Fandom Cosmetics - Expelliarmus

A sunset....I've got a sunset on my hands! Fandom Cosmetics released some limited edition Harry Potter polishes with their 'The Battle of the Seven Potters' Collection and I was lame enough to only get one. I am however also fabulous enough to have gotten one. Guess it depends on which way you want to look at it. Lets go with fabulous :)

Expelliarmus is a beautiful red/pink/orange multichrome that is sheer with one or two coats but has nice buildability. This is one of the most amazing multichromes I've been able to photograph. As you know, I go picture happy when the polish decides to put on a good show, so grab a glass of wine, sit back and enjoy the sunset.

These pictures were taken outside in the shade on a sunny day, with 4 four coats of Expelliarmus and top coat.

The color shifts between pink, orange and sometimes yellow is so strong that it almost appears as there is color blocking on my nails.

Okay so I mentioned that it's very sheer with only 1 or 2 coats, so I layered Expelliarmus over black, and it brought the colors to a whole other level. It resulted in providing more of a purple base versus a red base. It's amazing!

These pics have 4 coats of Expelliarmus on my index and middle fingers and then one coat of black undies with 2 thin coats of Expelliarmus on my ring finger and pinky. They also have top coat.

So, pick up a towel and wipe down the puddle of drool that has certainly formed on the floor beneath you. If you were lucky enough to get Fandom Cosmetics Expelliarmus thank your lucky stars! By far, the best mutichrome I've ever seen.

I also think their bottles are amazing. Often times you buy a polish as part of a collection and until you look at the name (on the bottom), you might not know what collection it's part of. These bottles have the Deathly Hallows symbol on the front and I love it. I'm a total HP nerd so I'm all around in heaven!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Linda

ILNP Ultra Chrome Gradient

Hello my dears, today I have one of my absolute favorite manicures to show you.

I found ILNP a while back and have been growing my collection quickly! And by quickly I mean 3 or 4 polishes from each of her collections. Barbara makes some of the most amazing polishes I've ever seen! Today I will be showing you three of her Ultra Chromes that were released in 2013: Mutagen, Cygnus Loop and Birefringence.

Mutagen is a chrome polish that shifts from vibrant green, blue, red, orange and slightly greenish gold depending on the angle of your fingertips.

Birefringence shifts through various shades of blue and purple, to red, orange and sometimes even yellow.

Cygnus Loop shifts from bright purple to orange, yellow and green.

All are formulated without the need for a base color with full coverage in 2 coats, however I always find that black undies work best and prefer to use that in order to use less of my precious polish.

All photos are taken indoors under artificial light and have one coat of black undies and top coat. The gradient starts with Mutagen at the cuticle and then Birefringence and Cygnus Loop closest to the tip.

When moving your hands at different angles under the light, the color shifts are quite prevalent. All three shifting at the same time is quite amazing!

I love this picture because you can actually see bright green, blue and purple on my thumb then half green half teal, pinkish purple and royal purple on my other fingers. Possibly even a little orange on the left side of my pinky. The photo is a little washed out, but the color shifts are stunning in real life!

At times, it appeared as though there were 6 different colors on my nails at once. I'm wearing this mani as I type up this post and I honestly can not stop looking at my hands.

ILNP has a wide variety of polishes from cremes and glitters to amazing holographics (and Ultra Holos!!!) to Ultra Chromes. You can shop Barbara's store at www.ILNP.com but be warned....do not visit when you are on a no-buy! You will break it, and be ashamed of yourself at how weak you are.

There are 4 new Ultra Chromes with her new Spring 2014 Collection along with some sweet pastel holos and ultra holos. I picked up a few and cannot wait to show you what I'm sure will be more amazing color shifting beauties and holo magic.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Linda

Candy Corn and Pumpkins

Hi Ladies!

Today I'm popping in with a quick Fall/Halloween mani that I did for my mother-in-law. Halloween is next week....have you chosen your costume yet? How about your festive manicure?

My mother-in-law wanted some pumpkins and I added some candy corn accents to make them more festive. Seems to have done the trick.

I started with two coats of Julep Parker on all nails except for the ring finger. This bright orange creme is the base color for her nails. For the pumpkins, I used some Migi fine tip Nail Art Pens to draw the outline of the pumpkin and the green vines. I used Sinful Colors Courtney Orange to fill in the pumpkin, and Zoya Cheryl for the brown stem.

For the candy corns accents I started with two coats of Milani White On The Spot (WOTS), then used WOTS along with an Orange and Yellow polish in the Nail Art Pens for the gradient. I used a simple make-up sponge and painted directly on it. Use the sponge to dab the colors on the nail until you've gotten the desired look.

So what do you think about this mani? Something you would wear for a holiday type look prior to Halloween?

