Sea star nail art

Recently I spent a weekend away visiting my family in Irvine, California, where I grew up. I knew I needed to do some fun nails that show my skills a bit, but also blingy and ocean like because I associate beautiful beaches with Southern California.

So here is the fun nail art I came up with!



After seeing numerous beach themed nail art, some of my own included, I saw somewhere someone who hand painted sea stars on their nails, and I thought "that doesn't look so hard, I could do that!" And so I did!



To create this look, I painted two thin coats of Color Club Over the Moon (which really, could be a one coater, so amazing!) and used a dotting tool to drag Zoya Heidi polish into the shape of a star. Then I used a finer dotting tool to make the white dots, to give the sea stars their typical appearance.



I absolutely loved this manicure, because the blue holo polish was the perfect aquatic color. As you can tell it practically matched the pool where I spent a few hours over that weekend! I was really impressed with out well Color Club Over the Moon held up. It was a dream to work with, and the sea stars were not that difficult to recreate either.

So have you tried to do a beach like manicure yet? What beach like nail art is your favorite?

Girly Bits Belly Jeans

My new favorite finish of nail polish has to be the multichrome holo polish! So far in my experience, Girly Bits has the most amazing polishes that fit this bill. First I reviewed Lack of Pies, and today I am here to show you Belly Jeans!



The thing I love about these polishes, is that they have so many different looks. All it takes is for the sun to set a little at at certain angles your nails can look like this, below.



It has almost a golden shimmer, very beautiful and unique!



Most of the time, this bright purple holo is what shows, above.



But slightly angle your nails and you get a more violet magenta color. Love all the many looks of this polish!



Application: This polish went on perfectly in two thin coats. I topped the polish with a layer of HK Girl Top Coat.

Where to Purchase: I purchased this polish on Llarowe for $13. You can also purchase on the Girly Bits website, which is based in Canada (so shipping might be a bit more if you're in the U.S.), for $12.50.

So readers, what are your favorite multichrome holo polishes? I've been so impressed with Girly Bits' take on the finish so far, but I'd love to discover more!

P.S. My no-buy is 4 weeks strong! And July 1 is just around the corner, yessssss!

Holo stripes nail art

I loved this manicure I just did last week so much it skipped the line and I blogged about it as soon as I could. I actually just removed this manicure Sunday morning, I wore it for a whole half week! Which is really unheard of for me!!!



I started the manicure with a layer of OPI Alpine Snow and once it was dry enough, added some thin stripe nail vinyls to create the look.



The polishes I used were, from top to bottom, Colors by Llarowe Chillin' in Paradise, Colors by Llarowe In A Different Dimension, Colors by Llarowe Surf My Wave and ILNP Summer Star Gazing. The sunshine shots of this manicure are just amazing!!!





And as an added bonus and happy accident, I discovered (well it was pointed out to me actually) that my nails totally matched my iPhone case! Guess I really do love those colors.



I really loved this manicure, it was aquatic, without being too overly oceanic (a theme I've been going to a lot lately). The colors looked spectacular when I was at the pool on Saturday. This is definitely the best and most favorite nail art I have done in some time! What do you think? You could really do this with any color scheme, but I loved the blue/green theme as they are my favorite colors!

P.S. I am a part of my online friend The Mercurial Magpie's First Blogaversary and I have included a prize (1 of 30!!!)! So head on over to her site to enter the contest!

CrowsToes Vanaheim

Today's polish is a chameleon, a glitter multichrome with many different looks. This polish seems to shift based on the lighting it is in. It is not as strong as a multichrome as some other brands I own (Dance Legend, ILNP) but the polish is unique and stands on its own anyway!



CrowsToes Vanaheim is a gold to greenish blue color shifter with coordinating color shifting glitter.



Vanaheim is part of CrowToes 9 Realms collection. The theme is inspired by the 9 Realms in Norse Mythology. Vanaheim, located within Asgard, is the home of the fertility gods. 





Application: This is two coats of the polish, with no undercoat. The polish has its own unique shift, no black undercoat needed. The polish dries a little rough, like you would expect from a glitter, so an extra layer of top coat would probably be appropriate. I think I only used one coat and was ok, but next time I'd use two! This polish wore very well, I think I wore this for a few days without any chips at all!

Where to purchase: I purchased this polish from Llarowe for $13. In the U.S. both Llarowe and Overall Beauty stock CrowsToes polish.

Neon glitter skittle nails

 I just love skittle nails! I usually break them out when I have a manicure that I want to wear a bit longer than normal. I figure I'll get bored less quickly if I have a different design on each nail.



