New Years Eve Nail Art

Press Samples Included

Happy New Years Eve! I didn't forget about Work Wear Wednesday, but I wanted to do something more fun. Therefore, Work Wear Wednesday will be back next week! Today, I have a fun and kind of random New Years Eve mani. I feel like I am never any good at NYE manis, but I thought I would try anyway. I always want to put too much glitter and shine, but end up with a mess. This year, I tried to keep it simple.

KBShimmer Men Are From Mars-ala

Press Sample

I have an exciting new color from KBShimmer for you today! Men Are From Mars-ala is a color based on the new Pantone color of the year, Marsala! It is an earthy toned wine red, which is a sharp turn from last year's radiant orchid. I never really liked radiant orchid all that much anyway. This earthy tone is beautiful. Some say that it reminds them of tones straight out of the 70s-80s fashion trends. KBShimmer always brings us beautiful shades and amazing formulas, so I was really excited to try this color!

Image Courtesy of KBShimmer

OPI Gwen Stefani Holiday Collection

Don't forget to enter my giveaway! All you need to do is comment in this post before 11:59pm (pacific time) on December 31st!

At first, I wasn't sure if I should share these because I am still expecting one to arrive. I ordered Comet in the Sky online because I cannot find it in stores anywhere! Regardless, I am anxious to share these with you! I've had them for a while now and have already worn them a few times. I have First Class Desires and Christmas Gone Plaid on the blog today! First Class Desires is a deep eggplant with gold shimmer and Christmas Gone Plaid is a beautiful darker green creme. 

Palate Polish Nori Swatch and Review

Press Sample

Palate Polish is a new to me indie which is actually local for me! We are both in Portland, OR, so I was lucky enough to be able to pick this up from Ainsley in person. This is the first indie brand I know of in Portland, of course, there are others nearby but not as close. Palate Polish bases all of her polish names off of food, which is very Portland! We are sort of obsessed with food here. Nori is the one that I received for review. It is a really nice green which has more of a crelly texture.

Christmas Nail Art: Christmas Tree, Candy Cane, and Gingerbread

Press Samples Included

I created some festive Christmas nail art to correspond with my post about Old Factory candles in the Happy Holidays Collection, and I wanted to share more photos and details about them!

Old Factory Candles and Matching Nail Art (Givaway!)

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Many of you probably don't know this about me, but I love candles. I really enjoy the lovely scents and the flame gives a beautiful ambiance to the room. I really feel like they help me relax and feel at home! I had the opportunity to try out Old Factory Candles in the Happy Holidays Trio: Christmas Tree, Candy Cane, and Gingerbread. I have corresponding nail art to tie it all in!

Soft Landings Towels for Nail Polish Removal

Press Sample

Today, I have a new to me product to share with you! Soft Landings reached out to me to see if I would like to try out these new towels to remove polish, and the biggest upside to them is that there is no lint! Are you kidding me? I hate lint, it ruins manis and is ridiculously difficult to pick out once it finds its way into your polish, and it always does. I was very happy to try these out. They sent me a sample pack of smaller squares to use for my nails. They say that you can remove polish from ten nails with one towel. I used it on ten and this is what it looked like:

Work Wear Wednesdays: Holiday Edition Tutorial

Late night post, but it is still Wednesday for me! I have been really worn thin with all the holiday activities! I love it all, but it just takes it out of me. I still have a ton of things I want to do this Christmas season, and I hope I can get to them all. One of which is to show you more holiday nail designs! Today's Work Wear Wednesdays post is a holiday design and a little more advanced than I have shown, but I think all of you should give it a go!

Born Pretty Store Plate 04 Review: Peacocks!

Press Sample

I have a review of the Born Pretty Store stamping plate 04 to share with you today. This plate has peacocks on it! I think peacocks are so cool, I was really excited about this plate. When I lived abroad, I used to love going and reading in a courtyard that had white peacocks. They were the strangest but most elegant birds I had seen. I wanted to kind of do a little ode to them here with the background being blue and green, but the actual bird be in white.

