Oxygen Bar Just Blue Me Away!

Hello Lacquer Luvers! As promised, I have my first Valentine's Day mani to share with you guys today. Before I get into it, I just want to say THANK YOU to each and every one of you! LuvMyLacquer hit 1,000 followers this weekend and I am still over-the-moon with excitement about that! You all have been so supportive since day one and I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate you for joining me on my blogging journey and having me as part of this amazing community. 

Today's manicure is a little unconventional when it comes to the Valentine's Day theme. It's not your typical pink, red and white manicure but it sure is cutesy and would be great to wear on the day for lovers, don't you think? Let me share with you how I achieved this look. 

This manicure began with two coats each of Essie Play Date and Bettina 190. The formula for both of these polishes is really nice. They went on smoothly and had a high gloss finish without a topcoat. I chose these colors to play up the fabulous glitter I used, Loaded Lacquer Oxygen Bar. Oxygen Bar is described as matte neon pink, matte neon blue, metallic purple, holographic lavender and periwinkle hex and squares in multiple sizes. I love everything about this polish. The neon glitters are incredibly eye catching while the periwinkle glitter lends a softer feel and the tiny holographic glitter keeps it playful.

These stamping decals were created with Pueen43, Cult Nails Tempest, Sally Hansen Blue Me Away!, & China Glaze Gothic Lolita. I applied a coat of Orly Prisma Gloss Silver because..well, one could never have too much holo sparkliness, right? I sealed all of cuteness in with a coat of my favorite glossy topcoat, HKGirl, and voilà!

Do you all love this mani as much as I do? I just love the glitter in Oxygen Bar and it was a great inspiration for this look. Did you know that you have a chance of winning this polish and lots more goodies by entering my Fan Appreciation Giveaway? Are there any looks you'd like to see from me for Valentine's Day? As always, I hope you all enjoyed this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing my next post with you, xo!

~Jessica

Girly-Girl Nail Art Challenge Day 6

Hello Lacquer Luvers! Welcome to Day 6 of the Girly-Girl Nail Art Challenge. This challenge was created by Lindsey of Neverland Nail Blog & has been so much fun! I can't believe next week it will be over but it really has been great getting to come up with these manicures for you all and seeing the awesome creations of the other ladies taking part in this challenge.

The theme for Day 6 of the challenge is - "Who Inspires you? Show some love to your favorite female role model by creating gorgeous nails in their honor." Honestly, I thought of famous role models like Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Maria Shriver to name a few who I could honor with a manicure. I thought and thought and felt that there was someone who influenced me personally so much more than any other person, famous or not. That person is my son's teacher, Mrs. Fils-Aime.

For those of you who don't know, my son Tyus, has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and we have been so fortunate to be able to get aid through the city and put him in schools that have helped him overcome so many obstacles. My family is ever-so-grateful that there are teachers like Ms. Fils-Aime who are so dedicated to helping children with special needs. It takes someone with a big heart and tons of patience to do what she does and we are sincerely appreciative of her daily efforts to improve the lives of the children in her classroom.

I began my manicure today with a base of Essie Grow Faster. Next I applied two coats of Bettina Matte on my pinky, one coat of OPI Samoan Sand on my ring finger, two coats of Bettina Peppermint on my ring finger, and two coats of ORLY Lucky Duck on my index finger.

Then I took my Kiss Nail Art stripers in blue and  red to create the look of notebook paper on my pinky finger. I used Scotch tape and E.L.F. Chocolate to create a desk and my red nail art striper and plate M66 from BornPrettyStore to put a apple on the desk for my ring finger. I used Scotch tape and Sally Hansen Blue It for the Autism puzzle pieces, which represent the ambiguity and mystery around the causes and understanding of Autism. I used my Kiss Nail Art striper in yellow to create a math problem on a chalkboard, something that Tyus is currently learning at school. My manicure was topped off with a coat of Essie Good To Go topcoat.

