China Glaze: The Hunger Games-Stone Cold

Gabbz here :)

Keeping with the whole Hunger Games theme, today I have a China Glaze polish from the Capitol Colors Collection. This collection consists of 12 polishes, each color corresponding each district in The Hinger Games.I promised myself that I was only going to purchase colors I "needed" and will actually wear lol.

So from this collection I purchased 5 out of the 12 colors. Today I will show you Stone Cold. Stone cold represents district 2, the masonry/stone mining district. Which I think this color if very fitting.

Stone Cold has a matte polish. I was a little iffy about getting this color because it was matte but you can always use a topcoat and make it glossy. Stone Cold is a very dark/charcoal gray with medium sized silver glitter. I did find that it went on a little patchy at first. I think maybe I was waiting to long to apply it because it seemed to be drying and would drag. But it that can also be that I had my ceiling fan on the whole time...oopsie. Other than that it's a very nice polish. I thought it would be rough for some reason but it wasn't, it was very smooth.

Let's get on with the pictures!

Here's 1 coat of Stone cold. Over 1 coat of China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat.

In the picture above you can see some of the patchiness I was referring to, especial in the pinky nail

This picture is 2 coats. No patchiness :)

Here it is with flash. I'm very happy I purchased this color. Especially since it's a matte finish. I'm all about the sparkle and shine, but I love it.
(indoors w/flash)

Without flash but under a lamp

I was trying to show the matte finish.

And of course I had to add a topcoat
Here it is again with the flash

Take a look at the closeup shot taken under the lamp. I love that when you add the topcoat the silver glitter pops. It even made the polish look black than a charcoal gray.

Here's the finished look :)

So what do you think? Did any of you pick up any of the China Glaze Capitol colors? If so, which one is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.

Feather Mani

Hello all Gabbz here....

I know it's been too long since my last post and for that I am sorry. I've just been too lazy and not really inspired but I tried something new and I just had to share it wall you all.

Kourtney was the one that actually told me that she wanted to buy feathers for a manicure she wanted to try. So she went to Hobby Lobby(craft store) and purchased a pack a feathers for herself and because she's an awesome friend, she bought one for me too :)

She did the mani and it came out great but hers only lasted a day, if that. Let's just say she was not very happy lol. The feathers were pealing right off that same night when we went to the store. Let's just say she was not very happy with that lol.

We were headed to the midnight premiere of Breaking Dawn and I had to figure out what to do with my nails, then it hit me. Now, if you're a fan of Twilight like Kourt and I, then you've read the books and by now have seen the movie. Then you know that there is a very important scene that involves feathers. So of course I had to use the feathers to create a look for the premiere.

I had an idea of how to achieve this look but I logged on to youtube.com and searched for feather manicures and found one. You can click here and skip to 2:46 of the video to watch the tutorial. It's really easy to do but kinda messy. FYI....don't do this with a (ceiling) fan on, feather bits everywhere lol.

Enough chatter, on with the pics....

Here's the package Kourt got, sorry I tore off the label
but you can find these at any craft store.

Sorry forgot to take a pic of my base color that day so I'm using an
existing picture.

I used 2 coats of China Glaze Pink Voltage

Here it is again. I love this color...It's soooo bright

Then with the pink feathers over Shocking Pink

Just for fun, I decided to use the green feathers yesterday. I should of used a lighter color as a base but I was wearing the color below already and wanted to spice it up lol

For the look below I used 2 coats of Zoya Freja. I got this color in one of Zoya's promos. If you don't already have a Zoya account,what are you waiting for, do that NOW!! lol They always run great buy 1 get 1 free or buy 2 get 1 free, etc...etc and the polishes are great.

Freja is a really pretty dark gray, hmm a gunmetal color I should say. If you look closely, you can see it has like super fine teal and silver shimmer in it. I tried to capture that in the pictures, but I failed :(

2 Coats of Zoya Freja w/1 coat Seche Vite

Closer look of Freja w/flash

Then with the green feathers overtop

I will say though, I didn't use Seche Vite to adhere the feathers to the nail, I used Sally Hansen Hard as Nails UV Top Coat. After the SH dried, I used like 3 thick coats of Seche Vite. You don't have to use the same top coats I used nor the same amount. I just did 3 because the feathers made my nails feel gritty and I didn't like that. Another thing is that Kourt didn't use Seche Vite to finish the look and hers peeled right off and my pink feather mani lasted a whole week, no chipping nor peeling.

