Crumpet's 33DC: 3 Color Gradient + Pattern

Hello loves! If you follow me on Facebook, you'll know that I had a Very Sick Kitty last week. Therefore, I was put WAY behind on blogging, both this challenge and just regular swatching. I'm still taking pretty instense care of him, but he's home and is doing far better than he was last week, so I think it's time to play catch up! 

The prompt for whichever day this was was a 3 color gradient plus a pattern. I had this one all batched and ready to draft before kitty got ill, but in all the hubbub, I somehow lost my notes! Damn :( I know that the colors here are Sinful Colors Let's Meet, some orange- probably Wet N Wild 9021Orange, and Sinful Colors Forget Now. The stamping was done with Revlon Spirit, and what is most likely a Red Angel plate. I can sift through my plates and find the number if anyone really wants to know! 

Be sure to check out the rest of the (on time) gradient + pattern manis in the InLinkz below!

Glitter Me This Halloween Polishes: Swatches and Review

I know this is just a touch late, but I absolutely felt horrible for about the last week! So- better late than never! Just before Halloween, I won a great Halloween polish giveaway from Nicole over at Glitter Me This. My package included two Tombstone polishes from Wet N Wild Fantasy Makers and two of Glitter Me This's own polishes! 

First up: The Orange. I couldn't find a name for this polish anywhere, but it's a Halloween staple! It a clear glitter topper packed with orange, yellow, gold and white hexes and squares. This one will take me right through fall and Thanksgiving as well- I can see it looking lovely over a creamy chocolatey brown. Photos show two coats over Wet N Wild Fantasy Makers Black, topped with Out the Door. Photos taken under Ott Lite. 

I'm going to switch things up just a bit, and review both polishes right here, as the formulas were identical. And great. As far as glitter topcoats go, these both applied perfectly. Two coats for dense coverage, with no fishing or placement of glitters need. I dabbed a bit to ensure even coverage, but I do that with all glitter toppers. 

And here is the second of the Glitter Me This winnings: I believe it's called Hocus Pocus, and is a part of the Fall 2013 collection. It's another clear topper, this time predominantly purple with a smattering of just about every other colors thrown in. Even with a Halloween inspired name, this one is not Halloween specific, and if you're a purple lover, I think you'll be reaching for it all year. Photos show two coats over Wet N Wild Fantasy Makers Vampish Red, topped with Out the Door. 

Glitter Me This polishes can be purchased on Etsy (Hocus Pocus is still available!). You can also follow on Facebook and the Glitter Me This blog. 

Lyn B Designs Smoky Quartz Swatch and Review

I did a swap a while back with the lovely Jenna of Lyn B Designs. I own quite a few of her polishes (probably the largest showing in my indie collection, actually!) and have never been disappointed in any of them! 

 Meet Smoky Quartz, from the Gem Show Collection. It's a "brown jelly base loaded with smoky and dark colored flakies and it's a linear holographic." I didn't really see much holo when I wore it, but I didn't get any sunlight on them either, so . . . However, the flakies were quite apparent! Photos show three coat alone, topped with Out the Door. All photos taken under Ott Lite. 

This is Smoky Quartz, and it's a bonus that Jenna threw in for me, rather than being one of the ones I selected. And honestly, it's not a polish I would have paid any attention to. I probably scrolled right past it when I was browsing her shop. Even Jenna says that "Normally smoky quartz isn't that great of a stone, but if you get it in the light it really pops".  And so does the polish! It's THE perfect fall color: a deep brown base with tons of dark sparkle- mostly in purple-y and copper-y shades to my eyes, but there were flashes of blues and greens and golds as well. 

Jenna: I'm so sorry I overlooked this polish, and it's now one of my absolute favorites! I've worn this polish three times in the past few weeks, and I'm pretty sure it'll come out a few more times before the season is over! 

Ahh, there's some of that holo! The jelly base of Smoky Quartz is pretty sheer, and while I was able to build it to opacity in three coats, I wanted to try it layered to see how it would work as a topper. This is one coat of Smoky Quartz over Essie Smokin Hot, a dark dusty purple, topped with Out the Door. Wowza. I seriously can't say enough good things about this polish. It's a stunner, and it applied wonderfully. Like all jellies, it will drag a bit, so make sure to let each coat dry before adding the next. 

