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Thundering Waters

So I know it's been a while.  I went on vacation a few weeks ago and so for now I'm going to show you my nails I did for my trip to Niagara Falls.  I got several compliments from the locals which is always a treat. 

I basically used the "grunge" technique with less grunge-y colors.  I wanted it to look like the rushing water going over the falls so I used several shades of blue and some white.  I absolutely love the effect!  

What do you guys think?

Bohemian Luster Chrome!

Last weekend I got a couple of polishes from the new China Glaze Bohemian Luster Chrome line.  As most of my fellow lacquer addicts I have been lusting after most of this collection since I first heard about it.  I was very fortunate that the ladies working at Sally's are enablers and brought out the fall collections for me to preview when I went in there last weekend.  so of course I had to get some.  I picked up Deviantly Daring and Unpredictable.  

Deviantly Daring is a lovely blue green duochrome.  The color flash isn't as strong on this one as it is with some of the others in the collection, but there is a definite color shift from blue to green.  It's just not as obvious as some of the other duochromes on the market.  




Unpredictable is green with a blue shift around the edges. The also flashes blue in lower light. Out of the 2 this one is definitely my favorite.  I wouldn't say green is my favorite but I always gravitate towards greens and this beauty is no exception.  I'm sure I will be picking up the rest of this collection eventually.  I just can't resist!  What do you guys think?

Check out this awesome give away from iHeartPrettyPolish.  


Click here to enter!

Glitter on Glitter!

I'm so glad things are finally calming down.  I spent this past weekend at the Ohio State Fair Llama Show.  We did pretty good and had a pretty good time, but I'm glad things are getting back to normal.  I wanted something down there that would wear well, and I wanted to use some of my new glitters from the new China Glaze Safari Collection. 

I used I Herd That and I'm Not Lion (China Glaze).  I got tons of compliments, and will definitely be using this techinique again.

Also bonus baby llama! T-Lynn!

Giveaway!

Check out this awesome giveaway over at Shelly's Sassy Nails

Click here to enter!

Coping with shorter nails

I've been absent a lot lately it seems, but I'm going to try and post more.  I had been working on growing out a mended broken nail for the past month or so and it finally was to a point where I could trim it back without serious pain.  Because of that I had to trim them all back, so now my nails are much shorter.  Oh what I would give to have long and elegant nail beds, but I don't. Oh well they don't bother me too much at this length.  Enough of my sob story, and onto the pretty stuff!

I used Wrapped in Rubies (Essie) then added some decals I got at Sally Beauty Supply buy one get one free, and then slapped on a coat of As Gold As It Gets (Essie).


Don't forget to check out my giveaway! Only 12 days left to enter!

Lacquistry Customs Swatches and Review

 I know I have been slacking.  Life has been a little crazy around here.  Our swimming pool had a massive algae problem thanks to the ridiculous amount of heat, and it's caused me to go a little bit crazy.  Forgive me fair patrons!  I did change the look of the blog, what do you guys think?  I like it, so I guess that is all that matters, right?  Anywho... Not too long ago I received my customs from Jenna over at Lacquistry.  I'm not sure how much longer she plans on doing custom orders, but her store on Etsy says she is doing them still so if you haven't had some made I urge you to do so.  The woman is an artist, and just lovely to work with.  Okay, enough talk. On with the pictures!

The process was pretty simple I contacted Jenna on etsy via her store there (there is a link in the first paragraph for all interested) and we talked about what I was looking for and she built the polishes based on those messages we sent back and forth

Proud peacock is a TON of different sizes or blue, green, and purple glitter in a blue jelly base.  REDtribution is also a TON of different sizes as well as shapes or red and some holo glitter in a clear base.  the above photo is just one coat.  These puppies are PACKED with some really great glitter. 

 

For this photo I layered Proud Peacock over Blu Blaze (Nina Pro).  The large green hex glitter looks amazing and as a whole it was so freakin sparkly I couldn't stop looking at it,

Please excuse the tip wear.  At the point this picture was taken I'd had this on for a couple days and it seems to have worn off a bit (or maybe this is the dreaded shrinkage I have heard about my beloved Seche Vite?)  I layered REDtribution over Riveting (China Glaze). I love the large square foil-y pieces in this.  I got several compliments on this mani.  Everybody wanted to know where I got the glitter and I gotta say that telling them that I had it custom made by one of the biggest names in indie polish kind of made me feel like a damn VIP.  


