Hibiscus Martini and Gradient Mani Fail/Redemption

Hello lovelies!  Happy Friday :)  Sorry I completely forgot about my Wasted Wednesday post.  I stayed home sick on Tuesday and got sucked in to watching the whole first season of American Horror Story. Anyways, I have a GREAT drink recipe (similar to last weeks) and some nail fail/redemption pics.

To make a Hibiscus Pom Martini,

You’ll Need:

Absolut Hibiskus

Stirrings Pomegranate Mixer

Stirrings Pomegranate Sugar

Ice

Make It!

Rim a glass with the sugar.  Combine one shot vodka with two shots mixer.  Shake in a glass with ice. Strain into sugar rimmed glass.

This tastes JUST like a Passion Tea Lemonade from Starbucks.  LOVE it!  And the vodka bottle is pretty; so that’s a plus.

Gradient Nail FAIL and Redemption

I started out with this great idea in my head.  I was going to attempt a gradient that looked like a sunset.  I started with China Glaze Peachy Keen as the base.  Gorgeous right?!  Well, that was the prettiest it’s gonna get.  lol

Two coats China Glaze Peachy Keen

China Glaze Peachy Keen, Escaping Reality
and Japanese Koi (neon)

I tried to do the gradient with ChG Escaping Reality (pink) and Japanese Koi (neon) (orange).  Ehhhh it didn’t look as good as I envisioned it.  I would have suffered through it, but I was out from work one day so I decided to attempt again.

Julep Eileen and
China Glaze Yellow Polka Dot Bikini

Julep Eileen and
China Glaze Yellow Polka Dot Bikini

This one was MUCH better.  I only used one color (ChG Yellow Polka Dot Bikini) over Julep Eileen.  It’s really hard for me to explain if you don’t know the method for gradients.  I am hoping to do a tutorial one of these days.  Not like I’m an expert, obviously, but the way I did it worked for me.  In a nutshell, follow these steps:

Paint your nails a base color (Julep Eileen) and let it dry completely.

On a makeup sponge, apply the base color and the gradient color.

Dab the sponge on the nail.  Be sure to dab the sponge in different areas of the nail, in order to blend the colors (so you don’t get such a harsh color line like my first attempt).

Turn the sponge over and paint some of the gradient color (ChG Yellow Polka Dot Bikini) onto it. 

Dab this on the very tip of the nail to give full color coverage.

Flip the sponge back over to blend once more.

Let dry briefly.  Seal with a topcoat to smooth sponge marks.

Like I said, it’s a little hard to explain without step-by-step. I will try to do one ASAP. 

I’ve only attempted gradients probably about three times.  This is the best I’ve done and I’m very proud of these babies :D

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Pineapple-Mango-Tini and Essie "No More Film"

Happy Weekend Y’all! So sorry I didn’t post yesterday...I got sidetracked.  But  it’s a long weekend, so technically, I’m on schedule! Anyways, this weekend’s drink is a Pineapple-Mango-Tini. Yuuuum! I know the ingredients sound hard to find and expensive, but keep reading!  I am keeping my cheap-o promise.

You’ll Need

• Absolut Mango Vodka*
• Mango Nectar
• Pineapple Juice
• Ice – maybe

Make It!

This recipe started out as a martini, but you’ve seen how my measurements go, so it ended up being a large drink in a regular glass.  If you want to keep it an actual martini, here are the REAL measurements: 2 oz. Vodka, 2 oz. Mango Nectar, and 1 oz. Pineapple Juice.  Play with it guys, it’s just a drink – you can’t go wrong. 

Okay so back to the little “*” by the Absolut.  I had some extra hanging around from like, my 21^st Birthday, so I wanted to use it up.  This is the only drink I’ve ever made with the stuff and it is amazeballs, for lack of a better word.  I only had 2 drinks worth of the Absolut left, then I switched back to my Red Cup vodka and I really could barely tell the difference.  The mango vodka just makes the drink sweeter.

Now, MANGO NECTAR: WTF? Is this girl crazy?  I had never heard of it before and it took me forever to finally find it.  If you’re wondering where to get this, try the ethnic food section in your grocery store (it might also be called mango puree).  AND it's only about $3 for a carton. I live in Florida, so we have a ton of weird Spanish-people food/drinks around.  If you can’t find it...I don’t know what to tell you, besides you’re missing out!  But you can come to my house and I’ll make it for you! lol :)

Essie No More Film Manicure

I kept this week’s mani pretty basic.  I absolutely love any Essie color, so I will TRY not to be biased when I talk about them.

This color is SO AWESOME!! At first you think it’s a dark blue, but then you get into the sun and it turns a weird purple-indigo, THEN you get inside and it looks almost black!  I caught myself just staring at it a bunch of times trying to figure out how to best describe it and that’s what I came up with.  You just gotta get it for yourself and try it because these pictures do not do it justice!

Left: Essie No More Film (outside)
Right: same (inside)

Left: 2 coats Essie No More Film (outside)
Right: same (inside)

Essie like, never chips on me, but this time it did.  I am totally blaming the Seche Clear basecoat.  For next week’s mani I’m not going to use a base coat and see if I get chippage.  The last two times I have used it, my nails have chipped like crazy. :(

See you next week!  Have a great Memorial Day Weekend and let’s please not forget the real reason we can celebrate it!  If you see a military veteran, or anyone still in the military, buy them a damn drink, give them a hug and say THANK YOU!!