Quench that Fire

The fire that comes from within these flakies!

After I filed down the almond tips, I wanted to use Quench again. I love the way reds look on short nails. Too long and it gets "ugh" in my mind.

 I added Nubar 2010 to my ring finger. Then a cluster of rhinestones in different sizes and colors. (orange, yellow, and red)

 I flipped the colors of the rhinestones for my right hand.

I'm usually very annoyed with rhinestones because they can sometimes stick up too far. If I can feel a bump, I'm going to pick at it until it's gone. I'm just crazy like that. I find that doing a cluster like this is less noticeable to me. I don't pick as much. I think the difference is how the small ones up next to the big ones tricks my mind into thinking that they're all small.

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Antique Almonds

With the new almond shape it reminds me of the old fashioned manicures. So I did a vintage manicure on top of Iced Coffee. I wanted to stick to the traditional colors of nude and red.

I couldn't help but use Cult Nails Quench seeing as how Maria inspired this shape to begin with!

 This is WITHOUT a topcoat! That's right Maria's formula is that shiny and wonderful all on it's own. *Applause*

 I used hole reinforcers to mask off the half moons. Then two coats of Cult Nails Quench.

I like the overall look of this vintage manicure with the almond shape. I just don't care for how it looks on my hands.

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Almonds Anyone?

My nails were getting too long. I don't particularly like the look of super long talons. I feel like it looks tacky when I put nail art on something that long. I know plenty would disagree, but that's just my opinion. So I was frustrated and ready to file them down when I remembered how Maria at R3Daily has been sporting the "almond" shaped nails. So I thought I'd try that shape out before I hacked them all off.

 It's amazing how they didn't look as long as the actually were. I don't think I care for this shape one me though. :( It seems to make the nails look more narrow sitting on top of fat fingers. Maybe on someone with soft, delicate, dainty lady fingers? (No, not the cookie.)

 I used Sally Hansen CSM in Iced Coffee

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Swap Jackpot

I feel like I just won the nail polish lottery. My swap package from Ivana came in the other day! I was very excited to see my 26 new polishes! Take a look and be jealous ;)

Essence Metallics! These are the ones I wanted the most. I can't wait to try them out.

Steel Me, Nothing Else Metals, Copper Rulez, & Iron Goddess

She also included the Fiona magnet for my experimentation.

S-he stylezone 420, 224, 436, 437

437 looks brown in the pic, but it's a dark maroon with fine copper/gold glitter!

Essence mini bottles. They are 8mL, 5mL, & 7mL

Cute as Hell: Not Just Cute & Bad Girl

Colour & Go: Movie Star & VIP Appeal

Stampy Polish in white

An Essence image plate! I was wondering how these compared to Konad & Bundle Monster, so now I get to see for myself! The plate is "01 Have Fun!" 

It's got some asian looking designs, multiple flowers, and cherries!

 Essence Multi Dimension: So Wanted, The One and Only, Dress to Party, & Love of Pink

Butterfly Single 6mL #61 (?) - shimmery pink

Catrice : Just Married & Sold Out For Ever

Essence Show Your Feet: In the Jungle & Deep Blue Sea

 Essence

Nail Art Twins : Bonnie & Clyde

Fairy Tale : Humpty Dumpty

Crazy About Colour : Crazy Me

Essence Extra Moisture Nail & Cuticle Cream

 

 Viva La Nails: Star Glitter, Strip Glitters, & Blue Shell Pieces

Candies!

And of course a cute postcard.

Lastly, I am sad to report that there was one fatality involved in this shipment. :( Let us all take a moment of silence for this poor polish that sacrificed it's integrity for the rest to survive....

 It was wrapped just as carefully as the rest (thanks Ivana!), but something must have happened that snapped it's neck. I'm not sure which color or brand this is because the leaked polish ate away all of the writing on the label. My guess would be another Essence Show Your Feet. I'm sad that this bottle didn't make it, but I'm glad that all of the rest arrived safe! I can't wait to start swatching!

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Freaky Chemical Reaction

I know I mentioned before how Robin Moses talks about foil glue causing your polish to crack once you applied topcoat..."you have to wait and it will settle back down..." You remember? Ok, well I didn't know what she was talking about because I didn't see anything happen when I did my Holo Glitter Tips. Apparently it's not hardly noticeable when using glitter. I did find however, that there is some crazy chemical reaction that took place when I had polish -> straight foil glue -> topcoat. So this is what she meant! I snapped some pics so you guys could see too. It's pretty cool.

It happened when using a creme finish color too, it just didn't photograph as clearly.

Wet foil glue over Zoya Dannii

 Immediately after applying Seche Vite. Freaky!

 After five minutes

After ten minutes

After thirty minutes

This was as long as I was willing to wait it out. You can still see a fine disruption of the glitter, but it's not nearly as noticeable as in the first picture. In real life, I could hardly see anything wrong with it after thirty minutes.

And the nail stayed smooth as glass through the entire "cracking" process. It never made any bumps or ridges. The reaction occurs only where the foil glue and topcoat touch. It doesn't seep through the entire layer of topcoat. I hope I said that in a way that makes sense! Lol

Anyway, now you know!

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Shattered Glitter Glass

This is another Robin Moses. I attempted to follow her tutorial on Shattered Glass Graffiti Crackle. 

