Manicure Manifesto: Aqua

February 01, 2021

Girly Bits Cosmetics Dreams Down Under Swatches & Review

Girly Bits Cosmetics Polish Pickup swatch

Hello readers,
Today I have Girly Bits Cosmetics' contribution to the February Polish Pickup release to share with you. This month's theme is Landmarks & World Travel and Girly Bits Cosmetics was inspired by the hues of sunsets over Australian beaches. Let's take a look at swatches.

Girly Bits Cosmetics Felt With The Heart Swatches & Review

Press Sample

Hello readers,
Today I have Girly Bits Cosmetics' contribution to Polish Pickup's April release to share with you. This month's theme is Across The Universe: Planets & Galaxies. Girly Bits went a little creative with their interpretation and chose The Little Prince as their inspiration. In this story in which the title character visits many different planets and meets different kinds of people to learn the importance of looking beneath the surface to find the real truth and meaning of things.

Emily de Molly November 2017 Release Swatches & Review

Press Sample

Hello readers,
Today I have Emily De Molly's November 2017 release to share with you. This nine shade collection is a holo lover's dream with nine rainbow filled shades to pick from.

Sephora Formula X Marine Swatches & Review

Purchased Myself

Hello readers,
Sephora recently dumped a whole bunch of polishes from their in house Formula X line into the sale section for Canadians. I, being low in will power when it comes to nail polish, snagged some shades I had been eyeing for a while but hadn't been able to convince myself to buy at full price. Today I have one of the shades from the Sea Glass collection to share with you.

Aqua and Gold Wave Nail Art Featuring Born Pretty Store Black Stamping Head

Purchased Myself Press Sample

Hello readers,
Today I have a nail art look I did using the Black Stamping Head from Born Pretty Store. This silicone stamper is the same size as the Moyou London marshmallow stamper, and I used the same holder with this one. As far as squishiness goes, it is not as squishy as the Moyou marshmallow head but squishier than the large head of a more traditional double ended stamper. I didn't have do any priming to get it to pick up images.

Cadillacquer Footsteps Fleeing Into Silence Swatches & Review

Purchased Myself

Hello readers,
Today I have a new to the blog brand to share with you, Cadillacquer! I've been eyeing this brand for a long time and finally had the chance to try them out.

Emily De Molly Copper Patina Swatches & Review

Purchased Myself

Hello readers,
Today I have one of the recent releases from Emily De Molly to share with you. When I saw swatches of this shade I knew I had to have it.

Bio Seaweed Gel Welcome to Summer Nail Art Contest!

Press Sample

Hello readers,
Today I have some nail art I put together for Bio Seaweed Gel's Welcome To Summer Nail Art Contest to share with you. I was challenged to come up with a summer inspired freehand nail art look using two BSG Unity polishes. For my mani I tried to mimic the ripples on the surface of a pool on a hot summer day. I did a dry marble using Whitehorse and Yellowknife and then, using a technique I accidentally discovered when swatching Whitehorse, I added physical ripples using a magnet. Here's the final look in daylight spectrum lighting.

Bio Seaweed Gel Whitehorse Swatches, Review & Discount Code

Press Sample

Hello readers,
Today I'm trying out my first ever gel polish. Bio Seaweed Gel sent me a couple polishes from their Unity All-In-One line to test out. The nice thing about these gels is that they cure in bright direct sunlight, so you don't need a UV lamp to use them. Also, you don't need to roughen up your natural nails before hand, just prep with rubbing alcohol. Bonus: They are 5-free!

Born Pretty Store Qgirl-016 Stamping Plate Review & Discount Code

Press Sample Purchased Myself

Hello readers,
Today I have a stamping plate that Born Pretty Store sent me for review to show you.

The Qgirl-016 plate features four different designs but it was the floral one that caught my eye the most. I used it with my XL squishy stamper and had no issues scraping the polish or lifting the image off the plate. I do wish the etchings were a tad deeper though as there were a few small bald patches in some of the flowers and leaves.

Emily De Molly Tread Lightly Swatches & Review

Purchased Myself

Hello readers,
Today I have polish to show you that I recently acquired from the Nail Polish Rewards catalog. I finally got to put some of my points to use on a gorgeous EDM.

Tread Lightly features a shimmery aqua crelly base filled with pink, purple and silver glitters in a variety of shapes and sizes. The formula was great to work with and I had no issues with getting a good distribution of glitter on the nail. The polish was opaque in two coats but I added a third for some extra glitter goodness. It does dry a little uneven due the bigger glitters so a thicker top coat is recommended. Photos show three coats of Tread Lightly with one coat of Gelous and one coat of Seche Vite in daylight spectrum lighting.

You can find Emily De Molly on

https://www.emilydemolly.bigcartel.com/

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Happy polishing,

Michelle

February 10, 2015

Layering With Superchic Lacquer Basking In The Sand & Femme Fatale Mermaiden's Adoration

Purchased Myself

Hello readers,
Today I have a lovely polish combo that makes me think of sandy beaches and turquoise tropical waters.

Superchic Lacquer Basking In the Sand features a sandy beige base packed with blue and pink microflake shimmer. The formula was streaky one the first coat but did build up nicely. I used two coats for this manicure but if I were wearing it alone I would have used three. It dries to a satin matte finish. Femme Fatale Mermaiden's Adoration is a glitter topper packed with aqua, iridescent and gold glitter in a variety of shapes and sizes along with a good dose of gold shimmer. The formula on this one was great. I didn't have to go fishing for glitter at all and I just brushed it on over the base colour. I did do a tiny bit of dabbing on a couple nails to get the largest glitter where I wanted them but that's just because I'm picky about placement. Photos show two coats of Superchic Lacquer Basking In The Sand and one coat of Femme Fatale Mermaiden's adoration with two coats of CND Super Shiny top coat in daylight spectrum lighting.