3 Years Have Passed! Where Have I Been?

No way! I cannot believe I am making this post right now. I have spent the last several years trying to log into this blog but have been unsuccessful, obviously. I managed to forget the email account associated with this blog and the password, and never thought I would have access to it ever again. I even created a new blog in an attempt to start over, but I never posted on it. I just couldn't find it in me to give up on this one.

Tonight I just so happened to stumble across a document on my computer that randomly had an email address on it. I recognized the email address but knew I hadn't used it in a long time. I decided to try using it and a random password in the log in section of Blogger and it worked! Here I am! I am so excited and so grateful, I can seriously cry right now.

So much has happened the last 3 years since my last post and it's something I need to post about.  I have wanted to document my journey from these last 3 years, but since I was unable to log into my blog, I never really did. Not even in a personal journal. I talked to close friends and family here and there but I still feel like I harbored my true feelings and emotions. I never wrote my feelings down or got everything out which has always been very therapeutic for me in the past. The thoughts and emotions I felt over the last few years just kind of festered and although I feel I have healed, sometimes I still feel a little part of me hasn't and this may be the route I need to take heal completely. And, who knows, maybe someone out there will stumble across these next couple of posts, who may be in the same position I was in a few years ago, feeling hopeless and scared, and maybe they will find my story helpful. Whatever the case, I need to do this for me. You're welcome to read along if you'd like. :)

-Amanda

Disney's Minnie Mouse Nails!

Last weekend my friend's daughter celebrated her 3rd birthday. Being that she was turning three and is completely obsessed with Minnie Mouse it only made sense to have a Minnie Mouse birthday party! Everything was Minnie Mouse; her birthday cake, the decorations and food. Heck, even Minnie Mouse herself showed up for the festivities. It was important to me that I also show up to this birthday bonanza matching the Minnie Mouse theme and what better way to do so than with Minnie Mouse nails!

 

My friend and her husband did such an incredible job with this birthday party, that I wanted to include a few pictures in here as well! I hope you all enjoyed these nails. If you give them a try, I'd love to see them! Thanks so much for reading and I will talk to you all real soon!

How awesome is this cake?! I was in awe of all the little details that went into it. Check out her beach towel. It's rippled just as if you would lay out your beach towel on the sand at the beach! I was totally into this cake if you can't tell. So cool!

 Minnie Mouse pizzas! Cool, right?! It's hard to tell in this picture but they created Minnie's bows with pizza crust!

 

 A Minnie Mouse party wouldn't be a Minnie Mouse party without the Minnie herself.

 

 Thanks so much for reading and I will talk to you all real soon!

-Amanda

DIY 3D VELVET/SWEATER NAILS!

The skies are truly the limit when it comes to nail art and in my eyes, the more creative the better. I thought I had seen it all with the caviar nails but I was mistaken. There truly are no boundaries when it comes to mixing creativity with nail art and today I prove this with, VELVET NAILs! That's right. Little sweaters for our nail beds to keep them warm for the upcoming fall and winter! Cute right?!

 

Here's my video showing you exactly how I did this manicure. So messy but so fun!

 

 Now, I know this nail art is not for everybody but I am smitten with it! I think this is absolutely adorable and I had to recreate it the moment I read about it in Vogue magazine! Who comes up with this stuff? It's insane.

 

 Although cute, this manicure does not last long at all. After a full day of wear and tear this manicure was ready to retire. I think it's perfect if you're going to a concert, or party or something where you only need this for one night. I actually am planning on wearing a deep red velvet nail to my husband's work's Christmas party. I love when my nails make a statement and I think this would do just that!

 

The removal of this manicure is easy too. I thought it would be hell like glitters are to remove but it was simple and the dye from the flocking powder didn't stain either, which I expected it to do. So, I'm curious to know what you guys think? Is this a manicure that you'd rock or are you going to pass on it? 

As usual, you can watch the video on how I did these velvet nails! I will talk to you all next time!

-Amanda

ACID WASH NAILS!

