Wednesday, December 31, 2014

ILNP Amazing Multichrome and Flakies Goodness (Undenied and Neon Rosebud)


Prepare for some more spam.  I couldn't get enough pictures of this mani.  I was in love and sad that I put it over Yellow Stopper so I only got a day out of it.  Well, I could have gotten more but I had a Helmer to put together!!  So of course it chipped to hell.

Seriously, this post is PIC HEAVY.  I apologize in advance, but I am just so freakin' excited (insert gif here :-p ) to have these in my collection!!

Prepare yourselves!
Okay, last warning, here you go.

ilnp-undenied

Do you hear angels singing?  I do.  Okay, more pics (and different lighting situations) after the jump.  Click the Read More link below!

Santa Suit and Reindeer Mani


Whelp, I know it's now after Christmas, and I couldn't get these up before the actual holiday.  I'm sorry.  But, I still wanted to share these with you and my experience with yet another KBShimmer polish!

So here's Santa (or part of him, at least!) and one of his reindeer bringing you some (belated) Christmas joy!  Click Read More down below for additional pics and reviews.

holiday-nail-art
Christmas Mani

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Quick Post: Manis for friends


I love it when I can share my passion for nail art with friends and family.

Over the course of one weekend I painted manis for four of my friends and family.  Unfortunately I only got pics of three of them, but I figured I'd share them with you!

I started with my good friend's nails, which were also "cocknails" (instead of cocktails).  I'm sad I didn't get a pic of my other friend's nails, but I think we may have been a bit toasted when hers were finished.  Oh well.  On Nikki's nails (below) I used Zoya Jolie over OPI Alpine Snow, then used nail vinyls similar to the ones I did myself (since her nails are so tiny I used the skinny chevrons from Glam My Mani and still could only fit two on her nails)  Then I put Orly Star Spangled over the vinyls and pulled them off when they were still wet.  Then I used the Christmas tree nail vinyl (also from Glam My Mani) paired with OPI LAMB, then OPI 18K gold topcoat on her thumb.


For my neighbor friend's nails, I used two coats of Zoya Nori for all but her ring finger.  I used Essie On A Silver Platter for her ring finger.  I stamped snowflakes over Zoya Nori with Essie No Place Like Chrome, and over On A Silver Platter with Essie Aruba Blue, which stamps surprisingly well!


I used my Cici&Sisi jumbo set 1 stamping plates for the snowflakes.


Then I painted my sis-in-law's nails.  I used two coats of KBShimmer Holly Back Girl over one coat of Essie Blanc, then stamped snowflakes using Zoya Posh and Zoya Veruschka.  I was also amazed at how well Posh stamps!!



Anyway, I had fun with my friends and family, and like I said, I love to share my hobby with people that can appreciate it.

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Christmas Tree Mani with Nail Vinyls


I had been inspired by all of the beautiful white and gold Christmas manis I've been seeing, so I did one myself!  And I decided to throw in the red and pearl white chevron that I was doing for that one mani... you know, the effed up one with the upside down Santa.  *eyeroll*

Anyway, here are some festive nails for you (albeit after the holiday) with more pics and info after the jump!  Click the Read More link to see more!

Christmas Tree mani using nail vinyls

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Doctor Lacquer Apollo Swatch


Ever have those nights where you have an idea of what you want to do, but nothing works out?

That was this night.  Ugh.

So I ended up with a single color mani, which I almost never do anymore!  But you know what?  I got to try a new indie brand, a new polish from my Secret Santa, and I love it!

Here is Apollo from Doctor Lacquer!  More pics and info after the jump, as well as a review of Yellow Stopper as a peel off base coat, and some pics of my nail fail from the same night!

doctor-lacquer-polish
Doctor Lacquer Apollo

KBShimmer Christmas Mani


Next up is my all-KBShimmer-polishes Christmas mani.

I am seriously in love with Christy's polish line.  The formulas are all so easy to work with and they wear very well.  Even her glitter bombs are fantastic!

More pics and info after the jump, just click the Read More link below.

christmas-mani
KBShimmer Christmas Mani

Zoya Christmas Mani


I'm so sorry.  I fail at keeping up with my blog.  *sobs*

Hoping to bang out three of these today, and a couple more soon.  I mean, it's just words and pictures, right?  The hard work is done!  Manis have been completed and removed!!  It should be easy to just put this stuff up!

