Christmas Nail Art Idea Round-up!

December 4, 2014, 2:34 pm

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Good afternoon, readers! Monday starts Winter Wonderland Week with The Digit-al Dozen and I've been going through some of my old ideas for Christmas/winter nails from the past few years. Today's post is a round up of my previous nail art looks to hopefully give you some ideas for this holiday season!

Click on each picture to go to the design's original post and learn more about how to recreate it!

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

The real reason for Christmas, these were my nails last year and I loved how they turned out.

It's no secret that I've created quite a few Christmas Tree designs! Take a look: 

Fuzzy Christmas Trees!

One of my favorite Christmas designs ever, even if not very practical.

Textured Christmas Tree Tape Mani

Striping tape and textured polishes make for a fun holiday design.

Abstract Christmas Tree

A simple gold glitter cuticle gradient pairs well with this abstract Christmas tree accent nail.

Watermarble Christmas Tree and Presents

I watermarbled to create a tree shape and added striping tape and gold bows for the present nails!

Holiday Saran Wrap

The base of this manicure is a saran wrap texture with red and gold.

My First Christmas Tree Nail Art

This was the first manicure I did with a Christmas tree, 3 years ago, and it's simple enough to easily recreate with glitter ornaments.

Fuzzy Wreaths

The flocking powder addition to just the green wreaths make this mani SO fun!

Textured Half Moon Wreaths

This incorporates Christmas into the popular half moon mani, and the texture is a nice addition!

Snow Globes!

Who doesn't love snow globes? It was easy to make these into nail art.

Textured Peppermint Swirls

Another favorite I have done, and I couldn't help but add texture!

Fuzzy Santa Suit French Tips

A matte velvet red base with white flocking powder tips really resemble Santa's suit!

Simple Gingerbread Men Stamps!

Sometimes simple stamping can be really fun.

Metallic Elf Clothing  Nail Art

Elves wear the cutest clothes!

Rudolf The Red Nosed Reindeer

The Abominable Snowman and Rudolf have flocking powder accents. (Find a tutorial for The Abominable Snowman on my Tutorials Page Tab!)

Doctor Who Killer Snowmen

Okay, maybe not so "Christmasy," but you could definitely do some happier snowmen with this same idea in mind!

Frosty The Snowman

A more traditional snowman with iridescent glitter and snowflakes.

Christmas Themed Stamping

A green base with red glitter looks great in contrast to the golden Christmas stamping!

Red, Green, and Gold Grunge

Using the distressed dry brush technique, all the Christmas colors come together for a unique look.

Christmas Glitter Gradient

Looking for something glamorous? This Christmas glitter gradient is easy and quick!

I can't wait to hear your favorites! Please comment below and let me know which you want to try out. Also, I'd love to hear if there are some you want a tutorial for. Thanks so much for reading!

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The Digit-al Dozen DOES Winter Wonderland, Day 1: Winter Is Coming

December 8, 2014, 2:02 pm

≫ Next: Tutorial Tuesday, The Digit-al Dozen DOES Winter Wonderland, Day 2: Rudolf Nail Art!

≪ Previous: Christmas Nail Art Idea Round-up!

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Good afternoon, readers! It's a new Digit-al Dozen nail art week and our theme is Winter Wonderland. I'm sure I'll have some cheerful winter/Christmas themed manis this week but today is something entirely different.

Are you a Game of Thrones fan? I pretty much can't hear anything about winter without thinking Winter is Coming. It's the motto for House Stark, and it's a reminder to be prepared for when winter arrives and hits their land the hardest. I've decided to recreate a wallpaper I found with the motto and their sigil of a direwolf.

If you aren't a GoT fan, here is the image I tried to recreate, so you are at least able to see what I was referring to:

(Source: http://www.hd-wallpapers.com/wide/tv-series/game-of-thrones/winter-is-coming-stark-wolf_1920x1200_699-wide.html)

• I started out with a base of OPI Russian Navy Suede.
• Next, I sponged some OPI Alpine Snow and then OPI Girls Love Diamonds.
• I used a thin nail art brush and OPI Right Off The Bat for the details.
• KBShimmer Clearly On Top was used to seal it in.
• OPI Matte Top Coat was added last to take away the shine.

What do you think? Raise your hand if you are a Game of Thrones fan!! Thanks so much for reading! Come back tomorrow to see Day 2 of Winter Wonderland Week with The Digit-al Dozen!

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Tutorial Tuesday, The Digit-al Dozen DOES Winter Wonderland, Day 2: Rudolf Nail Art!

December 9, 2014, 8:38 am

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Good morning, readers! It has been 2 months since my last Tutorial Tuesday post and I am so happy to have one today! In case you want to see all of the other tutorials I've done, take a look at the Tutorials Tab at the top of this blog! This will make my 35th tutorial so there are tons of different ones to choose from!

It's Winter Wonderland Week with The Digit-al Dozen and I've done a Reindeer/Rudolf mani! I had a lot of tutorial requests lately for my actual Rudolf mani that featured Bumble from the Rudolf movie. I may or may not get to do one for that, but this was more cutesy and "my style" so I figured I would share this one first.

First, let's take a look at the full mani! I wore this on all 10 fingers this past weekend and it just made me happy! (You may have seen a sneak peek on instagram!) You can definitely just do one reindeer on an accent nail if the idea of 10 is too much. I just felt like wearing extra cutesy nails that day.

Now for the tutorial! Here is a preview so you can see the steps side-by-side! Continue reading for detailed instructions on each step!

What I used for this tutorial (you can use any similar colors/tools that you have at your house):  

Polishes used: Chanel Dragon, OPI Going My Way Or Norway?, OPI How Great Is Your Dane?, and OPI Angel With A Leadfoot. 

