New Konad Nail Art Contest - Win a Professional Salon set from OC Nail Art!

New Konad Nail Art Contest!

Kathleen of www.ocnailart.com is announcing a new contest for her favorite blog addicts! She is launching an International Marketing Campaign this summer and the first item she will be featuring on the worldwide stage is the beautiful and versatile B Kit! The B Kit (also known as the Luxury Kit) comes in a classy purple box and features 4 of the coolest Konad Image Plates - m4, m8, m15, and m21. It also features Red, White, and Green special stamping polish in 10ml bottles and of course, a stamper and scraper.

Now, if you know Kathleen, you know she loves Konad stamping nail art, but lacks the fingernails to really show off this great product to it's best advantage. Do you really think nail art afficianados all over the world want to see her dishpan hands? Nay, I say! That is where YOU come in. Kathleen wants to see what you and your readers can do with the designs and colors that come with a B Kit. An independent panel of 3 judges who are not associated with or related to Kathleen, OCNailArt, Konad, or any of the blog owners will judge the contest!

The winner of the contest will receive the Professional Salon Case - yes, the $437.99 (MSRP) superkit that has just about everything Konad!!!! It doesn't end there - no Ma'am! In addition to the best design by a blog reader getting the prize, the blog owner whose site referred the winner will also receive the Professional Salon Case, too. What is the catch, you say? Well, the catch is that you must give Kathleen permission to use your video and/or still photos in the international marketing campaign and on the ocnailart.com website and printed materials.

Get ready now because the contest opens today and closes on May 31st! Your entry must be received at contest@ocnailart.com between those dates! The judging will take place from June 1st through the 15th- with the winners announced June 16 2009! If you need advice, who better to consult than your favorite blog owner???

Entries can be in video format or still photo format or both. Videos or photos may be emailed tocontest@ocnailart.com. Videos may be posted on Youtube if you'd like - just send the link to the youtube video to contest@ocnailart.com - it's easier than sending the whole video file. Also, make sure that you take photos of your submission, too, if you are submitting video entries. If you are selected as the winner, Kathleen will want to feature your artwork in as many formats as possible in the new campaign.

Send as many entries as you'd like to contest@ocnailart.com - just make sure your email has your full name and mailing address in it, as well as a statement that it is ok for Kathleen to post your photo and/or video. All work will be properly credited and unaltered, of course. Don't forget to credit your favorite blog.... if you forget, you'll get an email asking for confirmation.

The judges' decisions are final and no substitution of prizes is allowed. There will be no charges, no fees, and no shipping charges required in order to collect the prize. There is no purchase necessary to participate in this contest!

If you do not have a B Kit or are interested in purchasing Konad stamping nail art supplies, go towww.ocnailart.com and use the coupon code scrangie to receive 20% off and free shipping on orders over $20 (after discount) - even international orders!

Get creative and get going!!!!

Konad sale: 20% off and free shipping over $20

I know a couple other people are doing this right now, but in case you've missed out or haven't heard about it, you can get 20% off of Konad products at OCNailArt.com!

Just use the code 'scrangie' at checkout and you'll receive 20% off your order.

Another perk is free shipping over $20, and that includes INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING!!

I'll add this info in my sidebar so it's visible in case this post gets buried.

Use code scrangie at ocnailart.com for 20% off and free shipping over $20.


Here's a little inspiration, and I am making an effort to do more Konad posts. I have been working on doing a tutorial, but I just haven't gotten a chance to finish it!

Quick post: Nicole by OPI Spring Shades

I'm still sick, but I ventured out of bed to do a little fishing on the Selbina boat... Unfortunately the Sea Horror had other ideas, so I figured I'd pop in with a little post while I'm waiting for it to leave.


I've had these swatched for a while now and have really just forgotten to post them, but better late than never I suppose.

These are new shades from Nicole by OPI. I don't know much about them other than that! I'm not really sure if Nicole does traditional 'collections' like OPI, but they usually have new colors a few times a year.




Do Good... Feel Good. A soft, delicate petal pink. Semi-sheer, an almost jelly-like texture.



Dream Maker. An opalescent pink with crystalline shimmer. Not quite iridescent, but flashes hints of white, silver and gold.



Find Your Passion. A hot pink jelly.



