Aphrodite's Notebook

Black and White Retro Nails

2011-12-30T11:57:00.000-05:00

Hey guys! I hope all of you had a great holiday :)

So I was looking online for nail design ideas and found this one picture that kind of inspired me. Sorry I don't have a link to it I was just looking on google. Anyways, I used as a base mannequin by the American Apparel polishes. I used a black and white for the tips and then just used my dotting tool for the design.

Here are the pictures...

and oh btw I rounded my nails, hope the don't break like they do when they are squared.

Talk to you later!

-Theia

Snowman Nails :)

2011-12-24T13:09:00.000-05:00

Hello! :) Today I have for you a simple snowman design that I saw on youtube and just thought Oh isn't that cute. So I felt like testing it out :)

So the polishes I used was White on White by China Glaze as my base and then on top of that I used Essie's Shine of the times. I absolutely love this Essie polish. One of my favorite things about it is that it's effect is pretty much different on every color. Last but not least I used my dotting tool and a stripper for the face of the snowmans.

By the way, I tried really hard to get the colorfulness of the Essie Shine of the Times but as many pictures as I took, none of them really did any justice for this beautiful color. If any of you have it, I'm sure you know what I mean. For those of you who don't it's kind of a multicolor glass-shard polish. Really nice.

Anyways here are the pictures.. And once again, they don't do the Essie polish any justice...

Hope you guys liked it and Happy Holidays!

See you next time

-Theia

Blue Sparkly Nails :)

2011-12-23T10:50:00.000-05:00

Hola fellow bloggers and blog readers. I'm so happy for this winter break. Two weeks off of school. More time to do my nails? I think so! :)

So today I have for you a blue-themed nail design that was really easy and quick to do. As my base I used Swizzle Stix by Barielle Shades. On top of this I used a light blue stripper from color club. On top of the light blue triangles I used Hallucinate by Wet n Wild to give it a bit of glitter. :)

I actually like this a lot and hope you guys do too.. here are the pictures :)

Direct sun

Direct sun

Indirect Sun

See you guys next time! Happy Holidays!!

-Theia

White and Green Nail Design

2011-12-22T18:46:00.000-05:00

Hey guys! So today I have for you another nail design. I have to admit I'm not too happy with how these turned out. I imagined them a lot different in my head.

Anyways, a lot of people said that it looks like grassed but honestly.. I didn't intend for them to look like grass. I kind of just did what I imagined and it turned out like this. Do you guys think it looks like grass?

So I used a white base and then a minty green stripper for the nails.

Here are the nails..

Hope you guys liked it. I'll be back with the nail design I am wearing currently.

See you next time.

Theia

Candy Cane Nails!

2011-12-19T02:00:00.002-05:00

Happy Monday! As happy as Monday can get...

Anyways, for today I've got for you a cute holiday design...Candy Canes! Instead of using red and white, I wanted to use a light pink and darker pink for the stripes. For the base I used Coney Island from American Apparel.

Hope you enjoy!

I hope you guys are having fun preparing for the holidays!
Hope you guys like it and I'll be back soon with another design

Pink Swirl Nails

2011-12-15T16:34:00.000-05:00

Hey guys! Okay so I wanted to apologize for the decrease in activity on our blog. I'm hoping that I can get in the routine of posting more often.

Anyways, this design I think is really fun :)! It kind of reminds me of the little mint candies you get at restaurants when you get the bill. mmm...

So for a base I used Yum Gum by Color Club and a darker pink stripper for the swirls (also by color club)

So here they are..

oh and sorry for any chips, these pictures were taken a couple days after I did them.

Hope you like! Happy Holidays!

Until next time

-Theia

Royal Fame and Fortune

2011-11-28T22:33:00.000-05:00

Hey fellow blog readers, I'm just back with a quick update. I'm just going through exam time so I apologize for the few words! Here are my nails:

I wore Revlon Royal as a base with Color Club Fame and Fortune on top.

Absolutely love this combo and I would most likely wear this again!

Speak soon

-Selene

U-Concrete-Me plus Bling!

