Wednesday, March 30, 2016

6:00 AM

Lifestyle Lacquer by Nail Jewelry Bling - Autism Awareness Box


      Today I have for my thoughts on the Autism Awareness box being released this Friday April 1st at 5pm est from Nail Jewelry Bling. April is Autism Awareness Month and as some of you know this subject is near and dear to my heart. I work with autistic children everyday and I love it. It has some challenges because they are also visually impaired and mostly nonverbal. But I think it's important to get people talking about autism because so that the taboos of the word alone can be erased and an understanding can be found. 

    Now this is going to be a very picture heavy post so in case you don't make it all the way down to the end I'll get all the important  info to you now. Like I mentioned above this polish duo is releasing Friday April 1st at 5pm est. There are several options for you to purchase. I'll be reviewing the full box in this post so you'll get to see all the options.  Individual prices for these polishes are $6.50 for mini's (7.5 ml)  or $13 for full sized (15 ml) The vinyls can be purchased for $6. You can purchase the box for $30 which contains a full sized polish in each color, a sheet of 20 (x2) stencils and a sample of cuticle balm. *the sample is only available with the purchase of the box* All prices include shipping for the US, but international is available at a fee. 

      Whew! That was a lot of information. How about we look at some pictures of pretty polish? There are a lot of them, it might be a good idea to get yourself a beverage and settle in. I'll start off by showing some full sun shots, add my thoughts about each polish and then show some light box shots and nail art. 

Autism-Awareness-Polish-Blue-holographic



     Different is Beautiful is a denim blue polish with scattered holo. This beauty has sooth flawless application and is jam packed with holographic goodness,  Shown here as 2 coats plus top coat.

    One of the very special things about this color is it was created with the help of the makers son. And here is what she had to say about it... 

"This is Different is Beautiful, the 2nd polish available for the‪#‎autismawareness‬ Duo. It's a royal blue shade with a hint of red shimmer & loaded up with ‪#‎holographic‬ micro glitter. This one is very special to me, my partner in crime & mini-me helped a little bit with the creative process on this one. For a 6 year old (almost 7) he's got quite an eye for color pairing. He chose the blue base pigment & did some mixing. He's also the reason why this cause means so much to me, he might be different than your child but that doesn't make him any less. He's more than just autism, he's kind, generous, loving and unbelievably smart. Please do a little research and talk to your children about what acceptance means & why it's important to be kind to those that are seemingly a bit odd to them. After you get past the barriers, it's all worth it, you'll see the true kindred spirit that lies beyond!"



    I also used Different is Better in some nail art that  I posted a teaser pic about already. I used the puzzle vinyls to create this next look along with Heathers Hues Show Me the Raz-zle Dazzle.




     The finished look isn't anything too fancy but its still pretty cool! I like the way the holo peeks out between the pieces.  I'll be using these vinyls again this month but adding different colored puzzle pieces. 

Autism-Awareness-Polish-Cherry-Red-Linear-Holographic-nail-polish



     Peace, Love, Awareness is a cherry red linear holographic polish that has me drooling the minute I unwrapped it. I mean look at it, how could you not want that in your nails the minute you see it. And not only is it pretty but it's super opaque. Were talking a one coat wonder here! Just like Different is Beautiful I had flawless application. I will tell you that I had a tiny pink tint to my nails after removal (which came off after a few more swipes of remover) so make sure you use a good base coat. 





     For this next nail art look I used the ribbon nail vinyl and a little but of Different is Beautiful. I really wanted to see if the blue would pop over the red base or turn a purplish color. And I have to say I wasn't disappointed.  There are also Light Bulb vinyls in the box but sadly I havent gotten around to using them yet. 




     If you're still with me at this point I thank you. I know that was a lot to get through and I haven't even mentioned the cuticle balm yet. I'm actually going to review that in another post. I've only been using it for 3 days so I don't have much to share for results. I will say that so far I like it. It goes on smoothly, doesn't have a greasy feel to it. And the part I like best ... it doesn't leave a shine on my skin like most balms and oils do. I actually have it freshly applied in each and every one of those pictures I posted and you'd never know.

