Polish Post: MTK Design UNRELEASED Polish with Swatches and Review

*PRESS RELEASE*

If you are reading this, then you survived Monday!  Congratulations!  Now you have 6 days to prepare for the next one ;)

Writing up a shorter blog post today.  It is my mother's birthday and I have lots to do before celebrating tonight ^_^  So let's get right on to the polish!

There is a new indie polish company called MTK Design, and they have the prettiest colors in production!  She recently sent minis of her current collection to bloggers/IGers/swatchers for testing and/or reviewing.  I am one of those lucky people, and I got to choose which color!  I chose an adorable pink, mostly because I don't usually dabble with pink and also because it was a really pretty shade.  Take a look at the pictures below:

Outdoors

Shade

This polish color is unnamed so far, and known only to me as "#15."  Well let me tell you, #15 is a pretty little number!  It is a light rosy pink with a pearly sheen to it.  It is on the thicker side of polishes, but not so thick that it is a pain to applicate.  The color is opaque after about 3 coats, and dries very quickly to a semi-satin finish.  I am wearing Digital Nails' "Ain't Nobody Got Time For That" topcoat in the photos.  

It is a darling polish, and definitely a new favorite pink of mine :)  Here are some links for you to keep up to date with her polish releases:

Facebook: Here

Etsy: Here

Instagram: And Here

Check her out, give her some Facebook "like" love and an IG follow :)

That's all for today!  Going to work on some more art for you in the next day or two.  To give you a hint: it will be way more amazing then the pathetic movie re-make that just released ;)  See you soon <3

Polish Post: Glitter Gal "Brain Freeze" Swatches, Review, and Art

I hope everybody had a great weekend!  I can't believe it's Monday already.  I got next to nothing productive done this weekend because I was suddenly possessed by a lazy sloth on Saturday morning.  We just exorcised it out of me last night.  Little bugger.

I did manage to get my nail art done from the You-Pick-My-Art last Friday!!  Before I do The Reveal, I wanted to give you a quick swatch and review of the base polish I used by the indie company Glitter Gal.  The color is called "Brain Freeze" - check out some pics below:

Outdoors

Shade

Brain Freeze is a stunning black with a linear holographic effect.  It is just WOW!!  I didn't expect the huge amount of holo goodness when I applied it.  Out of direct sunlight, it is still a beautiful color, and my FATHER actually told me that he really liked it!!  Dang, that's a good polish :)  Application was nice and smooth, color was opaque after 2 coats, and it dried pretty dang fast!  I used the amazing topcoat from Digital Nails called "Ain't Nobody Got Time For That" and I will never use another topcoat again.  This stuff is the bomb.  End of story.

Wear time is phenomenal - I put the polish on Friday evening, and it survived a toddler bath, shower, gardening, dishes, shopping, and child mischief without chipping, and we're on day 3.  HOLY COW!  Amazing :)  I recommend it completely!

While they are from Australia, if you live in the US, you can purchase several of their polishes through Llarowe here.  More links for you:

Facebook: Hello There!

Instagram: Good To See You!

Alright, alright, you've waited long enough!!  :D  Thank you to all who participated in my first You-Pick-My-Art last Friday!  While it was a super close call, the Galaxy Tree won by a mere 1 "like."  Here's the original photo inspiration:

Image Found via Pinterest Here

And here is my interpretation:

Now, I don't hate it.  But it didn't turn out how I wanted it to.  It is still pretty good, just not what I wanted :P  I'm a perfectionist, so anything I do will not be up to par, according to myself.  And let's face it, nothing's going to be better than the original picture - it's just beautiful!!  

I'm going to come up with something a little more fun for this Friday.  It will be a theme 80's and 90's folks will adore, because it will be a flashback to childhood for most of you :D  Stay tuned for it!

Today is the LAST DAY to enter my Giveaway!!  You have until 9pm PST to get your entries in.  After going through and verifying all the entries, I will have Rafflecopter select a random winner, and will make an announcement Tuesday morning of who won!  Yay!! 

