nutty4nails

My FIRST Nail Polish Giveaway!!

noreply@blogger.com (Julie) — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 22:21:00 +0000

As promised I am posting Nutty4Nails first giveaway!!!

Enter below using the Rafflecopter to win a pair of OPI Pedicure Socks and TWO fabulous Essie Nail Polishes! The polishes I decided to giveaway are two of my favorite, "Power Clutch" which is darker grey and "Super Bossa Nova" which is a bright pink.

Here is what you will get!

Enter below to WIN:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for entering my giveaway and look forward to many more in the future!!

The Essie Nail Polish was provided by www.beautystoponline.com.

Splash Of Grenadine

noreply@blogger.com (Julie) — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 20:30:00 +0000

This week I decided to use "Splash of Grenadine" by Essie along with some accents of OPI glitter "I Lily Love You" on my thumb and ring finger.

I love this polish! It's a cross between magenta and purple, although it showed up pretty pink in the picture The glitter I chose has colorful flecks in it, and it accented the Essie perfectly!

Giveaway Sneak Peek!!

noreply@blogger.com (Julie) — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 20:07:00 +0000

I am going to include these awesome OPI Pedicure Socks in my giveaway!!

To qualify for the random drawing you need to:
-Like me on Facebook Nutty4Nails
-Follow me on twitter @Nutty4Nails
-Follow my blog with Google Friend Connect, you can do this by clicking on "Join This Site" in the right hand column.

I am going to announce the prizes next week!! Stay tuned!!! :)

Playdate with a Zebra!

noreply@blogger.com (Julie) — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 21:44:00 +0000

Here is a fun manicure using "Playdate" by Essie and some Zebra nail stickers!

"Playdate" by Essie is a creamy lavendar, I absolutely love this color! It went on nice and smooth and is so pretty. The polish shows up different in pictures depending on the source of light, the below picture was taken in artificial light.

The picture below was taken in indirect sunlight.

I purchased some Zebra polish stickers (Dashing Diva Design Fx Bling) in "Catwalk" from my local beauty supply and used them for my toes, deciding to save the scraps to do something for a design on my nails. Below I used slanted cut-outs of the stickers as a fun twist on a french manicure.

Doesn't that look amazing? I got a lot of compliments when I had this manicure. I am loving these nail polish "stickers", they are quick and easy and seem to stay on for a pretty long time (1-2 weeks). You will definitely see more in the future!!

My Julep Maven Experience!

noreply@blogger.com (Julie) — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 23:53:00 +0000

I want to share my Julep Maven experience with you! I found Julep polish while browsing online and decided to check out their website, www.julep.com. When I got to the website I found out that for $9.99 a month you can become a "Julep Maven" and it comes with a monthly box of polish and goodies, plus SO much more. Become a Julep Maven here!!

I signed up and the "American Beauty" Intro box from February was sent to me, and I am so impressed by everything I received. It was definitely an experience, it reminded me of getting a present. The box is so cute and sleek, inside was 2 polishes and cuticle oil, and a polish remover wipe all wrapped in a clear plastic bag with a bow on it! Surrounded by crinkle cut paper shreds in colors that matched the polish! This is totally something I would do, so I just love it. I took pictures of the box and how it came because I am just so impressed.

My intro box came with a gold glitter called "Oscar", a red shimmer called "Glenn", and Julep Essential Cuticle Oil.

I really love the Cuticle Oil, it has a roller ball applicator which is so much better than a brush for daily use. I put it in my night stand and use it every night now! It's so simple to roll it on and hop into bed, and it smells good too.

Overall, I am super impressed by everything Julep!! When you go to the website you can take a Style Quiz and you will get a result of one out of 5 types. I initially got "American Beauty" but after looking at what was sent out for March I feel like I am more of an "It Girl" style. Also, I had a few questions after my order so I emailed Julep and was pleasantly surprised when I got an answer within an hour! They have amazing customer service, on top of amazing product! My next box will be the "It Girl" box and I am so looking forward to it!

I started following @JulepMaven on twitter and within a few days they had a special for half off all polish, so of course I jumped on that deal! Being a Julep Maven you get free shipping so that made each polish $7 with free shipping, such a good deal. I got two from the sale, which of course came in a cute little box with a sample of Hand Cream.

I got "Samantha" and "Anne", both great colors for Spring/Summer! I am going to swatch them soon and will share them with you. Stay tuned!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Julie) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 21:52:00 +0000

I decided to do a fun twist on a french manicure for St. Patrick's Day. I used China Glaze "Gaga For Green" and OPI "Glitzerland" on my tips with Essie Luxeffects "As Gold As It Gets" over the whole nail.

