Thursday, June 27, 2013

11:50 AM

Layla Ceramic Effects EL23


     Today's NOTD post is a beautiful Layla Ceramic Effects Color. To be completely honest I'm not sure what the name or color number of this polish is. There is no actual name on the bottle, the lid has number CE61 on it and the sticker on the bottom shows EL23. Either way, I love this and am so glad I snagged it from Ulta's clearance rack a month ago.


Layla Ceramic Effects LE23
  
     I knew this would be a sheer polish so I layered it over an unnamed bright yellow/green and applied 2 coats of EL23. Tiny glimpses of gold can be seen when the sun hit this polish and I love it! But knowing me I couldn't leave it as is. I had to add a little something to it and I'd just gotten my Konad stamping polishes in the mail.  (I found a set of black and white on Amazon for $14.99) Obviously, I had to see if the Konads were worth the hype and set to stamping.

Flowers stamped on green



     I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. It's my first manicure with a different design on each finger. And I learned a little trick to help with my image placement for my very curved nails. Besides slowing down and taking my time that is. I do have to say that the black and white are crisper than other stampings I have done in the past and am impressed with the Konad polishes for stamping. I'm going to have to keep an eye out for other deals on them in the future.

     The images I used are from Bundle Monster plate BM-310 for the background (black) and Konad m26 for the flowers.


     Thanks for taking the time to check out my post. Id love to hear your thoughts on the polish and also if you like the new background I'm trying for my pics. Have a great day everyone.

 *UPDATE*

     Thanks to  Melissa for letting me know this color is called Ipanema Girl. 


Wednesday, June 26, 2013

11:23 AM

Guest Post Carina from carinaeletoile.com

     Today's guest post is from Carina. I hope you all enjoy her story as much as I did. I have to admit it brought back a little nostalgia from my childhood and made me smile.
     I've always had a love for nail polish, ever since I could remember. My mother used to have a bottle of an Avon red and I was the one who drained that bottle dry. How? Well, when I was 7 or 8, I wanted to paint my nails than do homework. I'd painstakingly take scotch tape, put it on my nail, trace my nail bed and then cut the tape to have my own interpretation of a press-on nail…it was a bit flimsy. Yes, I did this for all ten fingers! Then I'd paint my nails with my mom's Avon nail polish. Let's just say that for a while, my 'nails' were doing better than my grades.

     Fast forward to 1994. Chanel Vamp, aka Rouge Noir. Two bottles purchased. Then Very Vamp. Then Metallic Vamp. A YSL that was their answer to Chanel's Vamp. Some original Urban Decay polishes – Gash and Oil Slick. A few OPIs – Samoan Sand and Cotton Candy.

     1998 – Chanel discontinues Vamp. My heart was broken. So broken that I threw away ALL my nail polishes and vowed to not purchase any more.

     I didn't…until Fall 2008. Hello, OPI France Collection. Something about that collection called to me; making me have to have it. I purchased their India and Spain Collections. It all went from there.

     Chanel, YSL, butterLondon, Essie, OPI, Color Club, Misa, Nubar, Barielle, BB Couture, Tom Ford…the list goes on and no brand that I can get my grubby paws on will ever be safe.

     If you're curious about my collection, visit my stash list on my blog.

Long story short – Avon started me on nail polish and Chanel was my first high end polish.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

8:37 PM

Jamberry Nails



      A little while ago I was given the opportunity to review Jamberry Nails. Shea the force behind omgwaitwhatpolishisthat sent me a sample pack to play around with. I have to offer up my sincerest apologies to Shea because this review is long overdue.  To be honest I was a little intimidated with the application process and that's why I've put this off. (Turns out I had nothing to worry about) The sample pack contained 6 wraps in various sizes and designs. Each wrap is long enough that I was able to cut it in half and use it on 2 fingers.


Jamberry Nail Shield Sample Pack
Sample pack minus the pink and white striped wrap

     The instructions for this polish seem like a lot of work but, to be honest, it's pretty easy. First off you want to have clean unpolished nails. I used polish remover to remove any oils that are on my nail. Then you need to match up the wrap that best fits your finger or toe. Once you have the wrap you want to use gently peel it off the backing and warm it with a blow dryer for 10-15 seconds. (or until soft and flexible.) Once warm press the wrap onto the nail applying firm pressure around the edges. Use an orange stick or rubber cuticle pusher to seal the wrap around the base of the cuticle. Trim the top of the wrap with scissors, file the remaining wrap using a downward motion to remove the excess. Apply heat and pressure to the wrap again until bonded to the nail.

