Kell's DIY Nails

Hey, Guys! On Tuesday I saw Motley Crüe for their Final Tour and I'm still dragging ass! Fun but exhausting! My nails were pretty basic; I didn't have time to do anything more. I started with a base color of Zoya, Raven , a nice black with very fine silver shimmer (sorry, no photo of Raven). I used one medium coat and I had a few sheer spots but for this mani it wasn't an issue. Two thin coats would have been ideal. Good formula and easy to apply. After Raven was dry I added one coat of Orly, Space Cadet . I've been waiting for the perfect time to wear this... and this was it. I love the metallic oil slick look! Formula was super easy to apply. I also applied Illamasqua's UV Glow Top Coat, Geist , because Michaela suggested it but it turned out there weren't any black lights at the concert. Just had to do 'Devil Horns'! Sorry about the tip wear in the photos but it took me 2 days to take photos. Here's a quick 60 second clip of the open...

I no longer say 'Happy Memorial Day' because I had a vet tell me he hatred it when people said that. He didn't know why anyone would be happy on a day that honors those who perished in battle to protect our freedoms. That makes since. It really shouldn't be a 'Happy' day but a day of rememberance and respect. It's a Memorial, not a BBQ or pool party. But that's how most people view it; it's an excuse to get an extra day off and to have fun. To be honest I too used to see it that way. You don't know until someone educates you. So, now, I simply have a moment of silence and prayer for our fallen. I think hard about the ultimate sacrifice they (and their families) made. So, yeah, no Happy Memorial Day over here; instead I give thanks to those who have served and put my life above their own. It's tradition for my hubby and I to go out camping with our Uncle Jimmy (Special Forces, Navy) and his military brothers. We drive out to Death Valley in a ...

Week 4 of the Polish Swap Society 's Nail Art Challenge is a heart-themed spring mani using this tutorial.  These little hearts are harder than the video looks; at first I was concerned because I don't have a nail art brush like the one used in the video (flat with a pointed tip) but then I remembered I had my mom's box of acrylic paints with a bunch of paint brushes. I quickly found one quite similar.  I then had the daunting task of choosing my colors. I've been dying to wear orange lately so I knew I was starting with an orange. I also had Orly's Starburst from the Galaxy FX collection which has orange glitter in it. My vision was coming together. I knew I wanted to go with white dots but what color should the hearts be? I didn't want pink or purple, nor black. After staring at my colors for a bit I had an idea to go with peach and yellow.  I painted my ring, middle, and thumb with a base color of Barielle, Fire Me Up  from the Vibrants Collection . I love t...

Pardon me as I whip this out... I'm tired and I have a Sweet Red Wine chilling in the fridge that's calling my name. Illamasqua's Nudge was originally released in Spring of 2010; it was called a mint green but it leans more aqua than mint. I don't have anything that leans this far blue. It's also got more white in its base than anything else I own. It's bright and cheeky. Wet n Wild's I Need a Refresh-Mint , Barielle's Money Talks , and China Glaze's For Audrey are all greener and significantly darker. The formula wasn't my favorite sadly. The consistency was a bit thick, streaky, and drying time was quite long. I managed to get away with 2 coats but some may find they need 3. You can see in my photos I experienced some bubbling as well. I think the color is unique but with the formula not up to par I won't be reaching for this again. (Nudge is no longer available through Illamasqua but you could probably find it on eBay or a Stash Sale) For...

Illamasqua, Gamma. 3 coats. Blurry; shows accurate color. I love orange; especially bright neon orange (actually, I love most all shades of orange). One orange I used to highly covet was Essie's Bright Tights. The formula was a pain in the butt but the intensity of the neon was so good you just forgave the bad formula. That is until I found Gamma. I actually like this shade of neon orange better than the Essie. Gamma is maybe a tinge lighter but more saturated with color. Of course I did have to use 3 coats but the formula was still much easier to work with; the brushes are excellent and the color flows evenly onto the nail. This does dry to a satin or waxy finish; I actually liked it that way but I wanted some added durability so I added a coat of Gelous & then Seche Vite. Dry time was excellent due to the satin/wax finish. I love that about matte/satin/wax finish polishes. At 3 coats I could still see a little bit of visible nail line but it wasn't enough to bo...