Frilly Knickers Grey-dient

This morning I've got some gradient nail art to share with you, featuring two of the polishes from the LaCC Fall 2014 Collection which I swatched here.  

I started by laying down one coat of 2000 (grey), and then sponged on the gradient with that and 2002 (black).  I thought it could use a little something more, so I added a coat of Butter London Frilly Knickers on top.  It's all sealed with a coat of Seche Vite.  

It's a pretty simple look, but I quite enjoyed wearing it!  What do you think?  :)

Barry M Blue Gradient

As was expected, I bought a ton of nail polish while in England.  Within the first few days alone I had picked up 6 Barry M, 2 Kikos, and 6 Models Own polishes... Oops!

Of course, upon arriving back at the flat on one of those first days, I just had to use a few of my new pretties together in some nail art.  These three Barry M polishes were just screaming at me to do a gradient, so I obliged.  

I started with a base of two coats of Barry M Coconut, a lovely off-white creme.  Then I sponged on the gradient with Blueberry and Blue Grape.  It's all topped off with a coat of Seche Vite, as usual.  

I really love Barry M polishes, I wish they were sold here in Canada!  But for now, I've got my sister and mom in England to get them for me.  ;)  I was really excited with how this mani came out, it's such a bright and bold look and I really enjoyed wearing it!  What do you think? Would you wear something like this?   :)

Sunset Gradient

For the next little while my life is going to be a bit strange.  I'm officially moving out of my apartment today, and flying to a different city where I'll be staying for a summer program for five weeks.  I'm just renting a room in a house for that time and have no idea what my setup will be like, (I had to get rid of my amazing nail-photo lamp in the move,) but hopefully I'll be able to get in some good daylight shots of manis.  It also means that I've unfortunately had to pare down my collection of about 400 bottles here to less than 200, because I've only got two suitcases to pack my entire life into, which is really sad!  After that summer program I'll finally get to go to London to visit my family in their new home, which I'm super excited for!! :)

Anywho, onto the nails!  

This is a simple double-accent mani that I did while playing around with the QUO by Orly Summer 2014 polishes, which you can see individual swatches of here.  My middle and ring fingers are a base of Electrified, and a gradient sponged on with that and Heatwave.  The rest of my nails are three thin coats each of Simmered.  All nails are topped with LaCC 2013 top coat. 

Although I wasn't a huge fan of Electrified and Heatwave alone on my skin tone, I'm really loving them all combined in this super bright look!  What do you think?  Let me know in the comments!  :) 

Seafoam & Magenta

Taking a quick break from our regularly-scheduled Shimmer Polish posts to show you a gradient I wore a few weeks ago on my boyfriend's birthday.  He's got two sweaters that he wears all the time, one for out-and-about and the other as a warm-up for when we're in the studio, which are jokingly called his "seafoam and magenta" (the colours of the sweaters, respectively) by most of our class.  So as a little poke at that, I did a simple seafoam and magenta gradient on his birthday!  

I started with two coats of Miss Ashleigh Polish A Pastel Experi-mint, and then sponged on a gradient with that and OPI Casino Royale.  It's smoothed out with a good coat of Seche Vite, of course.  

I actually really liked how the colours in this gradient worked together, and a few of us got a good chuckle out of it.  ;)  What do you think? 

April #HePicksMyPolish

Earlier this week I stumbled across a post about this challenge in a Facebook group, and it sounded like fun so I decided to give it a go!  The challenge consists of getting your "he" to pick 1-3 polishes from your stash, and creating a manicure using only those polishes.  You can join the challenge group on Facebook here. 

My boyfriend, Mr. Who, went out of his way to make things difficult for me, and choose polishes of types I've previously told him I didn't really care for; primarily orange, and bright, shimmery pinks.  

The polishes he chose were OPI Chop-sticking to My Story, CrowsToes Love Stinks, and Zoya Aurora. 

I started with a couple coats of CrowsToes Love Stinks, and then sponged a gradient down the middle of my nails with that and OPI Chop-sticking to My Story.  Once that was dry, I taped off a line down the middle and painted over it with two quick coats of Zoya Aurora.  It's all topped with a coat of Seche Vite. 

Considering I was initially very worried about his polish choices, I quite liked how this mani came out!  What do you think?  :)  You can see everyone else's posts through the InLinkz below. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Studded Neutral Gradient

Good morning!  I had a nice relaxing 4-day break over Easter weekend, but I'm ready to get back to blogging!  However, as those of you who know me personally (or follow me on IG) are aware, my immediate family is moving to London (England, not Ontario) tomorrow, so this weekend has been anything but relaxing for them as they packed up the entire house to be shipped across the pond!  As for me, things are still up in the air as to whether I'll stay here for another year or go with them, but we'll see how it all works out. 

