Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Yes, dear readers, I absolutely love ladybugs, and I was really excited to see that Darling Diva Polish has come up with a ladybug nail polish, called.... Lady Bug.  I knew I had to have it one day, so on my wish list it went.  Not too long afterwards, a wonderful girl decided to sent it to me, and I just had to get it on my nails.  Lady Bug is a sheer dark pink polish (it looks red in the bottle, but not on its own on the nails) with black hexagon and black circle glitters.  Instead of showing it the same way on all my nails, I decided to show you how it looks on with just one, two, and three coats in addition to being layered over an adult-themed collection (warning before I name it below).  Let me show you the photos first.

I imagine it is pretty obvious and doesn't need to be stated, but from left to right is one coat, two coats, three coats, and then layered.  For the layering, I used three coats of Lady Bug over two coats Dollish Polish Lipstick Around Your Dipstick.  As you can see, you don't get very many spots per coat of polish, and it is very sheer and jelly-like.  Even at three coats of just Lady Bug alone, you can still see visible nail line.  This is a cute polish, but definitely something that I need to layer.

I hope you have been enjoying the week thus far, and have a wonderful evening!
  


















Tuesday, July 17, 2012

We Have a Winner!

I have emailed the winner of All That Glitters Hole Hearted!  Congrats on being the winner of my first ever giveaway!  I have a couple up my sleeve, so you all win get the chance to win!

I am also the guest blogger today for DIY Polish and More, so check it out over here!

I hope you have been enjoying the week thus far, dear readers!  :D

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Anniversary Nails!

Good afternoon, dear readers!  I have a quick post for you today to show you my anniversary nails.  I cannot believe that DH and I have been married a year already!  Time is a funny thing- hours can last like forever, but the year has just flown by.  The hubby surprised me with a few polishes this morning in our wedding colours, and of course I had to put them on right away!  We got married outside in the desert among the cacti, so we decided that our wedding colours would be olive green and golden yellow.

I used two coats of China Glaze Agro, two coats of China Glaze Champagne Bubbles (I already had this one sitting in my stash), and I painted one coat of China Glaze I Herd That over CB and sponged it over Agro.  I am holding the six-strand cord that I braided for our wedding!  :D

Because today is a day for love for me, I decided to do a flash giveaway!  Yay!  I am giving away a bottle of All That Glitters Whole Hearted, a really cute top coat that is made of black hex and white heart glitters.

To enter, comment under this post, and tell me what colours you used for your wedding, or what colours you would choose and include your email address.  If you would prefer to not have your email address be public, you can comment below and email it to me at thejediwife@yahoo.com (please include your GFC name!).  This is a special thank you for my wonderful blog followers, so you must be following me with GFC.  It is open internationally, and the winner will be selected by random.org Tuesday, July 17th at noon PST.  This prize was purchased by me for this giveaway, and please allow 2-4 weeks for shipping.

I have another AMAZING giveaway up my sleeve in the very near future, so keep your eye out for it!  Until next time, dear readers, stay good, and spend some time with your loved ones!  XOXO! 


Saturday, July 14, 2012

Review of Candy Lacquer Sea Nymph

Good afternoon, dear readers, and happy Saturday!  I hope you have been enjoying the weekend!  I have a sparkly beauty to share with you: Candy Lacquer Sea Nymph.  I could tell the formula was thick immediately, and I was curious to see if I could alter the colour slightly by adding coloured underwear.  I used two coats of Zoya Tracie, a soft pastel green with hints of silver shimmer that is very similar in shade to the green glitters of Sea Nymph, on my pinky and middle fingers.  I selected Sally Hansen Complete Manicure in Grass Slipper, a bright limey green, and applied two coats of it to my ring and index fingers.  I followed it up with one coat of Sea Nymph, one coat of Gelous, and one coat of Hong Kong Girl topcoat.    

