Lacquer or Leave Her!

Friday, March 17, 2017

Review & Giveaway: Marianne Nails 126!

(Press samples ahead!)

Hello!

Today I have a new-to-me brand to show you, Marianne Nails! Of course I did a video review o the three plates she sent for review, 124, 126, and 133:

I say in the video that Marianne is new to the market, but that's a mistake--they've been around for a while especially in Europe, so please forgive me! Marianne has a ton of plates and I was excited to test out the quality because there are so many awesome designs to choose from.

Today I'm going to focus on Marianne Nails 126, and I'll be back with separate posts on the other two. But I started here because...I have an extra plate 126 to give away! See the bottom of the post for details. :)

First, check out how pretty these plates come packaged!

And here's a closer look at the plate:

Marianne Nails 126

The plate is 6 cm X 12 cm, and the images are 2 cm wide and 1.9 cm tall:

How does it stamp?

Extremely well, even with the crystal stamper. :)

Since today is St. Patrick's Day, I decided to do an abstract shamrock mani! I started with a base of Girly Bits Irish You Were Beer and They're After Me Lucky Charms, and then stamped my image with Girly Bits Ker-Minty Frog Here:

Marianne Nails 126 over Girly Bits Irish You Were Beer and They're After Me Lucky Charms

This plate stamped beautifully--easy, fast, perfect. All three of the plates gave me no issues whatsoever, so I can definitely recommend this brand. :)

Want your own copy of this plate? Enter the giveaway here:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway is open internationally
18+ only
Winner notified by e-mail, and has 48 hours to respond
Good luck!

And, of course, you can also find this plate on Marianne's site.

Happy stamping, and happy St. Paddy's day!

NOTD: Eirinn go Brach!

(Press samples ahead!)

Hello!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Today everyone has a little Irish in them, right? So deck yourself out with some St. Paddy's nail art--featuring green, of course--and make sure nobody has an excuse to pinch you.

For this mani, I started with a base of Girly Bits Irish You Were Beer. Then I stamped images from Messy Mansion Symetrika 06, with Messy Mansion Forest and Spring Green:

Messy Mansion Symetrika 06

(I also have a video review of this plate here.)

Here's how it came out:

Messy Mansion Symetrika 06 over Girly Bits Irish You Were Beer

What I like best about these patterns is how they allow the gorgeous holo to shine through so beautifully.

Hope you have a fun and safe St. Patrick's Day!
M.

Thursday, March 16, 2017

Review: Zoya Charming Spring 2017 collection

(Press samples ahead!)

Hello!

Are you in the mood for something soft and pretty, with a little hint of magic? Then take a look at Zoya's Charming collection for spring 2017:

Zoya Charming spring 2017 collection

I don't know what the inspiration for this collection was, but I see a Monet waterlilies painting in this colors, or fields of spring wildflowers, and they make me want to create! Let's take a closer look at each color:

First up is Zoya Abby, a soft lilac creme:

Zoya Abby

Formula & Application: Excellent; no pulling or patchiness
Coverage: two coats

I love the hint of smoke to this, which gives it a hint of sophistication. Soft and pretty.

Next we have Zoya Amira, a sky blue with micro flecks of shimmery gold:

Zoya Amira

Formula & Application: Excellent--easy peasy.
Coverage: two coats

I love this color so hard! The gold sparkle to it makes it sing, like golden rays of sun sparkling off the ocean. Love, love, love.

Next is Zoya Jordan, a cotton candy pink creme:

Zoya Jordan

Formula & Application: Very good. Slight patchiness that clears up with second coat.
Coverage: two coats

This is your typical spring pink pastel--sort of the little black dress of the spring polish palette, especially if you love pink.

Next up is my favorite of the collection is Zoya Lacey, a light avocado with gold micro-sparkle shimmer:

Zoya Lacey

Formula & Application: Perfect
Coverage: two coats

I am obsessed with polish--it's one of those I find myself just staring at, rolling my fingers this way and that so the light catches it. The gold and the green go together so beautifully, it lights up your fingertips. This is soft fields of new spring grass dancing in the sunlight. *SIGH*

Next we have Zoya Millie, a magenta polish with blue and pink shimmer:

Zoya Millie

Formula & Application: Perfection
Coverage: two coats

Oh yes. This is raspberries and blackberries and blueberries all mixed up into a smoothie of awesome. Gorgeous and fun for any season, bold and happy and sexy.

