Hot Off The Stamping Press: MoYou London Greek Mythology Collection!

Hey nail art lovers,

Finally finally MoYou London has ended their abrupt radio silence after a series of mistakes and misteps with their last few collections which have been plagued by errors and miscommunications.  For a long time I chose to maintain my own silence and watch to see how things would play out, and if in fact MoYou would return to making the plates and types of collections I love. And let me say this week they didn't disappoint.  Instead I feel like the creators siddled up and whispered in my ear, "come back to my side lover."  And I did, in a big salivating and pleased manner, assured for the moment that my clandestine love affair was rekindled.

So some of you around here my know I love me some science after all I was a biochemistry major.  However,  maybe you didn't know I love me some classical literature and ancient cultures after all I was also an anthropology major ;) Yes I am a lady of many passions and so this latest collection is so my cup of tea!

The first plate is stunning!  You can really see how the imagery is going to evolve from this one plate and the detail is exquisite!

 Another stunner and so many great looking images right here!

So what do you ladies think? A return to excellence? I'm praying like hell that the tales of Odysseus and the Siren and Jason and the Argonauts is coming!  Ugh I know I'm such a geek, but come on this is so clutch! There are so many excellent Greek Myths out there Medusa, Cyclopes, the Erinnyes (Furies), and so much more! Ugh this collection is so much fatal joy for me!  As usual these plates retail for 4.99 Euro and will launch for PRE SALE on Friday February 28th.  You can get yours here.  Thanks so much for reading and see you next post!

Orly Baked Chevrons & Studded Triangle Nail Art

Hey lacquer lovers,

I really am sick of winter! I know everyone is sick of it but I swear I am ready for summer.  I skipped the pastel season and went straight for the hardcore neons of summer.  Welcome a few beautiful and bold polishes from Orly's Baked Collection.  They are so hot they sizzle!

I kept the nail art fairly simple today.  Mainly because I was testing out these new Nail Art Stencils by Polish Me To Go (PMTG).  Basically they are like the Nail Vinyls I introduced 2 weeks ago here, but by a different indie maker.  I bought an iteration of nearly all of the various shapes, but I am hesistating about how to use a few so I will reserve judgment of these stencils until I can play with them a bit more.   Then I can give you a better sense over all.  The shape I chose to use for this nail art was the Bolt shape.  They are a bit like twisted chevrons only smoother around the edges and bit more curvy.  I can say I love these quite easily.

The colors I chose for this mani were Orly Tropical Pop, Neon Heat, Ablaze, and Liquid Vinyl.  My camera freaked.  These are mega mega neon especially Neon Heat and Tropical Pop.  The most impressive part about these polishes?  They were really well formulated.  No nasty streakiness like I've gotten before with neons just endless creamy application.  These were opaque in two coats.  I put a white no name polish underneath to really make the neon pop.  The triangles I freehanded and then added studs for extra appeal.



What do you think? I couldn't stop staring at my nails.  They were extremely bright lol almost alarmingly so.  Well I feel better about the coming warmth, but still I will heave a sigh of relief when the winter finally breaks.  You can get PMTG stencils here on the Big Cartel site.  I warn you now try not to look at all the pretty neon glow in the dark polishes.  I was sadly unsuccessful at such an endeavor ;)  Thanks so much for reading and see you next post!

Lesson Lockdown: How To Clean Your Stained Nails

Polished Prisoners,

Yup today your back to lockdown status because aw lawd ain't nothing worse than taking off an amazing richly pigmented polish that rocked your world and seeing yes, gasp, stained nail beds!  Honestly,  I never understood why women would complain about this until it happened to me.   To be fair I scrub my hands all day everyday as part of my regular gig IRL.  I'm used to my nails being no-man's land in terms of bacteria and germs and gloves are an absolute.  So when I took off my gorgeous holo polishes from Love Angeline and looked down at my nails and saw the following I wanted to scream!

I tried using a little more acetone than usual.  Nope.  I tried a pseudo-foil method.  Nope.  Then I finally realized if I wanted these stains gone I was going to have to put my background in biochemisty to work.  I rummaged around the house looking for baking soda and lemon juice and then finally scrounged up some hydrogen peroxide.  I was gonna bust these stains' butts lol figuratively of course!

The Science

So here's the deal really this is all about mixing a powerful oxidant (hydrogen peroxide) with a strong acid (lemon juice aka citric acid) and a bad ass base (baking soda aka sodium bicarb).  Mix 1 part lemon juice with 1 part hydrogen peroxide to 2 parts baking soda to create a paste.  If you don't have lemon juice but do have a lemon go ahead and squeeze away or you can place lemon wedges directly on your nails, but it will take way longer to whiten than it would if you just did this mixture.

