Grey and hot pink leopard manicure!

Hello Kit Kats :) Today I have a manicure inspired by a pair of my nieces new tennis shoes. :)

Here is the manicure....

(not my best work)...and here is the shoe...

Aren't they cute! Now back to the manicure..

I used Diamond Cosmetics "Concrete Jungle", as my base color, and then did the tips and nail art using Barielle "Not that Kinda Girl", and "China Glaze "Concrete Catwalk".

Now the base color is great, 2 coats and it is perfect. I love Diamond Cosmetics, their polishes are great and super cheap. It is always good to order from them.

The pink color is a great neon color that opaque in one coat, but it slightly thick, so when using a thick polish for tips, it can be clumpy and not very smooth. :(  I used painters frog tape to cover the grey area while painting the tips pink :)

The good thing about this manicure, is that my leopard pattern did not smear when I applied the top coat :) I used a dotting tool for the leopard print, and I used the larger tool, so that my pattern was thicker and stood out more :)

After I let the manicure sit for a couple minutes, I topped it off with Seche Vite and everything dried nicely :)

Overall I am very happy with this manicure :)

Keep It Sweet!

Dots Dots, and More Dots!

Hey there, today I have a super cute and groovy manicure I did a couple weeks ago. I was watching the Olympics and felt inspired by the crazy color combinations of the gymnast uniforms, so I came up with this.

"Essie: Bikini So Teeny", Rimmel "Sunshine" (received in Int'l swap), and Orly "Old School Orange".

First I applied a base coat, then I painted the corner tip yellow, topped it with a smaller triangle of orange and then the blue.  Then I added dots of varying sizes starting from the yellow triangle up, and so on with the orange, and then the blue. That's it!!! :)

Essie Bikini so teeny is a great bright cornflower blue creme, with the tiniest sparkle in it. You can see it better in the bottle than on the nail, but if you look close on the nail, you can spot a sparkle or two :) It took 2 coats to be opaque, no application issues.

 It was released this summer by Essie. Normally Essie and I DO NOT get along, but this color, and many others from their newer releases are winners in my book!

Keep It Sweet!

**CLOSED**Fall 2012 Target Exclusives from Nicole by OPI GIVEAWAY**

**CLOSED**

I have a super sweet giveaway for you today!

Yep, one of my lucky readers gets the entire Nicole by OPI Target Exclusive Collection, brand new. To check out the colors, here are my SWATCHES.

This giveaway is easy to enter, just :

1. Follow my blog Candy Coated Tips
2. Open to everyone, International...EVERYWHERE and EVERYONE...except Mars and Venus, LOL!!!!
3. YOU  MAY ONLY ENTER ONCE!!!
4. Fill out the form below

*Product provided by NOPI PR.

Nicole by OPI: Target Exclusive Colors, Fall 2012

Yep, the new NOPI releases for Target, and if you check back with my blog on Monday I'll have a special surprise regarding these beauties!  *hint* it won't cost you a cent, LOL :):)

Commence with the swatches...

"Mer-Maid For Each Other"
2 coats, no top coat

In the shade...

Metallic blue green duo-chrome with "lime gold" as the main color.  A definite dupe of China Glaze "Unpredictable", but better in my opinion because this was opaque in 2 coats, whereas I need 3 coats of the China Glaze to be perfectly opaque. :) I ave a comparison coming up later.

"For Gold Times Sake"
2 coats, no top coat

This glitter packed "old gold" and green combo is awesome! There are pink, blue shimmers in it as well, WOW!  This glitter is power packed with color and shine, love it!

"Iris My Case"
2 coats, no top coat

In the shade...

Lilac and pink duo-chrome. Nice and pretty, but a dupe for China Glaze "No Plain Jane", but at least the NOPI was opaque in 2 coats, the China Glaze version took 3 coats for me to get it opaque. :) I have a comparison coming up later.

"Just Busta Mauve"
2 coats, no top coat

This is the best of the bunch! This brown and mauve glitter combo, is amazing. There is also blue, and pink shimmer and it is truly amazing. This would be best at 3 coats, although I used 2 for the pics.

"If The Blue Fits..."
2 coats, no top coat

In the shade...

Gorgeous navy blue glitter! The base is saturated with blue color and the added blue and purple shimmer is amazing! Love this blue, LOVE!!!!

The formula on these has improved. :) All were opaque n 2 coats. I wanted to do 3 coats on the glitters, just because they did not look opaque enough to my eyes, but once photographed they were fine at 2 coats :)

My favorites are "For Gold Times Sake" and "Just Busta Mauve", they are definitely unique and different. Go to your local Target and grab them, or have someone grab them for you :)

Nicole by OPI nail lacquers and Nail Treatments contain no DBP, Toluene, or Formaldehyde. Nicole by OPI formulas are long-lasting, fast-drying, and salon-quality. These new Target exclusive shades will be available August 2012 for $7.04 each at select Target locations nationwide and online at Target.com.

For more information, visit nicolebyopi.com. Follow Nicole by OPIon Twitter @NicoleByOPI and become a Facebook fan!

*Product provided by PR

Manicure using Nail-Venturous "Flying Blue Jay"

Feeling blue? I'm not, but I'm always in the mood for BLUE! :):)

You like?

Thumb to Pinkie:Nail Venturous "Flying Blue Jay", China Glaze "Frostbite", OPI "My Boyfriend Scales Walls", Nail Venturous "Flying Blue Jay", and China Glaze "Frostbite".

On my left I did the same colors, but in a slightly different order.

OPI "My Boyfriend Scales Walls" is my new favorite white polish, perfect in 2 coats, I love it!

Nail-Venturous "Flying Blue Jay", is a gorgeous medium blue jelly base with large white hexagon glitter and white micro-glitter, 2 coats and it applied wonderfully, great glitter!

I think FBJ, goes well with China Glaze "Frostbite", they compliment each other very well.

Keep It Sweet!

Nail-Venturous Lacquers

I've had these polishes for awhile now, and I even forgot I swatched them until I found them and thought "I never posted these?"...so here they are! I purchased some, and swapped for the rest and finally here they are all together, direct from Nail-Venturous ;)

Nail-Venturous: Pinkerbell, Orange You Unique?, and Humble Bee.

"Pinkerbell"
2 coats, no top coat

Great color, baby blue, yellow and pink micro glitter in a clear base. This is the kind of glitter that doesn't shine, but lights up a room anyway. :) I like how soft this color appears on its own, topped over another "like color", and it will be perfect at 1 coat or 2...you decide. :)  This glitter is not super smooth, and it has a slight texture to it that can easily be tamed with any of the best top coats, I suggest Seche Vite. :)

"Orange You Unique?"
2 coats, no top coat

Love this one! Matte orange, bright blue, light yellow micro-glitter in a peach base. Great coverage in 2 coats.   A bit thick, so some thinner was required. After I received this bottle, the swapper I swapped with contacted Nail-Venturous to see if I could get a better "thinner" bottle, and she sent one immediately. Gotta love great customer service.  Again, this glitter is not super smooth, and it has a slight texture to it that can easily be tamed with any of the best top coats, I suggest Seche Vite. :)

"Humble Bee"
2 coats, no top coat

This color is amazing! I plan on layering this over white or a light yellow. The yellow micro-glitter in this is almost neon, and paired with the black...well it's amazing!!! The black glitter is medium sized hexagons and really stands out against the yellow micro-glitters :)

All of these polishes are amazing, and even though Nail venturous doesn't make their own polishes, you can still get the same polish, authorized by Nail-Venturous from Ninja Polish.

Get them, you will not be disappointed. :)