Matchy Monday - Oops, wrong pink..

Hello, Fireflies!

So, I teach part-time at a local University, and I enjoy dressing up on the days that I teach.  I also enjoy matching my nails to my outfit, and have been showcasing these on my "Matchy Monday" posts.

Well, how about a not-so-matchy Monday?  I thought this polish would work, and it's absolutely beautiful - Reverie in Rubellite by Hare Polish.

That orange glow absolutely slays me.  It's so pretty.  And, as it sometimes goes, the biggest strength of this polish was also to be its weakness.

BM-211 had this flower pattern that I thought would compliment my dress, so I stamped using my trusty Finger Paints Black Expressionism.

I love how the orange glows through the pattern.

Got to have a full mani to wear to the job, right?  It's so pretty... and when I put it next to my dress, it was WAY too orange.  Complete clash.  I had a sneaking suspicion, but I was too lazy to go get the dress and compare before I did all the stamping and cleanup.

So, I had to take it all off.

By this time, it was late, and I was tired.  So Zoya Roxy got to go solo.  It doesn't need any embellishment, really, with that lovely subtle glitter.

See?  Perfect match with the dress color.  That flower stamp would have really looked nice, though.

Have you ever scrapped a mani because it was the wrong shade for your outfit?

A Hare in Priti Flowers

When I was doing this mani, I was trying to work in contrasts (again) of a neutral base and bright foreground.  My hubby said that there isn't that much contrast in this mani.  I want to know what you guys think.

I started with a base of Hare Polish Return to Nature.  I love this - a nude with small gold and white square and circle glitters. 

Understated, but with a bit of bling.  Application was fine, no problems getting the glitters all over the nail. In these close-up pix, the VNL is more noticeable, but not as much in Real Life.  Another coat would have eliminated that, but I knew I was doing nail art, so I wasn't as worried.

The flowers were inspired by this design from Set In Lacquer.  I really liked the spiky look to her flowers. 

I made the flowers using  Priti NYC Flame of the Forest and Pincushion Protea for the petals, and SkyWaltz Delphinium for the centers.

They are such bright and cheerful colors, even if I've never seen a real flower that looked anything like it!

And, the bottle shot:  Hare Return to Nature, Priti NYC Flame of the Forest, Pincushion Protea, and SkyWaltz Delphinium.

So, is my hubby colorblind, or is there enough contrast? :)

Shades of Grey

Let's just address the elephant in the room, shall we?  Yes, I read the books.  Yes, they were trashy and unrealistic depictions of consensual S&M relationships.  Yes, I know they were originally written as Twilight FanFic...  bad FanFic. 

Yes, I kinda enjoyed them anyway. 

I also love grey polish, and have lots of different versions of grey to wear.  I'd like to show you some today.

Different Dimension Soft Kitty, Warm Kitty.  This is the palest grey, almost white base, with white, grey, black, and holo glitters.  Maybe it was the kitty who scratched my index polish, because I have no idea how that got there.

Hare Dead Man's Bones.  Slightly darker, but still a light grey base, with tiny black and white or light blue glitters.  I love this one, and like other Hare's I've tried, great formula.  

Sindie Pop A Black and White Christmas.  This is actually a metallic silver base, with black and holo glitters.  This one would really benefit from a thick topcoat to keep the shine.  The metallic base does tend to hide the holo glitter, but it's still very pretty and easy to work with.

BG Cosmetics Black Ice.  Another silver base, this one has really cool iridescent hex glitters that look like shards of ice floating in the mix.  Not something everyone would notice, but a nice touch for the polish aficionado.  Nice formula, too.

Sonoma Nail Art Very Small Rocks.  From the 'Don't Eat The Polish' collaboration with Silly Bee's Chickadees, this polish is a medium grey with lots of white, black, and grey glitters.  Probably my fave formula, it was easy to apply with lots of glitter and no dabbing needed.

Liquid Glam Girl Next Door.  A medium-dark grey jelly base with lots of holographic sparkle.  Right up my alley.

Fanservice Nails I'll Wait for you.  A microglitter melange - dark grey and holo and blue.  I love the depth the glitter gives it, and it all came together nicely.

Sonoma Nail Art Chalkboard Nails.  An homage to a blogger, this is reminiscent of a chalkboard.  Not that you kids know what a chalkboard is anymore.  (Someone fetch me mah cane!)  Dark, dark grey - almost black, with white glitters.

