Polish Post: Emerald & Ash "Cherenkov Radiation Oops" Swatches, Review, and Nail Art

Usually I am just as big a fan of Mondays as everyone else, but today, I'm actually happy it is here!  My brother in law is visiting for just under a week, and he hasn't seen his two nephews for about 2 years :D  I am looking forward to my kids spending time with their Uncle - he's a pretty fun guy!

Today, I have the Avengers Minions nail art from last Friday's You-Pick-My-Art, but first I want to share with you some swatches of the background color I used.  The polish is by Emerald & Ash and is actually an "oops" color - it pulled a little more blue than the company intended.  It is called "Cherenkov Radiation Oops" - check it out!

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I have never been happier for a company to "oops" as I have with this polish!  I did not expect the incredibly vibrant blue I received when I ordered it!  The deep blue has a lovely subtle scattered holo in the sunlight.  It dries a bit flat, so if you want that holo to pop and the polish to shine, just add a nice topcoat, as I have in the photos above.  I used 2 coats, though you can still make out the whites of my nails in the sun.  Three coats ought to bring the polish to full opacity.  The formula is a little on the thick side, as well, so be easy with each added layer, and make sure each is dry before adding another.  This polish wears well, and shows no signs of damage or worn tips till about day 3.

The Emerald & Ash website is showing the Cherenkov Radiation Oops is still available - could be one bottle, could be a few.  If you want this beauty, get it now!

Alright, the moment you've all been waiting for, and the art that took four and a half hours of my life yesterday (totally worth it!): The Avengers Minions - saving the world one banana at a time!

The Back Widow got cropped due to lack of space - she's not really my favorite anyway :P  I based this design around the movie poster that was released, and decided to change the Avengers "A" to an "M" for Minions :)  I'm pretty pleased with how this turned out - it was tough putting fine details into their uniforms, so I didn't focus too much on those, and focused more on the overall look of the Minions.

Which Avengers Minion is your favorite?? :D  Have a great Monday, everyone!

*Note: Links I provide are not affiliate (i.e. I do not get a kickback if you click on the links in my blog). I simply provide them for your convenience :)

It Only Takes a Moment

I would have loved to put more detail into these nails, but truth be told, I simply ran out of time this weekend :(  Saturday I felt like I was barely home because I was out and about running errands all day, and Sunday was the husband's birthday.  By the time I sat down last night to get started, it was already 7pm.  So, that being said, here is how my You-Pick-My-Art Wall-E themed nails turned out:

I had grand plans to put Mo on my pinky nail and the Axiom on my thumb, but after spending 4 hours on Wall-E, Eve, and the Directive, I decided to call it and head to bed.  The design turned out decently well, though it is definitely not one of my best. I found it very challenging to translate a beautifully done computer-animated character to my nails using acrylic paint.  Wall-E was particularly tough because of all his machinery and the different tones and textures.  I'm still not too thrilled with how he turned out.

But, as I have always said about my art so far - not bad for a first attempt, especially considering I have only recently discovered the art of painting on my nails with acrylic paint.  :)

Thanks for participating in last Friday's You-Pick-My-Art!  What do you want to see for this Friday's theme?

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:"

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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:"

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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:"

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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:"

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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:"

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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 :)