Friday, December 26, 2014

NOTD: Treats on Boxing Day

(Polish sent for review)

Hello!

Happy Boxing Day! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and got everything you wanted in terms of loving family and friends, and lots of treats.

For me, one of the best things about the day after Christmas is getting to revel in all of your goodies, particularly the nommy chocolate that came in your stocking--and last year I learned that I adore dark-chocolate peppermint bark. So my mani today celebrates that tradition and that treat!

I started with Quaint Paints Nail Lacquers The Nuclear Beverage Of Choice, a brown shimmery jelly with white and red shard glitters, from her Atomic Refreshment collection (click here to see my review):


The Nuclear Beverage of Choice

The Nuclear Beverage of Choice

The Nuclear Beverage of Choice



This already looks like dark-chocolate peppermint bark to me already, so I though I'd just add a little pretty frosting onto my awesome holiday treat. I stamped with MoYou London Cookbook 03, and Konad White polish:



Frosted peppermint bark

Frosted peppermint bark

I hope you have a lovely post-Christmas bacchanalia of your own, filled with chocolate and everything else that makes you happy. :)

M.

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Review and NOTD: Born Pretty Store plates 3-9

(Sent for review)

Hello!

Born Pretty Store recently asked me if I'd be willing to test out there new stamping plates. After a few snafus with shipping and plates being out of stock, I finally received plates 3-9 to test out for you. :)

Of course I made a video; in the video I show a test of each of the plates:




And here are the stills of each plate:


Born Pretty 03
Born Pretty 03

Born Pretty 04
Born Pretty 04

Born Pretty 05
Born Pretty 05

Born Pretty 06
Born Pretty 06

Born Pretty 07
Born Pretty 07

Born Pretty 08
Born Pretty 08

Born Pretty 09
Born Pretty 09



Here's how they compare to the standard Konad plate, although each of the images is a different size:





For my sample manicure, I did a skittle inspired by today's theme in my Winter Nail Art Challenge group, which is Santa/Elf/Reindeer--I decided to opt for a skittle that included a reindeer:


Silly Rudolph



I have two polishes that I think are perfect for Christmas here: Barielle Miami heat on my index, middle and pinkie, and The Lady Varnishes Scandalous Scarlet on my thumb and ring fingers. I stamped with Born Pretty 03 on my pinkie, using Sally Hansen Lickety-Split Lime; the strangest thing happenedl--when not in my light box, the color on the stamping is veyr similar to the lighter green in the glitter polish, but under the direct light it took on a bit of the red underneath it and has an orange tint. So weird! Then on my middle finger I stamped my Rudolph using Barielle Kiss Me Kate and Bundle Monster H01.

The plates stamped with no problem at all; take a look at the video for my test of each plate.

You can find all of these plates and many more at Born Pretty Store, and don't forget to use my discount code to get 10% off your entire order. :)





I hope you're having a wonderful Christmas Eve!
M. An InLinkz Link-up

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

NOTD + Alternate: Christmas Eve eve

(Nothing to disclose)

Hello!!

It's Christmas Eve eve, and to celebrate, I have two manis done with two of my favorite holiday polishes. Well, I have two versions of one mani, and I'd love to hear which one you like best.

One of my favorite holiday polishes from last year was InDecisive Nail Lacquer Bloodstone (click here to see my original review of that polish), a Christmas-fir-tree green polish with gold shimmer and gold and red glitters. It looks like a Renaissance Christmas in a bottle, and I've been looking forward to playing with it for Christmas all year long. I decided to pair it with my favorite holiday polish from this year, Color Club Marina, a textured gold foil polish. Here's what I came up with:






For my original idea, I stamped an image from Cisi&Sisi plate 23 (with Barry M Gold Foil) onto my ring and pinkie. Then I stamped ornaments onto my index and middle finger from Winstonia W222 with Konad Red; I wanted to pull out the red glitter from Bloodstone. Finally, I went over the ribbon with Sally Hansen Jumpin' Jade to match it to the color scheme. I wanted to make sure that Bloodstone to shine through, so I left my thumb undecorated.


I love how it turned out, but when I was cleaning up my nail area, my hand settled on some magical rhinestones that looked just perfect for the colors in the manicure, so I tried a second version:





This version doesn't pull out the red as much from the glitter, but the orange/red portions of the reflective rhinestones go beautifully with it, and give a very Victorian feel. I honestly can't decide which version I like better--which do you prefer?

By the way, I had a horrible time taking pictures of version #2 because one of my darling kitties was photobombing me...clearly he wanted to be featured in the blog, so I thought I'd give him a little teeny appearance here, :)

Hugs and hope you're all set for tomorrow if you celebrate it!
M.
An InLinkz Link-up

Monday, December 22, 2014

Before & After: The Gift of the Magi

(Press sample)

Hello!

