Girly Bits: Darkly Dreaming

Good morning!  I've been hard at work with the ballet company on staging out production of Cinderella, which begins touring and performances next weekend, how crazy!  We're going to take it all across Canada and into a lot of smaller communities, so if you're perhaps interested you can see our schedule of performances and cities here.   

Anyway, today I've got a real beauty to share with you, which is Girly Bits Darkly Dreaming.   This polish is a collaboration shade with The PolishAholic, and you can read more about her inspiration for the shade here. 

This is a dark green jelly packed with beautiful copper shimmer, which unfortunately didn't photograph as amazingly as it looked in real life.  This polish is essentially a green version of the well-loved Cu Blue, and I'm definitely a huge fan.  Unfortunately I was a terrible person and didn't take swatch notes of this one, but I'm pretty sure that this is three thin coats topped with Seche Vite, and I don't recall having any issues with the formula, or I definitely would have taken note.   Also, apologies for the horrendous amounts of glare, I really need to get myself a new lamp for photos.

You can purchase this polish and lots of other stunning Girly Bits polishes online here.  You can also like the Girly Bits Facebook page to keep up to date with new releases.  

Rich, dark evergreen shades like this are a favourite of mine to wear in fall and winter, so you can bet I'll be breaking this one out quite a lot in the colder months!  What do you think?  :)

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

Live and Let Die & Shine of the Times

Just a quick (and extremely belated) post this morning with the mani I wore for Saint Patrick's Day, haha.  

I've been wanting to wear this combo ever since I got Essie Shine of the Times for Christmas in 2012; I'd tested it over green and knew it would be a good layering combo for Saint Patrick's Day.  However, come that day in March 2013, I was in London and had unfortunately not had the foresight to pack these polishes for my trip.  Another year passed, and I finally got around to wearing this!  Here is one coat over OPI Live and Let Die, topped with Seche Vite. 

Even though I'm mostly Irish, we've never really done anything extravagant for Saint Patrick's Day -  most of the perception of the holiday now is just a blown-up Americanized version of what it originally was.  Therefore I thought it suiting to wear these subtly festive polishes together; I love how the dark green base really brings out the golden and bright green shifts of the flakies!  How do you like it?  :)

LVX Mynt & OPI My Favourite Ornament

I purchased both of these polishes pretty recently, and when I saw them sitting next to each other on my desk I knew they'd make a good pair!  

LVX Mynt is a beautiful light vibrant mint creme, with full coverage in three thin coats.  (Two thicker coats would probably do the trick too.)  This was my first LVX polish, and I was really impressed with the formula!  I found a ton of LVX polishes at Winners for $6 each a few weeks ago and picked up three, so you'll be seeing the other two around here eventually as well. 

OPI My Favourite Ornament is a full-coverage gold micro-flakie; I used three thin coats for opacity here too.  This one isn't advertised as a Liquid Sand, but it does dry to a textured finish so I chose to leave it without top coat.  I think you'd need at least two coats of a thick top coat to smooth it out.  I really love the lighter gold colour, it's so flattering! 

I'm really happy with both of these recent purchases, and they look so cute together!!  This mani definitely helped get me in the mood for some more spring-hued looks, despite the gross weather.  What do you think?  :)

The Lacquer Legion: Reinvention

Today's post is my contribution to the very first posting of The Lacquer Legion!  The Lacquer Legion is a new monthly nail art challenge group hosted by Sarah, Rebecca, Leslie, and Sammy, and everyone can participate!  You can read more into detail in Sarah's post here. 

This month's theme is reinvention - to be interpreted in any way.  I was a little pressed for time and ideas but still wanted to participate, so I reinvented my second most popular nail art ever (but probably my favourite,) the half-moon gradient.  You can see my original post here. 

For those of you who are curious, my most popular post ever is my reciprocal gradient nail art, which has since spread across the internet and been re-created so many times!  