Tools: three smallest sizes of dotting tools and a thin nail art brush (I'm using Pure Color #10).

Step 1) Paint 2 coats of Chanel Dragon on your entire nail and let dry.

Step 2) Using just the bottle brush, paint the shape for the Rudolf head with OPI Going My Way Or Norway? I went over this shape twice for more coverage.

Step 3) Use your large dotting tool dipped in a puddle of OPI Going My Way Or Norway? to dot an ear on each side of the head. Don't do it on the "top" of the head because we have to leave room for the antlers.

Step 4) Use your thin nail art brush dipped into OPI How Great Is Your Dane? to do two diagonal lines coming out of the top of the head.

Step 5) Make two smaller lines on each side of the lines for antlers. You can certainly add a lot more lines if you have longer nails (and therefor more room for antlers).

Step 6) Use your small nail art brush dipped in OPI How Great Is Your Dane? to make small curved lines on the ears.

Step 7) Use your nail art brush and  OPI How Great Is Your Dane? to make a curved line to show where the snout sticks out from the head. Make sure you do it slightly lower than the curves sides of the head.

Step 8) Paint a big smile at the bottom of the face using OPI How Great Is Your Dane? and your thin nail art brush. This step takes some patience and you can certainly make a tiny smile or omit it (but I think a smile adds to the cuteness of the reindeer).

Step 9) Add smile wrinkles on each side of the smile with your nail art brush and OPI How Great Is Your Dane?

Step 10) Use your nails art brush and Chanel Dragon to make an oval nose! You may be able to do this with a dotting tool dragging it from side to side or even having just a circle nose if this seems difficult. (Also, you can do a mani of reindeer with brown noses and one with a red nose!)

Step 11) Use your medium dotting tool dipped in a puddle of OPI Angel With A Leadfoot to make 2 eyes on top of the snout line.

Step 12) Use your smallest dotting tool dipped in a puddle of OPI How Great Is Your Dane? to make the pupils in the center of the white dots.

Don't forget to add a thick, quick drying top coat to seal and protect your design! I love using KBShimmer Clearly On Top, HKGirl, Seche Vite, or Poshe for this step. Get a big dollop of top coat on the brush and carefully spread onto the nail without touching the bristles to your design. This can cause dragging through the image with even the driest designs, and thinner top coats tend to ruin all of your hard work. (If you want this to be mattified, use a matte top coat AFTER you've sealed with a quick dry top coat. Matte top coats ALWAYS ruin my designs if I haven't protected them first with this easy step.) And YOU'RE DONE!! ENJOY!

What do you think? I sure hope you will try it on your nails this holiday season! If you try it, or any of my other tutorials, please share your photo on my Facebook Page, and tag me (@adventuresinacetone with #inspiredbyadventuresinacetone) on Instagram! Thanks so much for reading! Come back tomorrow to see Day 3 of Winter Wonderland Week with The Digit-al Dozen!

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The Digit-al Dozen DOES Winter Wonderland, Day 3: Abstract Blizzard

December 10, 2014, 12:29 pm

≫ Next: The Digit-al Dozen DOES Winter Wonderland, Day 4: Polar Bear

≪ Previous: Tutorial Tuesday, The Digit-al Dozen DOES Winter Wonderland, Day 2: Rudolf Nail Art!

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Good afternoon, readers! It's Day 3 of Winter Wonderland Week with The Digit-al Dozen and I've gone very wintery with this manicure. I'm calling it Abstract Blizzard because of the swirls and mixing of white and blues. Thankfully, I have never been in a blizzard, but I'm sure some of you have! Nicole from Nail Polish Wars posted a similar design yesterday and I just had to try it in wintery colors for this challenge once I saw it!

I followed Nicole's instructions in the post linked above.

• First, I painted 3 coats of OPI What's With The Cattitude? as my base and topped that with one coat of HKGirl top coat to help it dry.
• Once it was completely dry, I dabbed random blobs of OPIs Alpine Snow, Road House Blues, and What's With The Cattitude? over my nail.
• While the polish blobs were still wet, I pressed a ziplock back onto the nail and smushed/twisted a bit to get the colors to blend. 
• Once I cleaned up the skin with acetone, I topped with one coat of KBShimmer Clearly On Top.

 

What do you think? I will be trying this technique a zillion times with different colors in the future for sure! Thanks so much for reading. Come back tomorrow for Day 4 of Winter Wonderland.

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The Digit-al Dozen DOES Winter Wonderland, Day 4: Polar Bear

December 11, 2014, 5:19 am

≫ Next: The Digit-al Dozen DOES Winter Wonderland, Day 5: Gingerbread House!

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Good morning, readers! My friend Ashley Is PolishAddicted suggested that I do a polar bear once she saw my Rudolf Tutorial Tuesday post this week, so that's what I've done for Day 4 of Winter Wonderland Week with The Digit-al Dozen! I'm not sure why it never crossed my mind because polar bears are SO CUTE, but I'm really happy with how he turned out. It may end up being next week's Tutorial Tuesday design as well! My other nails have a texture gradient over white snowflakes that I created by using the KBShimmer's Winter Holiday Vinyl Nail Decal Sheet. 

For my snowflake nails:

• I started with 2 coats of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls and topped it with KBShimmer Clearly On Top to speed up the drying process.
• Once dry, I placed some different sized snowflake vinyls on those nails and pressed down gently. 
• I then painted a swipe of each Sally Hansen Royal Icing and Kiko 644 on a makeup sponge and pressed down on the nail. I repeated this step once more to get fuller coverage of texture.
• Once the polish was still wet, I used tweezers and carefully peeled up the snowflakes to reveal the white base underneath.
• No top coat was used, the texture was the fun part!

