Jindie Nails Tried & True Revisited

Hi everyone! I've been meaning to post more often but I've been spending a lot of time restocking polishes for the shop. I've also been feeling very down lately, something I need to guard against, especially as the days get shorter. If you have any tips on how to do that, I'd love to hear. :)

Jindie Nails Tried & True mix and match nail art

Tonight's post comes out of a Facebook group I'm a part of for fans of Jindie Nails. We're doing 31 days of Jindie, with a different prompt for each day. Today was my day and the prompt was "favourite crelly." So I decided to turn to one of the first crellies that got me hooked on the brand - Tried & True from the winter of 2012.

China Glaze Dash of Dazzle Set: Swatches, Nail Art, and Review

Hi everyone! For the holidays China Glaze has released a number of small gift sets of polishes. They are great stocking stuffers, and so I was fortunate that Nail Polish Canada sent me one of the sets for review. The Dash of Dazzle set contains three polishes from the Happy Holi-Glaze collection - Bells Will Be Blinging, Mingle With Kringle, and So Blue Without You. (Note: In my initial review I forgot to mention that all three are full-sized polishes) The three polishes complement each other perfectly and they are great for doing festive nail art.

China Glaze Dash of Dazzle set

But first let's take a look at some swatches...

Four Weeks of piCture pOlish: Week Two: A Whimsical Skittlette

Hi everyone! Another week, another gorgeous piCture pOlish shade to share with you. When I was asked by the ladies at piCture pOlish if there was any polish in particular that I wanted to review, Whimsy was my choice - and do you blame me!? This collaboration shade with Neverland Nail Blog is so stunning that I had to show you swatches and some simple nail art, so make sure to check out the full post!

piCture pOlish Whimsy

Introducing Lumina Lacquer Eternal Winter!

Hi everyone! Today's post is very special for me, and one that's been in the works for months. Awhile back I was contacted by Tatiana of Lumina Lacquer to create a collaboration polish with her. I love what Tatiana is doing with her brand, and I've enjoyed reviewing Lumina Lacquer on this blog, so of course I said yes! Then of course was the hard part of coming up with an idea and keeping it a secret (I'm not good at secrets).

Lumina Lacquer Eternal Winter

31 Day Challenge: Day Twenty-One, Inspired by a Colour: Dusk Blue Skittlette

Hi everyone! Today's challenge is one that somewhat alludes me...what does it mean to be inspired by a colour? And how do you represent that in nail art? Is it simply a matter of using that colour, or do you represent it through imagery? I suppose it's meant to be open to interpretation, or at least I hope so.

Dusk Blue Skittlette

About this design: For my colour, I chose "dusk blue", or a slightly greyed baby blue. It's the colour that is used on my blog, for example the social media icons and tagline. I decided to do a rather simple skittlette incorporating the colour and other complementary polishes. I don't have a polish that exactly matches this dusk blue, but OPI You're Such A BudaPest Can't Find My Czechbook (!) is a pretty close match.

Dusk Blue Skittlette

Dusk Blue Skittlette

To get this look: I started with a base of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls because I liked the idea of starting with a blank white page. My thumb, index and pinky fingers have a gradient using You're Such a BudaPest Can't Find My Czechbook and Girly Bits Elephant Shoe. Elephant Shoe and You're Such a BudaPest Can't Find My Czechbook were used for the short lines on my middle finger. My ring finger is a gradient with China Glaze Dandy Lyin' Around and Enchanted Polish Ballerina Sprinkles, topped with Girly Bits OVbunEN. The studs are from The Nailasaurus Emporium.

Dusk Blue Skittlette

It's not complex or detailed, but I much like this. Most likely it's the colours - I really love the blue-grey-pastel combination. Unfortunately I had some swatching to do today, or I would have left this on for longer.

What do you think of this? How would you interpret the prompt "inspired by a colour"?