    Now that important purchasing information again just in case you forgot. This polish duo is releasing Friday April 1st at 5pm est. There are several options for you to purchase. I'll be reviewing the full box in this post so you'll get to see all the options.  Individual prices for these polishes are $6.50 for mini's (7.5 ml)  or $13 for full sized (15 ml) The vinyls can be purchased for $6. You can purchase the box for $30 which contains a full sized polish in each color, a sheet of 20 (x2) stencils and a sample of cuticle balm. *the sample is only available with the purchase of the box* All prices include shipping for the US, but international is available at a fee. 

    And be sure to check out Nail Jewelry Bling on all the social media outlets to stay caught up on all the latest news.  Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Google+, Instagram and Pinterest

     Before I go I wanted to share a flash back to my first Autism Awareness manicure that never made it onto the blog. This manicure was done back in 2013 and was one of my first attempts at a color block manicure.  


    You know cause this post was feeling a little short on pictures at this point. =) Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!





Friday, March 25, 2016

6:00 AM

Hobby Polish Bloggers presents Spring


     It's time once again for the monthly link up brought to you by the Facebook group Hobby Polish Bloggers. This month's theme is spring! Now I know there are a lot of options to choose from and I could have done any number of things for this prompt but I just cant pass up an opportunity to do a floral manicure.  Now there isn't a whole lot to say about this manicure so this post is going to be short and sweet. Just what we need on a Friday right? 


    I decided to go with something simple yet classy for this manicure. I really like the clean look this manicure gave me. I started with a base of L'Oreal Charmed, I'm Sure and a generous layer of top coat. A neutral shade with just a hint of shimmer



     The rose is a water slide that I picked up from Born Pretty Store a few years ago and sadly, is no lover available. But I just checked their site and there are quite a few floral options to choose from. I don't know about you but I really like this finished look.  I think there is just enough contrast between the polish and the decal to keep it from being boring, but it's not in your face either.  I was tempted to add the flowers to each nail but I'm glad I kept it to just one. Anything more and I'd have lost the clean, classic look I was going for. 

     Well That's all I have for you today. I told you this post would be short and sweet. If you're looking for more information on Charmed, I'm sure I'll have that for you in a post next week. So be on the look out for that. And if you're going to place an order from Born Pretty Store be sure to use code LAUNX31 to get 10% off your entire order! In the mean time why don't you take a look at the other manicures included in the link up? Thanks for stopping and Happy Polishing!


                               


Monday, March 21, 2016

6:00 AM

Orly - Beautiful Disaster


      Today I have for you a stunning polish from Orly called Beautiful Disaster. This polish was released in 2013 as part of the Mash Up Collection. However after a little research online I discovered it's still available for purchase through a number of outlets should you decide you need a bottle for yourself. 

     All photos are shown as 2 coats plus top coat, and were taken under incandescent lighting.

     
Purple-shimmer-nail-polish-with-micro-glitter

     Beautiful Disaster is a red toned purple that simply glows on the nail.  The magenta and darker purple micro shimmer gives this illusion of a duo chrome polish in certain lighting. Although I would not classify this as a duo chrome polish.  There is certainly nothing disastrous about this!


     Application was just a tad finicky, with the first coat applying slightly sheer and some patchiness when using a very thin coat. As you can see everything evens out after 2 and looks radiant. There are a few brushstrokes but they are less visible to the naked eye than they were to my camera.  



    The shimmer made it almost impossible to get a clear macro shot but you get to see the rich purple color here and that's what's really important right? 

    I feel like I should give you a warning that there might be a lot of purple and blue nail polishes being featured on my blog in the near future. I've started dating someone new and he's very very supportive and interested in my blog. In fact if you follow me on Instagram you might have seen a photo of him painting my toes recently. Well he really likes the color purple, and what he calls "trophy blue" ( think Midnight Blue from Sinful Colors) and he wants to help with picking colors from my collection to feature on the blog. And get this, he even wants to paint my nails, and then write a post about the experience! And I have a feeling every polish he picks will be either purple or blue. After dating someone for 4 years that had absolutely no interest and thought this was a waste of time, I am over the moon excited about this and very appreciative of the new man. (Who I've actually know for 20 years but we've always just been good friends.) 