Over the past few days I've been helping my sister set up her own blog to document her new life in London, as well as fashion, nails, and food posts.  She's planning to start posting over the next few days, so once she does I'll definitely link to it so you guys can check it out.  I helped her with photos for the first few fashion posts! ;) 

Onto the nails!  This is a look I wore a few weeks ago, and really loved the simple sophisticated look of. 

I started with a coat of LaCC 1981, and the then sponged on the gradient with (lightest to darkest) LaCC 1981, 1988, and 1998.  I then added columns of gold studs to my accent nails, and finished it all with two coats of Seche Vite. 

I'm a huge fan of neutral gradients, they just look so awesome and these three LaCC polishes blend together perfectly!  What do you think of this look?  :)

The Lacquer Legion: Reinvention

Today's post is my contribution to the very first posting of The Lacquer Legion!  The Lacquer Legion is a new monthly nail art challenge group hosted by Sarah, Rebecca, Leslie, and Sammy, and everyone can participate!  You can read more into detail in Sarah's post here. 

This month's theme is reinvention - to be interpreted in any way.  I was a little pressed for time and ideas but still wanted to participate, so I reinvented my second most popular nail art ever (but probably my favourite,) the half-moon gradient.  You can see my original post here. 

For those of you who are curious, my most popular post ever is my reciprocal gradient nail art, which has since spread across the internet and been re-created so many times!  

I chose to reinvent this look simply by changing up the colours to a combination I wish I'd tried ages ago, because I love it!  I started with two perfect coats of LaCC 1966, and a coat of LaCC 2013 top coat to speed things up.  Once that was all dry, I used hole reinforcers to mark off my half-moons, then sponged a gradient with 1966 and piCture pOlish Honey Dew.  It's all topped off with two coats of Seche Vite to smooth everything out.  

I'm so in love with how this turned out; I can't believe I waited over a year to re-create this look!!  I honestly can't decide if I like this or the original colour palette better... What do you think?  :)  

If you take part in this month's The Lacquer Legion challenge, remember to post to social media with the hashtag #LLreinvention  :)  I'll be sure to check out everyone's manis!

We Three Blings & 1940

Good morning!  Just a quick post this morning with a Christmassy look I did a couple weeks ago, but which would have also made an awesome New Year's Eve mani!  

I started with two perfect coats of LaCC 1940, and when that was dry I sponged on a gradient with KBShimmer We Three Blings.  I believe it's topped with two coats of Seche Vite, but don't quote me on that, haha! 

We Three Blings is such a perfect glitter for gradients - I can't believe I haven't worn it since swatting it last Christmas!!  The mix of tons of holographic gold hexes and the tiny golden flakies in the base is so beautiful!  And of course 1940 is the perfect super vampy burgundy shade! 

I've really been trying to work on my freehand over the past few months, but it's been a while since I've done a simpler look like this.  Would you like to see more looks that are do-able for people who aren't as comfortable with freehand work?  I'm aiming to post more this new year (I know I've been awful about regular posts recently) and I'd love to know what you want to see more of!  :)

Heliotrope Gradient

You may remember back at the beginning of September I posted a heliotrope water marble mani... Read up over there for the explanation behind the whole heliotrope thing, haha!  

For today, I've just got a quick post with an awesome purple gradient that I really enjoyed wearing, (not just because it matched my leotard all day... Well, maybe just a bit.) 

I started with two coats of the lightest purple: OPI You're Such A Budapest.  Once that was dry, I sponged on the gradient using that, LaCC 1972, and Butter London Brummie, which is the shade that matches our uniform! It's all smoothed out with two coats of Seche Vite. 

In other news, I had a pretty awesome (but tiring!) day yesterday...  All of the girls in my class took ballet class with the company yesterday morning to audition to be cast in their performance of Giselle, because the company doesn't quite have enough girls for it... And I was cast!  We had a super long day of rehearsals yesterday, and I was wearing my pointe shoes for almost 8 hours... Not too comfy, (read: extremely uncomfortable) but totally worth it for the amazing experience!  Over the next two weeks we're working with the company all day every day to learn the entire ballet, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how it all comes together!  :) 

Anywho, I really love doing gradients using different shades of one colour, it always looks so awesome!!  What do you think of this look? :)

Birthstone Holo Gradient

Good morning!  After swatching all of the Lacquer Lust Birthstone Holos (Part 1; Part 2), I was inspired to try my first holographic gradient.  I found four of the polishes that went together nicely, and I'm really happy with how it turned out!  :)

Sunlight

Artificial light

I started with a base of the lightest colour, Diamond.  Once that was dry, I sponged on the gradient with the following polishes (lightest to darkest): Diamond, Pink Tourmaline, Ruby, and Garnet.  It's all topped off with a coat of Seche Vite for a smooth finish.  