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An InLinkz Link-up

Lush Lacquer Chicks Rule, Swatches and a Simple Skittlette

Hi everyone! Happy Sunday! A while back I was contacted by Karin of Lush Lacquer asking me if I was interested in trying some of her polishes. Lush Lacquer is one of those indie brands that has been around from almost the beginning - I have known about them since I started buying indies last year, and they've been on my "to try" list for quite some time. In terms of indies, they have a strong product and business - lots of variety in their shop, nice bottles with screen printed labels, and lots of stock available.

I was sent three polishes from their new Neon Collection, and I have the first for you today. The other two I will post very soon. If you are into the neon glitter trend, you must take a look at these. :)

Lush Lacquer Chicks Rule

Chicks Rule caught my eye immediately. It's a clear-based glitter topper - it looks like the base is a sheer pink colour but it's just the effect of all the glitter. It has a mix of neon orange, pink, and purple hex glitter in different sizes ranging from very tiny to large. I love the inclusion of tiny glitter, it adds more interest for some reason.

Lush Lacquer Chicks Rule

The formula is good, it spreads on very smooth. I find that it is not too glitter dense, so I had to use two coats here. Make sure to let the bottle sit upside down for 15 minutes first and do some shaking before applying.

Lush Lacquer Chicks Rule

For the swatches I applied Chicks Rule over a simple two colour gradient of OPI My Vampire is Buff and Sally Hansen Bubblegum Pink. Then I redid my nails on my ring and middle fingers for a simple skittlette. On my ring finger is Bubblegum Pink with a heart stud from the Born Pretty Store. And on my middle, a taped off gradient using Bubblegum Pink and Girly Bits Private Dancer over My Vampire is Buff.

Lush Lacquer Chicks Rules simple skittlette

Lush Lacquer Chicks Rules simple skittlette

I really liked the skittlette and I ended up wearing it for another day. It was also nice to wear Chicks Rule over a simple gradient and I think it is a nice way to change up the usual swatch.

Lush Lacquer Chicks Rules simple skittlette

What do you think of Chicks Rule? Do you own any Lush Lacquer?

Lush Lacquer is available from their Etsy shop. Follow Lush Lacquer on Facebook and Instagram for updates.

*Product provided for review, all opinions are my own. See my disclosure policy for more details.*

NCLA Nail Wraps in Reflect Yourself!, Swatches and Review

Hi everyone! I was contacted by Nail Polish Canada a while back about reviewing some nail wraps by NCLA. You may have seen some other reviews pop up on the blogisphere over the last couple of weeks. My delay in getting this review out was not because I had better things to do, but mainly because I was worried that I wouldn't be able to do a good job. :/

NCLA Nail Wraps in Reflect Yourself!

So I'm just going to put it out there: this is my absolute first experience using any type of nail applique/wrap. Ever. Some of my issues are likely due to inexperience. But I figure that some of you out there might appreciate hearing about NCLA Nail Wraps from the perspective of someone with no experience using this type of product.

The Product: What initially attracted me to the NCLA Nail Wraps was the selection of designs that they carry. Some of them seem to be designed in-house, while others are designed in collaboration with designers and well-known nail artists. But all of them are very unique and not always something I could paint myself. And I'm used to the ones I see at the drugstore, which always seem to come in the same old designs - animal print, checkered, stripes, etc. Reflect Yourself! is an interesting kaleidoscope-like design with fuchsia, pink, black and hints of lime green.

NCLA Nail Wraps in Reflect Yourself!

NCLA Nail Wraps in Reflect Yourself!

Each package comes with two sheets of nail wraps, each sheet with 22 wraps. According to the instructions each package is good for 3-4 applications. I found that some of the sizes fit my nails perfectly, but a few of them were too big. Which means I'll need to trim some of the larger ones next time I use these. There's also a nail file, which seems to be standard with most nail appliques/wraps.

NCLA Nail Wraps in Reflect Yourself!

Application: Each package has instructions, and they appear to be straightforward: paint your nails with a base coat, let dry, apply the correct sized wrap smoothing it out, then file the excess off and finish with a layer of top coat. I found the process very easy in some ways, but it wasn't as smooth as I had hoped.