     Seems like a lot of steps right? I was actually able to apply wraps to 2 fingers in about 2 minutes. That includes filing time at the end. I had a lot of ideas running through my head that I wanted to try with the pink and white striped wrap but in the end, decided that plain polish was probably best.

Sinful Colors Bikini Lines

     Sinful Colors  Bikini Lines seemed like it was made to go with this wrap. I love how it highlights the darker pink stripe of the wrap to tie the whole thing together. I had someone tell me this reminds them of candy.  I'm really glad I opted for just a simple manicure instead of adding art to the other nails.

     On the second day of wear, I started to notice that the wrap was pulling away from my nail slightly at the sides. I was at work and unable to try and fix it for a few hours.


     I had a feeling that if I was able to get my hair dryer on it again I could smooth it back out and everything would be fine. So once I got home I did just that. I wanted to make sure that the wrap stuck really really well because I love this manicure and I'm not ready to take it off.
     Now here's a fun mental image for you... So while holding my hair dryer with my chin, I aimed it directly on the wrap and smoothed out the edges with my cuticle pusher. I got a very funny look from my boys and my daughter laughed extra hard at me, but it worked!


     The wrap has reapplied itself to my nail and I can wear my manicure for a few more days. Great news because this manicure makes me happy every time I look down at it.


    , Now what about removal? Easy,  just reheat the wrap to break the seal and peel off or soak in nail polish remover or warm olive oil. I like the olive oil idea since it serves 2 purposes, removing the wrap and moisturising your cuticles.


     You can purchase Jamberry Nails from Shea at her website jamwithshea each set costs $15.00 and there are tons of designs to choose from.  On her site there are also options to host parties and join her team.                        
 *registers trademark wraps are $17.50* 


     Thank you Shea for giving me the opportunity to try or Jamberry Nails and allowing me to do a review on the product.


*This product was sent to me for my honest review. All pictures and opinions are my own*

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

9:40 AM

Guest Post Hannah from The Dalai Lama's Nails

     Today on the blog Hannah from The Dalai  Lama's Nails shares with us how she got started in Nail Art.

     I don't know how I found it, but nearly two years ago I found myself watching a water marbling tutorial on YouTube. I sat transfixed, watching as drops of polish were gently placed in concentric circles on the surface of a cup of water - and somehow that turned into this amazing, organic, swirling manicure! Immediately I set to work gathering supplies, and many hours later I had created my very first nail art. Not too long after that, I created The Dalai Lama's Nails as a way to keep track of my burgeoning and quickly growing love of all things nail art! This may seem silly, but for me, nail art is almost meditative. It requires huge amounts of concentration and stillness - and after all the hard work that goes into creating a look, it is quickly swept away with one swipe of acetone.

     I still struggle with water marbles, to be honest! After that first foray into water marbling, I have only tried it a few other times - there are so many styles and techniques to try, and I never get bored! Anyways, since this guest post is all about my intro to nail art, I figured I'd dig into my roots and do a water marble. These are all Sally Hansen polishes Jungle Gem, Pacific Blue, Mint Sorbet, and Black Out.



Thanks so much to Katie for hosting this awesome series!
  
     Thanks, Hannah for allowing me to share your story. I know I've found myself watching in awe at some of the water marbling videos. Wondering how they make it look so easy. I love the way this water marble turned out and it makes me want to give it another try.

Friday, June 14, 2013

8:19 PM

Simply Smooth

   
      Today I'd like to do a quick little review of Simply Smooth base coat from Ana over at Simple Nail Art Tips.  For the last year, I have noticed the ridges in my nails have been getting worse and worse. Sometimes I could still see them through my polish. Not exactly what you want when you're photographing your nails and posting them online. I have been looking at ridge filling base coats for a while but hadn't pulled the trigger. Then Ana announced that she was selling one and I did a little happy dance.  I know a lot of you have heard me gush over her cuticle oil Pure. I just love that stuff! It's so amazing and shows results right away. Knowing the quality of the oil I knew I had to give the base and top coat a try. (the top coat will be a future post) Ordering is quick and easy and the price can't be beat, only $4.99!  You can pick up a bottle for yourself at NailCareHQ Ana's sister site. While you're there you should also pick up the Simply Quick top coat and the pure oil. Trust me, you won't regret it.

     So on to the review. Simply Smooth applies smoothly and easily.  It's a little thinner than the base coat I have been using and I ended up flooding my cuticle on the first nail. But that was an easy fix, you really don't need much on the brush when applying it on the nail. I took a picture of my naked nail to show the ridges. They seem so much more predominant than what I could capture.




