Flormar Jewel Gold Collection Review - Part 2

Today I will be swatching the rest of the Flormar Jewel Collection...


This is JG450, a gold undertoned polish, with tiny gold shimmer... Like the rest of the collection, highly pigmented and opaque in a thick coat.

JG450

JG450

JG450

And finally, this is JG451, the sheerest of all. It has a pearly color, also with tiny shimmer...

JG451

JG451

JG451

Here are all the colors swatched togather. My favorites are 453 and 452. But I guess 450 will look cool on my toes after I get a tan... :)

Left to right : JG453 - JG452 - JG451 - JG450

Left to right : JG453 - JG452 - JG451 - JG450

More about → Flormar Jewel Gold Collection Review - Part 2

Gelish Magnetto Polishes

Hi All 

Got 2 of  those so far and not really impressed.I love the idea of magnetic gel-polish, but colors didn't really work for my skin or something, i was not too thrilled.

I also got some extra magnets from e-bay that i didn't like, so i end up with china glaze magnet, and it was perfect - compact, has 2 patterns in one, easy and comfortable to apply compare to the ebay magnets and even original. Here are pictures
Drawn Together

 T

Electric Metal Lover without flash

With Flash

More about → Gelish Magnetto Polishes

Summer fun manicure with Red Carpet Gel Manicure

Hi All,

Got my summer nail fix, a bright pair of mani and pedi with extra cute little fish. 

I used Red Carpet Manicure gel system  . 

More about → Summer fun manicure with Red Carpet Gel Manicure

Sonoma Nail Art Parasol

Hi everyone!

I have a swatch for you from Sonoma Nail Art. This one is called Parasol. I layered 2 coats over Milani Digital. I was amazed at how shiny the whole thing turned out!

I tried to capture the holo from Digital, but I'm not sure it showed up as well in pics.

This polish has a great formula with a nice amount of glitter. I'm pretty sure Michelle is restocking tomorrow and this polish is in the sale, so keep an eye out!

Thanks for reading!

Pin It

More about → Sonoma Nail Art Parasol

may haul

Good evening all and welcome to my monthly haul post!

You'll be happy to know that I've been a very good girl this month. :)
Let's see what I accumulated:

I got some indie polishes:
Pahlish - Total Eclipse of the Heart
Nail-Venturous - Flying Blue Jay
Nail-Venturous - Evil Barbie
Lynnderella - Connect the Dots 

I got some OPI, as usual:
OPI - Shatter The Scales 
OPI - Red Shatter (free!)
OPI - Eiffel For This Color ($2.50)
OPI - Metallic 4 Life ($2.50) 
OPI - Heart of Gold (free!)

I got some Zoya!
Zoya - Zuza
Zoya - Wednesday
Zoya - Carly
Zoya - Rory
Zoya - Savita
Zoya - Lotus  

My dad bought me an Art Club striper set but they don't have names so here is a photo:

I got a polish for review from Topbox.ca:
Deborah Lippmann - Whatever Lola Want

I picked up two cool polishes from Icing:
Icing - Shredded
Icing - Pre Game

I won 6 polishes from the China Glaze Summer Neon Collection!
China Glaze - Love's A Beach
China Glaze - Pink Plumeria
China Glaze - Sun-Kissed
China Glaze - Orange You Hot?
China Glaze - Flirty Tankini
China Glaze - Ride The Waves  

And that's all!
24 polishes (out of which I only bought 14) plus the 8 striper set.
Not to mention, I sold a bunch too. I think I sold about 40 this month!
WOO! I was in the negative this month.
...Which is a good thing, 'cause I'm unemployed.

I'm not sure how I'll do next month. I don't have much on the way and I don't plan on buying too much besides some Orly glitters. We'll see!

More about → may haul

Essie Toms Barefoot in Blue

Hey everyone! Today I have a special polish from Essie called Barefoot in Blue. About a month ago, there was a contest with Essie and Toms to win this special edition polish and I was lucky enough to win one. Barefoot in Blue is a promotion for Toms campaign Go Barefoot. I've always wanted to try Toms brand shoes but never got the chance to because I heard their sizes are a little off, but I love the fact that if you buy one shoe, they give another pair to someone in need!

I did wear Barefoot in Blue on my toes and it was too pretty to not be on my nails as well.


