Sunday, June 30, 2013

I'm on Bloglovin!!

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HAD TO POST THIS FOR SETUP!

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Another 'Cake-spiration' and BestieTwinNails!

I am loving these cake inspired mani's!! And I have so named it cake-spiration! Also, me and DJ of @djsnails on Instagram decided it was finally time to do the tag #bestietwinnails since we talk almost every day and we could practically be seestars! We decided to recreate this cake design on our nails! The cake was made by One Sweet Slice, check them out! And oh my, do gray and yellow look so pretty together!




Here is my interpretation of it. Gray with white polka dots, flowers, and just a simple chevron.


I didn't know how to translate the ruffles so on my thumb I did a cloud mani. I figured it was the closest thing to looking like ruffles. Haha. And then after we had both started our mani's, DJ remembered a stamping plate with a lace design but there was no turning back now. 


Colors used L-R: Kelly, Purity, Lemonade, Mirror Mirror


And here are both our designs together! For her ruffled effect she used the saran wrap technique with white and gray polish. Love them!


So what do you guys think? Are you liking the cake-spirations?

Follow @djsnails on Instagram and tell her I sent you!!! Show my bestie love!

xo, Colleen

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Gradient Triangles

I've seen this design done about a thousand times but I first saw it from @kahtreenahh on Instagram. I've also seen designs done by @sparrownails and @djsnails on Instagram. And I know there are a lot more. They're not perfect but I'm just in love with this!!

I did a base of white, then taped off my triangles and sponged on the gradient. It's so fun and bright! I'm a sucker for white nails, they just look so clean!




Colors used L-R: Ali, On A Trip, All About Me, Purity










I just love this. What do you guys think? I also love this gradient of colors. I think I'm going to have to use those again!!


xo, Colleen

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

I want to eat my cake, and paint it too!

I was browsing different chevron designs online for some inspiration and I stumbled upon this amazing cake!!! I just HAD to do it on my nails!! Talk about inspiration! This is the jackpot! Amazing-ness!!!!




Colors I used L-R: Fuchsia Shock, Grammy Gold, Flossy Flossy, Slapper, 9to5






I really don't like how my thumb turned out. I did some matte striping but you can't even see it so I didn't bother to photograph it more than once. 




Isn't this cake absolutely stunning!!! There are no words!
(Source: Google)




Sorry for all the pics but I just can't get enough!! Can you blame me? OOh-la-la!

xo, Colleen




Sunday, June 23, 2013

Inspired by Tennies

Summer, a friend of mine at work yesterday was wearing these amazing sneakers and I was like "I have to put that on my nails!" I tried to match the colors as best I could with what I had. It's not as bright and vibrant as her shoes but it's close. (And ps...I got new flourescent bulbs in my kitchen and I hate them. It's totally changed the tone of my photos. They must be different than what I had before. Luckily we're moving soon and I will have a different set up.)

I used Lime Crime "Pastelchio" and Essie "In The Cab-ana". The glitter is Love, Angeline "The Shorter, The Better". I did a gradient on my index and pinky, and of course I had to do some chevron striping! I had finished all my nails and was just staring at my thumbs! I had no idea what to do with them and I had already painted them teal. So I decided to just throw a cloud mani on those suckers! And I actually really love how these turned out!









Inspiration is all around us! 

xo, Colleen

Friday, June 21, 2013

Hello Summer!

Summer is officially here!!! And today is also my brother's 18th birthday!! Happy Birthday Brandon!!

Ok now on to nails. I'm born and raised in Southern California so I had to do something to mark the first day of summer! And we are known for our palm trees! I had something else in mind but then I remembered this look by Lynette Cenee. I did do a couple things different though. I'm very excited for summer this year! Hopefully this mani brightens up your day and gets you excited too!!



Colors I used L-R: Club Havana, 24/7, Yowza Yellow, In The Cab-Ana












Show me your summer designs! Hashtag your photos on Instagram with #lusterlacquer!

xo, Colleen





Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Novel Nail Polish Swatches



Today I have some swatches of Novel Nail Polish. Four thermals, and a holo. These all had great application but I did have some disappointments with a couple of them that will be detailed below.



