Nail Art Inspiration from Boulder Colorado - Sally Hansen #IHeartNailArt Contest

Boulder isn’t known for its bustling city life, at least not in the traditional sense. Never ending roads are replaced with winding switchbacks up trails to the iconic Flatirons, and overcrowded traffic is overrun by bicycle traffic. The city is unique in that sense, while still maintaining an exciting atmosphere.

Pearl Street is Boulder’s downtown hub. In the spring it comes alive with tulips, and at night it’s flooded with college life. Daytime friendly but still party-ready, Pearl Street is famous for its stores and visitors alike. If you’re not watching street performers, then you’re probably a few blocks over at the farmer’s market, or popping into one of its eclectic but oh-so-Boulder boutiques or head shops.

What I love about it, and about Boulder in general, is all the brickwork laid everywhere. As a transplant from earthquake-prone California, I was thrilled to see so much brick, and it never gets old for me. Pearl Street has it, the university has it, and most of the houses you see have it. It’s such a classic form of unconventional art.

Maybe my fondness for it is what drew me to my first inspiration for this editorial.  This building is one of the oldest looking buildings downtown, as you can see by its shedding siding. The peeling paint shows years of use by bums, bystanders and Boulder climate. It inspired me to create my peeling brick nail art for the Sally Hansen #IHeartNailArt contest.

The peeling brick look was done using three Sally Hansen products – Vanity Flare (a Triple Shine polish), a White striper polish from the I Heart Nail Art line and a brush from the I Heart Nail Art tool kit. First, polish your nails with two layers of Vanity Flare. Then, add horizontal lines with the white striper. Add some vertical lines between the horizontal lines, offset in each line. Now wipe your striper brush so it’s mostly dry, and splotch random areas of the nail with messy white designs. Now dip your nail art brush in acetone, and splotch the designs you just made, which will cause them to spread into faded designs, just like peeling paint. Be sure to finish with a top coat too!

Boulder’s also popular for its ingenuity in the business world and in its green-granola ways. While classic brick covers the town, modern marvels are similarly strewn about. The mix of brick with steel is striking, and captured my eye in my second inspirational piece.

This restaurant’s railings are perfect for oval nails. With just a touch of curve and a jagged edge to offset it, it makes great nail art. I love how it’s complemented by the brick path surrounding it as well.

Nail art inspiration never comes from just one source, and Sally Hansen wants you to express your love for nail art in their #IHeartNailArt contest. Enter to win $500 and a trip to NYC to compete in the Grand Finale, where the winner will receive $2,000! This month’s theme is Liquid Mani-a. Find out more at sallyhansen.com, or browse the #iHeartNailArt hashtag on Instagram and Twitter.

sponsored by Sally Hansen

Cast your vote in the Hpnotiq Bling It On! sweepstakes

I hope you had a chance to enter the Hpnotiq Bling It On! challenge. I've been told the judging was a blast, and that Hpnotiq can't wait to announce winners. You can check out some of Hpnotiq's favorite entries for GlamLouder here. And to jog your memory, here's the look I created for the contest.

Winners from the challenges for Glammest Look, Nails, Makeup, and Shoe are in the process of competing in the final round for a chance to win the grand prize trip to go shopping with Khloe Kardashian in Los Angeles.  

Now it’s time for you to vote on the glammest of the glam to help Hpnotiq decide who is going to get the chance to be the grand prize winner and fly to LA for a makeover and photo shoot.

To cast your vote, visit the GlamLouder voting page, or visit Hpnotiq’s Facebook. If you want your favorites to win, share it with your friends and gal pals.

Voting is open from today (August 12) until August 21st, 2013.

This is a sponsored post, paid for by Hpnotiq.

Share Glam Nails & Win a Trip to LA with the Bling It On! Contest from Hpnotiq!

Are you a lady of fashion who loves glam things? Loves sparkle? Love getting together with your gal pals for some drinks after a long week?! Then you’re like me, and you’re the perfect girl to glam louder…

From now until July 28^th, Hpnotiq wants you to show them how you GLAM LOUDER to win fab prizes! Read on to learn what you can win, and how.

During each 2-week challenge you can submit photos in different categories to win - including the glammest nails, makeup and overall look. Entries can be pictures you snap yourself or images you find online. I snapped my own:

Want to enter? Hpnotiq’s Glammest Nails Challenge is going on RIGHT NOW – but hurry – the entry period for the glammest nails ends at 11:59:59 a.m. EST on June 30^th! (See the rules for the other categories and their entry periods.)

For this challenge Hpnotiq wants you to show them the glammest nails, nail art or nail finish that you’ve ever seen or done. This means you can either submit entries that are pictures of your own, or ones you find online.

Read all of the rules to enter here.

Think you can nail it? You can enter as many times as you want! Snap a pic of your own glam nails, or find a pic online.  For this round, Hpnotiq's choosing 4 lucky winners to receive free mani/pedis for a year valued up to $1,200!!! 

