Nail Art / Swatch & Review

   Working through more of my untried indie glitters, I created this cute manicure to wear to the baby shower that my best friend held yesterday!  It was such a nice party.  These might not look like very baby-themed nails, but I'm not one for baby motifs.  So I went with nice bright colors, instead.  Also, Lush Lacquer is created by a mother-daughter team, so it totally fits!

   All my nails started out with a base coat of white, which was Zoya Purity.  For my glitter gradient nails I used Lush Lacquer Pebbles.  This is an awesome, colorful matte glitter in a clear base.  It looks way better on the nail than in the bottle, where the colors appear muddled because of the tiny glitter size.  On the nail the yellow, pink, purple and blue really pop!

   The glitter coverage was good, too.  My nails are showing 1 coat at the cuticle/top, 2 coats from the middle down, and 3 at the very tip.  Roughly.  I just dabbed the glitter on carefully to make the gradient effect.  My verdict is that this polish is great!

   For accent nails I tried doing fishtail style chevrons for the first time.  They didn't come out too badly, but 4 colors was way too many for a beginner's attempt!  Definitely going to stick with 2 the next time I practice.  I did a pretty good job matching up the polish colors to the glitter in Pebbles, though.  Here is what I used:

Lush Lacquer Pebbles, China Glaze Happy-Go-Lucky, Zoya Sweet, Pure Ice Fairy Godmother and Sally Hansen Blue Me Away!

   What do you think of these nails?  Do you have any Lush Lacquer colors to recommend?  They can be found in the Lush Lacquer etsy shop!  Thanks for looking.  =)

Swatch & Review / NotD

   Good day, fellow princesses!  I have a delicate nail look to share today featuring two pretty polishes.  The above photo are my nails modeling 1 coat of Black Cat Lacquer over 2 coats of Essie Vanity Fairest.  I loved wearing this manicure!  Onwards to my reviews!

   I placed my first order with Black Cat Lacquer at the very end of December, and had four pretty polishes show up in January.  I tried a few times to get them swatched, but never did because of the smell.  This was honestly the first time a polish smelled so bad that I couldn't stand to use it.  My bottle of Let Them Eat Cake (and the other 3 colors I bought at the time) goes beyond the usual "smelly polish" scent and heads straight into exterior house paint territory.  I'd know - my day job is selling and tinting paint!  I decided to set them aside until warm weather when I'd try again with open windows.

   It appears that these late-2012 polishes were either made with a different base or perhaps a bad batch of base.  Searching didn't give me any official information other than a few January 2013 reviews and reader comments noting a very strong smell.  A review on one blog said the Spring 2013 colors did not have the awful smell of the previous collection, yay!  In order to attempt to find out the real story I sent Black Cat Lacquer a message asking "Has your polish base changed since last year?"  This is the entire reply I received:

   So, um, not exactly all-conclusive.  I'm hoping the stink is now a non-issue, at least with colors from 2013.  I have added a few more BCL polishes to my wishlist with cautious optimism, though I'm not entirely sure what to do with the ones I already have...

   You see, Let Them Eat Cake is an awesome glitter topper - clear base, pastel hexes in pink, blue, and yellow-green.  A whole lot of cute tiny white glitter and a smattering of holographic bits.  It's pretty, I loved wearing it, but my bottle smells so bad!  I don't know if it is worth keeping in my collection if I can't stand the smell of it.  We shall see.  I didn't have any other issues with the polish; it mixes easily and the formula and application is perfectly fine.  BCL is also 3-free and cruelty free, which is great!

   Above are my nails with 1 coat of Essie Vanity Fairest.  This is a polish I found for $1.00!  I tried looking for swatches but none showed the super-pretty glass fleck shimmer it contains.  It is very hard to capture finishes like this, but I think I have done a decent job.  It shows quite well on my thumb, which is wearing 3 coats:

   I really like this polish!  The formula is great and the sheer finish works with 1, 2, or 3 coats depending on the look you want.  It dries quickly and has a good amount of shine without topcoat.  I'm glad that I happened upon it by chance in June.  =)

   Thanks for reading!  If you have any advice on what to do about the stinky glitter polishes, I'd like to hear it.  Do you own any Black Cat Lacquer polishes?  If so, which one and how does it smell like to you?  If not, they can be found at http://www.BlackCatLacquer.com/.

