Body and Soul Giveaway!

Hi again! ^.^

I was looking through my feeds and Mary over at Body and Soul is having a giveaway that ends on the 31st. Followers have a chance to win a whole set of the OPI Swiss collection! Wowza! And if you haven't already, check out her blog - she's awesome!

Thanks for stopping by! ^.^

jeninjafer
*hugs*

Rainbow Nails Tutorial

Helloo ^.^

I haven't been online much to post anything new, but for my last post, Tara asked me to do a tut so here it is. Please forgive my total noobness.

4 coats of China Glaze - Rain Storm on pinky and ring fingers. 3 coats of Icing - True Blue on middle and index fingers.


At this point, I smudged my pinky, so I added another coat (or two?) of Rain Storm to try to smooth it. To start my rainbow, I took a green striper (Absolute! Nail Art in Pine Green) and painted the middle and ring fingers like so. Don't worry about being a little messy as you can clean it up when you're done.


Here I took a blue striper (Art Club in Midnight Blue) and painted along the green on my middle finger.


At this point I was afraid of my camera battery dying, so I took less pics of the process, but I think you get the point. I took a yellow striper (Art Club in Rio de Oro) and painted along the green on my ring finger. Then I followed the blue on my middle finger with an indigo (Absolute! Nail Art in Royal Bleue).


I followed the yellow with an orange (Art Club in Dijon). I painted over the yellow a little bit 'cause I realized I didn't leave enough room for the red. On my middle finger, I followed the indigo with a violet (unnamed Q-Art Nail Paint).


Here I painted the red (Art Club in Red on Red), overlapping the orange a little. If you look closely, you might notice I added green glitter (Art Club in Green Glitter) to the green.


I decided to jump ahead and bling up the rest of the rainbow.

List of glitters used...
Red: Art Club in Red Glitter
Orange: ZN Nail Art (unnamed orange glitter)
Yellow: Art Club in Gold Glitter
Green: Art Club in Green Glitter
Blue: Art Club in Blue Glitter
Indigo: ZN Nail Art (unnamed charcoal glitter)
Violet: Hurricane Nail Art (unnamed magenta glitter)

As you can see, I didn't have indigo or violet glitter, so I just used what I had and I think it came out fine.


For my pinky, I took out Color Club in Sexy Siren, wiped a lot of excess glitter off the brush and swiped it across the nail. For my index, I used Wet n Wild French White Creme to dab on clouds. If you want them more uniform looking, Konad has a great cloud stamp on image plate m79. The ladies over at Polish or Perish are having a great giveaway for followers that includes this image plate and tons of other goodies, so check it out! ^.^ Or if you don't want to wait for the contest to end on the 31st, OCNailArt has a coupon out - get a free image plate of your choice with every $25+ order (add the image plate to your order and use the code "freedisk" - offer ends August 20th).


And finally I got out my Revlon Street Wear in Hologram, wiped off excess glitter and randomly applied them one/two at a time on the nail for a rain effect. I cleaned off my cuticles with a q-tip and some remover. Then I added top coat to all my nails and voila! ^.^

I'm still wearing this, by the way - I need all the bright and pretty rainbows and glitters right now. If you're sensitive about bug/insect (and death of) talk, you may want to stop reading now. My living room has been overtaken by a sudden infestation of house flies and I don't know where they're coming from! We've had rat problems in the building for a while now. And this past month, we've had a few flies, but not like this... This is disgusting and depressing. Thank goodness they seem to be gathering around the windows though, which also kinda sucks since it's my best light source for pictures - DOH! I managed to break the only fly swatter we had earlier today, so as I'm typing this up, my mom is on the hunt for some swatters and fly tape. I hope I haven't turned anyone away by this fly talk. Just thought I'd let you know what I've been dealing with these past couple of days. I'm itching to do some more designs though, so if worse comes to worst, then I'll just have to take pictures in the bathroom, my second best light source lol.

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by! ^.^

jeninjafer
*hugs*

What Rainbows May Come

Hi my peeps! ^.^ Boy did it rain today! It was gloomy all day so I wanted to do something bright and cheery. ^.^ I knew I wanted a rainbow so here's what I came up with!



The rainbow is shooing the rain away - yay! Though, I do kind of like the rain on my pinky. ^.^

Index:
Icing - True Blue (for the sky)
Wet n Wild - French White Creme (for the clouds)

For the rainbow, I used a bunch of nail art stripers and topped it all off with the closest matching glittery stripers I could find. Some of them are made by Art Club and the rest I found in random beauty supply shops so they don't all have names.

