Tuesday, December 31, 2013

New Years Eve Nails!

Good morning and happy New Years Eve day!  I hope you have plans for a fabulous day and an amazing evening!  I have plans to go out to dinner with my little family and then we will likely hole up at home until the countdown.  Oh how times have changed since we've had kids.  At least we will have champagne.  So I have thought and thought about what kind of mani to do for tonight and I really didn't want to do black and glitter - alas I have no originality today.  But I am happy with what I paired up and how it turned out so it's not all bad.  

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I started this lovely mani with OPI 4 in the Morning.  What a gorgeous and subtle matte black.  Actually it is a "satin" finish.  So pretty.  I used 2 coats for complete coverage.  I topped 2 of the nails with 4 in the Morning with a special, exclusive Lynnderella - Holoday Hearts.  This silver holo glitter bomb is amazing!  Hearts, stars, snowflakes, flowers, mouse heads, circles...so much glitter!  It's rounded out with a healthy serving of holo shimmer.  So much glitter and shimmer came out with ease and spread well on my nails.  I used 2 coats.  Finally I used another special polish, Cirque Colors Ginza.  Ginza was part of a duo that was only available at the outdoor markets Cirque sets up at in New York.  It's a gorgeous foily, silver linear holo.  I have nothing like this in my stash, it's really fabulous.  I used 2 coats and application was a dream.  I used 1 layer of topcoat on all nails but the ring finger, I wanted to keep that one matte.  









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Monday, December 30, 2013

Mentality Polish Felicity

Hello dears!  Hope you have a restful weekend!  I can't believe how close we are to 2014!  Do you have a NYE mani planned out yet?  Better yet do you have any resolutions?  Well I am working on reviews and have been brain storming a NYE mani for myself...even though I will be at home with the Mr. and the littles.  It'll still be fun to have pretty nails!  Well today I definitely have some pretty nails to show you!  Mentality is a great brand with loads of polish in a variety of different finishes in their shop!  I reviewed Rascal in the past and you can see that post HERE!  Let's check out this one shall we?

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This beauty is Felicity.  Felicity is part of the Brilliant Holo collection.  It's a fabulous "sparkling pink holographic with gold accents."  I love that depending on the lighting and movement of your fingers you can really see the sparkling pink and gold micro glitter, and other times the holo is more prominent.  Felicity had a great formula that went on easily and smoothly.  Application was great.  I used 3 coats and 1 layer of topcoat.







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Friday, December 27, 2013

Glam Polish: Iridessa, Fawn, Gliss, Tempestarii & Conjuring

Good afternoon.  I'm hiding in my bed today feeling sorry for myself.  I fought like a champ but still caught the cold going around my house for the last week.  So I'm trying to keep warm and do as little as possible.  Mind you it didn't stop me from going to Nordstrom's for the most amazing mermaid flats ever.  Sigh - yes I feel worse because of it and have shopping problems.  Anyways, playing with these beautiful Glam Polishes really cheered me up.  How can they not?  They are so bright and happy and sparkly!  You can purchase Glam Polish from Color4Nails and there is currently a big after Christmas sale going on so you should check it out!

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*PRESS SAMPLE*

Up first I have Iridessa.  Iridessa is from the Pixie Hollow Collection.  With a 2 year old princess in my house I have recently become familiar with all the fairies that hang with Tinkerbell so I can completely appreciate the cuteness of this collection!  Iridessa is described as a "bright neon yellow base packed with silver chrome shimmer."  Iridessa is a light fairy so it's fitting that her namesake polish is so bright!  The formula and application were both fabulous.  I used 3 coats for full coverage and noticed with each coat the polish got brighter and brighter!  It dried to a slightly matte finish and I did not use topcoat.








Fawn, an animal fairy, is another polish from the Pixie Hollow collection.  Fawn is described as a "bright orange base packed with silver chrome shimmer."  This one also had a fabulous formula and application.  I used 3 coats and no topcoat to show the semi-matte finish.  









