Icing Lemme See Your Peacock and Revlon Scandalous

First, I want to show you the swatches of Icings Lemme See Your Peacock. It's a nice green, cyan and magenta glitter in a clear base.

One coat

Two coats

Three coats

Four Coats

I think this built up fairly nicely. By coats three and four I was sort of placing the glitter where I needed it for coverage. This also looked more opaque in real life, and the nail beneath was harder to see (I'm going with the glitter distracts your eyes). I didn't topcoat the swatch, so I'm not sure how much of that you would need to get it smooth.....

Now, here's what I currently have on my nails; a jelly sandwich of sorts using Revlon Scandalous (the re-release of the dupe for Lippman's Bad Romance I think......I got it because I like it lol) and Icing Peacock. I wanted something darker to tone down Peacock, but the blacks that I have are pretty opaque. So I grabbed Scandalous because it has the same magenta glitter in a watery black base.

Taken in the weak daylight of winter in Michigan :(

I kinda like it.....though I might do one more coat of topcoat (it's still a bit bumpy). However that will come tomorrow so that this has plenty of time to dry.

Until next time!

-Lynnette

Coming soon!

Coming soon to this blog:
-Swatches of Icing's Lemme see your Peacock (plus a mani featuring this)
-Nail Mail: Gosh Golden Dragon (my first contest win!)
-Nail Mail: March's Julep box
Yay! Hopefully I get the nail mail soon.....the mail carriers like to skip my house for some odd reason.
It's just too late to post the swatches tonight. Heck the mani might have to wait.....the horror of going to work with bare nails lol!

Well off to bed! Work will come around much too early....
-Lynnette

Week 9: "Vintage" mani

Well I kinda cheated on this one, but I've got a good story! This week I used a "vintage" color in more than one sense. Not only is this a great old school red, but this is the red that my mom used all. the. time. when I was growing up. If I was a good girl, Mom would paint my nails, usually with this color. Revlon still makes this color under the same name, Cherries in the Snow. I picked up both of us a new bottle not too long ago.

This is a bit hard to capture on camera. In one light it looks tomato red, in other lights it's blue based, then other times it looks so pink it's red. This is the more tomato look here.

I know, I should have done something more, like half moons again or something. However, I really didn't like them when I did it the first time. Besides, me and this color have a history :).
Until next time!
-Lynnette

Water Marble!

So my friend Tasha saw another friend's water marble on Facebook and asked me to do one for her. Unfortunately I don't have a good picture of hers, but I decided to do one for myself. I liked the colors used in Tasha's marble, so I used the same colors but added one. Originally I used Ulta Jaded and Sally Hansen Flirt, then added Sally Hansen Black Tie for mine. It took a little while to get a bulls-eye that I liked, but the nails I dipped before the "perfected" bulls-eye turned out good enough to keep.

 Left

 Right

Left thumb.

I can't get the picture of my right thumb to co-operate, but it tuned out well. 

That's it for now; Later!

-Lynnette

Week 8: Corset mani

This week I used 3 polished from my recent haul. I started with 2 coats of Ulta Maine Attraction, then did a coat of Julep Megan. Originally I was only going to do Megan on the sides and have Maine Attraction be the middle, but the two looked so close together that it would almost defeat the purpose. So I did a stripe of Marisa down the middle, then used my silver nail art stripper to do the crisscross. I didn't think a bow would turn out well so I omitted it.

Please excuse the tip wear....I did this Friday night, but it's worn well :).
Well, later!
-Lynnette

China Glaze Blue Year's Eve and L.A. Colors Treasure Island

This is what I'm currently wearing. I used China Glaze's Blue Year's Eve as my base, 2 coats. This is a great polish by itself; nice glass flecks with some micro glitter mixed in I think. Then I put a coat of L.A. Colors Treasure Island on top. Treasure Island is green and blue micro glitter in a clear base...a glitter bomb itself, when put over Blue Year's Eve it's even more so! The two compliment each other really well, and aren't too distracting (like glitter can be).