For my polar bear nail:

• 2 coats of OPI Can't Find My Czechbook was used as the base.
• I used OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls to do the head and ears (with the help of a dotting tool).
• A thin nail art brush and Sinful Colors Cool Grey were used to do the smile and line details.
• OPI Black Onyx was used for the eyes (dotting tool) and nose (thin nail art brush).
• I used the tip of the nail art brush and Sinful Colors Cool Grey to make a tiny dot on each eye.
• KBShimmer Clearly On Top was used to seal and protect the design.

What do you think? Are you a fan of the snowflake nails or polar bear more? Would you try this look? Thanks so much for reading! Come back tomorrow for the final day of Winter Wonderland Week with The Digit-al Dozen.

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The Digit-al Dozen DOES Winter Wonderland, Day 5: Gingerbread House!

December 12, 2014, 12:44 pm

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Good afternoon, readers! It's the final day of Winter Wonderland Week with The Digit-al Dozen! Today's nail art was inspired by a gingerbread house! Do you make them at home? We haven't yet this year, but it's something on our list to do very soon! I used textured polishes for the candy and icing to give it a little extra depth.

• The gingerbread base color is OPI Ice-Bergers & Fries topped with one coat of KBShimmer Clearly On Top. 
• Once dry, I used a nail art brush and OPI Alpine Snow to do the roof, window, door, candy cane, and peppermint details.
• I went over all of the white with OPI Solitaire.
• The peppermint and candy canes got stripes of Zoya Chyna.
• The rest of the candy details were done using dotting tools and these Zoya Pixie Dusts: Miranda, Chita, Liberty, and Solange. 
• No top coat was used.

What are your thoughts on these gingerbread nails? Thanks so much for reading!

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Tutorial Tuesday: Polar Bear Nail Art!

December 16, 2014, 5:53 am

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Good morning, readers! I have a tutorial for you this week! It's a cute little polar bear that I wore on an accent nail during Winter Wonderland Week. He is cute and fairly easy to do if you have some dotting tools and a thin brush, so I hope you will try this design on your own nails!

Let's first flash back to the full mani in case you didn't get to see that post:

http://www.adventuresinacetone.com/2014/12/the-digit-al-dozen-does-winter_11.html

Continue reading for step by step instructions! 

Here's what I used, you can use anything similar that you have at home:

Polishes used: OPI Can't Find My Czechbook, OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, OPI Black Onyx, Sinful Colors Cool Grey.

Tools used: Large and small dotting tools, thin nail art brush (I'm using Pure Color No.10). 

Step 1) Paint the entire nail with 2-3 coats of OPI Can't Find My Czechbook. 

Step 2) Using the bottle brush, paint a rounded square shape for the polar bear head using OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls.  (I basically paint just like I would my entire nail, but only go up part of the way.)

Step 3) Dip large dotting tool into a puddle of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls and dot 2 ears on either side of the head. I did them on the "corners" so they weren't on the top of the head.

Step 4) Using Sinful Colors Cool Grey and the nail art brush, I painted curved lines "inside" of each ear.

Step 5) Using Sinful Colors Cool Grey and the nail art brush, paint a slightly curved horizonal line almost half way down the head for the "snout."

Step 6) Use your thin nail art brush and OPI Black Onyx to make the nose shape. This is the hardest step for me and I don't even know how to describe the shape. Basically start with a wide oval and then bring it down to a point at the bottom.

Step 7) Use Sinful Colors Cool Grey and your nail art brush to do a thin line from the bottom of the nose part way to the tip of the nail.

Step 8) Use Sinful Colors Cool Grey and your nail art brush to make a cute smile at the bottom of the line coming from the nose.

Step 9) Use your small dotting tool and OPI Black Onyx to make 2 eye dots above the snout curve. (In my original design, I also put a small grey dot in the center but I didn't think it was needed.)

Don't forget to add a thick, quick drying top coat to seal and protect your design! I love using KBShimmer Clearly On Top, HKGirl, Seche Vite, or Poshe for this step. Get a big dollop of top coat on the brush and carefully spread onto the nail without touching the bristles to your design. This can cause dragging through the image with even the driest designs, and thinner top coats tend to ruin all of your hard work. (If you want this to be mattified, use a matte top coat AFTER you've sealed with a quick dry top coat. Matte top coats ALWAYS ruin my designs if I haven't protected them first with this easy step.) And YOU'RE DONE!! ENJOY!

What do you think? I sure hope you will try it on your nails this season! If you try it, or any of my other tutorials, please share your photo on my Facebook Page, and tag me (@adventuresinacetone with #inspiredbyadventuresinacetone) on Instagram! Thanks so much for reading!

JORD Wood Watch Review + Nail Art!

December 19, 2014, 7:38 am

≫ Next: Idiot's Guides: Nail Art (Book Review)

≪ Previous: Tutorial Tuesday: Polar Bear Nail Art!

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Press Sample

Good morning, readers! I have a cool post to share today, complete with a GIVEAWAY! Have you heard of JORD Watches before? They are made of wood! That is such a neat concept to me that I was really happy to have the opportunity to review one. Of course I just had to do some wood grain nail art to coordinate!

Here is what JORD has to say about their watches:

"Jord was derived from our desire for a timepiece that modeled our modern lifestyle. Sustainable, efficient, simple, and influenced by experiential living. Jord owners don't just have somewhere to be, they have somewhere to go. We believe our watches tell more than time. 

Our style is guided by a deep appreciation for natural elements and modern design. Wood is not just a component of our watches, it is the main feature. The intricacy and multiplicity of the woods we utilize in our designs insure that each watch is as distinctive as the owner."

