A girl and her love of nail polish

Posts tagged ‘A England’

Restock Radar: Week of Feb. 3

Here’s a look at some of the indie nail polish restocks scheduled for the week starting Monday, February 3. Check back every Monday to see what’s coming up. Updates will be added as I find them.

Tuesday, February 4
time not specified
LOADED LACAQUER (On LoadedLacquer.com)
Notables: Restock of Disarmed and Dangerous, Oxygen Bar and North of the Arctic Circle

Wednesday, February 5
time not specified
SWEET HEART POLISH (On Etsy)
Notables: Launch of Show Me Your Beads

Friday, February 7
noonET
RESCUE BEAUTY LOUNGE (On RescueBeauty.com)
Notables: Pre-orders begin for the A Poem Collection

8pmET
PAHLISH (On Pahlish.com)
Notables: Launch of All of Time And Space Collection Part II, six shades including The Oldest Question

9pmET
SCOFFLAW NAIL VARNISH (On ScofflawVarnish.com)
Notables: Restock and launch of limited edition Love Letter From Scofflaw (available one-time only, as a pre-order during the first hour)

10pmET
ELEVATION POLISH (On Big Cartel)
Notables: Restock

Saturday, February 8
5pmET
FREAK SHOW POLISH (On FreakshowPolish.com)
Notables: Launch of collaborative Dr. Seuss Duo and some other new colors

And Keep An Eye Out For …
LLAROWE  on Tuesday, February 4 will be restocking A ENGLAND, DIFFERENT DIMENSION (new colors and restock) and PICTURE POLISH (new colors and restock) at 3pmET and again at 9pmET

LYNBDESIGNS is retiring a number of shades on February 14

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

UPDATED FEB. 5, 2014

Category:

Indies

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Patriotic Election Day Caviar Nails

Happy Election Day to all of my readers in the U.S.! I hope that you will all be able to get out and vote.

In honor of today’s festivities, I’ve got some patriotic red, white and blue nails to show you. They are blinged up a little bit with some microbeads, also known as caviar nails.

Patriotic Election Day Caviar Nails

Here are the base colors: blue – Nails Inc Baker Street; red – Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby; white – Ulta Snow White and A England Morgan Le Fay.

The microbeads are Recollections brand, which I bought as part of two different sets at Michaels. The red beads are called Cherry; the white are actually Clear. [UPDATE: I did this manicure late last night, and when I woke up this morning, most of the red microbeads looked like they had changed color to a metallic bronze-silver shade. Not sure if it was rubbed off, washed off or what.]

Patriotic Election Day Caviar Nails

I started with one coat of polish on each nail. For the white thumb, I used Ulta Snow White for the first coat. Then I added a second coat to the blue nails and sealed them with one coat of Poshe fast-dry top coat.

Patriotic Election Day Caviar Nails

Then onto the beads. With a paper plate underneath to catch the stray beads, I painted one nail with a second coat of polish and then poured the beads over the wet nail. I gently tamped them down with my finger to make sure they were all settled into one layer and sunk into the wet polish a bit. I then sealed off just the tip edge of the nail with a regular clear top coat. Rinse and repeat.

I poured the extra beads from the plate back into the bottle. Make sure the plate is clean before you switch colors or you’ll end up mixing your beads.

Patriotic Election Day Caviar Nails

One word of caution: be careful when you open these bottles. When I opened the first one, the beads kind of shot out and got all over the place. Not the easiest little suckers to clean up!

Patriotic Election Day Caviar Nails

Category:

Holiday, NOTD

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Nail-aween Nail Art Challenge: Hello Kitty Halloween Water Decals

Happy Halloween (again)! This is my second post of the day because I need to finish out the last day of the Nail-aween Nail Art Challenge from datyorkLOVES/SassyNails. Day 10’s prompt is a general one, it just has to be inspired by Halloween.

Halloween Nail Art: Hello Kitty Water Decals

I saw these really cute Halloween-themed Hello Kitty water decals on eBay and had to have them. I bought them from RLR Creations. I actually had originally ordered some witch ones that I was going to use for the Day 8 Witch theme, but Rachel accidentally sent these instead. But she was very quick to rectify the situation by offering me a free set, so keep an eye out for a pilgrim-themed manicure around Thanksgiving!