Yeah, not so much when you can't blog from your phone.

So, here is my all-Zoya polishes Christmas mani!

christmas-mani
Zoya Christmas Mani


Monday, December 15, 2014

Smitten Polish Udora's Harvest Swatch


Here is another polish I received in my Secret Santa package!

Udora's Harvest by Smitten Polish.  It is a pretty rose gold polish with linear holo.  The holo is not very strong in artificial light but I'm sure this is a stunner in the sun!


smitten-udoras-harvest
Smitten Polish Udora's Harvest

This was two coats of Udora's Harvest over a coat of Yellow Stopper as a peel off base, then topped with Seche Vite.  The formula was easy to work with and cleaned up well.  This would make a great stamping base!

smitten-udoras-harvest
Smitten Udora's Harvest, two coats topped with Seche Vite


Do you have a favorite polish by Smitten?  Please share if you do!

Model City Wear With Caution 2.0 Swatch


Just a quick post to show off the Model City polish from my Secret Santa!

Here is two coats of Wear With Caution 2.0 topped with Seche Vite.  I put it over a coat of Yellow Stopper as a peel off base coat.


model-city-wear-with-caution-2.0
Model City Wear With Caution 2.0

This polish is a deep purple with linear holo.  It is beautiful in artificial lighting, and I can only imagine the beauty of it in natural light and full sunlight!

model-city-wear-with-caution-2.0
Model City Wear With Caution 2.0, two coats topped with Seche Vite

The formula was amazing to work with and cleaned up nicely.  The linear holo is strong and throws rainbows all over the place.

model-city-wear-with-caution-2.0
Model City Wear With Caution 2.0 in artificial light to show holo

This is a great polish and I can't wait to try more from Model City!



Misc. Post - Epic Nail Mail/Haul


I'm going to roll this all into one post.  Even though I really want to make about ten posts about it.  Just for shiggles.  ;-)

Click the Read More link below for all my pics and info!

Click the Read More link for epic nail mail!

KBShimmer Shade Shifter Ornament Mani


Oh.... my.... goodness.  I am blown away by this polish.

If you have no indies in your nail polish collection, please go give a look at KBShimmer's site (link here) and BUYALLTHEINDIES!!!11!1!

Seriously, I don't know how she does it.... Christy from KBShimmer makes a stellar product and her processing time is sooooo quick!  Even now, around the busiest time of year!  Just my experience with this polish you'll see in this post, based on this one time, I went back and ordered a bunch more. 

Anyway, many more pics and info after the jump!  Click the Read More link down below.

KBShimmer Mani

(I really need to start cropping before I load pics here... sorry about that.)

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

December BHB Mani Swap


Mani Swap Time!

This month I was graced with IG@thepolishedperspective as a partner!  She is fabulous.  Her natural nail shape is unique, and her swatches are great.  Check out her page on IG, she's got really great nail art on there too!

Without further ado, I give you our monthly mani swap!  Originals on the left, recreations on the right.  More info and pics after the jump, just click the Read More link down below.



Friday, December 5, 2014

Candy Canes and Snowflakes Mani


As usual, I'm a bit behind posting these.  Here are my first festive Christmas nails for this year!  More pics and info after the jump, just click the Read More link down below.

Candy Canes and Snowflakes

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Thanksgiving Turkey Mani


Happy Thanksgiving!!

I started out wanting to do a water marble turkey using various colors, but ran out of time (time is just so hard to come by precious with a 2-year-old!)  ;-)

So I found a stamp that would work, and yet the finished product turned out completely different than what I had in mind.  *shrug*  I am loving the cranberry and gold though!  More pics and info after the jump, just click the Read More link down below!

thanksgiving-polish
Thanksgiving themed mani

Friday, November 21, 2014

Blue to Red Gradient Stamped Mani



Fun rock-type mani for you with a blue to red gradient stamped and nail vinyl'd.  Lol, read more for info and many mani pics.  :-p  (Click the Read More link down below)

**Warning: Pic Heavy Post**


Favorite Drink Mani Challenge


I took part in a weekly challenge, which was a mani inspired by my favorite drink.  I chose this idea over doing a margarita mani, really only because I felt this mani embodied our current weather situation much better.  It just looks comfy and cozy to me!