So I hope you liked this look. Let me know what you think in comments below :)

Hello Kitty Mani

Hey everyone! Kourt here...Sorry it's been a minute since I posted last. I went back to work for the first time in 6 months and I'm trying to adjust haha...So for Halloween I was Hello Kitty and of course had to do a Hello Kitty themed mani to go with my costume...This will be a quick post...

I had a bottle of Confetti's White Wedding which is just a creamy white and super affordable! It didn't apply as well as I wanted it to but I ended up putting a coat of Orchid's Bedazzled (pretty pink micro glitter) on top and it hid the imperfections. Sidenote - Orchid's polish is awesome and it's another very affordable brand. If I could I would putthis pinky glitter on top of every mani I did.

I had some Hello Kitty stickers that I got for free from BornPrettyStore when they were running a free promo so I used the bows to put in the corner of the nails.

Not much to the mani, it was simple and quick but I wore it a week because I loved it so much!

Alrighty I started off with China Glaze Base Coat, Confetti White Wedding, Orchid Bedazzled and follwed buy CHI top coat. And of course the Hello Kitty nail stickers :)

Just for fun I'll add pics of my costume :) My mom made the bow headband for me.

Rawr!!!!!!!

I had to add this because this is my 1 year old niece and she and I almost had the same skirt and I'm 27 hahaha She is too cute for words and brightens my day :)

So did any of ya'll do a Halloween Mani??? If so comment below because I'd love to see them!!!!

Kourt OUT!!!

Breast Cancer Awareness Manicure

Hello Lovelies

Today I have two manis to show you for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The first one will be the one I did on my Mom's nails and of course the other will be the one I did on myself.

First let me tell you that I desperately needed a new bottle of Seche Vite Top Coat so my mom and I ventured out to the nearest Sally's to get one. She immediately went towards the Breast Cancer section and saw this set.

This set I believe was $8.99 which was a great deal. The Seche Vite Top coat alone retails for $6.99 or $7.99 w/out using the beauty club card. So for a couple dollars more not only did I get the Dry Fast Top coat, I also got a China Glaze polish in Go Go Pink and a really pretty guardian angel key chain.

China Glaze Go Go Pink is a pretty creme finish, milky pink polish. For my look I used 1 coat of Go Go Pink and it was streaky so, 2 coats would of made it more opaque and not streaky.

For the month of October, my Mom's job has Pink Friday's for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. They are all encouraged to wear pink to show support and because she didn't have a pink shirt to wear she asked me to do her nails for the occasion.

For Mom's look I used Seche Plus fortified strengthener as a base coat,
Go Go Pink, Zoya Aareej, Orchid lacquer in Bedazzled!
and Seche Vite Top Coat

I also used a 18/0 Loew-Cornell 7650 Spotter Brush that I got
at Michael's to draw with

Here is the mani I did on her nails...

2 coats of Go Go Pink and Aareej for the french tip.
Used the Spotter brush to draw the Pink Ribbon
on accent nail also with Aarej. Then I topped it all off
with a coat of Bedazzled! and Seche Vite

At my job, we have Pink Wednesday's but I apparently didn't read the memo and missed it last week but I still wanted to show my support. So I decided to do a water marble mani. You can click here to see my previous post on a water marble mani.

For my look I used Seche Plus, China Glaze Go Go Pink & Limbo Bimbo,
Orchid Bedazzled! Seche Vite Top Coat and
The Spotter Brush

Here's 1 coat of Go Go Pink Under Seche Plus

For the water marble I used Go Go Pink
and Limbo Bimbo

(yes the index finger above and below look
different because I dinged it really bad :( and had to redo it)

Then I topped it off with 1 coat
of Bedazzled!