For this look I used China Glaze Pool Party (the bright neon pink/coral), OPI My Favorite Ornament (sparkles) and OPI Alpine Snow (white).



I free handed the stripes and the heart and used a dotting tool for the polka dots!



I really liked this look but found out around this time that China Glaze polishes are not wearing well on me. Unfortunately,since I was out and about with these nails (my brother was visiting) this manicure got a premature chip, so I ended up redoing my nails anyway! Oh well.

Anyway I hope you enjoyed this nail art! I'm always looking for a good skittle nail. I really want to try a sailor skittle sometime soon. Those seem to be all the rage via Instagram. 

Sweet Heart Polish Club 33

Checkout this awesome glitter topper featuring Mickey Mouse glitter! This is Sweet Heart Polish Club 33 from the Disneyland or Bust collection.



This polish is a mix of gold stars, green matte and holographic clovers and black Mickey Mouse heads with gold glitter and gold shimmer in a clear base. There is quite a lot going on with this topper, and because of that (and an application issue) I thought I would try it over two different base colors. Above, I painted two coats over Zoya Tracie and below I painted two coats over Essie The More the Merrier.



Application: This polish was on the thick side and you did have to fish for the bigger glitter pieces (the clovers and the Mickey pieces), but I think the unique glitter pieces make up for it. The final product looks great and heralding from Southern California, anything Disney and I'm a fan! I think I liked the topper slightly more over the light green Tracie polish than over the lime green The More the Merrier polish.

Where to purchase: Sweet Heart Polishes retail for $9-$10 and you can purchase them from her Etsy shop! The Disneyland or Bust collection features a number of glitter toppers featuring the Mickey glitter and some bow glitters as well!

This polish was provided to me for my honest review, and here you have it! 

Posted by Traci at 9:00 AM 4 Comments

Wave nails inspired by The Mercurial Magpie

The nails I am featuring today were inspired by a post The Mercurial Magpie did a few weeks back. She featured the most adorable octopus nail stamp. I truly loved her color combination, and while I didn't have the polishes she used in her post – I did my best to imitate using polishes I have!



I used OPI Gargantuan Grape as the base for the manicure, and then, because you Fairy Dust All the Things!, I added a coat of China Glaze Fairy Dust. Using my favorite stamping plate MoYou Sailor 04, I stamped waves with Essie's Go Overboard. 







I really liked this simple nail art, but next time I think I'll layer something over it, like a whale stamp or something! Maybe a piece of dolphin glitter too!

And just to keep it real, I took a photo of my right hand (the one I'm never as good at) so you can see I'm no pro at stamping. It's tough stuff!



Are you talented with stamping on both hands? I'm learning, but definitely not as good as I could be!

KBShimmer announces new collection

KBSHIMMER ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF TWELEVE NEW POLISH SHADES
KBShimmer Summer Collection Set For Release June 20th, 2014

KBShimmer is excited to announce the addition of 12 new colors to their 3-Free polish line. The Summer 2014 Collection includes 10 glittery shades, and two bold creams. “When designing our summer collection, glitter was on our mind. We were inspired by summer treats, bold colors, and summer flowers. We translated those into 10 glitter packed polishes and 2 fun creams,” KBShimmer Owner, Christy Rose, says.

“We adore glitter top coats” Rose says. “With almost a dozen creams in our collection it was time to bring more glitter pairings to our line. We are adding 4 new glitter top coats that pair well with many of our cream polishes. In addition, we are bringing in two new cream colors, including a near neon peachy orange ideal for pedicures, and a cream inspired by the 2014 Pantone color of the year, Radiant Orchid. We are also bringing in more creally and jelly polishes to round out the summer collection.”

In addition to polish, KBShimmer is branching out into nail art products with 6 varieties of nail vinyl decal sheets. “Nail art is a booming area in the fashion and beauty industry” Says Rose. “Even so, nail art is not always easy to create for the home polish lover. With these nail vinyl decals, it is a breeze for the home user to create wearable nail art that looks professional.”

Nail vinyl decal sheets will retail for $5 each. Each glitter polish will retail for $8.75 per 15 ml bottle, while the creams will retail for just $7.50 per 15 ml bottle.
 

 

The Glitters & Holos:


Mixed Peelings – A creamy off white polish with citrus and fruit colored glitters in neon green, lemon yellow and watermelon pink.



Look High And Holo – A raspberry jelly with a rainbows worth of holographic glitters in hexes and squares.



