Ancient Greek Remedy.... That Isn't Windex! #AncientGreekRemedyOil

Press Sample.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

If you're a fan of the movie, 'Big Fat Greek Wedding," like I am, you probably understand that when I saw this bottle of Ancient Greek Remedy, my first thought was, "Windex!"

MiaMariu Says Relax #MiaMariu

Product provided for review.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

Lately, I've been writing more and more about my passion for oils - coconut, argan, and essential oils, among others.  Today's post is about a blended aromatherapy oil from Mia Mariu, with some of the best qualities of many oils!

Smelling (Insta)Naturally Good! #essentialoils

Product provided for review.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

My little world mostly consists of a small house with four dogs, so it isn't always the best smelling place to be.  InstaNatural Essential oils can help me turn that stank into a delightful smell - and so many other things, too!

Staycation? Eye Pillow Vacation! #eyepillowvacation

Product provided for review.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

I enjoy aromatherapy, and I've enjoyed using sleep masks, so I thought this lavender eye pillow from Eye Pillow Vacation would be the best of both worlds!

Another Pink Wednesday

Hello, Fireflies!

I'm feeling secret-club-ish today, so I'm using our code name.  The polishes I have for you today aren't very secret, though some of the Indies may not be as well-known.

Lex Cosmetics Tuilleries.  I don't know how to pronounce it, either.  I looked it up, and apparently, if it's spelled with only one 'L' it's the name of a Royal Parisian Palace that was on the river Seine.  With the 2 Ls, it's apparently a common typo for the Palace - or something on page 2 of Google search, but who looks there?
  

I can't decide if I like it with the delicate, see-through pink base, or if it should have undies.  It's so pretty, like spun sugar.

Julep Helen and Barbara.  Ok, I think Helen is actually lavender, but I topped it with Barbara, a mix of pink glitters.

These are some older pix I took, and I almost didn't want to post them, but I think it's interesting to see how I've progressed with my nail care and photos.  Though I do sometimes regress.

Isn't Barbara pretty?  I love the flashes of the different bright pinks, and maybe even a purple in there?

 

Nail Sauce by Felifel Hot Heart.  This is a really glittery, scattered holo pink and red extravaganza!  It's a real attention-getter.  Application was great, no undies.  I didn't want to take it off.

I wish I could have done a better job capturing the bling.  It's quite pretty.

If you'd like more information, Lex Cosmetics can be found on Facebook and on the web.  Nail Sauce also has a Facebook page and a shop.

So, what are you in the mood for today?  Delicate and sweet, a delicate base with bling, or all-out BLING? 

Oh, Orly FX - Part II

If you remember from yesterday, I showed you two polishes from the Orly FX line, and how to create more colors, if you wanted.  If you don't remember, it's still there, don't worry.  Go look, and I'll be waiting right here when you get back.

Plum Pixel.  This is a very light purple, with heavy silver tones.

Aqua Pixel.  True to its name, I think.  I like that it's not too light; not too dark.

For this nail art look, i was inspired by a look from Polish Amour.   I started my version with Cult Nails Tempest, which is quickly becoming my go-to white for the base of nail art.

Then I took a nail art brush and painted stripes of all the 4 different Orly FX colors, leaving some of the white at the top.

I did partial stripes, full stripes, thinner and thicker ones - whatever I wanted.  This look is so easy, and everything goes.  I even tried it with topcoat to see how it looked.  If you don't like the feel of the texture, topcoat smooths everything out.

Bottle shot:  Black Pixel, Plum Pixel, Aqua Pixel, and Rose Pixel.

So, are you a fan of these textured polishes?  Do you like the sparkle or prefer it toned down with topcoat?

Quick! Like a bunny..hare!

Hare is one of those Indies that made a splash B.Me.  (Before Me)  I had no idea about them, but when she came back, everyone was looking forward to her return.  I can see why,  I've really liked her creations that I've tried.

Cast In Bronze.  Reddish-purple jelly with bronze glitters.  There is a little bit of curling on the squares in this polish, but it hasn't affected the polish performance yet.  Certainly no taco glitters.

I added a swirl at the tip with Amy's Nail Boutique New Penny, a copper holo that matched the bronze glitters perfectly!  For a little contrast, I took my trusty black striper and added a swish and a couple of dots.

Impala Inocense.  I love Impala polishes.. from the bottle to the formula and colors.  This one is very sheer, though, so it worked great as undies for King of Carat Flowers.

King of Carat Flowers.  Love!  Delicate, pretty, great formula, no fishing for glitter.  I love a great understated glitter that is also interesting.  Gold, purple, lavender, and different shapes.

Electric Flame.  This one probably could have used undies, too, but I kinda didn't care.  Squishy orange!  With pink flakies!  I did not want to take this one off.  I really liked it.

