Vampy gradient

I saw this gradient on Pinterest a couple weeks ago and absolutely fell in love with it.  I loved the dark vampy look of the black tips against the blood red.  The pin originated from http://www.lovevarnish.com/2012/06/vampy-gradient.html so credit goes to her for this awesomesauce mani.

This is 2 coats of Sally Hansen Right Said Red sponged with a combination of Sally Hansen Wine Not and Wet N Wild Black Creme.  Then I added just a teeny bit of sponging on the black tips with Orly Androgynie. 

This is a mani I can sink my teeth into.  I'd stake my life on it.

Hope you have a great day!

Wet n Wild It's All In The Cut - Glitterbomb!

Hi all!

I don't have any nail art for you today, but I do have an awesomesauce glitterbomb to showcase! You may or may not know by now... that after I have nail art on for a while, I long for the days of simple (for me) manicures. It's like clockwork - after having a mani on with nail art, I do something simple for my next mani. This is simple....by my standards! I doubt most people would say an obnoxious holographic glitter is simple. But what kind of blogger would I be if I used things like NUDES and light pinks on a daily basis?! A boring one. That's what.

This is two coats of China Glaze Gothic Lolita. I totally could've worn this alone, it's so pretty! It's a medium purple with the slightest bit of shimmer. I topped with two coats of Wet n Wild It's All In The Cut, a light purpley pink holographic glitter - reminds me a lot of OPI Teenage Dream (one of my all time favorite glitters).

This is going to be quite the distraction in the coming days at work... I can't stop looking at my glittery nails! I wish I could showcase the holographic effect better, but when I took these pictures the sun was going down :( You'll just have to trust me when I say that it looks amazeballs.

Now I ask you this,

What's your favorite glitter polish? Let us know in the comments! Have a great day :)

Sunny half moons!

Today's mani is my interpretation of Pantone's "Color of the Year".  I started with a base of Zoya Jancyn, which is a soft orange creme which applies and levels like a dream and dries fast.  I did use two coats for full coverage and opacity.  I let my base thoroughly dry, then applied a coat of SV to protect it before I applied the half moons.

The half moons here feature Wet N Wild's 9 0 2 1 Orange - which is just the most gorgeous shade of orange glass fleck I've ever seen.  It's nice and smooth and just radiates sunlight :)  It might be overcast and dreary outside but my nails are full of warmth and light!

Hope you enjoy!

Summer ladybugs

Good morning happy people

I have wanted to do ladybug nail art for a while now but never really quite got around to it until now.  It's such a simple design and what could be a better herald of warmer temps?

My mani is a base of Sally Hansen Insta Dri Rapid Red which did not dry well at all.  The color went on nicely enough but dried with bubbles.  Since I was planning on doing nail art over it anyway, I went ahead and left it; and hopefully it doesn't show too much in these photos.

I let my base dry overnight then this morning I used a black ulta thin sharpie to draw the vertical lines, WnW Black Creme for the french tips and the dots (which I used a dotting tool for).   I let it dry for about a half hour before I top coated it - which apparently was not enough because I still had some smearing of my dots.  I tried to just very lightly glide the brush over my nail without coming in contact with the actual surface of my nail.

Hope you enjoy!

Anti Valentines Day Mani

Hi ladies!

Someone on Tumblr suggested that I do some anti-Valentine's Day manis, and I figured I'd oblige because come on, who HASN'T hated Valentine's Day with the fury of 1000 hells at some point in their life? I know I have.

I painted all my nails (except my ring finger) with Wet n Wild Burgundy Frost. On my ring finger, I painted a black base. I then used acrylic paints to draw the lines, "explosion" (I don't know what else to call it?) and broken heart on my ring finger. I also topped all the other nails with OPI Black Shatter.

Now, I've never been into shatter/crackle polishes AT ALL, mind you, but this one seemed to fit. Black Shatter, shattered heart....yeah, my emo side is coming out.  But I digress. Anyway, the ONE time I used this bottle of Black Shatter (I got it in a giveaway) and it's goopy and clumpy. So... I don't know if that's the reason you can hardly see any base color or if I applied too much...but I only used one thin coat. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is I wish the deep red popped out a bit more underneath the Black Shatter. It did come alive a little more with top coat, you should have seen how dull it was before!

