Negative Space Triangles

Hi everyone! Today I have this totally simple--but still flashy--negative space nail art to share with you! I really loved how this one turned out, and it's a look that even the most nail art challenged lacquerista. Also, I think single triangles/chevrons like the ones on my middle and index fingers are great for making short nails seem longer. 

For the chevron nails, I cut a small triangle of regular Scotch tape and applied it to a totally dried layer of topcoat. Then, I brushed a single, generous coat of OPI - Eurso Euro over top of the tape, and removed it immediately. This left me pretty clean lines, but I also cleaned up the edges a bit using a Bundlemonster striping tool. I used the same color on my pinky, and two coats of OPI - My Signature is "DC" for the accent nail.

Polka Dots & Dance in the Rain

Happy 2015, everyone! After an extended hiatus, I am officially back in action and excited to get my blogging groove back! As I'm sure you'll notice immediately, the holidays, my crazy semester at school, and lack of sleep due to hours spent on my thesis have taken a serious toll on my talons. I am reduced to the shortest nubs I've had in over a year! But this is all part of being a polish head--breaks happen. I'm going to work on a series celebrating nubs and maybe even some tutorials (!!!) with ideas for ladies that rock shorter nails all the time.

I thought it would be best to re-enter the blogosphere with a simple, colorful look that complements my new shorter style. I started with two coats of OPI - You're So Vain-illa on my index and middle fingers, then used a small Bundlemonster dotting tool to add polka dots in OPI - Hey Baby (pink) and China Glaze - Wait N' Sea. For my ring finger and pinky, I started with a base of OPI - Love.Angel.Music.Baby, and dabbed three-ish coats of Lumina Lacquer - Dance in the Rain on my ring finger.

Laquerlicious Summer Releases Swatch & Review

Hi everyone! I've been sitting on these Laquerlicious swatches for way too long, but I finally got around to writing them up. Seems like I can always make time to do my nails, but making time to edit photos and write up a post can be more difficult. I'm hoping to get better about this once I start school and am forced to mange my time better!

In case you've been living under a rock, Laquerlicious is a celebrated indie brand known for bold and eclectic glitter mixes. This is the second time I've had the opportunity to review these amazing polishes, (you can take a look at the 2013 Christmas collection and an indie maker spotlight with the maker Michelle here!) and I was thrilled to try a few more!

Polishes provided at discount for purpose of review.

Daphine Polish - His Dark Materials collection, part 1

Hi, everyone! Today I am very, very excited to be sharing the first half of the His Dark Materials collection by Daphine Polish with you! This collection of eight polishes is inspired by a trilogy by Philip Pullman that includes The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. I think this collection has some really gorgeous polishes that will appeal to fans and strangers of the trilogy alike.

Admittedly, I am not familiar with this series, but I go absolutely nuts for literary-inspired collections, (anyone remember my "BUY ALL THE HUNGER GAMES POLISH" days?) and Joanne of Daphine Polish was kind enough to send me an amazingly detailed write up of the collection, inspiration for each polish, and quotes from the books to accompany them, so I will be borrowing heavily from her summary. I also watched the movie version of the first book, but won't even pretend that this makes me an expert on the series!

In the words of Joanne: "To quickly summarize these books, they tell the coming-of-age adventures of Lyra Belacqua, an ordinary orphan from Oxford who turns out to be the most important person in not just her universe, but in all universes. This collection mainly draws on The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife for inspiration." For reference, I have denoted all text written by Joanne in underlined text.

Now, on to the swatches!

Polishes provided for review.

Juliet Inspired Florals

Do any of you use the app Timehop? If you don't, it's this app that you connect to your social media, then every day you get an alert of things you posted that day in past years. It's a really funny way to be reminded of how far you've come (or how old you are!) Today, I got an update that it has been SEVEN YEARS since I performed in a local theater company's production of Romeo & Juliet. I really loved theater in high school, and playing Juliet during my senior year was a great way to end my "career." 

In reminiscing back to my glory days, I realized that I, appropriately, just received Juliet by Polish Addict Nail Color in my recent order. So, I decided to use the polish and the the play as inspiration for today's mani!

