Before & After: I've got my eyes on you...

(Press sample; affiliate links)

Happy Halloween!

Well, here we are, on the day of...I'm going to be dressing up as a steampunk chick to hand out candy, and then tonight at the stroke of midnight, it's time to begin National Novel Writing Month! This is one of the coolest days of the year for me. :)

And so, I thought I'd round off my Halloween manis for the year with a fun, but creepy, final Halloween offering.

I started with a polish I think is beautiful all year round, but has a nice soft feel for Halloween, Zoya Tracie:

Then I pulled out Born Pretty Store BP-57, a pretty darn hardcore goth/rock-and-roll/Halloween plate:

If you're wondering how that skull face looks, 'cause it's kinda hard to tell on the plate, here's a stamping test of it:

As you can see, it can be easy to get a bald spot on that image if you aren't careful--I suggest scraping at an angle and scraping very gently.

But on to my mani!

I created two decals of oozy, bloody, yucky eyeballs, by stamping with Sally Hansen Lightning, and filling it in with Sally Hansen Rapid Red and Sally Hansen Grape Going. For my other nails, I put on a coat of The Lady Varnishes Creepy (a mini polish you get when you order You Will Worship Me and any three other polishes):

I've got my eye on you...

Both eyes, that is...

What do you think? I realized as I was creating the decal that the red was probably going to show through the yellow, so I did a whole ring of red on one of the eyes to see how it would look. I think the effect is pretty cool! I wouldn't want to meet that creature in a dark alley, that's for sure.

You can find this plate at Born Pretty Store, and don't forget to use my code to get 10% off your purchase. :)

I hope you like it, ,and I hope you have a safe, fun, happy Halloween!
M.

Before & After: Poisoned Apple

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Hello!

Halloween is about spooky scares, and one of the things that used to scare me the most when I was a little girl was...the witch from Snow White. So, for my contribution to the Crumpet's Nail Tarts Halloween collection, I decided to make a tribute to the Disney villain that terrified me the most.

To get an awesome night sky, I used Colors By Llarowe Rest In Pieces, an awesomely holographic blurple:

Colors By Llarowe Rest In Pieces

Colors By Llarowe Rest In Pieces

Colors By Llarowe Rest In Pieces

Colors By Llarowe Rest In Pieces

Love love love this holo, especially for a deep night-sky look...swoon.

Here's how the manicure came out (details afterward):

Come have an apple, little girl...

Poisoned Apple Snow White Manicure

Poisoned Apple Snow White Manicure

This manicure was a conglomeration of a bunch of different plates:
Tree: LeaLac LLC-B, stamped with Barry M Silver Foil
Apples: Bunny Nails old-school HD 06 (the octagonal ones), Winstonia W118, stamped with Barry M Silver Foil, Sally Hansen Rapid Red, and Sally Hansen Red-io Active
Witch: Decal made from My Online Shop JR-22, with Eat Sleep Polish Sheets of Empty Canvas, China Glaze Cha Cha Cha, and Sally Hansen Lively Lilac.

I used a double-stamping technique to make the apples stand out, and then to highlight the poisoned apple, I stamped it in silver with red accents. When I stamped the tree onto my nail, I messed up--the base of the tree should be solid--but I think the mistake makes the tree look creepier, like it has a creepy smile on it, so I decided to keep it (Halloween manicures are so flexible, lol!!). An even though I created it, that witch's face continues to creep me out...::shudders::

What do you think, good Halloween mani? Especially if you're dressing up like Snow White or your daughter is, I think this would be a fun mani.

If this one isn't your cup of tea, or even if it is, check out the other Crumpet Halloween manis below!!

Happy stamping,

M.

An InLinkz Link-up

Before & After: Fast Fierce Frankenstein

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Hello!

Today I have a Halloween quickie for you; you've seen this sort of Frankenstein's monster mani about 100 different ways, but what I love about this one is the expression on his face, and how nearly error-proof it is.

I started with Colors By Llarowe Gemini Rising, the most luminous green apple holo you'll ever see:

Colors By Llarowe Gemini Rising

Colors By Llarowe Gemini Rising

This is one of the most amazing holos I've every laid eyes on--it's so holo sparkly, it truly looks 3D. Amazing. Only one problem--it stained worse than any other polish I've ever worn. So wear two coats of base polish with this one, my friends.


