Thursday, May 30, 2013

9:42 AM

Icing Mood Polish


       Hello Ladies and Gents. Today I have a quick NOTD post for you featuring Mood Polish from Icing. I snagged these two polishes off their clearance rack about 6 months ago and knew it was time I gave them a try. I don't know why it took me so long to try these, I mean who didn't have fun with mood rings growing up? I've had more fun than I probably should have over the last week, looking down at my hands to see what color the polish was.


     I have to say that the color shift in the polish had nothing to do with my moods. I was not feeling romantic and peaceful most of the time. I wanted to show you what the colors were supposed to shift to as my body temperature changed. Also, these polishes have no names or number codes on them. If you happen to find them still in stores you'd have to go by the names on the top.

    Application with both polishes was smooth and even. The lighter color (romantic) needed 3 coats to be fully opaque, the darker color (Peaceful) was almost a one coater, but I used 2 for my mani.

Full sun


     I was originally going to go without any nail art for a change but it didn't look right to me. At the last minute, I added a few dots in opposite colors and I'm glad I did. This simple manicure has gotten me more compliments and comments than the last 4 I've done combined!


     I had a hard time getting a picture of the color change for you. I guess I stay a constant temp when I'm sitting at home with my camera ready, and I might get a few strange looks if I whipped out my camera at work and started taking pictures in the middle of the sales floor. Although that did cross my mind. lol That being said I finally got a picture after 5 days of wear so please keep that in mind for this next picture.


     As you can see this polish held up pretty well after 5 days but there is some tip wear and the polish on my middle finger has a nice little crack in it. I must have been having a rough week since it didn't occur to me to use my hair dryer to get a picture sooner. *facepalm* A duh!

     The darker polish (peaceful) never did shift color for me. I'm not sure if it was because of the top coat or the polish. I have the same amount of top coat on all my fingers though so I don't think that's really it. Maybe I just wasn't feeling very pumped this week.

     What are your thoughts on color changing polish? Do you think it's a passing trend or will this stick around for a while? Id this something you would wear yourself?





    

Friday, May 24, 2013

1:12 PM

Bachelorette Movie Inspired Manicure

    
    
     Hello everyone. Finally, inspiration has struck and I feel slightly out of my polishing rut! I was watching the movie Bachelorette the other day and found myself staring at Lizzy Caplan's nails for most of the movie. If you haven't seen it don't worry you're not missing much. Its one of those movies that doesn't really have a point, but lets you tune the world out for little over an hour. It did have a handful of funny one-liners but that's about it. But this isn't a post about a movie review so I'll try to get back on topic.

    So what is this amazing manicure that had me mesmerized the entire movie you might ask? Why it was a simple half-moon manicure that made a big statement. At least in my humble opinion that is. Now I've kept away from the half moon mani in the past because I think it tends to make nails look shorter. But I knew I had to try it once I saw this one.


    Ok ok enough suspense, it's time to reveal the manicure that inspired me to not only polish my nails again but to try a technique I had sworn off. So, ladies and gentlemen, I give you.....




Image courtesy of google search
    I scoured the Internet for a good hour trying to find a really good image to use and this was the best one I could find. I just fell in love with how this manicure packs a big punch without being too busy. I also liked that it's a manicure that I could easily replicate.  Want to see my version?

    I put together a little picture tutorial showing the colors I used and the steps I took to create this look. First, you will want to gather your materials. For this manicure, I used Milani White on the Spot and Kleancolor Bite Me.

     After applying my base coat and letting it dry I added 2 coats of my base color and waited for it to dry completely. You want this polish completely dry so when you are ready to remove the reinforcement stickers they won't pull the polish up. This is the hardest part of nail art for me. I'm always in a hurry to move on to the next step.



     Once the polish is dry it's time to apply the stickers. I used basic hole reinforcement stickers I picked up in the office supply section at Target. You want to make sure the edges of the sticker are firmly pressed down along your nail so polish won't leak under. Another tip is to make sure the stickers are centered on your nail. As you can see the one on my pointer finger is offset to the right a bit.