Revlon Parfumerie: Italian Leather and Espresso

Man, do I have some apologizing to do! I have been so bad about blogging lately! Our internet went out after a storm recently, but it still took me a few days to get motivated to get a post finished! So sorry about that. The holidays are a killer for getting anything other than holiday things done. 

Today I have two colors from the Revlon Parfumerie line. These polishes are scented polishes with colors that are supposed to correspond with the scent. I have Espresso and Italian Leather to review and share swatches today. I have older reviews of Autumn Spice and Pink Pineapple, you can follow the links to see what I thought about those.

Work Wear Wednesdays: How to Wear Dark Colors

Are you a fan of dark colors on your nails like me? I have a problem with wearing dark colors all the time, and that translates to nail polish as well. For me, dark colors make me feel more powerful and confident, not goth or emo. I especially love dark colors on my nails when they are short. I thought, what is an easy way to wear dark colors to work? This is what I have to share with you today. This Work Wear Wednesday, I don't have a tutorial for you, but only because it is so simple to do. 

Gabriel Cosmetics ColorBLOCKade Collection

Press Sample

Gabriel Cosmetics sent me the full Color BLOCKade collection to swatch and review. I was enthusiastic about trying it out, as I have not had the opportunity to try Gabriel before.These polishes are 5 free and the brand is cruelty free, vegan, gluten free, and NPA certified natural. There are five colors in this collection: Petrol Blue, Holiday Red, Golden Yellow, Raspberry, and Cashmere. All of the photos below were taken without top coat.

Work Wear Wednesdays: Inspired by The Nail Boss

Today, I have another installment of Work Wear Wednesdays! This week, I have something inspired by an artist I love. Have you ever heard of the Nail Boss? If not, you need to check him out on Instagram! He has 148K followers for a good reason. He does some really amazing work and he doesn't use polish! I think he is using acrylic, but what he does it way more advanced than my nail vocabulary. Just go check him out, I promise, you will love him. I spotted an image on his account a long time ago and I can't get it out of my head, so I attempted to re-create it for Work Wear Wednesdays. It has just the right amount of neutral and glitter!

Born Pretty Store Water Decal Review

Press Sample

Today I have a sort of value added mani! Those were words I never thought I would string together. I upgraded the mani I posted yesterday and added some water decals! The Born Pretty Store also sent me some beautiful rose decals to review, so I have those to share with you today. These cost $2.86 a set and are pretty simple to use. I really like the addition of them to take any mani to the next level.

Born Pretty Store Stamping Plate 05 Review and Nail Art

Press Sample

I hope you all had a wonderful, long weekend! I enjoyed Thanksgiving Dinner on three separate occasions this weekend, so I have much to be thankful for. Today, I am thankful for nail stamping! I have a fun and easy design using the Born Pretty Store Stamping Plate 05. I have been loving the fact that they are releasing new plates pretty regularly now. They are really affordable and come in a lot of different designs. This one in particular is called the Egypt Style plate and is only $1.99! Plus, you can get 10% off with my code: HANDX31.

Nails, Lips, and Lashes by One Direction

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Today, I have something a little different to share with you. Not only do I have nail polish, but I also have lip gloss and mascara! I received Makeup by One Direction kits! I'm not normally a makeup blogger, but I wanted to share these with you since they are all part of the same collection and it might be a fun change for the blog. Are you a One Direction fan? I think they call themselves Directioners. I don't listen to their music, but maybe I should. The make up is from the brand Markwins, which also brings us other brands like Wet n Wild and Physicians Formula. Here is what it all looks like. 

Images Provided by Markwins International

Post Black Friday Spa Day with Teadora

Press Sample

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I had a great one and will have another tomorrow! I'm excited though, Thanksgiving just makes me happy. Did any of you go Black Friday or Grey Thursday shopping? I went out with my husband this morning to pick up a few things, but well after the large and crazy crowds were gone. After shopping though, I felt like I needed a spa day, even though it wasn't as hectic as it could have been. 

I have a fun and luxurious body product to share with you today that would do just the trick. One of the most annoying things about cold weather is dry skin. I hate it when my hands get dry, and I'm pretty sure it is against nail blogging rules to have dry hands. Obviously I moisturize to prevent that, but I also like to exfoliate. Teadora Body Polish was sent to me for review and that is what I have to share with you today! Though, it is technically a body polish, I use it for my hands as well. 

