Lemming Landed: Elevation Polish Mt Yu

Hey polished prisoners,

So long time no post eh? I promise I haven't been languishing.   I inadvertently sliced off a quarter inch of the medial aspect of my left thumb last Friday - translation mandolins are the devil :(  I couldn't bear to have nail polish remover anywhere near it. While I have been recovering my Elevation Polishes have been calling my name. I wanted to break out a polish I've been crushing on for ages - Mt Yu. Plus let's face it Lulu is a genius at creating instant lemmings/lustings that drive me wild ;)

Mt Yu is a light creme mint green polish with an extremely subtle shimmer. It's actually a reincarnation of Yusan a polish that released right before my naturalization into the Elevation nation. I was a latecomer but I'm totally dedicated to Lulu and her lovely creations now! I have to say this plush is fabulous - opaque in three thin coats or two thick depending on your preferences.This next picture demonstrates how etheral this polish really is as sometimes it takes on the appearance of seeming almost white when in fact it's a very pale green.

Ugh I am so in love with this polish! It was restocked only for the month of November as part of the Kickin It Ole School Collection, but there is still stock left if you click on the link above. Want to know more about Lulu, her inspiration, and Elevation polish in general? Check out her blog here or her store here.  Restocks happen on the 7th of every month.   Beware you will be addicted by the very 1st restock!!!  On a side note I did something amazing with this mani later so you'll have to check  back to see what I came up with.  Thanks for reading and see you next post!  Toodles...

Thanksgiving KBShimmer Style

Happy Thanksgiving polished prisoners!

Is the stuffing flowing, gravy sensational, and turkey flavorful or are you partaking in the local football game and fun with friends? Lol hopefully you aren't like my good friends on call with only half a shift and bed to look forward to rather than the comforts of good eats! My favorite thing about T day besides the food? Fall weather perfect for frolicking outside oh and of course the nail art ;)

Mani-louge

Base and topcoat: CND Stickey and Poshe Fast Drying Top Coat

Base color: OPI Somoan Sand and Orly Satin Inspiration

Accents: KBShimmer Quantum Leaf

Stamping polishes: Nars King Kong, China Glaze Passion, Color Club Hot Like Lava and Ho Ho Holly, and Konad Special Polish in Red and Yellow

Stamping plates: Bunny Nails HD 06

I had so much fun creating this mani! Mainly for two reasons - my KBShimmer Quantum Leaf polish and Bunny Nails HD plates. Quantum Leaf is like fall in a nail polish in a bottle all golden and red and oranges with yellow deliciousness crammed in for good measure.  If you don't have this polish you should!  No excuses it's just brilliant! Get them here and stalk her upcoming creations on Facebook.  Now onto the other amazing part of this mani -  Bunny Nails, girl you are killing me.  Shall I say it again? Bunny Nails girl you are KILLING ME!!! Her plates are awesome awesome awesome and the recently released HD holiday series are breath taking.  Prepare to see more of her stuff around here plus a review on these plates.  If you want to order from her go to her blog here or her ecrater store. 

Well here we are another fun holiday mani down.  Thoughts, ideas, gushing compliments ;) ? Stay tuned for some upcoming things on this blog including the seven days of Crowstoes Christmas featuring the new holiday collection polishes! I'm excited about this one! Ok I'm off to enjoy some macaroni and cheese and Cajun style turkey (yeah my family is awesome) and after I've glutted myself I will be watching the Redskins tear the Dallas Cowboys apart  - ugh I wish I had tickets to this game!  Thanks so much for reading and happy Thanksgiving to all my readers where ever you may be.  Oh and before I forget today I am most most thankful for the gift of life something that I was so close to losing only a scant 4 months ago!  I have a lot to be appreciative for this year! Thanks again and see you next post :)

Charm Your Nails Instant Gratification Glitter Gradient

Hey polished prisoners,

Did you know I have an obsession with black white mix combo polishes and it's many variations?   It's to the point that even when something looks extremely similar to something I already own I still want its delicious doppelganger.  So believe me when I say when I found a black, white, purple, and more purple combo it was "buy it now" at first site.  I'm talking about Charm Your Nails Instant Gratification which is pretty much exactly how I described it above - black, white, purple, purple, love.  Hehe.  I wanted to make a gradient and work this polish into it so that's exactly what I did ;)

Matte heaven right?  So freaking pretty!

