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Category: Stamping

Of Life and Lacquer > Stamping

Precision Shine, Wine N Dine

Posted on 21 March, 201316 November, 2013 by Cynthia

All products featured in this post were purchased by me.

Hello there and happy Thursday. Normally I would be all excited that it’s Thursday because one of my favorite shows, Scandal, is on tonight but since I have to go to bed so early, I won’t get to watch it until tomorrow. Double poop. Anyway, at least there will be one good thing to look forward to tomorrow. I’m really excited about the polish I’m featuring today because it’s just so dang pretty. I actually got this polish the day that stupid dog bit me–and from the shop where the dog bit me. I’m not going to let that experience taint my love for this outrageously gorgeous baby. Are you ready to see Précision Shine, Wine N Dine?

I decided to post four pictures of Précision Shine, Wine N Dine: the first two in artificial light and the second set out in direct sunlight. It’s not always possible for me to take picture in direct sunlight so I’ve been relying on my light box ever since I started working. Précision Shine, Wine N Dine is a gorgeous pink based red polish with very fine and delicate holographic particles suspended throughout the squishy jelly base. Being a jelly, it’s rather sheer so you do need 3 or more coats for complete coverage. I think that the fine holo particles really kick this polish up a notch.

Since I just received my Winstonia Store stamping plates, I was dying to try them out. Here I used Pure Ice Silver Mercedes to stamp an image from plate W113. If you’re ever looking for a perfect silver stamping polish, you have to get Silver Mercedes because it’s just perfection. Look how clear it transfers! I was also worried that the full nail images might be too small for my wide and curved nails, but the size was perfect on this image. I can’t wait to try it more of the designs and hope to have a full review of the plates for you in the near future.

Holy shiznit, that was a fun mani! I haven’t been doing much stamping lately just because I haven’t had much time, but there is also a more tragic reason: I think I may have thrown away all my stamping plates by mistake. I am hoping that maybe I put them in a box in my closet the last time I was trying to get everything organized, but I also remember that I threw out tons of stuff so I really hope I didn’t through out my stamping plates. I think I had about 100 plates altogether so that makes me want to cry. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

I bought an extra bottle of this gorgeous polish for a future giveaway. In fact, I’m hoping to reach 1,500 likes on Facebook so I can have a super fun giveaway so spread the word! I’m way behind on responding to comments lately, but I promise to get to them soon. Thanks so much for the visit today and talk to you soon!

Julep Alma

Posted on 23 January, 201323 January, 2013 by Cynthia

Sweet baby Jesus on rollerskates I’m tired. Book learnin iz hard. My brain is being crammed with so much information at work that I feel almost like a zombie once I get home. To be honest, I am enjoying learning so much new stuff so I shouldn’t complain–it’s just a lot of work! If you can believe it, I haven’t been wearing nail polish to work because I’m still getting a feel for things. Since I don’t want to cause any type of waves during my probation period, I am remaining very conservative…just wait until this passes because I’ll be causing some nail tsunamis for sure! Today I decided to use the other Julep polish that I got recently: Julep Alma.

Oh, Alma! You’re one of those pretty/ugly polishes that I always think is going to look better on me than it actually does. Actually, this color reminds me a lot of the creme version of China Glaze Trendsetter! I had a little weird issue with this polish and I’m wondering if it’s just my bottle or if other people had the same happen to them. When I was applying this polish, I noticed little chunks–like super tiny little balls. After the first coat, I thought that maybe I hadn’t primed my nails well and I had some residue from another product, but the second coat also had the little chunks. Remember Chunk?

Anyway, once I applied the top coat, I think the chunks pretty much disappeared, but it was definitely strange! I applied two coats here and got good coverage.

I just realized that I have used this stamp combination quite often. I just absolutely love it! Both of the images can be found on Bundle Monster plate BM 310. I used the inverted full coverage stamp as my accent nail, and I love how it looks almost leather-like since I didn’t apply top coat after stamping. If you’re a stamper, I’m curious if you know of a black polish that works for stamping. I haven’t found any others that are as pigmented as my Konad Black.

