Bye Bye 2013!

Good afternoon, lovies!!

The time is quickly coming upon us to bid farewell to 2013.  It's been a really great year and I'm a little sad to see it go.  Lots of memories has been made, I've connected and made friends with so many people in the nail community... lots of polishes were purchases lol.  I did a quick mani for the occassion (altho it probably won't be what I end up wearing when the clock strikes 12... I'm itchin' to do another!)...

 Colors Used: B Squared - White Lights

I purchased this polish sometime before Christmas and It came in the mail the day after or so.  It is from a Christmas collection, but I thought it could be very fitting for NYE as well :)  I started with 2 coats of White Lights over a white base.  This polish is a white sheer crelly with a mix of different sized gold glitters.  Application was easy and the glitters spread out nicely.

I then used combos of a nail art pen, nail striped and dotting tools to draw my design.  Number and letter are the hardest for me, very frustrating!  After a second attempt at getting my numbers *perfect* I top coated everything with OPI Rapi Dri.

I'm ready for some bubbly!

I just want to thank you all for your continued reading and support.  I read every single comment that I receive but rarely have time to respond :(  Thank you for the well wishes while I was sick, it warmed my feverish heart haha.  Love to you all and have a safe and happy evening!!

Until next time!

Stef <3

A Shimmery Penguin

Hello, loves!

I'm going to keep this post short and sweet.  I am currently battling a fever and I just feel wretched :(  But it's been a couple of days since my last post and I don't want to leave you hanging! (*disclaimer)

 Colors Used: Shimmer - Maria and Liana

Altho it is 80 degrees here in Southern California, it's still Winter lol.  I've decided I'd like to keep the wintery theme going for a little while longer :P  

I started with 2 coats of Maria (mix of light and dark blue glitters) over a blue base and 1 coat of Liana (mix of navy and black glitters) over a black base.  Application of these glitters, like the other I have reviewed, was easy.  Because the polishes are so compacted with glitter, very little "dab & drag" is needed.  I let the polishes set for a few minutes before adding my design

Using a striping brush and Konad White polish, I created my snow hills and penguin's chest.  The beak and feet were made using OPI's "It" Color and all of the dotting was created with a dotting tool.  I top coated with Color Club Clear :)

I really love the way this turned out!  I am growing more and more in love with Shimmer Polish everyday *sigh*.  These and many more beauties can be found in Cindy's Etsy shop.

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.

Santa's Coming!

Good evening, dearies!

With less than 30 mins until it's officially Christmas (in California), I thought I would share a mani I did a few days ago using Shimmer Polish's "Cindy" (*disclaimer)...

 Colors Used: Shimmer Polish - Cindy, Konad - White, Sinful Colors Nail Art - Time Off, Avon - Gold Glimmer

I started with 2 coats of Cindy over a red base.  Cindy is a compacted red glitter polish in a red jelly base.  It applied with perfection!  I think the thing I love most about Shimmer's are that they dry with little to know bumps/lumps/grit after top coating.

I then did a simple Santa Suit on my ring finger using Konad White.  I know that this polish is made for stamping but... well, I just suck at stamping lol.  It's absolutely great for nail arting over glitters so that is it's new purpose in my collection ;)  I added a belt using a Sinful Colors striper and the gold with a nail art brush.  I top coated with OPI Rapi-Dri.

Eeeeee I love it!!

Merry Christmas errbody :D

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.

A Christmas Eve Inspiration!

Hello my loves!

I can't believe Christmas Eve is finally here... hallelujah!!  This has been by far the busiest season for singing I have ever had and my nails have definitely suffered for it :(  I mentioned last week that I broke a nail on my picture hand and am now down to nubs *sigh*.  It's so hard to be inspired to do nail art when my fingers look and feel like stubs lol.  So I've been occupying myself with other things... like building a new work/nail station (!!!!), but that is for another post ;)  This post is about the ladies who inspired a mani that makes my hands feel pretty again lol...

 Colors Used: Sinful Colors Nail Art - Time Off, Spellbound Nails - Pishsalver (Drink Me)

I was perusing thru my Instagram feed the other day and saw this fabulous mani by @hillarykozuch where she combined black tips with white glitter.  I loved it!  She mentioned in a comment that she was inspired by Cajon De Los Esmaltes and I thought, "Oh, how nice!".  I then went about my merry way...

Last night while racking my brain trying to think of a quick and simple Christmas-y mani I got frustrated and went to Google.  Lo and behold Ms. Cajon's mani popped up!  It was fated that I try this look and I'm so very glad I did.  My nubbies look presentable lol.

Thanks for the inspiration ladies!

I hope you all have a very lovely day!  I'll be back later with some... "shimmer" ;)

Until next time!

Stef <3

Guest Post at From Polish, with Love!

Hello dah-lings!

There is a guest post by yours truly up at From Polish, with Love!  My fellow blogger and new friend Dani graciously asked if I would be interested in doing a guest post for her and I decided it had to be all class...

