LaCC Floral Nail Art & BPS Gold Studs

Good morning!  As I mentioned in Saturday's post, I was super excited to do some nail art with the new LaCC Spring/Summer releases.  This was the first design that I came up with, and I knew it would look awesome accented with these nail art studs from Born Pretty Store.

I started with three thin coats of LaCC 1992, one of my favourite light pink/nude polishes ever!  Next, I freehanded the roses using a few LaCC purples: the new shade 1997 for the main part, 1973 for the darker outlines, and a bit of 1972 for some more dimension.  Once that was dry, I taped over the flowery halves of my nails and painted the other half in the new shade 1969.  I also added some leaves on the flowers in the same green to tie it together.   All nails were topped with two coats of LaCC 2013 top coat. 

I was going to attach the studs with nail glue, but upon grabbing mine I discovered it had glued itself shut... I tried all I could but it wasn't budging, so out of necessity I just attached them with dots of Seche Vite.  They're pretty large so they didn't stay on very long that way, but I'm sure they'd stay on a lot better with nail glue!  

You can buy these gold studs here from Born Pretty Store.  Don't forget to use my coupon code above for 10% off!

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

Studded Neutral Gradient

Good morning!  I had a nice relaxing 4-day break over Easter weekend, but I'm ready to get back to blogging!  However, as those of you who know me personally (or follow me on IG) are aware, my immediate family is moving to London (England, not Ontario) tomorrow, so this weekend has been anything but relaxing for them as they packed up the entire house to be shipped across the pond!  As for me, things are still up in the air as to whether I'll stay here for another year or go with them, but we'll see how it all works out. 

Over the past few days I've been helping my sister set up her own blog to document her new life in London, as well as fashion, nails, and food posts.  She's planning to start posting over the next few days, so once she does I'll definitely link to it so you guys can check it out.  I helped her with photos for the first few fashion posts! ;) 

Onto the nails!  This is a look I wore a few weeks ago, and really loved the simple sophisticated look of. 

I started with a coat of LaCC 1981, and the then sponged on the gradient with (lightest to darkest) LaCC 1981, 1988, and 1998.  I then added columns of gold studs to my accent nails, and finished it all with two coats of Seche Vite. 

I'm a huge fan of neutral gradients, they just look so awesome and these three LaCC polishes blend together perfectly!  What do you think of this look?  :)

1999, Recycled & Upgraded

I mentioned in Friday's post  that I'd recycled the black nails from that mani and made an entirely different look, and that's what I'm sharing with you this morning!  

Same as before, the black nails are two perfect coats of LaCC 1999, which has great staying power when sandwiched between LaCC 2012 base coat and 2013 top coat!  To those nails I added some square peach studs from the Born Pretty Store.  

I changed my two accent nails up by putting on three thin coats of piCture pOlish Peaches n' Cream, a favourite spring/summer polish of mine!  The weather's not been very nice, so I was in the mood for something bright!  Those nails are topped with one easy coat of my favourite black and white glitter topper, Different Dimension Social Suicide.  All nails have two coats of LaCC 2013 top coat.

On a side note, what do you think of this different watermark?  I was trying to come up with something that was more unique and incorporated my logo, but I'm not sure if it's readable enough and if the image distracts from the nails.  Let me know what you think!  

Anywho, I much prefer this look to the previous one.  Recycling those nails to use as a starting point for a very different double-accent look was a fun way to quickly change up my mani!  :)

Chita & 1999

Happy Friday!!  I'm so ready for the weekend... Anwyho, just a quick post this morning with a double-accent mani I wore a couple days ago.  :)

On my accent nails I used one perfect coat of Zoya Chita, and added three black studs from a Sally Hansen I <3 Nail Art kit using Seche Vite.  I wasn't too impressed with these studs, unfortunately; a lot of them are misshapen around the edges and have little pokey bits, and they stick up from the nail more than I'd like.  Although they did stay on for two whole days, without any top coat to seal them in!  (Didn't want to ruin the textured finish of Chita!)

My other nails are all two effortless coats of LaCC 1999, the most perfect black with a lovely deep shimmer.  Those nails are topped with one coat of LaCC 2013  top coat.  

Honestly, I was kind of indifferent about this mani.  Not that I really didn't like it, but I just wasn't a huge fan.  I love these two polishes individually, though!  What do you think?  

I've recycled the black nails in this mani and switched up the accent nails, so keep an eye out for that post soon!  :)

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?  :)

Double-Accent Flowers & Studs

Good morning!  I've still got a ton of photos to edit for a couple large posts, hence why things are still a little backed up around here.  Today I've got a double-accent mani to show you which I wore over the weekend and really loved!! 

I wanted to play around with a couple goodies I'd recently ordered from the Born Pretty Store.  I had to have these water decals and these studs after seeing them on The Nailasaurus! 

I started with three thin coats of OPI You're Such a Budapest on my two accent nails.  While I waited for those to dry, I painted the remaining nails in OPI Ink Suede and placed the pastel studs on.  The water decals were then added (they're so easy to apply!) and the whole look was covered in one coat of Seche Vite. 

I really love how these two shades work together in this look; I always forget how stunning Ink Suede is, both in the normal matte finish as well as glossy!!  I'm seriously in love with the flower water decals... I might have to order another pack, since each only comes with twelve decals.  I've got the pastel studs in a couple different colours now, and those seem to keep making their way into my manis as well!  