You know I’m going to say it so here it is: If you’re interested in becoming a Julep Maven for just a penny, you can use my referral link here and enter the code JULEPVIP. You can’t really beat one cent, can you? I am looking to explore more subscription type boxes so feel free to leave me a comment if you know of others that are good. I have been very satisfied with the Julep boxes because I think the subscription service is a great deal. Definitely give them a try if you’re curious!

I am BEYOND excited that I only have two more days before the weekend. WEEKENDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD! You know what kinda sucks, though? It might be raining here. It literally was in the 80’s earlier in the week and now it’s getting cold and rainy…get it together, bipolar California! Do you have anything fun planned this weekend?

Let me know what you think about this polish and stamping. I love reading all your comments! Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

Disclosure: Julep Alma was provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR firm. All other products featured in this post were purchased by me. For more information, please see my disclosure policy tab here.

Julep Trina

Posted on 22 January, 201323 January, 2013 by Cynthia

Well, hello there friends! I am a little disappointed in myself that I didn’t post anything after my first day of work, but I had forgotten how exhausting sitting in a training class for 8 hours can be! I actually did do my nails last night with the intention of posting them, but I felt like my nail mojo just disappeared. I seriously took about 50 pictures and not a single one turned out–they all looked shit-tastic. So I just gave up. Today I got home super flustered because I had so much stuff to do–who knew that having a job again would leave me with absolutely no time at all? Ah, well…I shouldn’t complain because getting a paycheck again means I can continue to enjoy the luxuries I have become accustomed to such as a roof over my head, food in the fridge and electricity. After finishing up my laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning and preparing my lunch for tomorrow, I sat down and thought I’d give it another try. Want to know what polish I settled on? Julep Trina!

Julep Trina is an amazingly rich and saturated metallic aubergine polish. It was a little on the thick side, but it was easy to work with. I only needed two coats for these swatches. Did you hear that the Julep boxes are getting holos? I hope it’s true because you doesn’t love holos??? If you’re interested in becoming a Julep Maven for just a penny, you can use my referral link here and enter the code JULEPVIP. Yep, for a penny. Awesomeness.

I then used an image from Mash plate MASH 43 which is kind of a strange flower and vine design. I am also wowed by the polish I used for stamping: Pure Ice Silver Mercedes. I finally found a decent Pure Ice display at a new Walmart and there was ONE of these babies left. This is such an amazing polish for stamping and you seriously can’t beat the under $2 price tag!

A lot of you have asked me about my new job and what I’ll be doing. I just wanted to say that I’ve made a very conscious decision not to discuss any details about my job. I’ve heard of way too many horror stories of people getting in trouble professionally about stuff they post online. While I do tend to share–and overshare–a lot about my personal life, that will not include details about my job. This will hopefully allow me to share funny people stories about my job–with names changed to protect the clueless, of course! I should have gone to bed about an hour ago but I stayed up to watch the series finale of Private Practice, and it was even more lame than I had anticipated. This show really jumped the shark about a year ago so I’m glad it’s over.

Well, I’m heading to bed now. It’s Wednesday tomorrow so I’m almost half-way through my first week of work. Woot! Hope you have a wonderful day, and I will talk to you soon.

Disclosure: Julep Trina was provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR firm. All other products featured in this post were purchased by me. For more information, please see my disclosure policy tab here.

Sation I Paint In Peace

Posted on 19 January, 2013 by Cynthia

Remember how I was complaining about how cold it has been lately? Well, today it’s going to be in the upper 70’s/low 80’s and here I am wanting to complain again. haha! Is it so hard to just have nice mild and temperate weather that is season appropriate? I guess so! This weekend is supposed to be super nice so maybe I’ll take advantage of my last two days of unemployed freedom and go to the beach or something outdoorsy like that. How’s the weather in your neck of the woods? Since it’s getting warm, I decided to wear a polish that was a little brighter than what I wore previously which was essentially a black/purple polish. I settled on yet another lovely from the Sation Nailstock Colletion: Sation I Paint In Peace.