Details on the colors/products used and how I achieved this look can be found in the post.  So... go... now... pretty please?  :P

Until next time!

Stef <3

China Glaze X

Hello lovelies!

I have a wuick post for you today.  I stumbled across a new-to-me beauty why dusty hunting at my local nail supply store.  The gorgeous China Glaze X...

This in from CG's 2007 X Collection.  It is a red shimmer in a black jelly type base.  I am sooooo very much in love!!

This is 2 easy coats with no top coat!   It dries ridiculously shiny!!

I decided to add a gradient of CG's Glistening Snow and it definitely made the mani pop :)

Sooooo I kinda sorta broke a nail while opening nail mail last week lol.  Expect some nail art from the vault and just bear with me ;)  My nails grow relativelt quickly so all shall be back to nubby goodness soon!

Until next time!

Stef <3

Brrrrrr... Birch Trees!

Hello, lovelies!

There's only bout a week and a half left of Fall and I feel like Winter is trying to get a head start lol.  It's been in the 30's here in Southern California and hile I'm sure that seems like perfectly fine weather to a lot of you,  we usually don't get below 50 degrees on a bad day.  We're all losing our minds!!  I decided a chilly birch tree design was fitting...

 Colors Used:  Pure Ice - Strapless, Konad - White,  Sinful Colors Nail Art - Time Off

I was inspired by a tutorial that I saw by the lovely Ms. Flight of Whimsy :)  I think she did a beautiful job capturing birch trees on her digits and thought I'd give it a whirl.

I started with a blue base and then painted 3 thin coats of Strapless to get glitter opacity.  In direct light, this glitter shines like a disco Ball and for 2 bucks... it's a steal!  After my polish set a bit, I applied my tree's following the tutorial exaclty.  Lastly, I topcoated with Color Club Clear.  

A very simple and wintery manicure.

Keep yourselves warm and toasty, dolls!

Until next time!

Stef <3

A "Spellbound"-ing Christmas Giveaway!!

Hello, dolls!

I have a very special post for you today.  One of my all time fave indie brands is hosting a giveaway and I was invited to be one of the bloggers participating :D (*disclaimer)...

Ashley, of Spellbound Nails,  has put together a lovely Christmas collection based on the poem 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.  Here's what Ashley has to say about this collection...

 "I think this poem is one of the most well know things about Christmas. Children learn the basics of it at an early age and it sticks with them into their adult lives. Do you not immediately, upon hearing 'twas the night before Christmas, finish the line?? I thought it was the perfect inspiration for a holiday collection. And how could I create a Christmas collection without giving a slight nod to the Twelve Days of Christmas? I did this by having 12 polishes in this collection."

I have 3 of them to share with you today :)

Not Even A Mouse

This polish "is a white crelly with red and green hex glitter and red mickey mouse shaped glitter. Inspired by 'Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse'."  I applied 1 thin coat over a white base and loved it!  I did have to fish for the Mickey's to get them on the brush, but that's pretty typical with large/chunky glitters.  My plan is to wear this polish to Disneyland when I go.  Maybe next week-ish?

 Happy Christmas To All

This beauty is "an evergreen jelly base filled with red, green, and gold dots that act as both lights and ornaments, silver holographic micro-slices for tinsel, and for the top of the tree beautiful gold holographic stars. Inspired by 'But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight, "HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL ..."  I was surprised by how much I loved this polish!!  All of the pieces picked up rather well and the tinsel was an awesome touch.  This is one thin coat over a hunter green base.

 Ashes & Soot

Last but not least is the polish i saw and had to have a big bottle of!  I feel like I love Ashley's black jelly/crelly/glittery polishes more than is normal lol.  They're so stinkin gorgeous!!!   This stunner "is a black jelly polish with tons of navy and purple holographic glitter and a really lovely rainbow shimmer. Inspired by 'And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot'."  Gah!!!  I'm in love <3  This is 1 coat over a black base.

(If you've made it this far I commend you!  Hahaha onto the giveaway we go :D)

Ashley has graciously decided to giveaway 6 mini's from her Christmas collection.  Swatches were also done by my fellow bloggers Varnished Reputation, Painted Nubbs, Over the Top Coat and Possibly Polished so be sure to take a gander!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

May the Christmas Elves be in your favor!

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.

Peppermint Twists and A Tree... Oh My!

Hello, hello!

Sorry it's been a few days since my last post.  The month of December is always insane for singers and as usual I've committed myself to a lot of performances/gigs... and at this point I want to crawl into a hole and hibernate until Christmas is over lol.  But!  My Christmas spirit has yet to be dampened soooo... here's another themed mani....

 Colors Used: Daisy Nail Lacquer - Diamond White, Julep - Molly (red) and Hoch (green), Zoya - Ivanka (green flecked), KBShimmer - Candy Cane Crush (scented)

There's a lot going on in this one lol.  It's like a Christmas smorgasbord!  I started with all of my base colors: Diamond White and Hoch.  Hoch then got a layer of Zoya Ivanka on top to give it some glass-flecked prettieness.  I then applied 1 coat of KBShimmer's Candy Crush (which I ordered with the peppermint scent... love love love!!)...

