Swatch Time!: Kleancolor Metallic Collection!

Hello lovelies!

So I'm really excited about what I have for you guys today, it's a really fun (super pic-heavy!) post!

Today I'm going to be swatching a whole collection! This is only my third full collection I've swatched, so I'm excited! 

This took me four hours to shoot, about two & a half hours to edit, and a full netflix-streamed season of Ink Master to get done. It was so fun! & No, that isn't sarcasm. it was sooo fun, and made me realize how much I've missed this work. :) 

So, let's get down to business!

This is the Kleancolor Metallics Collection!

Gem Experimenting!

Hey lovelies!!

So I recently got a few gem wheels on Amazon, and I've been playing around with them & have a couple manis to show you! :)

So, keep in mind that neither of these are perfect, considering that A: my nail skills are a tad bit rusty and B: I've had a head cold and was hopped up on cold medicine when I did both of these LOL. Also C: These are shoddy iPhone camera pics, sorry. I'll be getting back into using my camera soon, I promise!

So here we go! :)

First Mani:

 I did a base coat of Sally Hansen Color Foil - Minted Metal (Which, btdubs, I am in looove with. but more on that in another upcoming post. ;) ) And a top coat of Zoya - Opal. 

Then I topped it off with some Sally Hansen - Diamond Shine and used the cute little silver triangle gems. I was going for sort of a mermaid-y type look. :)

Second Mani:

This one I'm very excited about. Mainly because that gorgeous pink is one of my lemmings that I finally found thanks to my awesome cousin hunting down a link for me. This is Zoya - Lolly (Which I will definitely be swatting on it's on for you soon, no worries.) with Zoya - Domiva on the accent nails. I realized that I couldn't get the little silver heart gems to stick with my matte top coat, (it dried too fast and would't stay tacky long enough for me to place them) So I ended up having to shine-ify it with the Diaomd Shine.
Which, I'm ok with. This mani didn't turn out perfectly how I saw it in my head, but I was still pretty in love with it and have had it on for almost  week now.

So there's my Adventures in Gems so far! I have a bunch more ideas, so stay tuned for that.

Have you guys ever tried gems? Let me know what you think in the comments! Personally, anything that I get to bedazzle is A-OK in my book. ;)

Seeya next time lovelies! :)

NOTD: Fun with Zoya Happi!

Hello there my lovelies! 

For today's Nails of the Day, I'm re-swatching Zoya - Happi, and also having a little French Mani fun with it! :) 

I got Happi back in January during the Try 3 Free promotion, and it's definitely become one of my top favorite polishes in my collection now! :) 

Happi is a pretty, summery, pink with coral shimmer, and in in the right lighting you can even see a hint of green shimmer! :) 

It's perfect for Spring and Summer, and now that warm weather is finally here in PA, I'm super-duper loving this one! :) 

I tried to capture the green shimmer, but it's tough to see on camera. You can see it in person though, especially in the sunlight! You can definitely see the gorgeous coral shimmer though! :)

Now, time for a little mini French Mani Fun! 

For this one I used a base of the nude color from the Mark. Mode & Trend Collection, which is a light nude with pink shimmer. Then I added on Happi for French Tips, and sealed with a coat of Seche Vite! 

I think the shimmer of the nude really complemented the shimmer of Happi, and the result was a nice Springy, shimmery French! :) 

I hope you're all enjoying nice weather like we're having! Spring coming around always puts me in a happy mood! :) 

BONUS! Check out this gorgeous rainbow! This came out over my neighborhood the other day after it had been storming all day long. It was so bright and beautiful, and it was perfectly arched all the way around! I haven't seen one as bright as this in a long time. :) 

OPI Mariah Carey Liquid Sand Swatch & Review!

Hello again lovelies! 

Today I'm reviewing and swatching one of the polishes from the OPI Mariah Carey Liquid Sand collection, "Can't Let Go."

(P.s., my dumb brain forgot to take a bottle shot, so this is a stock photo I found online! Sorry about that! Total brain fart LOL) 

I actually borrowed this from my sister Jess. It is sooooo pretty you guys! 

This was my first time using a sand textured polish, and I have to say, it wasn't as rough as I thought it would it be. Which is a good thing, because even though I obviously wanted to try it, I wasn't sure how I'd feel about having scratchy nails! :p 

But they weren't scratchy at all! It's just like wearing a matte glitter, only like 20x more matte! 

Just look at this beauty! 

"Can't Let Go" is a beautiful violet purple, packed with purple and silver micro-glitters.

The formula is very good, I only had an issue with drying time, but that was my own fault. We all know I'm a little OCD about coverage, so I did three coats to make sure it was completely opaque. The problem with that is, I didn't know that you're only supposed to do two! LOL. I didn't read the bottle beforehand, I just went at it, and about 10 minutes later they still weren't dry all the way. I asked my sister if it took this long for hers to dry, and she asked how many coats I did. Thats when she said, "Oh no, didn't you read the bottle? It says you're only supposed to do two!" OOPS! :P 

It did dry, it was probably about 20-25 minutes before it was all the way dry though. 

