Butter London Muggins

Good afternoon! Recently I went to my local Butter London counter to pick up a couple of the new spring shades; unfortunately, one I wanted was out of stock and the other didn't look the same in person as online swatches. Oh well! I did end up leaving with two polishes none the less: one being Muggins!

Below I used 2 coats of Muggins, without topcoat

Butter London Muggins

Butter London Muggins

Butter London Muggins

Muggins is a super subtle lavender creme, with a lot of grey in it. It's basically an even more exaggerated Light as Air. The application was a breeze. Some BL polishes, in my opinion, have tricky formulas, but Muggins didn't give me any problems! 2 coats made this polish perfectly opaque. Also, sorry for my wonky cuticles, it's been windy/dry here lately in Davis. Although I look a tad orange, the polish is pretty color-accurate.

What do you think of Muggins?

-Shelby

Few of my most recent Manis!

Hello again, ladies! Yes, I am back with a post after who knows how long! Like I said before, life gets in the way. I am a first-year college student and timing is never perfect for photos, but now that spring and summer are approaching, I plan on doing a lot more nail posts, especially once I move home for the summer :) I still have a lot of untried polishes in my stash and I want to purchase a couple of polishes from the spring 2013 collections as well! Side note with that...I am in love with EVERY color from the new Butter London collection...my wallet is already crying.

So I thought to make up for my ultimate lameness, I could show you guys a few of the manicures I've done lately. I don't remember all of the polish names and the photo settings are not ideal, but I'm going to give it a whirl anyway!

China Glaze It's a Trap-eze

 This first mani is a combo of 3 different colors: a lavender (possibly Essie St. Lucia Lilac or China Glaze Light as Air), a Sally Hansen nail art pen in white and China Glaze It's a Trap-eze to top off the white. I loved the effect of this design, but I wish I had made the white area in the center thinner. That way the lavender would've shined through more!

SOPI Seriously, It's a Naan-Issue
Nails Inc. Warwick Way & The Thames

SOPI Seriously, It's a Naan-Issue
Nails Inc. Warwick Way & The Thames

I love dot manis! I wish I used lighter colors for the dots or a lighter base for the polish, but whatevs. I just used alternating dotting tool sizes to create a little pattern. Warwick Way is a little on the thin side. Seriously, It's a Naan-Issue is perfection! 

Revlon Coastal Surf

I love Revlon Coastal Surf! It is such a gorgeous shade of blue- this makeshift photo does not do the color justice! Also, the formulation was great! Barely needed two coats :)

Unfortunately, I can only remember 1 polish from this mani- Zoya Ziv. Ziv has been my recent go-to gold polish and it just looks great with every type of mani! I used a nude base and sponged on Ziv as well as an Indie glitter on the tips. I love the effect this created! I will definitely recreate this for an actual post!

Revlon Provence
Confetti Lonesome Dove

Yet another poor photo, but I love this design! It's the "puzzle piece" design. I painted half my nail Revlon Provence and the other half Confetti Lonesome Dove. Then I took large dotting tools and did purple on the gray half and gray on the purple half, spacing the dots out to create this look! I love Revlon Provence, its formulation is great. I also really like Lonesome Dove, it is a great neutral gray and wallet-friendly!

I hope you guys enjoyed this!

-Shelby

Revlon Bold Sangria, OPI Suzi Takes the Wheel and China Glaze Prism

Good evening! Tonight I have for you a kind of mish-mash mani. I couldn't really decide what to do, so I kept adding to it!

Revlon Bold Sangria
OPI Suzi Takes the Wheel
China Glaze Prism

Revlon Bold Sangria
OPI Suzi Takes the Wheel
China Glaze Prism

Revlon Bold Sangria
OPI Suzi Takes the Wheel
China Glaze Prism

Bold Sangria is the perfect bright plum shade. It's high-gloss and is very opaque. It's bright nature doesn't display well in my photos though! Suzi Takes the Wheel is a green-toned gray. I thought the two looked nice together for the Fall season. To add something extra, I made a reverse gradient with Prism, a lavender micro glitter with rainbow larger round glitters!

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

China Glaze Purr-fect Plum and Elephant Walk

Good afternoon! A couple days ago I experimented with my dotting tools and liked what appeared on my nails; thought I'd share it with you!

I used 2 colors from the China Glaze On Safari collection; they looked great together :)

What I used:
China Glaze Purr-fect Plum
China Glaze Elephant Walk

China Glaze Purr-fect Plum
China Glaze Elephant Walk

China Glaze Purr-fect Plum
China Glaze Elephant Walk

I used a large dotting tool to make a row of dots and then used a smaller tool to put dots in alternating spaces compared to the larger dots. I like how it came out! I've never used Elephant Walk before; I love the subtle shimmer/sheen it has :)

What do you think of this dotticure?

