My Simple Little Pleasures

2017 MN State Fair

2017-09-25T23:39:00.003-05:00

It's been a whole year somehow since I made a blog post. I think about blogging often ... I just don't get down to editing all the pictures. So, I decided to just make a post with some unedited pictures; these are from my 2 trips this year to the MN State Fair last month.

Just some of the highlights (there was, of course, tons of food!) ... Bigfoot for some reason hanging out on top of the custard stand; a couple examples of crop art; my mom's drink that was the same color as the duck pond LOL; alpacas; honey in every shade of gold imaginable; succulent plant displays; lace, quilts & cross-stitching from the Creative Arts building; and the new giant ferris wheel making a spiral rainbow:

I'd like to get back to blogging, but I'm not going to make any promises because I know I've broken so many. But I hope you enjoyed this =)

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

October Fan's Choice Poll

2016-09-25T21:32:00.000-05:00

I've gone through the comments on my submission video and picked a baker's dozen of the suggestions to be voted on - please check out the poll in the upper right corner and vote for your choice! The top 4 designs will be featured on Fridays in October =)

This poll will be open until next Sunday 10/2/16.

Also, please let me know if you think I should do Fan Choice Friday in November & December also?

And, stop me if you've heard it before ... I WILL be posting more here on the blog. Like, for real this time. I had a lot of trouble getting myself on a normal schedule after I quit my job, but I've managed to kind of get on track while I'm on vacation in California, which is unfortunate since all I have is my Chromebook so my productivity is a little limited. But once I get back to my main PC & my external drives with all my old pictures on them, I am making it a priority to dig in and start editing & posting!

Thanks for reading and for voting!

~Colette

Nail Art April Fan's Choice

2016-03-26T15:49:00.000-05:00

OK, I got lots of suggestions in the video comments, now it's time to VOTE! See the poll at the top of the right sidebar (mobile readers, select "view web version" to see the sidebar), voting will be open through the end of the day Monday 3/28.

You CAN vote for more than one idea, so if you see 2 or 3 that you like, vote for them all!

I'm exited - and, OK, a little nervous! - to see what you guys pick for me next month =)

Thanks for reading

~Colette

5th Annual Water Marble March: Viewer's Choice!

2016-02-27T14:00:00.000-06:00

OK, if you didn't see my video announcing this year's Water Marble March, here it is:

And I got a ton of suggestions! Enough that I think I'll definitely have to do this again sometime. BUT ... while I am almost sure I've used polls on Facebook in the past, apparently they've changed things and so I'm not polling there - I'm polling here on my good ole' blog =)

The poll is at the very top of my right sidebar (If you're on mobile, select "view web version" to see the sidebar). You can choose more than one answer, so please vote and the top 4 choices I will do next month! The poll will be open through the end of the day MONDAY 2/29/16.

Any questions let me know but I'm kind of rolling with the punches LOL. I only about 75% know what I'm doing =)

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

2016 Winter Carnival Orchid Show

2016-02-15T15:41:00.000-06:00

The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory at Como is always one of my favorite places, but this orchid show was really amazing. Almost every single flower I looked at was an inspiration for a manicure, whether in pattern or just the color combination.

The orchids were mostly set up on tables that were placed throughout the various gardens and in some of the hallways. Here are some of my favorites:

It was quite crowded, but worth it to see these beauties =)

Next up after this I'll be getting back to posting some nail pictures, and I think I'm going to try and go back to where I left off and work though my old stuff... I know there's a ton, I'm just not sure exactly how much LOL.

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

TC Summit 2015

2016-02-10T16:04:00.001-06:00

It was on my vacation to San Francisco this past October that I really decided to quit my job. So I guess it's kind of fitting that I dust off the blog with a post about that.

The entire trip wasn't actually a vacation, but I got in a good amount of tourist-y stuff and actually took more pictures than I did my last couple of trips. Some of you may know that I'm a Top Contributor on Google's Help Forums, and every 2 years they host a global Summit in California where we all fly in and get together. 2013 was in San Jose, this one was right in San Francisco.

