Tuesday 31 July 2012

Picture Polish Monroe

Hi everyone!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, I've been feeling really unmotivated (so much that I haven't changed my nail polish in over a week! eek!)

Since I haven't changed my polish in a while, I have no new NOTDs to show y'all... so this post is coming from the vault-ish!

This picture might be a tad old, but the polish is still gorgeous. Unfortunately it's discontinued now, but you may be able to pick up a bottle somewhere... I'm not really sure how many are left or if it's all sold out now. Still very pretty though. I picked this up at Llarowe's birthday sale along with Mask-a-rade, since I couldn't decide on which one to get. I'm very glad I got both though, since they are both stunning!




Monroe is a a beautiful blood red jelly-ish with tiny sparkling holo particles suspended in it. The holo bits are really small, and make a gorgeous scattered look in the sun. This being jelly-ish, it dries super glossy and smooth (not to mention squishy looking!).

I was initially worried that this would be one of those red bordering on black polishes, but this turned out to be the perfect shade of red.... no too dark but not too bright either.

That's all for today! Thank you for reading and I'll try to do something to my nails today (along with work on my term paper haha)!

Marisa

Monday 23 July 2012

NOTD: Mari Moon Gradient + Stamping

Hi everyone!

Only a few words today... I have a bunch of pictures so I don't want to make this post too long!

For today's design I used Speciallita Hits Mari Moon Polishes in Dreamer (base of nail), Cutie Pie (middle) and Cool (tip of nail) in a gradient over Cult Nails Time Traveler (my go-to dark base colour). I then stamped the paint splatter-esque design from the m70 (konad) plate using Cult Nails Nevermore. I'm really happy with how this turned out, and I'm happy to say that this design will make it onto my list of jewellery designs. I'm still working on the designs I want to be able to offer. Currently I'm working on a galaxy pattern... anyhow, here are the pictures!






What do you think? I'm so pleased with how this manicure turned out! I'm especially happy with the Mari Moons - I think I'm going to need back ups of these and the other set (I currently have the modern one).

Thank you for reading! Have a great week!

Marisa

PS: Have you seen that post by Polish Galore on the China Glaze stuff at CosmoProf? I am SO oogling those China Glaze Holographics!

Tuesday 17 July 2012

Butter London Trustafarian & Dodgy Barnett (Fall/Winter 2012 Collection)

Hi everyone!

I am super excited to bring you two polishes from the Butter London Fall/Winter Collection 2012! I hadn't even HEARD of this collection before, but while I was in a polish store in my area they had these polishes out already! One look and I HAD to have them (in true hoarder style). I think there are three other polishes in the collection, including a brick orange-red, a black glitter, and a primarily magenta pink and blue glitter polish in a clear base.

Today I have Trustafarian and Dodgy Barnett to share with you all!

 First up, we have Dodgy Barnett:






I'm a little bit disappointed with my pictures of Dodgy Barnett - colourwise they're fine, but the holo definitely didn't appear in my pictures as much as they do in person. The shade picture is about right (there isn't much holo if any at all) but the sun pictures are a bit sad. In the sun, this polish is really similar to the not-so-bling-holo version of Colour Club's Worth the Risque. If you have that polish, you don't really NEED this one. For a good indication of the holo-ness, the blurry shot shows the holo the most (bit I do this it's a smidgen more obvious than that).

Trustafarian:






Trustafarian is a pistachio green holo. My pictures of this are a bit more holo-accurate. I love this colour. I don't have many holos, but I do own China Glaze's L8tr G8tr, which is kind of similar... L8tr G8tr is more lime green, whereas Trustafarian is a more subdued green with a touch of murkiness.

Overall, these polishes both required 3 coats for opacity. I had no trouble with streaking or balding (like the Nfu Oh holos without aquabase... shudder) and these dried glossy (not matte like some holos). I would categorize these polishes as being in between the crazy linear holographics like the China Glaze OMGs and the Nfu Ohs and the scattered linear polishes (China Glaze Kaleidoscopes). The finish and type of holo in these is really similar to the Color Club holographic polishes - they don't look holographic in shade or low light settings indoors, but in the sun they sure are pretty.

For me, I'm not too picky about how holo-y my holographic polishes are - I like the diversity in finish since I wear whatever I feel like. I tend not to like the more matte holos (don't like the texture), so these are good for me. :D

Overall, I'm pretty happy with these polishes. Dodgy Barnett is similar to Worth the Risque (the version I have) so I probably could do without it, but I really love Trustafarian. I'm excited to see Butter London releasing some holographic polishes, since it seemed like most companies were shying away from holos... hopefully this means that more holo polishes -can- be made (even if these aren't like the OMGs). I hope this means Butter London (at least) can make more polishes like this in different shades. If they do, I'd definitely buy them. I hoard nail polish right? :P

Thank you for reading! Have a great day!

Marisa

Friday 13 July 2012

Picture Polish Mask-a-rade

Hi everyone!