Sunlight

Sunlight

And now, a little word from my friends.....

Who and Dr. Renata's Section
So during the year Emma has two best friends, Dominic and Renata, both dancers and a great motivation to her! We've decided to write this section at the bottom of a few of her posts, maybe once a week, or whenever we feel like it. So, Renata says "Hola!!" and Dominic says "Hello there!!". By the way, my (Dominic's) last name is "Who" after Doctor Who. Not joking. Renata is an aspiring dancer who also manages (which blows my mind) to be in a part time online University course, wishing to get a PHD in psychology and become a doctor! So basically, we're both doctors (sort of)! Goodbye for now!

Subtle Gradient & Houndstooth

I'm finally back home!!  I ended up blogging far less than I was hoping to be able to while away this past month, but I was still doing my nails so I've got quite a few posts backed up.  I've also got some awesome polishes to swatch, which I'm working on right now, so expect to see those on the blog soon too! 

At the ballet school I've been at for the past month (and where I'm going full-time next year) we're not "*technically* allowed to wear nail polish.  But, being the rebel polish-addict that I am, I did anyways.  For the most part I tried to keep my manis light and subtle, and I have one of them to show you today.  

I started with a gradient of Essie Waltz and piCture pOlish Fairy Floss; I really liked the clean and simple look of this gradient and wore it plain like this for a day! 

The next day I wanted to spice it up a bit, so I stamped the houndstooth pattern from BM-322 using Essie No Place Like Chrome.  It's all topped off with a coat of LaCC 2013 top coat. 

Although having to do manis using only lightly-coloured polishes was an interesting challenge this month, the first thing I did at home this morning was put on a dark vampy polish!!  How do you like this subtle look?  :)

Guest Post at Sincerely Stephanie

Good morning!  I just wanted to pop in and let you all know about a guest post I did for Stephanie while she's on her Alaskan cruise! 

To find out more about how I created this mani, hop on over to Sincerely Stephanie!  :)

Le Bunny Bleu - Skittle Nail Art

I was recently contacted by the shoe company Le Bunny Bleu and asked to create some nail art to help spread the word about their nail art contest!  I'll have three different looks to show you over the next few days to help get the creative juices flowing; the contest is open for entries until Friday, June 7th.  Take a look! 

This skittle nail art was inspired by the brand's logo, and the overall theme of blue on the website.  :) 

My ring finger is the brand's bunny logo, hand-painted over OPI My Vampire Is Buff with Nails Inc. Baker Street.  The same two colours were used on my thumb, and I used the end of a toothpick to make the small polka-dots.  

My index finger is a gradient with OPI Can't Find My Czechbook and Nails Inc. Baker Street.  My middle finger is a tape mani with OPI My Vampire Is Buff and Can't Find My Czechbook.   You can find great tutorials for gradients here, and striping tape here, both over at The Nailasaurus.

The icing on the cake is my pinky nail: LaCC 1976 topped with two coats of the appropriately-named glitter topper LacAttack Bunny Poop (swatches & review coming soon.)  All nails are finished with one coat of LaCC 2013 top coat, followed by one coat of Seche Vite for a glassy look.  :)

You can find Le Bunny Bleu on Facebook and order from their online store.  They have lots of adorable shoes, I've especially got my eye on some of the oxfords!  You can enter the Le Bunny Bleu nail art contest here until Friday, June 7th.  Get working on those manis, and stay tuned for two more nail art looks!  ;)

Foil Gradient with Liquid Palisade

Hi!  Today I've got a super cool product to show you; it's called Liquid Palisade, and the premise that it basically acts as painter's tape for your nails!

Liquid Palisade comes in a lip-gloss-sized tube with a small brush.  You paint it on as a liquid, and it quickly dries to a rubbery-latex film that you simply peel off after painting for a speedy clean-up!   

I have actually used this product a few times already, mostly for gradients (like the one in Friday's post) since I love them, but hate the cleanup!  When Sarah from Chalkboard Nails posted this gorgeous foil gradient last week and mentioned the tedious clean-up, I knew that would be the perfect test for this!  

