Thursday, December 28, 2017

UberChic Beauty Collection 21!

(Press samples and affiliate links ahead!)


Hello!


I'm back today with four manicures using UberChic Beauty's Collection 21 plates...my video review has been up on YouTube since the set came out:



And here's a look at the plates:

UberChic Beauty 21-01
UberChic Beauty 21-01
 
UberChic Beauty 21-01
UberChic Beauty 21-02

UberChic Beauty 21-03

My favorite thing about these plates: In addition to all the features you expect from UberChic (beautiful flowers, negative and positive versions of the same images, complementary image in different scales, great mix-and-match potential), UberChic is getting more complex with the layering images, including some that work with the intricate flowers, a gorgeous multi-layered fox, and fun hot-air balloons. 


The quality of the plates is excellent as always; these swatches are done with my clear stamper:


 
 
 


On to the manicures! For my first, I started with a base of Spellbound Nails' Hungarian Horntail, and then stamped the image from 21-01 with Messy Mansion Soft Gold:


UberChic Beauty 21-02 over Spellbound Nails Hungarian Horntail
UberChic Beauty 21-01 over Spellbound Nails Hungarian Horntail

UberChic Beauty 21-01 over Spellbound Nails Hungarian Horntail

For my second manicure, I started with a base of The Lady Varnishes Harpy, stamped my image from 21-03 with MoYou London Ginger Rust:


UberChic Beauty 21-03 over The Lady Varnishes Harpy
UberChic Beauty 21-03 over The Lady Varnishes Harpy

UberChic Beauty 21-03 over The Lady Varnishes Harpy

UberChic Beauty 21-03 over The Lady Varnishes Harpy


For the third mani, I was inspired by the gorgeous The Lady Varnishes Dragon to create a dragon queen manicure; I started by putting Dragon over Sally Hansen Blacky O undies, and stamped my images from 21-02 with Messy Mansion Soft Gold:


UberChic Beauty 21-02 over The Lady Varnishes Dragon (over Sally Hansen Blacky O undies)
UberChic Beauty 21-02 over The Lady Varnishes Dragon (over Sally Hansen Blacky O undies)

UberChic Beauty 21-02 over The Lady Varnishes Dragon (over Sally Hansen Blacky O undies)
UberChic Beauty 21-02 over The Lady Varnishes Dragon (over Sally Hansen Blacky O undies)


And for my final mani, I just had to use that gorgeous layering fox! I started with a base of Shinespark Polish Circinus Galaxy, then stamped trees with Messy Mansion Ivy, Forest, and chalk, and my fox with Gingerbread, Red-y Or Not, Chalk, and Carbon:


UberChic Beauty 21-01 and Holiday Jingle over Shinespark Polish Circinus Galaxy

UberChic Beauty 21-01 and Holiday Jingle over Shinespark Polish Circinus Galaxy


I love how peaceful this is, and how cute that little fox guy came out! Love, love, love. :)


You can find these plates in UberChic Beauty's store, and you can follow them around the interwebs here:




Happy stamping!
M. xoxo

Sunday, December 24, 2017

NOTD: Here Comes Santa Claus!

(Press samples ahead!)

Hello!


Well, the night is upon us...are you ready for Santa's visit?


I am not.


But--I did manage to put together a mani I absolutely adore to celebrate his arrival...I used UberChic Beauty's Holiday Jingle and Holly Jolly plates over Shinespark Polish Black Opal (January's Polish Pickup contribution), and I stamped and did reversed stamping with Messy Mansion polishes in Gingergreat, Forest, Chalk, Red-y Or Not, and Carbon:


UberChic Beauty's Holiday Jingle and Holly Jolly plates over Shinespark Polish Black Opal
UberChic Beauty's Holiday Jingle and Holly Jolly plates over Shinespark Polish Black Opal

UberChic Beauty's Holiday Jingle and Holly Jolly plates over Shinespark Polish Black Opal

I love how this came out with one exception--because my nails are curvy, it's hard to see Santa in the pictures. I wanted to put the presents falling off his the sleigh on the same nail, but if I were doing it again, I'd put them on the pinkie and center Santa more. Otherwise, I adore this--Black Opal looks like a magical holo snowstorm against a clear night sky, and the images on this are so perfect for Christmas Eve.


I hope you're having a wonderful day with people you love!
M. xoxo

Saturday, December 23, 2017

NOTD & Tutorial: Holiday Flowers

(Press samples and affiliate links ahead!)


Hello!

Today I have a look that's festive without being overwhelmingly holiday...One of the things I love to receive as a hostess present for holiday gatherings is flowers, so I thought I'd do a manicure about that. :)

I used B. Loves Plates B. 02 Flower Power over Zoya Alicia and Sheri, and stamped with Messy Mansion Sterling and Chalk

B. Loves Plates B.02 Flower Power over Zoya Sheri and Alicia
B. Loves Plates B.02 Flower Power over Zoya Sheri and Alicia

B. Loves Plates B.02 Flower Power over Zoya Sheri and Alicia
B. Loves Plates B.02 Flower Power over Zoya Sheri and Alicia

I love this--it's like a cloud of blossoms floating on the nail...And here's a tutorial I put together to show you how I did it:



I hope you're having a wonderful holiday season so far!
M. xoxo

Friday, December 22, 2017

NOTD: Spellbound Nails Merry & Bright + Girly Bits Cosmetics GBC 1-01

(Press samples ahead!)

