The Digit-al Dozen Does The Terrific Twos - Free Choice with a Theme of Two or Pairs!

Last day of our Terrific Twos theme and today is a free choice, as long as it deals with twos or pairs. So what did I do? Well? What time is it?

Yep! Peanut Butter Jelly Time!

Peanut Butter and Jelly, they're a pair right? :) I used OPI You Don't Know Jacques Matte (two coats) as my base or for crust of the bread. I then spread on Barielle My Tan Blazer and Nails Inc Buckingham Palace.

Hope you had fun this week celebrating with us our 2nd Anniversary! Don't forget our terrific 2nd Anniversary Giveaway! 51 Prizes!

Don't forget to check out the ladies and see what they did with their free choice!

An InLinkz Link-up

The Neverending Pile Challenge: Most Expensive

So for today's Neverending Pile Challenge the prompt is the most expensive. I really had to think about this. I've used all my NailNation 3000s so I could use those but then I remembered I had this mani I did last month and it was the first time I used it! (Though it has been seen on the blog since I did this mani, but I have never posted this one!)

OPI My Vampire Is Buff is my most expensive untried that I have. Don't laugh! I usually buy at a beauty supply store so I get 'em cheap. And now I work at Ulta so I get a discount. But this was the last OPI I paid full price for because EVERYONE in The Digit-al Dozen has it and kept  talking about it, so I finally caved and got it. And I love it! It's a gorgeous vintage cream! Perfect for nail art! 

I stamped using a new, untried Barry M Blackberry! (later I bought another bottle of this on accident from a blog sale because it had a different name, Blue Plum. Hahaha! Oh well! I love this color!) I used Bundle Monster BM-017 and added Nails Inc Hampstead Gardens dots to fill it in. (I channeled a bit of Canadian Nail Fanatic!) I used HK Girl Top Coat to finish it off.

I really love how this mani turned out! I've been waiting for a prompt to post them! I love how retro/vintage these are!

Don't forget to check out what the other ladies are showing as their most expensive!

An InLinkz Link-up

The Digit-al Dozen Does Red, Gold, and Green: Waterfall!

Day 3 of The Digit-al Dozen Does Red, Gold, and Green and I attempted a Waterfall again. I think I did better than last time but still need to practice some more. The Nailasaurus makes it look too easy! :)

I still kind of like how it turned out (need to work on my brush skills). The colors are holiday, but which holiday? Kind of makes me almost think of Halloween with the red/blood and the chartreuse/slime. Hahaha! I love it! :)

I started with Sally Hansen Emerald City (again) as my base, I then mattified it with NYC Matte Me Crazy. For the waterfall itself I used: Nails Inc Chelsea Embankment (gold), Finger Paints Sexxy Sundress (chartreuse), and China Glaze Ruby Pumps (red).

My goal is to perfect the waterfall! So watch for more to come! :)

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

The Digit-al Dozen Does Red, Gold, and Green: Tape Mani!

Day 2 of The Digit-al Dozen Does Red, Gold, and Green, and guess what I voluntarily chose to do....a friggin' tape mani! And for once in my nail art lifetime it worked! Wahoo! :)

I stared with Sally Hansen Emerald City, then Nails Inc Chelsea Embankment, followed by China Glaze Red-y and Willing. And of course, topped off with HK Girl Top Coat.

Yep, a third photo because I'm so happy this work out! :)

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

The Digit-al Dozen Does Skittles Week: Fall Feathers

For today's Digit-al Dozen Skittle I wanted to go with fall colors. And I absolutely love how this turned out! It's all cozy and warm! 

I used China Glaze Kalahari Kiss, China Glaze Budding Romance, China Glaze Red-y & Willing, and Nails Inc Hampstead Gardens. Perfect fall colors. I stamped using Konad Chocolate and Messy Mansions MM14. Such an amazing plate! Topped it off with a coat of HK Girl Top Coat (love this stuff for stamping!)