-Shelby

31 Day Challenge, Day 24: Inspired by a Book

Good afternoon! Today's challenge stumped me a little. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy reading quite often, but the novels that I read wouldn't be easy to recreate on my nails. I like Nicholas Sparks' novels; I guess you could say I'm a sappy romantic. Instead of using one of his novels for inspiration, I used a very popular book (unread by me, though) for inspiration: 50 Shades of Grey

What I used:
Ulta Concrete Evidence (base)
Sephora by OPI Frankly, I Don't Give A-dam
China Glaze Recycle
Nails Inc The Thames
Essie Stylenomics
Orly Atomic Splash

Gray Gradient

Gray Gradient

I kinda took the easy way out with a gradient, but I like the outcome, especially with the dark gray glitter! All the polishes were fairly good for sponging, except Stylenomics was giving me a hard time on the tips. This is a very obvious mani: 50 Shades of Grey...different shades of gray on my nails, but hey, at least you get my inspiration :P!

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

Check out the other lovely ladies:

-Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful 
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista 
-Greta at How Was Your Day?
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish 
- Robin Sparkles 

Nina Ultra Pro Ink-Ling Dotticure!

Good evening ladies! I've been drooling over all the dotticures on the blogosphere lately and had a craving to do one myself! I decided to use another one of my new Nina Ultra Pro polishes, this time in Ink-Ling!

What I used:
2 coats Nina Ultra Pro Ink-Ling
Confetti Lonesome Dove (for dotting)
Zoya Toni (for dotting)

Nina Ultra Pro Ink-ling
Confetti Lonesome Dove
Zoya Toni

Nina Ultra Pro Ink-ling
Confetti Lonesome Dove
Zoya Toni

Ink-Ling is a dark, blue-toned gray creme! It was a dream to work with! No cleanup was required and the consistency is great! No complaints here :). I am really impressed with the Nina Ultra Pro polishes so far. I then took a large dotting tool and used Lonesome Dove and Toni to make large dots, then used a small dotter to do the same colors elsewhere, and finally used a medium sized dotter to dot the opposite color inside the large original dots! Confetti is a not very well-known brand, but I really like them! They also are $1.99, which is appealing! Lonesome Dove is a light gray creme. Toni, a berry red creme, is from Zoya's recent fall line and I thought this was a great polish, too! On the thick side, but I don't think that'll be a problem when doing a full mani!

What do you think of these polishes and this dotticure?

-Shelby

Comparison: China Glaze Tinsel Town & Nina Ultra Pro Glamrock

Hello again, ladies! I'm excited to show you 2 identical dupes I found in my stash recently: China Glaze Tinsel Town and Nina Ultra Pro Glamrock. I actually bought both recently, I guess I am attracted to the same shades at different times!

I thought I'd share my discovery with you guys because I'm not sure how easy Tinsel Town is to find (it's from last year's or the year before's holiday collection), but Glamrock is readily available. With the holidays getting nearer, you may want a shade like this! Nina Ultra Pro recently redid their packaging. Their brush is now wider, like the Wet n' Wild brush, while the China Glaze brush remains the same. China Glaze ranges from $5-$8 and Nina Ultra Pro is $4 and some change at Sally's! Hope you enjoy!

Below I did 2 coats of each polish and 1 coat of topcoat! Glamrock is pointer and ring, Tinsel Town is middle and pinky!

China Glaze Tinsel Town
Nina Ultra Pro Glamrock

China Glaze Tinsel Town
Nina Ultra Pro Glamrock

Glamrock and Tinsel Town have small and medium sized silver glitter, which sometimes flash blue, in a charcoal, dark gray base. Both colors have great formulas and didn't give me any issues!

China Glaze Tinsel Town
Nina Ultra Pro Glamrock

In this photo you can see they equally sparkle in the sunlight!

China Glaze Tinsel Town
Nina Ultra Pro Glamrock

 Here's the contrast of the silver glitters in the dark base. Both polishes have relatively the same amount of both sized glitters.

I hope this was helpful!

-Shelby

Revlon After Party & Infamous

Hello ladies! Sorry for my lack of posts yesterday! Also, I didn't make a "black and white" themed post for the 31 day challenge, but I was tied up all day! My boyfriend surprised me in the morning and I woke up to a bouquet of flowers and a kiss :). We spent the day together and went to the gym (first time for me in...well, we don't need to say! haha) in the evening. I am back now and have an exciting post for you guys :)!

I was in Walgreens yesterday and I saw a display for new shades from Revlon's top speed line! Emma Stone was the model for the display and she was wearing two gorgeous shades together; I looked at the new colors and figured they were After Party and Infamous. I had to recreate the look and share it with you guys!

Below I did 2 coats of After Party and 2 coats of Infamous!

Revlon After Party and Infamous

Revlon After Party and Infamous

After Party is a steel gray creme! It's a little more gray in person, but I like the blue/green tint it has. The formula was great on this, no streaking and such. Infamous is a hot coral creme, almost neon-like. The formula on this wasn't as great; it was a little goopy and didn't want to spread to the edges of the nail. I still like the color, though :). Also, my apologies for even more short nails, I got a little "clipper happy" today! haha

What do you think of these new shades?