I flew in Monday the 19th and my room was at the Hilton Union Square on the 32nd floor and I had a view of downtown and in the distance the Golden Gate Bridge (not visible in this pic):

There was a welcome gala the first night at the Hotel Nikko (where some of the other TCs were staying), then Tuesday was at Fort Mason, which was a great presentation space inside but also really cool outside during breaks with a better view of the bridge as well as Alcatraz:

Lunch came from a fleet of food trucks - check out the official vid! If you have a sharp eye you can spot me at 0:48 and 1:40:

Tuesday night's dinner was at Ruby Skye, with live music and dancers, then come Wednesday most of the TC's headed to the Googleplex, but YouTube still has separate offices and that's where my group headed.

Then later afternoon we went to Garfield Park for closing celebration:

Thursday a lot of people flew out but I planned ahead and gave myself a few extra days, so I was able to explore the city with a couple of friends. We headed up to Haight Ashbury, and saw a ton of cool stuff on the way, including a lot of graffiti art:

It wasn't until we were up there - way, WAY up there, seriously the hills in SF are crazy - that I asked Dan WHY we were up there. Which was to see the Grateful Dead House:

Back down all the hills we'd just climbed, with a stop at Buena Vista Park which was really cool but another place of steep hills ... so high I realized when we got back I could see it from my hotel room!

Friday we set out for another hike, down (after first going UP again) to Fisherman's Warf. On the way we detoured past the California Masonic Temple as well as a really cool church before we actually got down to the Warf for lunch.

We were going to do Alcatraz but it was sold out until Sunday - so right there we started planning for the next Summit! I also would love to see Muir Woods, and the Golden Gate Bridge close up since I only got to see it from a distance.

Saturday morning we all trekked down to the BART, then flew home again ... at least there wasn't any snow waiting for me in MN ... of course Mother Nature has since made up for that.

I definitely will be posting more here going forward. It's one of the things I'm most looking forward to having more time for.

Thanks for reading =)

~Colette

Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art Water Marble Tutorial + Giveaway!

2014-06-22T17:30:00.000-05:00

I just finished recording and editing this, so I don't have my full range of pictures that I normally do and I may post those later, but I wanted to post right away so that you guys can enter the giveaway or contest if you want!

First, let me share the manicure with you guys, a water marble using Sally Hansen Color Foil Purple Alloy, and Sally Hansen Red Striper:

Here's the tutorial:

The June theme for Sally Hansen's I Heart Nail Art Contest is Liquid Mani, and you can enter their contest Here: http://www.sallyhansen.com/i-heart-nail-art/contest

And as for my giveaway, the prize is a Nail Art Party in a Box like this one:

You can enter here, or on the Contest Page of my blog, or on my Facebook Fan Page! Open through June 30th to residents of the United States over the age of 18.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck to everyone and of course thanks for reading =)

~Colette

*These products were sent to me for promotional purposes

NOTD: Basic French Manicure + Tutorial

2014-06-06T13:41:00.000-05:00

Simple, traditional, and completely out of the ordinary for me LOL. I might even have been known to call a basic French manicure boring. I also don't care for how a traditional French looks when my nails are longer, but at this length, I think it was just about perfect =) The polishes used are Formula X for Sephora White Matter & Wondrous. Please forgive the tiny chips on my index in the outdoor shots:

Here's the tutorial:

How often do you wear a basic french?

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: Formula X for Sephora Love Chemistry

2014-06-02T13:31:00.002-05:00

Last week was a bit hectic, with the holiday & then a condensed work week, but while I took a few days off I'm not disappearing again!

This is another from my Formula X for Sephora train case that they sent me, and I think it is one of the shiniest things I have ever had on my nails! The coppery pink & gold combination is one that I wasn't sure about until I had it on my nails, then I was in love:

And if Formula X is a little bit out of your price range, worry not - Maybelline Color Show has a really good dupe called Gilded Rose =) I just gave that to a friend as a birthday gift, because it's such a great color regardless of which brand you go with.

