Neon Matte Gradients & UberChic Beauty Abstract Cacti

Hey stamp champs

Purchased by Me

Ok so I was supposed to be demoing the new storage binders that UberChic Beauty released in the holographic colorway that hold 34 of the medium sized 9.0cm x14.5cm  plates and then as I was filling up my binders I ended up pulling the Wild West plate and wanting to do something with the cacti on the plate.  I'm not sure about the creation.  Tbh I have created like 5-6 manis that I feel have been fails.  I'm so frustrated and embarrassed I have hesitated to post anything, but today I decided to just jump in.  I held back the tutorial because I'm so uncertain so unless someone asks I most likely will not post it though the materials for created the mani are listed below.  Regarding the binders - I'll be putting up the holo binders next which are I have to say completely and utterly awesome and I hope some of you were able to pick them up with the initial release or during the recent sale.  I know I  did!

Zoya Naturels Nude Spring Nail Art

Hey lacqueristas,

I've been meaning to create the mani I'm sharing with you today for quite sometime.  Essentially as soon as the Zoya Naturels Collection came out I was done.  Nudes.  I love 'em! This is the first time in a while I had to have every color in a Zoya collection.  And of course I had to use all of them  to create some epic nude nail art.  I had a lot of trouble doing so until now when I found a way to let all the colors come out to play together using my Messy Mansion plates.  I hope you like what I came up with!

Mani-louge

Basecoat/Topcoat:  CND Stickey / Essie Matte About You

Base Colors: Zoya Brigette, Taylor, Normani, Rue, Chantal, and Odette

Stamping Polishes: Mundo de Unas #2, #7, and #23

Stamping plate: Messy Mansion MM07 & MM20

So as you can see I really went to town creating this look.  The base is all entirely Taylor which I believe is the lightest color of the six.  For the inner nails I used advanced stamping method and filled in the rose petals using all of the various colors.  For the surrounding nails I wanted to give the feel of a creeping garden and so I stamped on vines and leaves over a gradient that consisted of Taylor, Odette, and Rue.  Then I took everything and mattified it.

I am insanely pleased with how these came out.  I have no glossy pics because I knew from the start I wanted everything here to look matte, slightly aged, and rustic.  What more I even adore how the framing nails look.  The vines and leaves came out fabulously.  So thoughts?  I know this one isn't really very spring/summer but who the heck cares about that stuff anyway!  I'm just creating things I love.  You can find all the polishes I used today here and Messy Mansion plates can be found here. Thanks so much for reading and see you next post!

L'Oreal Le Pastille & Sweet Lilac Spots & Dots Nail Art

Hey lacquer ladies,

I have some very simple nail art for you today inspired by the recent spring collection 2014 from L'Oreal.  Every time spring rolls around I will actively seek out the L'Oreal polishes as I think they do an exceptional job every year capturing the colors that I most associate with the springtime.  I wasn't able to find all of the polishes, but the ones I did find were utterly gorgeous so I wanted relatively simple nail art to capture their aesthetic.

Le Pastille is this lavender/gray polish filled with black speckles unsurprisingly given the name.  I love how delicate this polish is given how jam packed it is with black matte glitter.  However because it is so chocked full of lovely in a pale base patience is required during application to reduce drag.  It was opaque in 3 coats.


Sweet Lilac is a straightforward pale pale lavender polish.  It's so delicate and wispy it reminds me of the first buds of cherry blossoms seen around DC which aren't pink but instead almost a pale blushing lavender leaning toward white.  I used this polish to top Le Pastille and using Nail Vinyls created horizontal stripes.  I then accented the stripped nails with color coordinating studs from Pueen Cosmetics.  Finally, I mattified the whole shebang to create the final product.

So what do you think?  This is very simple especially for me.  However, I loved how these polishes looked matte and the contrast of the gray and lavender colors.  This is one of those mani's where I wound up thinking, occasionally simplicity is lovely.  I hope you'll agree.  Thanks so much for reading and see you next post! 

Essie Mesmerize and Bikini So Teeny Chevron Nail Art + Nail Vinyls Review

Hello lacquer ladies,

I know I have been inundating you with new stamping plates and reviews, but today is all about getting back to basics.  You know nothing makes me happier than flawlessly executed nail art!  I  wanted to create a blue mani that was matte with lots of pop and it came out exactly like I envisioned.  I enlisted the help of Nail Vinyls to create the yummy chevrons of my dreams and used Essie Bikini So Teeny and Mesmerize because I wanted something blue clean and refreshing.  I also used Essie's Matte About You which to this day is still my favorite matte topcoat of all time! Check out the results below.