To stamp, I used UberChic Beauty's Halloween 01 plate with Konad Black:

Here's how it came out:

Colors By Llarowe Gemini Rising + UberChic Beauty Halloween 01

Colors By Llarowe Gemini Rising + UberChic Beauty Halloween 01

So here's why this is an awesome 5-minute-art manicure: It's almost impossible to mess this up. The stitching image is big enough that as long as you hit your nail inside of it, it's gonna look good. As for the face, it doesn't matter if accidentally put it on at an angle, because his googly eyes and crooked smile work any way you stick it on. In fact, I put mine on too low, and there wasn't enough hair at the top of the image--so I just painted some extra on, and he's perfect. Even if you've never stamped before, you're gonna find it easy to be successful with this mani.

Happy Frankensteining!!
M.

Review & Before & After: The Lady Varnishes You'll Never Have Better

(Press sample)

Hello!

Today I have one of the new polishes from The Lady Varnishes 'You Have Chosen Wisely' collection, made in honor of the Indiana Jones movies. I was delighted to receive You'll Never Have Better, a soft cornflower blue with teeny holographic glitter, small copper flecks, and larger chameleon flecks that change from mint to sky baby blue.


Since the flakes change with the light, it can be hard to see just how many there are in a swatch, so here's a look at the bottle for you:

The Lady Varnishes You'll Never Have Better

And a look at all the gorgeousness on the brush:

The Lady Varnishes You'll Never Have Better

Here's how it looks on the nail...sigh...

The Lady Varnishes You'll Never Have Better

The Lady Varnishes You'll Never Have Better

The Lady Varnishes You'll Never Have Better

And, we have to have a macro to get a full shot of how awesome this is:

The Lady Varnishes You'll Never Have Better

In these pictures I'm wearing two coats with topcoat; the formula was fine, and I didn't have any problems with application.


If memory serves, the name of this polish comes from the scene in Temple of Doom where Indy and Willie are about to get to know each other a little better...I think this polish captures Willie pretty darn well--a little soft, a little surprising, and has a thing for flashes of glam.


For the nail art, I didn't want to cover the pretty flecks on this, so I opted for accent nails only, to leave three nails exposed.  I chose an image from UberChic Beauty 5-02 that reminded me a bit of the palace decorations; I stamped with Sally Hansen Mint Sprint and then added dots of Hit The Bottle Polish Everyday I'm Truffling, to pull out the flakes and flecks from the base polish:

The Lady Varnishes You'll Never Have Better + UberChic Beauty 5-02

The Lady Varnishes You'll Never Have Better + UberChic Beauty 5-02

I love that this is a bold pattern, but it almost looks soft because of the way the colors play together with the base polish. Just gorgeous, if I do say so myself!

You can find this polish and many, many other beauties in The Lady Varnishes' Etsy shop; you can also keep up with TLV on Facebook.

Happy polishing!!

M.

My favorite Halloween manis from 2014

(Some manis feature press samples; affiliate links)

Hello!

Most people are not super-duper-cray-cray about Halloween the way I am, so you're probably just now picking out what you want to wear on your nails for Halloween week (Halloween day?). I thought I'd do a compilation of my favorite Halloween manis from the past years. Today I'm focusing on last year's manicures. For each I'm including a link to the original post, and a quick list of plates and polishes in case you want to recreate the look.


Freshly Dead

Freshly Dead (click here for original post)

Polish(s): Color Club Look Don't Tusk, Barielle Miami Heat, Barielle Pillow Talk
Plate(s): MoYou London Gothic 04
Stamping polish(es): Konad Black



Spooky Punikens

Spooky Punikens (Click here for original post)

Polish(s): LynBDesigns Do I Look Like A Frolicker, Nfu-Oh 51 
Plate(s): Bunny Nails HD-D
Stamping polish(es): Konad Black



Halloween Poem

Halloween Poem (click here for original post)

Polish(s): Color Club Look Don't Tusk
Plate(s): Stampaholic ST02
Stamping polish(es): Sally Hansen Orange Impulse, Konad Black



This Is Halloween

This Is Halloween (click here for original post)

This Is Halloween (click here for original post)

This Is Halloween (click here for original post)

Polish(s): The Lady Varnishes & Sweetheart Polish Grim Grinning Ghosts duo (still available!)
Plate(s): MoYou London Gothic 01
Stamping polish(es): Konad Black, Konad White

Spider Juggling

Spider Juggling (click here for original post)

Polish(s): Barielle Soho At Night
Plate(s): MoYou London Gothic 04
Stamping polish(es): Sally Hansen Lively Lilac, Barry M Silver Foil


Can Anyone Give Me A Hand?

