Garnet Gradient

Hello, Fireflies!

For me, the color of the season has been the wine/berry holo.  Every since Enchanted Polish's Mr. Burgundy hit the scene, I've been trying to get my sweaty hands on every wine holo I can find.

When Lacquer Lust put out their birthstone collection, I had to have Garnet.  It's perfection.

It really does look like a garnet - it's not too purple, not too red.  Just that balance that a garnet has.

When I saw this nail art by Nails by Regina, I thought it was so pretty, and thought maybe I could do something similar with all the wine/berry holos I've been collecting.

I just started layering holos with a Ruffian-type curve at the top.  Over Garnet, I used Colors by Llarowe Dirty Diana, and then CbL Unorthodox Annie over that.  I finished the tip with A-England Sleeping Palace.

Bottle shot:  Lacquer Lust Garnet, Colors by Llarowe Dirty Diana, CbL Unorthodox Annie, and A-England Sleeping Palace.

I love how they're all slightly different, but all are beautiful.  And I really like them all together in this gradient.  Have you also been lusting after wine holos lately?  What's your fave?

Fireside Glow #FallingForNailArt

Hi, Fireflies!

Welcome to today's second installment of the Falling For Nail Art challenge.  If you missed it, there is another post today!  I'm trying to catch up after, uh, forgetting about, building up the tension for the big push at the end! yeah!

Today's mani starts with some gorgeous polishes:  OPI I Knead Sourdough is ... well, it's hard to describe.  Sorta brown - sorta red, with a pinkish shimmer.  That's the technical description.  On the accent nails, I used Dior Blue Label, a navy creme.

The glowing glitter polish I used on top is Lynderella Glass Houses.

I never thought I would own a Lynn, really.  Too much drama in the past.  But when I saw one in a blog sale for a really reasonable price, I thought it was time to try one and see what the polish is about.

All the people drama aside, it's a nice polish.  I am a huge, HUGE fan of polishes that have that 'lit-from-within' glow, and Glass Houses does have that.  It applied nicely, and the glitters distributed evenly. 

I like the way the glitter blends in with the OPI, but I really like how it stands out over the Dior.  I do think it looks like a crackling fire!

Bottle shot:  OPI I Knead Sourdough, Dior Blue Label, and Lynderella Glass Houses

So.  Popped that cherry on Lynns.  It wasn't as big of a deal as I'd made it out to be.  I'm not a convert to the cult of Lynn, but it's a nice glitter, and I wouldn't mind trying others for a reasonable price.

Is there a polish you've been hesitating to try?

First Frost #FallingForNailArt

Hello, Fireflies!

I got a little busy with Real Life (what's that?) and totally forgot about this challenge!  I don't like bailing, though, so I've doubled up on some of the posts to make sure I finish before month's end.

That's right - you get two, TWO posts today.  Lucky you.

The first challenge mani today is "First Frost".  So, I went looking for something green - because here in Florida, everything is still green when/if we get a frosty morning.

Imagine my surprise to find that this glitter turned green!  I don't even know who made this Indie, but I remember it used to be a pretty good dupe for OPI Absolutely Alice...which is blue.  This is what a bleeding glitter looks like - all the formerly blue glitter is now silver, and the base, which used to be clear, is now a blue/green.

Luckily, I still like it, and it seemed perfect for today's mani. But I'm kinda bummed that it's no longer Alice-like.

I am absolutely loving this OPI Ski Slope Sweetie from the Mariah Carey holiday collection.  It's iridescent, with a gold shift.  The gold becomes opaque at times, and sometimes it just frosts whatever color is underneath.  Very unique!

Even though the OPI makes the mani look 'frosted,' I wanted to add a little more frost and texture.  So, I took a bottle of glitter and dusted parts of my nails with it.  The glitter catches the light like ice would, and it gave the mani a 3-D textured effect, like sugar crystals on top!

This angle makes it a little easier to see the 'frost'.

Bottle shot:  Alice Who? (Unknown Indie), OPI Ski Slope Sweetie, and some glitter.

Do you know who created that Indie?  Would you be upset that it changed so dramatically?

Don't forget - there's another #FallingForNailArt today!

Striped and Glittered Midnight Blue

Hello, Fireflies!

I've snuck in a few more blue manis lately, but this is the last "official" Fave color mani for this month's challenge.  It's been a lot of fun to see how many different types of dark blue polish I have.. and believe me, I have a lot more. 

This mani starts with a crelly blue I picked up from Urban Outfitters' Spirit Duo sale.  It's called, aptly enough, Midnight.  Isss sooo prettty.

I was inspired by this diagonal French tip mani I saw by Bedizzle, and I thought it would be interesting to pair Midnight with a glitter in the same family.  This is Orly Macabre Masquerade.

