Apparently it's getting to be that time of the year when folks in the U.S. are thinking about fireworks, freedom, and hot dogs.  That's right.  The 4th of July is almost here!  

This is three coats of Misa Heaven White.  I was really digging it on its own.  It was strangely chic, clean, and comforting.  The application was a bit of a chore, just in trying to make sure everything was even and smooth. 

Now on to the fun stuff!  You fine folks have not seen any of my Konad skills as of yet.  I have not had my Konad Stamping Nail Art for very long, but quickly learned to love and appreciate its awesomeness.  I'm still learning as I go, picking up tips and tricks along the way.  

I used Konad Special polishes in red and blue.  The fireworks design, which I think is actually supposed to be rain, is from plate M8.  The placement on this one was slightly tricky for me.  

The index finger has the firework coming off the side while all the other fingers have it coming out from the base of my nail.  Oops.  I'm okay with it, though.  

I apologize for some of the pictures being out of focus.  I was having a hard time getting my camera to cooperate with me tonight!

Oh yes!  And then I added stars with plate m11.

I didn't take any pictures before the JUNK, but it was kind of too crisp and was crying out for shiny sparkles, "Help me!  I need Bllliiiiinnngg!"

After all, fireworks are all about pizazz.  I love my BB Couture for Nails Hollywood Junk.  Just one coat and POW!  I can almost smell the burning chemicals.

This was a lot of work and a ton of fun.  Totally worth it.  The only thing that could have made it better, in my weirdo opinion, is if the base of Hollywood Junk was totally clear.  It's a champagne color and shows slightly peachy-pinky odd against the white.  Not a big deal.

I did experiment with trying to stamp on some silver holo stars using China Glaze OMG, but it was a total no-go.  I could only just barely see it.  

I'm going to have some more fun with an Independence Day theme this week, so definitely come back to see more red-white-blue-and-bling manis!

 

P.S.  If you noticed my little lady up top, well, I just want you to know that I'm still working out my format here and am trying to find a good way to incorporate her into this blog.  I will probably end up changing my template and layout soon.  Thanks for the suggestion, Joan!  :)

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Hi!  I hope you've had a fun weekend.  Mine was pretty nice.  I went to The Cheesecake Factory with my parents and hubby (mega yum), took the dogs to the dog park, hung out in the pool with Sid, watched a movie, and work was pretty good today.  I also scored some great deals at Walgreens after work today.  I get all excited with those "you saved blah blah so much money" things near the bottom of the receipt.  Supposedly I saved thirty some bucks, so that's pretty sweet.  Nail polish was involved, too!  I got Three new Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear glitters and two new L'Oreal bright colors.  

Last night I did my mani/pedi.  I have Color Club 220 Volts with China Glaze Wireless Holographic Topcoat on my toes.  220 Volts is a lovely bright blue neon.  And as you may have already guessed, I'm sporting Nubar Greener on my tips.  I also topped it with the Wireless holo topcoat.

Obviously the last picture is a little blurry, but in a way it kind of shows off the sparkliness of the holo topcoat.  I apologize that my cuticles look a little pink.  It might be because I was feeling lazy about using proper remover and decided to just quickly (and carefully!) nip them.  Then again, they may just *look* more pink than usual because they are starkly contrasted next to the vivid green of the polish.  Green is opposite to red on the color wheel, thus one color bringing out the other.  That's entirely possible.  

I'm really pleased with this mani because it survived a busy day at work and normally I experience some kind of damaging wear when I work (scratches, chips, dulling).  They still look almost perfect!  The Poshe topcoat was trying to shrink back on me - you can probably tell in the pictures, but I wrapped it around the edge of the nail and it kept everything well enough in place.  I'm still experimenting with my various quick drying topcoats to see if I can find a fool-proof technique!  I love that the Poshe feels very strong and hard and also looks super shiny and glassy.  It usually dries very quickly for me, too.  I'm not thrilled that it's quite thick going on, but I could probably stand to thin it out a bit.  

