Purple and teal glitter gradient

I am not the best with gradients. I can never seem to get the blending quite right and it usually looks somewhat off. This time, though, I think I did the best job I have ever done. I give all of the credit to Northern Lights though because is makes any nail art automatically fantastic.

I started with two coats of Northern Lights on a base-coated-only nail, sponged on some The Real Teal (Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear) and Hypnotize (Jordana), then proceeded to glitter the crap out of it with more Northern Lights, Techno (China Glaze), and Trust Fund Baby (Spoiled). The sun wasn't out in these photos so it's not nearly as glittery looking as it is in person :( 

I was so happy with these that I kept them like that for nearly a week -- pretty rare for me to even have polish LAST that long! 

Thanks for reading :)

I have returned! No, really this time!

I think my last post was something like... "I have returned!" Yeah. Not so much, eh? Well this time, I really can return! A ton of things contributed to my lack of posting, but mainly it was not being able to do my nails. I worked at an evil sandwich shop that did not allow ANYTHING on your nails *GASP!* It was pretty much the worst. My hands were constantly dry and disgusting looking from washing them so much (literally 20+ times a day), my cuticles were tearing, and my nails were short, frail, and pealing. I did get to do the occasional manicure, however. And that brings me to the second reason why there has been no posting even when I could do my nails: Craptastic internet service. All is well with that once again, though.

 For this post, I just wanted to show one or two things I did and photographed but was never able to post.

And back when people still did the fishtail/braided thing... 

As you can see my lighting situation isn't quite ideal. Working on it! And in the mean time, a sun shiny day is my best friend :)

Since having the internet back and being able to take care of my hands and nails again, I have been slapping paint on my nails as much as possible! I look forward to posting again and getting back in touch with all of the awesome blogs that were lost to me in the past 10 months. I have really missed the nail blogging community. It seems it has grown so much that I fear I can never catch up, but I accept the challenge!

Thanks for reading :)

Day 21 - Inspired by a Color

I was unsure as to what I was supposed to actually do for this, but I actually was inspired by a color. Gothic Lolita by China Glaze to be exact. I had seen it swatched before, but I really didn't expect it to be so freakin' pretty. I mean seriously, if you're a purple fan, you have to have this polish. It's just a lovely medium purple with the slightest pink shimmer. Really gorgeous. Purple inspired me so these nails are full of purple! I'd also like to dedicate this to Drinkcitra as she is a fellow purple enthusiast :)

The dots are made up of Kleancolor - Pastel Purple (lightest), Confetti - Belle of the Ball (second lightest), and Jordana - Hypnotizing. The accent finger is Honk if You Love OPI and that's also whats on the tips over Gothic Lolita.

I hope everyone has a lovely day!

Thanks for reading :)

Snake eyes (Kinda?)

This is an old manicure. You can tell by my awesomely not-nubbin-like nails! I started with a base of Revlon's Sheer Nude then did some taping with Jordana's Rich Green.

Flash

Then came the part that made me want call it snake eyes... a simple stripe of Jordana's black crackle:

I have heard many say crackle is over done and just so last year, but this is one of my first experiences with it. This is probably one of my favorite things I have ever done to my nails. The nude base must be utilized more. It's just one step closer to negative space nails which are amazing. 

Thanks for reading! 

Jordana FTW

Serious win all up in this post. As mentioned I have a serious thing for creams and also purples and greens (that almost rhymed), and Hypnotizing and Rich Green by Jordana did not at all disappoint me. They both went on in two easy coats and came off quite easily. What really impressed me though, was the formula. Of course it's not O.P.I quality, but it's better than some of the Sinful Colors of I've come across, and they're the same price. I didn't clean up these swatches of Hypnotizing, because I wanted to get the immediate shine from the Quick Shine Top Coat. Almost made it too shiny for pictures though haha

Yes, I have a nubbin nail :( I actually have one on each hand right now. Very frustrating that not even one hand is good for swatching! I'm being as careful as possible, so hopefully they'll be all normal soon. Anyway! I probably should have waited until the top coat dried more, as you'll see in the pictures of Rich Green, the shine is normal and not so glaring like in the above pictures. The color and formula of this polish were just awesome - well worth $1.99. The brush was actually really nice too. Kinda reminds of me of a China Glaze brush. Now for Rich Green:

I freaking love greens.

