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Stamping Saturdays #56

Posted on 14 February, 2015 by Cynthia

Heeeeeeeeey! Can you tell how excited I am? The reason why I’m so happy is because I have a 4 day weekend and I’m going to be the laziest person in the history of the world. In fact, I’m still in my pj’s right now and I don’t care what anyone thinks. Last night my friend and I decided to go watch 50 Shades of Grey. I know, I know. The theater was packed which didn’t really surprise me, but I was surprised at how bad the movie was. The books were so poorly written that they made me want to barf, but they were somewhat entertaining so I thought maybe the movie wouldn’t be too horrible but it was. I think Jamie Dornan is hot lava, but I don’t think he was what I was expecting for the Christian Grey character. On the other hand, Dakota Johnson was good in he role. Overall, the movie was choppy and just strange. When I got home, I saw that I had gotten some free passes in the mail (thanks, OPI!!), so I’m going to give them away so they don’t have to be mad like me about paying full price to see this film. Anyway, let’s move on from putrid films to awesome nail polish! For today’s Stamping Saturdays I have another holo beauty to show you.

I had such a hard time finding Orly Mirrorball, so when I finally found a bottle, I freaked out. It’s a really gorgeous and delicate linear holo with small holographic glitter. The formula felt a little thin, so be prepared to apply 3 coats

I used a delicate stamp from Konad plate M73 and Mentality Black Opaque stamping polish. I really like how this turned out.

What do you think about this mani? I hope your weekend is going well and that you enjoy your long weekend if you get Monday off. Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

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Stamping Saturdays #55

Posted on 7 February, 20157 February, 2015 by Cynthia

I’m sorry that I’m showing you L’Oreal Masked Affair today because I know how hard it has been for some of you to get your hands on it. Ok, I’m not that sorry because it is a gorgeous polish, and I was excited to find it after all the swatches I had seen. I normally have a hard time finding drugstore stuff like this because the stupid displays have like 2 of each polish, so this was a major win. I don’t think that we will ever get tired of holographic polishes–this is definitely a good one. Let me show you this baby on its own before I show you how I jazzed it up for today’s Stamping Saturdays.

Ghhhaaaaa! Gorgeous. There are plenty of silver holos out there, but this isn’t really silver–it leans lavender and has a unique finish. The formula is a little thin which is normal for drugstore polishes, but it does build up nicely. I applied 3 coats for my swatches above.

Since I didn’t want to cover up a lot of this beautiful polish, I used a delicate stamp. As usual, I used my Mentality Black Opaque polish for the stamping. The image I used comes from plate MoYou London Pro Collection 18 (press sample) which is one of my favorite plates!

So what are you up to today? I’m watching Peanut today so it’s been a busy morning. I just managed to put him down for his nap so that’s why I’m posting this kinda late. Anyway, I hope you’re having a nice weekend, and I will talk to you soon.

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Stamping Saturdays #54

Posted on 31 January, 2015 by Cynthia

Hey girls! Saturday is here again which means it’s time for another Stamping Saturdays. Last week I ended up doing my mani early because I knew I would be ridiculously lazy this weekend. In fact, I have gotten a lot of swatching done so I am almost caught up….until more collections start to drop. Ever since Friends was added on Netflix, I’ve been watching episodes non-stop. I actually have the whole collection on DVD, but it’s so convenient to have the entire series on Netflix. I had forgotten how much I loved the series! Anyway, let me show you what I came up with today.

This beauty is China Glaze Dashboard Dreamer from their Spring Road Trip Collection. It’s the most gorgeous bay blue with a delicate microshimmer throughout. The formula isn’t great, but I think that I can be forgiving for a color this gorgeous.

I then used and image from plate MoYou London Pro Collection 18 (press sample) and Mentality Black Opaque stamping polish. The more I used this Mentality stamping polish, the more I love it. It’s very opaque and it doesn’t stain at all the way the Konad one does.

After I finished my stamping, I decided to apply a coat of China Glaze Fairy Dust just for some added sparkle. I think that it ended up muddling the manicure overall, but it looked really pretty out in the sun.

