New Lacquers!

Over the past few months I've been toiling away, making new polishes and the following six are the results. I'm very happy with them and hope that you are, too! They can all be purchased in my Etsy shop.

Remember that 10% of all sales during the month of November are going straight to Soldiers' Angels, a nonprofit ". . . with the mission to provide aid and comfort to the men adn women of the United States Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and their familiars and to enable [their] volunteers to improve the lives of a growing veteran population."

My brother was killed in action on 6 November 2010 and so the military is very near and dear to my heart. The donation is going to be made in his memory. 

 

Warning: Picture heavy post below! Click "read more" for all of the beauties.

This is Halloween Nail Art Challenge October 1: Horror Movies

Okay here is my first try at public nail art. It's not the best, but I only recently decided to participate in this challenge and it actually happens to honor my favorite horror film -- Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds.

The first time I watched The Birds was during some sort of AMC 30 Days of Halloween marathon. I was home alone and completely sick with a cold. During a particularly suspenseful scene, I realized that I was suddenly gasping for breath because I had literally forgotten to breathe. No gross out moments, just really amazing suspense that builds throughout the film.

Sorry in advance for the crappy photography. I really wanted to make sure I started the challenge on time so I was rushing last night.

Here are the colors I used:

From left to right: Misa Grey Matters; OPI Skull & Glossbones; China Glaze Sea Spray; Zoya Dovima.

I started off with one coat of Grey Matters and added on Skull & Glossbones and Sea Spray in a sort of haphazard manner to mimic a gloomy day by the water.

Then I used a dotting tool and Dovima to create my little birds.

Watch out they might come and get you!

Kawaii Nail Lacquer: Gryffindor

Today I have another great lacquer from Kawaii Nail Lacquer. This one is Gryffindor, also from the Harry Potter collection. 

 

Gryffindor is a clear topcoat with red hexes and squares and gold hexes, squares, and bars. 

I started off my manicure with OPI Danke-Shiny Red, a red lacquer from OPI's Fall 2012 Germany collection. The bottle shot leans a little more orange than Danke-Shiny Red actually is, but the swatch reads more true to life.

 This is two coats of Danke-Shiny Red, no topcoat.

I used two coats of Gryffindor over Danke-Shiny Red and then applied a coat of Seche Vite topcoat.

Application of Gryffindor was good. I was able to get a good mix of the different glitter shapes on my nails and nothing was curling. I like the red-on-red in this manicure and think that the glitters in Gryffindor pull out more of the high shine that Danke-Shiny Red has on its own.

Kawaii Nail Lacquer can be purchased on Etsy. And make sure to like the Kawaii Nail Lacquer Facebook page so that you are current on updates and new releases!

Note: Gryffindor was provided to me for my honest review.

Feenix Polish: Falling For You (2 Ways)

Falling For You is the third polish I've had the honor of recently reviewing for Feenix Polish and I have it shown two ways so that you can see how it might look over colors you have in your collection.

Falling For You has a Falling For You has a shimmery, dark gold/light brown base with lots of different glitters in gold, red, orange, and brown. Some of the glitters are matte, some are not. The combination is wonderful.

This is an awesome polish with a lot of versatility. As Feenix Polish suggests on Etsy, you can try this over Twigs, which I reviewed here. I decided to try it over a couple of colors. 

First up is Zoya Carmen, a gorgeous red creme.

 

This is one coat of Falling For You over Zoya Carmen:

And then I tried Falling For You over OPI Schnapps Out of It! In the bottle, Schnapps looks like a "mature" color (read: something your grandma probably owns). But on the nails it's actually quite lovely and is appropriate for almost every occasion. It's a sort of dusty, muted brick red with some orange and pink tones. There is also the slightest bit of shimmer.

 And here is one coat of Falling for You over Schnapps Out of It!

I really, really enjoyed Falling For You. It's a great layering color and I'm certain that everyone has a color in her collection that's going to look great with some Falling For You layered on top of it. I would highly recommend that you pick this color up before the leaves change color and fall off of the trees!

Feenix Polishes can be purchased on Etsy and you can keep up to date with Feenix Polish on their Facebook page and blog. Make sure you show some love for this great brand!

 

Note: Falling For You was sent to me for my honest review.

Kawaii Nail Lacquer: Slytherin

I really love the Harry Potter series. I'm in the middle of re-reading them and it amazes me that they're so well written. I bet that J.K. Rowling can be credited with getting a lot of kids to read who wouldn't normally be interested in sitting with a book. And they aren't just good for kids. I'm in my 20s and still appreciate them. 

So when I received Slytherin from Jamie at Kawaii Nail Lacquer, I was super excited. Slytherin contains hex glitter in silver and green -- the colors of the Slytherin house -- in a clear base.

I decided to pair Slytherin with OPI Don't Talk Bach To Me from the Fall 2012 Germany collection that I'm working my way through. Don't Talk Bach To Me is a funky sort of avocado color that I thought would pair really nicely with the emerald green in Slytherin.

 Here are two coats of Don't Talk Bach To Me, no topcoat.

And here is one coat of Slytherin over Don't Talk Bach To Me. A coat of Seche Vite topcoat glosses off the look.