L-R Kiss Nail Art Stripers in blue, yellow, red, SHXW Blue It, Bettina Peppermint, OPI Samoan Sand, Bettina Matte, ORLY Lucky Duck, E.L.F. Chocolate

I feel that even though this may not be my "prettiest" manicure, it is most certainly the most meaningful one I have ever created. I would like to say that this manicure is not only a dedication to Ms. Fils-Aime, but it's also in honor of the many teachers who work with special needs children daily. You are so very special and influential to the lives of our children. Thank you for helping them to improve academically and nurturing our children with love. You are our hero's and I hope that this manicure shows how much of a role model and influence you are on us. To see more role model inspired manicures, check out these blog posts of the other girls participating in this challenge:

Lindsey of Neverland Nail Blog

Ashley of Follow The Yellow Polish Road

Stephanie of A Little Polish

Kelly of Polish Enthusiast

Jodi of Captivating Claws

Danielle of Rock N Polish

Elly of Polishable

Olivia of Unprofessional Nails

Kate of This Charming Kate

Bethany of  A Plethora Of Nails

Lizzy of The Do It Yourself Lady

Eugenia of Talon-ted

Johanna of Neues vom Kellerkind

Amanda of Nox Nails

Ashley of Smashley Sparkles

Sarah of See Sarah Swatch

Emily of The Lacquerologist

Tressa of O' Natur Nail

I would love to hear who inspires you all so please let me know in the comments below 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

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hello Lacquer Luvers and a Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all! There is no better way to celebrate St. Patty's Day than with GREEN and you all know how much I love my greens =) For those of you that don't know, I am part Irish, too! This holiday is one of my favorites. Green beer (not now, of course!), parades, leprechauns, & rainbows are all so much fun. Not to mention, delicious foods like Irish potatoes which I will be making later on today, yum!

I began my St. Patrick's Day mani with a base of Essie Grow Faster followed by two coats of Zoya Apple. Apple can be best described as: "Luminous yellow-toned apple green packed with gold metallic sparkle.  A dimensional green that's clean and bright." I LOVE this green! It sparkles like no other and is such a great shade for this holiday. Formula and application for this lovely was, as is always with Zoya polishes, great.

To compliment the gold in Apple, I used ORLY Luxe and Scotch tape to create a french tip. I added a four leaf clover stamp from BundleMonster's BM03 image plate using my Konad Special Stamping Polish in white to bring in the St. Patty's Day theme. I topped my mani off with a coat of Essie Good To Go.

And look, I have a lucky four leaf clover:

I'm looking over a four-leaf clover
That I overlooked before.
One leaf is sunshine, the second is rain,
Third is the roses that grow in the lane.
No need explaining the one remaining
Is somebody I adore.
I'm looking over a four-leaf clover
That I overlooked before.

Willie Nelson - I'm Looking Over A Four-Leaf Clover

I really enjoyed creating this fun manicure and I hope you all like it! It reminded me of my Grandmother (who is half Irish) and how much I miss her. I can't wait to enjoy some Irish potatoes later on while looking at my pretty green nails! What do you all think of this mani luvs? How are you wearing green today? As always, I hope you all liked this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing my next post with you! May the luck of the Irish be with you, xo!

~Jessica

Girly-Girl Nail Art Challenge Day 3

Hello Lacquer Luvers & welcome to my Day 3 post for the Girly-Girl Nail Art Challenge. I realize that I promised to have this post up yesterday but I spent the day with my mother-in-law doing some shopping for Baby Gabby & making dinner. I had a really good time and it was nice to get out of the house all day. Day 3 of the challenge calls for "Delicate and Elegant: Adorn yourself with a lovely pattern, color, or technique."

For my mani today, I thought that nothing is more delicate than lace and nothing is more elegant that gold. I began this manicure with a base of Essie Grow Faster followed by one coat of ORLY Luxe. This is my go-to gold polish since it's a beautiful foil and completely opaque in one coat (also works great for stamping). Next I used my Konad Special Stamping Polish in black and BM21 to stamp on a lace-like image. I finished this manicure with a coat of Essie Good To Go topcoat.

Pretty, right?

I love this mani! It kind of reminds me of wallpaper but it's lacey, right? What do you think of this mani luvs? To see some more delicate and elegant nails, check out these blog posts of the other girls partaking in this challenge:

Lindsey of Neverland Nail Blog

Ashley of Follow The Yellow Polish Road

Stephanie of A Little Polish

Kelly of Polish Enthusiast

Jodi of Captivating Claws

Danielle of Rock N Polish

Elly of Polishable

Olivia of Unprofessional Nails

Kate of This Charming Kate

Bethany of  A Plethora Of Nails

Lizzy of The Do It Yourself Lady

Eugenia of Talon-ted

Johanna of Neues vom Kellerkind

Amanda of Nox Nails

Ashley of Smashley Sparkles

Sarah of See Sarah Swatch

Emily of The Lacquerologist

Tressa of O' Natur Nail

Again, I would like to thank Lindsey for coming up with this challenge, it is really a lot of fun =) As always, I hope you all liked this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing my next post (which will be today!) with you, xo!