And finally we have Zoya Tina, a lavender creme:

Zoya Tina

Formula & Application: Excellent; no pulling or patchiness
Coverage: two coats

This is fields of wildflowers in a bottle--it's flirty and sweet, but with a hint of sexy. Such a versatile shade!

Zoya also sent me one of the new spring lipsticks to review, Zoya Violette:

Zoya Violette

Like the other Zoya lipsticks I've tried, this wears well and feels good on the lip. This shade is a little lighter than I normally wear, so I didn't think it would look right on me, but it does, and I'll definitely wear it. I'm very impressed with the quality of Zoya's lipsticks, and their Matte Velvet Red is now my go-to red--I receive compliments on it every time I wear it since I picked it up in their last sale.

You can find the collection in Zoya's store, or in any stores that sell Zoya products. You can also find Zoya here on the interwebs:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZoyaNailPolish/?fref=ts

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoyanailpolish/

Happy polishing!
M.

Thursday, March 9, 2017

NOTD: Vineyard (featuring FingerPaints Harvest Hues, Zoya Ness, + UberChic Beauty 11-01)

(Press samples ahead!)

Hello!

Today I have a quick NOTD to show you--okay, it wasn't quick to make, but I'm going to show it to you in a quick post. :)

I started with a base skittle of FingerPaints Harvest Hues and Zoya Ness, then I used the advanced stamping technique with the image that looks like grapes on UberChic Beauty 11-01:

I colored in the grapes with Literary Lacquers Soul Within Me Burning to get some awesome purple holo going, and with more Harvest Hues. Here's how it turned out:

UberChic Beauty 11-01 over FingerPaints Harvest Hues and Zoya Ness

You may notices some of the lines came out wiggly when I rolled the images over onto the nails--what I learned from this is if I'm going to use images with fine lines like this, it's better to make decals rather than just the advanced stamping technique, because if you roll the image onto the nails, it's much, much harder to keep those little lines from breaking off. So, make decals, and they'll stay put!

Still, I don't mind that it doesn't look perfect--I still think it came out beautifully. What do you think? Do a couple of imperfections make it look more real, or ruin it?

Happy stamping!
M.

Monday, March 6, 2017

Review: Messy Mansion MM48XL (The Paisley Plate!)

(Press samples ahead!)

Hello!

Today I have a Messy Mansion plate to show you, Messy Mansion MM48XL--or as I think of it, the paisley plate! Here's the video review I did:

And here's a still shot:

Messy Mansion MM48XL

Little paisley, big paisley. Full nail paisley, individual paisleys (paislies?). And, possibly my favorite--pocket patch paisley.

The size of the images vary, so here's a shot with a ruler to help you judge:

And how do they stamp? Just awesome!!

Very well--I found a firm scrape worked best to get all of that detail.

For my sample mani, I started with a base of The Lady Varnishes Depressed Robot, and then stamped my image first with Messy Mansion Soft Gold, and then Gingerbread:

Messy Mansion MM48XL over The Lady Varnishes Depressed Robot, stamped with Soft Gold and Gingerbread

I'm extremely happy with how the colors go together, and with the placement of the images--plenty of space to let that awesome glitter show through.

You can find this plate and the stamping polishes in Messy Mansion's store, and here's where else you can hang out with them on the interwebs:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/messymansion/

Facebook Fangroup: https://www.facebook.com/groups/messymansion/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/messymansion/

Happy stamping!
M.

Saturday, March 4, 2017

Review: Born Pretty Store BP-L057 (Or, Skeletons need love too)

(Press samples ahead!)

Hello!

Today we're gonna take a look at Born Pretty Store BP-L057, a Halloween-themed plate that has lots of fun skeletons for people like me to use throughout the year. :) Here's the video review I did:

And here's a still shot of the plate:

Can I just squeee a little bit about how much I love those skeleton kitties?! Because seriously--skeleton kitties!!! How cute is that!!!!

Here's a look at the relative sizes, since there are a bunch of shapes on the plate:

And how does it stamp? Check these test swatches out:

Deliciously creepy, my nail-art friends!!

For my sample mani, I started with a base of The Lady Varnishes Broken Carousel and Julep Ledi, then stamped with Messy Mansion Sterling. Here's how it came out:

Born Pretty Store BP-L057 over The Lady Varnishes Broken Carousel and Julep Ledi

Skeletons are people too, and they need love--so what better than a totally adorable skeleton kitty!?!

You can find this plate in the Born Pretty Store, and you can use my code for 10% off your full order: MCL91.