I have a lot of trouble getting striping tape to stay put, so I usually don't use it the way Bedizzle did.  Instead, I took a silver nail art striper and delineated between Midnight and the glitter.  And... well, I added another stripe, because that's how I roll.

Seems a shame to use so little of the glitter, because it's so pretty.  Maybe next time I'll give it at least an accent nail.

Bottle shot:  Urban Outfitters Midnight, Orly Macabre Masquerade, and a silver striper.

What's your favorite nail color?  How many different bottles of nail polish do you have in that color? Or do you buy backups of your one fave polish?

Shimmery, Pointy Midnight Blue

Hello, Fireflies!

I'm continuing with this month's challenge - my favorite color - with some more midnight blue goodness.

But first, I start with a light blue - SpaRitual Energy - a smooth, light robin's egg blue.  I love SpaRitual polishes. I love the cap, too.  Nice, soft, rubbery, and easy to use.

I saw this cool nail art in an ad for Jin Soon polish.  I wanted to try to recreate it.. kinda.  I wish I had better (and more) pictures, but my memory card got corrupted. 

I used tape and Sally Hansens Salon Nightwatch, a gorgeous midnight blue creme. This probably would have been easier if I'd done the dark blue first and then taped that off and put the light blue on top... but I wasn't sure the light blue was opaque enough.  Live and learn.

I just got some of these cool CND effects toppers, and wanted to try this look with CND Ice Blue Shimmer.  I love Nightwatch on its own, too, but it totally changes with the shimmer!

Blue, blue, blue bottle shot:  SpaRitual Energy, Sally Hansens Salon Nightwatch, and CND Ice Blue Shimmer.

Do you like adding effects like a shimmer?

Beauty Tuesday - Ellis Faas, and an inspired mani #TMSOrlando

Hi, Fireflies!

Out of allll the amazing things I saw at The Make Up Show Orlando, one of my favorites was the Ellis Faas booth.

In my blogger pack, I was given a sample of Ellis Faas mascara to try, but I couldn't leave without buying the 'Ellis Red' lipstick.  I was so impressed with both items, I knew they had to be my first review for you.. and I had to do an inspired mani!

I wanted to incorporate both the black mascara and the red lipstick, so I did a 'framed' mani using Finger Paints Black Expressionism and a red holo from Above The Curve called, Prototype Red.

Here's the bottle shot:  Above The Curve  Prototype Red and Finger Paints Black Expressionism.

On to the Ellis Faas lovelies - I dig the packaging.  Everything comes in these elongated silver bullet cases.

The end of the tubes tells you what the product is, though, so you don't have to open everything up to see what's what.

L101 is the Creamy Lips Ellis Red.  The applicator is a sponge, and the product comes out when you twist the barrel.  My only complaint about this packaging is that when I had this lipstick in my work bag, some of the product would invariably leak out of the sponge.  Fortunately, it's a thicker formula, so it didn't run anywhere, but I don't want to waste a drop!

Ellis Red mimics the color of natural blood.  The idea is, because everyone's blood looks the same, this color red won't clash with anyone's skin tone.  I find it very wearable, and have truly fallen in love with this color.  I find myself picking certain outfits just so that I can wear this lipstick.

The Ellis Faas mascara has also become my absolute favorite mascara to use.  The only downside for me is the extra-long wand.  If I'm not careful, I usually get a dab of mascara on my cheeks!  I'm pretty uncoordinated, though!

The formula on this mascara is the best I've ever used.  Not only does it cover well with no clumps, it feels amazing all day long.  My lashes never get crunchy or flaky.

At the end of a long day, my eyeliner is smudging, but my mascara isn't budging.  No dotty spots, no flakes.  Comes off with my makeup remover wipes!

Lipstick and mascara both by Ellis Faas.

On EllisFaas.com, the Creamy Lips retails for $35, and the mascara retails for $34.

Have you tried Ellis Faas?  What did you think?

Purple Roses and Dueling Unicorns

Hello, Fireflies!

I have a very purple sparkly post for you today!  I started with Enchanted Polish Purple Roses.  I didn't know it is a foil holo.  Very different. 

I recently purchased Different Dimension Dueling Unicorns, and I wanted to see if there were any similarities between the two purple holos.  Um, nope.

Boy, howdy, is it stunningly beautiful, though.  Royal purple holo goodness.

Putting more Purple Roses on the tip made it look like three different purple holos!

I love the transformation a simple black line makes. 

Bottle shot:  Enchanted Polish Purple Roses, Different Dimensions Dueling Unicorns, and a black nail art striper.

Are two purple holos better than one? I say yes!