Below is a picture without the Essie Luxeffects "As Gold As It Gets" to show that it looks great with or without the gold flecks.

I hope everyone has a safe and fun St. Patrick's Day!!

Silver Gradient Glitter

noreply@blogger.com (Julie) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 00:45:00 +0000

This is a chunky silver glitter gradient design over a light grey. I used "Pelican Gray" by China Glaze and "Set In Stones" by Essie Luxeffects.

Bring on the NEON!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Julie) — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 21:25:00 +0000

First of all, I have to say that I grew up in the 80's and am super excited that neon is back! I got six neon colors from China Glaze and decided to do a dotted design over black polish.

This first picture is taken with "Flip Flop Fantasy":

I did several sizes of dots and different color patterns on each finger, I then did dots over dots which really helps show off the neon colors.

This picture is taken with "Purple Panic", which is either mislabled or something because it looks hot pink to me!

This is "Celtic Sun", I love this highlighter bright yellow!

Below is how I set up. I misplaced my dotting tool so I had to improvise by using several different things to make the dots. The bobby pins are great for bigger dots, the pointed end of an orange wood stick is good for medium dots, and the toothpicks works for small dots. I use the paper plate to put a dollop of polish onto so I can dip and transfer the polish onto my nail.

Here are all the colors I used, they are all from China Glaze, "In The Lime Light", "Flip Flop Fantasy", "Flying Dragon", "Celtic Sun", "Orange Knockout", and "Purple Panic".

Happy Birthday!!

noreply@blogger.com (Julie) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 23:02:00 +0000

I just celebrated my 31st birthday so of course I had to do a manicure with "Happy Birthday" by Deborah Lippmann! I decided to do a reverse gradient glitter manicure over "Super Bossa Nova" by Essie. I love how it turned out and it's the perfect manicure for a birthday or any time!

"Happy Birthday" by Deborah Lippmann is a super colorful glitter in a clear base, I love all the shapes and color of glitter! "Super Bossa Nova" by Essie is a beautiful bright pink with a fuchsia shimmer.

I started with two coats of "Super Bossa Nova" by Essie, with a base coat under and no top coat. See below.

After the Essie was dry, I started to add the glitter "Happy Birthday" by Deborah Lippmann in layers. I started by putting a dollop on the very bottom of my nail and carefully spreading it around, not going above the middle of the nail. After the first layer was dry, I added another layer to really cover up the lower 1/3 of the nail, and let that dry. Finally, I went in and touched up any areas in the lower 1/4 of the nail making sure it was covered solid with glitter. After all the glitter was dry, I covered it with a top coat as seen below! This picture was taken in indirect sun light.

This picture was taken in indirect artificial light. This picture makes the pink look more coral/red but it's really bright pink! Refer to the first picture of the Essie polish alone above.

China Glaze Magnetix Review

noreply@blogger.com (Julie) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 04:33:00 +0000

Above is the new China Glaze Magnetix in "Attraction" and "Drawn To You". These are my first magnetic polish's, so I was really excited to try them out. I've seen another brand at the drug store and Sephora and was really tempted to get it, but never did. Then China Glaze came out with Magnetix and I got them as soon as I saw them, fresh out of the delivery box at Sally's. They have six colors total, but staying true to my love for purple and metallic these were the obvious choices for me. The purple is a really pretty color with a pink shimmer and photographs well. The charcoal color looks pretty on, but doesn't photograph as well, so I would say my preference is definitely the purple "Drawn To You".

This polish definitely takes some practice, it took me a few times on my first nail until I got the design on there. I tried all 3 designs that the polish offers, but only liked how the vertical stripes turned out on my nails. The star was very blurry and the "V" shape didn't look good on my nails because I have thin nail beds, but that magnet worked better than the star. I was really bummed out that the star magnet didn't work as well as I wanted it to because it has potential to make a really cool design.

A couple of TIPS:

Be careful not to hit the polish with the magnet, I did that a few times and had to re-do it. So make sure you place the magnet over the polish so that you can see how close it is to the polish.
Work fast! For best results get the magnet on there right away or it won't work.
You can get away with just one coat but a good trick if the first design doesn't look like you want, add a quick second coat and you can try again.

Above is the bottle of "Drawn To You" by China Glaze Magnetix.

