Favorites: Green!

Hello!!

I'm back with my next installment of my favorites, this time with my favorite greens. :)

I've decided to abandon any sort of distinction between this year and last year, etc., and just pick my top greens, period, end of story, done and dusted. It's just too hard to not include a polish I'm excited about just because I only discovered it recently. And that's the cool thing about having your own blog...you can shift the rules as needed! :)

So, let's get to it, my favorite greens:


Barielle Date Night:

This is my favorite Christmas green shimmer. Not just for Christmas, of course, but that rich, wintery green that makes me think of forests and glens. If you'd like to see some nail art using this polish, click here to see my snowy trees. :)


Barielle Polished Princess

A slightly blurry picture to show the spray of holographic glitter throughout, while preserving the color This is the sort of goldenish-green that makes me think of lush meadows on a spring day. Ths shimmer and the splash of glitter make it interesting and eye-catching, without being over-the-top.


Butter London Wallis

Ah, Wallis...my very first lemming. This polish was a lemming of mine before I even knew the polish term 'lemming'. I waited and waited for it to go on sale at Ulta, and then still only got it as a special gift for myself, 6 months after I started my blog and polish obsession. It was worth every penny and every day I waited. This stunning golden-green-black-flecked polish is like no other that I've seen, and it makes me think of some magical mossy bog in the Highlands of Scotland (which may be nothing like reality, since I've never been to Scotland--but I want to believe it looks like this). The formula on this polish hates me, and I don't care. Not at all. I love it with all my heart.

China Glaze Tree Hugger

A limey-margarita-y sort of vibrant green, this is shimmery summer grass in a bottle. Not only is it pretty in its own right, it's magic for nail art and stamping, and for me, that's a really big deal. I dropped my original bottle of this polish and it hit the edge of my garbage can and smashed--and I almost cried, because I didn't know if I could replace it. Luckily, I was able to. And I will never judge anyone for having back-up bottles of polish, ever. Some risks you just can't take. Here is some nail art using Tree Hugger as a base. :)

InDecisive Nail Lacquer Lush: 

Lush is a richly pigmented Kelley green with a soft spray of teeny silver glitter. This polish is just so...lush. Seriously, not trying to be funny, it is. It's lush and luxurious and smooth and rich and intense. Among other things, I think it's the perfect Irish-y green, so of course I had to do some nail art with it for St. Patrick's Day.


Maya Hex

Mmm, olive green. Maybe I love this color because it's he same color my eyes are in mid-range outdoor light, flecks and all. Nah--I love it because it's just plain beautiful. It's one of those cases of a polish that takes what might be considered an 'ugly' color by some, and makes it beautiful and elegant. I love my olives, and I haven't found one I like better than this. It's a very vintage sort of color, which is why I used it for this art nouveau nail art. :)


Models Own Golden Green

This one was on the verge of not being included because I think of it as a duochrome, and wasn't sure if it should be included in that bunch. It does shift from a deep gold to a dark green, and so technically is a duochrome. I love the particular olivey-golden greens in it, though, and had to include it here. I used it as the base in this Renaissance Christmas manicure.


Nina Ultra Pro Mossy Britches

Another border-line duochrome, although it's hard to see in the photo. A forest-olive with hints of golden brown, it changes color if you layer it--it's a chameleon, even going to a red-brown at times. Here it is in one of my all-time favorite manicures.


Orly Coachella Dweller

This is a newcomer to my collection, having just been released this spring. A light, soft avocado green creme, it's pretty and soothing. To loosely quote a commercial you might know...I don't often do pastels, but when I do, I do Orly Coachella Dweller. Here it is with a little nail art. :)


Ruby White Tips Lonesome Pine

I'm not even quite sure how to describe this one...it's not a frost, but it looks a bit like a frosty feel to it. It's a unique darker avocado green with teeny holographic glitter throughout. It looks gorgeous in all lights and has enough shine to keep the eye dancing.


Zoya Irene

 Irene is a gorgeous forest green with rich wisps of copper throughout. This is one of those polishes I can't stop looking at when I wear it. If you don't have it and you love green polish--get it. You won't be sorry. Here it is with a copper glitter accent nail.


Zoya Gemma

Gemma was one of the first polishes I bought when I began my journey into polish obsession, and she still blows my mind when I look at her. Who thinks to take an olive drap polish and give it a soft blurple flash? Who does that? I don't know, but I hope they got a raise for it. This polish is otherworldly and ethereal. It's like a cool breeze wafting through sheer curtains on a summer day. It's fairies and mystical creatures but also aliens and butterflies, all wrapped up into one. And if you think I'm going off about it, I absolutely gush about it in my original post about it here, along with some of my first freehand on it. This is another must-have if you love greens, in my opinion.

So there they are, my favorite greens so far in my polish explorations! I hope you saw something you liked, and if you have a favorite that didn't make it on here, please let me know about it so I can check it out! Let's work together in this enabling thing. :)

Peace, love and polish. :)
M.

Before & After: Michelle's Shindig

Hello!!

