BUTTER LONDON Bluey

Some of you probably remember the Coterie B2G2 deal on Butter Londons a few weeks back. I grabbed my first Butter London polishes from this deal, which was totally amazing. 4 BL polishes and it was only $11.00 with Coterie's first time purchase discount of $25 at the time. Completely amazing, I know right!?

Matte Finish Top Coat, Knackered, Bluey & Wallis

Bluey looked so gorgeous in the bottle I decided to wear it first. Bluey is a shimmery deep peacock blue that has crazy sheen even without a top coat.

BUTTER LONDON Bluey - direct sunlight

BUTTER LONDON Bluey - shaded natural light

The formula was very easy to work with. The first coat was pretty sheer, you need to build it up for a richer color. I applied 3 coats which gave nice depth. I decided I should try out my matte top coat too so here is Bluey Mattified.

BUTTER LONDON Bluey with Matte top coat

I was very sad when I opened my brand new Matte Finish bottle and found this:

*sad face*  Also the bottle was very difficult to get open and my nails were not completely dry from application, so I used pliers. I know, I could have broken the bottle, but I didn't want to smudge my fresh mani! I don't understand why my bottle put up such a fight. Super disappointed in the brush. Other than that, it applied fantastically. It also didn't leave any stroke marks like you can get when you apply an actual matte finish polish. Two thumbs up for this matte top coat.

Thanks for popping by!

LAYLA Mermaid Spell

Boy is it HOT outside! The sun is out in full force so I figure what better time to whip out another holo polish. (:

Mermaid Spell from Layla is a linear holographic. It has a thin formula that is hard to work with. It streaks and I had some balding. I used 3 coats and probably should have added a 4th to even it out. The only thing this polish has going for it is that it is beautiful. Completely gorgeous.

LAYLA Mermaid Spell - direct sunlight

So many different color particles in this! I LOVE the green in it against the blue. Holographic polish is made for the summer. They really dance in the sunlight.

Having had 2 bad application experiences with Layla's polish (Flash Black being the other) I don't plan on ever buying Layla again. It's too expensive for a sub-par application.

Thanks for popping in!

4th of July Mani

Happy Independence Day! I know my post is late. I was having a polish block. I didn't know what I wanted to do! I have seen so many great 4th of July manicures all over the place. I tried to do something cute to my toes and it ended up a horrible mess. So, I took a break and just recently finished up my manicure.

Of course my colors are red, white and blue. I went for an abstract star look. I started with a base coat of White On and then, using a small art brush, I did a rough freehand star-ish outlines.

4th of July abstract stars

Colors used:
   ● CHINA GLAZE Frostbite
   ● SINFUL COLORS Ruby Ruby
   ● SALLY HANSEN xTREME WEAR White On (300)

Very rough star-ish (emphasis on the "ish") outlines, indeed. Regardless, I think it's fun and patriotic!

I hope you all have a safe and fun holiday! HAPPY 4th OF JULY!

Thanks for popping in!

CHINA GLAZE Ride the Waves

Happy July, girls! Last night the hubby and I saw Ted. It was quite silly. We are Family Guy fans so something directed by Seth MacFarlane is right up our ally.

I decided I needed some bright pop of color in my life today to contrast the sheer I've had on for quite a while. I grabbed CHINA GLAZE Ride the Waves (from the CG Summer Neons Collection) out of my stash and it fit my mood.

Ride the Waves is a deep cerulean jelly. It's GORGEOUS! The formula was a little bit on the sheer side and I applied 3 coats. 2 coats the color was great, but I wanted a bit more coverage and a little less VNL. I topped it with Seche and took my photos in the summer sun.

Ride the Waves - direct sunlight

Ride the Waves - shaded natural light

Ride the Waves - artificial lighting

CHINA GLAZE Ride the Waves

I know the artificial lighting photo is on the grainy side, but it was the only photo I got that showed just how deep of a blue this one really is.  I love that I have another great jelly in my stash.

Enjoy your evening and thanks for popping by!

Red, White & Blue Stringy Mani

Hello my lovely readers. I am keeping with my Memorial Day Weekend theme and went with a patriotic Red, White & Blue manicure. I tried out a technique that is new to me and I really don't know what it's properly called. I am going to refer to it as a stringy mani, but I have also seen it called the "sugar spun technique" and simply a "slim line" mani. I came across this tutorial video through another blog, though I cannot recall whose. Manicurator's April Showers Brings May Flowers - Rainbowl is probably my favorite stringy manicure.

Colors used:
   ● ZOYA Tosca
   ● ZOYA Robyn
   ● FINGER PAINTS Papier Mâché

This was no quick and easy mani. It took a long time and I will let you in on a little secret - my right hand looks nothing like my left! Don't you hate when that happens? It looks more like a splatter mani. However, now that I've done it I can perfect on it! I love the look of stringy manis and I plan on using this technique again.

Thanks for popping in!

Memorial Day Weekend Pedi

Hello lovely readers. Oh my gosh is it a hot one today. Super sticky outside; I broke a sweat just watering my flowers!

To those of you who have foot aversions, this is a pedi post! You have been forewarned. I made my toes festive for Memorial Day Weekend with a traditional stars and stripes theme. Take a gander...

