Friday, February 5, 2016

6:00 AM

40 Great Nail Art Ideas- Aqua or Turquoise


     It's time for another look from the 40 Great Nail Art Ideas Challenge! I don't know if you know this but I am actually really enjoying this challenge. Normally I get stressed during a challenge and struggle to get my looks done. But not this time! And you want to know why? This challenge is set up a bit differently than most. For starters there is the option to do weekly manicures with one week dedicated to themes, and one to colors. Or you can do every other week and stick with themes only or colors only. For the color portion of the challenge each person is also assigned a pattern. The end result is 40 different looks all done in the same colors. As most of you know I opted to do the color challenge and you can see my previous looks using TealOrange, Purple and GreenBlack and WhiteGreyGlitter toppersPale Blue and 3 shades of Purple.  This posting every other week is just my speed and helps keep me relaxed and stress free for the challenge. 

     This week the color theme is Aqua or Turquoise  and my pattern prompt is water color. The water color technique is one that I love but have been afraid to attempt until now. And to be completely honest this is one look that I didn't nail, but now I have a little more confidence and look forward to trying again. After I watch a few more YouTube videos on how's it's done of course. 


     For this manicure I started with Parallax Polish Arctic Ice from the newly released Secret of the 7 Seas Collection. You know how I mentioned watching some Youtube videos on how to do the water color manicure, yeah I probably should have watched a few before I attempted this manicure. I had no idea really what I was doing, but I jumped right in! I used the same technique as I did for my black and white swirl manicure from earlier in the challenge. 


    Doing one nail at a time I placed random dots of Milani Fresh Teal and Maybelline Day Glow Teal on the nail. Then I took a nail art brush dipped in acetone and dabbed at the center of the dots. I was going for a more translucent look for the centers rather than removing the color completely but as you can see that didn't work out. And I knew the more I tried the more frustrated I would become and end up ruining the whole thing. We've all had days like that right?

    
     While this manicure didn't turn out exactly as I planned I still like it. Its kinds funky and fun, and very different from any manicure I've done before. Next time I try a water color manicure I'll be sure to use a few more colors and overlap the dots a bit more. See if I can get it to look a bit more like floating bubbles. For those of you who have successfully done this technique, do you have any words of wisdom or tips for the water color novice? Let me know in the comments and then be sure to check out the other looks created for the Aqua or Turquoise challenge. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!


Thursday, February 4, 2016

6:00 AM

MoYou London - The Typography Collection (Press Release)


     This Friday MoYou London is releasing An Entirely new collection that should get you word smiths all excited. I know I did a little happy dance when I first saw these 8 plates, and as an added bonus there's a starter kit available for those of you just venturing into stamping! Let's take a look at what all the excitement is about shall we....

Who loves lots of fabulous fonts?
Our new Typography Collection is brimming with swirls and curls, modern sans-serifs, pop art prints, and more.

New to nail stamping?
We’re also launching our Typography Starter Kit. 
This nail art set comes complete with our Black Knight nail lacquer, Art Deco-inspired plate #03, and a stamper and scraper.

Need a boost of nailspiration?
CHECK OUT OUR
↝ BLOG  ↜
for a dose of tips,tricks and trends!

Heavy black heart Lots of love! Heavy black heart
The MoYou London Team

     Can I just tell you how much I am digging plates 03 and 08! I love the border images that go along with the fonts. Which ones are going on your wish list? 

   MoYou plates can be purchased in their shop. As mentioned above these plates will be available Friday February 5th. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!


Wednesday, February 3, 2016

6:00 AM

Parallax Polish - The Secrets of the 7 Seas Collection


     Available this week is the gorgeous Secrets of the 7 Seas Collection from Parallax Polish. A stunning collection depicting the different wonders you can find in water, and highlights different facts about the ocean. There's a lot to get through and a ton of photos so I'll keep my words short and sweet.  Let's dive right in shall we...


    
   * All polishes are shown with 2 coats plus top coat unless noted. And photographed in my light box using daylight bulbs. For the holographic polishes I did take a few photos directly under the light.*

       3.5° is described as a Gold- blue linear holographic polish. Fun Fact: The average ocean temperature is 3.5 degrees.  To me it looked a bit more like an icy blue linear holographic that wanted to photograph more silver than blue. But I did get a few flashes of gold from time to time.