Because there are so many Indies in this post, I've included either a link to their Facebook page or shop in the name of each polish, rather than at the end of the post like I usually do.  Also, if you're interested in the cute silver hammered ring I'm showing off in many of the pix, it's what actually inspired this post.  I got it from a fellow lacquer aficionado's Etsy shop of vintage things. 

If you like grey glittery polishes, there's a lot out there to choose from.  Do you like the light or dark grey? silver or jelly base?  Do you have a fave from this group?

Quick! Like a bunny..hare!

Hare is one of those Indies that made a splash B.Me.  (Before Me)  I had no idea about them, but when she came back, everyone was looking forward to her return.  I can see why,  I've really liked her creations that I've tried.

Cast In Bronze.  Reddish-purple jelly with bronze glitters.  There is a little bit of curling on the squares in this polish, but it hasn't affected the polish performance yet.  Certainly no taco glitters.

I added a swirl at the tip with Amy's Nail Boutique New Penny, a copper holo that matched the bronze glitters perfectly!  For a little contrast, I took my trusty black striper and added a swish and a couple of dots.

Impala Inocense.  I love Impala polishes.. from the bottle to the formula and colors.  This one is very sheer, though, so it worked great as undies for King of Carat Flowers.

King of Carat Flowers.  Love!  Delicate, pretty, great formula, no fishing for glitter.  I love a great understated glitter that is also interesting.  Gold, purple, lavender, and different shapes.

Electric Flame.  This one probably could have used undies, too, but I kinda didn't care.  Squishy orange!  With pink flakies!  I did not want to take this one off.  I really liked it.

I couldn't resist a little 3-D glitter - shaped like a hare. 

Supernova Springs.  Blackened jelly with dark green glitter.  It just looks like you could go swimming in it..

Bury the Hatchetfish.  This may well be my fave Hare polish.  This is a surprising polish!  I thought it was just going to be another taupe, but the flakies really take it to another level.

Both of the flakie polishes get even better with some topcoat. 

I've known I like flakies, but BTH and EF make me love them even more.  Are you a fan of the flakie?

If you'd like more information about Hare, you can find her on Facebook and on her Etsy store or webpage.

Stamping Sunday - winter challenge, and an unexpected dupe!

When I saw that the challenge was for a winter scene, my thoughts went immediately to a soft blue and grey background.

I had just received my LVX polishes from SneakPeek (or Haute Look, to be honest, I can't remember!) and I loved this one, called Callais.

...but take another look.  Do you see that not all the polishes are the same?

I mixed in the HTF and very sought after OPI What's with the Cattitude? from the Shrek collex.  It's on my thumb, if you couldn't tell.  In RL, my hubby couldn't tell, either.  The only difference I noted was in the application.  The OPI took three coats, and was a bit more jelly-like, but it didn't self-level.  The LVX actually had a nicer formula.  If you're interested, as of this writing, the LVX is still available on their site.

Because I was stamping, I didn't bother with a sponged gradient, but just brushed on Hare Ancient Affairs.  This is a beautiful soft grey with a blue shimmer.

Then, with Milani White on the Spot and Bundle Monster 323, I stamped on my snowflakes.

I imagine them drifting down, like they do in those old Rankin-Bass Christmas specials.  Which, I know, dates me.  And some of the younger kids don't like them, but for my money - it's just not Christmas season until I've watched Rudolph, and Frosty, and Jack Frost.. and The Year Without A Santa Claus.. and Rudolph's Shiny New Year... 

Not-so-scary Halloween manis

These glitters have scary names, but don't really say Halloween to me, but maybe they do to you!

First up, The Monster! 

Undies are Attitude by Mattese Elite.  I suspect this polish is a response to the OPI Ballet Collection, because there are other ballet names in this collection, and they are all pale, sheer shades.  Mattese Elite is Ricky's NYC brand, and, though I don't live in NYC, they do have an online presence, and they often have great sales!

I really like the Mattese Elite brand - it's a good quality product, and they often have dupes for more expensive polishes.  This color made nice undies for Hare's The Monster.

I don't know any monster that looks like this.. maybe Sully from Monsters, Inc? 

I admit it, I have the mind of a 12-year-old boy sometimes.  The name of this polish makes me giggle.

Above the Curve Witches Tit (is it supposed to be possessive, as in the tit that belongs to the witch?  Then it should read, 'Witch's Tit') is a white base with black square and tiny glitters.  It also has this metallic green shimmer to it that is pretty unique!

I was wearing this with a white/black/grey dress, so I wanted to tone down the green a little, so I used one coat of Sinful Colors Aries over WT.  I love that you can still see the glitter.

Are you choosing not-so-scary manis this Halloween season?