The Digit-al Dozen Does The Terrific Twos - Cotton

Today's prompt is Cotton, the traditional 2nd year anniversary gift. I was at a loss of what to create and was thinking of all things cotton and then I thought of Cotton Candy! Hee-hee! I know, I'm really pushing the boundaries of these prompts this week!

This was a really easy mani to create, and it ending up looking perfect! I used OPI Pink-a-Doodle (like 3 coats because it is sheer!) and Different Dimension Dewing it Right to create the gradient. I then added the sugary sparkly crystals of China Glaze Fairy Dust. As much as I liked it glossy, I thought it should be matte so I added Essie Matte About You.

What do you think? Matte or glossy? 

Don't forget to check out our megawatt-sized 2nd Anniversary Giveaway! 51 Prizes!

Don't forget to check out the other ladies and their cotton manis!

An InLinkz Link-up

The Digit-al Dozen Does the Terrific Twos - Things That Come in Pairs

Welcome to another month and that means another theme for The Digit-al Dozen! This month we are celebrating two years! Crazy huh! So our topic this month is dealing with things associated with the number two!

And today is: Things that Come in Pairs. So what did I choose? A mad man and a box!

I know, it's not the normal "pair" of things you would think but I just had to do it! :) 

I used Cult Nails Time Traveler (two coats) and Milani White on the Spot (two coats) as my base colors. I stamped using Cult Nails Time Traveler and My Online Shop's MJ JR-31. I of course had to use China Glaze Fairy Dust (not sure why this sudden hype for Fairy Dust. Are people just finding it? I've had mine for years, it's my go-to holo glitter). Sealed everything with Poshe Top Coat.  

But let me tell you, this mani took FOREVER to create! Looks simple right? Bah! My stamper did not want to work on this day. It took hours to get a decent image. And I'm not lying, I would attempt for a while and then sit out (else I would have thrown it all at the wall) and try again. Grrrr! But I do like how it turned out. Now if I can only figure out why my stamper/plate/polish was on strike that day. >_<

I know I've been MIA for the past month. Going through a really tough time right now. Many times almost calling it quits on everything. Just need to get through this next month (every year this is the worst month for me because of my seasonal affective disorder; and now I have to deal with the anxiety too. *joy*). I hope to keep on keeping on but we shall see. I was able to get this whole week done for the DD. I also have a review post and a guest post in the works. :)

Don't forget to enter our fantabulously amazing 2nd Anniversary Giveaway! 51 prizes!

Don't forget to check out the other ladies and what pairs they chose to create!

An InLinkz Link-up

The Digit-al Dozen Does Summer: Love Letters in the Sand

Welcome to another week of The Digit-al Dozen! This month's theme is Summer! And many of us are trying to be not so obvious with out manis (my get a little "different" later in the week).

But today's mani is a love letter written in the sand on a beach. D'awwww! I really like how this turned out. I used two coats of Contrary Polish Sand (duh, had to use that one right?) as my base. I splodged (look Debbie!) on some Milani White on the Spot for the sea foam. I sealed the Milani and Contrary Polish with Poshe top coat. I then used two coats of Zoya PixieDust Godiva as my sand. I let it dry a tiny bit then took a toothpick and wrote in the "sand"!

I totally love this and hope you did too! I hope it makes you think of summer!

Don't forget to check out what the other ladies have for you this summer! :)

An InLinkz Link-up

The Digit-al Dozen Does Countries and Cultures Week - Canada: True North Strong and Free

Day 4 of The Digit-al Dozen Does Countries and Cultures Week takes you northward to Canada! Being of dual citizenship (USA and Canada) I had to post about Canada! I moved to Southern Alberta when I was nine years old, I graduated high school there, and I have a ton of cousins there,(I really mean a ton, my dad is 1 of 12 kids!).

For my mani I chose to use Nail Nation 3000 Carpe Diem as my base. It's a slight holo white. I stamped using Konad White and Vivid Lacquer VL006. I then stamped a few maple leafs (duh, it's Canada!) using Sally Hansen Mochachino and Winstonia W119. I sealed the mani with HK Girl Top Coat.

I really liked this mani, it's simplicity is very beautiful to me; just like Canada! 

Don't forget to check out where the other ladies take you today!

An InLinkz Link-up

Fanchromatic Nails Review!

Today I bring you three amazing geek-tastic polishes!

I was contacted by the owner of Fanchromatic Nails, Lynae, if I would like to review some of her polishes. Of course I agreed! Geek-based polish! Heck yes! Sign me up! I've been lemming a few of her polishes for a while now, so I was super excited and honored that Lynae contacted me.

So, let's get on with the polishes!

This is Not a Lady. This is a brand new polish for Fanchromatic! It's due to be released July 16th! It is inspired by the characters Brienne of Tarth and Arya Stark from Game of Thrones. It is a deep, blackened warm rusty red, with a leather-like finish.

This is one coat of Not a Lady. One coat! And look at that gorgeous deep color. I would call it a bit more of a blackened red based purple. And that finish! Wow! Looks like leather to me! Gorgeous!