Growing up I spent much of my time during summer break with my aunt. My dad worked long hours so my aunt would babysit my sister and I. I loved hanging out with my aunt. I have the fondest memories of swimming in her pool for hours or going to the local bowling alley and bowling. We were always doing something fun. One memory that sticks out the most though is scavaging through her closet with her. She had the most shoes I've ever seen anyone have before. All of them organized and stacked in labeled shoe boxes. And a closet packed to the gills with clothes. I was in awe. That is, until I feasted my eyes on the left side of her closet. ACID WASH. Lot's of it too! I remember thinking to myself, "Oh, this is so not okay. Who wears this stuff? We are NOT in the 80s anymore aunt Karen."

I didn't know then, that in 15+ years this trend would make a full circle.

While walking around the mall a week or so ago, I decided to check in at Forever21 and guess I what I saw?! Acid Wash EVERYTHING! Shorts, pants, jackets... in an ARRAY of colors too! I felt like a little girl again, back in my aunt closet. No joke. I couldn't help but laugh. Isn't it funny how trends work? 

I've never been big on the acid wash trend.. not then, not now. I just don't think I could pull it off. It makes too much of a statement for me to wear pants or shorts in this design. But, what I do like and can pull off are these acid wash nails. These I love.

 

 

 These nails were so fun to create and wear and the color options are endless. As usual, I'll post the tutorial on this manicure at the bottom of this post. I hope you all enjoyed this manicure and I'll see you all next time!

-Amanda

SUNFLOWER NAILS!

Hey guys!  I have another nail design I want to share. This one is (so far) my favorite manicure I have done. It's nearing the end of summer (boohoo!) and I wanted to do something that would lift my spirits a bit and a sunflower nail design was the answer. I got the inspiration from a pin on Pinterest that linked back to an incredible nail blogger by the name of TheNailNerd. And holy shit... is she fabulous! 

I wanted to veer away from my usual water marble manicure, and practice on my freehand. Drawing has never a strong suit for me and I figure with practice I'll get better. It was nice to jump out of my comfort zone and try something different so I'll be taking a break from the marbling for the time being.

 

A funny thing happened to me while I was out in public wearing this manicure. I happen to be shopping at a beauty supply store at my local mall and as I was getting ready to make my purchase (I bought ChG 'Towel Boy Toy and ChG 'Fast Track'. I am wearing TBT at the moment and it is stunning.) and the cashier asked to see my nails and asked if I did them myself. I told her yes and she asked if she could take a picture. Of course she could! I was so flattered. She is now following me on Instagram and that just totally made my day. Not to mention, she let me have an OPI mini polish for FREE too! What an awesome experience that was.

 Here is my YT video on how I did these nails! Enjoy!

 

Until next time!

-Amanda

Polish Used:

ChG 'Electric Beat'

Color Club 'Almost Famous'

Sinful 'Nirvana'

Black & White acrylic paints.

LOTS OF MANICURES FROM THE LAST MONTH OR SO!

Hey everyone! I wanted to share with you some manicures I have done on myself in the last month or so. If you follow me on Instagram (MoDiddie) then chances are you've seen these already. They range from normal swatch manicures to water marbles! I hope you enjoy!

 ChG 'Pool Party' & FP 'Iconic Orange'

 

 FP 'Iconic Orange' & FP 'Inkblot Blue'

 

 PI 'Heart Breaker' over Sinful 'Rain Storm'

 

 I used the colors from CC's 'Poptastic Collection

ChG 'Swing Baby' & 'Four Leaf Clover & acrylic paint

 

 Orly 'Terracotta' and loose glitter pieces.

 

 ChG 'Ride The Wave'.

 

 Sally Hansen 'Mint Sorbet' & rhinestones.

 FP 'Artistic Sapphire'

 ChG 'Happy Go Lucky', 'Shooting Star' & 'Designer Satin'

ChG 'Make Some Noise' & 'Shooting Star'

 

Essie 'Nice is Nice' & OPI 'Rainbow Connection'

 

 Sinful 'Amethyst', 'Savage', 'Innocent' & Essie 'Nice is Nice'

 

 ChG 'Sea Spray' & OPI 'Crown Me Already'

 

 Color Club 'Pucci-licious' & ChG 'Luxe and Lush'

 

 PI 'French Kiss', Sinful 'Snow Me White' & NOPI 'Sealed With A Kris'

 

 FP 'Silkscreen Green' & ChG 'Blue Years Eve'

 

I hope you guys liked these nails I did. To get more up to date manicure pictures and videos, check out my Instagram (MoDiddie) and my YouTube channel. See you guys next time!