Imagine If... A sheer silver holographic polish. Almost too dense to be a topcoat, but sheer enough that it needs at least three coats for opacity. This is four coats.


It's Possible. Pretty, shiny bronzy metallic chrome. Dries without brushstrokes.




No Limits. Very dark, inky blue-purple creme. Not obviously blue unless you're in bright light.


Light A Candle. A silvery chrome with a purple tint. Almost gunmetal.





Play Fair. A soft lilac shimmer. It's not as warm as the first picture suggests- it's closest to the second picture.


Positive Energy. Bright, gleaming silver chrome.




Reach Out. A candy-like medium pink jelly. Almost seems to appear coral colored in certain lights.


You're A Star. A sparkly and surprisingly opaque shimmering white. This is only two coats! It's extremely sparkly and it has hints of silver and blue.

Also worth noting: The chromes in this 'collection' work extremely well with Konad! Here's a demonstration:


No Limits topped with Imagine If... and Positive Energy stamp.


The chromes make such a crisp, clear Konad design, it's like they were made for each other.

The formula on all of these was excellent. I have no complaints. The only potential issue is the sheerness of a couple shades- Imagine If... and Do Good... Feel Good were definite three coaters, but this isn't really too much of an issue because these Nicole shades dry very quickly even without a quick dry topcoat. They are also very shiny and durable without topcoat. I kept my Valentine's Day Nicole manicure on for at least four days with no topcoat and there was no tipwear or chipping by the time I removed it.


Pretty, springy, versatile. A little bit of everything in this collection- sheers, pastel, vampy blue, holo, chrome, brights... Very cool. Now all we need is some green and some glitter and we'll have something for everyone!

Barielle Shades Summer 2009 Collection

Summer is looking good so far! Barielle amazed us all with their exceptionally awesome fall collection and that little beauty by the name of Date Night... Oh yeah, remember that one? Fabulous, right?

Now for summer they've given us some bright, cheerful candy colors, two of which are GREEN!!!

For these pictures (with the exception of Lemon Drops) I've taken both an indoor and outdoor photo because the colors seem to pick up slightly different tones in bright sunlight.




Cotton Candy. Soft, girly pink with a hint of shimmer. I love cotton candy (the food) so I have to love this one at least for the name. It is a pretty pink, both bright and playful, but I just don't really do pink.



Decadence. Oh wow. Isn't this gorgeous? It's a medium blue-green shimmer. Does that make it turquoise or aqua? It takes on much more of a green look indoors, but outside in the sunlight the shimmer really lights up and gives off more of a blue tone. So beautiful, like a sparkling sea.




Grape Escape. Grape candy purple creme! This could be a one-coater. Very pigmented. I love purple cremes so much, I am so happy Barielle created this color! This is slightly more of a blue-purple, and it works great with the Konad (more about that in a minute..).



Lemon Drops. I thought I had taken two pictures of this, but apparently not. LOL. It's a sunny lemon yellow creme. Slightly less streaky than other yellows, but still not 100% foolproof. This color is so happy and bright! Not neon at all, and not really muted. Right in between. Love it. I can never get enough yellow.




Sweet Addiction. YESSSS!!!! What a great color! It's a smooth, dreamy turquoise-green creme. Opaque in one coat. So perfect. It is somewhat similar to Misa Dirty Sexy Money, but Sweet Addiction feels less muted. I will compare them. I love them both.



Swizzle Stix. Baby blue creme. I'm wearing this as a pedi right now! It's one of the prettiest sky-blue shades ever. Normally light blues give me a hard time because they make my hands/feet look red but this one is just about perfect on me. The indoor picture is more accurate- it's not a bright blue. It's a soft, light blue, not neon or anything. It's lighter than some of the similar shades I have- OPI Just Groovy and Zoya Yummy.


I mentioned earlier in this post that these polishes work great with the Konad stamp system. Here's a little demonstration of how nice and opaque they are with Konad:


Grape Escape over Sweet Addiction.


Lemon Drops over Grape Escape.

See how nice and crisp the designs are? This polish is the perfect texture for stamping. My designs are messy and uneven, I know. I just wanted to show you that you can Konad with these.

