Saturday Spam - Holo, Glitter, and Studs

Hello, Fireflies!

Time again to reach back into the vault for a few one-offs that were fun, but for some reason didn't make it into a post of their own.  The little rejected manis that could, as it were. The chorus line manis.  The bench-warmers.

I've really sold them, haven't I?

First up, Glittering Elements Odin, a metallic green with hidden holo hex glitters.

I paired this with two glitter toppers from the LA.Girl Splatter line - Sputter (purple and white glitter in a clear base) and Sparkle (gold and white glitter in a clear base).  Maybe I was going for a Mardi Gras theme?

I went back and double checked the name of this polish, because it confuses me now as much as it did when I first used it.  This is Aly's Dream Polish Dreamy Amethyst.  Personally, I've only ever known Amethysts to be purple.  This is not a failure of my camera - this polish is blue.  Maybe a hint of purple flash. Nonetheless, it's a gorgeous blue!

That cute little crescent moon stud and rhinestone is sitting on top of Colors by Llarowe Best Day Of My Life.  I've been really impressed with the pigmentation and rainbow flame of CbL holos! The formulas do tend to run a little thick, but usually not unwieldy.  This is a really lovely royal purple with blue flash.

And last, but not least, Jade Sunset.  Still one of the best holo values, this little Brazilian brand packs a solid holo punch!  I love this coral.

So, there you have it, folks, the latest installment of 'Spam From The Vault.'  Any favorites?

Heart Tips - #NailArtForNubs

Hello, Fireflies!

This is my second post of the day!  If you missed it, please check out my review of a set of Crown Brush HD Cosmetic brushes.  I highly recommend them!

I'm kinda excited about today's nail art.  I was inspired by this Pinterest pin, which, of course, doesn't tell me who to credit. Argh!  Well, whoever you are, thanks for the cute design idea!

I did this for a nail friend who was having a rough time.  Some of us decided to do pink manis in an attempt to cheer her up and show our support.


I started with Jade Aurora, a lovely bright, light pink holo.  Have you picked up a Jade holo yet?  For about $7, you get just about the best holo bang for your buck.  They are a Brazilian brand, so if you're like me, you'll have to order it from Llarowe or Ninja Polish.

No muss, no fuss, just a beautiful linear rainbow.

I've outlined hearts several ways - sometimes I paint the whole heart in the outline color and then do a smaller heart inside.  This time, I did the pink heart first in Zoya Mason, and then did an outline with my black nail art striper.

I also used the striper to make the swirl around the heart.  With longer nails, this looks more like a French tip, but by making the swirl thin out and curl at the top, you can give the illusion of more length.

I even painted my right hand... though it took a lot longer, and I made more mistakes.  This is still a proud moment.  *sniff*

This would also be a fun mani for Valentines' Day, or maybe even an anniversary.  I would caution against wearing this on a first date, lest you seem too eager.

Bottle shot:  Jade Aurora, Zoya Mason, and a black striper

I don't normally wear a lot of hearts, but I do like these!  Not too cutesy, but definitely an attention-getter!  Would you wear your heart on your nails?

Stamping Sunday - Subtle Green Holo

Hello, Fireflies!

As I write this, I'm about to leave for vacation... about a week before you're reading this.  I have no idea what today's stamping challenge will be.  And, I really don't have an easy way to blog while I'm gone.

So, here's a random stamping mani that I hope fits in some way or form with what the challenge is!  We'll make it work!

I started with the gorgeous Jade Mirage, a turquoise holo with green flash.

Jade holos are amazing.  No muss, no fuss, 2 coats and they look good everywhere.  I wore one out for evening, and even in the streetlights you could see the holo.

I love geometric stamps, so I picked this square pattern from Winstonia W113 and Zoya Cassedy, a silvery-grey polish.

I love how a subtle stamp can give the illusion of texture.  It just subtly changes the pattern of the holo.

Bottle shot:  Jade Mirage and Zoya Cassedy

So, if this didn't fit the challenge, don't tell on me, okay? I'll try again next week!

Stamping Sunday - Holo with a Twist

Sunday Stamping! Today's challenge was to stamp over a holo.  Well, if there's something I have, it's a lot of holos.  This dusty slate blue from Jade, Extasy, was calling my name.

I liked this pattern on Shany SH20, but I thought it would stamp thicker for some reason.

Pretty, but it needs a little something.

I took Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Electric Sheep, Liquidus Blue Diamond Turquoise, and the tiniest nail brush I own, and filled in some of the shapes from the stamp.

I need to try the decal technique, but for now, this is more like what I was looking for.

Bottle shot:  Jade Extasy, Finger Paints Black Expressionism, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Electric Sheep, and Liquidus Blue Diamond Turquoise.

Do you prefer your stamps to be one color, do you like decals, or painting them instead?

I LOL at your Purple Holo Comparison!

Every once in a while, the nail polish gods smile on me, and I score a lemming.  I got a used bottle of China Glaze LOL! 

So, of course I had to put it on right away.

And, then, I had to see if any of my other purple holos even compared.  So, I picked four that I thought were closest, and here's how they looked:

NONE of them were a dupe for LOL.  LOL actually had the weakest linear holo of the bunch, but the most beautiful and strong color. 

In Real Life, I couldn't tell the difference between Color Club Eternal Beauty and Urban Outfitters Purple Holo.  The Jade was a little bit darker, a little bit bluer... but you can't tell in the pix.  The Born Pretty was kind of a disappointment.  It had neither the rich color of LOL, nor the fiery holo of the others.  It's more lilac than purple, and needed three coats to reach opacity.

