Elevation Polish Heights of Hawaii Collection and Nail Art

Hey lacqueristas,

So if you know me well which some of my long time followers do you know I love and adore Elevation Polish.  I have been an avid supporter and fan of this brand since what feels like time immemorial lol!  Well Lulu the creator is brilliant and her brand is my unrivaled favorite of all the many polishes I own.  Creme, holos, and glitters alike she steals my heart over and over again and so today I'm hoping to steal yours with my nail art for her recently released collection inspired by all things Hawaii.  This collection is specifically special to me as one of my best friends in the world is Hawaiian and this post will be the start of I hope many more featuring nail art for the Elevation Polish brand.  So let's get started!

Pa'ako = Pretty
This is a soft pink creme which depending on your skintone may seem somewhat nude.  I am not such a person lol on me this pink is very salmony and I like that.  To be absolutely honest the softer the pink the harsher it seems on my skintone so I was refreshed at the blush of Pa'ako which ended up looking extremely flattering.  Pa'ako became the base for much of the nail art you will see today. It applies sheer in the first coat and becomes opaque in 2 self-leveling coats.  Gorgeous!

Haleakala
Holy holo batman!  Deep deep cranberry purple with an intense linear holo and a very subtle golden shimmer.  What can I say about this polish?  Absolutely perfect in practically every way.  Sheer on coat one and opaque in 2.  I kept looking at it trying to figure out what kind of art ot create finally I decided to place some hibicius flowers.  I used Mount Ventoux which from the Fan Collection as a accent.  The stamping you see here is all advanced method using Cheeky Jumbo Plate 2 Tropical Holiday.  How apt :)

Plumeria
Multicolor matte circle glitters in a shimmering blue clear base.  Let me tell you as far as I know Lulu was the first lady on the block making glitter toppers with circle glitter and she has always been brilliant at it!  Plumeria is a such a happy polish so many beautiful colors - acid yellows, soft pinks, blues, greens, oranges, and more!  I chose to layer it over Pa'ako and used a little bit of placement on the accent nail.  Again I'm using hibicius flowers and a little Hawaii emblem from the same Cheeky plate.

Silversword
A heavy silver shimmer polish with a very slight holographic pigmentation.  It has a very very slight green shimmer that's a bit hard to find but if you hit just the right light indoors you can see it clearly mostly when the holo is the least apparent.  So of all of the polishes of the collection this one is my favorite.  I like that it changes to a completely different polish when you head outdoors.  A holo in one setting and a shimmer in another.  I chose to do simple triangles using Haleakala and then apply black stripes around it just to keep it simple and elegant.  God I didn't want to take this one off as simple pretty always kills me!

 Shimmer in sunlight

 Holo in sunlight (just angled my nails a bit here)

So thoughts?  I think as usual Lulu hit one out of the park!  Flawless formulas, various polishes for everyone this collection premiered a bit later in the month than usual which is the 7th, but you can still scoop every single pretty seen here today on the 22nd of January at 9PM CST on the Elevation Polish website.  Polishes retail from $8.50 -12.00.  I have one more special release polish to post as well which I will put up tomorrow called Yeti's Broken Heart.  Poor Yeti lolol!  Thanks for reading and see you next post!

These polishes were provided for review, but let me assure you even if they weren't I would have bought them anyway as I have been a member of monthly buy group for over a year now!  Helplessly addicted!

Hot Off The Stamping Press: Cici & Sisi Jumbo Plates!

Hiya lacquer ladies,

It's been a few quiet days around here while I've been busy sorting out work issues and the like.  However I should have some nail art posted a bit later today or tomorrow morning, but for now more new plates coming off the stamping press.  I just discovered 2 new brands that are making me so excited, but I'm just gonna focus on one for today until I can nail down the rest.  Today I'm showing you some new plates by Cici & Sisi (UPDATE:  See review here).  This is a new company that has released 2 jumbo sized plate sets this weekend on Amazon.  The sets each contain 6 plates and over 216 individual images.  They come in a little leather-esque holder (think Pueen style) and include a small gray squishy stamper and a scraper (you all should know by now though how I feel about metal scrapers).

Photo credit for all photos: Amazon.com

Apparently the plates also come with stickers/decals which is a nice bonus.  As far as I can see the plates have a pretty nice plastic hard backing that makes them easy to clean and use.  The images appear to be full size nail images. 

