Saturday, December 29, 2012

Then and Now Week 4

Posted by Starlett Approved at 11:23 AM 8 comments
Hi loves!
Yes I know I've been gone FOREVER.  I'm sorry I disappeared.  Life and the holidays took a hold of me.  It left me with little energy and motivation to do my own nails.  Yesterday I was bit by the inspiration bug and finally did nail art.  So today I have for you my 4th installment of the Then and Now Challenge.
I loved my original design, it was inspired by Hey Nice Nails! They are the reason I fell in love with negative space nail art.  It's so minimalist and modern.  Just super cool to me :).
This time around I didn't choose a design that I could improve on, just do differently.  I was having a hard time figuring out how to change it up.  Then a rainbow graffiti style tape mani came to me all thanks to my dear dear friend, my boo Alexandra aka Algae Veronica
These were very easy to do.  All you need is tape, I used French manicure tape, a makeup sponge and of course the nail colors of your choice.  To help the colors stand out I used a white base before I started sponging on the colors.

I'm going to try to not vanish on you guys again :). Have a great last weekend of 2012!!!


What I Used:

  • Sally Hansen Jewel Overcoat Multi-Faceted
  • Milani White On The Spot
  • Milani Fast Fuchsia
  • Milani Dude Blue
  • Milani Violet Dash
  • Milani Yellow Whiz
  • Milani Black Swift
Thanks For Stopping By!!!

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Candy Cane Print

Posted by Starlett Approved at 11:43 AM 1 comments
Hey lovelies, how's everyone doing today?  Wow, I can't believe it's already December and the holidays are here. To help get me into the spirit of things, I decided to do Christmas nails this week.
I was in the mood to do candy cane nails but I didn't want to just do stripes.  So I talked myself into doing candy cane print instead.  They were much easier to do than I imagined.
I was holding my breath a lot during this manicure haha.  I painted my right hand first and realized covering up any mistakes with the glitter wasn't going to work :/.  But  any other base color should be easy.
Originally for the other nails I was going to do glitter placement stripes.  Then at the last moment I decided on a frosty glitter fade with glitter dots.  I love how these came out and I do not look forward to removing them so soon for the Then and Now challenge :(.  I definitely plan on doing more holiday nails. 

If you have any suggestions let me know.  I would love to hear from you ;)

What I Used:
  • China Glaze Glistening Snow
  • Wet n Wild French White Creme
  • Wet n Wild Red Red
  • Wet n Wild coloricon mini Red Glitter
Thanks For Stopping By!

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Then & Now Week 3

Posted by Starlett Approved at 6:41 PM 2 comments
Hey everyone, I've missed you guys.  Did you miss me? ;) It's week 3 of the Then & Now Challenge.  I was so close to skipping this week.  I've been in a blah mood this past week.  I did do my nails a few times but hated something about it, so I never bothered posting them.  Yesterday I finally felt great and decided to do my challenge nails.  My brand new bottle of Seche Vite decides to commit suicide and shatters all over my kitchen floor.  Tears and top coat everywhere.  I used a whatever top coat and my nails were ruined in 10 minutes eventhough they were dry :(.  I did them over this morning making sure I took pictures before doing anything with my hands and I like them much more than my attempt yesterday.  So I'm actually thankful that it got ruined hehe.   Now here are my nails!
I don't remember a lot about these nails.  I recall seeing the design while scrolling through my tumblr dashboard last year thinking WHAT? Outlined drips? HOT!!!
These days they aren't a big deal haha but I still love the effect of outlined drips.  I probably like drip nails as much as I love animal print nails.  It's easy to do and pretty cool looking.
For this design I used my favorite blue, black and pink nail polish.  Nails Inc. Baker Street, Milani Black Swift and Sephora by OPI It's My Pink from the Betsey Johnson Collection.  It's scented and smells AH-MAZING.  I've been sniffing my nails all day.  Yeah I'm smelling them right now :D.

Please don't forget to let me know if you are doing the challenge as well.

Thanks For Stopping By!

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Then & Now Week 2

Posted by Starlett Approved at 1:17 PM 4 comments
Hey peeps, today I have my second installment of the Then & Now challenge.  I got more rainbow and animal print for you.  I sort of love rainbow and animal print hehe!
I loved the original design, you can see its post here and here on tumblr.  I remember I did these right before Hurricane Irene hit NYC last year.  It's also one of Mr. Starlett Approved's  favorite designs of all time.  He's been waiting for this day a long time haha.
For my first try to get the gradient I just painted each polish in thick stripes and overlapped the colors on my nails.  I used Sally Hansen Hot Yellow, Milani Tropical Fiesta and Milani Breezy.  I used one of those Sally Hansen nail art pens for the leopard print.
This time around I figured out the best way for me to do gradients.  I started with 2 coats of Milani  Yellow Whiz.  Then directly on a makeup sponge I painted vertical lines with Yellow Whiz, Milani Fast Fuchsia and Brucci Gianna's "Rockin" Blue, overlapping just a bit.  I did that about 3 times for each nail and it came out great and didn't take forever.  I like when designs don't take forever :) I used my Cina Black Nail Art Pen for the leopard print.
On the accent nails I used 2 coats of Floss Gloss Dimepiece for the base.  Oh gerd I LOVE it, it's so sparkly!  The formula was thick and coarse, which I don't mind.  That's what makes it so sexy and glittery and I only needed 2 coats for full coverage.  It's just packed to the max with glitter.  Which means I needed 2 coats of Seche Vite to smooth it out.
On top of that, as you can see in this photo, I painted multi-colored leopard print using Yellow Whiz, Fast Fuchsia and GRB.  I was originally going to leave it like this.  Then later on I added the larger black leopard print.  I was worried it would be too much but it's perfect to me.