This is Not a Lady with top coat. Still just as gorgeous! And it shows off the shimmer found in this lovely polish! The formula is fantastic! A one-coater indie is amazing! Just top quality pigments! 

Now, I didn't finish the first book of Game of Thrones (I really tried for a year! But couldn't), but if the book was like this polish I would have finished it in a week!

This is Deceptive Charm. This is from Fanchromatic's early summer 2014 release. This intense color was inspired by Weyoun, a character from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It is a very saturated cobalt/royal blue with a gorgeous pink shimmer!

Guess what! Another one-coater! And this blue is so amazingly pigmented and such a bright royal color! (please excuse the bumps on my nails, they are from my nails and not the polish) I did use a top coat.

Here is Deceptive Charm taken with flash and slightly blurry so that you can see that pink shimmer. See it? Isn't it stunning! I think that hidden shimmer really makes this polish special!

This is Misty Mountains. It is one of Fanchromatic's most popular colors (and one of my lemmings!). It is part of the There and Back Again series inspired by Tolkien. It is a murky, earthy sage green with gold and copper glitter in varying sizes, gold shimmer, and blue iridescent glass flecks.

Now, this being a glitter (an amazing one at that) it runs a bit sheer. On my index, middle, and pinky fingers I used one coat of OPI Stranger Tides as undies. My ring finger is two to two and a half coats of Misty Mountains. As you can see both ways are gorgeous! If you layer it over some undies then it'll last longer! :)

Just look and all that shimmery goodness! And can you see the blue flecks visible on my index finger? This polish is just as good as I'd hoped it would be! I love it!

Polishes are available in full 15mL for $9.50 or mini 5mL for $5.00

Please visit Fanchromatic's Facebook page

And visit Fanchromatic's esty shop

I want to thank Lynae and her amazing brand Fanchromatic <polish for the geek in you> for this wonderful opportunity! All the polishes I reviewed were of amazing quality and formulas were fabulous! Thank you so much!

The Nail Challenge Collaborative Presents Skittles: Pink and Grey!

I promise I haven't gone anywhere! It's just been a really weird week and I am playing catch-up in a major way! But today is my last post for the Nail Challenge Collaborative Skittle theme! I chose to do Pink and Grey! I really loved how these turned out, even if the pink seemed to change colors! :)

I promise you that the polish I used to stamp: BarryM Grapefruit is the same as the bottle shown! It just stamps a different color! Hahaha! :)

I used China Glaze Recycle as my base color on all my nails. I then used BarryM Grapefruit for all the nail art and stamping. Amy's Nail Boutique in Fuzzy Bunny Slippers is the amazing pink/grey glitter on my ring finger!

I stamped my thumb with MoYou Pro 04 and my pinkie with Vivid Lacquer VL006. I did some dots on my index and a taped stripe on my middle finger (tried to do a stamp that is similar, but because of the design of the stamp it wouldn't work!). I topped it all off with HK Girl Top Coat. Sorry about the bubbles, it's really hot right now and so I had my fan going. :(

Don't forget to check out the others and their final post for Skittles!

An InLinkz Link-up

The Nail Challenge Collaborative Presents Skittles - Grey!

Third post for The Nail Challenge Collaborative Skittles and today I chose the best color ever! Grey! As many of you know I have a grey polish addiction so I knew I had to give it some skittle love!

Thumb: Dandy Nails Bound to Fall (two coats)

Index: Essence Romeo (two coats) with Dragon Lacquer Geeky Owl (my custom made glitter!)

Middle: Essence Romeo (two coats) stamped with BarryM Foil Effects Silver and Messy Mansions MM19

Ring: Zoya London (two coats)

Pinkie: Essence Romeo (two coats) with a 14 grade Holo Top Coat.

All sealed (except my ring finger!) with HK Girl Top Coat! And my index and ring finger both have OPI Glitter Off as their base (love this stuff!).

I really loved how this turned out! I am really starting to love skittles now!

A shot of Dandy Nails Bound to Fall. A gorgeous grey with blue flecks! Fabulous!

Don't forget to check out what the others have done for their 3rd day of Skittles!

An InLinkz Link-up

The Digit-al Dozen Does Decades Week: 1990's Grunge

For the final day of The Digit-al Dozen Does Decades Week I bring you the 1990's Grunge movement!

"Grunge became commercially successful in the first half of the 1990s, due mainly to the release of Nirvana's Nevermind, Pearl Jam's Ten, Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger, Alice in Chains' Dirt, and Stone Temple Pilots' Core. [...] Clothing commonly worn by grunge musicians in Washington consisted of thrift store items and the typical outdoor clothing (most notably flannel shirts) of the region, as well as a generally unkempt appearance." -source

 

So, I had a totally different idea for this in my head but I suddenly had an inspiration and love the way it turned out! I started out with one coat of Essence Romeo. I did only one coat because I wanted it thin and haphazard. While Romeo was still a bit wet I did the Saran Wrap technique using Above the Curve Banana to a Party. Before this dried completely, I gouged out a few holes in the polish and added dents and bare patches to give the grungy look. I used Essence We Will Rock You to create the smokey finish. I stamped using Konad Special Black and Vivid Lacquer VL015. I used my Essence black nail art pen to create the numbers. I topped it off with Essie Matte About You.

