Guest Post: The DIY Lady

Happy Monday!  Today I'm spending the day in Geneva, should be great!  I don't have a Castle Mani Monday post today, but I've got a guest post from a fabulous blogger and a fellow Castle lover.  It's Lizzy, though you may know her better as The DIY Lady!
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Hello Lovely People over here on Globe & Nail. 

My name is Lizzy, also known as The DIY Lady, and I'm honored to be a guest poster on Emma's blog today. 

When she contacted me and told me she'd like to know if I can come up with a post for her blog, I pretty much guffawed and said HECK YEAH LADY!!!! My Nails, On Your Blog?? SIGN ME UP!!! Lol... 

I mean, obviously, you guys here already know Emma has AMAZING nails and does amazing nail arts Especially her Castle Monday Nail arts ;-) 

Yes, I got completely hooked on Globe & Nail when I realized she was also a Castle lover like myself. Ohhhh Weee, Mixing Nails and a Fave show of mine? Yes yes yes!!

Anyhooo.. Today, I will be showing you a mani that was inspired by the polishes I used. 

I chose two Sinful colors polishes from their sugar rush Collection and stamped on them with Zoya - Purity with an image from Mash48. 

The two Sinful Colors polishes I used are Sweet Tooth and Sugar Spice. 

Pretty and bright polishes like these always make me think of Gradient nails, so I chose to do something close to gradients by using a brush to dab  on colors on top of each other. 

Yes, Dabbing on colors with my nail art brush is my lazy way of creating gradients/blending colors into each other. :-P

I Hope you guys like my final result as much as I did. The bright pastel - spring colors totally gave me a happy feel, and the polka dot stamped in different sizes appeared like the perfect stamp to pair it with. 

Above are all the goodies I used in creating this mani. 

Left to right: My Stamper, Zoya Purity, Sinful Colors, Sugar Rush, Sweet Tooth and my Holy Grail Topcoat Seche Vite. 

Scraper, Mash48, Clean up brush and the nail art brush I used to dab my colors on each other. 

And That's it for now sugars... 

Once again Emma, Thank you for having me on your blog, It is my pleasure creating this mani for this purpose. :-)

Have a wonderful, safe trip and I wish you success in the purpose of your tip. Have fun darling and KNOCK them out!!!

Till later, God Bless.
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Isn't she awesome?!  I always love reading Lizzy's posts, she has such an entertaining writing style!  If you don't follow her already, be sure to check out The DIY Lady!  Thank you so much for the guest post Lizzy!

Guest Post: ChitChat Nails

First day of auditions for me here in Lausanne!!  Today's blog post comes to us from a fellow Canadian blogger who's unique skittlette manicures and beautiful photos are a constant source of inspiration to me!  I'm so honoured to have Marta from ChitChat Nails take over my blog today, take a look!  :)
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Hello Lovely Ladies,

My name is Marta and I run a little Canadian nail art blog called ChitChat Nails. 

Emma's long and beautifully manicured nails have been a nail crush of mine for a long time- and only recently did I discover just how young she is (in comparison to my 30+ years).  I feel sooo old now... not old enough to have walked to school for miles, uphill, both ways... but old :) .  Having learned just how young and accomplished Emma is only served to increase my fascination with Globe & Nail.  I will stop gushing now, but it truly is a distinct pleasure to be here, and I hope you like what I have created for this guest post.

I don't wear purples very often, but when I do I keep reaching for Cult Nails "Vicious".  That was my starting point for this manicure.  I then applied three coats of OPI "Mad As a Hatter" (I had to bring some bling in response to this very special guest post invite).  

For my middle finger and pointer I applied two coats of OPI "Steady as She Rose" and using the saran-wrap technique I added just a little bit of a shimmery silver: SueSa "02".  I then used Konad m70 twice: first with "Vicious" and then with Black stamping polish.  I added some small round BornPrettyStore.com studs to the ring finger to complete this look.

I wish Emma nothing but the VERY BEST at the auditions for pre-professional ballet schools and I hope you like this little 'skittlette' design in the meantime.

