Angular Colour Blocked Nails

Purchased Myself

Hello readers,
Today I have some more nail art to show you.  I broke out the striping tape a some creme and glitter polish to create this look.  I used Zoya Cosmo for the base colour and Zoya Natty for the colour blocking.

To make this look I started with my Zoya Cosmo mani that I had already been wearing for a couple days.  I added a coat of HK Girly top coat to smooth everything out and let it dry completely.  I then marked out the are on the tip that I wanted to fill with my creme polish with striping tape.  After painting the tip I removed the striping tape while the polish was still wet.  I then waited for the tips to dry and repeated the process at the side of the nail.  Finally I topped everything with another coat of HK Girl top coat.  Photos show this mani in daylight spectrum lighting.

Happy polishing,

Michelle

Zoya Cosmo Swatches & Review

Purchased Myself

Hello readers,
Today I have one of Zoya's magicalpPixie dusts to show you.  I wasn't sure about these textured polishes initially because I thought the larger hex glitters may stick up and catch on things.  My curiosity eventaully won out though and I gave Cosmo a try.

Cosmo feature silver shimmer along with small and medium hex glitters in a clear base.  It layers nicely and achieved good coverage after two coats.  It isn't 100% opaque and if you look closely you can see the nail like peaking through.  The formula was very easy to work with.  The only issue I had with this polish was the drying time.  I found that though dry to the touch I could still dent the polish over an hour after applying.  I have found this among some other textured polishes too however.  Photos show two coats of Cosmo without top coat under daylight spectrum lighting.

In the end the larger hexes turned out to be just fine.  I had no issues with any edges poking up or the polish feeling any more textured than a normal pixie dust.  The wear time was also very good.  I got four days of wear without any chipping whatsoever.  I'll have to give more of the magical pixie dusts a try.

Happy polishing,

Michelle

Tarte Pigment Of Imagination Deluxe Cheek Set Swatches & Review

Purchased Myself Affiliate Link

Hello readers,
A little something different today.  I've gone on a bit of a makeup shopping spree with all the holiday sets that have been coming out and I wanted to show one of them to you today.  I've heard good things about Tarte's blushes and I love cream blushes so when I saw this little duo I had to have it.

The Pigment Of Imagination set comes with a 0.05 oz Amazonian clay 12-hour blush in Mirage and a 0.17 oz Cheek stain in Fantasy.  These mini sizes are a good way to try these product types without breaking the bank.

In the packaging the Mirage Blush appears as a soft peachy pink.  It has a nice subtle shimmer to it.  The Fantasy Cheek Stain is a very shimmery champagne beige.  My only concern was how soft the 'stick' appears.  Mine was kind of slumped to one side before even using it.

Now for swatches!  The blush was quite sheer.  The swatch above took multiple finger swipes to get any colour to show.  It is also very similar to my skin tone in terms of darkness so for me this will give a very subtle dewy finish rather than a highly pigmented blush look.  I think it would show up more prominently on fair skin tones.  The cheek stain feels very soft, creamy and moisturizing.  It is very shimmery though so I wouldn't apply a lot of it at once.  I think it would also make an awesome brow bone highlighter.  You can find this set at Sephora for $10USD/$12CAD or on the tarte cosmetics website.

Happy polishing,

Michelle

Navy Blobicure

Purchased Myself

Hello readers,
Today I have a nail art attempt to show you.  It's been way too long since my last one!  I used two newly obtained polishes from the Essence Aquatix collection.  I happened to be at the store when the display was put out and immediately snatched up most of the polishes, haha.

I started with a thick coat of Loreal After Hours.  Then I immediately dripped drops of Essence Under Water Love and Aquatix Bay randomly on the nail.  Finally I topped everything off with a coat of CND Super Shiney top coat.  In hindsight, glittery polishes tend to be a little thick which explains why the drops didn't spread out as much as expected.  However, the large polka dotted result is still really cute.

Happy polishing,

Michelle

Orly High On Hope Swatches & Review

Purchased Myself

Hello readers,
Today I have a polish from the Orly Spring 2013 collection... which I managed to not wear until Fall 2014.

High ON Hope has a blue jelly base filled with microflakes that shift from pink to purple to gold. The formula was easy to apply but slightly sheer. It took me three coats to get a nice opaque finish. Photos show three coats of High On Hope with one coat of CND Super Shiney top coat under daylight spectrum lighting.

Happy polishing,

- Michelle

Rainbow Honey Siren Song Swatches & Review

Purchased Myself

Hello readers,
Today I have my Halloween polish g to show you.  I decided to dress up as Princess Jasmine this year so I need the perfect light aqua polish to match the outfit.  I settled on Rainbow Honey Siren Song.

Siren Song features a super shimmery aqua base packed with aqua, navy and gold glitters in various shapes and sizes.  I did find the formula on this one thick and a bit tricky to work with.  I ended up having to dab a few spots to ensure even coverage.  Also, because there is so much glitter in this polish it does dry quite roughly.  I used a generous coat of gelous to smooth it out.  Photos show two coats of Siren Song with one thick coat of gelous and on coat of HK Girl top coat in a mix of natural and daylight spectrum lighting.

You can find Rainbow Honey at:

https://www.rainbowhoney.com/

Instagram

Facebook

Happy polishing,

- Michelle

Julep Lena Swatches & Review

Purchased Myself Affiliate Link

Hello readers
I know I've been pretty quiet the last couple weeks.  Somehow work and life got super busy all of a suddent.  I'm back today with a lovely shimmery creme to show you.

Julep Lena is a bright teal creme with a soft golden shimmer.  The formula on this one was excellent.  It was very pigmented and opaque in two coats.  However, the shimmer is less obvious on the nail than it is in the bottle.  The only issue I had with this polish was taking it off.  After removal the skin around my nails was stained green for about a day.  It didn't stain my nails through my base coat though.  Photos show two coats of Lena with one coat of CND Super Shiney top coat in daylight spectrum lighting.  It does lean a little bit more green in person.

You can find Julep polish on their website along with a variety of other body, bath and beauty products.

Happy polishing,

- Michelle