GOT Polish Challenge - Skittle Me This, A-England!

Hello, Fireflies!

I'm a new member of the GOT (Golden Oldie Thursday) challenge.  If you're not familiar, the idea is to use older polishes (at least a year old) that just haven't gotten any love in a while.  I have been using so many untrieds, there are lots of Golden Oldies in my stash.

Still, I was uneasy doing a whole mani  - and a skittle at that! - without cracking open at least ONE untried. But, I did it.  And, boy am I happy I did.

Do you recognize any of these lovely holos?  These were among the first polishes I bought when I found myself interested in polish again.  I saw a pix of A-England Saint George, and FELL HARD.  Had to have it.  This was before I knew about nail polish blogs, or Facebook groups, so I did all the leg work myself.

Putting it on again was almost a spiritual experience! Talk about taking me back to my nail polish roots.

Aren't they cute with the little triangle studs? In order, from thumb to pinky, the polishes are:  A-England Ascalon, Lady Of The Lake, Tristam, Saint George, and Dragon.  Saint George is still one of my very favorite polishes, even if it is a little bit of a stainer.

Bottle shot:  A-England Ascalon, Lady Of The Lake, Tristam, Saint George, and Dragon.

Did you feel a little something special when you put on your first nail polish love?

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Nail Challenge Collaborative - Purple Funky Untrieds

Hello, Fireflies!

This month's NCC challenge is 'Untrieds'.  Well, that's the majority of what I do these days, so I'm happy with this theme!  I have a small, itty-bitty, teeny-tiny addiction to polish, and I always have a few hanging around that need some love.

Today's nail art was inspired from The Nail Boss Instagram. It's a simple look that I just fell in love with.  I started with Sinful Colors Who's The Gloss, a grey creme with a heavy purple shimmer, from the Sinful Shine line.  This polish immediately went into my top 10-ish list.  Love.

I free-handed a half-moon on top with Sheswai Totally, a red-violet creme.  I know it's completely superficial, but I really like the wood-grain caps.  Very au-naturel for a polish.

The Nail Boss did this art on an almond-shaped nail, and it looked even better... but I gotta work with what I got.  I applied Finger Paints Winter Chill, a black glitter texture on the tips.

I actually didn't realize it *was* a texture when I was doing this. It's hard to tell a texture from the bottle.  Well, I can't tell just by looking at the bottle.

I tried to keep the bow shape in the center by rounding the application of the glitter.  Isn't it cool with topcoat? I love the glitter tip.

Bottle shot:  Sinful Colors Who's The Gloss, Sheswai Totally, and Finger Paints Winter Chill

I love that it's so simple, but it's a little twist on the traditional half-moon, or even a traditional French tip! Do you have a favorite little twist you've done to change a more traditional nail art?

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Tri-Polish Mardi Gras!

Hello, Fireflies!

Happy Mardi Gras!

Well, color me happy! Color me green, blue, and purple, because those are the March colors for the Crumpet's Tri-Polish challenge!  This is my very first one, and I hope you like it.  Photographs really didn't capture the true, sparkly glory of this mani.

I started with GAP Sparkling Sea, an ocean blue with tiny red glitters.  This was a little patchy in two coats, but beautiful in three.  If I wasn't showing you this step, I would have stopped at 2, though, because the tips get covered up.

The next step was to add a gradient with Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer 2014.  $@#(%#$ camera and its distaste for purples.  This was so gorgeous in Real Life, with the purple shimmering with the blue, and the blue glitters in 2014.

I need a moment. SIGH.

The green on the very tips is Colors by Llarowe Behead The Drama Queen, a deep metallic emerald color.

What's better than a gradient? Flakies! Flakies are better than just about everything.  This is Island Girl Hawaiian Girl.  Yeah, the flakies are mylar shards, and there are some straight-up gold pieces in it, too.  Made me feel a little more Mardi Gras-like.

This nail art is so versatile! If you're reading this on Fat Tuesday, and celebrating Mardi Gras, you might think this is a totally appropriate mani for that!  Or, if you're reading this on another day, or at the beach, you might think this is a great mermaid-y mani. 

Or, you might be covering your face, crying, 'my eyes! my eyes! They burn!' and scrolling down as fast as possible.  I don't know.  There's no accounting for taste, really.

Bottle shot:  GAP Sparkling Sea, Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer 2014, Colors by Llarowe Behead The Drama Queen, and Island Girl Hawaiian Girl.

I actually took some of these pix with my regular camera, and some with my iPhone to try and capture the loveliness of this mani.  I *really* wanted to share it with you.  I would stare at it when I was driving in the car.  It was love.  Ever get really frustrated that you just couldn't capture something on camera?

An InLinkz Link-up

Blue and Grey and Dots and Studs #NailArtForNubs

Hello, Fireflies!

If you missed it, I had a post go live earlier today.  Click HERE to see my review of February's Beauty Box 5!

But now, for my #NailArtForNubs!  Today's look was inspired by Raggio di Luna dots and square studs nail art.  She does some of the most creative nail art, and I really love her style.

I started off with Paula Dorf Stormy, a light grey creme.  I picked up a few Paula Dorf polishes in a blog sale, and I've loved each one so far! Great formula.

On top, for a little sparkle, I layered NailNation 3000 Dancing In The Sky, a light grey holo.  I love how it adds a slight blue tinge.

I had some trouble lining up the dots in the center.  I tried to put a marker in the center (like on my thumb) with Julep Josephine, and then build the diamond on top of it.  This worked better for some nails than others.  Probably because some of my nails are wonkier than others!

Also, geometry is important, kids.  Stay in school.

