CrowsToes Cheshire

Hey everyone, I have another Indie polish to show you. It is two coats CrowsToes' Cheshire over one coat of Ulta3's waterlilly.  This polish has too much going on to even describe so I am going to depend on the pics below to give the explanation for me. I must say that I wasn't very impressed with this polish, don't get me wrong it's very pretty, but the formula was really thick and gunky and I had difficulties getting it on my nails. Also, after a hour of wear the tips were already showing tip wear as you can see from the pics. At first I thought it was a "user" issue with how I applied it, but honestly I now think it is because the polish is so thick it shows wear a lot faster.

 

 

Caitlin bought me this polish for Christmas and she purchased it online here for $13.00 USD.

Thank-you for reading!

-Kristen

Sephore X's Chaotic (Lynderella Connect the Dots Dupe)

I have yet to be this excited about a polish before in my entire life! I seriously want to wear this polish every single day and never ever take it off. Do I have your interest yet? I sure hope so because the below picture is one coat of Chaotic from the Sephora X collection, over two coats of OPI's Mermaid Tears from the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides collection.

There is sooo much I want to say about this mani, but where to start?

Well I guess firstly I want to talk about a gorgeous Lynderella Polish called Connect the Dots, which I wanted to get Caitlin for Christmas but couldn't buy it online or through eBay because it was constantly sold out. It is also very costly at around $22 Canadian per bottle not including shipping and handling. However, there is good news because Sephora X's Chaotic is a pretty close dupe to Connect the Dots (I'm serious google it!), you can order it online here or buy it within the Sephora store itself, and it is only $14 Canadian plus shipping and handling! That's good math people!

Next I will write about the base polish I used, which I remembered to take a picture of before I put Chaotic over it. Anyways, Mermaids Tears is a light sage green that has a greyish undertone to it. I purchased OPI's Mermaid's Tears last year at Chatters for $8.00 Canadian, but I don't think it is in the stores anymore. However, it is still available on ebay.

Lastly, let's talk about Chaotic some more!! Sephora X's Chaotic has large black and white hex glitter, medium black and white hex glitter (they almost look like circles), small black and white glitter, and black bar glitter all jam packed in a clear base. I can't say enough about how much I love this polish, I think it looks like abstract paint splattering art and I can't help but show my mani to everyone I see. 

 

Thank-you for reading!

-Kristen

Girly Bits Mother May I?!

I have another indie polish to show you, it is Mother May I?! by Girly Bits. There is sooo much going on with this polish, I don't even know where to start describing it. The Girly Bits website does describe the polish as, "a medium purple base with aqua squares, red squares, blue, turquoise, pink, purple, opal, and aqua hexes in various sizes". I would say the base is more a light purple not medium though, but the rest sounds "looks" about right. The formula of this polish was pretty thick, and I had some problems getting even coats on my nails. I don't mind the consistency too much because I really love the look of this polish, the light purple makes it look really feminine, but the bright glitters add a pop to it. Here is 3 coats of Girly Bits' Mother May I?!

I received this polish from Caitlin for Christmas and she bought it online here, where is costs $11.00 USD.

Thank-you for reading!!

- Kristen

CrowsToes Absolum-your Potions Master

I have my very first Indie polish to show you today!! I got this polish from Caitlin for Christmas, and it is jam packed with wonderfulness. So here is 2 coats of CrowsToes' Absolum-your potions master (that's a mouthful) over one coat of Wet n Wild's Teal of Fortune.

 

 

 

  

CrowsToes' Absolum-your potions master is exploding with small silver and aqua glitter, small silver and aqua hex glitter, medium orange/bronze and aqua hex glitter, and black bar glitter. The polish is super thick because of all the glitter, but it was surprisingly easy to put on. Unfortunately, this polish is only available online. Caitlin bought the polish here, where is costs $13.00 USD.

Thank-you for reading!

-Kristen

Ozotic Beam 905 & 906

Caitlin went on a nail polish shopping bender and bought a bunch of indie and Ozotic polishes from the internet. She ended up buying almost all the Ozotic Beam collection polishes, including 905 which she gave me Christmas. I wanted to use one of her polishes at our last nail night, but also wanted to use my own polish too. Therefore, I decided to use Ozotic Beam 906 on all my nails except my ring fingers which I painted with Ozotic Beam 905. As you can see from the pictures the polish in the bottle has a iridescent fairy dust look to it. All the polishes in the collection look very similar in the bottle, but they come to life when put over black polish! You can also put them over other colours, but trust me they are amazing over black.