So I discovered Nail Vinyls (hereforeto referred to as NVs) by @teismom on Instagram while stalking some of my favorite nail art bloggers.  NVs are essentially the little sticker like things you use for french tip manis or if you take ring holders and cut them in half you can use to make half moon manis only 10,000 times better! When I first saw a IGer using them I was like I can just do the same thing with scotch tape or stamping.  This is both wrong and right.  You can create cool chevrons with scotch tape but, unless you use craft scissorsn and even then, it is extremely difficult to create the exact same size of the chevron from nail to nail.  This is also because you really only get one shot with tape as with the Nail Vinyls because afterwards they are covered in polish.  With stamping you get the precision and consistency from nail to nail, but you have no ability to adjust the spacing of the design because the image is already etched into the plate so you get what you get.



The NVs actually allow you to play with the spacing and gives you the reliability of creating consistently sized lines from nail to nail, clean up is easy, and you don't waste time cutting out pieces of oh so carefully measured tape so what's not to love?  These little stickers come in a variety of shapes - lightening bolts, half moons, straight lines (my favorite), chevrons of varying sizes (also a favorite), french tip, and apparently there are more shapes in the works.  I honestly felt skeptical about spending my money on these but after using them a few times I am so sold so I thought I'd share.

Nail Vinyls are available on Big Cartel and run between $5-12 USD depending on the number of NVs you order.  I hope you liked the mani and thanks so much for reading!  See you next post...

New Years Nail Art Messy Mansion Style

Hiya lacquer ladies,

Yup I told yah more New Years nail art.  I just couldn't help myself and had so much fun creating these various looks to ring in the new year.  In all honesty this one and the next one I'll post were my two favorites!  This one I created using my new Messy Mansion plates is not your typical new years nail art.  There will be no counting down clocks or fireworks though I do own a plate like that from Julia instead I'm giving you my old school trademark glamour darlings.  I mean there's something to be said for the cutesy nails, but really we all know a little sparkle and shimmer are necessary to ring in the new year.  I also took this opportunity to take my new matte topcoat by NYC out for a spin but more on that later.

Mani-louge

Basecoat/Topcoat: TBA Basecoat / NYC Matte Me Crazy

Base color: Orly Liquid Vinyl and Dazzle

Stamping polish: Konad Special Polish in Black and Orly Dazzle

Stamping plate: Messy Mansion MM12

Accent: 2mm clear rhinestones

About NYC Matte Me Crazy, this is the first time I've every used a matte topcoat other than Essie.  I have to say I'm not horribly impressed with the mattifying ability of this topcoat.  It dries to a waxy finish (see above) and takes about 2-3 times longer to dry than Essie's Matte About You.  The plus is this topcoat is a bargain at $2 a pop if you desire a waxier finish and a time on your hands. 

So thoughts?  I actually very happy with the way this little mani turned out.  dripping chevrons on this plate make me so happy.  In fact everything about this plate makes me happy!  I have several more ideas in mind using the images on this plate.  Great job once again Julia.  So one last mani left in the New Years nail art cache.  Thanks for reading and see you next post!

Charm Your Nails Instant Gratification Glitter Gradient

Hey polished prisoners,

Did you know I have an obsession with black white mix combo polishes and it's many variations?   It's to the point that even when something looks extremely similar to something I already own I still want its delicious doppelganger.  So believe me when I say when I found a black, white, purple, and more purple combo it was "buy it now" at first site.  I'm talking about Charm Your Nails Instant Gratification which is pretty much exactly how I described it above - black, white, purple, purple, love.  Hehe.  I wanted to make a gradient and work this polish into it so that's exactly what I did ;)

Matte heaven right?  So freaking pretty!

I chose Orly Satin Hues Satin Reflection as the base.  It's a delicious matte silvery white polish that lives in my dreams and is unbelievably decadent.  I almost used this one for my AIS something matte challenge on Sunday and so I needed to use it once it was out floating around my field of vision.  By the by I'm stalking the Satin Hues and I really need the others to complete my collection if you have a source do let me know!  Anyhoo I created a gradient over this using Orly Velvet Rope and Essie Nothing Else Metals.  Finally, I put a coat of Instant Gratification on top for the final effect.

So good right? Someone please help me find the rest of these especially Gala!!!

Loving all the little squares in various shapes and colors!

More notes on Instant Gratification: This polish is dense and requires a very delicate hand otherwise you will overwhelm your base.  Using the dab method or removing most of the polish from the brush before running it over your nails is advised.  On the plus you won't have to dig for glitters they are readily available.  I'm loving this polish!  It's beautiful and oddly complex for the simple color mix :)  So thoughts? Love it or leave it?  Interested in owing it? Find Charm Your Nails here.  Thank you for reading and see you next post!  Toodles...

