Thursday, January 29, 2015

Born Pretty BP-05 Stamping Plate: Review & Swatches






My stamping mini-adventure has come to an end, 'cause today I'm reviewing the last of my Born Pretty stamping plates! These reviews were my first foray into the world of stamping. It's been fun and it's been frustrating. I can't say I'll ever be a stamping fanatic--I lack the patience and precision to really pull off anything impressive--but the plates themselves are nice quality and it was cool to try something new.

Anywho, the last plate I chose to review was plate BP-05:




I really liked the vine-like design (the one on the left) on this plate, so I decided to do a little accent manicure with it, using a-england Crown of Thistles as my base and then stamping with Essie No Place Like Chrome.



I tried to just do it so the vines were only on portions of my nail, almost like they were growing across the nail. It's nothing that'll wow a stamping aficionado, but I think it came out kinda cute!

If you would like to purchase anything from Born Pretty, they offer 10% off for Nailed readers:

bornprettystore.com


Disclosure: This product was sent to me for my honest review. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

Essie Spring 2015 Preview

Essie's spring collection is a study in pastels. The collection, launching in March, features six new shades that bring to mind a spring garden in full bloom.

Essie-2015-Spring-Polish-Collection
L to R: Perennial Chic, Picked Perfect, Blossom Dandy, Garden Variety, Petal Pushers, Flowerista

I of course love the mint and the turquoise, but that purple (Flowerista) looks really pretty too! I have a feeling this is gonna be one of those collections where I won't decide which ones I actually want until the moment I see them in the store.

How do you like the look of Essie's Spring 2015 offerings?

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

OPI Pink-ing Of You

I was in the mood for a palette cleanser shade, so what better pick than a good pastel pink? I went digging through my untrieds for one and found OPI Pink-ing Of You. I got this as part of the 2013 Pink Of Hearts Set (the other shade was a sweet pastel glitter called More Than A Glimmer) but it's been a mainstay in their core collection for years.


The formula was on the runny side, so my brush needed some wiping down after each dunk into the bottle. As far as application goes, it's your typical pastel: a little streaky and a little sheer. I needed four coats for total opacity here.

Not too much to say about this one. It's not a unique color by any stretch but it's a lovely example of a creamy baby pink. It's easy to see why OPI has kept this polish around for so many years. Simply put, it's a classic!

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Twinsie Tuesday: Iggy Azalea "Black Widow" Nails

This week's Twinsie Tuesday has us replicating a manicure seen on a celebrity. I really had no idea what I wanted to do for this, so I just skimmed through Google images until something grabbed me. I came across a picture of Iggy Azalea's nails in the music video for "Black Widow" and it seemed like something I might be able to do.

iggy azalea black widow

It might be a little tricky to see here, but Iggy is sporting white nails with a black dot near the cuticle bed of each nail. I used OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, Rimmel Black Satin and a dotting tool for my version. I did my dots a little larger than Iggy's, just as a matter of personal preference.


Other than some smudging when I went to apply topcoat (I'm always too impatient), this mani is easy enough. My dots didn't come out perfectly, but I don't claim to be a nail art aficionado by any stretch, so I'm happy with how everything came out!

Hope you enjoyed taking a look at my Iggy nails. Check out what my Twinsies did for their celeb-inspired manis this week!



Savannah at Addicted to Polish

Róisín at Cuti-CLUE-les


Marisa at Polish Obsession


Lakeisha at Refined and Polished

Jessica at Blue Velvet Lacquer



Chelsea at Nailed Blog

Bridget at A Painted Nail

Amber at Nails Like Lace

Amanda at Fashion Footing

Amanda at Amandalandish

Alaina at The Little Canvas

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Zoya Veruschka

Zoya Veruschka has been a lemming of mine since I first got into polish. So to finally be able to pick it up--on clearance, no less--felt pretty darn good. A recurring theme on this blog is my obsession with green polish and Veruschka is a very special one: a forest green satin. It's a really cool, different-looking polish that was absolutely worth the wait!



I wore Versuchka as-is for a day, then decided to try it with some topcoat, just for kicks.


