The Return of the Subtle Stamping

Hello my lovelies! As I was telling you in my last post, I'm constantly on the lookout for manicures that are both fun and also wearable for work. There are not many types of nail art that look professional enough, but subtle stamping is definitely one of them. I used to do a lot of subtle stamping back in the day and loved it. Basically what I'm talking about is the nail art that only you or somebody that is looking closely at your nails can see. There's very little contrast between the base color and the color you stamp with, so it won't attract attention to your nails. At the same time you will enjoy a beautiful design on your nails, especially in the sun.

S-he Stylezone 323

Hello my lovelies! One of my biggest issues since I started work nearly a month ago is what polishes to wear. We don't really have a dress code, so we're technically allowed to wear anything on our nails, but I still like to keep a professional look with more neutral colors and very little nail art. In my next post I'm gonna show you the type of nail art I like to do to keep it classy, but today I want to show you a polish that is both neutral and fun. I'm usually bored by neutrals but this one is an exception because there's a lot going on with it. It also has a great formula, which is always a plus.

S-he Stylezone 323 indoors, artificial light

Monday Blues: Fancy Glitter Placement

Hello my lovelies! Was the weekend relaxing enough for you? No doubt that it was too short and flew by in a second. I've got just the right thing to make this Monday a little more bearable though: some bright blue nails. I have to admit that I didn't know how to name this post so I went on a whim, even though these nails aren't that fancy. In fact they are easier to do than regular glitter placement because they require a lot less placement. I've seen this type of nail art all over Instagram, so I'm really sorry that I don't know who invented it. If you do know please leave me a comment so I can give credit. 

TPA Group Challenge: Ikat Nails

Hello my lovelies! It's Saturday, which is great because I'm very tired and was able to sleep in today. I spent yesterday's afternoon doing two nail art looks for the TPA Group Challenge. It's been ages since I've done some proper nail art, especially of the freehand kind, so I'm very excited to show you the first manicure today, even though I'm not even sure it looks like it's supposed to look. According to Wikipedia, ikat is a fabric dyeing technique that is similar to tie-dye. I must admit that I had no idea how to do this kind pattern on my nails, so I needed the help of my friend Google to get inspired. I used this tutorial and this picture as inspiration and this is the result. 

Zoya Chita

Hello my lovelies! I don't know about you, but I'm still obsessed with the textured polish trend. I do think my collection is complete now, especially after purchasing the Kiko Sugar Mat collection, but that doesn't mean I've worn all the ones that I have. Zoya Chita has been in my collection for a few months and I just got around to wearing it last week. Why that didn't happen sooner I can't tell you. It's probably a case of the "too many polishes, too few fingers" issue.

Zoya Chita indoors, artificial light

Monday Blues: Maybelline Brocades Beaming Blue

Hello my lovelies! Did this weekend fly by or what? I didn't even manage to stay up late, that's how old I am. If you are bummed about today, let me just wash away your Monday Blues with a beautiful glitter. After showing you Rosy Rosettes a few weeks ago, it was high time for me to post about my other fabulous pick from the Maybelline Brocades collection. Technically, I didn't pick these because they were the only ones available but still, I think I was lucky to find them. Anyway, on to the blue! 

Maybelline Brocades Beaming Blue indoors, artificial light

Farmec Nail Polish Review

Hello my lovelies and happy Sunday! One of my blogging resolutions for 2014 is to support local brands more. So what better way to start than by featuring a brand that comes from my hometown. Farmec (which is Romanian for "charm") is a beauty brand that has been around for over a century. They make all sorts of beauty products, from skincare to body and hair products, and of course nail related products. 

China Glaze Bizarre Blurple and Tongue & Chic

Hello my lovelies! Today I have two China Glaze polishes to show you. They come from my latest US haul and they are both fall polishes, but they are perfect for winter too in my opinion. The first one is from the Halloween 2012 collection called Wicked. I know many people don't like the "word" blurple, yet China Glaze was confident enough to use it for the name of a polish. So here's what Bizarre Blurple looks like. 

