NEW 31DC: Stamping

If you're at all familiar with this blog, then by now you're quite aware that I am a HUGE fan of stamping! Even for those with questionable nail art skills (such as myself!), stamping can be a huge success! There are, of course, a few tricks that make things easier, but for the most part, there aren't any secrets. Drop your polish on the plate, pick it up with the stamper, plop it on your nail and you're good to go! I splurged for Christmas and bought myself some new stamping plates. I've already shown a few of the Red Angel plates in this challenge, but the other one I've been saving for today!

I started off by following the Splodgerama Tutorial by our lovely host, the Crumpet :) I wanted something rather more muted than the colors that she showed off, so that the stamping popped. I began with a base of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Golden-I, then used a cut up cosmetic sponge to randomly splodge on patches of Essie Penny Talk and Pure Ice Iced Copper. I LOVE the look of just the base, and wish I could have gotten some wear out of it! I see a repeat in the future.

I was soo excited to use my brand new, first ever Cheeky plate! I got the jumbo C plate, which is chock full of gorgeous, amazingly intricate paisley patterns! I stamped using two different sets of mirror images using Sinful Colors Inkwell. I had to repaint my index, and apparently it wasn't quite dry when I stamped. I didn't notice until I was editing photos :( Still- I am AMAZED at how well this plate stamped! I tend to have some transfer issues, especially with very detailed designs, but each of these nails was one attempt at picking up the image!

How do you feel about stamping? Are you a die hard, or would you rather do it freehand (in which case I'm so jealous of you!)?

Check out the rest of the gorgeous stamping in the links below!

NEW 31DC: Gold

Hello, dahlings! Today's prompt is Gold, which gave me a chance to do another very formal and regal looking manicure!

To be perfectly fair, I didn't actually use any gold polish. But rose gold still counts in my mind (damn- I just got an idea for a Black Hills Gold mani- where was that when I was struggling to come up with something for today?). 

I started with a base of Essie Penny Talk (with which I had MAJOR issues, and will post about soon) and topped it with Orly Ingenue (which I LOVED, and will also post about soon). I used Penny Talk and RA plate SE-12 to stamp on the paisley design. For all it's faults, Penny Talk made for excellent stamping!

This particular mani is highlighting for me the need for a lightbox! I'm absolutely loving my Ott Lite, and I think my photos have improved a hundredfold already, but the metallic sheen in Penny Talk combined with the insane shimmer in Ingenue made for incredibly difficult photography! The light was just bouncing off of everything! We'll see what happens once that light is diffused by some tissue paper, shall we?

Be sure to check out the rest of the Gold manis in the links below!

Precious Metal by HIT Polish

Here is my final New Year's Eve mani! This one almost didn't win out, because I loved this combo so much, I wore it for three days in the testing phase! Part of me wants to wear something new and different, but hey! That was last week, I can wear it again if I want to! 

Shown is two coats of Precious Metal over LA Colors Whipped, topped with Seche Vite. Photos taken under Ott Lite. 

  

Rachel from HIT Polish describes Precious Metal: "Combining the colors of bronze, copper, gunmetal, gold and silver metals in fine, small, medium and large hex glitter. Choked full of beautiful unique glitters, wear alone of over top of a color base coat. Either way GORGEOUS!!" I wouldn't call any of these glitters "large", as the largest are probably only .062 at the most. There is also a micro holo-y shimmer that is just stunning!

Enlarge this picture- the shimmer and micro glitters are fantastic, and need to be blown up to truly appreciate. As far as application, this one was great. Glitter topcoats tend to be either way too thick, or the glitter is way too sparse. This was neither, and applied without a hitch. No dabbing, no fishing, just regular paint it on style. I've tried several HIT Polishes, and the formula is the same on all of them!

HIT Polish can be purchased on Etsy. Rachel is running a sale that end at 11 EST TONIGHT, so hop on over and grab what you want now! The polish lineup is always changing, and many colors are very limited edition, so don't wait to snap up the colors you want. Like HIT Polish on Facebook for updates and new color previews!

Gimme Some Bubbly by 365 Days of Color

I've been auditioning polishes for the past few days, looking for the perfect New Year's Eve nails. I'll show you the contenders over the next few days, leading up to the ultimate: the polish I actually chose to wear!

We'll start off with Gimme Some Bubbly by 365 Days of Color. The name is just absolutely perfect! Shown on nail wheel, L-R: two coats of Gimme Some Bubbly alone, and two coats over Sinful Colors This Is It, Wet N Wild Wild Shine Tickled Pink and Sinful Colors Pink Forever. 

Sunny from 365 Days of Color says: "For this polish I wanted to have a polish that represented the nice, crisp drink everyone has around the holidays: champagne. This shimmery gold polish can be worn alone or layered over other colors to give you an awesome mani! GSB is packed with different gold glitters to give it the look of bubble in champagne. THIS POLISH SMELLS LIKE VICTORIA'S SECRET CHAMPAGNE AND STRAWBERRIES BODY SPRAY!!!"

