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30 Day Challenge Day 20: Water Marble

I’ve made it to Day 20, two-thirds of the way through the 30 Day Challenge. Hooray! The challenge themes are real-deal from here on out, starting with today’s water marble.

water marble: cult nails manipulative and revlon fashionista

Water marbles are tough for me. I’ve played around with them a few times, including this earlier attempt where I definitely learned a few good lessons. I think that the success or failure of a water marble is largely dependent on the polish choice. If the polishes don’t look good or behave well, you’re sunk (pun intended)!

It took me a little while to pull together the color choices on this one, but I have a lot of blue polishes that I really love, so I decided to go that route.

water marble: cult nails manipulative and revlon fashionista

I started with two coats of NYC French White Tip and used it plus Cult Nails Manipulative, (pale aqua with shimmer) and Revlon Fashionista (deep teal). Revlon Fashionista is my untried for 30 Days of Untrieds. Just having an untried in here violates the water marble rules I set for myself after my last attempt, but that’s just the way it goes when you’re in the midst of a challenge!

water marble: cult nails manipulative and revlon fashionista

For this one, it was actually the untried Revlon Fashionista that performed the best. The drops easily spread out across the top of the water. Both Cult Nails Manipulative and NYC French White Tip refused to spread very much. In general the whole thing dried pretty quickly, so I had a few tries that fell apart before I even got to finish drawing the design. I used a dotting tool to add some Revlon Fashionista.

water marble: cult nails manipulative and revlon fashionista

And cleanup was a real bitch on this one. The blue polishes, primarily Revlon Fashionista, really didn’t want to come off of my skin. Sorry for the mess, I really did try very hard to clean up but to no avail.

30-Day Challenge, 30 Days of Untrieds

Please visit some of the other bloggers that are participating in the 30 Day Challenge this month. I know we will need a lot of encouragement to get through! Click here to see them:



Category:

30-Day Challenge, Indies, NOTD, Water Marbling

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30 Day Challenge Day 18 – Half Moons: Enchanted Polish Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

Day 18 of the 30 Day Challenge brings us to half moons. I had never done this style of manicure before. From what I gather, it’s a vintage style that was popular in the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s, so a real classic.

Half Moons With Enchanted Polish Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

The simplest form is probably black and white, but I wanted to do something a little more snazzy, so I used the lovely Enchanted Polish Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, a silver/white holographic polish. This was an untried for me, for the 30 Days Of Untrieds I’m doing simultaneously.

Half Moon Manicure with Enchanted Polish Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

Left: Indirect Light; Right: Direct Light To Show Holo

I started with two coats of Enchanted Polish Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, followed by one coat of Poshe fast-dry top coat. Once it was dry, I used some hole reinforcer stickers that I got at Target to mask off the bottom part of my nails. They weren’t quite a perfect fit, but maybe I could have jiggered it a bit.

Once they were in place, I painted on two coats of Orly Liquid Vinyl, a black glossy creme. I then removed the stickers.

I added one coat of regular top coat to my ring finger and placed a large clear rhinestone on the tip of the nail for an accent, and then topped all of nails with another coat of Poshe.

Half Moon Manicure with Enchanted Polish Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

Here’s a look at Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds on its own.

Enchanted Polish Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

Enchanted Polish Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

Direct Light To Show Holo

Please visit some of the other bloggers that are participating in the 30 Day Challenge this month.
I know we will need a lot of encouragement to get through! Click here to see them:

30-Day Challenge, 30 Days of Untrieds



Category:

30-Day Challenge, Indies, NOTD, Swatches

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Restock Radar: Week of Sept. 17

Here’s a look at some of the indie nail polish restocks scheduled for this week. Check back every Monday to see what’s coming up.

Monday, September 17
Available Now
POMEGRANATE LACQUER (PomegranteLacquer.com)
Notables: Launch of Fall collection, including Curator (black with gold and silver glitter), Midnight Satellite (teal with silver shimmer) and Autumnesque (copper with gold shimmer)

NoonET
GIRLY BITS (On Big Cartel)
Notables: Full restock, plus launch of new additions to the Calendar Girls collection and a Halloween collection, including Boo-Berry (described as a deep blurple jelly with purple, fuschia, navy blue and black hexes and squares, and sparse micro glitter) and Monster Mash (described as a slightly tinted green base with green, gold and black hexes, squares and shreds)

Friday, September 21
1pmET
TAKKO LACQUER (On Etsy)
Notables: Kiss The Sky (purple with gold/pink duochrome) and I Love Rock & Roll (purple with pink fleck shimmer)

time not specified
SERUM No. 5 (On Etsy)
Notables: Launch of a Fall/Winter collection

time not specified
NAIL POTIONS (On Etsy)
Notables: The Heart Of The Sun (copper/peach base that shifts to pink and green)

