International Salon & Spa Expo

Last weekend I had the privilege of attending the International Salon & Spa Expo as a member of the Press!

I met a LOT of amazing people, one of whom was a fellow nail blogger who you may be familiar with - Shannon of Seriously Nails!!  She is absolutely fantastic, and was such a joy to spend the first day with!  She helped me in so many ways, too - I am very fortunate we crossed paths ^_^

I figured that this week I will most a few separate posts, featuring products I purchased or received from various companies at the show.  I got looooooooots of goodies that I can't wait to show you!!

And I wanted to. of course, also show you the mani I wore for the expo :D

I used "Baptism" by Octopus Party Nail Lacquer for the beautiful white base, and I topped it with "Cold Fusion" by I Love Nail Polish.  I received a lot of comments about Cold Fusion :D

Keeping this post short today, but I'll have a hefty one for you tomorrow!  I hope your week is going well so far - see you soon <3

Polish Post: I Love Nail Polish "Cold Fusion" & "Supernova" Pics and Revew

It's the last day of 2014!!!  What a year - I started running this year, archery, Taekwondo, and this blog!  I'm hoping to make this coming year even more productive :)

I've been wanting to swatch some of my new multichrome flakies from I Love Nail Polish (ILNP) since I pre-ordered them - they are such stunners!!  I gotta say, I totally love the new bottles, too.  They make the brand look so much more sophisticated - I feel like I have a super high-end polish with these new bottles :)

"Cold Fusion" 

"Supernova"

Out of the five flakies I purchased, I have my two favorites to show you today.  We'll start with "Cold Fusion"

Direct Sunlight

Indoors

Cold Fusion is so very gorgeous, but I found the color shift to be much more subtle.  I'm not sure if it is because I wore it over another blue colored chrome polish by ILNP "Washing Ashore" (discontinued) rather than a neutral base color, like a dark blue or black.  Either way, it is still a beautiful look!!  I'm such a sucker for blues ;)  I love that when applying this, the flakies actually spread out and give nice coverage in just one coat (shown in the photos above).  This would definitely be full-coverage in about 2-3 coats!

The second flakie is called "Supernova":

Direct Sunlight

Indirect Sunlight

I wore Supernova in one coat over "Grapalicious" (another ILNP discontinued color), and I think it looks really great!  Grapalicious is a dark purple holographic polish, so having that as a base with the power of the chrome flakes creates a what I like to call a WOWZER effect :D  The color shifts in this flakie were a lot more apparent, and application was just as easy as Cold Fusion.  I'll be posting a macro video of that effect in motion on my Instagram today, so keep an eye out :)  

These flakies are superb, and I'm so excited to wear the other three!  They are currently in stock and available at the I Love Nail Polish website.  Here are some links for you:

Store: Here

Facebook: Here

Instagram: Here

I hope you have a wonderful final day of 2014!  What are some of your goals for this next year?

*NOTE: Links in this post are NOT affiliate (i.e. I get no kickback when you click on them).  I simply provide them for your convenience :)

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

Toesies I Knowsies

Remember a few posts ago when I had said poor Tuesday doesn't really have a title?  Well, guys, I found one for it - TOES!!!!  Toesie toesie toes toes!!!  I rarely if ever see any kind of blog post with super cute pedicures.  It is probably most likely due to the world's general aversion to bare feet.  I've known a few people who hate feet and the idea of doing anything with feet because they are "gross."  While I agree that yes, there are some gnarly feet out there, I disagree that we should just avoid feet and toes altogether.

Well, I'm BREAKING THE BOUNDARIES!!

I'm gonna do a "Toesies I Knowsies" post every Tuesday of a cute pedicure, I will even model it on my own feet.  The fact is nobody has super beautiful feet - I mean come on, we shove them in socks and shoes and are walking around on them all day.  Hard knock life.  So I'm going to show you my feet!  No shame!  And you can either cringe if you'd like, or you can admire the cute pedicure :)  

So, without further ado, here is the first Toesie Tuesday Pedi!  I used two of I Love Nail Polish's new summer colors - "Purple Plasma" and "Rehab."  These colors are lovely!! They look great in the sunlight when wearing something open-toed, especially flip-flops.  Check them out:

Fully opaque after 2 coats, smooth application, and the polish dried pretty quickly without a quick-dry topcoat.  I love the light holographic sheen to these two colors!  They are just gorgeous!!

I used a dotting tool for the little dots on each toe.  It is a cute, subtle design that helps accentuate how complementary the colors are together, though the turquoise dots did not stand out as much over the dark purple.  

Hope you enjoyed this introductory Toesie Tuesday post!  Watch for another one next Tuesday :)

Polish Post: ILNP - "Sirene" and "Birefringence" Pictures and Review

I love nail polish!!!  I know, that was pretty evident a while ago.  But I do!! So imagine my glee when I found a brand called I Love Nail Polish ( http://www.ilnp.com/ ) that is indie and 3-Free (they do not contain Toluene, Formaldehyde, or Dubutyl Phthalate)!  It was a happy day for me, indeed :)

The nail polish is a little more on the high-end when it comes to pricing, but still falls in that $9-12 a bottle category that I have found most indie polishes charge.  But trust me when I tell you these polishes are worth EVERY PENNY!  I placed my first order with ILNP a few weeks ago and when I got the polish in, I was blown away just by looking at it in its bottle!  After putting the colors on my nails, it's going to be tough wearing any other kind of nail polish. These colors are just beautiful!

ILNP has several different types of polishes, from holographics to jellies.  I purchased one of their multichromes (Sirene) and one of their holographic multichromes (Birefringence).  I gotta tell ya, any picture you see on the ILNP website, and even my own pictures below, will not do these two polishes justice.  At all.  I cannot stress enough how gorgeous the colors are in real life.  Take a look at my photos below:

 Birefringence is on my pointer and pinky fingers; Sirene is on my middle and ring fingers, and my thumb

(what the colors look like indoors)

Now that I am done fawning over the colors, let me tell you more about the polishes.  These two went on very easily - they did not goop-up or get thick as I was applying multiple coats, they did not bubble, and they were not streaky.  After 2 coats, the polish was completely opaque.  They are also very resistant to chipping.  After 3 days (and with no top coat) the polish still hadn't chipped.  All in all, this brand is an excellent brand of polish.  The only complaint I have about the polish is that I only have the two bottles :(  

I highly recommend checking out I Love Nail Polish.  They have a facebook page for their fans here: https://www.facebook.com/ilnpbrand  Give them a "like" and let them know Mom Mrs. and Me sent you ^_^ 

That's it for today's polish post! Got some other nail polish in last week that I will be swatching and reviewing soon - once I have the heart to remove my ILNP polish... ;)  Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of these colors!!