I wanted to bring in the strawberry-ness of the polish's scent, so I chose to layer two coats over Wet N Wild Tickled Pink. Mani is topped with Out the Door, photos are taken indoors under a daylight lamp, and some with flash. 

This photo is obviously wildly inaccurate, color wise, but you can really see the gold shimmer from the polish in the light reflection. The shimmer is quite strong, and this is the best shot of it.

I had zero application issues with this polish, just like every other 365 Days of Color polish that I've tried. Sunny does say that it can be worn alone, but I think it would take far too many coats to achieve opacity, and it is best layered. I love the delicacy Gimme Some Bubbly over every color I tried it with! It's not boring by any means, but it's not "in-your-face" either. 

Gimme Some Bubbly is from the 365 Days of Color Holiday trio, and it is the color that I was the most excited about, by far! Gold isn't really my favorite polish color, but Strawberries & Champagne is my absolute favorite scent ever, so I was thrilled that this was S&C scented! It does smell like Strawberries & Champagne, but it was also a bit perfume-y. I know that S&C is meant to be a perfume-y scent, but this was different, somehow. I can't quite explain it. Not bad, but not quite the same. The smell is delicate enough that it didn't overwhelm me, as some scents have a tendency to do, and lasted the whole time I wore it (about two days, and through a shower.) This is my favorite of the trio in terms of scent, even though it's a color I won't break out very often. 

365 Days of Color polishes are available here. Sunny is currently running a sale, but I'm not sure how long it will last, so snap up the colors you want now! There are also amazing cuticle balms and oils, plus new hand creme available. Check out the 365 Days of Color blog and Facebook as well. 

12 Days of Christmas: Tinsel

Merry Christmas Eve, ladies (and gentleman!)- I hope it's lovely, and that you get to spend time with your loved ones, and that you get some great polish-y gifts from someone out there who understands your obsession :)

I almost wanted to skip out of this prompt, as the post I have is a fail on so many levels. But in the spirit of completeness, here is what I have for you.

I could not come up with a Single. Idea. that was actual nail art, and related to tinsel. So I resorted to polish. I used a base of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Golden-I, then topped it with Paparazzi by Custom Nail Art (an amazing gold holo bar glitter dotted with pinky-lilac hexes). My accent nail is topped with Sally Hansen Gem Crush Big Money. I loved the mani itself, and it was blingy to the point of distraction! But, alas, my camera batteries gave out on my after two photos, and it slipped my mind to take any more before switching my polish :(

Closeup to show the amazing bling of Paparazzi.

Be sure to check out the other tinsel manis in the links below- and have a very Merry Christmas!

12 Days of Christmas: Elves!

So today's prompt is Elves, and I wasn't too excited about this one. I knew I couldn't pull off little elf faces, so I was at a loss. Then inspiration struck, and I decided to go abstract again!

I started with a base of Sinful Colors Last Chance with an accent nail in Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby. I taped off my middle finger to do the "elf tights" in Ruby Ruby, then added the dots in Sally Hansen Extreme Wear Golden-I. The dots on my index are Ruby Ruby, pinkie are Golden-I, both done with dotting tools.

There is a much better view of my accent nail here, and I kind of love it! I used French tip guides at a cockeyed angle to create my elf shoe in Last Chance, then dotted on the jingle bell tip in Golden-I. I was worried about how this would turn out, but I wish I had done the shoes on all my fingers! 

To fulfill my indie requirement, I used Slippery When Wet (unscented) top coat by Wonder Beauty Products.

Be sure to check out the other elves below, and come back tomorrow for tinsel!

12 Days of Christmas: Ornaments

Hello, dah-lings! Time for a Christmas nail art post again! Only 4 left, after today? And how am I going to put elves on my nails!?

Today's prompt, ornaments, is inspired by my favorite tree at my mother's house (she literally has one in every downstairs room in her home, including the bathroom!)

This is the tree in the parlor/computer/sitting room. The whole thing is decorated in gold and bronze with white lights, and I love the cohesive feel to it. It's so beautiful, and while it's not the tree that we put gifts under, it is my favorite tree in the house! This photo is taken with flash, to get the best idea of the colors . . .

 . . . while THIS photo was taken without flash, to give you the feel of sitting in a dark room, lit only by the Christmas tree lights, and just looking at the beauty of the tree, feeling the holiday spirit.

And here it is on my nails. I used a base of Sinful Colors Exotic Green topped with 365 Days of Color's Trimming the Tree, which even SMELLS like a Christmas tree! (But not mine, as mine is artificial.) The ornaments were stamped on with Sally Hansen Insta Dri Lightening, then gone over with Sinful Colors This Is It and a liner brush to give it some twinkle. The stamps are all from the Salon Express stamping kit. 