This mani started with a base of Polish Addict Nail Color - Juliet on my middle and ring finger, and China Glaze - Spring in My Step on my index and thumb nail, two coats of each. Juliet is a pretty, white crelly with small gold, rose gold, and holo glitters throughout. Formula and glitter spread was ideal! The China Glaze was another story, though...application was splotchy and difficult. Without a generous coat of HK Girl Topcoat to smooth it out, it would have been a total loss. The color is certainly very pretty, though! This light, feminine color pallet set the stage (get it!) for the rest of my Juliet-themed mani.

NOTD: Ladylike Golden Tones for Rei!

I have a special nail-of-the-day to share that was inspired by my numero uno nailbabe, Rei of Reinovate Nails! It's her birthday today, so I tried to channel her in my mani. To me, Rei's work screams class and simplicity, when she's not blowing me away with her mind boggling stamping skills. For some reason, I am unreasonably terrified of trying stamping, so I had to go the clean and simple route. I also wanted something that called to mind how wonderful and ladylike (lol) she always is. I'm really pleased with what I ended up with!

I combined Fancy Gloss - Golden Swan with Zoya - Godiva. I used two coats of each, and topped Golden Swan with HK Girl Topcoat. 

Fancy Gloss is a new to me indie brand, and I was very impressed with the quality! The polish has tons of silvery, gold, and holo glitters in a white crelly base, and I loved how much glitter I picked up in each stroke.

Godiva was one of the first Zoya polishes I ever bought, and it remains one of my ultimate favorites. I'm a total sucker for nudes, and this one is so understated and classy. Even though I've moved past my obsession for texture polishes, they definitely still have a special spot in my collection. Again, I'm often inspired by how Rei combines texture with glossy polishes for a really dynamic look.

If you've been following Rei for any length of time, (which, if you're not, what's wrong with you?! Find her here or here!) you'll know that her signature pose has caught out like wildfire all over the Instagram nail community. I love this photo style, and especially love when I see others using it and giving Rei credit for the idea. It's such a unique way to showcase the polish!

OPI Tribal Nails

Hi everyone! Can you believe it's May already?! I'm excited because this means I'm almost done with my first year of grad school, and will very soon have WAY more time for fun stuff, like nail painting! I only hope the weather will catch up because it is still way too cold and rainy here in DC.

Today I have this fun tribal mani to share with you, done entirely with OPI polishes. I've seen lots of tribal patterns in the blogosphere and on Instagram lately, and love this trend for spring and summer. I'm pretty limited in my artistic abilities, but I can always come up with combinations of lines a geometric shapes, and the color palettes are endless for this type of design. 

I started out with a base of My Vampire is Buff, the quintessential creamy nude shade adored by nail lovers around the world. True to OPI form, application of this polish was easy, and the finished product was a beautiful, neutral blank canvas. This is two coats topped with top coat. I was quite tempted to leave it this way.

But of course, the "more is more!" in me won that battle, especially since I haven't done much actual art lately. I used a thin Bundlemonster brush to apply Can't Find My Czechbook, Live Love Carnaval, and Love.Angel.Music.Baby for the tribal designs. Then, I topped everything with 2 coats of HK Girl Topcoat to smooth everything out. 

These tiny details took me a few hours, but I find this very therapeutic and relaxing, and I was excited to be so pleased with the finished product! I've been feeling uninspired a lot lately, and have wound up with designs that have way too much going on, or just don't flow together. Hopefully, this mani will pull me out of my rut!

Cherry Blossoms + Born Pretty Fleur-de-lis

Nail babes, it's official: spring has sprung! One of the most iconic signs of spring here in DC is the annual cherry blossom festival. People travel from all over the world (seriously!) to marvel at the beautiful pink trees all over Washington. Fortunately for my allergies, but unfortunately for the tourists, the blossoms have been reluctant to bloom after this year's brutal winter. They're beginning to peek out, so I figured I'd encourage them and add a little DC pride to my nails!

Fleur-de-lis nail decoration provided for review. All other polishes and tools were purchased by me.

