Thursday, October 29, 2015

Double Stamp All the Nails!

Hi everyone! Today Paint All the Nails is doing double stamping! I love double stamping and I'm often inspired by the double stamping looks that Deborah from Love Varnish is famous for doing because they are always so elegant! Today, I decided not to go for a traditional elegant double stamping look, but instead went for a Halloween spin.

For my mani, I started out with a base of China Glaze Lady and the Vamp (which has such a weird name because I'm imagining a vampy red) and then I put Sally Hansen Jack-O-Lantern over it for a little old school glittery goodness. Then I used the MoYou-London Festive plate 16 and Pretty Serious Presence to stamp on the spider webs. Next I stamped on some spiders from the same plate using Konad Black to stamp. It was a very cliche Halloween mani, but I really enjoyed it. I love the depth that double stamping adds to a manicure...you can almost make something that looks like a decal using the technique.



Tuesday, October 27, 2015

CrowsToes Halloween 2015 Trio

*Press Samples*

Hi everyone! Tonight I have a brand new trio to share with you from CrowsToes Nail Color! Halloween is Lauri's favorite holiday, so I was definitely not shocked that she wasn't skipping out on doing a few Halloween-themed polishes this year. The Halloween 2015 Trio will be releasing on Friday (October 30th) in CrowsToes' brand new Big Cartel shop!


Saturday, October 24, 2015

Great Lakes Lacquer November Limited Editions

*Press Samples*

Hi everyone! Long time, no see. Sorry for my absence, I just had a really blah week and wasn't feeling like blogging. I'm back today though, and I'm excited to share some brand new limited editions from Great Lakes Lacquer with you. These will be available from October 31st at 3 PM EST and will disappear from the shop on December 1st at 2 PM EST.


Friday, October 16, 2015

Pretty Serious Absence and Presence

*Press Samples*

Hi everyone! Today I have two more Pretty Serious Cosmetics cremes to share with you, this time their black and white cremes. I'm sure that if you have been around the nail polish world for any length of time you know that the search for a "holy grail" black and white creme polish is a constant struggle. Pretty Serious set out on a mission to create the perfect black and white creme polishes so that we could all end our quest, so let's see how they did!


Thursday, October 15, 2015

Guest Post at Be Happy and Buy Polish

*Guest Post*

Hi everyone! I'm so sorry that I have taken so long to do this, but I remember when this post went up I had a bunch of life craziness going on and I totally forgot to post this! I did a guest post on Oct 2 over at Be Happy and Buy Polish showing a simple distressed look for fall. Jessica is a total sweetheart and I was honored to be able to post for her. Please check out the post and check out her blog too and show her some love! Thanks!

*See Post Here!* 




Throwback Thursday: OPI DS Glamour

*Purchased by Me*

Hi everyone! I feel like I've agregiously been ignoring my stash lately and this polish popped into my head the other day and just would not get out. I only pull this pretty out every once in a blue moon since it is so hard to come by, but boy does it make me happy when I put it on my nails!

OPI DS Glamour is a deep blue (bordering on blurple) linear holo. True to the old OPI DS line, it is very thin and jelly-like and I used 3 coats for full coverage (though I could have maybe gotten away with 2, I really like it better at 3). This polish was from my epic dusty find of 2011 (I talk about it in this old post) where I found 11 OPI DS polishes just hanging out and I paid $6 each for them (so less than retail). I was so happy to be able to squash a few lemmings for myself and my friends with that find! I know that there are so many amazing holos out there now, but these still hold a special place in my heart.


Hare Polish Never Ending Summer Trio + Two Forty Five AM

*Press Samples*

Hi everyone! Today I have Hare Polish's Never Ending Summer Trio to share with you as well as a limited edition polish (which may or may not already be gone...I'm sorry about that!). The theme of this trio hits very close to home for me because living in south Alabama, I never really feel like we get a true "fall". It goes from hot as hades to a little less hot. We will get some fall/winter days but it feels like maybe for a week we get cooler weather and then it will creep back up into the upper 80's again. *Sigh* ANYWAY...what I'm saying is...I FEEL YA NIKOLE! The Neverending Summer Trio is available now in the Hare Polish shop.

