Saturday, January 31, 2015

Deborah Lippmann Good Girl Gone Bad Swatch

Hi guys! Today I have a GORGEOUS polish to show you. Deborah Lippmann makes some pretty glorious sparkly, over-the-top polishes that are complex and still classy. Good Girl Gone Bad is no exception!

Good Girl Gone Bad is a berry-wine-maroon dark reddish-purple microglitter. It is full coverage and dries down to a gritty matte finish, so you'll want to gloss it up with some topcoat. The formula is a bit thick, but manageable.

Here I've done three coats of GGGB with two coats of Essie Good to Go topcoat, as it is a bit topcoat-thirsty.


Natural light


Flash


Flash

The photo with natural light is the most color-accurate, but the flash photos really show off the depth and sparkle!

Deborah Lippmann's are high-end and retail for around $20 each.

Thanks so much for reading and have a lovely polished day!

XOXO

Is



Wednesday, January 14, 2015

NOTD: Picture Polish Lagoon by Fashion Polish

Hi guys! Today I have a quick NOTD to share with you. This is the beautiful Picture Polish Lagoon, created in collaboration with Fashion Polish. This polish is so special to me... It is one of three that are my first PP's! I got two others that I'll show you soon, but for now, here is Lagoon!


This picture gives my skin a lovely red hue, but the polish color is mostly accurate, however, it is a tiny, tiny smidge greener in person. Lagoon is a gorgeous turquoise jelly packed with minuscule holographic specks and some beautiful turquoise hex glitters. The shade of turquoise is absolutely perfect. It's not too green or blue. This polish has so much depth, to make it even better. Two coats were perfect for my short nails, but you might need three to pack maximum punch if you have longer nails. This polish isn't terribly shiny, so I added NYC Grand Central Station topcoat to shine it up. 

I love this polish. What is your favorite Picture Polish?

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Chrome Geometric Negative Space Nail Art

Hello ladies! How's your 2015 going? I hope it's a happy healthy one filled with lots of achievements and blessings. 

Today's nail art is a really cool design, in my opinion. I tend to do intricate nail art on the weekends, since that's when I have time to relax. 



I was inspired by this manicure that I saw on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/pin/312366924127751652/

For this manicure I started with a base coat and a layer of topcoat, then added two coats of Sally Hansen Color Foil in Titanium Flush, a pink mirror-like chrome. These polishes are pretty finicky, so be sure to see my post on How to Make Your Sally Hansen Color Foils Look Perfect: http://nailsniche.blogspot.com/2014/07/how-to-make-your-sally-hansen-color.html 

Once that was dry, I took a nail art brush and Essie Spin the Bottle, a creamy nude, and free handed a thick horizontal line in the center of my nail. After that, I used Sinful Colors Black on Black to make the outline of the nude stripe and the zig zags. I finished off with topcoat.

I initially was going to use tape over my bare nail and add Titanium Flush, but because of the quick-drying nature of the Color Foil I just couldn't get a clean line, so I substituted the negative space bare nail look with a nude polish and a tiny brush. 

I really liked this look. The geometric strip across the center combined with the reflective metal finish was really cool. I went to get a pedicure after I did this and I got so many compliments from the ladies who work there! 

What's your favorite nail art look to do when you have time? Have a great day!

XOXO

Is

Sunday, December 28, 2014

I Like Sandwiches...

I'm on Team Turkey. Panera is rather delicious. How bout you? Peanut butter? Jelly?

I'm expanding my horizons and trying a jelly sandwich today...

...well, not exactly.

A jelly sandwich is technique where you apply a layer of a translucent jelly polish, then a chunky glitter polish, and top that with another layer of jelly polish. I have a tutorial on this technique (you can find it in the Tutorials tab--it's the very first one in that category!) if you want a more in-depth description.

I used Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Greenlight (which, by the way, doesn't seem to exist. Literally, I can't find any swatches of it online.) Greenlight is a squishy green-toned teal jelly, and when I bought it I actually thought it was a creme. To my surprise, it was a jelly! Hurray!