-Amanda

4TH OF JULY AMERICAN FLAG WATER MARBLE NAILS! + INSTAGRAM!

Hi guys! I feel like I am so behind on my blog. Like, I'll scroll through pictures on my computer of recent manicures I've worn and realize that there's like five that I haven't posted on my blog! I think Instagram is partially to blame. Raise your hand if you've become an Instagram addict! *raises BOTH hands*. As I've stated before, I basically change my manicure daily.. sometimes like today, I'll change them twice in one day. It's become easier for me to grab my phone, take a picture and upload it straight to Instagram than to grab my camera, take a picuture, upload it to my computer, resize, watermark.. blah blah blah. I guess what I am saying is, if you want to see EVERY manicure I am wearing, stalk my Instagram (search MoDiddie). I still will be posting here, but I hate feeling stressed that not EVERY SINGLE manicure I've worn and taken a picture of is on my blog. I'll just post my favorite manicures here on my blog.

Like this one. Ha, like that sweet transition? :D Because the 4th of July is this week (Wednesday), I thought, "What better way to start the week than with this patriotic American flag manicure?!" I posted this tutorial on YouTube (the video will be posted at the bottom of this page) a couple days ago and I have recieved so much positive feedback on it. I know not everyone on here follows my YouTube so I wanted to share this manicure with my blog friends as well! So here they are! 

 

I just LOVE these! I wore these out and about and people literally stopped me. One lady actually just grabbed my arm! HAHA! They look like they could be semi difficult to do, but honestly they're really simple. If you want to see exactly how I did them, check out the video below. :D

If you guys try this design out, I'd love to see your rendition of it. Happy Independance Day to my fellow American followers! I hope you guys enjoy this nail art design and I will catch you guys later!

-Amanda

ADORABLE PASTEL HEART NAILS!

Happy Thursday night! It feels like this week just hung around forever doesn't it?! Yesterday felt like Friday to me so when I realized it was only Wednesday, well you can imagine how that felt. Sucks when that happens, right!? 

Okay, so onto the reason you guys are reading this; a new manicure! I did this manicure over a week ago, maybe close to two weeks ago and I have no idea why I've forgotten to post it! It's one of my favorites. It's bright, girlie and adorable! 

 

I first tried to do a water marble using these colors but they were being fussy and were not being cooperative. I loved the colors together and figured I'd do something else. This is what I came up with!

The all over color is Revlon 'Lilac Pastelle' and then I used SH 'Blue Me Away', ChG 'Peachy Keen', Orly 'Green Apple' and OPI 'A Grape Fit'. For the hearts and white acrylic paint for the little dots!

 

I hope you all like this manicure, and I'll catch ya later!

-Amanda

WHO LIVES IN A PINEAPPLE UNDER THE SEA?! SPONGEBOB NAILS!

Two posts in one day?! That's right. You do not need to adjust your eyeballs. :D Hello again my friends. I just finished doing my stepdaughters nails and am so excited about them that I had to post this before I go to sleep! 

She's a pretty hardcore Spongebob fan. Has been since.. well, as long as I can remember. It came as no surprise that she would be willing to let me practice my freehand on her, and do a Spongebob manicure. Did it come out cute? She chose China Glaze 'Dorothy Who?' for her all over color on her nails. For Spongebob, we used:

*ChG 'Happy Go Lucky' (all over color)

* Sally Hansn 'Blue Me Away' (Eyes)

*FingerPaints 'Primary Color' (dimples)

*Mixture of Sonia Kashuk 'Tauped' & 'Happy Go Lucky' (spots on Spongebob)

*White and Black acrylic paint for all white/black spots 

I hope you guys like it! I know I do! Talk to you all tomorrow!

-Amanda

A CHEERFUL DOTTICURE!