My favorite drink (non-alcoholic) is COFFEE!  I don't know how I would get through the day without it.  And I don't want to find out.

More pics and info after the jump.  Click the "Read More" link below!


Thursday, November 20, 2014

BHB Mani Swap - November


I love mani swaps!

They are such a great source of inspiration when it's lacking within.  My BHB Mani Swap this time was with @color_obsessed30.  She has a lot of fun manis, you should check her account out!

Here is a shot of the mani swaps.  Originals on left, recreations on right, mine are top right and bottom left.  More pics and info about my mani after the jump.  Click that "Read More" link down below!

BHB Mani Swap: Originals on left, recreations on right

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Eagles Mani with Nail Vinyls



I want to shout loud and proud:
I AM A PHILADELPHIA EAGLES FAN!


I wanted to show some support for my team, so last week I did an Eagles mani with my Cult Cosmetics polish that I discovered was a perfect "new" Eagles Green!  More pics (including a swatch of Cult Pacific Coast Highway) and info after the jump.  Click that Read More link below!

E-A-G-L-E-S Eagles!!


Green And Copper Stamped Mani

Good morning!

Today I have a few posts (hopefully, if the toddler cooperates) for you.  Let's start with this green and copper stamped mani.  I wanted to use my green Zoya Matte Velvet called Veruschka since it caught my eye on a few fellow nail friends lately.  More pics (including Veruschka swatched) and info after the jump, just click Read More down below!


Monday, November 10, 2014

Spiders/Webs Mani - BHB Spooktober Mani Challenge: Day 27


Day 27 for BHBSpooktober is Spiders and Webs.  Here is a pic heavy post for you about my spiderweb mani, including a review of one of my new Cult polishes!  Whoop whoop!  More pics and info after the jump, just click on the "Read More" link below.

Spider/Webs Mani for Day 27 of the BHBSpooktober Challenge

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Horror Movie Character - BHB Spooktober Challenge Mani: Day 24

I have been planning for a while what I was going to do for the Horror Movie Character prompt of BHBSpooktober.  It was my friend's idea.  Her favorite holiday is Halloween, and her favorite Halloween horror movie is Trick 'r Treat.  So I give you Sam.  More pics and info after the jump, just click on the "Read More" link below.

BHBSpooktober Horror Movie Character Mani (Sam from Trick 'r Treat)

Bats/Full Moon Mani - BHB Spooktober Challenge: Day 20

Meh, I thought my last post was going to be pic heavy.  Brace yourselves, spam is coming.



...Nope.  Not that kind of spam.  ;-)

Full Moon and Bats mani for BHBSpooktober

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Candy Corn Mani - BHB Spooktober Challenge: Day 17

Heads up.
This post is going to have a lot of pics.  =)

Day 17 was a Candy Corn inspired mani.  I was terribly uninspired by this prompt, only because I didn't want to go with tried and true, or unoriginal.  I like how these turned out, quirky as they seem.  More pics, including my inspiration, after the jump.  Click the "Read More" link below.


Mama Halloween Mani

I have a quick, fun post for you.  I did my mom's nails for Halloween.  She really liked my pebble ghosts, so that's what she wanted.  I was happy to oblige.  =)


I used Sinful Colors Courtney Orange (which I just realized I had in my collection after drooling over everyone else that has been using it!!  It's the perfect Halloween orange!) and Essie For the Twill Of It as the base colors.


I used Essie Marshmallow for the pebble ghosts and Essie Licorice for the eyes and mouths.  To do the ghosts, I put one thin coat of For the Twill Of It on, let it dry.  Then I put a thick coat on and immediately dripped dots of Essie Marshmallow on top.  Love how they turned out!!


Then Mama wanted black cats stamped on her thumbs.  I wasn't thrilled with the quality I got with the first stamp (the one on the left) using my Cici&Sisi stamper, so I pulled out my XL BPS squishy stamper and shrank the image.  It was my first time shrinking an image!  He looks so funny with his skinny little cat legs.  x-D


Color Club The Uptown with lace accent

I dipped into my untried polishes for this mani.  I wanted to take a quick Halloween mani breather before delving into my next one.  More pics and info after the jump, just click the "Read More" link below!