Halloween Nail Art: Hello Kitty Water Decals

Note that anything that looks white on the decal is actually clear, so if you want Kitty’s face to be white, you have to use white polish underneath. Rachel recommends using a light color underneath but says darker ones will work too.

I started with one coat of Ulta Snow White, a basic white creme, and then I added one coat of A-England Morgan Le Fay, which is a super-shimmery sheer top coat.

Halloween Nail Art: Hello Kitty Water Decals

To use the decals, you cut them out, soak them in water for 15 seconds, separate the backing from the decal and place the decal on your nail. Slide it into position, let it set for about a minute or so and then add top coat. I used one coat of Poshe fast-dry top coat, but they do feel a little bit bumpy so next time I will try one coat of Gelous first.

Halloween Nail Art: Hello Kitty Water DecalsHalloween Nail Art: Hello Kitty Water Decals

There are tons of water decals for nail art available on EBay and Etsy, so check them out if you’re interested. You also can buy water decal paper on EBay and print your own, but I haven’t tried that myself yet.

If you have, let me know how it went!

Nail-aween Halloween Nail Art Challenge

Check out all of the NailAween Nail Art Artists!

Category:

Holiday, NOTD

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Dollish Polish Team Salvatore

Who knows what tonight is?!?! That’s right, the premiere of The Vampire Diaries! Woo hoo!

So it’s only appropriate to bust out Dollish Polish Team Salvatore, an indie polish inspired by the show. In case you missed my supernatural nails post from the 30-Day Challenge where I professed my love for all things vampire, here’s my vampire-themed manicure from last month.

Dollish Polish Team Salvatore over A-England Morgan Le Fay

If for some reason you don’t watch, then all you need to know is that it’s a show full of beautiful people, nearly all of whom are either vampires, witches, werewolves or somehow otherwise touched by the supernatural. It focuses on a love triangle between a girl (maybe now a vampire?) and two vampire brothers whose last name is Salvatore. Hence, Team Salvatore — why should we have to choose? (But who’s kidding who: Damon, Damon, Damon.)

Dollish Polish Team Salvatore over A-England Morgan Le Fay

Back to the polish, I bought it back in August but have been saving it for today. It’s got a mix of red, black and silver glitter, some square, some hex, some micro, all in a clear base. Honestly it’s not a polish that I was in love with from bottle shots and swatches, but I really wanted it anyway. But seeing it now on my nails, I really love it.

Dollish Polish Team Salvatore over A-England Morgan Le Fay

I saw a lot of swatches of it over black and over red, and some over white. I considered gray, which I still think would look great, but at the last minute, my bottle of A-England Morgan Le Fay called to me. I liked the idea of using white but not having to deal with annoying white polish application problems. A-England goes on like a dream, plus Morgan Le Fay has a beautiful shimmer that I thought would complement the glitter.

Dollish Polish Team Salvatore over A-England Morgan Le Fay

So this is two coats of A-England Morgan Le Fay, and then two coats of Dollish Polish Team Salvatore. I topped it off with one coat of Gelous to help smooth out the glitter and then one coat of Poshe fast-dry top coat.

Dollish Polish Team Salvatore over A-England Morgan Le Fay

Dollish Polish is available via Dolly’s store on Big Cartel.

Hope you like this manicure, and go Team Salvatore!

Category:

NOTD

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30 Day Challenge Day 27 – Artwork: Mark Rothko Nail Art

I had to enlist my sister for help with this one because she works in the fine art field. I needed recommendations on artists to look at for Day 27 of the 30 Day Challenge, inspired by artwork. She pointed me toward Mark Rothko, an abstract artist whose nearly 50 year career started in New York in the early 1920s.

Mark Rothko paintingsMark Rothko paintings

Mark Rothko Nail Art

I modeled each nail after a different one of his paintings.

Pinkie: I started with two coats of Sinful Colors Let’s Meet. The orange block is China Glaze Riveting and the white block is NYC French White Tip

Ring: The base is two coats of Sinful Colors Slate. The violet block is A-England Elaine and the white block is NYC French White Tip.

Mark Rothko Nail Art

Middle: The base is one coat of Essie Very Cranberry. The middle block is Sally Hansen Wine Not, the bottom block is Kiko 359 with a little Wine Not mixed in, and the top block is Megan Miller Lemon Ice, my untried for the 30 Days of Untrieds challenge I’m doing simultaneously.