I chose Orly Satin Hues Satin Reflection as the base.  It's a delicious matte silvery white polish that lives in my dreams and is unbelievably decadent.  I almost used this one for my AIS something matte challenge on Sunday and so I needed to use it once it was out floating around my field of vision.  By the by I'm stalking the Satin Hues and I really need the others to complete my collection if you have a source do let me know!  Anyhoo I created a gradient over this using Orly Velvet Rope and Essie Nothing Else Metals.  Finally, I put a coat of Instant Gratification on top for the final effect.

So good right? Someone please help me find the rest of these especially Gala!!!

Loving all the little squares in various shapes and colors!

More notes on Instant Gratification: This polish is dense and requires a very delicate hand otherwise you will overwhelm your base.  Using the dab method or removing most of the polish from the brush before running it over your nails is advised.  On the plus you won't have to dig for glitters they are readily available.  I'm loving this polish!  It's beautiful and oddly complex for the simple color mix :)  So thoughts? Love it or leave it?  Interested in owing it? Find Charm Your Nails here.  Thank you for reading and see you next post!  Toodles...

Stormy Weather

Hello polished prisoners,

Happy Monday my lovely ladies!  I hope you had a great weekend and are looking forward to the upcoming holidays. I am but I also have quite a bit of work coming up so things are gonna be hectic.  Well it is the holidays so I expect that.  In any event did you know a storm is coming?  Lightening strikes, moonlit sprinkles, and sunshowers ahead so beware and tuck all friable parts out of sight!

Mani-louge

Base: China Glaze Pelican Gray & Sinful Colors Cinderella

Sponging: OPI I Have A Herring Problem, Sinful Colors In the Mist, Darling Diva Polish Space Beetle, China Glaze Haunting, and Wet N' Wild Black Creme; Barielle Slate of Affairs, and Zoya Feifei

Stamping polishes: Konad Special Polish in Yellow, White, and Pastel Blue, China Glaze Millenium

Stamping Plates: Konad UK Charming Nails Plate Q1, Konad M79, Bunny Nails BuNa 01, BM01, and SH08

One of my favorite instagramers Storms and Stars was having a little contest with the theme storms and stars ;)  Initially, I had so many ideas but I loved the concept of starry showers and lightening the most and decided to go with that theme.  This one was actually another mani that was quite a bit of work but for several reasons including base complexity, stamp placement, and overall effect.  I've been told now for the umteenth time that I'm OCD and today I'd finally have to agree.  I will admit I couldn't settle well on this one and it took me a while to figure out what I wanted, but I love the final picture.

What do you ladies think?  One thing that bugged me is that I realized I don't have any plates with an image of the sun except for my BM01 plate and I have a lot of plates!  I would think the sun would be a common kind of image to put on a plate but for some reason it's not prevalent at least not in my collection.  Maybe I should buy more plates ;) ;)  Lol trust me when I say that's not it at all!  I already have too many and more coming.  I need to finish my stamping catalog one of these days and get that page up so you all can check it out.  In any event thank you so much for reading stay tuned for more fun!  Toodles...

Wallpaperings...On Sundays I Stamp!

Happy Sunday polished prisoners,

I hope your weekends have been going well and the Thanksgiving plans are flowing.  I've been having a pleasant weekend myself - good weather, good company, good food, and good news.  So who am I to complain?  I know several of the ladies over in the AIS group were excited for today's challenge which is simply matte i.e. some aspect of our manicure must include matte polish or topcoat.  Hmm I was on a fench about this because while I do love matte polishes and Essie's deliciously awesome matte topcoat no inspiration was forthcoming.  So I decided to return to one of my old loves - nudes and wallpaper.  I think this one was a winning combo...

Mani-louge

Base & Topcoats: CND Stickey, Poshe Fast Drying Topcoat, and Essie Matte About You

Base color: OPI Berlin There Done That

Glitter accent: Lynnderella Change

Stamping polishes: China Glaze Passion and Konad Special Polish in Black

Stamping plate: Dashica XL SdP 3

I left two nails shiny and the rest matte notice how cG Passion stays bold nube or matte. One more reason to love this polish ;)

Let's do a quick rundown shall we?  First, I am loving everything about OPI's Germany Collection. These colors are rich and Berlin There Done That was opaque in ONE COAT!! You all know how friggin excited I get whenever I run across one coaters because it makes nail art so much easier it also means this elegant lady probably stamps beautifully.  So win all around :)  Second, I haven't touched my Lynns in a while.  Honestly I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them, but I bought them and truth be told I love them.  So change made and appearance and it's gorgeous both matte and glossy!  Third and final, I love the Dashica plates and recently I unbelievably won the Like and Share giveaway from Shirley.  So I had to pull out my Dashica plates, the first plates I've ever purchased internationally, in anticipation of my set to come!