I have mixed feelings about this one.  While I am not normally a fan of glitter bomb nails, I really did like the colour of this one.  Sea Nymph is made up primarily of sea-foam green glitters, but there are gorgeous light teal glitters mixed in that keep it interesting.  I only used one coat of Sea Nymph, but I had almost complete coverage of the nails.  It was just sparse enough that the pale glitters picked up the shades of the green base I used, and I loved that I could change the appearance a little.  The down side is that application was horrendous.  It is really too thick to use either the dab or swish methods that I often end up using with high-density glitter polishes, and I found the glitters to be a little too big to spread nicely with strokes.  I definitely would have preferred finer glitters in this polish, but the end result is still well-worth the painting issues I encountered.  I can still see myself picking this one up to paint my nails on occasion.

Sea Nymph and other Candy Lacquer polishes can be purchased at Candy Lacquer's etsy shop for $8 each.

I hope you enjoy the rest of the weekend, dear readers, and I hope you have something fun planned!  Tomorrow marks my one year wedding anniversary, and it feel as though the time has flown by fast!  Ciao for now!  XOXO!

Thursday, July 12, 2012

My New Favorite Polish: Sonnetarium Lotta Zebra (by Colleen)

Good afternoon, dear readers!  Today's post is featuring Sonnetarium's Lotta Zebra (by Colleen), and the last of the Sonnetarium swatches for the time being.  I think every Sonnetarium lacquer I have swatched has replaced the previous as my favorite, and Lotta Zebra (by Colleen) is no exception.  I used three coats of L'Oreal Yellow Seahorse, one-ish coat of Lotta Zebra (by Colleen), one coat of Gelous, and one coat of Hong Kong Girl in these photos.
I am in awe of this polish!  As you can see, it is made up of both small and large black, white, and holo silver hex-shaped glitters, and it is just amazing.  Lotta Zebra (by Colleen) is packed with glitter, and that did make application a little tricky but not impossible.  Instead of just loading a dollop on the brush and stroking, I found that I had more luck if I just put a little bit on the end of the brush and swished and dabbed it around on a section of nail and repeated until I had full coverage.  Obviously that makes it difficult to say exactly how many coats I used, but I am guesstimating it to be one to one and a half coats.

Like with the other Sonnetarium polishes, I asked Michelle about her inspiration, and she informed me that the colour combination was requested by her friend, Colleen.  Ah ha!  So that explains the "(by Colleen)"!  Being the hardcore stalker that I am, I managed to track down this friend to ask her a few questions.  Ok, so that's not really how it happened.  I happen to know this particular person, but it sounded so much cooler the other way.  Colleen informed me that the inspiration for this combination was her children: she wanted something that she could wear to both her son's marching band and daughter's cheerleading events.  Instead of just plain silver glitter, Colleen asked for holographic silver glitters to represent Carmen, her daughter, whom Colleen describes as her "shining little star who lets nothing get in her way of life".  Carmen suffered serious burns in an accident over a year ago, but that has not stopped Princess Carmen (as several of us in the nail community affectionately call her) from living her life to the fullest.  The only thing missing was a name.  The name "Lotta" in Latin America means "Petite Beauty", a perfect description for both Carmen and this lacquer artistry, thus Lotta Zebra was born!

I hope you all have enjoyed the Sonnetarium beauties I have been posting the past several days!  These polishes are truly gorgeous, and I am really looking forward to the reopening of the Sonnetarium etsy shop!  The bottles are a little smaller than what you might expect- they are only 9mL- but at $6 a pop, you really can't go wrong!

Ciao for now, dear readers!  XOXO 
    


   



Sunday, July 8, 2012

I Don't Wanna Glow Up...Wait, Yes I Do!

Good morning, dear readers!  I hope you have been enjoying the weekend thus far.  I had intended on making this post yesterday, but I was just not happy with the wording, and I like to think you come here for my award winning personality, not just for nail pictures.  ;)  I was sent a couple bottles of nail lacquer to review, and I am so excited to be sharing one of them with you today.  Today's polish post is on Sonnetarium's Never Glow Up.  I was enticed when I first heard of this polish because it glows blue in the dark!  I own a few glow in the dark polishes, but they are all green, and I've never stumbled across a blue one before.  Let me show you several pictures and then get into the details.
Full sun picture:

Partial sun picture:
Glow, Baby, Glow!


