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The blogger curse strikes again! Kendahl (Firecracker Lacquer) and I did this twin mani back in early February in remembrance of the great Alan Rickman, and I'm just getting around to posting it.
The blogger curse strikes again! Kendahl (Firecracker Lacquer) and I did this twin mani back in early February in remembrance of the great Alan Rickman, and I'm just getting around to posting it.
I started with two coats of Power of the Horn, and topped it off with a clear coat. Once that had ample time to dry, I used a damp makeup sponge to apply the remaining shades. My photos show two coats with a top coat.
Products used
- Firecracker Lacquer- The Unbeatable Wand, The Cloak's Secret, A Stone to Resurrect, Beating Death, Power of the Horn
- Firecracker Lacquer- Seal the Deal Blackout
- makeup sponge
This was supposed to be a gradient using Firecracker Lacquer's Deathly Holos collection, but it didn't blend as well as I had hoped. I still think it's gorgeous, just not quite what I was going for.
I swore I was going to stop posting on the weekend, but I will always make an exception for a @clairestelle8 challenge. I want to start off this post by sharing the rich depths of ILNP After Midnight.
ILNP- After Midnight
Formula: Nice consistency
Finish: Midnight blue jelly with holographic pigment and holographic shards
Coverage: 2 coats
Notes: This shade is simply stunning on its own.
Today's prompt is "Sport" which isn't necessarily my favorite thing. I briefly considered doing a barbell or dumbbell to play off of "Polished Lifting", but my freehand skills aren't that refined. After going over a couple ideas I tried to convince my husband that hiking was a sport. He looked at me sideways and informed me that hiking was NOT a sport. That left me entirely lost for the day. I did the next thing that came to mind- I googled it! That's when I settled on fishing as my sport.
Products used
- ILNP- After Midnight
- Glisten & Glow- HK Girl Top Coat
- UberChic Beauty- The Far East 01
- Sinful Colors- Snow Me White
I like how this turned out even though I find fishing to be quite boring. Give me a good hockey game or something with a lot of action!
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Ever After Polish is no stranger when it comes to charity polish, so I wasn't at all surprised to see this lovely duo benefiting the Heart and Stroke Foundation. I'm going to refrain from gabbing at you too much before you get to see these swatches, so you will find all the purchasing info at the bottom of the post. Enjoy!
Ever After Polish is no stranger when it comes to charity polish, so I wasn't at all surprised to see this lovely duo benefiting the Heart and Stroke Foundation. I'm going to refrain from gabbing at you too much before you get to see these swatches, so you will find all the purchasing info at the bottom of the post. Enjoy!
You Aorta Know
Formula: Nice consistency
Finish: light purple holo with purple and silver flecks
Coverage: 2 coats
Notes: This lilac purple holo is wonderfully soft without being boring. When it catches the right light you will notice the purple and silver flakies.
Heart Strings
Formula: Nice consistency
Finish: Red holo with gold flakes
Coverage: 2 coats
Notes: This isn't your typical red holo. It has pretty gold flakies that twinkle when they catch the right light.
Conclusion
These are technically not my first Ever After Polish shades, but they are the first that I've had the opportunity to wear. I was really pleased with the formula, and uniqueness of each shade. I will definitely be purchasing more colors from her in the future.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation shades are limited edition, and will only be available through March 10th. Each bottle retails for $12, with a portion of each sale being donated to the Heart and Stroke Foundation. To purchase, please check out Ever After Polish's shop link below.
I'm slowly becoming a fan of matte things. I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about matte top coats, but I'm warming up to them after a few years. One of the nail art challenges I'm participating in called for a matte polish, so I decided to matte Painted Polish Frisky in Fuchsia.
I started with two coats of Painted Polish Frisky in Fuchsia. Once that had time to dry I topped it with a thin coat of Essie Matte About You. If you are new to matte top coats, know that it's incredibly important to use thin coats. If you use a thicker coat you may end up with a gritty finish. I let the matte top coat dry for at least ten minutes before stamping over it with this pretty peacock stamp.
Products used
- Painted Polish- Frisky in Fuchsia
- Essie- No Place Like Chrome, Matte About You
- UberChic Beauty- 1-02
I feel like the peacock stamp really pulled this look together. I wasn't sure how I was going to place it at first, but I like how it ended up.
After taking a few months off of nail art challenges I'm back with the March @clairestelle8 challenge. I've always loved her challenges, but this one looks particularly fun.
Today's theme is "Blue", so I started with a base of Girly Bits Cosmetics Get Weaponized. I felt like this color needed the spotlight before I added nail art.
Formula: Nice consistency
Finish: Teal holo with blue and purple shifting glitter
Coverage: 2 coats
Notes: This is so twinkly that I don't want to take it off.
I guess with a prompt that says "Blue" that I could have gotten away with just painting my nails with a blue polish and called it good. I can't seem to do that anymore because everything needs nail art.
Products used
- Girly Bits Cosmetics- Get Weaponized
- Glisten & Glow- HK Girl Top Coat
- UberChic Beauty 4-03
- Sally Hansen Insta-Dri- Cherry Fast
- Firecracker Lacquer- Crystal iridescent rhinestones
While I love nail art challenges, I feel like they decrease my attention span. I can barely stand to keep the same thing on my nails for more than 24 hours anymore. Do any of you feel the same way?