Are you planning on picking up either of these nail art supplies?  This isn't a sponsored post, just sharing some new products that I love!!  What do you think of this mani?  :)

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?  :)

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. 

Nerd Lacquer: Exterminate

Today brings MORE NERD LACQUER!!  This polish is a tribute to a classic Doctor Who villain that everyone loves to hate, the Daleks.  I've even done a Dalek accent nail to go along with this one!!  Woot woot! 

Another crazy Matt gif. Because I can.

This is three thin coats of Nerd Lacquer Exterminate, with a Dalek accent nail à la Accio Lacquer!  I scraped down the inside of the bottle with a toothpick and turned it upside-down for a while before using it, to stir up the glitters that were stuck to the bottle.  The base for the ring finger was done before all that, so it doesn't have much glitter on it (on purpose.) 

Source

Only one coat of Seche Vite here again, same as I Think You Call Me... Sexy which I posted the other day.  These photos are in the light box as well, because otherwise you lose all the great detail of the individual glitters!  

Uh-oh, someone's flipped the Dalek upside-down.  It's not going to be happy.  Basically, RUN! 

Source

For the accent nail, I used striping tape from the Born Pretty Store for the stripes, and the "eggs" (oh, Rory...) are some studs that I picked up at the drugstore a while ago.  The colours worked perfectly and I was super happy with how this mani came out; I ended up liking Exterminate a lot more than I had initially expected!  :)

My apologies, but if you've now got a lemming for this hate-filled beauty, getting your hands on it could be quite difficult.  To best exterminate your desire for this, I suggest browsing nail polish Facebook groups for anyone looking to re-home a bottle, and stalk the Nerd Lacquer Google+ page (has anyone figured out how to use that yet?) for updates on any future restocks! 

Sorry once again, Mishka. Source. 

Whovians, it's your turn!  Sound off in the comments, let me hear your thoughts on this Nerd Lacquer!  :)

KKCenterHK Triangle Nail Studs Review

Happy Friday!  Posting will probably be a little sporadic over the next few weeks as I finish everything up for the year, fair warning.  You probably know that I love studs on my nails, so when I was offered the chance to review a product from KKCenterHK, I jumped at the chance to try some of their awesome nail studs!  :)

These studs came in a package of about 50; it's not very many compared to other packages of studs I've got, but if you remove them carefully you can reuse them, (hence why some of mine look a bit scratched up.)

This was actually the second time I wore these studs, the photos from the first time turned out horribly.  This time, I chose to wear them over one coat (yes, only one!) of OPI Honey Ryder.  Because it was a textured polish and top coating over the studs would have ruined the finish of the polish, I used nail glue to attach the studs and left them sans top coat. 

They actually lasted an entire day, much to my surprise!  The first time I wore them, they were attached with top coat and covered in two coats of Seche Vite, and those lasted almost two days before I took them off!  

These studs come flat, and the edges would poke up a lot on my curved nail beds.  To solve this issue and prolong wear time, I simply curved each one over the handle of a nail art brush to fit the curve of my nail prior to applying.  No pokey edges here!  :)

This product can be found on the KKCenterHK website here:  Studs Regular Triangle Silver 5mm Nail Art Decorations.  These studs retail for $5.28USD per package, but you can use the code "globeandnail" to get 10% off your order! (Expires Jan.21st, 2014.)

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

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my 17th birthday!  Because I've been really busy this week preparing for a performance tomorrow, I decided that instead of doing something fancy, I'd wear one of my favourite polishes. 

I chose my one and only Deborah Lippmann polish, Ray of Light, which I've actually only worn once before because I'm trying to conserve it due to the price tag.  Come on though, navy blue, jelly, and colour-shifting flakies?  TOTALLY worth it.  

I wore two coats of Ray of Light, and it looks a little patchy in the photos but looked perfect in person.  Added the copper-coloured studs to match the flakies in the polish, and topped with one coat of Seche Vite which the polish gobbled up.  

This one one of my favourite polishes that I own, it's such a perfect combination of my favourite things!  I really want a polish similar to this but a deep red-toned purple jelly base with red/gold colour-shifting flakies... Any indie makers out there raising your hands?  

Seeing as I've got an important performance tomorrow, I don't have any special plans for my birthday.  School this morning, then ballet class this afternoon and a run-through of the show this evening.  My mom is making a delicious dinner though, so I'm looking forward to that tonight!  :)

Studded Ink Suede

Let me tell you, if you live in Canada, Winners is THE place to get nail polish.  Often they'll just have a random assortment of bottles, but once in a while you'll walk in and find three full China Glaze displays (Bohemian, Safari, and Glitter Crackle), tons of random Orly, and a bunch of new, old, and hard-to-find OPIs for a fraction of the regular price!

Honestly, looking back on that experience I'm amazed that I managed to walk out with only two bottles of polish.  I got China Glaze Exotic Encounters which you can see I used here, as well as this beauty, OPI Ink Suede. 

I used two easy coats of this blurple (totally a word) with beautiful silvery shimer that gives it a glowing lit-from-within look even when not in direct light.  

I loved the look of it matte ("suede", yea, yea,) but when I topcoated it under the pretense of adding a coat of Essie Matte About You, I just couldn't bring myself to do it.  The shine really brings out the gorgeous shimmer! 

I've heard that it's nothing like the original OPI Ink, but I love it nonetheless.  Do you like this polish?  Would you be interested in a post showing it matte as well as glossy?  And finally, do you think I'm becoming too predictable with the studs?  ;)  Haha