Above is the bottle of "Attraction" by China Glaze Magnetix.

I love this photo because the magnet effect almost makes my nails look 3D.

Overall, I enjoyed using the China Glaze Magnetix and like how my nails look. It was definitely fun and something different. :)

Easy Cheetah Manicure Tutorial!

noreply@blogger.com (Julie) — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 23:29:00 +0000

Above are the supplies I used to my manicure, the polish I used was , White "White On White", Turquoise "Flyin' High", Purple "Spontaneous", Pink "Purple Panic (Neon)" all from China Glaze, "Black Onyx" from OPI, and "Glitter Hologram" from Art Club. You also need a base and top coat.

Here is what you need:

Nail Polish in the colors you desire, including base and top coat
Paper Plate
Orange Wood stick
Dotting Tool
Paper Towels
Old Towel that you can get nail polish on
Nail Polish Remover

Steps:

1) Set up all of your supplies, you can use the set-up I have above or however you choose.

2) Put a base coat on clean and dry nails and let it dry.

3) Select the base color that will be under the design, I chose a white polish and used two coats. I let the polish dry in between coats and before I put the design on. See below for example.

4) Take your paper plate and the colors you want to make the spots out of (see the first picture for the names of polish I used), start with one color and put a dollop (about two drops, see TIPS below) of the polish onto the paper plate.

5) Have in mind where you want to place the dots of the first color, take your dotting tool and dip it into the polish on the plate. Transfer that polish onto your nail creating as many spots as you want in whatever shape or size you want. If you are planning on using more than one color of spots, definitely be conscientious of how much space you have.

6) Repeat the above with all the nail colors desired, you can use one color or several colors as I did. See below for an example.

7) Put a dollop of the black nail polish onto your paper plate, start by tracing the edge of the spots with “C” like shapes. I didn’t trace the spots around completely, but you can do whatever floats your boat. Here is where your own artistic interpretation starts to come in. See below for an example.

8) Then you want to add additional black polish to finish up the look, this is when it really starts to look like cheetah print! Add little black spots and ovals of all sizes, filling up all the area’s that are still empty and balance out the design. See below for example.

9) You can add glitter over one or all of the colors if you like; I used a silver holographic glitter by Art Club over my purple spots. It was easy because the polish has a long skinny detail brush and is perfect for detail work. It ended up making my purple look grey-ish though so I would advise using as little as possible.

10) Wait until all of the polish is completely DRY, this may take an hour or two, before adding a top coat or you will smear your design.

11) Voilà! Easy at home hand painted cheetah nail art on your finger nails!

Here are some TIPS:

Use your orange wood stick to clean up any polish that may get on your skin or cuticles. Use just the stick when the polish is still wet; if the polish is dryer dip it in polish remover first.
Make sure each coat is DRY before going onto the next step, this is crucial because if you move too fast your design will get messy and won’t turn out as desired.
Try to use crème based or metallic polish as it gives the most coverage with the least amount of coats. I chose China Glaze because it has good coverage and tends to dry faster.
When you put the polish on the paper plate make a dollop with about two drops at a time. As soon as the polish hits the air it will start to thicken giving you a limited amount of time to use it. Once the dollop starts to get sticky and stringy don’t use it, just move to a different area of the paper plate and start again with a new dollop.
When you put the top coat on try to use one with a thicker consistency like Seche Vite, because you don’t want the brush to drag on the design itself. Put a dollop down by your cuticle and gently push the top coat around the nail, add more as needed.
You can get all of the polish and supplies I used at Sally Beauty Supply except for OPI, as far as I know they do not carry it. You don’t have to use OPI though, any black crème polish will work.
This manicure takes time and patience so make sure you do it when you have a few hours to dedicate to doing it.
Have fun with it! It doesn’t have to be perfect, make it unique and make it your own. :)

Please let me know if you have any questions. I would love to see your own nail art so feel free to share it with me!!

China Glaze Polish Haul!

noreply@blogger.com (Julie) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 22:50:00 +0000

These are by China Glaze: "Gaga For Green", "Dance Baby" and "Wicked Style", all from the Electropop Collection, "Blonde Bombshell" a gold glitter, and "Stone Cold" from the Hunger Games collection.

I got the colorful polish from the Electropop collection to use for nail art and because they are stunning! The gold glitter was on sale for $1.99 so that was a must-have, and believe it or not I didn't have a gold glitter yet! Then comes the one I've really been anticipating, "Stone Cold" is a matte charcoal color, this is my first actual matte polish besides my matte top coats. I'm very excited to try all of these out and share them with you!!

