Sunday Stamping: 4th of July

Happy Sunday everyone! Today is another Sunday Stamping challenge in Adventures in Stamping and the theme today is Independence Day/Canada Day. I always get excited for the 4th of July because it means going on a weekend getaway with my closest friends. Every year we go out of town for a few days just to spend time together, catch up and recharge. Working on this manicure reminded me of the quickly approaching trip and my building excitement...

I wanted to create a slightly faded flag manicure so I started with an off white base of OPI My Vampire is Buff. For the stamping I had a difficult time picking out which plates I wanted to use (as there are lots of fun stars & stripes themed images), but I finally decided on Winstonia plate W107 because I just love the stars image. I stamped the stars with OPI I Saw... U Saw.. We Saw... Warsaw and the stripes using OPI The Color of Minnie.

The star shaped stud from the Born Pretty Store was the perfect size to fit into the stamped pattern and created a fun accent to the manicure...

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** Polishes were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

** For more information please see the disclosure policy **

Bye, Bye Google Reader...

If you follow blogs through Google Reader as I do, then you are most likely already aware that Google will be retiring the service at the end of this month. A variety of different readers have positioned themselves in hopes of taking over. If you have not done so already, I urge you to pick a new reader and transfer your saved feeds before Google shuts their reader down.

Two of the currently popular options are Bloglovin' and Feedly. They both allow you to quickly and easily import all of your feeds from Google Reader to their service. My personal preference is Feedly as it more closely mimics Google Reader plus provides additional features which I am starting to explore. It can be accessed both online and through an App for smartphones/tablets.

Either service you choose, you can find me...

If those don't strike your fancy, you can follow & keep in touch with me on...

If there is a different service that you are using and need help finding my blog feed there, please let me know and I can try to help!

P.S. You can always find these follow buttons on the right hand side of the blog...

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Barielle Tulips...

I am always commenting on how well the thick Barielle creams work for stamping, so while swatching the beautiful shades of the Barielle Brilliant Colors collection, I got the urge to do some stamping. I was once again pleased with the stamp-ability of the creams and if it hadn't been for a little oops on my part, this would have been perfect...

The base of this manicure is Barielle Smarty Pants Pink. I stamped it with Barielle High Marks Purple using DashicaBeautyShop plate SdP-O. I just love how crisp and clean the images on this plate are. High Marks Purple did a great job picking up all the details of the pattern...

I didn't realize my stamper had a bit of silver on it leftover from a previous manicure and if you look closely, you can see just where it ended up on my nail. I didn't have time for a re-do and it wasn't too noticeable, so I just left it. I know, I know... walking on the wild side here...

I hope you like this manicure! Let me know what you think of it in the comments below!

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** Polishes were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

** For more information please see the disclosure policy **

Mermaid...

Today I would like to show you a show you a mermaid manicure which was inspired by the beautiful InDecisive Mermaid glitter. I love the beautiful teal shade over green and it really made me wish to create a manicure around it...

For the manicure I used a base of Barielle Head of the Class Green followed by InDecisive Mermaid. I stamped the mermaid and bubbles from an Ebay plate m72 (a knockoff plate of Konad m34) and the shells from Winstonia plate W108 using Pure Ice Silver Mercedes...

I really like how sweet and simple this looks. I wanted to avoid obscuring the glitter too much...

Thanks for looking and commenting!
Anutka :)

** Polishes were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

** For more information please see the disclosure policy **

A Stolen Kiss was Crowned...

I have a little nail art to show you that I created while swatching Dazzle Dry Stolen Kiss. The deep plum purple was just perfect to combine with gold for a royal half-moon manicure. I've had this manicure in mind for a while and I am so excited when it turned out just as I pictured it....

I started out this manicure with Dazzle Dry Stolen Kiss. Using KleanColor Metallic Yellow and Bundle Monster plate BM-215, I stamped the crowns. Getting the stamping aligned was no easy tasks and a number of nails had to be redone multiple times, but it was worth it. Once I got all the stamping straight, I used a push pin as a dotting tool to dot the outline of the crown.

A little Swarovski crystal accent on the ring finger....

The manicure makes me thing of beautiful designs from India...

Let me know what you think of this!!

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** Polishes were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

** For more information please see the disclosure policy **

Wish Nail Art Challenge!

