Hey there! Today I want to share the very first guest post I have ever done so head on over to Jessica’s blog, Once Upon A Polish, to see all the shenanigans.
This is the manicure I did for her blog so go check out the whole post. See you over there!
When I first started doing free-hand nail art designs (thanks to the 31 day challenge), I realized that it was super important to invest in a decent set of brushes. In fact, here are some recent designs I am kind of proud of.
When I was contacted by a rep from Winstonia who asked me if I would be interested in reviewing their 8 piece nail art set, of course I said yes!
The 8 piece nail art set comes in this pretty black satiny pouch and includes:
There is nothing revolutionary about this dotting tool set; it is identical to the most popular dotting tool sets that you can find all over ebay and amazon. If you are a nail art beginner, a dotting tool set is the best investment you can make. A dotting tool will seriously help you do so many cute designs that require little skill and time. The nail art brushes are the first legit nail brushes that I own. The bristles are soft but firm and really help you maintain control of the polish. I created 4 different designs with the dotting tools and brushes just to show you how they work. They are just quick designs that anyone can do!
Overall, I am very pleased with the quality of these brushes and I will be looking through their site for additional supplies because I definitely have the nail art bug now! If you are interested in purchasing the 8 piece nail art set, it retails for $8.95 on the Winstonia store site. They offer pretty competitive prices, are US based and offer free shipping for orders $25 and up. From now until January 31st, 2013, you can get a 10% discount by using my special discount code. Just jump up and down, pull your left ear once and howl like a wolf to qualify….just kidding but hat would make me laugh. You can enter OFLIFEANDLACQUER at checkout for your 10% discount. 🙂
Thanks for visiting today and hope to see you again soon!
***Items were provided for review consideration. All opinions are my own.***
I think that I start out every single post that I do on Illamasqua saying how much I love their line of nail polishes, so why break a habit, right? I’ve had these two polishes ever since they first came out at Sephora and have no idea why I hadn’t tried them yet. I guess I can plead insanity because these two colors are perfection in a bottle. I mean, they are seriously bright and outrageously pigmented–what more could I ask for? When these two colors came out, they were Sephora exclusives but apparently Illamasqua is now offering them through their website as well so jump to it my friends. If you couldn’t get your hands on these before, now is the time!
Illamasqua Noble is AH-MAZING. Look at how beautiful and bright this robin’s egg blue polish is. I may have some similar polishes, but not 100% dupes as far as I can tell. This is the type of color that I would wear all Spring long and would find a million different things to do to it. However, the more I look at it the more I see it would be a travesty to do anything but leave it as a clean mani with zero embellishments because it doesn’t need anything. Not a thing. This polish required two smooth coats for complete opacity and it dries shiny and gorgeous.
Illamasqua Cameo is a beautiful periwinkle blue that dries super glossy and smooth. When I wore this I immediately thought of China Glaze Secret Periwinkle but I think this is much brighter. I am going to have to do a side-by-side comparison to double check, though. I don’t know if I was just being hasty, but I noticed that the polish dragged a bit on my pointer finger and made created some slight balding. I think I just didn’t wait enough time to apply the second coat on that finger. Other than that, this polish did not disappoint in color or formula.
So what do you think of these two beauties? Are these colors that you would normally wear?
Hopefully you are still reading because I have something to ask of all of you. I have never been one to do the guest post thing because I never understood the point of it…probably because I’m a turd. I think I am going to be pretty busy in the next couple of weeks and don’t know how much I will be able to post so I wanted to ask if anyone would be interested in doing a guest post for my blog? If this is something that you would be interested in, please send me an email at oflifeandlacquer (at) att (dot) net and we can set something up. I think it would be really great to see some fresh faces–er–nails on my blog! Besides being busy, I also feel like I need a little break so this would be perfect for me right now. Don’t fret if you don’t have a blog: non-bloggers are welcome too, especially if you have been thinking about starting a blog (ahem, Lesley!) Ok, so this might turn off a few people but please don’t send me pictures of bloody cuticles. I won’t survive that. And don’t call me a cuticle bully, ok? 😉
So there you have it. I hope you have had a nice weekend and that your week starts out on the right foot. As always, thank you for stopping by and catching up with me.