 

 

 

Ozotic Beam 905 (on my ring fingers) has all the colours of shimmer in it, yellow, blue, pink, blue, etc. in a clear base. It hardly came across in the pictures except picture 3 which you can clearly see the ring finger is a different polish. The colours of the shimmer changes depending on the lighting and if you are inside or outside.

Ozotic Beam 906 (all the other fingers) has pink and purple shimmer in a clear base coat. It too changes depending on the lighting, but it is predominately pink and purple.

I used Nails Inc. Black Taxi as the base on all the nails. The formula of the Ozotic polishes was a little thick, but it is packed with shimmer so the consistency is forgivable. I used two thin coats of the polishes for it to be opaque over the black base.

Unfortunately, you cannot buy Ozotic polishes in Canada because they are a Australian brand, but you can order them online here, they are $14.50 USD each.

Thank-you for reading!

-Kristen

China Glaze Get Carried Away

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I sure got spoiled this year and got tons of presents from family and friends! The best present I received was a Canon Rebel T3i, courtesy of Ricky. I am so excited because now my pictures for my blog won't look like poop anymore. My mani today is 3 coats of China Glaze's Get Carried Away from their Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away collection (2012) over one coat of Nails Inc. Black Taxi. I LOVE THIS MANI! The polish is awesome!

 

Get Carried Away is loaded with small silver and black glitter, large bronze-red and silver hex glitter and black bar glitter in a black base. Unfortunately, because I used a black base colour the bar glitter didn't really show up in the mani, next time I think I would put it over a dark blue, red, or bronze. Caitlin bought the polish for me at chatters for $8 (Canadian). If you are a Calgarian like moi, the best chatters to find polishes at is the one in Deerfoot Meadows and the one in Sunridge mall.

Thank-you for reading!!

- Kristen

Christmas Tree Accent Nail

Last year Caitlin and I did Christmas Tree nails using a tutorial from Nailside (pictures 1). We got so many compliments on our manis that I decided to do it again this year. However, this time I wasn't so ambitious and just did an accent nail as you can see in pictures 2 and 3.

Christmas Nails 2011

Christmas Tree Accent Nail 2012

Christmas Tree Accent Nail 2012

I don't remember what polishes I used on my mani last year :(. However, this years mani... the red is OPI's I'm not Really a Waitress, the green is Zoya's Holly which was from their 2011 Gems and Jewels collection. As for the Christmas tree it was created with tape, a holo silver glitter (I don't remember the name), and a little star I placed on my nail with clear polish as glue. For the complete tutorial, please see the link to Nailside on the top of this post. I apologize that I can't give you prices of the polishes I used, because they were all Caitlin's ;).

Thank-you for reading!

- Kristen

Sparkle Layering Gone Gonzo and Servin up Sparkle

I have a new mani to show all of you! I started off with one thin coat of OPI's Gone Gonzo! from their Muppet's collection, but decided I wanted some holo in my mani too. I then layered one thin coat of OPI's Servin' Up Sparkle from the Serena Williams Glam Slam collection. I ended up doing three thin layers of each to get the final look (I alternated between colours so they blended together). I put up three pictures because the mani was super hard to photograph properly and I wanted you guys to see the holo effect!

 

Gone Gonzo! was given to me by my friend Kathryn, I think she got it a Chatters, which has a huge selection of OPI and China Glaze polishes. Gone Gonzo! has small blue glitter and large silver hex glitter in a clear base.

Servin' up Sparkle came in a set with a purple polish called Grape...Set...Match, I am pretty sure I ordered the set on Ebay, but cannot remember the cost. Servin' up Sparkle has small silver and holo glitter and large holo hex glitter in a clear base.

Thank-you for reading!

-Kristen

Christmas Lights Nail Art Tutorial

These nails were done for my work Christmas party, I got the tutorial and inspiration from the Beauty Department blog. The only difference between their tutorial and mine, is that I used nail polish instead of the thread for the wire on the Christmas lights.