Hello!


Today I have a super-fast, but also super-elegant, NOTD to show you today. :)


For this mani, I started with a base of Spellbound Nails Merry & Bright, and stamped over it with Girly Bits Cosmetics plate GBC 1-01, using Girly Bits Bronze Goddess stamping polish. Here's how it came out:


Girly Bits Cosmetics GBC 1-01 over Spellbound Nails Merry & Bright

Girly Bits Cosmetics GBC 1-01 over Spellbound Nails Merry & Bright

Girly Bits Cosmetics GBC 1-01 over Spellbound Nails Merry & Bright

I talk in my review videos about how, whenever you have a free edge to your image, play around with it and use it to your advantage--this is the type of thing I mean. I love the different effects of the partially stamped nails, and how they all play together, like some sort of art nouveau frame filigree necklace.  And this is such a quick, elegant look, perfect for any holiday occasion.


Happy stamping!
M. xoxo

Thursday, December 21, 2017

NOTD: Sassy Peppermint (Sassy Pants Polish Nose Like A Cherry + New Fallen Snow over UCB Holly Jolly & Op Art Magic)

(Press samples ahead!)

Hello!


Today I have a peppermint-a-licious NOTD for you, featuring UberChic Beauty's Holly Jolly plate (formerly known as Christmas 02), and their Op Art Magic plate:





I started with a base of Sassy Pants Polish Nose Like A Cherry over Barry M Silver Foil, and Sassy Pants Polish New Fallen Snow. Then I stamped my images with Messy Mansion Chalk and Red-y Or Not:


UberChic Beauty Holly Jolly and Op Art Magic over Sassy Pants Polish Nose Like A Cherry and New Fallen Snow


UberChic Beauty Holly Jolly and Op Art Magic over Sassy Pants Polish Nose Like A Cherry and New Fallen Snow
UberChic Beauty Holly Jolly and Op Art Magic over Sassy Pants Polish Nose Like A Cherry and New Fallen Snow


I love peppermint this time of year, it always reminds me of Christmas when I was a child, and I that index and middle finger look good enough to eat, hee hee hee.


Happy stamping!
M. xoxo

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

UberChic Beauty Got Chevrons?

(Press samples and affiliate links ahead!)

Hello!


Are you a fan of chevrons? They're an absolute staple of nail art, and nobody does them as well as UberChic Beauty--check out all the different variations on their Got Chevron? plate:



What I love best about this plate: If you can image it as a chevron, it's here. And for me, chevrons are awesome for mixing and matching in manicures, and for using as texture behind other images. Basically, this plate turbo-charges all your other plates. :)


UberChic Beauty full-nail images are 1.7 x 2.1 cm, and here's a shot with a ruler so you can judge the smaller images:



UberChic Beauty's plates are always excellent quality:




As always, these are done with my clear stamper, and this time with Sally Hansen Plummet, and Re-Teal Therapy.


Normally I like to do 2-3 manicures for you when I show you a plate. But I wanted to hurry up and get this one out to you before Christmas, and for my Christmas Childhood Memories challenge prompt, so I'll be back with more from this plate soon.


One of the things I remember most about Christmas when I was a child was the special that would come on TV, like Rudolph The Rednosed Reindeer--back then there was no on demand or pausing a show, so you had to wait until the network aired it, and you sat glued to the TV while it was on. For my mani honoring those kitschy retro holiday TV shows, I started with a base of Girly Bits Cosmetics The Hustle. Then I stamped the curly chevron with Messy Mansion Chalk and Red-y Or Not; in the meantime, I made decals with the reindeer head from UberChic Beauty's Holiday Spirit plate, stamped with Messy Mansion Carbon and filled in with Messy Mansion Gingerbread:



UberChic Beauty Got Chevron? and Holiday Spirit over Girly Bits Cosmetics The Hustle
UberChic Beauty Got Chevron? and Holiday Spirit over Girly Bits Cosmetics The Hustle

UberChic Beauty Got Chevron? and Holiday Spirit over Girly Bits Cosmetics The Hustle
UberChic Beauty Got Chevron? and Holiday Spirit over Girly Bits Cosmetics The Hustle


I love how cheerful and festive this came out, with a heavy does of holo bling! And it takes me right back to the happy I felt watching those TV specials.


You can find both of the plates in UberChic Beauty's store, and you can stalk them around the interwebs here:




Happy stamping!
M. xoxo

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

NOTD & Tutorial: Jeweled Icicles (Dixie Plates Nail Gems 01 + Shinespark Polish Snowfall)

(Press samples and affiliate links ahead!)

Hello!


Today I have a NOTD that features a little bit of 3D nail art featuring Dixie Plates Nail Gems 01, which as I showed you here is a plate designed to help create fun 3D art.