The watch arrived in this nice box and was secured around a pillow. I loved the packaging and appreciated that it wasn't just thrown in a box to shake around during transit.

The watch I chose is part of the Ely Seriesin the color black. It is one of the smallest faces offered for women's watches and I am happy with the size. It came in an average band length (200mm) and I was able to easily remove a few links to fit my smaller wrist size

The wood is smooth and beautifully carved, the simplicity is what really makes the watch for me. I love the face with the darker wood background contrasted with the silver hands and details.

The closure opens up and closes easily that I can do it with one hand and not worry about chipping a nail. You just squeeze the buttons on each side and it pops open.

You can see it closed below.

Here's how I did my wood grain nail art:

• I started out with 2 coats of OPI Icebergers & Fries.
• Then, I used the dry brush technique and added some swipes of OPI Suzi Loves Cowboys and OPI How Great Is Your Dane?
• Once dry, I added a coat of OPI Matte Top Coat to take away the shine and give it more of a wooden finish.

What do you think? The wood grain nails are understated, just like the watch and I think they compliment each other very well. 

Would you like to win a JORD Watch?JORDhas generously sponsored the giveaway below so one lucky reader has the chance to win a gift certificate for the value of this watch ($129) to pick out your own! 

Enter in the rafflecopter widget below. Good luck, and thanks so much for reading!

**I understand that the top entry in the widget may be hard to copy and paste, so here is the link for you to click: http://www.woodwatches.com/giveaway/signup#adventuresinacetone  (Once you click on this link, fill out the form and retrieve the code. Enter the code into the giveaway entry spot.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*The product in this post was sent for me to review with my honest opinion. JORD is sponsoring this giveaway.

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Idiot's Guides: Nail Art (Book Review)

December 23, 2014, 5:41 am

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Affiliate Link

Emily from The Lacquerologistpublished a BOOK! That is just so awesome and I couldn't be happier for my fellow blogging friend! I received a copy of Idiot's Guides: Nail Art to review and share with you all today because it's full of nail art tutorials! With over 75 tutorials and categorized by difficulty level, there is something for everyone to try. Emily is a nail technician at her own nail spa so there are also really informative pages about nail care, polishing, gel polish, nail art basics and more. I've followed one of my favorite tutorials from the book as well, so let's take a look!

The book has beautiful photography and the cover is gorgeous! As soon as I saw it, I knew the IKAT design on the cover would be the one I had to recreate first! 

As I said above, before the book gets into the tutorials, there are very informative sections about nail art basics: the natural nail structure, manicure products, nail art tools, manicuring basics, polishing basics, good nail habits, product ingredients, gel manicures, 3D elements used in nail art, how to remove polish, pedicures and incorporating nail art onto toenails, and combining techniques.

I learned a lot in these sections so don't skip ahead to the tutorials when you get the book. Here are some sneak peek photos of the inside of the book. I didn't want to show too many pages because I want there to be some surprises if you purchase it!

Something I learned when I started really getting into nail art was the easiest way to polish my nails without making a crazy mess. Emily outlines step by step the same technique I follow as well. 

The nail art tutorials are split into 3 different categories. There are 30 that fall into the "Simple Designs" section.

There are 28 tutorials that fall into the "Intermediate Designs" section.

There are 19 designs in the "Advanced Designs" category.

When flipping through the book, I found over 55 design ideas that I've never done in the 4 years I have been doing nail art. So even as a seasoned nail artist, I am really happy to have this book!

The tutorials are explained very clearly with photos showing the step by step process. Most of the tutorials are only 6 steps each. Some of the more intricate are 9 steps, with 2 designs at 12 steps. There are only a few simple tools needed for each design as well!

The first tutorial I tried is the IKAT design from the front cover. This falls into the "Intermediate Designs" category.

I followed Emily's instructions and I am happy with the results of my IKAT nails! I added a 4th color to my design, but aside from that I did everything in the tutorial! I was really happy with the simple, clear instructions for this design that I had never tried before.

• My base is Dior Saint Tropez.
• I used OPI Alpine Snowand Black Onyxfor the black and white layers.
• Orly Frolicwas the pop of color added in the last step before top coat.

Another thing I loved about Idiot's Guides: Nail Art was that each tutorial page was the same clean layout. The full hand design photos are on the left side so you can flip through holding the book as I show in the photo below to see all of the designs for easy picking. Even Mr. Adventures In Acetone commented on that when we were looking through it. 

And another little side note, there is an awesome Resources section in the back of the book and Adventures In Acetone is a named blog for nail art and step by step tutorials!!!! That is just so majorly exciting for me and I am so thankful to be included in the list of places to go for more nail art.

 What do you think of Idiot's Guides: Nail Art? After I finish writing this post, I'm going to follow another book tutorial for a holiday nail art look I plan to wear this week. I'm sure you will be seeing tons of designs from the book on my nails in the new year as well.

My thoughts? I am really impressed with this book. I've never had a nail art book before so I wasn't sure if it would be helpful to someone like me that has been doing nail art for years. But honestly, I am so excited to try a lot of these! The clear photos, step by step instructions, and simple tools make this a winning book! There are designs for tons of holidays and occasions, or just everyday nails.

The informative pages were really helpful as well. Whether you are a beginner, someone who has been doing nail art for a while, or even want to buy this for someone who has shown interest in nail art, this would be a great purchase!

Idiot's Guides: Nail Artis available for preorder on Amazon right now for $13.09 (list price of $16.95) with a release date of January 6th, 2015. (Actually, I just checked and it's showing "temporarily out of stock" and you can add to the cart and will be charged when it is shipped.) It is also available in a Kindle edition for $8.99.