So what do you think about this mani? I liked it but it definitely is not one of my favorites. Don’t forget to check out the other Stamping Saturdays manis below. Don’t forget to join us by adding your link below and by using the hashtag #StampingSaturdays on IG so I can find you. Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

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Stamping Saturdays #53

Posted on 24 January, 201524 January, 2015 by Cynthia

Aren’t you guys happy that the weekend is here? Last night I found Masked Affair at my local Rite-Aid and I am still wondering why the display only has two of each polish…is that ridiculous or what? Anyway, I had a pretty big polish week because I bought a ton of new stuff that I’m already regretting but hey–that always happens to me. As usual, I had no idea what I wanted to do for today’s Stamping Saturdays so I just went with the flow. Let me show you the gorgeous polish that I used as my base.

This gorgeous polish is OPI Taylor Blue (press sample). If you don’t know the story behind this polish, make sure that you read it here. This gorgeous polish is so incredibly shiny and has a beautiful crelly consistency.

I then used Mentality White Opaque to stamp an image from plate MoYou London Sailor Collection Plate 07 (press sample). While the Mentality polish stamps beautifully, it has more of a pearl off white finish and I was really looking forward to an opaque white creme. I got so excited with my mani, that I top coated it with OPI I Can Teal You Like Me (press sample) before taking pictures of it. Womp womp. I really love how this looks but dang those bubbles kill it. I’m getting irrationally upset with the bubbles so I may have to take Emma’s suggestion and try the Dance Legend Top Aquarelles.

Minus the bubbles, I love this!!! What do you think? I’m starting to feel really gross because of the Santa Ana winds which make my allergies go bonkers…i’m not looking forward to that so I’m loading up on Benadryl. I have an eye exam later this morning which I’m not looking forward to. Lately I’ve been having tons of issues with my vision which is a huge concern since I’m diabetic. However, I’ve had all the check ups with my doctor and she said my eyes are perfectly healthy. I’ve noticed that I have a lot of trouble seeing up close now with my glasses, and by the end of the day, my eyes are so painfully dry that I can barely see. I bought some eye drops last night and when I got home I realized it said they were for dry “aging eyes.” Yep, I’m old. Well, I hope you’re having a nice Saturday so far and don’t forget to join us for Stamping Saturdays by adding your link below and tagging your posts on IG with #stampingsaturdays so I can find you. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

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The Lacquer Ring – Splatter

Posted on 22 January, 201521 January, 2015 by Cynthia

I need to tone it down a little today because I’m almost roid raging over a freaking nail. So here I am all happy with being able to use my swatching hand again, and I was all showing off my new nail shape and all…and BAM! My pink nail split lengthwise. How does that even happen? I’ve never had that happen before so I was like…WTF nail? I managed to file it down enough to where the split ended, but now I’m just waiting for the next nail catastrophe. Oh, and I also have a nail starting to peel/break on my non-swatching hand. Of course this happens when I have about 30 polishes to swatch because the universe hates me. Let me get off this rant for now so I can actually show you what I’m supposed to be talking about today: The Lacquer Ring! Yep, we are at it again with a new prompt which was chosen by Amanda. She chose splatter nails, and of course I had to take the easiest way out because, at Sweet Brown says, Ain’t nobody got time fo dat!

I started off with a simple black base using Jessica Velvets & Pearls (press sample) which is a pretty standard black creme. It has a great formula so no complaints here.

I then used Jessica Standing Ovation (press sample) to stamp this splatter image from Konad Plate M70. I thought the contrast would be better, but I kind of like how this looks. I should have left well enough alone but nooooooooooooo…

I then used my Nicole by OPI Matte Top Coat (press sample) to mattify the whole mani and basically ruined it. I do not like how this looks matte. I should have used a different stamping color to make it stand out more when I mattified it.

