My First Free-hand Nail Art

Hello Readers:

I decided to try my hand at doing some free-hand nail art. I originally was going with a different design but it came apparent that I needed to go with something far more simple until I get the hang of things, so I ended up with my current design.

indirect sunlight

natural light

In this mani I used Above the Curve's "Friday the 13th" which is a chocolate brown holo LE polish, and I used BB Couture's "Laguna Lagoon" which is a classified as a mint creme polish, but I find that this polish has more of a green hue than most mint colored polishes.

I used two coats of "Friday the 13th", though I could probably have gotten away with one. It went on easy and smooth and boy does it sparkle! I of course need to practice more to gain some technique with doing free-hand nail art but as a first try goes I think it turned out alright.

Any suggestions on easy to do free-hand nail art?

Until next time.

-Andi

Double Review: "A Leaf On The Wind" and "Always" from Lucky 13 Lacquer

 Hello Readers:

I have a double review for you today. I apologize for the late post, but I ended up having one of those days... I couldn't sleep the night before and during the day I wound up accidentally falling asleep on the couch for awhile so I didn't get to writing up my post until now.

Today I have two polishes from Lucky 13 Lacquer. I have "A Leaf on the Wind" which is a sky blue jelly with tiny silver hexes and medium light green hex glitter. A Leaf on the Wind was inspired by Wash from the tv show Firefly (for those who aren't fans like I am lol). I also have "Always" which is a silvery topcoat with turquoise flakies and glows in the dark. Always was inspired by the Patronus charm from the Harry Potter series; more specifically from Snape's exchange with Albus about his Patronus.

from Sodahead.com

I used two coats of A Leaf on the Wind over a clear base coat, and I used one coat of Always on top. In the daylight you don't Always too much other than it gives A Leaf on the Wind a bit of a shimmer, but when you're in the dark that is where Always shines (literally! lol) The glow is AWESOME! I tried to take pictures to show the glow-in-the-dark but my camera sucks so this last photo was the best I could get.

I love both these polishes! They're so beautiful and fun! I love things that glow-in-the-dark it always makes me smile ^_^  If you'd like to get your hands on either of these awesome polishes go check out Lucky 13 Lacquer's website.

Until next time.

-Andi

Review: "Honey Dew" from Picture Polish

Hello Readers:

I have a new-to-me brand for y'all today. All the way from Australia is a 3free (some are even 5free), cruelty free and vegan brand named Picture Polish. I've been dying to try this brand because they have so many beautiful polishes (especially their blogger collaboration polishes!) but I don't get these too often since they're more expensive than most other brands I have bought. So I can only buy this brand occasionally, but boy is it always worth it!

Today I have their polish called "Honey Dew" which is a soft mint creme polish.

Direct sunlight

Indirect light

This is 3 coats of polish over a clear base coat and one clear top coat. You could probably get away with 2 coats but I put it on a little too thin on some nails so I needed 3 for full coverage. Otherwise it goes on smooth and easy, and since it is a creme polish you'll need to give it an extra minute or two to dry so it won't dent.

If you'd like to get yourself some Picture Polish you can get it direct from their website or you can get it from one of the stockists (which is where I get mine from): OverallBeauty or Llarowe. They've just released some of their new polishes so definitely check them out.

Until next time.

-Andi

My First Stamping Mani

Hello Readers:

Today my mani has double meaning. I wanted to try something for Valentine's Day that wasn't all about the pink and the red (but still kind of traditional), and also because I have read that today is World Cancer Day. Many bloggers have come together to showcase purple mani's to help show love and support for those who have been affected by cancer. Even though it was a coincidence that my mani is mainly shades of purple (as I was unaware of WCD) I still think it is appropriate.

Also, I have recently acquired a stamping set, and wanted to try it out so I've used it in my mani. It took me quite a few tries to get it to something I don't mind showing but I think I've started to get the hang of it.