A little while ago I received and invitation to participate in a nail art contest for Wish. It is a clothing boutique that asked nail bloggers to create a manicure inspired by their collection. Although I didn't intend to participate because I don't particularly like popularity style contests, I still thought it would be fun to try my hand at interpreting one of their looks from the Butterfly Effect collection...

A few things in this outfit caught my eye, the sheer stringy mesh at the top and the contrast in finish between the top and skirt. I'm not sure I captured them well enough, but the idea was there. I used acrylic paint and a small detail brush to draw the stringy detail at the base of the nail. Then, using Zoya Dovima, a matte black, I painted about two thirds of the nail. I ran a stripe of top coat across the tip to create a slight contrast in the black....

What do you think, did I manage to capture the outfit inspiration in my manicure?

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Crack and Burn...

I would like to show you some nail art that I created while swatching InDecisive Nal Lacquer last week. I was captivated by Antique for the name and the beautiful silver flakies. For some reason, it made me think of DIY distressed furniture so I really wanted to distress the tips of the manicure. The look was inspired by a Nailartitudesdeclaire manicure which I spotted on Pinterest a few days prior. In comparison with the delicate manicure of Nailartitudesdeclaire, I'm a fairly heavy handed when it comes to free hand nail art. As you can see, rather than a gentle distressing, I ended up with "burnt" tips, but I love it...

I used one coat of InDecisive Antique over Barielle Straight A Coral for my base. The rest was added using black acrylic paint, a sponge and a small paint brush....

I've done flame manicures before, but this is the first "after the fire" manicure and I can't wait to do more...

I'd love to know what you think of this!

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** Polishes were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

** For more information please see the disclosure policy **

Rays Through the Haze...

I'm back from a fun birthday getaway and want to thank you for all the wonderful birthday wishes that you sent my way! Thank you! Thank you! I was without internet access on my trip (since I choose to live in the stone age with no smart phone) and I was so excited to read all your comments when I got back home. They mean so much to me!

I'm also thrilled to see that you like Sea Jewel. I wore it for my entire trip and spent my free time dreaming of what fun nail art I could create with it. I would like to show you today the one look that I had to try out first...

This look is pretty simple to achieve with striping tape and some patience. I started out with a base of Pure Ice Silver Mercedes. After the base was completely dry, I applied the striping tape and two coats of Sea Jewel, working one nail at a time. For a fun accent, I added Swarovski Crystal rhinestones at the base of each nail...

The top coat I used decided to be stubborn and bubble along the silver tracks, but they are hardly noticeable in real life...

Thank you again for all your wonderful birthday wishes and comments on Sea Jewel! <3

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** Polishes were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

** For more information please see the disclosure policy **

Presenting piCture pOlish Sea Jewel by Wacky Laki!

I have written over six hundred posts for this blog, but I have never been nearly as excited about any of them as I am for this one. That is because today, I finally get to unveil and show you Sea Jewel, my collaboration shade with piCture pOlish. This shade has been nearly a year in the making and I have been sworn to secrecy and anxious to tell you about it since day one.

When I was first asked if I would be interested in this project (as if there is any possible answer other than a resounding YES!), I read and reread the email and then replied asking if they had made a mistake and actually intended it for someone else. Upon being reassured that it was not a mistake, I sent the girls at piCture pOlish a few images for inspiration. One of the images was of sea glass and the other of my favorite pair of earring that I made a few years ago...

As the girls at piCture pOlish and their team worked on perfecting the color to match my inspiration, I waited every so patiently to see the result. In the process, the launch date of Sea Jewel has been moved a number of times, slowly inching it's way toward summer and finally settling on a very special day for the launch, June 18th! What's so special about June 18th you might ask? Well, it just so happens that June 18th is my birthday and I am thrilled to be celebrating it with a Sea Jewel by Wacky Laki manicure. If you could only see the dorky grin of excitement on my face right now...

Sea Jewel is a mesh shade, small silver glitter in a green teal jelly base. It is all bling, all the time! Photos can't quite capture the amount of sparkle that is in this. It provides good coverage in two coats although I did use three coats in these swatches since the lights of Hollywood (otherwise know in my house as the light box) can be harsh. The formula and application are good. As I'm just every so slightly biased, I will spare you reading me going on and on about it. These swatches are with a top coat...

