Polish Post: Colors by Llarowe "Show Me Da' Money!" Swatches

Hump day!!!  W00T!  Halfway to the weekend!

How about some swatches of a new polish from Colors by Llarowe?  They recently released two collections called "Show Me" and "Emily's Imagination."  The polish I'm showing you today is called Show Me Da' Money! from the "Show Me" collection.  Take a look:

Outdoors

Indoors

Show Me Da' Money! has so many different shades to it at different angles that it was impossible for me to capture them all!  This polish is metallic, opaque after 1 coat, though I suggest putting on 2 because it can be streaky, and 2 coats seems to even it out nicely.  Along with the glorious metallic shine is a subtle holo shimmer that really makes the polish sparkle in the sunlight.  I love that the holo doesn't really stand out when you are indoors, because the metallic tones are so beautiful that I feel the holo would almost take away from that and would become too busy, if that makes sense.  Overall it's a fantastic color!

There are 4 polishes in this collection, and I'm probably going to buy the other 3 based on how well this one worked out :)  Metallics can be tricky, and also have the tendency (in my experience) to chip easily, so I only ordered this one to make sure the formula was solid.

That's it for today!  Keeping it short and sweet because it is laundry day here in the Harrold Household, and the pile is so high it has its own climate.  See you tomorrow! <3

*NOTE: links I provide are not affiliate (a.k.a. there is no kickback for me).  I simply add them to my posts to make it easier for you to go directly to the site/polish to browse and/or purchase items I review independently :)

Ridiculous Super Mario Nail Art

Boy, I tell you, that is the longest amount of time I have spent yet on nail art.  3 movies and 2 episodes of Futurama later, I finally finished my Super Mario nails from my most recent You-Pick-My-Art!  Phew!!

I call them "ridiculous" because that was the first word out of my husband's mouth when he saw the first nail :P  So, without further ado, I present to you my Old-School Super Mario nails!

I wanted to showcase each of the levels, as well as the different Mario progressions throughout the game.  I started with the first level on my pointer with the starting Mario.  The second nail is the underwater level showing the bigger Mario, who obviously obtained the mushroom that made him grow :)  Then I included the bonus "Happy Cloud" level you find when you climb the vine with a Mario that found the fire flower and can now throw fireballs :D  The pinky finger just has the winning flag and part of the castle - I did not want to try to cram a lot of detail on my smallest nail.  And finally the thumb is the boss level with Bowser.  For these nails, I used acrylic paint over nail polish, and the brands of polish used are Avon (pointer and pinky), Essie (middle), Sea Lore (ring), and Milani (thumb).  

The only criticisms I have for myself are that I do not like how the first two Marios turned out and I feel I should have spent more time fine-tuning the little details.  I also do not like that Bowser would not be that big in that level of the game.  I had to paint him bigger so details could be shown on him, but he was added after I painted the background.  Lesson learned for next time :)

I hope you all enjoyed this nail art! Thank you so much for participating in my You-Pick-My-Art events :D  The next one will be this Friday!  Have a great Monday <3

Polish Post: Model City's Neon Collection - Swatches, Review, and Art

A few weeks ago, the indie brand Model City Polish released a gorgeous line of neons, and I got my hands on a set the moment they became available!  No really, the actual moment - I was sitting in my kids' room, waiting for them to fall completely asleep for their nap, with my phone hidden under their bed, constantly hitting the "refresh" button until the set showed "available" on her site. :P  What can I say, the colors are amazing!!  I had to have them!

I want to warn you all - this post is quite picture heavy.  I swatched each of the 5 colors, and created some awesome nail art using all of them.  Be prepared for some neon goodness!  Let's start with "Sparks:"

Outdoors

Indoors

Sparks has a beautiful golden shimmer to it in the sunlight, and is such a stunning orange.  It makes a neon statement without being obnoxious :)

I'll go ahead and tell you that every one of her neons went on like a dream!  Smooth, no goopyness, dried incredibly fast to a satin finish.  Some of the colors are a little thicker, so make sure the first coat is completely dry before applying the next, and give it a little time after you are done before you do anything that could damage the polish.  There's really nothing negative I could find about the polish.  The colors that are thinner than the others will require more coats to achieve opacity, or a solid base color underneath.  I am wearing 3 coats for each polish with a topcoat to make it shine.  

Next we have "Hot Pink Barbie:"

Outdoors

Inside

I think I've mentioned before that, in general, I do not care for most shades of pink, especially hot pinks.  That being said, when I saw this color, I immediately fell in love, and even shocked myself when I found I wanted to purchase it!  I love it because it's not just your average hot pink - this hot pink has a beautiful bluish/purple shimmer in the sunlight.  It is lovely!!! Perfect for summer!

Then we have my absolute favorite of the 5 - "Electric Lemonade:"

Outdoors

Indoors

I don't really think I need to say much about this polish.  I mean, just look at it!!!  *Drools*  The most beautiful of the bunch.  Love love love it!