I'm a little bummed that the stamping doesn't show up as much on Red-y & Willing in the photo. But that's alright, it's still pretty!

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

The Digit-al Dozen Does Book Week - Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus

Book Week continues for the Digit-al Dozen. You gotta love children's books! Today's mani is inspired by the book: Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems.

Photo Source

I just love these books! They are so much fun! In this story you are told by the bus driver: "Don't let the pigeon drive the bus". Through out the story Pigeon begs and pleads and asks you to allow him to drive the bus. It's really cute and I love the illustrations.

I used China Glaze For Audrey for the bus on my first two fingers. I used OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls as the base of my ring finger. And then I mixed together OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls and  Nails Inc Hans Place to try a create the color of the book on my pinkie. I also used HK Girl Top Coat. For all the artwork of the bus and pigeon I used craft paints. I was actually pretty impressed with how this turned out! My seven-year-old nephew knew who it was right away when I showed him and he was shocked how I got it on my nail. Yep, that was praise enough!

Photo Source

Uh-oh the Pigeon is driving the bus!

Don't forget to check out the other ladies and their books for the day!

Trend Week: Magnetic Polish

Oh yes, remember when this was the craze? Pretty much every company made some, some were right in on the trend and others came later (Orly, looking at you). I own about 3, maybe 4 magnetic polishes. But this one, Nails Inc Trafalgar Square is by far the best.

I started with one coat of Trafalgar Square and let it fully dry without using the magnet. I applied the next coat one nail at a time using the magnet that came with the polish. This polish has the strongest magnet of all the ones that I have.

This mani was a pain to photograph. It wanted to be blurry in almost every photo. But this polish practically glowed in real life. It reminded me of black/grey tigers eye.

So, the magnetic polish trend. Yay or nay?  Do you still have a bunch, collecting dust?

The Digit-al Dozen Does Art: 31 Day Challenge 2013! Day 7: Blue Nails

Welcome to a crazy week! It's a new month which means it is time for The Digit-al Dozen and it's challenge as well as continuing the 31 Day Challenge 2013 (relaxed version). Phew! Let me tell you, it was a bit tricky but kind of fun at the same time trying to get everything matched up! Shall we see how I did?

The theme for The Digit-al Dozen this month is Art! I chose this and many of the ladies in the group are a little mad at me for it! :) I say bring on the challenge! I love art and art history so I was excited to do my favorite pieces for you. BUT....then it coincided with the 31 Day Challenge 2013. So I wasn't able to do my favorite pieces but I found some pretty cool pieces of art to show you.

And today's 31 Day Challenge 2013 is Day 7 (as in the 7th day of the month not the challenge, remember we re-worked this for no weekend posts!): Blue Nails. Let's get at it shall we? :)

These are my blue nails that are also inspired by art. I used Catrice Blue Cara Ciao (such a bright and happy blue! Two coats), Nails Inc Hans Place (orange), and Finger Paints Black Expressionism.

So what is this inspired by?

This is Blue II by Joan Miro. Completed 1961 in the Abstract Art style. It is an oil on canvas and currently resides in the Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France. Miro is a Spanish artist who is usually associated with the Dada and Surrealist movements.

Now, Abstract art isn't something I usually love but I have this quote that I love and I knew I had to do an abstract piece (helps that it's blue and simple too!).

"The more horrifying this world becomes...the more art becomes abstract; while a world at peace produces realistic art." - Paul Klee

I believe in this quote, just take a look around you today and this quote rings true. Alright, alright. Sorry for my tangent (wasn't really a long one though was it). But I am extremely passionate about art. My favorite era is the Italian Renaissance. :)

Thought this is an abstract piece in our crazy world, there is something calming about this piece.

I hope you liked this as much as I did. Can't wait to show you the other manis this week!