Sation I Paint In Peace is a beautiful dark and mossy green with a strong and noticeable silver shimmer. The first coat of this polish was super sheer so I was cringing inside thinking that I would have to apply 5 gazillion coats but it was perfect after the second coat. I should know better than to second guess my beloved Sations.

I then used Layla Flash Black and a design from Mash plate MASH 47 for this subtle houndstooth design. Even though it looks super subtle in these pictures, you can really see the design in real life. I am so in love with using holos to stamp.

I hope you’re having a nice weekend. Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

Disclosure: Sation I Paint In Peace was provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR firm. Layla Flash Black was purchased by me. For more information, please see my disclosure policy tab here.

Julep Madison

Posted on 13 January, 201313 January, 2013 by Cynthia

Since it has been unusually cold here in So Cal, I decided to pull out a very un-winter-like polish to brighten my day and get me in the mood for spring. I much prefer winter to summer, but it has been crazy cold by California standards lately so I’m kind of wishing for milder temperatures. What better way to get into a summer mindset than to wear a nice bright neon polish? Well, today I am wearing Julep Madison. I am a big fan of the Julep subscription service especially because of all the goodies that are included in the monthly boxes. You should try it out. If you use my referral link here and enter code JULEPVIP at checkout, you can get your own box for 1 penny! That is a great deal and a very easy and painless way to try out the Julep service.

Julep Madison is a pinky coral that dries to a satiny finish. After the first coat, I was a little worried that the formula was too thin and that I would need multiple coats, but it was actually fine once I applied the second coat. You can still see some VNL but that tends to happen with jelly-neon polishes. I really love the way it looks shiny so I ended up applying a coat of Seche Vite–it just looks so squishy!

I then used an image from Konad plate M63 for this ribbon-like twirly design. This makes me think of the ribbons that rhythm gymnasts use and of orange creamsicles which are my favorite summer treats. Ghhaaaa…now I want one so bad right now.

Let me know what you think of Julep Madison and if you like my stamping design. If you’re interested in becoming a Julep Maven for just a penny, don’t forget to use my referral link here and enter the code JULEPVIP. You really can’t beat this offer–nail polish for one cent? Yes, please! I hope you enjoy the rest of your Sunday, and I will talk to you soon.

China Glaze Draped In Velvet

Posted on 10 January, 2013 by Cynthia

Hello there! The weather is pretty kick ass in So Cal today: it’s sunny but chilly and really windy. It’s the perfect weather for staying in bed all day but that’s not happening today. I actually overslept today even though I am always up fairly early so of course today was the day that I was going to get an early call from my new employer to interview me in French. Nice. I probably made a horrible impression since I sounded like I was groggy and tired. Maybe I’m coming down with something. If I am going to get the flu, I hope I get it now so that I can be ok by the time I start my new job in another week. Remember how I was saying that I’ve been super lucky lately? Well, last night I was in a conference call with my fellow Latina Lifestyle Bloggers, and I won a raffle for a ticket to attend the Third Annual National Lifestyle Blogger Conference & Junket!!! I was super excited about this because I really wanted to go but the ticket is a few hundred dollars and I just couldn’t swing that with the whole not working part. Well, I am super duper excited to attend this conference and hope that I learn tons of new stuff. Blogging has become a passion for me, and I really hope that I can continue to grow my blog and that you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.

Moving on to the nail polish, I have China Glaze Draped In Velvet to share with you today:

China Glaze Draped in Velvet is from the 2006 We Adorn You Collection which obviously pre-dates my polish obsession. This color is like a magenta, blue leaning, shimmery purple. The formula was pretty decent like most China Glaze polishes. I can’t say that I’m blown away by this color but it’s nice.

I then took out my Layla holo in Flash Black and used Konad Plate M63 to stamp this design. I really like how this turned out because it looks all swirly and almost whimsical.