Image Provided by Teadora

Work Wear Wednesday: Jelly Stamping

Press Sample

I am back today with another installment of Work Wear Wednesdays! This week I don't have a pictorial tutorial for you (sorry), but it is really simple. I have jelly sandwich stamping to share today! 

Philly Loves Lacquer

Press Sample

I am so excited to share some Philly Loves Lacquer with you today! I have been wanting to try this brand for a while now, and I am so glad I was able to swatch these! Philly Loves Lacquer is releasing their Seeing Isn't Believing Collection on November 28th, and I have the five that will exclusively be sold on Philly Loves Lacquer's website.

There are 11 other polishes in this collection: 7 for Ella Ann Cosmetics, 3 for Lacquer Chic Shop, and 1 super secret one for the Indie Gift Box. The Philly Loves Lacquer exclusive set is comprised of 5 polishes: 3 linear holos, 1 sparkly glitter crelly, and 1 dense micro-glitter topper.

• Field-Dressed a Cat - a bright hot pink linear holo with a darker pink flash 
• Denny's: An American Institution - a sunny yellow shimmery base with red crystal micro-glitter and a very subtle holo 
• Shots of Brown Liquor - a chocolatey brown linear holo with gold micro shimmer and a gold flash 
• Christmas at the Pound - a reddish-brown linear holo with a red/green shift and red/green micro-shimmer 
• When I Wake Up, I'm Getting a CAT Scan! - a dense micro-glitter topper filled with a rainbow of metallic and holo micro-glitter. 

This part of the collection will be sold exclusively through Philly Loves Lacquer and will be available on November 28th for $9 each, as part of my Black Friday/Small Business Saturday/Cyber Monday sale. On December 2nd, they will go back up to $12 each.

Plaid Sweater Weather Nails

I'm back! I feel really bad that my blogging has been so intermittent lately. With moving, and my nails being destroyed because of it, I have had a bit of a difficult time getting back into it. I really wanted to participate in a group challenge though. There is a facebook group for nail polish lovers in the Pacific NW, and the theme for the challenge is sweater weather! I wanted to do a plaid look for it, so I created one using OPI Christmas Gone Plaid, LAMB, 4 in the Morning and Incognito in Sausalito. The first three are from Gwen Stefani Collections and I love her! Love Angel Music Baby is one of my favorite gold colors now. 

Smokey Mountain Southern Fancies Body Whip

Press Sample

Today I have something fun to share with you! Kim, from Smokey Mountain Lacquer sent me some body whip from her body products brand, Southern Fancies, in the scent buttercream! I love body whip! It is so versatile. I used this on my hands, legs, arms, and the rest of my body.

My Picks from the Orly Baked Collection

Hello! I am sorry for my absence the last few days, my husband and I just moved, and that has been challenging to say the least. I am glad that most of our stuff is moved in now and we just have to clean up our old place. I am actually sitting on the floor in our (mostly) empty apartment writing this. My nails have suffered from  the move, but luckily I have some photos stored up to share for just such an occasion! I don't know why I haven't shared these yet, but these are my four favorite picks from the Orly Baked Collection that released this summer. I loved this collection and used these in nail art several times (Neon Week, Richter Scale, Violet Stones). Today I have swatches and reviews of these colors for you!

Lucky 13 Lacquer

I have another new to me indie brand to share a swatch and review with you today! I am really excited about this one because it is based really close to home for me! She is only about a half hour away. This brand is Lucky 13 Lacquer, how fitting that I post this on the 13th! I swear that wasn't intentional. I scooped up two really awesome and unique colors in her recent sale, but I wish I bought more. She has a really unique line and I love it! I picked up I'd Tell Him to Go to Hell and Stick Them with the Pointy End. 

Work Wear Wednesdays: Tan and Black Polka Dots Tutorial

In this week's installment of Work Wear Wednesdays, I have a dotticure tutorial to share with you! I really love the combination of black and tan and wanted to use them in this week's look. It is a dotticure with a bow accent nail. I hope you like it!

