Rockin' My Neon Animal Print Mani

Hello Lacquer Luvers! I hope you all have some great plans for this weekend. As for myself, I will be enjoying family time and just kicking back with Tyus. I am thinking of taking him to the park later on today. Anyways, today I have a rockin' mani to share with you all. I woke up feeling cheery and what better way to express that on your nails than with neon colors and glitterrr?!

My manicure today began with my usual base coat of Essie Grow Faster. Once dried, I applied two coats of China Glaze Celtic Sun. Celtic Sun is like liquid yellow highlighter in a bottle. It is super bright and in your face! It's also not as opaque as I would've thought it to be. If I was using this color on it's own I would probably apply two coats over a white base.

Once my two coats of Celtic Sun dried, I applied one coat of Color Club's top coat. I didn't apply this to all of my nails at one time because it was used as an adhesive for the neon yellow glitter. So while the top coat was still wet, I took a loose nail tip and used it as a scoop to pour the glitter on to my nails. I lightly tapped my fingers so that the excess glitter would fall off.

After the glitter was applied to each of my nails it was time to make it smooth enough for me to stamp over it. To do this, I simply applied three coats of the Color Club top coat over my nails. After the three coats of top coat dried I used my Special Stamping Polish in black to stamp on this cheetah meets zebra design that is on Konad's M78 image plate. This manicure was topped off with two coats of Essie Good To Go topcoat.

I picked up the jar of neon yellow glitter while visiting my sister last summer. Unfortunately, it doesn't have a label so I cannot tell you what brand it is but you can find glitter for nails in nail supply stores and online.

Macro shot of the neon yellow glitter

I am loooving my mani today! It's so bright and fun =) What do you think luvs? Have any of you used loose glitter on your nails? I cannot wait to do another mani like this. I have quite a few glitters so we'll see what I come up with next. 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

Happy Pink Holo Wednesday!

Hello Lacquer Luvers and welcome to Pink Wednesday! I hope you all are having a fantastic week so far. Today I get to share with you a pretty pink holo that I received in a swap with the lovely Ms. Nikki! Nikki always spoils me in swaps and sends the prettiest colors to me. Thank you Nikki! <3

Today's manicure began with a base of Essie Grow Faster followed by three coats of Kleancolor Neon Pink. This pink has been in my stash for quite some time now & I was really excited to use it. Unfortunately, my bottle has a wonky brush that made application a mini nightmare. No matter how lightly I tried to apply each coat the brush would leave marks and some spots were not level because of it. I don't know how else to explain it. I really do love this color, and the formula was great for a neon but I really do wish the brush wasn't so terrible. Because this is a neon, it dried to a matte finish which I was not a fan of so here it is topped with a coat of Essie Good To Go topcoat. The topcoat seriously helped to cover up all the imperfections.

Next I layered one coat of Kleancolor Holo Pink over my pink base. Holo Pink is a sheer pink base with holographic glitter in it. The brush on this one gave me no problems with application. I am not sure how this color would work on it's own since it's on the sheer side but it is really great for layering over a pink cream. It gives it that bit of oomph & sparkle that I think is really pretty.

Once that dried, I stamped on a design from Konad's M70 plate using their Special Stamping Polish in black. I finished this mani with a coat of Essie's Good To Go topcoat.

Pink and black is one of my favorite color combinations and I really love how the holo glitters shine in this mani. What do you think luvs? Is this something you would wear? I think it's a fun mani and a great way to get through hump day. 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

Beach Inspired Water Marble

Hello Lacquer Luvers! How are you all doing on this fine Monday? I am really excited about my post today because it was inspired by my all-time favorite place. Before I get into my manicure, I want to share something with you all. Yesterday we decided to take a trip to the beach. Little did we know, there was a kite festival going on. Tyus (my son) was so excited to see all of the kites in the sky but not as excited as he was to get his feet into the water. We sat out for a bit and as we were enjoying the sights an older gentleman approached us & asked if Tyus would like to fly a kite. It made my heart melt to know that there are genuinely nice people in this world after all the terrible things we see/hear everyday. The gentleman saw how happy Tyus was and told him that he wanted him to have his kite. It really was the sweetest thing ever!

In the midst of our fun, I chipped the sides of my pointer and middle fingers. Any other time I would've been sad about it but how could I be when I'm looking at this:

I absolutely love love love the beach! It's the one place where everyone in my family has a smile on their face for hours on end.

On to my mani! I bet by now you can guess what I was inspired by today (well, besides the title of this post, haha!). The beautiful sand and the gorgeous shades that range from seafoam green to aqua to dark blue is the story behind my nails for the day. After filing my nails down because of the two chips, I began my manicure with a base of Essie Grow Faster followed by two coats of OPI Samoan Sand. Next I used Samoan Sand, Bettina Ocean, Bettina Aqua, and Essie Turquoise & Caicos to create my beach inspired water marble. I topped my manicure with a coat of Essie Good To Go topcoat.