Thanks so much for reading! A big congratulations to Emily The Lacquerologist on this huge achievement!! You can check out her blog and follow her at the links below:

The Lacquerologist Blog: http://www.lacquerologist.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lacquerologist
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lacquerologist
Instagram: http://instagram.com/lacquerologist

**Emily is currently giving away 2 SIGNED COPIES of this book! Click here to head over to the giveaway now!**

*The book in this post was sent for me to review with my honest opinion.

*There are affiliate links in this post, so I will receive compensation if you click through and purchase.

Candy Cane Nail Art!

December 24, 2014, 6:21 am

≫ Next: 15 Best Nail Art Manis of 2014!

≪ Previous: Idiot's Guides: Nail Art (Book Review)

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Good morning, readers! Merry Christmas Eve! Today, I have some simple holiday nail art for you that I created by following another tutorial in Idiot's Guides: Nail Art that I reviewed yesterday! If you missed that post, check it out HERE! There were a handful of Christmas tutorials but this one was calling out to me the most ever since I opened the book.

•  I followed Emily's tutorial in the book by starting with a base of OPI Alpine Snow.
• Once it was completely dry (I used a quick drying top coat to speed it up), I used striping tape and placed them onto the nails.
• I alternated with OPI Over & Over A-Gwen and China Glaze Starboard for the red and green stripes.
• Before the polishes dried, I used tweezers to carefully peel back up the strips.
• I used Seche Vite on top of the stripes and then decided to add some sparkle with China Glaze Fairy Dust. 
• KBShimmer Clearly On Top was used to seal everything in.

What do you think? I think they turned out cute and was happy with them. I had a hard time cleaning up the red around the cuticles, though, so that took a while. Thanks so much for reading!

Merry Christmas to all of you that celebrate! I will probably take a few days off from posting.

15 Best Nail Art Manis of 2014!

December 31, 2014, 9:10 am

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Hello!! I'm back! It's been a busy and fun week or 2 so I apologize for the quiet here on the blog. We've had lots of family time and holidays to celebrate-- my 28th birthday, Christmas, Mr. Adventures In Acetone's 30th birthday, and yesterday was our 9th wedding anniversary! The second half of December is always a bit nuts around here but I love it! Now that it's starting to slow down, I'm ready to get back into painting my nails and posting for you all! The end of the year is near, and I like to look back and reflect on all of the manis I've worn this year. I've narrowed them down to my 15 favorites so let's take a look!

In no particular order, here we go! You can click on the title above each photo to be taken to the full post of that manicure.

Time For Twelve!

This year brought us a new Doctor-- Peter Capaldi as the 12th Doctor in one of my favorite shows, Doctor Who. This mani was inspired by the new title intro. 

Wonderland!

I was inspired by the talking flowers in Alice in Wonderland and recreated some on my nails!

Mermaid Scales

Although on the simple side, I really loved wearing this mani. The scales were done with a nail art brush and you can find a tutorial to recreate this look on my tutorial page! 

Cyberman VS. Dalek

Another Doctor Who inspired mani, the well known villains in the series attack each other.

Elevation Polish Bottle!

I had such a fun time with Brands Week with The Digit-al Dozen and I just had to recreate a bottle of Elevation Polish on my nails! 

The Pandora Opens!

Okay, okay, I promise this is the last Doctor Who mani for this post. (Mostly because I only did these three DW manis this year..). 

Negative Space Floral Lace

This is in my top running for the year for sure. The negative space, paired with the lace and gradient are a great combination! LOVE.

Game of Thrones Weirwood Tree

This was my mani inspired by this year's finale of Game of Thrones. I can't wait for next year and hope the season will inspired more manis.

Lava Flow Nail Art

Man oh man, this may be the weirdest mani I did this year and I still really love how it turned out. You can find a video tutorial for this look on my tutorial page as well. 

Scooby-Doo

I'm proud of how Scooby-Doo and Shaggy turned out in this Decades Week mani!

Thankful For Books!

This may be my favorite base in a mani ever. 

Glowing Jack 'O Lanterns

My favorite Halloween mani this year, the neon base is glowing from within. 

The Shire!

I still love this fuzzy Hobbit hole representing The Shire in Middle Earth. (We saw the final Hobbit movie last night and it was EPIC!)

TOMS Brand

Another favorite from Brands Week, there are so many fun patterns in TOMS shoes.

Water Lily Nail Art

This is another tied for favorite of the year. The spiral needle marble made a perfect base for the simple water lilies. 

There you have them! What do you think of my top 15 choices? Are there others you expected to make the cut? Thank you all SO MUCH, from the bottom of my heart, for following me this year. I hope to see you all next year. Happy New Year!!

KBShimmer Men Are From Mars-ala Swatches!

January 1, 2015, 6:24 am

≫ Next: 13 Days Of January, Day 1: Follow A Tutorial!

≪ Previous: 15 Best Nail Art Manis of 2014!

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Press Sample

Good morning, readers, and Happy New Year! The new year brings a new Pantone Color Of The Year and Marsala is the new color for 2015! I'll miss last year's radiant orchid shade, it became one of my favorite polish families to wear. However, marsala intrigues me and I can't wait to see more of it before I decide whether it's for me or not. 

KBShimmer is releasing their new pantone-inspired color today called Men Are From Mars-ala. It is an earthy, red-brown shade with a linear holographic finish when you are in the sun. Let's take a look!

I used two coats with no top coat for these photos and have no issues to report. The formula was easy to work with and covered nicely. The holo is gorgeous in the sun, but the color indoors is also pleasing and that is big for me. I like holos, but I am not outside as much as I would like to be, so I hate when my polish is flat until I go into the sun. This is definitely a unique shade to my collection and I'm digging it! Check out both the indoor and sunlight photos below.