Since I am gearing up for some marathon interview sessions, I dug through my melmers for nail polish colors that are office/interview appropriate. I do have a lot of neutral colors, but my brain has been high on color after all the recent challenge manicures I have done so I just couldn’t settle on a color. Then I saw my bottle of Butter London Aston which was still on my list to try so I decided to give this baby a whirl.
Butter London Aston has a thinner formula than I was expecting, but it was a little strange because the first coat gave me a pretty neutral tint, but I still had VNL. After I applied a second thick coat, I had full coverage. This polish dries a little dull looking and looks gritty because of the shimmer even though it is fairly smooth. Even after I applied a coat of Seche Vite, I don’t think it looks as shiny as it should.In all honesty, I am not that impressed with this color so what do I do to liven up a mani? I stamp it up!
I used this swirly pattern from Mash plate Mash 49. I obviously would not wear stamped up nails to an interview but Aston just looked so plain. I actually had high hopes for this polish and it obviously did not live up to my expectations.
What do you think of this polish? What type of polish would you wear to an interview? Thanks for stopping by and I will tall to you later.
Well, here we are completing the very last challenge so I just want to thank Nicole for inviting me to participate in this challenge when it started–30 years ago. I Have to admit that in the beginning, I hated it because I was struggling so much trying to figure out what to do, but now I am soooo happy that I participated because I think I gained some confidence along the way. A big thank you to all of you who stopped and commented on our manicures because it made the whole process even more fun!
The day that we were supposed to create a manicure inspired by a video game, I got so frustrated with my attempts that I ended up not posting anything. I was completely in love with Nicole’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle nails so I told myself that I would use that as my inspiration for today’s final nails. Let’s look at my final mani for the challenge:
Read below to see how I created this mani.
I started out with 2 coats of China Glaze White Out because I work better when I have a completely white canvas. Additionally, the white makes other colors seem brighter. I used a mixture of China Glaze Westside Warrior and Sunshine Pop for their green skin.
I then used black polish to do the outline of the characters with a tiny dotting tool and a thin stripping brush. With those same tools, I filled in some of the details like their colored bandanas and eyes.
Here are some final pics of my mani.
To remind you, these are Nicole’s TMNT nails. I am so glad she did this because it served as such great inspiration!
I don’t know about you, but I can still remember watching TMNT every morning before going to school. I would become so entranced in the cartoon that it would take me like 20 minutes just to get dressed. Of course my mom was yelling at me the whole time because I was late for school, but I didn’t care because I loved my morning cartoons.
Thank you so much for seeing us through this challenge. While I’m not itching to do another 31 day challenge, I will definitely continue to experiment with nail art. Now that I know I can do it, I’m going to have to invest in some awesome nail art brushes. Don’t forget to check out Nicole’s final mani over at Polish Me, Please!
Thanks for the visit and talk to you later.
Guess what? I have another pretty holiday collection to share with you today. The LCN Mystique Burlesque Collection is perfect for the holidays with its richly saturated jewel tones that will definitely demand attention. The formula on all of these polishes was pretty consistent: smooth and opaque. The first coat appears deceivingly thin, but the second coat completely covers the nail. I find jewel toned polishes incredibly difficult to photograph so bear with me. I’ll stop blabbing now and show you the swatches.
Green Emerald
Ruby Red
Violet Amethyst
Blue Sapphire
This is such a beautiful and cohesive festive collection. These colors are not for the faint of heart: they are deep, saturated and outrageously season appropriate. Every time I look at Blue Sapphire, I thinking of doing one of those pretty snowflake manicures. As as I said in my previous review of the LCN Urban Expressions Collection, the price for these polishes is my only reservation because they are $7.50 for an 8ml bottle. You can also purchase these 4 polishes in one of their trend boxes for $29.90 at the LCN Boutique.
What do you think of this collection? Do you have a favorite color? Thanks for stopping by and talk to you later!