Mmmm! Glittery goodness!
Well, that's all for now. Now to think of what my week 8 challenge will be!
-Lynnette

Valentine's Haul/Nail Mail

So my Valentine to myself was polish! I went out shopping at Icing and Ulta (which I didn't even know my area HAD and Ulta!), and while I was out my mail carrier brought me the two Julep boxes I was waiting on! So the nail part of my V-day was pretty great!

So here's everything I bought.

From Icing I picked up the grey/silver MagnetiX (with the wavy magnet) and Lemme See Your Peacock (clear base with cyan, green and magenta hex glitter).

Then From Ulta I bought (left to right): For Bitten, Jaded, Maine Attraction, and Lav-ish. Lav-ish came in a cute little makeup kit that was free when you bought $17.50 worth of Ulta brand products. The products in there actually aren't too bad, but I don't wear makeup a lot.

Then these were waiting for me when I got home:

 February Boho Glam box with (top to bottom) Julep's cuticle oil, Oscar, and Marisa. Marisa isn't as dark in person as it is in the picture.

January It Girl box with (top to bottom) Hayden, Leah, and Megan. These are actually the colors I was going to do my baby nursery in, then go lazy and didn't decorate lol.

If anyone is interested in joining Julep Maven for the first time, click here (it's my referral link) and use code SHAREONFEB to get your first Maven box for $1! Yup, only one dollar!

Well, that's the haul. There will be another post of what I'm currently wearing pretty soon.

-Lynnette

Week 7: Valentines Day.....rock star style!

Hello again! Late post again this week, but I thought I would post this challenge on the day it celebrates....Valentines day. I've never been a fan of V-Day for 2 reasons: 1) if you're single, this day is made to make you feel worse. 2) if you're with someone, this day is made to make you stress about getting the perfect gift/the best romantic surprise. The hubby and I will do something fun, but nothing over the top.

Without further ado.....this weeks mani uses Sally Hansen Unbreakable Heart as the red base (I remember this being a darker red when I first wore it around Christmas time, but here it's more cherry.....whatever). Then I used Sally Hansen Flirt for some subtle little hearts (so subtle I'm not sure you can see them in my pics....but they are there!), and Julep Elizabeth to stamp the heart with wings. Add some sweet stickers to my thumbs and middle fingers, and dab heart glitter on ring and index (from Nicole by OPI Step to the Beat of my Heart), topcoat and done!

And here's proof that I do sew! I made these super wide leg knit pants to accommodate a new thigh tattoo. All the pants I own happen to have side seams that rub and hurt the fresh (as of Saturday) tattoo. The one pair of bottoms I have without a side seam happen to be skin tight leggings....... not good for a fresh wound that needs air to heal.

I used a simple P.J. pant pattern that didn't have a side seam (Simplicity 2290 I think). I lowered the waist (now that they are made, I could have lowered it more....) and cut the leg pretty much straight down from the hip. Sew according to the directions, and voila! Thigh tattoo friendly pants! Now this is a picture of the "wrong" side/inside.....the other side is black. since the skull print hides the minimal seams and the elastic is enclosed, I treat these as reversible (I'll wear the black side out in public most likely).

Since the sewing machine is un-buried and the child has decided to nap, i might go sew up another pair......this time denim?

Later!
-Lynnette

Julep Rachel

So this is what I put on after my challenge mani came off. I used 2 (careful) coats of Julep Rachel as a base; a lovely copper color). I do want to mention that part of what made the week 6 challenge more challenging is I was not careful enough with Julep Elizabeth. When that was dry, I stamped a lacy design with Julep Elizabeth, then added a coat of Julep Oscar. I wanted the stamping to stand out better, so after Oscar dried I did another stamping round with Elizabeth. I did use two different plates/designs (which of course I don't remember!), but they meshed really well together.

