It's a Blue Anniversary!

Hi all!

About two weeks ago, a very exciting day happened, my one year blogaversary! Yeah, I did this mani in honor of the event and just got around to posting it now. My suckiness has been discussed.

Let's go straight into the mani, then we'll get to the mushy stuff. Recently, my mom went on a work trip to Spain and Morocco (lucky, right?) so when she asked what I wanted her to bring for me, my answer was "Um, I dunno. Stuff, I guess?". I'm very eloquent. Anyway, then I found out/remembered they sell KIKO in Spain and I quickly drafted a list of all the Kiko's I wanted and this baby was at the top of the list.

KIKO 336 is a electric cobalt blue polish that had my heart when I first saw Nail Stories' swatches of it a while back. I used two gloriously blue coats and then added Ninja Polish Sticks 'N Stones on pinky, ring and thumb and added studs and rhinestones from the Born Pretty Store on my pointer and ring finger.

Ignore the missing polish by the cuticles on the pointer finger, I added topcoat before taking pics and effed up the cleanup.

Now, mushy stuff. I know everybody says this in these kinds of posts, but I truly never expected such great feedback when I started the blog. I mean, my pictures were dreadful for those first couple of posts and I'll never forget that first person that followed my blog. Mostly because I felt flattered yet slightly ashamed she followed and I had such crappy pictures, so I tried and tried until they got better. I still don't think they're perfect, in fact you're going to be seeing some changes soon, but I'm ok with where they are now. I'll also never forget people who helped me in the beginning, like Kimber who answered my annoying emails on how to take pictures. I've met some truly great people through this blog and I'm just excited about continuing with it and seeing what can happen. I'm a person that never finishes what she started so to still be here and still love it after a year is a great success in my eyes.

So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading my blabbering and still being here even when I disappear for a couple of days. 

See you tomorrow Thursday with an ABC Challenge post!

Mish-Mash Between Spring and Winter

Hi all!

Today I'm back and taking part in the Polish Days hosted by Hannah from Polly Polish! I always enjoy seeing how many of us participate and how everyone interprets the theme. This theme should be fun since it leaves a lot of room for interpretation. Aand the theme is... Back to Nature! Hannah wanted us to be inspired by nature, whether you're knee-deep in snow or are just over winter and ready for spring. Of course, here in Puerto Rico, it's never really winter (technically).

I call this manicure a mish mash between spring and winter because that's what the weather feels like right now. It's cold (ok maybe not cold, brisk? It's around 60-70F) during the nights but some days are super sunny and hot. Also called a mish mash because it's a very wintery mani featuring a spring polish and a dandelion stamped so... yes ok?

I started with two coats of OPI Can't Find my Czechbook, from their new spring 2013 collection and layered OPI Pirouette My Whistle from their Ballet Soft Shades a while back. Then I added studs from the Born Pretty Store and a stamp from Nailz Craze NC01 image plate.

So, I'm pretty sure you can tell I had no real idea or direction with this since I didn't have time to do complicated nail art. It's just something very simple that made me happy but still fit the theme.

Have a great day!

Baptiste had Twins! (Feat. Born Pretty Studs)

Hello all!! I tried to edit as much as I could but this is still slightly wordy. You've been warned!

Today is pretty exciting for me, it's my very first twin post! You all should know Kimber, who organized the 31 Day Challenge I'm participating in and you might also remember that she won my giveaway. When I asked her which Illamasqua she would like for her prize, she just told me she trusted my judgement and I could choose for her. This promptly sent me into a permanent state of worry that maybe I would pick something she didn't like.

Eventually, I manned up and browsed her blog to see which shades she favored and thought she might like a good vampy. I had always seen Illamasqua Baptiste but never gave it much thought so,  while I was at Sephora, I looked up swatches and did this face O_O. It was so pretty! It was settled, I was sending her one. But I liked it so much I grabbed one for myself too and that's pretty much how this twin post came to be!

For this mani I started with two coats of Baptiste and did a stripe down the middle in OPI Dutch Ya Just Love OPI. Then, I placed these square studs (Item ID: 2859) from the Born Pretty Store. Sorry I don't have swatches of Baptiste on its own, the pics came out horrendous and I didn't know until I had already added everything else :(. My twin has swatches! And they're awesome. Check 'em out here.

And this is how you receive the studs from Born Pretty

To apply them, I just used a dotting tool to add a little topcoat to where I wanted the stud and, using the same dotting tool with what was left of topcoat, picked the stud and placed it. Add a coat of topcoat and you're done! They really stay in place and you can even cut them if you had to. I cut the edge of one stud on my ring finger with a cuticle nipper for a better fit.

I loved this whole look, the studs look so edgy and eye-catching. I have another look with these coming up to show you another way you can use them. If you're planning on making a purchase from the Born Pretty Store, remember you can get 10% off with my code FHL91.

Obviously, you need to go to Kimber's blog and see how she used Baptiste today. She really is one of the sweetest girls I've met and she helped me out a lot before I even started the blog so go show her some lurve!

*Born Pretty Store item was sent to me for review. For more information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy*