Today's mani: Thanksgiving nails

I finally got a chance to do my nails today! I had to do my Thanksgiving nails since we're traveling tomorrow--hopefully they'll last through Thursday...

I first did a gradient using Deborah Lippmann Just Walk Away Renee and Revlon Stormy Night, then I added some leaf stamps with Revlon Gold Coin. (The stamp patterns are all from Winstonia plate W119.) I really like the look of the gradient; I just wish the smaller leaf patterns had come out more distinctly (I think the problem is that I stamped with a foil polish).

Now I'm in the mood for turkey and cranberries...

I hope all my American readers have a great holiday! I'll be back soon with a giveaway!!


(Pssst...have you stopped by my Etsy shop yet?)

Swatch: I Love Nail Polish Birefringence (H)

The polish in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

It feels good to have a nice mani again! My nails have been acting as guinea pigs for my own polishes a lot lately, so I've had two or three different polishes on at once for the past few days. I trimmed my nails since they're starting to be affected by the dry weather. And I got to try on another new polish!

This is I Love Nail Polish Birefringence (H). It's the same as the earlier Birefringence from the Ultra Chrome collection except it's holographic! It's a metallic that shifts from orange-gold through purple to blue. Soooo mesmerizing... (Note: the blue shift is more green than my camera picked up.)

I Love Nail Polish Birefringence (H). Two coats with Out the Door topcoat.

Are you as dazzled as I am? This definitely matches Mutagen for color-shifting amazingness. The holo effect is linear, but the particles are relatively diffuse. I loved the formula as usual--no bubbles or streaks, and it was thin but not runny.

Grab Birefringence (H) at ilnp.com for $12.50 (12 ml)!


(Psst...have you checked out my shop yet??)

The polish in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Announcing...ALIQUID Lacquer!

Hi everyone! I have a huge announcement for you! This will explain why I haven't been posting quite so much lately...I've been busy creating nail polish!

That's right--I've opened my own shop for indie polish, ALIQUID Lacquer!! I'd been daydreaming about making polish for a long time, but it always seemed like a pipe dream. Then one day I decided to buy some sample pigments and suspension base...and there was no turning back after that!

Let me show you the polishes I've made. The name of my first collection is "Happy Birthday to Me" because my birthday is coming up in a few weeks, and what better way to celebrate than to make some birthday-themed polishes?

ALIQUID Lacquer Make a Wish. Two coats with Out the Door topcoat.

The first one is called Make a Wish. It's a blue-grey creme with red and copper flecks, gold/green flecks, blue flecks, and a green-to-red shimmer. It's subtle but pretty! (opaque in 2-3 coats)

ALIQUID Lacquer Carrot Cake. Two coats with Out the Door topcoat.

#2 is Carrot Cake, named after one of my favorite kinds of cake (our wedding cake was carrot!). It's an orange crelly with copper micro glitter, two sizes of white hex, and green dot glitter. (nearly opaque in 2 coats)

ALIQUID Lacquer Quiet Night In. Three coats with Out the Door topcoat.

Finally we have Quiet Night In. This is a blackened purple jelly with tons of flecks of various sizes and colors (including gold, peach, pink, blue and indigo)! Super sparkly with topcoat! (opaque in 3 coats)

In addition to the three polishes, I'm also selling handmade lip balm. I have perpetually chapped lips, and I've tried every commercial lip balm out there. I've been frustrated by the lack of inexpensive balms that aren't made of petroleum products and other filler chemicals. So I whipped up my own balm using mango butter, beeswax, apricot kernel oil and olive oil! It has a luxurious feel and is long-lasting. It has a vanilla scent that isn't too overpowering.

Please give my shop a look and like my Facebook page! As a thank-you to my faithful readers, you can use the coupon code PARTYTIME to get 10% off your order until December 8 (my birthday!).

Keep an eye out for blogger reviews of my polish and GIVEAWAYS!

Swatch: OPI Silent Stars Go By

I won this polish in a giveaway. All opinions are my own.

Last week I won a giveaway at Shelby Lou Nails! I got a set of three mini OPI Liquid Sands from the Mariah Carey holiday collection. The collection as a whole isn't too exciting to me (do we need that many more red polishes??), but I had my eye on the Liquid Sands thanks to my love of texture!

The first one I tried on is Silent Stars Go By. This is a silvery blush-colored textured polish with lots of silver hexes thrown in.

OPI Silent Stars Go By, two coats.

I really liked the formula on this polish; it applied in thin, easy-to-control coats. It dried quickly without the aid of a topcoat. (I did wear a basecoat with this.)

I have to say, having tried several textured polishes from multiple brands, I think I prefer the neutral/nude ones over more colorful polishes--maybe because they look like natural stone with gems buried inside? Anyway, I'm a big fan of Silent Stars Go By; I think it would be great to wear to a classy holiday party!

I won this polish in a giveaway. All opinions are my own.

