Candeo Joker Jelly Sandwich

Hi guys! Today I have another queued post for you - guess what I'm doing while you're reading this? That's right, I should have just finished my last final exam for the semester and I'm probably frantically packing and rushing to the airport to catch my flight across Canada. Today I have a fun look that I did using one of my favourite indie polishes that I've purchased and a technique I really like using for glitter polishes: the jelly sandwich!

I started out with OPI Do You Lilac It? and two coats of Candeo Joker. To finish off the look I layered one coat of OPI Don't Touch My Tutu!

Look at all that glitter trapped in there. This reminds me of gems trapped under some ice.

I love the way the sun caught the glitters in this picture.

What are some of your favourite combinations for a jelly sandwich?

Gradient + Lynnderella Love, Lace, and Lilacs

Hello everyone! I am starting to feel like it's summer, the only exam I have left is Introduction to Programming and then that same day I get to head back home for four whole months. Today I have a pretty little gradient that I spiced up by adding one of my favourite Lynnderella polishes - Love, Lace, and Lilacs.

The two polishes that I used to create the gradient are both from OPI's Spring collection, OPI Can't Find My Czechbook and OPI I Saw...U Saw...We Saw...Warsaw. 

I love this Lynnderella polish and I can see myself using it a lot more in the future. I have a bad tendency to hoard my most precious polishes instead of using them and showing them off to the world!

Gradients are my thing lately, I cannot get enough of them.

Thanks so much for reading guys!

Paintings Nail Art Series - "Bohemian Cottage Style Flowers"

Hi guys! Welcome to the final installment of my mini nail art series, and my personal favourite manicure of the bunch. This one was inspired by a gorgeous print that you can still find on Etsy by following this link. I hope you like this look as much as I do!

This took me so long to do, but I love how it turned out. 

I used way too many colours here to name them all, I can't even remember!

The bird looks a little silly right side up, doesn't he? Still cute though!

Today I have two final exams - Psycholinguistics and Spanish American Literature of Ideas, yikes. Wish me luck! After this I only have one more and then I can head back home for the summer, you can't even imagine my excitement.

Paintings Nail Art Series - "Blue Mountains"

Hi everyone! Today is the third entry in my mini nail art series inspired by paintings I found on Etsy. Today's painting, like the previous two, has been sold already. Who knew how fast these things sell! Here's the original link I have, I hope it allows you to see this lovely painting titled "Blue Mountains." I grew up near the Rockies and I love the mountains (and am heading back home in less than two weeks!)

I think this looks quite silly if you don't look at the painting for reference, haha!

Thanks so much for reading everyone, I can't wait to be finished with finals, head home, and be able to get back into the groove of painting my nails and posting for you all.

Paintings Nail Art Series - "A Time for Celebration"

Hello everyone, welcome to the second day of this mini nail art series! Today's look is from the same artist as the last one, I am in love with this Etsy shop. Once again, the actual painting that inspired me was sold so I have chosen one that is quite similar to link you to here.

This was so much fun to do, and I love all the colours together, though I don't think I can name them all for you guys. The only thing I wish I would have done differently is finish it off with a coat of Seche Vite.

Thanks for reading guys! I hope finals are going well for you too if any of you happen to be in the same boat as me!

Zoya Earth Day 2013

Hello lovely readers! I have great news today - Zoya's Earth Day promotion is back for 2013! I know a lot of Zoya fans wait all year for this to come around, myself included. Basically the scoop is that you get Zoya polishes for a 50% discount, that's $4, and you get a way to properly dispose of your old nail polish. Win-win! I'll let Zoya do the explaining on how it works..

Hooray for Earth Day! Once again, Zoya is helping you do a little spring cleaning with the return of the Earth Day Zoya Nail Polish Exchange* for 2013. Clean out your nail polish wardrobe and get rid of old nail polish that may not be BIG5FREE (Free of Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin, Toluene, DBP and Camphor) and exchange it for a greener alternative - long lasting, award winning, healthy Zoya Nail Polish bottles!