Half Moons with Russian Navy and Spectrespecs

Press Sample

A while ago I reviewed Above the Curve Nail Lacquer's Harry Potter Inspired Collection (Part I and Part II). In that collection was Spectrespecs! I have that today in a simple nail art design along with a classic: OPI Russian Navy. I decided to just do a simple half moon mani design over Russian Navy because I thought the dark color would really make Spectrespecs shine!

NYC Crystal Couture NY Princess

NYC came out with a great collection called the Crystal Couture Collection. Today I have NY Princess from that collection! It is a gorgeous purple jelly packed with glitter! I feel like mainstream brands haven't done many jelly polishes, so I was excited to see one and that it was well done. I used three coats for the photos below.

Cirque XX

I have a beautiful polish to share with you today! I have never tried Cirque before, but have been wanting to for a really long time! When I saw that Ipsy had Cirque on the list of samples that were to be an option in the monthly subscription, I really hoped to get it! Unfortunately, I didn't get it, but I found someone willing to trade a product for it! More information about Ipsy is at the end of the post. The Cirque came in a mini bottle, and not a full size, but it didn't disappoint. I layered one coat over Sinful Colors Black on Black and added a top coat.

China Glaze All Aboard Collection Part III

I have an unexpected part III installment of the China Glaze All Aboard Collection! I have One Track Mind and Mind the Gap up for swatch and review. If you missed the others I reviewed you can click Part I and Part II. One Track Mind is a deep blue and Mind the Gap is an interesting bown leaning gold.

Work Wear Wednesday: Negative Space Tutorial

Guess what day it is?! It is again Work Wear Wednesday! Today I have a fun and really simple manicure to share with you. I really like playing with negative space in manis and I decided to do a simple intro to negative space for those of you who haven't tried it or maybe haven't tried it because you have stained nails (I have a solution for that!). I hope you like it! Tutorial is at the end of the post.

Election Day!

Today is Election Day in the United States! I am a strong advocate for voting and I think that every person who is eligible needs to exercise their right and civic duty. Voting is something that people in the U.S. take for granted, and that needs to change. I created a nail art look that will hopefully remind some of you to head out to the polls or official drop sites to make sure your vote counts before 8pm tonight! I dropped off my ballot at an official drop site last night. In Oregon we have vote by mail and it is too late to mail it, so please google your nearest official drop site in your county!

On to the nails! I started with a base color of Color Club Mamba and then added the stripes with stripping paint. I then let everything dry and taped off the lower section and painted the upper section with China Glaze One Track Mind (to be reviewed very soon). I added top coat and waited for that to dry then I painted little stars and top coated again. On my ring finger I just painted Mamba and carefully added the letters with paint from the stripper.

China Glaze Five Rules

Today I have swatches and review of China Glaze Five Rules to share! Five Rules comes from The Giver Collection which was released in conjunction with the movie. I didn't get a chance to pick these up when they came out and my store was barren when I finally went in to get them. I was only able to find Five Rules, but it was one of the ones I really wanted, so I am glad I found it. I'm not sure if it is really a grey, off white, or tan, it is kind of a mixture of all three. Nevertheless it is a beautiful neutral color. 

Nail Art: What I Wore for Halloween

I have a very simple look to share today. I wore this for Halloween yesterday! I wanted to do nail art, but I wanted it to be very simple, because I have been really busy in the last few days. I started with  base color of Sinful Colors Starry Night and then painted some pumpkins on my ring and thumb fingers. This was inspired by a video I saw from Christabell Nails on YouTube.  

Work Wear Wednesday: Halloween Edition

Hello! I hope you are having a fantastic week! It is once again Work Wear Wednesday! I feel like these weeks are going by so fast. This week I decided to do a Halloween version of Work Wear Wednesday. I wanted to incorporate Halloween colors without going overboard, so I created a two tone look that I feel is very work appropriate but with a little edge to it. I used A England Lady of the Lake and Sinful Colors Black on Black for this look.

Frankenstein Drips

Today, I have a new to me technique. I have seen drips all over the place, but have never tried them myself. I was trying to think of another Halloween design, and I thought of drips in Frankenstein colors! I started with a base of Maybelline Color Show  Flash of Purple and added drips on Color Club Sunrise Canyon.