I'm not sure how I prefer it, to be honest. The topcoat brings out that gorgeous shimmer, but I like how edgy and unique it looks without topcoat. So really, you win either way. Wear time without topcoat isn't great, however. After about half a day, I already had a decent-sized chip on my right index finger. The formula is absolutely excellent though! It's very easy to apply and not chalky in the slightest. I used two coats for this mani.

Do you like Veruschka better with or without topcoat? What was the last lemming you squashed?

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Orly Sugar High Preview

Periodically, I go hunting on the web to try and find news on the latest collections to share with you guys. We've got a pretty good idea already of what most of the major brands have on the horizon, but I had to really dig to find anything on Orly's spring polishes. Honestly I feel like they've fallen off the map in the last year or two. I see less and less PR and buzz for their collections and maybe it's just where I live, but their newest polishes seem to be a bit harder to find in stores nowadays. Have you noticed this at all?

Anyways, the point is, I managed to find some info on their Spring 2015 collection, Sugar High. It launches in February. Let's take a look!

Cake Pop
 
Candy Shop
 
Frosting
 
Key Lime Twist
 
Plum Sugar
 
Sweet Dreams

The colors are nice enough, but I don't see anything here that gets me super excited. Sorry, Orly. :(

How do you like the looks of the Sugar High Collection? See anything you'll be picking up?

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Twinsie Tuesday: Fandom Nails

We are creating fandom nails for this week's Twinsie Tuesday! If you're unfamiliar, "fandom" refers to a group of people who are passionate about a particular movie, TV show, book, etc. The first thing that came to mind for me was to do something comic book-related. I love reading comics and follow a ton of different series and characters. I'm generally more of a Marvel gal (X-Men was one of my gateway drugs into comicdom) but I also read quite a bit of DC.

One of my favorite recent series was Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang's run on Wonder Woman. I was a huge Greek mythology nerd as a kid, so I liked that they put the Greek pantheon front and center in this version of Wonder Woman's world. But what I really loved is their multi-faceted take on Wonder Woman as a character. She's first and foremost a badass--as Wonder Woman should be--but aside from her physical strength and battle prowess she's also smart, witty, courageous and kind. Azzarello manages to contemporize her while still staying true to the core values and traits she's embodied since all the way back in 1941, when psychologist William Moulton Marston invented her as, in his words, "psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who should, I believe, rule the world." You don't need to be super familiar with Wonder Woman's history to read this series. All you need is a love of epic adventure and sistas doin' it for themselves.

WonderWoman_1.jpg
Picking a polish to represent this fandom was easy: CrowsToes Wonder Woman! This glitterbomb features all of Wonder Woman's signature colors: gold, blue and red.



I originally wanted to wear Wonder Woman alone, but the individual shapes and colors got lost in the jumble, so I decided to layer it instead. I used Essie Good As Gold as my base here.

Hope you enjoyed my fandom nails! Be sure to show my Twinsies some love today too!

Alaina at The Little Canvas

Amanda at Amandalandish

Amanda at Fashion Footing

Amber at Nails Like Lace

Bridget at A Painted Nail

Chelsea at Nailed



Jessica at Blue Velvet Lacquer


Marisa at Polish Obsession

Savannah at Addicted to Polish

Róisín at Cuti-CLUE-les

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Deborah Lippmann Whisper Collection Preview

I was a huge fan of Deborah Lippmann's spring collection last year--I bought 2/3 of it--so I was really looking forward to seeing what Miss Deborah has in store for us this year. While last year's collection focused on garden pastels, this spring's set takes an even softer approach with four neutral sheers.

CHANTILLY LACE
Chantilly Lace

LIKE DREAMERS DO 
Like Dreamers Do

A FINE ROMANCE
A Fine Romance

MISTY MORNING 
Misty Morning

I can't lie: an all-neutral, all-sheer collection isn't really something that gets me reaching for my wallet. That's probably a good thing in my case, since I already know I'm gonna drop some serious cash on a lot of the other spring collections--Essie and OPI in particular.

The Whisper Collection is already up on DL's website. This one is gonna be a pass for me, but will YOU be picking anything up?