I have the whole week off, so hopefully you guys can expect more posts than usual this week! Gotta keep myself occupied somehow ;)

Amanda's Top 11 Polishes of 2011

I know everyone is doing these, so I am jumping on the bandwagon!

Keep in mind....during 2011 I was a broke joke for most of the year (actually, I still am a broke joke) so I didn't really get too many new polishes. And there's definitely polishes that would be on this list.... if I had them. But alas, I don't, so you get stuck with a boring top 2011 list! Or exciting because it will be different from everyone putting Glitter Gal and A-England on their lists.... depending on how you look at it ;)

These are in no particular order! Also some of the pictures suck because they were from when I first started blogging....but you get the picture.

1. China Glaze - Sea Spray (Anchors Away collection; Spring 2011)
China Glaze's Anchors Away collection of Spring 2011 was practically made for me. I love pastels, so is it really any surprise that this was one of my favorite colors of the year? And, it was the base for Mad Manis' most popular post ever, my dandelion nails!

2. Zoya - Faye (Sunshine collection; Summer 2011)
I LOVE Zoya polishes, and Faye is one of the most unique polishes in my collection!

3. OPI - Teenage Dream (Katy Perry collection)
Teenage Dream is the most perfect glitter polish in my entire stash. Filled with tiny microglitter and large holographic glitter, what's not to love?!

4. China Glaze - Trendsetter (Metro collection; Fall 2011)
Trendsetter is so ugly it's pretty! I happen to love this color because it's weird and unique, but I do get weird looks when I wear it. Things like "That's uh.....pretty?" I love it!

5. Zoya - Sooki (Summertime collection; Summer 2011)
The most perfect red creme in existence. Nothing else needs to be said.

6. China Glaze - Snowglobe (Let It Snow collection; holiday 2011)
I know this one wasn't released in 2011, but it was re-released as part of China Glaze's holiday collection, and boy is this name accurate! It looks like little chunks of snow all over your nails. So sparkly and pretty, but a PITA to take off.

7. Zoya - Neeka (Smoke and Mirrors collection; fall 2011)
Dusty purple with tiny flecks of glitter in it. Love!

8. Wet n Wild - Rockin Rubies (Ice Baby collection; winter 2011)
My good friend Steph from Imperfectly Painted got this for me for a Secret Santa gift and it shot to the top of my favorites list. Here it's layered over China Glaze Brownstone and WOW. Look at the depth in this one! It's a great red glitter.

9. Color Club - Revvvolution (Femme Fatale)
This isn't a 2011 release either, but I received this one in 2011 so it counts for me. I HAVE to include this...this is probably in my ALL TIME favorite polish list. A charcoal grey holo. WHEE!! I wish the holo was a bit stronger, but I still love it.

10. OPI - I Lily Love You (Nice Stems collection; summer 2011)
I didn't really much care for any of the other polishes in the Nice Stems collection, but this one is just too pretty to pass up. Pink flakies!

11. China Glaze - Brownstone (Metro collection, Fall 2011)
China Glaze's Metro collection was one of my favorite ever. I liked almost all of the colors in it, but only picked up a few. Brownstone is a reddish brown burgundy color that applies like a dream.

Eyegasm: Holiday Glitterbomb

Hi guys! Today I have an AWESOME layering combo to show you guys!

I received Wet n Wild Rockin Rubies from Steph the other day as a Secret Santa present! Rockin Rubies is part of Wet n Wild's Ice Baby collection. She also sent me the pinkish purple one and the teal one as well as some other fun goodies which I will be showing you throughout this week!

I started with two coats of China Glaze Brownstone which is one of my most favorite colors from this entire year. It's a brownish reddish burgundy creme and I LOVE it. Then I used one coat of Rockin Rubies on top and....omg. It's pretty much awesomesauce. I recommend big-ulating these pics to see the sparkly goodness!

Rockin Rubies is a red microglitter with holographic particles in a sheer-ish red base. I LOVE how RR over Brownstone looks. If you look at swatches of RR on it's own, it looks a little.....dull, but here it just looks so amazing!

In the shade!

I stared at this ALL day at work on Sunday. The only bad thing about this is that it's a top coat sucker upper... I used two coats of Seche Vite and while it's pretty much smooth, it still dried to a duller finish than I'd anticipated. It looked AWESOME when the SV was still shiny but, ah well, it's still so shiny and sparkly and glitter-tastic!!

