Polished Lifting

Oh man. You guys can probably see that I fell behind on this nail art challenge. If you didn't notice the lack of posts just pretend that these are totally on time. May turned out to be an unexpectedly busy month all around. Work picked up, my training has been taking up more time, and I've attended more social gatherings than normal. I *think* things are settling down now, so there will be an uptick in posts soon! I have at least 24 manicures that need to be retouched and posted, some of which date all the way back to February.

Today's post features my take on the #clairestelle8may challenge prompt "cities". At first I was entirely stumped on what to do, but then I remembered I had an adorable image plate from MoYou London that I had yet to use.


How cute are these houses?! I just want to move right in.

You may notice that some of these shades don't quite look like the polishes under the product list. I was feeling particularly... picky? that day and decided to create custom blends using a few different shades. I'm not entirely sure what I mixed together for some of the colors, but all of the polishes used are listed below.

Products used

Morgan Taylor Selfie Collection | Summer 2017 - Press sample

I absolutely love this time of year because neons and bright polish are making a resurgence. Today's post features Morgan Taylor's Selfie Collection and it's packed with everything bright and fun.

L-r: Morgan Taylor All About The Pout, Me My-selfie and I, Pretty As A Pink-ture, Woke Up This Way, No Filter Needed, Best Face Forward

All About The Pout

Me, Myself-ie, and I

Pretty As a Pink-ture

Woke Up This Way

No Filter Needed

Best Face Forward

Summery Coral & Teal Polka Dots - Press sample

It's feeling like summer here in the Pacific Northwest, so I thought it would be a great time for a summer inspired dotticure. I can't think of two colors that make me think of summer more than a bright teal and coral.


Dotticures aren't normally my thing because I struggle with freehand nail art, but I felt the urge to give it another try.


 
I found that using a smaller dotting tool and using less polish on the tool gives me more control over the shape and size of the dots. I'm quite happy with the improvement.

Products used

Pink Skulls featuring Morgan Taylor - Press sample

Woohoo! And with this post I am *finally* back on track with the #clairestelle8may challenge. Today's post is themed Halloween in May, and features two new shades from Morgan Taylor's Selfie collection.

While I absolutely love Halloween, I thought I would glam it up a bit since we are in May.


I don't know if you guys remember my review of the Morgan Taylor Celebrations 1 Designer Plates, but I promised that there would be more manis using those images. This challenge prompt was a perfect opportunity to bust out some Halloween themed stamping outside of October.

Vintage Print featuring Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer - Press sample

I'm still playing catch up with the #clairestelle8may challenge, so today's post is my take on the "antique" prompt. It's a total cop out, but after half a month of trying to come up with a design I still didn't have any ideas. I actually dug into my backlog of nail art photos to see if I could find something suiting. I decided to go with this 60's/70's vintage print nails as they are the most "antique" print I own.

This look features an absolutely stunning red from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer and a floral print plate from MoYou London.


There's something just perfect about red and robins egg blue when you pair them together. It's one of the more oddball color pairings that I always gravitate toward.

Vintage Pyrex Nail Art featuring Bohemian Polish - Press sample

Oh hey there! I know it's been a hot second (more like a week) since you've seen something new from me. While I had a handful of manis planned out for this week, I didn't have time to do the write-ups until now. It's been a busier than usual week meeting up with family and friends for various occasions. I'm finally back with a ton of new manis to share with you!

Today's post features my Vintage Pyrex look I created for the #clairestelle8may challenge prompt of Mother's Day. That was supposed to be posted last Saturday... As you can see I'm a smidge behind.

Neon Roses featuring JulieG & Baroness X - Press sample

I don't know what has gotten into me recently, but I've really been into layering things. It often starts with a creme base, and no intention of doing anything more than just wearing a creme. Within an hour of finishing my creme mani I decide that it's not complete, so I dig through my helmers for something to add to it. Today's mani is a result of one of those days.


For this look I started with a base of JulieG Cabana Boy. I adore this blue, but I found myself wondering what it would look like if I added a contrasting shimmer on top. After a couple of color tests I decided to go with Baroness X Rubi as my topper.


I was satisfied with how this turned out... at least I thought I was. About thirty minutes later I found myself going through stamping plates to add a final touch.


After some contemplation I decided to use this pretty, detailed rose stamp from UberChic Beauty 4-01.


I'm happy to say that I finally settled down after all of those modifications!

Hey guys! I'm back with a swatch and review of KBShimmer Steal the One and some dragon scale nail art for the nail art challenge I'm participating in this month. I'm ashamed to admit that this beautiful polish has been sitting in my untrieds for nearly a year, but I'm glad I'm finally able to share it with you all.

KBShimmer Steal the One

Formula: Nice consistency
Finish: Brilliant teal holo packed with copper flakies
Coverage: 2 coats
Notes: I very rarely have time to wear polish for more than a day, but I made a point of wearing this for a few days because of how much I love it. It's stunning in all different types of lighting.


We finally got some sun out in gloomy Oregon, so I took a gratuitous blurry holo shot in addition to a focused one. This shade is so dang pretty!