Valentine's Day nails with Red Carpet Manicure

Personal Gift Purchased by Me

Hello Loves.  I have Valentine's Day themed mani to show you today.  Can a girl go wrong with glittery polish, stamping, and a DIY rhinestone?

There' s a lot going on in this seemly simply manicure.  I started with a base of Red Carpet Manicure Socialite Status from the Limited Edition Hamptons collection on the pink nails and Couture Ooh La La French for the white.  This the Socialite Status.

I then topped Socialite Status with Red Carpet Manicure Swaggin, which was a gift from the lovely Tiffany at Polished to Precision.  Be sure to pop over to her blog and check out her gorgeous polish swatches!  The picture below is Swaggin on it's own - three coats without undies.

I stamped the middle finger with Pure Ice Silver Star and an image from Pueen 33 from the Love Elements set.   I used a dotting tool to add RCM Swagging to the heart shaped leaves and freehanded a few extras for balance.

The ring finger is the most exciting of the two accents for me.  I have had these little heart frames in my collection for a while - so long that I can't even remember where I got them.  But I've never really known what to do with them.  Then Kim from Ten Little Canvases shared this awesome tutorial on making your own stones using Gelish Structure.  Jackpot!  I followed Kim's instructions and applied the frame to the nail first.  I then filled the frame with Swaggin and topped it with Structure.  Check out Kim's video at the link above for the specific steps.  :)

I'm very pleased with the final result.  This one might be one of my favorites!

~Michelle

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Red Carpet Manicure: Postcards from Milan and Embelish Me Select Polishes

Purchased by Me

Hello loves.  When I popped the tops on these polishes at Ulta before Christmas, I knew I had to have them.  I almost bought them that day, but I was on a strict buying ban imposed by my husband until after the holidays.  Thankfully, my Ulta had them in an obscure location, so the display had barely been touched when I went back a few days ago.  Added bonus - they are now marked down to 50% off!  Score!  I have seen reports that they are on clearance at all Ulta locations, and I did find some of them on Ulta's website as well so if you like one, be sure to grab it while you can since they are limited editions.  :)

Onto the swatches.  This first one is the reason I went to Ulta before Christmas.  This beauty is Behind the Scenes from the Red Carpet Manicure Postcards from Milan collection. I couldn't resist seeing it in person after seeing Andrea's swatch on Chickettes in late November.  I'm a sucker for a hunter green, and the golden shimmer is an added bonus.

On the Catwalk is also from the Postcards from Milan collection.  This one is a gorgeous medium grey with a golden shimmer.  All of the polishes from the Postcards from Milan collection have the golden shimmer, and I love how it makes this grey really pop.

 

As a side note, I now have "I'm too Sexy" by Right Said Fred running through my head.  Yes, I know I just dated myself with that one, but come on.  You know you want to sing it with me:

"I'm a model you know what I mean
And I do my little turn on the catwalk
Yeah on the catwalk on the catwalk yeah
I shake my little tushy on the catwalk"

You're welcome. ;)

My final selection from the Postcard from Milan collection is I Own the Runway.  This is a stunning maroon with that same gold shimmer that is seen throughout the collection.

The final gel I have to show you tonight is from the Embellish Me collection.  The one polish that really stood out to me in this collection is So Icy.  So Icy is an incredible silver leaning, light grey base with ultrafine holographic shimmer.  I tried to capture that shimmer, but the pictures do not do it justice!

Let's take a closer look.  You can see a little bit of the shimmer here.

 

~Michelle

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Wintery Blue Snowflakes

Purchased by Me

Hello lovely readers.  The stamping group challenge for this week is a mani using three blues.  My first thought was that this one would be so easy!  Well, I was wrong.  It certainly isn't easy when you have so many blues to choose from!

You see, I started buying every blue I could find when I was pregnant with my second son.  My oldest son came 5 weeks early due to growth restriction and weighed only 4 lbs and 4 oz.  Since the doctors couldn't say what caused him to stop growing, I was considered high risk and was monitored closely during my second pregnancy.  When I started nearing the third trimester, my second started slowing down on his growth too and I convinced myself that I had to wear blue polish at all times.  Because, well, if I wore any other color I would go into labor and my nails would be the wrong color for his birth.  I know, it was a crazy way to think.  But I guess there's a part of me that is a tad bit superstitious and another part that simply knows I have that kind of luck.  As long as my nails were blue, he would keep growing and developing.  Needless to say, I came up with a lot of different ways to wear blue.  And when his doctors did decide it was time to take him (3 weeks early at 5 lbs 4 oz), I was already wearing the perfect blue polka-dot mani.  :)

But enough about why I have so many blues and onto my current mani.  It took a while, but I finally decided my three blues should be a base, a glitter, and a stamp.  As usual, details below.

I started with a base of Red Carpet Manicure Country Club Chic.  I then topped that with a glitter fade from the cuticle edge using ArtsyFartsy Crafts Ultrafine Light Blue Holographic glitter.  I finished it off with snowflake stamps from Bundle Monster BM-319 and Gals GA-41 in Mundo de Unas Pastel Blue.