THANK YOU FOR READING!
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How amazing is this?  Marta has such a knack for creating her signature skittlette nail art looks!  Coincidentally, my favourite colour is purple so I'll definitely have to pick up a bottle of Vicious!  Thank you so much for guest posting today, Marta!!  :)

Wonder Beauty Products Swatches

Today is my first day of auditions in Lausanne!  No guest post today, but I've got a ton of random swatches from Wonder Beauty Products to share!  

Steel Magnolia is a light grey jelly base with white and pink satin hex glitters and a sprinkling of shimmer/microglitters in a light grey jelly base.  Application was a little tricky because the glitters kept clumping together; three coats for opacity, shown with one coat of LaCC 2013 top coat. 

Some Kind Of Wonderful is a light blue crelly base packed with purple and yellow hex glitters of various sizes.  Application was the same as above, though it looks a little lumpier on.  I'm kind of biased towards this one because of the name.  Three coats with LaCC 2013 top coat.  

The rest are photos taken with my old camera, so bear with me.  

Here is one coat of Grammy Girl over Orly Jealous, Much?.  This glitter topper required a little work to get an even spread, but wasn't too difficult.  One coat of Seche Vite. 

Rockin' My Grammy Panties is a glitter topper that's primarily blue and green hexes, I've shown one coat over Orly Jealous, much? with one coat of Seche Vite. 

Rockin' My Grammy Panties is shown here over Orly Le Chateau, and I much prefer this colour combination to the previous one.  Application was pretty easy on this one, and I topped it with one coat of Seche Vite. 

Roxie Hart is shown here in one coat over Orly Decoded, with one coat of Seche Vite.  I like this one in concept, but application was absolutely awful and I ended up having to sponge it on.  On top of that, the glitters poked up in all sorts of odd ways and it would need 50 coats of top coat to smooth it over.  Grrr. 

1 Dozen Heart Bouquet is another Valentine's glitter topper, and this had the exact same application issues as Roxie Hart, though not quite as bad.  You're seeing one sponged coat plus spot-filling over NOPI Studio Mama, topped with Seche Vite. 

Let's Play Footsie is a bright pink jelly base with white, orange, and pink hex glitters in various sizes.  I used three coats for opacity, and topped it with one coat of Seche Vite.  The first coat was a little tricky to apply, but the second two were much easier.  

Kismet is a bright-but-dark blue jelly base with various shapes and sizes of glitter in blues and purples.  It can be built up to opacity alone but gets quite lumpy, so I layered two coats over OPI Russian Navy.  Glitter wanted to clump a little, but it was workable.  One coat of Seche Vite.  

I saved my favourite two polishes for last, the holos!  Blue Sterling is a light blue polish with a subtle holo effect, though in some lights is looks grey.  Formula was thick but workable, seeing as it was a one-coater!

Euphoria is a deep plum/brown holo, a really unique colour with a strong holo effect!  Formula was thick on this one too, but I added a little thinner and used two coats.  Love this one!!  

Follow the Wonder Beauty Products blog for updates; the polishes are available for purchase through the WBP Etsy shop and Llarowe.

My favourites are definitely Euphoria and Blue Sterling, though I also quite like Steel Magnolia and Some Kind Of Wonderful.  Which are your favourites?  :)

Disclaimer: Products in this post were provided to me for review. 

Guest Post: XOXO, Jen

Today I'm spending the day touristing in Lausanne, and my first audition is tomorrow!   Today's post is from a very special blogger who I met through her Facebook group, the lovely lady behind XOXO, Jen.  Over to you, Jen!  :)
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I've become infatuated with Emma's reviews and swatches and I was over the moon when she asked if I'd do a guest post. -squee!!!-
I recently acted on a purchase that Emma's swatches alone made me want; now that's a blogger with some magical fingers! The polish I'm referring to is A-England's St. George which she reviewed here in January.

My photos don't even compare to how beautiful her swatches are, but here's a bit more eye candy in my attempt to help sway the world!


Saint George is an absolutely beautiful deep teal polish. The color in this is so rich and pigmented; which also means be careful to avoid skin/cuticle contact with it, as it will stain. ;)



Saint George is a one coater. Completely smooth and completely opaque in one coat, yeah baby! It is a little on the thick side, so it takes a little extra time to apply but it was soooo worth it!