Welp, I’m sorry I brought you this craptacular mani today. I just gave up. I had a long day and just didn’t have it in me to do anything different after this fail. Hopefully I’ll do better next month. Womp womp. Check out the links below to see what the other ladies from The Lacquer Ring came up with–it sure can’t get worse than this. Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

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Inspired By: Rainbow Doodles

Posted on 20 January, 201519 January, 2015 by Cynthia

I’m currently enjoying the last day of my 4 day weekend so I hear the impending womp womp music in my head for tomorrow morning. I’m really enjoying the idea of keeping up these “Inspired By” posts because I hope it will push me to do more creative things. Last time I did the rose and chevrons mani that I really liked, so I hope that you like what I have for you today. For today’s post, I picked this fun rainbow doodle from Amy’s pinterest post and we set out to create our own interpretation of it.

Does this look like snakes to you? Like rainbow snakes….or maybe rainbow spaghetti?

To start with, I used this arch design from MoYou London Pro Collection – 02 (press sample) and stamped with Mentality Opaque Black stamping polish. I think that this has replaced my love for my Konad Black stamping polish for a few reasons: 1) It’s cheap 2) It stamps very well and very opaque 3) It does not stain like the Konad!!!!! For my white base, I used my favorite white polish in the whole wide world: Jessica Sharktooth (press sample).

Ok, so I’m super irritated with all the bubbling going on in this mani. I used all 4 OPI Sheer Tints (press sample) to fill in the design, but because they are so thick and gummy, it’s really hard to manipulate them. Since I applied them a little thick, bubbling was inevitable. Despite the bubbling, I still find the overall effect really fun.

Lastly, I mattified the whole thing with my favorite Matte Top Coat from OPI (press sample). I think that the matte top coat hides the bubbles a bit so I’m all for that. I’ve had this matte top coat for a while, and it has not gotten gunky or weird at all.

So what do you think about this mani? Minus the bubbles, I really like how this turned out. Make sure that you check out the other manis below to see how the other ladies interpreted the design inspiration. Thank you for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

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Stamping Saturdays #52

Posted on 17 January, 2015 by Cynthia

Saturday is my favorite day of the week, and not just because of Stamping Saturdays–ha! I have a 4 day weekend to enjoy so I’m kind of in lazy heaven right now. I’ve been so dang tired this week so I’m hoping that this break with recharge me. I don’t have too much planned for this weekend, so I’m going to try to get some swatching done. I am still dealing with my damaged right hand nails so you’re continuing to see my left hand. In fact, I changed the shape of my nails to more of an almond shape on my right hand because they were tearing at the corners due to how weak they are. The last time I changed the shape of my nails, people didn’t seem too happy with the shape but I’m going to keep it until the damage grows out. Last night I could not figure out what to do for today’s Stamping Saturdays so I went with a color that I love: OPI In The Cable Car-pool Lane.

In The Cable Car-pool Lane (press sample) is one of my favorite colors from the San Francisco Collection. Just look how glossy and delicious it is.

For my stamping, I used my favorite stamping gold, Essie Good As Gold, and an image from Born Pretty plate BP-21. I really like the combination of the base color and the gold even if the actual design is just ok.

So what do you think of this mani? If you are in the US, do you also have a nice long weekend? Well, I hope that you’re doing well today and are enjoying your Saturday. Check out the other Stamping Saturdays designs below and join us on Instagram by tagging your posts #stampingsaturdays so I can find you. Also, if you haven’t entered my flash giveaway which is running for one week, make sure to click here to enter. Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

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Stamping Saturdays #51

Posted on 10 January, 2015 by Cynthia

It’s so nice and sunny today, and I’m soooo enjoying it. I don’t know what it is, but I have such high hopes for 2015. I’m determined to make the best of out of this year after being so down on myself for so long. Today I’m catching up with a lot of the shows I missed out on during the week, namely Empire. Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson are hot lava together in one show. So last night I was trying to figure out what to do for Stamping Saturdays and I decided to use a polish I hadn’t used in a long time: Dior Frimas.

