Nail Art: Poinsettia

Hey y'all! Today on the blog I have another Christmas themed mani to share with you. I drew my inspiration from the Christmas poinsettia centerpiece I have on my dining room table right now - its a mix of beautiful glitter red and gold poinsettia flowers in a somewhat rustic kind of basket so I just went from there. Searching through my plates left me a little disappointed in my choices for poinsettias but luckily I did find one on one of my UberChic Beauty plates! I have some more pictures to share with you and a list of steps to complete this mani. Let me show you! 

I started with two polishes for my base - Lorelei Lacquer Love Always for my red and M Polish Bells for my Gold. I did 2 coats of Love Always on my index and pinkie fingers and one coat of Bells on my middle two. I allowed those to dry and topcoated with KBShimmer Clearly On Top and waited until they had completely dried. While my base colors dried, I used M Polish Cayuga to stamp the outline of the flower from UberChic Beauty 3-02. I filled in the petals with Love Always and the center with Zoya Verushka. I let that dry on the stamper and topcoated it with KBShimmer Clearly On Top and let it sit until it was dry. Cue me checking Facebook and Instagram to kill time for about 7-8 minutes so I didn't rip my decals. :P 

Once my decals were ready to be pulled off the stamper, I added another heavy coat of topcoat to my nail, practically flooding my cuticles and gently laid the decal on top. I gingerly pressed it down so I didn't tear or smear my decal. I topcoated one more time to help the decal blend in with my base so it looked seamless. I learned this technique from @karma.and.polish on Instagram. Her stamping decals are always perfection! 

I also stamped another image from the same UberChic Beauty plate over Love Always on my index and pinkie finger to add a little dimension and to mimic the basket of my centerpiece. It didn't show as well as I would've liked, because holo on holo! Let me show you how my decal looked on my Creative Shop Stamper:

That's it for this nail art post. What do you think of this mani? What are your favorite Christmas colors?

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Swatch and review: My World Sparkles Lacquers winter polishes!

Hey y'all! Today on the blog I have a couple of winter polishes from My World Sparkles Lacquers to share with you! Elizabeth was also kind enough to include one of her Pamper Gems for me to review as well so that will be included in this post. This was my first time trying anything from her brand and I was completely blown away last night when I was swatching! I can't wait to show you so let's jump in! 

Red Velvet is a medium toned red creme with pink flash. Formula wise, Red Velvet is perfection. I applied 2 thin coats easily without any pooling in my cuticles or polish running down my brush. It self leveled nicely between coats and dried to the touch in about 5 minutes. The color stunning and a slightly different way to wear red during the holiday season. I'm feeling some Mrs. Claus nails using Red Velvet as a base since it has the pink flash! 

Red Velvet in direct artificial lighting

Red Velvet in indirect artificial lighting

Macro of Red Velvet

Winter Blues is a cool toned denim blue polish with subtle holo shimmer and may be a new contender for my top favorite blue polishes ever.  While the finish might not be terribly unique, there is something about Winter Blues that made me feel beautiful when I put it on. (and I'm still wearing it now!) The formula and application for Winter Blues was nothing short of perfection. ONE beautiful, buttery coat that self leveled nicely and dried in about 5 minutes. It dried to a satin-y finish but that was easily rendered with a glossy topcoat which brought out more of the sparkle! If you want to try something from My World Sparkles Lacquers and you're not sure which to start with, Winter Blues is one I cannot highly recommend enough!

Winter Blues in direct artificial lighting

Winter Blues in indirect artificial lighting

Macro of Winter Blues 

The last thing I have to show you is the Peppermint Pamper Gem. Firstly, can we just stop to adore that she calls them Pamper Gems? I love it! You can see in my photo how nicely these are packaged - they're wrapped in a piece of saran type wrapping and then again inside a little baggie and tied off with a holo ribbon. The Pamper Gem arrived to me perfectly intact with no breakage or crumbling.  Elizabeth goes the extra mile with labeling, including a label with her contact information AND instructions/ingredients for each Gem.