Every year I tell myself I'm gonna plan everything so that I'm not overwhelmed and running behind in the stretch leading up to Christmas, and here I am again, overwhelmed and running behind in the stretch leading up to Christmas. I'm sure I'm probably the only one, right? ;-) This year at least I know it couldn't be helped, with an unexpected two-week jury trial (I was called as a juror) coming early in December, right after my month-long National Novel Writing Month sprint in November. As I write that out, I'm frankly impressed I'm not further along and more overwhelmed!

Point is, I missed several challenges and need to hurry my tush up to get my last three holiday manicures out for you. Today's theme in my Stamp All Ten group is to make a manicure based on a holiday book or movie.

My favorite Christmas story has always been, and likely always will be, The Gift of the Magi, by O. Henry. If you've never read it, I'll give you a short summary so the manicure will make sense, but I strongly recommend you read it for yourself first, because it has a surprise ending which I will ruin for you in the next paragraph. Seriously, go read it--it's free because it's in the public domain, and you can find it by clicking here. Then come back and check out the mani. :)

Okay, here is the SPOILER summary. The story is about a young  married couple, Della and Jim. They are like many of us, trying to make ends meet, and despite saving all year, Della doesn't have enough to buy Jim what she wants to buy him, a watch fob for his pocket watch, his most treasured possession. Filled with despair, she hits upon an idea; she'll sell her long, beautiful, beloved hair, hair that reaches past her knees, for the money to buy the fob. In the meantime, unbeknownst to her, Jim sells his watch to get the money to buy her a set of beautiful hair combs for her gift.

Why do I so deeply love a story that has such a sad twist? Because I don't think it's sad at all. I think the notion of two people loving each other so much that they're willing to give up the thing they value most in the world just to see a smile on the other person's face is the very essence of love. And love is supposed to be the essence of Christmas and the holiday season, isn't it? Through these two selfless acts they both truly live and learn that their love for each other is more valuable and beautiful than any material thing in the world could ever be. It's a story I've always tried to keep close in thought and action.

For my manicure, I started with Incoco Enigma, from their Double Take duochrome collection; the wine-to-olive-to-gold duochrome has a very vintage, Victorian feel to me that fits right with the story:


Incoco Enigma
Incoco Enigma


Incoco Enigma
Incoco Enigma


Incoco Enigma
Incoco Enigma


Enigma is also extremely sparkly in direct light:


Incoco Enigma
Incoco Enigma

I stamped coins and put rhinestones on my pinkie, and hearts on my ring finger; this is supposed to look like coins/jewels are turning into love, and symbolizes the importance of love over money.  On my ring finger I've stamped Jim's watch, and on my index finger I've stamped Della's flowing hair; I put a gold half-bead at the top of the watch where the fob would connect, and a flower rhinestone in Della's hair to symbolize the hair combs.

I stamped my designs on with Barry M Gold Foil; I used Cheeky, Bundle Monster, and Winstonia plates to make the collage, and then accented with rhinestones and a half gold bead.


Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are the wisest.

Everywhere, they are the wisest. They are the magi.


It's hard to do justice to something you love so much, but I feel like I've captured the essence and the message of the story and the season here. I hope you like it as much as I do!

Holiday hugs and loves,
M.


Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Before & After: Candy Cane Snowscape

(Polish originally sent for review)

Hello!

So you know how I'm always telling you in my how-to-use posts that you can use all sorts of strange stuff in your collage-style plates? Like borders and things? Well today I'm gonna put my polish where my mouth is.

Today's theme in the Challenge Your Nail Art 12 Days Of Christmas nail art challenge is glitter, and I couldn't resist using Quaint Paints High Fructose Victory, a dreamy pink-jelly glitter polish from the Atomic Refreshment collection (click here for my review of the collection):


Quaint Paints High Fructose Victory
Quaint Paints High Fructose Victory

Next, I stamped with MoYou London Festive plate 01 (my plate says 'Christmas collection', before they changed it to festive):





I used the portion circled below, and put the candy cane border on my tips for a French-tip look. I stamped with Konad White, and I didn't even have to do anything tricky to get what I wanted; I just painted my polish upward from the stars/snowflakes and scraped in the direction of the candy cane border.



Candy Cane Snowstorm
Candy Cane Snowstorm


Candy Cane Snowstorm

Now seriously, how cute is that! Because the candy cane portion is not solid, it's very forgiving as a French tip; you don't have to get a perfect stamp like you would with a solid stamp. And I love to do at least one holiday manicure each year that uses non-traditional colors, so here you go for this year. :)

If this isn't quite your thing, or even if it is, check out the manicures done by the other CYNA ladies. :)

Hugs!