I chose to reinvent this look simply by changing up the colours to a combination I wish I'd tried ages ago, because I love it!  I started with two perfect coats of LaCC 1966, and a coat of LaCC 2013 top coat to speed things up.  Once that was all dry, I used hole reinforcers to mark off my half-moons, then sponged a gradient with 1966 and piCture pOlish Honey Dew.  It's all topped off with two coats of Seche Vite to smooth everything out.  

I'm so in love with how this turned out; I can't believe I waited over a year to re-create this look!!  I honestly can't decide if I like this or the original colour palette better... What do you think?  :)  

If you take part in this month's The Lacquer Legion challenge, remember to post to social media with the hashtag #LLreinvention  :)  I'll be sure to check out everyone's manis!

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!  :)

Mint Manis for Talia Joy

I had planned to show you the last of the beautiful Shimmer swatches this morning, but instead I've decided to join in on Nail Polish Wars' fantastic idea to post mint manis in honour of Talia Joy Castellano.  Talia was an extremely talented 13-year-old makeup artist and YouTuber, who was battling two kinds of cancer (neuroblastoma and preleukemia) since she was diagnosed at only 7 years old.  Despite all this, she still managed to keep upbeat, motivated, and overwhelmingly positive.  She passed away on Tuesday morning, and since her last Instagram photo was of a mint manicure, we have all joined together to do mint manis in honour of Talia.  

I pulled out what has become one of my favourite summer cremes, piCture pOlish Honey Dew.  I added a double-accent nail with BM-322 and Essie Good As Gold, and put a gold square stud (which I found in a clearance bin at the drugstore) on all the other nails.  It's all topped off with two coats of Poshé top coat. 

I really love the combination of the bright minty green with the gold, there's something very classy but modern  and stylish about it.  In other news, I'm getting used to the round nails and they're growing on me a bit.  I'll still go back to squares though once I have enough length at the sides.  

You can share your mint manis for Talia on Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, etc. with the hashtags #MintManisforTalia and #TaliasLegacy.  You can also add your mani to the Inlinkz collection below.  I'm excited to see what everyone else has come up with in honour of this beautiful girl.  Keep Talia's family and friends in your prayers! <3

The Inlinkz for this event is after the jump, since there have been over 200 entries!  Click below to have a look. 

$weetcheeks Polish: Eric & Jetta

If you missed yesterday's post announcing the winner of my 1-Year Blogiversary Giveaway, go check it out now!  Today I've got two cool polishes to show you today from a relatively new indie brand, $weetcheeks Polish.  

Read on after the jump for more photos and a full review!  :)

Globe & Nail Turns 1 Today!

 Late last night after a swatch-a-thon, I couldn't decide what to do on my nails.  I knew my giveaway was closing and all that stuff (two winners will be announced in another post later today), but I just wasn't thinking straight.  As I decided to just slap on a plain creme and go to sleep, it hit me that today is my 1-year blogiversary!  How silly of me to almost forget!!

In wake of my revelation, I had a quick peek at my very first blog post ever, and decided to re-create that mani for this special day.  You can see my original post here, which I am (surprisingly) not too ashamed of, haha! :P

I stuck with the same colour scheme as before, but used different polishes.  I started with two coats of LaCC 1972 (lilac) then top coated and let it dry.  Next, I taped off the purple part using the jagged side of the tape (where you tear it) instead of the straight edge like normal, to get a cute zig-zag line.  

I repeated these steps with LaCC 1968 (green) and piCture pOlish Fairy Floss (pink), and topped it off with more Seche Vite to complete the look.  

I still like this look, but after a year of doing my nails nearly every day and figuring out my likes and dislikes, it's not necessarily something I would enjoy wearing as much anymore.  It's still a super cute spring look, though!

Here's a photo from my original post, just for comparison.  I think my major improvements over the past year are definitely my photography (LOVE my new camera), clean-up, freehand nail art (which this obviously doesn't showccase) and my cuticle care.  Lush Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter is a miracle-worker. 

