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Saturday, January 12, 2013

The Dregs Collection




The Dregs is a different sort of collection from Tough As Nails Lacquer. Featuring four lacquers, The Dregs Collection was conceived from my recent obsession with drinking tea, the underbelly of Victorian culture, and a desire for a more calming collection. The color palate in The Dregs is much softer, featuring two work-friendly glitters and two pale, shimmery crèmes.  I hope that you enjoy wearing the collection as much as I did making it. Topcoat is recommended with all four, with thicker topcoat recommended for Builder’s Tea and Magdalene Laundry Service, although they all look great mattified as well.
The Dregs Collection will be offered for domestic pre-sale, as sets only, from Sunday, January 13 to January 27.  You can purchase via Etsy or I can invoice you if you email me at toughasnailslacquer [@] gmail [dot] com.  A limited number of sets are ready to ship immediately, but if a large volume is ordered, please expect your purchase to ship within 5-7 days.  

Special promotional pricing with FREE SHIPPING is as follows:
  • Shorty Size Set: $20
  • Full Size Set: $30



BUILDER'S TEA
Builder’s Tea has a milky mauve-y/brown base with brown and caramel glitter disbursed throughout. It reaches opacity in 2-3 coats. 

Builder’s tea is strong, inexpensive tea served with milk and sugar, usually consumed by the working class. During the Victorian era, it allowed workers to stay on for longer shifts, giving them a break that provided sustenance to those whose meals did not contain as much caloric value as the upper class.

MAGDALENE'S LAUNDRY SERVICE
Magdalene's Laundry Service is a buildable, shimmering, milky, pale pink jelly with rose-colored dot and hexagonal glitter. It reaches opacity in 3 coats; those with long nails may experience some visible nail line. Magdalene's Laundry Service is also great layered over any number of pinks that are likely found in a collection.

During the 18th-20th centuries, if you were a prostitute, unmarried, too flirtatious, or even too pretty, you may have been sent to a Magdalene Asylum. Magdalene Asylums, or Magdalene Laundries, were institutions for the fallen women of society, located throughout Europe, Canada, and the US. The asylums were originally intended to rehabilitate prostitutes and other women back into society, sustaining themselves by offering laundry services, but became prison-like, where women experienced hard labor, forced periods of silence, and abuse.


EAST END GIRL
East End Girl is a dusty teal with a hidden blue shimmer. It reaches opacity in 2-3 coats.

Jack the Ripper, the Victorian Era’s most notable (and still unidentified) serial killer, operated in Whitechapel in London’s East End. East End Girl is an homage to the at least five women who suffered under Jack’s skilled and brutal hands. These women: Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly, are considered canonical victims of Jack the Ripper. All were prostitutes. While they were all viscously murdered, their deaths helped draw attention to the poor living conditions in the East End.

THE REDUNDANT WOMAN
The Redundant Woman is a rather peculiar color. Originally meant to be a pale purple, sometimes it has a tendency to appear gray or blue. Whatever shade it chooses to lean toward, it has a subtle pink shimmer. The Redundant Woman reaches opacity in 2-3 coats. 

Redundant women, also known as superfluous women, were the approximately 750,000 women in the UK during the 19th century who would remain unmarried because of a demographic imbalance in genders. 



Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Giveaway with Joby Nail Art!

I have a little confession. I'm terrible at nail art. Like, anytime I attempt to do anything it comes out looking like a 4 year old's art project, but not in a good way. So I was pretty excited when I was contacted by Joby Nail Art to see if I was interested in partnering up for a little giveaway. 

I was sent two different nail art sticker sets and opted to use the Gold set, meaning that the Hearts and Bows set is up for grabs in the giveaway!


Some facts from Joby:

Joby Nail Art is not a newcomer to the nail art trend.  They have been around since 2003, JOBY Nail Art is a place where you will find a variety of nail art products for your nail design needs. At JOBY nail art they strive to offer quality service and quality products for both the nail professional and the general consumer. Whether your preference is fun and funky with glitter nail art, gold nail art or flower nail art or a bit more modest, we are sure to have something for your style. Try out the latest trends with lace nails or do something new with 3D nail art supplies. Whatever your nail style may be, JOBY nail art gives you the freedom to make your statement. They offer how-to videos make applying the decals simple and hassle free so you will have beautiful nails in no time.

They offer free shipping on all domestic orders.  They ship international by USPS Priority Mail and qualifying orders receive free shipping. Completely awesome news!

Check their Facebook page or follow them on Twitter to keep up to date on new products, promotions and nail designs.


Now, onto the manicure! Like I said, I used the Gold Collection - Accent Ribbons.


I was a little nervous, but I followed the easy instructions on the back and everything went really well! (I did cut the ribbons so that I could get one bow per nail).


First I used two coats of OPI Don't Pretzel My Buttons. I let that dry completely and didn't apply top coat. Then I cut the bows out of the packaging, peeled off the back, and applied them to the tips of my nails. Easy! I finished everything off with a coat of topcoat. I don't remember the brand. Nothing special.


I was really happy with the results, although I think I'll need a little bit more practice since the bows aren't perfectly even with one another. However, I don't think the slight crookedness is something that anyone will notice unless they're right up on my nails.


I liked using Joby Nail Art a lot, and the lure of free shipping means that at around $3 a set, you get a lot of bang for your buck. The product is easy to use (like I said, I've never been good at nail art). This was my first time using any kind of nail sticker so I'm quite happy with everything and am excited to try  the other ribbons with different lacquers. 

And there's an absolutely adorable set of little owl nail stickers that I think I'm going to need to grab soon :)

Now, here's the giveaway! You'll win the item pictured below. This giveaway is open for those with a US address only. 


Just use Rafflecopter to enter! 


a Rafflecopter giveaway