A Wild Frenchie

 Hello dearies!

I have a simple frenchie to share with you today!  If you have the basics of a french manicure down, this look is pretty simple.  If the idea of giving yourself a french mani gives you hear palpitations... all I can say is practice, practice practice lol.  I've only just recently felt like my frenchie's are presentable and I've been working at it for a couple of years ;)

 Colors Used: Shimmer Polish - Irene, China Glaze - Turned Up Turquoise, Sinful Colors Nail Art - Time Off

I started with a taupe base on my tips.  After getting the crescent shape that I wanted, I went back over my tips with Irene using a striping brush.  Irene is an absolute stunning glitter polish!  It's a mix of champagne, gold, silver and holo micro glitters.  I wish I could have picked up just how rainbowy this beauty is.  Trust me... it's a stunner!!

Once I had my tips the way I wanted them, I took a dotting tool and splotched out my turquoise spots.  I then used a black striper amd outline my spots.  Lastly, I top coated with Duri Miracote.

 

I like that this is elegant white adding a pop of fun and color!  I really love the way it turned out :)  For those who are curious, the formula on Irene does not disappoint.  As with all Shimmer's, this polish is compacted with glitter.  I only used one coat of glitter over taupe to achieve opaqueness on my tips!  Irene, along with so many other gorgeous glittering polishes, can be found in Shimmer Polish'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.

Oriental Oaisis & I'm So Sari!

Hello, dolls!

As I mentioned last week....

First up is the polish I wore to church this morning...

 

  Crystal International - Oriental Oaisis

   I recieved 6 Crystal International polishes from my mother.  She works in the supplier diversity industry and is mentoring a small minority company that makes polish.  The owner of the company gave my tom-boy mommy a product that she will never ever in a million years use.  I am the lucky benefactor lol.  They will be my church mani's for the next couple of weeks ;)

Anywhosy, I don't know much about the company but I can say that this polish is of amazing quality.  Practically a one coater, my mouth was hanging open during application.  A deep raspberry creme is how I would describe this color.  This is 2 coats with OPI Rapidry Top Coat.

Retail: N/A

 Sephora by OPI - I'm So Sari!

Time for the fun stuff!  I picked up this polish a couple of weeks ago when Sephora was having a clearance sale on their polishes.  One of the sales reps told me that they are discontinuing the polish line.  Altho it made me a little sad, I appreciated the discount.  

This polish is described as an "opaque turquoise with fine and chunky iridescent glitter".  I luuuuuurrrrv it!!  Because it's so sheer, I did 2 coats of I'm So Sari over a teal creme polish.  I topped it with OPI Rapidry Top Coat.

Retail: $4.50 (was $9.50)

 I meant to do bottle shots, I don't know where my head was at.  Next Sunday you'll have them :D  I hope all is well with you ladies!

Until next time!

Stef <3

Something Old & Something(s) New

Hello, dolls!

It's almost the weekend, get excited!!  The mani I have to share with you today is one that I did late Monday night.  I was super sleepy, but felt deserving of a pampering haha.  I pulled out an "untried" and used it with some new polishes that I bought in a recent haul...

 Colors Used: Daisy Nail Lacquer - White Diamond, Savina - Blue For You, Sally Hansen - Mermaid's Tale

Can you tell which one is the SH?  Even tho navy blues are usually saved for Fall and Winter, I decided to rock it anyway.  I've had Mermaid's Tale since the begining of Spring and never tried it.  Which is a shame because it's so dang pretty!

 

 white Diamond and Blue For You are new buys.  I like white diamond because it's thick and opaque.  2 thin coats and it was good to go :)  Blue For You is interesting.  In these photos it leans towards blue, while on my phone's camera it looks very green.  In person... I'd say it looks like mint and turquoise had a gorgeous baby.  There is a down side *sigh*.  Like most Savina's that I've tried/own, this beauty is super streaky. I was a little surprised during application because it looks so thick and opaque on the brush (it was the deciding factor when I purchased it).  I did 3 thin-ish coats.

I used my handy dandy striping brush for the design on my ring finger (Julep mystery polish was used for the navy blue)...

Clean-up isn't great but I really liked the way these photographed!  Wandering what happened to my thumb shot?  I forgot that I hadn't photographed this mani and started my removal process lol.  Would have been a shame not to have gotten these ;)

I hope you all are having a fantabulous week!

Until next time!

Stef <3

Tealquoise...?

Good morning, dolls!

It's the weekend!  Hallelujah!!  Haha it's just been one of those weeks I suppose.  I plan to do some therapy shopping with my girl, the fashionista, and I can't wait :D  Seeing as I need to start getting ready, let's get to the mani...

I saw a manicure recently where the girl used teal and turquoise as her pallete and absolutely fell inlove with it.  She did some flower stamping that was adorable, but I decided to take mine in a different direction...

