12 Days of Christmas Nail Art: Silver & Gold Glitter

I know, I KNOW!  I'm super far behind.  Like, miles behind this challenge >.<  I have good reasons though - the Whooping Cough plague has torn through my house like a sniffly, hacking tornado, and after spending three nights on a couch holding a bucket for my eldest as he puked, and helping my youngest get back to sleep after waking up a few times from coughing, it finally reared it's nasty head on me.  So, my time's been a bit occupied.

But!  I am on the up-and-up, and I plan to go back and finish out the designs I've missed thus far!  I'll start by showing you my design from December 6th's prompt:

For the base, I used the new Frosty the Snowborg by Pretty Serious Cosmetics for the base in this mani.

For the gold glitter gradient and accent nail, I used Empire from ILNP's new Holiday Collection.

For the accent nail, I also wanted to use one of my new Snowflake holiday charms from Daily Charme.  I think it added a really nice touch to the mani overall ^_^

I'm very pleased with how this mani turned out - I actually left it on for a few days (sans the charm) because it was so pretty and sparkly :D

Be sure to check out the other gorgeous silver and gold manis from this prompt!!  Let me know what you think about this one in the comments <3

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An InLinkz Link-up

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: 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

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!!