Swatch & Review / NotD

   Here is a quick swatch post of my nails from this weekend.  I did them in our hotel room so I didn't have my usual lighting setup.  Not the best photos but this was a really simple combo, so I'm letting them pass.  I used 2 coats of My Pointe Exactly from the OPI NYC Ballet collection, which is a sheer grey jelly.  My nails were more grey-toned than they appear here.  Then I used 2 coats of I♥NP Silver Spoons, and I used one more coat of My Pointe Exactly on my ring finger to create a jelly sandwich.  These nails were subtle but very shiny!

   My Pointe Exactly is a very good neutral jelly that I am so glad to have finally found in stock on Drugstore.com.  Glad I picked it up because it will definitely see more use in both French manicures and layering for "jelly sandwiches".  Coverage is quite good.  Also, I think I have finally made peace with OPI's wide brushes; we didn't get along before this.  The above photo shows my results without any clean-up!

   Silver Spoons is unique among silver glitter topcoats thanks to those awesome little silver shards!  They aren't gigantic, lay flat and don't create texture on the nail.  (If I could find a topper of just these well-behaved silver shreds I'd be quite pleased!)  The silver microshimmer also has a wonderful sparkle that I love.  I was surprised at needing two coats for good coverage, however.  Sadly this polish is discontinued and gone forever... sorry!

   I wish I could have better captured the sparkle and shine of these nails - you'll just have to imagine it!  The look reminds me of Cinderella for some reason...  What do you think?

Swatch & Review / NotD

   My town is currently experiencing a heat wave, with temperatures hitting 90 every day this week.  (In our little arctic suburb, this is a big deal.)  I don't complain about the weather, but I will admit that it has sapped my creativity the past few days!  I come home from work and crash; it's too warm to get up and do things until 8pm when the sun is going down.  So rather than paint my nails last night, I waited and did them this morning.

   I used I♥NP Angel Burp and Essie Sweet Talker.  I looove this easy-on-the-eyes cotton candy combination!  My nails feel so delicate and pretty.  Both of these polishes were untrieds for me, so let me tell you about them~

   Story time!  Essie Sweet Talker is from their 2010 foray into retail sales.  (In fact, it was an exclusive color, so all bottles of Sweet Talker should have a white printed "Essie" on the side, and a sticker with the name on top.)  This color landed on my wishlist right away when I was first getting into polish, and I managed to track down a bottle (along with a bunch of other colors) on eBay.  Then it was put away in a box, where it sat, and sat... and sat.  I have a few Essie polishes I love, but I learned that more often than not I don't like the brand's formula, so I allowed myself to be distracted by other polishes for quite awhile.  I was afraid Sweet Talker would be sheer, pool-y and need at least 3 coats.  Today I'm happy to say that it exceeded my expectations.  I used 2 careful coats, giving it time to dry in between.  It is actually a bit on the thick side - I'll add a bit of polish thinner to my bottle.  The aqua microshimmer in the bottle isn't as visible on the nail, but it doesn't disappear, either.  And I love the pastel blue.  I want a straight-up creme in exactly this color!

   I♥NP Angel Burp is a really pretty glitter in a shimmery clear base.  On my thumb I'm wearing 2 coats, the other nails had 1 coat.  The formula was a bit thick and I did get some teeny bubbles when I was squishing glitter around with my brush - these really only show in pictures.  I topped it off with 1 coat of Poshe and don't have any texture from the glitters; they are thin and lay very flat!

   And what pretty glitters they are.  Satin pink squares and hexes mixed with iridescent squares!  (I'll definitely be combining this with Nyx Girls Dreamy Glitter sometime for a manicure filled with pink pastel shape goodness.)  The iridescent squares shine with a whole rainbow of soft hues, not just the peachy-pink that you see in the bottle!  If you don't already have this glitter and you love it as much as I do, be quick!  This is another discontinued I Love Nail Polish shade, but I saw it is still available at http://www.ilnp.com/ as of today!

Swatch & Review / NotD

   Good evening, princesses!  Here is a manicure that is sure to give you sweet dreams about polish.  ;P  I was fortunate enough to snag Once Upon A Starry Night during I♥NP's clearance sale, and found the limited edition Pure Ice color Fairy Godmother, which pairs wonderfully as a base color.  Also, I think I may have found my "pose" for pictures.  Holding my hand at an angle seems most comfortable.