The tip of my pointer finger looks like a wave! How cool is that? =)

L-R OPI Samoan Sand, Bettina Ocean, Bettina Aqua, Essie Turquoise & Caicos

Did you ladies notice that the colors I used to create my mani today are beach related? That's one of my favorite parts of this one! It reminds me of all the fun we had yesterday and the great memories that were made. What do you think luvs? What is your all-time favorite place to visit & what colors would you use to translate it to your nails? 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

Cinderella's Glass Slipper Mani

Hello Lacquer Luvers! I hope you all are having a great weekend so far. I don't have plans today besides cleaning the house & washing clothes but tomorrow we are planning a trip to the beach. I cannot wait! I've been wanting to go for about a month or two now. Anywho, as promised yesterday, today's post features a newly released polish by Sinful Colors called Cinderella. The entire time I was doing this manicure I thought about my sister. Cinderella was her absolute favorite movie when we were kids. To this day, she still loves it & even has some Cinderella things around her house.

I began my manicure today with a base coat of Essie Grow Faster followed by three coats of Sinful Colors Cinderella. I would describe Cinderella as baby blue with pink glass flecks that shift to gold. It really does remind me of her beautiful ball gown. This polish has a sheer/milky quality which makes for 3-4 coats to reach full opacity. Next time I will layer this beauty over a light blue such as Bettina's Peppermint. I really liked the formula for this polish. It wasn't runny or thick & just sort of glides onto your nails. Dry time, however, was long because of the three coats I used.

Aren't the glass flecks in this stunning? It is just so beautiful to me and unlike any other blue polish I've seen before.

Photo Credit: http://www.cinderellainfo.com/album/cinderell-glass-slipper/cinderell-glass%20slipper35.html

For nail art, I found the perfect image plate that went with the Cinderella theme! Bundle Monster's BM-213 plate has a high heel shoe design that reminded me of Cinderella's glass slipper. I used Konad Special Stamping Polish in white and stamped the image onto all of my nails. I finished this manicure with a coat of Essie's Good To Go topcoat.

Do I love this manicure? Yes, yes I do! I've always been a fan of Disney movies & this one allows me to relive some great times during my childhood. It made me miss my sister tons, too. What do you all think Lacquer Luvers? Would you wear this manicure? How do you like the glass slipper image? 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

Today I am a Gothic Lolita!

Hello Lacquer Luvers! I hope you all are having a fantastic Friday! In my post yesterday I asked which of the polishes Ty got me you all would like to see next on the blog. Today's post is of my first reader request which came from Ms. Lizzy O. who said she'd like to see Gothic Lolita and that it was on her wish list. I received another request for Sinful's Cinderella from Ms. Val Greeley so you can expect to see that one in my next post =).

Gothic Lolita is part of China Glaze's 12 pc. Electropop Collection. This beauty is a medium red-toned purple that has some red and blue shimmer in it. The shimmer is so fine that it only comes out to play in the right lighting but once it appears you can instantly see the depth it adds to this color.

My mani today began with a base of Essie Grow Faster. Next I applied two coats of Gothic Lolita. I've read a few reviews on this one, some said it was runny, others said it was a bit on the thick side. My bottle, however, did not have any of these issues. I felt that the formula was really great & application was effortless. All I needed was two coats to reach full opacity. I instantly fell in love with this color the second it reached my nails!

For nail art, I wanted to cater to this polish's name. At first, I googled Gothic Lolita and spent about an hour in amazement at the fashion (click on the "googled" link to see what I mean). If you know me personally, you know that Japan is on the top of my destination places I would like to visit. The Gothic Lolita style is definitely something I imagine that would be seen as street-wear over there. I then googled "Gothic Lolita purple" and found my inspiration pic (see below).

Photo credit: http://www.mechanicalbunny.com/oscmax/tripp-purple-petticoat-gothic-lolita-skirt-p-668.html

I used Konad's M57 image plate for the corset look. Nothing says gothic, to me, like black roses so I used image plate M73 from a set that I purchased over on BornPrettyStore.com. Both of these images were stamped onto my nails using Konad Special Stamping Polish in black. I used Scotch tape and WetNWild's Ebony Hates Chris for my black french tips. This manicure was topped with Essie's Good To Go topcoat.

I had a little accident where I bumped my middle finger and caused it to smudge & couldn't stand to look at it which is why I didn't post a close-up shot of my entire mani like I normally do. It's not really -that- bad but I just couldn't stand it lol! Otherwise, I'm loving this manicure. I think it would be perfect for a Gothic Lolita! What do you all think luvs? I'm really excited to show you all my next reader request color, Sinful Colors Cinderella, in my next post. 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

Happy Pink Water Marble Wednesday!

