Ciaté Mini Mani #1 — Cupcake Queen

Now I know that when I posted about my gorgeous Ciaté Mini Mani Month box, I claimed I'd do a manicure a day... Welp. That obviously hasn't happened — but wait, there's a reason, I swear!

It's because the colors have been on the demure side. Don't get me wrong, I love a good pink or bordeaux, but I've been in the mood for some unusual nail colors and none of the mini bottles have been getting my wheels a-turning, aside from Numero Uno.

The first bottle to be revealed was Cupcake Queen, a bright magenta with (gasp) a violet sheen. It was totally late 80s. I think Barbie may have had a Corvette or two like this. It didn't scream sophistication, to be sure. Cupcake Queen? Maybe. But think Hostess, not Sprinkles.

And yet the pink looked bright enough for a look I'd been meaning to try — freehand leopard spots! I was inspired by this page in a Sephora catalog that I've been hoarding for a year and a half. /wink

These spots were incredibly easy to do! All you need is a dotting tool (or even a bobby pin) and a good black striping polish.

I used a black striping polish from The New Black. What a great buy; the polish is pigment-rich, super smooth and even dries pretty fast. The brush itself is perfect, too. Using the brush, I drew little half moons and circles, being sure to make the edges of the moons and circles a bit wobbly and uneven looking so that they'd look like stylized leopard spots instead of straight-up polka dots. The organic look we're going for really comes in handy when it's time to paint your non-dominant paw. ;)

Then I used my dotting tool and my Konad white stamping polish to add small white dots in varying sizes on most (but not all) of my black half moons and circles. I nearly reached for my trusty OPI Alpine Snow, but I was worried about transparency issues — and nothing's more opaque than Konad.

I enjoyed this look so much that I couldn't bear to remove it the next night! Or the night after that. So now you've discovered the second reason why my manicure-a-day plan didn't make the cut.

quitethecupcakequeen, Francesca

butter LONDON — Teddy Girl & More

'Ello there! May I introduce one of my new favorites: butter LONDON's Teddy Girl*. I've been hoarding this color since spring; I was waiting until I had a whisper of a tan so that I could really show her off. And oh, some things are truly worth waiting for. I LOVE this color.

At first glance, Teddy Girl looks very similar to Essie Fiji. I know, I know — I was thinking that, too. My issue with Essie Fiji is that it is very streaky. You must have a light hand, and even then, the consistency tends to be a bit thick, so the only manicures with Essie Fiji that I've been satisfied with are when I glopped on three coats. And I really hate to do that.

I brought my brand new butter LONDON Teddy Girl to my nail appointment at Bellacures recently. I warned the nail technician — with colors like this, they tend not to go on evenly, so three coats might be a necessity. He admitted that this sometimes happens.

Together, we watched with anticipation as he worked on my right hand. The first coat was done... time to inspect. I raised my eyebrows in disbelief as I turned my hand this way and that.

It looked like I had two coats on already! Incredible! I hmmmmed with pleasant surprise. He nodded in agreement. This was fine polish. Nail polish of The Quality. Smooth, highly pigmented and such a great color for anyone's stash. [Side note, it's not a dupe for Fiji, don't let your eyes deceive you. Teddy Girl is a cooler, brighter, whiter pink. Fiji is softer and warmer; somewhat more subtle.]

I love this shade so much that I even got a pedicure with it, too! For the first time in eons, all 20 of my nails matched. I felt like such a lady.

Two days passed. I was staring at the pale pink canvases that were my ladylike nails and I thought, well I suppose I could spice it up, just a little bit... and BAM! Leopard nailz.

Leopard spots are a piece of cake. I used a dotting tool to make small, irregular gray dots using ORLY Mirror Mirror. Then I used my bottle of ORLY Instant Artist in black to outline the dots I'd made. The outline doesn't need to be perfect (in fact, if it's a little sloppy...or we can be kind and say "organic," all the better). I was inspired by some of my pins on Polishment: THE BOARD!

Have you guys tried any DIY leopard spots? I was thinking it might look cool if I added some smaller dots next time, like this:

dotdotdot, Francesca

*product provided for honest review