Overall I have to say I couldn't be more pleased.  


Don't forget to check out and enter in my giveaway!!!

Giveaway Alert!

I kid you not I am most excited about this giveaway HOLOS?!?! sign me up!  Check it OUT!

Win a LIFETIME SUPPLY of Shellac!

NAILPOLISHCANADA.COM is having a maybe one of the greatest giveaway type things ever!  You could win a LIFETIME (or a 25 year supply, whichever comes first) of CND Shellac.  It's truly an amazing contest.  All you have to do is tell them how much winning this would change your life.  Below are a couple examples given by nailpolishcanada themselves.

 “My husband will finally understand that other people take polish as seriously as me...” - Sarah P.”

 “I’ll probably spend all my time painting my nails, not go to work, get fired, now I’m homeless, damn you NPC.” - Beth C”

Grand prize will go to the best description of how winning a lifetime supply of Shellac will change their life. Winner selected August 7, 2012.  Grand Prize (Value $1266): 33 Bottles of CND Shellac + 36 Watt UV Lamp + 5 Topcoat + 5 Basecoat + Scrub Fresh. Open to U.S. and Canada Only

 FOR MORE INFO OR TO ENTER CLICK HERE!

Summer Swap Box!

I was SOOO excited when I got back from the store.  There was a lovely little box waiting on me.  It happened to be my redditlaquerista summer swap box, and oh the joys that awaited me inside.  Let's check it out shall we?

(From left to right) Rain Check (Wet n Wild), Moon Dance (Wet n Wild), Die Hard Fan (Sally Hansen), Be-Jeweled (Sally Hansen Gem Crush), Cha-Ching (Sally Hansen Gem Crush), Sweet Peacock (Orly), Meet Me Under The Mistletoe (Orly), As Gold As It Gets (Essie), and Wrapped in Rubies (Essie).  Also included were a stack of swatch wheels (which I will certainly use eventually) and a very cute card.

I have to give a huge freakin thank you to chanelleol!  

I was kind of amazed that I don't have any of these but many are on my wishlist.  I squealed with joy when I started unwrapping these treasures from their bubble-wrap cocoons.  I want to marry this woman! 

Click here to enter Liquid Jelly's 1000 follower giveaway!

MY FIRST GIVEAWAY!!!

Hello ladies!!!  I'm so excited to announce my first ever giveaway!  Recently my blog reached over 10,000 views.  I'm amazed.  I've been saving back things for months for swaps and this giveaway.  Since this is my first one I'm sure I am going to miss things that need to be said.  I guess we should start off with some basic rules.


-This giveaway is open to U.S. only
-Any duplicate entries will be deleted.
-There is a section for reddit lacqeristas where you are asked to give your reddit username.  If one of those entries wins and the participant is not part of that subreddit another winner will be chosen. 
-The giveaway begins July 10th and runs until the the 31st.
-The winner will be notified as promptly as possible.  




Now on to the fun stuff!  PRIZES!  There will be only 1 winner so all the prizes go to one lucky individual. In this prize package I have Revlon Top Speed in Cloud and Guava, a leopard printed Kiss Nail Dress, Sally Hansen Salon Effects in Groove, and a pack of caviar/fish egg beads in 8 assorted mini bottles.  There will also be a mystery prize. 

Just enter using the rafflecopter widget below (if you don't see one, just wait a moment) When it asks for your GFC name that you follow with use the name that appears when you comment.  Once again THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!! especially the gals (and guys) at www.reddit.com/r/RedditLaqueristas.  You guys are AMAZING!


UPDATE!!! The identity of the mystery prize is........ (drumroll).....

The Lust in Lace mini set from Ulta!!! This package includes Let Your Garter Down, Underneath It All, Let it Slip, Of Corset Is!, and a bottle of topcoat. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!

Have a safe and happy 4th! 

Simply Beauty 100 Follower Giveaway!