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: Work-Appropriate Water Marble + Tutorial

2014-05-28T13:06:00.005-05:00

I know that I'm lucky, but I really can't imagine working somewhere that restricted my nails, or any of my personal style. I mean, I can't wear WHATEVER I want, but pretty close. And no one batted an eye - much - when I pierced my lip. But I know some people are restricted, either in length or in color; and so this design is for them - or anyone else who'd like something on the short and neutral side.

All of the polishes I used in this water marble are Formula X for Sephora. For my base color I used Monumental, and if I remember it was the closest I've ever come to a "mannequin hands" color for my skin tone. For the marble I used Monumental, Evocative & Perfection - they were all very smooth in the water.

Here are a couple of the nails I think turned out best:

And here of course is the tutorial:

Hope you guys enjoyed =) And thanks for reading!

~Colette

NOTD: Formula X for Sephora Freaky Like Freud

2014-05-23T23:49:00.002-05:00

Next my nubbins were graced with Freaky Like Freud from the Brilliants collection of Formula X for Sephora:

Of course, something this sparkly and holographic and basically AWESOME, I had to do a polish in motion for:

So, obviously I loved this polish, what do you think of this color? It actually is a very pale lavender, although with all the holo sparkle it comes off silver; here's a comparison betweem it and Hubba Hubble (the actual silver from the Brilliants collection):

Thanks for reading =)

~Colette

NOTD: Anise Cosmic Kiss

2014-05-22T13:21:00.000-05:00

After I chopped my nails I needed sparkles to make me feel better, so I wore a succession of really beautiful polishes, the first of which was Anise Cosmic Kiss - the Anise brand is available at DSW of all places:

The inner fire and subtle holo finish of this polish didn't show up like I wanted it to in pictures, so I did a Polish in Motion for it:

Sooo pretty! I really enjoyed having this on my tiny nubbins. They've since grown out of course, but I'm trying to keep them on the shorter side (for me) for a couple of reasons - one of which is in an effort to minimize breaks which is so far a fail; I think I could get a break at any length I am such a clutz LOL.

I've got such a backlog, both from earlier this year & from last year, I could probably do a post a day for the next year & not be caught up. I don't know if I can actually follow through on that, but I plan to try! Day two: check!

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

New Year's Naked Nails Before & After

2014-05-21T13:57:00.000-05:00

Yeah ... I don't think I'm even going to apologize this time. You guys know the deal. Trying (always trying) to get back into the swing of things. So here we go.

Right after New Year's, after soaking off my Glitter Mosaic, I did probably the biggest chop I've ever done. Now, like with any before and after part of making the after look really good is to make the before look really really bad - so we have the acetone-dried hands, after soaking off both glitter & patches - and the break that broke the rest of the way when the patch came off:

And then for the after, neatly-trimmed, buffed & moisturized nubbins:

I did record the soak & the hack, because I really wasn't sure at the time how bad the glitter was going to be coming off. Turns out it was pretty easy (all things considered) but if you'd like to check it out here's the vid:

I can't promise I'll be posting regularly now, but I'm going to try. If you want me on a more regular basis, consider following me on Instagram @mysimplelittlepleasures - it's such a quick, easy interface I manage to stay moderately active on there LOL. Even if I don't have anything new I do Throwback Thursdays and have been including 15-second speed-tutorials for the manis that I'm throwing back to.