   I used one coat of I♥NP (I Love Nail Polish - what a great brand name!) of Once Upon A Starry Night, which is a clear-based glitter with a really nice density for using as a topcoat.  The glitters in it are prismatic, silver, blue, and matte white.  It contains holographic silver stars but not very many of them.  Getting one of the stars is a treat, and the nails without stars don't look like they are lacking.  I've had this polish on my wishlist since I first saw it announced last year!  Sadly this shade is now discontinued - sorry!

   ILNP definitely earns their tagline of "boutique nail lacquer": the super cute packaging, the wonderful brush and good formula...  I'm not sure if this bottle is made with the original or reformulated glitter base.  (The suspension base was changed after complaints that the polishes were great but smelled horrible.)  I can say that this does have a polish smell but it is not at all offensive!

   Pure Ice Fairy Godmother is a perfect amethyst shade that will. not. photograph. accurately.  I tried color-correcting the photos and gave up, because by the time the polish was looking right my hands looked fiery.  Yes, this is a cool-toned purple, but it is more red than this.  It's a medium type of purple that isn't too bright, too dark, too pastel or dusty.  It also seems to have a faint hidden shimmer.  I used two coats, and coverage was very good.  The formula is on the slightly thick side.

   These are two really pretty polishes that work great together!  Pure Ice is sold at Walmart, and you can find I♥NP shades at their website:

Nail Art / Swatch & Review

   I'm wearing an extremely princess-y manicure today!  I did these nails Saturday after deciding I wanted something holographic and was inspired by some pretty glitter gradients on other blogs.  Then I realized that all the polishes I used were essentially untrieds - swatched but never used in a manicure.  So I'll be talking a bit about them, too.

   So pink, so girly, so great!  For as much as I love pink I don't do pink nails that often.  I have a hard time finding the right pinks for my skintone.  These are the polishes I used:

Color Club Halo-graphic, Milani Pink Flare, Nyx Girls Dynamic Glitter and Salon Perfect Silver Sparkler.

   First let's talk about Color Club Halo-graphic.  How did I let this go for so long without doing a proper manicure with it?  From the 2012 Halo Hues collection, this pink is gorgeous in the bottle and cool-toned enough that I find it wearable.  I used two coats on my thumbs, index and pinky fingers, then my regular Poshe topcoat.  Once the manicure is totally dry the holographic effect comes back 100%.  Application is good for a holographic polish, but isn't very self-leveling.

   Milani Pink Flare is part of the One Coat Glitter line, but it is most certainly not opaque in one coat.  My right hand, pictured above, shows this polish at one coat on my ring finger and at two on my middle finger.  Both have one coat of Halo-graphic as a base/underwear color.  I must say I love this glitter, it is the perfect combination of soft and sparkly.  Different from my expectations but I don't like it any less.

   The photos below show my left hand.  I had the good sense to wrap my tips with Halo-graphic before putting on a coat of Pink Flare, so the sheerness isn't noticeable unless you're really looking.  My middle finger (three flower-shape paillettes) is wearing 4 coats of Milani Pink Flare, and if you look closely you can still see some VNL.  As soon as I saw how sheer it was I put a base coat of Color Club Halo-Graphic down on my ring finger, and only used two coats of Pink Flare.

   For the gradients I used a combination of Nyx Dynamic Glitter and Salon Perfect Silver Sparkler.  I started off by dabbing Dynamic glitter at the cuticles and then placed individual glitters from Silver Sparkler to fill in spaces that needed it.  I also used loose flower paillettes to enhance the gradient nails.  These nails would have had a lot of texture so I used extra topcoat until they were smooth and super glossy!


   The only negative thing about this manicure is that it is SO sparkly that it is hard to photograph!  There is so much glitz that my camera seems to be at a loss about which nail to focus on.  Of course, that quality is also what makes it so fantastic.  I'm really enjoying this glittery, rainbow-filled manicure!  =)

   Hello, dear readers!  I'm so excited to share this post with you!  Not only am I sharing some cute original nail art I did, I'm teaching you how to do it with a tutorial!  This is my first time creating a how-to collage (it took some trial and error), so please give me your feedback!  First off, some information about the polishes I used.

For the gumballs: 

China Glaze Happy-Go-Lucky, Grape Pop, Four Leaf Clover, Suger High; Sally Hansen Sun Kissed and Zoya Breezi

   Obviously gumballs and their dispensers have a lot of room for creativity with colors, and you could pick pretty much anything you want.  I wanted something easily recognizable so I reached for the classic candy and dispenser colors.  This design works really well on squared nails, and takes advantage of your natural nail shape to create the glass dome of the gumball machine.  All you need are your nail polishes, some dotting tools, and french tip guides.  On to the tutorial!



