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?  :)

LynBDesigns: T.A.R.D.I.S., Snog Box, & Space Gandalf

We've had Sherlock and Dr. Seuss polishes, but to finish up my set of reviews of LynBDesigns, I've saved the best for last... Doctor Who!!  

Read on for lots more photos, a full review, and a healthy dose of fangirling!

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!  :)

LynBDesigns: So Changeable & Purple Polish of Sex

Who's ready for two amazing polishes inspired by everyone's favourite high-functioning sociopath?  You better all be raising your hands.  Today is a first for me, as these are my first Sherlock-inspired polishes!  I've been a fan of the BBC adaptation for quite a while, and I've even read a good number of the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, so I was pretty darn excited to get these polishes from LynBDesigns! 

Read on after the jump for more photos, a full review, and a dose of fangirling!  

Winstonia Store Review: 3D Nail Art Charm #4

So I may have accidentally lied in Wednesday's post about showing you the second charm yesterday, but better late than never!  This is the second 3D nail art charm that I chose from the Winstonia Store; it's a super cute black and silver bow with a rhinestone in the middle!  

This look turned out somewhat similar in style to the other one, but I still love it! 

Attaching the charms is super easy.  After my polish base was dry and top-coated, I just attached the 3D charm with a dot of nail glue.  This one isn't curved on the bottom like the other, but due to it being flatter it actually felt more secure.  As with the previous one, it lasted well for the few hours that I wore it.  

I wanted the bow to be the focal point, so I went with a relatively uniform look on the rest of my nails.  The lighter blue is three coats of Essie Rock the Boat, and the brighter blue is two coats of Essie In the Cab-ana.  Awful names, gorgeous shades!  I topped each of them with one thin coat of Different Dimension Social Suicide, which is definitely my favourite black and white glitter topper of the ones I own!  

I love how the black and white glitter compliments the colours of the bow, it came together even better than I'd expected!  

You can find this 3D nail art charm on the Winstonia Store here; this is design #4.  If you missed Wednesday's post, be sure to check that out here.

Overall, I'm really in love with the two 3D nail art charms that I've tried!  Although they're not practical for everyday wear, they make a cute and fun addition to a manicure for a special occasion!  

Have you tried 3D charms on your nails before?  Would you?  :)  

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

Winstonia Store Review: 3D Nail Art Charm #28

Good morning!  Today I've got a nail art product to share which was a first for me: 3D charms!  

For this mani, I used piCture pOlish Peaches n' Cream and Honey Dew as my base colours.  After a coat of Seche Vite, I glued on the rhinestone bow with a dot of nail glue; it was super easy!  

I decided to stamp polka-dots on the rest of my nails, because they look so cute with the bow!  I stamped in Konad white polish with Born Pretty Store plate m79.  Those nails are also topped with a coat of Seche Vite. 

As you can see, the bow is pretty large and sticks off my nail quite a bit.  However, the bottom is curved to allow it to sit on the nail bed more closely.  Once it was glued on, it actually felt quite sturdy and secure; it lasted for the entire afternoon and evening after applying (even through grocery shopping!) until I loosened the glue with acetone and pried it off before showering.  

As long as you're careful with them, these charms are reusable.  Despite being somewhat impractical for everyday wear, I think that this rhinestone bow makes such a cute addition to a mani for a special occasion!   

You can find this 3D nail art charm on the Winstonia Store here; this is design #28.  I have one more 3D nail art charm to show you too, so keep an eye out for that post *probably* tomorrow morning! 

Have you tried 3D charms on your nails before?  Would you?  Thoughts - let me hear them!  :)  

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

Subtle Gradient & Houndstooth

I'm finally back home!!  I ended up blogging far less than I was hoping to be able to while away this past month, but I was still doing my nails so I've got quite a few posts backed up.  I've also got some awesome polishes to swatch, which I'm working on right now, so expect to see those on the blog soon too! 

At the ballet school I've been at for the past month (and where I'm going full-time next year) we're not "*technically* allowed to wear nail polish.  But, being the rebel polish-addict that I am, I did anyways.  For the most part I tried to keep my manis light and subtle, and I have one of them to show you today.  

I started with a gradient of Essie Waltz and piCture pOlish Fairy Floss; I really liked the clean and simple look of this gradient and wore it plain like this for a day! 

The next day I wanted to spice it up a bit, so I stamped the houndstooth pattern from BM-322 using Essie No Place Like Chrome.  It's all topped off with a coat of LaCC 2013 top coat. 

Although having to do manis using only lightly-coloured polishes was an interesting challenge this month, the first thing I did at home this morning was put on a dark vampy polish!!  How do you like this subtle look?  :)