Hit The Bottle Polish Embrace The Darkside & Go With The Flow

(Press samples and affiliate links ahead!)

Hello!


Today we're going to take a look at something I'm super excited about--the very first two stamping plates from Hit The Bottle Polish! Hit The Bottle makes my favorite stamping polishes and everything Michelle does is top-notch quality, so I've been waiting for these plates with baited breath...And, one's a Halloween plate!

Here's my video review of the plates:

And here's a closer look, first at Hit The Bottle Embrace The Darkside:

Skill level: Most of the images on this plate are suitable for beginners.
What I love about this plate: I love the elegant goth images--pretty enough to use all year long, or really class up your Halloween manis. I love the dancing celebrants, and the sexy cats, and the cool bat, and the flies--BUT UNICORN SKELETONS THOUGH!!!

Skill level: Beginners will have no problem creating masterpieces with this. And it's far easier than actual fluid nail art!
What I love about this plate: Fluid nail art effects that don't take hours to make and a huge mess? Sigh. Me. Up.


Here are the test swatches I did:

On to the manis! First a simple look:

Hit The Bottle Polish Embrace The Darkside over Girly Bits The Hustle

Base Polish(es): Girly Bits The Hustle and Lantern & Wren Don't Run Upstairs
Stamping Plate(s): Hit The Bottle Polish Embrace The Darkside
Stamping Polish(es): Lantern & Wren Don't Run Upstairs



For this one, I wanted to go elegant goth:

Hit The Bottle Polish Embrace The Darkside over Lantern & Wren Don't Run Upstairs

Hit The Bottle Polish Embrace The Darkside over Lantern & Wren Don't Run Upstairs

Base Polish(es): Lantern & Wren Don't Run Upstairs, Colores de Carol Bling!
Stamping Plate(s): Hit The Bottle Polish Embrace The Darkside
Stamping Polish(es): Hit The Bottle Polish Holo There Beautiful, Lantern & Wren Don't Run Upstairs

And or this one, I went a little surreal, with a little bat-demon watching your every move:

Hit The Bottle Polish Embrace The Darkside over 6 Harts Riverdale Road Signs

Hit The Bottle Polish Embrace The Darkside over 6 Harts Riverdale Road Signs

Base Polish(es): 6 Harts Riverdale Road Signs
Stamping Plate(s): Hit The Bottle Polish Embrace The Darkside and Go With The Flow
Stamping Polish(es): Hit The Bottle Polish Drop Red Gorgeous & Everyday I'm Truffling, Kaleidoscope Black, Moyra Silver


For the next one, I just had to try out some bloody zombie fingers:

Hit The Bottle Polish Embrace The Darkside over Stella Chroma All Charged Up

Hit The Bottle Polish Embrace The Darkside over Stella Chroma All Charged Up

Base Polish(es): Stella Chroma All Charged Up
Stamping Plate(s): Hit The Bottle Polish Embrace The Darkside and Go With The Flow
Stamping Polish(es): Hit The Bottle Polish Drop Red Gorgeous, Kaleidoscope Black


And, finally, I had to do something with the beautiful dancing celebrants, so I put them in an enchanted forest with their brooms:

Hit The Bottle Polish Embrace The Darkside over Stella Chroma All Charged Up

Hit The Bottle Polish Embrace The Darkside over Stella Chroma All Charged Up

Base Polish(es): The Lady Varnishes Avada Kedavra What A Wonderful Phrase!
Stamping Plate(s): Hit The Bottle Polish Embrace The Darkside 
Stamping Polish(es): Kaleidoscope Black, Moyra Silver

So which are your favorite images on these plates??


You can buy these plates now directly from Hit The Bottle Polish.

Big hugs,
M. xoxo

Follow me all the places! 

Facebook / YouTube / Bloglovin' / Instagram / Pinterest / Twitter

Check out The Dancing Girls, my debut novel, here!
And the 2nd Det. Jo Fournier book, Taken to the Grave, here!

Dixie Plates Halloween 2019

(Press samples ahead!)

Hello!


Today we're gonna take a look at another new plate from Dixie Plates, her 2019 Halloween plate. Here's the quick video review I did of the plate:

And here's a closer look at the plate:

Dixie Plates Halloween 2019

Skill level: This is an intermediate plate that stamps beautifully.
What I love about this plate: Haunted forest! Phases of the moon! Cool spooky ghosts! Bloody cleavers and a ouija board image! And the spookiest spider-riddled web you'll ever want to see.