I used one last night after swatching and since I was just doing my hands, I actually only used half of the Pamper Gem meaning you can easily get two uses out of these beauties! Starting this month, there will be varying scents and designs each month going forward. These Pamper Gems are deep conditioning and the peppermint scent was so relaxing! My hands felt so much more conditioned after I was finished using mine. Its recommended that you don't use these in the bathtub since they contain so many oils that they'll make the tub surface slippery. You can buy these in singles for $1.50 each, doubles for $2.50 (includes 2), or as a trio for $3.75.

Peppermint Pamper Gem

All of the products I reviewed here are available right now on the My World Sparkles Lacquers website. Each of the polishes retail for $8. All My World Sparkles Lacquers are proudly 5-free and hand mixed. She can also create custom lacquers for you - Elizabeth can be contacted directly on her website or on many social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. She also has a Facebook group you can join to chat with her and other MWS fans! 

Which one is your favorite? 

Thanks for reading! 

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Press Release: Zoya Mystery Box Cyber Monday Deal!

Hey y'all! I have a press release for you today from Zoya! I've already ordered mine! 

Get ready… our Super Cyber Monday Holiday Deal is a

… (insert drumroll)… MYSTERY BOX!

           

THE MYSTERY BOX IS BACK!

If you love surprises, the MYSTERY BOX deal is for you - you'll get a box filled with some of our favorite products ($72 value) for just $20 plus free shipping! Surprise yourself or someone else with a great deal AND great products!

Wondering if it’s worth the gamble? Last year the Mystery Box was a huge hit – make sure not to miss out on this one day only offer. We promise, it won’t be the same as last year, it will be better!

Here a few blog reviews from last year…nouveau cheap, model city, polished with pizzazz. As you can see the box was loaded with Zoya and Qtica goodies!

MYSTERY BOX available exclusively on ZOYA.COM

CYBER MONDAY ONLY (11/30/15).

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Nail Art: Textured Peppermint Winter Nails!

Hey y'all! Today on the blog I have some wintery/Christmassy nail art to share with you! I was really in the mood to use some textured polishes but I wasn't sure which colors or art to do with them. I am actually a huge fan of textured polishes and the PixieDust line is what got me started on Zoya polishes. My first textured polish was Zoya Tomoko and I haven't looked back since! I also really love the OPI Liquid Sands so I pulled out OPI Solitaire and Zoya Oswin for this peppermint/candy cane look. I have some more pictures to share with you and a short step by step on how I completed this mani! 

I started by applying my favorite base coat to protect my natural nails - I use LynBDesigns B-Stronger. Once that was dry, I painted two coats of OPI Solitaire on my thumb, ring finger, and pinkie. I went back with Zoya Oswin after my base color had dried and added the two tiny dots with my smallest dotting tool. I did topcoat with LynBDesigns B-Shiny but only one coat to preserve the texture of the polishes. I mostly added the topcoat to prolong wear. Starting on my middle finger, I used a thin striping brush to add OPI Solitare closest to my cuticle and at an angle. I cleaned off my striping brush and did the same thing with Zoya Oswin. I repeated back and forth, cleaning my brush between each color until I reached the tip of my nail. Once the lines were dry, I went back with the same striping brush and cleaned up my lines a little and intensified each of the colors. I allowed my design to dry and topcoated, again only using one layer of topcoat to preserve the texture of the polishes. And that's it! Super easy and very few tools required for this look. 

Macro of my middle finger 

Macro showing the designs on my middle finger and ring finger

That's it for this nail art look, what do you think? What's your favorite winter/Christmassy design to do?

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Indie Spotlight Series: Meet The Maker of Message Beauty!

Hey y'all! Today on the blog I have this month's Indie Spotlight Series to share with you! November's spotlight is Message Beauty, a newer indie to our nail world. She makes nail and hand care items but her specialty, in my opinion is her acetone tonic. I reviewed it last month, you can read that HERE. Are you guys ready to get to know the maker of Message Beauty? She dropped us a line, let's jump in!

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Pish: What inspired you to start Message Beauty?