I can't wait to use the other two polishes I received! Hopefully I can come up with some equally awesome glitterbombs :)

Have a great day ladies! Happy Tuesday!

Christmas Present Mani

Hi all. It would not be Christmas without a Christmas present mani so that's what I'm showing you today!

The base colors from L to R are: China Glaze Mistletoe Kisses, Wet n Wild Burgundy Frost, China Glaze Starboard and China Glaze Stroll.  The bows were just made by mixing different acrylic paints and using a striper brush.

CURSE THIS MANI!! It chipped like none other and I have no idea why. I used Seche Vite on it. Burgundy  Frost always chips on me in less than a day, but this entire thing went crazy after like one single day. Behold:

Oh well. It looked cute for the day that it lasted :)

Hope you all are doing well! See you later :)

Day 21: Inspired by a Color

Only 10 days left in the challenge! EEEEK!

Today's theme is "Inspired by a color." I took this to mean inspired by a polish name....so that's what I ran with!

I started with two coats of Orly Sweet Peacock for the base. (Sidenote:  This is one of those weird polishes that chipped on me after less than 12 hours but was HARD to get off. Maybe because it's a foil?)

I knew I wanted to do peacock feathers to represent this polish/color name. To draw the peacock feathers, I used a striper nail art brush and China Glaze Trendsetter and Cha Cha Cha. The middle portion is made with Wet n Wild Rustic (brown), China Glaze For Audrey (teal) and China Glaze First Mate (center dot). They turned out better than I was expecting!

I was channeling my inner Katy Perry while doing this mani!

Magical, colorful, Mr. Mystery!

Day 20: Water Marble (the most epic fail in Mad Manis history)

I'm warning you. Turn....back.....before it's too late!!! GO!! Save yourself!!

Ok, a bit melodramatic. But seriously. This might possibly be the worst manicure that's been on the blog....ever. This one is definitely being filed under the "fail" tags! :P

Watermarbling is not my thing (obviously). I just can't do it -- I've tried before and it was just as dismal as this one is. Maybe a little worse ;)

I especially love the bubble on my ring finger...

I did everything I read that I was supposed to do. Room temperature water - check. Base coat of white on my nails - check. Opaque polishes that spread easily - check. And it still looks like a hot mess!! I don't know what I'm doing wrong!

I'm embarrassed to even post this on here, and I almost just skipped out on this day completely because I was so frustrated. But I said I'd do all the prompts, and I am. This one just doesn't look good...at all ;) Maybe someone can relate? Haha.

Suffice it to say I will not be trying marbling again anytime soon. Probably anytime EVER AGAIN. Have you guys had any problems with water marbling? Give me some tips if you know any! :)

Day 19: Galaxy Nails

Galaxy nails! I've wanted to do these for a LONG time and now I had my chance! Yay!!

I started with a base of two coats of China Glaze Liquid Leather. Then I sponged on Orly Sweet Peacock, Sally Hansen Barracuda, Sally Hansen Pink Blink and a yellowy green Wet 'n Wild (can't remember the name right now).

After that, I made dots using Zoya Purity then used one coat of Orly Shine On, Crazy Diamond (obviously named by a hippie). Seal with a topcoat and you're good to go!

I am loving these galaxy nails and I am loving even more how EASY they were to do! Just a little bit of sponging, some tiny microglitter and you're done! I'll definitely have to try this again with some different colors because I looooove the way this turned out. I don't want to take this one off! :(

Do you guys like galaxy nails? Or are they too "out of this world" for you? BAZINGA!! I slay me :)

Day 1 - Red Nails

Hello! Today I have my very first post for the 31-Day Challenge! I'm a little nervous for this big task of completing all the days but I think I can do it without getting too frustrated. :)

Today's theme is: Red Nails! The red I used for this mani is Wet 'n Wild's Everybody Loves Redmond. The accent finger has two coats of Sally Hansen Downtown Rubies on it. Figured I'd start with something simple since I'll be working my butt off for the art portion of the challenge!

Have a wonderful day!

Another BCA Mani

Hi all! Today I'm deviating from my Halloween nail art mode and showing you a Breast Cancer Awareness mani I did last night.