2011-11-24T17:17:00.000-05:00

Halloooo, I have this major problem...it's called never-do-my-nail-at-a-good-time-itis. Haha yeaah so I always end up doing my nails right before I have to go somewhere and they are never dry enough so I end up somehow ruining them. I even did another design for halloween but I completely ruined them when I went out and I refuse to show you the disaster that occurred. I like to take pictures of my nails in the day light and I always do my nails at night time so I wait until the next day to photograph them and by then something usually goes wrong. Yeah obviously I have not learned from this mistake. So if any of my photos if the topcoat looks kinds rough, well it's because it is-but it's completely my fault not the topcoat lol. Hopefully you guys can overlook that since I hardly have time time to sit there for 2 hours to do my nails and wait for them to dry completely.

Anyway I've changed my nail shape back to square nails.. not because I didn't like the oval-I loved it! Unfortunately with the move my nails took a good beating and some of them broke so I gave up and cut them all off

I wasn't sure if I wanted to show you guys this picture because I didn't like it but heyy why the hell not? I put OPI's Pepe's Purple Passion and didn't do anything special, well because I hadn't really found the time.

But once I did find the time I created this manicure.

I used Barielle U-Concrete-Me and Color Club Sugarplum Fairy for the glitter which translated terribly in this picture so I took another one under artificial light which as you can is incredibly holographic!

I liked this a lot actually sort of felt like I had Jewelry on that ring finger there haha

Talk soon

-Selene

Purple Temptation!

2011-11-24T09:25:00.001-05:00

Good Morning! Today I have for you a design that I did a couple days ago.I felt like something simple but not too simple. Complicated but not too complicated. And this...is where I pretty much ended off, having to do it in a short amount of time.

Since this is the first time I had gotten/heard of/even used a barielle shades polish, I felt like it should be incorporated in my first mani after the grand haul!

So for today I got for you a mani using one barielle shades polish, one OPI, and a regular black striper. The barielle is called Grape Escape and the OPI, from the DS collection is called Temptation.

I'm gonna say that I was really happy with the result of the quality of the barielle polish. I only had to use on coat and it went on smooth like butter... absolutely amazing!!

So without further adieu...

Talk to you laterrr aligatorrss :)

-Theia

Essie E-nuf is E-nuf

2011-11-23T12:00:00.001-05:00

Hey guys! It's Theia here. I as well did this mani a while back and just never had time to put it up and then completely forgot about it later.

Anyways this is a new essie color I got that I really like. I never had any trouble with the consistency of any essie colors so yes, this one is still an amazing pick!

I love this color and I hope you will too!

See you later!

-Theia

Breast Cancer Awareness Nails

2011-11-22T21:48:00.000-05:00

Okay! So I actually did this manicure about a month ago for Breast Cancer Awareness Day at my school. I actually think this is really cute but would change a couple aspects in it now that I look back at it.

So I used Yum Gum by Color Club for the base color and Mod About You by OPI for the ribbon.

Hope you enjoy :)

Sorry I haven't posted in a bit!

Will post another mani soon

-Theia

HAUL: yes yes, ANOTHER one!

2011-11-21T17:34:00.000-05:00

Can we ever stop? Yeah, I don't think so, at least not in the near future! And the way we're going it seems we'd rather have nothing else but polishes and nail related items! Anyway we're super excited to show you what we've got, I believe this is our longest haul yet!

Orly: Candy Cane Lane, Winter Wonderland, and Meet me Under the Mistletoe
*it actually came with a free bag, which is under the polishes in the picture.

Nina Ultra Pro Purple-xing, Nicole by OPI It's a May-zing, OPI DS Temptation

Kleancolor City Never Sleeps, Revlon Royal, Zoya Kissy, and Gosh Ocean

Color Club Beyond the Mistletoe collection and Back Stage collection

Barielle: Gold Digger, Passion Pirrouette, U-Concrete-Me, Decadence, and Slate of Affairs

Some Glitter I bought at a dollar store to either mix with polishes or for a design, not sure yet.

More sparkles from a dollar store and some small beads for nails design. Look at how cute the bottles are!

This actually our second bottle of Nail Envy Matte Nail Strengthener, we love it! We use it often as our base.