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: New Year's Super Blingy Ombre Glitter Mosaic + Tutorial

2014-02-01T20:56:00.000-06:00

So far, we have already received nearly a foot more snow than we normally average in an entire winter. And all that shoveling is what I'm blaming my lack of posting in January on ... winter doesn't appear to be letting up any time soon but I guess I'm not surprised ... that's where the name Minne"snow"ta came from =)

Anyway, here is what I had on my nails for New Year's, just before I made a big chop (which if you haven't see on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, etc will be coming up in my next post). The base color is just OPI Black Onyx; the glitter ombre is done with Martha Stewart glitter from Michaels in the colors Onyx, Sterling, Florentine Gold, Fire Opal, Garnet, Tourmaline, Kunzite, Charoite, Lapis Lazuli, Turquoise, Verdalite & Olivine:

The overall ombre was a beautiful effect, although some nails the difference was very drastic, such as on the black/silver nail - some nails the difference was nearly invisible, such as on the red/orange nail:

Here's the tutorial:

This look was inspired from a design on Pinterest, and I did it my own way before I actually read up on the blog posts by the original creator. That's how I usually do it unless I really can't figure out how to accomplish the effect, but after the fact I learned quite a lot from reading, watching, and even a few comments back and forth with Polish All The Nails. So the next time I do a glitter mosaic - and there will definitely be a next time - I plan on using at least 2 coats of my base color, to give the glitter a deeper layer to be pressed into. Also, I trimmed the overhanging glitter & then added a topcoat - I think I would topcoat to help the glitter stay in place, then trim, then more top coat to smooth everything out. This wasn't horribly rough - and actually wore much better than I expected, only losing a few glitters by the time I took it off - but I think with practice I can get it even smoother!

This was a super fun manicure to wear, I kept in on a whole week & I got a LOT of compliments ... here's a look at it in motion:

Do you have the patience to do a look like this? Maybe just as an accent nail would be enough for many LOL.

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: Christmas Reverse Waterfall + Tutorial

2014-01-09T13:16:00.000-06:00

Busy holidays, and then busy with snow & cold, but things are getting back to normal & I'm only a few posts behind. This was my Christmas manicure - I'd been wanting to try striping from the tip rather than the cuticle ever since I did my Harvest Waterfall Mani. Base color for this attenpt is China Glaze White On White, then the waterfall is done with China Glaze Red-Y and Willing, Goldie but Goodie, Tongue & Chic, & Gossip Over Gimlets - all from the Autumn Nights Collection:

Here's the tutorial:

I have 3 more posts to catch up with - my Super Blingy Ombre Glitter Mosaic, which was the last mani on my long nails, and then 2 "plain" manicures on my new short nubbins. Then there'll be a nubbins tutorial up this weekend!

Thanks for reading =)

~Colette

NOTD: Ornate Holiday Teal & Gold Water Marble + Tutorrial

2013-12-16T08:00:00.000-06:00

For my third and final look for Formula X for Sephora I decided to go with a water marble. I used Enigma for my base color, then marbled with Enigma, Orbit and Iconic:

I really loved the variety that I got - all the nails similar, but of course none the same; the fact that the index and ring fingers ended up more light and the pinkie and middle more dark on both hands was a happy accident:

You can check out the tutorial here:

These Formula X colors have been very versatile to work with - not all of the colors work for marbling of course, but it didn't take too many tries to find this combination & they performed together well.

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

(These were sent to me for review)

1,000th Blog Post - My Magazine Interview

2013-12-15T22:00:00.000-06:00

So, it seems very apropos that for such a monumental milestone as my one thousandth blog post, I have something just as monumental to share - that being my interview in the January/February issue of Nail It! Magazine. Here's a look at the cover, I'm inside on page 77:

This issue should be available in stores now! If you read it please let me know what you think =) Somehow being in print seems to take it to another level than just being online. If you'd like some more details you can check out my video announcement here:

I'm not doing quite as well with my return to blogging as I'd planned, since I haven't even touched my backlog of old pics yet, but I'm nearly current up to what's on my nails right now, so I guess I have to give myself a little credit. It's getting slightly easier to squeeze in and I don't plan on stopping, so here's to another thousand posts!