**These products were provided for review purposes. All opinions are my own.**
I know I always start out these challenge posts by exclaiming that we are almost done. YES!!!!!!!!!!! We are almost done!!!!! Friday is the last day of the challenge and Nicole and I will be recreating one of each other’s challenge manis. I am going to have to figure out which one to do since she did so many awesome ones. I had a hell of a time deciding what to do for today’s challenge. There are so many great tutorials out there but one thing about me is that a tutorial inevitably dooms me to failure. I don’t know why, but even when I see step by step instructions, I find a way to mess everything up. Because of this, I always try out a tutorial on a nail wheel. Well, the first one I chose to recreate was disastrous. I am not kidding. So I went back and prayed to the Google Gods to help me find something cute but simple. Well, thank you GG because you did help me. I decided to recreate the Santa Nails tutorial that I found over at Mini Nail Blog. After I used her tutorial, I went and looked through her other posts and oh my gah, she has some exquisite free hand designs. You should definitely check out her blog.
Want to see my finished mani?
Read below to see how I created these nails!
These are all the items I used to create my Santa nails: Wet N Wild polishes in Red Red, Tickled Pink, French White Creme and Black Creme. I also used a dotting tool, a nail art brush, a sponge and some Seche Vite to finish it all off. One thing about me is that I love a bargain. I am not a polish snob and Wet N Wild polishes are some of my favorite bargain buys. You do not need expensive stuff to create fun manis!
I used Wet N Wild Tickled Pink as my base color. As you can see, it is very thin and streaky since I only applied one coat but it didn’t matter because I was going to cover most of it up anyway. Then I applied Wet N Wild Red Red to a third of my nail for the hat.
I then used Wet N Wild French White Creme and sponged it at the bottom for Santa’s beard. I then used a dotting tool to apply the white trim on Santa’s hat and also made a little mustache using a small brush with the white polish. Using the same dotting tool, I then dotted on Santa’s nose with the red polish.
And lastly, I used Wet N Wild Black Creme and a dotting tool to apply Santa’s eyes. Tadaaaaaaa!
What do you think of my finished Santa mani? Since I am really feeling excited about Christmas (how unlike me!), I love having little Santas on my nails. Unfortunately, he told me I have been a very naughty girl (I think someone showed him my late night tweets) so I’m expecting a lump of coal.
Don’t forget to check out Nicole’s challenge nails over at Polish Me, Please! Also, stay tuned for our last challenge on Friday where we will recreate one of each other’s manicures. Thanks for the visit and talk to you soon.
P.S. Did you enter my most awesome and spectacular giveaway? No? WHAT?! GO NOW! 🙂
One year ago, I started this blog. My first blog post was on December 16, 2011; how many of you have read it? (Pssst…go read it here if you’re interested.) I can’t even begin to explain what this blog means to me and how grateful I am to all of you, my readers, who have stuck with me through this venture. Whether you regularly comment, send me encouraging messages or just read when you can–thank you! I’ve been debating about what I would like this blog to be in the future, and I still don’t really know. What I do know is that I am one fortunate gal to have met so many wonderful people thanks to this blog.
So in order to thank all of you for your continued support, I am holding my last giveaway of 2012!
Prize #1 A Set Of Mini OPI Skyfall Polishes
Prize #2: Seche Vite, China Glaze Channelesque and China Glaze Who’s Wearing What
(Quick note about these CG polishes. They are not 3-free in case that is a concern for you. These are old HTF and discontinued colors.)
Prize #3: Sation Seriously Slate, Hot 4 Teacher and Miss Emo Shun All
Prize #4: Nail Art Package
Prize #5: Jessica Cosmetics Spicy Dream Collection
(The amazing people over at Jessica Cosmetics just sent me a brand new set of their Spicy Dream Collection polishes to share with all of you. This is such an amazing collection that I previously reviewed here.)
Prize #6: Essence Break Through, Chic Reloaded, Fame Fatal and Grey To Be Here
(These polishes were kindly provided by the awesome people at Essence.)
To enter, just use the handy dandy Rafflecopter widget below. This giveaway is open worldwide, but please make sure that you know the customs regulations of your country before entering. The only mandatory entry is to be an e-mail blog subscriber and to leave a comment. Everything else is optional.