You can use a nail brush or a tooth brush to scrub at your nails to expedite the process of stain removal especially if your like me and are, one, totally skivved out by anything that remotely approaches a stain on your nail and, two, you want to move onto whatever your next manicure is without the limitation of stained nail beds.  One PSA though if you have any open wounds on your fingers or around your cuticles this will sting! "Mommy it burns, it burns!"  It's an antibacterial mixture though so it won't harm you but you've been warned ;)  And when you are done you should get this!

So there we have it.  I thought this really might be useful to some ladies out there struggling with this issue.  I really and truly hate stains on my nails, but I also have no real reference for the whitening solutions that you can go out and buy.  Plus why would I when I know I can create the same thing at home for basically free since I have these ingredients lying around my house on the regular?  I actually use baking soda to wash my hair.  Let me know if you like this.  I have other little tips and tricks up my sleeve too if your interested.  Thanks so much for reading and see you next post!

Elevation Polish Patagonia Collection & Nail Art

Laqueristas,

Press Sample

It's that time once again when I revel in the deliciousness that is Elevation Polish.  I realized Lulu is a genius, I realized this long ago, at keeping me panting salivating and coming back for more.  I'm grateful that I can share these polishes with you time and time again.  Not because they are given to me, but because I love them as I have loved them for over two years and if we all have our vices EPs have always been one of mine!  Those of you who follow me on instagram and twitter know this best ;) Now let's get onto the swatches and nail art....

Cuernos del Paine
A smooth kiwi colored creme.  Oh this is so right up my alley - green and creamy, decadent, and perfect for the heart that longs for spring as mine does.  This makes me think of cabana boys and margaritas.  Lol perhaps not what Lulu was going for, but if the shoe fits....Picutured here in 2 coats this one was a bit on the thicker side but evened out nicely with the 2nd coat.  I used Cerro Torre 2 and my trusty Nail Vinyls to create the art below along with rounds studs from Pueen Cosmetics.

Tronador
Blackened deep purple stuffed full of reddish purple and gold microglitter.  Yum!  This kind of dark affair is also after my own heart.  For one because I firmly believe a lady can never own too many shades of purple polish and for two because this polish mutates depending on the lighting.  Vampy in one setting and shimmering and iridescent in another.  I decided to pair Tronador with Tavan Bogd a sweet lavender-ish polish and create half moons and studded lines.  I truly love how this turned out!

Cerro Torre 2
A nude/beige creme.  I think you ladies know I am a sucker for nudes equating them with the holy grail base color for any gradient or nail art.  A go-to color that will never fail you if you want to play it safe and with a few embellishments can be, no pun intended, elevated to feminine chic.  I really loved the original Cerro Torre.  I thought Lulu did a phenomenal job so of course I love it's 2nd edition equally well. I decided to take another revamped polish Haungshan II and layer it over Cerro Torre 2 then using Cernos del Paine and Alpine Heights I created a diamond gradient again using the Nail Vinyls.  I mattiefied the whole thing using Essie Matte About You to create this...

Aguja St Exupery
A tanish nude gold and purple packed shimmering holographic.  How does Lulu keep doing this?!?  Remember Silver Sword from the Heights of Hawaii Collection?  It was incredibly hard to photograph and so utterly worth it.   SS shimmered in most settings and then when the light hit it just right affords the wearer an unbelievable punch of holographic splendor.  Aguja St Expery lives in the same family.  I want to drink the bottle down and paint my walls with it.  Lord help me I have died and gone to polish heaven! I used China Glaze Tart-y For The Party and Sunday Funday to create a springy gradient that I then topped with Aguja St. Exupery.

So have I wowed you?  I hope you experienced even a sliver of the excitement I get every time I open nail mail from Elevation Polish.  You can find these beauties here on Big Cartel.  Lulu restocks on the 7th and 22nd of each month, and polishes retail for .  Thanks for reading and see you next post!

Pueen 2014 Stamping Buffet Geometric Gradient Nail Art + Bubblelina Signature

Lacqueristas,

Happy Sunday! Guess what?  I freaking finally got my new Pueen 2014 Stamping Buffet plates!  Yay it took so long even though I ordered them what feels like dog years ago from Amazon.  In any case they are here and I am happy and so I am spreading that happiness from me to you in the form of some gradient nail art. Btw you may have noticed but my pictures are changing around here as I get the hang of my new camera and editing software.  I'm hoping for some big improvements on all of my sites in terms of photo quality, but please pardon my inexperience while I'm getting things perfected.

