Green and Gold Freehand

Hey guys!
Today's post is a look that I did a few weeks back that I thought I would share with y'all.  I wanted to try out a gold nail art pen that I got at Francesca's (the same as the black one I talked about in my last post).  I hope you like what I came up with!

First of all, let me apologize about my broken pointer finger nail.  It broke not long before I did this mani, but it's back to normal now.  Anyway, I started with a base of OPI Here Today, Argon Tomorrow.  This is a nice dark green creme.  It takes about three coats to get a solid color.  Then, as I mentioned before, I used a nail art pen in gold for the stripes and stuff.  It is pretty difficult to get a straight line because you have to squeeze the tube and draw the line at the same time.  With that said, I really like how it turned out.  I topped it off with CND Air Dry top coat.  I hope y'all enjoyed this, and I hope you will try this out yourself!  Have a marvelous Monday!
~ Mary Elizabeth

(Late) Halloween Nails!

Hey Y'all!
So I know I'm super duper late on this, but I thought I'd show y'all how I painted my nails for Halloween last week.  I had a really fun time on Halloween.  My friends and I went to dance that was hosted by a guy in the music department on my campus.  I'll add pictures at the end of this post of us in our costumes at the end of this post :) Anyway, on to the mani!

Let me start by saying sorry there's only one pic.  I was on a bit of a time crunch.  I started with a base of OPI In My Back Pocket (I think.  It's a mini polish and it doesn't have a name on it).  For the stripes I used a nail art pen that I got from Francesca's.  I'm not quite sure of the brand, but any nail art pen will do.  I used Sinful Colors Black on Black for the thicker striped areas.  Finally I topped it all off with CND Air Dry top coat.  I plan on doing a review of this soon.  I hope y'all enjoyed this post, and I hope you had a happy Halloween!
~ Mary Elizabeth
Ps here are some pics from my Halloween festivities!

These are the school of the arts professors all dressed up as Harry Potter characters!  How cool are they?!

Me and my friends!  From left to right character names: neon girl, dude in box, Kevin and Rod from Hot Rod, hipster Harry Potter, and Kim Possible (me).  Ya we're cool :)

Glitter Gradient Madness! + Update

Hey Everybody!
I'm back!  I know that I haven't posted in a long time, but life has been crazy.  I began college in August, so I have been really busy lately.  It has really been an adjustment moving and becoming more independent, but I know that if I trust in God and work hard I will be able to succeed.
Now, on to the nails! I have been obsessed with glitter gradients lately.  It is a really quick, easy way to get impressive looking nails.  Here are some of my favorite gradients so far!

For this I started with Julie G polish in Gelato in Venice.  I got this polish at Rite Aid, and I'm really impressed with the pigmentation.  For the glitter I used OPI Glitter-ally the Best Silver Ever.  I like the fact that this glitter is big enough to make a good fade but not so big that it only leaves a few pieces of glitter on the nail.

For this one I used OPI Barre my Soul as a base.  This is a great sheer polish.  I love it for french manicures.  Again, I used Glitter-ally for the glitter.  For this one I tried to get more of a french mani look that kind of fizzles at the top. 

This one began with OPI Care To Danse?  This is another very sheer polish.  If you can't tell, I really like the whole glitter on sheer thing ☺.  The glitter is a Francesca's  polish in Confetti.  This glitter is a little tough to work with, but once you figure it out you get a super cool effect.

So I hope y'all enjoyed this post, and I hope you give the glitter gradient a try.  I will try really hard to get more posts up soon, but I can't make any guarantees just because of my work load.  The lament of a music student!  I appreciate all of you for sticking with me!  I hope you have a marvelous Monday!
~ Mary Elizabeth

First Try: Edgy Half-moons

Hey there!
So today I'm doing another post in my ongoing First Try series!  I wanted to do a tape mani, but I didn't want to do just any old half-moon, so I tried a version that I saw in a post by Erika from Chloe's Nails.  It's not exactly like hers, but it's similar!

I started with a base of Essie A Crewed Interest.  This is one of my favorite summer colors!  Then, after the polish dried, I taped off triangles on my nails and used Essie Shine of the Times to create the edgy half-moons.  I didn't like how the Shine of the Times didn't show up too much, so I used my Kiss gold glitter to outline the triangles.  This is also a great way to clean up any mistakes made when removing the tape.  Finally I finished it off with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.  I hope this was a fun post for you, and have a fabulous Friday!
~ Mary Elizabeth
Ps be sure to check out Chloe's Nails!

Sunny Side Up!

Hey everybody!
So this is my last week in my hometown before I go off to college.  I have been having a lot of fun with my friends this week.  So in honor of my last week of summer, I decided to do some freehand nail art!

So I started with a base of OPI Alpine Snow.  This makes the yellow pop a little more.  Then I used one coat of OPI Need Sunglasses? Once that dried I used an OPI orange (I don't know the exact name of it because it is a mini) to paint a sun on my ring finger.  I carefully created a curved line around the corner of my nail and filled it in.  Then I used dotting tools to create the rays.  I finished it off with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.  I had a lot of fun with this design.  I don't do a ton of freehand designs, so this one was extra special :) I hope you all enjoyed this post, and have a terrific Thursday!
~ Mary Elizabeth

Pink Wednesday Returns!

Hey There!
I am so glad to be posting again!  I have a pink Wednesday for you today.  It's been a long time since I did a pink Wednesday, and I can't wait to show you what I did!

To begin with I used OPI Japanese Rose Garden as a base color.  Then I cut strips out of a piece of tape to get the skinny stripes.  For the darker pink I used Pretty Please polish in Pink Crush.  I will do a review of this brand in a later post.  For the silver stripes I used my Kiss art polish.  I really enjoyed this because it is simple, easy, and super cute!  I like that it looks like it takes a ton of effort, but it really just takes a little time.  I hope you enjoyed this post, and I hope your Wednesday was wonderful!
~ Mary Elizabeth

I'm Back! Update 7/24/12

Hey Everybody!
I am so sorry that I haven't posted in over a month!  I have been really busy this summer, which is not what I expected my summer to be like.  I got a babysitting job, so I have been babysitting ten hours a day three day a week for about two months now.  The kids I babysit require me to keep them occupied, whether it be playing video games or pretending we are Star Wars characters.  This hasn't left me a whole lot of time to post.  Also, I leave for college in less than a month.  I have been doing some major shopping for my dorm room.  I will be sure to show you pics of my dorm when I get it all set up.  I have been painting my nails, and I have several posts planned, including a pink Wednesday for tomorrow.  Again, I am so sorry for being MIA lately, and I hope to be back to blogging for good now :) I hope your summer has been wonderful, and hopefully I will have a post up tomorrow.
~ Mary Elizabeth