It has a subtle holographic sparkle. All these photos were taken indoors under a day lamp and I couldn't quite capture the holo sparkle.
If you don't have this polish yet, it should be on your wishlist. Near the top. Srsly. :)

And since I can't leave well enough alone, I decided to top Saint George with Vivid Lacquer - You Are NOT My Nemesis.


I used two coats of YANMN and just LOOK at the blue sparkle it adds! The glitter topper contains turquoise diamonds, white shreds, and tiny iridescent shifting flakies.



The combo is pretty mesmerizing in person. I watched my fingers move under bright lights everywhere I went.

Vivid Lacquer polishes are available through Etsy and you can follow the brand on Facebook.

A England polishes are available through Llarowe and the A England website, or you can follow the brand on Facebook.


Vivid Lacquer product provided for review.
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I absolutely LOVE Saint George, I've barely worn it since I got it (well, for four days straight after Christmas) and Jen's photos made me want to wear it again!!  If you don't already follow XOXO, Jen, you should go check it out right now!  Thank you so much for guest posting, Jen!!  :)

Guest Post: Colores de Carol

If all goes according to plan, I should have already arrived in Geneva and taken the train to Lausanne by the time this goes live!  Today's guest post is from one of the first blogs I followed when I started my own, Carolina from Colores de Carol!  As well as always having lovely manicured nails, she has also recently started her own indie polish brand which you can find here!

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Hello Gentle Readers, 

I am beyond flattered and super excited to do a guest post for the talented Emma, I really admire her.This young girl is awesome, her nails and her passion for ballet inspired me to do this manicure.

To achieve this look I started with OPI Can't Find My Czechbook and OPI...Eurso Euro and then I stamped using the plates DRK-A, Bundle Monster BM317 and Konad S8, Color Club Over The Moon.

A big thank you to Emma for having me over! 

I wish you the best luck on your audition!

Hugs!

Carolina
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I absolutely love this manicure!!  The OPI blues are beautiful (I really need to pick up some of the Euro Centrale polishes) and the holo stamping and ballerina image just take it to a whole other level!  Thank you so much for guest posting Carolina, it was an honor to have you on my blog!  :)

Guest Post: Spektor's Nails

I'm off to Europe today, if you missed my post earlier today about what's happening over the next two weeks, you should catch up on that!  I'm heading to Switzerland first for an audition in Lausanne, which is why I've got a a very special post from a Swiss blogger who's nail art I absolutely love, Judith from Spektor's Nails!!

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Hi everyone!  I'm Judith from Spektor's Nails and today I have the honor of making a guest post for Globe & Nail!  I decided to paint a lot of stripes and add some sparkle.

For my base color I used two coats of Essie - Lacquered Up and then painted the stripes with Essie - Licorice.  Usually I don't have the patience to use striping tape for exact lines, that's why I used a thin nail art brush.  Finally I added golden stripes with p2 - Golden Ivy and painted over them with a mix of clear polish and some loose golden glitter. 

On top is one coat of Essie - Good To Go.  I hope you like it!
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If you don't already follow Spektor's Nails, you're missing out on some fabulous nail art!!  Thank you so much Judith for guest posting!!  :)

How awesome are those stripes?  I love the colour combination!  What do you think?  

Audition Time!

Today's the day, I'm leaving for Europe!  As you may or may not know, I'm going to Europe for two weeks to audition for pre-professional post-graduate ballet programs for next year!  My dad and I will be going to Geneva, Lausanne, Zurich, Paris, and London; I'm super excited for the trip and very grateful to be able to spend this time together before I graduate and move away.  

Yes, this is the original photo of me from which I made my logo.
©Sherry Lu Photography, A Ballet Affair

I've got a handful of super amazing and talented bloggers that I really look up to who have all graciously written guest posts for me to keep my blog going while I'm away!!  Depending on my internet access, I may also try to post some of my travel photos, and I'll be checking my email, Facebook page, and Instagram as often as I can.  There will be a guest post almost every day, as well as a couple posts from me with nail art and swatches I haven't posted yet, so keep checking back!   

The first guest post is scheduled to go live in a hour, so keep an eye out!  :)

©Sherry Lu Photography, A Ballet Affair