Hey guys! Happy hump day! Not going to lie; it took me quite awhile to figure out why Wednesday was called "hump day". But, I get it now. :D

Today's manicure is "quite strange" according to my dad. I went to lunch with him and he couldn't quite understand why each nail was painted a different color. LOL! 

 

I've been trying to do a water marble with these 5 colors, but they don't seem to play nicely with each other! I knew I wanted to use this color combo and this is what I did instead. This is actually the second manicure I came up with using these five colors. The first manicure will be posted on Friday because I have a tutorial video on it going up on Friday as well.

Thumb: Revlon 'Lilac Pastelle'

Pointer Finger: ChG 'Peachy Keen'

Middle Finger: Orly 'Green Apple'

Ring Finger: Sally Hansen 'Blue Me Away'

Pinky Finger: OPI 'A Grape Fit'

This picture was taken with my Instagram. If you want to follow me on Instagram, search for Mo Diddie! :D I take a picture of my manicure every day. I hope everyone has a good Wednesday and I good rest of the week, and I will see you all very soon!

-Amanda

GREEN AND TEAL CHECKERED NAILS!

 Hello my beautiful readers! I hope everyone is enjoying the start of this new week! Today was a nice day for me. My step daughter got fitted for her cheer uniform for next years cheer season and it was really nice to see her and all of her teammates so pumped for next year! 

Anyways, today I wanted to share with you this green checkered manicure I did a few days ago. I posted in my last blog post about this gorgeous polish by China Glaze called "Shooting Stars" that I have recently been layering over pretty much everything! Well, I decided to just build on from my current manicure which was Pure Ice 'Not Now' with that "Shooting Stars" over it. 

I love to do that when I'm in a pinch for time but really bored of my current manicure. I created a checkered manicure with Sinful Colors "Innocent". 

I got the idea for this manicure from a fellow blogger by the name of Chloe's Nails who I first saw this design from. Cute stuff, right?!

It's been awhile since I played around in my makeup but I loved this color combo so much that I decided to dust off my eyeshadow palettes and do my makeup to match my nails! Fancy, fancy! :D

If you want to see how I did this manicure, you can click on the video below! I hope you enjoyed this manicure! I will talk to you all very soon!

-Amanda

-Amanda

I'M BACK!... TO BRAG ABOUT A NEW BEAUTY I STUMBLED ON!

Let's take a moment to forgive Amanda (me!) for being absent for so long. I have been so lazy since this last semester ended and I have been taking the words, "summer break" quite literally.  But, I'm back and I have quite a few posts ready to go live, so yay!

I've been wanting to show off this lovely little number ever since I bought "her" a month or so ago. (I like to refer to pinks, purples and any other feminine color as a "her" and all other, masculine-like polishes as "him". Is this weird?) This polish is UH-MAZING! I showed it off on MUA last night and and there were girls who wrote me back and said they just purchased it because of my post!

The polish I am referring to is China Glaze's "Shooting Stars". It's an absolutely stunning clear based polish was lots of tiny holographic glitter in it and then some large glitter pieces in it too. It reminds me of ChG "Techno" but even better! It's definitely a layering polish, so here are two pictures of two different manicures I wore using it over top another polish.

This one is Pure Ice "Not Now" with ChG "Shooting Stars" on top.

 

This is ChG "Let's Groove" with "Shooting Star" on top.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, this polish is a beauty. I wasn't too sure which collection this polish came from because of the two years or so I have been collecting, I had never seen or heard of it before. A sweet girl on MUA told me it was from the Specialty Glitters collection that was released in 2009 some time. I found it at a small beauty supply store near my house but that was the only place I've seen it. It's become a staple in my collection for sure.

So anywhoozle, I wanted to swing in and say hello to everyone and let you all know that I am back! If you guys have Instagram, you can find me on there: Mo Diddie. I'm a total addict <3

Talk to you all again very soon!

-Amanda

DulceCandy87' 600k Subscriber Contest. My submission.