I am totally in love with this mani! To me it is the 1990s!

Don't forget to check out the other ladies to see what decade they visited!

An InLinkz Link-up

Hip to Be Square: The Neverending Pile Challenge and The Nail Challenge Collaborative

Phew! Made it! Last day (for this week at least) of double challenge posts! Today I have The Neverending Pile Challenge: I Had to Have but Still Haven't Use It (Essence Urban Messages) and The Nail Challenge Collaborative: Music/Movies/TV day 4 post.

So, last year I came across a post with a gorgeous gorgeous Essence polish called Skyscraper. Well I had to track it down off a blog sale. I had to buy the whole Urban Messages collection to get Skyscraper. I have already used Skyscraper but not the rest of the collection. So I chose these four remaining polishes as my I had to have but haven't used yet because they were bought with my had to have!

Starting with my index finger the polishes are: Essence It Peace, Essence Street Styler, Essence Nightline, and Essence Wall of Fame. (since these were so sheer I had to use OPI My Vampire is Buff). But look at these gorgeous polishes! The shimmer and flash! Why did I wait to use these?

This is how I tied it to The Nail Challenge Collaborative with D&R Apothecary You're a Star. A lovely square glitter topper. Sadly this indie polish brand is no more. Sad, I loved her glitters!

But wait!? How does that tie into the Collaborative of Music/Movies/TV?

You're welcome. This song has been in my head for a while now!

Don't forget to check out what the others had to have but still haven't used yet!

An InLinkz Link-up

Don't forget to check out what others did for their final post of Music/Movies/TV!

An InLinkz Link-up

Baroness of Glitter Review

So I was recently contacted by Demi of Baroness of Glitter to do some reviews of a few of her polishes. Sadly I had to put it on hold do to health reasons. I want to thank Demi for being so understanding! And for creating some really fabulous polishes! Let's take a look, shall we?

*Warning: Picture Heavy! :)

This is Aura, multichrome topcoat that shifts from green to blue to purple to magenta. This is one coat of Aura over Wet 'n Wild Black Creme. Just look at that color! I love the shimmer in this top coat!

As many of you know, capturing multichromes on camera are a bit difficult. But trust me when I say, all the colors that it's suppose to shift to are there! But let's see some more photos.

 

Aura is such a gorgeous top coat! And the formula....wow! Ah-mazing! It spread nicely and honestly I had to make sure to get all the excess polish off my brush before using it! It just really wanted to be on my nails! :)

Next up we have Tyrian Purple, one coat over Wet 'n Wild Black Creme. First off, look at her labels! Aren't they just awesome! Love! Now look at this glitter, then look at the bottle, now look at my nails, gorgeous! (I'm kidding, it just felt like an Old Spice moment there!). 

"Tyrian purple is the most expensive color since the ancient times. This is one of the beautiful and eye-popping colors. It is also known as ‘imperial purple’.

The royal color was used by emperors and kings of classical relic, including Alexander the Great, the Ptolemaic kings and the emperors of Rome.

The color is natural, and made from snail shells from the murex mollusk, a type of sea snail. It would take 250,000 murex shellfish to attain one ounce of Tyrian purple, so the dye was highly valued." source

This is just a really beautiful glitter! It has squares, hexes, and circles! Win! And I love the glowing quality of it.

Here's a back shot of the bottle so you can see the polish. It is a purple and gold glitter topper. It almost looks like deep space!

Here is one coat of Tyrian Purple over OPI Funky Dunkey. Love it!

Using Tyrian Purple over this OPI really punches the all the colors. When over black you really saw the glowing-ness of the polish. But over purple, the other colors really pop!

The formula on this was perfect! No fishing for glitter! They were just so happy to be swept up and put on my nails for all to see!

This is Karma, a multichrome topcoat that shifts blue to purple to red. It is actually a part of the Astralcolor Duo with Aura from above! This is one coat over Wet 'n Wild Black Creme.

I really love how deep this blue is! Again it's all super shimmery! And again, all the color shifts are there, just, you know, camera shy.

Like the other two polishes, Karma's formula was just perfect, smooth like buttah!

She is 5-Free and cruelty free! And I saw on her site that she is currently have a 10% off sale for a limited time! Don't know when that is so get over there quickly! :)

 Get 10% off your entire order over $10 (excluding S&H), use code "10OFF".

You can check out these and other polishes on the Baroness of Glitter's sites:

www.baronessofglitter.com 

 twitter.com/glitterbaroness
www.facebook.com/baronessofglitter
instagram.com/baronessofglitter

These are also her shops:

www.demiflux.com 

 www.elementalhaiku.com