Then I decided I wanted to have the Pink Ribbon on an accent nail
so I took off the water marble on the ring finger
and used 2 coats of Go Go Pink instead

Using the spotter brush I drew on the Ribbon with Limbo Bimbo

And Lastly topped accent nail with Bedazzled! and
1 coat of Seche Vite over all nails.

So what do you think? I know this was a long and picture heavy post, but it's to show support for a great cause. I think I might do 1 or 2 more Breast Cancer Awareness looks especially since my mom's already asking me what I'm going to do for her nails this week lol.

I just want to dedicate this look and any future Breast Cancer Awarness looks I do this month to my Tia Rosy and my Mom's co-worker and friend Mona who are both Breast Cancer survivors <3 And of course to all the women (and some men) who have lost the battle to breast cancer, who are still fighting strong and to all that have survived.

Kourt wanted to add a dedication to E!'s Guiliana Rancik who found out this week she is in stage 1 of breast cancer. Not only has she had to battle miscarraiges and trouble conceiving a child w/ her husband, now she has to battle The Big C. Our thoughts and prayers are with you! Also just a dedication to my Grandmother who lost her battle w/ breast cancer in 1995. I love you always Grandma Georgia!

China Glaze Tronica - Hyper Haute

Hey lovelies, Gabbz here,

Sorry I've been MIA, I just didn't wanna take off my "say yes to the dress" mani. I just really liked it. Plus it hadn't chipped, so I didn't feel the need to change my polish lol. But after a week, I just thought I would to try a polish I haven't really worn and had been sitting patiently for me to use it.

I bring to you Hyper Haute from the China Glaze Tronica collection. This collection had 12 holographic nail polishes and I ended up picking this one and 3 others (I wish I had picked a couple other colors.) I'm sorry to say that this was a limited edition collection that came out earlier  this year. You might be able to find this collection on-line through e-tailers but I'm not sure. Back to Hyper Haute. It's a really pretty dark pink, kind of like a raspberry color that of course has this amazing holographic shimmer in it.

But I'll let you see for yourself........

Inside with flash

China Glaze Base coat and 2 coats Hyper Haute
and 1 coat Seche Vite

Outiside in direct sun w/out flash

In direct sun with flash

I wish you guys could see the holographic goodness on these pictures. This was my first holographic polish and I love the color, not just because it's pink, well maybe lol. And I've seen on-line that other brands have better holo polishes than these, but I really like this collection.  Do you have any polishes from the Tronica collection? If so, which color is your favorite?

The Rachel Zoe Project

Hey everyone! Kourt here :) So tonight was the start of the new season of The Rachel Zoe Project and let me tell you I am very excited! I love everything about Rachel Zoe and if I had a dream job it would be hers (or just to be her assistant would be amazing to me.) I'm all about dressing people and since I am limited to what I can wear due to my Spina Bifida, I like to live vicariously through other people (just ask my friend Amy LOL.)

If you aren't familiar with Rachel Zoe she is a stylist to the stars. She dresses people like Cameron Diaz, Anne Hathaway, Molly Sims and the list could go on and on. If you watch her show you'll notice she has a few catch phrases like "I'd die" or my favorite "That's B-A-N-A-N-A-S" LOL So using that catch phrase I decided to do a mani that would honor her famous saying. Let me just say I've been sick all day with a migraine so I just did the mani on a nail wheel so I wouldn't make my migraine worse.

I used China Glaze base coat, Zoya Raven, Sally Hansen Lightening, Kiss nail art pen, finished off with CHI top coat.

So again I am not feeling well and my hands were shakey so I did my best (Insert Dane Cook "I did my best" skit here.)