I had bought all the stuff as you can remember. I first experimented with them in Holo Glitter Tips. This time I went full force Robin Moses impersonator, and it wasn't that difficult at all!

 As LemonyEmily of Emily's Nail Files so hilariously put it: "I've got a bad case of glitter herpes" from the Inaz Glam Rock glitter. This was another three nails only experiment, so I just took some quick pictures right after the topcoat. If I were doing a whole mani I would definitely have to use a good hand scrub once it was completely dry, before taking pictures! ;)

 Some flashy holo goodness! Enjoy!

(I used the same products as in Robin's tutorial. Black polish, the foil glue, glitter, then black acrylic paint for definition.)

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Lace Tips

I wanted to try my hand at applying actual lace to my nails. Here's how it turned out:

 The lace trim I bought had only small sections of the honeycomb design. The other areas of the lace were too thick that they wouldn't lie down flat on the nail. So I limited it to utilizing only the honeycomb portions. French tips it is!

 I painted Iced Coffee on my entire nail, waited for it to dry. Freehanded a diagonal french tip using Jules. I then stamped the flowers from Konad m57. Thick coat of Seche Vite then immediately stuck down the lace portion I had already cut to fit into the wet polish. Carefully pressed down any loose areas with the tips of my tweezers. Kiss Nail Art Striper in black along where the lace ended. Another thick coat of Seche Vite!

I only did those three nails because I was just experimenting and I was worried it wouldn't turn out like I planned. I actually really like it though! I wanted to finish off the whole hand, but I have to go to work tomorrow and I'm afraid the lace wouldn't hold up well under frequent handwashing.

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Seeing Spots in High Def

I had to use China Glaze Tronica High Def the other day, just because it was so sunny outside. Then I added silver dots of two different sizes.

 Can you see where I added some silver studs? I had 6 left over from the pack I used in "Studly" so I threw them on randomly. It's almost like Where's Waldo on my nails. Lol

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Easter Grass Disaster

This looked awesome when I pictured it in my head. I wish you guys could've seen it! ;)

On my nails, it was horrendous.

 When I made my massive order from Dollar Nail Art, they had this cool looking stuff called "Laser Lace." I couldn't think of having seen it before on any blogs, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I ordered several different colors.

It comes in a sheet like this:

Very cool color, with iridescent sheen.

First problem I discovered. You have to cut whatever size/shape you need, which is difficult because the slightest touch seemed to make it fall apart into a million little stringy pieces.

Second problem, it wouldn't stick to my nail. I tried the foiling glue from the same company, the lace wouldn't bend to the curve of my nail. I tried to put a topcoat and then smoosh the lace into it, which sort of worked. 

Third problem, I couldn't get an exact size cut out if you had offered me a million $. I had all of the extra bits hanging off the free edge of my nail, because nothing seemed to work. I thought I could file against the edge to make it fit, then topcoat to smooth it..... Negative. I managed to finish the entire hand and I thought I had mastered it! Then I tried to pull my hair back into a ponytail and it felt like all of my nails were peeling or split because they were catching on every single hair! Disaster. So I snapped a pic then immediately removed it all. 

I ended up not even liking the final look of it though. It was as if I'd been digging in some kid's Easter basket and all the fake grass had stuck to my nails.

Perhaps with another color? More patience next time? I don't know what it will take, but I'd like to find some way to make this stuff work.

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I See London, I See France

I see _______'s underpants!

How about you take a look at my Zoya Intimate Collection instead? The colors make me think of intimate apparel, which I think is what they were going for. Lol. I got mine in the mail just the other day. I bought it during the International Women's Day when they offered it for only $25! I couldn't pass it up. I also have some more Zoya's on the way because of taking advantage of the BOGO offer still going on. :) 

These are my first Zoya's. I couldn't justify the full price on a brand I'm unfamiliar with. Here we go:

My least favorite was Jules:

I just don't see myself wearing this color often. However, I do think it would incorporate nicely into my neutral leopard print color scheme....

Another disappointing shade was Dove:

I was hoping it would compare to my China Glaze Recycle. I've been loving that polish so much that it's nearly empty! I knew it wouldn't be a dupe, but I was thinking of using it similar ways. I just don't care for it too much. :( It's almost too light and washed out of a gray. Maybe it's just on my skin tone...

Pleasantly suprised by Marley:

This looks like a plain lilac creme in each photo I've seen. In real life, it's very interesting! It almost has a pearly finish to it. A very fine silver shimmer that is barely detectable, but adds an extra "pop!"

Wow Dannii:

I thought I would hate this one the most, but I actually like it! Zoya glitter or shimmers can sometimes look frosty to me. Which I don't like. I was afraid that's how this would look. I was wrong! And this was one of the easiest to apply. Just two simple coats.

Floored by Caitlin:

I knew this would be a hit with me. I'm recently in love with all these fantastic dirty/dusty blues. It's so great because it's almost as if the color can't decide if it's gray, blue, or purple. I love it!

Gemma really gets my goat:

Fabulous army/olive green with purple shimmer or is it duochrome? I don't know. :P But it's fantastic! This is finally a green that I like how it looks on me! I'm so happy because it's about time! Lol. This one seemed to have the runniest consistency. I may need to leave my bottle open for a bit so it can thicken some.Pin It