Showing posts with label silver. Show all posts
Showing posts with label silver. Show all posts

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Polish Peep Show: Lacquistry and All That Glitters!

I got some killer nail mail today! Today's packages were 2  "indie" brands I found on Etsy that are stocked with some seriously sparkly polishes! If you haven't tried anything other than mainstream brands, now is the time to check out indie brands -- these polishes are made with love by women who love lacquer, so you know they are going to be good!

First up, we have a quartet of polishes by the lovely Jenna of Lacquistry! Lacquistry is the first "indie" polish brand I ever tried, thanks to a random search on Etsy one night. Her polishes are PACKED with hex glitter, micro glitter, shimmer, even duochrome shades! I can NOT get enough of them -- I think this is my 4th or 5th order.

First up, "Frosty Marrow" and "Chocolate Covered Cherries":



"Frosty Marrow" looked like a great topcoat for what I like to call my "cheat manis". When I'm wearing a one-shade mani, and I get bored with it, I just slap on a crackle topcoat, a chunky glitter, or a shimmery sheer shade to change the look and avoid having to re-do my nails. Because I'm suuuuuuuuuuuuuper lazy :) "Chocolate Covered Cherries" looked amazingly sparkly, and boy was I right! I swatched it quickly when I received it and the sparkle is deep. I'm looking forward to layering it over a deep brown or red shade.

Next is "Devil's Dandruff" and "Valentine Shards" -- me likey irregular glitter:



Such a nice change of pace from most glitter these days. Don't get me wrong -- it should be clear by now that I love me some glitter (especially hex!). But after seeing so much hex, circle and square glitter these days I really can't wait to try out these irregular "shards"! They seem to be more like the mylar flakes in the Zoya Fleck polishes, but I haven't really tested them out much so not sure. "Devil's Dandruff" is a generous helping of red shards in a red jelly base that has no shimmer. "Valentine Shards" is pink shards in a clear base. I like that these have no shimmer in the base, to be honest -- it would almost be overkill between shimmer and the shards if they did (I can't believe I just said that, but it's true).

The 2nd package was a trio from All That Glitters (just a coincidence, I totally did NOT know about this shop when I named this blog), another serious glitter producer on Etsy. I don't think I will ever get tired of polishes like these -- sheer to moderately opaque shimmery base, various sizes/shapes of glitter, and unconventional color combinations. Based on the quick swatches I did when I opened the package, the formula is FANTASTIC and the polish bases seem nicely pigmented (meaning I could probably wear them alone and not have to bother with a base!).

Check out "Cha-Cha Twist" and "Very Peacock-ish" (my apologies for the blurry picture, my hands did NOT want to stay still today!):



HEX HEAVEN! I need to get some better pictures, because "Very Peacock-ish" even has bar glitter in there with all that hex! And no matter how many brands put out a "mermaid teal" shade, I will always need to have them all! Love, love, LOVE! And "Cha-Cha Twist" has red square glitter too! I'm really digging square glitter these days.

And last but not least,  "Plum and Plummer":



Purple is my favorite color for polish, hands down. I usually have to talk myself out of doing purple manis every day! This is a really pretty plummy shade with silver hex glitter that stands out nicely. I have a feeling I'm going to like this one alot!

Be sure to check out both Lacquistry (though Jenna is on a much deserved vacation at the time of this post!) and All That Glitters  on Etsy -- if you love glitter (like me!) you NEED some of these polishes!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Adventures In Stamping: Foil and hand painted details

 Today, I decided to test out the new Shany stamping plates that my thoughtful boyfriend got for me :) It's so cute that he pays attention to what I'm babbling about when I get into polish mode!

For this mani, I used 2 coats of Zoya "Trixie" as a base. I scored "Trixie" during Zoya's recent promo for 2 free polishes. I wasn't sure i needed a silver foil but swatches were making me drool. I'm so glad i did wind up getting it! I stamped over with Konad Special Polish in black, and then filled in some of the little accents with Kat Von D's "Wonderchild" (purple) and "Mad Max" (blue). I think i went overboard, but it was great practice with the detail brushes - and my boyfriend is happy that the Shany plates were a success.

Here's what the final result was:


I thought it looked a bit like wallpaper, but my BFF loved it and demanded I do this look on her toes soon! Oh, just ignore my pinky -- I had started out testing another stamp (little circley guys) but it wasnt working out well so I switched to the floral design and was too lazy to redo my pinky :/

Here's another shot (Iphone, you are not disappointing with the camera):



All in all, it really was fun to play with the stamps and practice with the detail brushes. I have very unsteady hands, so I need LOTS of time to get used to filling in small details! And, it just so happens that today ANOTHER set of stamping plates arrived (courtesy of boyfriend), so keep an eye out for more stamping posts in the near future!