Zoya Matte Velvet Collection

Nail Mail Alert!

I was waiting on pins and needles for these highly coveted beauties!  I ordered the entire (oops....) Zoya Matte Velvet collection and added Zoya Dahlia to my cart to get the three free polishes gift!


Zoya Matte Velvet Collection and others
 Above you can see L-R: Zoya Loredena, Zoya Veruschka, Zoya Harlow (swoon!), Zoya Posh, Zoya Dahlia, Zoya Caprice, Zoya Kierra, and Zoya Anthea.  Zoya Dovima and Savita are not pictured but were also a part of this order.

Is it just me, or does Caprice look exactly like Zoya Dawn...??  I'll edit and post a comparison pic.  But *happy dance* that I received no dupes!  (well, not really, if we are going by name...lol)

Soooo... this order came with Posh for free and Zoya's Matte Velvet red lipstick, which I of course had to try out.  Brace yourselves, Dancer is coming.  Errrr... umm... not.  like.  that.

Zoya Matte Velvet red lipstick
I'm not quite sold on such a bold red on my lips.  I mean, I don't even wear lipstick.  This was, however, quite pleasant on the lips.  Not invasive (if a lipstick can be invasive... in my opinion, they usually are, lol) at all.

Skeptical Dancer is skeptical about this red on me
I'm still skeptical.  Lol


Black Cats Mani - BHB Spooktober Challenge: Day 13

I am sorry, I am so behind in updating my blog.  Here are my black cat mani nails for the BHBSpooktober Challenge.  More pics and info after the jump.  Just click on that "Read More" link down below.

BHB Spooktober Day 13 Black Cat mani


Blood and Guts - BHB Spooktober Mani Challenge: Day 10

I was so excited to use China Glaze's new Halloween collection, so I used them for my Blood and Guts inspired mani for BHBSpooktober Day 10!



Zombie inspired blood and guts mani



Friday, October 17, 2014

China Glaze Apocalypse of Color 2014 Halloween Collection

I got some exciting nail mail!!!  An awesome nail friend of mine bought this collection online and shipped all six polishes in the set to me!  Sorry, I have no real swatches, but I am planning to use them in my upcoming Halloween manis.  Here are bottle shots of the China Glaze 2014 Halloween collection:

china-glaze-halloween-collection-2014
L-R: Don't Let the Dead Bite, I Love Your Guts, But Of Corpse, Getting to Gnaw You, Rest in Pieces, Ghoulish Glow




china-glaze-but-of-corpse 
China Glaze But of Corpse

But of Corpse is a great shimmery green with black microglitter that dries to a matte finish.

china-glaze-don't-let-the-dead-bite
China Glaze Don't Let the Dead Bite

 Don't Let the Dead Bite has awesome glitter bomb containing large, medium, and small red hex glitter, red micro glitter, and some red bar glitter in a milky-whitish jelly base.  When layered, it looks like pus or flesh with blood in it.  OMG it's a fantastic Halloween polish!

china-glaze-getting-to-gnaw-you
China Glaze Getting to Gnaw You

Getting to Gnaw You is small copper glitter with microglitter in a black jelly base.  Gorgeous fall polish!

China Glaze I Love Your Guts

I Love Your Guts is similar to But of Corpse, but it's a red base.  It also dries to a matte finish.

China Glaze Rest in Pieces

And my favorite so far in this collection, Rest in Pieces.  This glitter bomb has it all!  Holo glitter, microglitter, matte black hex glitter, bar glitter, etc etc etc.  all in a clear base.  Other than the fact that my bottle is goopy (there's also polish on the neck, so I bet it hasn't been properly closed for a while... thinking I need to add some thinner to this), I am so excited to use this, like, all the time.  

China Glaze Rest in Pieces
Look at that holo!  *wolf whistle*  Blurry pic to show the beauty.

Hopefully I'll have some pics of the actual polish on my nails soon!  What's your favorite in this collection?

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

BHB Spooktober Mani Challenge: Day 6 - Skeletons/Ghosts

Halloween is all about the blues, I mean, boos, right?!?

So I have my Day 6 challenge for #BHBSpooktober: Skeletons and Ghosts
More info and pics (warning: pic heavy post!) after the jump!



 

Template by BloggerCandy.com | Header Image by Freepik