China Glaze Santa's Little Helpers

Another Barielle set: Swizzle Stix, Do Unto Others, Grape Escape,Blossom, and Budda-full

Orly Fowl Play. It is soooo pretty!!

A mini set of 3 Zoya Matte polishes: Phoebe, Mitzi, and Lolly

Seche Vite topcoat and Duri Rejuvacote. We actually never tried Seche Vite before so we wanted to get one to see if we like it better the what we already use.

Love & Beauty Light Green. What an original namee lol. We actually saw this on the Daily Nail Reviews and had to get one ourselves, it's a flakey!

Did we mention how much we love Winners?? We really really do!! Most of these polishes were purchased from there!! If you are as crazy as we are, you should definitely go check it out! Super excited to do our nails now!

Will post soon <3

-Selene and Theia

Guess who's back?

2011-11-17T15:42:00.003-05:00

Back agian, Selene's back tell a friend... hehe yeaahh so we've been MIA for a WHILE, I really didn't expect it to take this long. Theia and I have just finished moving to a different house and we got a lot more busy then we expected. It took much more time from us then we wanted and we really did want to get back asap but we're both in school and I'm also working so all of that together left very little time for ourselves. And once we got off the routine of writing post it started getting hard for us to get back on it even though we have plenty of things to show you!

Anyway. I made sure to still take pictures for you so you could see the different manis I've been sporting AND I know it's been a while since Halloween but I have two designs I've been wanting to show you and I just didnt have the time to post it. So I'll post it here quickly for you:

If you want to know the polish I've used on any of these looks just comment and I'll be sure to answer!
Right now I'm at school and I have to go!
See ya later!
-Selene

Ps. I hope you like our blog's new look
Pps. and if you really like our blog, we just got a facebook page (link in the sidebar)

Halloween: Creepy Creatures

2011-10-30T19:33:00.000-04:00

I am so excited for Halloween one of my favourite times of the year because everyone gets so creative! I tried to do something different with my nails and it turned out pretty well, other than I thought I could have done a better job on the fangs. I like the pattern of the eyeballs a lot, I think I would do it on all my nails even when Halloween is over

I used Sephora by OPI What's a Tire Jack for the base, Sally Hansen White on, Sally Hansen red Nail Pen for the blood on the teeth, OPI Love is a Racket for the red in the eyes, and finally Revlon Gold Coin for the golden dots.

Hope you like it!

-Selene

Fresh Frog of Bel Air

2011-10-29T11:45:00.000-04:00

Okay, so this polish is probably my favorite from the chunkier glitter in the Muppets collection. At first I was hesitant on getting OPI Fresh Frog of Bel Air, I was like "A green sparkle, how often will I really wear this?" but now I am SO happy I got this!! I put it over a coat of Color Club Rule Breaker from the Wild at Heart collection so there would be no visible nail and it looks perfect :)
Absolutely love this color, I would highly recommend it!

I know that last photo is blurry, but I felt it gave more of an accurate depiction of how the color looks like in person.

I'll be back with a Halloween nail design very very soon :D
-Selene

Rainbow Connection

2011-10-28T22:00:00.001-04:00

Hello! So this mani was actually from a while back but I just hadn't had time to post it! :( Sorry for that. Anyways this is just a cute sparkly mani which I actually really liked. I used Celeb City by Sally Hansen and from our most recent haul, OPI's Rainbow Connection from their muppets collection!! As much as I hate glitters for their trouble to remove, I absolutely loved this one. It's a really pretty rainbow polish with different sized glitters which makes it so interesting!

Also, I'm really sorry, I did my nails at night so it is in artificial light. It doesn't do the glitter any justice. :(

I will be back with another nail design!

Talk to you soon,

Theia

Dark Angel Nails

2011-10-28T13:06:00.000-04:00

Hello there blogger friends, I've created a mani using the Muppets polishes. I was tempted to just put Excuse Moi on all my nails and leave it at that, but I wanted to make it more interesting. This was a fun interesting nail design that was very simple actually I sponged on a few different colors and sparkles. Although I didn't intend this mani to be specific for Halloween, when I looked at it the first thing that came in my mind is how well this would look with a dark angel costume (or a costume of that sort). However I liked wearing them around just for fun and when I went out for my good friends birthday.