~Jessica

100 Follower Giveaway!!

Hello Lacquer Luvers! As a thank you to all of my lovely followers I will be having a 100 Follower Giveaway for you all =)

The Prize:

-China Glaze Fairy Dust: Holographic micro-glitter top coat
-China Glaze Snow Globe: iridescent multi-colored glitter
-China Glaze Some Like It Haute: charcoal base with small silver and larger holographic glitter
-Finger Paints Asylum: red, blue, orange, green, purple flakie
-Revlon Whimsical: sheer blue base with baby blue and pink hexagonal glitter and smaller iridescent blue glitter
-ORLY Androgynie: black jelly base with large multi-colored hexagonal glitter, smaller holographic glitter and gold microglitter

Please enter the Rafflecopter form below and THANK YOU for following me! Good luck, xo!

**This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only, sorry to my international luvs!**

An ultra Luxe mani for the Holiday's with Orly

Hello Lacquer Luvers! As the days get closer and closer to Christmas, I am sure you all are busy getting your holiday shopping done but I wanted to share with you a few swatch photos of Orly Luxe. You ladies saw her as a stamping polish in yesterday's Holiday Ribbon manicure. Luxe is part of Orly's LuxeFX Collection and has been in my stash for quite some time now. I love showing her off this time of year! She's the perfect color for quick and simple, yet, ultra glam nails!

This gorgeous gold manicure was created using a base of Nail Envy Maintenance by OPI, two coats of Orly Luxe and one coat of fast dry top coat by Seche Vite. Luxe has a bit of silver micro glitter in it's gold micro glitter base that keeps it from turning too yellow.

I just love this color! She's so versatile in that she's stunning on her own and as a stamping polish. Do you like gold for the holiday's? Is there a color you have in your stash that you always gravitate to around this time of year? As always, I hope you all liked this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing tomorrow's post with you, xo!

~Jessica

***By the way, today is my one month Blogaversary! I just wanted to say THANK YOU to my lovely Lacquer Luvers!! You all make this so much more than I thought it would be and I am so very happy to have each and every one of you joining on this amazing journey!!! <3***

Zoya Yara Holiday Ribbon Mani

Hello Lacquer Luvers! Today I'm going in the opposite direction of yesterday's untraditional Pink Snowflake manicure and am sharing more of a traditional holiday manicure with an abstract twist on it. The colors for today are very of the season - green and gold - and this is also one I would consider to be office appropriate.

For my manicure, I chose an incredibly gorgeous olive green that is far from ordinary. Zoya Yara can best be described as "A medium smoky olive drab with an illuminating splash of bright gold glitter. An olive drab that's anything but- it's completely glam." Zoya always nails their descriptions and that's one of countless things I love about this company. Yara is from Zoya's Smoke and Mirrors Collections and definitely lives up to the Mirrors side of the collections in that it "reflects the most beautiful illusion of all - you! Smoky, sultry, sexy... with just a hint of sparkle, shimmer, metallic to add to the mystery. Expertly designed to work on a variety of skin tones to provide that perfect look right now." Have a look at this beauty:

Look at that gold glitter!! Oh, sooo yummy!!

To begin this manicure, I began with a base coat of Nail Envy Maintenance by OPI. Next I applied two coats of Yara. The formula, as is the case for every Zoya I've ever tried, is absolutely amazing! It went on effortlessly, dried quickly, and became completely opaque in just two coats. For nail art, I used a design from Konad's image plate M63.  I used Luxe by Orly as my stamping polish. Luxe is part of Orly's FoilFX Collection and is a stunning gold polish with a foil finish. Seche Vite fast dry top coat was used to top this all off. This design reminded me of golden ribbon on a beautiful Christmas tree!

I am in love with this manicure! I absolutely adore the gold glitter in Yara and think the gold foil from Luxe complimented her very well. What do you all think of this holiday mani? Do you love Yara as much as I do? I think this might be nice for a holiday luncheon at work - eyecatching but not over the top. As always, I hope you all liked this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing tomorrow's post with you, xo!

~Jessica

My Secret Santa & Orly Androgynie

Hello Lacquer Luvers! Now that the 10 Day Challenge is over I am so happy to share today's post with you all as I've been so excited to show you guys my Secret Santa package! I was added to a great nail polish group on Facebook & those of us who wanted took part in Secret Santa this year. Everyone was given another lady's name and address and we all wrote things we like and dislike and exchanged gifts. Cool, right? =)

My Secret Santa gift came from Ms. Mallory <3! She really went all out and sent me such a nice package. I received a really pretty card, J stickers, animal print nail files, ULTA Purple Haze, Sinful Colors Envy, SHXW In The Spotlight, Orly Androgynie, antibacterial PocketBac, lip balm, coal bubblegum, chocolate coins and the cutest holiday socks ever! I love everything she sent me & thought it was so cute how she packaged the polishes in the socks like stocking stuffers, adorable!