It's week 2 of our stamping theme in my Nail Challenge Collaborative, so today I have some more stamping for you. :)

I started this manicure with one of my favorite reds, Maya For Michelle. It's a pretty red creme with a subtle shimmer of magenta:

Maya For Michelle, indirect sun

Maya For Michelle, indirect sun

Next, I put a coat of another beautiful Maya polish, Shindig; this is a glitter topper with silver squares, off-white squares that look like mother of pearl, along with tiny silver hair glitters and micro glitters:

Maya For Michelle + Shindig

Maya For Michelle + Shindig

Finally I stamped with Barry M Silver Foil using cheeky plate GA29:

Michelle's Shindig

To me this looks like a shower of confetti and streamers, like the sort you let go at a party or at New Year's. It has lots of movement and a lot going on, so probably not for everyday wear, although an accent stamp over the rest would be nice. :)

Thanks for stopping by! Please check out the other stamping manicures linked below. :)

Love,
M.

Favorites: My favorite reds from 2012

Hello there!

I'm starting a new feature where I post groups of polish that I love, by different categories. I'll be doing my favorites of different colors, my favorites from different brands, etc. I'd love feedback on what you'd like to see--for example, one of my readers sent me feedback in my recent giveaway that they'd like to see more orange polishes, so my next installment of this feature will be my favorite oranges from 2012. So let me know what you want to see, either in the comments or on the facebook page. :)

I'm starting out with my favorite color: Red.

First, let me explain what I mean by 'my favorite Xs from 2012'. Around February/March of last year, I discovered nail stamping. I started buying plates and polishes, and the more I explored, of course the more polishes I found that I loved. I went from having about 40 bottles of polish to about 700 since then...so I went from knowing very few of the many beautiful polishes out there, to discovering many more of them. So when I say 'from 2012', what I mean is not polishes that came out in 2012--I mean polishes that I discovered and/or blogged about in 2012. When I get toward the middle/end of 2013, I will be able to post just about 2013 polishes, but there are just too many beauties I've discovered in my first year of blogging for me to separate them out too much--I'd drive both you and myself crazy! :)

Okay, enough explanation. now for the polishes! Here are some of my top favorite red polishes that I discovered in 2012. They're in no particular order, because it would kill me to try to rank-order them!

Barielle's Elle's Spell:

Barielle Elle's Spell

Dark red with fire-like flakies...who could ask for anything more? I also have a Layla that I think may be a dupe for this, so I'll do a comparison post, as this one is half the price of the Layla. But no matter what, this is a stunner on its own, and it's beautiful for nail art, too. :)

China Glaze Adventure Red-Y

China Glaze Adventure Red-Y

In addition to being possible the world's most perfect Christmas red creme, this has turned out to be incredibly versatile for nail art and as underwear for glitters. An all-around great player. :)

Orly Grave Mistake

Orly Grave Mistake

Another red creme, but this time a darker, more vampy red. Perfect for when you want to feel a little extra sexy, or the perfect compliment for that black power suit. It makes a bold statement.

Orly Smolder

Orly Smolder

And now on to some shimmers. A second Orly, also a darker, more vampy red. Perfect for date night or  date night night, with lots of shiny, shimmery depth. Catches your eye and keeps it!

Zoya Elisa

This polish is so stunning, I forgot to clean up my cuticles. This is the shimmer version of the perfect Christmas red; it can be sexy but it can also play nicely with fun nail art for Christmas designs or other sorts of fun things. Seriously, look at the glowy-ness of that shimmer. Doesn't that just make your heart sing?? I bought this on an off-chance that I'd like it, almost didn't buy it, and I'm so glad I did. :)


Jade Vermelho Surreal

Jade Vermelho Surreal

Dark. Red. Holo. Nothing more needs to be said.


A'dor Beauty Supplies Tainted Love

A'dor Beauty Supplies Tainted Love

I just showed this a few days ago in some nail art, so wasn't sure if I should include it here. But the shade of red with those ember-like holographic glitters was just more than I could resist. It hypnotizes me and I love it...sigh.


InDecisive Sparkly Vampire

InDecisive Sparkly Vampire

Ah...a dark red jelly with sparkly black glitter to give it an extra kick of vamp. I feel sexy just holding this bottle of polish! It has that dark almost goth feel to it, but has amazing versatility. :)

Maya For Michelle

Maya For Michelle

And last but not least, a red creme with a shimmery magenta flash. I normally like my reds pure and reddy red red. But this just works somehow. Bold with a side of soft. :)

So there's my very first 'favorites' post...hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for checking it out.

Xoxox,
M.

Polish Days: Back To Nature

Hello!!

It's that time of month again, time for Polish Days! This month's theme is 'Back To Nature', and I took this opportunity to execute something I've been wanting to try for a while now, my version of a Monet-esque design on my nails.

I started off with a base of Maya It's Not Easy (every time I see that name, my brain adds on 'being green' lol). This is a pretty medium green with green and off-white glitters:

I wore this for a while on its own and I'm glad I did, because my nail art covered all of the pretty glitter, lol.

