Takko Lacquer Winter 2015 Collection

Hey friends! Today, I have swatches of the Takko Lacquer Winter collection that is scheduled to be restocked on Monday the 25th along with a special 4 piece Valentine's Day collection (those swatches will be posted Monday morning).

In case you missed the Winter launch last time around, you will have another chance to grab five out of the six polishes originally released before the holidays. Ugly Christmas Sweater is sadly going into hibernation until the next holiday season. But that's okay, because the other five are gorgeous!

Please Note: Products shown were provided by the company/creator for review purposes.

Takko Lacquer McTakko (McPolish x Takko collab), Black Creek (McPolish x Takko collab), Sweetpea (25_sweetpea x Takko collab), Daydreaming, & Ocean Glitter (25_sweetpea x Takko collab)

Matte White & Gold Triangles NOTD

Hey y'all! How is your summer going? We have already had a few summer-time adventures in the two short weeks the kiddo has been out of school. I'm hoping to do some swimming in Barton Creek pool soon. It is one of my favorite things to do!

Today's NOTD is totally summer appropriate and would be a killer pool-side mani. White nails are some what of a classic summer look, but I kinda feel like it's a little too bland for my taste. So I decided to jazz up the white nail with something a little shiny and shimmery. Cause that's how I roll.

Twinsie Tuesday: Mattify!

Hi friends! Hope you all are having a great Tuesday! This week's Twinsie Tuesday theme is "mattify." I decided to do a matte floral design. And honestly, I'm not really feeling it.

Matte Grey and Purple Leopard Print NOTD

Hey guys and gals! So my little burst of creativity didn't disappear, whooo! It is so nice to sit down with my polish and be inspired to do a little design, even if it is something as simple as a leopard print!

Indigo Bananas Swatch Spam

Hi friends! How was your weekend? It was so frickin cold and wet the whole time! I don't mind cold weather, but when it is cold and rainy, I get whiny, lol!

Today I have some swatches from the indie brand, Indigo Bananas! This is a long post with a lot of pictures, so be prepared! I selected four different polishes to swatch from the current offerings that, I think, best represent the brand. And not to spoil the post or anything, they are all really great!

Please Note: Products shown were provided by the company/creator for review purposes.

 Indigo Bananas Enchanted Lake, Gods & Monsters, 2% Butterscotch Ripple & Chill Out

Matte Skittlette Nail Of The Day

Hey guys and gals, short and sweet post for you all today - we had a loss in the family yesterday and all my energy is being devoted to that. But I did want to share my nails, because: one, it makes me happy to blog and I need it right now, and two, sometimes a mani is just too good not to share!

Twinsie Tuesday: Biggest Splurge

Hey friends, happy Tuesday! I have some great news! By the end of the month, my husband will have a new career path! This has been the big chaotic thing that has consumed all of our lives for the past few weeks. It is definitely a good thing, but my amazing hubby had to put himself through a lot of stress to get here. I will never be able to express my complete gratitude for all his hard work and dedication.

Okay, enough sap and back to today's post, lol. This week's Twinsie Tuesday theme is our biggest polish splurge. I know some of you may be able to guess what it is before you see the pictures. Out of all the higher end polish lines, I have a special place in my heart for Rescue Beauty Lounge. When I first started blogging Ji had just released the GOMM collection and I was immediately hooked. Nail polish inspired by one of my favorite artists?!?! And the colors were stunning and unlike anything I had seen from a nail polish brand. I vowed I would one day own all of those beautiful little bottles. Two years later and I own all but two. I sadly missed out on Poppy and Jack, but Ghost, Faraway, Bella, Abi and Santa Fe are sitting quite comfortably in my helmer.

Summer Nail Art Series: Matte Neon Gradient Cut Outs

Hello friends, happy Thursday! I am trying to get myself back into the nail art groove and along with the Twinsie Tuesday posts, I have decided to add some summer nail art looks to the ol' blog. If you read my blog, you know that summer collections, glitters, and bright polishes are my absolute favorite, so why not do some fun nail art with it?!

Used:

O.P.I. - MBSW

Floss Gloss - Lean

Floss Gloss - Pony

Sally Hansen - Big Matte Top Coat

Blue painters tape

Make up sponge

I have wanted to do a peach/purple gradient for ever and also the cut out gradient. And then the matte top coat. UGH. It is so soft and glowy and perfect for summer. Can I just do this all the time? Would you guys get bored, lol?

Pro tip: using blue painters tape will give you cleaner lines than scotch tape, since it is made for painting!

I will have more summer time nail art in the coming weeks. So hopefully you guys will find some inspiration to decorate your digits this season!

