Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Hot damn! Thermals!

So it seems the latest, hottest trend in polish right now is a thermal polish. In case you're wondering a thermal polish is one that changes colors when it's warm and cold. Almost like a mood ring for your nails!  
I recently got my hands on two thermals that I had been lusting over, Polish Addict's Alter Ego and Bellskandi 1961. 


This is Polish Addicts Alter Ego. It's a beautiful holo nude/gold color that turns slightly darker when cold.  It's so incredibly holo and pretty, it doesn't need the thermal. But the color change is so fun!!  This is two coats with one coat of top coat. As always her formulas are a dream to put on, it goes on smooth and covers great. I hope Laura makes some more thermals in the future!

The second is the latest in my collection. Bellskandi 1961 
This is definitely a more noticeable color change. It's an almost neon mint green jelly. When it's warm it's white, and changes to green when cold. This is three coats with no undies and a top coat. If you'd like, you can use a white undie, since the jelly is sheer. It does take a few coats to build but it's worth it!!  The application is wonderful. It's a nice thick (not too thick, but not runny) formula that seems to stay put!  No dragging or running. 
 I have been after this polish for about a month now and I thought I missed the restock because it was sold out 4 minutes after she listed it!  But she had a second restock later that night and I rushed out of the gym to order it in time!  I also got a matching ring with my order for being one of the first five orders. 
Since discovering thermals, suddenly daily chores are more fun!  You can watch your polish change colors when you're doing dishes or laundry!  I find myself doing more of those two with a thermal on, and enjoying it!

I'll leave you with a few more pictures of the two polishes. As always, Polish Addict can be found at 
http://shoppolishaddict.bigcartel.com/

And Bellskandi can be found at Bellskandi.com

Happy shopping ;)



Also, you may notice how much longer and nicer my nails have gotten lately. I was recently gifted essie grow faster. And it works!  Well!  And quick!  So check that out if you're looking for quick growth. 

~Kat

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

My first polish swap!


I've said it before; the Instagram nail community is amazeballs!!  I've met so many outstanding nail fanatics and polish makers. And recently one polish addict posted about a semi annual event they have...polish swaps. 
Almost like a secret Santa, but obviously not at Christmas, you put your name in the "hat" and you are matched up with someone in your same price range. Of course, the person you have does not have you. You don't know who is sending you your package. 
Who doesn't love surprises? Nail polish surprises especially! So I signed up as soon as I saw the post. I told her what I liked and disliked, and a lucky lady was given my name to purchase for. The boxes are supposed to be for the Fourth of July, but I got lucky. My partner was going out of town and wanted to make sure I would get it on time. 
I arrived home yesterday to my swap package in all it's glory!! What a happy ending to a typical Monday!! 

 
Is this not the most uh-mazing box ever?!  Look at all those China Glaze! Those Essie treatments!  And a really interesting, unique looking indie polish. It's  Fuse Polish's Zombie Snot, a clear polish with tiny black circles and neon green hexes!!  
Sorry the Fuse isn't swatched on my own nail, I haven't had time yet to play around with it. I didn't want to leave you hanging, so I grabbed a quick swatch on my sticks. 

The China Glaze from left to right are White on White, Frostbite, Flying Dragon, Pool Party, Sun Worshipper, I'm With the Lifeguard, and Celtic Sun. 

I've swatched a few of the China Glaze for you, and have pictures. 



I used white under the orange and yellow polish, since they are really thin and sheer. They also dry matte, but since they are so thin, they needed a top coat to even them all out. 

 
These are the perfect colors for summer. I already have tons of summer mani ideas. Like sunsets, and neon gradients, and rainbows, etc. 

I have my package ready to go out Friday morning!  I can't wait for my partner to get her package and see what she thinks of it!!  

~Kat 

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Cheery Cherries

First off, hello to my new followers!!  Welcome welcome.

I haven't been doing a TON of nail art lately, just boring nails; lots of swatching those I have never tried. But tonight, I did some nail art. Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures as I was going, so I don't really have tutorial for you.  But I can try to explain as I go.

I find so many inspirations on Instagram these days, and a few days ago I saw a super cute pale blue mani with cherries that I wanted to try out.  Now mine isn't exactly like the one I saw; I put my own spin on it, and I'm not yet as talented.

First of all, excuse my cuticles.  What a mess.  I've been doing a lot of cleaning the last few days, and my cuticles have definitely suffered.

Second of all, here's what I did.  I started with two coats of Orly Gumdrop.  For the stripes, I used striping tape across the nail and painted two coats of Orly Jealous, Much?  Then removed the tape right away.  If the polish starts to dry at all, it will stick to the tape and the tape will remove polish with it.  For the dots, I don't have a dotting tool, and my make shift one had red on it from the cherries. So I just used the polish brush itself.  Just make sure it doesn't have too much polish on it.  For the cherries I used China Glaze Sexy Silhouette. I took all the cotton off one end of a cotton swab, and used that as a makeshift dotting tool.  For the stem (the one part I'm not super thrilled with) I just used the polish brush again.  It's too thick for what I had in mind, but not terrible.

For the most part I think they turned out really cute!!  I miss doing nail art, but I've been lacking inspiration lately.  One because I'm still learning, and two I don't have all the proper tools.  I really need to look into dotting tools and nail brushes, so I can do things the correct way.  But I have to stop buying polish for that!

I've got some indie polishes coming my way soon (think Polish AddictStardust Polish, and ellagee).  And as soon as they are in my hands I will have more swatches and reviews for you.  Hopefully some new nail art too!!

Good night Lovelies!!

~Kat