Swatch: I Love Nail Polish Indie Go

The polish in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Yay new polish! I preordered some new releases from I Love Nail Polish a little while ago, and they arrived yesterday. Right now I'm wearing Indie Go, which is an indigo/purple-shifting linear holo with blue shimmer.

I Love Nail Polish Indie Go. Two coats with Out the Door topcoat.

Beautiful, right? The color is super saturated. (Note: as usual with blue polishes, the color here isn't completely accurate--it actually leans a bit more purple, like dark blue jeans.) The holo effect in Indie Go isn't the strongest I've ever seen, but it is stronger than it appears in my photos. I tried a sunlight shot but didn't get much better results:

In indoor light, you get more of the cyan shimmer which isn't apparent here. The color shift is more visible in the bottle than on the nail, but you can still catch it now and then (just not on camera, apparently!).

The formula on Indie Go was pretty much perfect; I didn't have any problems with dragging. You can see my nail ridges a little in the second picture, but they're no worse than with any other polish. Oh, and it dried quickly too! The one issue I had was cuticle staining, but that's normal with such a deep blue.

This is one of those polishes I keep staring at. My collection of blues keeps growing and growing, but I just can't stop! (I also have to thank ILNP for choosing not to use the word "blurple" in the name of this polish, as that word is an abomination that needs to be cast into a fiery chasm.)

Indie Go is available at www.ilnp.com for $10 (12 ml).

The polish in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Quick swatch: Zoya Zuza

The polish in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

So I realized that I tend to use the same polishes over and over again, while I have a ton that I've never even worn once. This must be remedied! So I decided to start swatching at least two untried polishes per week until I run out (i.e. hopefully never).

Today I finally tried on Zoya Zuza, which I'd heard tons of praise for. It's definitely deserved! I did get a bit of staining on my cuticles, but it was totally worth it for this amazing color:

Zoya Zuza, two coats with Out the Door topcoat.

Is anyone else drooling over this one??

The polish in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Today's mani: dots and flowers

Today I tried out a mani inspired by one I saw at Waki Laki--she did a dotted background and then stamped on top of it. Here's my attempt!

For the base color I used OPI My Vampire is Buff, and then I added dots using Revlon Eclectic and Essie First Timer, Play Date and Neo Whimsical. Finally I stamped some floral patterns from MoYou Pro 09 using Revlon Stiletto. I love the way the dots show through the stamping!

Today's mani: water-fall

Hey all! Man, I've been a slacker lately, haven't I? I'm gonna try to get back on the horse with blogging this week, I promise!

Today I felt like doing another waterfall mani like the one I did for the 31-Day Challenge. I decided, naturally, to use fall colors (hence "water-fall"! How clever am I?).

For the base color I used Revlon Stormy Night, and for the stripes L'Oreal Spice Things Up and Eiffel For You, Essie Sand Tropez, and Revlon Gold Coin. It reminds me a bit of turkey feathers!

Swatch: Zoya Sunshine and Tomoko

The polish in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Recently I finally got my hands on some more Zoya PixieDust polishes. Not everyone's into textured polish, but I adore it, and I love Zoya's most of all! The two I'm wearing are both from the fall collection.

Zoya Sunshine and Tomoko, two coats.

The navy blue is Sunshine and the champagne is Tomoko. (Don't you think the names should be switched?) They both have silver sparkle that makes them look totally lush. If you haven't tried PixieDusts before, the texture is very fine and just the slightest bit rough--some people find it distracting, but it just comes down to personal preference. And of course they don't need topcoat (unless you want). Luckily they dry pretty quickly! Also, I always use basecoat under PixieDusts with no ill effects.

What do you think: is textured polish just a fad or is it here to stay?

Zoya Sunshine and Tomoko are available for $9 each (15 ml) at zoya.com!

The polish in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Quick swatch: Revlon Gold Coin

The polish in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Good morning! Yesterday I had a nail disaster--my middle fingernail on my left hand snapped off almost halfway up. :-( I think it's the worst break I've had since I started doing my nails again. So for a while I'm going to have to swatch with my right hand; be prepared for awkward hand poses!

Anyway, I thought I'd show you what I'm wearing right now. This is Revlon Gold Coin (one coat, people!). And yes, I know my index fingernail is shorter than the rest. My right hand wasn't ready to be in the spotlight!

Revlon Gold Coin. One coat with Out the Door topcoat.

Have a nice day everyone!

The polish in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Today's mani: rainy gradient dots

Hey all! Did you have a fun Halloween? We only got three groups of trick-or-treaters because our house is up a flight of steps from the road. A bunch of lazy kids in our neighborhood, I guess. :-/

This week Revlons were on sale at my grocery store, so I grabbed three and used them all in today's mani.

It's my old pal, the dotticure! This mani feels really fall-like to me, especially since it's been raining a lot here lately. The base color is Revlon Gray Suede (a dumb name, since it's clearly tan), and the first and last rows of dots are Eclectic and Chic. For the middle two rows I blended the two blues together.

I wish my cuticles looked better, but I just cleaned the whole apartment and that's never good for your hands!

Are you doing anything fun this weekend?