SAFS: Essie's Shine of the Times!

Happy Sunday lovelies!

I have another edition of "Sunday's Are For Swatching!" for you and this one features an HTF (hard to find)/retired beauty...

This... is Essie's "Shine of the Times".  This has been a lemming of mine for a very very VERY long time.  And it's finally mine...

 

Essie - Shine of the Times (over black)

Shine of the Times is a flakie topper that Essie released in their Holiday 2011 Luxe Effects Collection.  It was a pretty big deal when it came out.  At the time both Sally Hansen and Nubar had had great success with flakie toppers that they had released and Essie was looking to step out of their "we only make cremes" comfort zone.  So they released a line of interesting glitter toppers which included this beauty.

 SOTT shifts between an array of colors depending on what color is is paired with.  When over black, it you get a lot of red-orange and green shifting (I used KBShimmer Eclipse as my black base color).

 

 Essie - Shine of the Times (over blue)

I decided to pull out another HTF polish to see how they paired (I know... I'm such a stinker!).  This is Revlon Royal, an unbelievably gorgeous cobalt crelly.  SOTT looks almost rose gold over blue.

 

 Essie - Shine of the Times (jelly sandwich)

Last I wanted to see what it would look like in a jelly sandwich.  So I layered it between Loaded Lacquer's Acai Berry (man oh man does that girls know how to make a good jelly!).  Paired with this maroon, SOTT showed a lot of yellow and fiery orange.

In all of these swatches I only used one coat of SOTT.  This polish really is jam packed with flakies and I didn't need very much on the brush to get the effect I wanted :)

 Flakie perfection!

Now, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  Since this polish is 3 years old a lot of ladies are "putting it out to pasture", which is a good thing if you're someone like me who missed the flakie boat!  I happened to find this one in a girls destash that I ran across on Instagram.  I've been seeing them pop up again on eBay and Amazon as well.  They ARE out there, it's just a matter of how much you're willing to pay.  Personally I purchased 3 polishes from this girls destash and offered her $15 and she gladly accepted (I got very lucky).  Keeps hunting lovies!

Also, don't forget to enter the giveaway I am hosting with my MUA bestie Operatic Makeup!  The giveaway closes at midnight tonight (PST)...

Until next time!

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

Mint Manis For Talia Joy

Hello there, dearies!

Just a quick post in honor of a very special girl.  Talia Joy was a 13 yrs old.  She was battling nueroblastoma and preleukemia.  On Tuesday morning she went home to heaven.  Nail Polish Wars came up with the idea of creating/posting mint manis in memory of this incredibly talented individual who touched millions of people in her short here.  Here is my contribution...

 Colors Used: Bongo - Mint Chip Madness, Essie - Mint Candy Apple, Sally Hansen - Mint Sorbet and Sour Apple (Sugar Coat), Sephora by OPI - Read My Palm

I decided to pull 5 minty polish out of my hoard and then applied them at what I thought was random but kind of became an ombre... kind of haha.

More after the jump...

Step Into Summer - 3D

Hi there, lovlies!

I want to apologize for the infrequency of my posts.  Summer is the busiest time for me at work with summer camp.  By the time I get home, the last thing I want to do is paint my nails and post.  Usually I'll just pass out on the couch until my hubby comes and puts me to bed lol.  I have fallen really behind on my summer nail challenge because of it... Ooops!

Today I'm knocking out the "3D" mani...

 Colors Used: Love & Beauty - Strawberry (scented), Rimmel - Black Satin, Essie - Beyond Cozy

Originally I wanted to do a mani with fimo slices.  I have a ton of them, so the sky would be the limit.  But it was swim day at camp and I was afraid of them falling off in the pools and such.  This summer is ruining my life lol...

I opted for studs instead.  I picked these ones up over a month ago while perusing nail stuff at Claire's.  it came in a variety wheel that also includes micro beads, rhinestones and pearls.  Again, because of summer, I haven't gotten a chance to really play with them.

For application, I would topcoat 1 nail, apply the stud(s) and move on the the next nail.  I them applied a 2nd layer of topcoat once all of the studs had set, for extra security.

I think my thumb's my favorite haha :)

Here's hoping I can muster up the energy to do my nails again tonight...

Be sure to check out all of the awesome nail art in the links below.  You're bound to find something that suits your fancy :D

Until next time!

Stef <3

Ruffian Mani In Mint

Good morning, dolls!

I'm continuing with the "Mint Manis" today and I've played with a new-to-me technique.  The mint polish I chose this time around is one that I would classify as a true mint polish.  Green and creamy... just how I like 'em :P

Colors Used: Sally Hansen - Golden-I, Essie - Mint Candy Apple

From what I can gather, the Ruffian mani was created a couple of years ago by the creative team of CND.  They made this mani for the New York Fashion Week Ruffian Fashion Show.  I've noticed it popping up again recently and gaining in popularity, so I thought I'de give it a shot.  