I used Julep Char for the next set of dots, sweeping to one side..

And I used Julep Something Blue to make the dots that swept to the other side.

The original nail art used square studs, but I'm so in love with these triangle studs I just got, I had to use them instead.  I love a good stud.

Topcoat is essential for keeping a stud in its place.  All studs should be properly, um, restrained.  Use your imagination.

Bottle shot:  Paula Dorf Stormy, NailNation 3000 Dancing In The Sky, and Julep Josephine, Char, and Something Blue.

Hopefully, you're seeing through this series that even nubs are a playground for studs.. and nail art! No need to hide your hands because of short nails!

An InLinkz Link-up

Review - Beauty Box 5 February Box

(Stay tuned - my #NailArtForNubs post goes live at 9am Eastern!)

Hello, Fireflies!

I love subscription boxes, usually.  Always something fun to try!  This month's BB5 box wasn't my fave, though.  Here's the box:

It's a birthday-themed box this month! There's a coupon for $10 off a personalized necklace, which is a decent deal.. but I have one already that I never wear.  So, not for me.

One thing in my box that I haven't seen in other reviews is this Aveeno body wash.

It's milky, rather than clear, which makes me think it's going to be super rich or hydrating.  It was fine, but it didn't help my hubby's eczema at all.  It did smell amazing, though.  The lavender is very soothing and calming.  Definitely for those baths before bed!

I meant to try this It's So Big mascara from Elizabeth Mott, but I have 3 other mascaras open right now, and I couldn't do it.  I have seen other reviewers mention that it has an hourglass wand which they really liked.  I've even heard it suggested that the wand be saved after the sample is done to use with other mascaras, they liked it so much.  So, I'm looking forward to it!

I tend to not use these packet-type samples of shampoo for some reason.  At least there were two, so I can make sure to get enough for my long, crazy hair.  I don't wash my hair but once every 5-7 days, so when I do, I like to pour on the conditioner.  The last thing I need is a volumizing product, though! I did read one reviewer say that it worked nicely on their thick hair, so I'm hoping it will work for me. And, it comes with a pretty good coupon!

I was super excited about the Rockstar Nails duo.  I mean, nail polish! It's like a sub box finally listened to me and gave me polish and nail art stuff! But, watch out for Debby Downer here, because I was so not happy with this experience.

First of all, THE SMELL.  I know I've complained about bad-smelling polish in the past.  This ranks up there with Nanacoco.  Horrid.  Secondly, there were multiple problems with the packaging.  Check this out:

I've gotten nail polish bottles with bows before.  Usually, the bows are tied on, and can be slipped off.  Not these.  They are GLUED on.  By the time I realized they would be a problem, I already had wet nails.  The bow dragged several times into my wet polish.

I was annoyed.

Here's the one positive:  The color.  It's gorgeous, on-trend, and a one-coater.  Love this color.

So, let's try the nail art! I applied a slow-dry topcoat to the nail, and poured the beads on over a dappen dish.  So far, so good.  The beads stuck beautifully, they match nicely, and with another coat of topcoat, they stuck together.

But, how do you get the extras back in the bottle?  There's no funnel, and I don't have one small enough.  I tried to make one with paper, but the beads still went everywhere.  I hate wasting nail art stuff.  You'll definitely run out of beads before you run out of polish.  Not that I ever run out of polish.

Not one of my fave boxes, but not horrible.  Even though the shampoo isn't for my hair type, it's still a good brand.  I can see the body wash being useful to those who bathe at night before bed, or bathe young ones before bedtime.  I see this as the box of good intentions, but just falling short for me. 

What do you think so far of Beauty Box 5?  If you're interested in signing up with my referral link, click HERE.

Stay tuned - at 9am Eastern, my #NailArtForNubs post goes live!

Sunday Stamping - Purple and Orange

Hello, Fireflies! 

Today's stamping challenge is purple and orange.  I was stumped.  I don't think I've ever worn purple and orange together on my nails.  I couldn't even think of where to start!

So, I went for a holo.  Always a good place to start.  This is Aly's Dream Polish Electric Indigo.

Like a lot of purple-blues, my camera was all stubborn and refused to give me the right color.  This is close... it's a really lovely, bright blurple color.

I thought maybe an animal print was crazy enough for this color combo, so I picked this zebra-like print from Shany 22.

I didn't think 'zebra' when I picked it, but it stamped that way.  I used Kleancolor Metallic Orange for the stamp.  Love how the metallics stamp, though I did have a little trouble.

I decided to add Color Club Spiral Stars for some added orange - flakie! Too bad it was mostly lost in the stripes.  Boo.

Bottle shot:  Aly's Dream Polish Electric Indigo, Kleancolor Metallic Orange, and Color Club Spiral Stars.

Aren't these LSU colors?  I don't know, I don't follow college (or any) sports, really.  But for some reason, it's ringing a bell.  Would you wear purple and orange polish together?

Red Rainbow

Hello, Fireflies!

I have a very simple nail art for you today, just a glitter with a creamy accent.

This gorgeous black jelly with holo rainbow circle glitters is Jindie Nails Midnight Rainbow. I wish it were a tad more opaque - next time, I will probably use one layer of black creme underneath.

I thought that the dark red of Julep Anisa went really well with the glowing red circle glitters. I don't wear red very often, but I love blood reds like this one.

ETA (3/4) - Oops, forgot I had this pix of both hands! Nubbins!

Bottle shot:  Jindie Nails Midnight Rainbow, and Julep Anisa

Are you still loving the circle glitters, too? Or is the red cream more to your taste?