Challenge Your Nail Art: Windy Weather

So this prompt was definitely - most definitely - a challenge.

I had *no* idea what I wanted to do.  I had *no* idea had to show windy weather via nail art without it being the typical white swirls and such.  Leaves blowing and trees rustling are images that come to mind with windy weather in FALL, not spring, so that was out of the question for me.  My hubs suggested kites, which was brilliant, and I was going to go with that.  But then I had a flashback to my springs in Washington when all the hot air balloon tours started!  I lived in wine country near Seattle, so there were always TONS of those beautiful and colorful balloons decorating the skies.  So, I went with it ^_^

To my knowledge, it's best to fly these when there's a bit of wind present to help move it along.  Don't quote me on that - I've never flown one :P  But it is a happy memory of mine when I think of windy Spring :)  These were all done freehand over Gothic Gala Lacquers "Spectral Kiss."

Short post today - I hope you are surviving your week!  One more day till the weekend!!  And as Justin Timberlake would say (15+ years ago) - "It's gonna be may!" :D

An InLinkz Link-up

Shinespark Polish: The Heat Collection

***PRESS SAMPLE***

Something amazing is launching today - some jaw-dropping GORGEOUS thermals by Shinespark Polish!!  Oh, you wanna see some swatches?  I suppose I can show you some ;)  These thermals are the "heat" part of this "The Light, The Heat" collection.

*Note: In all photos, polishes are shown in 3 thin coats with HKGirl Glisten & Glow topcoat.  Any art that is present is freehanded by me.

Let's start with "Peacock:"

Peacock is a lovely turquoise/teal metallic polish that shifts from a light teal when warm to a dark teal that flashes green at certain angles when cold.

Next is "Dusk:"

Dusk is a lovely light purple with a blurple shimmer that changes to a deep dark purple when cold.

This next beauty is "Tiger Eye:"

Tiger Eye is a tan/gold metallic that shifts to a dark brown when cold.

Next is "Purple Martin:"

Purple Martin is a light purple metallic with a light blue shimmer that shifts very subtly to a darker purple when cold.

Last up is "Hummingbird:"

Hummingbird is a beautiful light green metallic that shifts to a dark forest green when cold.

The Ups: The application of these polishes was smooth as butter!  They all dried fairly quickly in under 5 minutes with no gooping or pulling of under layers.  The colors are so stunning in both states, and complement each other well.

The Downs:  Not all of the shifts were apparent - Purple Martin's was so subtle I wasn't sure if it had changed until I took a macro of it.  That was the only "issue" I came across with these polishes.

Overall:  I adore these colors!!  I love that they are metallic and rich and they really stand out nicely!  Hummingbird is my favorite of these - the shift is perfection and the greens are just gorgeous!  This collection is very unique and very beautiful!

As I stated in the beginning, the collection launched today along with the solar changing polishes (the "light" half)!  You can purchase the polishes individually at $8 for the 15ml full size or $3.75 for the 5ml mini size HERE.  If you want all the thermals of the collection, you can purchase them for $32.50 for the 15ml full size, and $17.25 for the 5ml mini size HERE.  You can also follow Shinespark polish via Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date with the brand!

What do you think of these polishes?  Any of them stand out most to you?  Will you be picking any up today?

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Polishes provided at special discount for bloggers.  Opinions remain my own and are 100% honest.

Challenge Your Nail Art: April Showers

I'm very happy that this month, the Challenge Your Nail Art group, led by the lovely Jessica of Be Happy and Buy Polish, had a round of prompts based on blue!

I love blue - it's one of my favorite colors ^_^  And I knew instantly what I wanted to do for this first prompt!  You all know how much I adore doing freehand silhouettes, so it's probably no surprise to you that I did that here:

I used Pahlish's "Light Upon the Water" bespoke as the base color, and painted rain streaks using "Jackson" by 77 Nail Lacquer, and "Island Waters" by Gothic Gala Lacquers.

I freehanded the silhouette, and I left it a bit ambiguous on purpose - is it a little girl?  A woman?  A man in a trenchcoat?  A child in a rainslicker?  You decide :)

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An InLinkz Link-up

Stamp One, Stamp All Ten! "Favorite Flower"

I recently joined a nail stamping group on Facebook called "Stamp One, Stamp All Ten!" because I wanted to push and, well, challenge myself to improve on stamping.  I wasn't able to participate in the other challenges this month, but was able to participate in the last one!  The theme for this final prompt for this month is "Inspired by your favorite flower."  I have a number of favorite flowers, but am very limited on what I can stamp due to a small number of stamping plates with flowers on them :P

I settled on a Flowers plate I purchased in a group buy from Ali Express.  There were rose patterns and little flower patterns.  I used "Aunt Beast" by Literary Lacquers for the base color:

I then used white and yellow stamping polish from Moon Nails Supply with the flower images:

 

Yellow roses are my absolute favorite color of rose, and the white flowers are to emulate my favorite garden flower - Alyssum :)

White it's definitely not the prettiest mani I've ever done, I liked having to figure out ways to make the designs work with what plates I have.  I look forward to May's challenges!