I used Wet n' Wild Purple Potion for the base, it has such a cute packaging-I'm holding it in the first picture. Then I used 3 different colors to create that glitter gradient effect. I used a sponge and first put OPI Teenage dream, then OPI Excuse Moi, and lastly OPI Meep Meep Meep on the tips like a french. To add a little more sparkle I added a rhinestone on each nail at the base.

Hope you like it!

-Selene

AND.. another Haul!

2011-10-26T12:34:00.000-04:00

Okay, can I just say that the Muppets collection by OPI is probably on top there for favourite collections ever!! I absolutely love this collection and if it weren't for the hassle it is to take off glitter I would change my nails on a daily basis to each glitter from this collection. LOVE. Anyway the minute I saw this collection in stores I got a lot of these polishes and I tried to convince myself not to buy to much (because it does get expensive).. but I could hardly hold back and I think I came back twice to get more from this collection. I think I'm only missing 2 colors from the entire collection. I also got the 3 Revlon glitter polishes that I've been seeing everywhere in the nail blogging world and Nicole by OPI Make a Comet-ment.

The entire purchase, except I've forgotten to take a picture of the mini Muppets collection.. oops, I think I'll add it later.

Rainbow Connection, Divine Swine, Gettin' Miss Piggy With It

Excuse Moi, Fresh Frog of Bel Air, Meep Meep Meep

Blue Mosaic, Starry Pink, Facets of Fuchsia

Close up of Make a Comet-ment so you can see the holographic glitters. I actually have seen Fairy Dust by China Glaze and part of me wishes that I had gotten that instead because I'm pretty sure it's a dead on dupe and is cheaper.

A purchase I made after I had taken the photo, also from the Muppets collection, Pepe's Purple Passion. I apologize for the terrible lighting but I wanted to show you the true color of it, from far it looks like a creme but when you look up close you can see the shimmery flecks in it!

I already have some pictures of some of these colors on my nails to show you guys :D
Soo excited!!
-Selene

Nomadic Nails

2011-10-24T14:38:00.001-04:00

I've been playing around a lot with the colors from the Back to Boho Color Club collection. I absolutely love the colors in it, plus I love the prices on these polishes. I probably have more Color Club polishes then any other brand. Here's my design:

I used Nomadic in Nude by Color Club for the base. Rad Nomadic for the darker which didn't really translate well in the picture, it has a slightly purple tint to it. A holographic gold Color Club Nail Art polish and What's a Tire Jack by Sephora by OPI for the black.

Haul coming soon!
-Selene

Sophy Robson Inspired Nails

2011-10-20T14:04:00.000-04:00

These nails are entirely inspired by one of my nail idols: Sophy Robson. She is well known in the nail world and I love every one of her designs. If you don't know about her you should definitely check her out, she's got a blog that you can probably Google. She's amazing! Anyway here's my interpretation:

I used OPI, It's Totally Fort Worth It which has a slight pink shimmer that the camera does not really pick up and the I used What's A Tire Jack by Sephora by OPI for the black.

This is the best picture I could take that would show a bit of the shimmer, but it still not quite what it looks like in person...

I hope you liked it! I'll be back soon with a haul and another design :)
-Selene

Magical Manicure

2011-10-16T21:28:00.000-04:00

I'd like to apologize that our posts are a bit slow, we really would like to post more often but were finding it difficult since we are moving and are doing major packing. Not only that I got stuck with a bit of a cold that slowed things down a little. Anywho, here's another manicure I had on a few days ago and I like it much better in person rather then in pictures:

I used an American Apparel polish called L'Esprit for the light purple that actually has a slight blue undertone. And to spice it up I put it OPI's Teenage Dream on top, adding a little more towards the tips.

Here's Teenage Dream in its original bottle, look how beautiful the holo sparkles are!

I feel like I'd wear this look if I were to dress up as a princess or a fairy for Halloween lol. It seems so fun and bright to cheer me up during the grey weather we're having here and as a break from the darker colors I've been wearing lately.

