China Glaze - Ride the Waves

Another China Glaze neon to show. This is the royal blue color. Not sure if it's a true neon, but it is definitely bright. Applies slightly thick like a jelly polish.

This is 3 moderate coats. I was trying for thin even coats, but the formula is a little off.

Still quite a delicious color though! And soooo shiny with topcoat.

After a day of wear I tried adding a flakie topcoat. Essie Shine of the Times. Why haven't I tried this combo before? A flakie over a vibrant royal blue?! This is a must if you haven't done it yet.



More about → China Glaze - Ride the Waves

Born Pretty Store - Bullion Beads/Microbeads

I mentioned that I also received the Bullion Beads. They can be found here for $3.33. It comes in a wheel of 12 different colors. The beads are so tiny that they got a little mixed together despite the different compartments. It's a nice array of colors that are available in this wheel. I chose to use the dark teal on the top right of my picture.

 It was a perfect match for Essie School of Hard Rocks. This is 2 coats.

 I applied a generous coat of Seche Vite and then poured the beads over the nail until they covered the entire thing. (Remember the "caviar" debate?)

One solid nail used up a good bit of my beads of that color, so for the rest of the nails I just outline the half moon area with a line of beads.

 It's not a terribly long lasting manicure, but it's cute and a novelty. :)

More about → Born Pretty Store - Bullion Beads/Microbeads

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

Spoiled - Uh, As If!

I got a few of these Spoiled polishes because who can pass up a sale for 99 cent polish? Not this girl. This is a great BRIGHT pink with gold shimmer.

 This is 2 easy coats. I really like that the shimmer is still visible in real life. :) In some of my pics it shows more silver, but I promise you, it's gold.

Then I did a subtle glitter gradient using Essie Luxeffects As Gold As It Gets.



More about → Spoiled - Uh, As If!

A Crewed Interest vs. Sunset Sail

I had been on a mission to find some pale orange polishes to add to my stash. It's a shade I'm always mixing in acrylic paint for cartoons, so I felt having it in polish form was important.

I picked up China Glaze Sunset Sail and Essie A Crewed Interest.

Sunset Sail is more yellow toned of the two and it has a shimmer. 3 thin coats here. 

I had very little trouble with it. No streaking. It comes across very subtle and nude.

A Crewed Interest is more pink toned without any shimmer. 3 thin coats. This one was more trouble. I had some streaking, pulling, and pooling. It's still a great color though.

All in all, I'm happy to have both!

More about → A Crewed Interest vs. Sunset Sail

A Crewed Stamping

I wore Essie A Crewed Interest but stamped with China Glaze TTYL and a bundle monster image.

I've seen where others have been able to stamp with a holographic and it turns out great. Mine however didn't catch many rainbows. :(

Not even any rainbows when in the sunlight...

More about → A Crewed Stamping

Essie - Tour De Finance

I couldn't pass up this gorgeous pink from Essie's spring collection. It's so very intense, bright, and happy! I really like it.

This swatch is 3 thin coats. I didn't have any trouble with the formula. At all.

The shimmer is gorgeous!

More about → Essie - Tour De Finance

Random Spring Swatches + You Mix Update

Hey ya'll!

I don't have anything too exciting today, but I keep accumulating random swatch pics, so I thought I'd share them now that I have a few.

This first one is Pedal Faster Suzi from OPI's Holland collection. The formula on this was pretty thin and watery. Has anyone else had this experience with this shade? It took a while to dry because of how many coats it needed.

Next is Essie Navigate Her. I love this green! In the bottle I didn't think it looked like much, but once I had it on I couldn't stop looking at it. I tend to gravitate towards green polish so I have a lot, but this Essie is definitely at the top pick for me!

And finally, here is OPI's I Don't Give a Rotterdam. Love that name. haha For some reason I had tip wear on this mani pretty fast, but who knows if that was more my fault than this polish. This color is very pretty though.

So there's my swatches that you have all seen a million times before, but I still to post them!

As for the You Mix update: Dustin and I are moving across the country next week, and as a result we will not be shipping orders for a few weeks. We will still accept orders during that time, but they won't ship for a little while. The cut off date for orders to ship before we move is Monday April 2. The good news is that this means Dustin has graduated school and we will no longer have a lag in shipping once we get settled from moving! We hope to streamline our business more and make it better than ever! Thanks to those of you who have helped make our business a success, we LOVE working with you! Please don't hesitate to email me if you have any questions!

Thanks!

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Hunger Games Nail Art

I'm not entirely sure when I'll be able to see the Hunger Games movie in theaters, but I'm excited about it! I thought the books were fantastic, and the movies look like they will be amazing! So here is some Hunger Games Nail Art in honor of the movie's release.

 Before you read further, here is a disclaimer: This nail art was accomplished after a very long day. I had been awake since 5am and worked a 12 hour shift. I finished these nails at 9:30pm but my brain was fried and running off diet coke only, so I apologize in advance that they are not more perfect. Lol

My left hand ring finger features the "Mockingjay." Yes mine looks a bit wonky and inbred, but whatever....

 The other nails are China Glaze Stone Cold from what else? But the Hunger Games collection.

My right hand ring finger features some flame nail art because by now you might have heard.... In the book, Katniss' nails are painted with flame nail art for the opening ceremonies of the Hunger Games.

I'll show the exact polishes I used below, but I topped the flames with Essie Shine of the Times because those flakies have always made me think of fire embers. It was difficult to capture in a picture, but it really adds a special touch.

Polishes used:
Sinful Colors Black on Black
China Glaze Stone Cold
Color Club Gingerbread Man

for the flames:
China Glaze In Awe of Amber
Hard Candy Lava
Sinful Colors Let's Meet
(not pictured Essie Shine of the Times)

Happy Hunger Games Everyone!

Just on a side note, I'm considering buying this shirt. It's hilarious.

"Bake bread with Peeta - Skinny dip with Finnick!"

More about → Hunger Games Nail Art

31 Day Challenge - Day 15 - Delicate

This was a tough one, but once someone suggested it, I knew I had to do it! What could be more delicate than Humpty Dumpty? He was very fragile! Lol

Humpty Dumpty Nail Art

I chose to do Humpty sitting on the brick wall, with an accent thumb nail of a splattered egg.

I wish his clothes had come out a little better, but I was struggling with just how tiny everything was.

Here's how you can re-create them. I started with a base of Zoya Kristen. 2 coats.

Then I taped off the french tips and painted them with Essie Very Structured. 

Outline some brick shapes with Zoya Farah and a tiny nail art brush.

Here I changed my mind on the thumb and removed what I had done and added Zoya Yara instead. (I wanted grass underneath where he splattered. :) White acrylic paint for his body.

More acrylic paint.

Add a thick layer of topcoat like Seche Vite!

Next up is Tribal! That was a tough one too!

More about → 31 Day Challenge - Day 15 - Delicate