Warning: The instructions say to remove nail wraps by peeling them off. Don't!! You will damage your nails, as some other bloggers have noted. Instead take off with acetone. I found it messy, but better than damaging my nails.

Thoughts: I found the application was not too difficult, however, I did have problems trying to figure out which wraps fit which nails. Several times I applied a wrap that was too small and had to pull it off, basically wasting the product. You are able to stretch these out a bit, but they don't stretch that much. The other issue was wrinkling. Despite the fact that I used the flat end of an orange stick to smooth them out, I still had some issues with wrinkling. I'm not sure what to do about this.

NCLA Nail Wraps in Reflect Yourself!

Overall, I like the designs on these nail wraps, but the application was not completely foolproof. Maybe with more practice I will get better at it.

Skittle manicure with NCLA Nail Wraps in Reflect Yourself!

Skittle manicure with NCLA Nail Wraps in Reflect Yourself!

I still have one more set to review. I plan to wear these current ones for a few days, so I will also report back on how they hold up.

NCLA Nail Wraps are available from Nail Polish Canada. They retail for $16 (Canadian), which works out to approximately $4-5 per application.

What do you think of these? Have you tried any nail wraps/appliques/strips?

*Product provided for review, all opinions are my own. See my disclosure policy for more details.*

Spring Skittlette With Shimmer Polish Leslie

Hi everyone! If you follow me on Instagram you know that last week I received an epic package from Shimmer Polish. Cindy, the creator of Shimmer, sent me 14 polishes to review and I was blown away by all the gorgeousness in that package. I could just rush through them and show you two or three posts of swatches, but that didn't seem like fun, and I've already seen many swatches of these polishes on the blogisphere. Instead I decided to do some nail art with each one. My aim is to feature one or two polishes each week and come up with different nail art designs for each one.

If you aren't familiar with the brand, Shimmer Polish had done well focusing on one main type of polish - glitter bombs. They consist mainly of small to tiny sized glitter suspended in either a clear or tinted base. What I love about these is that they can be layered, or built up to full coverage in 2-3 coats. Also I love the complexity of the glitter in each one. I could stare at a polish for ages and still not be able to adequately describe the mixture of glitter in it.

Shimmer Polish Leslie

First up is Leslie. I love blues so naturally I gravitated to this mixture of blue, lavender, and cyan glitter. Leslie also has hints of gold and tiny red glitter. Overall it has a periwinkle colour, which comes out of the blend of several different colours of glitter. It's fascinating and gorgeous all at the same time! Leslie has a clear base so it's perfect for layering over a variety of different colours.

Spring skittlette with Shimmer Polish Leslie

With that in mind, I decided to do a fun springtime skittlette with several polishes from the Sinful Colors Sugar Rush collection - Sugar Rush, Orange Cream, Sugar N Spice, and Sweet Tooth. On the accent nail I did some simple outline hearts, filled them in with the Sinful Color polishes and a bit of Shimmer Polish Leslie on top.

Spring skittlette with Shimmer Polish Leslie

At first I was not too sure how I felt about the hearts. They have a cartoonish look, where the glitter gradient is more delicate. But then the contrast started to appeal to me. Some nail artists do a very good job of working in different styles, and combining different styles on the same hand, and I wish I was better at doing mix and match designs that way.

Spring skittlette with Shimmer Polish Leslie

Overall, I really loved Shimmer Leslie. The colours are gorgeous and it was perfect for doing glitter gradients. As you can see from the skittlette it also works with a variety of colours.

Shimmer Polish is available on Etsy, from Harlow & Co. (note: Leslie is not available at Harlow & Co.), and Overall Beauty. Follow Shimmer on Facebook, and the Shimmer Polish blog for updates.

What do you think of this design? Have you tried Shimmer Polish?