Sorry I haven't posted more often, but life has really been getting in the way lately. That being said, I'm writing this post in the dead of the night, mostly because I just finished my assignment that's due (today). :P

Anyhow, today's polish is GORGEOUS and magical. I'm a tiny bit late on posting this one, especially since it's soon going to be discontinued (eep!) along with Marilyn (which came out in the same collection and is also gorgeousness for another day). Mask-a-rade is essentially the Ozotic Elytra colours combined into one pretty polish, for some serious multichrome bling. Check it!





Isn't it gorgeous? It looks somewhat similar to Butter London's Black Knight, but the main difference is that the Black Knight is pure glitter, and Mask-a-rade is multichrome glitter in a clear base. The above pictures are 2 coats of Mask-a-rade over Cult Nails Nevermore (which is the perfect black, by the way). As I mentioned earlier, this is really just a mix of the 3 Ozotic Elytra colours together, so if you have those you don't really need this one. Sadly, the Ozotic Elytras are going to be discontinued as well, so if you love this... snatch up your bottles and covet them!

The good news is... this combination will be available in jewellery form (when I get around to opening my shop - still working out shipping details). So if you don't manage to get your hands on this polish, you can still have a bit of it in jewellery form! Woohoo!

That's all for now, thank you so much for reading!

Much love!

Marisa

Saturday 7 July 2012

CND Shellac Giveaway by Nail Polish Canada!

Hey everyone!

Today I have a quick press release/heads up about a cool contest going on at Nail Polish Canada! They're kindly giving away a 25 year supply of CND Shellac (it's a UV cured polish that is known for it's amazing staying power)! I personally haven't tried any UV cured polish yet (since I change my nail polish so often), but I know tons of people that would probably love this to bits.

Anyhow, here is a snippet from the press release!


"WIN SHELLAC FOR LIFE ($1266 value) - NAILPOLISHCANADA.COM TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE

“To be fair, it’s actually only a 25 year supply, so we can only hope the winner dies early to keep me an honest woman”
- Nikki Smith, VP of Glitter, Nail Polish Canada.

CND Shellac is a cross between nail polish and gel which is cured under a UV lamp and lasts up to 14 days without chipping.

Chipped nails are an important issue that affect lives in many ways. “We’ve invented substantial research and the reason women slap or bite in a catfight is fear of chipping their nails. Hopefully, together, we can build a world where a woman can throw a punch at the bitch who kissed her boyfriend without worrying about chips” said Ms. Smith

The prize will go to whomever can show that their life will be most impacted by winning Shellac for life. Be it better, or worse.

Maybe it stops your polish addiction long enough that you can save money, go to school, become a doctor, go to Africa and start saving lives. Did we say that this contest saves lives? Now we did.

Or maybe you’re just looking for a little understanding, “My husband will finally understand that other people take polish as seriously as me...” - Sarah P.”

Or perhaps the result won’t be as positive, “I’ll probably spend all my time painting my nails, not go to work, get fired,now I’m homeless, damn you NPC.” - Beth C”

If you or a loved one is still stuck in a world of chips, smudges and wasting countless hours re-doing nails we urge you to take a stand. Enter at http://www.nailpolishcanada.com/categories/cnd-shellac.html

Grand prize will go to the best description of how winning a lifetime supply of Shellac will change their life.
Winner selected August 7, 2012.

Prize Details & Entry

Grand Prize (Value $1266): 33 Bottles of CND Shellac + 36 Watt UV Lamp + 5 Topcoat + 5 Basecoat + Scrub Fresh.

How much Shellac do I need to last 25 years?
1300 (weeks in 25 years) / 2 (weeks application lasts) / 20 (applications per bottle) = 33 bottles of Shellac color

Open to Canadian and United States residents only.
Full rules and entry at: http://www.nailpolishcanada.com/categories/cnd-shellac.html

For further info please contact rachael@nailpolishcanada.com

Trademark Disclaimer: This contest is not sponsored, endorsed, or affiliated with Creative Nail Design Inc. Product names and other
trademarks are the property of their respective owners
.
"

I love their sense of humor, it's awesome.

So what do y'all think? I know for sure my oldest sister would definitely love a bit of Shellac-ing in her life... her work makes it pretty much impossible to have a single polish on her nails for over a week. What about you? I think I read somewhere that someone could get their nails done with Shellac and paint over them like normal... I may consider trying that out one day!

Thank you so much for reading! I hope y'all have a great weekend!

Marisa

Monday 2 July 2012

Cult Nails Evil Queen

Hi everyone! Happy long weekend for all of my fellow Canadians out there!

Today I have a short-ish post featuring another polish from the Cult Nails Fairy Tale collection! Today I have Evil Queen, a gorgeous tomato red creme.



I was thinking this might be my least favourite out of the entire collection, mostly because it seemed like it was going to be one of those reds that really clash with my skin. Surprisingly, this doesn't really clash with my skin as much as I thought I would, and this creme is so glossy and amazing to apply that it has quickly jumped to the top of my list of favourite red polishes.

In  other news, I'm on a temporary ban on nail polish buying, unless Lac Attack decides to restock some of her polishes (I NEED Hell on Heels). I'm waiting for my jewellery supplies shipment to come in, and as soon as it does I'll make sure to finalize & open shop on Etsy (I'll have an announcement and link when I'm ready for that to happen!).

Thanks for reading everyone! Hope y'all have a good week. :)

Marisa