Saturday, September 29, 2012

Swap With "Little J's Nail Corner": Swatches

Good evening ladies! Tonight I have a very exciting post for you guys!

About a month ago I did a polish swap with Jennifer from Little J's Nail Corner; Jennifer is such a sweet person and I've thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her these past couple of months. She is extremely generous and thoughtful, so I want to say thank you, Jennifer! You guys should check her out (if you haven't already!) :)

She has excellent taste in polishes, so I knew I was in good hands! We mostly bought one another polishes off of a "wishlist" that we sent one another, but we also swapped 2 polishes that we already owned. I was able to get my hands on another indie through her :).

She also sent me some candy, but those are long gone by now :P Oh, and also some loose glitters! I can't wait to figure out how to use those for some fun manis!

Anyway, below I did some swatches of each polish! I definitely will be doing more detailed posts on the polishes later on, so let me know which ones you're interested in seeing!



Essie School of Hard Rocks
Essie School of Hard Rocks

Essie Like to be Bad
Essie Like to be Bad

Essie Size Matters
Essie Size Matters

Joe Fresh Merlot
Joe Fresh Merlot

Joe Fresh Starry
Joe Fresh Starry

Joe Fresh Teal
Joe Fresh Teal

OPI My Very First Knockwurst
OPI My Very First Knockwurst 

Candeo Colors Orchid
Candeo Colors Orchid

Joe Fresh Twilight
Joe Fresh Twilight

Wet n' Wild Poison Ivy
Wet n' Wild Poison Ivy

Wet n' Wild Toxic Apple
Wet n' Wild Toxic Apple
Thank you again, Jennifer!
& in case you didn't catch it, you can find Jennifer's blog HERE

-Shelby



Friday, September 28, 2012

31 Day Challenge, Day 14: Flowers

Good evening! I know I'm a little late with this challenge day post, but I've had a busy day! I've been running around getting things for my dorm that I realized I needed once I was there. I actually did this mani last night, but didn't photograph it until today. I was super excited for this challenge day, I love flowers! I decided to do an untraditional flower print, rather than do the norm :)

What I used:
Essie Mint Candy Apple (as base)
China Glaze Devotion (for stamping)
Cheeky plate Ch12

Essie Mint Candy Apple
Essie Mint Candy Apple
China Glaze Devotion

Essie Mint Candy Apple
Essie Mint Candy Apple
China Glaze Devotion

Essie Mint Candy Apple
Essie Mint Candy Apple
China Glaze Devotion
Surprisingly, this was my first time using Mint Candy Apple. I have so many mint shades, which caused me to put off using this one, but I'm so glad I finally used it! Mint Candy Apple is more vibrant on the nails than it appears in the bottle, which I adore! I recently got my hands on some of the China Glaze Romantique collection polishes, Devotion being one of them. It is great for stamping! I thought it was a silver metallic, but in some lights it is also purple, way cool!

What do you think of this floral mani?
-Shelby


Check out the other lovely ladies:



Thursday, September 27, 2012

Models Own Gold Finger


Good evening! I just got back for the weekend from Davis and have a few polishes to show you guys from this week! Tonight I'm going to show you a polish I got from a British company, Models Own, which I haven't had the best luck with so far. Luckily, I enjoyed Gold Finger a little more :)

Below I did 2 coats of Gold Finger

Models Own Gold Finger
Models Own Gold Finger

Models Own Gold Finger
Models Own Gold Finger
Gold Finger is a medium-sized gold glitter. This had a decent formula; it was opaque in 2 coats, but didn't cover the tips too well (as you can see). I think this would make a great accent nail or a nice topcoat! I like this way better than Balearic Cool, but not as much as my other glitters!

What do you think of Models Own? Do you like this shade?
-Shelby


Tuesday, September 25, 2012

31 Day Challenge, Day 13: Animal Print

Good morning! Today's challenge is animal print, which I'm usually not a fan of, but I decided to to a fall-inspired take on it!

Earlier yesterday evening I painted my roommate's nails along with my own (she is wearing Orly Rage :) ), but decided to add the stamping last minute to fit the challenge!

What I used:
2 coats OPI Rising Star
Sally Hansen Unbreakable Heart (for stamping)
Bundle Monster BM-223

OPI Rising Star
OPI Rising Star
Sally Hansen Unbreakable Heart

OPI Rising Star
OPI Rising
 Sally Hansen Unbreakable Heart
I like how this is a subtle animal print! Not too in-your-face :)
The subtle shimmer in Unbreakable Heart really complemented Rising Star!

I adore Rising Star on its own, so here it is before the Zebra!

OPI Rising Star
OPI Rising Star

OPI Rising Star
OPI Rising Star
 Rising Star is the perfect Autumn color! It's a gorgeous copper/orange color. Reminds me of Thanksgiving :)

What do you think of this zebra mani?
-Shelby

Check out the other lovely ladies:





Monday, September 24, 2012

Wet n' Wild Bite the Bullet

Hello! I've had such a busy weekend, so I'm sorry if I've been MIA! I moved into my dorm yesterday and have been getting a feel for the campus. My internet was down for the majority of the first day, which prevented me from checking up on any blogs! I am all settled in now, so I decided to post a mani I did a week or so ago.

I really like the formulas of the Wet n' Wild megalast line, so I pulled out a nice fall color: Bite the Bullet!

I used a Cheeky jumbo plate for the stamping! (wet n' wild black polish for stamping)

Wet n' Wild Bite the Bullet
Wet n' Wild Bite the Bullet
Although the stamping was a little smudged on my middle finger and crooked on my index, I still like how this mani came out! I definitely like the "peacock feather" look that this stamp creates. I saw a girl do polka dots on the centers to add some spice, so I might do that next time :). 

What do you think of this mani?
-Shelby


Saturday, September 22, 2012

31 Day Challenge, Day 12: Stripes

Good evening! I had a tricky time with today's challenge; not only were my new Cheeky plates giving me trouble, but I've been scrambling to pack (I'm moving into my dorm tomorrow!). So sorry if the stripes aren't the best :P

I got my inspiration from Candy Stripers! I like the vertical pink and white stripes on their outfits. I took a spin on it and did pink and red stripes!

Below I used 3 coats of China Glaze Gelato and Sally Hansen Cinna-snap for stamping with Cheeky plate Ch6!

China Glaze Gelato
China Glaze Gelato
Sally Hansen Cinna-Snap
Several of the new Cheeky plates just didn't want to work for me :(. I hope I didn't just get a bad batch! I got these just in time for this challenge :). Hope you guys still like them! Sorry for my short post, I'll be back again soon!


My inspiration:




-Shelby


check out the other participants:




Friday, September 21, 2012

JulieG Dream in Pretty & Color Club Magic Attraction

Good afternoon! Today I have for you an end-of-summer mani; it's my last chance to pull out the summer shades!

Below I used 2 coats of JulieG Dream in Pretty and Color Club Magic Attraction for the accent nail & dotting!

JulieG Dream in Pretty
JulieG Dream in Pretty
Color Club Magic Attraction

JulieG Dream in Pretty
JulieG Dream in Pretty
Color Club Magic Attraction

JulieG Dream in Pretty
JulieG Dream in Pretty
Color Club Magic Attraction
Dream in Pretty is a gorgeous pink-leaning purple creme. The application of this wasn't the greatest, but I was able to deal with it! I added Color Club Magic Attraction as an accent nail and then used a medium-sized dotting tool and made dots along my cuticles with the same glitter! Magic Attraction is a pink and silver glitter with some holo running throughout it. This had an okay formula, too!

What do you think of this mani?
-Shelby