Now's the perfect time to make the switch to an eco-chic beauty routine! From April 19, 2013 - April 26, 2013 (11:59PM EST), exchange your old, unwanted nail color for toxin-free ZOYA Nail Polish for only $4 per bottle plus shipping and handling fees. Rest assured - ZOYA will properly dispose of your old polish. 

Here's all you need to do!

1.  Go to www.zoya.com and pick out the polishes you would like (excludes all Zoya PixieDust™ Collection shades) and add them to your cart. You must select at least 6 bottles and no more than 24 bottles of polish (Salon accounts minimum 12 maximum 48 bottles.)

2. Apply the code (copy and paste for best results):
ZOYAEARTH2013

3. Your order value will be adjusted to reflect a 50% discount (we use these funds to properly dispose of the old nail polish).

4. SUBMIT your order!

Then Zoya will ship out your NEW polish! HOORAY!

Once you get your order
Here's where the exchanging* happens...

1.     Ship back the equivalent number of bottles you received to the return address below (ie. If you ordered 6 bottles of Zoya – you would send us 6 NON-ZOYA polishes). Please check with your carrier on the proper way to ship nail polish.

2.     Include a copy of your order. 

To clarify the exchange: You do not have to send us the exact amount of bottles that you are ordering. You can send any quantity up to that amount. You can also donate. If you decide you don't want to do either, it's ok "Offer is not contingent on customer returning polish" we will still love you and will send the Zoya polishes... we'll just send you on a guilt trip for a while :)

Ship Your Old Nail Polish To:

Art of Beauty, Inc.
c/o Polish Exchange
5060 Taylor Rd, Unit D
Cleveland, Ohio, 44128, USA

Once we receive your polish, we do the rest! It’s that simple!

IMPORTANT!
The bottles you send in cannot be Zoya, Qtica or Nocti polishes (but they can be any other brand). We are using the honor code here folks! We want to make sure you get your Zoya Nail Polish! We send you the polish first then you send your old polish back to us! If you do choose to send us your old polish we promise to properly dispose of it according to EPA guidelines. This offer is only good for 1 week so hurry – Don’t Wait!

*Offer valid online at www.zoya.com only. Offer expires on 4/26/2012 at 11:59PM EST. Continental US ONLY. Not valid with any other codes, coupons or promotions. Shipping and handling fees apply. Consumer accounts must exchange a minimum of 6 polishes with a 24 bottle maximum. Salon accounts must exchange at least 12 with a maximum of 48 bottles. Polish can be from any brand EXCEPT Zoya, Qtica or Nocti and can be exchanged for in-stock .5oz Zoya Nail Polish. Excludes all Zoya PixieDust™ Collection shades. Offer is not contingent on customer returning polish. Zoya Exchange code is unique and non-transferable. One code per account. Art of Beauty is not responsible for incorrect addresses, credit card entry errors or errors associated with declined credit cards. Please allow standard time for processing and shipping, however if volume is higher than expected please allow up to 6 weeks for shipping and processing. Art of Beauty, Inc. reserves the right to remove any polish that is out of stock from your order. You will not be charged for this polish. Backordered polish is not included in this promotion.

 

Isn't that awesome news from Zoya?! If you don't yet have an account with Zoya and you're planning on participating in this promotion, I'd really like it if you could use my referral link below. It will get me Share the Love points which will be put towards new polishes to showcase on the blog or to give away! Here's a link to the Stunning and Irresistible collections!

 

Quo by ORLY Spring 2013 Swatches

Hi everyone! I'm breaking out of my finals-cocoon to share with you some swatches of some of the new Quo by ORLY polishes! I was sent three of them to swatch and review and I think I have found the shade I'll be wearing all summer long, it is amazing. Let's see the pictures!

 

First up is My Muse, a very interesting purple glass fleck polish. I have nothing like this in my collection. In the bottle you can see a really pretty purple/gold-ish duochrome, but I couldn't find a way to get it to translate on the nail.

 

I used three coats for complete opacity here. This is one I would love to try layering over black to see if the duochrome will be accentuated.

 

Next up is Prepster, a very pretty light blue jelly with an intense shimmer. I know the shimmer doesn't translate well in this photo, but it's very apparent in person. I used three coats here since it was more of a jelly finish than a creme. This just screams spring to me!