So here we are - it's Sunday, the weathers relatively fine, I've got gorgeous wallpaper nails though I may be biased, and things are relatively good in my world.  I'm wishing all my readers a happy Sunday and let me say thanks to everyone for sticking with my tiny and slow little blog.  I'm really enjoying my nail art these days.  Toodles...

Gray Matter Abstracted...

Hey lacquerista ladies,

Having seen the yumminess of Pound of Glitters' Gray Matter I knew I had to create a little magic on top of such an amazing polish!  I think I might slightly be getting over my phobia of stamping over glitters and it's really for the best.  I should have listened to NailsIT about this long ago.  Oh well.  I did find however, that stamping over a polish like this requires a bit of pickness about the colors for stamping since this polish was overwhelmed really easily when I tried it with darker colors,

Lord look at the depth on this!  Love it!

Mani-louge

Base color: Pound of Glitter Gray Matter

Stamping Polish: China Glaze TTYL and Color Club Cold Metal

Stamping plate: Konad M63 & M64

Fire! The subtle way TTYL is peaking out is awesome :)

So thoughts?  I absolutely adore the way this came out, but I may be a bit biased ;)  I ultimately chose to layer a holographic polish over this holographic glitter and then use a foil to contrast.  For those of you that don't know the Foiled Collection by Color Club are some of my most reached for bottles when it comes to stamping along with the China Glaze OMG Collection.   Amusingly these two Konad plates were my first real stamping plates.  I fell in love with the patterns and had to have them thus began my obsession.  So my love affair with stamping and holographics continues.  Speaking of holographics those who follow my Instagram might know a little about what's up my sleeve next ;)  Thanks for reading and see you next post!  Toodles...

Gray Matter or Grey Matters...???

Hiya polished prisoners,

It's another foray into my endless box of untrieds! Today I have a polish for you that filled my lacquer loving soul with pure incendiary lust from the moment I set eyes on it.  It was everything I ever dreamed of - the beauty of a medium grey tone combined with pink, green, blue, and silver hex glitters with holographic and multi-colored micro glitter, and lord even more brilliant it's named after one of physiology's greatest wonders - the brain (yeah I'm a geek I know).  Holy moly ladies and gents I almost fell off my chair!  I immediately started stalking the polish makers shop waiting for a restock and then eagerly scooped it up.  Man I'm hyping it up aren't I?  Hehe.  I'm referring to none other than Pound of Glitters Gray Matter or what I like to call lust in a bottle.

Have you ever owned a polish you couldn't bare to open?  I stared at this polish for the last 4 months, never swatching it just drooling over the bottle and giggling to myself (yeah creepy).  Today I finally let it out to play and I'm so glad I did!  For the record gray is one of my favorite shades of polish of all time.  I want to own all the gray polishes in a manner which I know is completely insane.  If it's holo I want it and if its a jelly why isn't it already in my stash?  Well this one is just phenomenal!  This is three thin coats but I probably could have done it in two however I wanted the glitter placement on the nails "just so".  I didn't have to do any real fishing for the glitter either.  It came out of the bottle perfectly on the brush and the finish itself was very smooth despite the glitter.  This one is a 10/10 for me.

Check out all that microglitter and holo goodness!

Alas if you are looking for Gray Matter, you may be in the words of my mama, be SOL (interpret as you will).  Pound of Glitter has closed her shop for now so I don't have a source for her though you may still be able to reach her via email if you search for Pound of Glitter under Etsy.  Please stay tuned for my nail art with this polish after I wipe up all my drool.  Thanks so much for reading and see you next post! Toodles...

My Boy Toy Did It...On Sundays I Stamp!

Hiya polished prisoners,

Another sweet sweet Sunday is upon us and lord I'm tired!  This has been a week that never ends just one thing after another.  I'm very much looking forward to the holidays when I can get a bit of breathing room.  In any event it's Sunday and around these parts though inconsistent it means it's time for an Adventure in Stamping.  This weeks theme is what my nails would look like if my boyfriend/hubby did it.  Let me tell you now I am a single lady, but luckily I have a crap ton of guy friends who can come to the rescue (yeah I'm one of those girls).  So this one was sort of picked out/idea given to me by my little friend Ian.  He's six years old, enjoys painting, digging up dirt to build bug houses, playing with dinosaurs, and teasing me mercilessly.  He also likes playing with my nails.  He's my little old man and a great kid and this mani incorporating many of the things he loves is for him!