Pinky:
China Glaze - Rain Storm (for the sky)
Color Club - Sexy Siren and Revlon Street Wear - Hologram (for the rain)

So there's my rainy day mani - I hope you liked it. Thanks for stopping by! ^.^

jeninjafer
*hugs*

Color Accent Challenge Nails!

Good evening! ^.^

I told you that I'd try to bring it up a few notches today, right? I sure hope this doesn't disappoint! This week we were given the instructions to do a grayscale manicure - we could use white, black, and gray with one color to give it some oomph! Haha okay, maybe not exactly in those words, but I like that word - OOMPH! Even my BF is laughing and going "Oomph! Oomph!" with me. Yes, we're weird like that lol. ^.^ So this manicure almost didn't survive, but I'm really happy with the end result and I hope you like it too. ^.^ I bring to you my entry for Polish Hoarder Disorder's color accent challenge.



Base colors:
Brucci - Alexandra's Gray
Icing - Ice Queen
Precision - U Rock & I Roll
Wet n Wild - Black Creme

Stamp:
Konad - M60 (plaid and flowers)

For the plaid, I used Konad Special Polish in White. For the flowers, I used Konad Special Polish in Pink and colored over them with Art Club nail art striper in Light Purple, which looks more like a hot pink to me... Maybe magenta? Then I used Mattese nail art striper in White to fill in the centers of all the flowers.

So there you have it! I hope you've enjoyed :) Thanks for stopping by! :D

jeninjafer
*hugs*

NYX Blue Ave over WnW Black Creme

Hi ^.^ I just love reading your sweet comments! And I'm so glad you enjoyed my last post! Today's post isn't as exciting, but I'm definitely going to try to bring it back up a few notches tomorrow!

For today's swatches, I've got pictures of NYX Blue Ave. (a flaky polish) over Wet n Wild Black Creme. I was racing against the sun and really just wanted to show you the NYX flakies so I did 1 coat of WnW Black for my base. There were bald spots, but I feel like I've done it no problem with 1 coat before.



I find that some people don’t like the NYX flakies and I can understand where they’re coming from. See, when flaky polishes just started getting popular, I went and got myself NYX Peach Ave, which was a MAJOR disappointment. The flakes were almost like pieces of foily paper that didn’t really smooth out on the nail. Ick. Not too long ago, I guess NYX took a hint and reformulated their flakes. I went to the beauty supply near my school where I got Peach Ave and saw the reformulated Blue Ave and Purple Ave so I picked those up. I was going to get Peach Ave too, but it still looked the same, oh well. Here are some pics.

1 coat


2 coats


3 coats


4 coats


Here’s a bottle shot of Peach Ave and Blue Ave.


Can you see the difference in the pic? You may notice that Peach Ave is not in the regular NYX bottle - that's 'cause I like the NYX brush and wanted to use it for something I like better. I'm not quite sure why I didn't just kick Peach Ave to the curb, but she's still here with an attitude saying "you're gonna want me back". Or maybe that's just the voice of the hoarder in me... Either way, I probably wouldn't repurchase any of the NYX flakies, but I guess they're still nice to have.

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by! ^.^

jeninjafer
*hugs*

Scrangie a la Konad

Helloo ^.^ I tried to get more pics of Scrangie today, but it was a fail. I also feel kinda tired and shaky, so I apologize in advance for the turdtastic pics I bring you today. >.<

Last night, my friend asked me to do a stamp for my next post, so I thought long and hard about what I could put over Scrangie. I was really afraid to mess up the awesomeness! Since OCNailArt has a coupon out, I knew I wanted to show you a konad image. Finally, after much deliberation, I went with image plate S6 and China Glaze DV8 (from the OMG! collection) as the stamp color.




That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by! ^.^

jeninjafer
*hugs*

Special Post

So today was my close friend's birthday and I wanted to paint my nails with something special. My friend loves purple so the color that immediately popped into my head was Rescue Beauty Lounge - Scrangie. I knew that this polish was gorgeous from the bottle and from the many pictures I've seen online, but I fell even more in love with it as I was putting it on! Let me tell you, I don't often go so gaga over a color. Not like this. I used 3 coats and each one was prettier than the last! So many thoughts were running through my mind... I thought if I could only have one polish, this would be it. And I always wondered how anyone could choose a favorite. I never thought that I could until now. Scrangie is definitely something special in my book. I even thought about giving up my first child for an endless supply of Scrangie lol. I wouldn't really... Or would I? Hmm... Hehe. I took a zillion pics of Scrangie, but only one came out somewhat decent, so here she is.



