Nail Polish Collection

So I'm finally showing my nail polish collection. I meant to do this a long time ago but kept forgetting. I keep my collection in a Helmer which you can get at Ikea for around $40. Currently I organize by brand because my collection isn't that big yet. Haha. When my collection grows I will probably reorganize by color that way I can go straight to that color family. I've lined the drawes with that fishnet sticky stuff (haha I don't know what it's called) that way the bottles don't slide around.

Sorry for the poor picture quality, I took these on my phone cuz it was easy lol.

TOP DRAWER: NAME BRANDS:

T-B: China Glaze, Lime Crime, Essie and one Sephora by OPI, Love,Angeline there on the right, Zoya, Orly, OPI and Nicole by OPI

2ND DRAWER: DRUGSTORE

T-B: WetNWild, JulieG and one Loreal, Revlon, Milani, Sally Hansen, Sinful Colors

3RD DRAWER: MORE DRUGSTORE

T-B: Miscellaneous brands that don't have pairs and ones that I don't really use, Rimmel London, random CVS brand Shades of the Season, 10, Confetti, NYC

4TH DRAWER: TOPCOATS & BASECOATS

T-B: Ones that I absolutely hate and don't use, the base coat I use when I swatch, topcoats, treatments I love that I use as base coats.

5TH DRAWER: NAIL ART SUPPLIES

Makeup sponges, cotton balls, striping tape, toothpicks, striper polishes

BOTTOM DRAWER: NAIL CARE SUPPLIES & TOOLS

Vaseline, creams, cuticle stuff, rhinestones (I guess those should be in the other drawer), nail files, dotting tools, brushes, clippers, etc...

Well there it is! To some this might seem like a lot, but real nail addicts know this is nothing. Haha.

xo, Colleen

Ikat Print: Pictorial

Alright guys, I finally have my first pictorial!!!!!!!! I hope you guys like it!! Today I'm bringing you Ikat Print nails! Such a fun easy design.

COLORS: Wet N Wild "I Need A Refresh-mint" and Sinful Colors "24/7"

All you need is a base color, black, white, and an accent color. I used a black striper and ended up switching to a white striper to be more accurate (sorry that a regular white polish is pictured). If you don't have striper polishes, you can use regular polish or acrylic paint with a small detailing brush.

1. I always recommend starting with a base coat. I use OPI - Nail Envy but this is optional. Paint your nails 2 coats of your base color and let dry.
2. Then add your accent color in various places on your nails leaving enough space in between for the black. (some I did a little too close but hey, it's my first time).
3. Add your white polish in the center of your accent color leaving enough color showing on the sides. And you want the white to be jagged, not straight edges.
4. Then add your black creating V shapes at the tips to make the Ikat print. The lines should also be jagged and "imperfect". Be sure to let your layers dry for 5-10 minutes so you don't smear your design when you apply your top coat.
5. Finish with a top coat and your done!

This is so easy! Even for your non-dominant hand because you want this to be sort of "messy". You can choose any colors you want and change up the pattern. I've seen where it goes black, white, THEN the accent color and black again in the very center but I think it looks best with the accent color between the black and white but to each their own. Maybe I'll try the other way some time.

I hope you guys enjoyed this look and please let me know if this was helpful and if  you like this pictorial. If you feel I should change anything please let me know!

If you try out this look please share it to my facebook or tag me on Instagram @lusterlacquer and hashtag your photo with #lusterlacquer in case I miss the tag. I'd love to see your guys' designs!!

xo, Colleen

My Week In Instagram Pictures

Hi guys!!!!!!!! First off I wanna say I know I haven't had many blog posts lately other than my weekly Friday post and I apologize!! But I have a few ideas that I hope I'll be able to get up for you and hopefully some pictorials/tutorials too!! Ok now moving on. Here are my Instagram posts from this week! Enjoy!

MONDAY:

I posted a collage of the new Sinful Colors Sugar Rush collection. Click here to see full review and swatches of this collection. 

TUESDAY:

I did the #manibeforeandaftertag. Top 2 are from about 4 months ago when I first started IG. Short, horribly acrylic damaged and misshapen nails. Dry, cracked cuticles. Shotty nail art and filtered photos. Bottom 2 were taken in the last 2 weeks. Long, strong natural nails. Clean, healthy cuticles. Good nail art and bright, unfiltered photos. We all start somewhere!

And then Tuesday evening me and @PolishedByTiff on IG did the #bestietwinnails tag. This was sooo fun! I picked the colors (hot pink, orange, yellow, and silver) and she picked the design (gradients and zebra) and this is what we each came up with!

Full photo of my mani.

WEDNESDAY:

I posted a full shot of Sinful Colors "Sugar Rush" cuz it's really the only one from that collection that I like. The rest are alright but I can live without them.

