct. And she is a beaut! :)

And oh my goodness...shut the front door....get out... shut up! Look what else I found at my Ulta! Holy flip! I thought these looked really pretty (a bit goth, but hey it's a vampire line so that's a given right?) but thought I'll have to pass because they'll only be available in Europe or random stores in Washington (please explain to me how they get all the cool things!?) (Hahahaha!) But nope! Good ol' Arizona had the Essence Breaking Dawn Collection! (l-r) Alice Had a Vision - Again, A Piece of Forever, Edward's Love, Jacob's Protection. Now I'm not a gold person but I had to have the complete set and at $1.99 I couldn't resist! :)

And last and certainly not least, my Vivid Lacquer VL-003 stamping plate! So excited! Look gears! Sweet steampunk gears! And bio hazard symbol and stitches and the no symbol (cross-out circle) and a target and books and so awesome! Love this nerdy/geeky plate! Can't wait to use it!

Just the cute backing of the stamping plate! :)

So that's my haulage since September. Have you had any great hauls lately?

Different Dimension Review: Part 3

Today is my final review of the Different Dimension polishes. And the ones for today are all inspired by the TV show, The Big Bang Theory! Let's get right into it! *Warning, picture heavy*

First up is Different Dimension Paper, Rock, Scissors, Lizard, Spock. This is a light blue jelly base with white glitter, white, light blue, grey, and light green hexes throughout. And it is gorgeous! Love the color combos!

Here it is on it's own. As always: (l-r) 4 coats, 3 coats, 2 coats, 1 coat. Since it is a jelly you can still see visible nail line even with 4 coats. But this polish is just gorgeous! The depth it has with all those glitters! Love! And guess what? Absolutely no issues! This glitter was born to be applied! :)

See! Look at the depth in the sun (sorry not too direct of sun, cloudy day). Everyday I kind of kick myself that I never got into this show that is so full of geeky goodness. So I know of all these quotes but don't know the stories behind them. :(

Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock

Sheldon: Ooh, I don't think so. Anecdotal evidence suggests that in the game of rock-paper-scissors, players familiar with each other will tie 75 to 80% of the time due to the limited number of outcomes. I suggest rock-paper-scissors-lizard​-Spock.
Raj: What?
Sheldon: It's very simple. Scissors cuts paper. Paper covers rock. Rock crushes lizard. Lizard poisons Spock. Spock smashes scissors. Scissors decapitates lizard. Lizard eats paper. Paper disproves Spock. Spock vaporizes rock. And as it always has, rock crushes scissors.

Here is the skittle for today's polishes! (l-r) Essence You Belong to Me, Pure Ice Platinum Magic Base Coat, Essence Romeo, and OPI Wooden Shoe Like to Know. I chose these colors as they are perfect bases for one of each of these Different Dimension polishes and I want to see how all the tinted bases would react to the different colors! :) And Paper, Rock, Scissors, Lizard, Spock looks great over all of them! I really love it over Essence Romeo!

Up next is Different Dimension Bazinga. This polish has a yellow jelly base with different sized yellow and red hexes, as well as little red and yellow glitter.This is a very unique polish, I have nothing else like it!

All by it's lonesome. As always: (l-r) 4 coats, 3 coats, 2 coats, 1 coat. Since it is a yellow based, it does make the nail look yellow. The glitters in this polish did not like to appear regularly. But it wasn't hard to apply. Just some didn't always want to come out and play, especially the bigger red hexes. But with enough coats you get an even amount of glitters.

Here it is in the sun. A bit of highlighter yellow nail tips but other than that I think it's beautiful!

Bazinga!

Sheldon: Leonard, you may be right. It appears that Penny secretly wants you in her life in a very intimate and carnal fashion.
Leonard: You really think so?
Sheldon: Of course not. Even in my sleep-deprived state, I've managed to pull off another one of my classic pranks. BAZINGA!

And here's the skittle! (l-r) Essence You Belong to Me, Pure Ice Platinum Magic Base Coat, Essence Romeo, and OPI Wooden Shoe Like to Know. You can really see the yellow jelly on my middle finger which is a white base. It doesn't tinge the other too badly, so you could layer it over other colors! :)

Next up is Soft Kitty, Warm Kitty. Yes! A grey jelly! I love me some grey jellies! It is a creamy grey jelly base with tons of different sized white hex glitter, silver holographic glitter and grey glitter in different sizes!

All on it's own. As always: (l-r) 4 coats, 3 coats, 2 coats, 1 coat. As you can see, the glitters were really hard to get out and apply evenly. I was really sad about this because I was really looking forward to this polish. But do not despair! So the glitters don't play nice......then you shouldn't either! It'll just take a bit more pizazz to get them on and the result with be lovely!

