Sunday Stamping: Between Jelly Layers...

I decided to take part in today's Sunday Stamping challenge for Adventures in Stamping. The challenge for this week is to sandwich stamping in between layers of jelly polish. It sounded like a fun technique to try to give some depth to the manicure. This is actually my second attempt at this manicure. My first attempt was ruined by using a jelly that wasn't sheer enough. Turns out I don't have very many sheer jellies because I never felt I had a need for them. Now I'm on a quest to find more because this was messy but fun...

This manicure has a WAY more layers than I would normally want in my manicure. Waiting for everything to dry enough to stamp was a nightmare. It is a good thing I'm pretty stubborn. If you are curious as to what exactly makes up this manicure, read on...

I started out with a white base, a coat of OPI Blue it Out of Proportion and a coat of OPI Pirouette My Whistle. I then stamped the seaweed pattern using white nail polish with the MoYou London Sailor Collection 05 plate. On top of the stamping I added two coats of OPI Don't Touch My Tutu! and a coat of Pirouette My Whistle. I then stamped using the same pattern from MoYou London Sailor Collection 05 plate just slightly shifted down. I topped all of that off with Blue it Out of Proportion, added my self made decals of the sea creatures and stamped a little bit more of the same pattern in white along the corners. And just because that wasn't enough, I dabbed Pirouette My Whistle around for a bit of sparkle. Phew! It's about 13 coats of polish, not including the stamping.

To create the decals I used MoYou London Sailor Collection 01. I stamped using Color Club Lady Holiday and colored them in using white acrylic paint. This was my first time trying out MoYou London stamping plates and I'm really pleased with their quality...

What do you think of this 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 **

PolisHaus Spectrum Snowflakes...

Hi! Today I would like to show you some quick nail art that I created while swatching the PolisHaus lacquers last night. I really couldn't resist adding snowflakes over this periwinkle blue beauty. The combination of the two really put me into the winter mood. Might as well get into the mood since it has been really cold lately and the weatherman is threatening snow next week...

For this manicure I started out with a base of PolisHaus Spectrum. I stamped different snowflakes from Cheeky Jumbo plate L (aka K2) using Pure Ice Silver Mercedes. If you are looking for this plate on Amazon or the Cheeky website, it is listed as 'K2', however, on my actual plate it says 'L' which is why I'm not sure what to call it. Regardless of what you call it though, it is full of beautiful holiday themed images including a variety of snowflakes...

This stamping plate was given to me by a friend earlier this year and I've been waiting patiently to use these snowflakes! I can't wait to stamp some of the other holiday images from the plate!

Spectrum glows a beautiful blue in the dark so I can enjoy the manicure even at night! I think it looks a bit like snow in the dark and works so perfectly with the snowflakes...

What do you think of this manicure? Are you ready for winter?

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** PolisHaus lacquer provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

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

PolisHaus Swatches and Review

Hi Everyone! Today I would like to show you a new to me indie brand, PolisHaus. I must confess that I may have squealed a little as I unwrapped each one. They are so beautiful and sparkly it was hard to contain the excitement. In addition to being gorgeous in the light, three of these lovelies also glow in the dark!

These four beauties will be released tomorrow (Nov 26th) at 5pm PST.

Argentine
A dark gray jelly with glitter in various colors, shapes and sizes. There is lots of holographic glitter in there that the camera does not pick up. It has a great formula that is not too thick. It applies very easily and there is plenty of glitter in each brush stroke. I used three coats to get good coverage. Swatches are with a top coat...

Bottle shot to show all the amazing glitter goodness...

Swatch Details
	Brand: PolisHaus Collection: Winter 2013 Color Name/Number: Argentine Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: Yes Big3Free - Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Royal
A lavender jelly packed with glitter in various colors, shapes and sizes. This beauty glows in the dark! It starts out a bit sheer, but builds up nicely to full coverage at three coats. You can possibly get away with two thicker coats as well. The formula again is very nice and easy to apply. Great glitter distribution on the nail. Very pretty and girly. Swatches are with a top coat...

The glow of this is soft white. It has the weakest glow out of the three glowing polishes in this release...

Just look at that pretty glitter... ahh!