Colorful Animal Print!

noreply@blogger.com (Julie) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 02:22:00 +0000

Today I did a fun and colorful animal print on white. I used China Glaze for most of the colors, and some Art Club glitter over the purple.

Got The New China Glaze Magnetix Today!

noreply@blogger.com (Julie) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 02:28:00 +0000

New China Glaze Magnetix!! I got two colors "Attraction" and "Drawn To You" along with the magnets. Can't wait to try them out and show you!!

Become A Julep Maven!

noreply@blogger.com (Julie) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 22:35:00 +0000

Become a Julep Maven with me!! For $19.99/month you get VIP Access to Julep nail color plus SO much more!

Sounds like an AWESOME deal to me, so definitely check it out!

Click http://www.julep.com/?r to join and learn more!

Mermaids Dream

noreply@blogger.com (Julie) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 02:03:00 +0000

This polish is absolutely beautiful! It's called "Mermaid's Dream" by Deborah Lippmann. This polish is a pearly sea foam green with blue glitter.

I took several pictures of this polish because the more I walked around into different lights I saw how it gave it a different look. No matter what it is just beautiful and stunning to have on my fingers!

These picture was taken in my kithen in bright artificial light:

This was taken in indirect bright artificial kitchen lights:

This was taken in indirect sunlight while the sun was going down (sunset light):

Here is a picture of the bottle in indirect sunset light, this picture really shows off the beautiful glitters:

This was taken in the same indirect sunset light:

What Is YOUR Favorite Nail Polish??

noreply@blogger.com (Julie) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 19:37:00 +0000

Hi Everyone! I want to know what your favorite nail polish is... Leave it in the comments below!

Mine is "Today Was A Fairytale" by Deborah Lippmann, with "Forget You" in a close 2nd place! I love her glitter :)

Bloglovin!

noreply@blogger.com (Julie) — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 21:26:00 +0000

Follow me on Bloglovin

Butter London Manicure Essentials Haul

noreply@blogger.com (Julie) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 22:16:00 +0000

I needed a new set of their incredible base/top duo which includes “Nail Foundation” and “Hardwear”. This duo is pricey ($25 @ Nordstrom) but they are worth the money and go a long way. I also got their acetone free polish remover “Powder Room” to try out.

Deborah Lippmann mini-haul!

noreply@blogger.com (Julie) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 22:10:00 +0000

I've been waiting to get these two sparkly gems since I have known about them! I love her polish and am so excited to try these out. On the left is "Mermaid's Dream" and on the right "Happy Birthday" which is perfect for me since my birthday is right around the corner. :)

Freshen Up Your Manicure!

noreply@blogger.com (Julie) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 21:54:00 +0000

I added a line of holo silver glitter along with a shiny new top coat to freshen up my manicure!

Polish Haul!

noreply@blogger.com (Julie) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 00:50:00 +0000

Top row: All from Essie, "Playdate", "Power Clutch", and a top coat for artificial nails called "Ridge Filler". Bottom row: "Rainbow" by China Glaze and "The Color To Watch" by OPI, "Pros and Bronze", and "Love Is A Racket" from the OPI Serena Williams collection.

I'm really excited for "Playdate" from Essie, I've seen it online a few times and love it! I also wanted to get a Bronze color to go with my metallics so the Serena Williams duo was a perfect pick for that. As far as my other picks, both "Rainbow" and "The Color To Watch" are pearly holographic colors, which are always beautiful.

If you are interested in me testing out or reviewing certain colors or brands for you, please contact me!

Black French Tips

noreply@blogger.com (Julie) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 01:31:00 +0000

I caved and went and got acrylic nails today after sadly breaking a few of my natural nails. They look amazing though! I got black french tips with "Snow Globe" by China Glaze on my accent finger.

Checker Board

noreply@blogger.com (Julie) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 03:29:00 +0000

Checker Board tape design, with "Smooth Sailing" and "Loophole" by Essie.

I have gotten a few requests for a tutorial for tape designs, if you are interested in one too please let me know by commenting below!

Smooth Sailing

noreply@blogger.com (Julie) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:28:00 +0000

"Smooth Sailing" by Essie, a beautiful purple-ish blue color with a pearl reflection. Originally I was going to use one of my Luxeffects along with this polish but it is so pretty on it's own that I left it alone.

This second picture really shows the pearl reflection in the bottle.