Halloween Skittles & KKCenterHK 3D Bow

Happy Halloween!  I'm not really in the mood for Halloween at all this year, but I figured I should still try to put together a mani for the occasion!

I was in a hurry and had to throw this look together in about half an hour; since I couldn't settle on one design, I went with a skittle look to incorporate all of them! 

This cute bow on my thumb is from KKCenterHK, which you can find here.  I think it really goes with the whole look!  I attached it with a dot of nail glue and it securely stayed on all day, and it wasn't too bulky which was great.  The only thing I'd say I don't like about it is that when I was removing it (using acetone and a brush to break down the glue underneath before prying it off) the design which is on the underside of the bow started to come off with the acetone, and the finish on the clear part started to get broken down and matte-looking as well.  Unfortunately I've got to say that, for me, these aren't reusable, but if you manage to get it off without ruining it, they very well could be!  

Here's a quick rundown of my other nails... On my index finger I'm wearing two coats of LaCC 1999 (Spoiler alert: from the new Fall/Winter 2013 Collection, which will be on the blog soon!) with polka dots in OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls.  My middle finger is a gradient with OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, Essie Meet Me At Sunset, and SpaRitual Enlightened Soul.  My ring finger is two coats of Essie Meet Me At Sunset over a nude base, since it's a jelly, (same polish as my thumb), topped with one coat of Different Dimension Social Suicide.  On my pinky I've got one coat of Zoya Electra over LaCC 1999.  All nails are topped with two coats of Seche Vite.  

Overall I'm pretty happy with how this look turned out, despite being super rushed!  I've got to say that the bow is pretty darn cute!  What do you think of this look?  

Disclaimer: One of the products in this post was provided for review and my honest opinion. 

Heliotrope Gradient

You may remember back at the beginning of September I posted a heliotrope water marble mani... Read up over there for the explanation behind the whole heliotrope thing, haha!  

For today, I've just got a quick post with an awesome purple gradient that I really enjoyed wearing, (not just because it matched my leotard all day... Well, maybe just a bit.) 

I started with two coats of the lightest purple: OPI You're Such A Budapest.  Once that was dry, I sponged on the gradient using that, LaCC 1972, and Butter London Brummie, which is the shade that matches our uniform! It's all smoothed out with two coats of Seche Vite. 

In other news, I had a pretty awesome (but tiring!) day yesterday...  All of the girls in my class took ballet class with the company yesterday morning to audition to be cast in their performance of Giselle, because the company doesn't quite have enough girls for it... And I was cast!  We had a super long day of rehearsals yesterday, and I was wearing my pointe shoes for almost 8 hours... Not too comfy, (read: extremely uncomfortable) but totally worth it for the amazing experience!  Over the next two weeks we're working with the company all day every day to learn the entire ballet, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how it all comes together!  :) 

Anywho, I really love doing gradients using different shades of one colour, it always looks so awesome!!  What do you think of this look? :)

Neutral Skittlette

Good morning!  It's awfully nice that it's only the second day of classes this week, but it's already Wednesday - I love long weekends!  Today's post is a double-accent mani that I really loved wearing.  I had picked out Contrary Polish Sand (from the Ain't That A Beach trio released earlier this year) because I hadn't worn it since I first swatched it, and this look kind of fell together around it!  

On my index finger, I started with two easy coats of Contrary Polish Sand and a coat of Seche Vite; when that was dry, I taped off the stripes and painted over it with Essie Little Brown Dress.  On my thumb (seen below) I did the same, but switched up the base for OPI My Vampire Is Buff.   

For my double-accent nails, I started with two coats of OPI My Vampire Is Buff; I then drew on irregular spots using Contrary Polish Sand and went around them with Essie Little Brown Dress for a leopard-print design.  My pinky is two coats of OPI Liquid Sand shade What Wizardry Is This?.  

Quick question for my readers!  I've got swatches of the whole Contrary Polish Ain't That A Beach trio sitting around on my computer... I know this trio is old news now, but would anyone be interested in seeing them?  Let me know!  :)

I'm really happy with how this turned out - it's neutral and cohesive, but still super fun!!  I'm also glad that I got to wear Contrary Polish Sand again, although this just reminded me how gorgeous it really is, and I really should wear it alone soon.  What do you think?  :)

Too Fancy Lacquer: Swatch & Review

Hi all!  This morning I've got a long-overdue post featuring four polishes from a new-to-me indie brand, Too Fancy Lacquer!  

Continue reading after the jump! 

Vivid Lacquer: Theoretical Blogger & Talking With My Hands

Good morning!  I'm so glad today's the last day before Thanksgiving long weekend, I've been so tired and am really looking forward to three whole days off!!  

Today I've got two polishes from a new-to-me indie brand to show you, Theoretical Blogger and Talking With My Hands by Vivid Lacquer.  Continue reading after the jump!

Dutch 'Ya Just Love Polka-Dots?

Hi!  Quick post this morning with a mani I did last month.  Dutch 'Ya Just Love OPI? is one of my favourite polishes for fall, so when the weather started to change I just had to pull this beauty out again!

I didn't want to take away from the polish, so I decided to just add matte polka-dots with Essie Matte About You.  

I'm wearing two coats of Dutch 'Ya Just Love OPI? with one coat of LaCC 2013 top coat underneath the matte polka-dots.  I always love the contrast between matte and shiny designs! :)

Turquoise

Boring name for a post, I know.  I'm running very short on sleep here - got home earlier today from a few days on tour performing with a ballet company, and I have to get up and do a full day of classes tomorrow again...  It was such an amazing experience though, totally worth it!  Anywho, somehow what started out as plans for a pastel blue galaxy mani ended up looking like turquoise, so I'm just rolling with it. 

I started with a base of China Glaze Re-Fresh Mint, and when that was dry I randomly sponged on a bunch of different blue polishes.  I can't remember exactly what I used since I did this a few weeks ago, but I'll try my best!  On the nail you're most likely seeing Essie In The Cab-ana and Rock The Boat, OPI I Have A Herring Problem and Can't Find My Czechbook, Orly Snowcone, and piCture pOlish Honey Dew.  

It's all topped off with one coat of Orly Prisma Gloss Gold, which is where I think I went wrong with the whole pastel galaxy idea.  In retrospect, it really needed a silver glitter topper instead of a gold.  I then decided to add a coat of Essie Matte About You, which made me like the look a bit more.   

Overall, I wasn't too happy with this look initially, but it did grow on me throughout the day as I wore it!  What do you think of this look?  :)

Studded Milquetoast

CrowsToes Milquetoast is one of those polishes in my stash that doesn't get nearly as much love as it deserves.  A little while ago I pulled it out, and came up with this double-accent mani! 

On my index and pinky fingers I used two thin coats of Milquetoast over OPI My Vampire Is Buff.  It can be opaque alone in three coats, but that ends up a bit thick for my liking so I prefer to layer it.  The accent nails are two coats of OPI My Vampire Is Buff with a row of copper studs down the center to match the glitters.  All nails are topped off with a coat of Seche Vite. 

I'm usually not a huge fan of milky glitters, but this one is just so awesome!  My friend told me that it looked like pennies floating in milk, which seems like a pretty accurate description, haha!  What do you think?  Do you own this beauty?  :)