But like I said, it was my own fault for being impatient and not reading the instructions! LOL. 

Overall this is a really good polish though! 

It did start to chip after two days, but then again that might just be because I did too many coats. 

Removal was what you expect for a glitter, not fun! LOL. But that's just because its glitter. The "sandy" parts removed pretty easily, it was just the glitter I had to scrub at. But that's glitter for you, removal is always a pain in the acetone! ;)

It's super pretty though, and I couldn't stop staring at my nails the whole time I had it on! I definitely want to try some more sandy textured polishes after this! :) 

 

(Disclaimer: I was not paid for this review, all opinions are my own! :) ) 

Rainbow Glitter Gradient Tutorial Video!

Hello my lovelies!! 

I have something really special for you guys today, 

A brand spankin' new video tutorial!! :D 

In this tutorial, I show you how to do my Rainbow Glitter Gradient that I did for Flip-Flop February! 

I hope you enjoy, let me know in the comments what you think! 

:)

(If the embed doesn't work for you, click/copy&paste this link: http://youtu.be/lzUjw8tvoyY)

I hope you guys like it! I think it's my favorite one I've done so far! :)
<3

Flip/Flop February Fay 20: Flowers/V-Gap

Hi lovelies! Time for Flip/Flop February Day 20!

This days Flip/Flop was Flowers/V-Gap!
I'm not big on floral print myself, and I already did some flowers in this challenge, so I decided to give V-Gap a shot.

Now I'm not gonna lie, I have to google what V-Gap was LOL. I don't know how why I've never seen this style before, but I had no clue it existed. I like it, it's a cool new style. I'm not completely in love with it, but I could see myself wearing this again.

There are a few different ways to do V-gap, I went with a technique that I saw on a YouTube tutorial, and painted the base color and then used a striping brush to paint the shape in the center.

For the base color I used Rimmel 60 Second Dry - Climax and for the v-gap shape I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Rockstar Pink. Then I sealed with a coat of Seche Vite top-coat. :)

Don't forget to check out the other bloggers manis! :)

Flip/Flop February Day 10: Fishtail Braid/Half Moons!

Helloooo again lovies! It's already day 10 of Flip/Flop February!

Today's Flip/Flop is Fishtail Braid/Half Moons. This one was a toss-up for me, because I love half-moons, but I'd never done fishtail braid before and had been to try it. So ultimately, I decided to go out of my comfort zone a little and went with the flip! :)

And I have to say, I really like it! I was afraid it was gonna be really complicated and confusing and turn into yet another fail for me, but it was actually pretty simple and easy!
It's funny, because I can't fishtail braid my hair to save my life, but I can braid polish! LOL.

The technique is actually a lot simpler than it seems, you just keep layering back and forth until you reach the bottom of your nail. There are loads of great tutorials out there to explain it. :)

The colors I used were:
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Celeb City
Sephora by OPI - I'm Wired
Sephora by OPI - Read My Palm

Don't forget to check out all the other bloggers creations!! :)

Flip/Flip February Day 9: Abstract/Plastic Wrap!

Hello once again, lovies! It's Flip/Flop February Day 9!

Today's Flip/Flop is Abstract/Plastic Wrap, and I chose the flop today!
I was going to try and be creative and do abstract, but I really wanted to try plastic wrap since I've never done it before! :)

It was actually super quick and easy, an I think it came out pretty neat!

For those who don't know, the plastic wrap technique is when you take a small piece of plastic/saran/cling wrap, and dab it on your nail to get a cool effect. You paint one color and let it dry completely, then put one coat of your second color, then dab the plastic wrap, and it comes out awesome looking! It's really easy and quick too, (not counting the time it took for my first color to dry) it actually took me under 5 minutes! I will for sure be doing this again! :)

The colors I used were:
Essie - Smokin' Hot
Essie - Lapiz of Luxury

P.S., please excuse my nubby little ring finger. As I wrote yesterday, I had a terrible break and broke waay far down. I refuse to cut the rest down until this challenge is finished though LOL.

As always, please make sure to go check out all the other bloggers manis!! :)

Nail Mail! - Zoya Try 3 Free Promo!

So technically, this Nail Mail came yesterday, but I didn't get a chance to write up a post. So I'm a little late, sorry! :p

But I got my first Zoya polishes yesterday! I've seen Zoyas all over and heard how awesome they are, but up until now I never actually ordered from them.
But last week when they had their annual beginning of the year promotion, I finally ordered!
For those of you who missed it, the promotion was their Try 3 Free Promo, where you could pick any 3 polishes (excluding the 2013 collections) and apply the code "ZOYA2013" and it took off the price of the whole order! All you have to pay is the $10 shipping. So at $8 a piece, you're saving $24 dollars! If you do the math, since each polish is $8, it's pretty much like buy one get two free, $2 shipping! Awesome deal! :)

Oh and by the way, can I just say how cute it is that they come in an adorable tiny little box that fits all three?! Too cute! <3

So for my 3 polishes, I got Mitzi, Happi, and Opal!

