Pastel Brushstrokes

Happy Easter everyone! I haven't done much as far as Eastery nails this year, so I wanted to go all out on Easter. I wanted a pastel look and I had several ideas (water marble, gradient, dots) but I ended up going with a brushstroke mani. For any of you out there that are afraid of nail art, this couldn't be simpler.

Here are the colors that I used:

L-R: OPI Sparrow Me the Drama, Revlon Buttercup, Orly Ancient Jade, 

Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream, Illamasqua Jo'mina

Here is a step-by-step:

1) Paint on your base color. Use the lightest color you are working with (in my case it was the yellow) and let it dry.

2) Get a small brush to make swipes of color on your nails. I have seen some people use the actual polish brush, but this didn't work as well for me. To make the "brushstroked" look, you want as little polish on your brush as possible or otherwise it will just make blobs of color. I opted to use a frayed, bristly brush so that the brushstrokes would really be apparent (it was an old ELF concealer brush that was partially melted off from dipping it in acetone for clean-up...nothing fancy! Haha!).

3) Get a flat surface (I used a paper plate) and blob some polish on it sort of like a painter's palette. It doesn't take much! Work with one color at a time because you want the polish to still be thin and wet when you swipe in on your nail. If you put all of your colors out on your plate at one time, the ones you use last will dry out and get thick before you get to them.

4) Dip your brush LIGHTLY into the first color and make a few random swipes on each nail. Repeat this with all of the other colors that you have chosen, cleaning your brush with acetone between each color and drying it a bit with a paper towel. Be sure to clean the brush or otherwise your colors will look very muddy. Also be sure to leave some of your base color peeking through!

5) Clean up your cuticles and seal with topcoat!

This sounds more labor intensive than it is. I think it took me 5 minutes to do once my base color was dry. You can do this with any color scheme you want and you can also try it with different finishes (and mix finishes) for a very interesting look.

I hope all of you have a blessed Easter! Thanks for looking!

HARE Polish The Teen Queen

Today I have another polish from the Last Queen of France Collection by HARE Polish. I was in the mood for something delicate and clean, so I was inspired by creator Nikole's original swatch layerings and chose to layer The Teen Queen over a soft, delicate pink. I chose one of my old favorites from OPI's Ballet Collection last year, Care to Danse?, which is a soft lavender/pink jelly. The Teen Queen is a mixture of blue and soft pink matte glitters in a clear base with a DIVINE blue shimmer. The shimmer makes this polish something special. This is 1 coat of The Teen Queen over Care to Danse? (3 coats).

Here is a picture of OPI Care to Danse? by itself from about a year ago. It is so perfect for a "my nails but better" look! This was either 3 or 4 coats. They are sheer, but non-streaky so that makes them a breeze to apply. I love OPI's jellies!

HARE Polish is available from Nikole's Etsy Shop as well as from Llarowe. Thanks for looking everyone!

Pahlish Sugar Venom

Today I have another Pahlish for you, this one from the Coney Island Queen Collection for spring. This collection consists of glitters and shimmers in colored creamy bases that are perfect for spring. As soon as I saw swatches of Sugar Venom, I knew it had to be mine. The vibrant bright pink base with the specks of glitter just looks like candy. I did two coats for this mani. There is an amazing violet shimmer in this polish that makes it really special.

This Pahlish along with the other polishes from the Coney Island Queen Collection are available in Pahlish's Etsy Shop. Thanks for looking everyone!

Ozotic 513

I decided to do a mani with an old favorite today, Ozotic 513. This is from the discontinued line of Ozotic linear holos, however, I do believe that Glitter Gal Crushed Ego might be similar to this. It is a deeper, more reddish purple than Color Club Eternal Beauty. This is 2 coats of Ozotic 513.

Thanks for looking! 

Unposted March Green Spam!

As March draws to a close, I still have a few unposted greens to share with you.

OPI Mermaid Tears stamped with Color Club Angel Kiss. I loved how this subtle stamping turned out!

Here is Mermaid Tears on its own. One of my favs!

Ulta3 Mojito. I saw a swatch of this polish posted on a blog and I had to have it immediately. Luckily I have awesome Aussie friends that are always up for a custom purchase! <3 It is so crazy bright it is almost neon in some lights. I LOVE it. Totally exceeded my expectations.

Zoya Vespa. So yeah...I actually wore a textured polish with no topcoat. It was ok. It didn't drive me nuts like I thought it would. I think the color of this polish is lovely and it sucked me in. I'm about halfway sold on the textured thing. Still not my favorite finish though. 

Thanks for looking everyone!!! 

Birthday Mani!

So today is my birthday and I guess at this point in the nail world the mani I chose is almost cliche...but we will call it a "classic". I decided to wear Lynnderella The Glittering Crowd over OPI Road House Blues (one of my favorite cremes). It screams birthday!! *sigh* It is a shame that this one was discontinued...

Well...off to enjoy some cake! Thanks for looking everyone!! 

A Few Smitten Polish Spring Collection Swatches

After seeing a preview of the Smitten Polish spring collections, I was delighted that Noelie sent a few to me to review because they are so perfectly fresh and springy. There are actually two collections for spring and I have two polishes from each collection.

Up first is the Berrydrops collection, which contains an array of fresh, springy colored jelly bases with translucent flakies similar to the ones in the coveted Illamasqua Raindrops. The flakes give these polishes wonderful depth and a subtle sparkle. I found it best to use thin coats to build up the color and the flakies. Keep in mind that the base color has to be a little on the thin side to allow the flakies to shine through, but the extra coats are worth it. Be sure to click on the pictures so you can see the flakies better.

First up is Bananaberry Gumdrop, pale, creamy yellow with subtle flakies. The shade of yellow is absolute perfection. This is shown at 4 thin coats.

Next is Snozzberry Gumdrop, an bright teal base with flakies. This is even a bit brighter in real life than my pictures show. This is 4 thin coats. 

The second spring collection is called the Speck-tacular Collection, and it consists of an array of spring colors with black glitters in the base, or in the case of Robin's Egg, brown glitters. 

First up I have Butter Mint, a gorgeous aqua-mint jelly with black glitters. I say aqua-mint because the shade is a really vibrant, blue-leaning mint. It actually photographed really blue in my pictures and I had to color adjust them to get close to the actual shade. It reminds me of mint chip ice cream. This is 3 coats of Butter Mint. 

Finally, I have Robin's Egg, a robin's egg blue jelly base with brown glitters. This is 3 coats of Robin's Egg. It is perfect for its namesake. 

Noelie now has both of these spring collections live in Smitten Polish's Etsy Store, so be sure to check them out! Thanks for looking everyone! 

Pahlish Crocodile Rock

As soon as I saw this Pahlish stocked, I snatched it up instantly! It is amazing!! I love sparkly greens and this one, with its multicolored glitter mixed in, is to die for. It is everything I wanted Lynnderella The Bunny Code to be. It looks like an Easter basket with pretty dyed eggs mixed in. This is 2 coats over China Glaze Holly Day.

Pahlish Crocodile Rock, 2 coats over China Glaze Holly Day

Crocodile Rock is a limited edition shade for Easter, so be sure to snap one up while they are still available in Shannon's Etsy Shop. Thanks for looking everyone!