The glitter I used is Maybelline Clearly Spotted, a really versatile topper of black and white matte hex glitters. 


What would a peanut butter and jelly sandwich mani be? I'm thinking a jelly, a glitter, a shimmer topper, and another layer of a jelly. Huh! I might have to try that out...

XOXO

Is

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Edgy Negative Space Nail Art

Hi guys! Today I have some nail art to share with you.

Negative space has been a big trend lately. I personally am a huge fan!


Here it is! I really enjoyed wearing this- I wore it for two whole days, a rarity for me!


First I used my base coat (CND Stickey) and let it dry completely. If you have stained or discoloration, you may want to use a ridge filling base coat or a sheer pink polish, but be sure to let it dry fully before moving on to the next step. Using Scotch tape, I cut of the jagged edges on one end and then positioned it at the base of my nail in a triangle shape and then user Sinful Colors Black on Black to fill in the exposed area. Then I immediately removed the tape.


Next, I used a striping brush dipped into Essie No Place Like Chrome and made two intersecting lines, each parallel to the edges of the bare triangle. (Geometry, guys. Yes.) 


I finished off with topcoat (Essie Good to Go) and added a silver Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art rhinestone. 



What do you guys think? I really like negative space nail art. You can really do a lot with it! How bout you guys! Do you like negative space nail art?

XOXO

Is





Saturday, December 13, 2014

Nails Niche Peeks: Sinful Colors Mauvelous

Sinful Colors Mauvelous is a murky purple-toned gray-brown. It's a really nice work-appropriate color that's quiet but still really unique. The formula is great, as are most Sinful Colors. Creamy and opaque in two easy coats.

With colors like these I enjoy added some extra sparkle, perhaps with Essie Luxeffects?


Sinful Colors Mauvelous topped with one coat of Essie Pure Pearlfection.

What's your favorite SFW (Safe For Work) color? 



Sunday, November 23, 2014

Fall Floral Nails (elleandish // Janelle Fall Floral Nails recreation)

Hey there! Today I have some fall floral nails to share with you.

This look was inspired by the talented Janelle, the nail artist behind her channel, elleandish // Janelle. I absolutely adore her channel and videos. Every tutorial is meticulously edited--and it shows! Her voiceovers are so calm and chill. Her designs are really cute and fairly easy to do. She's also a terrific teacher and super easy to understand. Really, guys, you should check her out because her videos are the best I've ever seen! One of her videos is a tutorial for fall floral nails, and I decided to try it out. Here is a link for the video: http://youtu.be/tsL1dvKSLj4



I have done floral nails before, and while there are many ways to create flowers on the nails, my favorite way to obtain abstract roses is Janelle's way, which I'll describe in a moment.

(Keep in mind that the instructions I'm giving you are all from Janelle's tutorial, and they're not my own--I simply switched the colors a bit.)

I started off by painting my thumb, pointer, and pinkie nails with a dark green polish. I used Sinful Colors Last Chance, a dark forest green crelly that doesn't creep into the black territory like most dark greens. It's a gorgeous color-- a must if you like green polishes! Beware, this color MAJORLY stains, so I would use two coats of base coat and steer clear of your cuticles! I think I did two or three coats.

I painted my middle and ring fingernails with Sinful Colors Beaches and Cream, a cream color with shimmer that doesn't show up on the nail, but gives it depth. I did three coats because it was a bit streaky.

Then, using Essie Big Spender (a berry-magenta) and Essie Tart Deco (a very orange-toned coral) I made big spots of color on my middle and ring nails using the brush. 

Then, I dipped a toothpick into the cream colored polish and swirled it with the dots to make roses. 

After that, I dipped another toothpick into the dark green and dabbed it onto the nail to make easy leaves. I learned this technique from videos by Cutepolish!

I finished with Essie Good to Go topcoat. 

I really love florals! Do you? Comment down below! See you soon!

XOXO

Is