Candy Corn Nail Art

It's candy corn nail art day! I feel like everyone has to do candy corn nail art at least once near Halloween. I actually like candy corn, so this is perfect! I did sort of a non-traditional version. I did a dotticure kind of like I did for this post, but with white, yellow and orange. I started with a base of Sinful Colors Black On Black and then dotted various sizes all in white, I used Pure Ice Superstar. I then went over the ones at the base with Sally Hansen Insta-dri Heat Flash and then the middle dots with Sally Hansen Mellow Yellow. 

Halloween Haze

Halloween is less than a week away! It seems like it came really fast. I am already thinking about the holidays. So, I decided to do some Halloween nail art! I wanted to stamp, but I realized I didn't have any Halloween stamping sets, so I worked with what I had here. I used Orly Goth, Pure Ice Superstar! and Silver Star, and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Heat Flash. I also used Born Pretty Store plate D14. I love that plate! If you want to purchase anything from the Born Pretty Store you can use my code: HANDX31 for 10% off!

My Top 10 Fall Nail Polish Picks

Today I have a top 10 list to share with you! I love fall and I really enjoy all the collections that come out in the fall. So, I decided to pull together a list of my top 10 favorite fall colors. These aren't all from this year or even from a fall collection. I just love these colors for the season! They remind me of all the things I love about fall: the cooler temperatures and rain, the pumpkins, apple cider and harvest festivals. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Work Wear Wednesday Tutorial Subtle Ruffian

Today I have a subtle look that I actually wore for a meeting, so this has been beta tested! It is a super easy, three step, no tool look that anyone can pull off! I have a simple, subtle ruffian manicure to share with you today!

The Perfect Fall Color

I can't help myself, I was going to save this color for a later post, but I need to share it with you now. Today I have a swatch of OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest. I love this color for fall! It is so beautiful and vampy! I've only ever used it for nail art and today I discovered it's beauty all on it's own. It is a gorgeous red/purple. The formula is great and I only needed two coats for full opacity. 

Dermelect: Take Two

So, some of you may remember my previous experience with the brand Dermelect. I was really upset that the beautiful color had chipped within a day. Yes, a day. I was at my local Ulta and saw these three Dermelect polishes on clearance. I grabbed them, then put them back a couple of times before finally deciding to give them a second chance. I decided that I would do a bit of a wear test on one to make sure it lasted more than a day, so I could share them with you. The three colors I have are Ferosh, Renegade, and Fearless. 

Sinful Colors Prosecco with Dupe Comparison

I have what has proved to be a difficult to find polish today. Sinful Colors Prosecco from the Sinful Shine line has exploded in popularity in the polish world. I had seen swatches of it and didn't really think too much about it, but when I saw only one left at my local drugstore, I decided to give it a go. I am really glad I did! It does take three coats to become opaque, but it has a nice and easy formula. It is a sort of nude leaning grey with gold/iridescent shimmer throughout. I also have a comparison to China Glaze Fast Track at the end. 

China Glaze All Aboard Collection Part II

All Aboard Collection Part II swatches and review are here!! I loved Part I, so I hoped to like Part II just as much! I have What Are You A-Freight Of?, All Aboard and Lug Your Designer Baggage today! I again decided to do a stamp on my accent nail and I used the same Born Pretty Store plate QA88. Reminder if you want to buy from the Born Pretty Store, you can use my code: HANDX31 for 10% off and they always have free shipping.

Introduction to Work Wear Wednesdays and Tutorial

Guess what day it is?! Move over "hump day" it is now Work Wear Wednesday! I have decided to create a new series called Work Wear Wednesdays! I will be creating nail art that is work appropriate for professional work environments. We all know that our love of nail art can sometimes be a bit too much for the workplace, especially if your employer is particularly strict or if you have clients you want to impress. This series is meant to be a guide to give you ideas on how to execute simple nail art that you can show off at the office without raising any eyebrows. Every workplace is different, so feel free to work off of these designs to make them your own and appropriate for what you do!