    After the stickers are secure and you have them placed where you want them it's time to apply your top color of choice. I did 2 coats for the best contrast. I didn't get a picture of this next step because I wanted to get the stickers off before the polish dried. My sincerest apologies on that. Remove the stickers, wait a minute, apply a top coat and enjoy your manicure.

    
     Not too bad for my first attempt at a half moon manicure. I learned a few things along the way so my next one will be even better. I'm not so sure I like the accent nail being opposite from the others yet, but it might grow on me. What are your thoughts? Anyone have any tips or tricks to share?


Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog. =)


 



Wednesday, May 22, 2013

8:47 AM

Guest Post Jessica from Be Happy Buy Polish



Today is the third installment of my "How it all got started" series. Jessica the force behind Be Happy Buy Polish shares her story with us.  Enjoy!





Hi everyone! I'm happy to be guest-posting on Lustrous Lacquer today. I remember always being fascinated by my mom's nails when I was a kid - she never had polish on them, but she had long, beautiful nails that she would sit and file at the end of the day. I remember thinking, "How does she keep them so beautiful?" I had awful nails when I was a kid and even into my teen years - I would bite my nails, rip hangnails off - yup, they were a mess! It wasn't until my later teen years when I started seeing one of my older sister's nails, and how she kept them polished and pretty and how much I wanted to emulate her.

Over the years, I would buy a bottle of polish here and there, but it was never "a thing" for me. It wasn't until last year that I really started to get into nail polish obsessively. I'm not sure why it was all of a sudden, but it sort of was! I guess I started opening my eyes to all the beautiful polish colors when I went into the stores, and I started to need them all! LOL

About end of February/beginning of March this year, I started to read nail bloggers' websites, and seeing all these cool designs that they would create with polish. I started to play around with my own nail polish, and making designs, and really enjoying the challenge of trying to re-create a design. Then, in April, I was reading an online brou-haha happening, where people were upset with a nail polish maker - like so upset they were swearing! - and I thought, "Geez, why can't people just be happy and buy polish?!" and a lightbulb clicked on over my head (I swear!). I thought to myself, "I could start my own blog and call it Be Happy and Buy Polish!"

That's what I did, my first post being April 6, 2013. I love the challenge of painting my nails, and I truly love sharing my nails with other people; but I still do it for myself, because like the name says, it makes me happy. The nail polish blogging community is so supportive and helpful, and that's what also makes it fun.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

10:23 AM

Guest Post. Christina from The Bubbly Brunette

Hello Everyone. Today I have another guest post for you. Christina of The Bubbly Brunette gives us a look into her start in the nail polish world.



Music Notes:
Hello everyone! I'm Christina from thebubblybrunette.wordpress.com! I started blogging in December of 2012, and I just recently got into nail art! since I'm still a beginner, I have been trying simple techniques such as this one: music notes.

Inline image 1


I used a base of Jacqueline from Zoya and then used a bobby pin to place dots of Revlon Knockout onto the nail. I connected the dots using an It's So Easy striper. After everything dried, I applied top coat!



Thank you for featuring me!

-Christina @thebubblybrunette

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

5:26 PM

Cover Girl Outlast Grapevine


     Today on the blog I have for you Cover Girl Outlast in Grapevine. A fun flashy purple for summer. Grapevine is one of their limited edition colors that I had to snatch up as soon as I saw it. The application was flawless with full opacity in 2 coats. No top coat was needed with this polish and it has lasted a full week on my nails with only slight tip wear.


Cover Girl Grapevine
Grapevine in full sunlight

     I love this color so much but I always have to add a little something to each manicure so I tried out a technique I've been wanting to try for a long time. I'm not going to lie I'm pretty proud of how my butterfly wings turned out. Next time though I'm going to do a full mani instead of the two fingers.




     By the way, how do you like the two accent fingers? It's pretty new to me and I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. Normally I only do the ring finger, but I'm trying to mix up my nail polish experiences.

     Cover Girl Outlast polishes can be purchased pretty much anywhere Cover Girl Cosmetics are sold. I got mine from CVS for about $3. I have found them at Target, Kmart, Walgreens, and CVS. I have heard a rumor that Wal-Mart carries them as well but I haven't been to a Wal-Mart in months.