Overall, I think this is a fantastic collection. Two greenish shades, a purple creme, a yellow creme and a sky blue?? How could I not love it??? It's wonderful! Some of the shades are similar to other shades I own, but they are also colors that aren't released very often.

The formula on these is great. Two are opaque in one coat, the rest are two coaters. They're all on the verge of being opaque in one coat, just too much visible nail line at one coat for me to be comfortable. These are very thick, but that works to your advantage in this case. They are thick but smooth and easy to apply and the thickness allows you to do fewer coats. They do take slightly longer to dry with a coat of Seche Vite than some of my other polishes, but not so much that it's frustrating like CND.

I am so excited that Barielle is releasing such lovely colors, it makes me hopeful that we will see more unique shades in the future! After Date Night (and the rest of the fall collection), I have faith in Barielle. They did not disappoint me for summer either! Now I just can't wait to see what they have planned for fall (Yes, I know it's February...).

The Worst Manicure I've Ever Done

It started out innocently enough. I hadn't worn black polish in a while, and really wanted to do a shiny black mani.

I applied my favorite, Wet N Wild Fantasy Makers Black Pearl, which isn't pearl at all, but a perfect, smooth, shiny opaque black.

As I admired my shiny black nails, I just couldn't help but feel that they were a little too plain.

So, I got out my trusty Konad and decided on plate m65 with China Glaze Adore from the Romantique collection as my stamp color.

It was just what I needed! It looked awesome.

Fast forward to the next day.

I had been cleaning with my hands in water all day, and by the time I was done I had serious tipwear. I didn't have time to re-do my manicure completely, so I resorted to my old lazy manicure trick: Cover up the tipwear with a french tip!

And so, a horrible monstrosity of a manicure was born.

Small children and those with weak stomachs, look away now.


I present to you, The Abomination:


AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! MY EYES!!!!!!!!!! OH, THE CHUNKINESS, THE HUMANITY!!!!!!!!

China Glaze OMG Collection

You know, I meant to post this yesterday but after I got back from the doctor the rest of the day kinda got away from me... But I'm posting it now and that's all that matters, right? Right? *crickets chirp*

From the top!


2NITE. Bright medium blue holo.



BFF. Medium pink holo.



DV8. Fabulous bright teal blue holo.


FYI. Neutral tan/beige holo.



GR8. Gold holo.


IDK. Light dusty purple holo.


L8R G8R. Bright spring green holo.


LOL. Purple holo.


OMG. Stunning silver holo.


QT. Hot plum-pink holo.


TMI. Warm coral/salmon holo.


TTYL. Warm peach holo.


Okay... I think that's all of them!

As you can see, the holographic effect in these is quite different from the holo in the Kaleidoscope collection. These are very smooth and straight, the particles appear more organized and linear. The holographic effect in these is barely visible under low light and indoor lighting, and they actually appear pretty flat and uninteresting unless you're in bright light or outdoors. The Kaleidoscopes, however, still appear sparkly in low light.

The formula on these is a little more tricky. These are best applied without a basecoat, as weird streaking and bald spots occur when applied over basecoat. These do not stain, so don't worry too much about not using a basecoat. The formula is also a little drippy and tricky to apply, but these colors are well worth the extra effort.

They only need two coats for total opacity and they dry lightning fast. They also look best without a topcoat. For some reason topcoat seems to dull the holographic effect.

Another downside is the wear time on these. Even with basecoat and topcoat, every single time I wear these they chip the same day... Sometimes even the same hour. But, touchups are a small price to pay for such an incredible polish.

And a little tip: These polishes work incredibly well with the Konad nail art stamp!
The first time I tried this with Konad (inspired by Misa Masa!) I was blown away- totally freakin' amazing. Look!


With flash. Can you see all that holo goodness? Oh yeah!



Why is it that the blurry pictures show the holo more?


Ths is what it looks like in very dim indoor lighting. You can still see the holo, but nowhere near as much as outdoors or under bright light.


So, Konad-lovers, go get out your OMGs and stamp amazing designs! (Sidenote: I am working on a Konad tutorial. In the meantime, you should check out the Konad Queen, Siobhan.)

I don't think this collection has been discontinued yet, so no rush to buy them before they disappear. However, I wouldn't wait too long, because the best stuff always seems to get discontinued first.

China Glaze OMG. Exactly. I couldn't think of a better name myself.