Sorry to keep it short today but my friend is patiently waiting for me to finish up this post so we can go grab some lunch! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

Butter London Marrow

Posted on 5 January, 2013 by Cynthia

You know when you realize that you are waaaayyyy too old to be staying up all night? That was me last night. I wasn’t really planning on doing anything, but my friend called me and we ended up going out to karaoke. After we sang a bunch of embarrassing songs (I sang Justin Bieber’s Boyfriend…don’t say it), we went to a Vietnamese restaurant; I should have had some pho since it was wicked cold. After that, we went to another place for coffee and before we knew it, it was 3 am and I was basically a zombie. I remember the days when I used to stay out all night, sleep for a couple of hours and then head to class without even blinking. Ahhh…to be in my early 20’s again! The sun has set on those days, hasn’t it? Don’t get me wrong–I had a lot of fun, but it’s not something I can do a regular basis. So…what did I decided to do with my nails today? I slapped on another untried: Butter London Marrow.

This is such a strange polish! I don’t know if I just really love it of I’m just trying to figure out what it is about it that is confusing me. I think I sound a little nuts right now, right? With all the purple polishes in my life, I think this one is rather unique in my stash. I normally don’t have anything to complain about when it comes to the Butter London formula, but this one was not what I was expecting. It is so pigmented that I figured it wouldn’t take more than 2 coats, but I had to apply a third thick coat because I had some bald spots even though I waited for each coat to dry.

It feels like it’s been forever since I’ve done a plain and simple manicure. Somehow I feel that my nails are boring when I’m not stamping or beddazling the crap out of them. Here I used a design from Konad plate M64 and stamped with Wet N Wild I Can’t Stand Up Straight. I then used Wet N Wild French White Cream and a dotting tool to apply the white dots.

So what do you think of Butter London Marrow? Do you like the final stamped/dotted design? Well, I hope you’re enjoying your weekend, and we will talk soon!

On ne voit bien qu’avec le cœur…

Posted on 4 January, 2013 by Cynthia

The very first book in French that I ever read is Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s Le Petit Prince. I was 14 years old and my French teacher was trying to slowly introduce us into reading something a little more complicated than our grammar books. If you’ve never read this deceptively simple little book, I strongly recommend that you go out and get yourself a copy. Although it is a “children’s book,” it speaks to us adults on a different level. Even the most jaded and hardened amongst us will see that the story and ideas behind The Little Prince will remind us that too often we let ourselves get wrapped up in things that don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. Sometimes the most simple of things are truly the most important. Before I show you my mani, here are the polishes and items I used to create my manicure:

The polishes I used are all from Sation: Dance With The Drummer, Down and Dirty Flirty, Strumming My Nails and Lemon Pearl. I am going to have to do a review of all of these polishes individually because they are gorgeous. I think I have found my new favorite white…it was seriously perfection.

I also used three stamping plates and Konad stamping polishes in yellow, red and green. I used the black stripping polish for the details in drawing The Little Prince as well as the Winstonia nail art brush. The plates I used are: Konad M84 for the stars, Mash 36 for the rose and Mash 33 for the shooting stars.

I started out by painting my nails with the base colors. As I said before, these colors are amazing–super buttery and smooth. Second, I stamped my three nails with the star designs and the rose before I moved on to my middle finger. I seriously redid that nail about 4 times–I just could not get The Little Prince to look right which kind of shocked me considering how simple the drawing is.

I took these pictures out in direct sunlight so the colors warmed up a bit, but I liked how they turned out nonetheless. I think that out of all the manicures I have done over the past year, this is the one I am most proud of not only because of the cuteness factor but because I adore The Little Prince.

Let me know what you think about this mani…and it better be positive or else we’re going to have some problems. 😛 Just kidding…sort of. I’ve been in a very bad mood lately, and I think I just realized that it’s due to all the bottled up anger coming from the situation with the mooch. Have you read The Little Prince? Anyway…thanks for checking in with me today, and I will talk to you soon!

P.S. In case anyone was wondering, the title of this post comes from one of my favorite lines in this book: “Voici mon secret. Il est très simple: on ne voit bien qu’avec le cœur. L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.”

“Here is my secret. It is very simple: One sees clearly only with the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye.”