I wanted to do something wintery and snowy, so I started with Shinespark Polish Snowfall, a thermal polish that goes from looking like a day snowy sky to an evening snowy sky. Then I stamped my image with Messy Mansion Sterling, and then added my gems on top. Finally, I drew on my other icicles with Sterling.


Here's how the icicles look during the day:

Dixie Plates Nail Gems 01 over Shinespark Polish Snowfall--cold look
Dixie Plates Nail Gems 01 over Shinespark Polish Snowfall--cold look 


Dixie Plates Nail Gems 01 over Shinespark Polish Snowfall--cold look
Dixie Plates Nail Gems 01 over Shinespark Polish Snowfall--cold look 


Here's how it looks when the polish is changing:


Dixie Plates Nail Gems 01 over Shinespark Polish Snowfall--transition look

Dixie Plates Nail Gems 01 over Shinespark Polish Snowfall--transition look


And here's how the sky looks at night!

Dixie Plates Nail Gems 01 over Shinespark Polish Snowfall--hot look

I made a tutorial illustrating how to make this mani, including a tip for keeping all of the gems in place if you don't want to use nail glue:




I love how this look came out--it has a little bit of the blingy 3D look, but isn't too over the top, and I love how the glitters in the polish make it look like there's a gentle snowfall in the background.


Happy stamping!
M. xoxo

Monday, December 18, 2017

Beauty Big Bang Holiday Plates!

(Press samples and affiliate links ahead!)

Hello!


Today I have some holiday plates to test out for you from Beauty Big Bang...I hadn't tried this brand before, so was interested to see how well the plates worked. Here's the video review I did of the plates:



Each of the plates come in its own envelope, if you like to store your plates that way:



And here's a look at each individual plate:


BeautyBigBang11

BeautyBigBang12


BeautyBigBang13

BeautyBigBang14

BeautyBigBang15


What I love about these plates: There is a sense of humor to these images that I just adore--like the tumbling sheep and the Merry Xmas caution tape, not to mention the hipster Santa 'staches! I also love the mix-and-match potential between the plates--the way the ribbon/bow image on 11 goes with the present on 13, the way the snowflakes on 13 go with the snowflake full-nail image on 14, and so on.


The full-nail images are 1.7 x 2.4 cm, and here's a shot of the smaller images with a ruler:





I was extremely impressed by the quality of the images--they stamped easily and beautifully every time:


 
 


These test swatches were done with a clear stamper, and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Night Flight.


Today I'm going to show you three holiday-themed manicures with these plates, and then I'll be back after Christmas to show you two more winter-themed ones...for my first manicure, today, I was inspired by the way the Santa image on plate 14 looks like he's weaving something out of a string of yarn, so I decided to do a play on a Christmas sweater manicure with that image and the image from plate 11. I started with a base of Spellbound Nails Matcha Latte over a base of Milky Way. I then shadow-stamped the images first with Messy Mansion Soft Gold, and then Carbon. Here's how it came out:


BeautyBigBang 11 and 14 over Spellbound Nails Matcha Latte and Milky Way

BeautyBigBang 11 and 14 over Spellbound Nails Matcha Latte and Milky Way


I love how the gold glints out like a little bit of metallic fiber in the yarn of the sweater, and I love flecked green-over-white of the base.


For my second mani, I wanted to embrace the humor of the plates, so I stamped an image from plate 12 over a coat of Zoya Leia over a base of Zoya Princess, from their upcoming Kisses collection (stay tuned for my review). I stamped with Messy Mansion Carbon, and on one nail used a reversed-stamping technique to pop out a single Santa from the image, using Messy Mansion Chalk, Red-y Or Not, and Girly Bits Irreplaceable:


BeautyBigBang 12 over Zoya Princess and Leia
BeautyBigBang 12 over Zoya Princess and Leia

BeautyBigBang 12 over Zoya Princess and Leia


I went with an unconventional base color for the manicure to highlight the whimsy of the design, and I adore how the little Santa guy came out. :)


For my final manicure, I went for a full-on traditional set of colors, but still  had to play around with the humor...I started with a skittle of Sally Hansen Get Mod, The Lady Varnishes Scandalous Scarlet (which remains my favorite Christmas polish of all times, even though I don't think it wasn't intended to be one, hehe), and Zoya Sheri. I used reversed stamping to color in and stamp the sheep design from plate 15 with Messy Mansion Chalk, Carbon, and Misty Jade, and stamped the other image with Messy Mansion Chalk. I finished with rhinestones and half-pearls to accent the other two nails: 


BeautyBigBang 15 over Sally Hansen Get Mod, The Lady Varnishes Scandalous Scarlet, and Zoya Sheri

BeautyBigBang 15 over Sally Hansen Get Mod, The Lady Varnishes Scandalous Scarlet, and Zoya Sheri


I love all three of these manis, but I adore this last one--it's festive, seasonal, and makes me smile. Sheep in shades--how can you not love that?!


You can find these plates in BeautyBigBang's store (use my code MISHKA824M for 10% off), and you can follow them around the interwebs here:




Happy stamping!
M.