Guest Post from The Mani Cafe

Hi all!  Today I have a post from the lovely Michaela of The Mani Cafe.  We've been over-seas friends for quite some time now and she's such a doll!  I'm happy to have her posting on my page today, please be sure to check out her fabulous blog and give her a follow if you aren't already!  Let's jump in and check out her post!

xx, Jen

Here's a collage of some fabulous manis from The Mani Cafe!

Pahlish: 10/6, Man's Red Flower and Melon Baller

Good afternoon!  Let me just start this post by saying BUY ALL THE CORAL POLISH!  Yup, it's one of my favorite colors and I especially love to wear it in the summer.  So I had to share these gorgeous polishes from Pahlish with you now before the Summer is officially over.  Pahlish has some really fantastic colors and themed collections.  The thing about Pahlish is that if you like a color you need to get it fairly quickly.  Shannon doesn't keep her collections around for very long.  Now and then she has a few "popular" shades return but nothing is guaranteed.  Point in case...all 3 of the polishes I have to share with you tonight.  There are all up for grabs in the last couple months but now, they are gonezo.  So I'm a little bit of a big old meanie and sharing polish that isn't available, I'm sorry!  Right now Pahlish has the lovely Marco Polo collection in her shop and they are perfect Fall colors.  Welp let's look at some coral polish...

*press sample*

Pahlish: Shop, Facebook, Instagram

10/6 is from the Through the Looking Glass collection.  It was Alice In Wonderland themed so I was a big fan.  Now I will admit that I am a bit confuzzled because the bottle I have is way more coral/red than the pink I was seeing in swatches.  Maybe because of my skin tone, maybe because I took my pictures in direct sunlight?  I really like this color though so it doesn't bother me too much.  10/6 is a coral-pink with a soft scattered holo finish.  The formula and application were both great - no issues to mention.  I used 2 coats of 10/6 and finished with a layer of topcoat.

*shade*

Man's Red Flower is from The Jungle Book Trio, which was limited edition.  This is a peachy-orange-coral linear holo with some soft pink shimmer.  Again, for some reason my bottle looks very different from all the other pictures I've seen so I can only contribute it to the settings in which I took the pictures - skin tone and lighting.  Man's Red Flower was creamy and opaque and one of those polishes that literally applies itself.  I used 2 coat's of Man's Red Flower and a layer of topcoat.  

And now for the bright neon orange-coral crelly!  This is Melon Baller from the Tropical Trio and I loves it!  The Tropical Trio was also limited edition.  There is a perfect blend of silvery and pink flakies in there that really make the polish stand out.  Formula and application were both stellar.  Because this is a squishy type polish I expected more coats but was happy that it only took 3 layers of Melon Baller for full coverage.  I finished with a layer of topcoat.  

*shade*

Pahlish & Elevation Polish Collaboration: The Venetian Duo

Good afternoon (or evening to those of you on the West & East coasts).  It's only 4pm here.  I'm definitely enjoying this laid back island lifestyle.  But my love for polish is too strong and I just had to swatch - but this collaboration duo is a real stunna so I'm glad I brought it along!  Phalish and Elevation Polish have done a few collaboration duos before (Shannon and Lulu are very tight IRL friends so it's only natural that they'd want to do these fantastic duos) and we are all the more lucky for it because both brands are really amazing.  The August collaboration is The Venetian Duo, and  both polishes are gorgeous.  I have had the pleasure of going to Venice and this duo captures both the classy and historical qualities of the architecture and overall feel of that beautiful city on the water.  The Venetian Duo will be available in the Pahlish shop on 8/2 at 7pm CST and in the Elevation shop on 8/7 at 9pm CST.  The duo will be $22, not including shipping.  Alright, I know you're not here for my banter so let's look at pictures (apologies for no macros - I don't have my lens with me)!

*press sample*

Elevation Polish: Shop, Facebook, Blog, Instagram

Pahlish: Shop, Facebook, Instagram

Here's a pic of both bottles together; Elevation Polish The Merchant's Son and Pahlish The Wayfarer.  Even just looking at the bottles you can tell how perfectly they compliment each other!

Elevation Polish came up with The Merchant's Son, a light turquoise creme base polish with a very subtle teal shimmer.  It reminds me of the pretty, brightly painted houses along the canals in Venice.  This polish is also a thermal!  The shift is very slight, it basically turns to a darker turquoise shade when cold.  But since I am in Hawaii there is no cold.  I even attempted to capture it with bowls of water but it wasn't working so well - you can see a very little color change at my nail tips in most of the pictures though.  You can check out the thermal change over on Ehmkay Nails post HERE!  The Merchant's Son was a bit sheer with the first coat but it built up to perfect coverage in 3 coats.  And the color - AH-MAY-ZING!  I truly adore the color and the shimmer.  Lulu really does subtle so well!  I have on 1 layer of topcoat to finish.  