I have been wanting Androgynie, which is part of Orly's Holiday Soireé collection, for a while now and was so excited to swatch this one for you all first! After reading reviews and seeing swatches of Androgynie, I was losing hope for this polish as there was kind of a unanimous opinion that it was much prettier in the bottle than on the nail. When I received this, all of the glitter was on the bottom of the bottle, just like everyone had already said it would be. I read in the group that one of the ladies stored hers upside down and that she was able to get more of the glitter on the brush. This trick worked well and was a great "fix" for this polish!

I began this mani with one coat of OPI Nail Envy & two coats of Orly Androgynie followed by one coat of fast dry top coat by Seche Vite. As you can see in the photos, Androgynie is a black jelly based polish that has a variety of glitters in it. The glitter ranges from larger multicolored hexagonal shaped glitter to smaller square shaped holographic glitter along with some gold microglitter. This one is quite unique.

Here's a better look at how all the glitter looks in the bottle, pretty!

I really liked this polish but am wondering if I should've used 3 coats or layered one coat over a black creme polish. What do you ladies think? I am off to go mail my Secret Santa her package. I hope she loves it all just as much as I love mine! As always, I hope you all liked this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing tomorrow's post with you, xo!

~Jessica

10 Day Challenge: Day 3

Hello Lacquer Luvers & welcome to Day 3 of the 10 Day Challenge! Today's challenge is Favorite Book or Inspired by a Book. As I mentioned in the 14 Random Questions post, I haven't read in a while so this was really a challenge. I thought long and hard and remembered this children's book that I read over and over as a kid. It was called The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.

The Giving Tree is a tale of a boy and a tree. The tree always gave the boy what he wanted...shade, a swing, apples...and as the boy got older he needed more and more of the tree. One day the tree allowed the boy to cut him down to make a boat. When the boy returned the tree told him he had no more to give but the boy just wanted somewhere to sit. The tree allowed him to sit on it's stump & that made the tree happy that he could still be of use to the boy.

For my mani, I was inspired by the book's cover. I began with a coat of OPI Nail Envy and two coats of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Grass Slipper. This is such a great bright green cream. The formula was nice and the brushes are wide and tapered which made for easy application. I used Lucky Duck by Orly to stamp on some leaves from BundleMonster's image plate BM208. The red in the apple is Ali's Big Break by OPI & the stem of the apple is Chocolate by E.L.F.

The Giving Tree book cover:

What is your favorite book? What do you think of my book inspired mani? Don't forget that  Ms. Kelly from Posh For Polish is doing this challenge with me so please go take a look at her book inspired man and let her know what you think! As always, I hope you all liked this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing tomorrow's post with you, xo!

~Jessica

Finally Found Fowl Play!

Hello Lacquer Luvers! Today I have a beautiful polish to share with you, it is Orly Fowl Play. Orly released their Birds of a Feather Collection back in September and it contains 6 gorgeous shades ranging from cremes to incredibly shimmering & iridescent colors. This collection was inspired by nature and beautiful flocks of birds and their lovely feathers.

I have been searching high and low for this collection since it's release and had absolutely no luck. I went to my local Sally's in hopes of finding Androgynie from their new Holiday Soiree Collection. I couldn't believe they had quite a few of them there. While waiting in line, I saw their display and a Orly Gift Set. I stepped out of line and grabbed it quick since it was the only one there and someone else was at the display. In the gift set, there are 3 full size polishes from the Birds of a Feather Collection, Sweet Peacock, Lucky Duck, & Fowl Play along with a cuuute purple suede wristlet that has a detachable peacock feather zipper pull. This set retails for $9.99 at Sally's.

For this mani, I started with my OPI Nail Envy base coat followed by 3 coats of Orly Fowl Play. I topped it off with my fast dry top coat by Seche Vite.

Fowl Play is a deep purple jelly that is full of goodies! It has everything in it from blue and purple glitter to silver micro shimmer. The star of this baby are the flakies which have a stunning flash that shifts from red to green  to an orange-yellow color. Truly gorgeous! I had no problems with application and thought the formula was really great.

Do any of you guys have Fowl Play? I am really loving this deep purple flakie & cannot wait to try the other colors in this set. I hope you all like this post my dear Lacquer Luvers & I look forward to sharing tomorrow's post with you, xo!

~Jessica