The Midnight Blues

Midnight blue has been my fave color for as long as I can remember, so when Above The Curve came out with a polish called The Midnight Blues, it had to be mine.  I wasn't disappointed - it's very pretty!

Above The Curve The Midnight Blues.  Dark (though it could be darker) blue with scattered holo and cobalt blue shimmer.  Great texture, two coats.  Easy application, though it will bald on you if you try to apply the second coat before the first one has set up. 

Love that glow.  These pix were taken inside with my Walgreens special daylight lamp.  

Even looks great on my right-hand nubbins.

I wore it to match my outfit for Girls' Night Out.  This is at the END of the night, so I'm a little worse for wear, but I loved how the polish complimented my outfit.

If you'd like more information about Above The Curve, please check them out on Facebook.  They consistently give a portion of their proceeds to charity, usually the Shriners.  They also have a shop on Big Cartel, and one on Etsy.

Contagious Flames

I learned something about myself. 

With as many polishes as I have, if one of these Indies or bloggers say "I don't have anything else like this in my stash!"  I'm intrigued. Some blogger said that this silver isn't just a silver glitter, it's amazing, fantastic, different!

LynBDesigns Terribly Contagious. Yes, it has a bit of holo glitter in it, but its subtle.

It's a nice polish.  Very easy to use, opaque in a couple of coats, and the holo is a nice touch.  But, for all intents and purposes - it's silver glitter.  If you don't have one, I would recommend this one.  If you collect silver glitters, this is one you should have.  If you think it's going to be something other than a nice silver glitter... well...  you can decide for yourself.

So, I saw this mani from Tartofraises and thought it would look fantastic over Terribly Contagious.  This pix actually captures the colored holo bits pretty well.

It actually looks better in Real Life than I was able to capture in the photos.  I loved it so hard. 

I wish I could have gotten a better pix.  It was totally RAWKING.  I felt pretty badass for, well, me.

How many silver glitters do you need?  Is the holo bits enough for you to want this one?

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

Shiny, happy, purple

One pretty purple yesterday, and today, I have a trifecta of pretty purples for you. Oh, boy!

Tough As Nails Purple Twilight.  If you look closely, you'll see individual purple and pink microglitters, but they just blend together into this pinky-purple shiny goodness.  Easy formula, really pretty.

It doesn't even really look like a 'glitter' polish - almost like a glass fleck.

Jindie Nails Purple Rainbow.  This is a scattered holographic polish with a pink shimmer.  Another lovely polish.

The pink shimmer is most obvious where the light hits, up at the top of the nail in this pix.

But, I may have saved the best for last.  A polish I've had on my wishlist for awhile, bought 'dupes' of, but couldn't get the original off my mind.  And that's what this polish is - an Original.

OPI DS Original.  One of the landmark polishes of the OPI DS holographic collection.  What can I say that hasn't already been said?

After I wore it for a couple of days (unheard of these days, where I change my polish daily, if not more often) I tried stamping over it to preserve the polish just...one...more...day...

Yeah, I know.  Ruined.  I can't leave you with that image.

Ahhh, better.  Deep breaths.  What's your favorite purple polish?

If you'd like more information about Tough As Nails Lacquer, you can find them on Facebook and Etsy.
If you'd like more information about Jindie Nails, they can be found on Facebook and her webstore.

A Dance with Texture and Shimmer

Long-time readers of mine will surely remember that last Thursday, I had a guest post from Julie of Wishes of a Blue-Eyed Girl.  I know, I can't remember what I had for breakfast last, not to mention last Thursday.  She did a comparison post, and I contributed a couple of pictures of Pantone Parachute Purple.:

And, while not a dupe for the polishes she had, it's pretty.  And I was just inspired by the beautiful green shimmer.

I had also just seen this manicure by Superficially Colorful, and I loved it.  So, I pulled out my reinforcement stickers, and my new Dance Legend Malachite, which is a textured polish, and created this:

Without topcoat, you can see the 3-D texture of the green glitter, and I love how it blends into the green shimmer in Parachute Purple.

Bottle shot: Pantone Universe Parachute Purple, and Dance Legend Sahara Crystal Effect in Malachite.

This was a fun way to dress up Parachute Purple, and it only took a reinforcement circle, which you can find almost any place office/school supplies are sold.  If you try it, I hope you post on my Facebook page!

Something Different Sunday - Best Blog Award!

I feel truly honored to have received THREE nominations for the Best Blog Award.  For a long time, it felt like I was talking to myself out here!  Ok, some days, it is still hard to believe that more than ten people check this blog out.  I can't even say that only my mom reads this... because my mom can't figure out the iPad we gave her, and doesn't understand this nail art thing anyway.

Anyhoo, it's very gratifying to get acknowledgement from your peers that you're doing something right.

I was nominated by:  I Love Nail Candy, The Polish Playground, and Colorful Cupcake Cat. 

These are the rules:

1. Answer the questions asked by the blog who nominated you.
2. Nominate up to 20 other blogs with less than 200 followers.
3. Create 11 questions for them to answer.

I love Nail Candy’s Questions for the Nominees

1. What's your favorite brand of nail polish?  It’s hard to pick just one.. but if pressed, I suppose I’d go with the brand that ignited my passion for polish as an adult – A England

2. How is your polish stash arranged?  Mostly by color, but with Indies, glitters, and holos separated.

3. Besides nail art, what are your other hobbies? My dogs.

4. What's your favorite cuisine? Thai, but really just because Pad Thai is my fave.

5. How often do you change your manicure? Usually every day, sometimes multiple times a day... sometimes, though, I'll go nekkid for a few days.

