Thursday, June 27, 2013

Harlow & Co Nailmail + Cirque Colors Bejeweled Swatches & Review

Thursday, June 27, 2013
Today was a lovely day;  I hope you're enjoying yours where ever you're reading this from! :)

My first ever nailmail arrived from Harlow & Co today, and I'm so excited to finally have these polishes in my collection.  


Lime Crime's Les Desserts d'Antoinette Collection and Cirque Colors Bejeweled & Vesuvius

Lime Crime's Les Desserts d'Antoinette Collection

They are so adorable, aren't they?!  I will have swatches of the Lime Crime collection very soon.  I cannot wait to try them.

And now, I present to you the beauty that is Cirque Colors Bejeweled:
In direct sunlight

I am obsessed!  This vibrant royal blue holographic polish is so gorgeous.  I was stalking the tracking number and literally had my nails prepped because I knew once my package arrived I needed this on my nails immediately!  Luckily, the sun was out in full force today, which is always necessary for taking amazing photos of holographic polishes.  I still can't stop staring at my nails sitting here in artificial lighting though!  In the photos, I am wearing two coats without top coat.  The formula is perfection.

Here are a few more photos to drool over:


In the shade


Thank you for reading if you made it this far, and I hope you enjoyed the photos.  I have a lot of swatching to do (not even including the ones on the way!), but I will have the rest for you very soon! :)


Kristin


Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Galaxy Nails Take 3 + New YouTube Tutorial!

Tuesday, June 25, 2013
I love galaxy nails.  This is my third go at it, and it turns out to be a completely different look each time, which is one of the reasons I love it!  It is a very simple design to achieve, but it can take some time layering different colors for the outcome to be just right.  I went a little overboard this time because I thought the colors wouldn't show well on video, but I'm still very happy with them!

Here is my finished look, this time around:




Polishes used: Pupa 702, a-England Camelot, CND Brilliant White, Orly Skinny Dip, Misa Ripe Raspberry, Essie Lights, OPI Ate Berries In the Canaries, inm Out the Door Northern Lights topcoat

I took this photo midway through the tutorial!





As a little bonus, here is my previous set of galaxy nails (I think they're my favorite so far!):



And, as requested by many of my lovely followers on Instagram, I made a new YouTube video on how I create my galaxy nails!




If you have any other questions or comments, please do not hesitate; I absolutely love answering them all! :)


Kristin


Saturday, June 22, 2013

Holographic Plastic Wrap Nail Art + Video & Tutorial!

Saturday, June 22, 2013
You may or may not have noticed a little YouTube button in my side bar.  Well, the time has come, and I have finally uploaded my first ever video!

It is a very simple look that I have recreated per request from some of my followers on Instagram.  I really loved it the first time I wore it (about 20 weeks ago according to IG!), and this time is no different.  I really hope you enjoy the video, and when my new camera lens arrives hopefully I can create many more videos with a closer detailed look (floral nails, yes!).







And, here is my original look and Instagram tutorial (my nails were super long here!):


1. Gather your supplies and prep your nails.  I used Nfu Oh Aqua Base, Layla Gold Idol and Purple Illusion, Cirque Fascination Street, a piece of plastic wrap (bunched into a ball), a few precision tip Q-tips, and a piece of paper.

2. Paint two coats of your base colour.  In this case, I chose a gold holographic polish.  You can use any color combination you desire.  Make sure your base color is completely dry, or use a quick dry top coat before moving to the next step.

3. Work quickly with the next few steps!  Place a few drops of your first polish on a piece of paper.  Dip the plastic wrap into the polish, and dab it a few times on the paper before applying it to your nails. 

4. Immediately "sponge" the polish on your nails in a few random spots.  Don't overdo it, or your base color won't show through.  You want a nice balance of colours.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 as much as necessary, to achieve the desired effect.

6. If you are using a third color, repeat steps 3 and 4 in another contrasting color.  I chose a darker one so that it would pop against the light base color.

7. Make sure you are happy with the effect.  You may have to touch up a few spots if you feel it is not balanced enough.

8. Clean up around the cuticles with some nail polish remover.

9. Finish with a top coat.  

Have fun! :)


Please let me know what other tutorials and designs you would like to see in the future!


Kristin


Thursday, June 20, 2013

Pahlish Heaven! Nailmail + Great Gatsby Swatches & Review!

Thursday, June 20, 2013
Today's post is very exciting.  Pahlish is one of my favorite indie nail polish brands, so I am just so happy to show you all my latest order, as well as swatches of the beautiful collection inspired by The Great Gatsby!

First up, here's the gorgeousness that came in my package:


Top row: Dark Paradise, Bitter Sweet Symphony, Body Electric, Peculiar Purple Paste, Beautiful Little Fool, Inexhaustible Variety
Bottom row: May duo (May Day Bouquet, Minty Fresh), Valley of Ashes, A Custom Job, The Green Light, Continually Smoldering


I will have swatches of the remaining six polishes very soon, but for now I have swatches of The Great Gatsby inspired collection for you!

From the top going CW: A Custom Job, The Green Light, Beautiful Little Fool, Continually Smoldering, Valley of Ashes, Inexhaustible Variety 

Look how sparkly they are! 




A Custom Job is a light neon yellow with pink and teal duochrome shimmer.  This is one of the most unique polishes, and is actually super bright and wearable in person!  I used three coats with top coat in my photos, but I bet this one would be great over a white base too.  It made my hands look quite red in photos, but I thought it was actually very flattering in person.