I took my trusty Finger Paints Black Expressionism and my jumbo Cheeky XL plate and did a little stamping.  I wasn't ready to take these gorgeous purples off yet... but they were a little too different by themselves.  The stamp sorta evened everything out, especially from a distance.

I love the way a holo looks from under a stamp.  It just glows.

Here's the bottle shot:  Born Pretty Holo #9, Jade Fascinio Violeta, Urban Outfitters Purple Holo, Color Club Eternal Beauty, and China Glaze LOL.

Which would you choose?  Will nothing but LOL do? 

Sunday Stamping - Orange you glad it's Orange?

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Banana!
Banana who?
(repeat, repeat, repeat)
Knock, Knock!
Who's there?
Orange!
Orange who?
Orange you glad I didn't say Banana again?

Uao!  Jade knocks it out of the park again with this bright, linear holographic orange (banana!).

Like every other Jade polish I've tried, this formula is amazing - no special basecoat or buffing needed, and if you wait for the last coat to dry before applying the next, no streaking or balding.  Easy-peasy.

I used my Jumbo Cheeky plate to stamp with Maybelline Bold Gold over the orange.

Then, I took my small dotting tool and Finger Paints Black Expressionism, and went to town.

The knock, knock joke was old, but this mani is fresh!  Orange and black doesn't have to evoke Halloween.  What do you think?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Even though I'm not actually eating turkey today, it's such an iconic image for this US Holiday, that I wanted to try painting turkey nails.

I was originally inspired by a picture on Facebook, and I even asked her to create a tutorial which I read, but now I can't find it.  So embarrassing.  Another blogger created a similar look, so I refreshed my memory with her tutorial -  Miss JenFabulous from Polish and Pearls.

I used some polishes from the new Jade Diamond collex to create my look - Joy, Scarlet, and Supernova.  The yellow (Supernova) was a little more sheer than I'd hoped, but all of them are really vibrant.

The body of the turkey is American Apparel Racoon, and the eyes and white swirls on the other nails were done with Sally Hansen White Tip.

The translucent white base behind the turkey is two coats of Matesse Elite Snowfall.  I really thought it would be more opaque.
 

I really wanted to see how this would look with a glitter mani, so I used Dollish Polish This is Halloween.  This polish is very Fall, and I loved it with the turkey accent.

Will you have on a special Thanksgiving mani?

Today, and every day, I am thankful for my ability to write this blog, and I am thankful that there are people out there who want to read it.  Thank you all so very much for going on this journey with me!

Chirality Nail Polish

When it comes to holo polishes, I'm like a Mockingbird to shiny.  I can't resist.  So when I saw a new Indie line of holos, I had to check it out, and I'm so glad I did, because I love this line.

Chirality means something that has a mirror image that can't be superimposed - like your hands are mirror images of each other, but try as you might, you can't put one over the other and have all the bits line up exactly.  I'm guessing that chirality in handed-ness may be the link to this polish brand, but I don't know for sure.  You don't have to be a scientist to appreciate the gorgeousness, though!

No H8

 I guess even the nail polish community isn't immune from the ills of the world, and bullying is one of them.

I thought about not getting involved in the whole drama that started this campaign, but I came to the conclusion that no matter what inanities started this, the outcome is good, and worthy of repeating.

Bullying has to end.

And I don't think that it will end while people stand around and do nothing.

While posting a purple manicure isn't going to stop bullying, I hope it just adds to the attention that this topic deserves, and hopefully more good people will start to fight against bullying.

This is Illamasqua Prosperity, a gorgeous, bold purple with a rubber finish.  It was photographing bright blue, so I tried to add things to make it photograph more purple...  like Jade Fascinio Violeta:

..and Ozotic 534.  It looks even more purple in real life.

For more information on what you can do to stop bullying:

http://www.stopbullying.gov/

http://nationalbullyinghelpline.co.uk/

Peace.

The Dark (holographic) Knight

I like having event-specific nails now, if I have time.  I do my nails for date night, girls' night out, and for the movies, among other things.

Guess which movie we went to see? :)

I painted my thumb with white and then layered China Glaze Sunshine Pop over it.  I used Sinful Colors Black on Black to frame the nail and draw the bat symbol.  A friend told me that when her mom looks at the bat symbol, she sees a shark's open mouth.  What is seen can not be unseen.

The other fingers are painted with an unnamed grey from Cosmetic Arts and striped down the center with Jade Magica Negra.  The pinky nail has stripes of Sunshine Pop on either side of the holo black.

Do you like to 'dress up' for special (and maybe ordinary) events?

Stamping Sunday - Red and Black

Hey, stamping fans!  After so much holo fun this week, I had to use another holo in my Sunday Stamping Challenge, which was to incorporate red and black into the stamp.  I'm not sure there are many prettier holos than a red one, so that's where I started - with a fave.  Jade Vermehelo Surreal!

I am a sucker for geometric designs, but they still don't love me back.  I picked a square stamp in black... and then, I accidentally used the stamp next to it for the ring finger.  It's supposed to be circles, but it's just a hot mess!

I love how the holo looks from under a stamp.  It has such depth, almost like it's moving.

Right hand.  Circles look a little clearer here.  What do you think about mixing geometric patterns? 

Have a wonderful Sunday!