Sunday Stamped: Matte Blue and White with MoYou London Explore

Hello wonderful friends! How is your weekend? Mine is immensely better after yesterday. I am sadly, extremely nearsighted and my glasses broke last Sunday night. I resorted to wearing a really old pair of contacts but they felt horrible so I have been going with out all week. I finally got to see my optometrist yesterday and have a brand new pair of contacts and will be getting my glasses very soon! Let me tell you it is no fun walking around in a hazy blurry world! I couldn't even paint my nails! As soon as I got home yesterday, I remedied that and did a little stamped mani with an idea I have had floating around for a while. 

Used:

O.P.I. - MBSW

Essie - Hide & Go Chic

Sally Hansen Big Matte Top Coat

MoYou London Explore Set - #3

It's funny how an idea can translate so perfectly sometimes (and horribly fail others!). I saw a set of nail wraps on my IG feed a few weeks ago that were white with blue detailing. The simple color play was incredibly eye catching and I knew I wanted to recreate the look with some stamping. And for the finale touch, I even used my matte tc, which I always forget about. The final result is pretty damn awesome, if you all don't mind me saying so! I am still wearing them and don't want to take them off! But I have my next Twinsie Tuesday mani to plan for. Sigh... But it will be fun!

Hope you all have a great rest of your weekend! And be thankful if you don't have to worry about your vision. It can be a huge pain sometimes!

O.P.I. Love Angel Music Baby from the Gwen Steffani Collection

Hello friends! Happy Wednesday! O.P.I. recently released another artist collaboration, this time with Gwen Steffani from No Doubt. As much as I love Gwen Steffani - Tragic Kingdom was the soundtrack to much of my high school life, I was only intrigues by one polish, Love Angel Music Baby. All the other colors in the collection were rather underwhelming. I do think the variety of finishes is rather cool, but it doesn't seem as there was a lot of creativity involved in the color creation process. Compared to the Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry collections, this one is a snooze-fest.

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use.

O.P.I. with Gwen Steffani - Love Angel Music Baby

L.A.M.B. is a pale nude gold shimmer with a satin/matte finish. I think the satin finish is going to be a trend this year, and as long as they look like this, I am totally fine with it! Formula was a little on the thicker side, but not hard to work with. This is just one coat! It dries super quick, as well. Since it is a satin finish, there is no need for a top coat.

But, I aim to please! And as soon as I was done drooling over the gorgeous satiny shimmer, I had to see what it looked like shiny. And I knew you guys would want to see it too!

(with top coat)

Oh how I love this polish! Satin or glossy, it is really a stunning shade, and totally worth grabbing. I suspect it might make a reappearance very soon in the form of nail art and stamping! I am dying to see how well it plays with my MoYou plates.

The entire Gwen Steffani O.P.I. collection is currently available, but it is LE, so grab them while you can!

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use. All opinions are my own. For more info, please read my disclaimer.

Mattefied Leopard Print Nail Of The Day and Sally Hansen's Big Matte Top Coat

Hey guys and gals! So today, I had an entirely different post planned out, but it didn't work out. Boo. Instead, you get some nail art and a review all in one! 

I spent all of yesterday afternoon playing around with some of my new Zoyas from the "Color Your World" promo at the beginning of January. Swatch spam to come soon, I may have placed two orders and am still waiting on one to be delivered.

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use.

Used:

Zoya - Arizona

Zoya - Darcy

O.P.I. - Black Onyx

Sally Hansen - Big Matte Top Coat

Dotting tool

So after three failed attempts at nail art yesterday, I finally settled on doing a leopard print. This is actually my first time doing a leopard print mani! It's usually not my thing, but I wanted to see how it would look and if I could actually do one. I used the tutorial from Chalkboard Nails to create the mani, and it was actually pretty easy! If you have had issues in the past, I highly recommend you taking a look and giving it another go.

After I had finished, I thought it would be fun to try out my new matte top coat. My previous one has gone to polish heaven, and since Sally Hansen recently released a huge line of nail art tools, part of the line are various top coats - one being a matte, I grabbed a bottle.

Sally Hansen - Big Matte Top Coat

The Big Matte Top Coat is part of a line of "Big" top coats. While they aren't exactly big as in quantity (they are .04 fl oz), there are quite a few different ones to choose from. Shiny, matte, crackle, smokey (idk?) and different glitters. The matte top coat dries to a satiny finish with no streaks or white clumps and leveled out nicely. My only issue is that it is on the thicker side, and I had some minor smearing from it. I made the rookie mistake of not applying a traditional top coat first, in order to seal my nail and prevent smearing. It also takes a bit longer to dry, but once it looks matte then it is dry to the touch.