I really liked this pairing, if I do say so myself. The greens play well together.

Application of Slytherin was great. I didn't have any issues and I thought that it had just the right amount of glitter in it for a glitter topcoat. You could probably build this for a glitter-only manicure, but that would take quite a few coats.

Kawaii Nail Lacquer can be purchased on Etsy. And make sure to like the Kawaii Nail Lacquer Facebook page so that you are current on updates and new releases!

Note: Slytherin was provided to me for my honest review.

Rainbow Honey: Hoof Wrassle & Koi Pond

I love OPI's Germany Collection. The color variety is great and it still manages to be a cohesive collection. One color included in the collection is a fiery orange,  Deutsch You Want Me Baby? The swatch photo shows two coats. No topcoat. It's so shiny on its own that it doesn't need one.

 

 

 Click "Read more" for swatches of Hoof Wrassle and Koi Pond over Deutsch You Want Me Baby!

HARE Polish: Supernova Springs

Today I have HARE Polish Supernova Springs. At first glance, I thought that this was a green glitter in a black jelly. 

 

 But on closer inspection, Supernova Springs appears to be a very dark purple jelly with green glitter:

So to pair with Supernova Springs, I opted for one of my favorite vampy colors, OPI Lincoln Park At Midnight, a beautiful creme that is essential to any lacquer collection.

 Lincoln Park at Midnight + Supernova Springs = Awesomeness.

 Love this combo! Click "Read more" for additional swatches and information on where to purchase Supernova Springs!

Model City Polish: Puttin' on the Ritz

This weekend is completely flying by for me. So quickly that I completely spaced on posting anything yesterday. But today I have a really fun polish from Model City Polish -- Puttin' on the Ritz!

Puttin' on the Ritz is a fun layering polish comprised of black and silver holographic glitter. I used Puttin' on the Ritz in a gradient fashion and really liked the results. Check it out!

Remember to enter my amazing 100 Likes Giant Indie Giveaway!

Click "Read more" for additional swatches and information on where to purchase Puttin' on the Ritz.

Tough As Nails Lacquer: Rebellious Bridesmaid

This is the very first [successful] lacquer that I made and it took me the longest to name.  She is my lacquer baby and will always hold a special place in my heart.

The name "Rebellious Bridesmaid" came from the fact that I wore the manicure seen in the photos below to my cousin's wedding. All of the other bridesmaids had pale shades of pinks or french tips on their nails. Very tasteful and clean looking and not taking away from anything. 

And then there was me, with my holographic, gunmetal glitterbomb. 

What can I say, I always like to do things a little differently. And lacquers are no exception. 

So I give to you, lovely readers, Rebellious Bridesmaid. Minis are included in all three sets I'm giving away in my 100 Likes Giant Indie Giveaway (seriously, click the link if you haven't entered. This is an amazing giveaway, if I do say so myself).

 

All photos were taken in natural light, without flash, and show one coat of Rebellious Bridesmaid over one coat OPI Lucurne-tainly Look Marvelous, with a coat of Gelous to finish everything off and give the manicure extra shine.

  

And here is my lacquer baby, which has a sheer/jelly black base loaded with silver and holographic silver glitters:

Here is a closeup so that you can see the holographic nature of some of the glitters:

You can most certainly wear Rebellious Bridesmaid with or without undies. The glitters are in a sheer/jelly black base and I was able to achieve full coverage in two coats. Depending on how you apply polish, you may need three coats.

Click "Read more" for additional swatches of Rebellious Bridesmaid with a matte topcoat.

Metametics Part 1: Fire Nation & Lannister Gold

I hope that everyone is having a lazy Sunday. It's too hot here to do anything outside so I'm catching up on indoor work, like organizing all of my swatch photos and taking care of all of the paperwork associated with starting a small business. On the plus side, that means I will hopefully be open for business soon. 

Recently I purchased 4 polishes from a relatively new store on Etsy: Metametics. I received Fire Nation, Lannister's Gold, Highly Functioning Sociopath, andGod of Mischief. From the Etsy shop:

Metametics lacquers are inspired by sci-fi, fantasy and pop culture. Made by geeks, for geeks!

Today I have Fire Nation and Lannister Gold. 

Fire Nation has a slightly orange-tinted jelly base and gold, orange, and red glitters of various sizes and shapes dispersed throughout. It is from Metametics' Avatar collection.

Lannister Gold is a gold-hued jelly with gold glitter of various shapes and sizes dispersed throughout. It is from Metametics' Game of Thrones collection.

 

Click "Read more" for swatches of Fire Nation and Lannister Gold and information on where to purchase Metametics lacquers!

Fair warning this post is a little picture heavy.

Bam Nail Lacquer: Andromeda

Bam Nail Lacquer's Andromeda is up for swatching tonight!  Check out this great purple holographic glitter:

Here are three coats of Andromeda with one coat of Gelous topcoat.  I love it!  I like that the purple jelly base isn't so saturated that you can't see all the different holo silver and purple glitters.

 Click "Read More" to see Andromeda used as a layering polish over three shades of purple!