What do you think of the new KBShimmer Men Are From Mars-ala? This was my first taste of Marsala so far and I am happy with it! I like the color indoors and in the sun, so it gets a thumbs up from me!

Each KBShimmer bottle will retail for $8.75 on the website, www.kbshimmer.com. For sales outside the U.S., visit www.harlowandco.org.

Thanks so much for reading! Here's to a happy new year for you, filled with fun and Marsala everywhere!

*The polish in this post was sent for me to review with my honest opinion. 

13 Days Of January, Day 1: Follow A Tutorial!

January 2, 2015, 8:34 am

≫ Next: Press Release: Zoya Naturel Satins!

≪ Previous: KBShimmer Men Are From Mars-ala Swatches!

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Previous Press Sample

Good morning, readers! A group of blogging friends and I have come together for a modified version of the Crumpet's Nail Tarts 31 Day Challenge for 2015. We will have a lot of similar nail art prompts, but just 3 times a week (because, new nail art every day for a month stresses me out!). The good news: this will bring tons of nail art to Adventures In Acetone for the month of January! It's been years since I've done a challenge that wasn't with The Digit-al Dozen and I really hope I will be able to keep up and enjoy it as a great start to the new year.

For day 1, our prompt is Follow A Tutorial. This was a no brainer for me, I still have the wonderful Idiot's Guides: Nail Artbook by The Lacquerologistsitting on my nail desk with tons of tutorials to try out. In case you missed my full review on the book, click HERE (it's available for pre-order right now, and officially releases on Tuesday!).

I followed one of the Intermediate Designs called Spring Flowers (pages 146-147). I loved how it came out so much that I did matching toes! (Emily has a great section in her book about nail art on toes and I was so happy I tried it out!).

I followed the tutorial using these steps:

• The accent nails got 3 thin coats of Orly Frolic.
• The flower nails got 3 coats of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls.
• Once the white base was dry, I wiped most of the polish off of the bottle brush of Orly Frolic and made splashes of color on three different edges of each nail.
• Next, I took my striper brush and Sinful Colors Black on Black and did the simple floral designs over the color splashes.
• Lastly, I used a small dotting tool to add dots to the center of the flowers and in the white free space.
• KBShimmer Clearly On Top was used to seal it all in.

What do you think? I am super in love with this, especially at arms length. I've been wearing this mani since Tuesday and don't plan on taking it off until it chips. Thanks so much for reading! Monday will hold the next nail art prompt in our 13 Days of January challenge. Have a great weekend!

*There are affiliate links in this post, which means if you click through and purchase, I am compensated.

*The book mentioned in this post was a previously reviewed press sample.

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Press Release: Zoya Naturel Satins!

January 3, 2015, 7:16 am

≫ Next: Press Release: OPI Fifty Shades of Grey Collection

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Press Release

Good morning, readers! I have a info to share with you today about the newest Zoya collection coming on January 15th! It's another satin finish collection (yay!!) and this time the colors are neutrals. Let's take a look at the press release I received below.

ZOYA NATUREL SATINS

The next generation of Zoya Naturel is almost here! Introducing, Zoya Naturel Satins, a collection of six new, neutral nail polish colors in an ultra-wearable, low-sheen, chic satin finish. A hybrid between matte and glossy polishes, the new Zoya Satin* formula provides opaque coverage and is longer lasting than traditional matte shades. The flawlessly smooth finish hides imperfections and creates a luxurious, satin finish nail look.

ZP782/Leah: Lavender tinged taupe, exclusive Zoya Satin* finish. 

ZP779/Rowan: Creamy suede taupe, exclusive Zoya Satin* finish.

ZP781/Sage: Mossy sage green, exclusive Zoya Satin* finish.

ZP778/Tove: Misty slate grey, exclusive Zoya Satin* finish. 

 
ZP780/Brittany: Rose mauve cream, exclusive Zoya Satin* finish.

ZP783/Ana: Light toasted almond, exclusive Zoya Satin* finish. 
 

*Zoya Satin is not intended to be worn with a top coat. For best results: Prep nail with Zoya Remove Plus Nail Polish Remover, apply base coat and finish with 2 thin coats of any Zoya Satin Nail Polish.

AVAILABLE 01/15/15!

ZOYA IS THE HEALTHY COLOR OF FASHION!

$9 (US), Available in top salons, spas and on zoya.com

WANT MORE?

COMING SOON -  Zoya Satin Seal Topcoat! 

Turn any color into an elegant Satin finish beauty with just one coat!

*This is a press release written and sent from the PR company.

Press Release: OPI Fifty Shades of Grey Collection

January 4, 2015, 4:00 am

≫ Next: 13 Days Of January, Day 2: Happiness! (Sprinkle Cookie Nail Art)

≪ Previous: Press Release: Zoya Naturel Satins!

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Press Release

Good morning! I have the information on the newest collection by OPI releasing this month called OPI Fifty Shades Of Grey. It is inspired by the new movie release, and popular book series. I personally haven't read the books but I do love grey nail polish and am excited about adding these variations to my collection! Let's take a look at the new collection below.

OPI to Release New Limited-Edition Nail Lacquers Inspired by Universal Pictures and Focus Features’ Movie Fifty Shades of Grey

OPI announced the launch of six new limited-edition nail lacquers inspired by Universal Pictures and Focus Features’ Fifty Shades of Grey, the hotly anticipated film adaptation of the worldwide bestselling book by E L James. Available in January 2015, the collection includes five gray nail lacquers in varying shades and textures, along with one rich red hue. Fifty Shades of Grey arrives in theaters on Valentine’s Day weekend of 2015.