I hope you all continue to enjoy my blog as much as I enjoy writing it and here is to a wonderful 2013 for us all!
Cynthia
Today was kind of a fun day for me when it came to deciding what to do for this challenge. I am a huge lover of art in general–painting, sculpture, architecture. I have a soft spot for the Renaissance which explains why Florence is probably my favorite city in the world–it’s like a love song to the Renaissance. One of my favorite paintings resides at the Uffizi Galleries: La Nascita di Venere by Botticelli.
I wish I had more time today because I might have attempted to recreate parts of this painting…that would have been awesome. Anyway, I was searching some of my favorite painters such as Picasso, Magritte, Dali, Renoir and Da Vinci for some inspiration. I don’t know how I ended up settling on Jackson Pollock, but I’m glad I did because I do like how my nails turned out.
Read below to see how I created this manicure.
I started with a base of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls. Let me tell you that I love this polish because it’s just such an interesting color. It’s obviously not a pure white which I really like. I had heard so many positive things about this polish so I am glad that it did not disappoint. I had to apply 3 thin coats, but I think it would be ok with 2 thickish coats.
I really wanted to try the traditional splatter technique with a straw or brush, but I just didn’t have enough time this morning so I went ahead and used the splatter design from Konad plate M70.
I used all the different colors and stamped them all over each other on my nails. Doesn’t this remind you of a Jackson Pollock painting?
Well, there are only 2 more challenges left so thanks for sticking with us through this loooooonnnnngggg process. 🙂 Don’t forget to check out Nicole’s nails over at Polish Me, Please!
Aaaaaaannnnndddd…don’t forget to check out my blog sale. I am going to add more polishes tonight so take advantage of the 20% off sale. 🙂 Talk to you later!
I was almost forgetting to post this. I got tagged by Amanda and Siobhan and since they are like two of my favorite blogger friends, I decided to go ahead and do it. (Remember when I said I got tag teamed on one of these tag posts and I got all sorts of unsavory visitors? tee hee)
Anyway, here are my answers to the Winterlicious Tag
1) Favourite winter nail polish? I honestly don’t have one. I wear all colors pretty much year-round.
2) Favourite winter lip product? This is an easy one. I am a Jack Black lip balm whore. I have about 10 of them all over my apartment. I also like Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment.
3) Most worn winter clothing piece? I guess a light jacket? lol
4) Most worn winter accessory? I like scarves…so I will say scarves even though we don’t really need them in Southern California.
5) Favourite winter scent/candle? I love candles but most scents make me sick. The only candle I am loving right now is White Barn Mahogany Teakwood that I got from Bath and Body Works. I love spicy musky scents and can’t stand any candles that are food scented or super sweet.
6) Favourite winter beverage? I love a good Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks but they taste extra good when it’s cold.
7) All time favourite Christmas/holiday movie? That’s an easy one: It’s A Wonderful Life
8) Favourite Christmas/holiday song? I love Jingle Bells because it’s the first Christmas song I can remember singing, but I also like Jingle Bell Rock and All I Want For Christmas Is You.
9) Favourite holiday food/treat? I like making buñuelos and churros at home…and I don’t feel guilty for eating them because it’s the holidays!
10) What is your favourite Christmas decoration this year? I’m liking my tree even though it’s small and Charlie Brown-ish.
11) What’s at the top of your wish list? I really hope that 2013 treats me better than 2011 and 2012. 🙂
12) What are your plans for the holidays this year? I am not sure yet. Probably just spending it with the fam.
Now, it’s your turn! I tag the entire world. 😛
1) Favourite winter nail polish?
2) Favourite winter lip product?
3) Most worn winter clothing piece?
4) Most worn winter accessory?
5) Favourite winter scent/candle?
6) Favourite winter beverage?
7) All time favourite Christmas/holiday movie?
8) Favourite Christmas/holiday song?
9) Favourite holiday food/treat?
10) What is your favourite Christmas decoration this year?
11) What’s at the top of your wish list?
12) What are your plans for the holidays this year?