I started out with my base colors: Sinful Colors - Snow Me White on my middle and ring fingers, a no name mint Color club on my index and pinky, and OPI - Hey Baby on my thumb. Using a small dotting tool from my Bundlemonster set, I added a polka dot pattern to the white nails. I painted the branches using OPI - My Private Jet and used a variety of dotting tools dipped in white and several shades of pink (Delush Polish - Make Me Blush & OPI - Shorts Story) to create the blooms. Then I topped it all with a thin coat from a fresh bottle (sighhh so refreshing!) of HK Girl Topcoat.

I affixed this cute fleur-de-lis charm (Item 9399 #10 from the Born Pretty Store) to my ring finger by applying an additional, thicker layer of HK Girl, and placing it using a pair of tweezers. I love how it adds some dimension and maturity to this whimsical manicure, and love the detail in the metal! You can find this and tons of other affordable nail art decorations and supplies at the Born Pretty Store--free worldwide shipping, and 10% off your order using the code JNJ61! I'll be reviewing a few other items from them this week, so stay tuned.

Overall, I'm pleased with how this mani turned out, especially after not doing much nail art in the past few weeks. I attempted cherry blossoms nearly a year ago, and I see a ton of improvement. Not only do my blossoms look a lot more complex, I like how the look is more detailed, precise, and polished. Not to mention vast improvements in my nail care routine, posing abilities, and photo quality. Just goes to show you how far practice can take you!

 

Polish Pusher - South of the Bordeaux & Vincent

Holy guacamole! This evening I have an incredible new polish to share with you, and up-and-coming indie maker that you absolutely must have on your radar. I won a fabulous flash giveaway hosted by the Polish Pusher, aka Kati, who encouraged her followers to post and selfie and say something they loved about themselves. I was lucky enough to get a little self-esteem boost AND the opportunity to choose a polish from her soon to open Etsy shop. I picked South of the Bordeaux...

A yummy, wine toned jelly packed with a variety of warm toned glitters. But Kati didn't stop there--she was kind of enough to throw in a mini of Vincent, another upcoming polish in her line. OH. EM. GEE. This woman most certainly has a way with holo!

Vincent is a gorgeous kelly green linear holo with scattered larger holo glitters. It's on the sheer side, but builds beautifully. These photos show three thin coats topped with HK Girl Topcoat. Application and formula are even and easy to apply, and the polish dries to a semi-matte finish on its own.

Isn't it amazing? I loved it in the bottle, but was unprepared for what showstopper this would be on the nail. I have a few green holos in my collection, and this one is totally unique in comparison to the others. Also, in her note when she sent my prizes, Kati mentioned that this polish is part of a duo inspired by her grandparents and their beautiful relationship. Such a touching, personal thing to share with her customers, and I am so eager to see the other half!

Be sure to wipe the drool off of your keyboard before heading straight to Polish Pusher's Instagram so you can be prepared for when these beauties become available!

Simple French Manicure

Despite what my earlier nail pics might suggest, I've actually been doing my own nails for years. I've always been one to change the color on my nails at least weekly, and have never had the money (or time!) for such frequent professional manicures. Also, my mom is also a polish hoarder, so I was exposed to an enormous variety of options from a very young age. Something that I've practiced for years, but have never quite mastered, is the classic French manicure.

You might be surprised to hear this, considering how simple the design really is. However, at least in my opinion, a successful French manicure requires a careful balance of several key components. I had never really figured out my ideal formula...until this weekend!

Voila!

With all the frustration I've been feeling lately about my nail art abilities, this manicure was a totally necessary breath of fresh air. I found myself gazing at my nails more than usual, and got tons of compliments on them (mostly, "did you do those yourself?!" which is always my favorite question to get).

I started out with two thin coats of Revlon - Embody, a very sheer pale nude. In the past, I've made the mistake of choosing a base color that was too opaque, or compensating for a sheer formula by layering up the polish until it was thick and unappealing. I think practice with application and more experience with sheer formulas made me better this go round.

Another mistake I've made in the past is not allowing the base color to full dry before painting the tips. I don't trust my freehand to achieve a look this clean, so I use tip guides, and just like with tape or other sticky decals, they can pull up the polish base and ruin all your careful work. (This is another reason why 1-2 thin coats are ideal for the base!) I applied a single thin coat of HK Girl Topcoat and allowed my nails to dry for a full hour before prepping to do the tips. This prevented the base color from lifting, and allowed me to achieve a very clean line.