Swatch Details
	Brand: PolisHaus Collection: Winter 2013 Color Name/Number: Royal Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: Yes Big3Free - Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Spectrum
A periwinkle blue jelly loaded with glitter in various colors, shapes and sizes. It glows in the dark. Formula is similar to the two above. Very easy to apply and lots of glitter in each brush stroke. I used three thin coats for full coverage. I absolutely love this color and will show you some nail art with this beauty soon. Swatches are with a top coat...

In the dark, it glows a beautiful bright blue. I love that the glow matches the day color!...

Swatch Details
	Brand: PolisHaus Collection: Winter 2013 Color Name/Number: Spectrum Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: Yes Big3Free - Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Sprinkles
A sheer grayish nude base loaded with glitter in different colors, shapes and sizes. This also glows in the dark. It is the sheerest out of the four lacquers. I used four thin coats and the nail line is still visible. If seeing the nail line bothers you, it can easily be layered over a nude cream polish. Also using thicker coats might result in better coverage, but then I worry about dry time. With thin coats it has great dry time. Formula is very nice and easy to apply. Lots of glitter in each brush stroke. Swatches are with a top coat...

This is the brightest glowing lacquer and it glows a lovely greenish shade. I wonder if the glow is so strong due to the sheerness of the shade. In any case, it is amazing...

So many different colors in here that all work so perfectly together...

Swatch Details
	Brand: PolisHaus Collection: Winter 2013 Color Name/Number: Sprinkles Number of coats: 4 Top Coat: Yes Big3Free - Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

I'm so impressed with these four shades! They are absolutely gorgeous and the formula is perfection. The icing on the cake is that they glow in the dark. The cherry on top of that icing is that they glow different colors in the dark. So amazing!

You can find this and other PolisHaus lacquers in the online shop.
Be sure to follow @polishaus on Instagram too!

What do you think of these?

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 **

Nicole by OPI Modern Family Winter 2013

Hi there! Today I would like to show you the five new Nicole by OPI Modern Family shades added to the collection this holiday season. You can see swatches of the full collection, which was released in the beginning of this year, here and here. The holiday release features three metallic shimmer shades and two glitter toppers to get you into the holiday spirit...

Late Blu-mer
An icy powder blue metallic shimmer. It has a nice formula that is easy to apply. As typical for shimmery shades, it does leave slightly visible brushstrokes. This color is just so pretty, I love it. Swatches are two coats with no top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Nicole by OPI Collection: Modern Family, Winter 2013 Color Name/Number: Late Blu-mer, NI F15 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Spark the Conversation (over Late Blu-mer)
Square silver holographic glitter in a clear base. I have a love/hate relationship with this polish. I love the square glitter, but I struggled to get 'even' coverage. I ended up with either too few glitters on the nail or too many in one spot. I would suggest dabbing this one on.

Although my camera doesn't show off the holographic effect too well, it certainly doesn't hide in reality. Even a few pieces create a very sparkly effect. For these swatches I used two-ish coats with a top coat...

Hello holo...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Nicole by OPI Collection: Modern Family, Winter 2013 Color Name/Number: Spark the Conversation, NI F16 Number of coats: 2 (layered over Late Blu-mer) Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Aren't Families Grape?
A dark indigo purple metallic shimmer. On first coat is seems sheer, a purple shimmer in a blackened base. The color builds nicely and is opaque at two coats. I did end up using three coats to make sure the tips were well wrapped. It is like a beautiful jewel. Swatches are with no top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Nicole by OPI Collection: Modern Family, Winter 2013 Color Name/Number: Aren't Families Grape?, NI F20 Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

You're My Treasure (Aren't Families Grape?)
Various shapes and sizes of gold holographic glitter in a clear base. Layered over purple it makes me think of Mardi Gras. From a distance it looks a bit like gold flakes. My camera once again ate most of the holographic effect, but in reality it is very prominent. This topper is very pretty and would work well over any polish. I used two-ish coats plus a top coat...

Trying to capture a bit of the holo...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Nicole by OPI Collection: Modern Family, Winter 2013 Color Name/Number: You're My Treasure, NI F19 Number of coats: 2 (layered over Aren't Families Grape?) Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Who Red My Journal???
A burnt reddish orange with a golden metallic shimmer. This color seems to transform depending on the light. Sometimes it appears more red, other times a bit peachy and orange. It has a nice formula and provides wearable coverage at two coats, however, I used three for these swatches. No top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Nicole by OPI Collection: Modern Family, Winter 2013 Color Name/Number: Who Red My Journal???, NI F17 Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

What do you think of these additions to the Modern Family collection?

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 **