I painted two coats of Never Glow Up over two coats of Sinful Colors Athens.  Because I used a darker underwear to this polish, Never Glow Up did appear a little darker on my nails than it does in the bottle (and a few shades bluer), but the two coats of Never Glow Up really brought it close to its original colour.  The application of Never Glow Up was a little tricky.  It seems liquid enough in the bottle, but it does dry very quickly.  You really need to keep a bottle of polish thinner next to you to help with the application, and I commend Michelle, the creator and owner of Sonnetarium, for making that full disclosure on the product page in her shop.  As a consumer, I find it frustrating to use products that have application issues, and it is a pleasant change to actually know what to expect from my products in advance.  It was also disclosed that the polish dries gritty due to the nature of the glow in the dark pigments, and I agree with that observation.  My nails did feel like they were made of fine grade sandpaper, although it wasn't as gritty as the other glow in the dark polishes I've used.  Once I put on a layer of top coat (Hong Kong Girl, FTW!), my nails were smooth again.

What can I say, I love this polish!  The colour is so delicate and gorgeous in full light, and it is exactly what I wanted Sinful Colors Cinderella to be (that one was a major disappointment for me).  The iridescent glitters add hints of additional colours that make my nails dazzle, and they don't obscure the glow like opaque glitters.  I only saw it glow for several hours because I went to bed, but it was difficult to go to sleep- I just wanted to stare at my glowing nails!  Michelle really hit a homerun with this beauty, and I am all too happy to write a glowing review of it!  :D           

Never Glow Up and other Sonnetarium polishes can be purchased from Michelle's etsy shop.  Michelle also makes cute jewelry and beautiful kanzashi (folded fabric flower hairpieces), and these can also be found in her shop.  At the time of this posting, the shop is in vacation mode, but it is scheduled to be open in about a week and a half, plenty of time for me to show even more Sonnetarium polishes and make your wish list even longer!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, dear readers!





Friday, July 6, 2012

Operation Orange Swatch Ahead

Good afternoon, dear readers!  One of my favorite colours is orange, and I wanted to share a few orange polishes with you today.  I used Zoya Gabrielle, Spoiled Vitamin C, Girly Bits Sailors Delight, and Kleancolor Boogie Nights.  Let me show you the pictures first and give you more details afterwards.

 Gabrielle - Vitamin C - Sailors Delight - Boogie Nights


Woohoo, orange!  I never thought I would like the colour; after all, it is ORANGE, but orange really is my happy colour.  I instantly feel better when I am painting my nails with it.

Let me give you some insight on some of these beauties.

Zoya Gabrielle is very sheer.  Even with two coats, there is some visible nail line (VNL).  It looks more orange in the bottle, but on the nail it looks more coral with yellow-orange shimmer.  I absolutely love this colour, and it is currently my favorite orange.

Spoiled Vitamin C is orange!  Yes!!  I totally dig this one!  I applied two coats, and there is still some VNL.  The brush is strangely wide, and it made application a little difficult, but I'm sure some people prefer this style of brush.

Girly Bits Sailors Delight has a red-orange base with shimmers of yellow-orange and red-orange.  It is also very sheer and there is VNL at two coats.  I am so torn over this one- the colour is gorgeous, but it does not apply well.  There were bald spots that I had to dab over, and it would drive me crazy if I had to fight with it on every nail. 

Kleancolor Boogie Nights is a warm pumpkin orange.  I had almost complete opacity in one coat, and I used two coats in these swatches.  This colour is fantastic, and fall cannot get here soon enough!


I have more oranges in my collection, and I would be happy to share more of them if anyone is interested.  Not everyone loves the colour, but I'm sure your perfect orange it out there!