I chose to break out a new indie brand that caught my eye on Instagram Bubblelina Nail Polish.  This lady knows her way around a thermal and so I ordered 3 polishes including the one I'm wearing today called Signature.  Signature is pink to purple thermal with extremely hard to see blue microglitter.  It's pink when warm and purple very reminiscent of Color Club's Puccilicious when warm.  What blew me away with this polish is that formula is amazing!  Smooth like butter, self leveling, and essentially a ONE COATER.  You know how excited I get about those, but I put down 2 to make sure I had a extra layer for stamping mishaps.

Now for the Pueen Cosmetics plate.  I can tell already this collection is going to be so tricky for stamping newbies.  Why? Because it was tricky for me and I already have a tons of tricks up my sleeve to deal with difficult to stamp plates.  Not that it's difficult, but I noticed if I was aiming for a distinct pattern on the plate I would often pick up the borders of other designs that were unwanted.  Another issue some of the designs within the plate weren't long enough for my nails.  That said the quality of this plate is nothing short of the excellence I have come to expect from Pueen.  I won't bother with a review since I've seen about 10 out there already, but I think a Youtube troubleshooting video maybe be necessary.

 So thoughts? I love the shift of Signature layered with the gradient effect.  I had a lot of fun putting this mani together! Stay tuned for my review of the Loja BBF plates on the horizon they arrived on my doorstep yesterday and I was like YAY! Lol as I think my instagram followers can attest too.  Thanks so much for reading and I'll see you next post!

Valentine's Day Nail Art # 3: Minnie & Mickey Fall in Love

"I was born with an enormous need for affection and terrible need to give it."

 ~ Audrey Hepburn

Happy Valentine's Day Lacquer Lovers,

So much love to share and yet so little time to show it! You know the quote above is one of my all time favorites regarding love in the world.  People are so flawed, but at the end of the day what saves them is honesty.  It takes a lot of courage to say I need someone and I need to be needed.  Bravo to my brave ladies and gents out there, and here's to a quintessential couple in love who I like to imagine are never to shy to say they are the half to each others whole.  As Barbie is to Ken so Minnie is to Mickey...Mouse that is ;)

Mani-louge

Base colors: Essie French Affair, Bikini So Teeny, Go Gina, and Bottle Service

Topper: CND Effects Gold Glitter

Stamping Polish: Fab Ur Nails Stamping Polish in Black

Stamping plates: MyOnline Shop Jr 5

So to create this I put almost skittles down on my nais in the Essie polishes listed above and then I went ahead and placed half hearts on my center nails in Sally Hansen InstaDri in Fast Fuschia.  I created the kissing Minnie and Mickey using the decal method and my new Jr plates from MyOnline Shop.  Lastly I added CND Effects over the outer nails and added metal hearts from Lacquer Lust and black studs from Pueen Cosmetics.  To create the final product.

Thoughts? Labor intensive and totally totally worth it.  It's sweet, campy, girly, utterly my kind of thing!  Because I love Disney I knew this was going to end up being so me and fun.  I'm pretty happy with how this turned out.  I hope you liked it and I'll see you next post!

Valintines Day Nail Art #2: Elevation Polish Yeti's Broken Heart + MyOnline Shop Jr Plates

"Dear Ex, I wish I could go back to the time I met you and punch you in the face."

 ~ Unknown

Lacquer ladies,


Sorry for the radio silence.  This week has been so too much for me.  Its been freezing and the heater broke in my house this combined with what I can only describe a a painful weekend has left me somewhat frazzled.  Nevertheless I'm bouncing back with some V day nail art before Friday and good cheer.  Today I've got super simple nail art for you.  This is Elevation Polish Yeti's Broken Heart.  It came out with the Hawaii Collection last month as a little bonus.

This polish is chock full of pretty purple, black and white hearts with white multi shaped and sized glitter in a clear base full scattered with blueish iridescence.  In short a whole lot of awesome.  I partnered this with a easy gradient composed of Essie's Forever Yummy - a beautiful and bright true red and Licorice the perfect black cream.   I did one accent to keep things simple busting out my newly delivered MyOnline Shop JR plates.  I used Jr 1.  You can read more about the plates here.