Friday, January 16, 2015

Deborah Lippmann Cosmic Love

Deborah Lippmann Cosmic Love is just about the glitteriest glitter that ever glittered. This sparklefest has a lightly tinted pink base filled to the brim with purple, gold and magenta holo glitter. Cosmic Love was originally part of a holiday minis set (which is how I picked it up) but DL knows what's up and eventually released Cosmic Love for a limited time as a full-sized, standalone shade. From what I can gather, its release as a single polish was a Nordstrom exclusive, but now the only place it seems to be available is through sites like Ebay.



I was expecting this polish to be super thick, especially since I have a mini bottle, but it was surprisingly nice! With glitters like this one, I find the dabbling method of application works best. Using that technique, I was able to get it to complete opacity in three coats. I followed up with Nail Pattern Boldness Glitter Food (full review coming soon) to get everything nice and smooth, before finishing up with DL's Gel Lab Top Coat.

I absolutely adore this polish! The holo makes it even more eye-catching and even in low light, it glimmers and sparkles like crazy. I found myself stopping to stare at it quite a bit!  It's been a while since we've been treated to another batch of Lippmann glitters, which sucks because they're always so stunning and DL has made some truly unique glitters over the years. But I have my fingers crossed we'll get more polishes like Cosmic Love sometime soon!

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Essie Resort 2015 Preview

This is always such a fantastic time of year to be a nail addict. So many collections are coming out and we have a ton of fun new pretties to look forward to! Here's another set to add to your wishlist: Essie's Resort 2015 Collection!


Suite retreat essie 2015
Suite Retreat

essie 2015 cocoa karma 
Cocoa Karma

essie 2015 time for me time
Time For Me Time

essie 2015 stones n roses 
Stones 'n' Roses


 There are some pretty shades here, albeit nothing super unique. I'm not sure on a release date for the collection (the beauty site I found these pictures on is in Greek) but past Essie resort collections have hit stores in February, so I'm betting we can expect the same this time aound.

Will you be getting anything from this collection? I might pick up Stones 'n' Roses, depending on how the swatches look, but otherwise this one looks like a pass for me.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Twinsie Tuesday: Inspired By Your Shoes

I have something of an obsession with shoes. I swear at least half of my paycheck from my time working at Neiman Marcus went straight back into the shoe department. So I had a lot to pick from for this week's Twinsie Tuesday, where we were asked to do a manicure inspired by our shoes.

Since it's winter, I thought I'd go with my favorite pair of boots...although I wouldn't recommend wearing these in snow and ice, haha. These are my Patricia Field motorcycle booties:



I've got a bum left ankle, so I can't wear heels for a super long time, but these are surprisingly comfortable! They make me feel like such a badass.

I took a queue from one of my favorite fashionable ladies, Gwen Stefani, and used some of her OPI products--4 In The Morning and the nail art studs from the Over And Over A-Gwen set--and came up with this mani to represent my boots:


I think the satin finish of 4 In The Morning perfectly mimics the look of black leather. It's one of my favorite black polishes and a great go-to shade. My inner goth loves black polish, what can I say. :)

Be sure to show my Twinsies some love and see what they did this week! I can't wait to get a peak into everyone else's shoe closets!


Savannah at Addicted to Polish
Róisín at Cuti-CLUE-les
Marisa at Polish Obsession
Lakeisha at Refined and Polished
Jessica at Blue Velvet Lacquer
Chelsea at Nailed Blog
Bridget at A Painted Nail
Amber at Nails Like Lace
Amanda at Fashion Footing
Amanda at Amandalandish
Alaina at The Little Canvas

Monday, January 12, 2015

a-england Dancing With Nureyev

 a-england makes some of the best holos in the game, period. If you've never tried any of their polishes, you owe it to yourself to experience them. Can you tell I'm maybe a little bit of a fangirl here? 

If you need some further convincing, allow me to introduce Dancing With Nureyev as Exhibit A. The base color is a gorgeous steely blue with a hint of purple creeping in, beautifully topped off by a scattered holo effect. The tinge of purple is subtle but it peeks out at certain angles, almost like a duochrome. Coupled with the holo, it makes for a stunning effect, similar to what we've seen before from a-england with polishes like Princess Tears.



The formula on Dancing With Nureyev is absolutely perfect. It's super creamy and smooth, with no streaking or dragging whatsoever. I used two coats here and then skipped the top coat to keep the holo looking nice and shiny. I've already worn this polish once before and it gets fairly respectable wear time sans topcoat. If I remember right, I didn't have any chips 'til day three!

