Skulls Halloween Mani BM413

JORD wood watches gift card giveaway HERE!

I have a cool black and white Halloween mani for you today. I started with two coats of Milani Black Swift (my go to black creme and it dries fast!). I used Bundle Monster 413 to stamp sugar skulls, a skeleton and a little monster guy. I used sequins to make the eyes sparkle a bit more and add color. I'm pretty surprised at how well the white stamped over the black; I used Konad white stamping polish.

Don't forget to enter my JORD wood watch giveaway!

Halloween Witch Art BM H07

JORD wood watches gift card giveaway HERE!

Gah! I love Halloween! This mani is more of the cheery side of Halloween with its colorful glitter and fun witch essentials. I started with 2 coats of a white creme and then stamped the witches hat and boots from the Bundle Monster H07 plate. I like that the glitter has multi colored shreds but also lays flat and is dense enough to separate and easy to apply. Digging this combo!

Milani Charcoal Charm + BM 413,H06

check out the current giveaway HERE for a chance to win a gift card from JORD wood watches!

Another ghoulishly mani for Halloween! I started with two coats of Milani Charcoal Charm which is a fantastic dark graphite gray. I then stamped the scary pumpkin face and the sugar skull from Bundle Monster plates 413 and H06. I wanted to jazz it up a bit so I added orange rhinestones to the eyes of the jack o lantern face and purple rhinestones for the eyes on the sugar skull. Another simple yet fun and eye catching mani for Halloween!

SinfulColors Pumpkin Spice and BM H06

JORD wood watches gift card giveaway HERE!

 Halloween is so soon you guys! I thought I'd do a fun but simple mani for the occasion! I started with two coats of a white creme, one coat of Pumpkin Spice for that orange glitter factor. I then used stamped various scary pumpkins using the Bundle Monster  H06 plate. I love the way Pumpkin Spice adds to the theme without it being a solid orange. Pretty simple but still festive!

JORD Wood Watch Review and themed mani!

Hi Monkeys, I have a different type of review for you today... more of a fashion accessory review, and also a great holiday gift idea for men or women! Recently JORD wood watch company contacted me and extended the opportunity to review one of their timepieces. Amazing. Let me tell you a bit about the watches: made from natural (sustainable)  materials sourced from around the world, each piece is unique due to different grains in the wood. It's pretty much art on your wrist. I also did nail art to compliment the watch. 

The mani that I did for it was a bit of a new experiment. I did a sort of distressed wood look using Milani Silhouette and OPI Going My Way Or Norway? and stamped the watch from BMH14 and the trees from BM407. I also matted the distressed look with OPI's matte top coat. I really like how this turned out and matches the theme of the watch. 

I was sent the 94A model and here's some deets from their site:

• Hardened, Scratch-proof glass face: 26mm x 33mm
• Wood frame / bezel: 48mm x 42mm
• Band width: 26mm - 37mm transition design (5pc links)
• Lug ends: 42mm
• Stainless face
• Single action clasp
• 3-hand Citizen Miyota movement with date window
• Includes stained bamboo display box

Each JORD watch is designed to be splash proof but is not intended for complete submergence in water. Also note that due to the nature of the wood chosen for each unique timepiece, colors and grain pattern may vary from photos.

This one retails for $159 and in my opinion is well worth it for such a unique timepiece, plus that's affordable as far as higher quality watches are concerned. It's a win win. 

Finger Paints: Dream I Can Fly + BM H10

I have an Easter mani for you today! I used Finger Paints Dream I Can Fly which is a great minty blue creme (2 coats, great formula!) and stamped using Konad white polish and Bundle Monster plate BMH10... easter eggs, bunny, an egg with legs and a crown which I put cute blue flat round studs on the tips. it's cute, I like the large egg pattern but my favorite would have to be the chick and the eggs, it is easy to glance at it and know what the image is and what it stands for. All in all, a cute easy  mani for Easter!

OPI: Sheer Tints - St. Patty's Day Mani

Hi Monkeys, I have a St. Patty's Day Mani using the OPI Sheer Tints for you. The OPI Sheer Tints are top coats that are jelly like and add a bit of a squishy factor to your mani. 
I created a green beer inspired mani using I'm Never Amberrassed with I Can Teal You Like Me. 