I decided to leave the image size as is. The pic is blurry, but it was the only one that caught even a glimpse of the beauty that is Scrangie. She's a beautiful mid toned purple with a green iridescence created by the one and only Scrangie in collaboration with Rescue Beauty Lounge as part of a blogger collection. You can read Scrangie's very own description of her polish right here. I'm going to see if I can get pictures of it out in the sun tomorrow. But for now, there you have it. Thanks for stopping by!

♥ HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETIE! ♥

jeninjafer
*hugs*

Revlon Gum Drop (Redux)

Okay, I know I've done this swatch before, but PetiteAsianGirl left me a comment saying she really liked the color. Seeing as Gum Drop was LE, I tried looking for a comparison pic with Essie Lilacism online and realized how off my swatch looked. Bad jeninjafer :( So today I bring you a better pic yay!



I had painted my index finger too, but as I went to take the pic, my hair smudged it! Lesson learned. Hair UP while swatching! And to show you how off I was...



Shame, shame, shame! What on Earth was I smoking?? My deepest apologies for my turdtastic pics before :( Even now I feel like I haven't captured the true color and I took a LOT of pics too. To me, on my nails, it looks a little bit more red-toned and a little less blue-toned. I only hope to get better at this >.<

As I said earlier, Gum Drop was LE, but you're in luck if it's the color you're digging! As I don't have Essie Lilacism, these two AMAZING bloggers did comparison pics of Gum Drop and Lilacism which appear to be pretty close dupes! See for yourselves ;)

Little Music Boxes
TheKarenD

And oh-hoho! Look what I found in my stash! Something comparable that recently came out ^.^ In this pic I have Brucci - Sweet Dreams... Carol on my index (Gum Drop on the rest). The Brucci is a smidge darker and definitely more opaque. I did 3 coats, but I think 2 careful coats might be good.



Brucci can be found at Rite Aid and Duane Reade. The selection is much better at Rite Aid. I've also seen Brucci at random stores that sell beauty products and whatnot. Brucci sells for a reasonable price of about $2.50-$3.00. I've heard that Brucci can be hard to find towards the West Coast so, if anything, Essie Lilacism might be your best shot.

Hope that helps! Thanks for stopping by! ^.^


jeninjafer
*hugs*

OMG!

Baby let me love you downnn
There's so many ways to love ya
Baby I can break you downnn
There's so many ways to love ya
Got me like, ooh my gosh I'm soo in love
I found you finally, you make me wanna say
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,
Oh-My-Gosh

Okay, so I'm no Usher, but can anyone else imagine him singing his OMG song to a bottle of China Glaze - OMG? Hehe silly me. Onto the polish!




3 coats used here. No top coat. This is a nice holographic polish. Dries to a kinda matte finish which might have you reaching for the top coat, but I heard that top coats tend to dull the holo effect. I took pics of OMG with and without top coat to see. First pic is without top coat and second pic is with.




I think it did dull the holo a little bit, but it’s still pretty. So I guess it depends on your preference~ more holo or more shine? What do you think?

Unfortunately, I’m not sure where you can find this anymore. I happened upon this at a great beauty supply in Brooklyn. OMG came from the China Glaze OMG! Collection that came out in 2008 which I believe has been discontinued. You can still find most of the other colors at Victoria’s Nail Supply though.

Okay, so this post reminded me of my friend’s wedding because she was looking for a song to start her slideshow, which wound up being Usher’s OMG. This led me to remember I forgot to post my mani from that day. I used Icing – Taylor. A light pink shimmer. I forget how many coats I used, either 2 or 3. It was a bit simple yet pretty.



That’s all for now. Thanks for stopping by! ^.^

jeninjafer
*hugs*

OCNailArt Coupon!

OCNailArt tweeted and posted on facebook the following:

New coupon code "freedisk" gives you the image plate of your choice for free on orders over $25! Just add the image plate to your order then add the coupon code!! Expires August 20, 2010!

Yay! I hope you have a wonderful day :D

jeninjafer
*hugs*

Jade Green Comparison

Things just got busy up in this place! So here's a random comparison picture for you today.