DAY DRUNK
A beautiful purple holo!! Three coats with top coat. Purple usually isn't my color but this is really pretty!




WATERMELON BITS
A green thermal glitter polish that goes white when warm and green when cold. Three coasts with topcoat. Will be released June 29th.



SUMMER ROMANCE
A shimmery pink thermal polish. Turns a creamy nude when warm and pink when cold. Two coats with topcoat. So gorgeous!



BEJEWELED
A blue-y purple thermal glitter polish. Turns a pale lavender color when warm and deeper blue toned purple when cold. Two coats with topcoat. Will be released June 29th



PRETTY FOLLIES
A teal thermal glitter polish. Turns very pale minty color when warm and teal when cold. I was so excited for this one! But the glitters had settled pretty well to the bottom and to one side, even with vigorous shaking they barely budged. The formula is not thick so I'm not really sure why they wouldn't move even with shaking. And the shape of the bottle makes it nearly impossible to fish them out. But it's a gorgeous color! Two coats with topcoat.



BEACH PARTY
A blue thermal polish with gorgeous neon glitters. Turns white when warm and blue when cold. I had a little bit better luck with this one, but again the glitters had settled and barely moved with vigorous shaking. The formula again on this was great! Two coats with topcoat. Will be released June 29th.



These are great polishes. Really pretty colors/mixtures and amazing formulas. I wish the glitters on the full size bottles didn't settle though. 

You can find Novel Nail Polish here http://www.etsy.com/shop/NovelNailPolish.

xo, Colleen




DISCLAIMER: These polishes were provided to me for the purpose of review/swatching. These are my 100% honest opinions. I was not compensated in any way nor am I affiliated with Novel Nail Polish products.

Proceed with Caution!

Get ready to burn out your retinas! I don't think this polish is bright enough! *sarcasm*

Today I bring you a crazy one! The base color is Salon Perfect "Yowza Yellow". Two coats over white. It is very sheer and would take a lot of coats on it's own. It is much more neon in real life! I feel like a walking caution light! The glitter is Pure Ice "It's Complicated". Such a pretty standard glitter! Packed full of multi colored glitters. And on the chevron I have butterLONDON "Slapper". This is my second go around doing chevron with my new pinking shears. SOOOO much better this time! They're pretty much perfect! I cut the strips just the right size, used a different kind of tape, spaced them correctly, and used the right kind of nail polish. Success!






Woah baby!!! Do your eyes hurt yet?!

xo, Colleen


Monday, June 17, 2013

A Cut Above

Here's something simple and quick today because I had to get to bed a bit earlier last night. OPI "Mod About You" with Essie "A Cut Above". Didn't add a matte top coat although my heart was screaming for it! lol




xo, Colleen


Sunday, June 16, 2013

Blue Chevron Tape Mani

So I FINALLY got pinking sheers! (if you don't know what they are, google it!) I could not wait to do a chevron look but as you will clearly see below, I definitely need some practice! First thing I noticed I did wrong was I made the strips too wide, but they seemed so small when I was cutting them. Haha. Second thing is placement. But now after doing it once, I see where they SHOULD have been placed. Third thing, is I picked a horrible polish to do this with. The polish itself isn't horrible, it's actually quite amazing but for working with tape not so much! I used Essie "bouncer, it's me" which is stunningly beautiful but it is a very sheer jelly and when working with tape you should use an opaque creme that you can do in one coat because you want to remove the tape right away. With this I had to keep going over it but it didn't turn out too bad. But practice makes perfect! I've already got some ideas floating around!

I used Essie "bouncer, it's me". On the solid nails it is three coats, on the chevron it's two thick coats, and my white base is Zoya "Purity".





Isn't it just the most amazing blue you've ever seen!!! I'm dead.

xo, Colleen

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Laquerlicious - July 4th, 1776



Today I have two polishes from the July 4th, 1776 Collection by Laquerlicious. The formula on these were amazing!!! So let's just get right into it!