Nail Care Product Review: Up&Up Nail Polish Remover Dip-It

I have a nail care product review for you today! I hardly ever do this type of review, so it is kind of a nice change of pace for me. I have seen this type of nail polish remover system in the past, but passed it up because I figured I didn't need it. Then I thought I should try it out for you all to learn from my experience! I have Up&Up's Nail Polish Remover Dip-It to share! It has the acetone in the tub and little scrubbers to remove the polish. You just stick your finger in and the polish is removed! We'll see about that!

 

Nail Art: Orange Flannel

I love fall! One of my favorite things is going to the pumpkin patch for all of the best things fall has to offer! We went this weekend and I wanted to make sure I had the right nails for the occasion. I love flannel and plaid prints, so I created another plaid look! This time I used orange, black, and brown/maroon. I started with a base of China Glaze What Are You A-Freight Of? and added strips of Nailtini Mai Tai. I also used my black stripper for the fine black lines. I really liked how it turned out, even though it is pretty similar to my last plaid look. 

China Glaze All Aboard Collection Part I

Today I have three of the twelve piece All Aboard Collection from China Glaze. I have six total, but wanted to split it up in two. I have Choo-Choo Choose You, Conduct Yourself, and Don't Get Derailed. Please note that all of these have top coat, usually I don't do that. I don't know what got into me! I also added an accent stamp for each color, all using plate QA88 from the Born Pretty Store. I think it might be one of my favorite plates. Reminder if you want to buy from the Born Pretty Store, you can use my code: HANDX31 for 10% off and they always have free shipping. 

Finger Paints Masquerade Affair Collection Nail Art

I have some nail art using the entire Finger Paints Collection that I shared with you the other day! I love this collection, so I knew I needed to do nail art with it! I decided to do a tape mani so I could incorporate all of the colors! I think the end result was interesting, but I wish I would have mattified it!

American Horror Story Freak Show Nail Art

I have anxiously been awaiting the premier of the TV show American Horror Story! I love how every season is different and how the premise of the show is always something dark and foreboding. The first season was Murder House, the second was Asylum, and the third was Coven. Tonight is the premier of the fourth season and the season premise is called Freak Show. Here is the show description from their website:

American Horror Story: Freak Show begins its tale in the quiet, sleepy hamlet of Jupiter, Florida. The year is 1952. A troupe of curiosities has just arrived to town, coinciding with the strange emergence of a dark entity that savagely threatens the lives of townsfolk and freaks alike. This is the story of the performers and their desperate journey of survival amidst the dying world of the American carny experience.

-http://www2.fxnetworks.com/shows/american-horror-story/about

This brings me back to the nails. I wanted to celebrate the premier with two techniques I have never tried: letters and splatter. Can you tell where this is going? I am not very good at painting realistic subjects, but I wanted to try my hand at letters. Take a look:

Press Release: Gabriel Cosmetics Nail Collaboration

Press Release

Gabriel Cosmetics is doing a nail collaboration with a celebrity, Brooke Anderson. Gabriel Cosmetics is headed down South just in time for fall with Brooke Anderson by Gabriel Cosmetics Nail Collection! The collection of SIX “5-Free” Limited Edition shades are a wink and a curtsy to the Entertainment Tonight Host’s Southern Georgia roots infusing beloved Southern expressions from classic films like Gone with the Wind and everyday Southern terminology into a collection fit for a Southern Belle

• Blue Belle: Mariner Blue / Shimmer 

• Darlin’: Aqua / Turquoise Glitter 

• Hush Hush: Steel Grey / Shimmer 

• I Do Declare: Graphite / Sparkle 

• Shine Y’all: Chrome / Glitter 

• Southern Belle: Boysenberry / Shimmer 

A collaborative effort by both Brooke and Gabriel, the collection is inspired by the ideals of happiness and a central theme of femininity – and of course some good ‘ol Southern charm, y’all! The line showcases Brooke’s fun, witty spirit by marrying rich, bold colors with high-shine, sparkle, and shimmer finishes that any farm or city girl will love. The Brooke Anderson by Gabriel Cosmetics Nail Collection is available October 1st through the holidays at www.gabrielcosmeticsinc.com and retail individually for $8.50.