Vault-sala Marsala

Hello, Fireflies!

Happy Saturday!  Today, I'm spending the day at The Makeup Show Orlando! It's the highlight of my year.  So many talented MUAs, so much sharing and giving of makeup education, and the shopping! I hope to be sharing with you some of the things I see and buy in upcoming posts.  For today, though, I've pulled one of my favorite nailarts from The Vault to share with you.

Swatchfest Saturday!

Hello, Fireflies!

Today, I reach back into the vault and pull out some polish swatches!  Some were used for group challenges, some for nail art that didn't survive photographing, some were polishes I just *needed* to wear that moment.

Daisy Chain

Hello, Fireflies!

Today is usually Stamping Sunday, and I do have a stamped mani for you, but it's the last floral challenge for May, instead.

Priti Sparkling Leaves

Hello, Fireflies!

I know, Autumn is way over, and most of the country is shivering under sleet and snow.. and it's even cold here in Florida.. though some of the trees are starting to push new buds through, and there are signs of Spring.

But, when I saw this The Polish Playground Glittery Autumn Leaves design, I knew I wanted to do my own version, 'traditional' Fall colors be damned.  Let's buck tradition, shan't we? Because this is too cool and pretty to wait.

I started with Priti NYC Lady Killer Crocus, a shimmery brown, and Paris Sparkles Chataigne, a bronze/brown/gold glitter - opaque on its own with a couple of coats.  It's almost too sparkly to photograph!

I used striping tape to make two colorful leaves and one gold one.  The two hardest things about using striping tape are: 1) getting it to stick only where you want, and no where else and 2) getting it to stay down once you have it where you want.

If you've ever seen a precise colorblocked mani, they probably used striping tape.  And, you probably weren't looking at my blog.

I love how the glitter peeks through the colors! I used some more of the Priti NYC Lady Killer Crocus, OPI DS Tapestry, and Pahlish The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come for the colorblocked leaves.

On my thumb, I did the same leaf design, but just put Paris Sparkles Chataigne on top.  It wasn't the best choice, though - you can't really see the leaf definition.  It just looks sparkly... which is okay, I guess, just not what I was going for which is exactly what I wanted to do.  Yeah, that's right.  You wouldn't know the difference if I hadn't told you.

Bottle shot:  Priti NYC Lady Killer Crocus, Paris Sparkles Chataigne, OPI DS Tapestry, and Pahlish The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come.

So, there are two lessons for you today, Fireflies! 1) Striping tape is cool. 2) There are no mistakes in nail art - it's just different from what you originally envisioned!

Sunday Stamping - (Ghost of) Christmas Present

Hello, Fireflies!

It's getting close to Christmas, and that's today's stamping theme!  I started off with this beautiful sparkly wine polish from Pahlish, Ghost of Christmas Present.

Sparkly, like a Christmas present should be!

I used a striping brush and Essie No Place Like Chrome and Maybelline Bold Gold for the ribbon, and then stamped the bow with Bold Gold and Red Angel plate 121.

Now that's a pretty present!

Get it? I'm totally playing on the different meanings of 'present'.  I'm so clever!

4 blue undies with 4 Indie Glitterbombs

I love blue polish, it's probably my fave color to wear.  I have some polish combinations today that start with a mainstream color, and then layered with an Indie glitterbomb on top.

Oh, dark blue, how you stain, but how I love you anyway.  Orly Star of Bombay didn't stay on me long enough to really stain much, though, because I was swatching.  If I could have, I would have left it on, though.  It's gorgeous, and has that great Orly formula.

I layered with with Above the Curve Peacock 4Play.  Every time I think I have enough blue/green/mermaid glitters, something comes along with just a little something different to tempt me.  Purple.  sigh.

My only complaint about this polish was that it was quite thick, and gritty without topcoat. I added a layer of NYC Grand Central Station which smoothed it out beautifully, but the polish was too thick, and with the glue base it peeled off quickly.

Impala Polaina Fun is a great summery Caribbean blue.  Loved it.  The distortion on my thumb is due to the glue base, not the polish.  Can I just say how much I love these bottles, too?  

I love the Big Bang Theory, but I may love this BBT-themed polish from Different Dimensions even more.  What a great combo of glitters in Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock!

L'oreal Jet Set to Paris is a French Blue, as you might expect!  I thought it would make great undies for this next Indie, but it totally got lost in the blue jelly, so you'll just have to admire it on its own.

Makeup Your Face I Need Blue Tonight is a jelly sandwich in a bottle.  Deep, squishy royal blue with white and silver glitter. A fave shade of blue, and a great way to wear it.

I liked Essence Date In the Moonlight so much, I accidentally bought it twice.  These dark colors with the shimmer that glows from within get me every time.

Pahlish Prayers for Rain is another mermaid glitter I had to have.  I really like the blue/green combo in this glitterbomb.

Do you like your blues layered?  Are you like me, attracted to mermaid-type colors like a moth to a flame?

Heavy Metals

Today, I want to show you some polishes and glitters in the same metal color family.  First up is OPI Number One Nemesis:

Part of the OPI Spider-man collection, this color, like most of them in that collection, had *nothing* to do with Spider-man.  So bizarre.  

Look at that complex mesh of glitters, though! So beautiful.

I paired it with Pahlish Sitting in a Tin Can that I bought from a blog sale.  It's my first polish with diamond glitter.  I haven't decided yet if I like diamond glitter.  Have you tried the "super secret" glitter technique by Otaku nails?  It does make it easier to get full coverage with glitter!

  
Next up, Rimmel Hard Metal.  This is a metallic steel grey.  I don't own too many Rimmels, as the selection around here is pretty limited, but I've liked the formula of the ones I've tried.  I just wish they had more colors.

Layered over Hard Metal is Elixir Lacquers Powder Keg, a mix of black and grey, and a glitter that flashes between blue and purple, in a dark base.  I don't know if Hard Metal is *needed* under Powder Keg, but I like the steel grey/blue undertone that it gives the final look.

Last is Daring Digits Girls' Night Out.  No undies for this one.  It's a nice, full-coverage glitter.  When you look straight at the bottle, it looks black, and then as you move it, the colors flash.  Unlike Powder Keg, which is monochromatic (with maybe some blue), Girls' Night Out has multi-colored or holo glitter. 

Likely, all of these polishes could be mixed and matched with each other and get similar results.  I love a dark grey, blingy polish, what can I say?  Do you?  What about those diamond glitters?