Lyn B Designs polishes (all of which are fabulous, really!) can be purchased on Etsy. You can- and should- like her Facebook page. And, just for good measure, follow along on Jenna's blog. 

*Polish was obtained through a swap. All opinions are my own. 

CNT Halloween Challenge: Your Halloween Mani

Apologies for being so late! I've been under the weather, plus had some internet troubles, but hopefully you're like me and love looking at costumes all year long!

So this is my costume mani, that I wore for the Halloween party my family threw the weekend before Halloween. My actual Halloween mani was boring, and not worth sharing. I did that nifty Roy Lichtenstein Pop Art look, so I went with comic book nails as well. I used Sinful Colors 24/7 and Sally Hansen Lightening as my bases, then did the black outline and white reflection in Sinful Colors stripers. There is a LOT of chipping going on here, but I didn't think to take pics until the night was almost over :( So they got a fair amount of abuse. 

Aand in case you were interested in the makeup as well, that's me on the right. Again, late in the evening, so there's some smudging, but I was super proud of how this turned out! I loved the look so much! I actually want to buy some fun bandanas now, because I loved the hairstyle as well. The hot blond on the left is my bestie by the way, and she's the Sundrop Girl :)

I'm sure you've already seen them, but stop by and check out all the other Halloween manis in the InLinkz below!

CNT 33DC: TWO Patterns

I had a lot of fun with this one. I obviously went with my two favorite patterns :) And one of my recent favorite colors!

I've really been digging yellow lately, maybe because Halloween just passed and it's a fun color both for that and fall in general, or maybe it's because it's been so damned gloomy here lately that I haven't seen the sun! Either way, I've been loving yellows, so I went with a base of Sinful Colors Let's Meet, a super bright and cheery golden yellow shimmer. Then I used a Sinful Colors white striper polish to freehand the lines. The dots were added with a dotting tool and Sinful Colors Snow Me White. 

Love, love LOVE it! So cheerful! What color do you wear on your nails to cheer yourself up?

Be sure to check out more multi-patterned manis in the InLinkz below!

Crumpet's 33DC: Follow a Tutorial

I was a bit pressed for time on this one, but luckily, someone I follow on Pinterest had recently pinned this awesome tutorial by Strawbrie, and I went "What the hell?" I've never done tie-dyed nails before, and I didn't follow the written instructions, only the photo. As a result, my polish was not quite blobby enough and so dried out a bit too quickly. Either way, I enjoy the result. 

My polishes were Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby, Sally Hansen Lightening, Sinful Colors Exotic Green (only used on a few fingers) and Nina Ultra Pro Blue Blaze. 

Be sure to check out more tutorial-inspired nail art in the InLinks below!

This Is Halloween by Lyn B Designs

It's here, it's here, it's here, it's finally here! HAPPY HALLOWEEN my loves! Although the big party was last weekend, which kind of signals the end of the big buildup for me as an adult, today is officially Halloween! So, of course, it has to be This Is Halloween by Lyn B Designs! 

This Is Halloween is "A gorgeous deep purple base with copper colored duchrome. It's loaded with purple and orange smaller glitters." First three photos show three coats alone, topped with Out the Door. All photos are taken under Ott Lite. 

When I first started playing with this polish, I though that it was too sheer to really be worn alone. But at three coats, it covers perfectly. Any VNL in the photos was not visible in person, and I think that this is my favorite way to wear this polish! I love the plummy base, and that coppery shimmer is gorgeous!

Purple and orange make for an unexpected, but stunning, combination that does not limit itself to Halloween! I can see myself wearing this polish all fall and winter long.

Next I decided to try it over a red. This is 1 coat over Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby. 

I'm slightly disappointed in the turnout here. The purple glitter and the copper shimmer looks great, but it doesn't pack as much of a punch as the original did. 

Finally I went with a purple base, 1 coat over Sinful Colors Amethyst. I loved this combo, almost as much as the polish alone! 

The orange glitter and copper shimmer really pop over the purple base, and this combo truly screams Halloween to me! 

This Is Halloween is currently available through the Lyn B Designs Etsy shop, along with the rest of the The Nightmare Begins collection and tons of brilliant other fangirly colors. You can like Lyn B Designs on Facebook and follow along with her blog as well. 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! What's on your nails today?

*Polish obtained through a swap. All opinions are my own.