Stripes

Dear Readers:

Hello again! I'm still here, and I'm still painting my nails, but I've become less disciplined in posting on my blog regularly. I still share pictures quite often on my Facebook page and my Instagram, so if you don't already follow me there you should!

Below are a couple of pictures of a striping tape manicure that I attempted. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, but I think the work was pretty tedious to get it to look as nice as it does. Maybe it gets easier? But maybe I'll never know because I may not mess with the striping tape again for a while!

Left Hand

Cinderella Hand

I think my Cinderella hand turned out better than my left hand... I always do it last when it comes to nail art and it always turns out better! Anyway, I used all Zoya polishes for this manicure. The purple is Carly, the green is Meg, and the blue is Robyn. 

If you're curious how I accomplished this look, I used THIS tutorial by Sam from TheNailasaurus.com. She does striping tape manicures all the time and is ridiculously good at it!

If you're reading this, thank you VERY much for stopping by. :) I hope I don't go another 4 months before posting again!

--Dixie

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Incoco Nail Polish Appliqué

Hello everyone!

As usual, when I've been missing for a while, I blame the book worm inside me. I've just been in the mood to read, read, read and NOT to blog or paint my nails. I'll stop apologizing since it happens so often. I've accepted that I'm not going to be one of those bloggers that blogs every day or even every week, but I don't plan on leaving this thing to gather TOO much dust. ;)

In March's Birchbox, I received these Incoco nail polish strips. I've used Sally Hansen nail polish strips several times before, but never any other brand. I've heard some brands are better than others, so I was unsure about how these would turn out.

 

The application was identical to the Sally Hansen strips. Very easy to use, same size options, etc. Since I JUST applied them, I'm unsure about how long they will last. The package claims up to 14 days, but I'm not sure I could stand to leave them on that long. I'll be happy if I get 5-7 days. :)

Thanks for dropping by!

--Dixie

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Zoya PixieDust Collection

Happy Friday Everyone!

Today I am finally sharing my swatches of the Zoya PixieDust Collection. Please keep reading for more photos and details about these lovely polishes. :)

Click READ MORE!

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Nail Spam!

Hello Friends!

I mentioned I might have to do a "spam" post, and I have decided that's probably the only way I'll catch up on the plethora of manicures I have to share with you. 

Click READ MORE below to see more photos and details!! :)

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And The Winner Is...

Congratulations Zené Snider!

I will be sending you an e-mail shortly to work out the necessary details, and I am so excited to be able to share these lovely Zoya PixieDust polishes with you! 

Thanks to EVERYONE who entered the giveaway! I was overwhelmed with the response. I wish I could send you all a prize, but of course I cannot. :( I will be swatching the PixieDust collection shortly and hope to be able to share them with you by early next week.

In the mean time I have a couple of other posts planned that I hope you will stick around to see this week.

Thanks again for making Dixie's Cup's 1st birthday so special!

--Dixie

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Cult Nails - 2nd Anniversary Collection

YAY! Cult Nails!

The Cult Nails 2nd Anniversary Collection was released last week and I couldn't resist. To celebrate, they are also including a free gift while supplies last! You will either receive a pair of cubic zirconia earrings, OR 3 lucky people will receive real diamond earrings. Visit the website HERE to order!

The colors in the photo below are, from left to right: Tempest, Blaze, & Fetish.

Clicky clicky!

As you can see, I wanted to use all the colors at once, so I did. There are no rules!! (Did anyone else think of the Little Caesar's commercial? I watch too much t.v.)

On my thumb and pinky: 2 coats of Tempest.

On my index finger: 2 coats of Fetish and 1 coat of Blaze.

On my middle finger : 2 coats of Fetish.

And on my ring finger: 3 coats of Blaze. 

Each finger has a base coat and is topped with Cult Nails Wicked Fast Top Coat (except for on my middle finger there is no top coat). 

Blaze is a gorgeous mixture of fine copper and gold glitter. It is densely packed, so it is easy to get full coverage. It looks great over black, but it also looks beautiful by itself. 

Fetish is a black polish that dries to a waxy finish. What I love about it is that it lasts longer than your typical "matte" finish polish. Every matte polish I have used chips within hours of it drying. This lasted two full days before showing any major wear!

Tempest is described as "a high gloss, self leveling, pure white polish perfect for manicures and nail art". It is practically perfect in one coat, but photographing for my blog shows ALL the imperfections, so I did a 2nd coat just to be safe. :)

ALL of these polishes are fantastic, in true Cult Nails form. I also discovered that the "special request" section on your order form brings out the creativity in the Florida-based owners and their daughters! (If you didn't know, I'm a dental hygienist and I have a thing for teeth). 