Hello Lacquer Luvers & Happy Pink Wednesday to you all! I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day yesterday & if you didn't I hope today is a much better one for you =) I got the best gift ever from my husband, Ty. He did so good! Below is a picture of part 1 of my gift. He got me a dozen polishes!

(L-R: (Top) Finger Paints Art You Wondering?, SC Oasis, SC Cinderella, OPI Dutch 'Ya Just Love OPI?, OPI I Don't Give A Rotterdam, ORLY Purple Crush, (Bottom) WNW I Need A Refresh-Mint, CG Pool Party, CG Naked, CG Gothic Lolita, CG Turned Up Turquoise, & WNW Club Havana)

I thought that was it (and totally more than I thought he would get me) but he came home with a part 2 which was lilac roses and chocolates. It really was a special day for me! Since today is Pink Wednesday, I used two of the pretties he got me yesterday for today's manicure. Let's get to it, shall we?

My mani today began with a base of Essie's Grow Faster followed by 3 coats of China Glaze Naked. Naked is a rosy pink that has pink and silver micro-shimmer in it. This shade was not as opaque as I would have liked so it took 3 coats to reach full opacity. However, application and formula was very smooth & dry time was average.

See the micro-shimmer, pretty isn't it? For nail art I wanted to do a water marble & thought that Sinful Colors Oasis would be a great choice since it was a darker shade of pink than Naked is. It also shares the same shimmer quality that Naked contains in that it has purple iridescent shimmer throughout it. I used Jordana's Barely Pink so that Naked would still peep through the sheerness of Barely Pink. This manicure was topped off with Essie's Good To Go topcoat.

I love how this came out! I think the two pinks work really nicely together. What do you think Lacquer Luvers? I would also like to know which of the new polishes I got you want to see on my blog next so please leave a comment below letting me know which one's you would like to see. 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

You Give Love A Bad Name (Anti-Valentine's Day Nails)

Hello Lacquer Luvers! I hope you all are having a great weekend so far. Today I have an anti-Valentine's Day manicure to share with you. I decided to do a mani for my girls who absolutely hate this holiday because, well, we all know what it feels like to have been hurt or to not have someone special to show your affection to on that day, right? My mani was inspired by the lyrics of Bon Jovi's "You Give Love A Bad Name".

For my mani today, I wanted to simulate a "shot through the heart." I began my manicure with a base coat of Essie Grow Faster. I used two coats of Bettina Onix (black) & three coats of Matte (white) as my base colors.  On my pinky is the gun which was done with Konad plate S5 & their Special Stamping Polish in black. I used Sally Hansen's Color Quick Chrome Pen in gold along with Bundle Monster's BM202 plate as the gunfire on my pinky, ring, and middle fingers. The heart on my middle finger was done with Kiss Nail Art striper in red & BM202. The blood red splatter on my index finger was done with Essie's Russian Roulette.

"You're a loaded gun, yeah
There's nowhere to run
No-one can save me, the damage is done

Shot through the heart, and you're to blame
You give love a bad name
I play my part and you play your game
You give love a bad name"
-Bon Jovi

I'm very pleased with the outcome of this manicure. I think I pulled off the concept that I was going for. What do you all think Lacquer Luvers? Did I do this song justice with my mani? I hope I did you proud my anti-Valentine's Day luvs! 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 song that inspired me today: http://youtu.be/KrZHPOeOxQQ

Nail the B.Y.T.C.H.

Hello Lacquer Luvers! It's Friday, the last day of the work week, and I hope you all are ready for a fun post and some pretty swatch photos from a new-to-me indie company called Nail the B.Y.T.C.H. Nail the B.Y.T.C.H. (Be Your True Creative Heroine) was created by two cousins, Jennifer & Lanaia, who launched a line of lacquers that "feature exuberant, bold colors and names that appeal to the edgy, everyday consumer who wants to be their own fashionista." Lanaia sent me three of these polishes to review (give my completely unbiased and honest opinion) and share swatch photos with you all. Let's have a look, shall we?

First up is Pretty Slick Bytch, which is described as "Shimmer tangerine watch her do her thing! Sweet but a little tart like Pixy sticks all it takes is one shot and your fixed." This gorgeous shade is a shimmery frost that has a nice formula and application. I really like this peach/tangerine color on me, it would be a really great pedi color come spring time. (All swatches began with a base of Essie Grow Faster, 3 coats of color, & no top coat.)

Next up is Cup My Cakes, which is described as "Well this girl knows what she's looking for this summer! She's sweet like cup cakes, but hot out of the oven baby!" This cream pink was a little thick as far as formula goes. I used polish thinner which helped it out a bit & made application much smoother. This would be a nice every day color for you girly girls.