THURSDAY:

Bit of a "kitchen sink" mani. Not really sure where I was going with this but I think it came out cute. First time using actual striping tape. It's a bit of a pain!! But makes a really cute look!

Colors: Orly "Glitz & Glamour", Sinful Colors "Easy Going" and "Savage", and a mix of Fergie "Glamorous" & "Kaleidoscope Eyes" on the pinky.

That's it for this week! I promise I will have some other posts up soon!!!!

xo, Colleen

Sinful Colors Sugar Rush (Spring 2013 Collection)

Today I'll be reviewing the new spring collection from Sinful Colors. A line up of some pastels and some brighter colors. Mostly shimmers and a couple cremes. Description and swatches below. 

SWEET TOOTH: Is a warm toned purple with a very subtle shimmer through out. It is very sheer although I got it opaque in 2 coats.

COTTON CANDY: A mid-toned pink. Again has a very subtle shimmer through out. Opaque in 2 coats.

SUGAR RUSH: Probably my favorite one of the bunch. A light powder blue creme. No shimmer. Good coverage a little bit goopy formula. Opaque in 1 decent coat or 2 thin coats. 

UNICORN: This looks much better in picture then in real life. I hated this one. The formula was terrible, very streaky. I find it looks more mustard in person than pastel. This is 2 coats and still blotchy. If you're looking for a nice pastel yellow I would recommend Orly - Lemonade.

CANDY COATED: Is a cool toned purple with a very subtle shimmer. Again very sheer but opaque in 2 coats.

ORANGE CREAM: Is more of a "crelly" (creme + jelly) I would say. Again it has a very subtle shimmer as most of these polishes do. Very pretty coraly color. Opaque in 2 coats.

SWEET NOTHING: Is a medium toned teal creme. No shimmer. Opaque in one generous coat. Not sure about the name though. When I hear "Sweet Nothing" I think of a calm, pale color. Not a medium teal color. LOL.

SUGAR N SPICE: Is a medium/dark mid-toned pink. Has a subtle shimmer and is more of a "crelly" but opaque in 2 coats.

Overall I wasn't too impressed with this collection. The formulas weren't great. I found even after wiping my brush as I would be painting a glob of polish would be running down the shaft and onto the brush and I'd have to wipe again. I'm not really a fan of shimmer. I usually like cremes and glitters. Don't get me wrong these aren't bad polishes and they are pretty colors but for me they don't stand out in my collection. I just don't think they're anything special. My two favorites are Sugar Rush and Orange Cream. The rest I think I could live without.

xo, Colleen

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valetine's Day everyone!! This post will be taking the place of my usual "My Week In Instagram Pictures" since this week has been all Valentines nails. Starting Monday the 11th I started posting the looks I did for Vday. There was no way I could do just one or two looks. Vday is just way too fun!! So here are all the looks I came up with and a couple that were inspired!

MONDAY:

First up I did a classy look without being too "girly". I used Nicole by OPI - Please Red-cycle

and Orly - Liquid Vinyl topped with NYC - Matte Me Crazy. Then I used tape for the heart and stripes. 

Then I did this amazingly gorgeous heart and half moon mani! I used NYC - Polyester Pink and 

Revlon - Glitz & Glam. Again I used tape for the heart and moons.

TUESDAY:

I was inspired by Kaitlin Ferland's "live" mani but I did "love" with a heart for Vday! I really need to get a

brush set. I did this mostly with a dotting tool and tried to clean up a lil with black/white stripers

but it is a bit messy. But still oh so cute!

Sally Hansen - White On, Black Out, Tough Love

Then I added some red leopard print!! Leopard hearts are so big right now so I added a couple of those.

I adore this mani!!! One of my faves that I did this week! 

WEDNESDAY:

Who doesn't love roses for Valentine's Day? I did this really elegant nude rose mani.

Rimmel London - Caramel Cupcake, INM - Northern Lights, Sally Hansen - White On

Then I did a simple heart mani. 

China Glaze - Secret Peri-wink-le, Sally Hansen - Tough Love and a silver glitter striper

Then I did this super adorable love hearts mani! My girl heart looks a bit scary though. Haha. I should

 have put a bow one her. Love my mustache heart!

Sephora by OPI - Natural Environ-mint and Orly - Cotton Candy

THURSDAY:

Happy Valentine's Day!!!! This is probably my favorite of my original designs. Sooo pretty and cute! Love it!

OPI - Mod About You, Wet N Wild - Something, Orly - Dazzle, Revlon - Girly

Another rose mani! Roses and hearts!

Sally Hansen - Petal Pusher & Tough Love, Milani - Paradise Pink, Sally Hansen - White On

FRIDAY:

I just had to recreate PRETTYNAILSBYMAL's mani. It was soo gorgeous, I fell in love with it!