Hope you all survive your Monday - see you tomorrow with a post of a brand spankin' new, not yet released polish from a VERY new indie polish maker! See you then <3

Polish Post: Mentality "Marie," "Theia," and "Dyad" Swatches & Review

Praise be, it is FRIDAY!  W00T!  I am so happy for the weekend.  This was a very long week for me - I am happy to see its end ^_^  Let's celebrate with a little Polish Post on a few polishes from the indie company Mentality Nail Polish.  Recently they shifted their product from one site to their main site, and had an uber sale while doing so - like, polishes were less than $4 a bottle with stupid cheap shipping.  I may or may not have gone a little crazay and bought, like, 10 bottles O_o  Ssshhh, don't tell my husband!

We're gonna take a look at 3 of those polishes today!  One of those is "Marie," and she is quite a looker!  Check her out:

Outdoors 

 Indoors 

Eh? Eh? Amiright?  Marie is a beautiful dark teal metallic polish that goes on smooth like butter.  It was super thin, but opaque after 2 coats.  In the sunlight, and even indoors, this color pops!  Dries to a semi-satin finish.  I did not use a topcoat in the photos.  Because it is a metallic, make sure when you are applying it, you brush in the same direction, or you will get streaks.  Unless you want to be a little streaky, then by all means, get your streak on!

...Okay, I'll never say that again, I promise :-/  Let's move on!  Next up is "Theia:"

Outdoors

Indoors

I'm gonna be honest here, because you're a bunch of fine folks.  This polish was a big ole pain in my big momma butt.  It is super freakin' thick.  I mean SUPER thick.  And it does not dry quickly.  In fact, after a good 45 minutes AFTER I applied it WITH a quick-dry topcoat, it was still not dry - you can see a nick in my pointer finger (I left it there on purpose to show you) that happened right before I started taking pictures.  And I only applied 2 coats.  They were as thin as I could get them, but the polish was pretty goopy to work with and still came out a bit thick.  Application aside, I think you can agree this color is absolutely  gorgeous!!  I established a love/hate relationship with this polish.  In the sunlight, it is much more sparkly/shiny than my camera could capture.  There are tons of silver micro flakies mixed in the blue and it really makes this polish amazing.  Clean-up's a pain, but what glitter polish isn't?  I'd say if you find yourself really digging this color, GET IT!  Just expect a little work involved :)

Last, but definitely not least, is "Dyad:"

Outdoors

Indoors

Dyad is a lovely dusty-blue/green metallic with a very subtle scattered holo in the sunlight.  While I certainly love a good in-your-face holo, I also appreciate the more undertoned holos that don't take away from the color and other features of the polish.  I like that this one mostly stands out as a metallic.  The application was almost identical to Marie, though a tad bit thicker.  Not hard to work with, though, and was opaque after 2 coats.  I've had this color on the longest, so I can tell you as far as wear time, it's pretty great.  Still has yet to chip or wear and we're going on day 3!  Definite keeper!

Here are some links for you to keep up and shop with Mentality:

Facebook: Hey There!

Shop: Thanks for Stopping By!

Instagram: Hope You Enjoy!

I had planned on a super awesome nail design to accompany these, however I was on my own with my two young children this week since the Hubs was out of town on business.  I turn into a pumpkin around 9:30 during those weeks, which leaves me pretty much less than an hour every night to do a nail design.  Takes more than an hour on average for me to do something worthy of showing off :P  I do apologize, but now that he is home, I will have the time to come up with more amazing designs next week!

As far as this weekend, though, I need YOUR help in deciding what to paint next!!  I have decided that (most) every Friday, I will be posting up 3 pictures on my Facebook Page as inspiration for my nail design I will do that weekend.  YOU get to vote via "likes" on which one you want to see me recreate!  First set is up TODAY!!  :D

Also, don't forget about that sweet Giveaway I've got going on for the next 3 days :)  Have a great Friday, and an amazing weekend!!! <3

Marbles for Polish!

