Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Having fun with a new nail shape and Illamasqua!

Hello there!  I have been tossing around the idea of changing my nail shape, and a couple days ago I decided to give it the GREEN LIGHT!

Yep, I've gone ALMOND! or ALMOND-ESQUE, using Illamasqua.  I researched the best way to alter the natural nail shape and I decided to file them ONLY (instead of using clippers), using a cardboard file first, and then finishing them off with a crystal file.

I used Illamasqua "Scorn", "Speckle" and some added jewels.  Let me know what you think!



Illamasqua "Scorn" and "Speckle", 2 coats each with top coat





















"Speckle" is from Illamasqua's Imperfection Collection of 2013. It came in mint green, light blue, pink and tan. I love the lilac and after 2 coats, it was perfectly opaque and what's even better is that it dries smooth.  Oh yeah, I love a smooth drying glitter.

For the accent finger, I used "Scorn".  "Scorn" is a black polish that dries with a smooth rubber finish. It's very cool, but because I wanted my manicure to last, I used my usual top coat routine to protect the nail and the added jewels. Sooo no cool rubber effect :(

 After I was done, I added a matte top coat (avoiding the jewels) to the entire nail.

Since my nails naturally curl as they get longer, I decided that maybe "almond" is the best shape for me.

Before....













After...











The difference is subtle for now. Maybe this weekend I will take the time to narrow the tip of the nail, a bit more.  

After three days I can say that I LOVE my new almond nail shape...what do you think? :) <3 p="">
Keep It Sweet!
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Monday, July 21, 2014

Zoya: More is More, Natural Deux!

more is more…
Inspired by the desire to expand the popular neutral palette of the Zoya NATUREL collection, six (6) NEW, full-coverage creams in deeper hues were born.
Perfect as every day go-to colors, the Zoya NATUREL DEUX (2) collection bridges the transitional gap between late summer/early fall 2014 with three, rich brown family shades and three plum based beauties. All in the long-wearing, BIG5FREE formula Zoya is known for! 





ZOYA NATUREL DEUX (2) - 2014
ZP742 – Spencer: Camel Cream, Full Coverage Formula.

ZP743 – Chanelle: Toasted Almond, Full Coverage Formula.

ZP744 – Emilia: Dark Chocolate, Full Coverage Formula.

ZP745 – Marnie: Deep Warm Plum, Full Coverage Formula.

ZP746 – Aubrey: Medium Mauve Cream, Full Coverage Formula.

ZP747 – Madeline: Muted Rose, Full Coverage Formula.

COLLECTION PRE-ORDER
STARTS JULY 21, 2014

ZOYA IS THE HEALTHY COLOR OF FASHION!
$9 (US)
Available on 
Zoya.com and at finer salons and spas. 

*Info. sent by PR
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Friday, July 18, 2014

KBShimmer Celebrates its 6th Anniversary with Special Edition Polishes: Swatches and Review

I love them...there, that's all you need to know, LOL!  Just kidding...


















Left to Right: "Shore Thing", "Hexy Bikini",  and "Beach Please".

Yep, KBShimmer has done it again. This is their Special Edition three- polish Anniversary set, and it consists of two fabulous creams and one GORGEOUS textured glitter.  To make my manicure even more FABULOUS, I used KBShimmer's Nail Vinyl's to add a cute wave onto one of the nails.

Enough talk, here they are!




















"Shore Thing" is a bright mint green creme, There is nothing pastel about this creme and in two coats it covered perfectly.
"Hexy Bikini" is textured glitter filled with holographic glitter in silver, pink, green and even blue.  It is super sparkly with and without top coat.
"Beach Please" is a bright pink fuchsia creme, almost neon, but definitely bright and perfect for summer. This has an amazing consistency and covered well in two coats.