And here's a blurry, flash photo to show the glitz on the ornaments.

How is your tree decorated? Do you prefer a monochromatic, elegant look or a hodge-podge mess of heirloom ornaments? 

Be sure to check out the other challengers below!

Gold Rush by Free Hippie: Gold in Them Thar Hills!

Hello, lovelies! Today's beauty is Gold Rush by Free Hippie, an out-of-the-blue polish maker that I never would have discovered were it not for randomly searching Etsy for "nail polish". Rebecca from Free Hippie specializes in Boho Chic and hippie jewelry, but she also offers a small selection of polish, and I've been very impressed with it! (You can see my review of Phosphorus here.)

Gold Rush is a nice pale gold packed full of shimmer, plus small and micro bright gold hexes.

This is two coats of Gold Rush alone, topped with Seche Vite. Photos taken in natural sunlight.

I love how pale this color is compared to most gold polishes: I really don't wear gold polish on a regular basis, and I hate how it looks with my skin, but this is a nice, almost champagne color, and I think I pulled it off rather well! The polish went on very smoothly, and had great coverage. I was afraid it would be kind of sheer, but I only used two coats, and I'm the three-coat Queen. It did dry slightly gritty, as is standard with micro glitters, but a thick coat of Seche Vite completely smoothed the whole thing over. I've tried 6 colors from Free Hippie, and I haven't had a single issue with any of them! This one, in fact, has become my favorite gold (for the rare occasions when I need one!). My only complaint is that polishes are only available in minis- because there are a few that I would like full size!

Free Hippie polishes are available on Etsy.

Happy Hobbit Day! + A Mani

If you read my Leibster award post, or just retain a lot of random information that I post, you'll know that I am a huge nerd at heart, and the number one nerd franchise for me is the Lord of the Rings. I use that name to embody the whole of Tolkien's Middle Earth writings, most DEFINITELY including the Hobbit. So, of course, I was out at midnight last night for the premier! Actually, we were in the theatre waiting at 10pm. About 20 to 12, the other 5 people who were at our midnight showing showed up! There were only 8 people! I live in a smallish town, so it's understandable, though I was slightly disappointed to know that there are so few die hard Hobbit fans here! But it was nice to have the theatre practically to ourselves :)

Of course, this being a nail blog, there is a manicure buried in here somewhere, and here it is:

The One Ring, on my nails. I've seen a few of these today, so obviously I wasn't as original as I thought, but I still love them :)

I started with two coats of Sinful Colors This Is It, topped it with two coats of Literary Lacquers' Jealous Oberon, and then drew on the Elvish script with a Sharpie. Sharpies are seriously my new best friend for black detail work. I'm thinking about picking up one of those 24 packs of various colors and seeing how that goes! 

Has anyone else seen The Hobbit yet? Thoughts? I cannot stress enough how much I feel Martin Freeman was THE best possible choice for Bilbo! I hadn't even heard of him way back when he was confirmed in the role, but I've since watched BBC's Sherlock, and thought he would do well. Then he just blew me out of the water! It's like this was the role he was born for. I enjoyed most of the added bits (that is, bits that weren't in the book), with the exception of Radagast, who I thought was a bit campy. Though the hedgies were just too darn cute! 

I loved that the movie referenced the Lord of the Rings trilogy, though I thought that some of the visuals being basically identical was too much. 

Overall, it lived up to my expectations, which is saying rather a lot! I've been counting down to this film for about two years, and I wasn't disappointed. 

Steampunk! by Borough Babe Made

I did a trade a while back with the lovely Shannon from Borough Babe Made. I specifically picked this polish to be a part of my Halloween mani. Come on, it's in the name :) 

Shannon describes this color as "inspired by Steampunk jewelry. I've mixed up this color to have that sort of antiqued brass color you often see in steampunk pieces. It's also got my favorite holographic gold glitter mixed in." 

All Borough Babe polishes are 3 free, and hand mixed in the "boogie down Bronx". Polishes also come in a cute little handstamped, red velvet drawstring bag. I had forgotten this fact when I opened the package, so when I glimpsed the sea of red beneath the bubble wrap, I panicked! I thought there was a serious leakage problem! Nope: just an adorable personal touch :)

Three coats of Steampunk, topped with a coat of Gelous and a coat of Seche Vite. Photos taken in natural sunlight. 

Love the gritty, antique-y look of this color!

This polish was great to work with, if perhaps a little thick. I may add a drop or two of thinner before adding this one on Halloween. Otherwise, things were breezy. The glitter applied smooth and even, and I love how the micro shimmer gives the finished product a textured look! (Note: No texture was actually present. Steampunk was smooth and flat on the nail!)