Saturday, September 22
12:01amET
RAINBOW HONEY (On RainbowHoney.com)
Notables: Launch of Chrono Cross Collection, including Lunairetic (described as red, gold, purple, magenta, and holographic hex and diamond glitter) and Unstealable Jewel (described as holographic silver diamonds, pink, silver, and microfine glitter in a sheer rose jelly)

5pmET
HAPPY HANDS (On Etsy)
Notables: I Just Blue Myself (blue hex and square glitter in a clear base — note new disclaimer on possible glitter bleed)

And Keep An Eye Out For …

DOLLISH POLISH should be launching a new limited edition Halloween collection this week on Big Cartel

If you know of any planned restocks coming in the future, please let me know at polishgroupie@gmail.com Thanks for stopping by!

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Indies

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30 Day Challenge Day 14 – Flowers: A-England Iseult

I figured from the get-go that I wouldn’t be able to pull off anything too extravagant for Day 14 of the 30 Day Challenge. But I didn’t want to do just basic dot daisy flowers, so I looked around for some other options. I found this video tutorial on a modified dot daisy and decided to use that but in a different design.

Flower Nail Art with A-England Iseult

To satisfy the 30 Days of Untrieds challenge that I’m doing simultaneously, I started with three coats of A-England Iseult, a pale shimmery pink creme. This is a great, versatile color. It’s pretty on its own but also provides a great backdrop for nail art.

Flower Nail Art with A-England Iseult

For the flowers, I started with Zoya Jolene, a bright pink creme, and used the head of a pin as a DIY dotting tool. I started with five dots to create the flower, and then used a toothpick to drag from the center of each dot to the center of the flower to create some lines on the petals.

I then used the same technique with Sonia Kashuk Smoke and Mirrors  to create a smaller silver metallic flower with a small dotting tool.

Flower Nail Art with A-England Iseult

I applied one coat of regular top coat and then added clear and pink rhinestones, some bigger some small. I sealed them with one coat of Poshe.

Flower Nail Art with A-England Iseult

It wasn’t too challenging but I think it’s cute. A nice easy way to do a fun design.

30-Day Challenge, 30 Days of Untrieds

Please visit some of the other bloggers that are participating in the 30 Day Challenge this month. I know we will need a lot of encouragement to get through! Click here to see them:



Category:

30-Day Challenge, Indies, NOTD

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30 Day Challenge Day 10 – Gradient: Cult Nails Untamed with Zoya Lotus

It’s day 10 of the 30 Day Challenge, which means I’ve survived one-third of it. Woo hoo for me. Today’s theme is gradients.

Since I haven’t done this kind of gradient before, I tried to keep it simple. For the gradient, I used two colors, Zoya Lotus and Cult Nails Untamed. The latter satisfied the 30 Days of Untrieds challenge I’m doing simultaneously with this one. I also added China Glaze Luxe And Lush, a layering polish with holographic flakies, to make it a little more interesting.

Gradient manicure: Cult Nails Untamed with Zoya Lotus and China Glaze Luxe And Lush

I started with two coats of Cult Nails Untamed as the base, then a coat of Poshe fast dry top coat. I let it dry completely before starting the gradient. Untamed is a medium pink sheer-ish polish with a fine shimmer. Zoya Lotus is an amethyst purple with a stronger pink/gold shimmer (click to see it on it’s own).

Gradient manicure: Cult Nails Untamed with Zoya Lotus and China Glaze Luxe And Lush

I know there are several different techniques for doing gradients; I used a makeup sponge and brushed the polish directly onto it, then dabbed it onto my nail. I dampened the sponge a little with water before I started so it wouldn’t absorb quite as much polish … not sure if it made a difference or not. I put the darker color on first and then the lighter one, making sure they overlapped some in the middle. As I dabbed the sponge on my nail, I moved it back and forth a little, tip to base, to make sure I got Zoya Lotus where I wanted it, and also to help with the blend a bit.

Gradient manicure: Cult Nails Untamed with Zoya Lotus and China Glaze Luxe And Lush

I added another layer of Poshe, then one coat of China Glaze Luxe And Lush, followed by one coat of Gelous since the flakies are chunky in the CG, and finally another coat of Poshe.

Gradient manicure: Cult Nails Untamed with Zoya Lotus and China Glaze Luxe And Lush

I wasn’t able to achieve as much of the blend in the middle as I wanted, so perhaps this technique wasn’t the best for that. It also might have been my polish choices: the Cult Nails Untamed was sheer and light in color, so it didn’t blend into the Zoya as much is get absorbed into it.

