Thursday, February 27, 2014

Spellbound Nails Glitter Toppers

Helloooooo my lovelies!!

So it's been about 2 weeks since my last blog post.  "Where the heck have you been??", you might be asking.  Well, I got sick and then I got busy with family and then... I lost my passion for polish... *gasp!!*.  I have no creative mojo right now and I don't know how to get it back.  I'm in need of some serious nailspiration :\  I've decided to go back to basics (polka dots, stripes, skittlettes) in the hopes that I will become adventurous with my nail art once more.  That's enough updating for one post.  Onto the swatches!

Today I have a mix of 5 glitter toppers to share with you.  These polishes are hand mixed with a whole lot of love by one of my favorite indie brands, Spellbound Nails! (*disclaimer)


 Snow White's First Bite

This is a beauty I have been eying for a while.  When Ashley sent it to me for review I literally squealed lol.  Inspired by the Evil Queen (Grimhilde), Snow White's First Bite is a gorgeous mix of green, purple and black glitters.  I layered one coat over a lavender base.  Application was wonderful; the glitter applied smooth and evenly (no muss, no fuss!). 

Fairest of All

 I was surprised by this polish.  In the bottle I couldn't see the potential, but once I tried it on I was sold!  Fairest of All is a mix of  yellow gold and blue dots, yellow gold holographic and blue micro-glitter, red hex and various sizes of white glitter.  There's a lot going on but the glitters compliment each other so well.  Pictured is one easy coat over taupe.

 Purely Purple

Do you love purple?  Well so does the maker of Spellbound Nails, Ashley!  Purely Purple is a lovely mix of dark purple, lavender and lilac glitters in various sizes.  I like this glitter topper quite a bit and am now second guessing the white base :\  Maybe black would have been better?  I did find that the large dark purple glitters were prone to sinking in the bottle.  Instead of trying to fish and make a mess, I turned the bottle upside down for a few minutes.  The glitter piled on the brush after that and made application a cinch!  I used the dab a drag method with this polish, with one-ish coat being applied.

 Glitter Explosion

Another surprising polish that is deceiving in it the bottle.  Glitter Explosion is just that... a crazy-packed mix of holographic glitter and rainbow shimmer in hexes and squares and stars in silver, gold and navy blue.  These weren't my school colors in high school, but that's exactly what it reminds me of haha (go, fight, win!).  I love love love the look of this glitter, especially over yellow!  Application was smooth, no fishing for the stars required.  Shown is one coat.

 Pearls & Pastels

Ahhh my favorite of the bunch!!  I received so many compliments on this polish.  Pearls & Pastels is a mix of pearl white, pastel pink and blue glitters.  Such a delicate and gorgeous mix!  I could not stop staring at my nails... just so friggin pretty!!  Again, application was smooth and easy.  I did a little bit of dab and drag in a couple of places to get an even smattering of glitter. Shown is one coat over black.


I'm absolutely crazy about this indie polish brand; Ashley is such a sweet woman and I'm so thankful for the opportunity she has given me is showcasing her polishes.  If you haven't tried her product or have never bought an indie brand before, I highly recommend checking out her Etsy shop.  Amazing polishes from one amazing gal!

I will be working on some nail art over the weekend, but I'm very much out of practice (it's been about a month of plain polish) so keep your fingers crossed for me!!

Until next time!

Stef <3


* This product was provided to me for review.  I received no payment or other compensation for the review of this product.  The opinions stated here are completely my own.  The contents of this review are based on my direct experience with this product.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Mix 'n Match with Pipe Dream Polish!

Hello lovelies!

I have had absolutely no time to do my nails this past week so I'm pulling a mani out of the vault today.  This is a skittlette I did a few weeks ago when I was desperately in need of some bright, colorful cheeriness...

 Colors Used: Zoya - Robyn, Daisy Nail Lacquer - White Diamond, Love & Beauty - Strawberry, China Glaze - Celtic Sun, Pipe Dream Polish - Zappin' It To Ya

This mani is mostly based around this awesome glitter topper that I bought from April at Pipe Dream Polish.  It's called Zappin' It To Ya and it's a mix of neon pink, green, blue and yellow glitters of varying sizes.  I tried to find polishes in my collection that closely matched and I think I did a decent job haha. 


 I haven't done a striped accent nail in for-eh-ver; I forgot how much I like them!  I also decided to use a bow charm that I bought from Hex Nail Jewelry.  Overall I'm really pleased with this one :)



I'm dreaming of warmer days that involve a vacation from life and lots of polish... *sigh*...  Lol happy Wednesday!

Until next time!

Stef <3


* These product were purchased by me for review.  I received no payment or other compensation for the review of this product.  The opinions stated here are completely my own.  The contents of this review are based on my direct experience with this product.

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Nailed Kit Olympic Decals!

Hello dolls!

A very happy Sunday to you all!  So remember that swatch post I promised?  Yea my weekend got all kinds of crazy and I am not ready quite yet haha.  So I'm bumping up a post I was saving for next week... woohoo!  The lovely Rachel over at Nailed Kit sent me some "USA" decals in honor of the 2014 Winter Olympics!  I had such a fun time putting together a mani using these decals (*disclaimer)...


I really loved the way this turned out!  I started with 3 coats of OPI "My Boyfriend Scales Walls", a nice blue-ish off-white polish that's perfect for showcasing nail art :)  I then took a plastic drinking straw out of my kitchen cabinet and used to to kind of outline my Olympic rings...


Admittedly, it may not have been the deal tool for the job considering my rings wouldn't stamp completely haha.  I had to go back with a nail art brush to finish the circle and then they ended up looking like a child did them. But then I thought, the letters are in a whimsical font... it works!  The decals are very easy to use; they slide right off of their paper backing with a little bit of water.  I must admit... I forgot to get water when using them this time around and I didn't want to get up and go to the kitchen soooo... I just popped them in my mouth!  Worked like a charm lol :P


Have you gotten into the Olympic spirit??  These and many other adorably fabulous decals can be found here.

Until next time!

Stef <3


* This product was provided to me for review.  I received no payment or other compensation for the review of this product.  The opinions stated here are completely my own.  The contents of this review are based on my direct experience with this product.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

I'm Lovin' Cobalt!

Hello, hello!

It's been over a week since my last post... yikes!  Life really has this annoying habit of getting in the way haha.  Anywhosy, I'm back and wanting to share with you my personal color of the year :)  I know that Pantone named "Radiant Orchid" as the It color for 2014, but for me this will be the year of Cobalt!

 (hand pose made famous by @mcpolish on IG :P)
Colors Used: Rimmel - Black Satin, Sinful Colors Nail Art - Time Off, Essie - Butler Please, Shimmer Polish - Alice

 Seriously tho, cobalt... gah!!  This nail art design was actually inspired by fellow blogger Polish Pals.
When I saw her do this mani back in January, I fell in love and stored it away for future nailspiration!
 

The majority of this mani was achieved using a nail art brush and a black striper.  For the glitter gradient I knew I had to use a Shimmer :)  These polishes are seriously so compacted with glittery goodness!  I used Alice, which is a mix of silver holos of different sizes.  I also found some stars floating around in the bottle which was a pleasant surprise! 


Yep, I'm loving everything about this mani!


I'm going to be a swatching fool this upcoming weekend so be expecting a swatch post on Sunday!  i also have some other goodies up my sleeve... stay tuned!

Until next time!

Stef <3