   Yay, it's easy!  And fun - I had a blast wearing this manicure.  All kinds of people wanted to check these colorful nails out, and they could tell what they were!  To me, that's nail art success.  What do you think?  If you try this please leave a link in the comments below so I can check it out!  =)

Nail Art / NotD

   I'm sharing the manicure I just did today.  This is the result of getting an idea in my head and not being willing to let it go even when I got my first clue that it might not be the best idea with color I chose.  Ever have one of those stubborn moments?  I just did; at least it didn't turn out too badly.

   The idea for this manicure happened when I picked up Zoya Simone from my Mom's sales.  The pinkish hue held nuances of vintage, lady-like, and sophisticated.  Wouldn't it be neat to do a patchwork/quilt square manicure with this color and white?  Well, that was a nice idea until I started using Simone and realized that it really isn't a good color for nail art.  While two coats were good on a plastic swatch nail, it took three to get rid of VNL on my own nails.  The formula is a bit runny, as well.  Simone really doesn't get along with taping methods.  My poor middle finger looks sad because I had to use two coats of Simone on my white base, and I tried to be quick about pulling the striping tape up but it was gloopy anyway... blah.

   Oh well!  My other two colors were Zoya Purity and Pure Ice Silver Mercedes.  I tried two new techniques - a ruffle nail (thumb) and bubbles (index) - both dotting-tool designs.  The butterfly nail is done with stickers and my pinky is a cloud nail - super easy!  What about the other hand?  Well... I'm not sure what I'm doing with that yet.  Maybe just a solid color, to give myself a break.  ;P  What do you think?

Swatch & Review / NotD

   Yesterday I wore this manicure as a way to use some of my untrieds.  These are two really nice polishes and I was happy with them, but I wasn't really feeling drawn to the color combo right now, so my nails are bare again today.

   Pure Ice Scream is a really nice blue-green creme polish, sort of a turquoise, teal, or dark aqua color.  It dries just a little bit darker than it looks in the bottle.  It is easy to work with and has really good coverage.  I used 1 coat on all my nails except my ring finger, which took 2.  I also let this dry without topcoat, so you can see it levels nicely and has decent shine.  The only issue I had with Scream was when applying the glitter on some of my nails.  I had to use a light touch or it would start to smear and create bald spots.

   Pure Ice Over You is one of their newer glitter releases, and I really love the colors.  I think I will like this better layered over a pale base color.  It is made up of micro and tiny lavender glitter, and had holographic aqua glitter in small hexes and short, stubby bars.  I really like the bar glitter, it reminds me of splashing water.  I only used 1 generous coat on my nails and was very happy with the coverage.  The glitters spread well and I imagine this could easily be layered up for full glitter-bomb effect nails.  I used topcoat to smooth my glitter nails, and didn't notice any texture after that.  Check out the macro shot below to see it better!

   These polishes impressed me for $2 finds, with good formulas to match their pretty colors.  After realizing how nice Scream was to work with I might have to give a few of their other new creme colors a chance.  So, this is my short and sweet post for today.  As always, thanks for looking!

Special Announcement / Nail Art

   That's right, I'm pregnant!  And what better way to announce it on my blog than with a special manicure?  Polish details first for those who came for the swatches, pregnancy details after for those who care.

   I love-love-love this manicure!  I wanted something that was a combination of girly, classy, feminine and fresh, and that is exactly what I got!  I started out with 1 coat of Zoya Scarlet, a sheer color that matches my nailbeds.  Then I carefully dabbed Lush Lacquer Glitter Girl on so that the free edge of my nail was left bare.  The lace design came from a sheet of nail stickers that I cut to size.

   The nail stickers are not quite as wide as my nails, and the reason for this is that if the stickers go right to the edge they won't be properly sealed in by top coat!  The shortage on my thumb was a bit too noticeable so I layered on a butterfly nail sticker for an accent.  In order to seal everything smoothly I used 2 coats of my Poshe fast-drying top coat.

   Glitter Girl is a really great polish and worked perfectly in this style.  I only used one coat, and I didn't get every type of glitter that I saw in the bottle (no purple squares), but that is okay with me.  I really like the mix of matte black, white, and pink hexes and tiny sparkling purples and pink.  The free edges of my nails get to peek out in their natural state, so tip wear on this manicure should be super easy to hide...

