The Snowzilla Polarpocalypse Mani

Baby, it's cold outside! Since I live in Los Angeles, I'm blissfully unaffected by the POLAR VORTEX that's been pillaging the U.S. I do, however, have lots of friends and family who are dealing with The Polarpocalypse, and all the pictures of snow floating around the The Gram and FB have put me in the mood for a white mani.

This was a very easy manicure to do. I began with two coats of OPI Alpine Snow (so aptly named) and let it dry. Once the polish was mostly set, I applied the Swarovski crystal stickers I'd been hoarding.

What's cool about this product is that the sticker itself is completely clear, and it holds the crystals in place so you don't need to spend time painstakingly placing the gems on your nails. The other nice thing is that there's a little chart included to recommend which sticker goes with which nail. You could go rogue and pavé your own way (ha), but I stuck with their suggestion (hahaha).

Next, I put on a nice thick layer of Seche Vite, being sure to coat the edges on the stickers to make them better seal to my nails. Anything to avoid the dreaded "hair-catching" syndrome.

This is a great manicure for a special event or party-filled weekend, but be warned: it's not very long-lasting. Despite my best efforts to seal the deal with Seche Vite, the stickers did begin to come off by Day 4 and by the end of Day 5, the polish was not looking so pretty. But it was fun while it lasted!

snowin'ballistic, Francesca

P.S. Want MOAR white mani ideas? Check out these posts:

Funfetti Glitter Mani

Sparkling Snow Globe Manicure

The Trés Chic Upside-Down French Mani

Red, White, Blue Is In the Sky

Ladies & Gents, For those of us here in the United States, it's a big day. Election Day.

Please make every effort you can to get out there and vote. There are countless reasons why, but the most important is this: the outcome of this election will, without a doubt, impact you directly.

Take the time to do your part so that, when results are revealed, you can take pride (or take solace) in the fact that you voted for the choices you believe in, the platforms you support, and the men you trust to lead our nation.

What happens after you cast your ballot is what we call democracy. Or computer hacking. J/k, j/k. (?) Take what control you have, and use it!

And now, some patriotic suggestions for you:

sweetlandofliberty, Francesca

Manicure Mania, Pt. V: Neon Ombré

Sometimes you save the best for last.

We love ombré. We love neon. So why not put them together? Like two A-list celebrities who pair up to become an A+ couple, neon and ombre's powers combine to become exponentially more awesome!

My idea came from this ubiquitous Pinterest pin; I'm sure you have seen it.

I wanted to roll with the idea but clean it up a bit; make a more definitive neon spectrum. I tested my neons on a discarded piece of snail mail and developed the perfect order.

I knew I wanted my manicure to be as jaw-droppingly neon as possible, so I painted two coats of OPI Alpine Snow as a base. Then, I painted like so:

Then, I got over eager and was anxious to start my clean-up. And in doing so, I hit my right index finger on the edge of the counter and made a huge scrape. I stared at my nail in horror — what to do, what to do! Start that nail all over again? Or... disguise this boo boo?

I remembered I had some small holographic golden stars lying around in my Stash somewhere. If I arranged them in a charming way, it might work.

I think my mini-constellation added some character!

haveablindinglybrightweekend, Francesca

P.S. Special shout out (and sincere thank you) to Weston for designing my Mani Mania headers this whole week. xx

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EdmHSTwmWY]

Manicure Mania, Pt. II : A Tribute to Sweet Pea

You may remember this post about Mademoiselle Marie's awesome pastel manicure, during which I fell in love with a peacock lamp from Etsy. And, in fact, one of you encouraged me to splurge. (Megan, you devil.)

When it comes to apartment accessories, is there anything more essential than a vintage, opalescent, peacock-shaped lamp complete with a rainbow Lite-Brite tail?

The answer was obvious. I needed this lamp.

To celebrate my purchase investment, I created a manicure inspired by none other than Sweet Pea herself.

I used OPI Alpine Snow as a base, topped with two coats of an opalescent, sheer color. Then, when my nails were dry, I painted the tips of my nails with clear and dipped them into some glitter from Bath & Body Works that I've had since, no joke, 1999. The last time I wore it was at Dave Matthews Band concert. (LOL.) A thick coat of Seche Vite sealed the deal.

dedicatedtomypreciousSweetPea, Francesca

The Cloud Manicure

Spring is here and I'm in the mood for some pastels. Here’s a DIY manicure that’s as easy as can be — and you're sure to be showered with compliments. ;)

This is The Cloud Manicure, inspired by Jane over at Nailside (love that Jane).

I wanted to make this as cloud-like as possible, so I picked a light blue for my background. I gave my white fluffy clouds a silver lining and sealed the deal with a shiny, thick top coat.

Check out Nailside for the tutorial! Jane’s done ombré clouds (several shades of gray) and I'm thinking neons would look awesome, too. It really is the easiest artistic manicure I’ve done yet, and it was a huge hit! For you creative types out there, an "April Showers Bring May Flowers" theme is easy to imagine, isn't it?

oncloudnine, GLOSS

P.S. My favorite band ever? a-Ha. They've got a hot track from the 80s called "Blue Sky" and if you expected me to ignore that happy coincidence and fail to include a link to the song at the end of this post... think again!

Enjoooooy.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-36ijwAQUs]