In my excitement to show you this shade, I took over 250 photos and then had the daunting task of narrowing down the ones to show you. I hope you like these swatches, but if you feel that you need to see more, you know where to find me...

Swatch Details
	Brand: piCture pOlish Collection: Collaboration Shades, Limited Edition Color Name/Number: Sea Jewel Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Sea Jewel is a Limited Edition lacquer and is now available for purchase directly from piCture pOlish. You can also take a look at their International Network page for a list of online sellers in your country.

You can find piCture pOlish on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest...

Please let me know what you think of this lacquer! I would really love to know :)

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** Polishes were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

** For more information please see the disclosure policy **

Dazzle Dry Evening Song, Stolen Kiss and Mythic Teal...

I was recently given the opportunity to try a few Dazzle Dry lacquers and the Nail Polish System that is meant to go with them. I was intrigued when I learned that not only are they Big 4 Free meaning they contain no Formaldehyde, Toluene, Phthalate and Camphor, which I personally choose to avoid, but they also contain no nitrocellulose which is said to cause the yellowing of the nails. To be honest, I don't know much about what it is in nail polish that causes yellowing, but I'm more than willing to try ones that make an effort to prevent it. These polishes are also vegan and cruelty free...

Before I get to the swatches, I want to start out by showing you the Dazzle Dry Quick-Dry Nail Polish System. The polishes on their own dry very quickly to a satiny finish. They are quite brittle and chip easily if not worn with a top coat to seal them in. The top coat gives them a great shine and significantly extends their durability.  I used the system which includes nail prep, base coat and top coat with all three of these lacquers and I was quite impressed at how well and how quickly it all worked. Definitely lived up to their promise...

Nail Prep - Cleans the nail and removes oils to prepare it for the base coat. The main ingredient here is the same as rubbing alcohol and that was apparent by first whiff without even looking at ingredients.
Base Coat - This quickly dries to a nice satin finish. It is not meant to be worn alone and needs to be followed in the very least a top coat. As I quickly learned, it can get cloudy or thicken when exposed to cold temperatures (Yay Seattle!) and simply needs to be rewarmed to return to normal consistency.
Top Coat - Dries quickly as promised with a nice high gloss shine. I really couldn't ask for much more of a top coat. Consistency is similar to Seche Vite and at least with the Dazzle Dry lacquers there was no shrinkage.

Evening Song
A deep midnight blue with a teal shimmer. This is gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. I just love dark blues such as this and the teal shimmer won me over. I used two coats for full opacity. The formula is nice and smooth, easy to apply. It dries very quickly to a satin/matte finish. Swatches are with a top coat...

On the left is the satin finish with no top coat. On the right is with a top coat, really brings out the shimmer...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Dazzle Dry Collection: Dazzle Dry 2010 Color Name/Number: Evening Song, 312 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Mythic Teal
A dusty dark teal cream. It has a smooth formula that applies easily. Two coats provide full coverage as seen below. It dries quickly to a matte finish. Actually dries so quickly that it made me nervous, but I could watch it dry as it transitioned from shiny to matte. Swatches are with a top coat...

No top coat on the left. With a top coat on the right....

Swatch Details
	Brand: Dazzle Dry Collection: Primal Passion (Winter 2011) Color Name/Number: Mythic Teal, 428 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Stolen Kiss
A deep plum purple with a soft purple shimmer. Similar to the other polishes, this only needed two coats for full coverage. It also dries quickly to a satin finish and a top coat is a must to give it shine and make it last...

No top coat on the left. With a top coat on the right....

Swatch Details
	Brand: Dazzle Dry Collection: Night Life (Winter 2012) Color Name/Number: Stolen Kiss, 450 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Overall I'm really impressed with Dazzle Dry lacquers. The colors I tried are beautiful and the system works quickly and easily to produce great results. I would definitely turn to these when in a hurry.

Did any of these stand out to you? What do you think of this quick dry system?

You can find out more about Dazzle Dry by visiting their:
Website: http://dazzledry.vbcosmetics.com or http://dazzledry.com
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/dazzledry
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DazzleDryusa

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** Polishes were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

** For more information please see the disclosure policy **