   Back to my special announcement:  I'm pregnant!  I've been holding out on posting anything Online even though my husband and I knew right away.  Fuzzy ultrasound evidence reveals that we are having one little girl.  (Did you already guess that from the Glitter Girl polish used in my manicure?)  My due date is Sept 21st, so we'll be having a very-end-of-summer baby or, if she stays in for a little extra cooking time, an early autumn baby.

   So far the pregnancy has been going really well and my biggest complaint is fatigue and general achiness.  In fact, that is the reason for my blog going unattended early this year.  The first trimester hit me like a ton of bricks and all I did was work, sleep, eat, sleep and sleep.  That is no exaggeration - just ask my husband!  I probably wouldn't have made it through if he hadn't been there to take such good care of me.

   I don't plan to turn Princessly Polished into a "mommy blog".  I guess I technically am a mommy blogger no matter what I write about now, but the main focus here will continue to be nails, beauty and personal style.  Expect a few maternity-themed posts in the future, but someone please slap me if I start posting about dream nursery setups, okay?  ;)  As always thanks for reading, enjoy your day!

Nail Art

   Quite often when I do nail art my hands don't match.  Partly from "creativity", partly from getting to experiment more per manicure!  So after finishing my right hand in a rainbow gradient I decided to use a mix of all those colors for my left hand.  In case you missed all the water marble fun in my last post, here is the right hand design:

  I'm getting a little better at making the designs and figuring out placement on my nails.  I'm really happy with how my thumb turned out as I didn't think I'd get that much of the design on my nail.  =)  The colors I used were China Glaze Light As Air, Something Sweet, Peachy Keen, Lemon Fizz, Re-fresh Mint, and Bahamian Escape.  I had already painted my nails with two coats of Zoya Purity to give them a nice blank canvas, so they came out true to bottle color.

   Anyway, back to my left hand!

   It was pretty easy deciding which colors to pair up on my nails.  Index finger got the secondaries: purple, orange, green.  Middle finger had pink, yellow, and blue, though yellow and blue tried to create green.  My pinky was done in green, purple, yellow and pink.  Love it!  I was brave and tried to use all the colors on my thumb.

   All the colors are there, but sadly Bahamian Escape blurred into an odd dusty color between Lemon Fizz and Peachy Keen.  Also, a piece of fuzz stuck into my nail!  Bummer!  Six colors in one marbled nail is a bit much, four or less works better.

   As an accent nail I used my new unnamed Claire's polish over the white base.  (See swatches of the collection it came from.)  I did two coats and this ultra-cheap glitter did not disappoint!  It has a perfect rainbowy mix of colors over white.  I'll definitely be using this glitter polish again.  Anyone know of a dupe for it?

   This is my favorite water marble so far, and I really enjoyed wearing it this week!

   Hi there, do you remember me?  Rochelle, that girl who was doing something I think we call "blogging" at the beginning of the year?  Yeah, I've been away for awhile.  I apologize for my unexplained absence, but I promise it was for good reasons!  I'm keeping this post short, but I do have some nails to share:

   I did these nails at the end of April.  A super quick manicure of China Glaze Fairy Dust and nail stickers!  Fairy Dust is far more pretty in person than in pictures - it has so much sparkle!

   And one thing I'd like to share about my blogging break is that it included my nails, as well.  I wasn't sharing any manicures on Instagram simply because I wasn't painting my nails - I could hardly even keep them shaped!  Check out what I deem my Most Hideous Nail Break Ever, which happened in March:

   My nails are doing so much better now, and are finally stain free.  I'm hoping to keep them that way!  I'm sure that will only last until I'm craving a good black polish manicure (and then another, and another) though, haha.

   Anyway, what's this business about me going on vacation?  Didn't I just take 2 months off?  Am I ever going to blog for real again?

   Yes, I will be blogging again!  I have some fun reviews to do and plenty of polish to swatch.  In fact, I have a few posts scheduled to go Online while I'm on vacation, so it shouldn't be too quiet around here.  Some of the posts will be special announcements, too.  =)

   I'll also be sharing vacation photos via Instagram as I travel, so follow me there if you're interested in some East coast scenery.

   Thanks for sticking around during my long break, and hello to the new followers of my blog, too!  I wasn't logging on to my blog every day, but every time I did I saw that I'd had a gain in either followers or page hits.  That's pretty awesome, and it means a lot to me.   See you again soon!