Still, I’m glad to have my first sponge gradient under my belt. Any tips you can share would be greatly appreciated.

30-Day Challenge, 30 Days of Untrieds

Please visit some of the other bloggers that are participating in the 30 Day Challenge this month. I know we will need a lot of encouragement to get through! Click here to see them:



Category:

30-Day Challenge, Indies, NOTD

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Restock Radar: Week Of Sept. 10

Here’s a look at some of the indie nail polish restocks scheduled for this week. Check back every Monday to see what’s coming up.

Monday, September 10
1pmET
TRELLY’s M.I.S.C. Polish (On Etsy)
Notables: Halloween collection, including Trick or Trelly (black hearts, white and black bars, orange hex and black and white micro glitter in a clear base) and Spiked Witches’ Brew (turquoise, yellow, black and white glitter in clear base)

3pmET
STARRY EARTH (On Etsy)
Notables: launch of the Halloween Collection, including Spooky Eye Ball (glow-in-the-dark milky white base with matte red hex and shred glitter plus black bar glitter), Jack-o-Fright (black jelly with black and orange micro glitter with small orange hex glitter) and Candy Corn (yellow, white and orange small hex glitter plus yellow micro glitter in a clear base)

Wednesday, September 12
7pmET
DANDY NAILS (On Etsy)
Notables: full restock, including limited edition Halloween Trio

8pmET
ONCE UPON A POLISH (On Etsy)
Notables: Glitter Droppings  – billed as a mystery polish, it’s made from leftover glitter so no two bottles are exactly alike

Friday, September 14
between 10amET and 1pmET (On Big Cartel)
CANDY LACQUER
Notables: restock, and maybe the launch of a new My Little Ponies line? The line includes Fluttershy (pink and yellow glitter plus pink holographic butterfly glitter in a clear base) and Twilight Sparkle (purple and pink matte glitter in a clear base)

time not specified
XOXO Nails (On Etsy)
Notables: Launching 15 new glitter polishes

Saturday, September 15
5pmET
HAPPY HANDS (On Etsy)
Notables: I Just Blue Myself (blue hex and square glitter in a clear base — note new disclaimer on possible glitter bleed)

time not specified
SABAN (On Etsy)
Notables: Fall collection of franken polishes

And Keep An Eye Out For …
THE POLISH BAR is planning the launch of a new late summer collection and a new Halloween collection sometime this week on Etsy .

The ever-controversial LYNNDERELLA will be stocking Halloween nail polish shades on EBay sometime this week.

If you know of any planned restocks coming in the future, please let me know at polishgroupie@gmail.com Thanks for stopping by!

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Indies

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30 Day Challenge Day 7 – Black & White: Dice With A-England Morgan Le Fay

I almost didn’t make it through Day 7 of the 30 Day Challenge without having to buy another bottle of nail polish (*the horror!*). It wasn’t the theme of black & white that was the problem; it’s the fact that I’m simultaneously doing 30 Days of Untrieds.

I only have one bottle of black polish, which I’ve already used, so if I couldn’t come up with a suitable untried white, I would have no choice but to go buy something new.

Luckily (unluckily?), I was saved by A-England, which also happens to be the brand I featured yesterday for the violet day of the 30-day challenge. Loving this brand, so easy to apply, and beautiful!

Dice Manicure With A-England Morgan Le Fay

This manicure includes: two coats of NYC French White Tip under two coats of A-England Morgan Le Fay (untried), with Orly Liquid Vinyl. I finished it with one coat of Poshe fast-dry top coat. I liked the shimmer that A-England Morgan Le Fay brought to the table. There’s more going on here than if I had used a basic white creme.

Dice Manicure With A-England Morgan Le Fay

The dice theme is pretty easy, which is good for me since I am not that comfortable with dotting tools yet. I actually used the head of a pin as my dotting tool, and it worked pretty well for me. I didn’t get them totally uniform in size, but I’m working on it. The Daily Varnish has a great post on DIY dotting tools, if you want to check it out.

Here’s a quick iPhone photo of what I did with my left hand … too complicated to take a one-handed photo with my other camera!

Dice nail art with A-England Morgan Le Fay

Have you used any household items as dotting tools? Let me know what you’ve had success with.

30-Day Challenge, 30 Days of Untrieds

Please visit some of the other bloggers that are participating in the 30 Day Challenge this month. I know we will need a lot of encouragement to get through! Click here to see them:



Category:

30-Day Challenge, Indies, NOTD, Swatches

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