So something quick and easy for you all that's dark and vampy.  This is definitely not a sweet loving mani.  I layered bleeding hearts under broken ones.  Lol no this is not a subliminal message but in a season of pink I was craving dark.



Thoughts?  I love it btw the quality of these JR plates is pretty damn phenomenal.  Let me know if you are interested in a review.  Because I lack willpower I bought every single one ;)  Thanks so much for reading and see you next post!

Hot Off The Stamping Press: MoYou London Happy Birthday Collection

Happy Friday ladies,

Well what remains of it lol.  It's a late post, but what can I say I wanted to show you the newest collection released from MoYou London today.  This time they have created a Happy Birthday Collection featuring 2 plates.  Lol I really want to be excited I do but...well I'll show you what we are working with!

The mascot for this collection is Amy from the Rebel Collection.  I have no idea what she is doing here except she is partying it up for her big day lol.  So what can I say about these plates?  Lacqueristas over here know I will never lie about my enthusiasm for a good stamping plate.  Even when I go on a gush rampage I want my readers to know when I review a product or post something new that I am giving it serious consideration i.e. is it worth my hard earned pennies, how will this fit into my 500+ plate collection, is it innovative, is it original, and if lacking originality does it make my heart race because it is just too perfect?  Yup lots of processing going on there.  The answers to all of these questions today are once again pretty disappointing.

These plates feature balloons, slices of pie, candy, presents, crowns, candles, streamers, bumpers - I've seen it all before.  I own many of these exact or similar images from other plates.  I do like the Happy Birthday to You image, birthday cake, and the balloon animal on plate 2.  The rest is pretty unoriginal (wince).  I hate to say it, but once again I walk away from a new MoYou release thinking the wow factor is totally missing.  On the plus side if you own very few plates or limited sets and are looking for birthday themed plates then look no further.  These two plates pretty much have your bases covered.  They released today and are available on the MoYou site here.  Plates retail for 4.99 Euro + shipping.  On another bit of news apparently MoYou has a whopping 70 new plates coming off the presses - which is just insane. I'm not sure how I feel about this, but hopefully MoYou gets back to doing what impressed me so much before.   Thanks for reading and see you next post!

Valentines Day Nail Art #1: Cici & Sisi Fading Hearts

"The heart has reasons for which reason knows nothing." ~ Pascal

Lacqueristas,

It's the season of love!  Lol not really but it's the season of love related manicures at a minimum.  Can I tell you I went to Target around the 3rd of January and they already had all the Valentines day paraphernalia out.  It was deeply disturbing to me who in general only has awareness of holidays as they relate to nail art and vacation time ;)  In any event I'm showing you my first romantic mani of the season.  Gradient hearts and chevrons using my new Cici & Sisi Jumbo plates and once again Nail Vinyls.  You can check out my review on Cici & Sisi plates here and the Nail Vinyls here.

My goal was to create a very "clean" manicure with a gradient that stood out.  When I flipped through my Cici & Sisi plates I realized there are a lot of heart/romantic motifs in both sets.  Ultimately I chose the hearts because I wanted to emphasize the bright red to light pink fading of the gradient.  I reversed the color fade for the chevrons which the NVs made beyond easy to achieve.

Base:  Wet N Wild Blank Canvas

Stamping Polishes: Konad Special Polish in Red, MyOnline Shop Pink, Sally Hansen Insta Dri Fast Fuschia

Stamping Plate: Cici & Sisi 01

So what do you think? This is unquestionably girly and sweet which I think suits the sentiment of the quote above.  I have plans to create a few more manis that are a bit more sophisticated and less sweet and of course I have to create something for the broken-hearted lol! I mean really not everyone loves Valentines day.  I do but only because I don't have to conceal my lust for all things dark chocolate and wine related.  Lol plus lots of great cosmetic items pop up around this time!  Is it wrong that I keep having a fantasy regarding dark covered chocolate strawberries and crisp citrusy champagne oh and a steaming bubble bath? Ugh the luxury!  I think my reasons might be a little sketchy but hey to each their own.  Thanks so much for reading and see you next post! 

Hot Off The Stamping Press: MyOnline Shop JR Plates!

Hey lacquer ladies,

Been a shade quiet this week, but per usual these last few months plates continue to pour hot off the stamping press and into my lustful gaze!  Lol - no seriously these plates are gonna blow your mind!  I have been a long time fan of Meann of MyOnline Shop.  Her MJ plates are some of the highest quality around and feature a variety of unique and must have images.  She recently, as in 3 days ago, released a new line of plates under the label of JR (junior) that have left me breathless.  So breathless in fact that I just had to come here and gush like a mad woman ;)  So let me show you what's got me all a twitter today....