Ready to Bling It On!? Here are the glamorous prizes that are up for grabs:

• 1 year of manicures and pedicures worth up to $1,200
• A $1,000 gift card to Sephora or Ulta
• A chance to win the grand prize trip for you and three friends to go shopping with a celebrity in Los Angeles!
• The grand prize winner will star in a professional photo shoot for the chance to be in a real Hpnotiq Ad!

Click here to enter, visit Hpnotiq’s Facebook page, or follow @Hpnotiq on Twitter and tweet them your picture using the hashtag #GLAMLOUDER.

This is a sponsored post, paid for by Hpnotiq.

Rite Aid Nail Extravaganza - Contest AND Giveaway!

This is a long post, but read it all! There's not only a contest for you to enter, but also a giveaway, so make sure you get the details for both!

First up, the contest!

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Rite Aid Nail Extravaganza Contest

Rite Aid is looking for nail artists, young and old, beginner and pro, to participate in the 2013 Search for the Ultimate Rite Aid Nail Enthusiast!

The grand prize winner will receive amazing prizes:

1 Grand Prize Winner

• $500 Rite Aid gift card 
• 20% off storewide as a wellness+ Gold status member for the rest of 2013
• A feature in an upcoming Rite Aid email
• The opportunity to be the Rite Aid 2013 face of nails.

There will also be two First Prize winners, as well as 17 Finalist Prizes!

2 First Prize Winners

• $100 Rite Aid gift card
• 20% off storewide as a wellness+ Gold status member for a year
• Featured in an upcoming Rite Aid email
• Highlighted on Rite Aid's Facebook page

17 Finalist Prize Winners

• $50 Rite Aid gift card

Beginning May 13th, participants can upload their most creative nail designs to the Rite Aid website - http://riteaidnails.com. Public voting and sharing begins immediately.

The top three winners are selected by a combination of public vote and celebrity judge scores.

Here are the step-by-step details on how the contest works:

Round 1 Enter & Win: May 13-24

1. Enter to Win by submitting a photo of your nails at the Rite Aid website.
2. Share Your Photo - Tell your family and friends to vote for you because their votes count!
3. Win Prizes - The top 20 entries with the most votes will win and move on to Round 2.

Round 2 Top 20 Finalists: June 10-20

The top 20 entries with the most votes become finalists. These finalists will receive an exclusive nail beauty bag that they will use to create a design. Celebrity judges - Annette Falso (Revlon SVP of Global Product Development), Julie G (Makeup and Nail Design Artist) and Katie Cazorla (Kiss Nail Dress Brand Ambassador) and popular vote will then decide the top 3 prize winners.

Amazing prizes right? Get going! Start coming up with your most creative design to share and earn votes with!

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Rite Aid Sponsored Giveaway @ Nailed It

In addition to earning a prize with your awesome nail art, Rite Aid has also sponsored a prize giveaway at Nailed It, and you don't even need to do nail art for it!

Starting May 15 at 12:00AM MST and running through May 22 at 12:00AM, I will be hosting a giveaway, with an amazing gift basket brought to you by Rite Aid.

Holy caboodles that's a lot of good stuff!

The rules for entering, as well as all possible entries are listed below in the Rafflecopter. Please be sure you fill it out completely to be considered for the prize.

Sorry, contiguous US residents ONLY!

I'd like to thank Rite Aid for this amazing prize, and for the awesome contest! I hope everyone pulls out all the stops to get their best entries in for the win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The products of this giveaway were sent to me by Rite Aid. 

3D Nail Art Contest

It's contest time! *cue fanfare*

My excitement to see the creations others come up with, combined with the generous contribution of BornPrettyStore.com led to the decision to give you guys a chance to win a nail art contest.

This contest's theme is 3D! There's been a lot of innovation in 3D nail art (my favorite right now being the 3D bow tutorial from Finger Painted), and I want to see your ideas come to fruition. You can browse some of my 3D creations, new and old, here.

Plus, BornPrettyStore.com is my top provider of 3D nail art supplies, so it makes sense that this be the theme with their sponsorship as the prize.

What is the prize you ask? It's a generous gift card to BornPrettyStore.com for $25!

I know how difficult it can be to come up with a design, so I'm giving you all lots of time to create something. This contest will run until June 30th at 5:00pm.

All submissions will need to be submitted using the InLinkz tool at the end of this post. In addition, since I'm too cheap to pay for the subscription service InLinkz offers to get the thumbnails, I'll be pinning all the creations on a Pinterest board for your viewing pleasure. Though voting won't determine the winner, it's still fun to share all your inspiring ideas with everyone.

Here's a link to the Pinterest board.

Here are the rules, which you must follow to be considered for judging.

