Pastel Pink and Powerful Purple

Hello, Fireflies!

Today's Sunday Stamping challenge was to pair a pastel with a neon.  A true neon purple is hard to come by, but I like the violet purple from the Saved By The Bell Wet 'n Wild collection, and I paired it with a pastel pink stamping polish.

Sunday Stamping - Butterflies!

This week's challenge was either butterflies or dragonflies.  I love both, even in real life.  We will get the occasional baby dragonfly in the house, and they are the most adorable insect, if there is such a thing as an adorable insect.  They are one of the few interlopers that get a reprieve from immediate smashing, and either get left alone, or rehomed outside.

But, as the world works in mysterious ways, I saw this butterfly stamp and loved it, so no dragonflies today, so sorry.

I started with another abstract brushstroke mani, a la Gorgeois, because I love them so.  One layer of Milani Instant Pearl to start, because I thought it was white when I picked it up at the store, and now I'm determined to find ways to use it.  Then some pastels from L'Oreal.

I wanted to add a light, ethereal quality to the background, because it will be both the abstract flower field and the wings of the butterflies.  I added two thick coats of OPI I Juggle..Men on top.  It's a very subtle blue shimmer with a bit of blue flecks in the mix.

I picked this butterfly stamp from the DRK-A plate.  I love the Seussian quality of the butterflies. 

And, voila, the finished look.  The butterflies were stamped with Finger Paints Black Expressionism.

I really loved this and didn't want to take it off.  It just made me happy.

Bottle shot:  The L'Oreal pastels (Creme' Puffs, Pistachio Dream, Royally Yours, and Lacey Lilac) and OPI I Juggle..Men.

Which do you like better, butterflies or dragonflies?  Or maybe spiders that eat them both?

Above the glittery, pastel curve

I love the Spring glitter collex from Above The Curve... which surprised me a little, because I usually just go for their holos.  It was a nice surprise!

First, a skittle shot, no topcoat.  Pretttttty.

Daisy Lilacs It.  Pastel purple with blue and gold circle glitters, some small magenta glitters, and a few small stars.

When I first swatched this in the skittle mani, I didn't even know it had stars! I hadn't seen these new smaller star glitters before, and I like them a lot better than the large ones.

Misty Morning.  Gorgeous blue with white hexes, and some really big hexes.

I had a little trouble with this application.  The large hexes are just too large for my nails, I think.  I have small nail beds, and if the glitter wasn't right in the center, it wouldn't lay flat.  You can see on my pointer that the glitter is off to the side and is sticking up.  On my ring finger, the glitters in the center look fine.

Also, this one probably needs undies.  To get it opaque, it's just too thick.

Sunset Skies.  Not really a pastel, but it is lighter than I was able to photograph it. I love these fiery orange and pink and yellow glitters.  It really is like a bright sunset.

Rain-Kissed Strawberries.  Who knew that I would start to love pink polish again?  This is a great shade - not too girly-sweet, with more of those magenta circle glitters, and some others hex glitters in shades of pink.

Field of Tulips.  This pastel green is one of my faves this season.  Can't seem to get enough.  The explosion of color glitter isn't something I'd wear every day, but it is a fun glitter, and reminiscent of its name.

If you like pastels, glitter - especially the new bright circle glitter - then I think there is at least one in here for you.  My fave is probably Daisy Lilacs It.  Do you have a favorite?

If you'd like more information about Above The Curve (including their charitable donations to Shriners and others) please visit their Facebook page, or their shop on Big Cartel.

Getting ready for Easter, and Spring - Butter Pastels

I am reminded of a scene in 'The Devil Wears Prada' where the fashion editor is sarcastically saying how flowers and pastels for Spring are so new.  They aren't new, but they are pervasive!  And, if something says Spring, it's the new collex from Butter London.

I found all of the colors in this collection to lack the signature creamy-ease-of-application most Butter Londons have.  Pastels are notoriously tricky to apply, and these were no exception.  You'll notice in many of my swatches that I had trouble with patchiness and leveling. 