Barefoot in Blue is a cornflower blue creme. 2 coats

I was quite surprised that I won this polish because it just showed up in my mail box! And I'm happy that I've won a bottle because this is such a gorgeous blue, and is perfect for Spring and Summer; not to mention this polish can't be purchased anywhere (correct me if I'm wrong)

Well that's all I have for today, I hope you guys enjoy the rest of your day!

More about → Essie Toms Barefoot in Blue

Zoya Arizona Works it in Women's Running Magazine...

Work your way to that bikini body in style!

Who says you can't look cute while working out? Women's Running Magazine has you covered from head to toe with this trendy new summer gear... 

  

Adding an energetic lacquer hue is a great way to revitalize any running outfit, and Zoya Nail Polish is the perfect choice for active, stylish women worldwide. Women's Running Magazine recommends Zoya Nail Polish in Arizona as a must have color to Spring into Summer with!

Zoya Nail Polish in Arizona, as well as over 300 other vegan friendly, cruelty free, BIG5FREE* Zoya shades can be found at www.zoya.com. 

*formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, dibutyl phthalate (DBP),
toluene and camphor free formula. 

Zoya is the new color of Fashion!
www.zoya.com

More about → Zoya Arizona Works it in Women's Running Magazine...

OPI - Shatter The Scales

You know, the new Spiderman movie kinda bums me out. I liked the old ones! Don't change my Spidey!
And sadly, I've gotta say, the OPI Spiderman Collection is a bummer for me too.
Only one polish interested me enough to buy it - the shatter! It's a pretty awesome polish in a collection filled with "meh."

OPI - Shatter The Scales
This is a dark green shimmering shatter polish that worked pretty flawlessly for me. Sometimes shatters can be a total pain (I'm looking at you, Turquoise Shatter) but this one is easy to use.
It dries matte, but really comes alive with topcoat!

I layered this polish over OPI - Skull and Glossbones to show off its green hue the best.
I wish the other colors from this collection had been more fun! Frosty pink... streaky blue... off-white... goldy-green over-done dupe... Bleh! At least the shatter is fun.

And now for a comparison!
I had some requests for a comparison of Shatter The Scales and Teal Scales from Funky Fingers!
In the bottle, you'd think they might be pretty similar. But over white, the real difference shows!

OPI Shatter The Scales / Funky Fingers Teal Scales
As you can see, the true color of these polishes is totally different!
That being said, when you layer them over certain colors, they can look more similar.

It's hard to see them over black, but what you can see is hard to tell apart.
So, depending on the color you layer them over, they can look pretty similar, but truly they are really different! And you can totally justify having both.

More about → OPI - Shatter The Scales

Holo green gradient

I'm so glad I finally worked out how to create gradient nails that don't suck.  My first attempts were terrible, but now that I know the right technique it really is so simple.

I have to say, after my last gradient using the Nailsaurus' technique, I was having trouble with my makeup sponge breaking off and bits sticking to my nail.  Her technique is where you paint your gradient colours on a plastic sheet, mix them together at the edges, then pick it up with a sponge and press it on your nails.  For me, because there wasn't enough polish on the sponge, my sponge got tacky really quickly and started sticking lumps all over my nails.

It was only on the weekend when I read someone's post about painting directly onto the sponge that I had my light bulb moment. So for these gradient nails,  I simply painted lines of the three polishes directly onto a piece of makeup sponge and then dabbed it on my base colour.  So much easier and quicker and I only used one piece of sponge with nail polish on it.  I actually feel like a bit of a dumb-ass cause I didn't think to do that earlier!

This gradient is created with a base of China Glaze GR8, the golden holographic from the OMG collection.  The middle colour is Nubar Reclaim and the bottom colour is aEngland Saint George.

Saint George doesn't have quite the same smooth linear holographic effect that GR8 and Reclaim has, but it still makes the grade ok for this mani.

I love this effect of gradient nails in similar tones (does that make it an Ombre?) I'm definitely going to try this in a multitude of other colours.

More about → Holo green gradient

Born Pretty Store - Striping Tape - Design & Review

Reviewing another product from the Born Pretty Store. This time it's the Striping Tape you can find here in a pack of 12 different colors for $6.29. I've recently seen a lot of new nail art looks that are featuring striping tape, so I was excited to try it myself. 

