The Untried Challenge: La Bella Vernice

Last year before the holidays, the indie polish brand La Bella Vernice decided to close up shop and get rid of the rest of the product.  She was selling off her polishes at uber cheap prices, so I picked up a few bottles :)  I'm going to show you two of those today!

Here is "Harvest:"

Harvest is a lovely reddish magenta/gold duchrome.  It applied nicely, though streaky so I had to be wary of what direction I was applying.  Dried pretty quickly too - always a plus :)  I like it!!

The other polish has an expletive in its title, so apologies for the French - it is "Shitty Smitty:"

Direct Sunlight in its natural matte state

Direct sunlight with a glossy topcoat

Indoors

I absolutely adore the green of this polish!!!  It dries to a matte finish, which looks beautiful, but you don't see all the holographic glitter in it and the other shines and shimmers unless you add that glossy topcoat.  I love it both ways, and can see myself reaching for this green as my new go-to, especially for St. Paddy's Day!

I did some nail designs with the two polishes together because I loved how they completed each other :D

Now I can cross another two polishes off my untried list!!  :D  What do you think of them?  Do you prefer the matte look or the shiny look of Shitty Smitty?  (Anyone know what that references, if anything?)  

I'll be back tomorrow with one more post to share with you before I head out to ISSE in California this weekend!  See you soon <3

*Press Release*: I, A.M. Custom Color January Duo

***PRESS RELEASE***

Happy Tuesday!! Today I've got some swatches of the upcoming January Duo by I, A.M. Custom Color set to release on the 30th of this month.

This duo is part of a new collection by the creator called "Ashes' Favorites."  This new collection will consist of a new duo every month featuring polishes named after one of her favorite singers, and one of her favorite dancers.  January's duo will also include a shimmery pink chocolate raspberry butterfly-shaped mini lotion bar :)

So let's get to the polishes!

The first polish in this duo is called "Prima Assoluta," named for Alessandra Ferri - the creator's favorite ballerina :)

Prima Assoluta is a beautiful pink jelly full of rainbow micro flakies and glitters.  This polish dried in under five minutes to a lovely shiny finish.  I am wearing three coats in the photos above, with the brand's DiamondPRO topcoat.

The second polish is a thermal called "The Rain," named after the song by Calvin Harris:

Outdoors, Warm State

Transition

 Cold State

  

Indoors, Warm State

 Transition 

Cold State

The rain is a lovely medium blue shade when warm, and a deep, forest green when cold.  The polish is packed with ultra chameleon chrome flakies and is holographic!  It's really quite a stunner!  Opaque in three coats, it also dried in under five minutes to a nice shine.  Again, I am wearing a layer of the DiamondPRO topcoat.

The Ups: Prima Assoluta is the perfect ballerina pink polish, and is really lovely and sparkly in the sun.  Application was super smooth, too, and I love the fast drying time.

The Rain is one of the most beautiful thermals I've seen!  I am personally a fan of blues and greens, so this thermal was pretty much meant for me - especially since it also has chrome flakies and is holographic!  I appreciated the smooth application and quick drying time in this polish, as well.

The Downs:  I had no issues with these polishes - the formula is solid, application is smooth, and quick dry time.  Big two thumbs up from me!

I am very impressed with this brand, and definitely recommend you check them out!  Here are some links for you:

Shop: Here

Facebook: Here

Facebook Fan Group: Here

Instagram: Here

I'll have another post for you next week featuring February's Duo, also set to launch on the 30th.  Have a terrific day!  See you soon <3

*NOTE: Coupon code was provided by I, A.M. Custom Color Cosmetics & Lacquer for a special discount.  This is no way affects my opinion and review of the product.

Challenge Your Nail Art: Favorite Character

Happy Winnie the Pooh Day!!

Today is the final day for this round of Challenge Your Nail Art prompts.  It's a little bittersweet - these were so much fun!!  But all good things must come to an end, and we gotta get prepared for next month's round!

I had more than one favorite character in Winnie the Pooh - I had two: Eeyore and Piglet.  So, I painted them both!

The pointer and pinky fingers are my second attempt at water marbling.  I have a lot of room to improve on that technique, but it is infinitely better than my first go :P  I just wanted to do a marble of white with two shades of pink for Piglet and white with two shades of purple for Eeyore.  Eh, win some, lose some.

I hope you enjoyed my entries for this prompt!!  Have a terrific day - I'll see you soon <3

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Here are the other entries for today's final challenge:

An InLinkz Link-up

Challenge Your Nail Art: The Woods

Went on another lovely hike this morning with my brother this morning :)  Of all the things to find on the mountain, he found - a seashell...  Not a bead, either, because there were no holes - an actual seashell filled with dried mud.

Hmmm...

Anyway!  Today is the next Challenge Your Nail Art prompt for Winnie The Pooh say tomorrow, and the theme is "The Woods."

So, I brainstormed a number of ideas for this theme, but there was one image that stuck out in my mind that I remember from one of the books.  It wasn't exactly "woods" but it was a path Pooh and Christopher Robin were walking along that was lined with trees, and one big, giant tree.  I decided to paint that image :)  Here's what I came up with:

The nitpicker in me can't look at this too long because are a number of little mess-ups I can't look past >.<  Artists - we are our own worst critics :P

I love this image because it is so very endearing, thus why I wanted to paint it.  I loved the sweet relationship between the two, and I love the after-school ruddy-uniform attire of Christopher Robin, with his shirt always untucked and one sock up with the other fallen to his ankle.  It's just so adorable,  and how I remember Winnie the Pooh :)

Be sure to check out the other wonderful designs through the inlinkz below!!  I'll be back tomorrow with the final design - see you soon <3

An InLinkz Link-up

Challenge Your Nail Art: Bees & Honey

It's that time again - another Challenge Your Nail Art prompt!!  This one is a 3-day prompt themed around Winnie the Pooh day on January 18th :D

I remember Winnie the Pooh in my childhood mostly from books and a Sing-a-Long VHS (remember those?).  I never really watched any shows or movies with the little bear, but he was still an endearing character to grow up with :)

I have to admit I was terrified of painting Winnie the Pooh accurately on my nails.  As I painted, I got the outline down just as I wanted it, but I still had the face and its details to hammer out.  Luckily it turned out pretty well!  Here's my design:

I'm getting better at bees :D  I hope you like this design - I'll be back tomorrow with another!  See you soon <3

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Here are some of the other adorable designs from the talented ladies in the Challenge group:

An InLinkz Link-up