Thanks so much for dropping by! Let me know what you think about Cult Nails' most recent release. 

--Dixie

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Zoya - Stacy

What's up Ladies (& Gents)?

The manicure I'm sharing today is a fairly old one. I am really behind on my blogging! I probably need to do a "Nail Spam" post soon, just so I can share a bunch of these manicures at once. I paint my nails several times a week, and I have definitely not been blogging several times a week, so yeah.

And let's not even talk about the beauty boxes that I have fallen behind on. I used to share my Birchboxes every month, and I haven't shared a box since August. :-/  I'm trying to work on that!

Moving on.... Below is a manicure using Zoya Stacy as the base color and Zoya Daul as the color for the tips.

Stacy is a dark raspberry cream. It is the perfect vampy shade, and the formula is so wonderful, like all other Zoya polishes. This is two coats of Stacy. Then I used the french manicure sticker guides to paint the tips with Daul. Daul is a red-toned purple with a golden shimmer that seems to make the polish glow from within. Of course it is very difficult to tell since I only used the polish on my tips, but I've worn Daul by itself and - take my word for it - it is GORGEOUS. :)

Here is a swatch of Stacy by itself without a topcoat. So perfect. :)

Thanks for dropping by and PLEASE DON'T FORGET to check out my GIVEAWAY!!! I will be giving away Zoya's PixieDust collection (which hasn't even been released yet!). 

--Dixie

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Nails Inc. - Baker Street

Happy Sunday!

While I realize that Nails Inc. Baker Street is not a new polish, it is exciting for me because I have been really wanting it for quite some time. This post is also exciting for me because it is my first successful attempt at stamping. I have tried stamping numerous other times with no results that I wanted to share, but after finally getting my hands on the proper equipment I have made progress. :)

Click photo to enlarge!

First, I just have a photo of Baker Street by itself. This is two coats on top of a base coat with no top coat. The formula of the polish is super easy to work with, and if it wasn't for the extremely long and flimsy brush, I probably wouldn't have had any cleanup. Being fairly new to the Nails Inc. brand, I am definitely not impressed with their brushes. :-/

Here is the fun part! I used the #42 Mash stamping plate. I stamped on one nail and decided to quit while I was ahead! The result was practically flawless until I smeared it just a tiny bit with my top coat. I guess I'll have to work on that. I discovered that the trick for me (for now) is that I had to order a Konad stamper and Konad special stamping polish. The Mash stamper just wasn't cutting it, and I guess none of my polishes that I tried work well with stamping. Glad I got that figured out. Hopefully you will be seeing more stamping from me! :)

Also, the glitter on the middle finger is Nails Inc. Soho Street. It is an explosion of rainbow glittery goodness! :)

Here is a macro shot of the stamp and glitter, just for good measure. Any suggestions on how I can avoid the streaking of my stamp? I waited at least 5 minutes for everything to dry before apply a quick-dry top coat.

Thanks for dropping by and PLEASE DON'T FORGET to check out my GIVEAWAY!!! I will be giving away Zoya's PixieDust collection (which hasn't even been released yet!). 

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Happy Birthday, Dixie's Cup!

Hello there!

This really snuck up on me, but today is my blog's first birthday! I want to do something nice to celebrate, so I've decided to have a giveaway. That's right. One of you lucky ducks will get a present for MY blog's birthday.

I wanted to give you guys something that you will hopefully REALLY want. At least I know *I* really want it! I have decided the prize will be a collection of polishes that haven't been released quite yet. Have you heard of the Zoya PixieDust Collection? Although this isn't the first brand to release a collection with this unique sparkly matte texture, it is still a fairly new concept to me so I am really excited. I have pre-ordered a set for myself as well as a set to give away. Just be sure to follow all of the rules when entering in the rafflecopter form below for a chance to win!

Here are photos of the collection that I borrowed from the Zoya website.

Rules for Giveaway

You MUST follow my blog via Google Friend Connect in order to be entered to win this prize. The easiest way to do this is to view the web version of my blog (as opposed to the mobile version). When you are viewing the mobile format, you will not be able to see the section you will need to use to follow my blog. Click the blue button on the right-hand side of my page that says "Join This Site". It will likely prompt you to log in, and then you just have to select "follow publicly".

The contest starts Tuesday, January 15th at 12:00 am and ends Tuesday, February 5th at 12:00 am. This contest is open internationally. :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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