Peak My Interest – A melon pink colored polish with triangle glitters in white, pink and dark aqua.



Sea You Around- This deep emerald green near teal jelly features fuchsia and silver circle glitters, light blue squares hexes in a base with scattered fuchsia micro slivers and micro sparkle.



Mint-al Vacation- This light aqua seafoam has two personalities.  In low light, is has a beautiful white shimmer, but in the sun or bright light, you can see a holographic rainbow of color.



Periwinkle In Time – A periwinkle colored creally polish loaded with holographic glitters in aqua, navy blue, sliver and violet.


Glitter Top Coats:



Scribble Me This – A graffiti inspired glitter top coat featuring mini stars, triangles, and neon glitters.



Sweet Wave – A Bright pastel candy inspired glitter top coat with white, mint, periwinkle and watermelon colored glitters.



Red, White & Blue-tiful – A limited edition top coat with mini red, holographic sliver and holographic blue stars. Small red, silver and navy blue glitters along with micro holographic sparkles complete this patriotic polish.



Happily Ever Aster – A floral inspired glitter top coat with purple, lavender, light aqua and white glitters swimming in a sparkling base.


The Creams:



Radiant Orchid – Radiant Orchid, 2014 color of the year, is the ideal shade to transition nails from spring to summer and even fall.  This pink toned purple has fuchsia and mauve undertones.



You’re So Shellfish – Near neon peachy orange perfect for summer pedicures.

 

Nail Vinyl Decals:

 

KBShimmer products can be found at Http://www.KBShimmer.com.  For sales outside of the US visit http://www.HarlowandCo.org.
 

Eeeek you guys, I picked the wrong month to be on a no-buy! But I will stay strong! Come July I am definitely going to check out these nail vinyls and Mint-al Vacation!

Emily De Molly Monet's Garden

This sparkle polish is amazing! Created and named for Monet's Garden in France, this polish is such a beautiful homage to Monet's beautiful garden!



The polish consists of green, lime, neon green, purple and blue glitter suspended in a green jelly base. I could not keep my eyes off this glitter! It was so beautiful. I'll show it in a variety of lighting so you can get a feel for it indoors and out.





Since I was so drawn to the neon lime pieces, I thought I'd add some chevron accents to highlight the neon green glitter in the polish.



The polish I used for the chevrons is Essie's The More the Merrier. I used nail vinyls to create the chevron look.





Application: I was so impressed with the application of this glitter. It went on in two coats and was not difficult to apply. No dabbing needed and the application did not drag the glitter. It was the best experience I've ever had with glitter application. Unfortunately, I really loved this polish and wore it for several days – took 30 minutes to remove! Curse you beautiful glitter!!!

Where to Purchase: Emily De Molly is an Austrailian nail polish brand, so I turn to her USA stockists to purchase. I purchased this polish on Llarowe for $13. So word on the street is the creator is currently taking a maternity hiatus from creating the polish, but should be back. So keep an eye out for this amazing polish!

Sweet Heart Polish Clementine

Yes my friends, a company took a chance on me and sent me some samples to review. My very first indies to officially review!



I came home last week, feeling a little defeated and disenchanted (I am covering local school graduations for the umpteenth year in a row) and I went to the mail box. Now since I'm on a no buy, I knew I wasn't getting anything fun in the mail and low and behold there was a box in there with my name on it!

Totally got so excited that a company, any company wanted to take a chance on me!

So today I am reviewing one of the three polishes she provided!



Clementine, from Sweet Heart Polish's Garden Party collection, is a holographic light berry polish with hit of purple holographic glitter mixed in.



In direct sunlight, below, the purple microglitters are harder to spot, but I absolutely love what they do to the holo of this polish. The microglitters are what set this polish apart! So you know what to look for, I took a shot in unnatural light, above, which highlights the purple microglitter.



Overall, this polish was a hit on the nails!!! It's a color I don't have in my collection and the addition of the microglitters make the holo shine the most vibrant violet! Love it!



Application: The polish was on the thicker side, but not unmanageable! Typical for most holo finished polishes. I used three thin coats, two will probably suffice, but there was a little visible nail line so I used an additional coat. There was no dragging and the polish was easy to work with, even with multiple coats. Very gel like in consistency.

Where to purchase: Sweet Heart Polishes retail for $9-$10 and you can purchase them from her Etsy shop! The Garden Party Collection features and array of beautiful floral themed holos that are just beautiful. She also has Mickey Mouse polishes, but more on that in a later post! 

This polish was provided to me for my honest review, and here you have it!