Next up is "Purple Dragon:"

Outdoors

Indoors

Purple Dragon is a very unique neon in that it seems to shift colors in the sun from a gorgeous grape purple to an almost aqua blue.  The shimmer adds a great effect to this color.  It is most assuredly one of the best purple neons I have seen yet!

And last, but most certainly not least, is "Green Monster:"

Outdoors

Indoors

Green Monster is a jaw-dropping green with a gold/light green sparkly shimmer in the sunlight.  This color is so eye catching!  Green is already one of my favorite colors, and now I love it even more ^_^

I know it sounds like a gushy post, but truth be told, it is hard to find anything negative about Model City Polish.  Her brand is one of the best quality brands I've come across in the world of indie nail polish.  It's not just her nail polish that has me sold, it is also her fantastic customer service, as well as her lightning fast shipping!  I believe I got a shipping confirmation and tracking number the same evening I placed this order.  She is GOOD!

Here are some links for you of her site and social pages:

Facebook:  Here

Shop: Here

Instagram:  Here

She has a Limited Edition red wine colored holographic polish in her shop currently called "Pour Me Another" that I snagged and will have a swatch of in the near future on my own Facebook Page.  It is a stunner!  I suggest grabbing one before they are all gone!

Now as I stated earlier, I have some nail art for you!  Green Monster took me back to my childhood, and I felt I needed to re-create that memory using these awesome neons.  Behold!

Eh?  Eh?  Who here's an old-school TMNT fan??  My brother was a much bigger one than me, but I still remember the show, and the cool toys my brother had that he let me play with.  LOVE Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - we will just pretend that terrible recently-released film claiming to be TMNT doesn't exist :P

Hope you enjoyed this polish post!  Stay tuned - on Monday I will have the second You-Pick-My-Art up on the blog!  Have a great weekend :)

Polish Post: ILNP "Princess Diaries," "Grapalicious," and "Washing Ashore" Pics and Review

A bit late in posting this, but I've been spending the morning with my kids :)  When they want to actually play or read, and not just jump on and run into me, it's a rare occasion and I take full advantage :D

Today's post is a bit of a tease for you.  A few weeks ago, the brand I Love Nail Polish had a sale on their clearance section, most of which were colors they were discontinuing.  Three of those colors I will be showing you today, and while they may be discontinued and out of stock, they have so many colors on their site that you can easily find one that is very, very close to them.  In fact, I have already done that for you, and will provide links with each polish :)  First up, "Princess Diaries:"

Outdoors

 Shade

I love how Victorian "Princess Diaries" is on its own - that is actually what drew me to the polish originally.  The rose color is very ladylike, and I really like that it shows up brilliantly in the sun with it's holographic effect.  Application was perfect, as it has always been with all ILNP polishes I have used, and this color was opaque after 2 coats.  It dries with a gloss, though I added a topcoat in the photos above.  So, if you like this color, Cutie Pop is a good substitute.  It is not as rosy, and is a leans a little more pink, but it is very close.

Next up is "Grapalicious:"

Outdoors

Shade

"Grapalicious is my absolute favorite of the three DC colors I bought.  It's that perfect blurple color with an amazing holo in the sunlight.  Absolutely gorgeous!!  Same application as Princess Diaries, and I did NOT add a topcoat in the pictures above so I could show you how glossy it is on its own.  A good substitute for Grapalicious would be Purple Plasma.  Purple Plasma has no blue, but it is sooooo close to this one, and is just as stunning in the holographic effect - I know because I own Purple Plasma, too :P  

Last up is "Washing Ashore:"

Outdoors

 Shade

Washing Ashore is one of those colors I ordered that looks NOTHING like the photo on the website.  Now I had read the reviews, and some of them stated it looked different from the photo, but I wanted to order it anyway, anticipating it would be slightly different, but knowing it would still be beautiful.  And it is!  It is a really pretty color!  But looks absolutely nothing like the photo, at all.  I have to wonder if part of the reason it is a DC is because of a bad batch of formula that screwed up the polish.  Who knows.  Luckily, I like the color, but now I know next time that if a review says it doesn't look like the photo, then it REALLY won't look like it at all. 

As far as specifics, the application was great, and the polish dried really quickly!  Opaque after 2 coats, dried to a semi-satin finish, so I added a topcoat to bring out the metallic shine.  A great dupe for this would be Reminisce, another polish I own, and would be the multichrome that Washing Ashore was supposed to be.

ILNP is a great brand overall, and this is the second time I'm reviewing their polishes (on my own, not asked by the company), because I feel they are good enough to shed the spotlight on.  Just keep in mind that the photos on their website may not hold true to their actual color.  If you want to know what it looks like off the site, go to google image search, and look at swatches of the color.  You will get a much better idea of what the polish really looks like.

Here are some links for you where you can find ILNP products and keep up to date with the company:

Facebook: Here

Website: Here

Instagram: Here

That's all for today!!  Going to spend some time working on some awesome nails to show you on Friday :)  Happy Hump Day!  See you soon <3