Thanks for stopping by!

~Linda

Zoya Pixie Dust Gradient

Hello lovelies!

Today I'm showing off a Zoya Pixie Dust gradient using four polishes from the Summer 2013 Pixie Dust Collection.

In Shade

I started with two coats of Zoya Miranda, a raspberry pink, letting each coat dry for a few minutes  in order for it to have an even reasonable dry time. I then layered Destiny, Beatrix and Solange on a makeup sponge and dabbed onto my nail.

Destiny is a spunky coral red color, Beatrix is a gorgeous coral orange and Solange is sparkling gold. These Pixie Dusts are very similar in sparkle and shine versus the other Pixie Collections however the colors are vastly complex and bright in comparison.

In Sun

In Shade

The colors are beautiful in the sun, the shade, indoors, at night, yada yada yada. I love the texture with that bit of sparkle and I love that you don't have to worry about your finish fading.

Love Love Love!

Thanks for stopping by

~Linda

Monster Trucks...Heck Yeah!

Hi Guys!! This past weekend a friend asked us if we wanted to go to Monster Jam and I couldn't say no to seeing some cars get crushed. I figured I'd be a little festive since this was the first time I've gone to this type of event.

I got inspired by those large ass tires and looked up what their tread looked like. I also incorporated some dripping paint that just seemed to fit since those trucks are always decked out.

I started with two coats of Milani White on the Spot and used WetnWild Glowstick from the Fergie Collection and Sally Hansen Crushed for the paint drips. Believe it or not, I used a black gel pen to draw the tire tracks and gave it a few minutes to dry before using a nice thick coat of Seche Vite.

While these are not my best nails, I think they worked for the occasion. I wish they turned out a bit better though.

~Linda

Julep Mystery Box

Hi Ladies! I ended up jumping at the Julep Trick or Treat Mystery Box and it has arrived at my doorstep (and rather quickly I might add). The Mystery Box mentioned that you'd get at least two polishes and another special item which were all Halloween related. Wanna see what I got?

 

Upon opening my box I saw the iconic Halloween treat, Candy Corn, smiling up at me. I don't eat them but they always scream Halloween to me! I received two glitter pots, in red and pink. Pink seemed a bit odd...it's not what I think of when someone says Halloween. I also received the nail water decals and a skull bracelet. Unfortunately the bracelet was snapped in half. I couldn't tell you what the material is, but it's definitely cheap costume jewelry. Not to mention it looks as though it will only fit someone with small wrists. I did send an email to Julep mentioning the broken bracelet and they responded promptly that they would send me another bracelet or a polish of my choice. I have so say that is some amazing customer service! Julep never lets me down! I will be choosing another polish since I didn't get what I was hoping for in my mystery box....any suggestions?

So here are the two polishes I received in my box: Parker and Morgan. 

Parker is a flat looking orange in the bottle but I've used it for my Halloween mani and it's much brighter and a touch more neon out of the bottle. Julep describes it as a golden tangerine creme. I would say that description is good for what it looks like in the bottle but it's not golden at all on my nails and I'm happy it's not. It's a good orange for all your spooky manis.

Morgan is a bright purple with blue and pink micro-shimmer particles. It looks much like the zillion other purples with micro-shimmer. I will probably try to swap this polish for something else on the Julep Swap Facebook page. If you haven't heard of it you can check it out here.

I had been hoping to get the orange/pinkish shimmer polish they had in their Mystery Box email, or possibly the glow in the dark Sofia, but I'm happy with Parker since I can't say I have many orange creme polishes.

What did you get in your Mystery Box?

~Linda

Fall Inspired Mani

Today I have a fall inspired mani with some colors that I really love. To me fall means colorful leaves, cool air and rich desserts. I love snuggling up on a cold night with a blanket and a cup of coffee or a delicious piece of pumpkin chocolate chip cake. YUM.

Anywho, this is my take on a fall mani. I used a base of China Glaze Instant Chemistry from the Magnetix Collection. This color is deep and rich and I love it! I didn't use the magnet so I just applied two coats and let it dry. The two accent colors are Kleancolor Metallic Orange and Color Club Put a Pin In It.

This first picture was taken indoors under artificial lighting but it shows the true purple-mahogany color of Instant Chemistry.

This is my final mani. On my thumb and ring finger I applied Put A Pin In It (PAPII) on a diagonal and then stamped some fern leaves from RA-115 using Metallic Orange. On my index and pinky finger I simply added some more fern leaves.  PAPII is a foil described as a 'gilded rose gold' and looks like a washed out rosey gold color. Not something I would wear on it's own, but good for an accent color. 