Hey everyone! Today I wanted to share with you a manicure I did for DulceCandy87's 600k subscriber contest on YouTube. I'm not entirely sure if this counts towards the contest or not because she said to do a makeup or hair tutorial based on one of her prior videos. I've wanted to do this manicure prior to the contest so either way, this particular manicure was bound to happen. I found my inspiration from an outfit she posted in one of her videos. A nice neutral top with a splash of neon yellow and pink! Love it!

To see exactly how I did this manicure, I'll post my tutorial at the bottom of this page. When I was trying to capture this manicure in a picture, none of the pictures from my digital camera were coming out color accurate. My cell phone took the most accurate pictures so that I was I have included in this post!

I finished it up outlining the neons! It was a must and totally polished up the entire manicure; kind of like eye liner does with a dramatic makeup look.

I hope you all like this manicure. If you try it out, I'd love to see it!

To see exactly how I did this manicure, you can check out the video below!

I'll talk to you guys later!

-Amanda

NEON COLOR BLOCKING MANICURE USING NEW FINGER PAINTS NEONS

Hi guys! In my last post I talked about the new Finger Paints neons that I picked up from Sallys. I didn't hesitate too long to play around in them! Today I have this really cool color blocking neon manicure I wanted to share with you guys!

Today my twin neice's had their birthday party at the bay and all of there little friends were complimenting my nails and it was so cute to hear my neices telling there friends about how I do nail videos on YouTube. this manThis mani caught many eyes and is super bright, and definitely a conversation peice.

For this manicure I used Finger Paints; Silkscreen Green, Pop Art Purple and Inkblot Blue. I've included my YouTube down at the bottom that shows what I did, step by step! I hope you all are enjoying your weekend! Talk to you all next time!

-Amanda

(with flash)

(without flash)

FINGER PAINTS SUMMER NEON COLLECTION HAUL & REVIEW

Hey guys! I am unbelievably excited about these four polishes that I purchased yesterday that I could not wait to get them home and play with them. Anyone else ready for NEONS!? I'm bored with crackles, done with magnetics and ready to take a break from the glitters. I meandered into my local Sally's and found these beauties; Finger Paints Summer Neon polishes! This collection has a total of seven polishes, but I only grabbed four of them (for now).

(From left to right we have: Iconic Orange, Inkblot Blue, Pop Art Purple and Silkscreen Green)

 

Iconic Orange is a loud and "in your face" kind of polish. It screams "Summertime"! It's the ideal summertime pedicure color, and if you're daring it's an awesome manicure color as well! It applied flawlessly and I was able to achieve opacity with two coats and without the need of undies. No streaks or bald spots. It's showing up a bit red in this picture but IRL it's not. It's the ideal highlighter orange.

More like Pop Of Perfection! Seriously. It reminds me of ChG 'Flying Dragon' without the shimmer, which is a plus for me! I had FD, but got rid of it. I loved the base color, but could not stand the glitter. So, 'Pop Art Purple' is basically that; a bright neon purple with no shimmer, no glitter, no nada. This too applied flawlessly without streaks or balding. I was able to achieve complete opacity in two coats.

Out of the four neons I bought in this collection, this one and 'Iconic Orange' are the most daring and the two that really just define what a summer nail polish color should be. It's bright, eye catching and definitely a conversation starter. 'Silkscreen Green', like the rest applied without any trouble and I achieved opacity in two coats! I'll be rocking this manicure for sure.

And lastly from the collection, we have 'Inkblot Blue'. This is the one that I was most excited about. A neon blue?! Bring it! This was the most sheer out of the four but still applied nicely. I was able to achieve full opacity with two coats, but they were thicker coats.

These four polishes in the FP Neon collection are dream-like! I have a few neon polishes and although I like them, what I prefer about these four is they don't require undies.  A lot of neons that I have tried are really sheer and require not only white undies, but sometimes three coats of polish as well. These didn't. I am sure I will be making my way back to Sally's this month to pick up the rest of the polishes in this collection. I really enjoy these so much, that I am actually thinking twice about buying the China Glaze neons. We'll see.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this haul and review. I will talk to you all in the next post!

-Amanda

Cinco De Mayo Galaxy Mani Without All The Work?!?!