“The Fifty Shades of Grey book series is one of the greatest publishing sensations of all time, with more than 100 million copies sold to date. Fans have fallen in love with the characters and are eager to see them translated onscreen,” explains Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI Co-Founder & Brand Ambassador.  “The collection captures the mood, feelings and emotions of this film with assorted hues of gray, ranging from glittering and gleaming silvers to cool gray crèmes to dark charcoal. The collection also features a rich crème red to represent passion.

“Color is so much more than something to admire. The colors we choose to wear represent our personalities, our moods, our feelings,” continues Weiss-Fischmann. “The collection bottles the film’s passion, luxury and power in six beautiful nail lacquers ideal for expressing sensuality through beauty.”

The OPI collection includes the following shades:

My Silk Tie

This silky, gleaming silver has got me all tied up.

Romantically Involved

I’m in a deep relationship with this luscious crème red. 

Dark Side of the Mood

This brooding, stormy charcoal is dangerously gorgeous.

Shine for Me

This shimmering silver with subtle blue sparkle really turns me on!

Cement the Deal

I’d sign anything to get my hands on this stony, cool gray.

Embrace the Gray

Let this chic, moody gray crème become one with you. 

Eachnail lacquer shade features OPI’s exclusive ProWide^™ Brush for the ultimate in application. The collection will be available beginning January 2015 for a limited time only. Nail lacquers will retail for $9.50 ($11.50 CAN) each at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Chatters, Dillard’s, Regis, ULTA and ulta.com. 

OPI is guaranteed only when purchased through authorized professional beauty outlets and prestige stores, not from a drugstore, supermarket, mass outlet or other unauthorized source. For more information, please call 800-341-9999 or visit www.opi.com. Follow OPI on Twitter and Instagram @OPI_PRODUCTS and go to Facebook to become a fan! 

ABOUT OPI
As the world leader in the professional nail care industry, OPI is committed to providing high-quality products and services to both salons and their customers, along with a focus on industry safety and innovation. Known for its exceptional formula, fashionable colors and iconic names, OPI’s heavily-pigmented lacquers are super rich, long-lasting and chip-resistant – offering an affordable luxury to consumers. OPI nail lacquer is available in over 200 shades. Each lacquer features OPI’s exclusive ProWide^™ Brush for the ultimate in application. Currently, OPI is available in over 100 countries and retails a full line of professional items, including nail treatments, finishing products, lotions, manicure/pedicure products, files, tools, gels and acrylics. 

ABOUT FIFTY SHADES OF GREY
Fifty Shades of Grey is the hotly anticipated film adaptation of the bestselling book that has become a global phenomenon.  Since its release, the “Fifty Shades” trilogy has been translated into 52 languages worldwide and sold more than 100 million copies —making it one of the biggest and fastest-selling book series ever. 

Stepping into the roles of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele, who have become iconic to millions ofreaders, are Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson.  

Joining Dornan and Johnson in the cast are Luke Grimes as Elliot, Christian’s brother; Victor Rasuk as José, Anastasia’s close friend; Eloise Mumford as Kate, Anastasia’s best friend and roommate; Marcia Gay Harden as Dr. Grace Trevelyan Grey, Christian’s mother; Rita Ora as Mia, Christian’s sister; Max Martini as Taylor, Christian’s bodyguard; Callum Keith Rennie as Ray, Anastasia’s stepfather; Jennifer Ehle as Carla, Anastasia’s mother; and Dylan Neal as Bob, Carla’s husband. 
    
Fifty Shades of Grey is directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson and produced by Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti alongside E L James, author of the books.  The screenplay for the film is by Kelly Marcel.   http://www.fiftyshadesmovie.com

*This is a press release written and sent to me by the OPI PR company.

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13 Days Of January, Day 2: Happiness! (Sprinkle Cookie Nail Art)

January 5, 2015, 9:42 am

≫ Next: 13 Days Of January, Day 3: Half & Half! (Metal & Wood Nail Art)

≪ Previous: Press Release: OPI Fifty Shades of Grey Collection

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Good afternoon, readers! It's day 2 of our 13 Days of January Nail Art Challenge! Today's prompt is Happiness and I was struggling to find a good topic of inspiration for this mani. Tons of things make me happy but don't translate well onto nails so I went with a simpler idea: cookies. Cookies make me happy. Even for my birthday a few weeks ago, I requested cookies over a cake for my celebration. The prettiest cookies for nail art were rainbow sprinkled, so here we are!

• I started out with three thin coats of OPI You're So Vain-illa and sponged on a bit of OPI Going My Way or Norway? as the base.
• Once it was dry, I used a dotting tool and the following OPI cremes to drag across the base for the sprinkles: Angel With A Leadfoot, Feelin' Hot-Hot-Hot!, Over & Over A-Gwen, In My Back Pocket, I Just Can't Cope-acabana, Jade Is The New Black, Can't Find My Czechbook, and Do You Have This Color In Stock-holm?
• I topped them with one coat of KBShimmer Clearly On Top.
• OPI Matte Top Coat was used as the final step to take away the shine and look more like cookies. 

What do you think? Do cookies make you happy, too? Thanks so much for reading! The next 13 Days of January post will be on Wednesday, so make sure to check back! Have a great day!

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13 Days Of January, Day 3: Half & Half! (Metal & Wood Nail Art)

January 7, 2015, 2:17 pm

≫ Next: Press Release: Zoya Delight for Spring 2015!

≪ Previous: 13 Days Of January, Day 2: Happiness! (Sprinkle Cookie Nail Art)

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Good evening, readers! I have an interesting manicure to share with you today. The nail art prompt for today's challenge was Half & Half. I asked Mr. Adventures In Acetone for some ideas on the topic and he said wood and metal! So here is my attempt at half metal, half wooden nails.