Don't forget to check out the other ladies in The Digit-al Dozen:

And doing the 31 Day Challenge 2013 (relaxed version):

The Digit-al Dozen Does Festiveness & TGIF: Formerly Frosty by Pop Culture Polish

This is the final day of The Digit-al Dozen Does Festiveness. But it is also TGIF: Thank Goodness, Indy Indie Friday! And today we have Formerly Frosty by Pop Culture Polish. I bought this polish knowing the exact mani that I wanted to do! And I am so happy how it turned out!

This mani is based on a song I learned when I was little called "Once There Was A Snowman".

Once there was a snowman, snowman snowman.
Once there was a snowman, tall, tall, tall.
In the snow he melted, melted, melted.
In the snow he melted, small, small, small.

 See, my snowman is melting! :)

Here is Pop Culture Formerly Frosty, as always: (l-r) 4 coats, 3 coats, 2 coats, and 1 coat. This polish is a "beautiful clear coat filled with several sizes of white glitters and accenting orange and black glitters". Some of the smaller glitters are iridescent and so catch the light causing a gorgeous glow and sparkle, just like snow! :)

Here it is in more direct light. Love it! I'm assuming you all get the inspiration here. A melted snowman! Black glitters=eyes and orange bars=nose! As you can see, the black glitter and orange bars didn't like to come out of the bottle so much. But other than that I had no issues with this polish. There are many orange and black glitters but I didn't fish them out because I wanted to show you how it really went on.

Here is Formerly Frosty (one coat) over: (l-r) Essence Lime Up!, Orly Nite Owl, Essence Let's Get Lost, and Essence Break Through.

So for my melting snowman I used Essence Romeo as my base color. I made my snowman out of Milani White On The Spot with Pop Culture Polish Formerly Frosty over top. With hat and eyes out of Finger Paints Black Expressionism. His arms are Finger Paints Sketchy Character. And his nose is Nails Inc Hans Place. Expect for my pinky where the eyes and nose are Formerly Frosty.

Please go check out Pop Culture Cosmetics and their Polish:
Etsy Store
Facebook page

Please enjoy some fun videos. The first is how this song is normally sung and then the other two are fun medleys of it! :)

 

Don't forget to check out Emma's TGIF post over at Manicurity, she is also in The Digit-al Dozen! :) 

Don't forget to check out the other ladies and their festive manis! Oh and we have some new members! :)

The Digit-al Dozen Does Festiveness: Lights!

 

Day 3 for The Digit-al Dozen Does Festiveness and today is lights! Sure, I have a new stamp I could have used but I wanted to try free-handing some lights and I love how they turned out! :)

I chose these colors for the lights because these were the colors of the lights we use to have on our house growing up. We would keep them up all year long because they were a pain to put up and take down! :) But we had a basketball hoop up by the garage and so all the lights around the hoop got broken and that always made my dad mad! :)

I used Essence Romeo as my base. Wanted a nice neutral so that the color of the lights would pop!

I then used a small brush and Finger Paints Black Expressionism and drew the wire. I kind of like how it looks just like this! :)

For the lights I used Zoya Sooki, Catrice Blue Cara Ciao, Nails Inc Hans Place, and China Glaze Starboard. And yes, this is the same photo as above. Having issues with my OttLite and the lighting on my manis. Sorry! >_<  Hahaha! :)

Don't forget to check out the other ladies and their Festive manis! :)

Thank Goodness, Indie Friday - Glimmer by Erica Spicy Pumpkin

Here is my last Halloween inspired TGIF: Thank Goodness, Indy Indie Friday! Today I am bringing you a stunning polish from Glimmer by Erica called Spicy Pumpkin. Love this! 

Just look at that color and shine and sparkle! Like always: (l-r) 4 coats (index finger), 3 coats (middle finger), 2 coats (ring finger), and 1 coat (pinky).

Erica writes on her etsy shop that: 

"It is a blend of orange, brown, garnet, and red glitter. It is really stunning on the nail. I was thinking about pumpkins and everything we use them for during the fall and winter, and I came up with this polish. It's sort of a blend of pumpkin and the warm spices we use in the fall. Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and of course, pumpkins"

 And I believe she nailed it! This is a perfect fall glitter!