 

Here's a shot with flash that shows off the pretty blue shimmer! 

 

This beauty is Quo by ORLY Femme Fatale. It is a neon pink that is honestly the brightest nail polish I have ever seen. My camera couldn't capture the true pop of this colour, it's even crazier than it appears in the photo. Like many neon polishes Femme Fatale dries to a matte finish.

 

This is what she looks like with a coat of Seche Vite. I wore this manicure for a few days, which is rare for me. I got so many compliments on it, these nails are begging for attention. My only complaint about Femme Fatale (and all neon polishes in my experience) is that they chip quite easily. Even with the Seche Vite the wear time wasn't excellent on that. This can be combated by making a "top coat sandwich," where you put down a layer of topcoat over your polish, then add one more layer of polish, and then another layer of topcoat if you desire.

Overall I'm really excited about these three polishes. I think that Femme Fatale is a must have and I know it'll be on my toes all summer long. Quo by ORLY polishes are available at Shopper's Drug Mart or Pharmaprix and they retail for $10.00 each!

Paintings Nail Art Series - "The Happy Family"

Hello everyone! Today is officially the first day of exam period for me and I'll be facing my first final exam this evening for Personality Psychology. Instead of having to stress about my blog during finals I have queued up a fun little nail art series based around some awesome paintings that I've found on Etsy!

The painting that inspired this was called "The Happy Family," but unfortunately it already sold and I can't find a photo of it - but here's a very similar one from the same seller.

The colours I used were OPI The Thrill of Brazil and China Glaze Happy Go Lucky for the gradient background. I love this look, it's so sweet!

Subtle Water Marble

Good morning my lovely readers! Today I have somewhat of a subtle water marble to show off. I say subtle because I feel that these are all somewhat neutral colours, and I kind of like how they turned out together.

For this look I used Zoya Avery, OPI Mod About You, and OPI Nein! Nein! Nein! Ok Fine! I had quite a bit of trouble getting them to marble properly as you can probably see, but the colour combination is my favourite part about the manicure.

This summer I'm going to do as many water marbles as I can, they make for such nice manicures and I love all the combinations you can play around with. 

Would you rock a water marble like this without the flashy colours?

Gradient + Connect the Dots

Hello everyone! Today I have a fun gradient manicure that I took to the next level by adding one of my favourite and most versatile polishes - Lynnderella Connect the Dots. When I was picking the base colours something just stood out about the combination of peach and purple. I later realized that I had just been swooning over this manicure by Rebecca Likes Nails, so I credit her with the inspiration for the colour scheme.

The two colours I used for the base were Barry M Peach Melba and Zoya Megan. I photographed this a few days after applying it and you can see that the Seche Vite has done a number on it, look at that shrinkage around the tips!

I love Connect the Dots. I love Lynnderella polishes in general. I can't wait until I can afford to buy some more.

Blue Stamping

Hi guys! Today I have another one of those manicures that I actually did a few months ago and am just getting around to posting now...oops!

The base of this manicure is Zoya Wednesday, with stamping using Barry M Cobalt Blue and the dots are Revlon Metallic.

The plate that this design is on is Konad m63. If this manicure looks familiar to you, that's because it is. A little less than a year ago I did almost the same thing but using pink! I really like spicing up a stamping manicure with a dotting tool.

Have you tried this technique for yourselves? I actually haven't done any stamping manicure in a while..

Essie Sleek Sticks

Hi everyone! A little while ago Essie Canada's facebook page offered a free sample pack of some of their new Sleek Sticks to their fans and I was lucky enough to grab a set! The only nail appliqués I have ever tried before are the OPI Pure Lacquer Nail Apps which I adore, so let's see how the Essies stack up!

I'm not sure if I'm just terrible at applying these, but I think they were a lot more trouble than they were worth. The stickers were quite awkwardly shaped and they didn't stick to my nails well. I did the dishes later that evening and noticed that they had started peeling up, and from there it was easy to remove them.

Here's a pic from another angle so you can see kind of what they look like. I wasn't too thrilled with them, and I definitely won't be purchasing any of my own. 

Have you tried the Essie Sleek Sticks? Do you have any tips for using them?