M.



Monday, December 15, 2014

Before & After: Christmas Stamping

(Nothing to disclose)

Hello!

Today's theme in the Challenge Your Nail Art's 12 Days of Christmas challenge is 'Decorations', so I did a skittle of some of my favorite holiday decorations, including ornaments, poinsettias, and swirly flourishes.


I started with Zoya Oswin, one of my new favorite polishes; it's a textured glitter polish in a deep ruby red:


Zoya Oswin
Zoya Oswin

Zoya Oswin
Zoya Oswin

Zoya Oswin
Zoya Oswin

The polish dries to a naturally matte finish, and it looks gorgeous like that. But I prefer it with a coat or two of topcoat; I think it transforms into an amazing ruby-slipper type finish:



Zoya Oswin with topcoat
Zoya Oswin with topcoat

Zoya Oswin with topcoat

Zoya Oswin with topcoat


To decorate the manicure, I stamped with Barry M Gold Foil, using Bundle Monster H03 and LeaLac LLC-B; I also added some textured studs:






I love the way the textured studs accent the effect of the stamping over the textured polish. I love this manicure--I want to thrown a dinner party decorated like this, lol. :)

Be sure to check out the other decoration manis below...:)

Hugs,
M.



Saturday, December 13, 2014

Review: Quaint Paints Atomic Refreshment Collection

(Press Sample)

Hello!!

Today I have a fun collection to show you from Quaint Paints Nail Lacquer; it's called the Atomic Refreshment collection, and it's based on the Fallout video games series. I haven't played these games, but apparently it's set in a post-apocalyptic world where soda bottles from pre-days are scarce and their caps are used for currency. Such a fun premise, and the collection contains four polishes that capture that whimsical vibe; each represents one of the types of soda found in the games.

The first is High Fructose Victory--and that name is so perfect for this polish. It's a pink jelly filled with teeny gold holo glitters, gold, orange, and red hexes, along with gold stars:


Quaint Paints High Fructose Victory
Quaint Paints High Fructose Victory

Quaint Paints High Fructose Victory

Quaint Paints High Fructose Victory


This is cotton-candy clouds and pink sugar-plum fairies. It's princesses and ballerinas and sweetness and dreams and happy. I love the addition of the orange and red hexes, because they keep it from being too sweet--they give a little edge and dimension, and make sure this isn't like other pink polishes. It's girly and playful and feminine, with a little bit of bite. The glitters are perfectly balanced to give it a pleasing visual flow--not too much chunk, not too much little stuff. Oh, and did I mention? It GLOWS in the dark, a rich orange glow, not the standard ghostly white-green.

In these pictures I have three coats, with no undies. The polish was easy to apply, and the formula was good to work with. You will have to fish a bit for the stars, as with most polishes that contain specialty glitter like this. Laura recommends that you turn the polish upside down for an hour before using it to minimize fishing; I didn't find that necessary, a brisk shake did the trick for me. The glow-in-the-dark pigments cause it to dry matte, so you'll want to use topcoat. I have Seche Vite on in these pictures (and in all the rest, too).

You can also wear this with undies; if you do, Laura suggests that you use two coats over your undies to be sure to get the glow-in-the-dark effect.


Next up is my favorite of the collection, with my favorite name: The Nuclear Beverage Of Choice. This polish has a brown jelly base, and a healthy scatter of red and white small shard glitter:



Quaint Paints The Nuclear Beverage Of Choice
Quaint Paints The Nuclear Beverage Of Choice

Quaint Paints The Nuclear Beverage Of Choice
Quaint Paints The Nuclear Beverage Of Choice

Quaint Paints The Nuclear Beverage Of Choice


I fell in love with this polish the minute I saw it, because it looks just like one of my favorite holiday treats: dark chocolate peppermint bark. The brown has a pretty golden shimmer to it, and there are just enough shards to give it flair without overwhelming the base color. This has a subtle festive look to it that can also be worn year round. ADORE.

This is two coats, and the formula was wonderful. I did no fishing here--I shook the bottle and brushed on as I would a regular polish, letting the glitters fall where they might. It's user-friendly, and applies well.

And one last thing--it's scented. Cola scented. How cool is that?? If scents aren't your thing you can get it without scent, but it's there if you want it, and I've never heard of a cola-scented polish before. Very cool.


Next up is Quantum Fizz-ics (totally cute pun); this is a blue jelly polish filled to the brim with silver and purple hexes that range from teensy to medium, and silver stars:


Quaint Paints Quantum Fizz-ics
Quaint Paints Quantum Fizz-ics

Quaint Paints Quantum Fizz-ics
Quaint Paints Quantum Fizz-ics

Quaint Paints Quantum Fizz-ics
Quaint Paints Quantum Fizz-ics


This polish has soooo much dimension when built up like this--layers and layers of stars and hexes, like looking into an endless sky. You all know I love me some night-sky polishes, and this qualifies in my mind--it's a lighter blue than any of the others I have, and the purple bits in it give it an icy celestial feel.