I know this is late in the month, but I at least wanted to get one in before October is over. I especially wanted to do this mani to pay tribute to my boyfriend's mother -- she beat breast cancer about 5 years ago. :)

I used Sinful Beautiful Girl and Wet 'n Wild How I Met Your Magenta for the base colors. I topped my ring finger with OPI I Lilly Love You and my pointer finger with OPI Teenage Dream (which I will never get tired of, EVER). On my other fingers I drew little ribbons. My dumb self wasn't thinking before I did my nails and I forgot that the BCA ribbon is pink... so I was forced to do it in a darker pink and it's kind of hard to see, but I still like it.

That's all for today ladies. Happy Friday!

Creepy Halloween Skittles Nails

Hello all! Today I have some creepy skittles nails to show you!

I was trying to think of what I wanted to do for today's mani. I knew I wanted to do something festive for Halloween but I couldn't narrow down my choices. So what better way than to use ALL of my ideas in one mani!

I really like how this one turned out.

On my pinky, I did a creepy eye. The base color is Wet 'n' Wild Burgundy Frost and the eyeball is made with black, white and red acrylic paint. On my ring finger is a bloody handprint. The base color is Sinful Snow Me White and the bloody handprint is made with red acrylic paint. The middle finger is a Scream mask -- base color Sinful Black on Black and white acrylic paint. My pointer finger is a voodoo doll. Made with, you guessed it, acrylic paint. My thumb nail, a creepy clown, (my favorite!) was also made with a white base and all acrylic paint.

I am surprisingly pleased with how this turned out! I think I'm most excited about the creepy clown nail and it was the hardest to do!

Here is another picture where you can see all the nails more clearly. I should've made the design on my thumb nail upside down because when I took pictures they weren't all facing the same way so you'll just have to cock your head to see them. Haha

What do you think of these creeptastic skittles nails? Hope you all have a fabulous Wednesday!

The most perfect autumn red - Wet 'n' Wild Burgundy Frost

This one's a beaut, ladies.

It's Wet 'n' Wild Burgundy Frost. But don't let the term "frost" scare you away from this one. It's not frosty at all! It's the prettiest deep, shimmery metallic-ish red. This color is AWESOME... definitely one of my favorites. I wore this a lot last year after I got it. It's so great for autumn and winter. This would look great with China Glaze Party Hearty on top of it. It's seriously Christmas-red.

Application on this was great too. This is two coats. Mine was a little on the watery side, but nothing I couldn't deal with. These polishes dry fast as well! The only thing I don't like is that they seem to chip rather quickly on me.

I really need to learn when to leave things alone. On day two, I added a simple leopard print to it. I've been in a nail art rut lately, and animal prints are my go-to design when I can't think of anything else. I suppose it doesn't look bad, it just detracts from the beauty of this color.

We'd also like to take a moment to answer one of our most often asked questions -

Who is madmanis?

The answer is, it's an acronym.  mad = Mother and Daughter and manis = manicures.

That's all for today. Do you love this red as much as we do? Let us know in the comments!

-Amanda

12 year old Barbie nails (pic spamalicious)

 Hello nail junkies! How was everyone's weekend? Mine was fabulous! I went to the circus! It was fun because it's all kids under 18 that perform. Really impressive!

Today I am showing you one of the girliest manicures I've done in a long time. Seriously. These could not be any more Barbie-licious.

I started with three coats of Wet 'n' Wild Dreamy Poppy. Is that a drug reference? Shame on you, WnW. Application on this one was eh -- a little streaky for me, but that very well could've been a user error.

It's funny -- I used to HATE pink nail polish. I thought it was too girly, and while it IS girly, I just think it looks good with my complexion. Plus, it's perfect for summer!

Then, I used two coats of Wet 'n' Wild Hannah Pinktana. I HATE THOSE BRUSHES!! I like wide brushes, but seriously.... these brushes get ALL over my cuticles and it's such a pain. I also almost am ashamed for wearing a polish obviously named after Hannah Montana....but I'll ignore that because it's pretty. It's a light purple base with teeny tiny holographic glitter in it. I tried really hard to capture it for you guys....but alas, I kind of failed. I PROMISE IT'S THERE! I could see it....but stupid camera couldn't.

I know it's girly..and it looks like something a 12-year-old should be wearing....but it's so pretty. Right? RIGHT?? Oooh.....ahhhh....

-Amanda