Giveaway awesomeness!  Click here to enter or for more details!

My 1st Floral Mani

Good afternoon!  I did something outside my comfort zone!  I am not much for floral.  I don't really even care if my beau gets me flowers (I'd rather have nail polish instead!).  But I thought I'd give it a whirl. 

I used Decades of Dysfunction (Orly) as the background.  I used my dotting tools to do all the art with Greenwich Village (NYC), Beautiful Girl (Sinful Colors), Art Nouv-Yellow (Finger Paints), and Four Leaf Clover (China Glaze).

My First Try it on Tuesday!

Inspired by all the ladies who are doing the whole "Try it on Tuesday" thing.  As I'm sure many of my fellow polish addicts do, I have a ton of nail polish I have never used, but love all the same.  So why not... Yesterday I decided to try out Ingenue (Orly).  Originally from a holiday line I believe it is now part of the core display in most stores that carry the brand.  It's really a lovely color and so damn sparkly.  I did decide to take it a bit further and did some taping with a black crackle on the tips.  Check it out...

The black crackle I used was Black Mesh (China Glaze) and I did some striping by hand in Gold Rush (Revlon).


As far as the upcoming giveaway, I still haven't gotten much feedback as far as what sorts of prizes would be best.  Do you think one large prize or a bunch of smaller prizes would be better? 

Neon on Neon Action!

Hello, hello good people.  I have been slacking on my posts, and I apologize for that.  I broke a nail last week, but was able to fix it with Orly Nail Rescue, which is great but it is kind of a pain, so my nails haven't been seeing the usual amount of change.  I wanted something bright and fun, and for me that means one thing.  Neons.  I love neons.  I love the pop of fluorescent color.  I love the drying time.  Neons make me smile. 

I used pretty much every neon in my arsenal.  The remind me of clowns or a ball pit.  I wish I had waited to clean up the edges before snapping the picture, but you can handle a little polish on my fingers right?  I thought so.  You guys are great.  For this mani I used (in no particular order) China Glaze in Flying Dragon, Purple Panic, Rose Among Thorns, and Celtic Sun, Sinful Colors in Summer Peach, Studio M in Neon Greenlight, and Nina Pro in Blu Blaze.  Oh yeah I also used Pure Ice in Super Star to make the colors really pop. 


In other news I did finally set up a facebook page for my blog.  I'm still figuring this all out as I go, which is why I consider it an adventure.  I'm sure when I do my first giveaway here before too long it will be a requirement to "like" the facebook page.  So go ahead and get a jump on that HERE!

Speaking of giveaway, we are getting pretty close to the 10,000 views milestone, and I have a few things saved back for the prize but I kind of want to get something kind of special.  Hit me up with your suggestions/ideas for this or really anything.  I can always use some inspiration!

Neon Disaster

Hey there lovelies! The other day a dear friend to my family was lost in a tragic accident.  I have felt so down I just haven't been feeling up to much of anything.  I tried to do a bright happy mani, and while I probably would have liked it most days I decided I didn't like it and changed it.  The update was even worse (for some reason my gradients are always not so great looking). I figured you guys might appreciate the bright neon nails I was sporting for about an hour.

I used China Glaze in Celtic Sun for the base with a coat of white underneath.  I dotted with China Glaze in Rose Among Thorns and Sinful Colors in Summer Peach.

So I decided to change my nails.  I stripped the polish off my ring finger, repainted it in Celtic Sun and tried a sponge gradient with Rose Among Thorns.  I hated everything about this.  The stamping looks messy and It reminded me of candy corn.  One of these days I will actually like a sponge gradient I do.  Maybe I am missing something?

What a Beach!

Hey guys! Today I have some beach inspired nails to show you.  It didn't turn out quite as well as it hoped, but that just gives me an excuse to paint my nails again later, right?

For the sky/base color I used Gumdrop (Orly), The sandy beach color is Savana (TokiDoki), Fly Away (Sinful Colors) was used for the water.  Other colors used were Stormy (Revlon), Super Star (Pure Ice), and Super Nature (Revlon).


On another note only a little more than 2,000 views before I hit my goal for my first giveaway.  I'm going to try to get some awesome prizes lined up, but what sorts of prizes would you guys like?