Last, but not least, is Caught In Candy. This stunner is described as "Sticky-Sweet teal is she for real! I would say so...she might get you caught up in her candy treats...I warned you." Now you all should already know that this is my favorite of all! I absolutely love the shimmer in this shade, so so pretty! Application was easy-peasy with this one as the formula was really nice. If you have a thing for teal/green shades this lovely is right up your alley.

These polishes were a great surprise. I am so happy to have discovered this indie company. I can honestly say that their cheeky names is what caught my interest at first but the colors and polish formulas are really fantastic! Besides the polishes themselves, I love the fact that the founders are all about positivity & empowerment. The world needs alot more of that, wouldn't you agree? Let me not forget to mention that these are all 3 free, a big plus! There are a total of 10 polish colors that you can purchase for $6.00 per 15ml bottle by visiting the Nail the B.Y.T.C.H. website. You can also like their Facebook page where they have a monthly giveaway, as well as follow them on Twitter. So go ahead, Be Your True Creative Heroine ladies and check them out! 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

Congratulations to My Valentine!! (Zoya Giveaway Winner)

Hello Lacquer Luvers! I would like to congratulate Yamii Cruz, the winner of my Zoya Will You Be Mine, Sweet Valentine(a) Giveaway!! I also would like to say a huge THANK YOU to all of you who entered. I'm truly appreciative of each and every one of you! It was alot of fun to read all of your entries & you all even got me to add a few colors I haven't looked at onto my wishlist (which I have to update). Again, congrats Yamii, my Valentine! <3 (You will have 48 hours to email me back before I have to choose another winner.)

~Jessica

Let's Go GIANTS: My Superbowl Mani

Hello Lacquer Luvers & football fans!! As you all know, or should know, today is Superbowl Sunday & that means I have a kick-ass sports mani to share with you all! Tonight I will be rooting for the NY Giants because, well, my Grandma wouldn't have it any other way. She was born & raised in NY & has never missed a game. So Grammy, this one's for you!

I began my manicure with a base of Essie Grow Faster followed by two coats of OPI DS Magic. DS Magic perfectly matched a jersey that my Uncle got my son for Christmas when he was a baby. It's a beautiful dark blue polish full of glass flecks. In the right lighting & angle, this baby flashes a bit of purple. Application & formula were both flawless. This polish honestly just kind of glides on your nails & dry time was a little faster than average.

Once DS Magic dried it was time for nail art. I was inspired by the gear the players will be wearing; namely the football jerseys (pinky, middle, index, & thumbs) & helmets (ring finger). I wanted to mimic the look of the netting in the jersey & an image from Konad's M79 plate was perfect for what I was going for. I used my Konad Special Stamping Polish in white for the design. The Giants' helmets are blue with a red stripe going down the middle. I used Scotch tape & Kiss Nail Art paint in red to imitate the helmets on my ring finger. This sports mani was finished with Essie's Good To Go topcoat.

See how the jersey has the cross stitching and dots in the middle? Is this not the perfect stamp for that look? =)

Goooo Giants!!

Well Lacquer Luvers, I would love to know what you all think of my NY Giants manicure! What are your plans for the game tonight? Who will you be rooting for? I plan on staying home and ordering pizza & wings. Oh & the new season of The Voice premiers after the Superbowl & I can't wait for that! 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! GOOOOO GIANTS!!!

~Jessica

Dr.'s Remedy Valentine's Day 2012 Press Release

DR.'S REMEDY VALENTINE DELIGHT

Reds to Rock Your World

   

Romance rising: that's what February 14th is all about, indeed. This Valentine's Day, we dare you to take the shade of love to a whole new level, compliments of Dr.'s REMEDY Enriched Nail Polish. How to choose the hue de you? The sky's the limit (in terms of red); just reach for one of these red-hot tints to entice and ignite your inner flame. Your tips and toes will thank you, no doubt. This Valentine's Day Delight collection of Dr.'s REMEDY Enriched Nail Polish red shades includes: REVIVE Ruby Red: A shimmer-infused, Wizard of Oz-inspired shade of crimson RESOLUTION Red Glitter: A red-meets-copper spin that's sequin-look-alike laden with high-shine and sparkle RESCUE Red: A classic fire engine red     Dr.'s REMEDY Enriched Nail Polish is available for $17 online at www.remedynails.com. Dr.'s REMEDY is a line of doctor-inspired cosmetics that is dedicated to using clean, hypoallergenic ingredients. The brain-child of two New York-based podiatrists, Dr. Adam Cirlincione and Dr. William Spielfogel, Dr.'s REMEDY proves quintessentially-perfect for any person looking to better the condition of her skin and nails. Dr.'s REMEDY is sold exclusively at www.remedynails.com or by calling 877-323-NAIL.