Swatch: Lush Lacquer Minty Chip

Hi there! Today I've got a quick swatch to share that reminds my of something I love... ice cream!  

Taken in direct sunlight.

This is Lush Lacquer's Minty Chip (now known as Polish Me Silly over on Etsy), a black & white glitter topper with a pretty green shimmer. I topped off some mint creme polish with this and yum! This reminds me of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Summer's almost here! :D

Polishes Used
Sally Hansen Mint Sorbet
Lush Lacquer Minty Chip

Futuristic Gaps Featuring Ulta Purplexed

Do you ever see someone's nail art and just go "Oh man... I have to recreate this!" I did that with a look from Lucy's Stash... I fell in love and knew I needed to do it. ... cue multiple failed attempts at creating the look, frustration over using acrylic paints and having a poorly sized brush...

Taken in natural light.

This is what you end up with! :D I still like this look... the contrasting gaps with the depth of Purplexed is a really cool thing... it definitely reminds me of something very sci-fi and futuristic. 

Polishes Used
White Acrylic paint
Ulta Purplexed

Chaotic Goddess Swaps: The Favorite Color Swap Reveal

It's time for the reveal of my Chaotic Goddess Swaps The Favorite Color swap!

My swapping partner was Victoria from My Thoughts for Thoughts, whose favorite color is purple! Go check out her blog for book reviews, cute crafts, and all sort of subscription box goodness. You can see what I sent her here.

Victoria sent me items in my favorite color-- orange! Obviously, because this is mostly a nail blog, she sent me a copy of Catherine Rodger's DIY Nail Art, which features really cute and easy nail art designs. She also sent along a glitter cardstock set, which is AWESOME! I love paper crafts and card-making so paper is definitely my thing (and who doesn't love glitter?).

The baking cups came in this vibrant, bright orange striped pattern. These are the best... I'm always needing baking cups since I make muffins so much! I love to bake and I have a feeling these will be used up quickly!

The final part of my swap was two quarters of fabric with orange prints. These came from an Etsy shop, but I somehow managed to throw out the package before I got the seller's name. Oopsies... I love the crazy stripes on the left and the retro pattern on the right. These will definitely be used for something fun!

This was such a fun experience... I loved picking out items for my buddy and waiting impatiently for my items. I can't wait to see what swaps come up in the future!

Giveaway Win: Super Black Lacquer Holos!

Hey there! I have finally gotten around to clearing out my picture stash... so here's a giveaway win all the way back from November! I won a three pack of Super Black Lacquer from Life of a Mad Typer, promptly took pictures, then never got around to posting this. Oopsies! 

Taken in sunlight!

Here we have some amazing holos that really shimmer in the sun... the pretty purply color is Heather, the gorgeous cranberry is Spanked, and the burnt gold is Guilty. I had never heard of Super Black Lacquer but I love their packaging and bottle shape, and was surprised to hear that they're located down in Columbus. Very cool!

Polishes Used
Super Black Lacquer Heather
Super Black Lacquer Spanked
Super Black Lacquer Guilty

Star Dots Featuring Zoya Dakota and Zoya Ziv

Hey there! This is an older look that I did a couple of months ago when we were still in the dredges of winter, so I figured I'd share now before we get too far into spring!

Picture taken inside under normal lights.

This was an interesting look I came up with, dealing with black and black-and-gold dots over Zoya's Dakota. I needed a red creme and bought Dakota... and I have yet to be disappointed! I then added on some black plastic rhinestone stars and dots to make this a bit more fun. Woo! 

Polishes Used
Sinful Colors Black on Black
Zoya Ziv
Zoya Dakota

Cloudy Fingers?

Hi there! I've wanted to do a cloud mani for a while, so here's my attempt! I definitely learned a few things with this...

Taken in indirect natural light.

1. LET THE POLISH DRY - My tips were gooey for a while. I should have let them dry more between coats.
2. Don't use a frosty polish... it shows bumps too easily.
3. Make sure that the brushes are actually shaped for this. The Sally Hansen brush was too flat for doing this easily.

Polishes Used
Broadway Nails O!Jessica 
Sally Hansen Plum Power
Zoya Neve

Better Late than Never! Easter Eggs!

So I'm definitely late on this... but eh. I've been busy at work lately since it's the end of the semester and I just haven't found the time to sit down and write up a post. But here we go! 

Taken in indirect sunlight.

This is the look I rocked for Easter. This is also the last of my manicures that will be using that horribly shitty (maybe duped) Essie Good to Go topcoat. I'll be using that for attaching studs, glitter, and all those other fun small things.... and I've since picked up Salon Perfect's topcoat and it's been lovely thus far!

Polishes Used
L'Oreal Royalty Reinvented
Zoya Creamy
Ruby Wing Gypsy
Cover Girl #240
Sinful Colors Snow Me White
Color Club White Striper

Chaotic Goddess Swaps: I'm Swapping!

I'm participating in the Chaotic Goddess Swaps Favorite Color Swap! I came late to the party, so sign-ups are closed, but keep an eye out for their next swap! Essentially what happens is you get a partner, build a package for them between $20-30 based on their favorite color, then send it off and wait for yours to arrive. I can't wait to see what I can find for my partner and to see what I receive!

I'll be posting a reveal post in May sometime showing off my received package... it's so exciting! :D

Captain America: The Winter Soldier Manicure

Hey there! Today I've got a look the celebrates the new Captain America movie, which Sean and I saw on Thursday night at the first showing. I won't give away any spoilers, but let's just say it was awesome and makes me wonder about the future landscape of the Avengers and Captain America's future. Anywhos... on the nails!

Taken near dusk in natural light... check out all that reflection! :D

We've got the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo, Cap's shield, the Winter Soldier's arm, and Hydra's logo. Not gonna lie... my thumb is completely naked because I couldn't decided what deserved the final spot as a fair representation of the movie (I was leaning toward a heart, because woe is my shipper's heart). Still, this was super fun to do and let me try out the make-your-own "nail sticker" technique. It's a cool concept but a bit difficult to execute. But it does give me something to do with my horrible (maybe fake) Essie topcoat! Woo!

Polishes Used

LynBDesigns Sacré Blurple

Zoya Dakota

OPI Your Royal Shineness

Sinful Colors Bleeding Heart

Sinful Colors Black on Black

Sinful Colors Snow Me White

Marble Nails Featuring OPI Fly and OPI Cuckoo For This Color

Hi there! Today I have a simple design with lots of depth... a take on the saran wrap mani! I did something similar with orange and figured I'd try it with teal. 

Taken in natural sunlight.

Gotta say, for something that took less than 10 minutes to do, this is so captivating! I got a lot of depth from the two colors and added some glitter to add a bit more dazzle to the look.

Polishes Used
OPI Fly
OPI Cuckoo For This Color