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Falling Into Fall: Delush Polish Girl of Many Faces

*Purchased by Me*

Hi everyone! Today I have a brand new Delush Polish from their recently released Dames of Thrones Collection. As you might have guessed, this collection is based on the leading female characters from the series Game of Thrones. I picked up two from this collection and I have the first one to share with you today.

Girl of Many Faces is a dusty chocolate brown jelly filled with various shades of autumnal micro glitters including bronze, red, gold, and iridescent as well as gold flake shimmer. Formula was nice and easy to work with and I used 3 thin coats for full coverage. This polish screamed fall to me and I really love unique brown polishes so it was a must have. The glittery depth of this jelly is stunning! This polish is based on the character Arya Stark from Game of Thrones, and I must say she is one of my favorite female characters on the show, though I wouldn't want to screw with her and end up on her "list".


Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Pretty Serious The Well Meaning But Ultimately Quite Awkward Pet Names Collection

*Press Samples*

Hi everyone! Today I have a collection of gorgeous cremes from Pretty Serious Cosmetics to show you that I'm very excited about! I've been doing so many fall/winter shades lately that these bright shades were welcomed with open arms. The Well Meaning But Ultimately Quite Awkward Pet Names Collection is a collection of 6 brightly colored cremes that I will totally be wearing year-round. And as the name of the collection suggests, these are all named super cutesy pet names that you would probably cringe if you were called. These are available now in the Pretty Serious shop.


Monday, October 12, 2015

Scofflaw Gee That's a Large Beetle, I Wonder If It's Poisonous LE for Halloween 2015

*Press Sample*

Hi everyone! Today I have a brand new limited edition Scofflaw Nail Varnish to share with you that will be available at the next launch. There will be a 24-hour pre-order window starting at 8 PM CST on October 16th (this Friday). Be sure to grab it while you can because it is a beauty!

Gee That's a Large Beetle, I Wonder if it's Poisonous is a blackened blue jelly scattered holo filled with all sorts of flecks, flakes, and shimmer in blue, green, and purple. Formula was excellent to work with and I got full coverage in 2 easy coats. All of the flecky/shimmery goodness is very subtle on the nail but adds wonderful depth to the polish and all sorts of wonderful things pop out when the light hits it. The green and blue colors were hard to catch in photos, but you can see them much better in the macro. The subtle beauty of this polish is not to be overlooked!



Sunday, October 11, 2015

Yeti, Lulu, and Friends Present Elevation Polish's 2015 4th Annual Charity Event

*Press Samples*

Hi everyone! It's time for Elevation Polish's Annual Charity Sale/Auction. Every year, Lulu from Elevation Polish organizes a huge fundraising event to benefit Chrestomathy, which is an organization local to her that is a day training and habilitation service for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The polishes that will be sold/auctioned in this event were all donated by Elevation Polish as well as many generous indie makers, so 100% of the profits from the event will be donated to Chrestomathy. For more details about the event, please check out Elevation Polish's blog post.


Saturday, October 10, 2015

Pahlish Happy Holo-Ween II

*Press Samples*

Hi everyone! Today I have the Pahlish Happy Holo-Ween II Collection to share with you! You might remember the Happy Holo-Ween Collection from last year, and I feel like Part II is even more rich and vibrant than the original collection, which I love (and they have a sassy little lady ghost this year on the bottle too!) . I've actually be wearing different polishes from this collection all week and I'm not tired of them yet! I love holos with multi-dimensional flecks and shimmer and these are just perfect. The Happy Holo-Ween II Collection as well as the October A Rare Month Duo which I posted about yesterday both go on sale this Sunday at 7 PM CST in the Pahlish shop


Friday, October 9, 2015

Pahlish October 2015 Duo: A Rare Month

*Press Sample*

Hi everyone! Today I'm excited to share with you the Pahlish October 2015 Duo. The A Rare Month Duo is absolutely stunning for Halloween, and it really made me nostaligic when I first saw it. I don't even know if this was intentional, but the color scheme of it this duo really makes me think of one of my favorite Pahlish Duos ever, the Dark Carnival Duo from October 2013. Now the polishes themselves aren't the same at all, but they just have a similar feel and maybe feel like an updated, more sophisticated version of that duo. The A Rare Month Duo goes on sale this Sunday at 7 PM CST in the Pahlish shop, along with the Happy Holo-Ween II Collection which I will be sharing with you tomorrow!