Here are the test looks I did:

And now on to the manis! For the first one, I wanted to make a spooky haunted forest filled with nasty ghosts:

Dixie Plates Halloween 2019 over UberChic Beauty Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun

Dixie Plates Halloween 2019 over UberChic Beauty Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun

Base Polish(es): UberChic Beauty Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun
Stamping Plate(s): Dixie Plates Halloween 2019
Stamping Polish(es): Lantern & Wren Don't Run Upstairs and Moyra Silver


For this one, I had to play around with that infested tree:

Dixie Plates Halloween 2019 over Stella Chroma Hug The Road

Base Polish(es): Stella Chroma Hug The Road
Stamping Plate(s): Dixie Plates Halloween 2019
Stamping Polish(es): Lantern & Wren Don't Run Upstairs


And I've already shown you this one, but in case you missed it, this is my tribute to the urban legend of Bloody Mary:

Dixie Plates Halloween 2019 over 6 Harts Riverdale Road Signs

Dixie Plates Halloween 2019 over 6 Harts Riverdale Road Signs

Base Polish(es): 6 Harts Polish Riverdale Road Signs
Stamping Plate(s): Dixie Plates Halloween 2019
Stamping Polish(es): Girly Bits Little Black Dress, White Wedding, Firebrick


And as a kitty lover, I wanted to show a sweet kitty going a little nuts when the moon is full...

Dixie Plates Halloween 2019 over Zoya Elliot and Alice

Dixie Plates Halloween 2019 over Zoya Elliot and Alice

Base Polish(es): Zoya Elliot and Zoya Alice
Stamping Plate(s): Dixie Plates Halloween 2019
Stamping Polish(es): Kaleidoscope Black, Moyra Silver

What do you think? Are there any images you really love on this plate?


This plate is available now directly from Dixie Plates, or anywhere her plates are sold. :)

Big hugs,
M. xoxo

Follow me all the places! 

Facebook / YouTube / Bloglovin' / Instagram / Pinterest / Twitter

Check out The Dancing Girls, my debut novel, here!
And the 2nd Det. Jo Fournier book, Taken to the Grave, here!

PPU Alert!: 6 Harts Riverdale Road Signs

(Press samples and affiliate links ahead!)

Hello!


I've got another Polish Pickup polish for your viewing pleasure today: 6 Harts Riverdale Road Signs!


You might remember that this month's theme is 'Urban Legends', which I think is super cool and fun for October, and I'm learning about a bunch of spooky urban legends I've never heard of before...I'm embarrassed to say I'd never heard of Riverdale Road in Colorado, which apparently is not just the basis for a single urban legend, but a whole cluster of them. Ghosts that talk to you and disappear, mysterious disappearances, the whole nine. But my favorite of all the stories is something that's most definitely not a legend--there are 'gates of hell' on the road, iron gates build by a man who lost his mind and burned down his mansion while his family was asleep inside! He was never caught...

6 Harts Riverdale Road Signs

6 Harts Riverdale Road Signs

6 Harts Riverdale Road Signs

6 Harts Riverdale Road Signs

6 Harts Riverdale Road Signs

6 Harts Riverdale Road Signs

6 Harts Riverdale Road Signs

6 Harts Riverdale Road Signs

6 Harts Riverdale Road Signs

Coverage: 2 coats
Application and formula: Smooth as silk!
Description and review: Riverdale Road Signs is a silver metallic with red flakes and a spray of holo sparkle. I love this for the inspiration--the silvery white is like a ghost, and the red flakes are like the blood of the road's victims...And it could also be flakes of rust from those rusty gates of hell...


The polish also made me think of another urban legend, the Bloody Mary legend. When I was growing up, the legend was that if you said 'Bloody Mary' three times in a mirror, she'd appear--and possibly kill you! This polish looks to me like a foggy mirror with splashes of blood on it, so I had to do my very own Bloody Mary mani:

6 Harts Riverdale Road Signs stamped with Dixie Plates Halloween 2019 and Autumn 03

6 Harts Riverdale Road Signs stamped with Dixie Plates Halloween 2019 and Autumn 03

Base Polish(es): 6 Harts Riverdale Road Signs
Stamping Plate(s): Dixie Plates Halloween 2019 and Autumn 03
Stamping Polish(es): Girly Bits Little Black Dress, White Wedding, and Firebrick

I'm gonna just admit it--this creeped me out a little bit when I was editing it! That face, if you stare at it too long, is just spooky...


You can buy 6 Harts Riverdale Road Signs during October's Polish Pickup sale from Oct. 4-7th. It's a bargain at only $10.00, and there are only 80 bottles available, so SET THAT ALARM. In the meantime you can check out 6 Harts other beauties here, and come hang out with the Polish Pickup Pack here.

Big hugs,
M. xoxo

Follow me all the places! 

Facebook / YouTube / Bloglovin' / Instagram / Pinterest / Twitter

Check out The Dancing Girls, my debut novel, here!
And the 2nd Det. Jo Fournier book, Taken to the Grave, here!

Before & After: What Child Is This?

Hello!

It's Christmas Eve, everyone! To me, Christmas Eve is almost as important as Christmas Day, although I often end up spending it scrabbling to finish things. And eating. Lots of eating. :)

The other day in my post of favorite holiday specialty polishes, I described a manicure I thought would look cute with a particular polish, and loved the idea so much I had to do it.

I started with 6 Harts Midnight Delight, a dark shimmery purple with a subtle sprinkle of silver glitter:

6 Harts Midnight Delight

 


I mentioned that I thought this would be a perfect base for a Nativity manicure, and that you could do a quick one with the design on Bunny Nails HD-F. So, I put may plate where my fingers was, and I stamped this one, using Barry M Silver Foil; I stamped the star from HD-E. I also freehanded a silver stripe across the bottom for a strip of ground:

What child is this, who laid to rest, on Mary's lap lay sleeping?