Have any of you joined in on the challenge?  If so definitely let me know ;)

What I Used:
  • Milani Yellow Whiz
  • Milani Fast Fuchsia
  • Brucci Gianna's "Rockin" Blue
  • Floss Gloss Dimepiece 
  • Cina Black Nail Art Pen
Thanks For Stopping By!

Monday, November 19, 2012

Coral Glam, Stripes and Glequins

Posted by Starlett Approved at 12:25 PM 5 comments
Hey girlfrans,  I've got some sexy nails to share with you today.  If you follow me on Instagram or Tumblr you know I got an AH-MAZING prize from my boo Marie of Pretty Project.  Included in the prize was the base color for todays nails.
Oh yeah, Layla Hologram Effect in Coral Glam.  Does it get any more awesome than hologram effect nail polish?  I don't think so.  I'm officially obsessed with them. 
Here is a close up, look at all the color.  It almost looks like pink fire.  This is only 2 coats of Coral Glam, no undies...Say What? 
For the design I used New York Color City Sweets Pink for the stripes and Born Pretty Store Diamond Shaped Glequins. I wish I could capture how pretty the Glequins are.  They are purple and holo and just the perfect match for Coral Glam.

Thanks For Stopping By!

Friday, November 16, 2012

Then & Now Week 1

Posted by Starlett Approved at 11:54 AM 4 comments
Hey peeps, wassup? So today I'm starting a new challenge, The Then & Now challenge. I'm actually joining my girl Alice of One Nail To Rule Them All who started it this past Saturday.  When I saw her post I immediately decided I wanted to do it.  I've actually been wanting to do something like this for a while.  Thank you Alice for giving me the motivation I needed ;).  It is a weekly challenge and I'll be doing it for 10 weeks.  But who knows maybe I'll do more.
The Then is my first photographed nail art. I did it spring of last year.  Man it feels like ages ago.  I had just got some new Kiss Nail Art Stripers and just winged it.  You can see the original tumblr post here.  It wasn't much of a post :/.  Kept it very simple for my first few posts.
For the Now I decided to do zebra stripes.  Which is what I was attempting in the original design haha.  I added more colors this time around because I have the nail polish and tools to do so now.  
It is amazing the difference a year makes.  Practice definitely makes improvement.  This challenge is an awesome excuse to do some of my favorite designs and even try to do it better.  I'm going to have a lot of fun with this :) If you're interested in joining in please do and let me know.  The more the merrier!

What I Used:
  • Wet n Wild French White Creme
  • Wet n Wild megalast Candy-Licious
  • Wet n Wild Sunny Side Up
  • Sinful Colors Exotic Green
  • Sinful Colors Pull Over
  • Sinful Colors Nail Art No More
  • Sinful Colors Nail Art Moon Light


Thanks For Stopping By!

Monday, November 12, 2012

Fall/Winter Favorites- Lipstick (Swatches)

Posted by Starlett Approved at 3:36 PM 13 comments
Hey everyone, I hope you're enjoying your day so far.  Today I have a picture heavy swatch post for you.  My favorite lipsticks to wear during the fall/winter season.
My favorites range from nude to dark purple.  Very rich shades compared to the vibrant peaches and pinks of spring & summer. Well then, lets get to some swatches!
Wet n Wild Bare It All One of my newest purchases and my only true nude lip color.  I'm already in love with it.  The shade goes great with my complexion and the matte finish makes it 100 times sexier ;)
Maybelline Sunlit Bronze I've had this for a long time.  I'm not even sure they still sell it.  Another neutral shade that adds just enough color to a low key makeup look.
Revlon Wild Orchid My favorite pink to wear this season.  It's more fuchsia than pink actually and the pearl finish is just stunning.
Maybelline Scarlet Simmer The first red lippy I ever purchased.  It's a little more red than berry IRL.  I bought this back when I was just getting into lipstick and makeup so I was playing it safe.
Sephora Lip Attitude Chic C13 I've had this for a while now.  This is my go to red lipstick.
Wet n Wild Stoplight Red A recent purchase, I actually bought a back up tube.  That's how much I love this lipstick.  This red pops IRL!
Wet n Wild Cherry Bomb I literally got this the other day.  Very pretty dark berry color.   This is  thee lip color for Fall.
Milani Black Cherry I won this in the Milani Fall into Beauty giveaway.  In the bottle it's super dark. I was a little nervous because I don't do a lot of dark lippies.  As you can see it's a beautiful dark cherry color.  Just pictured this with a gold eye look O_O
Sephora Rouge R24 My only dark color for a long time and my go to dark lipstick.  I bought this after seeing Rihanna wearing a similar lip color. 