Just look at it in the sun, so how pretty it is especially with 4 coats! Wow! So soft! *wink wink*

"Soft kitty,
Warm kitty,
Little ball of fur.
Happy kitty,
Sleepy kitty,
Purr, purr, purr."

Here is the skittle! (l-r) Essence You Belong to Me, Pure Ice Platinum Magic Base Coat, Essence Romeo, and OPI Wooden Shoe Like to Know. As you can see it looks great over 3 out of the 4 polishes, but not to much over the final brown one. (which I figured). And here you can see that the larger hexes are the ones that don't like to play nice. But it is still a gorgeous polish! :)

Last up is Different Dimension Penny. This polish has a coppery base with copper and brown glitter and copper and brown hexes throughout.And it is gorgeous! It is obviously inspired by the main girl on the show, Penny.

So I couldn't get a shade and sun photo of this to work (lame weather!) but this photo show both in a way and it is still a gorgeous polish!  As always: (l-r) 4 coats, 3 coats, 2 coats, 1 coat. You could actually just stay with 2 coats and be fine! I love the random hexes throughout it gives this polish some added depth that I love!

Here is the skittle. (l-r) Essence You Belong to Me, Pure Ice Platinum Magic Base Coat, Essence Romeo, and OPI Wooden Shoe Like to Know. I think it looks interesting over my index finger which is a blue base. But it looks best over my pinkie, a brown base (shocker huh!?). But I bet there are many more combos one could make with this polish. I had no issues applying this polish.

My favorite from today's polishes? So many unique polishes how to choose? But I would go with Paper, Rock, Scissors, Lizard, Spock. The depth is unbelievable! :)

Well, that rounds up my 3-part review of Different Dimension. I would like to thank Missi for this opportunity as I have been stalking her shop for a while now and have had a lot of these on my wishlist! :)

Please go and check out her pages to be kept up-to-date!

Different Dimension etsy page
Different Dimension facebook page

*The product in this post was sent to me for review and contains my honest opinion and are completely my own opinion.*

The Digit-al Dozen Does Music - Music Devices Through the Years

It's November! And you know what that means? Yep! Another installment of The Digit-al Dozen! This month our topic is music! Music is such a great inspiration! I had a lot of fun coming up with some ideas. So here we go!

This mani represents 4 devices used through the years to play music.

First we have the good old record (I promise it's not a scary demon eye!). I remember going through my mom's record collection when I was young and listening to the Beatles, The Mamas and The Papas, and many musicals. But I think my favorite record growing up was Little Red Caboose. Loved this record! To this day I still sing Little Red Caboose and Rag Mop!

My middle finger represents a cassette tape (I also promise it is not a robot or a face!). Man I loved my collection of tapes! I had all of The New Kids on the Block tapes! Oh baby! ;) And creating mix tapes! Oh yeah, I was queen!

My ring finger represents the golden age of compact discs or CDs. I know, I know, we still use them today.  But I remember my first CD I ever bought: The Cranberries To the Faithful Departed. Still have the CD and still listen to it! :)

And finally my pinky finger is an iPod. My first iPod was a Nano 2nd generation. I thought it was the coolest thing ever! Mine was green. :)

Specs:
Index: Pure Ice Platinum Magic Base Coat, Finger Paints Black Expressionism, and Zoya Sooki.
Middle: Leighton Denny Berry Nice, Finger Paints Black Expressionism, and Pure Ice Platinum Magic Base Coat.
Ring: Pure Ice Platinum Magic Base Coat and Nail Savvy Chrome.
Pinky: China Glaze Cha Cha Cha, Finger Paints Black Expressionism, and Pure Ice Platinum Magic Base Coat.

Don't forget to check out the other ladies and their musical manis! :)

A Girl and Her Polish
Beautygnome
Bee Polished
Caitlin's Creative Corner
Geeky Owl
Glowstars.net
Gnarly Gnails
Manicurator
Manicurity
PishPosh and Polish
The Crumpet
Toxic Vanity

Halloween Challenge: Recreate a Mani!

Happy Halloween! Today's Halloween Challenge from Crumpet's Nail Tarts is to recreate a mani from this challenge! So I decided to recreate Things That Go Bump In The Night by ourpaintedworld. I really love this mani!

This mani is just super cute and classic Halloween! How could I not recreate it!

Now, it's not perfect (my brush went a little crazy on some of the stitches) but I love it! And so what if my Frankenstein looks a bit more like a green minion than the Frankenstein above. It adds character! :)

I didn't have a bright green so I created my own by applying a coat of  China Glaze Star Board with a coat of Ginger+Liz Ivy League. I like the murky green that it created! I used Pure Ice Platinum Magic Base Coat for the white, Finger Paints Black Expressionism for all the black, and the Zoya Sooki for the mummy eyes.

I hope you have enjoyed this Halloween Challenge. I know I have! And don't forget to check out the others doing the Crumpet's Nail Tarts Halloween Challenge!