What's your favorite nail art style?  Do you favor stamping?

An InLinkz Link-up

Earth Day Nails

Good Day lovelies!

Did an Earth Day mani for a nail art group and completely forgot to share it with you all!  I'm so far behind lately - forget March Madness, I've got April Madness >.<  Good thing the month is almost over.

The prompt for Nail Crazies Unite is "Earth Day," and I did a very simple design:

My intent was to emulate that way Earth looks from space :)  I used "The Phantom and the Fly" by Pahlish for the "water," and "Losing Lime" by Carpe Noctem Cosmetics for the "land."  I watermarbled using clear and white nail polish for the clouds/weather.  Since Earth is 71% water, I did most of my nails in blue ^_^

Did you do anything special for Earth Day?  Any fun manis you created?  

An InLinkz Link-up

Creative Cuticles Nail Polish: Mother's Day Duo

***Press Sample***

Good Afternoon!  Late to post today - been fighting with children and helping to put together a new bed frame for one of them.  It's been a day!

I've got a gorgeous and sweet Mother's Day duo to show you today by Creative Cuticles Nail Polish!

The first polish of the duo is called "Infinite:"

Infinite is a merlot-scented plum/wine colored polish, opaque in 3 coats and dry in under 5 minutes to a glossy finish, shown in the pictures above with no topcoat.

The second polish is called "To Mom:"

Shown over Infinite

To Mom is a rose-scented glitterbomb topper full of pastel pink, peach, yellow, lime green, blue, and purple glitters.  Shown above is one coat over plain white (and Infinite in the last photo).  The polish dries semi-textured, so a nice topcoat would even it out nicely.

The Ups:  These polishes apply super smoothly and dry quickly - a fantastic combination!  And I'm a sucker for scented polishes, so I loved the wonderful Merlot and Rose scents that weren't overpowering or too subtle.

The Downs:  While the scents are not overpowering on their own, if you did want to layer one over the other, the combined Rose/Merlot smell is a bit...off.  I actually got a little headache from the combined smells, thus why you only get a one-nail shot of the two together :P  However, that is the only down to this duo!  EDIT: After speaking with Creative Cuticles, she has informed me she will be offering the duo UNSCENTED as well!  

Overall:  This duo is beautiful!  A nice solid color with a beautiful pastel burst of color to compliment - perfect!  

This duo launches on April 30th on the Creative Cuticles Nail Polish website.  You can also follow updates on the Instagram and Facebook Page.

What do you think of this duo?  Are you a fan of scented polishes?

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Polish provided or swatches and review by CCNP.  Opinion is my own and remains 100% honest.

Leadlighting

I tried out a new (to me) technique last week, and I loved the end result so much, that I didn't take my nail polish off for two and a half days!!!  That's saying something!

This technique is called "Leadlighting" and there's lots of different ways to do it.  The method I used was putting on a white base color using "Baptism" by Octopus Party Nail Lacquer, stamping an image over that using my black MoYou Nails polish and an image from Born Pretty Store plate number 04, as well as an image from one of my Harry Potter HeHe plates.  I then used blue, green, and purple Soap Bubbles (tinted nail polish) by Esmaltes Da Kelly.  Here is the result:

Pardon the air bubbles - damn you, Phoenix heat!!

I loved how this turned out!!  The colors meshed beautifully together and definitely gave it the Peacock feel ^_^  Now that I've done this technique and I know it looks pretty fantastic, I'll most definitely be playing around with it some more!

Have you ever used this technique before?  What do you think of this look?

Press Release: KBShimmer Summer Collection

***Press Release***

Happy Monday to you all!  I've got a press release for you today explaining each of the 3 parts of the massive new Summer collection soon to be released by KBShimmer!!  It's pretty incredible, and your bank account will probably start weeping already by the end of this post ;)

Tempted yet?  Maybe?  Alright, how about these:

Still on the fence?  This should send you over:

I have determined that I only really need one kidney, so I can sell the other one and use the profits to buy these, because they are all AMAZING!!  This is the first time in a very long time that each and every color coming out in this Summer collection is one that I really want!  I have a few of these lovelies I'll be swatching and showing you in the next week or so, so keep your eye out!  

Until then, you can follow the KBShimmer Facebook Page, Fan Group, and Instagram for updates, sneak peaks, and all around fun!  See you soon <3