A word on tip guides: if you want to do French manis and don't have the patience for freehand, GET SOME! I bought a small pack with several hundred at CVS for maybe $3. I'm sure you can find them on Amazon and other online retailers as well. I've used regular tape in the past, and while that will get you a straight line, it most likely won't follow your actual nail line, making the outcome unnatural looking and severe.

Finally, I've discovered my ideal white for painting the tips, Essie - Blanc. While this is certainly not my go-to white for most purposes, (such as a base for neon polishes or nail art) the formula is the perfect consistency for applying a thin, opaque amount to the small tip area. You really want to avoid multiple coats on the tips for two reasons: one, you want to remove the tip guide while the polish is still wet, so you don't have time to allow for drying between coats; and two, you already have two coats of polish on your nails, plus top coat--your tip is going to start looking chunky really quickly if you're not careful. Blanc is a thin formula that makes for slightly streaky application on the entire nail, but is easily controllable when only painting the tip.

What do you think? Are French manis passe, or a standard staple in nail fashion? For me, this was just the palate cleanser I needed, and I have a feeling I'll be returning to my now-perfected formula in the future!

Delush Polish XOXO Collection

Hi everyone! Today I have some nail art to share with you that I created from two polishes I ordered from the Delush Polish XOXO Collection. I absolutely love this indie line, and have been wanting to order from her again ever since my obsession with her Dexter-inspired Slice of Life Collection began in the fall. These polishes come from a trio of pretty Valentine's themed shades that are girly and so unique!

Je Ne Sais Quoi is a white crelly polish with pastel pink and green glitters and large pink holo dots. These photos show three thin coats with two coats of HK Girl Topcoat on my index and pinky fingernails. This is the polish that literally forced me to order from Delush again--I saw some gorgeous swatches, and knew it had to be mine! Formula was wonderful, the polish applied evenly, and I didn't even have to dig for those big circle glitters that I love so dearly.

Macro shot to show the squish. And the light caught the holo at a really nice angle here, too!

Make Me Blush is a stunning, soft pastel pink with gold hued iridescent shimmer throughout. I tried so desperately to capture the gold, but eventually my camera battery died. Seriously. It's soooo incredibly pretty and feminine in real life. Photo shows two thin coats topped with HK Girl Top Coat under the rose design on my middle finger (and on my thumb that you can get a peek of in some of these photos!) This is the first glitter-free polish I've tried from Delush, and it applied like butter. I was also not sure how opaque this polish would be, and found that it build much quicker than I anticipated. 

This macro is terrible, but catches some of that gold. Honestly, you should all just buy this polish now so you can fully experience it. You will love it!

My accent nail is a Julie G textured glitter, (no name on the bottle) and I happened to have it right next to Je Ne Sais Quoi on my desk. When I realized it perfectly matched the pink glitters, I had to combine the two for the look! I also used the Julie G and Sinful Colors - Snow Me White for the roses, and Zoya - Wednesday for the little petals. 

These polishes, along with the third in the trio (which is Beyonce inspired, so sassy I love it) are available from Delush Polish right now! 

NOTD: Super Sparkly Half Moons

Good evening, nail babes! I did this incredibly glittery mani today to celebrate my (male) roommate's birthday...I'm not sure he'll appreciate it, but I hope you all will!

I used two of my untried polishes in this mani: Mermaid Lacquer - Shop Til You Drop and Zoya - Aurora. They turned out to be a totally glitterific combination.

Shop Til You Drop has a UV color changing base that goes from a light grey-purple to a bright purple in the sun and is packed with pink, purple teal, and holo silver glitters in various shapes. Since I did this so late, I'll try to get a sun shot of this tomorrow; these photos show three thin coats of STYD (on my middle and ring finger) in its indoor state. Jacquelynn of Mermaid Lacquer is AMAZING at packing her polishes with tons of fun glitter, and this one has just shot to the top of my favorites of hers. It's uncanny how much and what a huge variety of glitter applies with each brushstroke--absolutely no fishing necessary!

Aurora is a plum crelly polish with lots of holo glitter. I have a dismally low number of Zoyas in my collection, but I'm so glad to have added this one. Formula was fantastic; this photo shows two coats on my index and pinky finger.

And now for the macros! Just look at all those glitters, including the big and medium sized dots, my absolute favorite!

