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!

Fashion Friday #11

Hey dolls! TGIF, right? This weekend, I am child free and my husband and I are going to spend some much needed time together. Tuesday was our wedding anniversary and we will be doing a little celebrating tomorrow night! Plus, I will get some free time to work on a fun nail art experiment that, if you follow me on IG, you may have seen me post about it!

 

Since it is Friday, Camille and I are back with another Fashion/Nail art collab! 

 

 

Inspiration Look

 

Used:

 

Bondi NY - Tavern On The

O.P.I. - Don't Pretzel My Buttons

O.P.I. - My Vampire Is Buff

Zoya - Wednesday

China Glaze - Keep Calm, Paint On

 

Nail Art Brush

 

Another waterfall mani for this look. Though, I wasn't exactly very careful, and it ended up looking a bit sloppy. : \  But, I love the dress and the color palette!

 

 

Inspiration Look

 

Used:

 

O.P.I. - My Vampire Is Buff

Nails Inc. - Porchester Square

Nails Inc. - The Thames

 Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure - Debut-Tint

 

Make Up Sponge

For this outfit, Camille referenced the fall/winter trend of neutral pastels. Which, it seems, neither of us are fans of. Sadly,  I'm not a fan of the gradient either. I just can't pull of these types of colors. Ugh, corpse hands. Can we just skip all the fall/winter fashion and keep the bright and fun colors of spring and summer please?

If you haven't yet, be sure to give Camille's style blog a look. You can get a good glimpse of what it means to be fashionable despite the unruly Texas climate! Camille makes it look easy. Me, I end up a hot sweaty mess by the end of the day!

Hope you all have great weekend!

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Inspired By A Movie

Hey y'all! I'm back with the next 31 Day challenge prompt, "Inspired By A Movie." I love movies and I love to nerd out over movies. One of my favorite directors is Hayao Miyazaki. I have seen and own almost every one of his movies. He is a masterful storyteller. My all time favorite is My Neighbor Totoro, so I used that as my inspiration. I know it's been done a million times already, but whatever.

 

 

Used:

 

Nails Inc - The Thames

Essie - Cocktail Bling

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Black Out

O.P.I. - MBSW

 

I'm kinda "meh" with the result. Totoro ended up looking more like a cat, and the soot sprites are a bit lumpy. I'm not quite sure how to make nail art look smooth, so any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

 

Inspired By A Book is next on the list!

Polish Days: Seven Deadly Sins

Hey! I'm back again with another post today for Polish Days. If you aren't familiar with Polish Days, it is a monthly nail art theme group post started by the lovely Polly of Polly Polish. This month's theme was the Seven Deadly Sins.

 

I had such a hard time deciding which sin to use as inspiration, but finally narrowed it down to Gluttony. This is the sin I mostly associate with polish collection, and with every bottle I get, I am totally commiting it. I'm sure many of you out there in polish hoarding land can relate to this!

 

 

Used:

 

Nails Inc - Baker St.

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - White On

Pure Ice - It's Complicated

 

Dotting Tool

Drinking Straw

 

Gluttony isn't about food, like many people think, it's about consuming an excessive amount of things and never being satisfied with what you have. I loved the idea of a "kitchen sink" mani to represent this because it is a little bit about being excessive. Not just one accent nail, but all the nails are different, with multiple designs, as if one isn't enough. I did glitter gradients, dotted, and even a splatter (that's where the drinking straw comes in) which happens to be my fav nail.

 

I used Baker St. because this is the polish that really pushed me over the edge. I remember first seeing swatches of it and having that (almost carnal) urge to own it. I needed it despite have other blue colors to pick from. I swear, I even had dreams of it!

What I think is really funny, is that practically every one of the seven sins can be applied to polish collection. We lust after polishes, we are greedy and gluttonous with collection, we take pride in our nails and blog about them, we are envious of others collections or even nail shape. I'm sure Sloth and Wrath are in there somewhere too. But, for me, this obsession hobby also brings me joy, excitement and I get to be part of an awesome community. So if I am gonna burn in hell, then I will be there with all of you, lol! (kidding, gosh!)

I am so looking forward to seeing the rest of the Polish Days posts and what everyone else came up with. And if you want to participate in the next theme, you can read all about it, here.