To give layered dimension, I stamped some daisies over the base color in Sally Hansen Lickety-Split Lime, and put yellow dots in the center with Sally Hansen Lightning. Then, using first the green, I saran-wrapped over the stamping, and then followed with a second layer of saran-wrap texture with the yellow:

Then I stamped over the background using Konad plate m57; first I stamped with Sinful Colors Dancing Nails, and then I stamped overlapping with Ana Hickman Escandalo!. Finally, I put dots in the center of the dark flowers using Julep Sienna:

I am in love with how this turned out, it reminds me of a beautiful impressionist garden scene. I love the play of texture and color, with little peeps of the underlying flowers showing through a tiny bit here and there. Hope you like it, too.

Thanks for looking, and please check out the other 'Back To Nature' manicures gathered together for this February Polish Day!

Xoxox,
M.

Before & After: Hot Chocolate

Hello!

This week's theme in the Let It Snow! challenge is 'Hot Chocolate'.

I decided I wanted to do my manicure to resemble the surface of the hot chocolate, if you're looking down into the mug. I love dark chocolate, so I started with a base of Orly Buried Alive:

Then, to add some mini-marshmallows into the chocolate, I put a coat of Maya Shindig (Indie alert!), a very pretty glitter topper with satin white and gold squares and hair glitter:

Finally, I wanted to add some wisps of steam coming off of the surface of the hot chocolate, so I stamped some swirlies with Konad White and Bundle Monster plate BM224:

What do you think? I think it's whimsical and fun. And it got me thinking that with different colors, this could make a cool party manicure or Mardi Gras manicure too...so you may see a redux of this before too long!

Thanks for looking, and please check out the other cocoa-licious manicures linked below. :)

Xoxox,
M.

Before & After: Simple Superbowl nails

Hello!!

Today I have a quick post, to show you the nails I wore to the superbowl party I attended. I'm going to keep it short because my team lost, so I'm pouting a bit...but I'm still proud I represented and I'm sure they'll go all the way next year!!

I started with a base of Maya For Michelle (Indie Alert!). You know I love red, and you know my name is Michelle, so how could I possibly NOT buy this polish? I didn't disappoint--it's a very earthy red, just different enough from anything else I have to make it worth it. Plus...there is a pretty pink shimmer to the finish when the light hits it:

In inside light, the pink doesn't show as much, and the first time I wore this polish, it struck me what a perfect polish it would be for a San Francisco 49ers manicure. I used some french-tip guides to add cool gold tips, using Barry M Gold Foil. Finally, I stamped a little helmet on the accent nail using Konad Black and Cheeky plate CH35:

Go Niners!

Don't worry, there's always next year!

I am so proud of those crisp lines, all due to some awesome tips from my readers! I did a tape mani a short time ago, and got some lines that were not straight. I asked if anyone had any tips for doing better, and I got two great ones that worked really well here:

1) Citygirl907 told me that I should try to make sure the edges of the tape/guides are pressed down really well so I don't get leakage. I pressed down very, very hard on this mani, lol.

2) Vwolf suggested I do a coat of topcoat before painting the tips. So I did. :)

3) Snookie Wegner told me to start with my brush on the tape/guide, and brush away from the tape/guide, down off of it across the nail. So I tried it that way.

I don't know if it was only one of these tricks that worked, or the combination of all three, but something definitely worked and I'll be doing all three of these from now on! So for any of you who struggle with this type of manicure, give these tricks a shot. If they can get zig-zags this nice, they can work for any sort of taped-off mani. :)

Thanks everyone for your help with the tips, and thanks for reading!

Xoxox,
M.

Before & After: L is for Lalique

Hello!!!

Are you ready for this week's installment of Llama Nails' alphabet challenge? This week we're on 'L', and I decided to use 'Lalique' as my 'L'.

To recreate the look of some of the beautiful pieces by Lalique, I chose retro colors and a swirly lacy design. :)

I started with Maya Hex (Indie Alert!!) for my base; this is a simple, understated polish that can be easily overlooked. It's an olive 'drab' with a gold undertone and gold flakies in it that give it just a little bit of flash:

Maya Hex

Maya Hex

Next, I stamped over it using China Glaze Passion, and Anna's  W217 plate. Then I put dots of Color Club Alter Ego on the swirls to give it an inlaid look, and on the accent nail put microbeads that I got from Born Pretty Store on the design (I told you I'm addicted to those mirco-beads!):

L is for Lalique...Art Nouveau goodness :)

Or, at least, my attempt at Art Nouveau goodness...:)

I can't say I'm completely in love with it--I do like it, but it's not quite what I was going for. Regardless, it does call up the sort of design that I think a woman would wear if nail art had been around at that time, to complement a beautiful Lalique necklace or pin!

If you want to pick up the micro-beads, I reviewed them yesterday, and you can get them at Born Pretty Store by clicking here; here is my 10% off code for your entire order:

Born Pretty Store

Thanks for taking a look, and please check out the other 'L' manicures, linked below. :)

Xoxox,
M.