Love the mani, hate the photos lol.  I started with 2 coats of Golden-I.  I then applied Mint Candy Apple with the bottle brush, being sure yo leave a decent amount of gold exposed by my cuticles.  I went back with a nail art brush and swiped the gold polish around the curve so that I would have a clean line.

This is definitely a manicure that I want to do again, it was pretty quick to do.  I found an excellent tutorial by Lacquerized if you would like some visuals :)

Sooooo yea!  Happy Friday hehe.

Until next time!

Stef <3

Church Mani: Playing With Textures

Hello lovely readers!

It's been a while since I've posted on of these.  I try to keep my church mani's subdued and appropriate because I sing for the Hour of Power and don't want to create any sort of production trouble.  Today's mani, while being subtle in color palette, is a mix of fun...

 Colors Used: Julep - Julianne and Patti, Essie - Beyond Cozy, Hard Candy - Black Tie Optional

Really... I just wanted another excuse to wear Black Tie Optional.  I love it so much!  Lol.

Julianne is 2 coats, Patti is 1 coat a top of Rimmel's Black Satin, Beyond Cozy is 3 coats for complete opacity.  My thumb and index finger got 1 coat of Black Tie Optional, while my ring finger was topped with NYC's Matte Me Crazy Top Coat.  A quick and easy mani with lots of personality!  :)

Yay nails! Hahaha...

Until next time!

Stef <3

Purple Bunting for Epilepsy Awareness

Hello dolls!

I am very excited about today's post!  I created a purple mani in support of Epilepsy Awareness Month.  Nail Narcotics is doing a series on her blog to spread the word about this neurological disorder and I'm thrilled to be able to spread it a little bit farther...

Colors Used: Jesse's Girl - Spring Break and Wild Thing, Essie - Lilacism, Urban Outfitters - Bandeau

Spring Break is definitely the refreshing color I needed to be rocking today.  I've been looking at my nails all day, smiling like a fool lol.  I've received quite a few compliments on my nails today and it's been a great way for me to spark up a discussion about epilepsy.  Here are some myths/facts about the disorder that Nail Narcotics posted to her blog...

MYTH :You can swallow your tongue while having a seizure.  

FACT:

For those of you who took biology or have a tongue of your own you will notice that its connected to the bottom of your mouth.(if you sense sarcasm its because I'm laying it on pretty thick)

MYTH: People with Epilepsy are disabled

FACT:

 People with Epilepsy have the same range of intelligence and abilities as everyone else.  Physically and mentally we are no different!

MYTH: Epilepsy is a disease

FACT:

 Epilepsy is chronic medical condition. You can not catch it

MYTH:  You can’t die from epilepsy 

FACT:

You can! Prolonged seizures can result in death. 

 

 To learn more about epilepsy, check out her blog/posts.  It's also a great way to get a look at some fabulous purple mani's ;)

Until next time!

Stef <3

Julep Demi & Essie Leading Lady

Hiya!  How's it goin'?

So the mani that I want to share with you isn't really nail art.  It's more of a polish swatch, which is not something that I really do.  Not that I'm disinterested!  I just really enjoy crafting nail designs, but I couldn't resist sharing this luscious polish with you in it's lonesome glory :D

The elusive polish is Julep's Demi.  I love it... LOVE!!  It's a beautifully deep red creme polish.  I paired it with Essies' Leading Lady which is a deep red almost-jelly with glitter...

 

 I used 2 coats for Demi and 3 coats for Leading Lady

 The one thing I will say about working with Demi that I disliked... cleanup was atrocious!  I've never used a red polish that turned into liquid stain immediately after coming into contact with acetone.  I appreciate the formula's amazing pigment but after all the scrubbing I still wasn't thrilled with my end result :\

Yay for red!  I hope you all have a fabulous Monday, don't work too hard ;)  I have a very special post to share tomorrow so I hope you'll check back in.

Until next time!

Stef <3

Pretty, Pretty Peacock!

Hello all!  Happy Wednesday and all that good stuff :)

Today's mani is one that I've thought about and planned out for a while.  I have an entire color wheel full of peacock mistakes lol.  I've looked at plenty of pictures, both mani's and actual feathers, and this is my peacock interpretation... (be warned, there are a lot of pics lol)

 I used quite a few colors in this mani, so rather than listing them, I took a picture of them and it will be included at the end of this post :)

 When I was originally thinking this one out, I had planned on doing feathers on every nail.  It seemed a little chaotic when I actually sat and looked at all my feather attempts on the wheel.  So it became an accent nail :)

I layered the dots using 3 different sized dotting tips.

 

 I know I said I was going to cool it on the polka dots but.... I just couldn't help myself!  I think it's exactly what the mani needed ;)

These are all of the colors I used (L to R): Sally Hansen - Golden-I, Wet n Wild - Chick Magnet Zack, Essie - Mojito Madness, Pixel - Pixel Dust, China Glaze - Blue Sparrow (Neon), 

Sinful Colors - Midnight Blue, Love & Beauty - Purple

And the big one...