Happy Cinco De Mayo everyone! No I am not of mexican descent, but today is the perfect excuse for anyone to over induldge in less than healthy mexican food. Come to think of it, is any kind of mexican food healthy? Probably not, which is why is taste so good! I've got my mind set on some rolled tacos.

For those of you who don't know, Cinco De Mayo celebrates the mexican victory over the French army that took place in Puebla; a town in Mexico. The funny thing is, Cinco De Mayo isn't really celebrated/acknowledged in Mexico (except for the town of Puebla). From the information I have gathered, it's more celebrated here in the United States by Mexican Americans, mostly in border towns. Although I do not celebrate Cinco De Mayo, I do live in a border town so the festivities are all around me. Anyways, there' a little bit of history for you! On to the main event; today's manicure. 

Today's manicure has nothing to do with Cinco De Mayo, but it sure is beautiful! A couple of days ago I bought China Glaze 'Shooting Stars' and I have not been able to put it down! I love it so much! Today's manicure is ChG 'Shooting Stars' over two coats of ChG 'Let's Groove'. It kinda of reminds me of a galaxy-type manicure, only without all the work. This 'Shooting Stars' polish is so multi-dimensional, layered over a dark polish it totally could be a galaxy manicure!

I am absolutely IN LOVE with this combination! I'm not sure if 'Shooting Stars' is readily available or not. I found mine at a small beauty store near my house that has a ton of older OPI, China Glaze and Essie collections. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this manicure!

-Amanda

MY TRIBUTE TO JUNIOR SEAU

Hi guys! As some of you may have heard, the NFL and the city of San Diego lost a leader on Wednesday (May 2,2012). Junior Seau, (who played for the San Diego Chargers from 1990-2002) committed suicide and was found deceased in his home Wednesday morning. Being that I am a long time Charger fan and resident of San Diego, I was devastated by the news. I was out grocery shopping when I heard about the tragic event.

As a young girl growing up in San Diego, I was raised around football and my beloved team; the Chargers. My favorite was Seau. I admired him and was so intrigued by him. My favorite thing was his little arm pump and leg kick he would do after he made a play! That always hyped me up. I believe it was my 7th birthday (I'm guessing), my uncle gave me my very first Chargers jersey; my favorite player and crush, Junior Seau. I remember vivdly going to a Charger game with my dad and grandpa sporting my new jersey and being so excited to finally be able to see my favorite football player play live!

So when I heard the news of his passing, I was in shock. Still am to be honest. I know I didn't know the man, but I am so saddened but this tragedy. My heart goes out to his family and most importantly his poor children. It's unfortunate that Junior was unable to fight these demons within him. I wish he would have loved himself as much as everyone else loved him. I hope he is finally at peace. RIP Junior. You will be missed.

In honor of Junior Seau and the impact that he had on me, the NFL and our local community, I wanted to show my support by expressing myself through my nail art and creating a manicure inspired by him.

(Polishes Used: ChG 'Happy Go Lucky' & ChG 'First Mate')

I hope you guys enjoy this manicure. If you know someone who is suicidal, or are suicidal yourself, please seek help. There are support groups and hotlines you can call to talk to someone. I appologize for the somber blog post, but I wanted to get this off my chest and share this with you guys. I promise my next post will be happier! :)

USA Suicide Hotline: call 1-800-273-8255

-Amanda

EYE CATCHING BOHEMIAN MANICURE USING TAPE!

Well hello there! Long time no post, eh? I know! I like to pop up sporadically to keep everyone on their toes. Haha. Just kidding!

Today I wanted to share with you a manicure that I have been sporting for a few days now. This particular manicure has received so many compliments, and I love it so much that I haven't taken it off yet. I got the inspiration from a post that was shared on MUA. This girl did something using this  colors scheme and I fell in love! So, I searched my collection for similar colors and let me creativity do it's thing and this is what I came up with.

It's bohemian with a little bit of an Egyptian feel to it, right?!  The polishes I used are Sinful Colors, 'Snow Me White', Revlon 'Gold Coin' and a black acrylic paint.

To see how I did this manicure, you can check out the video below! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw0zAj_2ztA)

I hope you all have a great week!

-Amanda