     Anyway I guess that's enough ramblings about my personal life. I hope you enjoy the color I shared with you today. I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing! 

Friday, March 18, 2016

6:00 AM

40 Great Nail Art Ideas - 3 shades of Green


      Happy Friday to everyone! I'm finally back with another look for the 40 Great Nail Art Ideas Challenge. This week is 3 shades of green! How appropriate with yesterday being St. Patricks Day. Hmmm that was some clever planning by The Crumpet huh. Or do you think it was just the luck of the Irish?

     Now if you're new here you might be wondering what the 40 Great Nail Art Ideas Challenge is all about. So first of all welcome, I'm so glad you're here! And secondly, here's a little bit about what this challenge actually is. 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 , 3 shades of Purple and Turquoise.  Whew we've done a lot of looks so far! Now for today's manicure.

    My "pattern" for today was an accent nail. I know not really a pattern but it is a nail art look so it still fits the theme. And is a really easy look to pull off! After thinking way too hard about what I wanted to do for my manicure I decided on the seran wrap technique.

      If you have ever done this technique you know it makes a mess. And there's nothing worse than cleaning up green nail polish from your skin right? Well blue and red polish are right up there too I guess.  I used my new bottle of Simply Peel latex barrier from My Bliss Kiss to keep the mess at bay and was very happy with the results. Plus it makes your skin sparkly when it dries and who doesnt like to sparkle?

Seran-wrap-manicure-St.-Patricks-Day-nail-art

    Using Zoya Tracie as my base color I dabbed on Sinful Colors Exotic Green and China Glaze Cast a Spell. Exotic green is a rich avocado green polish with a creme finish.  It really blended in but can be seen towards the cuticle on my middle finger. Cast a spell is a dark green with hints of gold glitter polish that seemed to take over the entire manicure. Leaving me with much less depth to this look that I originally wanted. 


   The best blending I was able to get is shown here on my ring finger. And because of this I decided to switch up my accent nail and shift it over to the middle finger. Which I'm still not entirely sure I like honestly. I think it's just because I'm so used to seeing the accent on the ring finger. 

   
     For the finished look I used Hit the Bottle To Have and To Gold with Red Angle plate Ra-116. Sadly with all the stamping plates I own the St. Patricks themed images were slim pickings. And this clover was really my only option.  But can we take a minute to ohh and ahh over who well this gold polish stamps! Just look at how bold it is over the dark base. I am so so so glad that I finally ordered a few of these polishes to try out. And now I am anxiously awaiting a restock so I can grab a few more. Ekkk Im so excited to stamp now, which is awesome because I haven't felt like even painting my nails in over a month. So be on the look out for those new posts coming up in the future, That's all I have for now. Make sure to check out the other amazing looks from today's challenge. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!





Thursday, March 17, 2016

8:42 AM

MoYou London - the Pro Collection (Press Release)


     Look who's back with a new blog post ya'll! I'm breaking my blogging silence to bring you the latest news from MoYou London. And well because I've missed blogging and doing my nails a bit. So what exactly does MoYou London have in store for us tomorrow? Let's take a look...

Our new PRO plates are here!
They’re bursting with playful polka dots, sharp stripes, and bunches of retro florals!
Want some ideas on how to use them?
Check out our latest Cath-Kidston Inspired Tutorial
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


     These 5 new plates see, to have something for everyone! Lot's of floral options as well as some cute paisley-ish  retro patterns. And just look at how cute the Bee on plate 24 is! Let me know in the comments which plate has caught your eye!

   MoYou plates can be purchased in their shop. As mentioned above these plates will be available Friday March 18th.  Plates are  £4.99 each or about $8 USD.  Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!

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