You'll have to click on the link below for larger sizes of the image plates.  The above is Set 1 and below is set 2.  These images are from the Amazon website so they include pictures of the stamps over nails which I always appreciate.   As you can see there are so many unique images.  I like all the weird ones like the "natural mild product" logo  >_<

I think these plates are pretty cute!  What I like the most about them though is that if you are new to the stamping game these bundles allow you to attain a substantial amount of images without having to buy multiple plates separately.  The sets retail for $29 USD per set and will ship free with Amazon Super Shipping.  I have no idea if this is the introductory price or the set price for the future but that breaks down to roughly $5 per plate which is a pretty good deal!  You can find the Cici & Sisi plates here on Amazon.  I will post up a review (click here) when I get mine.  Thanks so much for reading and see you next post!

Hot Off The Stamping Press: Handy Nail Plates Valentines Special Edition Plates!

Hey lacquer ladies,

As usual I'm hustling hard to keep up with all of the awesome plates springing out of everywhere these days!  It's been a bit of a whirlwind these last few days because I have been having special training classes for school that have been wearing me out.  They are now finished so I can continue with my love of all thing nail art related.  So I don't know how familiar you all are with the Handy Nail plates that I love from Mundo de Unas.  Check out the nail art I did here using these plates. In any case Slyvia just released the news that two full size image plates featuring Valentines Day themed images are available for preorder now! These plates are so cool I couldn't wait to show you guys the awesomeness!  I don't give this company nearly enough press, but see for yourselves!

 These are actually two separate plates - Handy V1 and V2 respectively.  What I love about these is that they are utterly utterly unique, and integrated in a way that does not fall short of the themed plates we've seen by a certain British company that gets lots of my attention and adoration.  I only recently learned that Slyvia the owner of MdU does not actually make the plates, but distributes them.  I have no idea who the plate designer is, but I am beyond impressed by these plates.  I can see not even exaggerating at least 10 seperate manis from these two plates alone.

Look at the little kids kissing and sharing balloons, birds in a cage, script, floating hearts, abstracts, chevrons, the laundry line and butterflies! See what I mean freaking amazing!  These plates retail for $6.50 USD each plus shipping which is around $4-5 USD.  They are available for preorder now and will ship on the 13th of January.  You can order your plates from Mundo de Unas on her Facebook page.  Clearly because I practice what I preach I already went ahead and got mine.  I'm interested to know what you ladies think of these plates?  I'll be putting more Handy plate nail art up in the future because these plates are really well done and I should know as I own all 50+ of them ;)  Thanks for reading and see you next post.

Hot Off The Stamping Press: MoYou London Scholar Collection

Happy Friday stamp tramps,

Oh my first hot off the stamping press post of the new year and of course it features MoYou London's latest collection!  I am as always thrilled by the thought of any new plates coming out especially from some of my favorite designers.  So without further ado let's see what the Scholar Collection is all about!










    




This time the female lead is Kelly, a bit banal but I'll allow it because her ponytail is flawless.  MoYou quips she loves school because that's where she learned to text without looking and sleep without getting caught.  Let me tell you if I did either of these things at my school it wouldn't go over very well, but then again my braid is not nearly so flawless ;) :)   Onto the plates...

The above plate reminds me so much of two different plates from two separate brands the Messy Mansion Scriptorium plate and a plate by Vivid Lacquer which also has various scripts and quotes on it.  I guess books are really in lately!  I love that this has the opening lines from Billy Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.  Uncivil blood making civil hands unclean and all that jazz.

Yes! Yes! Yes!  Shall I say it again?  Thank you lord for plate makers realizing how many she-geeks there are in the universe!  I love it! Again very similar themes to plates released by Messy Mansion and Vivid Lacquer.  I have to say the biochemist in me is really loving these plates.  Best of all the organic compounds are actually correct at least on preliminary inspection! The pill shapes reminds me of days spent suffering in P-chem lab.  I really want to see some codons on plates next!

Mixed sentiment about this one.  I like the volume of the sphere image (even though the formula is WRONG!), but for some reason this plate feels very messy.  I think this is because in my head math is always neat, precise, and level.  I dislike the clutter, but it also might just be the visual signal of seeing many different forms of text on one plate?  I will also admit I'm bothered by the image of how they chose to depict the calculation of slope.  Rise over run never looked so messy and yes I know that was dorky plus again the formula is WRONG.  Just saying...

This is clearly the cutest and most adorable plate, but I find myself thinking this could have easily slipped right into the Princess Collection or Suki Collection without a hitch.  But then again I never ever doodled on my notes not even now.  Not sure how I feel about this one being in the Scholar Collection.

