Body Blur and Glow! #VitaLiberata

Press Sample.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

As a pasty-white kid, growing up, I so desperately wanted to be tan.  I tried laying out with baby oil, and other tan-enhancing products, and I would just burn and peel.  When I tried my first 'sun-less tanning' product, it left me orange.  So, I learned to accept my translucent skin, and it was even trendy to be pale for awhile.

While I'm okay with being pale, there are times when I want to have a natural glow.  I was apprehensive about fake tanning products, for fear of the Cheetos Radioactive look, but I've been impressed with many natural-looking products that are available now, like the new Body Blur from Vita Liberata!

Care and Repair Your Skin With #BioBasics

Press Sample.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

In my never-ending quest for the elusive HG face serum, I've come across the interesting Bio Basics Repair Serum, which claims to be created from Nobel-prize winning research, and helps repair skin from environmental damage.

Glitter: Above and Below

 Hello, Fireflies!

Happy Independence Day to my USA readers! Happy Saturday to everyone else..  I actually don't have a patriotic mani for you today, but if you're missing the stars and stripes, check out my Wonder Woman mani I did last month!

Today's manis - yes, TWO - are showcasing two of the many ways I use glitter!

Sea and (Vitamin) C moisturizer!

Press Sample.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

I'm back with another Oz-some OZ Naturals product.  *ba-dum-bum* Thanks, folks, I'll be here all week.

Previously, I reviewed some of their gel-tastic skincare, and a lotion great for skincare and massage.  Today, I have their Sea-infused, herbal moisturizer with Vitamin C, Algae Keratin Extract, and Blueberry Extract.

Long Live Seche and Live Love Polish!

Some product sent for review, some purchased by me.  All opinions are my own.

 Hello, Fireflies!

If you know polish, then you probably know Seche Vite.  It's one of my very favorite top coats because it's thick and glossy and it dries fast.  Did you also know that Seche makes regular polish?  I have some I'd like to show you!

Nail Files.. and a little Face Friday - Think Pink!

Hello, Fireflies!

Today is all about pink.  And it's not even Wednesday, I know!  I couldn't wait.  Look at this gorgeous, bright, summery pink - Seche Snapdragon.  Perfect for showing off the tan I don't have and never get.

On its own, Colors by Llarowe Look At Me I'm Sandra Dee is pretty opaque.  It has such a lovely pink glittery look, I thought it would go well with Snapdragon.

When you order nail art silver beaded chain, you have to cut it yourself.  I wish I could have filmed this, because it was a comedy of errors!

1) You can not affix it to your nail first and then cut it.  Or at least, I can't.

2) If you count how many beads you need to go across your nail, take into account that you're curving the bead strand.

3) These beads are freakin' tiny. Your old eyes will miscount.  Count twice, cut once.

4) Use tweezers.  Slippery Little Suckers.

I never had a Quinceañera, but if I did, I think I would have worn these nails. 

Princess nails!

Bottle shot:  Seche Snapdragon, and Colors by Llarowe Look At Me I'm Sandra Dee.

I've been playing with makeup a little more lately, and thought I'd show you this pink eye (not pinkeye) look with Urban Decay Noise, Mushroom, and Rebel (24/7 sticks) and Mally eyeliner, and Rimmel Scandal Eyes mascara.

I've been inspired by some of the bloggers to use a brighter pop of color that I wouldn't ordinarily use! I like it.

I'm also wearing Cover FX BB Gel in P-Light/Medium over the Cover FX sunscreen primer, Urban Decay Jilted lip gloss, and - I think - Tarte Shimmering Poppy blush, with Hourglass Ambient Light Mood finishing powder.

Are you liking the chain nail look? or the pink makeup look? Would you rather a blog post focus on just one or the other?

Aly's Melon Balls of Steel Blue #NailArtForNubs

Hello, Fireflies!

Sometimes, I put together a few polishes, and I'm not sure where I'm going when I start, but something kinda cool happens when I figure it out.  I didn't know what I was doing when I started this nail art - and some of you might argue that I didn't know what I was doing when I finished, either... but I like it!

I started out with Aly's Dream Polish Melon, a pretty, feminine peachy-pink scattered holo.  I love that it's not so pink, and it's not quite peach, either.