Molly-Coddled.  Red-toned lilac creme.  Probably the easiest to apply, but needed 3 thin coats for opacity.

Kerfuffle.  Beautiful color, horrible clumpy mess.

Fiver.  Palest mint-green.  Mint greens are huge this year, and this one is the lightest I've seen.  A little troublesome, maybe, but I think it was worth the effort.

Cuppa.  A nude creme that oddly seems to fit with the pastels.  A great nude for my very light, still-winterized skin.  I used it as the base color for my Easter-ish nail art.

I took a makeup sponge and dabbed all of the other colors in different places all over Cuppa.  Topcoat is a necessity to make this kind of nail art look sufficiently blurred together.  I almost stopped here, but I ultimately couldn't resist adding a little more.

With a dotting tool, I made large dots in all the different colors all over the nail.  To get the depth and layering of colors, I went back over each nail at least twice with each color.

Pastel jumble!

Bottle shots.  I'm missing Jasper, the yellow, and Fruit Machine, the pink from this collection, if you're wondering if there's more to it.

Which do you like better - the watercolor look, or with the dots added?  Would you rather have dots on a skittles mani?  What are you doing for your Easter/Oestra/Spring Fling Thing mani?

NOPI and Models Own

I was at Walmart the other day, and saw the new Nicole by OPI Modern Family collection.  I love Modern Family, and I like OPI, so hey, I picked up a couple.

Stand By Your Manny.  Pale pastel blue with a white shimmer.  This polish doesn't remind me of Manny at all.  Mostly because this polish was a streaky mess, and Manny is dependable!  Even after 3 coats, I was having balding patches, VNL, and it didn't dry evenly.

So, what is a girl to do?  Cover that mess with a beautiful glitter!  I picked up a few from the Wonderland collex by Models Own, and they are pretty awesome.  This is Southern Lights, one, maybe one and half coats.  I wanted to be able to see the blue underneath, but with 2 good layers, this would probably be opaque.

NOPI Alex By The Books.  Another color I really wanted to love - I'm a sucker for these minty greens.  Again, though, the formula was a nightmare.  It didn't level out, and was all lumpy and streaky.

So, I covered it with Models Own Juicy Jules, a scattered holo glitter.  I have quite a few similar polishes.  Nice formula, spreads evenly.  It makes the NOPI look pretty good, doesn't it?

The next two NOPIs I got at a Central Florida Beauty Blogger meeting.  I got to pick my own colors, and I absolutely love the ones I got.  Even though they were provided for review, my opinions are my own.

Back to Reality..TV.  I don't know much about the Kardashians, except that they're famous for being famous.  And Bruce Jenner, who, sadly, doesn't resemble his Olympic self anymore.  And I mean his face.

Anyway, I love polishes like these with a red shimmer.  You can even see it on the nail as well as the bottle.

Even though I liked it, I still have glitters to try, and I picked Northern Lights to go with this one.  I like the periwinkle and pink together.  Very soft and pretty!

Smile for the Glam-era.  This was, by far, my fave!  Deep eggplant purple, with sparkles.  I loved this one so much I actually wore it a few days later for Girls' Night Out, and paired it with a plum blouse. 

I suspected that Models Own Jack Frost would look best over a dark polish.  I am so drawn to these iridescent glitters and flakies.  This look is very *me*.

Bonus Models Own!  I couldn't resist picking up Hayley's Comet, a duochrome.  First, I applied (from index to pinky) Zoya Indigo, OPI Black Onyx, 2 coats of Hayley's Comet, and Wet 'n Wild Haze of Love.

Then, another layer of Hayley's Comet over everything.

I couldn't tell the difference between the blue and the black!  I actually liked it best over the reddish color, or by itself.  I liked the brown/nude tones, and not just all blue shimmer. 

Are you liking these glitters?  Would you rather go with the NOPI by themselves?  What would you recommend pairing with Hayley's Comet?