Globe & Nail 1-Year Blogiversary Giveaway!

So I'm getting pretty excited over here, my 1-year blogiversary is quickly approaching!!  I can't believe I've been blogging for almost a year now, the time has flown by.  When I started Globe & Nail, it was just an outlet for my nail polish problem addiction hobby, and I never imagined it would turn into such a huge part of my life!  I'm constantly humbled by the positive responses to my blog, and for that I'm so grateful to all my readers, old and new!

So, it's finally time to give back to you guys!  I've got 26 new polishes to give away to two lucky winners.  The giveaway starts today and will close on Saturday, April 27th, which is the date of my blogiversary!

There are 6 full-size Wonder Beauty Products polishes generously provided by the lovely Leah Ann from Llarowe, and 1 full-size as well as 19 mini WingDustCollections polishes generously provided by Stephanie, the creative mind behind WingDust.  The prizes are as follows:

Prize #1:

Wonder Beauty Products Kismet, Euphoria, and Roxie Hart.

WingDustCollections Love, Love Me Do!, Night Fury, After The Storm, Total Pink Bomb, Boogie Wonderland, Shake Ya Tail Feathas, Easter Egg Hunt, Blue Steel, HOPE, and Deep Deep Trouble. 

Prize #2:

Wonder Beauty Products Let's Play Footsie, 1 Dozen Heart Bouquet, and Blue Sterling.

WingDustCollections Dancing Queen, Gilty Pleasure (23-karat gold and silver flake topper, this is the full-size), Mind Blue-ing, Grey Sky Morning, Once In A Blue Moon, Snake Skin Shoes, Breathing Underwater, Funky Town, Sea Shell Bra, and Fairy Blind. 

For larger photos of each of these polishes, you can check out the Llarowe Wonder Beauty Products and WingDustCollections pages.  Take a good look, because in the Rafflecopter widget below you'll have to tell me which prize you'd like if you were to win! 

The giveaway is open to Canadian and continental US mailing addresses only; prizes are all unused and will be shipped by me directly to the winners.  You must be at least 17 years old or have parental permission to enter.  Once the winners have been contacted, they will have 48 hours to reply and claim their prizes.  If each prize is not claimed within 48 hours, another winner will be chosen.  The packages will be shipped directly from me to each winner.  I will package the polishes as safely as I can, but am not responsible for any damages done to the prizes after they leave my possession.  

a Rafflecopter giveaway
This is my first time using Rafflecopter, so I hope it all goes smoothly!

Here are the badges to share for extra entries!  :)

Shimmer Polish: Cristina, Mary, Jennifer

Hello again!  Me, double posting?  No, this isn't a joke, just a continuation of this morning's post!  Earlier today I posted about Shimmer Polish Lorene, Jasmine, and Nichole, and now I've got Cristina, Mary, and Jennifer to share with you!  

Read more after the jump!  :)

Shimmer Polish: Lorene, Jasmine, Nichole

No April Fool's jokes here today, but I do have some swatches of a few gorgeous polishes sent my way by Cindy from Shimmer Polish!  I've got six polishes and lots of pictures, so I'm splitting them up into two posts with three polishes each; this is the first, and the second will (hopefully) be posted later today.

Click the jump to read more!  :)

Happy Easter!

I really wanted to do some awesome Easter nail art, but time just got away from me with swatching last night.  I did this yesterday afternoon before all that got going, so I guess this is technically cheating since it isn't actually the mani I'll be wearing for Easter.  However, it is awfully cute, so I decided to share anyways!  :)

I haven't stamped in a really long time so, looking for some quick nail art, I grabbed BM-302 with the spring and Easter patterns on it.  I was really happy with my Bundle Monster plates from Nail Polish Canada, but this is the only image in the whole set that came scratched.  Grrr. 

I already had LaCC 1992 on my nails, because I had a ballet photoshoot earlier in the day and needed a neutral look.  (Creep my IG for those photos soon!  Link in the sidebar.--> )  I stamped the design from BM-302 with Konad special pink polish, and topped it off with some Seche Vite.   

The mani that I'm actually wearing today is LaCC 1977 topped with Different Dimension Social Suicide, because it matches the dress I wore to Church this morning!  I'll post photos of that somewhere, at some point.  Maybe.  Hopefully.  

I would say that I'm looking forward to spending the rest of the day with family, but truth is that we'll probably all be off doing our own things around the house (swatching for me) until soon before dinner.  I am really looking forward to dinner tonight though, my mom makes such good food for holidays!  

Anyone else have any exciting plans or familiar traditions for today?  Whatever you're doing, make it a great day!  :)

Cadillacquer: Do You See What I See?

A while ago I was contacted by the lovely Madeleine from Cadillacquer, asking if I'd like to swatch and review her first collection.  Despite being naturally slightly apprehensive about the quality of newer less-established brands,  I couldn't resist her pretty polishes and said yes.  Boy, am I ever glad I did; these polishes were all such a pleasant surprise!  