I have three coats on in these pictures. I didn't quite get full opacity; I have a little visible nail line in these pictures, and I you can see a bit of the staining I have on this hand in the pictures. In real life, when the light wasn't directly on them and I wasn't shooting them close-up, you couldn't really see those issues, however. The formula was good; I did have to fish a little for a few of the stars, and I did do a little dabbing to get the effect I wanted. Nothing extreme or unusual for a polish with this sort of glitter.

This polish is another glow-in-the-dark wonder; it gives off a blue glow instead of the standard greenish-white glow. As with High Fructose Victory, you can wear it over undies, and if you want to do that, you should apply two coats to be sure you can get the glow-in-the dark effect.


To see what two coats over undies looks like, I tried it out over Zoya Rocky:


Quaint Paints Quantum Fizz-ics over Zoya Rocky
Quaint Paints Quantum Fizz-ics over Zoya Rocky

Quaint Paints Quantum Fizz-ics over Zoya Rocky
Quaint Paints Quantum Fizz-ics over Zoya Rocky

Quaint Paints Quantum Fizz-ics over Zoya Rocky
Quaint Paints Quantum Fizz-ics over Zoya Rocky


I fished a little to be sure I got the number of stars I wanted, and did a little dabbing. I think this looks like a magical rain storm that has bits of holo hail and star crystals dropping from the sky. I had this on at a comedy show I went to tonight, and the glitters caught the light like crushed diamonds on my nails.


And for our final Atomic Refreshment of the evening,  I give you Sun Of A Sassafras; this is a clear-based glitter chock-full of red and yellow bars, orange and brown hexes, teeny gold hexes and red squares, along with bright cerulean blue stars and golden-yellow-matte flower/sun glitters:


Sun Of A Sassafras over China Glaze When In Doubt, Surf It Out
Sun Of A Sassafras over China Glaze When In Doubt, Surf It Out

Sun Of A Sassafras over China Glaze When In Doubt, Surf It Out
Sun Of A Sassafras over China Glaze When In Doubt, Surf It Out


This is a playful glitter that conveys energy and movement. The shock of blue peeking out of the glitter is balanced by the calm of the yellow flowers/suns; the end result is a vibrant and surprisingly versatile polish. In the above pictures I've layered it over China Glaze If In Doubt, Surf It Out, to give it a fall feel; below I've layer it over China Glaze Shore Enuff, and it has a much more spring/summer vibe. Over purple it gives a deep winter look.

In all of the pictures I have one layer liberally dabbed to get the different glitters where I wanted them. I did have to fish for both the stars and the flowers, but not too hard. This one doesn't dry matte, but I recommend topcoat anyway--as with all glitters that have stars or bars, topcoat will help keep you from catching the glitters on things.

But my favorite thing about this polish is that it's scented like root beer!!! Not a little bit like it--I mean exactly like root beer.  Mr. LOLH bought a soda today at Costco, and when I lifted it up to take a sip, I got a whiff of the nail polish and actually thought he'd filled the cup with root beer! Both times I've had it on, I get little sniffs of root beer all through the day, and it's just crazy yummy. If you like root beer, you have to try this. Trust me.



Sun Of A Sassafras over China Glaze Shore Enuff
Sun Of A Sassafras over China Glaze Shore Enuff

Sun Of A Sassafras over China Glaze Shore Enuff
Sun Of A Sassafras over China Glaze Shore Enuff

Sun Of A Sassafras over China Glaze Shore Enuff
Sun Of A Sassafras over China Glaze Shore Enuff



Overall, I found these polishes to be high-quality, well-made, and with excellent formula. The collection has a nice range of looks, from the more sophisticated end (The Nuclear Beverage Of Choice) to the more whimsical end (Sun Of A Sassafras), with two dreamscape-type polishes in between. Three of them have a holiday feel to me, and I'll be showing you two holiday manicures using these polishes in a few days. You know I'm not normally a pink fan, but High Fructose Victory inspired me to do something I think you'll like.


You can find the Quaint Paints Etsy shop by clicking here. While you're there, be sure to check out this amazing topper that has Christmas-tree shaped glitter and circle glitters that look like ornaments! All her lacquers are 5-free, cruelty-free, and vegan-friendly. You can also find the Quaint Paints Facebook page by clicking here.

I hope you're having a wonderful weekend! Big hugs filled with scented glitter and glow-in-the-darkness!

M.