Next to each other in the bottle (and in my mind's eye) I thought theses would be more eye catching. On the nail however, they turned out to be a little......blah? I don't know, what do you guys think? I will say that Oscar with a coat of topcoat is lovely and smooth; no grit, no texture other than smooth!

Well until next mani!

-Lynnette

Week 6: Half moon mani and my Julep box!

I was so excited to see/receive my Julep It Girl box, I had to use at least one of the polishes inside for my weekly challenge. If you've never heard of Julep, they make you take a style quiz, then send you a monthly box with polishes and products based on your style profile. Click here to go to Julep's website (it's also my referral link). This month's box came with Oscar (gold glitter), Rachel (warm copper), and Elizabeth (midnight purple; the website says blue, but it's purple in all lighting). I've actually got a lemming for the box they first showed me;  Hayden (a peach), Leah (a leaf green) and Megan (Mediterranean aquamarine)...it's actually almost the colors I thought of for my baby nursery lol.

Anyway, week six is a half moon manicure. I used an OPI for the base color, I don't know the color name. It's labeled "Be a Dahlia wont You", but if you google search it that color is actually a bright pink.....nothing close to what this color is. Since I found this polish in the parking lot of a store that doesn't even sell OPI, I can't really go back to the store and ask them......If anyone is game to helping me figure out the real name of this beauty, I'd gladly snail-mail them a swatch! Then I used scotch tape to tape off the bottom portion (most how-to's say to use a circular sticker, but I had nothing close to that), and did one coat of Elizabeth.

This is how it looked in most lighting.....nude shimmer with black. Elizabeth is gorgeous, but very very dark. Was a bit disappointed with how this wore. I do my manicures before bed, and somehow got tip wear in my sleep....not cool! Then got more chips at work the following day. I retipped and topcoated that night, but the next day there was even more chipping.

So Monday night I caved and took it off and put on what I'm currently waiting. That will get it's own post soon :)

Again, if you want more info about Julep's Maven program click here (it's also my referral link). I believe that if you use code "NEWYEAR2012" you can get your first box for only a penny! Yup one cent! (If that code doesn't work, I believe Julep also e-mails you a code to get your first box for only $5....I just don't remember the code or if mine would work for others)

Until next time!
-Lynnette

Sally Hansen Black tie

I'm getting later and later in posting my manis.....I've gone from posting while the color was/is drying to the color being almost all chipped off! oops! Sorry. In an effort to do better, I'm forcing to post this before I try out my new Julep Maven polishes for my 52 week challenge.......ugh, this will have to be quick because they are calling my name!

I did Sally Hansen's Black Tie on Wednesday night (after the newspaper came off. I didn't have to remove much....most of it chipped/peeled like normal polish). This is my first duochrome and i love it! I would describe the color as a dark graphite grey that flashes plum purple and dark hunter green. My pictures don't capture all the colors right, but you can get the feel. It's not as flashy as a lot of duos are, and I like that. I have to wear a hunter green work shirt, and I felt like this coordinated but wasn't matchy, and wasn't too out of place. Neither of my jobs have anything about nail polish in the dress codes, but I like to feel pulled together; there's nothing that makes me feel more disjointed than polish clashing with what I'm wearing.

You can see a smidge of the green in this photo.

This color wore beautifully by itself for about 2 days, then I decided to  refresh it with a crackle coat (I still happen to l.o.v.e. crackle polish lol). I wanted to see what would happen to the color of the crackle/if the duochrome would show through. Sadly, it didn't show much if at all. This is a medium coat of Oxidized Aqua by China Glaze.

Black Tie sadly just looks dark blue/purple under the crackle coat :(. I wore it this way for about another day and a half (it didn't start chipping until today). Looks like with this base/top coat combo i can go from Saturday night to Wednesday, then Wednesday night back to Saturday. This is great for me. While i enjoy painting my nails, I don't have tons of time lying around. Also this way I actually get to enjoy my manis....right up till the time that I get sick of them lol!

Well off to paint again.....next challenge: half moon manicure!
-Lynnette