Until next time, dear readers, stay good! 

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Collaboration Project Underway!

I have some exciting news for you, dear readers, and I just couldn't wait to share it with you!  There is a new blogger out there, and we have decided to do a collaborative project featuring dupes!  Her blog is called Lacquer Clones, and it is dedicated entirely to finding possible dupes and saving you money (to of course spend on more polish)!  I have created a new tab (see above) that will have updates to her blog posts, and I will try to keep it as current as possible.  This adventure is a work in progress, so we will be learning as we go, but we hope that you find these posts helpful.  I will still continue doing swatches and reviews as well as making posts on similar colours, and I hope you enjoy the latest addition to my blog.  Let me get you started with her post of Zoya Charla and her dupes!

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Let Freedom Ring: Happy Fourth of July!

Good morning, dear readers, and Happy 4th of July!  For those of you that follow me on Facebook, you already know by now I was having serious problems with painting my 4th of July nails.  I had such elaborate plans, and nothing wanted to work out for me.  Disaster is an understatement for the mess that came out of my water marbling, and the taping was no better.  I seriously considered giving up after numerous attempts, hence this post I made to my Facebook page:
I don't know about you, but using the word "never" four times is not very inspiring for me, and this quote certainly does not make me want to try again!  Dear readers, I swore to myself when I started this blog that I will always be honest with you, and to share with you my true opinions on products and subjects, no matter how unpopular they might be, and I confess that I gave up.  I was done with attempting to do a patriotic mani.  I loathe white polishes with a passion, and no matter how much money I have spent, I have never found a white polish that applies well.  And that was just the tip of the iceberg.  And so, my dear readers, I was done, done that is, until I saw this post.  Yes, this darling husband of a lacquerista felt the need to say that those of us that paint our nails in red, white, and blue in celebration of the 4th of July hate America.  His presumptuous and snide remarks about my thoughts on America due to my desire to paint my nails infuriated me, and it filled me with a passion to do something, ANYTHING, with my nails.  This is what I ended up with: 

Red: 2 coats Sinful Colors Under 18 (applies well)
White: 2 coats unlabeled L.A. Colors (a little streaky, but the best white I own)
Blue: 2 coats Sinful Colors Hot Spot (applies well)
Glitter Top Coat: 1 coat Pretty & Polished Freedom Calling (also has red bar glitters that curl horribly  
           even in the bottle.  I didn't want to deal with messing with them so I removed them as I found 
           them.  The squares are also slightly curled, but I didn't care to fight with those)
Loose star glitter courtesy of Bundle Monster

Do I love it?  No, I'm still not loving my holiday nails, but they are better than my previous attempts.  I will be rocking these babies while I tend to the grill this afternoon and enjoy spending the day with those that I love.  I leave you with the most American thing I could think of: The Star Spangled Banner, performed by Jimi Hendrix, live at Woodstock.  I must admit I love the fact that the poem was set to a British drinking song! 

Until next time, dear readers, stay good and enjoy the fireworks!

Monday, July 2, 2012

An Understated Beauty: A England Princess Tears

Happy Monday, dear readers!  I have the gorgeous A England Princess Tears to share with you today.  I know, I know, I'm a little late on the A England bandwagon, and you have probably seen this one already, but it is too stunning to not share it with you.  Princess Tears is my first A England polish, and believe it or not, the only one I own!  *Gasp*  This gorgeous silvery lilac laquer was a dream to apply, and the longevity was amazing.  I had no tip wear or chips in the four days I wore it, and I usually have at least some tip wear by then!  I applied two coats in these pictures.

This colour is absolutely beautiful!  I definitely need more A England polishes in my life!  There are so many beauties to choose from, and I think St. George and Dragon are at the top of my list.  I hope you enjoy the start of the week, dear readers.  As for me, I'm about to tackle this mountainous laundry pile before me.  Until next time, dear readers, stay good, or don't get caught!  ;)  

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