Hare Polish "We Have to Go Back Kate!" - The Lost Collection, Part 1

*Press Samples*

Hi everyone! Today I have a Hare Polish's recently relased "We Have to Go Back Kate!" - The Lost Collection, Part 1 to share with you. Nikole all but promised that there will be more Lost polishes in the future since she has a love affair with the show, but these are the very first additions. I have never watched Lost, put it has been on my "to do" list for years. I'm going to watch it one of these days, I'm determined! It looks like these polishes are out of stock currently in the Hare Polish shop, but hopefully they will be restocked soon!


Thursday, October 8, 2015

Stardust Polish Swatch and Review

*Press Samples*

Hi everyone! Today I have a new to me indie brand to share with you, Stardust Polish. I was recently sent 3 of the polishes from their line to review including 2 core polishes and one upcoming release for fall. These polishes are available in the Stardust Polish Etsy shop, so check them out!

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Elevation Polish A Journey Told Through Music Collection, Part 2

*Press Samples*

Hi everyone! Today, I have Elevation Polish's A Journey Told Through Music Collection, Part 2 to share with you! This collection has a bunch of gorgeous shades including cremes, holos, flakies, and shimmers that are perfect for fall. I also included a swatch of a newer core polish that is only available for a limited time now due to availability of some of the ingredients. Check out Ida Nails It's post for the song inspirations behind all of these polishes because she did an excellent job of summarizing those. Lulu has a very varied and interesting taste in music and I'm too boring to even get most of the song references (sad, I know!). I apologize for my tardy post, but these are launching TONIGHT at 9 PM CST, so be sure to check them out!

Monday, October 5, 2015

KBShimmer Boho Floral Water Slide Decals

*Press Sample*

Hi everyone! Sorry for my lack of posts lately. I've been under the weather and there was a death in our family so I'm a bit behind. I'm going to try my best to catch up this week though, so bear with me!

 Today, I have a look to share with you that I actually wore on my recent vacation! Also, I took pics on my vacation and my lighting wasn't the best, so please excuse that. KBShimmer recently added a variety of water slide decals to their website and I received a few of them to try. I'm going to be wearing them over the next few weeks and I'll share them with you as I wear them. Because they are so much fun, I definitely don't want to rush through them, so I'm going to break them up into several posts.


Today's look uses the Boho Floral Water Slide Decals. These are full-nail decals that require a white base to apply them over. This is VERY important, because there are portions of these decals that are almost translucent, so if you apply them over a colored background the colors won't be as vibrant and the overall look will be washed out. I started out with a base of KBShimmer Eyes White Open and let it dry completely before moving on with my mani.


Next, I cut out my decals and got them ready to apply to my nails. There are 10 decals in the pack and they are plenty big enough, length and widthwise, for longer/wider nails than mine. It helps to trim them a bit to get them close your actual nail size before applying them. I applied them one at a time by soaking them in water and then sliding them off of their paper backing with my Rainbow Finish Point Tip Tweezers (which I stupidly forgot to take a photo of in action, I will do that with my next set of decals).



Clean-up was really easy with my clean-up brush and acetone as the acetone melts the edges of the decal away and you can get a clean line almost as easily as with nail polish. I also use that technique to get rid of any extra overhang and seal the tips. Once I was done with clean-up, I topped the whole mani with KBShimmer Clearly On Top to seal the whole mani. Doing all ten nails is definitely a more time-consuming process than painting your nails, but it's a fun thing to do once in a while for such a cool final result. Alternately, I love to use full nail decals as accents (which I might do with some of my other picks) and it adds a pop of fun without taking as much time as doing all 10.
 

Overall I really adore the Boho Floral decals because they are very eclectic and I love that they have different designs but come together for a very cohesive look. They also have a fall vibe without being a typical fall print. If you are on the look-out for a really neat full-manicure set of decals, these are definitely some you should check out.


KBShimmer products are available from their website as well as from Harlow & Co. (Canada) for international customers. Be sure to follow them on Facebook and Instagram for updates on new collections and to see swatches of all of their polishes. Thanks for looking everyone!