Read on after the jump for more on all nine polishes!  :)

Cheshire Cat

About a year ago, I stumbled upon some YouTube videos of the Royal Ballet's Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, and it quickly became one of my favourite ballets.  That's why I was so excited when, in London, my dad and I stood outside the Royal Opera House for three hours in the freezing cold to get day-of tickets for a performance!  

There are a few movie theaters around town that play recorded live streams of ballets and operas happening around the world, and by coincidence they were playing Royal Ballet's Alice's Adventures In Wonderland last night! I enjoyed it SO much the first time that I just had to go again, but this time with my mom and sister who weren't in London.  Since I didn't have all my nail art supplies with me in London, I was determined to do some Wonderland-inspired nail art this time around!   

Anywho, long introduction done, here's the nail art I did, inspired by the Cheshire Cat!  That thing in the Disney version creeps me out, but the way they did it in the ballet was so cool!  

It should come as no surprise that the stunning glitter in this mani is CrowsTows Cheshire, the perfect mix of colours to match this cat.  You're seeing one dabbed coat over Zoya Savita, with two coats of Seche Vite.  This polish is available through Llarowe. 

My ring finger is Savita with purple and gold striping tape from the Born Pretty Store.  My thumb is the same base colour, and I free-handed the cat's floating mouth and eyes with acrylic paint and a teeny-tiny brush.  

I'm still not very confident in my free-hand nail art abilities, and the perfectionist in me makes things like this take a really long time.  I'm working on it though, and I'm hoping to get better at it!  

I really enjoyed wearing this, although the cat was creeping me out a bit every time it stared at me.  How do you like my Cheshire Cat nail art?  Do you think it accurately represents the character?  :)

Aphrodite Lacquers: Romes & Jules Collection

Today's post is a long-overdue review of four polishes from Aphrodite Lacquers' Romes & Jules Collection for spring!  All of the formulas were the same, so I'll address that at the end of the post. You can see my swatches of previous Aphrodite Lacquers collections by following these links, but make sure you come back and take a look at these!  Romance Novel, Outta This World, Friday Night Glitter Bomb, Printemps A Paris, and Birthday collections. 

Now, on to the stars of today's post!  First up is my favourite of the four, Montagues.  This stunner is a "black jelly polish filled with pink, green, blue, and purple hex and circle glitters."

Although it can be built up to opacity alone, I chose to layer two coats of Montagues over A England Jane Eyre for a more opaque look and faster drying time.  You're seeing one coat of Seche Vite, but I added another later for a completely smooth finish.  

Circle glitters are kind of my new favourite thing and I always love me a good vampy colour, so when Rebecca asked me if there were any specific polishes I wanted to swatch, I, of course, chose this one.  It doesn't disappoint!  

Violent Delights is a "milky white jelly polish, packed with white glitters of various sizes and all the different pink and purple glitters from this collection, and holo microglitters scattered throughout."  

As with all four of the polishes in this post, Violent Delights can be built up to near-opacity alone, but I layered this one in two coats over OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls.  This glitter was a little lumpy, so I topped it with two coats of LaCC 2013 top coat for a nice smooth shine.  

I really like the milky white base with white glitters and other colours peeking through.  The scattered red glitters make me think this one was very appropriately named!  

Next up is my second favourite of the polishes here; Two Star Crossed Lovers is a "milky light purple polish, lots of different purple and holo glitters, with a hidden purplish-pinkish shimmer." 

"From forth the fatal loins of these two foes

A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;

Whose misadventured piteous overthrows

Do with their death bury their parents' strife."

Yea, just felt like throwing that excerpt from the prologue in there.  I layered two coats of Two Star Crossed Lovers (which I keep thinking should be 'Two Star-Cross'd Lovers', because I'm weird) over LaCC 1972, a lilac creme which made the perfect base.  One coat of LaCC 2013 top coat here. 

I really love the mix of glitters in this one, it's such a delicate and pretty polish!  This polish makes me want spring to come, it snowed here the other day!  Grrr...

Last for today is Inauspicious Stars, a "milky white jelly polish, with white glitters of various sizes, and pastel pink/purple/blue glitters, and holo microglitters scattered throughout."  

I layered two coats of Inauspicious Stars over OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, and topped with two coats of LaCC 2013 top coat for a smooth finish. 

Whites don't usually look good on my skin tone (especially in pictures) but I'll make an exception for this one because it's so pretty!!  Another lovely delicate polish perfect for spring! 

Formulas on all these polishes were alright to work with; no major problems but they did require a little extra manipulating with the brush to get an even spread of glitter.  A couple of them were slightly lumpy, but nothing a good layer or two of top coat can't fix!!  

You can find Aphrodite Lacquers on Etsy, and keep up to date on Facebook.  All of these polishes are currently in stock except for Montagues, but you can still pick up it's white-based counterpart Capulets!  

How are you liking the look of this spring collection?  I really like Montagues and Two Star Crossed Lovers, but which polishes are your favourites?  :)

Disclaimer: Products in this post were provided for review and my honest opinion.