Happy Valentine's Day!

Whether you go it solo or are with a loved one, I hope your Valentine's day is awesome!
One of my personal goals for 2014 is to do more nail art and I've done some nifty accent nails here and there but today I'm sharing my first full mani where I used a few different techniques to achieve the look.

When I set out to do this nail art, the first inspiration that popped in my mind was the Floral Grunge mani that Missy from Gnarly Nails did last year in April. It was so well received by her readers, that she wrote a tutorial to show how to do it! I've often thought of that mani and how beautiful it was and so here's my take using some of the same techniques she used.




The base color is a PR Sample from Glitterdaze Winter collection called Pop-Pink Bubbly which is a very hot pink color. I think its neat how the matte topcoat transforms it into a darker shade. I then stamped it with Vivid Lacquer VL001 plate's plaid design with Konad black and again with Orly Shine. After that I used the heart design with SH Whirlwind White and then sponged on WnW Black Creme for a grunge effect. I let it dry for a bit and then added matte topcoat. Huge thanks to Missy for inspiring me! It was fairly easy and a lot of fun to create!

I created the nail art a few weeks ago so I could have it for today's blog entry so I'm also going to share what I'm wearing today!

How to make a special day more special to me? Add a splash of purple somewhere! Colors By Llarowe's Feelings Whoa Whoa Whoa is that splash of purple. And oh how I love it! The formula is wonderfully opaque and smooth. Not only is it purple, but it has a very vibrant holo rainbow that I'll be enjoying all day! One coat will do, but I used two cause I'm habitual like that. :)




What's on your nails today? Add your image to the inlinkz below!


(Disclosure: The Glitterdaze polish was previously sent for review purposes and then used again with this nail art design)

An InLinkz Link-up

Enchanted January and Lumina Lacquer Dreamlover

I couldn't blog Enchanted's December without doing January next! Its also a perfect base color for Dreamlover from Lumina Lacquer. And so here they are together!

January 2014 was a mystery polish. Chelsea from Enchanted didn't post any photos or descriptions of this polish before it was for sale. A complete mystery! Pretty fun, yet it left me a little unsure of my purchase! I went for it though and I'm glad I did because this one's really pretty!

Its a dark inky blackened teal. It looks navy blue in most lighting - I actually figured out it was teal when I was putting it on and saw the polish running down the inside of the bottle neck with the light shining through. It definitely has a hint of green in it! And where the holo rainbow's color is green, it looks awesome! I did my best to capture it, but really this is one that needs to be seen in person to get the full effect.

Swatches are one coat with topcoat.






I LOVE neon pink matte glitter and this polish fulfills a long time lemming of mine for a neon pink chunky glitter topper (with shapes!) and purple shimmer. Its all that and a bag of chips!

Dreamlover has various sized hex glitters, butterflies, stars and hearts! It might contain other shapes that I haven't pulled out of the bottle yet. Having surprise shapes on the brush is one of the things I love about polishes like this!

This glitter topper is absolutely packed to the brim with glitter and shimmer - I didn't fish at all, in fact I had to put some glitter shapes back in the bottle!
The shimmer. Oh man, the purple shimmer in this polish steals my heart! Just look at it. Isn't it amazing and beautiful? I was able to get a really good macro of the shimmer, a butterfly and a heart - take a look!

Swatches are one coat over EP Jan 2014 with Gelous and topcoat to smooth.





What is your long time lemming that just doesn't seem to exist?

Editing in to add: A reader just informed me that Dreamlover is similar to Enchanted Polish's Life in Plastic. I did some google image searching and from what I see they are similar except that Dreamlover has a few more shapes; butterflies, hearts, stars, hexes and squares, where Life in Plastic has hexes, squares and stars. So if you have been wanting the EP this would make a great alternative! Especially if you love more variety in glitter shapes!

Enchanted December 2013 and My Ten Friends Carbon Based Life Form

My Enchanted Polishes arrived in the mail today while I was at work and I was so excited about them! Jas sent bottle shots to me and I was even more excited about them! When I got home I noticed that December would make the perfect undies color for My Ten Friends Carbon Based Life Form too, which I had not tried out yet, so I just had to see how they layered together!

December 2013 is a beautiful toffee nude color laden with copper shimmer and holographic particles. This was a one coater! I couldn't believe it because most nude colors in my stash require 2 coats. Gorgeous coloring just like coffee with heaps of creamer added in! I just had to share it with you all right away! Just look at all that copper shimmer in the close up bottle macro!







Carbon Based Life From from My Ten Friends has a beautiful celestial purple shimmer inside it amongst holo gold hexes, shreds and micro holo glitters. Its one of the original colors that My Ten Friends launched back in October of 2012. Its held up really well and was a breeze to apply. (Disclosure: While I paid for this polish, I do want to mention that I blog for the brand on occasion)





What are your favorite Enchanted and My Ten Friends polishes?