Colors used:
   ● ZOYA Sooki
   ● FINGER PAINTS Papier Mâché
   ● CHINA GLAZE Frostbite
   ● White Acrylic Paint

I started with a base coat of Frostbite on my big toes and white on the rest. Using my small art brush, I free handed the stripes in red and the stars in white acrylic. I used the acrylic for the stars because Papier Mâché is too thin to stand out against the bright blue Frostbite.

I hope you all enjoy your 3 day weekend with your loved ones. Remember to take a moment and remember those who have served or given their lives for our country and to honor those who are currently active duty. Send good vibes to their families as well whom they are separated from while on deployment.

Thanks for popping in!

ZOYA Robyn and Maisie

T.G.I.F!!! right?! Today I switched from greens to blue! Yay. I picked out ZOYA Robyn and Maisie as part of Zoya's Earth Day Exchange. Robyn is even more gorgeous than I thought. It's freaking fantastic! It really pops in the sun too. I am pre-warning you I have lots of pictures to share today. :-)

Robyn is an intense turquoise cream polish with an incredible sheen. I applied 2 coats of Robyn to achieve an even look and topped with seche vite. I did have some small issues with a little bit of bubbling, not sure what caused it. Prepare yourself for this beautiful blue...

direct sunlight

artificial lighting

in the shade

ZOYA Robyn ♥

All of the pigment in this polish just blows me away. I added Maisie as opposite accents on both of my hands. What I mean is that my left hand I have it on my ring and thumb, and my right hand it's on my pinky, middle and pointer. Maisie is one of Zoya's Fleck Effect Top Coats. It reflects a shifting turquoise and green color effect that is super fun.

Robyn ♥ Maisie

ZOYA Maisie over Robyn

I am so pleased with today's manicure. I LOVE the color. It's such a flirty blue that is bright and cheerful and is perfect for spring.

I hope you all enjoy your weekend and thanks for popping in!

** I just noticed that even though I said I went from green to blue that Maisie still has the green in it! It REALLY has been a green week!

Blue Print

It's officially a new year! My last post was Tinsel Town for New Years and I was most disappointed about the wear on it. I applied it on the 30th and by yesterday the tips were all worn! I guess that can happen with glitters though. So, a new manicure was in order for today, enter- Barry M: Blue Print (instant nail effect: crackle 315). I LOVE the color on this crackle! It's amazing. I applied a thin coat over Papier Mâché . Now, this post is for Blue Print and not the white, but the more I use this white, the less I like it. I cannot apply it without messing up constantly, it's so thin and watery and I have issues with it balding. This manicure didn't turn out the best because by the time I was able to stop fussing with my base color, it was already such a mess I just slapped Blue Print on over it. If anyone has any great application/full coverage white polish they adore you can recommend for me I would be most appreciative. Now, back to Blue Print!

Amoki checking out her Momma's nails.

Even though I feel this wasn't my best work, I love this look and this color. You can see with my middle finger what happens if you apply too thickly, it doesn't really crackle so much. Well, I hope you all had a great New Years Eve. Stop by again!

Noel Meets Twila

Christmas is finally here! I hope you all had an amazing day with your loved ones. The husband and I had a nice  morning with coffee and cinnamon rolls and presents for each other and the dogs. Then we went to see the new Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. VERY good movie. Unfortunately we couldn't spend today with family because the military only gives out 1 leave period between Thanksgiving and Christmas and we went down to FL and GA to visit my husband's side at Thanksgiving. We did Skype a bit with my family this morning though. My husband bought me a new mouse and hard drive for my computer :-D :-D (we are avid gamers, mostly WoW) and the most delicious smelling Shea Sugar Body Scrub in coconut lime scent. We also got ourselves a Magic Bullet. I gifted him a fire pit for outside this year.

Holiday fun aside, time for some more polish! I jazzed up my Noel manicure I showed yesterday, with it's sister from the Gems and Jewels collection, Twila. Each of the 3 metallics I mentioned have a coordinating bar glitter! That's right, BARS of glitter. GORGEOUS! I loved Noel so much that I just taped off a diagonal and added glitter to just 1 side. I would say Twila is really more of a layering glitter, but I didn't try it myself. I imagine if you were to try to get full coverage with it, it would take a few coats. That being said, the bars in this glitter tend to have a mind of their own. This is one polish you do NOT want to skip a topcoat with, and I would be very generous with it, to keep this glitter in place. I even went as far as to tweeze some of the bars that stuck out past my nails to give it a cleaner look. Here are some pics...

Indoor Lighting

Natural Lighting

Can you see those awesome bars of glitter goodness?! I forgot to mention in my Noel post that the Gems and Jewels collection is limited time only for the holidays. The 3 metallics and 3 bar glitters won't be available from Zoya for much longer! D:

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOODNIGHT!

ZOYA Noel

Today I have one of the Gems and Jewels collection colors to show you from Zoya, Noel. On top of looking down-right gorgeous, this color applied beautifully. It just glided off the brush onto my nails. My husband thought this color was very pretty too. Noel is one of the 3 metallic shimmers in the collection. I was lucky enough to have gotten a mini in my November Birchbox. Enough gabbing, this color will speak for itself!

Indoor Lighting

Natural Lighting

Doesn't the sun make it look fantastic?! <3 Time to get myself ready for my late lunch at The Cheesecake Factory with my hubby! MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE LADIES!!