I added Aly's Dream Polish Deep Steel Blue, leaving Melon as a half-moon detail.  I really like layering holos together, especially from the same brand, because the texture just continues through both polishes!

I wasn't sure that this metallic pink striper would look good, but I'm glad I tried it! I think it's awesome and bright and cheerful. I added the white in the spiked detail for some contrast.

The metallic pink almost looks like striping tape, it's so opaque and shiny.

Bottle shot: Aly's Dream Polish Melon and Deep Steel Blue, and nail art stripers in metallic pink and white.

I love getting inspiration from other nail artists, but sometimes I surprise myself and come up with something I love all by myself! Have you ever created a look - either an outfit, or makeup, etc, and were just pleased with what you came up with?

An InLinkz Link-up

In case you missed it, I reviewed both March and April's Ipsy bags earlier today! Click here to go to the post!

I'm Russian to Get Gold Claws

Hello, Fireflies!

When Rescue Beauty Lounge had a 50% off sale, I couldn't believe it.  Even at that price, they're not cheap, but I couldn't resist getting a few.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Black Russian is right up my alley - dark, molten blackish-red with a red shimmer.  Vampy, yet glowy.

I'm getting better at free-handing straight or diagonal lines, but I'm not as good with the rounded ones.  For a half-moon mani, I decided to use these tape reinforcers as a guide.  They're just regular hole-reinforcers for punched paper, like you would put in a 3-ring binder.  I've found them in the office supply section of Walmart or Target.

OPI Love.Angel.Music.Baby has quickly become one of my fave polishes this year! That gold satin finish slays me.

I didn't want to put topcoat over that satin finish, so I had to figure out something else to do to finish this mani.  I dug around in my studs and found these awesome gold teardrops. 

With studs, placement can make all the difference.  With this orientation, and overlapping over into the gold, it make me think of cat's claws.  Rowr!

Bottle shot:  Rescue Beauty Lounge Black Russian, OPI Love.Music.Angel.Baby

Do you like to play with studs?  On your nails, I mean.  With all studs, don't you find that placement makes all the difference?

Dotty Art Deco

Hello, Fireflies!

I reached into the way-back depths of my Pinterest page to find this nail art that I've always meant to do.  Unfortunately, I was duped again and sent to an advertisers page when I clicked on the link!  I have no idea who this nail art idea belongs to, but if you do, please let me know so that I may give credit where it belongs.

I started with a beautiful polish with a weird name:  Nails, Inc Chelsea Physic Garden.  I don't know what kind of a garden a physic garden is.  Is it supposed to be psychic?  Still not sure what that is - a fortune teller's garden?

It looks like the original artist used tape for this next step, but I was feeling ballsy, so I freehanded it.  Free-falling is more like.  I don't think I would know a straight line if it bit me on the butt.

After painting the lower 2/3 of my nail with Nails Inc Primrose Park, I dotted in some larger squovals that touched the top, and some smaller dots along the cuticle.
 

Then I took Chelsea Physic Garden and dotted a smaller circle inside the squarish-ovals.  I can't decide if this is more tribal-looking or art deco, but I went with Deco, because of the alliteration with Dotty.  I can't pass up good alliteration.

I really like the effect of dotting the background color inside a larger contrasting color.  Makes it look like I am *really* good at drawing tiny lines.  I like anything that makes me look better than I really am. 

And, here's the bottle shot:  Nails, Inc Chelsea Physic Garden and Primrose Park.

When I first started doing nail art, I never would have thought that this design would be doable, but if you break it down into smaller parts, it's pretty easy.  If you try it, I'd love to see your version on my Facebook wall!

Mentality Half-Moon

Hello, Fireflies!

I hope you enjoyed Black Friday like I did! whew! I'm exhausted and broke, and I didn't even leave the house.  The Interwebs are a fine, fine invention!

Today's mani was inspired by one done by my friend Stephanie at A Little Polish.  When I saw it, I knew I had to do something similar.  Her manis are sooo beautiful, though!

I started with China Glaze Keep Calm..Paint On, a lovely mint green creme with a subtle shimmer.