Mani-louge

Base & Topcoat: CND Stickey and Poshe Fast Drying Top Coat

Base Color: Girly Bit's Banana Hammock and Confetti Wedding White

Splatters: Essie Leading Lady, Pahlish End of Days, OPI Big Apple Red, Orly Lemon Sorbet, Sally Hansen Pat on Black, and Confetti Blue

Stamping Plates: Vivid Lacquer 002 and Apipila 02

Stamping Polish: No Name Green Striper and Konad Special Polish in Black & Purple

So this is my first time using polishes by Girly Bits.  I had been lusting after them for quite some time got a few a while ago but never got around to using them.  Well let's face it my untrieds pile is massive so it's hardly surprising.  I will say Banana Hammock more than lived up to the reputation of Pam's polishes.  I love the freaking blue sheen on top of this yellow! So gorgeous and added an extra depth to the nail art,  I can't wait to try my others.

So what do you think?  Cute eh?  I couldn't create something super messy because it would have driven me crazy but I think I captured the essence of Ian pretty well and what he'd like to see on my nails.  I'm not a huge fan of bugs and the like but I love dino's and froggies and such especially when it's just a pretty stamp hehe.  I'll have to show him tomorrow and see what he thinks.  Anyway thanks so much for reading and I'll see you next post! Toodles...

Why H8 Is Never GR8...

Hello polished prisoners,


Today or rather yesterday was a special day for the nail polish community.  In an effort to eradicate negativity and hatred in our very big and yet oh so small community women everywhere were donning their purple polishes and just saying no to h8.  I couldn't agree more so here I am.    I had the unfortunate or fortunate fate, depending on how you look at it, to be a bullied kid.  Ah the days when I was chubby, buck toothed, four-eyed, unfashionable, poor, and unpopular.  I didn't have a friend on my side (not counting my brothers), and so all the way from 5th grade of elementary school up until mid-way through high school I was very much alone.  The bus rides home were torture.  I'd be teased mercilessly, rocks would be thrown at me, and I can even remember one occasion where I was knocked down into a huge puddle of mud and my mother had to come to school to bring me a change of clothes.  Those days were so horrible and something that plagued me for years, but I was blessed to have a mother who always believed in me and encouraged me to be myself.  Despite all of the ugly things that happened my confidence in myself never shrank and I was able to stand up and continue standing up and say, "Damnit! I am who I am and you can either take it or leave it! I won't bow or bend for the sake of approval from anyone."  I owe my mother a lot.  She helped me become the woman I am today and never once let me feel like I was anything other than special when others told me I was everything but.

BM317, BM311, Essie Nothing Else Metals, Essie Play Date & Boxershorts, Butter London Knackered, Konad Special Polish in Pastel Purple and Purple

Bullying is ugly and a behavior driven by mob and crowd mentality.  Better to be the one accepted in a group tearing someone else down than be the one being torn eh?  Wrong!  It takes one person to open their mouth and stand up for what is right and possibly change the scope of someone's world.  I cannot abide the seemingly strong picking on the weak or disadvantaged nor the tearing down of someone else's esteem to build up my own.  I don't want to be involved in a community that does such things and I'm glad to see bloggers stepping up and taking an active role in making this community a more positive place.  And here I am to do my part as well - purple polish and claws up!  For all the Jake's, Tom's, Mr. G's, and Sandra's out there this is for you!  Always always be proud of who you are and let your actions toward others be the measure of your own virtue.  My last name may not be Lannister but Hear me Roar!

You can find other bloggers who participated in the No H8 movement HERE  as well as resources to anti-bullying sites and support.  Thank you so much for reading and I'll see everyone next post!

Essie Wicked & Leading Lady

Hiyah polished prisoners,

Long time no swatch eh? Between that hussy Sandy and my job I've been neglecting my poor nails.  They have been crying out for a manicure, some nail art, something... Luckily, I was strolling by the polish aisle and some sweet Essie's from the holiday collection called out to me.   I decided to combine them to give a bit of pre-holiday cheer, and get back into the swing of things.

Essie's Wicked is described by the Essie website as a deep and dark creamy sinister red and I agree.  Dark, decadent, and so damn luscious.  Well I do adore vampy colors especially when they are so rich. Wicked is a must have if you love colors like this!  It's perfectly opaque in 2 coats and self leveling.  Now onto Essie's Leading Lady described as a supreme deep red glitter according to the Essie website.  I sponged Leading Lady over Wicked to create a glitter gradient and I really like  how this turned out.

So thoughts? If you are interested in picking up either of these check the links below or swing by your nearest Target, CVS, or Walgreens or at various online shops.  The links below are to the Essie website.  Thanks for reading and see you next post!  Toodles...