Pink Polka Dots and Silver Grass

Hello Folks!  After spending nearly 2 days with naked nails I couldn't take it anymore.  The only problem was I was at my mother's house and she only had a couple bottles of pink.  I have more pink polish than probably any other color, but I don't wear much of it, but I decided to give it a go anyway.

I ended up using Revlon in Sweet Tart for the base color,  Sinful Colors in Forget Now for the dots and Savvy Femme Couture in Chrome for the "grass"  

  

My First Jelly Sandwich

Recently I've seen some really lovely jelly sandwiches on reddit lacqueristas.  I had never done one before, so I decided to try it out with some of my favorite jelly polish.

I used 3 coats of Sinful Colors in Irish Green, then 1 coat of Orly's Mermaid Tale, then topped off with another coat of Irish Green.

My Attempt At a DIY Magnet For Magnetic Polish

Well I must say the original inspiration turned out more uniform than mine did, but I plan on playing around with it some more.  The tutorial I followed is here.  I decided to use what I had sitting near my regular workstation

The area I have designated for doing my nails also happens to be my sewing table, and sitting there next to my machine was a roll of magnetic strip with a sticky back.  I use it to stick pins in as I'm sewing.  So I cut a small square off and found that it worked pretty nicely even though the magnet is quite a bit thicker than the ones used in the tutorial.  I cut up some pieces and peeled off the back

I then arranged them on a piece of paper and taped them down for added security.  

It's not very pretty, but since it's just a test run I figured this is no time to be a perfectionist.  I tried it out with one of my favorite magnetic polishes, Cop An Attitude from Finger Paints.  
 

 
The end result isn't nearly as nice as the tutorial, but I see some more DIY magnet making in my future. 

GLITTER OBSESSION GIVEAWAY

Glitter obsession is having a giveaway, which includes some truly fantastic polish such as Essie, Sally Hansen Gem Crush, Julep, Revlon, and MORE 


CHECK IT OUT HERE!!!

Purple Pinwheels

Hey there.  I have been busy busy busy and haven't had the chance to post any of my nails lately.  Mostly they have just been kind of boring and not blogworthy.  After my huge birthday haul I have mostly just been trying to update my swatch book and try out some of my new polish.  A few days back I tried out my first Illamasqua!  I love it!  I did this pinwheel type design on a few nails as an accent. 

I used Illamasqua in Jo'mina and did taping on the accent nails with Revlon in Cloud and Gold Rush

I have decided to do a giveaway when I reach 10,000 views.  I'll be there before I know it as long as you guys keep it up.  I wanna give a shout out to my fellow lacqueristas on reddit!  I know most of my views come from there and I want to say a million times over THANK YOU for all the feedback, praise, and ENDLESS inspiration.  You guys are the best!

Polished Criminals Giveaway

Polished criminals is having a giveaway! CHICK HERE TO ENTER!!

giveaway alert!

Pointless cafe is having an amazing giveaway.  ENTER HERE!!!

BIRTHDAY HAUL!!!

Another year has come and gone.  I turned 25 this past weeked.  So I have got to show you guys my fabulous birthday haul.  My wonderful wonderful boyfriend took me shopping and got me TONS of polish for my birthday.  So here we go!

These guys are from Sephora.  From left to right we have Illamasqua in Jo'mina, Sephora by OPI in I Don't Bite, and TokiDoki in Savana.
 

 Next we have a couple bottles we picked up at Claire's.  The first one is just called Glitter Topcoat, and the second is from Spoiled Rotten: Point the Finger, and according to the Claire's website is just called Blue.  Way to be creative guys...

These guys are from Hot Topic.  From left to right we have Blackheart in Creep Show, Blackheart in Plummer, and L.A. Girl Cracked in Shattered.

These next few pictures are of my Ulta haul.  In the this picture is Butter London in Knees Up, Butter London in The Black Knight, and Layla Hologram Effect in Mercury Twilight.

(L to R) Sally Hansen HD in Spectrum, China Glaze in Crushed Candy, OPI in Pink Shatter, and Revlon in Fire Fox

Last but not least we have my new Ulta's which were buy 2 get 2 free.  Score! I got Pink-A-Boo, Diva, Indigo Go Girl, and Peach Parfait.


