Checker-Stamp Board

Hello, Fireflies!

While the Admin of the AIS group gets over a nasty holiday sickness, it's open season for Stamping Sundays!  I decided to go back in the vault and pick a stamping nailart that I love, but never got to show you on the blog.

Gold Lace

 Hello, Fireflies!

Today's Sunday Stamping challenge is "Lacy Lace" I rarely do lace stamps, but I found an interesting pattern on a lace stamping plate from Born Pretty, and chose a vampy base color to pair it with.

Weave of Gold Paint and Glass

Hello, Fireflies!

Time for the 2nd installment of the NCC Jewelry challenge!  Last week, I used a ring that wasn't initially my style, but had a lot of emotional attachment to it.  This week, my inspiration was a piece of costume jewelry that is just something I like!

Golden Eyes #goldcollageneyemask

Press Sample.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

I have become a mask fanatic.  Hair masks, face masks, body masks, you name it.  And now, an eye mask.  Yes, a mask shaped specifically for the eye area, and with ingredients made to plump and tighten up the delicate eye skin.  And with GOLD!

All That Glitters..Really Is Gold! #isaprofessional

Press Sample.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

As someone who has become quite the serum fanatic, I was super-excited to try a serum made with an ingredient I'd yet to try - gold!  The appropriately named Xanadu (sing it with me! Xaaanaduuuu..) is a gorgeous clear serum filled with 24k gold flakes, from ISA Professional.  Would it live up to its claims, or just leave me sparkly, but wanting?

Some of My Favorite Things - Gold and Black, Dogs and Chevrons

Hello, Fireflies!

Today's Sunday Stamping challenge is to mix animal prints with chevrons.  I wasn't sure what I was going to do at first, but I really like the mix of gold flakies and black chevrons, with my favorite animal print - dog paws!

Sunday Stamping - Purple(ish) and Orange (ok, gold)

Hello, Fireflies!

It's time again for Sunday Stamping! Today's challenge is purple and orange.  I was out of town part of the week, and had to reach into the vault.. and had nothing exactly purple and orange.  But I think I got pretty close with this pretty purple duochrome and gold stamping.

A Leopard Can Change His Spots If They're Made Of Nail Polish

Hello, Fireflies!

It's almost the end of the month, and I haven't done all 4 of my NCC posts yet!   Today is #3 in the 'animal' challenge.  I haven't really played around with animal prints too much, but today I make a leopard print two ways.

Love Actions

 Hello, Fireflies!

When I was thinking about today's challenge, Love Letters, I kept coming back to the idea of actions being stronger than words.  The love 'letters' I'm going to show you are the letters I create with nail polish for some of the people I love.

Scrolling Wallpaper

Hello, Fireflies!

Short post today - I was going to take the day off, and then I decided to look through the vault to see if I could find a mani that could satisfy this month's NCC challenge - wallpaper.

I think that this scrolling pattern on blue flakie and gold works!

Stamping Snowflakes

Hello, Fireflies!

Today's Adventures In Stamping challenge was about Christmas.  I thought it would be fun to take one "holiday" - Friday the 13th - and turn it into another one!

Color me Fall #ChallengeYourNailArt #FallingForNailArt

Hello, Fireflies!

Today's Challenge Your Nail Art prompt is for Fall Colors.  I did this mani for a nail group I'm in, for a Fall Glitter look, and thought it would work for today's challenge, too.  I love the gold and red together, with a stripe of black.

I laid down a base color of Wet 'n Wild Pot of Gold, and then added Candy Lacquer Big MacIntosh to the bottom 2/3rd of the nail. 

Swish of red and black striper, popped on a red rhinestone, and Bob's your uncle, and Fanny's your aunt.

Bottle shot:  Wet 'n Wild Pot of Gold, Candy Lacquer Big Macintosh, and nail art stripers in red and black.

What are your favorite Fall colors?

I Adore You, Too, Teadora!

Products provided for review.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

I am all about the bold lippie.  Mattes, stains, creams, brights, vamps, you name it.  Most of these, I have to remove with makeup remover.  And then, there's the drying weather.

Let's not forget the smooching, either.

My lips are in need of some rehabbing, and when I got to try Teadora's Nourishing Lip Butter, I was excited.

But, but, it's a pot.  I don't *do* lip stuff in pots.  Or, shall we say, I didn't.  I will for this stuff.  It's the most unique lip stuff I've come across.  It's almost the texture of a shea butter - hard, and a little gritty in the tub.

But if you rub your finger over it, it melts and then you can apply it to your lips.  For more exfoliation, scrape a little bit of the balm out, and you'll get a more gritty texture that melts away after a few minutes.

I've been using this for weeks now, and I've barely made a dent in the tub.  For $15, it's a bargain!

The products at Teadora are made with their proprietary Elixirs - Rainforest Youth, Hydration, and Restoration, each containing ingredients to target a specific purpose.  What's also important is what their products DON'T have - no parabens, synthetic fragrances, silicone, gluten, Phlalates, sulfates, harsh chemicals, or animal products.  Their products are 100% vegan, and they do no animal testing.

Not only does the lip balm feel great, taste amazing, and is made from great ingredients, Teadora is committed to doing business in a socially responsible way, by using ingredients that are fair trade sourced, sustainably harvested, carbon reduction focused, recyclable and biodegradable.  They are also involved in efforts to help preserve the Amazonian Rainforests.