• I started out with 2 coats of OPI Push And Shove for my chrome metal look. 
• Once that was dry, I carefully painted one half of each nail with 2 coats of OPI Icebergers & Fries. 
• I used the dry brush technique and added some streaks of OPI Suzi Loves Cowboys and OPI How Great Is Your Dane? 
• I topped the wooden half with OPI Matte Top Coat and then added some dots using a dotting tool and OPI Push And Shove on the wooden side to tie them together.

What do you think? I think I would be happier with a more perfectly straight line using tape between both halves, but other than that it's pretty much how I pictured it in my head. Thanks so much for reading!

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Press Release: Zoya Delight for Spring 2015!

January 8, 2015, 1:45 pm

≫ Next: 13 Days Of January, Day 4: Monochromatic! (Herringbone Nail Art)

≪ Previous: 13 Days Of January, Day 3: Half & Half! (Metal & Wood Nail Art)

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Press Release

Tons of press releases for new collections have started popping up and I have another from Zoya for you called Zoya Delight! Take a look at these pretty shades for spring! They are available at the  beginning of next month.

ZOYA DELIGHT

Get ready for mouth-watering spring delights from Zoya! Inspired by the soft and airy colors of the season, Zoya Delight serves up three cheerful creams and three turquoise flash metallics for an updated, flirty way to wear pastels! All in the full-coverage, long-wearing, Big5Free* formula Zoya Nail Polish is famous for.

• ZP772/Rayne: Dewy, spring blue with an energizing turquoise metallic flash.
• ZP773/Lillian: Faded aquamarine with a glossy cream finish.
• ZP774/Tiana: Palette-cleansing ‘pistachio gelato’ green in a glossy cream finish.
• ZP775/Daisy: Refreshing ‘lemon merengue’ yellow with a turquoise metallic flash.
• ZP776/Leslie: Soft spring lavender with a turquoise metallic flash.
• ZP777/Eden: Classic spring flower pink in a glossy cream finish.

**BIG5FREE: Zoya Professional Nail Lacquer formula contains no formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, dibutyl phthalate, toluene or camphor.

AVAILABLE 02/02/15!

ZOYA IS THE HEALTHY COLOR OF FASHION!

$9 (US) 

Available in top salons, spas and on zoya.com

13 Days Of January, Day 4: Monochromatic! (Herringbone Nail Art)

January 9, 2015, 8:06 am

≫ Next: The Digit-al Dozen DOES Fairy Tales, Day 1: The Tale of the Three Brothers (Harry Potter Nail Art)

≪ Previous: Press Release: Zoya Delight for Spring 2015!

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Good morning, readers! TGIF! Are you excited for the weekend? It's time for the 4th nail art prompt in our 13 Days of January challenge: Monochromatic. Of course I had to pick my favorite color family: orchid purples! I followed another tutorial from Idiot's Guides: Nail Artfor this look!

Did you catch my previous review of the awesome nail art tutorial book written by The Lacquerologist?Make sure to take a look at the post here of Idiot's Guides: Nail Art(which is officially for sale now!). I am having so much fun following Emily's tutorials in the book and today's post was no exception. I followed the Herringbone tutorial (which can be found in the Simple Designs section on pages 78-79) because I had never tried this design before. The instructions were easy to follow and I am really happy with how it turned out.

My base color was China Glaze That's Shore Brightand my other base was Pahlish Sarey's Berry. The stripes were done with a striper brush and OPI Skating On Thin Ice-land. I used KBShimmer Clearly On Top to seal in the design. 

What do you think? I loved wearing this as a full mani, and was sad when it chipped. I can definitely see myself trying this design again in the future! Thanks so much for reading, have a great weekend!

*There are affiliate links in this post which compensate me if you click through and make a purchase.

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The Digit-al Dozen DOES Fairy Tales, Day 1: The Tale of the Three Brothers (Harry Potter Nail Art)

January 12, 2015, 4:17 pm

≫ Next: 13 Days Of January, Day 5: Reversed Polarities! (Reversed Doctor Who Nail Art)

≪ Previous: 13 Days Of January, Day 4: Monochromatic! (Herringbone Nail Art)

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Good evening, readers! I have 2 challenge posts to share with you tonight, so check back in a bit for my 13 Days of January mani. Right now, however, begins a new Digit-al Dozen week! The prompt is Fairy Tales and I've gone unconventional with Day 1. I was inspired by the fairy tale told to wizard children in Harry Potter called The Tale of the Three Brothers. 

 Harry Potter fans will recognize this story from the Deathly Hallows Part 1 film, where three brothers cheated Death by building a bridge with their wands and crossing it. There, they meet Death and he sneakily offers them a gift of their choosing (shown on my nails): The Elder Wand, The Resurrection Stone, and the Invisibility Cloak. "Two of the three brothers wished to conquer Death beyond what they had done already, and foolishly chose their gifts accordingly, leading to their early demise. The third brother was wiser, and hid under the Invisibility Cloak that allowed him to postpone death until he was ready; he lifted the veil that had helped him to evade the afterlife and was welcomed by Death." 
--source: http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/The_Tale_of_the_Three_Brothers

Together, they are also known as The Deathly Hallows and I've shown their symbol on my pinky finger.

Here is a video I found of the tale on YouTube, in case you wanted to watch it. (This is not my video)

I used a few different polishes mixed together to get the weird base of this mani, but the Deathly Hallows were painted in OPI How Great Is Your Dane?

What do you think of this fairy tale inspired manicure? Are you a Harry Potter fan, or did you have no idea what The Tale of the Three Brothers was? Thanks so much for reading!

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