 All image credits to MyOnline Shop

Yup six sets each containing 5 plates of the most sickeningly insane and inventive images I have seen in a VERY long time! I know just last week I was gushing about the new Pueen 2014 plates, but a lady's heart is a fickle thing.  If you want to catch my eye give me novelty and reinvention and then I will trail after you desperate to get to know you a little better.  Lol - hey I'm an honest woman.  A man loves a chase, but this lady loves a good show so I guess that makes me a bit of a Pea hen (mate of the Peacock).  Show me something good and I'm yours!   Let me show you a few of my favorites out of the 30 new plates.

 American Indian meets Asian Indian in a cool way.  I love everything about this plate!

Birds are so in right now!  I am seeing a lot of plates featuring our feathered friends this one is unique and lovely.  I love the integrated caged themes with the free flight!

 Tribal is also in right now and I cannot get enough of these types of plates!  The African print dress though and the Masai warrior - all I can say is well done!

 Oh yes!  Ocean scene infinity plate style.  Are you kidding me?!?  Yes yes yes.  I love it! I will say the people at the bottom are a bit strange. Why are there families frolicking at the bottom of the ocean? Lol are they drowning?  They look happy ;)

Naruto Naruto Naruto.  Kasuke Kasuke Kasuke.  Sakura Sakura Sakura.  Kakashi Sensei.  Shall I go on?  I could if you'd like but I think you get the picture.  I am a fan of this anime/manga/empire.  Oh and hello Bleach lead character Ichigo and badass backup Rukia and let's not forget Sailor Moon ;)  I'm dying I've died and gone to plate heaven!

So thoughts?  Another jaw dropping set of plates off the stamping press. I had other favorites but the post was getting crazy pic heavy, but if you are wondering no I did not miss that Harry Potter plate ;)  These plates used to be based out of the Philippines, but now you can get them from Michigan directly from MyOnline Shop's Store Envy.  MJ plates are also available from Ninja Polish.  You can buy the sets for at $30 USD for the 5 bundled plates you saw above or you elect to buy the plates individually for $7.50 USD each.  Lol I'll let you ponder on this quandary though I know what I already chose.  You can also check out Meann's other MJ plates while your over there.  Ok I'm off to cool myself and stalk out some more hot and happening plates.  Thanks for reading and I'll see you next post!

Essie Mesmerize and Bikini So Teeny Chevron Nail Art + Nail Vinyls Review

Hello lacquer ladies,

I know I have been inundating you with new stamping plates and reviews, but today is all about getting back to basics.  You know nothing makes me happier than flawlessly executed nail art!  I  wanted to create a blue mani that was matte with lots of pop and it came out exactly like I envisioned.  I enlisted the help of Nail Vinyls to create the yummy chevrons of my dreams and used Essie Bikini So Teeny and Mesmerize because I wanted something blue clean and refreshing.  I also used Essie's Matte About You which to this day is still my favorite matte topcoat of all time! Check out the results below.

So I discovered Nail Vinyls (hereforeto referred to as NVs) by @teismom on Instagram while stalking some of my favorite nail art bloggers.  NVs are essentially the little sticker like things you use for french tip manis or if you take ring holders and cut them in half you can use to make half moon manis only 10,000 times better! When I first saw a IGer using them I was like I can just do the same thing with scotch tape or stamping.  This is both wrong and right.  You can create cool chevrons with scotch tape but, unless you use craft scissorsn and even then, it is extremely difficult to create the exact same size of the chevron from nail to nail.  This is also because you really only get one shot with tape as with the Nail Vinyls because afterwards they are covered in polish.  With stamping you get the precision and consistency from nail to nail, but you have no ability to adjust the spacing of the design because the image is already etched into the plate so you get what you get.



The NVs actually allow you to play with the spacing and gives you the reliability of creating consistently sized lines from nail to nail, clean up is easy, and you don't waste time cutting out pieces of oh so carefully measured tape so what's not to love?  These little stickers come in a variety of shapes - lightening bolts, half moons, straight lines (my favorite), chevrons of varying sizes (also a favorite), french tip, and apparently there are more shapes in the works.  I honestly felt skeptical about spending my money on these but after using them a few times I am so sold so I thought I'd share.

Nail Vinyls are available on Big Cartel and run between $5-12 USD depending on the number of NVs you order.  I hope you liked the mani and thanks so much for reading!  See you next post...