Shimmer Polish - Lucie

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Hello again!

I have another Shimmer Polish beauty for you today. This one is named Lucie.

Lucie is stunning! It's a mix of fine silver and red glitters! It's such a gorgeous and delicate combo! The swatch above shows 2 thin coats of Lucie over Barry M Silver Foil. For the accent nail, I used red rhinestones and placed some silver micro beads between the stones and painted the zebra print using acrylic paint.  

Shimmer Polish can be purchased directly through Shimmer's website or through her Etsy store. Each Shimmer Polish shade sells for $12 a bottle + shipping. Worldwide shipping is available.

 Thanks for reading!

Shimmer - Nichole

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This week I'll be showing you some more Shimmer swatches. On this first day of the Shimmer Polish swatch week, I'd like you to meet Nichole:

Polishes used: KIKO #336 Electric Blue, China Glaze White Out, Zoya Sooki 

Nichole has loads of red, silver and blue hex of many sizes in a clear base. Application is great and the glitters lay smooth on the nails. The swatch above shows a single coat of Nichole over China Glaze White Out. For full opacity, 2 coats will do! 

Shimmer Polish can be purchased directly through Shimmer's website or through her Etsy store. Each Shimmer Polish shade sells for $12 a bottle + shipping. Worldwide shipping is available.

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Lush Lacquer Neons [Picture Heavy!!!]

Hi everyone,

Since last Saturday was officially the last day of summer, I'd like to start Fall by saying good-bye to Summer with these super gorgeous neon glitter polishes by Lush Lacquer.

Starting with Freckles, which is a mix of neon small hexes in the colors: pink, green, purple, orange, yellow and blue. The base is clear, so you can wear it over any color! For the swatch below I applied 1 coat of Freckles over China Glaze White Out.

And here's a macro bottle shot of Freckles:

And you know what is even more awesome?! The glitters glow under UV light!!!! 

Here's a bottle shot under UV light. Awesome, isn't it?

This next beauty is Clowning Around. I think it's the most popular Lush Lacquer neon shade. It's a sister polish to Freckles. It has the same colors of neon glitters, but in larger sizes. In the swatch below I'm wearing 1 coat of Clowning Around over China Glaze White Out.

Here's a macro bottle shot of Clowning Around:

And this one, like all neon colors, glows under UV light too!!!!

And another stunning bottle shot under UV light:

And last but not least, Haywire:

Haywire has the same mix of neon glitters as Clowning Around plus a bunch of neon bars as well! The base is white, and it'll take you at least 2 coats to get full opacity. In the swatch above I only applied 2 coats.

Here's a macro bottle shot:

This too glows under UV light!

And finally a bottle shot under UV light:

For the gradient I had on my ring finger, I used 3 of the China Glaze's Poolside collection neon shades: Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, Pool Party and Towel Boy Toy.

I hope you like them as much as I do!

Thanks for reading!!! 

[Review] BornPrettyStore Studs

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Hello again my lovelies!

I'd like to show you two more nail art items I received from Born Pretty Store for review. 

The first item is this awesome wheel containing approximately 400 pieces of 2mm studs in 6 pastel colors and 2 different shapes: squares and rounds. 

The 2nd item is this other wheel containing only 3mm square studs in 12 different pastel and neon shades. There are approximately 260 pieces in this wheel. 

These studs are pretty awesome and there's a multitude of designs you can create with them! The application is simple! Just as with rhinestones, you simply add some clear polish or topcoat on your nail and place the studs with the help of a dotting tool or any other tool of your choice. I personally don't like applying top coat over the studs. So I just make sure the studs are properly attached to my nails and I leave them just like that.

These studs can be purchased at BornPrettyStore.com for $7.59 each wheel. Besides, they offer FREE WORLDWIDE shipping! If you use my coupon code AA7J61 you get a 10% off of your entire purchase!

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Pokémon

Hello again!

Last week the super talented @RachelSequoia invited me to join her and @LexieJade to create a Bestie Triplet Pokémon mani. The idea was that each one of us would create a different Pokémon mani. So here's the design I created:

I must say Pokémon is not really my generation, so I had to Google some Pokémon stuff and I asked my friend for help. I found this super cute drawing of Vulpix and Cubone, which I found perfect for the challenge! 

Photo credit: Ximerika

Here are all three designs:

Mix & Match: Denim, Gradient and Leopard Print

Hi everyone,

I'd like to share with you another denim mani I did for a contest on IG. 