I couldn't resist a little 3-D glitter - shaped like a hare. 

Supernova Springs.  Blackened jelly with dark green glitter.  It just looks like you could go swimming in it..

Bury the Hatchetfish.  This may well be my fave Hare polish.  This is a surprising polish!  I thought it was just going to be another taupe, but the flakies really take it to another level.

Both of the flakie polishes get even better with some topcoat. 

I've known I like flakies, but BTH and EF make me love them even more.  Are you a fan of the flakie?

If you'd like more information about Hare, you can find her on Facebook and on her Etsy store or webpage.

Sweet, Dangerous Hemlock!

There have been a couple of polishes that Illamasqua stopped producing and then brought back when the lacquer mafia clamored for more!  Along with Illamasqua Raindrops, another discontinued and reissued polish was Hemlock.  I was happy to get this one, too!  The base builds up to a semi-transparent nude, and the green glow is amazing.  Maybe it should be called Absinthe, not Hemlock!

 Illamasqua Hemlock.

A little striping tape and a layer of Revlon Trendy add something fun!  I love how you can still see the green glow peeking out.

There's been some hatin' on Zoya Bevin lately on the Facebook groups, and I wanted to do something pretty with it to redeem poor, tarnished Bevin.  I found this nail art by Robin Moses that I thought would do the trick.  I started with an uneven French tip of Bevin over Hemlock.

Cherry blossoms!  Robin's tutorial explains the process better than I could.

Here's all the colors I used.  Base of Illamasqua Hemlock, tip of Zoya Bevin.  Branches are Zoya Cheryl, and the flowers are a mix of Julep Glenn (metallic red) and Helen (pastel lilac).

Do they look like cherry blossoms to you?  A lot of my flowers are a little more abstract than I'd like!  I loved this look, though.

Are you a fan of polishes like Hemlock that are iridescent?  Do you think Bevin looks pretty like this?

Ahhh! Refreshing Mint!

I recently ordered three colors from Mint's premiere collex, and I have to say, I'm pretty impressed.  All three colors applied wonderfully, glossy, self-leveling, and I loved all the colors.  I even did some nail art, and they worked great for that, too!

Original Mint.  I am a sucker for a clever name, and what's more clever than an homage to your own brand? 

The bottles are pretty cute, too!  I used Bleeker St. Babe as well as Original Mint for my art.

I thought the olive green reminded me of plant fronds, so I painted in some long, simple fronds.  The highlight was made by mixing in a little white with Bleeker St. Babe.

Bleeker St. Babe.  And, speaking of, here's a swatch of just Bleeker St. Babe, a lovely olive green.

 I decided to pair it with Lavender Macaron for a simple striped nail art inspired by this look done by The Polish Squirrel (only I didn't use tape). 

I'm not much of a perfectionist anyway, but I kinda liked the 'rustic' look of the messier stripes.  Kind of a 'homespun' look, if you will.  (or, just messy.  I'm not proud.)

Lavender Macaron.  These pastels are hot, hot, hot this spring, and I'm loving them. Pastels are notoriously troublesome; this one was less so than most, but not as nice as the two greens from this collex.

A final bottle shot of all three bottles:

I can't help it, I love chevrons, and before I knew it, I was using all three colors together in a chevron pattern.  I really like it when I can buy different colors from a collection, but they can still be used together.

So, what do you think of Mint Polish?  Any faves?  Are you tired of all of these colors already, or do these have something fresh to them?

If you're interested in finding out more about Mint Polish, you can find them on Facebook and on their webpage.

Sunday Stamping - light over a dark base - with NailNation 3000

I love stamping... but lately, it hasn't loved me back!  Another week where I can't get my stamping to go on straight...

I loved the polishes I used, though!  The theme this week is light on dark, so I started with NailNation 3000 Linger, a brownish-plummy holo.  Love colors like this, and NailNation holos are among my faves.  Lots of color and depth.

I used my Jumbo Cheeky plate and another NailNation holo, Mozelle, to stamp a stripe of bordered roses.  Such a delicate stamp, and a delicate color.  Mozelle is a light lavender-leaning nude.  Today wasn't as sunny as I'd like, but you can still see the rainbows!

I dabbed a little color on the roses with a third NailNation polish, Eve.   Eve is a cobalt blue holo with sparkles.  I just wanted a little bit of color in the roses. 

Stamping definitely takes practice to find good combinations.  At least in this case I really like the individual polishes even if I didn't put together a great stamped mani.  Live and learn!

Currently, you can find NailNation 3000 polishes on her facebook page (there is an album with all the polishes currently for sale - send her a message, and she will invoice you on Paypal.)  Or, you can go through Llarowe.  If you like holos, you need to check hers out!  She uses lots of different grits of holo, so her polishes have lots of depth.

Do you love holos, too?