Wallpaperings...On Sundays I Stamp!

Happy Sunday polished prisoners,

I hope your weekends have been going well and the Thanksgiving plans are flowing.  I've been having a pleasant weekend myself - good weather, good company, good food, and good news.  So who am I to complain?  I know several of the ladies over in the AIS group were excited for today's challenge which is simply matte i.e. some aspect of our manicure must include matte polish or topcoat.  Hmm I was on a fench about this because while I do love matte polishes and Essie's deliciously awesome matte topcoat no inspiration was forthcoming.  So I decided to return to one of my old loves - nudes and wallpaper.  I think this one was a winning combo...

Mani-louge

Base & Topcoats: CND Stickey, Poshe Fast Drying Topcoat, and Essie Matte About You

Base color: OPI Berlin There Done That

Glitter accent: Lynnderella Change

Stamping polishes: China Glaze Passion and Konad Special Polish in Black

Stamping plate: Dashica XL SdP 3

I left two nails shiny and the rest matte notice how cG Passion stays bold nube or matte. One more reason to love this polish ;)

Let's do a quick rundown shall we?  First, I am loving everything about OPI's Germany Collection. These colors are rich and Berlin There Done That was opaque in ONE COAT!! You all know how friggin excited I get whenever I run across one coaters because it makes nail art so much easier it also means this elegant lady probably stamps beautifully.  So win all around :)  Second, I haven't touched my Lynns in a while.  Honestly I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them, but I bought them and truth be told I love them.  So change made and appearance and it's gorgeous both matte and glossy!  Third and final, I love the Dashica plates and recently I unbelievably won the Like and Share giveaway from Shirley.  So I had to pull out my Dashica plates, the first plates I've ever purchased internationally, in anticipation of my set to come!

So here we are - it's Sunday, the weathers relatively fine, I've got gorgeous wallpaper nails though I may be biased, and things are relatively good in my world.  I'm wishing all my readers a happy Sunday and let me say thanks to everyone for sticking with my tiny and slow little blog.  I'm really enjoying my nail art these days.  Toodles...

Essie's Action: Summer Skittles Makes Lacquerista's Happy

Hey lacquer lovers,

Friday was quite the productive shopping spree for me.  All drama aside, I got my virtual hands on some lovely HARE polish pre-orders! I'd been lemming these polishes for so long I was so happy to see the shop open again and can't wait to receive my polishes! So now I'm in the mood to celebrate with a fun and funky mani  Recently The Nailsaurus posted a look that has been plaguing me since I saw it - the Sandy Skittle.  To say it was exquisite would be an understatement.  She took one color and put her spin on it in 5 different ways.  I wanted to do the same but not necessarily in the same way so here's my translation using Essie's Action, a bright orange jelly polish released for their Poppy Razzi Neon Collection.

Nail Art Key
Thumb - Tiger print freehanded with Kiss Nail Art Striper in Black.
Index - Microbeads of multicolors.
Middle - Jelly sandwich comprised of two alternating layers of each polish using Lush Lacquer's Lite Brite and topped with Essie's Matte About You.
Ring - Leopard print french tip freehanded with Orly Liquid Vinyl and Kiss Nail Art Gold Glitter. CND Effects Gold Shimmer is also over the base coat.
Pinkie - Gradient using China Glaze Harvest Moon stamped with cG passion using  BM20 (Series 1)

Can you say jelly? Lol! I haven't been this impressed with a neon orange polish since Color Club's Wham Pow!

Isn't the mattified sandwich here so juicy looking? The more I look at Action the more I realize I need absolutely every color from the Poppy Razz Collection. I'm only missing Bazooka so game on!

Close-up's of Lush Lacquer's Lite Brite

The microbeading on this gave me so much trouble. It's my first time using them in this manner but jeez it was quite a bit of work to get them placed properly.

Ultimately, I'm happy with how things turned out.  It's like a small jungle in here :)

This is definitely funky and not for the faint of heart!  My favorite nail is the matte jelly sandwich closely followed by the glitter leopard.  This was fun albeit time consuming. The final result is so upbeat this would be perfect for a night out. What do you ladies think? If you are interested in Lite Brite and other amazing glitterbombs find you can find Lush Lacquer on Etsy.

Song stuck in my head today: Nighttiming by Coconut Records. All about cheating hearts minus the angst - lol.

Anyhoo, thanks for reading and toodles!