I'm pretty proud of this mani :)

Things coming up:

• Vote for a tutorial! - I've decided that I'll post some pics of past mani's that seem to be popular and then had you all vote on which one you would like to have a tutorial on.  Maybe the top 3?  What do you think?  Any feedback would be awesome :)
•  100th Post Giveaway! -  This marks post #85, so it's coming up pretty fast.  More details to come soon!
• Another nail haul! - I've been a polish buying fiend recently lol.  I have some more polishes to share and my Julep Maven box for august should be coming soon, woot!  I'll be sharing that as well :)

That's all for now.  I hope you have a marvelous day!

Until next time!

Stef <3

Happy Birthday Nini!!

Yellow!

Today is my darling friend Janina's birthday :)  I am so very happy that she was born hahaha.  She had a party Saturday night and the theme was "Rainbow" ('twas a very colorful time!).  I unfortunately couldn't do my nails like I wanted because I had church the next morning, so I've decided that today, her actual date of birth, I shall rock-the-rainbow.

The mani that I did was inspired by the cloudy/rainbow aluminum water bottle she loves so much (it might still be lost? *tear*)...

 Colors Used: Sally Hansen - White On, China Glaze - Hey Sailor, Love & Beauty - Orange, Sally Hansen - Mellow Yellow, Essie - Mojito Madness, Finger Paints - Inkblot Blue, Love & Beauty - Purple, Spoiled - I Have No Reception

Lots of colors!  I'm still getting used to my new camera and I haven quite the right lighting, hence the lack of photos (if I can take some better pics, I'll post them :P).  I started using a dotting tool to draw out my clouds, then I continued with the white down the tip using the polish brush.  With my striper, I applied one color at a time, not worrying about it being perfectly even because rainbows come in all shapes and sizes :)  With the small end of my dotting tool I added glitter (No Reception) to the clouds.  I finished it with L&B Quick Dry Top Coat and that was that.

I immediately texted a photo of the mani to Janina after I finished haha.  Here's hoping she likes it *crosses fingers*

Happy birthday to you, you live in a zoo!  You look like a monkey aaaaaaand you smell like one too!!  :P

Until next time!

Stef <3

Naked Nails, Products & Hauls... Oh My!

Hey there lovelies!

I don't think I've mentioned it but, along with learning / doing nail art, this is my first attempt at growing out my natural nails.  I've decided that I want to document this with pics and some comments through my blog.  I do apologize if this does not interest you in the slightest, BUT... I also will be sharing nail polish hauls and some products that I absolutely love and use on a very regular basis.  So, stick around :)

The following pics are of my left and right hands just after I removed the polish from yesterday's post...

The very first thing I noticed was that I take way better care of my left hand (the "modeling" hand) than my right hand... and that just seems a little unfair, so I shall be remedying that soon lol.  They don't look too terrible but I do have some splitting at the tips that I'm dealing with.  I bought some crystal nail files and I hope that they will correct this problem :\

I've had a couple of people ask me what happened to my left ring finger and I thought I should fill you all in.  I'm a dumb.  And a klutz. I was removing those purple fimo bows with M.A.S.H.'s super pointy nail art tweezers and I slipped... and gashed my finger pretty good.  It's healing faster than I thought and I'm sure my hand will be picture perfect again soon lol.  Now onto my polish hauls and favorite products!

Orange and Purple? Not So Much!

Good 'morrow dears!  How did we fair this weekend, hmmm?

I am pooped.  Exhausted!  I need a weekend from my weekend.  It was crazy, hectic, stressful and incredibly fun!  I went to the Renaissance Faire this for a friends birthday and that was an eye opener to say the least.  I didn't dress-up in costume or take on the personality of a character.  I was a normy in normy clothes, saying normy things... it was fun :D  Enough rambling about my weekend, let's talk nails!

For today's mani I decided to play with two polishes that I hauled in over the weekend (the entire hauls I will be putting up tomorrow... maybe!).  I used Essie - Bazooka (neon orange) and Urban Outfitters - Bandeau (royal purple)...

Holding up the 2 bottles next to each other I thought, "Oh, these will look awesome together!".  But by the time I got to my ring finger, I did not like the color combo at all!  I took this design off about 5 mins after I took these pics.  Looking at them now, they don't seem terribly awful but the color combo is just so odd!  

I don't know what I was thinking but I thought I should share it anyway hahaha :)  I have some blogs for the week already formulated in my head so there should be something new to look at everyday.  My honey and I are car shopping (desperately at this point), so if I do miss a day , that is most likely the reason why... such is life!

So what do you guys think of this mani/color combo?  I think it may be a tad too wacky lol.

Until next time!

Stef <3