• You must be 18 or older or with your parent's permission to participate in this contest.
• This contest is open internationally.
• You must be the creator of the look, and it must be done on your own nails.
• I understand that you may already acrylics adhered to your nails. In those cases, you may still submit an entry. However, please do not add any additional acrylic or mold form to your nails to extend their length if you do not already have some.
• At least one 3D element must be incorporated into your look. More is encouraged!
• 3D basically means anything that can be seen and felt on the surface of your nail:
• Acceptable items: micro beads, studs, spikes, acrylic nail art pieces, rhinestones, fimo slices, chains, jewelry, pearls, etc.
• Unacceptable items: striping tape, glequins, decals, stickers, textured nail polish, flocking powder, glitter, etc.
• If you're unsure if something counts, ask me. I'll update the list to clear up any confusion.
• Submissions must all be entered using the InLinkz tool below by June 30th at 5:00pm MST. I've submitted one to show you how it looks.
• Only one entry per person.
• You may use purchased 3D materials, or create your own.
• Your post must be new.

That's it! Feel like you can meet all those requirements and still knock out some killer looks? I thought so! Get to creating, and feel free to post any questions you have about anything.

A huge thank you to BornPrettyStore.com for sponsoring this contest!!! Be sure to stop by their site, especially if you want to pick up some 3D supplies!

Two-Bottle Nail Art Competition Winner!

Thank you to everyone who entered the two-bottle nail art competition. I would say it was an outstanding success! I was introduced to many new blogs and readers I'd never heard of before or interacted with, and will definitely be following several of them now.

I was utterly flattered by the outpouring of support and congratulatory messages on the post as well as many of the entries' posts. You guys are all too sweet.

I'm happy to say that since the announcement of the competition, Nailed It has gained over 150 more readers, as well as over 275,000 more page views! It has been so exciting to see such a jump in readership, and I have many of you spreading the word about the blog and the competition to thank for that.

After much deliberation and back and forth, I've finally decided on a winner for the contest! I've emailed her and hope to hear back from her soon. I must say, with so many great entries, colors, designs, and creativity in the theme, it was not an easy choice, but the winner is...

Kelsie at Kelsie's Nail Files

Her creative use of the theme, her design, and the awesome colors she used ultimately made me choose her design. (Can we talk about how stunning the mix of the two shades is?!) Congratulations Kelsie!

A sincere thank you and congratulations to everyone who entered. Entering a nail art competition can be intimidating, but you all did a wonderful job and I'm so excited to read more from you all.

Nailed It's First Birthday - Nail Art Competition

EDIT 11/11/12: The winner has been announced! 

Light up the candles, and then promptly blow them all out because nail polish is flammable and you're not irresponsible...it's Nailed It's birthday!

One year ago today, Nailed It was born. Since then, it has flourished and become an amazing experience for me and hopefully my readers! Earlier today there were 555,555 page views as well.

I couldn't be happier with the direction this blog is going, and I owe so much of that to my readers! Thank you all so much!

I wanted to celebrate this milestone and say thanks with my first nail art competition. I've opened up this competition to everyone everywhere, with a wonderful prize, sponsored by Born Pretty.

The winner (chosen by me) will win a $20 gift certificate to Born Pretty, to spend on anything they like, including glitter, nail polish, nail art brushes, dotting tools, rhinestones, stamps and more. Damn.

Theme - Two Bottles

For this contest, your theme is two bottles of polish. You can only use two bottles of polish (notice that I didn't say "two colors" because that leaves room for interpretation). I want you to challenge yourself to create something spectacular with only two bottles of polish to work with.

Rules

The rules of this are pretty simple. Any entries that do not meet the rules listed below will not be counted.

• You may only use two bottles of polish (a clear base coat and clear or matte top coat excluded).
• The design must be your own, done on your own fingernails (please no toes).
• You may not use stamps or nail art decorations in the final design.
• You may use tape to create clean lines, but the tape must be removed.
• Glitter polishes may be used if they are sold as a polish (no loose glitter).
• You must name the two bottles of polish used in your design. 
• You may not use acrylic paint.
• You must submit the URL of your post using the inlinkz tool below.
• Your post does not need to be on a blog (e.g., you may use Flickr, Tumblr, Facebook, etc.)
• You may submit a post you have already published.
• You may enter until Friday, November 9 at noon (MST). 
• This competition is open internationally to anyone qualified to order from the BornPrettyStore site.

Please share this competition with your friends and readers of your own blog. If you have any additional questions about the competition, how to enter, or anything else, please feel free to comment or send me an email.

Good luck to everyone, and a big thank you to Born Pretty for donating such a great prize!

Click the Add Your Link button below to enter your submission. Entries submitted in the comments of this post will not be counted.

Nailed It: Nominee for the Cosmopolitan UK 2012 New Beauty Blog Award

I'm so unbelievably excited! This blog has been nominated and shortlisted for the 2012 Cosmopolitan Blog Awards in the New Beauty Blog category! I'd like to thank everyone and especially those that may have nominated me! It's a huge honor to be included in this category for such a widely-known and read magazine! It brings a tear to my eye to see such success and excitement about my little blog and really motivates me to work harder to deliver some high-quality, kick ass designs for you all to enjoy!

You can vote for Nailed It to win the award by clicking the picture below and entering an email address. Feel free to vote with more than one email!

Select New Beauty Blog

Thank you everyone, for your support in the past and future, and for your votes!