The polishes I used in the mani are: Darling Diva Polish's Pink Diamond, Above the Curve's Crimson Time at Home, Dollish Polish's It's So Fluffy I'm Gonna Die, & BB Couture's Gluttony. The stamping plates I used were Mash-39 & Mash-48. I also did some water marbling which I did better on the cleanup this time around but still need more practice.

Overall I'm really pleased with this mani even though it's far from perfect but I think I'm coming along in the nail art process (though there is still far to go lol).

However, more importantly, remember to show your love and support for those you fought and succumbed; those who fought and won; those who are still fighting; and for all the ones who help them through the process. One day we will have a cure, but until then we will continue on with our fight.

Until next time.

-Andi

Review: "Clutzy" from Ruby White Tips

Hello Readers:

Another week gone by, did anyone else's weekend feel like it has just flown by? I'm sure many are getting everything together to watch the Super Bowl today. I hope your team wins ^_~

Today I have an awesome multi-chrome polish from Ruby White Tips. As soon as I saw this polish on their website I knew I had to have it! It's name alone just shouted at me being a natural clutz myself LOL

Clutzy is purple, blue, pink and silver all rolled into one polish! It goes on very easy and I only needed two coats for full opacity. Just an FYI, not all my photos are going to be 100% in focus. I found that some of my kinda out of focus ones showed the color shift better. I also found that the ones not in full sunlight showed the most color.

Outside (not in direct sunlight)

The sun went behind a cloud

Inside - direct sunlight

Inside (indirect sunlight)

Isn't it FABULOUS?!?! I loooove this polish! It's so many things all rolled into one ^_^ Super gorgeous! If you would like to get your hands on a bottle head on over to Ruby White Tips' Etsy page. They also just recently released their American Horror Story collection if you're a fan go check it out. Even if you've never seen American Horror Story (like myself) some of the polishes are pretty incredible!

Until next time.

-Andi

Chinese New Year Nail Art

Hello Readers:

Happy Chinese New Year! To celebrate Chinese New year, I have done some themed nail art (double nail art week yay!). In this mani I have used BB Couture's "Uninvited" which is a burnt brick red with a natural matte finish. The matte finish you won't get to see since I used a nail decal and had to use a top coat (I don't know a matte top coat). I also used My Ten Friends' "Stars Collide" which is a glitter bomb of gold glitter. I have also used a nail decal for the first time. I was originally going to use the nail decal that said "wealth" buuuut since I had no experience with nail decals before I accidentally squished it and had to go with the back up of "gold".

I love it! So gorgeous! The polishes went on super easy, and I'll definitely be wearing them again in other manis! I didn't notice until after I applied the decals, but they have a slight amount of glitter to them which I don't particularly care for but it was fun using them and I think I might buy more in the future (but making sure I buy ones without the sparkle). 

To get your own bottle of Uninvited check out BB Couture's website or to get your own bottle of Stars Collide check out My Ten Friends' website (MTF is actually having a restock today at 10am Cali time).

Until next time.

-Andi

My First Water Marbling Mani

Hello Readers:

Now this isn't really my first water marbling mani... my actual first one was a horrible disaster, so this one will actually be my second attempt at water marbling. BUT this is definitely my first water marbling mani that I'm willing to share with y'all. It is by far not perfect, but I think overall it turned out pretty cool.

For this mani I used polishes from Darling Diva Polish's Diamond collection. It has Green Diamond, Blue Diamond and Rose Diamond. I know the cleanup is rough. I used chapstick (as per a tip I saw on a  youtube video about water marbling) to protect my skin for easier cleanup, but I must not have gotten enough on my cuticle area and that turned out to be a pain in the butt to get off. Next time I'll definitely be making sure I get enough on in that area, and the couple of nails where the colors are more muddled I know I just wasn't quick enough into the water.

Still, overall I'm quite happy with how this turned out for being so new to water marbling. I don't think I'll use this technique too much (maybe just once a month) as it is so messy but definitely fun to play with :)

Also as per request I'm going to try to involve some kind of nail art once a week, though sometimes it might not be possible. I'm still going to try my hardest to do so.

Until next time.

-Andi