Dancing With Nureyev is a polish so magical that it could only come from a-england. I hope you love it as much as I do! :)

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Essie Cashmere Matte Preview

Out of all the upcoming spring collections, I just might be most excited for this one: Essie Cashmere Matte! I love the soft, chic look of satin polishes, so I'm pumped to see Essie give this finish a try!


Essie Cashmere Matte Collection 2015
Top row, L to R: All Eyes On Nudes, Coat Couture, Comfy In Cashmere 
Bottom row, L to R: Just Stitched, Spun In Luxe, Wrap Me Up

Essie Cashmere Matte Collection 2015

I'm really digging the colors Essie chose. They look perfect for the winter-to-spring transition!

I'm not sure of the release date for this collection, but I haven't had any luck spotting these at my local polish places yet. Essie collections always seem to take way longer than China Glaze and OPI to reach where I live. :(

 Have you spotted the Cashmere Matte Collection in your neck of the woods? What shades will you be getting? I can take or leave All Eyes On Nudes, but I think all the rest might be coming home with me!

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Born Pretty BP-03 Stamping Plate: Review & Swatches









I've got another Born Pretty stamping plate for you today! Now, I want to start by saying this is only my second time doing any stamping, ever. But it already felt worlds easier than my first attempt and I even felt confident enough to try a full mani! I'm not saying I'm good at stamping--far from it--but I'm getting better, so I guess that's something at least.

Anyways, on the the actual plate! This design, BP-03, doesn't really have a unifying theme to it. There are roses, kitties, stars...so, cute stuff, I guess?
 

The whole reason I wanted to try this plate was for the little kitty on the bottom right. So I was super bummed when I couldn't get him to stamp on my nails. I could easily pick up the whole design on my stamper, but when I tried to stamp it onto my nails, I couldn't get it to transfer right. I would either get just half of the design or if I did get the entire cat, it came out super light. I tried stamping it with three different polishes and none of them worked. I felt like maybe that particular design was almost engraved into the plate too shallow, if that makes sense? Or it could just be good ol' user error due to my inexperience. If any of you stamping aficionados would be able to share some insight in the comments, I'd love it! :)

So that mini-rant aside, I did have good luck with the rose designs on this plate and I did a whole mani theme around that. It's not going to be the best stamping you've ever seen, but I think it's not awful for a second attempt!



My base here was Sally Hansen Wet Cement and then I used Essie No Place Like Chrome for the stamping. I probably should have used a color other than silver, since it doesn't really pop over the grey, especially in photos. :-/

I was disappointed in my lack of cat nail art, but my overall exprience with this plate was more good than bad. I want to try something with the stars next!

If you would like to purchase anything from Born Pretty, they offer 10% off for Nailed readers:

www.bornprettystore.com


Disclosure: This product was sent to me for my honest review. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

Zoya Delight Preview

I dunno about you, but I am so ready for spring. It's literally three degrees outside right now and I am not having that. So I'm already starting to bust out some spring colors on my nails, as if that will somehow get rid of the snow faster. :-/

Anywho, earlier this week, I showed you what OPI has cookin' for their spring collection and we've already seen what China Glaze will have in store for us. Today we're checking in with Zoya! Zoya's spring offering is smaller than OPI's, with six shades as opposed to twelve, but there's no shortage of great seasonal colors here. The collection, dubbed Delight, officially launches on February 2nd. Let's take a look!
ZPSAMPLER1501_DELIGHT_2015_sampler__400.2__
L to R: Rayne, Lillian, Tiana, Daisy, Leslie, Eden
ZPPLATE1501_DELIGHT_2015_Nail-Plate__400.1__
ZP_DELIGHT GROUP SPILL 3_RGB 
ZP_DELIGHT TRIPLE SPILL 2_RGB 
ZP_DELIGHT TRIPLE SPILL 3_RGB

Cute collection! Does it make anyone else think of Easter eggs? I love me some pastels, so I'm sure I'll wind up with a couple of these pretties.

How are you liking the looks of the Delight Collection? Which spring collection are you most excited for?