Mitzi is from the Matte Velvet collection, it's an awesome Lime Green matte polish.
I really wanted to get one of the mattes, and I decided on this one. Well, technically Zoya decided for me because I was going back and forth between Mitzi and Phoebe (the blue matte from the collection) but Phoebe was sold out. So it was an easy choice. ;) LOL

Happi is a beautiful pink/coral duochrome sheer polish!
I was actually browsing around online looking at swatches of different Zoya polishes trying to decide on my 3rd polish, and I came across this color and fell in love with it! It's so pretty and pink and coral, and oh my gosh that shimmer!! This is so perfect for spring and summer, it makes me want warm weather even more than I already do.

And finally, Opal is green/blue fleck effect top-coat.
I actually first fell in love with the fleck effect collection when I saw swatches of them all over Pinterest, and I've wanted them ever since!
I was going back and forth between Opal and Maisie (the blue fleck effect) but I decided on Opal. Opal was the one I originally wanted, but I felt like since I was already getting another green, maybe I should've gotten the blue one (Maisie) but I decided to go with my gut and get Opal. I looked at swatches of both, and it seems like with Maisie it's harder to see the effect unless its over another blue, but with Opal you can see it easily. And in the end I'm glad I decided on Opal, because when it came I realized it has a blue/green duochrome to it anyway! So happy customer here! :)

So that's what I got! Swatches to come on all three of these! ;)

Did you guys do the Zoya promo? Let me know which ones you got in the comments! :)

Sephora by OPI Tinseltown Swatches - Day 2!

Hello, lovelies! :)

It's time for Day 2 of my Sephora by OPI Tinseltown Collection swatches!

Now on to the polish! :D
Here are the next four polishes in this beautiful collection!

First up, we have "And A Cherry On Top."
What can I say about this, gorgeous red jelly, perfect classic red, opaque within 3 coats, and a very nice drying time. Another thing I liked is that there was no staining left on my nails like you often see with highly pigmented reds like these. I didn't even use a base coat (I know, tsktsk!) and there was no staining at all! And that name? LOVE IT!

Next up, "S-Age Is Just A Number." I. LOVE. THIS. SO. MUCH. It's an absolutely gorgeous duo-chrome, and at first glance it seemed to be yet another run-of-the-mill dupe for Chanel's Peridot, but NO. Once you put it on your nails, it is sooo much more than that! It does have a bit of a likeness to Peridot, in the way of the brown/green undertones, but in the right light, you can see brown, gold, green, purple, blue, even a little bit of yellow! I captured it a little bit on my swatch, but my camera was being fussy (big surprise there) so it doesn't do it full justice. I did catch it pretty well in my bottle shot though, especially around the edges you can see the effects that show up on your nails. It almost reminds me of oil. Like, have you ever seen a splotch of car oil on the pavement during the summer when it's really hot and sunny, and it gets these cool duo-chrome ripple effects when the light hits it? That's what this reminds me of LOL. :) LOVE. IT.

Next up, "I Think I Cayenne." This is SO fun. It's a really pretty dark orange shimmer, but what makes this one different from other orange shimmers is that when you look up close, the pieces of glitter aren't just regular old shimmer, they're red! You have to look super closely to see it, (you can really tell during clean-up/removal!) but it's really an orange base with red shimmer. So unique and so pretty, and has a really good formula and drying time. Definitely awesome!

And lastly, we have "Read My Palm."
This is SUCH a pretty color. Anyone who knows me knows I love turquoise-y type colors, so this was automatic love for me. But once it's on your nails, it's even more fun! It's a creme, with a GREAT formula and amazing drying time, and opaque within 2 coats. But the best part is that even though its a creme, it looks different in certain lights. In some lights it can look like a minty green, and in others it can look like a dark turquoise. Definitely love this one too!

So that's it for day 2, make sure to come back tomorrow for the next 4 polishes! :)

Butterfly Nail Art!

So last night I decided to do some fun nail art, and I decided to go with something I've been wanting to try for a long time - butterfly nails! :)

Of course I've seen this beautiful trend all over the nail art community, it's so pretty and actually more simple than it seems!
I sat down thinking it might be pretty difficult, but it was actually simple and easy!

These were soo fun to do, and came out kinda pretty if I do say so myself! :P

I decided rather than just doing plain orange, to use an orange shimmer and a purple shimmer accent nail, just for fun! :)

The polishes I used were:
Orange: Sepora by OPI - I Think I Cayenne
Purple: Sephora by OPI - I Don't Bite
Black: Ulta - Little Black Dress
White: Sinful Colors - Snow Me White