Message Beauty: I love making things for myself, but as most things in my life, my little family of 3 couldn't use enough of the products I was making to be efficient. I hate waste! It feels wrong to me. I started thinking about selling my excess product and really took off from there.

Pish: How do you decide what to do for future products?

Message Beauty: I see inspiration everywhere I go! I take screenshots of images I like, I save articles I read about the healing properties of a certain product. Then I take what I already have. What I already know, and think "How can I incorporate this?"  "Can I make this, into this", or "Can I do something clever to improve this".  I've honestly been trying to pace myself. I have so many more ideas that I can not wait to try out!

Pish: What goes into the testing/prototype phase?

Message Beauty: Out of every batch, I leave product in different settings. One goes in the fridge, one goes on the porch, one in the garage, one on the counter in my kitchen and one in the damp, humid bathroom. And then I let them sit. I want to know how long they'll stay fresh, how long they'll retain their scent, how well they transport, any pigmentation issues. In the beginning, I test out all of my products on myself. I am anal about mixing products. I do tons of research before I even mix two new ingredients. I research, research and research some more. I consult with different professionals (including an aromatherapist) so I feel very confident in their safety before I use them. But having myself as the guinea pig is the best solution. After I'm pleased with their testing results, I share the product with testers. I always ask for their honest opinions. I can't improve things without constructive criticism. I am not above tweaking existing product to make it better, or even tearing it down to it's base and starting over.

Pish: How do you decide on scents?

Message Beauty: There are so many out there! I start with what I love honestly lol. I always try and add one or two outside of my comfort zone to be inclusive of different tastes. And of course there are seasonal scents.  Margarita and Sunscreen might be taking a nap until next summer shortly.  I'm constantly smelling my favorite products and thinking, "What about this do I love?", pull out my favorite part and try and improve it. There are so many options out there, but I kind of want to buy them all. Kind of like my obsessive nail polish collecting. Now I'm browsing my suppliers websites thinking "Shut up and take my money!"

Pish: What do you think will make Message Beauty a success?

Message Beauty: Honestly, my customers.  It's my job to make great products and I'm hoping to find my own little niche but it would be futile without all that my customers do. Social media is such a weapon these days, especially in an over saturated market. I do my part. Run a professional business, make great products and give responsive customer service but that is to be expected of any business!  It's you that makes the difference. It's you taking a picture of your haul, or highlighting what you think is cute packaging or a nice finishing touch. It's you talking about your love for a product. It's you that misses a restock but shares it anyway. You are our voice.

Pish: I know you work by day and make your products by night. What drives you to keep going with Message Beauty?

Message Beauty: Have I mentioned I want to buy all the things to make products? Joking aside, I do LOVE making new products. It's a great creative outlet for me. It is incredibly fun. I specifically kept the brand name vague, because I have so many ways to expand. I wanted to business to be able to grow and mature with me.

But the best part is seeing product make it to it's new home. Seeing the customers using them and loving them. That gives me so much joy. That has always been a part of my personality. Luckily, I only work part time so that gives me plenty of time to work here.  I guess technically I work outside of the home part time, at home part time and as a mom full time. Those are all a luxury and I am very thankful for that. If it ever gets to a point where Message expands, I can easily step aside from the outside of the house job, no strings attached.

Pish: Can you show us some behind the scenes/testing areas for Message Beauty?

Mixing acetone tonic!

New supplies!

Liquid storage!

So that's it for this month's Indie Spotlight Series featuring Message Beauty. If you haven't tried her acetone tonic yet, I highly recommend it! It turns your acetone into a useful tool that won't dry out your nails and it leaves behind a yummy scent! You can find all of her products HERE. She's launching some new seasonal products tomorrow as well as her Black Friday sale! Use code FreeShip for free US shipping on orders over $20 and FreeShipInt for free shipping on international orders over $30! The time to buy acetone tonics is definitely tomorrow as well as she will be offering a 50% off coupon if you buy 3 or more, use code TonicBF. Make sure you add them separately and not the 3/$10 option at checkout!

Thanks for reading!

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