     Notice the horizontal ridges? I can actually feel them when I run my finger across the nail.  Those are the worst but I have a few vertical ones that are less evident. And now for the after shot


Simply Smooth Base Coat

     I have a nice smooth surface for polish application. As you can see the base coat is not completely clear. I thought that would bother me at first. I was worried it would affect the color of some of my lighter polishes. I was worried for nothing. The slight color of the base coat doesn't have any effect on the color of polish.


    So far I have used Simply Smooth for 2 manicures. The first one was under a bright fuschia color and I had no staining, chipping or peeling after 4 days of wear. I plan on wearing my current mani until it chips and will update this post with my finding.


*The products listed in this post were purchased by me. All photos and opinions are my own*


Thursday, June 13, 2013

2:23 PM

Orly Miss Conduct


     Today's NOTD post is Orly Miss Conduct. Can I say Oh my WOW! Why have I waited so long to use this beauty? I honestly had my first jaw-dropping experience with this polish. I was sitting outside waiting for it to dry when the sun came out from behind a cloud and it was as if the heavens had opened up for me. I may have even heard angels sing! I couldn't wait for it to finish drying so that I could get pictures of this stunner.

     Boy, was this a hard polish to photograph! I had 55 shots to go through to find the best ones! Yep, you read that right 55 shots, and that's not including the ones I deleted right away because I knew they were bad. I bet you can guess that this will be a picture heavy post, so let's get to it, shall we. All pictures are 2 coats plus top coat.


Orly Miss Conduct
Direct Sunlight
     In full direct sunlight is when Miss Conduct looks it's best. My camera kept freaking out trying to get a good shot and this was the best one I could get. Just look at that sparkle!

Orly Miss Conduct
Indirect Sunlight

     This picture is very color accurate. I love the rich deep pink that surrounds all the holo goodness.


Orly Miss Conduct macro shot direct sunlight
Macro shot in Direct sunlight

     I love how this shot captured the holo in the blurred pinkie finger and then slowly gains focus as you go across my hand. I think it helps show the depth that Miss Conduct has.


Orly Miss Conduct macro shot indirect sunlight
Macro shot in indirect sunlight

     I had to go for another macro shot in indirect sunlight just to show my true appreciation for this polish. Again this is a color accurate shot, but this time you can see some of that amazing sparkle showing through.

     Do you have this polish in your collection? Are you as in love with it as I am? This just might become my go-to signature polish. That being said, I am sitting here wondering what other gems I have just waiting to be discovered in my collection.

     As always thank you for taking the time to check out my blog. Please feel free to leave me a comment. =)


Wednesday, June 12, 2013

1:24 PM

Guest Post Jenni from Nail Art Novice

      Today  Jenni from Nail Art Novice tell us about how she got started with nail Polish and Nail art. A big thanks for sharing your story with us and allowing me to have it on my blog.
      I never really grew up around polish-my Mum never wore any-so I was never hooked on it when I was younger. For a while during my teens (and my semi-goth phase) I wore it occasionally, and nearly always in some combination of black, bright orange and bright green because they were pretty much the only colours I owned.
     When I was at uni I gained a few more-mostly Stargazers or Barry Ms-and not in a massive array of colours-I had one blue, one red etc. It wasn't until my final year of uni that I realised you could do so much more with polish than just put a crackle coat on top of it. I started following a few nail blogs and was amazed by the possibilities, but also convinced that I would never be able to do anything like that on my nails-it all looked far too complicated! Through these blogs I discovered indies too, and ordered my first ones-two Emily de Mollys from when she was still a teeny Etsy shop!
     I started trying not to repeat a mani if I could help it and bought some new colours to play around with, and also decided to keep a photo record to ensure that I did something different each time. I decided to turn this into a blog because I wanted to share those pictures in a way that didn't mean I was spamming my friends on Facebook (who didn't seem to appreciate them anyway!), and because I had some experience blogging on another site I just set it up and went for it in January of this year! I never really expected to get any followers so I'm amazed and flattered that I have as many as I do. I'm really glad I did decide to blog-there's such a wonderful community in the nail/beauty blogging world and I've (virtually) met some fabulous ladies from it. I've also got my best mate involved too!

     I've tried out so many things that I never would have thought I'd have been able to do only a year ago and have really enjoyed learning as I go. I really love nail art and it's very rare now that I have naked nails, and even rarer that I just wear a plain colour across all of them with nothing extra added on!