It was a major pain to photograph the beauty of Instant Chemistry. It mostly looks brown in these pics rather than the rich purple-ish mahogany color it truly is. The first picture shows the true color pretty well but still looks just a hair too purple. It's a gorgeous color though. I prefer using this polish without the magnetic effects.

What are your favorite things about fall?

~Linda

Flower Power

Today I have a gradient manicure with some stamping that was inspired by a recent trip to the Botanical Gardens in Chicago. I saw these amazing flowers that were a beautiful shade of orange with a electric crimson center. These were my favorite flowers in the Garden, so I decided to translate their beauty to my nails.

I started with two coats of Julep Eva which is a rich raspberry colored creme polish. The gradient started with SinfulColors Timbleberry, a coral meets bubble-yum pink and on the tips is China Glaze Riveting. Riveting is a stunning orange polish that's loaded with gold and bright orange shimmer and is from the Hunger Games Capital Colours Collection.

I stamped a floral design using Julep Harley, a silver metallic chrome and MASH Plate #45.

Unfortunately, my nails are rather wide and I have crap aim, so I do sometimes have a bit of trouble getting the images to fit properly on my nails. I'm my own worst critic so all I see are the f*ck ups, but I still think that these turned out pretty darn good.

Thanks for dropping by!

~Linda

Julep Marathon - Round 2

It's time for round 2 of the Julep Marathon ladies. Today I have for you four more polishes that range from creme to shimmer to glitter. Lets jump right in shall we? 

*Warning: My hands are a mess! I've been wicked stressed at work and my hands are suffering. Broken nail...check...Dry cuticles...check...Hangnails...check...biting around my nails...check. *hangs my head low "I'm sorry".*

First up is America The Beautiful which Julep gave out to their U.S.A Mavens for free with the July box. I was so excited to get this polish but unfortunately I was a bit let down when I sat down to swatch her. It's packed with tiny red glitter pieces which gives it the base color, larger silver and blue glitter pieces and silver stars which I had to dig out of the bottle. It's beyond difficult to apply and it looks like a glitter monster threw up on my hands. This is 4 coats that were 'patched' to cover the bald spots and get semi even coverage. My camera didn't like it either because I couldn't get a good picture to save my life!

Next up is Jodie which is a deep rose color that leans towards brown and has golden micro-shimmer. The shimmer does not show much on the nail which would have been really nice, but this a great fall color. This is 2 coats with top coat and a bottle shot to show you the golden shimmer.

So onto some brighter colors. Let me introduce you to Mandy. She is a bright coral pink color that blows my mind. She perched herself right on the line of reddish orange and pink and it's impossible for me to choose which way it leans more. I love this color! Mandy is a creme and almost has a satin finish. This is 2 coats with top coat.  

Next in line is Mischa which is a a cherry orange shade packed with orange micro-shimmer. I was afraid this was going to be too sheer on it's own, but two coats did the trick. This is a very fun bright summer color and the micro-shimmer makes it shine so bright it should come with a warning not to look directly at it! I was feeling festive, so I decided to spruce this one up a bit. I've used a dotting tool and Taylor to add some darker color to this ball of light. This is 2 coats and no top coat but the pictures were taken inside to get an accurate color rather than a picture of miniature suns.

 

I wanted to see how Mischa would look if I dulled down the micro-shimmer so I added a coat of Essie Matte About You. I love the look! 

So Mandy and Mischa are definitely my favorites out of this round of colors! I'm loving the orange and surprisingly they didn't look horrible on me. 

I'll have one more round of colors coming up this week and then hopefully you guys can tell me what you're favorites are. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

~Linda

Zoya Surf Collection

Hey girlies! Today I have three polishes from the 2012 Zoya Surf Collection to share with you. Myrta, Kimber and Zuza all have a foil-like finish with a fabulous shimmer that pretty much makes these babies glow. 

Myrta, Kimber, Zuza

Myrta is an orange coral like color with red undertones and gold and silver metallic shimmer that applies really well to the nail. The formula is fantastic as usual for Zoya and this is two coats. This bright orange color is fabulous and one of my favorites in the collection.

Kimber is a bright magenta pink polish with a gold metallic shimmer that can sometimes look orange on the nail (the shimmer, not the polish color). This polish is so bright it's hard to believe it doesn't glow in the dark! The color is amazing and that's saying a lot from someone who doesn't like pink.  

Zuza is a bright turquoise with strong gold and silver metallic shimmer that shines extremely bright. This is a color that turns heads and is a must have for everyone's summer collection.

These polishes are amazing. Zoya always has a fantastic formula with no streaking or flooding of the cuticles and this collection is no exception. Two coats is all that's needed for perfect coverage. The colors are breathtaking and beyond perfect for summer! 

Do you have a favorite color from the Surf Collection? 

~Linda