Index to pinky: Charlotte Russe - JDE Nail Color, Claire's - Dreamcatcher, Delia's - Mint Polish, OPI - Hey! Get In Lime

Quickly, I can tell you that Charlotte Russe and Claire's both have shimmer while Delia's and OPI are cremes. Not too sure about Delia's and OPI, but I think that these might all be hard to find now. I think I got very lucky with the Charlotte Russe 'cause it was the only one I ever saw. If you're thinking right now, "darn you, jeninjafer, darn you for posting these hard to find colors," then maybe this will make you feel better... These babies are all 3-5 coaters for me and weren't particularly fun to apply. The OPI was the 5 coater for me, but that could have been my fault, so I will have to swatch it for you again, patiently next time. If you have any of these, tell me what you think of them. I'd love to hear from you ;)

So if you're wondering what's going on with me, I just got my acceptance letter to Baruch College. In the packet they sent me TODAY, they informed me that they scheduled a math test for me tomorrow morning and a Microsoft Excel test next week! GAH! I'm afraid I might not do well and they'll end up making me take remedial courses (aka math for dummies). We do not want this 'cause they'd be boring and, worst of all, wouldn't be worth anything. x_X I might have to suck it up for next week's test though, 'cause well, I think I am a dummy when it comes to Excel... Maybe the BF can give me a few pointers since he's a whiz with it ^.^

That's all for now~ thanks for stopping by! ^.^


jeninjafer
*hugs*

Nail-Fairy Giveaways!

Nail-Fairy is having awesome giveaways as an apology for not posting in a while! I think the prizes are pretty generous too. :) Check out the rest of her posts 'cause I think she's very artistic! I can't wait to see what other manicures she'll post. :D

*hugs*
jeninjafer

Sinful Fiodora

This is such a gorgeous nude! A little thick and runny at the same time but workable. 3 coats used and the nail line is still slightly visible. Totally worth $1.99 at Walgreens. They usually have sales too, BOGO, I think? Haven't seen a sale in NYC in a while though, but that could just be me. Oh, Sinful Colors is also available at Cherry Culture and they frequently have 20% off deals with free shipping over $40, which I find super easy to reach! LOL. Love. This. Nude. ^.^

That's all for now~ thanks for stopping by! ♥

*hugs*
jeninjafer

Beauty Judy Giveaway!

Hurry on over to Beauty Judy! She's also having a giveaway and it ends tomorrow noon!

*hugs*
jeninjafer

Polish or Perish Giveaway!

The ladies of Polish or Perish are having a fantastic giveaway over at their blog for their first anniversary! Check 'em out ^.^

*hugs*
jeninjafer

Fashion Inspiration Challenge Nails!

This is going to be a long post, so feel free to skip ahead to pics!

Okay, so I've been thinking a lot about what my first post back should be and I figured what better than my entry for one of Polish Hoarder Disorder's theme weeks? Not only are her challenges inspiring, but her pictures are seriously TDF. I began following her around Valentine's Day this year and when she started these theme weeks, I was hooked. So if you haven't already heard of her, you really need to check out her blog. Click, click! ^.^ This is the first one I've actually submitted to her, and silly me, I was super nervous sending it! I know it's not as great as her pictures or other entries submitted by super creative ladies, but I wanted to join in so bad! It's all in good fun, right? So here's the picture I submitted ^.^



Base: OPI Alpine Snow (Matte)
This can still be found at Transdesign.

Fauxnad: H23
The nails are stamped with fauxnad image plate H23 which I purchased from Chez Delaney. Sadly, they are out of stock of this particular plate, but they still have other great plates for you to check out. Shipping was super fast from France!

Konad Special Polishes: Green and Pink
You can purchase Konad products from many online sites. The two that I have ordered from and wholeheartedly recommend are WowSoCool and OCNailArt.

I have some other random pictures as well.

Here's what happened practically every time I was studying!



That's my kitty btw. I didn't fall asleep every time ;) He's so silly lol.

Here's my BF and I at his friend's wedding ♥



I just noticed I misspelled my name in the pic ~ FAIL! lol I was going to redo the pic, but then I thought it was funny and decided to leave it up for everyone to see my dopey-ness.

Oh and while I'm at it, I might as well show you the mani I was sporting that day. Orly Luxe ^.^



You rock if you made it through all that lol. Hope you enjoyed my welcome back post! ^.^ Thanks for stopping by!

*hugs*
jeninjafer