Kell's DIY Nails

China Glaze, Riveting. 2 coats. Happy Halloween y'all! There's one color that rules the day that I have yet to wear this month so here it is: Orange! I believe this to be the best orange polish to come out this year. It's from the Hunger Games, Capitol Colors collection that China Glaze released earlier this summer. Did this collection seem more fall than summer or what?!? I didn't purchase too many of the polishes from this particular collection; to be honest it was pretty boring for a summer release but I love orange and this was the clear winner from that collection. It is a very bright and true orange that is packed with orange and gold shimmer. Absolutely stunning; it glows from within and goes on super smooth. The 1st coat was a little sheer but the 2nd coat made is pretty opaque. I do see a little bit of visible nail line but nothing that bothers me. I did experience longer than usual drying time but it's worth it. I topped it off with a coat of Se

China Glaze, Ghoulish Glow. 2 coats over: China Glaze, Bizarre Blurple. 2 coats.  Bizarre Blurple   Ghoulish Glow  Photos in the dark are not my cameras strong suit. Read more after the jump...

I did 3 different nail looks for Jordana's Halloween Contest. Check them out: I'd say this is my kind of nail art... but I'm sure some would say this isn't art at all. Well, I'm not an 'artist' so this is the closest I can get to free hand art; a Jelly Sandwich (or 'Sammich' if you prefer). I don't know if they would accept stamping since it has to be your own design so I didn't go there. This Jelly Sandwich consists of 1 coat of Jordana's 955 Wicked, a sheer black jelly base with metallic orange micro glitter throughout. I then cracked open my Naild'It Custom Polish, Duck Call. Duck Call was made to satisfy my need for an Anaheim Ducks themed glitter bomb. Sadly, the NHL has suspended the season for the time being. So, heck with it, I'm using this glitter bomb for Halloween! I applied one coat (yes, all that glitter is just one medium coat, pure awesomeness) of Duck Call and then finished with one more coat of Wicked

Stamping with Sinful Colors, Black On Black. Bundle Monster plate BM-305 Base Colors:  China Glaze, Glitter Goblin  China Glaze, Roguish Red This is my Little Devil Mani - Inspired by my Shih tzu mix, Penny. Penny's 1st costume was a Devil costume (You can see it HERE ) because as a puppy I gave her the nickname 'Little Devil' or 'Devil Puppy'. She loved to get into mischief and make messes. Even to this day she will occasionally get into something she shouldn't. She's a free spirit and lives in the moment. Nikki, my other little dog, loves to tattle on her too. This stamping was a challenge for me. I messed up a few times before I ended up with this... and even this one is not great. Again, I made the mistake of not having a black stamping polish. But, fear not, I ordered some from eBay today after this workout. The devil's tail on my pinkie was the easier part. I struggled with the little guy on my middle nail. The hardest part was m

China Glaze, Glitter Goblin. 1 coat over: China Glaze, Roguish Red. 2 coats.  Roguish Red   Glitter Goblin  More after the jump...

Stamping with Essie, Size Matters Bundle Monster Plate BM-301 Base Color: Finger Paints, Military Green It was an overcast day and I had a hard time capturing my nail art. Disappointing because I really love how this came out. Both images are from Bundle Monster plate BM-301. I noticed this particular plate also has a stamp that looks to replicate the seran wrap mani technique so I've got a few ideas in my head to use it soon. I'm looking forward to taking my Certification Exams for H&R Block tomorrow with these nails; I'm sure I'll get a comment or two. ;-) Essie, Size Matters was the perfect red to use for this stamping project. A little darker than traditional reds - it makes the stamping pop against the army green of Finger Paints' Military Green. I've been going through a mental tug of war with Essie; as you might or might not know, Essie used to be a Cruelty-Free brand but when L'Oreal bought them it changed things because L'Or