I wanted to recreate this look in particular. Her's was much neater and better photographed, but this isn't a contest, right? Enjoy.

I used the gold striping tape from Born Pretty. The polishes I used were Sally Hansen Lavender Cloud, China Glaze For Audrey, and Essie Navigate Her.

As far as a review goes.... The tape was very easy to use. Same concept as using Scotch Tape on your nails, but without the pain of having to cut it into tiny strips. I just cut off a small section big enough that it would over lap the edge of my nail. Then I came in close with a pair of cuticle nippers to cut it exactly to the edge. The tape adheres well and lies flat under top coat. I didn't have any trouble until day 2 of my manicure when the topcoat had worn off some and the edges of the tape were exposed and started getting caught on everything.

I also got some Bullion Beads from Born Pretty, that's coming up next!

And you can get 10% off by using my coupon code!

More about → Born Pretty Store - Striping Tape - Design & Review

Born Pretty Store Review: Black Matte Polish + Silver Studs;

hi :)

a few weeks ago, Nicole of Born Pretty Store offered me to review a few more items from one of the best online nail art supply stores -- of course i gladly accepted :P


the two items i chose to review were the 1.5mm Silver Studs and the Black Matte Polish.

here is the mani i came up with--


black matte w/ zebra stripes & silver studs .. and then a reverse of matte zebra stripes on the ring finger.

the matte nail polish was amazing. it took two coats for me since i didnt expect the matte polish to be as awesome as it is. so if you apply the first coat properly, one coat would do. the silver studs were much smaller than i expected (they look bigger in the picture than they really are) but it looked perfect for the mani. there are soooo many studs in the bag, it is definitely more than enough. and to make things more convenient, the bag has a zip at the top so you can close it back off. then i just took regular top coat and did the zebra stripes.

overall, i am super impressed with the items. they worked beautifully and the price really cant be beat! check out Born Pretty Store for more awesome nail art supplies. don't forget, if you want to order anything from BPS, you are always more than welcomed to use my coupon code and save 7% off your order! yes - Nicole kindly bumped up my 5% discount to 7% .. so feel free to take advantage of it! :D the code is 'KL5X31' and it is good until September 6, 2012.

once again, a big thanks to Nicole of Born Pretty Store for the wonderful items :)

have a great day,
<3KATRINA

More about → Born Pretty Store Review: Black Matte Polish + Silver Studs;

Mix and Match Mani

May 30, 2012

Today, I have a mix and match mani to share! I'm not sure how I feel about it. It is a bit dark for my taste! What do you think?

Pinky: I used two coats of GOSH Golo (the perfect silver holo polish!). I stamped on the nail design with Kleancolor Black and You Mix Cosmetics Stamping Plate I. Photos show one coat of top coat.

Ring: I used the Julep Nail Decals. The design of the decal is awesome, but I found them difficult to use. You can see how crappy my application was in the photos. It was hard for me to file away the excess at the tip of my nail and to get the placement correct. The decal buckled a little too. I don't usually have good luck with using nail decals, so I am confident it is user error haha... Have you tried them before? Any good tips? (Photos show one coat of top coat over the decal.)

Middle: I used ManGlaze Matte is Murder. I love ManGlaze! They have the best matte polishes! They go on smoothly, dry quickly, and usually only need one coat. I then added one coat of Lush Lacquer Salt n Peppa. This polish is packed with glitter, so one coat is all you need. Photos show one coat of top coat.

Pointer:  I used Manglaze Matte is Murder. I stamped on the nail design using Kleancolor White and You Mix Cosmetics Stamping Plate D. Photos show one coat of top coat.

More about → Mix and Match Mani

Color Club Sugarplum Fairy & Quick Nail Art

I won this polish from Whitney of Elemental Styles & I'm finally getting around to posting it. Color Club Sugarplum Fairy is the loudest, craziest polish I've ever used.
Shown here at 3 coats & 2 coats of topcoat. The formula is a bit gloopy but not too difficult to apply as long you wait a bit between coats. It definitely dries gritty but the extra topcoat is worth it for the ridiculous amount of holographic bling you get with this one. I love it & so does Will; he's been sporting it on his toes for about a month!

 

The next day I added some Maybelline Matte Rose for a sort of art deco feel.

Thanks for reading!
April

More about → Color Club Sugarplum Fairy & Quick Nail Art