Getting My Chrome On

I'm baaaack :)! Hope you all are doing well out in the blogiverse. Tonight I have two new additions to my collection to show you.

 

 

(Barielle Lava Rock Stamped with Pure Ice Outrageous using SH15)

Spiffy Sparkles

Back from vacation and back in routine, or at least trying to be. I don't haul my full nail kit when I travel (it would need its own car!) so I picked up a few cheapies from Dollar Tree to add some variety.

 

Pure Ice Silver Star (1 coat) with Milani HD (2 coats).

 

Welcome To The Family!

Must love nail mail :D! Today I would like to welcome Shany 2012 set to my stamping plate family. They arrived this afternoon I tried to take photos but it only confused my poor poor camera (it actually repeatedly shut off in protest). So please check out this post from Katsy Nail Crazy for some awesome close ups. I'm currently sporting the hummingbird from SH17.

 

Also went on a mini haul with my $10 off $20 Sally's coupon (she post them every month so keep your eyes open!) and a trip to Wal-Mart. Side note you don't see many Wal-Mart polishes in my stash because of my personal ethical issues with the company so I keep shopping there to once or twice a year for special items. Anyway this trip yielded what I think will be several wonderful stamping polishes including a possible A-England Excalibur (original) dupe! Hope to have a chance to play and show them to you sometime in the future.

Night Chickadee's and happy polish dreams XOXO.

Feeling Proper?

I sure am! If you know me personally then insert snickering *here* ;) . This evening I am pleased to present a stamped manicure using Barielle Wrap Me In Ribbon and Mentality Proper.

 

(Barielle Wrap Me In Ribbon 2 coats stamped with Mentality Proper using Pueen Plate 26)

 

Totally Textured!

I didn't think it would get me but darn the texture trend pulled me in! You get one to try it out....then you need a sparkly one....then you need on for nail art....then you need to check out other brands to compare right? That's how it gets ya ;) and well me being me I had to take it a step past that and stamp it.

 

Mermaids ARE Real!

Well at least in my manicures they are ;)! Tonight I have some fantastical flakies to show you. This manicure is a perfect example of the beauties of layering that cannot be achieved in a single polish.

 

 

Vamp It Up.

Got some holy holo goodness for you today! I wish the weather had been nicer to capture the full spectrum of its awesomeness but it was pretty brilliant even if the sun didn't feel like coming out to greet it.

 

Wait, Wait, Wait For It!

Hello blogiverse :) I've missed you! Today I begin to catch up some swatch spam. Spent nearly two hours yesterday uploading, organizing, and editing several months worth of pictures from my camera. Considering I only do my nails about twice a week that's not as much as you would think but its quite the process to weed out all the bad ones. 

 

Today I bring you Zoya Paz with LynBDesigns Wait, Wait, Wait. Is This a Kissing Book.

 

Long Time No Post!

Boy has it! I cant believe its been so long :(. Ah the woes of the digital age, no computer, no uploads, no photos, no blogging. But I'm working my way back and have a few things to catch you up on :).

 

First a little photo spam -

 

Barielle Swizzle Stick with Candeo Julep.

(Darn that disappearing watermark! Tried 4 times already)

 

 

A-England Tristam stamped with Color Club Lumen-Icent and plate SE18.

(Not to bad for a first go I think.)

 

Wonderful Water Decals

Hello Chickadee's! Just because I lost all my recent photos doesn't mean I cant take more :). Today's manicure is from the tried and true pile Sinful Colors Vacation Time with a twist, my first attempt with water decals.

 

Disarray :(

Hello Chickadee's! Unfortunately I've been having numerous technological issues recently. Tonight's is that google docs decided to randomly arrange my stash spreadsheet. So for the time being I will be leaving it up but it is not properly organized and should not be replied upon. I will be working to make sure everything gets back to its proper place soon.  

 

My primary computer has also decided to self destruct. I believe my information is still intact but it will not boot or charge :(. This means all the photos from the past month that had not been uploaded to my cloud are unavailable to post. Its not as though I'm a frequent poster but it shall likely remain quiet around here as I resolve these issues.

 

In a more positive surge I have had some wonderful mail mail lately. Which has included many indies such as LynBDesigns, Candied Lustre, Mentality, and BellsKandi. Some beauty store hauls include the China Glaze Neon Ombre collection (Chasing The Sun) and other assorted neon's.

 

Luckily I did have the opportunity to upload the shots of my Candies Lustre Polish. Which I will be back to show you soon.

 

Hope your having a wonderful night in the blogiverse XOXO.

The Swatch Project Part 1

Good afternoon Chickadee's! Well probably evening by the time this goes live. Finally getting started on "the swatch project" and want to share the results as I go. Since my Second set of Fiskars craft scissors arrived last night I figure why not start there. Below are numbered samples of the Classic and Contemporary sets.

