So You Wanted To Know...

Hello Lacquer Luvers! Last week on Instagram I announced that I would be doing a Q&A here on the blog. I am so happy that I asked because I got so many good questions and answered them all below!

Q. What is your favorite nail polish company & what is your favorite nail polish trend? (asked by @nailsbytaylah)
A. My favorite nail polish company is Zoya. I just love their wide range of colors and the formula is always amazing! I love their bottle shape and their customer service is by far the best. My favorite nail polish trend is large circle/round glitters. I haven't seen these in mainstream brands but they are everywhere on the indie scene! Speaking of, I can't wait to wear Space Cadet 2.0 by Lacquerhead Polish & Pop Culture Cosmetic's Pink later this week!

Q. Do  you use acetone or nail polish remover? How do you keep your nails so long and strong? (asked by @analysemariee)
A. I use both, actually. For glitter removal I use acetone because it removes the glitter faster when I use the foil method (soak a cotton ball in acetone, put it on your nail and cover with aluminum so that the acetone doesn't evaporate...5-10 minutes later the glitter wipes right off). For all other polish I use Zoya's Remove +. To keep my nails long and strong I use a variety of essential nail care products. These are products I think every girl should have to keep her nails in shape. For growth and protection of staining, I ALWAYS use a base coat. My favorite is Essie Grow Faster or Essie Feed Me. I keep my nails moisturized constantly with the help of cuticle oil/butter throughout the day which helps them to not get dry and brittle. I really like CND Solar Oil and Burt's Bees Lemon Cuticle Butter. The last essential product to keep your nails strong is a crystal nail file. Crystal files are much gentler on natural nails and prevent splitting which can happen when you use metal files or emery boards. My crystal file of choice is the NailTek mini.

Q. What are your favorite polishes to stamp with? Which ones work best? (asked by @polishedbyrachel)
A. I personally always use the black and white special stamping polish by Konad. I really like using the Halo Hue's by Color Club & KleanColor's metallic polishes stamp really well, too! A little tip for stamping polish: if it's a one-coat polish it's usually good for stamping.

Q. Stamping tips and techniques? I have the worst time with stamping. (asked by @alicia0910)
A. My biggest tip for stamping - DO NOT GIVE UP! This technique for nail art is so fun but can give you so much trouble to master. Just be patient and keep practicing. I've learned so much by watching tutorials on YouTube and just testing it out randomly. If you have issues picking up the image, you might need to work a wee bit faster or buff/file your stamper. When you file/buff your stamper do it very lightly. It'll give it a little texture to help pick the image up. Placement is always an issue for me. I just learned of this amazing trick that I can share with you! You can make decals out of your stamping images by using a sandwich baggie and clear nail polish. All you have to do is paint the baggie with clear polish and wait for it to dry. Then you use stamp the image on to the clear polish that's on the bag. Once that dries, use tweezers to remove the decal and place it on the nail. Seal it with topcoat and voila!

Q. Which brands are jellies or any info on jelly polish? (asked by @lafashionchica)
A. There are a bunch of brands that have jelly collections & what's not to love about that squishy finish, right? Well.. L'Oreal just released their limited edition Miss Candy collection which has 8 beautiful jellies and can be found at RiteAid (I'm not sure of any other stores that carry this collection). NfuOh has a line called Jelly Syrup with over 40 jelly polishes that you can purchase here! Zoya has a jelly trio (Katherine, Paloma, Frida) that was released last fall for NYFW called Gloss. China Glaze's newest collection, Sunsational, is half creme and half jelly and you can check swatches of those out here. Other jellies you might have seen are Essie Marshmallow, Cult Nails Scandalous, Revlon Watermelon Fizz, & Sinful Colors Big Daddy.


I had so much fun writing up this post! I think I will try this again in the future. That said, if you have any questions for me please leave them below. It doesn't necessarily need to be be nail polish related. Sometimes it's nice to get to know the people behind the blogs ;) As always, I hope you all liked this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing my next post with you, xo!

~Jessica

It's a Bettina Nail Polish Party!

Hello Lacquer Luvers! I have a short and quick post for you today. This morning I saw that one of my favorite brands, Bettina, joined Instagram and I wanted to "celebrate" the only way I know how. You know, a girl will find any reason for a mani!

My mani began with a base of Essie Feed Me followed by two coats of Bettina Marshmallow. I used Pink Bikini and Green Apple for this super bright water marble and Lush Lacquer Clowning Around for a sprinkle of neon glitter fun on the rest of my nails! I topped this mani with my favorite topcoat, HKGirl.