Finger Paints, Military Green. 2 coats.  Sun   Overcast  This polish is from Finger Paint's 2011 Fall Collection. I have worn two other colors from this collection and I really enjoy them all; each one brings something different and unique. Of course they all have a neutral like quality to them which would explain why I like them so much. I'm a sucker for neutrals. You can see my posts of the other two colors here: Cordur-Orange Catwalk Queen The formula is great just like the other two... Buttery smooth and easy to apply. The brush works well to assist in application. The first coat went on nicely with just a few spots that needed a 2nd coat to be completely opaque. No issues with dragging but dry time did take a little longer than usual. It dried to a shiny smooth surface but it had a few bubbles so I added a coat of Seche Vite. I was lucky enough to score this from Sally's on clearance earlier this year; I'm pretty sure these are all gone by no

Stamping with Sinful Colors, Black On Black Bundle Monster Plate 323 Base Color: Jessica, Smoky Feather  Full Sun  More after the jump...

Jessica, Smoky Feather. 3 coats. Full Sun  More after the jump...

Revlon, Sparkle Aplenty. 2 coats. If Revlon releases a polish like this every fall they will make me a very happy girl. I love these. Especially the fact that they put matte white hexagons in this one!!! Wow, Revlon, you are stepping out of the mainstream and I like it! Sparkle Aplenty is a black jelly base with 3 different colors of hexagons: Black, Silver, and White. It also contains a good helping of small silver glitter. Formula wasn't bad for a chunky glitter. I didn't need to do anything tricky, just my typical application. If I got a spot with a little too much glitter piled up, I would just go over that spot again quickly to thin it out. Of course the consistency is thick in order to suspend the glitter in the base, but you get plenty of glitter payoff. The black base builds up nicely in 2 coats. You could also opt to layer it over a base color. It took a while to dry being a thicker consistency and required 3 coats of Seche Vite to smooth out the surface.

Cult Nails, Enigmatic. 3 coats. I have yet another pedicure selection for you... this one being the complete opposite of the last; a dark and mysterious color that is exactly as the name implies. Enigmatic : of, relating to, or resembling an enigma : mysterious . It's hard to say what color this is; is it burgundy? is it purple? It contains multicolored micro shimmer (heavy on pink) and also slightly larger silver glitter. Looking into it I think of galaxies and space.  The formula was a surprise; I never would have imagined this being a jelly! This helps to explain the depth and complexity of this polish. While the 1st coat went on sheer it was still jam packed with shimmer and glittery goodness. I am very tempted to try a jelly sandwich with this; I will have to find the right glitter though. Application was good; the brush fans out well on the nail and the jelly consistency is helpful. The only thing I noticed is that it was hard to get a good wrap on the tips. As you

China Glaze, Purple Panic (Neon). 3 coats. More after the jump...

a england, Tristam. 2 coats. More after the jump...

Darling Diva Polish, Queen of Hearts. 1 coat over: Sinful Colors, Blue By You. More after the jump...

Sinful Colors, Blue By You. 2 coats. This is everything I had hoped Zoya, Tart would be but after seeing some swatches it just didn't impress me. Jump to a day I was browsing through Walgreens and noticed that Sinful Colors were on sale for .99; I started looking carefully through the display. After 10 minutes I hadn't seen anything that jumped out at me so I wandered off to another area. 15 minutes later I found myself back at the Sinful Colors display (How odd... Ok, not really) this time somewhat hell bent on finding something interesting. I did. This. In the photo you can see a bit of visible nail line but it wasn't that obvious in real life. Not only are the green shimmery flakes stunning but the formula was killer too. It went on sooo nice. This photo shows it without top coat because I wanted to layer a glitter on top. However, I will seriously be wearing this again by itself. It also dried pretty quickly and to a satin finish as you can see. No staining eithe

Stamping with NYC Long Wearing Nail Enamel in Charming Rose Creme (126). Bundle Monster Plate BM-315 Base Color: Daring Digits, Girl's Night Out NYC's Charming Rose Creme is definitely not a creme, more like a frost. Aside from the inaccurate name of this polish, I think this would be a good stamping polish although it doesn't really pop against Daring Digits, Girl's Night Out. This is a double stamp because one stamp was hardly noticeable so I stamped again on top of the first stamp and amazingly it came out pretty good. My stamping is continuing to improve and it is taking me significantly less time every time I do it. I haven't found my sweet spot just yet but I think it's getting there.