Treat Week

Good evening Chickadee's! Finally getting to the end of the month and the conclusion of my restricted buy! Going to be doing another next month with new restrictions but hey take the small victories right? Here is what Ive scored this week thanks to gift cards, coupons, and sales.

 

LVX Special Feature 30's Throwback

Boy oh boy am I behind! A few months ago I was lucky enough to be one of the winners of the LVX Winter Resort 2013 collection and Ive been wanting to do a special feature ever since. But as I'm sure you all know when a craving hits you must satisfy it and I have been in a jelly and tape mani mood so it took me a while to get to these. Tonight you will be seeing Tribute and Luxe in a 1930's style moon mani.

 

This manicure is a multitasker :). Its blue for Autism Awareness month (April), my LVX special feature, and a new technique for me (the moon).

 

New Feature!

Good evening Chickadee's! If you check the bottom of each post you will now see a few new buttons. I have added the "reactions" feature to the blog today. So now even if you aren't the comment type you can show a little love with one simple click :).

 

 Thanks for reading XOXO

Bling It On!

Alright folks photobucket decided to have a cooperative moment today so I finally have something to post :)! The upcoming photos are of my last manicure, a tape mani glitter bomb.

 

 

Working On it...

Well I did my part. I did the manicure,  I cleaned it up, I took photos, I made room on this ancient beast to download them, and I uploaded them to photobucket for copping and watermarking.....Now if only photobucket would cooperate :(. So for now I've written down which ones are worth editing and hope photobucket decides my pleading overtures are worthy.

 

After losing an hour and a half of work I figured I better quit before I threw this poor box who's done nothing wrong but display that forsaken service. I wish my experience with Picasa has bee better, or I had room and a compatible version of photoshop. There is a tape manicure in the future but of a yet to be known to myself later date.

 

Hope its a good night in your world XOXO.

 

ETA: In happier news I was the lucky recipient of TWO giveaways in the past week! One nail related (a indie brand Ive been wanting to try) and one skin care.

Neglect

I feel bad for my poor neglected little space in the blogiverse. No recent photos, so not much to say :(. I feel that I've lost my mani mojo recently. Last two mani's were absolutely not photo worthy. Last nights went better but I scratched it before I could take any pictures as it was raining all morning. I think top coat can fix it so you may be seeing some Barielle Do Unto Others soon :).

 

Since my neck spasm I've been spending more time on my NPR hobbies such as beading and woodworking. Easier to do than my nails with my head stuck leaning to the right and unable to turn left. Getting better though and soon I can get back to some fun nail art. I'm feeling in the mood for a dot manicure I think.....

 

What are you all up to out in the world? Have a great evening XOXO

Experiment Update March 2013

Good evening/nearly morning Chickadee's :). Haven't been up tot much nail wise with my neck still being an issue so I figure id update on some of my ongoing experiments.

Saran Wrap Marbeling

Good evening chickadee's! I'm late getting this one up considering I am minutes away from taking it off but better late than never right? Ended up being very ill Thursday night and have been attempting to recover ever since.

 

Anyway.....I have been wanting to play around with this technique for a few months, just never got my but in gear and bought the supplies. I'm a bit neurotic in that I like having separate everything for my nail kit so I'm not running around trying to get stuff I've forgotten with wet nails. You'd think it would be easier to make a list and be prepared but no, not me ;).

 

Another manicure where my camera and the light decided to play nice so you will have to scroll and suffer the photo spam. Starting with....

 

 

Nail Mail - LynBDesigns

Nail mail! I adore getting to say that :). The mini's I ordered from LynBDesigns 50% off sale have arrived! Its so wonderful being able to try more indie's when sales like that come along. A lot of work goes into these creations, I don't take issue with the price its my bank account that does. The US shipping hike doesn't help either. Whatever way they got here I'm proud to welcome Let's Get Mawwied, Sacre Blurple, & Little Foot mini's to my collection!

 

Bottle Shot -

Aren't they awesome?

Royal Navy Quickie

Slight disappointment to share tonight. Went at my swatch wheel last night with my two new jelly's and one crelly. Orly Sweet Tart performed beautifully and I enjoyed Orly Pink Nude more than I thought I would but Orly Royal Navy was a bust :(. In my googling it was typically referred to as a jelly with shimmer. While the first coat is a bit jelly-esque the second coat appears to make it opaque and unfortunately turned my silver glitter layer of the sandwich into blackened blue flecks.  

 

My swatch wheels are an off white not clear so I cant be certain but the base is not visible through the polish even under direct bright lighting, not what I was hoping for. I may have a wonky bottle though. When I opened it there was a good amount (maybe a bit over 1/4 teaspoon) of clear liquid separated from the rest. It took a lot of shaking to get it mixed back in, not something I normally do to a polish but it was being stubborn about it.