China Glaze Bizarre Blurple indoors, artificial direct light

Kiko 347 and some wintery stamping

Hello my lovelies! Hope your week is not too stressful! I decided it was time for some wintery nail art so today I'm showing you a manicure I did before the holidays. I've been searching for the perfect dark green for a while, one that isn't too dark and still looks green rather than black on the nails. I finally found it last month in the Kiko store and couldn't leave without it. It's a beauty! 

Kiko 347 Dark Green indoors, artificial light

Monday Blues: Barry M Blue Plum

Hello my lovelies! I'm just gonna ignore the fact that it's the start of another workweek today. At least I had a nice weekend and although it was short, it was very relaxing. I hope yours was the same. The blue I'm showing you today is very simple, but beautiful. I wanted to add some subtle stamping on top but left it alone in the end, so you're only gonna see a simple swatch in this post. 

Barry M Blue Plum indoors, artificial light

TPA Group Challenge: Hippie Nails

Hello my lovelies! It's Saturday and I woke up bright and early because I couldn't sleep, given that I got used to waking up early this week. It's ok though because I have this post to write for you. The TPA Group Challenge is back! We had a break over the holidays and then I skipped last week's theme because I didn't have time to do the mani. I did manage to do it for today's theme, which is hippie nails. Fun, right? Before we get to the actual manicure, let me tell you that TPA (The Polish Addict) now has a Facebook page too. Check it out here, like it and you will get to see lots of amazing nail photos. Now let's see my attempt at hippie nails. 

Born Pretty Store Square Glequins Review

Hello my lovelies! Boy am I glad that it's Friday today. I wish I could tell you how my first week at work was, but I wouldn't know where to start. What I can definitely tell you is that I'm very very tired. I really hope I get used to it in time because I hate not being able to do anything besides go to work the whole day. Doing my nails was not a priority this week, so I'm glad I have a few manicures in the vault to show you. Today's post is all about glequins aka the shiny glitter pieces that come in different shapes and sizes. I've already showed you hexagonal, diamond and round ones, but I couldn't stay away from this set of square glequins* from the Born Pretty Store. 

Born Pretty Store QA71 Stamping Plate Review

Hello my lovelies! I hope your week is going great. Today's post is all about stamping nail art. I've already shown you some stamping plates from the Born Pretty Store, so it's no secret that they carry some great quality plates that are very affordable. The one I'm showing you today is from the QA range and is perfect for people with larger nail beds. It looks like this. 

Born Pretty QA71 stamping plate (before removing the blue film)

Monday Blues: Essence Glorious Blue Sky

Hello my lovelies! Welcome to the Monday Blues of 2014! Today is the first Monday of the year, which means that it's the first Monday Blues post and my first day at work as a doctor. I'm sure most of you are also going back to work or school today, so I have a lovely shade of blue to brighten your mood. 

Essence Glorious Blue Sky indoors, artificial light

KBShimmer Iris My Case

Hello my lovelies and happy Sunday! I don't know about you but today is a bittersweet day for me because it's my last day of vacation. I'm gonna try not to think about it and focus on some blogging tasks instead. On Sundays we have to look at fun stuff, like bright colors and glitter. That's why I decided to post this particular polish today. 

KBShimmer Iris My Case indoors, artificial light

Golden Rose Rich Color 41 and Jolly Jewels 101

Hello my lovelies! I'm finally trying to post all the swatches I have on my computer and today I'm starting with some pictures that are over a month old. I have no idea why these remained unpublished until now. I guess there was always something else to write about. Anyway, I have two Golden Rose polishes to show you today. The first one is a lovely creme from the amazing Rich Color collection.

Golden Rose Rich Color 41 indoors, artificial light

December favorites and haul

Hello my lovelies! Happy new year! It's been a lazy couple of days for me again and I finally decided to work on a post again. A lot of people have done 2013 favorites in the last days, but I decided not to do them this year because it's really hard to select favorite manicures or polishes from over 200 posts. Instead I decided to treat December like any other month and do my roundup as usual. First up, it's favorite manicures. This month has been pretty awesome in terms of nail art because of the Christmas manicures. I managed to select just a few favorites although it was very hard. 

December favorites