 Here is the finished product! I really like how they turned out!

 I first started off with two coats of Zoya Trixie, which I purchased on Ebay a couple of years ago. It is a gorgeous silver foil and it is by far the nail polish I use the most. I am seeing Zoya in more and more salons lately, but Trixie is usually already sold out by the time I see the display. 

 I then painted the wire for the Christmas lights using a skinny nail brush and Nail Inc's Black Taxi. I got Black Taxi from Sephora and it came in a special effects set with a flakie top coat, the set cost $24.99. Black Taxi is not the best black I have owned and you can save your dollars by buying a cheaper black nail polish. 

 I then used a smaller nail art brush and OPI's Wocka Wocka! to paint the red Christmas lights. I got Wocka Wocka! from Chatters for $10.00 and it is my favourite red I own.

 Lastly, I used the same nail art brush as before and China Glaze's Emerald Sparkle to paint on the green Christmas Lights. I got Emerald Sparkle from ebay for $5.00 including shipping and receiving, it was a awesome buy.

 Add two coats of top coat and there you go! Super cute Christmas Lights Nails!

Thank-you for reading!

- Kristen

Sally Hansen Houndstooth Nails Review

Awhile ago I tried Sally Hansen Salon effects Nail Polish Strips. I wanted a mani that I could wear the whole week without tip wear and chipping. I loved the houndstooth pattern and decided that if a Mani could last the "up to" 10 days it claimed on the box it was worth the $10.00 price tag..... well I was wrong. Not only did they take forever to apply, but I had problems getting them to smooth out onto my nail. Also, all the nail polish strips were too big for my nails, I know I have small fingers and nails, but I thought that at least one of the 16 strips would have fit properly! Anyways, after I played around with them and eventually got them to stick, I loved the look of them. However, I didn't even get close to 10 days wear time, I got 5 days tops before they started to peel away from my nail and wear at the tips. In my opinion don't waste your money on the strips, buy a nice bottle of OPI, Orly, or China Glaze with the $10 instead. :)

 

 

Have you tried the Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips? Did you have a better experience than me?

Thank-you for reading!

-Kristen

Birthday Cupcake Nails

I was looking through my cell phone and found a picture of my birthday nails last year, so I figured I would share them with you. I got the inspiration for these nails from here.

 

The light blue/green base nail polish was L.A. Girl Color Addict's Delirious. My mom bought this polish for me awhile ago and she got them on sale 2 for $5.00; I'm not sure where she purchased it from. As for the cupcake I first painted on the dark pink part of the cupcake with acrylic paint and a nail brush, I then took a larger nail brush and painted on the white (acrylic paint) to create the frosting. After it was completely dry I used a line brush and light pink acrylic paint to do the lines on the wrapper. The cherry was done with a dotting tool and red nail polish (any type of red polish will do). Lastly, I added little pearls to make the sprinkles, I made them stick to the nail by dabbing a dotting tool in top coat and then putting dabs of the top coat on the nail and then adding the pearls. Always make sure you finish it off with a top coat for protection. 

I got a lot of compliments on this mani, and it is definitively in my top 5 favourites. 

Thank-you for reading!

- Kristen

Konad White Rose Mani over Got a Date To-knight

Here is a super girly and dainty manicure! I started off with 3 coats of OPI's Got a Date To-Knight which is a super cute light pink creme, and then Konad stamped a rose design onto my nails with Konad special polish (plate M65). Lastly, I added 3 white pearls on my ring finger, they are very subtle and you cannot see them very well in the pictures. I have done this mani in the past and I love it every time!!

 

I received OPI's Got a Date To-knight from my friend Kathryn as a gift, but I'm pretty sure you can still find it in the salons. If not ebay is always a cheaper solution to buying OPI in Canada, as you can usually save $2-$3 a bottle even with shipping costs! I bought my konad stamping kit online here http://www.konadnailart.com/, and I must say it is one my best nail related purchases! I know that there used to be a kiosk in one of the malls here where you could buy konad, but I think it may have closed down. Be wise though that if there is a kiosk where you live the prices are probably alot more expensive than what it would cost you to order it online. I remember the plates at the kiosk being over $10 each and on the site they are only $6.90, that's a big difference!