First, I applied two coats of all three colors on their respective nails. Then on the index and pinkie finger (green nails) I applied a thin coat of top coat and applied my jewel on the top center of the nail bed, and applied 2 coats of top coat. The jewel is well covered but still appears "raised" on the nail. :)

Then I applied two coats of top coat over the glitter nail, and one coat of top coat over the pink nail . This is when you sit back and wait for the pink nail to try. Once it had dried fully, I removed the decals using the tweezers and applied them onto the nail.

I choose the NEW "Wavy Lines" Nail Vinyl Decal , and painted the glitter over the area of the nail where I wanted "the wave" to appear. After a couple seconds, I removed the decal SLOWLY with tweezers.














If you want the "play by play" details of how to use the decals, KBShimmer has created a page called "How To Use KBShimmer Nail Vinyl Decals" . :)  She has pictures and everything...I promise you it's super easy, LOL!

After I let the "wave" dry a bit..I topped it with 2 coats of top coat and I was DONE...Oh, I forgot my thumb!






















It's hard to tell here (fresh lotion applied), but I applied two coats of matte top coat on top of the thumb....for variety! :)





















I LOVE THIS MANICURE and I promise you it is easy, it just takes a little time, that's it!

Don't forget, to celebrate the indie polish line’s sixth anniversary, KBShimmer is helping you get in the summer spirit with a beach themed giveaway pack including an Amazon Kindle Paperwhite with a $25 gift card, the polish set, a set of the brand new nail vinyl sheets, lotion, and a sugar scrub, all wrapped in a polka dot towel inside a large beach bag. 


The Limited Edition Beach Trio launches on August 1st, just in time for KBShimmer’s birthday. 

Also, for any purchase during the month of August you get a free nail vinyl sample!
The two creams retail for $7.50 each, the textured polish for $8.75 and will be available at www.HarlowandCo.org and www.KBShimmer.com

For a limited time, this trio will be available for $21, only atwww.kbshimmer.com

The giveaway will run on the KBShimmer website from July 21 to July 31.

Keep It Sweet!

*Products sent by PR for review
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Tuesday, July 15, 2014

KBShimmer Celebrates its 6th Anniversary with Special Edition Polishes- Press Release

In celebration, KBShimmer is giving away a gift bag of goodies including a Kindle!



Join KBShimmer at the beach with the Special Edition, three-polish Anniversary set. To celebrate the indie polish line’s sixth anniversary, KBShimmer is helping you get in the summer spirit with a beach themed giveaway pack including an Amazon Kindle Paperwhite with a $25 gift card, the polish set, a set of the brand new nail vinyl sheets, lotion, and a sugar scrub, all wrapped in a polka dot towel inside a large beach bag. The polish collection has two bright summer creams and a flashy textured holographic polish.



Beach Please: A bright, near neon pink cream with purple leanings. Beach Please is perfect for long summer days on the water. Covers best in 2-3 coats.




Hexy Bikini: The latest addition to the KBShimmer textured polish line, Hexy Bikini combines holo glitters in silver, teal, and pink and reflects beautifully under the light of the sun. It’s perfect in two coats. Add a topcoat for even more sparkle.



Shore Thing: Escape to tropical waters with this bright aqua-mint cream with blue-green undertones. Covers best in 2-3 coats. Shore Thing is so beachy, you’ll feel like you’re in a tropics no matter where you are.

The Limited Edition Beach Trio launches on August 1st, just in time for KBShimmer’s birthday. 

The two creams retail for $7.50 each, the textured polish for $8.75 and will be available at www.HarlowandCo.org and www.KBShimmer.com

For a limited time, this trio will be available for $21, only at www.kbshimmer.com

The giveaway will run on the KBShimmer website from July 21 to July 31.

Keep It Sweet!

*Info. sent by PR 

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Monday, July 14, 2014

OPI MLB Collection: Swatches and Review

Happy Monday! Yes, I say happy because usually Mondays are not thought of as happy, but they should be when I have such a beautiful set of nail colors to share with you! :)

OPI and the MLB have paired up to give us 7 beautiful colors to celebrate America's favorite pastime...BASEBALL!  I wasn't much of a baseball fan until I dated one, and he was a Yankee fan, so that made me a Yankee fan by default.  I really learned about the sport by watching the Yankees games, and I grew to love the team. My favorite player was Mariano Rivera, who just retired...he was amazing! :)

Anyway, back to the polish...















