I feel summer comin' on...

Hey everybody!
I hope y'all had a great weekend!  So I just started summer vacation, so I thought I'd post a look that I did using one of the most summery things i could think of: NEON!  Hope you enjoy!

So to start off I used China Glaze Turned Up Turquoise.  This is a neon turquoise color with some slight shimmer.  It is not what most people generally think of when they think neon (it's not just eye searing), but it is still very vibrant.  I topped that with Sephora by OPI Not Your Average Turquoise.  I love this turquoise glitter!  The only problem I have with it is that I kinda had to fish for the bigger pieces of glitter, but that is pretty common for polishes like this.  I used my Francesca's nail art pen in gold to add the half moons at the top of the nail.  I finished off with a coat of top coat.
I hope y'all enjoyed this look!  I expect to get a good amount of posts in now that I am off for summer break, so keep your eyes peeled!  Have a terrific Tuesday!
~ Mary Elizabeth

For Lakim

Good Morning!
Today's post is going to be a little different.  Normally I use this blog to share my love of nail polish with you guys.  However, I want to use today's post to simply share my heart with you.  On Tuesday morning a good friend of mine passed away.  I didn't know him for very long, but the time I did get to spend with him was an absolute blessing from God. He was one of the friendliest, most energetic people I have ever met.  The amount of people that he touched is astounding, and I hope that God will use me to touch as many people as Lakim.  He taught me to be me and not judge others for being them.  He didn't care what you thought of him; he was gonna be his crazy self whether you liked it or not.  I hope that I can use this experience to live free of what other people will think of me and just be who God made me. 
This post is not meant to depress you guys or make you sorry for me, but I do want to ask y'all to pray for his family and the students on my campus that are struggling right now.  Several of my friends were incredibly close with him, and they are really having a hard time right now.  Thanks for reading, and have a top notch Thursday!
~ Mary Elizabeth
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28

Seaside French Tips

Hey There!
So today's mani is a fun, marine inspired french manicure.  I was going through my polishes and realized I hadn't used these ones in a while.  I figured this would be the perfect way to incorporate these colors.  Enjoy!

I started off with a base of Zoya Zuza.  This is a pretty marine green/teal color.  I don't know why I don't reach for this more often, cuz it's gorgeous!  The texture is great, and it is very easy to apply.  For the tips I used Zoya Charla.  I included this one in an earlier post a while back.  It is a beautiful teal color with green/gold shimmer.  I just kind of freehanded the french (I didn't use tape or anything).  I like how this mani is simple but has some subtle flair :)
I hope y'all enjoyed this post, and I hope you have a super Saturday!
~Mary Elizabeth
PS be sure to go check out my roommate's new blog, Polish and Prayers!

Just Having a Little Fun :)

Hey Everybody!
So today's post is a mani that I did a few weeks ago that I didn't get a chance to blog about.  I was planning on leaving my nails solid blue, but I got a little carried away :) Hope y'all enjoy!

I started off with a base of OPI What's with the Catittude?  It takes a good 2/3 coats to get the color solid, but it's a pretty sky blue.  For the design, I used the black nail art pen I got from Franchesca's.  I started the design with just the edgy half moon. Then I decided to have some fun with the ring finger, so I did a kind of argyle design with dots in the middle.  I like the way it turned out, and I definitely got a lot of compliments on the design.
I hope y'all enjoyed this post, and if you have any questions or requests for posts you would like to see leave a comment below.  Have a terrific Thursday!
~ Mary Elizabeth

Collective Pink Wednesday!

Hey There!
So today I am returning to Pink Wednesday! I have painted my nails pink on several Wednesdays, but I just haven't gotten around to posting them.  So today I decided to post the best of the pink manis I have done lately.  Hope you enjoy!

Alrighty, so this design started with a base of OPI Flashbulb Fuchsia.  This is one of those colors that I didn't like at all when I bought it.  I thought it was too bright for my skin tone.  However, over the last month I realized that I really love this color!  Anyway, I used a dotting tool for the half moon of polka dots.  The polish I used was OPI Pedal Faster, Suzi!  Cute, simple, and pink!

Now this is the look I did for Valentines day, but I never got a chance to do a post about it.  Good thing Pink Wednesday exists!  Anyway, I used Pretty Please Pink Crush for the base of this one.  I used two coats, but one pretty much did the job.  For the lip prints I used Bundle Monster plate BM02 and Sally Hansen Insta-dri in Silver Sweep.  For the rose I used Bundle Monster BM14 and Pretty Please Preppy in Pink.  I thought this was a perfect Valentines day mani :)
I hope y'all enjoyed this post, and I highly encourage you to participate in Pink Wednesday!  Have a wonderful Wednesday!
~ Mary Elizabeth

First Try: Tribal

Happy Sunday Everyone!
So today's post is another installment in my ongoing First Try series.  Yesterday I was trying to decide what I should do with my nails, and I decided I would give tribal nails a shot.  I hope you enjoy what I came up with!

First of all, I apologize for my nub of a middle finger nail.  This is the nail I broke last week.  Anyway, I started with a base of OPI Suzi's Hungary AGAIN! from the new Euro-Centrale collection.  I will do a review of the polishes I got from that collection soon.  Anyway, in order to create the tribal, I used the black art polish I got from Franchesca's.  Good things: I like the effect that I got with the way the lines go in and out of each other.  Bad things: my lines are a little shaky, and I ended up making my hands a little too symmetrical.  Other than that I really like how this turned out!  I had a fun time deciding what to do for this.  I hope y'all enjoyed, and if you have any questions feel free to leave a comment below.  Have a blessed Sunday!
~ Mary Elizabeth
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 
1 Peter 5:6-7

Swatch Spam!

Hey there!
Today I am kind of going through my archive of swatches and talking about the polishes that I swatched and took pictures of but never posted about.  I have to let y'all know that my posts will be mainly older nail art things for a while.  This is due to the fact that I broke the nail on my middle finger this week.  Not just a little crack.  Half the nail is gone.  I won't be painting that nail for a while, so I won't be able to swatch for a while.  Anyway, on to the post!

 First,we have OPI Brand New Skates.  This is from a really old holiday collection.  It is a dark grey with multicolored sparkles.  I think this a pretty color, but the formula is a little thin for my taste.  It took a good two/three coats to get the solid color in the picture.  I added little snowflakes in the corner with my Kiss glitter polish.

 Next up, Essie Leading Lady.  This is from the 2012 Holiday collection.  It is a red with red glitter.  I like this one because it is a darker red.  Bright reds don't really work on my skin tone.  I also like that the glitter is not as hard to get off as most glitters. I used two coats for this swatch.

 This one is Butter London Dodgy Barnett. It is a silver holographic.  What I like about this polish is that it is it is holographic but not too linear.  I find that sometimes super linear holos can get a little distracting.  The downside to this one is that it takes about three coats to get a solid color.  It is beautiful, and definitely worth getting!

Last but not least, Zoya Charla.  This is a beautiful turquoise color with green shimmer. I love this color! This is the kind of color that I am always reaching for in stores.  The only downside to this one is that it stained my nails a bit when I took it off.  Other than that I had no problems with this polish.  I used two coats for these pictures.

So that's it for my first swatch spam! I hope y'all enjoyed, and have a terrific Tuesday!
~ Mary Elizabeth