Are you a fan of the girly mani's? Do you use Konad? 

Thank-you for reading!!

-Kristen

Sparkle Nail Polish Layering (China Glaze Skyscraper, China Glaze Snow Globe, and Wet n Wild Kaleidoscope)

During Christmas time one of my friends was debating what nail polish she was going to wear with her Christmas dress and was wanting to do a polish that sparkled like snow. This made me immediately think of China Glaze's Snow Globe and I decided to do a snowy manicure.

 

I started off with two coats of China Glazes Skyscraper from their Metro collection in fall of 2011. This nail polish is one of my top 10 favourite polishes, it is a blue inky base loaded with silver sparkles. I usually do three coats of this polish to get it opaque, but since I was going to put other polishes on top of it I didn't bother with the third. I got my China Glaze Skyscraper as a stocking stuffer last Christmas, but you can still purchase it on ebay for around $7.00 with shipping, which is still cheaper than it would cost you for a China Glaze polish in a Canadian Salon or Sally's Beauty. 

 

The second polish I used was one coat of Wet n Wild's Kaleidoscope from their Wild Shine collection, which I purchased on sale at Wal-mart for $1.00. I'm not sure they have this specific polish in the store anymore, but since it is a Holo glitter polish in a clear base with some small silver glitter in it, it wouldn't be hard to find another polish that is similar.   

 

The last polish I used was two coats of China Glaze's Snow Globe, which was from their Let it Snow collection in Christmas of 2011. This was another stocking stuffer for Christmas last year and I know that it was bought at Chatters Hair Salon and came in a set with another Christmas polish. I don't think they have this polish in the stores anymore, but you can still get it on ebay for around $8.00.

I don't know how many of you know about the dry climate and dry snow in Alberta, but it is fine and powdery and sparkles like.....well....sparkles! My mani isn't really all that snowy, but I love how it turned out and now my friend Sarah will know what Snow Globe looks like.

Thank-you for reading!

- Kristen

Halloween Nails (Nail Art)

I know it isn't Halloween anymore, but I wanted to post a picture of my Halloween nails. I used this tutorial for them here, and pretty much followed it to a tea. Hers are waaaay better than mine, but I gave it my best shot.

 

I only used nail polish for the bases; the white on the ghost, dracula, and mummy are a white from my wet n wild collection, the base for Frankenstein is OPI's Jade is the New Black, and the witch's base is China Glaze's Periwinkle. For the rest of the details I used watered down acrylic paint (watered down so it glides on the nail easier),  a nail brush and a nail dotting tool for the eyes.

Also, here is a picture of me dressed up for Halloween a couple of years ago, I'm the cat.... not a very exciting costume but it was good enough for a house party. 

Thank-you for reading

- Kriste

Sparkle Layering (Electric Heaven and Snow-man of my Dreams)

Lately I have been addicted to layering different nail polishes, and since I have a lot of sparkle (all different sizes of glitter) nail polish I tend to layer sparkles over sparkles.

 

 

 The first layer of my sparkle mash-up was two coats of Nicole by OPI's Snow-man of my Dreams. It was part of their holiday collection last year and the polish is loaded with silver, blue, pink, orange, yellow, and green sparkles in a clear base. The interesting thing about this polish is that the blue sparkles dominate the polish almost making it look like it is in a blue base not clear.  I love the brushes used in the Nicole by OPI they are shorter than other polish brushes, but that seems to make them very easy to use. I bought this polish at Wal-mart for $8.00.

 

The second layer of my sparkle mash-up was a two layers of Vernis Classique by Charimoya called Electric Heaven. This is my only nail polish by this brand and I LOVE IT!! I use it all the time over old manicures when they start to look Blah; this top coat really revives it. Anyways, it is loaded with small pink champagne glitter, large hexagon champagne glitter and pink champagne glitter stars, all in a clear base. If fairies were real, they would wear this polish. The only issue I have with this polish is the smell of it, it is very strong and chemically. I purchased this polish on ebay, it came in a dual pack with another polish (I gave the other polish to my niece) for $12 with S&H.  

I really wish I had a better camera, because it is hard to catch the extent of the glitter sparkliness of these polishes together on my crappy Fugifilm digital camera.

Thank-you for reading!!

- Kristen