 

2012 Wrap Up

Hey all! Happy New Year's Eve! Hope everyone had a fantastic year and got lots of polish. I know I did! This is my first end of year post, and I'm kinda excited! I really got in to polish collecting & completely obsessed with nail care and (since August) my little blog! I have had a lot of fun getting to know other bloggers and drooling over lots and lots of gorgeous swatches! I can't wait to do it all again next year!

For my Wrap Up, I picked my top 10 polishes released this year, as well as,  best collection, favorite brand, biggest disappointment, and honorable mentions; all from my own stash.

My Top 10 polishes (in no particular order, cause it's too hard to pick a favorite!)

 

Zoya Aurora, Sally Hansen Lustre Shine Lava, Nails Inc. Baker St., A England Holy Grail, Takko Lacquer We're All Mad Here

 

 

 Pomegranate Lacquer Blue Screen of Death, Rescue Beauty Lounge Ghost, Layla Hologram Effect Coral Glam, Takko Lacquer Kiss the Sky, Zoya Fei Fei

 

 

Favorite Brand: Takko Lacquer

 

Favorite Collection: Pretty Serious They Came From Beyond Space

 

Biggest Disappointment: Sephora + Pantone Parachute Purple

 

Honorable Mentions: Pomegranate Lacquer Midnight Satellite, KBShimmer No Whine Left, I Love Nail Polish Up To Snow Good

Favorite Mani/Nail of the Day: Starfish & Snowflakes

Readers Choice: Sally Hansen Lustre Shine Lava
 

 

 

I am already looking forward to 2013 collections (hello China Glaze Hologlam!) and a lot more fun (a.k.a. spending $) collecting polish!

 

 

Nail of the Day: Orange & Gold

Hey all! Just a quick nail of the day post. I was going through my stash, trying to pick out my top 10 for a year end post, and decided to play instead.

 

 

 

China Glaze Make a Spectacle over Takko Lacquer Strangely Delicious

 

Strangely Delicious is such a great polish (even though my original swatch pics suck) and I really love how MaS shines over it. It makes me happy when two polishes go together so well.

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: Gradient of Awesome

Sometimes you have an idea for a mani that is too awesome for words. The idea may be much better in your mind than the actual representation, but by chance, it turns out much more amazing. This is hwat happened when I layered Sally Hansen Lustre Shine Lava over Nails Inc Baker St.



 

 

Sally Hansen Lustre Shine Lava over Nails Inc Baker St

 

Gah, it looks like fire! I knew the incredible pigmentation of Baker St would contrast really well again the glowy color shift of Lava, but I wasn't prepared for this! Technically, it's not a great job. Lava is ridiculously hard to sponge & wouldn't cooperate at all. In fact, it got very clumpy & I totally overcompensated. : /

Regardless of the application fail, I am in love with these two polishes together! The contrast is just too good!

Nail of the Day: Show some PRIDE!

This weekend was Gay Pride in Austin. To show my support, I painted a Pride inspired mani!

 

The LGBT community holds a very special place in my heart. My mother-in-law is gay, and I have gone through my own struggles of gender identity and sexual experimentation. My first Pride celebration was an amazing experience, and something that I will never forget. I hope to take my daughter one day (when she is an adult!) to a pride with my husband and m.i.l. We want her to understand, above all, that everyone deserves to be loved, and we should all be able to love who we choose. Now enough of my soapbox, on to the mani! ; )

 

I decided to try some very basic nail art and free handed a rainbow striped accent nail, along with the "NO H8" logo on my middle finger. My stripes and lettering aren't the best, so be kind!

 

I used Spoiled by Wet n Wild Visibly Slimming black cream as a base and the following colors for the rainbow stripes:

 

Sephora by OPI/Betsey Johnson - Pushing Your Luck

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Sunkissed

Maybelline Color Show - Fierce N Tangy

Maybelline Color Show - Go Go Green

Nails Inc - Baker St.

Zoya - Dannii

 

For the "NO H8" lettering, I used:

 

Maybelline Color Show - Porcelin Party

Zoya - Dannii

 

 

For more info on Austin's Pride community, please check out Austin Pride.

 

 

Please remember to respect my opinions, if you leave a comment, and I will respect yours. Any offensive or derogatory comments will be removed and the author will be blocked. Thank you & have a nice day!

Nails Inc Neutrals Collection

This past weekend was very dreary and rainy and a bit chilly. I think the grey weather put me in the mood for some soft grey polishes. While virtually browsing Sephora, I ordered this cozy neutral toned collection of Nails Inc polishes.