 

I think the formula may have been altered since the posts I read as all of them mentioned and showed how the shimmer had settled rather densely at the bottom of the bottle leaving you with a mostly clear jelly cobalt. My bottle before mixing the mystery substance back in had evenly distributed shimmer. Generally something you would want in my case not so much.

 

Still a pretty color just not my style may end up swapping that one down the line. I might wear it once just to give it a chance to grow on me who knows. Either way I have LynBDesigns Sacre Blurple mini on its way that should fulfill what I'm looking for. I have yet to spot Revlon Royal IRL so that will have to do. 

 

That's all for tonight. Apologies for the Lack of photos, been wearing the same mani for about a week now which is unusual for me. Need to make some time after my pedi to get something fresh on my hands ASAP. Have a great evening all XOXO

March Madness Haul Part 1

Hit up Sally Beauty and Ross today to start up my version of March madness.

 

From Sally's -

 

Orly- 

 Pink Nude

Prince Charming

 Royal Navy
Sweet Tart

Finger Paints -

Are You Hoppy?

Fishin For Fun

Sally Girl -

Silver Hex

Manicure soak bowl

Cuticle Eraser (I wanted one for my pedi kit too)

 

From Ross -

NPR - Hair Stuff

Decided to share two of my other Not Polish Related passions tonight HAIR & CRAFTING! Little tid bit about me :) I have hair long enough to sit on and I really enjoy playing with and adorning it. Here is a little project Ive been working on recently, a knock off of the ever popular Flexi-8 redone as a hair slide (a decorative piece secured with a hair stick).

Tap Tap Clack Clack...

Yes odd title but its the only way I could think to convey my happiness about finally replacing my busted up keyboard. Its a hand me down Dell Inspiron 1501 laptop that has had damaged keys since I got it four years ago. As a new blogger this is a thrilling thing to have a functional keyboard!

 

In other news I have several pieces of nail mail on its way to me. Some mini's from LynBDesigns, the march Nail Art Society bag, and the yet to be disclosed prize polishes I won. I also received my first set of Fiskars Decorative Scissors in record time (less than 24 hours between order placed and at my door!). Haven't gotten to play to much yet but I had a good time messing around and all but the lighting (the wavy ribbon like one) cut well. Some you have to hold the tape taught to you get a nice clean edge. Cant wait to get to some awesome tape mani's!

 

No photos for this post. I'm currently wearing an experimental crelly sandwich using Orly Sheer Nude and A-England She Walks In Beauty and I'm not sure how I feel about it yet.... haven't seen any decent sun either and my indoor photos weren't anything flattering or worth keeping. Rather boring week in my world of nails but have ideas in the works for when my various nail mail arrives.

 

Oh I nearly forgot! Somehow Blogger lost a few comments from last week so whoever you were thank you :)! I received the e-mail notification but when I tried to approve them poof  :( and I have yet to find where blogger has hidden them. I also noticed two followers and want to give you a SHOUT OUT and thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings on a regular basis :D. I really appreciate you my first two chickadee's.

 

Have a great evening all XOXO

 

 

The Swatch Project

My new wheels have arrived and project swatch can now begin :). I picked up two packs of long handle wheels this time so I can have them by brand and by color (a polish addicted neat freak's dream!) with room to write on them. I also picked up four packs (10 pieces each) of the traditional round ones to play with.

 

My nails are pretty healthy but not resilient enough to do on the nail swatching like most blogger's. Plus it saves time and lets me see how polishes react in different lighting without the commitment to four days of wear.

 

I'll come back to add pic's when I have them :)

In Shock!

Wowza! I had to post this the second my hands stopped shaking! I just found out that I won 6 new polishes!!!  Brand and colors to be revealed once they arrive ;D.

Oh Chickadee's.....

My oh my am I behind! First my computer was too full to add any photos, then everyone in my life had either a bad cold, the flu, or pneumonia. So in an effort to catch up this one will be a pic heavy post. I'm still to tight on space but at least its semi-functional now.

Today I have for you Zoya Blaze and Barielle Lemon Drop (which I am currently wearing). Here is a preview of Lemon Drops.

 

Zoya Cynthia

Good evening chickadee's :)! Have a quick post and pic of my weekend mani Zoya Cynthia. Really have ended up loving this color more than I thought. I was afraid it might appear too blacked indoors but I haven't found that to be true....though it has been confused for black twice hmmmm. Oh well I find it lovely!

Hand Me Down Awesomeness!

Looks like I might have myself a hand me down camera, a Kodak EasyShare C190 with a broken battery door. My family got sick of having to tape it up and packed it away. Found it while neatening up and they said I can have it!