Sally Hansen - White On & Black Out and the heart is Nicole by OPI - Please Red-cycle

Well that's it for the Valentine's Day manis! I hope you guys enjoyed this and if you do any of my designs tag me on Instagram @lusterlacquer or use the hashtag #lusterlacquer so I can see them!! Now to decide which one I want to wear for my vday dinner! Haha. 

xo, Colleen

My Week In Instagram Pictures

SATURDAY:

This look ended up being entirely too difficult. The chevron nail I tried to do with tape which was a fail so
where it got messed up I had to fix with black and white stripers so it's not crisp at all and I'm not happy about it. lol.

SH XTREME WEAR: Mint Sorbet - White On - Black Out, ORLY - Dazzle, ESSIE - Set In Stones

TUESDAY:

I posted swatches of Love, Angeline's Love Always Collection. A new indie polish line launching 2/14. 

Click here to see the full blog post with review and get a special coupon code for 10% off!!!

WEDNESDAY:

I recently made a trip to Walmart and picked up some polishes and I reallllllllllly wanted to try this one out 

but wasn't really feeling inspired to do anything fancy. So a simple mani with 2 glitter accents.

RIMMEL - I Lilac You + REVLON - Stunning

FRIDAY:

Swatch of Revlon - Royal

Jelly sandwich with Revlon - Royal and Essie - Set In Stones

xo, Colleen

Love, Angeline (Review & Swatches)

Love, Angeline is a brand new Indie polish line and is set to be released February 14th. Today I have swatches and reviews of the first debut collection called Love Always. I will also have all the info on where you can purchase these polishes at the end of this post. And don't miss the coupon code at the end!

These are mini 5ml bottles sent for review.

SHE LOVES ME
She Loves Me is a clear base with tiny aqua/mint glitters and small gold hex glitters. Two of my favorite colors!! Although I'm going to have to play around with this a little and see what base color will bring out the aqua more. It's hard to see against white.

One coat over white. No top coat.

Two coats over white. No top coat.

Macro bottle shot. Sorry for the pink glare. It's the reflection of my camera. 

Couldn't get away from it! Haha! There are NO pink glitters in this.

LOVE STRUCK

Love Struck is a clear base with small yellow and red hex glitters. I didn't think I was going to like this one all that much but surprisingly I do! I think this will look really nice over a soft peachy base. Placement on this was a little hard. As you can see it pulls a lot more of the yellow glitters than the red. 

One coat over white. No top coat.

Two coats over white. No top coat. Was able to get a lot more of the red on the second coat.

Macro bottle shot. Amazing!!

FIRST LOVE

First Love is a clear base with tiny silver glitters, medium purple hex glitters, and clear/white hearts. I was most disappointed with this one. I don't know if it is because of the mini bottle but the hearts were hard to fish out and I just couldn't get coverage with this one. I will keep playing with it though.

One coat over white. No top coat. Was able to get one heart on my middle finger but then no purple glitters :/

Two coats over white. No top coat. A little better. Got some purple glitters on my middle finger 

but they all clustered together. Was also able to get a second heart on my middle finger. Can barely 

see it (just above the purple glitters).

Macro bottle shot. I hope I can get this one to work for me cuz I love it!

ENCHANTED LOVE

Enchanged Love is a clear base with tiny black glitters, small magenta hex glitters, and medium turquoise hex glitters. This is by far my favorite one!!! Love the colors!! And got great coverage with this one! Didn't even need to do two coats.

One coat over white. No top coat.

Macro bottle shot. Stunning!!!!

POISONED LOVE

Poisoned Love is a clear base with tiny brown glitters, small gold hex glitters, and medium copper hex glitters. This was my second favorite of the collection. Again only needed one coat with this one. I can't wait to try this over other colors!

One coat over white. No top coat.

Macro bottle shot.

Overall I love this collection and for being a debut line I think Natosha did a great job! The names are so cute and it's such a great collection to come out on Valentine's Day! 

ALL THE INFO:

Where To Buy: These polishes will be available for purchase on February 14, 2013 at http://loveangeline.bigcartel.com/. Pre-orders are going on now so get on it!!!

Bottles: Full size - 15ml ($8) Mini size - 5ml ($4) PAYPAL ONLY!!!

Shipping: Currently US only!! Shipping cost is $2 for the first item and $0.75 for each additional item. 

And Natosha was so nice to throw in a special treat for you guys!!!!! Enter in coupon code LUSTER at time of purchase to recieve 10% off until 2/28!!!!!

DISCLAIMER: These polishes were sent to me by Natosha, the creater of Love, Angeline for review. These are my complete 100% honest opinions. 

I was not compensated in any way nor am I affiliated with Love, Angeline products.