Wednesday, May 8, 2013

4:07 PM

Guest Post: Samantha of Justonemorebottle. "How it all started"


Today I have for you the first guest post in my "How it all started" series. Here is Samantha's story about how justonemorebottle got started.

I have been trying to pinpoint when exactly I started loving nail polish. I have not come up with a specific time frame yet. My mother always had long beautiful nails that she kept painting. So I guess it started as a tiny girl. I remember her buying me Love My Nails brand polish when I behaved well in the store. The display was always close to the register. I would always pick one I didn't already have while she was cashing out.


My introduction to nail art was in late 2010. I got caught at one of the kiosks at the mall. The lady told me "you have nice nails, let me show you something." So, of course, I said "ok", since I was flattered she noticed my nails. $25 later and I now own my own stamping kit. I was terrible at it though at first and quickly gave up. After a while, I went back to it and have been stamping ever since.

As I became more involved with Pinterest, I had more desire to share my nail art. I never took pictures of it before, but all these girls were sharing their work, so why shouldn't I? I would share my photos on Facebook but get very little feedback. My boyfriend then suggested that I start a blog. I went back and forth with the idea for a while. I was worried that the lack of feedback would discourage me. I finally decided to do it. He created justonemorettle.com, and I have been blogging ever since. My first post was July 29th, 2012.

Samantha Dobbs

Sunday, May 5, 2013

7:16 PM

Zoya Summer Collections 2013





    Today I have for you the Summer Collections from Zoya for 2013. I thought about breaking this into 2 parts But I know that a lot of people have done reviews of these collections already. So I'm going to try and limit this to a few words about each polish. Be ready this is going to be picture heavy.

    Let's start with the Irresistible collection. Full of shimmer and rich colors this collection is sure to please. Like with all Zoya's the formulas were flawless, and the application was smooth.

Zoya Irresistible Collection
Back row left to right: Tinsley, Bobbi and, Amy
Front row left to right: Hasel, Rikki and, Kerry




Zoya Kerry

 Kerry is a golden yellow with yellow shimmer. Shown here with 2 coats no top coat


Zoya Rikki

Rikki is a dark green shimmer with flashes of gold, Shown here with 2 coats no top coat




     Hazel is a blue based polish with silver shimmer and a few scattered gold glitters thrown in. This was almost a 1 coat polish. Shown here with 2 coats no top coat




     Amy almost glows like fire on the nails with it's red/orange base and golden shimmer. Shown here with 2 coats no top coat.


     Bobbi is a gorgeous raspberry pink with silver and blue shimmer. Like Hazel, this was almost a 1 coater. Shown here with 2 coats no top coat.


     Tinsley is a rose gold-toned beauty with lots of golden shimmer. The application was smooth but very sheer. Shown here with 3 coats no top coat.

   Next up is the stunning collection. I'm not sure if it was the fact that I swatched these outside in a slight breeze or if it was the formula, but I found a few of these to be slightly streaky during application. All of the polishes evened out nicely after 2 coats though.

Back row left to right: Micky, Yane and, Thandie
Front row left to right: Rocky, Josie and, Darcy




      Darcy is a bright sunshine yellow with subtle shimmer. The application was a tad streaky with this one. (possibly due to the breeze) Shown here with 2 coats no top coat.



     Rocky is a gorgeous ocean blue in a creme finish. Again this was slightly streaky with the application, but it evens itself out nicely. Shown here with 2 coats no top coat.


     Josie is a bright spring green that dries to a flawless creme finish. Shown here with 2 coats no top coat.


     Thandie had a smooth application with almost 1 coat opacity. A fun orange with a touch of coral and a hint of shimmer. Shown here with 2 coats no top coat.


     Yana is a deep pink with subtle shimmer. Shown here with 2 coats no top coat.


     Micky is a bright Barbie pink with subtle shimmer. The application was smooth with this one. Shown here with 2 coats no top coat.

    All in all, I have to say I'm very happy with these collections. It's hard to pick a favorite but I have to say I'm in love with the flash in Amy and Bobbie and the colors of Thandie and Micky. Do you have a favorite from any of these? Which ones will be going on your wish list?





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