*Shimmer Polish provided for review, all opinions are my own. See my disclosure policy for more details.*

My Sister's Nails: A Simple Spring Skittlette

Hi everyone! First of all, thank you so much for all the kind words regarding my blogging milestone yesterday. I really enjoyed reading all your comments, both your responses to the blog post and the responses left in the Rafflecopter. And thank you everyone who has participated in the contest so far!

I have another instalment of my sister's nails. If you missed the last post you can see it here. I'm thinking that this will be a regular series, that is, as long as my sister wants to come over and have me do her nails! I was only able to get iPhone photos, and it was starting to get dark, so they are not as clear as I would like. But I enjoy showing you photos of nails I've done on someone else. And it's a nice change of pace. :)

Simple spring skittlette

Since neither of us were up for a marathon manicure session, we decided on a simple skittle manicure with a lighter spring palette. It was fun to discuss ideas with her and pull out polishes to see what she liked, didn't like, etc.

Simple spring skittlette (right hand)

Simple spring skittlette (left hand)

For this design, I used OPI My Vampire is Buff on all nails except the accent nails. For that I used Zoya NYX (from the Pixie Dust collection). The glitter is Lumina Lacquer Anything, and the freehand painting was done with OPI Suzi's Hungary Again! and You're Such a BudaPest.

I love how simple and fun this was, and I can't get enough of mix and match nails! :)

What do you think? Hope you don't mind the change of blog format every now and then!

Born Pretty Store Review: Rhinestone Skittle Manicure

Hi everyone! I received two more goodies from the Born Pretty Store, one of which was a set of round clear rhinestones. Since rhinestones are a new thing for me, I had a hard time figuring out a design that still felt like "me". And after my first failed attempt that I mentioned on Monday, I didn't want to take too many risks. So I came up with this pastel / springtime skittle manicure that feels a bit similar to the pastel skittle manicure I did last week.

Rhinestone skittle manicure

About this design: I started with a base of OPI My Vampire is Buff and Nicole by OPI Purple Yourself Together. I know I use MViB a lot, but it's now officially my go-to polish for nail art - I love it! I also wanted to try my new Lynnderella Crocus Pocus, which I used on my pinky, index and thumb. Crocus Pocus might be my new favourite Lynnderella. It has a beautiful mixture of metallic and neon glitter in a variety of shapes: hexes, squares, flowers, moons, and stars. The colours are predominantly lavender, purple, fuchsia, blue and white. And to top it off, there's a gorgeous iridescent shimmer! On my ring finger I painted a small crocus with Nubar Into the Wild, OPI OPI...Eurso Euro, and Purple Yourself Together. I'm trying out a new detail brush so I didn't want to go crazy with the freehand painting.

Rhinestone skittle manicure

Rhinestone skittle manicure

About the set: This is a set of round, clear, faceted rhinestones made out of acrylic. There's three sizes - 1.5mm, 2mm, and 3mm - with each one filling four slots of the storage wheel (there's 12 sections in a wheel). I don't know how many are in the set, but as you can see from the photo there's a generous helping in each slot, so perhaps a few hundred. I like that it comes with three sizes of rhinestones, which allows for some variations in your designs. I don't have anything bad to say about these, it's a good set and the rhinestones are fun to use.

Born Pretty Store three sizes rhinestone set

Applying rhinestones: Instructions I got off the Internet call for you to apply some nail glue, place your rhinestones, seal with a bit more nail glue, then finish with top coat. I'm trying to avoid nail glue since it's a PITA to remove, so I used base coat instead of nail glue. A top coat would work as well. I'm only sort of happy with this method, they are fixed well, but I can see some imperfections and bubbles around the rhinestones. So I'll continue to experiment and get back to you.

Rhinestone skittle manicure

The set is called "3 sizes round rhinestone nail art glitter decoration" but you can find the link to the product here. It's pretty affordable, and you can use my coupon code MSL91 and get 10% off. Full disclosure: I do not get compensated if you use the coupon code, but if enough people use it, the Born Pretty Store will sponsor a giveaway on my site.

What do you think of this? Have you used rhinestones in nail art before?

*Product provided for review, all opinions are my own. See my disclosure policy for more details.*