For this mani I applied that same denim technique I showed you before in this tutorial. And here's the tutorial for the gradient nails and leopard print:

1. Paint your nails with a white polish and let it fully dry;

2. Apply striping tape diagonally (or any way you like) to your nails;

3. Apply the pastel nail polishes directly onto the sponge. The polishes I used are Lime Crime Once in a Blue Mousse, Crema de Limon and Parfait Day;

4. Dab the sponge over your nails.

5. Remove the striping tape and let your gradient dry and add some dots of neon polish on one of the sides of the stripes. The dots don't have to be perfect. The polishes used here are China Glaze Towel Boy Toy, Kiwi Cool-ada and Pool Party;

6. With the brush and the black acrylic paint, outline the neon dots to create the leopard print. Apply top coat and voilà! 

Thanks for reading!

Denim Tutorial

Hi my lovelies, 

Remember my denim nails?! I received a lot of requests to make a tutorial on how to create that denim look. A few days ago I shared the tutorial on my Instagram and today I'd like to share them here too, so those of you who are not on Instagram can also learn how to create your own denim nails. 

1. You'll need: a dark blue nail polish (I used Color Club Blue-topia), a white nail polish (I used @chinaglazeofficial White Out) and a piece of texturized fabric. 

2. Apply one or two coats of your dark blue polish. You'll need to work fast from here on, so I recommend you do one nail at a time. 

3. Apply the white nail polish on the texturized fabric. 

4. Press the fabric over your nail while the blue polish is still tacky. Apply gentle pressure and peel it off slowly. 

5. If you want to have a texturized denim look, just let it dry and you're done. 

6. Otherwise, apply a matte top coat to your nails. Please note that this step will smooth out the texture. Decorate it as you wish. Here I used gold acrylic paint and metal studs to create the pocket. You could also apply a zipper water decal like I did on my original Denim Nail post. 

I hope you like it and if you decide to create your own denim nails, please share them with me! I'd love to see them! :) 

Thanks for reading!

African Sunset version 2.0

Hi everyone,

I have decided to recreate an old favorite nail art of mine - the African Sunset, so I could enter an instagram contest hosted by @stylish_mom. So I came up with the African Sunset version 2.0.

I used a couple of shades of red, orange and yellow to create a gradient for the sunset background. Then I freehand painted the animals and trees using black acrylic paint.

I did this version slightly different from the previous one. I painted the same animals - the giraffe and the elephant, but two of each this time. I kinda like this version a little more than the first one. :-) What do you think?

I hope you all liked it!

Thanks for reading!

Happy Birthday Natalia!

Hi everyone,

today is the birthday of the awesome Natalia from @cats_n_nails and to celebrate it, she's holding a Birthday Blog Nail Party! So head on over to her blog and check the party out!

This is the mani I did for her nail party!

Happy birthday and have a wonderful day Natalia!!! XOXO

[Review] Born Pretty Store Round Glitter

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Hello my dear readers,

BornPrettyStore sent me a set of 12 color round glitter to review, which I'd like to show you.

Polish used:
China Glaze - White Out (2 coats)

The glitter set consist of 12 different colors of round glitter (glequin) and they come in 12 small round containers, just like you see in the picture below.

Application is very simple. You can use a toothpick or a dotting tool dipped in clear polish, so it's tacky and will stick to the glequins. Then apply the glequins, one by one, onto the nail while the polish is still wet. You can also use this wax pencil to apply the glequins. I personally prefer using the wax pencil over the toothpick/dotting tool. When I use the toothpick/dotting tool, I always end up having a little residue of clear polish on the glequin surface. It's not a big deal, but if you look close enough, you'll see the polish residue on your glequins. This does not happen when I use the wax pencil.

 This set of 12 round glitters can be purchased at BornPrettyStore.com for $7.60 and shipping is FREE WORLDWIDE! If you use my coupon code AA7J61 you get a 10% off of your entire purchase!

I hope you like it and thanks for reading!

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[Review] Born Pretty Store Zipper Water Decal

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Hello again my lovely readers,

I received a sheet of zipper water decals from BornPrettyStore.com to review, which I used to create the denim design you see below.

This denim design was inspired by CopyThatCopyCat's Denim Zipper Nails. Later I applied some matte top coat, but it kind of flattened the texture and smudged the colors a bit. But I still like it a lot.

Polishes used:
China Glaze - White Out (ring finger)
Color Club - Blue-Topia (1 coat)
Acrylic Paint (gold sticht)

The zipper water decals come in a sheet like this:

They are very easy to apply:
1. Remove the plastic protective foil
2. Cut the decal you want to use
3. Dunk it in water for about 10 - 20 seconds
4. Slide the decal off and with the help of tweezers, apply it on your nail
5. Apply to coat to seal in your design.
Voilà! It's that simple!

You can purchase these water decals at BornPrettyStore.com for $2.99 and shipping is FREE WORLDWIDE! If you use my coupon code AA7J61 you get a 10% off of your entire purchase!

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Valentine's Nails

Hi everyone,

I know this post is quite late, but I want to show you anyways what I had on my nails on Valentine's Day.