Do you have any of the lipsticks I mentioned?  What's your favorite lip color to wear during the fall/winter season?

Here is an overall view of the swatches! :)

Thanks For Stopping By!

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Red & Teal Water Marble

Posted by Starlett Approved at 12:25 PM 0 comments
Hey there gorgeous!  You read the title correct, I did water marble nails.  Guess what? I really liked it this time.  I'm very proud of this mani.  It usually takes me a few tries before I get something decent.  This time it came out great based on my water marble skill level my first try.  I'll let you know what I did and what I noticed this time around, makes for a successful water marble manicure.
The first tip/trick I used was filtered water rather than tap water.  Less impurities in the water makes for a happy nail polish & H2O relationship :).  To make sure my water was perfectly room temperature I let it sit out in my bowl all day. 
The next important factor is the nail polish.  It has to be spreadable and not dry fast.  I originally wanted silver in this design but I noticed it dried too quickly in the water and didn't spread well.  It actually affected the other polishes in the water and made it hard to work with.
In my experience the best polishes for this technique are opaque in 1-2 coats with a bit of a runny formula. For this design I used Sephora by O.P.I My Personal Serpent and Wet n Wild megalast I Red A Good Book.  I hope these tips, some I learned from my own trail and error the rest from different bloggers and tutorials, were helpful.  I'm actually inspired to try another water marble design.  Very excited to try it and see if it works out :)

What I Used:
  • Sephora by O.P.I My Personal Serpent
  • Wet n Wild megalast I Red A Good Book
  • Wet n Wild Kaleidoscope
  • Wet n Wild French White Creme (base)
Thanks For Stopping By!

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Nails Inc. The After Party (Swatch/Review)

Posted by Starlett Approved at 3:26 PM 0 comments
Salutations Loves!  It's Election Day and I hope you plan on voting if you haven't already.  Gotta practice our civil rights.  I will be voting later with the whole family after Mr. Starlett Approved gets home from work.  For now I bring you nails.
Photo Courtesy of Sephora,com
Swatches of Nails Inc.  The After Party set as well as a simple nail design.  The After Party is available at Sephora for $25.  It includes full size bottles of Disco Lane,  Soho Street and Covent Garden Market.  Lets start in that order...shall we?
Disco Lane is actually why I got this set.  I have nothing like it in my collection and I'm weak for holographic glitter.  Thrown into my favorite color black...I DIE!  Look at all the tiny sparkles.  The glitter does settle on the bottom a little so you have to give it a good shake before using it.  Very smooth formula, full coverage in 2 coats.  It dries matte and has a coarse texture.  For this swatch I used 2 coats of Seche Vite to get the perfect shine.
Next up is Soho Street. The Party Glitter!
The title, very appropriate!  It seriously looks like a party on my fingertips.  This is 1 coat of Soho Street over Sally Hansen Pacific Blue.  This baby is jam-packed with silver, gold, red, blue, green and violet medium hex and small round glitters.  You can easily get full coverage in 2-3 coats.  The glitters are so shiny and reflective my nubs look like tiny disco balls :)
Last but not least Covent Garden Market.
This is officially my favorite red glitter nail polish.  It's that perfect Jessica Rabbit red.  My nubs feel very va va voom with this on.  Good formula, smooth application but a bit thick.  Full coverage in just 2 coats.  A thirsty glitter, it dried matte and I needed 2 coats of Seche Vite for optimal shine and sparkle.
Overall, I love all of these and plan on wearing them often during the holiday season.  I actually started from Halloween :).
My costume color scheme, as you already know was black and red.  So I threw on some red blood drips using Sinful Colors Sugar Sugar over Disco Lane.

Any Holiday Collections/Sets you're looking forward to getting?  I still have my eyes on China Glaze Holiday Joy and some the the Orly Naughty or Nice.

Thanks For Stopping By! Don't forget to get your Vote On!!

Saturday, November 3, 2012

HITS- Trendy (Swatch/Review)

Posted by Starlett Approved at 3:23 PM 4 comments
Greetings Everyone!  I got a quick swatch post for you today of HITS Trendy.  This is another beauty I got in my prize from Dany of Danyvianna.  It's pretty sheer so I layered 2 coats of Trendy over 1 coat of black nail polish.
It is a beautiful multi-chrome polish that shifts from gold to green to dark blue.  It reminds me of a beetle.  The Golden Stag Beetle to be exact, check out an image HERE.  See the resemblance, huh? 
The formula itself is good.  Smooth application, a little streaky but expected from a polish like this.  There are a couple other HITS polishes on my wishlist that I plan on getting in a future swap with Dany. So excited about that :) HITS is a Brazilian brand but they are available on Llarowe if you're interested in getting your hands on some.

Thanks For Stopping By! Enjoy Your Weekend!

 

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