Studded 50/50

Good morning!  I had received four of Essie's spring/summer polishes in the mail while away and was super excited to play with them when I got home, so I decided to combine them all (along with some Born Pretty Store studs that also arrived while I was away) in this nail art look!

I alternated the base colours on each nail, taped off half, and painted the rest with another colour.  After removing the tape, I used a slow-drying top coat and tweezers to apply the square studs.  This look was pretty simple to achieve, but looked very striking!  Swatches aside, this was actually the first mani that I wore when I got home last week! 

The light periwinkle blue is Rock the Boat from Essie's Summer 2013 Naughty Nauticals collection.  Formula is a little thin, and requires three coats for opacity.  Lovely shade with a beautiful shimmer!

The other three polishes are from Essie's Spring/Summer 2013 Resort collection.  The bright teal-leaning-blue is In the Cab-ana, which only needs one coat for opacity if you're careful!  Super bright and awesome shade with a fabulous formula!  The light pinkish lavender is Under Where?, and is also on the sheer side, requiring three coats for opacity.  Very pretty shade for nail art, but unfortunately doesn't really flatter my skin tone.  The bright green is First Timer, which joins the bright blue in the almost-one-coater club with another great formula and an awesome shade!

I know I'm pretty late to the party with these, but all in all I'm still really loving them!  Essie always comes out with some great cremes, and these will definitely all become staples in my collection.  Did you pick up any of these or other polishes from Essie's spring/summer lines?  :)

LynBDesigns: T.A.R.D.I.S., Snog Box, & Space Gandalf

We've had Sherlock and Dr. Seuss polishes, but to finish up my set of reviews of LynBDesigns, I've saved the best for last... Doctor Who!!  

Read on for lots more photos, a full review, and a healthy dose of fangirling!

LynBDesigns: Oobleck

How about a flashback to your good old childhood days to brighten up this Monday morning, eh?  Today brings yet another awesome polish from LynBDesigns (see the previous two Sherlock-inspired polishes here) and today's inspiration is Dr. Seuss! 

Read on to find out more about this polish and the inspiration behind it!  :)

LynBDesigns: So Changeable & Purple Polish of Sex

Who's ready for two amazing polishes inspired by everyone's favourite high-functioning sociopath?  You better all be raising your hands.  Today is a first for me, as these are my first Sherlock-inspired polishes!  I've been a fan of the BBC adaptation for quite a while, and I've even read a good number of the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, so I was pretty darn excited to get these polishes from LynBDesigns! 

Read on after the jump for more photos, a full review, and a dose of fangirling!  

Winstonia Store Review: 3D Nail Art Charm #4

So I may have accidentally lied in Wednesday's post about showing you the second charm yesterday, but better late than never!  This is the second 3D nail art charm that I chose from the Winstonia Store; it's a super cute black and silver bow with a rhinestone in the middle!  

This look turned out somewhat similar in style to the other one, but I still love it! 

Attaching the charms is super easy.  After my polish base was dry and top-coated, I just attached the 3D charm with a dot of nail glue.  This one isn't curved on the bottom like the other, but due to it being flatter it actually felt more secure.  As with the previous one, it lasted well for the few hours that I wore it.  

I wanted the bow to be the focal point, so I went with a relatively uniform look on the rest of my nails.  The lighter blue is three coats of Essie Rock the Boat, and the brighter blue is two coats of Essie In the Cab-ana.  Awful names, gorgeous shades!  I topped each of them with one thin coat of Different Dimension Social Suicide, which is definitely my favourite black and white glitter topper of the ones I own!  

I love how the black and white glitter compliments the colours of the bow, it came together even better than I'd expected!  

You can find this 3D nail art charm on the Winstonia Store here; this is design #4.  If you missed Wednesday's post, be sure to check that out here.

Overall, I'm really in love with the two 3D nail art charms that I've tried!  Although they're not practical for everyday wear, they make a cute and fun addition to a manicure for a special occasion!  

Have you tried 3D charms on your nails before?  Would you?  :)  

Disclaimer: The products in this post were sent for review and my honest opinion. 

Winstonia Store Review: 3D Nail Art Charm #28

Good morning!  Today I've got a nail art product to share which was a first for me: 3D charms!  

For this mani, I used piCture pOlish Peaches n' Cream and Honey Dew as my base colours.  After a coat of Seche Vite, I glued on the rhinestone bow with a dot of nail glue; it was super easy!  

I decided to stamp polka-dots on the rest of my nails, because they look so cute with the bow!  I stamped in Konad white polish with Born Pretty Store plate m79.  Those nails are also topped with a coat of Seche Vite. 

As you can see, the bow is pretty large and sticks off my nail quite a bit.  However, the bottom is curved to allow it to sit on the nail bed more closely.  Once it was glued on, it actually felt quite sturdy and secure; it lasted for the entire afternoon and evening after applying (even through grocery shopping!) until I loosened the glue with acetone and pried it off before showering.  

As long as you're careful with them, these charms are reusable.  Despite being somewhat impractical for everyday wear, I think that this rhinestone bow makes such a cute addition to a mani for a special occasion!   

You can find this 3D nail art charm on the Winstonia Store here; this is design #28.  I have one more 3D nail art charm to show you too, so keep an eye out for that post *probably* tomorrow morning! 