ROCKET'S RED GLARE
Is a rich shimmery red with a tiny hint of gold shimmer and red, silver and blue micro glitter. This is two coats on it's own with top coat. So pretty!



CELEBRATE RED, WHITE & BLUE
With a clear base this is jam packed with an array of all different kinds of red, white and blue glitters. From stars, hexes, squares, and bar glitters in all different sizes, this does not disappoint! This is one and like a half coat over Essie "Bikini So Teeny". Stunning!



Get your hands on these plus the others from the collection while you still can! They're gorgeous! Get them here http://www.etsy.com/shop/LaquerliciousUnity?section_id=13651008


xo, Colleen




DISCLAIMER: These products were provided to me for the purpose of review. These are my 100% honest opinions. I was not compensated in any way nor am I affiliated with Laquerlicious products.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Colorful Chevron



I think I just died! I seriously love this design so much! I saw a picture similar to this on Pinterest but it wasn't watermarked and the website it linked to was in a completely different language, so I have no idea who originally did this design :/ Sorry my friend!

I first did a base of Lime Crime "Milky Ways", then the colors I used were Orly "Lemonade", Essie "Boom Boom Room, Essie "in the cab-ana", and OPI "Eurso Euro". And I was lazy and didn't want to use tape and have to wait for each color to dry so I just freehanded it with a thin brush. I know the lines aren't perfect but what do you expect. I think it came out pretty darn good! And as far as being lazy, this ended up taking 3 hours because I'm such a perfectionist, I should have just done it with tape anyways! Haha oh well.







Do you guys love this as much as I do?! It's one of my favorites that I've done! Can someone come pick me up off the floor now?

xo, Colleen

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Love, Angeline - I Love the 80s Collection



Today I bring you the I Love the 80s Collection from Love, Angeline. And man do I love the 80's! These amazing glitter bombs are so fun and scream 80's. Again the bases are a little thick but for glitters like this I think it's necessary so that the brush can grab on to the glitters. No fishing required! And the names for these are so appropriate! Great collection Natosha!



HAMMER TIME
Is a clear base with white hexes, black diamonds, and silver glitters. So edgy! Love it! And I loved @pandasnails on Instagram swatch of this but I couldn't copy her so here I have one coat over Sinful Colors "Orange Cream". Sorry for the pink reflection in some of the glitters :/ My camera is pink and sometimes it's unavoidable. 


WHAM!
Is a clear base with neon green squares, watermelon hexes, and small black hex glitters. Here I've done one coat over Sinful Colors "Dream On". Also, can I just say I've forgotten how pretty Dream On is?! Wow!


THE SHORTER, THE BETTER
Just like a denim skirt it is sure to please! It is a gorgeous combination of glittery teal dots and matte yellow and grey hexes. I've put one coat over Sinful Colors "Sugar Rush". One of my favorites from this collection! 


MEMBER'S ONLY
Is a clear base with large black circles, medium pink circles, and white squares. I love this! Here I've done one coat over OPI "Mod About You". Really love this one! For the most part the black dots do lay flat on the nail unless it's on an edge and your nails have a hard curve, then I'd try to keep them towards the center of your nail.


TOTALLY RAD!
Is a neon glitter bomb with green, pink, and blue squares and yellow hexes, all of varying sizes in a clear base. My most favorite! Ah who am I kidding, they are all my favorite!!! Here I've done one coat over Lime Crime "Parfait Day".

Had to throw in another shot of this because that's how much I love it!



What do you guys think of this collection? I think Natosha did an awesome job with these. They are stellar!! You can find this collection at http://loveangeline.bigcartel.com/category/i-love-the-80s. Make sure to pick these up while they are available, because you NEED them in your life! 

And Natosha is offering 20% off your order with coupon code 20OFF and also free shipping on orders $15+ with coupon code FREESHIP. Both coupons expire on Friday! 6/14/13. Don't miss out!

xo, Colleen





DISCLAIMER: These polishes were provided to me for the purpose of review. These are my 100% honest opinions. I was not compensated in any way nor am i affiliated with Love, Angeline products.