More doodles honestly I keep expecting to see that scribble girls do when they like a boy in elementary.  Do you like me? Check yes or no lolol.  The little bird and scrolling hearts here are adorable, but again what's up with all the doodles?  In all of the long long years of education I have had there is more to education than math, chemistry, physics, and literary quotes.  I do think the doodles are cute but...

So there we have it the Scholar Collection!  What do you think? I have to say I wanted to love this collection more.  It's by no means disappointing, but when the last two collections released, the Explorer and Fairy Collection, I had to pick my jaw back up off the floor I was so blown away.  These I feel are a bit, just a bit mind you, lacking in that same wow factor appeal.  I think I was imagining more of a Magic School Bus feel to these plates when I first saw the announcement for the release.  I also wanted to see some fresher ideas than what I have already seen from other plate makers.   That said I know as usual the quality on these will be excellent.  The plates are available for purchase and start shipping on the 3rd of January (today).  They retail for 4.99 Euros and can be purchased on the MoYou website.  Happy stamping, thanks for reading and 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!

New Year's Nail Art!

Happy New Year Lacquer Ladies,

Welcome to the 2014 on Lacquer Lockdown.  I actually did 3 different nail art manis for the New Year and then as is usual  didn't get a chance to post up even one until this late time slot, but they say better late than never!  I hope all my followers will be happy to keep tuning into my nail art looks for this year as well and that everyone had a great day to kick off the start of 2014! I tried to challenge myself this year by using a variety of my plates to create individual looks so each new year mani is created around a different brand of stamping plates.  First up MoYou London...

Mani-louge

Basecoat/Topcoat: CND Stickey and Poshe Fast Drying Topcoat

Orly Black Vinyl,  Wet N' Wild A Blank Canvas, and INM Northern Lights in Silver

Stamping polish: Essie No Place Like Chrome and Konad Special Polish in Black

Stamping Plates: MoYou London Festive Collection 05

I wanted to do a tuxedo suit style nail art for dog years now!  I have no idea why I waited this long.  I will tell you though this was the trickiest image to stamp.  I tried over 4 times before I could get the placement and the complete image dead center the way I wanted with the coverage I wanted.  What a mess!  I'm still not entirely pleased with how that nail in particular turned out but practice makes perfect.  I added some black studs to the tuxedo to create a little 3D effect that I found fairly cute.

I love this plate and have to say this is another winner MoYou!  Right now I can say without a shred of embarrassment I have 36 plates on my wishlist just hanging out for the opportune moment to strike.  Ok maybe I'm a little embarrassed, but you guys haven't even seen my MoYou stash have you?  It's massive lolol.   In any case I have lots more nail art around the bend and of course another Plates I Love feature soon, as well as an awesome review of 2 new plates from the genius plate maker herself little miss Bunny Nails.  Thanks for reading and see you next post!

Hot Off The Stamping Press: Winstonia Store Generation 2 Stamping Plates!

Stamping fanatics,

It's that time!  Yup I can't believe I already have news about the latest plates releasing in the new year.  Well I do and you can pre-order yours today in time to ship on on the 2nd of January.  I am of course referring to the Winstonia Store Generation 2 stamping plate collection!  The first collection was so baller  and then they up and released those square plates that rocked my XL sized nail world.  I am so blown away by by this company so when I heard the rumors and whispers that the new plates would be dropping any day now I started my stalking ahem I mean well no I do mean stalking regime and finally my long awaited moment is here!  Introducing the new Winstonia store plates...

I know you couldn't see well with the first pictures so I have close ups below.  These plates are really interesting.  Even from far there are images catching my eye like the tiny windmills, and castles. You will need to click the pictures for a closer look at the plates.

 

 

So where do I even begin?  Shoud it be with the killer dinos or the fairy tale castle?  Actually on further review clearly it should begin with re-imagined butterfly wing the likes of which I have never seen and the exemplary dream catchers.  You know honestly no matter here I begin or end it's love.  I love what this company came up with.  Tons of original imagery with only a few things I've seen a couple of time elsewhere (the squid tentacles, a few of the Halloween images, and the daruma dolls).  However it's hard to get as many unique images in one collecion.  Winstonia may be the only company that does this so well with a full plate set although to be fair the CYO Bundle Monster set was nothing to write off either.  I see some companies upping their game, and I'm appreciative as a nail art lover.  You can preorder your plates here they retail for $16.99 for a set of 22 plates.  I certainly will be rushing off to do the same.  Thanks for reading and see you next post!