Plate(s): Bundle Monster H08, Bunny Nails HD-C
Stamping polish(es): Sally Hansen Lightning, China Glaze Grape Pop



Stripey Skulls

Stripey Skulls (click here for original post)

Polish(s): Barielle Moda Bleu
Plate(s): Cici&Sisi plate 18, Bunny Nails HD-C
Stamping polish(es): Sally Hansen Brisk Blue, Konad White



Great Night For A Broom Flight

Great Night For A Broom Flight (Click here for original post)

Polish(s): Orly Beautiful Disaster, LynBDesigns This Is Halloween
Plate(s): Bunny Nails HD-C and HD-D
Stamping polish(es): Konad Black, Konad White, Pure Ice Silver Mercedes




The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead (Click for original post)

Polish(s): Lucky 13 Fool Of A Took
Plate(s): Bunny Nails HD-C
Stamping polish(es): Konad Black

Before & After: Copper Lace (BuNa-F)

(Press sample; affiliate links)

Hello!

Today I'm gonna do a before & after with another one of Bunny Nail's new plates, BuNa-F.

For this one, I started with a base of Zoya Belinda, a deep blackened purple with blue and pink shimmery bits:

Zoya Belinda

Then I added a coat of Nabi Purple Jumbo Glitter, and amazeballs duochrome glitter that doesn't look like too much when you see it in the bottle, but then explodes with awesomeness once you put it on:

Nabi Purple Jumbo Glitter over Zoya Belinda

Nabi Purple Jumbo Glitter over Zoya Belinda

Then I stamped using BuNa-F:

BuNa-F

With Hit The Bottle Polishes Copper-Haired Girl:

Copper Lace (BuNa-F stamped over Nabi Purple Jumbo Glitter + Zoya Belinda)

Copper Lace (BuNa-F stamped over Nabi Purple Jumbo Glitter + Zoya Belinda)

Copper Lace (BuNa-F stamped over Nabi Purple Jumbo Glitter + Zoya Belinda)

Copper Lace (BuNa-F stamped over Nabi Purple Jumbo Glitter + Zoya Belinda)

Copper Lace (BuNa-F stamped over Nabi Purple Jumbo Glitter + Zoya Belinda)

I think the image on this makes it beautiful even if there were no glitter underneath, but that glitter--wow. I love how the multichrome of it makes it look like it's shining out from under the image; I love the way the colors play and I love how it's bold and delicate at the same time.

You can find this plate and the other new Bunny Nails plates on her Store Envy site, here.

Before & After: Monster Mash Bash (UberChic Beauty 5-01 + China Glaze Cha Cha Cha)

(press sample; affiliate links)

Hello!!

You know that song Monster Mash? The one where all the monsters are at some cool Halloween shindig, getting their party on? Have you ever wonder what goes on at a party like that? Well, I'm gonna show you.

There are a ton of gorgeous images on UberChic Beauty 5-01, and I bet your mind doesn't instantly go to Halloween when you look at it...But it's October and I have a serious Halloween addiction, so several instantly popped out at me as very cool background images for Halloween manis!

For this mani, I started with a base of China Glaze Cha Cha Cha, a sour-apple green with yellow shimmer that I love as a Halloween polish:

China Glaze Cha Cha Cha

Then I stamped the bottom right image from UberChic Beauty 5-01 with Sally Hansen Pronto Purple and Orange Impulse:

UberChic Beauty 5-01

Then I busted out my UberChic Beauty Halloween 01 plate, and did reverse stamping with several of the little totes adorbs characters I fell in love with on sight:

UberChic Halloween 01

I stamped with Eat Sleep Polish Endless Sheets of Canvas and colored with China Glaze Cha Cha Cha, China Glaze Out Like A Light, and Sally Hansen Pronto Purple, Orange Impulse & Brisk Blue,, and White On.

So let's take a look at what those crazy monsters get up to...:

They did the mash

Well, it sure looks like Mr. spider guy is hitting on Miss eyeball--love surely does conquer all, and I bet they'll have delightfully creepy looking babies! And in case you were wondering what happens when ghosts have a little too much to drink, take a gander at this:

They did the monster mash!

UberChic Beauty 5-01 + Halloween 01

It looks like Ghostie McGhosterson has had a little too much, and is annoying Grumpy McPunkinpants by trying to scare him. Will these ghosts never learn that drink just goes right through them? Hahahahahahahahaaaaa! Okay, I'll stop.

This is such a fun mani, it makes me giggle, and I love the bright colors. The bead string image is perfect with it--whimsical and silly.

You can find both of these awesome plates in UberChic Beauty's store, here.

Happy stamping!
M.