I used the Bundle Monster holiday set for the stamps and then added gold glitter hexes on the pot of gold with a touch of the yellow tint on the clover. All this started with a base of OPI Alpine Snow. 

Here they all are over white and overlapped in pairs. 

There are 4 colors total and are layered in the following combos:
Index:  Be Magentale with Me, Don't Violet Me Down
Middle: Be Magentale, I Can Teal You Like Me
Ring: I’m Never Amberrassed, I Can Teal You Like Me
Little:  I'm Never Amberrassed, Be Magentale

You can see some over lap create better colors than others (note ring and little finger).

*press sample*

I Just Can't Cope-Acabana + BMH16

I'm loving this yellow from the OPI Brazil collection. I Just Can't Cope-Acabana melts on the nail in two perfect opaque coats but takes a bit longer to dry (see index finger oops!). I stamped using Milani White and the BM-H16 plate. They're all Valentine's Day candy hearts but I'd rock this mani anytime because when you use the yellow base, it doesn't look Valentine specific. Is everyone hung over on candy hearts this year?

Valentine's Gel Mani

Hi Monkeys, Happy Valentine's Day and... TGIF! I have my current mani for you today. I used IBD Whipped Cream for the white gel (love this and opaque in 2 coats with no spotting), and for the black I used Black Lava (this one is tricky, 3 thin coats is much better). I then used some cute kissy lip stamps and a hot pink from the NOPI Carrie Underwood collection to stamp. For my thumb and ring fingers, I tried something new- foil over the gel. I did a heart design with the glue adhesive, let it dry, then put the foil on and top coated it. I really like how shiny foils are and with gel over it, they stay for a long time. If this lasts for a week, then it's all worth the time and effort to take it off :)

Interlocking Mani- pink and black #NOPI

 I have an interlocking mani for you today! I started with a base of NOPI Something About Spring. I really love this cheery pink and it is a perfect hue to go with black stamping. I used BM 412. The image came out alot larger than I thought it would using my squishy stamper. I should have used a regular Konad stamper that doesn't flex and spread as much in order to get more of the design. Overall though, it's a cool look in passing and you can't go wrong with this pink and black combo.

Christmas Winter Challenge: Christmas Food (Gingerbread Men using GA41)

Mmm, gingerbread men... Happy December everyone! I used OPI Cajun Shrimp from the Take Ten mini set.. it's a great coraly red creme. Then I stamped gingerbread men twice, once using Milani Black Swift and then in a Milani Gold... My middle finger was stamped with black first and then gold... looks too confusing so I changed it and you can see the gingerbread men much better when the gold goes down first. My accent is just gold and doesn't stand out that much. This may be better with a more true darker red underneath but I like the layering of the same stamp. Everyone's manis after the jump!

Seriously love this mani. In my quest to recreate pinterest winter manis, I came across this one. I really love gray, white and glitter together. I am a huge fan of mixed media as I like to call it (really it's just mixed patterns and ways of nail art). I used quite a few polishes in this mani but here's the rundown:
Index- Zoya Dove, Middle\little- OPI Alpine Snow, Ring- London. The glitter is OPI Snowflakes in the Air  and I stamped with Essie No Place Like Chrome using the Bundle Monster Holiday plates. I forget where the snowman came from but he's stamped using Milani White On The Spot. Whew, lots of polishes in this mani but it's super cute and I love the Pixie Dust on my thumb and ring finger. Plus, I'm a sucker for a good gray, silver and white mani for the winter.

Zoya: Loredana and Savita Matte- with snowflakes

My Winter Giveaway!

I love these polishes. Zoya Loredana is a gray shimmery matte\suede and Savita has the same finish in a great medium purple. The bottom picture is in it's normal form. I then stamped showflakes using BM H01 and H02 using Milani White Swift (my go to white stamping polish). I then top coated that (picture of right), the top is without a top coat. Loved this mani but it only lasted a few hours. I wore a base coat and that pretty much killed the mani. Don't wear a base with suedes or mattes, they'll last longer!

Holly Mani: BM H04

Winter Giveaway!