Have you tried any Borough Babe polishes? They are available on Etsy: full sized bottles are $8, while minis are $3.75. Stop by Facebook and Like Borough Babe as well!

I Have Forsworn His Bed and Company: Jealous Oberon by Literary Lacquer

Oberon: Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania. 

Titania: What, jealous Oberon? Fairies, skip hence; I have forsworn his bed and company.

Oberon: Tarry, rash wanton! Am I not thy lord?

A Midsummer Night's Dream is my absolute favorite Shakespear show. I love the fairies, and the forest in moonlight, and the witty bickering that goes on between Titania and Oberon, Queen and King of the Fae. 

Enter Literary Lacquers, with a 7 polish line based off of a Midsummer Night's Dream! I have three of those to show you over the next week or so (scattered between the many Nail Art Challenges I have lined up!), and the first is Jealous Oberon. 

I love that there is a full ingredient label! Amy from Literary Lacquers describes Jealous Oberon as "champagne gold with holographic gold squares throughout." But honestly, this polish is far more complex than that. The base is a gold shimmer, there are micro gold glitters that are not quite holographic, but almost sparkle like they are, plus larger holographic squares which, apart from flashing rainbow colors when the light hits, appear to be either gold or silver depending on how the light doesn't hit it. (Does that make sense? Sometimes they seem gold, sometimes they seem silver, sometimes the holo out.)

This is three coats of Jealous Oberon alone, topped with a coat of Gelous and a coat of Seche Vite. Photos taken in natural sunlight. 

You all know by now that I love a good story while polish shopping, and Jealous Oberon doesn't disappoint!  There is a "twin" to this polish, Proud Titania, that is silver with holo diamonds. She (Amy) had intended to call the silver "Ill Met By Moonlight" but Jealous Oberon kept getting into her head and insisting that he have his own polish! Thus this gold beauty was born. But then Proud Titania demanded a polish of her own, so Ill Met By Moonlight was renamed, and you have the royal gold and silver metallic duo named for the Fae Court Royalty: Jealous Oberon and Proud Titania!

Closeup to show the individual micro glitters.

Blurred to show holo and sparkle.

This is actually my least favorite of the three Literary Lacquers that I have to show, and I still love it! I don't wear gold at all, jewelry wise, because I don't feel that it flatters my skin tone, but Jealous Oberon is a nice pale and not-too-yellow gold that would make it complimentary for all complexions. Application was a dream: it spread nicely, and the squares flowed freely, and lay completely flat (squares have a higher than average tendency to curling- these did not, at all). This is sheer enough to wear over another color, if you so desire, but was completely opaque in three coats. Any VNL you think you see in those photos is a result of the sun shining directly on the free edge of my nails: it was not at all visible in person! 

Finally: I have to say that Jealous Oberon is almost obscenely blingy! Between the color, the holo and the sparkle, this is NOT a neutral polish by any means. I definitely see holiday manis featuring this color!

Check out Literary Lacquers on Etsy. Full sized bottles run $10. There is the full Midsummer collection, as well as a few Dracula polishes! Be sure to stop by and Like Literary Lacquers on Facebook too, and quick! There is a coupon code valid through 10/31!

Support your indies, ladies!
Cheers,

-Liz-

*This product was provided to me for an honest review.

8 Spooky Nights Nail Art Challenge: Skulls

Today is the first day of my SECOND Halloween Nail Art Challenge this month. And I'm throwing a big party next Saturday. My costume isn't done, decorating isn't done, food isn't planned, and I have 7 nail art looks to complete by then! Needless to say, I'm a busy girl :) But I took a good chunk out of my day today to play around with nail art, so that I don't fall behind! 

For this challenge, as with the other challenge I'm participating in, I challenge myself to use at least one indie polish in each design, to keep in line with my blog mission statement. 

So here is my look for 8SN Day 1: Skulls. I had a super cute layered stamping thing in my head, but my stamper (or more probably, my polish) was NOT cooperating with me this morning! 

I started with three coats of Literary Lacquers' Jealous Oberon (check back tomorrow to see a full review on that polish!), then stamped on the skulls using Sally Hansen Insta Dry in Presto Pink, and Vivid Lacquer plate VL-001 (full nail skulls) and QA 5 for the single skulls. 

Be sure to check out all the other ladies participating in this challenge, and their amazing creations!

-Liz-

Peace Love Lacquer
XO, Noelle
College Polished
PishPosh & Polish
Beauty Dish
Nail By Katie
Jenerally Speaking 
Galactic Lacquer 
Tres' Chic Nails 
charlottes-nails 
Manic Manis
The Life, Time and Lacquers of Lilmoon
Makeup and Nails, Not War
Not Too Polished
Mimi Manicures
Seriously Swatched 8 Spooky Nights
Jilltastic Nail Designs