Polish Days December: Bling

Hi everyone! I knew I wanted to spice up my previous manicure, and when I found out that this month's Polish Days theme was Bling I was inspired. As you may have seen yesterday, I have been wearing Nail Pattern Boldness The Tin Man over OPI Into the Night, and to add some extra bling to this mani I chose to layer OPI The Man with the Golden Gun on top of there too. What is more bling-tastic than actual gold and white gold(-esque) flecks?!

Look at all that goodness, I feel like a million dollars with this on my nails. Well, not quite, because I have come down with the worst sore throat ever..but at least my manicure is nice - right?

So these bubbles apparently ARE here in real life, but to be honest I didn't notice them until this macro photo, so I couldn't even tell you which polish was the one that bubbled.

Here are the three gorgeous components of this manicure - and look! That's my reflection in the fancy OPI bottle!

You guys need to check out some of the other manicures done for this Polish Days theme, the ladies that participate in this never cease to amaze me with their talent.

Winter Wonderland

Hi guys! Continuing on with the Christmas-y holiday theme, here is a gorgeous frosty blue by Sally Hansen called Deep Blue Sea. This is a shimmery, light blue frost that goes on well and can be built up to achieve opacity. This is the kind of color that reminds me of snow flakes, Jack Frost, snowmen... just winter in itself. All I can say is that I really enjoy it!

What kind of nail art (freehand, stamping, decals, etc.) would you put on top of this color to make it even more winter wonderland-like? 

Thanks for reading,

Mandy

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

Happy December everyone! We can finally start the countdown to Christmas, are you as excited as I am? I know I'm ready for the week long vacation, just to relax, eat, sleep, and get together with family and friends. I've been getting into the Christmas mood with some nail polish recently, so the first manicure I want to show you is with Ulta's Envy. This is a luscious dark forest green, with a little bit of shimmer. However, this is barely noticeable once it's on your nails. Nonetheless, this is a very nice and festive polish and I think forest green is a must have for this season.

Canadian readers, I'm sorry to say that this polish is exclusive to Ulta stores, which are only located in the US. So next time you're down there for vacation, be sure to check out their polish lines!

As for the formulation, it's a bit thick for my liking, and I have to make sure to clean up my cuticles afterwards because the brush isn't the best shape... But hey it's a nice color and affordable at that! Enough talk, here are the pics!

With flash you can see the shimmer/iridescence more clearly!

Lovely electromagnetic radiation notes!

And a Christmas party invite :)

Hope this was a nice and simple start to the holiday season for you! What manicures/nail art are you planning on sporting for your special occasions? 

Thanks for reading!

Mandy

Nail Pattern Boldness The Tin Man

Hi everyone! Today I have a very special post for you because today is the 21st birthday of the man who is not just my boyfriend, but also my very best friend. I think we're going for wings and beers after lectures are done for the day, but before that I figured I'd show him my appreciation with a blog post featuring a polish he bought me recently. After falling in love with OPI's gold flake topcoat, I immediately knew I had to get a hold of a silver version, and Dan decided he would purchase me one from a Llarowe restock.

YUM. Look at that beauty! 

I layered this over OPI Into the Night from the Spiderman collection which came out earlier in 2012.

I found that the chunks are bigger in this than in my OPI on average, which I like. It wasn't too hard to get the flakes on the brush, but it wasn't as easy as it could have been.

I want to layer this over everything - any suggestions?

Thank you soooo much Daniel for this beautiful polish, you are such a thoughtful and kind person!

If you (or your boyfriend) want to purchase The Tin Man, you can do so from Llarowe right here, or you can order directly from the Nail Pattern Boldness etsy shop right here!

OPI Die Another Day

Hi guys! After receiving a few of the lacquers from the OPI Skyfall collection to swatch and review, I still needed to get my paws on one of the other colours because it is so so beautiful. I used some ebay bucks that I had left over to purchase Die Another Day, a perfect holiday red.

Yum, I looove the shimmer in this. It is very different in the sun, where it appears to be a glimmery cherry red, whereas in the shade it looks like a deeper shinier colour.