To achieve this look, I started by applying two coats of Aurora to my thumb, index, and pinky fingers, and three coats of Shop Til You Drop on my middle and ring fingers. I then used french tip guides to create a half moon using Aurora on my middle and ring fingers, then sponged on a gradient of STYD onto my thumb, index, and pinky fingers. Then I sealed everything with a generous coat of HK Girl Topcoat.

I think this is an appropriately celebratory look! Glitter makes everything better :) Have fabulous Saturday night, ladies!

NOTD: Polished by kpt - Plumeria

To lessen the blow of my full on nub-ification I decided to wear one of the new polishes I ordered from Polished by kpt's end of the year sale. It totally worked--throughout the day I found myself staring at my nails, especially anytime I put them under water. Plumeria is my very first thermal polish ever, and now I've got the bug and want them all! All photos show two coats topped with HK Girl Topcoat. Be kind about my sad little nubs!

In it's warm state, Plumeria is a silvery linear holo.

In it's cool state, it's a stunning muted rose holo with cool, purple undertones.

This photo (somewhat) shows the transition. Watching this happen is so entertaining! It's really amazing, and I'm impressed with how beautiful both shades are, and how well they complement each other.

And of course, a macro! I'm really getting the hang of this new camera, I think.

I was planning on putting some nail art over this, but it was so lovely and delicate on its own I couldn't do it.

The Polished by kpt online shop is currently closed, but be sure to follow her on Instagram for updates about future releases!

a-england Briar Rose & Briarwood + Color4Nails review

I was recently introduced to the glory that is The Polished Perfectionist by my dear friend Rei. I was immediately enamored with every single photo on her blog (if you haven't seen it, forget my blog, go check hers out, NOW!) and physically needed some of the a-england polishes she raved about captured so beautifully.

Unfortunately for this yank, a-england does not ship internationally. But any international polish lover knows that where there's a will, there's a way, and this time, the way was Color4Nails! This was my first time ordering from the site, and since I had such a fantastic customer service experience, I had to share a brief review:

After throwing EVERYTHING on the site into my cart, then filtering significantly, I was ready to check out. I registered, selected the ever so convenient option to pay with Paypal, and bing bang boom, pretties were on my way...until disaster struck. Upon receiving my Paypal receipt, I realized that I had mistakenly left an old address from college as my default shipping address. In a panic, I immediately emailed customer service, explained the situation, and provided my correct shipping address. Then, I thought, it would just be a waiting game. My panic was not relieved.

To my surprise, I received a response within half and hour, assuring me that my polishes would be shipped to my current address. Mind you, this was the Thursday before Christmas, when retailers are bombarded with last minute shoppers and shipping nightmares. On top of this, my order shipped out that night, and arrived by the following Monday, again, amidst the shipping/shopping madness of the holidays. I am very satisfied with my purchasing experience from Color4Nails, and will most definitely be ordering again soon!

Now, on to the good stuff! It was truly a personal dilemma deciding which of these beauties to swatch first. I eventually decided on Briar Rose/Sleeping Beauty, a muted rose packed with holographic shimmer.

I've read other bloggers rave about a-england formulas, and I have to say I agree. This applied in two perfect, smooth coats, and I loved the level of control afforded by the brush shape. The polish was slightly sheer after one coat, but rich and opaque after two. I finished things off with a coat of HK Girl Topcoat.

The bathroom in my office randomly has excellent lighting for capturing holo polishes....I took advantage. 

My second selection was Briarwood, a deep brick red metallic with scattered golden holo shimmer. Formula for this one was also excellent, though a bit brushstroke-y, as is common with metallics. This was more apparent during application than once dry.

Unfortunately, I waited about a week between swatching Briar Rose and this, and some pretty bad chips and breaks happened in between, which is why my nails looks so nubby in these photos compared to the first ones. I blame the Polar Vortex. 

I love how complex this shade is. It's vampy, but not too dark, and the holo effect is really unique. 

Overall, I am a very satisfied customer with this purchase. Color4Nails was great, and I will continue to use the site as a resource for the international indie must-haves. And I'm obviously addicted to a-england polishes now, as I've ordered two more from a blog sale since making this purchase. The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, right?!