This was the first mani I did a few days before Valentine's.

The accent nail didn't end up exactly how I planned, but most of the mani's I do don't quite end up the way I first planned them anyway. 

So on Valentine's day itself, I gave it another try and did another mani to match my outfit for the evening. :)

This mani was pretty much as I wanted it to be! Finally! :p I just wished the dark red polish heart would look dark red instead of almost black. But fine, it was all about the contrast anyway.

Thanks for reading and I wish you all a nice week!

Saran(Cling) Wrap Technique

Hi everyone,

this is actually the first time that I'm trying the saran/cling wrap technique. It's actually very easy to do and the result is quite interesting. See it for yourself! :)

I've had this mani for about 3 - 4 days and I'm not bored with it yet. But to change the looks a bit, I topped it with China Glaze Matte Magic.

If you don't know how this technique works, just google it or check youtube for some tutorials.

Polishes used:
Deborah Lippmann - Let's Hear It For The Boy
a England - Tristam

Glitter...Glitter...Glitter...

I don't know how many times I'll say this: I can't get enough of glitters! Every time the awesome indie polish makers restock their shops, my wallet cries but I smile! :D

Phoenix was the latest addition to my indie polish stash (more to come in the mail soon)....

It's so beautiful and packed with glitter!

Polishes used:
China Glaze Papaya Punch (2 coats)
Pretty & Polished Phoenix (1 coat)

Dollish Polish - Dino-mite Yoshi

TGIF!!!

And I have another indie polish brand to feature on my blog! Today it's Dollish Polish's turn! I was stalking her website on the Super Mario Bros Collection's release date, because I had to have some of them! I was short of cash so I only bought 4 polishes out of the 8.

Here's Dino-mite Yoshi:

Just to make it a little more fun, I painted Yoshi on my ring finger using acrylic paint. My original idea was to paint his entire body, but it sketched it first on a piece of paper and I thought there was going to be too much detail for such a tiny thing, way beyond my painting skills. So just his head will do for now! :-)

Oh btw, I used my DIY Peel Off Base Coat for this mani too.

Polishes used:
China Glaze - Electric Pineapple (2 coats)
Dollish Polish - Dino-mite Yoshi (1 thick coat)

Multi-Colored Fish Eggs

Hello again everybody,

I'm back today with another fish egg manicure. If you recall my last fish egg mani post, I matched the color of the micro beads with my nail polish. This time, I have something more colorful to show you guys.

These beads are so pretty! They're a mix of red, blue, green, silver, gold, pink, black and purple. I bought them from the same etsy shop as the previous ones. 

Here's another closeup so you can see all the beautiful colors in the mix:

I like this fish egg mani just as much as the previous one. I still have some more beads to try. So I'll definitely be coming back with more! Next time I'll try a full mani instead of an accent nail. 

Polish used:

China Glaze Traffic Jam

A Year's Challenge - Week 19: Floral Mani

Hi everybody,

Today I have another mani of the Year's Challenge series. I was browsing the FatBoy website the other day and came across this very cool floral design:

Image source: fatboy.com

First thing that came into my mind was: "Hey! That'd look really cool on my nails!!!" So here's how it looks on my nails:

Gosh! I really love this blue! Of all my blue polishes, Kiko 336 is, without any doubt, my favorite!

Polishes used:

Misa Heaven White

Kiko 336

Kiko 341

China Glaze Moody Blue

Orly Liquid Vinyl

Have a wonderful weekend!

A Year's Challenge - Week 15: Easter Mani

Hi everybody,

I hope you all had a very happy Easter! Did the Easter bunny bring you lots of eggs? ;-P

My post today will be very short since it's past midnight here in the Netherlands. My mani for this week's challenge wasn't exactly what I had in mind. Oh, wait! You might be thinking you've heard this before... Huh...Yeah... that's right! I've been changing my mind very often lately. I'm usually full of ideas, then I forget what I wanted and when I finally think I know what I want, I change my mind about it. Very complicated, this mind of mine...

Anyway, I wanted to paint a bunny or a chick, but I ended up just painting my nails as if I were painting easter eggs. Nothing fancy, not a lot of effort in it, just having fun with nail polish! :-)

A Year's Challenge - Week 13: Ruffian Mani

Hi everybody,

I'm finally back! I had a great time skiing in Austria and after that I went to Germany to help my friend move to his new apartment. I didn't have a lot of nail stuff with me, so I had to skip 2 weeks of the Year's Challenge. :-(

So today I have a ruffian mani for you! This is actually the 3rd time I'm doing the exact same mani, but I love the color combi so much that I don't get bored of it. I used Kiko 336 Blu Elettrico and China Glaze Millenium. 

I hope you guys like it as much as I do! :-) Oh don't forget to enter my giveaway, it ends tomorrow!