Hi Monkeys, I have a Christmas inspired mani for you today. I started with a base of Zoya .
I then stamped using SinfulColors Gold Medal and the ornament and wreath images from Bundle Monster H03. I dabbed some Sooki on as holly berries. While I like the idea of this mani, the stamping completely gets lost on the dark background. If you look close enough, you will have no real problem noticing the holly part but it's pretty dark. Adding the holly berries helped a bit though. I do however, like the wreath in my little finger. Thoughts?

#33DC - Shapes

Today's challenge theme was "shapes". I have some more Lush Lacquers Polish Me Silly bottles sitting around untried so I grabbed one: Monster Mash. I did a coat of white followed by two coats of Monster Mash. MM is a pain to apply. I have a mini bottle and I had to fish out the bigger glitters with a toothpick. I think the mini bottle is too small for the large glitters. After fishing them out it was fine: large blue, lavender and green hex glitters and smaller blue, green and purple matte glitters. Love the combo, hate the formula. I then stamped with Bundle Monster plate 406 ... a very cute celtic knot heart in black for my challenge pattern. not too shabby.

#33 DC- Favorite Pattern - Drip Mani

Enter my current giveaway here!

Today's challenge theme was "your favorite pattern". I chose a drip mani but only because I like the way they looked and wanted to use my  new Bundle Monster plate with the drip on it :). I don't know if I'd commit to a drip mani being a favorite per se, but having the ability to stamp it helps me like it even more. I started with 2 coats of You Don't Know Jacques from OPI (included in the take ten mini set available now!). I stamped in white then added Piroutte My Whistle which is silver glitter in a clear base... and apparently doesn't show up that well over the drip whites... oh well. I like the drips from the cuticle best, plus it's easier to place when yous stamp versus backwards on the tip to the cuticle.
Be sure to check out everyone else's favorite patterns!

Circuit Board Nails- BM 415

Happy Sunday Monkeys! I have nerd nails for you today. I started with two coats of Zoya Suvi and topped it with a coat of Ozotic 505 but you really can't see the Ozotic. I then matted it using OPI Matte top coat and stamped with Milani Gold using the Bundle Monster 415 plates. Viola! Circuit board nails!

You can win this plate along with the entire Bundle Monster 4 series plate set by entering my nail art contest and or voting for your favorites, more details HERE!

#33DC - 3 Patterns (Sable Collar and BMh- 11\12)

Today's challenge theme was 3 patterns. I sort of cheated... sort of. I started with 2 coats of Essie Sable Collar which is a deep plum brown shimmer. I then used a gold Milani to stamp over it with Bundle Monster BM-H12 and H11 in three different pumpkin patterns. So ya, I used pumpkin as a pattern. It's fall and almost Thanksgiving so I think it's appropriate :) Be sure to peek at all the non-cheaters manis too!

Winter Nail Art Contest and Giveaway Info!!

Hey Monkeys! I'm hosting a winter nail art contest and a giveaway on the blog. You can participate by submitting nail art or just be a voter, there's 2 winners.. official page HERE when voting begins. In the meantime, submit a mani!

Submit your best winter nail art- it can be freehand, non-freehand, holiday or non-holiday, traditional or not- where ever your creativity takes you! Nail Art entries are due by November 27th, 5pm pacific time (email manicuredmonkey@gmail.com). I'll announce shortly after that when voting will begin (give me a day or so to get photos posted). 

There will be two winners: 1st winner will be the winning nail art participant (will have priority choosing prize).  2nd winner is someone who participated in voting (you can get multiple entries daily to increase your chances). Nail art participants can also vote daily for themselves. Prizes are shown below and I'll have an image with a direct link you can re-pin\tumblr\tweet when voting begins. Let the nail art commence! 

#33DC - Color You Own The Most Of...

Hi Monkeys! Today's challenge theme was the color I own the most of... purple of course. I did two coats of Color Club's Eternal Beauty- an amazing linear purple holo.. Top picture is in direct daylight bulb and the bottom is in my light box with diffused lighting. Even with the diffused lighting, you can still see the great holo come through. I stamped BM315 fish netting design using Milani Black Swift then added some fun silver and black pyramid studs. Not a huge fan of the studs because I like functional manis, but it looks cute. Be sure to look at everyone else who participated!