One Year Blogaversary!

Hello Readers:

Today is my ONE YEAR BLOGAVERSARY! YAY! One year ago today I began my little journey into the world of Indie Nail Polish, and boy what a journey it has been. There were ups and downs, but mainly ups as I have had a ton of fun along the way.

I have encountered many lovely polish enthusiasts like myself, discovered MANY AMAZING makers (too many to name!), and have dipped into so many types of polish (ie. glitter, crème, jelly, textured, matte, glow-in-the-dark, etc). It's just amazing what can go from an idea into a little bottle, and onto my nails.

I have a wonderful giveaway planned for my one year blogaversary, but it will be a downer to certain people as this time around I must limit my giveaway. I know I usually have giveaways open internationally, but this time around I have to limit it to USA and Canada only. I apologize but there is a lot of things going on right now, and I just can't afford the shipping costs. If you have someone in either country that will mule for you then please do feel free to enter, but otherwise just USA and Canada.

Now onto the two lovely prizes I have available to win.

Prize number one includes: Gloss48 Exclusive Literary Lacquer "Mr. Darcy and Ms. Bennett" limited edition duo, Colors by Llarowe "Young Turks", SeaLore Polish "Crushin' It", and BKD Signature "Space Sauce" ring.

IMG Source: Literary Lacquer

I kept the duo in their original packaging so I have a photo of the duo from the one posted on Literary Lacquer's Facebook page when she announced the sale.



Prize number two includes: My Ten Friends "Starry Night", Darling Diva Polish limited edition glitter topper "Shop Til Ya Drop", SeaLore Polish limited edition glow-in-the-dark "Seafetti", Colors by Llarowe "Polishing Under the Influence", and BKD Signature "Mr. Universe" Tree of Life necklace.

Disclaimer: All prizes were bought by me for you. This giveaway is open to USA and Canada residents only, but I will ship to a mule if someone international has one. Once the prize is in the hands of the postal service I am no longer responsible for it. The giveaway will run until the end of the month. The winners will have 48hrs to contact once the email has been sent. Thank you all and Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Until next time.

-Andi

Aria Night Out Nail Art

Hello Readers:

I was recently approached by a team member over at Vegas.com to participate in creating a look for a night out at Aria Resort, whether it be a night out with your honey, a night out with girls, or a night to a show like Cirque du Soleil's Zarkana.

I thought it sounded like a lot of fun, and a great idea to get the community involved so I agreed to create a look for a night out at the Aria. After looking at the website, I had many ideas and decided on an inspiration from Cirque du Soleil's Zarkana show at the Aria, though I think my theme also applies to the resort itself. Below are my inspiration photos that helped create my look which I found while perusing Vegas.com



Aria Resort Exterior (source)



Jean Phillipe Patisserie (source)



Zarkana Poster (source)

Now onto the look that I have created, which included the following polishes: "Under Cover of Night" from Carpe Noctem Cosmetics, "Solar Flare" "Illusionist" "Gravity" and "Altered State" from Picture Polish, and "Diamond" from Darling Diva Polish. (See photo below)

First, I painted all my nails with "Under Cover of Night" after applying a clear base coat, then I sponged on "Illusionist", "Altered State", "Illusionist", and "Gravity" for a color shifting (almost galaxy) look. After that I used my Bundle Monster stamping plate: BM-316, "Diamond" polish, and my stamper to create my own decals since I've been having trouble lining up the picture properly for direct to nail stamping. I applied my decals with the help of a clear top coat.

This is the final look (the first two photos aren't the best they're merely to help show the colorshift):

I really liked how this turned out! I think this look would be a great for a night out in Vegas and to take in Cirque du Soleil's Zarkana. The colorshift is beautiful and the lines give it a little extra oomph! I had a lot of fun creating this look, and had many ideas but this one stood out among them. If I have time I will create another look, but I don't think any will top this beauty.

Until next time.

-Andi 

Double Review: "Passionately Purple" and "Kintsukuroi" from Carpe Noctem Cosmetics

Hello Readers:

Boy do I have something beautiful and AMAZING to show you today, and just an FYI this post will be a bit picture heavy since I had a hard time narrowing down my photo choices.

Emily, the owner and creator of Carpe Noctem Cosmetics, was kind enough to send me samples of two new polishes she has created (which will be released later today - July 11th 5pm EST). I'm so thankful to be given this opportunity to provide swatches and my honest opinion on these lovely polishes.

Sadly, I've had nothing but rain this week, BUT the sun did sneak out for a few seconds so I was able to snap a couple of sun pictures for the polishes but most will be in the shade.

First up is "Passionately Purple" a periwinkle holo polish (well that's how I like to describe it ^_^ )

 

As many of my readers may have found out from some of my posts, I am a huge purple fan so you know I was all giggly to receive this color! Passionately Purple is beautiful and has such a beautiful holo sparkle! I used two coats of polish over a clear base coat, and a clear top coat. I had no application issues , however, I think some computer monitors will show this polish as more silvery (I know my laptop did when the battery started to get low so my screen contrast changed). Let me assure you though, this is definitely a beautiful purple leaning blurple.

 

Now onto the second polish of today's release, "Kintsukuroi". For those who don't know "kintsukuroi"" is Japanese for 'to repair with gold', and is a famous art form of repairing pottery with gold or silver lacquer and understanding that the piece is more beautiful for having been broken. (Explanation taken from kinstukuroi post at: The Perfect Day Blog, check the post out for more info).

 

Kinstuskuroi polish is what I like to call a molten gold polish with a splash of holo sparkle. Seriously, I can't even begin to tell you how taken I was with this polish. I was certain that the purple would be my favorite but I think I may just be a little bit in love with "Kinstukuroi" as it has taken my heart. The photos below will show why.

 

 

WOW! That is always the first word that comes out of my mouth when I see this polish. I used two coats of polish over a clear base coat and a clear top coat. It is seriously like molten gold with a splash of holo. I cannot say enough good things about how amazing this polish is, and I'm not even a gold person but I never want to take this polish off! Honestly, you won't be disappointed by either polish.

 

Remember these beauties go on sale TODAY at 5pm EST over at Carpe Noctem Cosmetics Etsy Shop.

 

Until next time.

-Andi