 

Adjusted the settings and took a few test pic's they look good on the screen hope they turn out ok once blown up and cropped. Want to take more outdoors tomorrow if we get some sun see how it compares to the Sony Cybershot DSC-W80 I usually borrow. As long as its somewhat comparable to the Sony i'll be happy since I wont have to borrow a computer to upload the pics to this ancient beast of a laptop.

 

This is motivating me to get going on a makeshift light box. Especially since the pro-strong box that arrived today is just the right size for a test run. Well I think that's about it for this random blog burst.

 

Have a great night all! XOXO

Foggy Days

Not much going on worth posting in nail land recently. Really enjoyed my Zoya Aroura manicure but the sun didn't want to play nice and let me photograph the brilliant holo it emanates. Recieved a lot of compliments and one jewelry request from it! Jewelry is nearly done just need to glue it into its bezel tonight, hopefully the sun will come out for this picture.

 

Currently wearing A England Princess Tears with an accent nail of She Walks In Beauty.
I should know better by now than to keep buying lavender but I really enjoy the prominent green holo flash.

Cupcake Nails!

I admit I am a fuddy duddy valentine, Ive just never been that into it. Yet after seeing so many adorable theme mani's for February I had to do something at least in pink! So here you are :) a cupcake mani featuring Zoya Felicity, Sinful Snow Me White, and OPI Skyfall.

 

A England Bottle Shots

Good evening everyone! Boy oh boy was I pleasantly surprised to find these beauties at my door Monday afternoon :D! I may or may not have squealed loud enough to make the neighbors glance over.....I apparently was one of the lucky orders from the sale to get out before the new Royal Post rules were enforced restricting the number of bottles per mailer.

 

Without further ado.....
 

January Photo Update

Finally getting around to uploading and editing some of my January manicure shots. Great to be able to borrow a fantastic camera not so great when my dinosaur of a laptop isnt compatible with that kind of card :( so I had to wait till I could borrow a computer as well.

 

Here is a photo of the dappled dot-icure my last mani of January with a kumquat for some flair ;).

 

 

This one was a bugger to clean up (yes I am a NCIS LA Hetty fan) since I didnt get to it right away and it had a dark base. My cuticles werent so happy with me either but I really enjoyed this one and left it on past my usual four days.

Acetone Experiment

Hope ya all are having a good evening out there :). Finally got myself out to pick up supplies to try Loodies Faux Zoya Remove recipe. Just about to mix it up before I get to fixing myself some soy free vegan faux scramble for dinner. Hopefully this will help reduce my flaking and corner breakage issues by diminishing the drying effect of the acetone. If it helps my poor cuticles thats a plus too :).

 

The potential greasiness people have mentioned wouldnt bother me as I have a whole routine I go through after polish removal in the evenings which includes washing my hands, applying my homemade Coconut Vanilla Scrub, and showering plenty of time to for any residue to wear off. I will post back after a sufficent trial period.

 

Have you tried this or a similar recipe? What were your results? Let me know!

Coconut Vanilla Scrub

Good evening everyone!

As im attempting to fix up this place I thought to share a recipe of mine I use quite often coconut vanilla scrub hope you enjoy it :).

 

Coconut Vanilla Scrub

1 Part Sea Salt

2 Parts Sugar Of Choice (I use vegan white since its cheap)

Full Fat Coconut Milk

Coconut Oil

Vanilla Extract

 

Pretty simple, done in parts so you can make as much or as little as you like. To give credit where due this was inspired by a non-vegan recipe I learned at The Beauty Bottle Forum. Since I am allergic to cows dairy and prefer vegan products I did a little tweaking.

INM Out The Door Top Coat

Hello all! Wanted to pay it forward and post the reply I recieved from INM about thinning Out The Door top coat. I couldnt find a deffinative answer online so I wrote them :). Im verry happy with the customer service I recieved, had a reply in my inbox in less than 24 hours!

Im my e-mail I specified Orly brand thinner which contains butyl acetate and ethyl acetate. Here is their reply....

Dappled Dots & More Jewelry

Hello again! Welcome to my foggy Wednesday afternoon :), ok well evening now that ive had this window open for a few hours. Have some pictures for you today, finished my second set of nail polish jewelry and I had some time this morning to play with a dot manicure.

 

First up the jewelry! This pendant and earring set is a layering combo of Pure Ice oh baby, Mentality holo top coat, and Zoya cynthia.

 

Adventures In Blogland

I have no idea how one is supposed to start one of these things but here I go. I figured as my nail obsession.....uhhh I mean hobby ;) grows I wanted a place to document its evolution. Just a casual place to express whatever catches my fancy. Recently its been nail polish jewelry. Here is my first piece.