6. What's your favorite mani on your blog? One I did recently has risen in the ranks – bright flowers over a darkgreen gradient.  

7. Do you play any musical instruments? I used to play both the piano and the saxophone.  Been awhile, though!

8. What's your favorite color?  Midnight blue

9. What's your favorite nail art technique? Painting freehand flowers, because they're always perfect, no matter how jacked up they are.

10. Matte or glossy?  Both, but I do glossy more often.

11. What are your tips regarding nail care?  Moisturize more than you think you need to.  I use an oil blend I created based on Jojoba and grapeseed oils, and follow up with a lotion and/or coconut oil.  It’s important to hydrate as well as use oil.

Polish Playground’s Questions for the Nominees
 

1. Do you have any siblings?  Yes, I have a brother who is 5 years older than me.

2. What's your guilty pleasure?  Mtv's Teen Mom & The Real World

3. What's your zodiac sign? Aquarius

4. What's your favorite color? Midnight blue.

5. Your favorite genre of music to listen to? Top 40/Pop... and 80s.  I'm a child of the 80s.
 

6. What's your one favorite nail polish at the moment? Orly Sparkling Garbage

7. What was your first ever nail polish you bought?  No clue.  The one that got me back into polish as an adult was A England St. George.

8. What colors do you have the most of in your collection?  Blue, maybe green.

9. What's your favorite nail polish finish to wear? Holo

10. What's your most expensive nail polish that you own?  Probably OPI DS Original

11. Do you prefer short or long nails? Short to medium..

Colorful Cupcake Cat’s Questions for the Nominees

1. What is your favorite movie? Diggstown.  You've probably never heard of it, but go find it.  Awesome con-man movie.

2. How many nail polishes do you own? No idea.  Likely between 1-2k

3. Do you have any pets? 4 dogs. (Bodie, Banjo, Pax, and Lena)

 
4. What nail polish are you longing for at the moment? Enchanted Love the Way You Lilac
 

5. Have you traveled to other countries? Mexico and Canada
 

6. What base coat and top coat are you using? OPI Nail Envy and Seche Vite
 

7. Do you read? What kind of books? Yes, I can read.   Usually they are either about dogs, or things that get made into chic flicks.

8. What made you decide to start your blog? Friends giving me grief about nail polish pix on my facebook.
 

9. Could you live without a TV? Only if I could watch all my shows on the Internet.
 

10. Chocolate or gummy bears? Please.  Chocolate-covered gummy bears.
 

11. Do you collect anything? Besides polish?  I have way too many shoes and purses.  Does that count?

 Lit From Within’s Questions for the Nominees

1.  If you had to wear one polish forever, what would it be and why?

2.  If you could only put on one item of makeup before leaving the house, what would it be?

3.  What is the one thing you keep that you treasure?

4.  Do you have any pets?  Do you put polish on them?

5.  What is your favorite skin or cuticle care product?

6.  What is (or would you like to be) your spirit animal?

7.  What is your number one polish lemming?

8.  What is the craziest thing you would do to get that number one polish lemming?

9.  What's your fave polish trend or nail art?

10.  What is one thing you carry on you when you leave the house (i.e. in your pocket or purse) that you think everyone should keep with them?

11.  What is one thing you have on your 'bucket list'?

If you made it to the bottom of this post, BRAVO!  

If you'd like to be nominated for the Best Blog Award, please leave your blog info on my Facebook page.  

If you don't or can't be nominated, but you still want to answer the questions, please feel free to do so either on my Facebook page, or here in the comments! 

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?

Combo of Challenges - (neon) yellow polka dot bikini

I accept the Challenge(s)!

This month, I am participating in the Nail Challenge Collaborative NEON challenge, and the EcoPolo Summer Challenge.  So, I'm combining the two when possible.  I find it even MOAR challenging! *evil laugh*

I started with a coat of Cult Nails Tempest, which I've shown you before, and if you want to see it again, you can check out my Black and White post here.  Heck, if you haven't seen it before, you should.  It's a good post.  I'm not biased, either.

Salon Perfect Jolt.  Sunny yellow and orange matte glitters in a yellow base.  Neon, so it dries matte.  Needed three layers to get opaque, so next time I'll layer it over a yellow neon. 

Here's the Polka-Dot bikini part!  I dotted with OPI Black Onyx and a neon orange and neon yellow from Pink Cookie.  Ok, I have no idea who makes Pink Cookie, but LOOK AT THE SKULL.  You know that's why I bought it (At TJMaxx, in a neon collex you'll be seeing over the month.)

And, with topcoat, because I was curious how the glitter looked topcoated.  You see, it's a neon *textured* polish.  Yeah, that's right.  Run to Walmart, because that's the place that carries them.  I understand they're made by the same people who make China Glaze, and the Salon Perfect line does have a few dupes for some China Glaze colors.

Bottle shot.  The Pink Cookie neon orange is just about the same color as the orange in the glitter.  At first, I was like, "whoa!" but then I was like, "whoa."  I guess that's not all that impressive, now that I think about it.  After all, how many shades of neon orange are there?  At this point, I'm guessing one.

So, how did I do?  Are you feeling the polka-dot and neon together?  I hope you enjoy the other challenge manis I have for you this month, and how I combine them. 

Please check out these other NEON challenge manis from The Nail Polish Challenge Collective!