     It's been a gradual journey from Tomboy with all black nails to polish addict, but I reckon I'm definitely there now-I've more than doubled my collection since I started my blog 6 months ago, and it's still growing, oops!
Polish collection in the Beginning
The current collection of Polish
Sign me up to Polishaholics Anonymous, coz I'm here to stay and totally love it!
Thanks for having me, Katie! =)




Thanks again,

Jenni

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

10:20 PM

A tough manicure day


     We've all had those days where nothing seems to go right when it comes to painting our nails. The color is streaky, or they don't go together quite right. You smudge your swatching hand while trying to take pictures. Or the worst possible thing.....you break a nail! Any number of things can go wrong. Well for me that day was Tuesday.

     I had an idea in my head for 3 days and was just waiting for the time to be able to sit down and do it. This wonderful picture of a bright white base with neon splatters was in my mind. And not just any splatters. I wanted that kind that looks like a big dot with little dots spiking off of it. (Picture a toy jack.)The first problem, I'm only using untried polishes for the month of June. That eliminated my white polish.  Ok I'm a resourceful girl I can find a polish that will still work, I have to. Then I remembered my untried bottle of OPI Moon Over Mumbai that I picked up on clearance from Target a few months ago. It's not bright white but it will work in a pinch. And I was determined to get this mani on my nails.


OPI Moon Over Mumbai
3 coats plus top coat
Direct sunlight


     Well, this color wasn't exactly what I was expecting but it's still a pretty color. So far still on track. Then I go to take pictures and end up smudging my pinkie nail. Not the end of the world right, just repaint it. So I did and guess what.   Yep, that's right, I smudged it again. After the third time painting my pinkie I play it safe and wait a good 15 minutes before touching anything.

    Now it's time to add my splatters and the first thing I do is apply too much pressure with my dotting tool as I was trying to pull little lines off of the dot I placed and smudge my nail again! At this point in time, I beyond frustrated and give up on my splatter mani completely. But I still want to use my neon polishes for a fun bright flashy manicure. So I paint my pinkie for the fourth time and move on to the other fingers. At this point, I don't really know what I'm going to do I just start placing dots on my nail. The more dots I place the more I dislike the outcome and my frustration is through the roof.



Neon Dotticure    


     This is the what I ended up with. Poorly placed dots and dull neons. Not even anything close to what I wanted when I started this whole process.

     But wait, hold on a second. This really isn't all the horrible. The design is actually kind of cute. The more I look at it the more it's growing on me. If I had had this idea in my head from the start I bet it would have turned out great. So I guess the lesson I learned from all of this is that even if things aren't going quite as planned, you still can get something good out of it. Had I slowed down my dots would have lined up better of course but this has that 'home made" look to it. Don't let a mani that starts out on a sour note ruin your finished product. You might just end up with something great at the end.


Neon Dotticure
Another shot with different lighting.

Sunday, June 2, 2013

9:40 PM

OPI DS Magic


      Today on the blog I have for you OPI's DS Magic. I picked this beauty up at Ulta about a month ago for $11. So far out of the 3 that I own of the DS series I have to say this is my favorite. I love a good sparkly blue nail polish and this one is all that and more. I swear the more I look at it the more shades of blue I seem to find.

     Application of DS magic was smooth and easy. I was a little surprised at how sheer the first coat went on and was a little worried that it might need 3 for full opacity. Fortunately, the second coat covered in a deep rich layer. I only needed slight clean up with this as there was no pooling at the cuticles what so ever.


OPI DS Magic

     Just look at that beautiful deep blue with light blue, dark blue, blurple, and a little purple thrown in. This is 2 coats plus top coat in direct sunlight. Anyone want to see a macro shot?

OPI DS Magic micro shot

     I can't get over how pretty this color is! (Or how nicely my pictures came out this time, to be honest. Hooray for sunny days finally!) It has rained here almost non stop for the last month so taking good polish pictures has been nearly impossible.
    
     Speaking of all the rain we've had here in Minnesota lately, I decided to add a little stamping to this. I went for a blue sky with a silver rain clouds kind of feel. Using Zoya Trixie and plate BM-222. The results were a subtle stamp that was very very hard to photograph. I ended up having to stick my hand under the leaves of my lilac bush to take away some of the glare.



     So what do you think of this color? Is it one you can see yourself wearing? Id love to hear if you have a favorite from the DS Series too.

      Thanks for checking out my post and as always comments are welcome, in fact, they are encouraged! =)

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