I'm starting a new series that will run intermittently on Tuesdays. It's going to be called Twin Tuesdays, and will feature twin manis with other bloggers. If you would be interested in joining me for a twin mani, you can sign up here.
For the first Twin Tuesday, I have a design created by Cat of Advertures in LacquerLand. Here's my take on flower dots.
For the first Twin Tuesday, I have a design created by Cat of Advertures in LacquerLand. Here's my take on flower dots.
Products used
- Sinful Colors- Cinderella
- Finger Paints- Wine-ing & Losing
- Zoya- Sailor
- dotting tool
I don't do very many dotticures anymore, but this was a nice chance to do something out of the norm. Be sure to go check out Cat's version of the mani on her blog!
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Magic happens when creative brands get together, and the Maleficent Duo from Baroness X and Firecracker Lacquer is no different.
Magic happens when creative brands get together, and the Maleficent Duo from Baroness X and Firecracker Lacquer is no different.
Tragedy of a Faerie
Formula: Nice consistency
Finish: Deep grey holo base with green to purple shifting glass flake, tin silver holo microglitter, and green to blue shifting flakies
Coverage: 2 coats
Notes: I'm honestly surprised and happy to say that this shifting, magical beast actually looks exactly like the photo. Sometimes shifty colors are hard to capture, but this one wears true to photo.
Dragons Are a Girl's Best Friend
Formula: Nice consistency
Finish: Rich purple shimmer with holographic flecks, and green glitter
Coverage: 2 coats
Notes: This one was kind of tricky to photograph because of all the things going on. The purple is super shimmery, and dances when you move it around.
Conclusion
The Maleficent Duo will be available on March 4th, at 8pm EDT with 15 sets in each shop. The duo will retail for $22 plus $3 for domestic shipping.
My birthday was almost two months ago, and I'm just getting around to posting my "birthday" mani. It's kind of silly, but just go with it. This isn't necessarily a birthday themed mani, but I felt like it was necessary to use Bliss Polish Cake by the Ocean as a focal point.
The mani is straightforward, so let's enjoy how perfect Cake by the Ocean is. It was a tricky shade to capture which is why you can't really see the gold shimmer or the holo glitter. They are definitely in there, but it's fairly subtle in person.
Products used
- Bliss Polish- Cake by the Ocean
- Zoya- Rocky
- UberChic Beauty 2-03
- Sinful Colors- Snow Me White
Cake by the Ocean is not currently available, but there are a ton of other gorgeous Bliss shades in her shop right now.
There are few things in this world that are more satisfying than a perfect white polish. Bliss Polish Charming is one of the best white polishes I own, and it happens to be ultra matte.
Formula: Nice consistency
Finish: Matte white with gold flakies
Coverage: 4 thin coats
Notes: Normally four coats would be a deal breaker for me, but Charming applied so smoothly that it wasn't an issue. I have a hunch that the ever elusive White Hot is similar to this. Maybe one day I will get my hands on it.
I can't seem to leave anything alone these days, so I added dots in Catch Me I'm Fallin' (blue), and Bye Felicia (brown).
Overall, I had a great time creating this mani. I believe that everything except Bye Felicia has been discontinued, but Yvette is always creating new shades. You can find more of her shades at the links below.
I think one of my goals in life is to make everything around me "sparkle" in some way. It doesn't actually have to be with glitter, though frequently it is. As I type this, I'm hanging out with a purple unicorn with holographic hooves. You think I'm kidding, but I am totally serious.
Today's post features Painted Polish Calls for Chocolate. It's a stunning holographic red unlike any others I own.
Today's post features Painted Polish Calls for Chocolate. It's a stunning holographic red unlike any others I own.
That sparkle is wonderful, right?! I started with two coats of Painted Polish Calls for Chocolate, and and stamped over it with Essie Penny Talk. I was really indecisive about which color to stamp with, so I gave my husband three colors and made him choose. I know that's a totally solid tactic for making decisions.
Products used
- Painted Polish- Calls for Chocolate
- Essie- Penny Talk
- UberChic Beauty 1-02
These *almost* feel like late Lunar New Year nails because of the color combo. We'll go with that, and pretend like I planned it that way.
We made it! It's finally Friday. I decided to keep things simple today with a swatch of Darling Diva Polish Groped Under the Mistletoe. It's absolutely stunning, and deserves the spotlight.
Formula: Nice consistency
Finish: Berry colored jelly with holographic glitter and purple shimmer
Coverage: 2 coats
Notes: This was an absolute dream to wear.
Conclusion
Darling Diva Polish has a way with things in the red/berry/purple family. This shade is still available for $9 plus shipping, but it's marked as "last call".
Do you guys remember your "firsts" for each polish brand you love? I haven't worn my first Painted Polish shade in a while, so I figured it was time that I show it some affection again. This is Queen Anne's Lace, and it was the shade that made me try Painted Polish.
For this look I started with three thin coats of Queen Anne's Lace. Once that dried I stamped over it using Mint Sprint and plate 1-03.
Products used
- Painted Polish- Queen Anne's Lace
- Sally Hansen Insta-Dri- Mint Sprint
- UberChic Beauty 1-03
This look is exactly what I had hoped for. It's delicate and reminds me of spring.