Disclosure: All Sation polishes and the Winstonia Store brush were provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR. All other products featured in this post were purchased by me. For more information, please refer to my disclosure policy tab.

Wet N Wild Hannah Pinktana

Posted on 2 January, 20132 January, 2013 by Cynthia

I don’t know why, but I’m feeling super girlie and dainty today. There is NOTHING dainty and super girlie about me, but all of a sudden I wanted to wear pink on my nails. I have a crapton of pink polishes, so I had to take out a bunch of them and pick the one that appealed to me the most. Since I’ve been on a kick to use all of my untrieds lately, I picked Wet N Wild Hannah Pinktana. Before I get into the polish, I have to admit that I was technically a Hannah Montana fan. I sometimes watched the show and kind of enjoyed it. Don’t judge me! When someone asked me what the most embarrassing song on my ipod is, I immediately responded: Party In The USA by Miley Cyrus. Hey–it’s a gym song, ok!?

Wet N Wild Hannah Pinktana is a super sheer and delicate mauve-pink polish with fine scattered holographic glitter. I adore how delicate this polish is, but I do have to mention that it is beyond sheer. I applied 5–yes 5–coats here but they were all thin so they dried pretty quickly. Since I am a huge fan of holo polishes, both linear and scattered, I am wondering what took me so long to use this polish. If you’re not into applying more than 2 coats of polish, I can see this working as a layering polish as well. And the best part of this polish is that it’s only $1.99!!!!

What is more girlie than bows and rhinestones…seriously? Maybe I’m just feeling super sappy and emotional (and not in a good way) these last few days so I am pouring all those feelings into my nail polish and stamping choices. The bow design is from Bundle Monster plate BM 317 but I think this would be pretty easy to free-hand if you don’t have this stamping plate. To make it all extra cute, I added some rhinestones to finish off this mani.

What do you think of this mani? Is it something that you would wear? Have you tried out any polishes from Wet N Wild’s FastDry line? There are a few others that I picked up that are TV show themed so I’ll be trying those out sometime soon. Thanks so much for checking in with me today, and I will talk to you soon!

Disclosure: All products featured in this post were purchased by me.

Barielle Elle’s Spell

Posted on 21 December, 201231 December, 2012 by Cynthia

Beejus, can you believe that Christmas is in a few days and then it’s just a hop, skip and a jump to 2013? I am actually really excited about the new year just because I want to close the chapter on the crapfest that 2012 has been. Don’t get me wrong–things have definitely improved these last few months of 2012, but I am just looking forward to a fresh start.

For my first real holiday mani, I decided to stick with a combination of red and white.

I started out with two coats of Nails Inc. Gatwick. Great Odin’s Raven! this polish is awesome. I usually have a love/hate relationship with matte polishes, but this one just blew me away. The formula is super thin so it doesn’t get goopy at all, and it’s really easy to control.

And here is the belle of the ball: Barielle Elle’s Spell. This gorgeous polish is from Barielle’s 2010 holiday collection and I definitely think it was the stand-out from that collection. It has a slightly red-tinted base that is pretty sheer and it’s chock-full of golden-red flakes. I have not tried to wear this polish on it’s own and I don’t think I will–I prefer an opaque base as opposed to a sheer jelly.

Lastly, I applied a snowflake design from Bundle Monster plate BM 319. Snowflakes are definitely my favorite holiday design right now. Just because I couldn’t help myself, I ended up mattifying the whole manicure.

Which version do you prefer: shiny or matte?

Well, my dears, there you have my holiday mani. This year I have decided not to buy any Christmas gifts. I feel kind of like a Scrooge, but I’d rather save the money right now. My parents aren’t coming for a visit this year so I will probably be spending Christmas with my brother and sil–along with my youngest brother whom is also known as “The Mooch” to my long-time readers. Are you prepared for Christmas? What are your plans?

This weekend I am going to have 2 guests posts for you from two of my lovely blogger friends: Amanda and Siobhan. I can’t wait for you to see their awesome designs. There is one more day left to enter my 1 year blogiversary giveaway so don’t miss out!
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Thanks for stopping by today and have a great weekend.