So do any of you watch The Rachel Zoe Project? I love it and I'm excited to see Rachel Zoe become a mommy :) You can watch The Rachel Zoe Project Tuesdays on Bravo 10/9c. So I'm going to leave you with a video of my girl Rachel Zoe :)

Bad Girls Club

Hello Lovelies Gabbz here,

So Monday's are a fun night because we both like to watch BaaaBad Girls lol. Let me tell you, the girls on this show are a hot mess, but it is fun to watch all there crazy shenanigans. The basis is that it's a reality show and they get 7 self proclaimed "bad girls" to live in a house and have their lives taped...wait that's Real World lol. This season all the women were put in a mansion in New Orleans and it's been a crazy season so far. This is how it's described on oxygen.com "Bad Girls Club New Orleans" brings drama to a new level with a cast of young women who are powerfully bold, outrageously funny and endlessly entertaining. The series brings seven new 'bad girls' together in a house where the women recognize that their outrageous behavior has hindered their relationships, careers and lives. They claim they want to change, but will living together help them move forward and turn their lives around - or will chaos rule? Bad Girls Club can be seen every Monday @ 9/8c on Oxygen.

Whenever I think of an edgy manicure I automatically think of black and since the logo of the show is pink, I decided to pair those two colors together. I first applied my China Glaze Base coat then I used a new black polish I recently bought from Wet 'n' Wild in Black Creme. I then topped off all nails but ring finger with China Glaze Crackle polish in Broken Hearted. Of course I had to incorporate the logo. I drew it free hand on my accent nail with LA Colors Art Deco striper polish in Intense Pink. Finally, I topped off all my nails with 1 coat of Seche Vite.

Here is the look...inside with flash

1 coat of Black Creme

Here with Broken Hearted and
Bad Girl's logo on accent nail

If you have watched passed seasons of Bad Girls club, which season is your favorite of them all? Maybe you have a favorite Bad girl? I know we all have a little bit of a bad girl side, which one do you relate to some or alot too? Tell us in the comments below.

SPARITUAL Running with Wolves + China Glaze Tarnished Gold Crackle

Hey guys Gabbz here,

Sorry It's been sooooo long since my last post.

It's been a crazy couple weeks.

Today I bring to you a very beautiful color from SPARITUAL. The color I will be showcasing is called Running with wolves. This color is from one of there new collections coming out fall 2011. It's a really pretty copper color. Reminds me of a penny. I can't tell you how many compliments I got. My mom already said it's going in her collection lol

Onto the pics.....

Inside with flash

I used 1 coat China Glaze Base Coat, 2 Coats Running with Wolves

and 1 coat Seche Vite Top Coat

This is such a nice color and you can honestly get away

with just applying 1 coat.

Then I just got my new China Glaze Metal Glaze polishes

and wanted to apply some over this

Here I used China Glaze Tarnished Gold Metal Crackle

The above picture is without a top coat

The below picture is with 1 coat of Seche Vite

So what do you think? This was my first time using SPARITUAL and I loved the polish. There will be more from them in the future. I really like how it looked with the crackle over it, then again I'm a big fan of the shatter/crackle trend. I did get all but the silver crackles and will feature those later as well. So have you tried any of the metal crackles? If so, what's your favorite combo?

***SPARITUAL was sent for possible review, all opinions are my own. Please read our disclosure policy for more info***

Neon Rainbow Leopard Mani

Gabbz here,

For today's post I wanted to recreate a mani that I saw a long time ago on youtube. I really like watching videos on youtube from different people to get inspiration. It can be watching makeup videos and of course nail related videos lol.

The mani I will be recreating today is from a guru on youtube by the name sayanythingbrooke. I really like watching her videos. The tutorials she makes are pretty and easy to do. If you would like to see it done step by step you can click here to see her tutorial .

I didn't use the same colors Brooke used and you don't have to either. You can use the colors you love and can use as many colors you want too.


So lets get on to my version...

These are the polished I used to recreate the look

China Glaze Purple Panic and Pink Voltage,
Sinful Colors in Irish Green & Neon Melon,
China Glaze Base coat & Seche Vite Top Coat

To stamp the image I used this C-1 black polish
Konad Image Plate M57
and the Konad scraper and double ended stamper


Here's what it looked like before the image was stamped on

I used 2 coats of each color and I 1 coat of Seche Vite

And again, here is the finished look

Once the image was stamped I used 1 coat of Seche Vite
to seal the look

So there you have it. What do you think? What colors would you have used? Do you Konad, or maybe you use another brand of image plates? If so, what your favorite image plate? Leave your comments below :)