Index: I started with two coats of Sinful Colors Cinderella. The top and bottom blocks are an unnamed shimmery turquoise shade from Paris Nail Lacquers (also untried). The middle stripe is the same color mixed with a little Wet n Wild I Need A Refresh-Mint

Mark Rothko Nail Art

Thumb: One thick coat of Orly Liquid Vinyl. The stripe is Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby mixed with China Glaze Riveting.

Mark Rothko Nail Art

Hope you like it!

 

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, NOTD

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30 Day Challenge Day 24 – Book: Put Me In The Zoo

I went to my son’s bookcase for the idea behind today’s post, Day 24 of the 30 Day Challenge, inspired by a book. The book I chose is one we’ve been reading a lot at bedtime lately, Put Me In The Zoo by Robert Lopshire.

Put Me In The Zoo

Put Me In The Zoo Polka Dot Nail Art

If you’re not familiar with it, it’s about a spotted creature who wants to live in the zoo but is rejected by the zookeepers. He meets two children and tries to show them that he should be in the zoo because of all of the wonderful tricks he can perform with his spots (changing color, putting them onto other things, throwing them up in the air). But in the end the children tell him that maybe the zoo isn’t the best place for him afterall. With all of his talents, he should be in the circus instead.

Put Me In The Zoo Polka Dot Nail Art

My manicure is based on the scene in the book where, after changing his red spots to blue, orange, green and then violet, he turns his spots to all of those colors at once.

Put Me In The Zoo Polka Dot Nail Art

For the base I used three coats of The Nail Junkie’s Daffodil, followed by one coat of Poshe quick-dry top coat. Daffodil was an untried for me, for the 30 Days of Untrieds challenge I’m participating in simultaneously.

For the dots I used the head of a pin as my dotting tool with the following colors:

  • Blue: Nails Inc. Baker Street
  • Orange: Kiko 359
  • Green: SInful Colors Last Chance
  • Violet: A-England Elaine

I finished it with one coat of Poshe.

Put Me In The Zoo Polka Dot Nail Art

“With all the things that you can do, the circus is the place for you!”

Have you ever based a manicure on a children’s book?

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, NOTD

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30 Day Challenge Day 22 – Song: U2 Silver And Gold Gradient

U2 is my favorite band, so there was little doubt as to whose repertoire I would look to for Day 22 of the 30 Day challenge, where the manicures are supposed to be inspired by a song. The problem was finding a U2 song that inspired something I could actually pull off with my limited nail art skills.

So that brings us to “Silver and Gold,” a song from U2’s Rattle and Hum album. This is a very literal interpretation of the title, obviously not representative of the dark themes of the song, which deal with Apartheid in South Africa and the power of money and wealth. Not sure how I would have put all of that onto my nails.

U2 Silver and Gold Glitter Gradient nail art

I found a video tutorial online for a silver and gold glitter gradient and used that as the basis for this manicure.

I started with one coat of Seche Natural nail treatment just to have a hint of something on my nails. Then I used two coats of Orly Rage, a rose gold metallic, to paint rough french tips on my nails. Then I dabbed A-England Merlin (dense silver glitter) along the line where the tips met my nail to start the gradient. Next I added Sally Hansen Ice Queen, silver and blue glitter in a clear base, to continue the gradient. I tried to avoid the blue glitter, just dabbing on the silver.

U2 Silver and Gold Glitter Gradient nail art

After that I switched to gold, starting with Petites Color Fever 24K Gold (gold and orange microglitter), then added some Mattese Elite Je Taime (medium gold glitter). This one was my untried, for the 30 Days of Untrieds challenge I’m doing simultaneously. I finished with one coat of Jordana Lilac Hearts (fine glitter with purple hearts in a clear base), just making sure to avoid picking up any of the heart glitter. One coat of Poshe fast-dry top coat to seal it.

U2 Silver and Gold Glitter Gradient nail art

Basically it’s just a lot of layering until I was happy with it. Pretty easy, even for someone with my skill level. Hope you like it, and hope Bono isn’t too offended that I didn’t try to represent the meaning of the song. 🙂

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, NOTD

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