The Green Light is a gorgeous emerald green jelly with different sizes of iridescent blue hex and square glitter, as well as iridescent green hexes, and blue/green glass fleck shimmer.  The emerald jelly base is the perfect shade of green, and if you are a green lover then this is a must have!  I used two coats for the photos.




Beautiful Little Fool is a creamy light nude with different shapes and sizes of holographic gold and silver glitter, as well as gold microflakes, and pale gold hexes.  Pahlish always does a great creamy nude, and this one is just beautiful, as the name would suggest.  The nude base is so lovely and I can imagine it looking good on many skintones.  I used just two coats plus top coat for the photos.  This is definitely a favorite from the collection.





Continually Smoldering is a black jelly base with red shimmer, metallic red circle glitter, red holographic square glitter, and iridescent orange hexes.  Usually I find black jelly bases too sheer for my liking, but this one had the perfect opacity, and circle glitter just gets me every time!  I used three thin coats for the photos.




Valley of Ashes is a medium grey with pink and teal duochrome shimmer, as well as scattered holographic microshimmer.  I absolutely love this one.  The grey is the perfect shade and it is super shimmery!  I used two coats for the photos.

 



Inexhaustible Variety is a hot pink jelly with iridescent blue and purple hexes and squares, as well as purple glass fleck shimmer.  So bright and pretty, I'm obsessed!  I used two perfect coats for the photos.




This collection is full of amazing colors, and the shimmer packed in each one is gorgeous!

Pahlish nail polish is $9.00 USD, and The Great Gatsby inspired collection polishes are all in stock right now.  You can purchase the full set of 6 for $50.00.

Go have a look at the shop, you will not be disappointed! :)


Have you tried Pahlish?  Let me know your thoughts on this collection, and which colors you would like to see swatches of next!


Some of the products in this post were sent to me for review.


Kristin


Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Dior Vernis Summer Mix 2013 Swatches + Review

Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Hello!

I've been loving my Dior nail polish these days.  Usually, I'm not a huge fan of the wide brush, but it is growing on me .. a bit.  I'll admit, I still have a few in my collection that I haven't worn yet, but I can't help myself when it comes to their new releases.  The Summer Mix 2013 collection is no exception; the colors are beautiful for summer (or anytime of the year, really!) and are a lovely extension to their beauties from last summer.  I only have three out of the four unfortunately, as I can't manage to locate Capeline near me, which makes me sad since I like having compete collections.

Anyways, onto the swatches!



Créoles is a vibrant hot pink jelly.  Not terribly unique, but still very striking and beautiful.  I always love a good pink.  The formula was perfect for me in two coats.  I actually only have one coat on my thumb nail and you can see a bit of visible nail line.  



Sunnies is a peachy orange jelly with a hint of coral.  I only used two coats for the photo below, but I probably could've used a third.  This color is so pretty for summer!



Tie & Dye is a orange leaning red with a hint of coral.  It is my favorite of the three I have so far.  The formula is amazing, and is a possible one coater for those with shorter nails.  I used two coats for the photo below.



I love this collection more than I thought I would, and hopefully I will be able to get my hands on Capeline to complete the collection.

What do you think of these colors?  Did you pick up anything from this collection?


Kristin


Enchanted Polish Nailmail!

I am a bit obsessed with Enchanted Polish, I won't even lie.  It all began sometime last year when I was gifted my first one in an exchange.  Now, I have a little growing collection of EP's, but they have become increasingly harder to get as of late.  While I was browsing Mei Mei's Signatures recently, I noticed that a bunch of them were in stock that I had my eye on, so I added them to my cart and checked out as fast as possible!

My order arrived yesterday, and of course I had to take a bunch of photos of them since they just blow my mind every time.  So, that is what I have for you today; swatches will be posted when I wear them! :)







The lovely people at Mei Mei's Signatures also included a cute set of nail wraps in my package, which was a nice surprise! :)


Kristin


Friday, June 14, 2013

China Glaze Chasing the Sun Ombre Set Swatches + Review

Friday, June 14, 2013
Hi everyone!

I passed on all of the recent ombre sets from China Glaze (the pink, purple, and turquoise ones), but I spotted one of the new sets called Chasing the Sun at Sally's recently and I knew it had to be mine.  They had another one (Wave Runner), but I had a few of the colors already, so even though I was tempted I just came home with this one:

White On White, Sun Worshiper, Pool Party, and Flying Dragon

I was so happy that I had none of these polishes in my collection, and I had been wanting them for quite some time now, so it was perfect.

White On White is a pretty decent white polish.  It's not my absolute favorite, but I used it for the base (as directed) and it worked just fine!  Sorry for my lack of cleanup; I used two coats, and I took a quick photo before I started with the gradient:


I thought the sponges that came in the set were just going to be like any other cosmetic sponges, but I was wrong.  They worked like a dream!  I only had to apply the polish to the sponge once (!) to do all five nails on my left hand.  When they were dry (which was extremely fast), I reapplied, then went over a couple spots that needed a touch up.  This was hands down the fastest gradient I've ever done, and if you're one who has trouble getting a smooth gradient, you might want to try this!




I'm very happy with how they turned out, and I ended up topping it with one of my favorites, inm's Northern Lights top coat.



I think these sets are fun, especially for summer, and it definitely takes the thinking out of finding coordinating colors in my collection.

Here's a little bonus video:



Let me know if you have tried any of these ombre sets, and what your thoughts are!  

Have a great day! :)


Kristin

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