It is a very grey, overcast day here in Phoenix, which is actually a welcome relief from the blazing hot sun we usually have right now.  However, it is a nail polish blogger's nightmare when she/he plans to take pictures and do a polish post, but cannot take pictures outside that will represent the color/effect :(  So I'll give you a short and sweet "filler post" until I can give you a better one tomorrow! :D

Over the weekend I entered a nail art contest by the indie brand Marbles For Polish.  The theme was Marbles (shocker I know :P )!  Now there is a specific type of design called a water marble that is very popular in the nail art community.  It is done by dripping small drops of nail polish in a cup of water, letting the polish spread out, then taking a toothpick and swirling the colors around in a marbled-like pattern.  You then dip your finger onto the design and clean up all the mess around your fingernail.  Et voila!  A water marble pattern.  I have tried this style about 6 different times all with a disastrous outcome, so I'm afraid I have no pictures of mine to show you of that design.  However if you do a google image search for "water marble nails," you'll see what I'm taking about.

Anywho, since I cannot do a water marble for the life of me, I took the theme literally, and painted a game of marbles onto my nails :)  My brother and I used to play when we were little, and I remember he had two sets - one with clear marbles that had swirls of colors, and one that was a pale blue with swirls of colors - and I had one set of solid white marbles with yellow, red, and dark blue swirls.  I used those as inspiration for the nail art.  Here's a picture of the final product:

I am pleased to say that I won!  There was a 1st place prize and two runner-up prizes.  There were a LOT of other really amazing water marble entries - I really was sure I wasn't going to win.  I am still pretty shocked!  I need to work on my confidence with my nail art :P

That's all for today's post!  Short and sweet :)  Don't forget to enter my Giveaway if you haven't already!  There are just over 4 days left, and only 24 entries so far!  

Have a great day, all! <3

Polish Post: Reverie Nail Lacquer "Orchid" and "Mermaid Scales" Swatches and Review

So it's Hump Day (every time I say that phrase in my head it sounds like that obnoxious camel from the Geico commercial).  I am currently running on a total of 10 hours of sleep over the past two nights.  Pretty sure my young ones are trying to kill me.  Either that, or they are just going through a phase of which they will grow out...eventually.

I dunno...sure feels like they're trying to kill me.  Obviously, I need more coffee.

Before I go get my fourth cup, let me show you some pictures of two polishes by the indie company Reverie Nail Lacquer (formerly known as Two Gypsies).  The first is called "Orchid:"

Outdoors in Direct Sunlight

Indoors Out of Direct Sunlight

Orchid is such a lovely purple/pink shade with a golden sheen at certain angles, and a pretty, subtle holo in the sunlight.  It is a beautiful, gentle color that applied very smoothly and dried fairly quickly.  It is very thin, and would take close to 4-5 coats to be completely opaque.  I am wearing 3 in the photos above.  The wear is great, as well, as I had it on for 3 days and after two toddler baths, watering plants outside, and various house chores the polish never chipped or wore off.  I love a tough polish!  

The second color is my favorite of the two I ordered, and it is called "Mermaid Scales."  Check it out:

Outdoors in Direct Sunlight

Indoors Out of Sunlight

Mermaid Scales is sooooo much more sparkly than any of my photos could capture.  I am seriously blown away by how much sparkle punch this polish packs (ooh, check out that alliteration!).  All sorts of iridescent colors and holo glitters pop in the sunlight, and out of sunlight, there are so many different shades and blue hues, and one particular blue sparkle that really stands out.  It is just a gorgeous glitter polish!!  Mermaid Scales is pretty thick, so I would suggest layering it out in thin layers rather than slathering it on, because you will be waiting forever for your nails to dry.  I am wearing 3 thin coats over Orchid, and I am pleased with that amount of sparkle.  Wear time was the same for this polish as it was for Orchid, which is impressive since most glitters I've dealt with start to chip off in chunks after about a day.  That could very well be a possibility with this polish, however, if you wear it on its own - since I have it over another polish, I can't tell you for sure it won't chip.  Just keep that in mind :)

All in all these polishes are great, and I have found another fantastic indie company to support ^_^  Here are some links for you so you can enjoy their product, too!