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: Formula X for Sephora Hocus Pocus

2013-12-15T21:40:00.000-06:00

Another from the Formula X for Sephora line, this is one of their holos; not the strongest holographic effect that I've ever seen, when compared to something like the OMG collection or some of my Layla's, but still a nice rainbow flash - this is Hocus Pocus:

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: Formula X for Sephora Atom + Eve

2013-12-15T21:26:00.000-06:00

I was going to do something fancier for my company holiday party, but I ended up running a bit short on time & so I just went with a red glitter - because that's always a great Christmas choice =) This is Formula X for Sephora Atom + Eve:

This was also I think the only time I can remember having a polish on at the same time as my mom - she chose it for her church choice holiday concert - looks a bit different on her short nails but obviously still a gorgeous color:

Thanks for reading!

~Colette

NOTD: Winter Tree Branches + Tutorial

2013-12-09T08:00:00.000-06:00

My second Sephora-sponsored video, this is a little more difficult than the first design which I considered to be a simpler design. With Formula X for Sephora White Matter as a base, I sponged with White Matter & Gray Matter, then with Dark Matter and a striping brush I added the branches:

Here's the tutorial:

I hope you guys enjoyed =) Thanks for reading.

~Colette
(These were sent to me for review)

NOTD: Black & Wine Water Marble + Tutorial

2013-12-08T21:25:00.000-06:00

I wanted to do something for the holidays without being blatantly red & green - I thought this deep wine was festive without being too traditional. I used China Glaze Don't Make me Wine as my base color, then marbled with that & China Glaze Liquid Leather:

Here's the tutorial:

Several more holiday design to come before the end of the month =) Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: Hunger Games Catching Fire - Girl on Fire French Tips + Tutorial

2013-12-08T21:05:00.000-06:00

I am a HUGE Hunger Games fan ... I didn't realize until after the fact how well the Harvest Waterfall would have worked out for the movie, so this is what I ended up wearing to go see the movie. I started out with a base of OPI Alpine Snow, then a couple coats of Formula X for Sephora Spark, then topped that as a jelly sandwich with OPI Meet Me at the Bonfire. Then I painted the flames with black acrylic paint:

Here's the tutorial:

Are you a Hunger Games fan? Have you seen the movie and I'm guessing loved it? Casting was so spot-on flawless, I think it was even better than the first one. I can't wait for the next ones! The last book is getting split into 2 movies if you didn't already know.

Thanks for reading =)

~Colette

NOTD: Harvest Waterfall + Tutorial

2013-12-08T20:35:00.002-06:00

This was my Thanksgiving design for this year - Thanksgiving is always a bit of a challenge for me ... it's not really a holiday that has a wide range of themes LOL, so since I didn't want to do a turkey again I just went with traditional colors. This look was inspired by a couple of designs by the Nailasaurus: that are on my Pinterest inspiration board HERE and HERE

I started of with a plain black base of OPI Black Onyx, then did the waterfall with 4 OPI Liquid Sand colors: What Wizardry is This?, Jinx, Honey Ryder, and Magazine Cover Mouse:

Here's the tutorial:

While I did like the textural contrast, after a few days I did add topcoat so that the entire mani was glossy:

Have you tried a waterfall manicure? Which version of this one was your favorite?

Thanks for reading =)

~Colette

NOTD: OPI Alcatraz ... Rocks

2013-12-08T18:45:00.000-06:00

I really wasn't sure about the Liquid Sand polishes at first, but I've grown to like them - both on their own & glossy with a top coat. This Liquid Sand color is from OPIs's San Francisco Collection, Alcatraz ... Rocks:

Here it is with top coat:

Which version is your favorite? For me, glossy wins.

Thanks for reading =)

~Colette

NOTD: Blue & White Water Marble + Tutorial

2013-11-20T13:06:00.001-06:00

I've been meaning & meaning to get this posted ... then I've had interruptions at lunch, connectivity issues, and yesterday a crapload of thieves that I had to file copyright infringements on. So! Finally here is my blue & white water marble, using Orly White Tips & Orly Angel Rain, a beautiful combination and one I took a lot of pictures of ... even so, the iridescence of the blue was nearly impossible to capture on camera:

Here are some close-ups:

And here's the tutorial:

Thanks for reading =)

~Colette