I then free-handed the peppermint twists using Molly.  I actually really like the way they turned out!  For the tree, I painted 1 coat of a franken I made last year and forgot about.  It's a white crelly with gold glitter mixed in.  I then free-handed the tree using Hoch and a striping brush.  With a dotting tool, I added some baubles to the tree.  It was all topped coated with Color Club Clear :)

Christmas time is here!

I hope to get some more posts out this week, I have so much to share!!  Lol thanks for sticking around lovelies *hugs*.

Until next time!

Stef <3

Shimmer Polish

Good morning, dearies!

I have an EPIC glitter post for you today!!  I've been working on this for a couple of weeks and have kept it pretty hush hush ;) (*disclaimer)...

I was contacted by the lovely Cindy of Shimmer Polish and asked if I would like to swatch for her.  My response... "Is that even a question??".  I have always drooled over these polishes from afar and now I have some to share with all of you (be forewarned, this post is extremely pic heavy!)...

 Astrid

 Astrid is a mix of amethyst, opal, and holo glitters.  The opal comes thru very strong in this polish.  I paired it with a lilac polish, polka dots and a bow.  Astrid has a somewhat thick consistency, but applies very easily. It's shown in 2 coats over my ring finger.

 Jennifer

This polish is a mix of soft blue and periwinkle glitters.  It reminded me of something sweet, like cotton candy or a cupcake.  So that's just what I did! Application was very smooth and easy. Jennifer is in 2 coats over a periwinkle base.

 Wendy

Wendy is one of my favorites of the bunch!  A mix of purple, copper, and blue that reminded me of Mardis Gras or a masquerade.  I paired it with some pink and lace.  I LOVE it!!  Wendy was 2 easy coats over a light pink base.

 Courtney

A stunning mix of red, gold, blue, purple and green (just from what I can see, there very well could be more!), Courtney is another fave.  Looking at this polish, I was immediately reminded of the Indian celebration of colors... Holi Day.  I dream of one day going to India and experiencing this holiday first hand *sigh*.  Anywhosy, this beauty is just a smidge thicker than her sisters but she applied beautifully in 2 coats over a dark red base :)

 Vanessa

Oh Vanessa, you vampy girl you!  This polish is a mix of pewter, silver, red, black and holo glitters.  It made mt think of the vampire Lestat.  Dark and brooding with a little bit of show ;)  I did some simple, nondescript nail art for this polish; pairing it with some simple black stids.  Vanessa is shown as 1 coat over black.

 Jasmine

Ok... do I have to say it?  Princess Jasmine all the way!!  This polish is killer, seriously.  Aquamarine, light blue, and green with a little bit of red a gold thrown in... I can't even... gaaaahhh!!  :D  I didn't want to detract from this glitter and all of it's fabulousness, so I stuck with a simpler drip design.  I want to wear this polish all the time!  Jasmine is shown as 2 coats over a turquoise polish.

 Cleo

Very mysterious and beautiful, this polish was a winner in my home.  my hubby commented after seeing this one, "Wow... she really knows her stuff!".  Lol this has got Mr. Charming's stamp of a approval ;)  Cleo is a mix of blue, purple and opal glitters in a fuchsia base.  I chose to do a glitter gradient over a deep purple base.  I really, really like the way that it turned out.  This glitter applied like butter!

 Jacki

Jacki stands out from the crowd.  Unlike her other sisters, who are flashy divas, Jacki keeps is simple with her mix of micro glitters. Violet, navy and maroon mixed into a purple jelly base... to die for!  I wish my camera had picked up more of the glint that this polish gives off.  I did one coat over a dark purple base and then added some gold stipes and studs.  Application of this polish was a breeze.

 Stephanie

Stephanie (aside from being somewhat special to me in the name department lol) is really a gorgeous glitter polish.  It's a mix of royal blue, navy blue, periwinkle, silver, red and purple glitters.  it reminded me of a meteor shower I once saw and so I did a shooting star :)  I paired it with a royal blue jelly polish and I think it turned out quite well :)  Stephanie is 2 easy coats over a royal blue base on my middle finger.

 Bernice

Bernice is a gorgeous mix of silver, blue, black and holo glitters in a jelly base.  Right off the bat it made me think of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.  Random right??  My brain, I swear lol.  I decided a random splattering of silver would pair with this polish nicely.  Bernice is VERY compacted with glitter so I only used one coat over a grey base.  The glitter applied like all the rest... easy!

I now know what all the rage is about when it comes to Shimmer Polish!  I have to admit that I was not a lover of glitter polishes before receiving these stunners.  Man on man am I a believer of the glitters now hahaha.  Glitter everything!!!  

All of these polishes (and many many more) can be found here, in the Shimmer Polish shop :)

What do you all think of these glitter bombs??

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.