And here's a quick collage with bottle shots of all three polishes I used this time around. 

I'm so grateful for everything this year of blogging has brought me; I've made lots of friends who are just as crazy about nail polish as I am, and I've discovered more about myself as well.  I have learned some valuable business and marketing skills, as well as teaching myself about DSLR photography and learning to use photoshop.  I've dug through piles of nail polish at Winners to find the best deals, and pushed myself creatively to come up with new and exciting nail art.  The list goes on and on!

Overall, this year has been an invaluable experience in shaping who I will become in the next few years, with me graduating high school in a couple months.  None of it would have been possible without all of the encouragement and positive feedback from my friends, family, and of course my readers, and for that I am so grateful to you all.  Here's to another year of polished nails!!  :D

Hunt

This is my second post today, but I just couldn't miss Castle Mani Monday again!!  Tonight's episode it the second part of the annual two-part episode, but I won't say too much more to keep this as spoiler-free as possible!  ;)

For my base colour, I used piCture pOlish Camo; if you missed my post about it earlier today, you can see it here.   I then added random spots with Essie Stylenomics, Little Brown Dress, and Topless and Barefoot, as well as a little Candeo Colors Divi Divi for some sparkle, because I can have sparkly camouflage print if I want to. 

I've stayed pretty spoiler-free for this episode so i don't really know what's going to happen, but camouflage print seemed appropriate for an episode titled "Hunt"! 

Nathan Fillion FTW

Scan it.  You know you want to.  

How do you think I did with my first camo nail art?  Will you be watching Castle tonight?  :)

piCture pOlish: Camo

Happy Monday!  I've got another piCture pOlish shade to show you today, as well as a Castle Mani Monday post to come later, for which I used this polish as a base for my nail art!  

piCture pOlish Camo is a spot-on army-green, with the signature perfect piCture pOlish formula!  Two coats shown, no top coat because it dries this shiny all by itself!

piCture pOlish is available at picturepolish.com.au as well as through lots of other network members around the world. Check out the Network for a full list.  

Look out for my Castle Mani Monday nail art later today!!  ;)

Darling Diva Polish: Catherine, Flirt, & Anna

Hi all!  There's a little bit of a situation right now with one of my photos having just been distributed to a huge audience (a.k.a. every single One-Direction-loving fangirl in the whole world) with my watermark removed; take a look at my Facebook status update for more information, and if you have any advice to offer I'd be very grateful! 

On to today's post, I've got three lovely unique polishes from Darling Diva Polish to show you today.  The first one is Catherine, a lovely magenta holo with a unique twist of added iridescent glitters. 

You're seeing two coats of Catherine in direct lighting, with top coat.  Formula was a little thick, but workable. 

Here's some pictures in the lightbox, and you can see that the iridescent glitters come out to play.  

I really like how this polish has two personalities; in direct light it's a holo, and in indirect light it's a subtly sparkly magenta with iridescent flashes!  

Next up is Flirt, which is the same as the previous polish but in a light green.  Two coats with top coat, thick but workable formula.

And some in indirect lighting to show off the iridescent glitters.  Love this one too, though I can't decide if I have a favourite of the two...

Lastly for today is Anna, a stunning jelly polish packed with blue holographic microglitters.  

I chose to layer two coats of Anna over Essie Coat Azure, but you could probably build this one up on it's own in three of four coats alone, depending on the length of your nails.  One coat of Seche Vite in the photos, but the top coat sunk after I took the pictures so you'd probably need two for a completely smooth finish while wearing it. 

Lightbox time!!

Darling Diva Polish is available through Etsy, and you can find shop updates and photos on Facebook!

Of the first two, which colour do you prefer?  Do you have a favourite of these three polishes?  :)

Disclaimer: The products in this post were sent to me for review. 