-Shelby

Different Dimension Light It Up Blue & OPI My Pointe Exactly

Hello ladies! I attempted another jelly sandwich this evening, but I'm not sure how much I like it >.<

I was skyping with my boyfriend while I did this mani, so I didn't pay much attention to the color combo. Tell me what you think!

What I used:
2 coats OPI My Pointe Exactly
1 coat Different Dimension Light It Up Blue
1 coat OPI My Pointe Exactly

Different Dimension Light It Up Blue
OPI My Pointe Exactly

Different Dimension Light It Up Blue
OPI My Pointe Exactly

My Pointe Exactly is a gray jelly! I liked the formula of this, 2 coats beneath the glitter was perfect! I'm not sure how I like Light It Up Blue paired with My Pointe Exactly, but I thought I'd show you anyway. Light It Up Blue is a blue and silver glitter with large white hexes in a clear base. I believe this color may be glow in the dark, too!

What do you think of this combo? I'm still on the fence about it!

-Shelby

Zoya Kristen & Smitten Polish Moonbeam Dreams

Hello again! I hope everyone is having a great Friday so far! The Meryl Streep movie (Hope Springs) was really good, but more serious than shown in the previews. I liked it none the less, though :).

I painted my nails last night with a Zoya polish for the first time! I own 2 Zoyas and haven't gotten around to wearing them yet! Below I did 2 thicker coats of Kristen!

Zoya Kristen

Zoya Kristen

Zoya Kristen

Zoya Kristen

Kristen is a blue/gray creme. In some lights it look gray, in some blue, and in some a cross of both! I like this color a lot and I don't have anything like it, making it unique :). This polish is on the thick side; I used 2 thick coats because no matter how much I scraped off the brush, a lot of polish would come down off the handle. The outcome made the process worth it though :)

I decided to spice it up this afternoon and try out a new Smitten Polish glitter I got, Moonbeam Dreams!

Smitten Polish Moonbeam Dreams

Smitten Polish Moonbeam Dreams

Smitten Polish Moonbeam Dreams

Moonbeam Dreams is a bright blue glitter suspended in a cool-toned purple base! That's quite a mouthful of a sentence! I'm unsure how I feel about this polish; on one hand, I like the color combo, but I'm not so sure I like how the glitter doesn't translate as bright on the nail as it does in the bottle. Maybe I'll give it another go on its own without another polish as a base, then I can give it a fair judgement! :)

I hope you guys enjoyed!

Do you have Moonbeam Dreams? What do you think about it?

-Shelby

OPI Fly & Ulta Concrete Evidence

Hello! Today I have a tape mani! I recently got Ulta Concrete Evidence through a blogsale. I really liked the color on me, but I wanted to spice it up a little. I looked through my stash and OPI Fly seemed to be a match made in heaven :). I decided to do a diagonal half n' half, rather than straight down the middle. I like the end-result and I can't stop looking at my hands!

Below I did 2 coats of Concrete Evidence and then 1 coat of Fly, whereas my ring finger I did 2 coats of Fly and 1 coat of Concrete Evidence!

OPI Fly
Ulta Concrete Evidence

OPI Fly
Ulta Concrete Evidence

OPI Fly
Ulta Concrete Evidence 

OPI Fly
Ulta Concrete Evidence

Ulta Concrete Evidence is a basic gray creme. There isn't much to say about the color, since it is an average, run-of-the mill color, but the formula was great!! It was practically opaque in one coat. It had a good dry time and I was overall impressed with the polish. I'm not sure if Ulta still sells this color, it is the older packaging. It's a great basic to have, though :). OPI Fly is a gorgeous bright teal creme. I also really liked this polish! It was thinner than Concrete Evidence, but I didn't mind. I was able to only use one coat for the designs, since I had another polish as a base. Fly is my favorite color from the Nicki Minaj collection. To me, it's a year-around color!

I hope you guys enjoyed!

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

OPI Kangarooby & Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous Half n' Half!

Hello again! I have another nail design today!

I've seen lots of nail tutorials using tape and it inspired me to do a half n' half manicure. I decided to do a creme and a polish with some shimmer, just to make it interesting :).

I used 2 OPI polishes: Kangarooby (from the Australia collection) and Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous (from the Swiss collection). It's funny how both polishes happened to be from fall, country-themed collections!

Below I did 2 coats of Kangarooby and 1 coat of Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous

OPI Kangarooby
OPI Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous

OPI Kangarooby
OPI Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous

OPI Kangarooby
OPI Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous

I absolutely adore how this manicure turned out! Yeah, my lines weren't exactly perfect and I messed up on my pointer finger, but the concept is wonderful :). Kangarooby is a dream to apply; no streaking and perfectly opaque in 2 coats. Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous is gorgeous when it hits the light (as shown in photo 3). I'm very pleased with this mani and can't wait to try more tape designs!

OPI Kangarooby

Here's Kangarooby before the half n' half design. I like the color on its own too. It took very little cleanup, which is good for a red! Also, the name is cute. Who doesn't like kangaroos?!

I hope you guys enjoyed!

-Shelby