And now the Pahlish contribution to the duo.  I fell hard for The Wayfarer.  You'll see why shortly.  The Wayfarer is a beautiful blend of silver chrome flakies, possibly some ultra chrome flakies and  some iridescent shimmer and glitter.  Simple (thought not really) and stunning!  The Wayfarer is very pretty with a very old world vibe.  It's kind of burnished gold and silver and all things renaissance.  Anyways, the formula was top notch!  I had perfect coverage with 1 coat.  Of course this is layered over The Merchant's Son.  I finished up with 1 layer of topcoat.   Perfect Summer duo, period.

Pahlish An Caisteal Ruadh

Good morning!  I am absolutely feeling in the Fall spirit.  I just can't get enough of these deep red, maroon and burgundy shades.  So I suspect you'll be seeing lots of them soon and for a while as I usually wear them all winter long.  So let's start off my total red infatuation with a post featuring a stunning Pahlish from the Royal Reverie Collection.  I'm not sure if Shannon is going to restock this one anymore but it's currently still listed on the site for $9 (but SOLD OUT).  Be sure to check on Friday at 5pm PDT when she restocks the shop.  

*nothing to disclose*

Pahlish: Shop, Llarowe, Facebook, Instagram

An Caisteal Ruadh , which means "RedCastle in Scottish Gaelic" is an "oxblood red jelly with a mix of gold and silver flakes and copper shimmer."  It's inspired by the deep brick red colors of the castle.  The color, finish, shimmer, flakies...all complete perfection together.  The formula and application were both fantastic.  It covered superbly well for a jelly and I reached full coverage after 2 coats of An Caisteal Ruadh.  I finished with 1 layer of topcoat to keep the glossy finish.  

*artificial light*

*direct sun*

*indirect sun*

Mountain Wedding Nails & Outfit

Good afternoon lovelies!  I attended my little sister's wedding this past weekend and it was a beautiful event.  She did it completely DIY and everything was so well thought out and perfect for the location.  The wedding was in Mount Madonna in the woodsy area of Watsonville.  The ceremony took place in the small outdoors amphitheater.  As you can imagine there was a real outdoors/country/camping feel to everything.  My favorite things about the wedding were the "family photo wall" - essentially a wall with open picture frames that people could stick their arms and heads out of for fun pictures, the granola bar - which was the favors and s'mores cupcakes for dessert!  The weather was perfect, everyone was happy and feeling celebratory, the beer and wine were plentiful.  But most importantly my sister looked amazing and she was so full of joy and love.  I snapped a few pics of my outfit and nails to share with you.  

My earrings are from Chloe + Isabel, called La Bell Rose Chandelier Earrings.  This is  discontinued line and it's so gorgeous, I definitely need the long pendant that matches these earrings.  They were the PERFECT accessories to my dress.

My bracelet, also from Chloe + Isabel is the La Belle Rose Elyse Bracelet.  Again, this is a discontinued style, but I'm so glad I had it because it couldn't have been a more perfect match to my outfit.  The pearls and "diamond" strand are stretchy so it just slipped right on to my wrist. 

My sister made me this adorable flower wreath to wear.  Her crown had purple flowers in it and added just the right touch of color to her wedding dress.   Sorry for the lack of lipstick, I forgot to reapply throughout the day.  

Here's a picture showing more of my dress.  The sheer pannel on top was so pretty and delicate.  The bottom layed over a nude colored tulle to make the skirt part poofy.  I purchsed this dress from the Nordstrom website way back in the beginning of the summer.  

It was a cowboy boot kind of a wedding!  I just had to have them, and I'm so glad I do because I love them!  I picked these up from Amazon.  They are Ariat Women's Heritage Western R Toe Boot.  They were pretty heavy so thank goodness for free Amazon Prime shipping!  These are very well made and comfortable boots.  I wore them a couple times before the entire day of wear just to break them in a bit.  They already have that soft feel and I can tell they will only get softer and more comfortable over time.  

On to my nails!  Please excuse any poor clean up or mistakes.  I painted late at night on Friday night (after the rehearsal dinner - where I also may have had more wine than I thought) and had to be up bright and early for hair and makeup appointments!  This is just a quick picture I took of my nails over my dress so you could see that I went with matching polish shades.  

Here's another picture (later in the day).  I'm holding my flower crown.  

From left to right: Zoya Chita, IBD Paint Riot, Jessica Broadway Bound and Pahlish La Derniere Reine.  

I used 2 coats of Jessica Broadway Bound on my index nail.  Such a perfect red-orange shade!  And the shimmer is perfect!  I also used Broadway Bound on my middle nail, sponged on my tip over Pahlish La Derniere Reine.  

I have 3 coats of Pahlish La Derniere Reine on my thumb, middle and pinky nails.  This is a fantastic nude shade, full of soft copper flakes.  Yeah, in my rush I dragged some of the red polish up onto the nude polish.  Sigh.  

My accent nail is Zoya Chita, a unique and beautiful hunter green color.  It's a PixieDust so it has that great texture that we all love.  Chita is truly gorgeous and one of my favorite Pixies ever!  

I finished this off using IBD Paint Riot over my middle nail to bring out the black/gold shades in my dress.  I used 2 coats of Paint Riot.  This is a very subtle and pretty glitter.  It gave just the perfect touch to make my nails feel a little blingy.  I finished off all nails, except Zoya Chita, with 1 layer of topcoat.