Here it is as one coat over: OPI Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh?, OPI Diva of Geneva, Nails Inc Hampstead Gardens, and Catrice Blue Cara Ciao.

This glitter went on wonderfully! Sometimes I had to even take some glitter off the brush, which I would rather deal with than not enough glitter!

Bottle shot and macro bottle of Spicy Pumpkin.

Please go over to her Facebook page here to be kept up-to date with her news.

And bookmark her etsy page here so that you can buy her polishes! :)

  

Don't forget to check out Emma's TGIF post over at Manicurity!

Thank Goodness, Indie Friday - Sassy Lacquer Pumpkin Spice Review

 

So I have a special addition of TGIF: Thank Goodness, Indy Indie Friday! Today I get to review a fantastic polish by Sassy Lacquer called Pumpkin Spice (new version). I am totally excited about this! **Warning - Picture Heavy!**

Carrie (the mastermind behind the indie brand) started off as a blogger for Reflections, Sassy Nails, and Silly Diversions. Sassy Lacquer was created by Carrie as a result of her love for pretty lacquer (which she creates wonderfully!), earlier in 2012 with her first collection that launched in April. Carrie makes all her polishes by hand in her home in sunny Florida, and each are made with raw ingredients and are "3 Free"! Since April she has been releasing a new "line" of lacquers every few months. 

The polish that I am review today, Pumpkin Spice, is from her Fall 2012 line and is currently available through her Sassy Lacquer store. So, let's take a closer look....

This, my dear readers is Pumpkin Spice.  I will give you a minute to pick your jaw up off the floor. This is a stunning polish! I have shown you it here alone without anything under it but a base coat. Starting with my index finger is 4 coats, 3 coats on my middle finger, 2 coats on my ring finger, and 1 coat on my pinky finger. 

This picture is a bit blurry to show you all the glitter aspects of this polish. This polish contains a clear base with ultra fine brass glitter, a touch of ultra fine red glitter, a smidgen of ultra fine black glitter, a pinch of burning leaves glitter, fine white glitter, small orange matte glitter, small orange metallic glitter, and small brown glitter. Look at that shimmer! 

Since I have helped Carrie in the past with naming her polishes she approached me again to help her with her Fall and Winter lines. So she sent me some images of her swatches and I saw this polish and knew right away this needed to be called Pumpkin Spice. (actually this is a new version of the polish and this looks so much more that pumpkin spice than the original!). What's more fall than pumpkin spice? I add it to everything this time of year! :)

So let's take a look of it over some colors. Here, starting with my thumb and working l-r are: OPI Skull & Glossbones, OPI Dutch 'Ya Just Love OPI?, Nails Inc Hampstead Gardens, China Glaze Custom Kicks, and Finger Paints Black Expressionism. Isn't it just perfect over any color!? And look at that ultra fine glitter shimmer away!

Now, let's talk about the formula of Pumpkin Spice. It is perfect! Seriously! It applied like a glitter dream with the perfect mixture of glitters! In the bottle it looked like it would be gloopy but it's not! And the shine! Wow!

Here is a macro bottle shot of Sassy Lacquer Pumpkin Spice. Ah-mazing!

Now, your mission, if you choose to accept it (and you should) is to go over to her store and purchase your own wonderful bottle of Pumpkin Spice so you can make all your manis this fall just a bit spicier! :)

Oh and guess what? Carrie loves to make custom lacquer's! So if you have a polish that you wish existed go and talk to her! :)

Email: sassylacquer[at]gmail[dot]com

Store: http://sassylacquer.storenvy.com/

Blog: http://www.kcrephmams.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Reflections-Sassy-Nails-and-Silly-Diversions/274691922570635

 

Don't forget to check out Emma's TGIF post over at Manicurity! 

*The product in this post was sent to me for review.