This year is almost over - my week in nails edition

Hi all,

it is almost unreal how this year went by so quickly. On one side I am happy it is almost over, on the other hand it makes you wonder where did the time go. This year was full of small changes in my life but I have to say it was one of the better years in my life. I have discovered that my passion for nail polish and nail art can be shared on Instagram (username: nailsby_judinka123 http://instagram.com/nailsby_judinka123/). And although I had my Instagram account for years now, I never really thought about utilizing it for this purpose. And then I came up with the idea of having my own blog talking about things I like. Have to say that YouTube had and has a huge influence on my addiction to nail polish and make up but I do not think that will be something I will be heading towards...but one never knows, right?

For now I just love to share my creations with you like this. Thank you for being here, I do appreciate every one of you and you are the reason why I will continue doing this. And now let's take a look at my week and the manicures that I have created last week.

Sunday - feeling festive

When I applied this nail polish on my nails, I almost felt guilty I was thinking about ruining with a nail art. I am not a huge fan of green nail polish so it was a great surprise discovering this stunning festive green nail polish from China Glaze. The picture below does not give any justice to this beauty.

2 coats of China Glaze Running in Circles. My camera could not capture the real beauty of this nail polish.

Falling in love with this nail polish was immediate. I tried to capture the gold shimmer running through this green but without proper lighting it was technically impossible. Now that I have my light box, I am thinking about taking another shot of this baby hoping you all can see and experience what I did!!!

The gold shimmer in this polish is so pretty. This is almost a one coater but I did apply two on my nails.

I would say this is another nail polish you need in your collection. I have so many polishes that when I come across an unexpected love, I have to share it with you guys. This green is perfect and I got so many compliments when I wore it. This polish could easily be a twin brother to Ruby Pumps (absolutely gorgeous red) from China Glaze.

Monday - inspired by a twin mani from earlier this month

If you saw my post with the twin manicure last week (or 2 weeks ago; not sure when this is going to be up), then this mani might be familiar to you. It was inspired by the original manicure I did; however, I changed up the colors a little bit and the design. I used the same stamping plate set from Pueen but this time I used a different plate for the design.
 

Polka dots and stamping; my absolute favorite combination.

When I was looking for the colors, I knew I wanted to do blue and white and as I was looking through my stash I saw my Julep nail polishes. In general, I do use them too often, even though the colors and quality are amazing. What bothers me with Julep polishes is the scent!!! I just can't get over it and the scent is lingering on my nails for days. If I would have to describe the scent; it reminds me of sunflower oil. Which don't take me wrong, I love sunflowers and sunflower seeds, but the scent of these polishes is way too overwhelming to my liking.

2 coats of Julep's Hope (white satin) and Bess (stunning blue). For stamping I used black Konad; can't remember which polish I used for polka dots but any darker blue would do it.

First I thought I would do only stamping but with the nail art design only, the mani felt flat. Thus I decided to go with one nail covered with polka dots.

I was also thinking about posting an article about Julep (which I get as a subscription box) but recently I have been skipping my monthly boxes because there was nothing catching my attention. I will see if the January box is any fun and if so, I definitely tell you more about the company and the way this subscription works. I became a Maven 2 or 3 years and I heard few things changed for new subscribers but I would like to share with you my experience and thoughts on their boxes.

Tuesday - panda manicure (inspired by YouTuber @coffeebreakwithdani)

Have you ever watched Coffee Break with Dani on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEjBWzcw_3h8rnGsMyFfcEQ)? She is just so much fun to watch and all her videos are well done. She loves to call her subscribers "Pandas" and that is where my idea for this manicure came from.

Stamping plates from Bundle Monster; black Konad and green Sally Hansen polishes were used for stamping.

When I received my prize from Bundle Monster, one of the stamping plates has these cute images of pandas and bamboo and I immediately knew I wanna create a manicure utilizing these images. For my base I used 2 white polishes from China Glaze (yes, you are right, I have an absolute obsession with this brand) and I do believe it turned out great.

2 coats of China Glaze - There is Snow One Like You (white texture polish) and The Outer Edge (from the limited The Giver collection).

The Outer Edge is a pretty white glitter polish that I would probably use more like a topper. In the picture you see 2 layers and my nail is till visible underneath it. You could probably get the polish completely opaque in 3-4 coats. Have say though that removing this polish was "painful" and the white glitter pieces covered my fingers. Took me almost 5 minutes to get completely rid of it and next time I would probably do the aluminum foil removing process. Still a great nail polish if you do not mind complicated glitter removal.
  
Wednesday - Christmas Tree

Yes, it is almost Christmas...thus I decided to do a Christmas Tree manicure. As a base I used Ruby Pumps from China Glaze (this is 1 or 2 coats in the picture) and then with the help of some striping tape I shaped the Christmas tree and applied a green polish on the top.