 Colors Used: Color Club - Edie, Love & Beauty - Teal, Julep - Harper, Sally Hansen - White On

I'm really loving stripes right now and I'm finally getting my striping back into shape.  This means you will probably be seeing a lot of stripey nails up on the blog in the near future ;)

So, both my middle and ring fingers got teal polish to start.  This teal from L&B is actually pretty sheer and need 3 thin layer to build opaqueness.  Middle finger was topped with 2 thin coats of Harper, a super compacted opalescent glitter that makes me think of mermaid scales :) My thumb and pinky got 3 coats of Edie.  She's a little bit streaky but such a beauty!  Striping and polka dots were acheived with they're respective tools...

I only have 2 photos for you today because my camera decided to make my hands look like they were on fire.  They were so ridiculously red before editing and after fixing 2 photos, I was done lol.

I hope you all have an absolutely wonderful weekend filled with joy and fun :D

Until next time!

Stef <3

My Sissy's Gettin' Hitched!

Good morning, dearies!

Today is the "big day" for my sister-in-law and I am so excited for her :)  Family and friends will be gathering today at an intimate ceremony overlooking the beach, showering the bride and groom with love and blessings.  Gaaah I love weddings!  Correction... I love attending weddings.  Planning them is a whole other story lol.

So, the mani I did for the occasion was inspired by a pin that I stumbled upon yesterday morning.  I just knew I had to reproduce it...

 Colors Used: Julep - Joanna, Love & Beauty - Purple, Rimmel - Black Satin, China Glaze - Turned Up Turquoise

The colors in this mani coincide with the colors of the dress I'll be wearing.The photos don't do the dress justice!  The one i have has a lot more turquoise and purple and a LOT less yellow lol.

 I started with 2 coats of Joanna as my base and then free handed the design with my striping brush.  My only complaint would be my nail length.  I had to give them a bit of a chop because they were getting weak and brittle from stress and lack of attention :\  I didn't want to have a really bad break so I took preemptive measures *sigh*...

Yay!

Well, I'm off to get ready for the day.  It's going to be busy busy busy!  Chissey... I'm so proud of you honey.  I know that you are going to make a beautiful bride.  While I'm sad to see you move clear to the other side of the country (waaaaaah!), I know that it's only a "see you later".  I love you so so much!!

Until next time!

Stef <3

Playing with Turquoise

Hello, dearies!

A quick post today because I've got so so much going on in life... bleh!  I did this mani a while back and had it archived for awhile...

 Colors Used: China Glazed - Turned Up Turquoised, Rimmel - Black Satin, Sephora - 18k Gold Top Coat

 

This is 2 coats of the Turquoise, lightly sponged Black Satin and 2 coats of the gold topcoat.  Easy-peasy lemon squeezy!

Yay pretty!

I wish I had more time to devote to this post, but I will be back tomorrow with stories from yesterday and my crazy events of today.  Stay tuned!

Until next time!

Stef <3

Jamberry Nail Shields

Hello, hello!

Today's post will be my very first review of a product!  I recieved some samples of Jamberry nail shields from the lovely Kelly Baas, a Jamberry rep :)

 Colors Used: Jamberry Nail Shields, Sally Hansen - White On, Zoya - Morgan, China Glaze - Turned Up Turquoise

I seriously love these nail shields and don't want to take them off... ever! 

Two nail shields were plenty for both of my hands.  My middle and ring fingers are Jamberry while the rest of my nails are polished.  I tried to match the polish shades as closely as possible.  I did put a layer of base coat on my nails before starting because I'm particular in that way.  I made sure my nails were dry before starting my application...

The biggest difference between these and other nail strips is that these are vinyl.  This means they don't have an expiration date/won't dry out like other products do.

I followed the instructions to the letter and it was a cinch.  I was a bit concerned about whether the base coat would affect the outcome of the finish but they turned out beautifully :)  After I had the nail shields on, I did 2 coats each of White On, Morgan and Turned Up Turquoise on my left over naked nails.  I then used my dotting tool to layer Morgan and TUT in a cascading fashion on my thumb.

Once I was finished I top coated my polished nails and swiped a little bit of top coat on the free edges of the shields for extra security.  I work with my hands all day long and I wanted this mani to last a good while ;)  I wore these all day Thursday and they still look great!  The shields feel very secure.  Overall, this is definitely a product I would want to purchase (I also have read that you have the capability of creating your own design on the website.  How cool is that?!!)

If you would like to learn more about this product, you can contact Kelly by...

Email - BerryNailsByKelly@gmail.com

Web - KellyBaas.JamberryNails.com

Facebook - www.facebook.com/BerryNailsByKelly

Blog - OohLaLaPolish.com

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.