Dior Frimas is one of those beautiful holiday polishes that Dior puts out each year. I picked this up a couple of year ago and had completely forgotten about it. Sometimes I hate myself for buying some of this expensive stuff and then never using it. I know part of it is that these are collectors items, but isn’t t just wasteful? Anyway, I think I don’t like this polish as much as I initially did. The color is just a little off on me and the formula is so grainy. Still, it’s pretty and I don’t exactly regret getting it.

For my stamping, I used and image from plate Born Pretty 02 (press sample) which i found a little difficult to do since I was stamping with my non-dominant hand. I didn’t initially like this mani at all, but it grew on me a bit.

So what are you up to today? Well, whatever you’re doing, I hope you are enjoying your day. Thanks for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

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Chevrons and Flowers

Posted on 29 December, 201428 December, 2014 by Cynthia

Happy Monday, ladies! Ghhhaaaaa! It’s the last week of the year, and I decided that I wanted to try something a little different today. While I admire all of the amazing ladies who do tons of freehand nail art, I am usually a big fat failure when it comes to anything more complicated than stamping. I got together with Amy and Siobhan to do a mani based off an image or pattern just to mix things up a little. Amy found an awesome pattern, and we decided to use it for today’s mani.

Am I the only one who wants that shower curtain like immediately?

I started off with OPI Angel With A Leadfoot (press sample) as my base. I’ve been using this white a lot lately for my manicures. Can you blame me? It’s so crisp and creamy.

Since I always end up messing up something simple such as chevrons even with vinyls, I decided to use a stamp for this kind offset chevron design. This image is from plate MoYou London Pro Collection 18 (press sample) and I used my Konad special polish in black. For the flower design, I used a water decal that was sent to me by the lovely Jacqui last year after I mentioned that I had never used them before. She has a great post explaining how to use water decals which I referred to today before I used them. Check out her post here. It was super easy to use the water decal, but I did have to do some trial an error. It’s really important to trim them down do that you don’t have any overhang. Because my nails are naturally very curved, the decal did not lay all the way flat at first so I had to fiddle with it to make sure it was as flat as possible before top coating the entire thing. I really loved this design! Even better, I loved doing this with my girls because sometimes I feel like all I do is swatch. While I love swatching, it can sometimes get tedious so doing something like this can get my creative juices flowing.

Make sure that you check out Amy’s and Siobhan’s designs by clicking their links below. What do you think of this design? It was rather easy to create, and it turned out really cute if I do say so myself. I hope you’re having a great beginning to your week. Thank you for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

Stamping Saturdays #49

Posted on 27 December, 201427 December, 2014 by Cynthia

Hey, it’s Saturday again and here I am with another installment of Stamping Saturdays! I know I’ve been pretty absent on my blog and Facebook lately, but I’m sure you’re all busy with the holidays so you haven’t missed me much! Today I wanted to do something that had a serious holiday feel or at least a seasonal connection. Believe it or not, the weather has been quite chilly here in the land of eternal shorts and flip flops and it’s supposed to get colder. We are also expecting rain next week so I’m looking forward to that. Do you have big NYE plans? I haven’t decided what I want to do cause I hate crowds which means that a lot of the festivities are not up my alley. Anyway, let’s move on to the polish, yeah? Today I am showing you Morgan Taylor Under The Stars which is probably my favorite Morgan Taylor polish of all time.

Morgan Taylor Under The Stars is a deep midnight blue jelly polish with tons of holographic glitter. Two coats are enough for full opacity, but it does dry a little gritty so a generous coat of Seche Vite will give it a nice glassy and smooth look.

I took a blurry picture of this polish to show you the sparkle. This baby looks amazing out in the sun–you will not be able to stop staring at your nails.

I then stamped this pretty snowflake design from plate Born Pretty 01 (press sample) with my Konad special polish. I just love how this turned out! I have been really impressed with the Born Pretty plates that I have used so far. The prices and quality are pretty great so make sure to check out all of their designs here.

I hope you’re enjoying your Saturday! If you haven’t been joining us for Stamping Saturdays, we’d love to have you. You can link up to our blog posts and you can also join us on instagram by using the hashtag #StampingSaturdays so we can find you. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

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