Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Some Franken Dupes...

How many times have you seen a new polish collection come out, or perhaps it's just one polish in particular and you think to yourself, I gotta have that! Then you see the price, and all your dreams are shattered. Still, we hang onto the dream that one day, we can own such amazing colors. ( Ok, so maybe that's just me, lol )

Oh sure, it's nice to be able to splurge on the more expensive brands, but the truth is, alot of us don't have the kind of money to drop on nail polish. I know, that's crazy talk, but sometimes you have to put the polish down and buy groceries instead. LOL! Yeah, budgets suck.....but hey, when my wallet is tight, that's when I have come up with some of the most creative and ingenius ideas.

I have been eyeing a few polishes lately, you know the ones. when you see them, you get all warm & fuzzy inside. Don't deny it, we've all been there.


Unless you've been living under a rock, anyone who loves nail polishes, knows MAC's Peppermint Patty. This color has been such a hit, that many MAC counters have sold out of this minty gem.  So, I started thinking....I'm creative, I have the no-how to mix colors.AH-HA! I'll make a Franken! Hmmm, but which colors to match to make just the right color. Trial and error, I could not get this color right. Then, one day, I literally stumbled onto a YouTube video telling the exact colors to match to get this color.  So I immediately ran-sacked my polish draw, pulled out the colors she mentioned and got to mixing.  The end result brought tears to my eyes and I swear I heard angels sing when I painted my first nail. EUREKA!!!


But wait.....there's more! Hilary aka HilsHeavenScents(see video above) truly inspired me to try and duplicate some more colors. So I tried a couple more.
This is what I came up with.

     This is a dupe for Essie's  - Sag Harbor

 I took just a plain white polish, the bottle was 3/4 ful.
the one I used is from Avalon. Then I took a basic black (I used NYX polish in black) and poured about 20 drops into the white. Then to give it just the slightest blue tint, I poured about 7 drops of a sky blue polish (I used May6ix polish in Sky Blue) Simply placed the lid back onto the bottle and gave it a thorough shake. VOILA! there you go.


This is a dupe for MAC's - Coconut Ice


This is a new polish from MAC's Lilyland collection. I simply fell in love with it. It's so perfect for spring, I just knew I had to own it. Again, taking a basic white(I used Brucci polish in Snow White) with the bottle about halfway full.
Next, I took an orange polish ( I used Sally Hansen's Xtreme Wear in Sun Kissed) and poured about 25 drops into the white. Followed by a nice cream pink (I used Essie polish in Forget Me Nots) and poured about 8 drops into the white. Closed the lid, shaked the bottle well and now I've got Coconut Ice. I gotta say, I'm really looking forward to doing a tutorial with this color.


 
 This is a dupe for MAC's - Peppermint Patty
(the Seche Clear was just an empty bottle I had)

Following the directions in HilsHeavenScents video, I mixed China Glaze's For Audrey & In The Lime Light with a plain white and this is the result. Pure minty heaven! I can't thank her enough for not only showing me how to make this color, but for also inspiring me to try some stuff out on my own.


This is with indoor lighting


This is with natural lighting

My camera isn't the best with colors & lighting, all the colors in person are slightly lighter.
So now it's your turn to try something new! Have fun, mix it up, you never know what you'll come out with!!


Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Michael Jackson Inspired Nails




PRODUCTS USED:

Sally Hansen's Double life Base & Top Coat
N.Y.C Nail Glossies in - Candy Apple
Brucci Nail Color in - Snow White
L.A.Colors Art Deco in - Black
1mm Round Clear Rhinestones
Small Head Dotting Tool
Migi Nail Art Pens in - Black & White

Monday, January 11, 2010

" Windows " Tutorial


 PRODUCTS USED:

Sally Hansen's Double Life Base & Top Coat
Sally Hansen Salon Nail Lacquer in - Orange You Cute?
Claire's Nail Polish in - Mean Green
Sinful Colors in - Cream Pink
Finger Paints Nail Color in - Lavender Highlight
L.A.Colors Art Deco in - White
Hurricane Nail Art Polish in - Black
Hurricane Nail Art Polish in - Silver Glitter