Do you guys love this as much as I do? I'm a huge fan of all the colours released in the Skyfall collection.

I've been playing around with my watermark, what do you think of this one? All I really did was lower the opacity on the writing so it appears grey and a little less obnoxious. Opinions?

Fair Isle Nail Art

Hi everyone! Today I have some medicore nail art to show you, I had grandiose plans for this and turned out to be really "meh," but that's okay, I like practicing free hand nail art. Recently at work more and more Fair Isle print has been popping up, in socks, sweaters, scarves, you name it. I think it's a very pretty style and wanted to replicate it onto my nails. Unfortunately, it's also very tricky.

On my pointer finger,  I used OPI I Don't Give a Rotterdam and OPI Skyfall, on my middle finger I used OPI Nein! Nein! Nein! Ok Fine!, and OPI Thanks a Windmillion, on my ring finger I used OPI Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh, and China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy. My pinky finger was done using OPI A Grape Fit, and Zoya Megan.

I think my index finger is my favourite so far as the execution of nail art, but my favourite colours are on the middle and ring fingers.

Do you think it's worth it to try this technique again, with a little more patience? 

OPI Mariah Carey and Euro Centrale Press Releases

Hi everyone! Today I have two press releases for upcoming OPI collections that landed in my inbox this week. The first one is the much anticipated OPI collaboration with Mariah Carey, let's see what they have to say about this collection which should hit stores in January 2013. I've hidden the rest of this post under a break because it is pretty long, so make sure you open the rest and keep on reading!

Lynnderella + The Man with the Golden Gun

Hello everyone! Today I have the most gorgeous combination ever to show you all. I actually did this before my birthday, but since I wanted to post my special mani on that day this one had to wait. I know some of you loved the manicure I did with OPI Fly and Lynnderella I Don't Mean Rhinestones, and what better to do with a good thing than to make it even better?

Here we have my previous combination of two coats of OPI Fly, two coats of Lynnderella I Don't Mean Rhinestones, and one coat of OPI The Man with the Golden Gun. 

I am dying right now, this is so gorgeous! I really love how the gold looks against the turquoise.

Yum, look at that depth! 

What do you guys think about this? Was it worth it to add the extra layer, or would you have left it as it was?

Birthday Manicure

Hi everyone! As some of you may know, today is my 20th birthday, so I have a fun manicure to show you. I  mentioned that I had been experimenting with glequins so that I could use them in this mani, and though they didn't turn out perfectly, the effect is still there.

These are so chic, I'm in love!

As you can see in the photos, I used Quo by ORLY Little Black Dress as the base. I applied the gold glequins using the tip of a dotting tool. I then taped off triangular sections and used Essie Matte About You.

I'm really proud of these, I wish I had been a little more patient in doing them. I guess it's my birthday and there's more important things to do than obsess about manicure details!

Who wants to see what I got?

My parents bought me this super cool watch. Can you believe I'm turning 20 and have never owned a watch?

My boyfriend Dan gave me a Lululemon top that I was really wanting, but I can't find a pic of it right now. My Grandparents sent me a card with some money, and my sister is going to make my boyfriend and I a dinner as soon as I give her a date. 

Lynnderella I Don't Mean Rhinestones

Hi everyone! Today I have an absolutely gorgeous combination to show you all that I have been trying hard not to stare at all week long. I couldn't decide which of my Lynnderellas to use until the sun shone in through my window and I couldn't keep my eyes off of I Don't Mean Rhinestones. I know it sounds like I'm kidding, but I'm not, I had no idea how many different colours were in this polish!

Here is two coats of Lynnderella I Don't Mean Rhinestones over two coats of OPI Fly. These colours complement each other absolutely perfectly.

This was really difficult to photograph in the sun because all the different shapes, sizes, and colours of glitters wanted to show off their sparkle.

Mmm, here is a delicious macro shot. Can you guys see the mixture of hex, square, and diamond glitters mixed in with all the little glitters. 

I really think you have to see this in person to be able to appreciate its beauty, but I recommend this wholeheartedly if you're looking to add a Lynn to your collection. 

What do you think of this combination? Do you have a favourite Lynnderella polish?