Whom angels greet with anthems sweet

While shepherds watch are keeping?

Peaceful and serene...And fast, my dear friends. This is a 5-minute manicure, believe it or not (well, the nail art part). Yes, it would have taken a minute or two more for me to redo the palm trees, and I probably should have...but palm trees tend to have gnarly bark, so I decided this just looks authentic. ;-)

Merry Christmas everyone,
M.

My favorite Halloween Polishes, part 2

...You ready for part 2? (if you missed part one, you can find it here. )

Last time I showed you some basic building blocks, plus a couple that were a little extra-special. I'm going to continue on with the extra-specials--and by coincidence, all of today's offerings are indies, too. :)

Let's have at it!!

Best all-in-one Halloween polish: No Worries Polish Truffula Tree

No Worries Polish Truffula Tree, artificial light

If you want a fun, special Halloween manicure that will catch they eye, but don't have time for nail art and the like, this polish is for you. Beautiful formula, and very festive. Your one-stop Halloween polish experience. :)

Most versatile Halloween accent polish: The Nail Junkie Tiger

The Nail Junkie Tiger

I realized as I was putting this together that I don't have a full swatch of this polish, because I tend to use it as an accent rather than a full mani. So I'm showing you a Halloween mani I did with it instead of a swatch. This is a great polish to use as an accent nail, a background glitter to stamp over, a stand-out skittle nail. The basic orange-and-black color scheme make it perfect for almost any sort of theme--spiders, witches, pumpkins/jack-o-lanterns, haunted houses, bats. Yes yes yes, I realize it has bar glitter. I love bar glitter myself, but even if you don't love it for daily wear, I think it still has a place in theme manicures. :)


Darkest, most goth-type Halloween polish: A Study In Polish Consulting Criminal

A Stud In Polish Consulting Criminal, direct sunlight

Perfect for deadly vampires, serious sorcerers and goth fairies, this red, white and silver in black jelly polish will take care of all of your dark, shadow-filled Halloween-style desires.


Polish that looks most like body part and blood splatter: 6 Harts Ninja Bat

6 Harts Ninja Bat, over medium gray franken, indirect sunlight

Let's say you're stuck in a horror movie, and some serial killer is coming after you, trying to kill you. Let's further say that you pull out a grenade, and blow him to bits. Let's still further say you take a look over at the wall that his body splattered all over. That's what this polish reminds me of, when I'm in a Halloween state of mind.

On that note: Spaghetti and meatballs, anyone?

Most night-sky and alien-esque Halloween polish: Nail'd It Purp...Excuse Me.

Nail'd It Purp...Excuse Me!, no undies, direct sunlight

Looking for a night sky polish that comes with its own moons? Want something that captures a whimsical, alien-creature type of look? Going to the party as Dr. Who, and want to take the galaxy with you? Want nails that the sauciest of sorceresses would wear, polish that will make your nails look like they can cast spells all on their own? This is the polish for you. You could get a slightly more subtle look than the one I put together here by putting undies under it and using one coat. But who wants subtle for Halloween??? :)


Most self-explanatory: Pretty & Polished Blood Clot

Pretty & Polished Blood Clot, no undies, two coats, artificial light

Yeah, it's probably pretty obvious why this one made the list--this is so creepily, horrendously like a microscope view of blood cells clotting up, it makes the Halloween freak inside me dance with joy. This is also one of those frustrating polishes to photograph--it looks so much better (and creepier!) in person. I believe this was also released for a while under the name 'Bloody Mary'; whichever way you find it, your evil nurse/doctor/serial killer costume would not be complete without some of this dripped, er, painted onto your nails.


Most non-horrific Halloween polish: SoFlaJo Frankie's Lab Dance

SoFlaJo Frankie's Lab Dance, 2 coats, indirect sunlight

 

The only thing horrific here is my swatching ability--these were taken a year ago, I apparently didn't realize the bottle was in focus rather than the nails, and they make me shudder! But they still get the basic idea across, including the duochrome aspect of the polish, and the glitters. This is a wonderful polish for princesses, faeries, elves of various sorts, and other sweet, ethereal costumes. It's also just a fun, quick Halloween polish that will help you capture the general spirit of the holiday in one bottle.


And to end, an absolutely quintessential Halloween polish: Leesha's Lacquer Monster Mash

Leesha's Lacquer Monster Mash over Zoya Keiko, artificial light

I have undies here, but you can build this polish up on its own to get more glitter and nearly the exact same base color (as you can see in the bottle). This is another polish that I love for capturing the spirit of the holiday just as it is, with no nail art and no costume to pair with it. It's full of energy and fun, just the way Halloween should be.

And so, my favorites are at an end...but I'm sure this is only the beginning of the possibilities. So I leave you with this very important question: what amazing Halloween polishes am I missing from this list? What are your favorites? Point me to them!!! :)

Hugs and Halloween thrills,
M.