It retails for a lot cheaper ($5.49 - $5.99) than the Essie or O.P.I. matte top coats, and I have seen a comparison between this and the O.P.I. that are pretty even. Since I don't have either, I cannot do my own tests, but you can goolge it and see the results.

Hope you all have a great day!

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use. All opinions are my own. For more info, please read my disclaimer.

Bliss Polish Behind Closed Doors

Hello lovely readers! One of these days, I will get back to a regular blogging schedule. I am not liking this business of posting once a week. Today, I have more swatches from Bliss Polish for you guys! The newest collection - Behind Closed Doors - features five (plus a bonus grey shade if you buy the full set) dark, vampy shades with a suede finish. As the collection name hints at, these beauties have a bit of a naughty side!

 

Please Note: Products shown were sent to me by the company/creator for review purposes.

 

All of the polishes have the same formula and application, so I will go over that before hand. Like I previously mentioned, these are a suede finish, which means they dry matte. They all contain holo micro glitter as well. With the matte finish, the glitter does create a textured look. Each polish applies super smooth and needs two coats for full opacity.

 



 

 

 Bliss Polish - Bite

 

Bite is a deep cranberry red. If you know my blog, you know that I am no red lover. This, however is gorgeous. It is deep and sexy and so not what I typically wear, but I am in love! Definitely my favorite from the set.

 

 

Matte

 

Top Coat (Glossy Glam)

 

 

Bliss Polish - Spank

 

Spank is a creamy nude. It has a golden shimmer that really stands out with a top coat added. Also a favorite of mine!

 

 

Matte

 

Top Coat (Glossy Glam)

 

Bliss Polish - Lick

 

Lick is a rich sapphire blue. If you are a blue lover, this is one you need in your stash. It is really beautiful!

 

 

Matte

 

Top Coat (Glossy Glam)

 

Bliss Polish - Tease

 

Tease is a dark forest green. Again, another gorgeous color! This is the only one out of the batch that has no shimmer. It is also a bit darker in person.

 

 

Matte

 

Top Coat (Glossy Glam)

 

Bliss Polish - Please

 

 

Please is a deep eggplant purple. Another fav and such a stunning color!

 

 

Matte

 

Top Coat (Glossy Glam)

 

 

Bliss Polish - Cuffed (Bonus Shade)

 

Cuffed is a light grey polish, and is a free bonus when you purchase the entire Behind Closed Doors set. As with Bite, I am really loving this polish. It is so soft and delicate.

 

 

Matte

 

Top Coat (Glossy Glam)

 

The whole collection is fantastic and perfect for fall! I prefer them with a top coat, as opposed to the suede finish, because the holo and shimmer stand out so much more with a good shiny top coat. My picks are Bite, Spank and Please. But I think they are all worth getting, especially since you get Cuffed when you do!

 

Please Note: Products shown were sent to me by the company/creator for review purposes. All opinions are my own. For more info, please read my disclaimer.

 

Bliss Polish is available online and retails for $8 a piece. The Behind Closed Doors  collection is available for pre-order September 23rd.



Fashion Friday #7

TGIF guys! And you know what that means! Another fashion/polish collaboration between Camille of Pretty and Punk and myself.

 

Inspiration Look

 

Used:

 

Sally Hansen Insta-dry - Straw-ready

Essie - Brooch The Subject

OPI - My Boyfriend Scales Walls

Zoya - Wednesday

I did a simple cloud mani for the accent nails, and I really like the way they turned out! I was trying to mimic the scallop detailing on the top Camille wore, and I think, using the white underneath added a nice touch. On top of that, I love the color pallet I chose. The colors look so good together! I am even planning a little NotD post with the Essie & SH polishes!

 

Inspiration Look

 

Used:

 

Sally Hansen - Black Out

OPI - My Boyfriend Scales Walls

Zoya - Blaze

Zoya - Logan

Zoya - Apple

 

Hard Candy - Matte-ly In Love

 

Nail art brushes

Rhinestones 

I love this ensemble so much. I love that it is sexy/cool/punkrawk/sophisticated all at once. I wanted to use studs instead of rhinestones, but I haven't gotten my stud wheel from Born Pretty yet. And naturally I had to matte the black to get that leather effect. Overall, I think I captured the feel of the look and totally wish I had that dress!

 

More 31 Day posts next week!

 

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Orange

Hello everyone! I'm back with #2 of the 31 Day Nail Art Challenge, Orange! Again, this is not a color I tend to gravitate towards and I'm beginning to see that I have a lot of polish on the cooler side of the color spectrum. I do love a good orange polish, but it has to be the right shade, and I tend to be rather picky. China Glaze Riveting (from the Hunger Games collection) is my absolute favorite orangey-orange, so naturally, I had to use it!