Hope you have an amazing day!
I'll post soon, I promise :)
-Selene

Shabby Drab in Stitches

2011-10-13T15:16:00.001-04:00

I definitely need some help on naming my posts. Hopefully with practice I'll get better at it. So I'm back with another design and I actually really like it. It's not perfect but I'm still happy with it. I like the colors and the simplicity. This design was very easy to create and fun! I hope you like it:

I used Shabby Drab by Color Club for the dusty periwinkle color. In Stitches by Essie for the mauve-ish color, and What's a Tire Jack by Sephora by OPI for the black.

- Selene

Shiny Ballet Slippers

2011-10-10T21:43:00.002-04:00

Hey there internet peoplee! Guess what?? I rounded of my square shape and I'm pretty sure I'm sticking with it! I've always had my nails square shaped but I was looking at a few blogs and I was loving the rounded off shape and thought to myself, the next time my nails break Im going to round them off. So I did. And now I'm loving it! My nails didn't break yet and my shape isn't perfect yet but I'll get there. Soo as for my first nail design with the shape I chose to show you these shiny ballet slippers. Actually to be honest it wasn't my first nail design with this shape- I had a failed attempt doing a half moon manicure using the Sally Hansen nail art pen but for some reason it wouldn't work with me and was too watery and not quite as opaque as I was hoping it to be. So ahem, let me correct myself- the second nail design I tried on my nails:

If you can tell I gave my Sally Hansen nail pen a second chance drawing the laces on these design, but it didn't quite work... Sigh, hopefully I'll find a better use for this pen. For the base I used Sephora by OPI I Need Space, and for the the shoe I used Color Club's Hot Like Lava from the foiled collection. For the details I used Sally Hansen White on and 3 different blacks: Sephora by OPI's What's a Tire Jack, Color Club's black from the Art Club collections, and Sally Hansen nail art pen.

Here's the tutorial for those who want to recreate this look:
Step 1: paint you're entire nail in a nude color (Sephora by OPI's I Need Space) the paint Hot Like Lava leaving a triangle out at the top like so:

Step 2: Add a black V to your nails where the pink and the nude meet.

Step 3: Create black dots around the "V" shape on the Hot Like Lava Color. Make sure to make it even on both sides of V since those are the holes you are going to be putting the laces through.

Step 4: Make white dots within those previous black dots.

Step 5: Add the laces. Using a black nail polish create first a horizontal lines connecting the top dots and then move on by connecting the others in a criss cross formation (if that makes any sense). I made the mistake of using the art pen as you can see:

Step 6: Your final step, put a clear coat and there you have it: ballet slippers on your nails! Now you can put on a finger ballet show... like I did hehe :D

Hope you liked my first tutorial!
-Selene

Our first Haul Post!

2011-10-08T22:11:00.002-04:00

I think we bought these over a week ago... but thats okay! We were so excited since we got most of this at winners for a lower price! Winners holds a lot of color club collections for a VERY affordable price! We try and go there and check it out every week (yes we are THAT obsessed) but for a couple weeks there was absolutely nothing. Last week we went and it was a feast for our eyes, we could hardly control are excitement! So we would like to share it with you :)

From the Left: Night Glow, Black Magic, and Purple Potion (How adorable is the packaging?? We LOVE Halloween)

OPI: Shimmer and Simmer - Just look at that glitter, AMAZING

2 Sets of Art Club by Color Club nail polishes (unfortunately nameless but still stunning)

The entire Boho Collection by Color Club

and we don't a photo of these by themselves, but you can see it in the first picture- we also got the Foiled collection by Color Club and 2 nail art pens by Sally Hansen in Black and Red.

Purple, Pink,and White Nails

2011-10-04T22:31:00.002-04:00

Soooo I was tutoring the other day and asked the kids I was working with if they wanted me to paint their nails and they agreed. Here's the designs they chose for me to do:

One of the girls bites their nails so her nails are not in the best shape plus I only painted their nails without shaping them or anything like that. I'm not sure what nail polishes were used, but I remember they were Sally Hansens and the pink and purple were nail art pens by Sally Hansen.
Hope you like it!
-Selene