After the base coat was *completely* dry, I used a piece of clear tape to mark off a straight 'half-moon' and then painted the rest with Mentality Kindness, a beautiful teal-green holo with a duochrome shift to purple.

Then, I placed a small rhinestone in the center of each nail, and hex glitters on either side.  I don't know how people do those manis with whole nails - or whole hands - of glitter placed one by one.  I was tired after doing just one line on both hands. 

I felt so fancy-shmancy with this mani.  Something about all those sparklies.

Look, Ma, both hands!

Bottle shot: China Glaze Keep Calm..Paint On, Mentality Kindness, rhinestones from Cult Nails, and glitter.

Have you done a mani with individually placed glitters?  Do you think it's worth the effort? This one was totally worth it for me - I loved it.

The Dark Side Has... Unicorns?

Hello, Fireflies!

I have a treat today - it was a treat for me to wear, and I hope it will be a treat for you to see.  Holos from a new Indie - Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer.  If you aren't following Wishes of a Blue-Eyed Girl, I think you should be.  As long as you keep following me, too.  Yeah... yeah!

This is Blue-Eyed Girl The Dark Side Has Cookies, a dove-grey linear holo.  It's pretty sheer, and does remind me of wearing a holo topcoat on its own, but it's not that sheer, and it's a bit more grey.

I love grey and pink together, so I paired it with the soft jelly pink of Essie Shop Till I Drop.  This is a pretty sheer jelly, so I laid it on rather thick for this mani.

I also added some studs I received in my Winstonia July Grab Bag.  Too cute! 

Next up, an LE polish that she's no longer selling (sorry!) Elusive Unicorn.

This one is also a little sheer, but the formulas were both so nice, you could probably put on as many coats as you wanted.

I wanted a little more in-your-face pink, so I added a V-gap with LA Girl 3-D Dazzling Pink, a hot pink scattered holo.

V-gaps are pretty easy, and I could have added more definition by adding some black with a striper, or even some dots, but I loved this just as it is.

I don't normally wear tons of pink, but I enjoyed both of these looks a lot!  If you'd like more information about Wishes of a Blue-Eyed Girl, she can be found on Facebook, and her blog.

Are you thinking pink?  Or wishing like a blue-eyed girl?

Windestine-a-palooza

I love a good sale, so when Windestine had one, I picked up some pretties that I'd been looking at for awhile.

Frozen Wilderness.  I saw this on a friend's nails, and fell in love, hard.  It was almost painful to have to wait for this one.  I don't know why, but I love coppery glitters.  This is with no undies, and there is great glitter distribution and no VNL.  Wonderful formula!

I decided to embellish with a half-moon mani using Kleancolor Metallic Orange and a black striper.  I thought this was fun and cute.

Bottle shot, on its end.  Ta-da!

I ended up with a few other orange and orange-like variations of glitter, too.  This is Twirling Upwards with an accent of Frozen Wilderness.  Love that juicy orange and gold glitter.

I received Peach Ice as a mini, but actually bought it as a full-size with the sale.  I love these peachy-melon colors, and the light glitters are a nice touch.

Leilani is a coral crelly with pastel glitter.. you can see the orange and orange-like theme, though, can't you?

The accent nail on that mani was Crushed Rose in Spring, and here it is on its own.  This green is pretty unique in my collection - it's not an icy mint, nor a grass green.  It's like a crelly pistachio?  Not sure what to call it.

Pond Patrol and Coraline.  Pond Patrol is a glitter-packed grassy green.  It does evoke the vision of a pond choked with lily pads!  This color is rich enough to compete with the amount of glitter, and it all distributes well on the nail.

Coraline came as a free mini, and I'm so glad I got to try it!  Such a vivid punch of coral!  It's very bright, though not neon.  Great summer color.

On A Clear Night. Honestly, I must own a dozen of these black polishes with scattered holo glitter.  They sucker me in *every* time, each one more beautiful than the last.  If you don't own one already, this is a good one! 

So many great polishes from this brand, and the hits keep on coming.  Not a dud in the bunch!  Did you have a fave or fave combination?

If you'd like more information about Windestine, you can find her on Facebook and Etsy.