3.5-degrees-parallax-polish-7-seas-collection-icy-blue-holographic-nail-polish

     Application was smooth and even and I was pleasantly surprised at how opaque the first coat was. The holographic flame was so strong with this one that my camera couldn't capture a decent macro shot. So I have a blurry one to show you. But its got a nice rainbow in it.



    Bio Mimicry  is described as a dark teal-purple duo chrome. Fun Fact: Bio mimicry is a form of protection the many ocean creatures use to blend in with their backgrounds. I have to say that the description is dead on for this one. 

Bio-Mimicry-7-seas-collection-Parallax-Polish-teal-to-purple-duo-chrome-nail-polish

     Shown here with 3 thin coats plus top coat. Application was typical with the first coat going on slightly streaky but evening out after 2 and reaching full opacity after 3. I love the depth that this polish has. 



     Sea Foam is a shimmery teal polish that doesn't leave brushstrokes. Yes you read that right, 0 brushstrokes! Fun Fact: Algae breaks down in the ocean, which then gets thrown against the shore in waves on the beach. This agitation creates sea foam, the bubbles you see at the beach. 

Sea-Foam-Secrets-7-seas-collection-Parallax-Polish-shimmer-teal-nail-polish-with-a-golden-glow

     Application was once again smooth, but a little sheer on the first coat. Builds up nicely but has a slight VNL after 2. Not as noticeable to the naked eye as it is to my camera.



     Challenger Deep is a matte black polish that glows purple in the dark. Sadly I dropped the ball and didn't get to photograph this one in it's glowing state. A fact that I will remedy as soon as I get the chance. I had it in the back of my mind to take those photos but it was a distracting day at my house and blew it. Fun Fact : Challenger Deep is the deepest part of the ocean, in Mariana's Trench. The matte black matches the color of the ocean, with a glow in the dark to represent bio-luminescence of living creatures. 

Challenger-Deep=Secrets-7-seas-collection-Parallax-polish-Black-matte-nail-polish

     Application was again streaky on the first coat. Typical of most matte polishes in my opinion, and evens out after the 2nd coat.  As you can see there is also a bit of a bumpy texture that adds character to and separates this from your usual black matte polish. I should also note that the texture is a bit magnified by my camera.  Because of the matte finish I have chosen to show this without top coat.



     Coral Reef is a solar changing polish that goes from clear to purple and contains purple micro glitter. Again I was unable to get any color changing shots but that is because the sun has been hiding for the last 2 weeks. Yes I'm starting to get cabin fever and yes I will get sun shots as soon as the weather wants to cooperate. Fun Fact: This polish is inspired by coral bleaching- where coral loses it's color because of too warm or cold- which is represented by the solar changing of this polish. 

Coral-Reef-7-Seas-collection-Parallax-polish-Solar-changing-nail-polish-purple-glitter

     Application is smooth with tons of glitter in each coat. Because of the clear base 3 thin coats were needed to reach a an opacity that I was happy with.



     Gulf Stream is a blue-green linear holographic polish. The holo isn't quite as strong compared to 3.5°  but is still a gorgeous polish. Fun Fact: The Gulf Stream is a current that runs from Florida up the Atlantic that helps control temperature and is being explored for renewable power energy.

Gulf-Stream-Holographic-blue-nail-polish-7-seas-collection-parallax-polish

      This polish was also surprisingly opaque after 1 coat with smooth even application. And isnt that just a gorgeous shade of blue!



     Arctic Ice is a blueish silver holographic polish. For me this one leaned more to the silver side and had the weakest holographic flash of the 3 holos in this collection. I also got hints or purple as I moved my hand around in the light. Fun Fact: This polish represents the ice sheets that help cool the ocean, and gives polar animals places to live. 

Arctis-Ice-7-seas-collection-Parallax-Polish-Silver-blue-holographic-nail-polish

    While sheer on the first coat this beauty builds up nicely with its smooth, even application. It sort of reminds me of champagne, with its subtle hints of color and delicate feel. 



    Whew! There you have it. 7 polishes representing 7 secrets from our oceans. Thanks for sticking with me this far. I know that was a lot to take in. This collection is available now in 3 sizes  from Parallax polish. The full collection will cost anywhere from $23-$70 depending on which size you choose. Or you can pick up for favorite colors individually for $3-$12 depending on the color and bottle size. Be sure to keep up with all things Parallax Polish by checking them out online. There are several ways to follow:    Facebook     Twitter   Instagram  Store Envy  Get Email Updates 

   And don't forget to check out a gradient I created using 3.5° and Coral Reef, or my previous reviews of polishes still available to purchase.  As always thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!





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