Gliss is another polish from the Pixie Hollow collection.  It's a "scattered holographic topcoat" that adds just the right amount of frosty pixie dust to your mani!  Gliss is actually a frost fairy so I guess you are frosting your nails when you use it.  I used both Iridessa and Fawn to create a sponged tip gradient and then topped them with 2 coats of Gliss.  Using 2 coats did make the holo effect a smidgen stronger but 1 coat would be just fine.  If you were to use a creme base I think the holo would show up better.  Gliss, just like the other 2 had a really nice formula that was a breeze to apply.  I did not use topcoat.  






Moving on to the Cast A Spell collection, this is Tempestarii.  Tempestarii are weather-making magicians.  This Tempestarii is a "deep purple scattered holographic base packed full of holographic micro-glitter."  This is a very gorgeous and saturated color!  I used 2 coats for full coverage.  Formula and application were both fantastic.  I used 1 layer of topcoat for extra gloss and shine.    









Another polish from the Cast A Spell collection, this is Conjuring.  Honestly all I can think about when I hear that word is the creepy movie The Conjuring that came out this year.  Shudders, scary stuff boys and girls! But this polish isn't scary.  It's gorgeous!  I love it!  Conjuring reminds me of Evanora but it's a "dark forest green scattered holographic base packed full of holographic glitter."  It's almost a jelly base but it built up so well to full coverage in 3 coats.  Formula and application were both wonderful.  I finished with 1 layer of topcoat.    





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Cirque Colors SPAM!

Good morning!  Hope you've had a lovely holiday week...now we are back to Friday and just about to another weekend.  It's been relaxing and my kids have had a fun time at home.  They are happy to have another week off and I'm happy to have them at home to hang out with.  I have a couple reviews coming up but before I get to those I really wanted to share this post I worked on because, well....Cirque holos are AMAZING!  I absolutely adore this brand and look forward to completing my Cirque holo collection (I'm looking at you  Vesuvius and Never Nude!).  I will first say that formula and application on all of these were fantastic!  They all dried at a super quick pace and each is lightly scented with lavender so if you are a person bothered by smell it might be a deal breaker for you.  I quite enjoy the scent.  So let's get this party started!


Up first, the beautiful "marigold yellow" Chryseopoeia.  Chryseopoeia is from the 2013 Alchemy collection.  I love everything about it.  The color is saturated and gorgeous.  The linear effect is perfect.  I used 3 coats for full coverage.  No topcoat.  







This green fellow is Lonesome George.  Lonesome George is from the 2012 Objet d'Art collection.  Described perfectly as a "jeweled-tone green."  This color is so luxurious and amazing for any time of the year.  It's holo effect almost appears to be a mixture of linear and scattered.  I used 2 coats with no topcoat.  







Sommelier is a beautiful deep berry colored linear holo.  Sommelier was an exclusive color this year and only available at one of the outdoor markets that Cirque sets up at in New York.  The formula on this beauty was extra lovely, so creamy and a dream to apply.  I used 2 coats and no topcoat.  







Bejeweled is probably one of my favorites in this post.  The bright "royal blue" is simply amazing.  Bejeweled is from the 2013 Arcus collection.  I used 2 coats and no topcoat.  







From the debut 2012 Dark Horse collection, Fascination Street is a "vibrant indigo."  Initially I wanted this color because I love The Cure.  Then I fell in love with Cirque.  Fascination Street had a formula that was slightly thinner than the others in this post, and to the naked eye it is also the least holo-y.  It's a beautiful color none-the-less.  I used 2 coats and no topcoat.  







Mink is a decadent "chocolate brown" linear holo from the 2013 Alchemy collection.  Mink is so stunning and does remind me of melted milk chocolate.  I want to eat it!  But I won't (hello My Secret Addiction).  I used 2 coats and no top coat.  







Magnum Opus is another fabulous linear holo from the 2013 Alchemy collection.  This "mysterious purple-charcoal" color is so amazing and sparkly.  The rainbow holo is really something special on this polish.  Magnum Opus was a little sheer with the first coat.  I used 3 coats and no topcoat.  







Finally we've come to Alter Ego.  This is an LE color that was created in collaboration with Arms and Armory.  I believe it is from 2012.  Alter Ego is a "cosmic black holo" with strikingly beautiful rainbow holo sparkle.  This is one you have to see in real life to appreciate.  I also think this is the only one of the holos that would benefit from topcoat.  I used 2 coats and no topcoat.  






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