Overall I'd say I made out pretty good this year. 

Red and Holo Glittery Goodness

Please excuse my cuticle area.  I was picking at the polish and it looks a bit sloppy, but I just LOVE these polishes together.  These are a couple of the colors I got for my birthday, but I plan on posting my haul too so watch for that if you are interested.   I used Butter London in Knees Up and a holo glitter from Claire's that just reads "Glitter Topcoat" on the bottle, but is so dazzling I could hardly stop looking at it. 

Birthday Nails!

Today is my birthday!  and I'm going on a road trip to Ulta!  and I love my nails for the day!  It's gonna be a great day!  So here is my mani I gave myself for my birthday.  I used Orly in You're Blushing as the base and Wet n Wild in Black Creme on the tips (I'm gonna call them bubble tips) and Savvy in Chrome for the dots.  Kiss Nail Dress in Shrug was used on the accent nails. 

Adventures in Mani Land is having a giveaway!  Check it out here!

Coral and Gold Polka Dots

I have gotten so many compliments on my nails since they have been done up like this.  I love the color combo of the orangish coral and the gold dots, even though the dots are far from perfect.Please excuse my messy fingers, I hadn't cleaned them up at the point the picture was taken. 

I used Revlon Top Speed in Mock Snob and Gold Rush.

LOTS of Swatches

I'm gonna keep this quick because I'm short on time, but today I have swatches.  LOTS of swatches.  All are from Revlon and most of them are so very wonderful I had to share.  So lets get going!

First we have Sunshine Sparkle which was my least favorite out of the bunch mostly just due to formula.  The color is great but it was really streaky and uneven going on.  I'm pretty sure this is 4 coats. 

This is Electric, and unlike Sunshine Sparkle this one applies smooth and evenly.  I love the bright color and the subtle shimmer to it.  I used 2 coats, which I gotta say is pretty damn good for a yellow.

This is Super Nature.  It's a great darker lime green cream polish and the consistency on this was perfect.  It dries super fast and has amazing coverage.  I used 2 coats here on most of my fingers but some were only 1 coat 

 This is Wind Fall.  I wish pictures could express how lovely this shade is.  It's like a bright jungle green with a subtle shimmer that really is very pretty.  It's definitely one of my favorites.  Also I only used 1 coat and it was so smooth and shiny, a perfect 1 coater.

Here we have Stormy.  Another 1 coater.  The color is a muted brown color, or kind of a dark khaki, it's really quite pretty, even though browns aren't unusually my thing.  

This is Smoky Canvas.  It's yet another excellent polish from the collection we are looking at today.  It's a nude but it leans more to gray than the typical nude.  This was 2 coats, but was also a great formula with great opacity
  

This is Orchid, a great shade for those of you who like girly colors, personally it's not my favorite color but the formula is great.  It's kind of a muted magenta-ish color in a metallic finish.

Guava is a great coral type shade. It leans a bit more towards pink than your typical coral.  I used 2 coats here, but could maybe have stuck to just one if they had been a bit thicker.   


 

Mock Snob is like Guava's move vivacious sister.  It's also in the coral family but leans more red/orange.  I LOVE this shade.  I used 2 coats.

 This is Cloud.  It's a very pale greyish blueish lavender.  I've never seen a shade quite like it.  It's very elegant and classy. I used 2 coats with this one as well. 

Oh my frickin goodness.  This is Gold Rush, and my absolute favorite out of the bunch.  SO gorgeous.  1 coater with a metallic foil finish, and it's just perfection.  When I bought this I thought it was close in color to another gold I have and the shade is bit different, but it totally kicks the other polish's ass in terms of consistency and pigmentation. 

Last but not least we have Carbonite.  The formula is just as good as Gold rush.  The color is a brownish pewter color, and it's right up there for me with Gold Rush.  It seems very close to Chanel's Graphite, which I would compare, but I don't own a single Chanel polish because I'm too cheap to be forking out that kind of dough.  I may eat my words one of these days, but for now I'll stick to Carbonite.  : )