I started with a base of OPI A Woman's Prague-ative, which you can see swatched here.  I then painted the liquid palisade around my nails and let it dry, covering quite a large surface since gradients tend to make a huge mess.  After sponging on my gradient with Zoya Ziv, I peeled off the liquid palisade with a pair of tweezers.  I finished the clean-up with some acetone and a makeup brush, as per usual, but the small amount that I had to do was nowhere near as much as I would have had to clean up, had I not used the liquid palisade! 

There are other uses for liquid palisade too, a few of which you can see in Wacky Laki's post here.  I'm interested to see how it works with watermarbling; imagine how awesome it would be if this worked!!  

Liquid Palisade currently retails here for $22/bottle; it may seem pricey, but one bottle contains enough product for over 50 manicures.   

Honestly, my only problem with this product is that the bottle is super tall and skinny, making it very unstable; I felt like I was going to knock it over every time I dipped the brush in.  Uh-oh!  Luckily there were no casualties, so you'll definitely be hearing about this again from me!   What is your impression of liquid palisade?  Have you tried it yet?  If not, do you plan to?  :)

Disclaimer: The products in this post were sent to me for review and my honest opinion.

Spring Cartoon Skittlette

I recently got some super cute nail wraps from the Born Pretty Store in the mail;  I had forgotten that I'd ordered them (shipping from China can take a while) so it was a lovely surprise!  

When I saw them, I just had to do a skittlette mani centered around them!  Here's what I came up with...  

Excuse the awkward claw, but I had to show all five fingers in one photo!  This whole look was just too adorable, and one of my favourites in a long time!  

The water decals can be found here, I used pattern #16.  I applied the decals over OPI My Vampire Is Buff, since they aren't quite opaque alone.  They're topped off with some Seche Vite for a lovely smooth finish! 

My index finger is a gradient of LaCC 1950 (darker pink) and 1957 (lighter pink); these colours blend so well together!  My pinky is LaCC 1968 with polka-dots in OPI My Vampire Is Buff. 

My thumb is a beautiful glitter gradient over LaCC 1968 with the stunning A England She Walks In Beauty.  Every time I pull this polish out, I find that I'd forgotten how absolutely breathtaking it is!  :)

Oops, I turned all the cute people-things upside-down.  

I really loved wearing this mani; I was so mad at myself for putting it on the day before a performance, because I really didn't want to take it off!  I got a lot of compliments while wearing it, and my sister ventured so far as to say that it was her favourite of all the nail art looks I've ever done!!  :P

What do you think of this skittlette look?  Are you as crazy about it as I am?  :)

Spotty Dottie Pink Gradient

I've finally been starting to get into wearing lighter polishes for spring.  I'm more of a rich and vampy polish person, but I forced myself to dip a toe outside my comfort zone and made this cute spring-y pink mani!

I started with three thin coats of LaCC 1957, the lighter pink.  Next, I sponged on a gradient in LaCC 1950, which I went over twice to get the second colour more saturated on the nail.  Finally, I added a thick sponged coat of All That Glitters Spotty Dottie Light, and topped it all with two coats of Seche Vite.  

This look is super easy to re-create, and there's so many possibilities with what colours you use for the gradient and which glitter topper to add!  Even though I'm not a pink-polish girl at all, I think this mani was pretty cute; I got a lot of compliments on it from my friends!  :)

Coffee Skittlette

If you missed my post earlier this morning, go enter my 1-Year Blogiversary Giveaway! 

Today's my first day back to regular school and dance after my trip to Europe and spring break; it's been really nice, but time to get back to regular life!  Today I've got some random skittlette nail art that I did sometime last week; I really like the nail art in neutral colours!  :)

My index finger is A England Jane Eyre with white acrylic paint.  My ring finger is black acrylic paint over Essie Gym Dandy, which I picked up last week while I was waiting for my mom in the dentist.  She was in there for over 2 hours and there's only so long one can sit in Starbucks alone, so buying nail polish was bound to happen. 

The rest of my nails are gradients with OPI Don't Touch My Tutu! and Essie Gym Dandy, with Born Pretty Store black rhinestones.  The whole look (especially the gradients) were looking very coffee-ish to me, so on my right thumb I did a watermarble with the same two polishes to look like the pretty foamy swirls you get in the top of your coffee!

I wasn't so sure about this look when I first did it, but it grew on me and I ended up wearing it for almost three days!  I was pretty sad when I had to take it off to swatch some stuff.  :P

Posting probably won't be quite a frequent for the next few months until the school year is over.  I'm graduating this year, so it's pretty important that I stay on top of my school work.  On top of that, we're charging head-first into rehearsals for multiple shows, and I've still got to try to keep up with the blogging!  I'll  still post as often as I can (hopefully at least 3-4 times per week); I hope you all understand!  :)