I am so happy with how this turned out! I think it's so fun and summery and the perfect way to celebrate one of my favorite companies joining one of my favorite social media outlets. The neon glitter in Clowning Around is too cool for words and I can't wait to play with it again. If you're on Instagram, please check out Bettina's page @bettinacosmetics (and mine, @luvmylacquer). To order Bettina polish in the US, send an email to rosamadistrbutors@gmail.com. As always, I hope you all liked this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing my next post with you, xo!

~Jessica

Getting Pretty With Jamberry!

Hello Lacquer Luvers! Have you ever wanted to get amazing nail art on your nails without spending tons at the salon? Have you tried nail art yourself only to find that it's a lot harder than you thought? Well today I have the answer for you! Jamberry nail wraps are a DIY at home application with a wide variety of designs and are perfect for adorning your fingers in style.

The above photo shows a few of the designs that Jamberry has to offer. They range from simple and sophisticated to down right fun! One of the coolest things about Jamberry is that they offer totally customizable wraps that you can order by simply uploading your own images. Cool, right?!

The application of these wraps was incredibly simple and fast. Once you choose the design, simply clean your unpolished nails with alcohol and match your nail to the wrap that fits it best. Next, you peel off the wrap and use a blow dryer to warm it for about 10-15 seconds (this will make the wrap more flexible & the application smoother). Once warm, apply the wrap to your nail using firm pressure around the edges and cuticle. Trim remaining wrap with scissors and file off excess for a smooth edge. Use heat and pressure again to ensure the wrap is adhered to the nail and you're done!

The wraps I used in this post are called Sour Cherry Pie and Red Eclipse. Sour Cherry Pie is such a fun design and I thought this would be a great look for summer! Red Eclipse is sophisticated and classy and would be perfect for professionals who want something different but still work appropriate.

The removal of these wraps are easy as well. Jamberry has 2 removal processes that help you safely remove these wraps from your natural nails. The quick removal process requires using a blow dryer for 10-15 seconds then using your thumb nail to break the seal of the adhesive with the nail & peel off the wrap. The second is the gentle removal process which requires soaking your nails for 30 seconds in polish remover then sliding the wraps off your nail bed. I personally used the gentle removal process.

Overall, I really loved wearing these! I've tried a few kinds of nail wraps before and none ever applied as perfectly for me as these. I'm prone to lots of wrinkling with wraps and Jamberry's were nice and smooth. I love that this company offers such a huge variety of designs and keeps options endless with their customizable wraps! I mean, seriously, the options are endless...high school/college mascot, photos of loved ones, your favorite character for themed birthday parties, just to name a few!

You can purchase these wraps from Jamberry by clicking here. My friend, Shea, is a consultant for Jamberry and there is an ongoing BUY 3 GET 1 FREE promotion on her site so head on over and take a look at all of the beautiful designs she has there! Keep in mind that these wraps have a wide range in size and are totally customizable. As always, I hope you all liked this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing my next post with you, xo!

~Jessica

http://www.jamwithshea.jamberrynails.net/
facebook.com/jamwithshea
omgwaitwhatpolishisthat.blogspot.com

Sugar Daddy Just Got Fancy!

Hello Lacquer Luvers! Today's post is a little different than what I've been posting recently. Every now and then my nails crave a nice nude polish and a break from the colorful designs I normally gravitate to. I'm loving the look I came up with and hope that you all do, too!

My mani began with a base of Essie Feed Me followed by two coats of Sugar Daddy. Oh, Sugar Daddy, how I love thee! This polish in french nude perfection. It applied so nicely and it gave my nails a gorgeous sheer coat of a tiny bit of color. I love that this polish hid a little bit of yellowing on my nails. If I ever had to pick the perfect base for a french mani this is definitely it!

The design I picked for this mani is so intricate and beautiful. I chose to use Pueen image plate PUEEN18 and got it on my nails with Konad Special Stamping polish in black. The intricacy of this design and how the black pops off of the nude base made for such a lovely combination. It looked fancy yet modern. This mani was complete with a coat of Essie Good To Go topcoat.

Would you wear this mani? What do you think of nude/sheer polishes? I know alot of girls, including myself, absolutely live for color on their nails. Every now and then it is nice to have a little palette cleanser though. I'm loving these image plates by Pueen as well. They are all etched very nicely and the designs are fabulous and unique! Pueen currently offers three sets of plates, along with a few random plates, that can be purchased here if you are interested. International lovelies can place there order for these plates here. As always, I hope you all liked this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing my next post with you, xo!