This was so simple - China Glaze Ruby Pumps; topped with green glittery nail polish to create the Christmas tree shape and added a star sticker on the top (from the brand KISS).

After applying the green glittery polish, I removed the stripes and added a sticker star on the top of the Christmas tree. You can do different size Christmas trees; mostly will depend on how long your nails are and if you are planning to add anything else onto your nail. Also, you can get KISS stickers at your local drugstore; many times you can find them on sale, and they are so simple to work with.

Thursday - Christmas Eve festive manicure

I did it!!! You remember my mani from Sunday? I loved it so much that I decided to wear it again...with a simple but intriguing nail art stickers. This time you can see the gold sheen running through the nail. First I though I would only use gold based stickers but due to the gold shimmer in the nail polish, the design seemed to blend in with the nail polish. Thus I went with the black and gold combination.

Easy way to create an intricate yet simple manicure - add stickers. Even a person who never used stickers can do it!!!

I wore this manicure for several days and have to say the nail polish did quite well; considering that most China Glaze polishes chip on me within a day or two. To ensure the stickers stay in place, I applied my favorite top coat Out the Door. I do believe this top coat also extends the life of your nail polish. All I could see after wearing this mani for few days was a little tip wear off.

China Glaze - Running in Circles (an absolute must have even if you do not like green polishes). This green is so unique and beautiful.

I was really happy with the way this manicure turned out at the end. Adding nail art stickers or water decals onto your nails make your mani come together. It is such an easy way to create something beautiful on your nails without having to spend too much money. And believe me, people will soon recognize that you are wearing something a little special on your nails. The great thing about stickers really is their availability. You can technically find them anywhere; drugstores, grocery stores, nail art stores, etc.

Friday - simple but pretty

When I came up with this mani, I did not like it too much...mostly because I had no vision as of what will the final manicure look like. There was no inspiration and my mood wasn't too good that day either, so I decided to only put a basic nail polish color on my nails and see where will it lead me.

Side way french manicure using Color Club holographic nail polish and stickers that I ordered from 8ty8beauty a while ago.

I was thinking, I wanna do a french manicure but was kind of bored with the typical french manicure shape. So I went through my stash again (sometimes I feel I could open my own store ;)) and found these wavy french manicure tip stencils...and the idea came to me. On the nail and in the pictures you cannot really tell the tip has a wavy shape but it still turned out great as a side way french tip manicure. To make it pop a little I went with the holographic polish from Color Club and added nail stickers that I have ordered a while ago from www.8ty8beauty.com.

Once on nails, they looked pretty similar. Used Spoiled in Magic Carpet Ride and Violet Femmes.

Have to say though, I was quite disappointed in the stickers. They seem to be hard and when I tried to peel them off the plastic, they broke...like literally broke! I have never seen anything like that happen before. Luckily, I got off at least few flowers but even placing them on the nails was a bit tricky.

As a base I used Spoiled polishes (daughter family of Wet'n'Wild) that you can find at CVS pharmacy for a good price. In general, these polishes are hit or miss but I really like the large brush and the color selection. They usually last on me 2-3 days, so staying power is not that great, yet for the price you can't go wrong with them. For this manicure I used Magic Carpet Ride and Violet Femmes; however, once I applied them on my nails, they looked almost identical (so again, you do not need both).

Now, looking back at the pictures, I have to say this manicure turned out well. Considering that there was no "plan" for the final look and that creating this mani would be a result of unfortunate choices, it  is currently one of my most liked pictures on Instagram and even made it to be my profile picture for the beginning of 2015.
 

Saturday - water decals, chevron and stamping obsession in one

And we finally got to the last manicure of the week. For this one I used the same base as for my Panda mani. I really liked the white polishes but wasn't really sure what I wanted to with them; especially after I already wore them this week. So this time I decided to combine stamping, chevron design and water decals from Born Pretty store.

For stamping I used black Konad and a dark plum color from Maybelline. My water decals are from Born Pretty store.

I felt like mixing and matching different styles in this manicure. I used the water decals in a different manicure before but I like them so much that there is no surprise I had to utilize them for another manicure. Also, I had chevron templates from Born Pretty store that were waiting for me to use them. When I do chevron manicures; or manicures where I will be using french manicure tips or templates, I tend to leave the nail polish dry overnight and then applying it next day. If you are experienced enough, you may try to do it the same day when you apply nail polish onto your nail; however, I am always worried my nail polish might be still wet and peel off when removing the stencils.

China Glaze - There is Snow One Like You and The Outer Edge (The Giver limited edition).

Sorry, I do not remember which stamping plate I used for my pinky but I will try to go through my stamping plates in the near future and if I find any of the images you see on my nails I will add them in the capture section of the pictures.

Hope you liked these and if you recreate any of my manicures, feel free to hashtag me on Instagram under #nailsby_judinka123. Wish you all Happy New Year 2015 :).