Once again, my light box killed the glitter.  Below is a short video to show all it's glittery holo goodness.

Here's the swatch of Country Club Chic on it's own.  This gorgeous blue shimmer is from the limited edition Hamptons collection.  I personally think RCM should bring this one back as a permanent shade.  It is such a great blue!

Oh, and one more thing...I entered my glittery roses manicure from last week in the MoYou-London December Pinterest Contest (ends December 31, 2013).  Each like counts as one point and each repin counts as two points.  The top three pins win some of the incredible new Fairy Tale plates.  I will be ever so grateful if you will click here to see my entry and like and/or repin it.  Thanks!


~Michelle

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Gorgeous Glittery Finishes from Red Carpet Manicure

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I have a few of my favorite Red Carpet Manicure colors to show you today.  I'm a sucker for glittery finishes, and these are just perfect if you ask me!

The first polish I have to show you is Perfect High Heels.  This is a beautiful royal blue jelly with blue glitter.  When the light reflects off the glitter at certain angles, it takes on a purple hue. 

Next in line is my personal favorite red.  Draped in Rubies was originally released as a limited edition, but it was so popular RCM brought it back as a permanent part of their line.  This is one of the few colors that I have worn multiple times with no nail art.  I love it that much!

My second favorite is An Evening To Remember.  This black, scattered holo beauty was also a limited edition that RCM brought back as a permanent edition.  I actually resisted this one for a while.  I assumed I could recreate it with a black base and a holo glitter top coat like Gelish Vegas Nights.  I was wrong.  You simply can't recreate this with the same depth.

The light box killed the shimmer in this one, so I snapped a picture under my ottlite.  The above picture is color accurate for the base.  The following fully captures the holo shimmer.

Finally, Scandalous is another gorgeous polish with holo shimmer.  The shimmer in this one is not as dense as in Evening to Remember.  It is just a hint that adds a bit of mystery to a deep purple base.  I didn't think to grab a shot of this one under the ottlite, but I think you can get a good idea from this shot.

After seeing these last two side by side, I decided they really were made to go together.  So  I did a little nail art that is half An Evening to Remember and half Scandalous with a little bit of Orly Shine to tie it all together.

That's it for today.  Which of these glitters would you be most likely to wear?

Also, there's still time to enter the Nails for a Cause giveaway!  The raffle ends tonight at midnight, November 20, 2013.  So get those entries in while you still can!

~Michelle

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I won the Red Carpet Manicure Nail Art Sweepstakes!

Press Sample

You can only image how excited I was when I got an email last week from Julie at Red Carpet Manicure telling me I won the Red Carpet Manicure Nail Art Sweepstakes from August.  Red Carpet Manicure is a brand that is under-represented in my gel polish collection simply because my town doesn't have an Ulta yet (one is opening here soon...and I've been stalking the location weekly).  I only have a dozen RCMs in my collection, and most of those are limited edition colors that friends have been kind enough to pick up for me.

But enough rambling and onto the prize: three of Red Carpet Manicure's most popular colors.  The colors I received are Ooo La Liscious, Paparazzied, and Glitz & Glamorous.  I don't know why I never asked someone to pick these up for me.  It's easy to see why they are the most popular.  Naturally, I just had to swatch them for you right away. 

First up, Ooh La Liscious is a gorgeous orange leaning coral in a cream finish. This is one that screams both summer and fall to me.  Definitely a versatile coral.  I plan to use it in my Halloween manicure this year.  I spent 15 minutes holding my hand up to my computer screen trying to determine if this picture is color accurate.  I think it is, but it's so hard to tell with orange corals.  My eyes start playing tricks on me. 

Paparazzied is a glossy, medium pink cream.  I would call it a classic pink.  While it isn't a color I will personally wear often, it is definitely one you need in your collection if you're a pink person.  

And finally my favorite of the three.  Glitz & Glamorous is a deep red shimmer.  I don't even know what to say about this one other than wow.  The red shimmer in a red base makes it appear to glow from within. 

 

The above picture does NOT do this color justice.  Light box pictures always fail to capture the brilliance of polishes with shimmer.  Below is a picture of my swatch stick held at an angle so that the light reflects off the shimmer. See that internal glow? 

 

A huge, heartfelt Thank You! to Red Carpet Manicure for holding so many contests and for selecting me as a winner.  Be sure to like the Red Carpet Manicure Facebook Page for details on future promotions and contests.  Maybe you can win a few of these beauties too.  :)

~Michelle

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Mani of the Week - Subtle Tone on Tone Teal (Updated)

This is what I'm wearing right now.  I'm a sucker for subtle, tone on tone stamping.  Base color is Red Carpet Manicure High Society.  Stamped in Revlon Ocean with an image from MJ XX.

*disclaimer:  This photo above is not color accurate.

Update:  I finally got a color accurate picture.  Turns out my white balance needed a little tweaking.  This one also captures a little of the duo-chrome effect of Revlon Ocean on the index finger.  Excuse the dry cuticles.  I forgot to oil before I took the picture.  Hey, I'm human.  ;)
 

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