~Jessica  

The Polish Bar - Daydream

Hello Lacquer Luvers! Today I have a swatch post to share with you. I was fortunate enough to win a flash giveaway on Instagram hosted by Marisa of Polish Obsession and finally got around to swatching the beautiful prize she sent my way. I've never heard of The Polish Bar before seeing this giveaway and was really excited to try a new (to me) indie!

My manicure began with a base coat of Essie Feed Me. I applied three thin coats of Daydream. Daydream is a light pink crelly (creme/jelly) full of medium and large fuchsia, purple and blue glitter along with fine gold glitter. This polish was easy to apply and I didn't have to play with glitter placement which was nice. I do wish that it was just a tad bit more jelly than creme. Overall, I thought this was so much fun to look at! 

Daydream can be purchased on Etsy at The Polish Bar's shop (click to be directed there) & retail at $8.50 for a full size bottle. Janice offers a variety of polishes that will fulfill your wildest glitter dreams! I am really loving all that indie polish shops have to offer as of lately and cannot wait to share more with you in the upcoming weeks. As always, I hope you all liked this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing my next post with you, xo!

~Jessica    

Get White Haute Nails with Zoya Purity!

White Haute Nails
Are you dreaming of this graphic looking nail for yourself? The secret is in the application.

With a perfect white nail polish, Zoya Purity, in hand we reached out to celebrity, editorial manicurist Sunshine Outing for her insider application secrets.

To start, Outing prefers a perfectly smooth surface created by using a ridge filling base coat with a milk base such as, Zoya Get Even… “Let it dry completely” before starting your color application. When it comes to white or pastel full coverage color, the biggest secret is to be patient and not to “go back in and overwork it”. Start with a thin first coat and don’t worry about streaks, “just get it on”. The second coat should be slightly thicker and cover the entire nail. Once the second coat is on, if any streaks or imperfections are showing, a “very, very thin” final layer of polish can be added. Allow color to briefly dry and then follow immediately with a protective top coat. The top coat will not only apply a glossy finish but also assist in bonding the layers of nail polish together for that professionally manicured nail look. After the initial application, Outing recommends a lightly applied daily dose of topcoat for chip-free, glossy perfection.

INSIDER PRO MANICURE TIP: For a slender looking nail, manicurist Sunshine Outing suggests not covering all the way to the sides as way to create nails that look slender and sleek.

 

Credit Info
Zoya PixieDustTM Nail Polish in Purity
$8 ea (US)
www.zoya.com

 

Photo credits: Zoya Nail Polish

Minnie Mouse Mani & Stamping Plate Review

Hello Lacquer Luvers! Today I have another review and a super cute mani to share with you! For today's mani you will see that I "recycled" part of yesterday's manicure. As I mentioned yesterday, I was sent another item to review from BornPrettyStore, the RuiZ03 stamping plate:

I've always wanted to do a Mickey and Minnie Mouse manicure after seeing Holy Manicures masterpiece a good while ago. Isn't that adorable?! I wanted to do a twist on the normal red/black/white Minnie mani that you normally think of. I was inspired by this picture:

As stated above, I recycled part of yesterday's mani, my ring finger. I removed polish from the rest of my nails and proceeded to begin with a base of Essie Feed Me. I applied two coats of Bettina Vintage to my pinky and middle fingers, 3 coats of Zoya Darcy to my index and 3 coats of L'Oreal Miss Pixie on my thumb. Miss Pixie was a gift from the lovely Keisha of refinedandpolished.com and is part of the Limited Edition Miss Candy collection which includes 8 jellies! Oh, I can't even tell you how excited I was to see that in a very sweet and thoughtful package from her.

The stamping was done with Konad Special Stamping Polish in white along with the images found on stamping plate RuiZ03. I tested these images on paper before applying them to my nails. Each image on the plate is etched perfectly and I had no issues transferring them to my nail art stamper and on to my nails.

I used a makeup sponge and Shimmer Julia on my middle finger. On my thumb I applied one coat of OPI's Pirouette My Whistle followed by another coat of Miss Pixie. I completed my mani with a coat of Essie Good To Go.

This cobalt blue jelly that is Miss Pixie is to die for!

Overall, I really really adore this manicure! It makes me want to start planning a trip to Disney with the kids. I love that it's not your traditional Minnie Mouse colors and the 3D bow went perfectly with my inspiration photo. The RuiZ03 plate from BornPrettyStore is made perfectly and I would definitely recommend it to anybody who isn't great at freehand like myself. Remember that if you do purchase this plate, you can receive 10% off your total order at BornPrettyStore by using the unique code on the right of my blog! As always, I hope you all liked this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing my next post with you, xo!

~Jessica