Have you tried 3D charms on your nails before?  Would you?  Thoughts - let me hear them!  :)  

Disclaimer: The products in this post were sent for review and my honest opinion. 

Subtle Gradient & Houndstooth

I'm finally back home!!  I ended up blogging far less than I was hoping to be able to while away this past month, but I was still doing my nails so I've got quite a few posts backed up.  I've also got some awesome polishes to swatch, which I'm working on right now, so expect to see those on the blog soon too! 

At the ballet school I've been at for the past month (and where I'm going full-time next year) we're not "*technically* allowed to wear nail polish.  But, being the rebel polish-addict that I am, I did anyways.  For the most part I tried to keep my manis light and subtle, and I have one of them to show you today.  

I started with a gradient of Essie Waltz and piCture pOlish Fairy Floss; I really liked the clean and simple look of this gradient and wore it plain like this for a day! 

The next day I wanted to spice it up a bit, so I stamped the houndstooth pattern from BM-322 using Essie No Place Like Chrome.  It's all topped off with a coat of LaCC 2013 top coat. 

Although having to do manis using only lightly-coloured polishes was an interesting challenge this month, the first thing I did at home this morning was put on a dark vampy polish!!  How do you like this subtle look?  :)

Fandom Mash-up Skittles (on Alisha's nails!)

Happy Monday!  My summer intensive is almost over and I'll be home on Sunday, so things should start picking up around here again soon!  For this morning's post, I've got what is probably the most complicated and time-consuming freehand nail art that I've done to date!  

A few weeks ago, one of my (and my sister's) best friends came camping with us for the weekend.  She slept over the night before, and I had told her that I'd do her nails for her.  It started with the idea of just one or two of her favourite characters, but escalated rather quickly after that... Four hours later: 

Alisha had some amazingly large nail beds, which was perfect for this detailed nail art!  The base colour for all her nails is... you guessed it, OPI My Vampire Is Buff.  Most of the detailing was done with acrylic paint, and all nails are topped off with one coat of LaCC 2013 top coat followed by one coat of Seche Vite.  We started with the well-known Nyan Cat on one thumb...  

And on the remaining four fingers of that hand, I did (from index to pinky, L-R) Toad, Spongebob, Princess Peach, and a Despicable Me Minion!  The yellow base for the minion is Spa Ritual Enlightened Soul, and Peach's tiara is Essie Good As Gold. 

On the other thumb, we hose to do Bowser... this one took quite a while!! 

And finally, to finish it off, we did (pinky to index, L-R) Pikachu, Link (from Zelda), Pooh, and Yoshi!  

Here's what Alisha had to say about these... (she loves me a lot after doing this.) 

"I always love when Emma does my nails! Every time I get many compliments (unfortunately I have to tell them I didn't do it) but it's still cool :) These nails were the most amazing thing I think Emma has ever done! With only taking 4 hours of our lives away, it was amazing to watch the techniques of how to get that thin black outline, or where she was going to even start! Thanks Emma! :D "

I've got to say that I'm definitely proud of this nail art!!  Alisha wore them around for about two weeks, and was completely paranoid about chipping them, haha!  My favourite nails are coincidentally the ones I was most worried about attempting, as well as the ones I ended up doing best on (in my opinion!)  My favourites are Peach, Bowser, and Link, but the Nyan Cat is pretty darn awesome too!!  Which nails are your favourite?  :)

Guest Post at Sincerely Stephanie

Good morning!  I just wanted to pop in and let you all know about a guest post I did for Stephanie while she's on her Alaskan cruise! 

To find out more about how I created this mani, hop on over to Sincerely Stephanie!  :)

Glitter Bunny Polish: Strawbermelon & Rainbows on Crack

Hi all!  It' time for the last two polishes from Glitter Bunny Polish!  Today I've got Strawbermelon and Rainbows on Crack to show you; you can see I Got A Goodie Bag! and Little Pink Dress in yesterday's post. 

Lots more photos and a full review after the jump! 

Glitter Bunny Polish: Little Pink Dress & I Got a Goodie Bag!

 Good morning!  Today I've got two polishes from Glitter Bunny Polish to show you, and keep an eye out for two more tomorrow!

Lots of photos and a full review after the jump.

Nerd Lacquer: Don't Blink

In light of the revelation that is to be announced in just a few short hours, I figured today was a good day for yet another Doctor Who Nerd Lacquer to keep my mind off of the constant worried excitement over waiting to find out who has been cast as the twelfth Doctor!!  

Today I've got Nerd Lacquer Don't Blink to share; you can see all my previous Nerd Lacquer posts here.   Seeing as this polish was inspired by one of the most terrifying (in my opinion) Who monsters, the weeping angels, I was seriously freaked out while searching for gifs to load in here, as you can probably understand.  As River Song told us, anything that holds the image of an angel becomes an angel in itself.  I might be a little bit paranoid.  

Distracting dancing-Matt gif!!  The rest of the post is after the jump.  Read at your own risk; I'm not responsible if an angel climbs out of your computer screen.  

Femme Fatale Cosmetics: The Other Side of the World & Cloudburst

I've got two more lovely polishes from Femme Fatale Cosmetics to show you today!  If you missed yesterday's post on Spindleweb and Winter Hyacinth, you can check that out here.  

Read on after the jump for lots more photos!  :)