Winter necklace: BB Couture Silver Balls

Hello ladies,

With snow in the immediate forecast, I chose a soft metallic shade for today's manicure. I wanted to create jewelry for my nails, a winter necklace for each fingertip.

From Born Pretty plate M05, I stamped the double swirls in black Konad special polish. I added a rainbow gem between the two swirls to create a necklace. I placed peridot rhinestones and pale green pearls along the chain.

It was my first initiative with a design plate from Born Pretty. I found the image transferred cleanly and easily. I'll be taking pictures of the plates I received in an upcoming post. This image is a little tricky to position on the nail. My advice for proper centering is to judge the position by the widest point in the design.

Despite the name, Silver Balls is pale sage green. The composition of this shade is similar to the shimmer polishes from Milani Welcome Back Color, except with the trademark quality BB Couture formula. The color sets with a pearl finish, but applies like a frost. The visible brushstrokes dramatically soften with topcoat.

The bar glitter and silver glitter pieces are partially hidden by the metallic finish. I think it makes an interesting textural look that would likely be fascinating with matte topcoat.

I realize Silver Balls was intended for the holidays, but it looks like a Spring shade to me. It makes me wish for bulb flowers to appear. Tiny crocuses, don't be shy.

BB Couture Silver Balls was provided for review. This shade along with the entire Christmas Collection can be purchased from overallbeauty.com.

Design plate M05 was provided for consideration. It is part of the nail art stamping plate set #518. For purchase, please visit bornprettystore.com.

Happy painting, ladies!

How Sweet It Is!

By rmcandlelight
'Sweet'

Was in Dollar Tree the other day looking for some old SH Prisms.  Only found one 'diamond' not too thrilled about it.  It's a grey weak holo but good to use for frankenings to make other holographics.  Well, anyway I picked up Sally Hansen 'Sweet'.  I would describe it as a cinnamon red.  I am really impressed and guess what I think I'm starting to like reds *-*  It's a frost which I really don't like but this one isn't bad at all no brush strokes.

I don't know what collection this came from.  Do you have it?

Ring Finger nail art used LA Colors Art Deco nail art lacquers in white, black and gold glitter

sometimes a polish doesn't have to be expensive to love it.

Until next time please have a great nail polish day. (✿◠‿◠)

Wave of flowers

Hello ladies,

I wanted to create a cooling manicure as an antidote to the humid weather in Philadelphia. I am wearing Blue Fantasy from Diamond Cosmetics. There is a hint of gold duochrome blended with the pale blue. The combination makes me think of sun and sky.

I stamped the wave of flowers from Bundle Monster plate BM11. I chose Konad blue pearl special polish to create a tone on tone look. To adorn the flowers, I added two sizes of iridescent crystals and blue pearls.

You can see the gold duochrome easily in the photo above.

Lilies along the garden fence.

Hello, little friend.

Is it time to run?

No, it's time to eat greens. This little bunny ate lunch and watched me through the garden fence as I took pictures, first of him and then of my nails.

Blue Fantasy is difficult to classify. This polish seems to exist between a frost and a pearl finish. There are brushstrokes to contend with in application. The formula is also sheer. I painted three coats of Blue Fantasy over two coats of Brucci 2 in 1 Nail Perfection. I let my whitening base coat dry for a bit before adding color. While I love the look of the pearly blue, this polish does require extra care to achieve opacity.

I have been enjoying creating summer theme manicures with colors from the Diamond Cosmetics core line. I will also be showing more from the upcoming Fall Collection this week.

Blue Fantasy was sent to me for review. This shade is available for purchase from diamondcosmetics.com for $2.25. For a chance to win 12 bottles of polish from Diamond Cosmetics plus your choice of a treatment product, please stop by the Ladies' Choice of Diamonds Anniversary Giveaway.

Happy painting, ladies!

Lunar

Hello ladies,

I managed to catch the last few moments of sun today. I walked to the park for picture taking and felt as if the wind was going to whirl me off the pavement. The temperature in Philadelphia is 23 degrees fahrenheit with a wind chill of eight degrees. That converts to minus five degrees celsius and minus 13 degrees celsius respectively. I know many of you would cherish such temperatures in comparison to colder climates.

To complement the icy touch of the wind, I wore China Glaze Luna. I love silvery blues in winter. The color conveys the sense of chill.

Above is a picture of my cat Moon. I tried to name her Luna, but she had a different preference. I always have let my cats decide their names based on what captures their attention and what sounds they respond to. She always came when I called her name. Moon passed away a couple years ago. She was such a dear and cheeky cat. China Glaze Luna reminded me of her and I wanted to share. She was a street rescue who came to me in an unusual way. On the night of a full Moon, she followed me five flights up an outdoor staircase to my apartment and she stayed with me. She was so dirty from the rusty colored soil in a nearby parking lot that I thought she was an orange cat! After a few days of rest, warmth and grooming, she showed all of her beauty. I do miss her.

Returning to polish, Luna has a frost formula stirred with holographic glitter and smaller silver particles. It took three coats for opacity. The result reminds me of a layering experiment instead of a single polish. I am rather amazed all the elements converged respectfully into one formula. It seems like inviting guests with divergent opinions to a dinner party and seeing if all can converse without a clattering of soup spoons. Thankfully, China Glaze understood how to bring a frost, a metallic, holographic and silver glitter along with a shade of ice blue together without incident or unpleasantries.

Happy painting, ladies!

Sparkling steel

Hello ladies,

Today I have a layered look with NYC New York Color in Steele and Fantasy Makers Magical. I intended this to be a Halloween theme manicure, but the result bespeaks of steampunk to me. It has the quality of industrial metals sparked with the fantastical.  I imagine those Victorian inspired gowns made with parachute material and accented with clock pieces. 

Evil Angel had requested a picture of my ring. Here you go, lady!

It amazes me how within one step from the bright pink blooms was another bush finished flowering and producing rose hips. Roses have such an extended growing season.

The base of the look is NYC New York Color in Steele. This polish is from a recent holiday display with a red and silver theme. They are still in stock in my local CVS and Rite Aid. While I love the color, the frost formula is undesirable to me when worn alone. Brushstrokes are visible on the nail even with careful application. I would only use this polish for layering or as a base for an all over Konad design. I was able to achieve opacity in two coats.

Fantasy Makers by Wet and Wild is currently available in the Halloween aisle. Magical is a notable glitter top coat. It has a combination of coppery orange glitter, gold glitter as well as gold micro glitter in a clear base. I applied two coats over NYC Steele.  I experimented with this as a funky french but I didn't think it had the concentration of glitter to produce enough flash. It's perfect as a topcoat. Magical would be more befitting of the Halloween season over a black creme polish, but I do love to try new styles.

Happy painting, ladies!