 

Elizabeth St., Jermyn St., The Thames, Porchester Square

 

 

Elizabeth St.

 

Elizabeth St is a sheer warm pink jelly/cream hybrid. This is a great polish as a "palette cleanser." One coat is incredibly sheer and would be good to even out nail coloration when you want a clean look. It does have a tiny bit of streaking problems, but levels really well as it dries. 3 coats for full coverage. Good dry time.

 

Jermyn St.

Jermyn St is a dusty red/brown mauve cream. I didn't really like this one until I put it on. It is really flattering for my skin tone, and not out dated like I thought it would be. 2 coats, great coverage, nice flow and good dry time. My only issue was a few stray bristles on the brush, definitely a lack of quality control.

 

The Thames

The Thames is a dark grey cream with blue/green undertones. This one is my least favorite of the set & horrible for my skin tone. Hello lobster hands!!! Similar formula as Jermyn St & Porchester square. And the same brush issue as Jermyn St. Two polishes out of four with wonky brushes is pretty bad.

Porchester Square

 

Porchester Square is a light purple toned taupe cream. Nails Inc claims it is the original "Greige" color. It is actually a great color, soft and simple. Great for days when you want to have a nice clean look, instead of flashy, bright or glittery. Same formula as Jermyn St and The Thames, but thankfully no brush issues.

 

 

Overall, this is a really great set if you are in need of a good range of neutrals or work appropriate colors. It's a great deal as well, four full sized polishes for $25. Nails Inc continues to impress me with their formula, brush quality aside.

 

Nails Inc is available for US customers in stores and on line at Sephora

Nails Inc Special Effects: Sprinkles in Sweets Away

Nails Inc is quickly becoming a new obsession for me. I love their base line of colors, especially the phenomenal blue, Baker Street. I am currently coveting the Mirror Metallic collection and the Nail Jewelry collection as well. I recently snagged Sweets Way from the "Sprinkles" special effect line.

 

Nails Inc "Sprinkles" Special Effects - Sweets Way

 

Sweets Way is a sheer milky white base loaded with silver, pink and blue round glitter. The base isn't exactly jelly, more of a sheer cream and combined with the glitter, it is supposed to resemble icing with candy sprinkle.

 

 

One Coat

 

It builds nicely for such a sheer base, I had full coverage in 4 coats. The glitter also layers really well, no application problems. Quick dry time, as well, hardly any waiting between coats.

 

 

Two Coats

 

My two issues with it, formula wise, is that you definitely needs two coats of a good shiny top coat and since it is so glitter-heavy, you will absolutely need to use the "foil method" to remove it (soak a cotton ball, place it on your finger & wrap with a piece of aluminum foil. Let it set for a few minutes & remove), otherwise, you will be scraping glitter off and getting it all over yourself. This is what happened to me, I was out of foil. : \

 

 

Three Coats

 

Nails Inc really impressed me with this polish. Most times, a company claims to have something new and special, but doesn't always deliver. This time they did. It really did look like I dipped my nails in a bowl of sprinkles! The milky base mutes the shiny glitter which really amps up the "sprinkle" look. Honestly, I was a little put off by the amount of glitter, at first, but as I wore it through out the day, I really started to like it. I will definitely be picking up the others in the collection!

 

Nails Inc "Sprinkle" Special Effects is available on the Nails Inc. website for UK customers & at Sephora online and in stores.

 

 



Nails Inc. - Baker Street a.k.a. The Most Perfect Blue Polish. EVER!

Recently, I acquired Nails Inc. Baker Street, after many a numerous hour debating whether or not, I really should get it. It has been on the very top of my wish list since I first saw a swatch of it. It is such a beautiful blue, but I thought it would be too much. I have Revlon Royal, and as lovely as that polish is, it is a bit too dark for my fair skin. I thought Baker Street would fall in to the same category.

Oh, how wrong I was.

Nails Inc. - Baker Street

It is perfect in every possible way. Formula, application, dry time, coverage and COLOR. It is a stunning super saturated cobalt blue cream that I am now madly in love with. Sigh. If that wasn't enough, the name totally does me in. I cannot hear/read Baker Street with out thinking of this glorious man...



Double sigh...

Nails Inc. products are available at the Nails Inc web site (shipping only in the UK) and also at Sephora (online & in store).