So... I didn't clean up these swatches either. This polish was just so easy to work with, and the brush covered so well, I didn't make any mistakes big enough to warrant busting out ye olde acetone and make up brush. After gushing over the awesomeness of this amazing green for awhile, I added some stamping so I could test the Quick Shine Top Coat for nail art effectiveness.

Not the best stamping job...

The verdict: Holy crap it works. I waited until I was done stamping my entire hand, applied the top coat, and there was no dragging! The dragging you see on the middle finger was completely my fault, I left some hangy bits of the Konad polish. I know Seche Vite acts the same way, but this is only $1.99. I cannot attest to how long it wears or keeps your mani looking fresh, but I can say it's great for nail art, dries as quickly as all of the top brands, and leaves a shine that lasts for days (well as far as my impatience would allow me to test, 3).

I had also purchased a black crackle from Jordana, it worked like any other crackle would. Nothing special to note. It did the job! :)

All in all, I recommend giving Jordana nail polish a shot. If for nothing else, their amazing top coat!

Thanks for reading :)

And today was a good day...

... For there was nail mail! Not only did I receive packages from Jordana and a lovely Reddit Lacquerista, but I have two packages waiting for me at the post office that can be picked up Monday! One of those packages contains all of the nail polish I acquired while in Pennsylvania over the holidays. SO. MUCH. POLISH. I am giddy!

If you don't know about Jordana Cosmetics, you really should check them out. They are a drugstore brand, I've only seen them at K Mart, but they're DBP, Toluene, and Formaldehyde free! And.. only $1.99! I have truly fallen in love with their polishes. It started with Purple Glam. Then, I read this top coat review and saw that they made the perrrrfect quick dry top coat for nail art! It lasts AND it doesn't drag the design! Haven't tried it for stamping yet, but hopefully it works out! The top coat is the quick SHINE version, not quick dry, but it does in fact dry rather quickly.

I also ordered a crackle because, well, I have only one crackle and I wanted to have crackles in basic colors. Talk about being late to the game! And apparently I really have a thing for greens and purples because I somehow ordered yet another set in the form of Hypnotizing and Rich Green. I've been on a real cream kick lately and have a strong desire to own alllll the colors in cream! Best part about the whole Jordana order: I ordered on the 16th, it got here on the 18th.. WHAT?! That was super quick! And shipping was only 5 dollars! Woo! <3 Jordana! They are totally not paying me to say that.

I also mentioned receiving a package from the wonderful ridiculouslikethat of Reddit Lacqueristas. I had been having a hard time finding Revlon's Whimsical and am super grateful this awesome lady was able to help me out! I'll be sending out some China Glazes for her in return :) Check out this packaging! Nothing was getting through that! Definitely needed scissors! Hmmm I might just be cheap and tape it back up it was so sturdy and nice...

Reviews of the Jordana stuff soon just because I think everyone should give this polish a shot!

Thanks for reading :)

Drugstore Sparkle!

Jordana is a drugstore brand (found mine at K-Mart) that is awesomely enough big 3 free! Woo! For this manicure I used Purple Glam, a truly purply purple. It was so purple in fact that the purpliness covered up some of the nice glittery bits as I layered. Although, I am super glad to have a very opaque glitter! To make up for some of the glitter covered by this stunning purple, I added two coats of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - In the Spot Light. Everything turned out much better than expected. I really though In the Spot Light was going to be a nightmare to work with. Turns out, it's quite simple! WAY easier than the Deborah Lippmann or even Nubar hex glitters. Looks like it'd be hectic, but it's not! Here is Purple Glam on its own

My nasty (burns with polish remover OUCH) cut is rather visible here. It's healing nicely, at least.

After In the Spot Light

In the Spot Light was definitely the perfect compliment to Purple Glam!

In personal news: Working furiously to get as many blog posts done as possible before I go just to have some content before I start a giveaway. I plan on just grabbing stuff in China and making a giveaway of it! Good idea? Bad idea? I'd of course be wary of fake OPI as I have been warned often, but I'll be with an awesome lady there who probably wouldn't let me buy crap! Anyway, I hope that works out. 

Thanks for reading!