Facebook: Right Here

Etsy: Pick Me!

Instagram: Me, Too!

Just a friendly reminder that my Giveaway is going on right now with 5 days left.  You should head on over an enter now!  

Hope you all have a great Wednesday!!  :D

100 Fans Giveaway!!

I promised a giveaway once I reached 100 fans, so I am delivering!!  Winner gets pick of a $25 gift card to either Amazon or Llarowe.  The rafflecopter will run one week, so the last day to enter will be Tuesday, July 22nd (one of the best days of the year - my mom's birthday!).  You will have several opportunities to earn entries, including several you can do daily to earn extra entries!

A few rules for you before we get started: shares to "giveaway only" accounts will be disqualified (and yes, I will be checking); and if the winner unlikes my page after winning, they will be banned, and their name submitted to a group that lists people who do that sort of thing, so other nail/blog/beauty page admins can check.  Also, the Amazon giftcard is open to the US ONLY, since it is a tangible giftcard that would be mailed directly.  Sorry for the inconvenience :(

Good luck to all, have fun, and thanks so much for your support!! <3


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Polish Post: Lilypad Lacquer "Golden Sea" and "Black Pearl" Swatches, Review, and Nail Art

Welp, it's Monday again.  Yuck.  Not much I can really say to redeem that fact, but I can attempt to brighten your Monday a bit with some pics of very lovely indie polishes by Lilypad Lacquer :D  I also did a little nail art, which I will show you at the end.  First, check out these swatches of "Golden Sea":

Outdoors in Direct Sunlight

Indoors Out of Direct Sunlight

Gorgeous, am I right?  Golden Sea is such a light and airy gold/blue color - very delicate and ladylike.  It's not too in-your-face with the shimmer and subtle holo.  It is the perfect polish to wear when you are looking for something a little more reserved.  The application was smooth, and took 2 coats to achieve complete opacity.  Because it is more of a chrome, streaks can show up during application, so just make sure you are brushing in the same direction, and you will be dandy :)  The wear time was great!  Survived two toddler baths, a shower, gardening, and playtime with no or wearing at the nail tips.  Hooray!! I love a good durable polish!

Next up is "Black Pearl":

Outdoors in Direct Sunlight

 Macro

Indoors Out of Direct Sunlight

I'd be a fibber if I told you a part of me didn't buy Black Pearl because the name reminded me of Captain Jack Sparrow's ship in Pirates of the Caribbean.  I sure did, and the other part of me bought it because it is a stunner!  It is a very brilliant, deep purple/black holo.  When in the sunlight, it is blindingly colorful!  Opaque after 2 coats, same wear time as Golden Sea - the only complaint I have is how distracting it is!  Simply beautiful, and a must-have for all you fellow holo-freaks.

Here are some linkages for you to keep up with Lilypad Lacquer:

Facebook: Here

US Shop via Llarowe: Oh Here!

Instagram: Click Me!!

And finally, the nail art!  I had this idea in my head for a few days, and after I recently received my first polishes from Lilypad Lacquer, I knew they would both be the perfect "backdrop."  So here it is: "Opposites Attract" :D

This design took me about half of Saving Mr. Banks (roughly an hour and a half) to paint.  I am happy with most of how it turned out, only disappointed in minor details.  Overall, I'm pleased with it, and I hope you are, too!  This is acrylic paint over Golden Sea and Black Pearl, and everything is hand painted.

That's all for today's post.  Hopefully I will have something for you tomorrow, but I can't make any promises - got the kids to handle all by myself.  We'll see if I still have all my hair by the end of the day.

Have a lovely Monday!!