 

 

 

Used:

 

Sally Hansen Insta-Dry - Man-Go Team!

China Glaze - Riveting

Hard Candy - Matte-ly In Love (discontinued)

 

Chevron nail tip stickers

 

Despite being on the fence about a lot of orange polish, I really love how this mani turned out. Mostly I think that is because I decided to matte it when I was finished. It definitely changed the entire look and made it stand out a bit more. Super funky for sure!

I have recently picked up the new Sally Hansen Insta-Dry LE summer brights and they are all pretty much win. I think they will prove especially useful during the challenge. Specifically for the next post, yellow!

Fashion Friday #1

Hey everyone! I have some exciting news to share! I am teaming up with a friend & fellow Austinite to do a fashion/mani collaboration. Camille, my incredibly stylish pal, has a fashion blog where she puts together outfit posts and I thought it would be fun to do a mani inspired by the looks she creates. This is my first real shot at nail art and creative nail designs, so I hope you all like it! And be sure to check out Pretty and Punk, Camille's blog, so you can see the inspiration behind my creations!

 

Inspiration Look

 

Used:

Sephora by OPI, Betsey Johnson Mini set

- Too Too Turq (base color)

- Alley Cat (rose color)

- Son of a Gun (dot colot)

 

I started with a base coat of Too Too Turq, used Son of a Gun and a dotting tool to make some large dots on my thumb and ring finger nails, then used Alley Cat to make some irregular blobs on the rest of my nails, for the roses. I used a fine point black sharpie to add petal details and give the flowers better shape. This is my first actual "nail art" look and I love it! I couldn't be happier with how it turned out!

 

Inspiration Look

 

Used:

Urban Decay Naked Nail set

- Naked

- Sidecar

Hard Candy - Matte-ly in Love

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Black Out

Wing Tip nail stickers

Mini rhinestones

 

For this look, I layered Sidecar over Naked (I really need to swatch this set) and matted it. Once it was dry I used a wing tip nail sticker (similar to french tip stickers) and added a black tip. After that dried, I added a dot of Gelous to each point and added a mini rhinestone to each nail. Despite how much, I like this mani, I don't think I would ever wear it outside of the house. Seems too high-maintenance for me!

 

That's all for this week, but check back next Friday for another post! I am super excited to do more!

Nail of the Day: Nude-ish

On any given day, I will have something bright and sparkly painted on my nails, but some days, a toned down mani feels a bit more stylish. Since I swatched the Nails Inc Neutral Collection, I haven't really felt like wearing any of the shades. Today, I felt a bit mellow and decided to grab a bottle.

 

Sally Hansen Diamond Strength - Glass Slipper over Nails Inc - Porchester Sq

with Hard Card - Matte-ly in Love

I couldn't resist adding a sparkly top coat, and finally decided to matte the whole thing! I love how it is subtly flashy, but still muted.

Nail of the Day: Happy Jack

The other night, while doing a bit of blog reading, I saw this post on Oooh Shinies and fell head over heels for that bottle of Catrice. Sadly, Catrice isn't sold here in the US (lame), & my search on ebay came up empty. Days later, I still couldn't get that color out of my head, so I did the next best thing - Franken! I used to franken polishes waaaay back in the day, when nail polish was something fun & I wasn't serious (or obsessed) like I am now. But I decided to grab some older polishes and tried my hand at mixing.

 

 

 

Yellow toned Orange w/ shimmer a.k.a. "Happy Jack"

 

I love how it turned out! It's a great orange & the shimmer is really eye catching! I decided to call it Happy Jack, because it looks so much like the perfect pumpkin shade.

 

 

 

Here's my "recipe"

 

1/3 Sally Hansen ( Xtreme Wear) - Sun Kissed

1/3 Sally Hansen (HD Collection) - Lite 

1/3 Maybelline Color Show - Fierce N Tangy

 

 

Since I was going for a copycat look, I added a top coat of Essie Shine of the Times and finished with Hard Candy's Matte-ly in Love. I really like how the matte brings out a neon quality!

Hard Candy Beetle (Mattified)

Sometimes you are lucky to find an amazing polish that makes you realize why you love polish in the first place. Hard Candy was one of the brands I fell in love with waaaay back in the day, along with early Urban Decay. Both companies have gone through quite the transformation over the years, but it seems Hard Candy has maintained a tiny bit of it's grungy, rock n roll, Gen X edge. One of my polish loves, is the glorious Beetle. I don't think any other polish really can compare to it. And I didn't think it could get any better. Until...

 

 

 

I put a matte top coat on it. Now some might gasp in shock, but look how gorgeous it is with the matte!

 

It's deep and velvety, and none of the color shift is lost. Perfection.