Indie January: Emily De Molly Ego Friendly

**This is a scheduled post, as I'm out of town for a dance convention.  Where I can't wear nail polish.  Sad Emma. **

It's Day 28 of Indie January, and today's polish is Emily De Molly Ego Friendly, a light aqua crelly base sprinkled with aqua, teal, green, and lavender glitters in different shapes and sizes.

I've shows three coats of Ego Friendly alone; the formula quite easy to work with but wanted to pool at the edges slightly, so watch out for that.  One coat of Seche Vite for a smooth finish. 

I really like the delicate look that the small glitters give this one.  It's light and spring-appropriate, very fitting for Easter I'd say! 

Emily De Molly polishes are currently available through Llarowe, and her own website will be up and running soon!  As always, Facebook page! 

What do you think of this polish?  Also, how awesome is the name, Ego Friendly?  :P 

Disclaimer: The products in this post were sent to me for review. 

Indie January: ILNP All Gold Everything

Indie January Day 11!  I've just about survived my first week back at school and dance after Christmas break... Then again, it wasn't really much of a break since I had to go in and do extra classes to learn the syllabus for my RAD Solo Seal exam that I'm doing in March.  

That aside, today's polish is from yet another new-to-me indie brand, I Love Nail Polish.  At least my nails can look pretty while the rest of me is sore from some intense conditioning classes this week.  -_-

I<3NP All Gold Everything is from the brand's New Year's Collection; it's a clear-based glitter topper packed with different kinds of gold glitters, and a few gold flakies!  I chose to layer this stunner over Essie Stylenomics, which I just picked up the other day at Winners for half-price.  (I know, late to the party.)  

Application on this polish was fabulous, the glitter spread perfectly with no extra work!  My only complaint about this polish is that it smelled weird.  Not like strong nail polish smell, something different.  It wasn't very pleasant while I was painting; however, I'm willing to get past that because it's such a gorgeous polish!

The blackened green base of Stylenomics really complemented the gold glitter; the whole mani had a very luxurious look to it!   I'm sure you've all seen pictures of the I<3NP packaging, Barbra goes so far above and beyond with her bottles and boxes!  Unfortunately I don't have the right lighting setup to take bottle/box pictures.  Boo.  Cue another me-holding-the-bottle shot. 

I think these bottles are the best things ever!  The logo and labels are adorable, and rubberized caps make everything better.  My friend came over to borrow some nail polish and I was literally shoving these in her face saying "Look! Aren't these so cute?! No, you can't borrow that one, I haven't swatched it yet! What if your dog eats it? What? Of course I trust you!"

Sorry, got a little carried away there, (love you, Michaela!)  I<3NP is currently available through Etsy, and like the facebook page for updates! 

I've got two more polishes from I<3NP to show you sometime this month and they're both gorgeous, so keep an eye out for those!   Gee, this has been a very wordy post.  Do I need to ask questions at the end of posts or will you comment anyways?  ;)


Disclaimer: The products in this post were sent to me for review. 

Indie January: Candeo Colors Laman Brisa

It's Day 8 of Indie January; today's polish is Candeo Colors Laman Brisa, which in Papiamento means Sea Breeze.  This polish is part of the Aruba Collection, like Day 4's polish Shelu Blou.  Take a look!  :)

Laman Brisa is a sea-foam green/blue base with gold and silver shimmer.  Full coverage in three easy coats, and one coat of Seche Vite for shine since it naturally dries to a satin finish. 

Isn't this polish beautiful?  I think it will make a great spring and summer polish! The base colour and the shimmer are so flattering; once again, yay for non-glitterbomb indies!  :)

The Candeo Colors Aruba Collection and other polishes are available through Llarowe and the Candeo Colors website; keep up to date on Facebook. 

What do you think of this polish; is it something you'd wear?  Are you planning on picking up any other polishes from the Aruba Collection?  :)

Disclaimer: The products in this post were sent to me for review.