Teadora Lip Butters come in two versions - Rainforest at Dawn, and Rainforest at Dusk.  The Dawn Lip Butter is in a flavor they call Laranja, and is a light, sweet orange.  It is DELICIOUS.  Totally addictive.  Dusk's flavor is called Acai-Acu, and is a berry-chocolate blend.  Yum.

As always, you know I'm loving something if I'm inspired to do nail art!  I based this on their logo - in color on my middle finger, and the black and gold version on my thumb.  To do this nail art, I used Milani Black Swift, Sally Hansen/Revlon white, Sephora X Enriched, A Rhyming Dictionary Polish Show and Tell, China Glaze Metro Pollin-tin, and Urban Decay Bang.

If you'd like more information about Teadora, which means, "I adore you" in Portuguese, or to purchase any of their butters, oils, cleansers, or other skin care products, you can find them on their website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube.

How are you taking care of your lips?

Sad Monsters

 Hello, Fireflies!

This month's NCC prompt is books.  I used to read a lot.  All the time.  You know what killed it for me?  College.  I actually read textbooks and articles, and somehow, through 4 years of undergraduate, and some years of graduate work, I no longer read for fun.

So, I was fumbling around for this first mani.  Not sure if I should go back to the many bookshelves we have and find an old book of mine, or one of my husband's many books.

I was wearing this polish, Lacquerhead Polish Ashlyn, a deep brown, bordering on plum holo.  And, I thought to myself, Self, I should do something based on this polish.

And, so I did.  I found this book cover art for Sad Monsters, and decided to give it a try.

First, I stamped with Maybelline Bold Gold and Dashika Big SdP-A, and tried to hi-light with a yellow nail art pen.

Then I drew in the eyes, mouth, and teeth of the sad monster on my ring finger.

He's a sad, sad monster.

Bottle shot:  Lacquerhead Polish Ashlyn, Maybelline Bold Gold, and nail art stripers in black and white. I used a yellow nail art pen, too, but I guess it didn't want to be photographed?  Not sure how I missed that..

When you're looking for inspiration, where do you look first?  Pinterest?  Google? Your workspace? Nature?

An InLinkz Link-up

Knight Fight

 Hello, Fireflies!

Today's Sunday Stamping challenge was to use white and gold.  I started with Orly Platinum, a frosty white with a pearlescent finish.  Took 3 coats for complete opacity, but I kinda quite like the result. 

I'm an Ice Queen, baby (With the top let back and the sunshine shining.../Kid Rock)

Because of the colors, and possibly because I just finished watching the Life/Death season of Face Off culminate in a battle of good and evil knights, I picked the Fairy Tale Collection (03) from MoYou London that depicts an epic battle between a knight and a dragon.

These colors were so hard to photograph!  I have the knight's steed on my thumb, the knight's fighting lightning bolts on my index, the dragon's fire on my middle finger, and the dragon's head and tail on my ring and pinky fingers.

Of course, I used Maybelline Bold Gold as my stamping polish.  Cracked open a new bottle! Ah, what a glorious feeling, right? Like popping a bottle of champagne.

I usually prefer one stamp versus a vignette like this, but I couldn't resist the story.

So, who do you think wins?

Stamped Scary Skulls

Hello, Fireflies!

Today's Adventures In Stamping challenge is to get ready for Halloween with something spooky or scary!  I saw this stamp from Cisi & Sisi 11 plate, and I knew I had to try it.

I started off with Milani Black Swift, which is quickly becoming a favorite black.  It's one-coat shiny awesomeness.

I love how gold and silver look stamped over black, so I alternated Essie No Place Like Chrome and Maybelline Bold Gold.

I couldn't fit more than one skull per finger, so I tried to get one clear part of the stamp on each finger. That upturned profile skull on the middle finger gave me so much trouble! It must have known, somehow, what finger it was on.

Bottle shot:  Milani Black Swift, Maybelline Bold Gold, and Essie No Place Like Chrome.

Are you getting out the black polish for a Halloween mani?  What's your favorite black?

Feelin' Groovy Green

Hello, Fireflies!

This week's challenge was either a 60's theme, or using a matte/texture.  Mine has a little of both, but doesn't do either particularly well.

This is my fave part:  I picked up this sweet green polish at Ulta the other day on clearance - One In A Chameleon.  I don't know if it's a green/gold duochrome, or green with a gold shimmer.  It's a little thin, and needed 3 coats to cover VNL, but I love this effect.

I used this stamp from Dashica Big-B plate, and Cult Nails Nevermore for the pattern.

I thought this stamp looked all groovy and psychedelic.  But it actually read more 'wood-grain' on my nails.  Fail #1.

This bottle of SpaRitual Citrine Luminary Matte Top Effect looks like fireflies in a jar to me.  It just glows!

On this mani, though, it was neither terribly matte nor luminous, though.  Fail #2.

It actually reminded me a lot of the Orly matte flakie polishes.  I think this one would look better over a dark polish, though.

Bottle shot:  Ulta One In A Chameleon, SpaRitual Citrine Luminary Matte Top Effect, and Cult Nails Nevermore.

I was trying for 60's groovy and matte, and ended up with something that reminded me of my mom's 70's avocado green kitchen.  Hey, when's the 70's kitchen mani challenge?