OPI "Short-Stop!"

2 coats, no top coat



















A nice red creme, applied well in two coats. Dried to a nice shine. This is perfect for the "no-nonsense fan"


OPI "Love Athletes In Cleats"

2 coats, no top coat




















A pretty red creme with a subtle shimmer. I was lucky enough to catch good light in my photos, so you can really see the shimmer. This is perfect for the "girly fan" . Applied well in two coats, no issues. 


OPI "Orange You Going To The Game?"

3 coats, no top coat



















This is an orange frost, which took three coats to get a perfect smooth application.  Because this is a frost, make sure your strokes are smooth and consistent between nails.  Some frost can be very pretty when applied perfectly.  This is not a favorite of mine, but would be perfect for the "die hard fan. The fan whose team is orange, and they will wear this on their hands, NO MATTER WHAT. LOL!  :) 


OPI "Right Off The Bat"

2 coats, no top coat





This is a bright blue shimmer that has just a tad of frost to it. Because of the frost, your application still must be smooth. But because this is more shimmer than frost, the polish is more forgiving. Gorgeous in two coats, no issues. This is for the "true blue fan". 

OPI "7th Inning Strrretch"

2 coats, no top coat






This is a dark frosty blue.  This polish is a dark frosty navy blue . This applied well in two coat and would be perfect for that "steely fan" with nerves of steel. The kind of fan that stays till the very end of the game, even when their team is losing by 20 points, LOL! 

OPI "Umpires Come Out At Night"

3 coats, no top coat






This is a dark blue creme. The first couple of layers were patchy, but by the third layer, all the bald spots were gone. This is for the "true blue fan".

OPI "Girls Love Diamonds"

3 coats, no top coat

















Who doesn't love diamonds? This is very pretty, but the visible nail line bugs me. It was not opaque in 3 coats, but because of the thickness (after three coats) , I would not apply more. It dried smooth and it looks great in indirect lighting...

















But like I said...the visible nail line bother me, so this is not a favorite of mine. This polish is for the "fair weather fan".  Those fans that only cheer for the team when they are winning, LOL! 

Overall, none of these colors are special, but they have fun name,  and you can definitely find a color that can go with most MLB teams.


So...what kind of fan are you? :)


Keep It Sweet!


*Products provided by PR for review.  
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Friday, July 4, 2014

Happy 4th of July !

Yep, it's the 4th of July...the day we celebrate our nations independence, by eating BBQ, enjoying the day with friends and family, drink a little, party a little and then light explosives that explode in the air, LOL.

 Yeah it doesn't make much sense ...but it's FUN!

For my July 4th manicure, I used the following!

















KBShimmer "Pimp My Pride". KBShimmer "Low and Be Bold", OPI "Coca-Cola Red", OPI "Alpine Snow", KBShimmer"Pt Young Thing".















The holographic polish bis amazing and I only applied two coats...perfection!  The red was easy two..the perfect red for the holidays.  I applied two coats of color, one coat of top coat, then I applied the blue stone while the top coat was still wet.  Topped it all off with one more coat of top coat, and I was done.  :)

Since I usually do two coats of top coat, this worked out perfectly.














For the blue, I followed the same technique as the red nail. :)  For the the stripes, I applied the white first and waited for it to be fully dry. I then applied pieces of nail tape to the nail in a striped pattern, and then painted the entire nail red. Before the red dried, I removed the tape. Easy peasy!














I love this glitter polish. It is the perfect patriotic mix and it applies so easily. I bought this color last year, and when I took it out to apply again..it went on like it was just made yesterday. PERFECTION! Applied perfectly in two coats, and then  I applied two coats of top coat...as usual.

















Happy 4th of July and Keep It Sweet!


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