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Hello and happy Friday to everyone!  I have even more pictures of the delightful dual holo mani for you!  This is two coats of China Glaze OMG, a smooth and dreamy silver holographic.  Then I applied one coat of Color Club Magic Attraction, which is a glitter polish loaded with little holo glitter and what appears to be a few other shiny-colored glitter chunks (there is definitely a reddish-copper in there).

This is in the full sun.  I think the sparkleness gets a bit lost in translation!

If I look close while slowly moving my fingers, I can still see the OMG holoness underneath!  Sweet!

I'm going to have to put Magic Attraction on top of other polishes to see how much color will pull through.

You'll have to forgive me for the wee sore spot on my index finger.  It's healing up but I rather viciously attacked my poor fingers the other night after a very stressful shift at work.  I should probably get a squishy ball so my skin doesn't have to suffer!

 

Speaking of cuticles!  I really love my Poshe Cuticle Care AHA Cuticle Revitalizer!  I've also been using a cuticle removing gel once or twice a week, which definitely helps.  I sometimes use my Kiehl's Imperiale Moisturizing Cuticle Treatment, too.  It's pretty thick and heavy, though, so I only use it before bed.  I'm not affiliated with any of these companies, in case you wonder.

I hope you have a lovely Friday and stay tuned for more nail polish excitement!

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It's time to holla if you love the holo!  HOLLA!!!  I'm going to go ahead and clear the air by saying that I - love - holographic - nail - polishes.  I do.  It's kind of like I'm a raccoon who's drawn to shiny little metal trinkets...only I'm drawn to shiny holo polishes and I guess I'm not a raccoon.  Yeah.  They are very smart, though!!  

China Glaze OMG.  Two coats.

I don't like to take pictures indoors after the sun has gone down.  I feel like I can never accurately capture the coolness of the colors!  Maybe it's my camera.  

I think this technique worked out decently, though.  

Feel free to leave me a comment if you have advice on this!

I added Color Club Magic Attraction, which might just be my single favorite polish (ya know, if someone put a gun to my head and made me choose one).  Why would someone do that?!

It's like a million mirrors reflecting rainbows!

It's definitely 1000 times more spectacular in person.

I was kind of playing around with this one.  Just being artsy.

If a polish should ever be worth say more than $20, this one should.  I'm really happy that I only paid $2.50.  What a deal!

I hope you like this combination.  I'm seriously, crazily happy about it!  

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It's Thursday, how about some duochromed blueish, purplish, pinkish shimmah?  I got some polishes in the mail yesterday, so I have lots of new things to try out.  This first one is by Toma, and it's called Heavenly Body.  I did two coats and it gave me a few little bubbles.

I couldn't just let it be, so I added on a coat of OPI Designer Series Royal.  It's just fabulous, I have to say.  I luuuurrve it for layering!

This is shaded natural lighting outdoors. 

Check out those tiny blue flecks of shimmah!  

It's outta control sparkly and shiny in the hot summer sun!

Just try and ignore the tiny bubbles.  :(

I think I might need to buy a backup bottle!!

I'm trying out some new products in my mani process, too.  China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifier and Poshe Super-Fast Drying Basecoat.  I did the calcium gel first, then the base, three coats of polish, another coat of base, and topped it with Poshe Super-Fast Drying Topcoat.  I'll try and let you know how it wears.  I'm still searching for that perfect combination!  

I hope you have a shimmahrific Thursday!  

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I have to thank my husband for pushing me over the edge in getting this started.  Thanks!  I've been so inspired by other blogs about nail polish that I got this crazy idea that maybe I could have one, too.  I don't expect it to be nearly as cool as other nail blogs, but hey, it's mine, and I hope you like it!  

Enough talk!  More polish!

Here we have the oh so vampylicious-hot-sexy Hard Candy Vinyl.  I heard the angels singing when I applied this!

I decided to add some flakie goodness, on the order of Nfu-Oh #50, and it turned out pretty well!  I also heard the angels singing as I applied the flakies on top of Vinyl.  Really!!

What do you think?  I have to say that so far the pictures seem more amazing than the nails do in real life.  Totally weird.  

I hope you enjoyed the pictures and I look forward to sharing much more polish excitement with you in the near future!  :)  

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