Review | Lemming Lacquer | Better Watch Out | Holiday 2015

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Today I have a wonderful review and swatches of a beautiful holiday collection for you all. When Cassie of Lemming Lacquer e-mailed me, I have to admit, that I didn't know much about her brand. I had seen some swatches around Instagram, but I wasn't very familiar with it. After looking into it and talking to a couple people I decided that it seemed like Lemming Lacquer would be a great fit on my blog so I accepted. Boy am I so glad I did. I absolutely love this collection.

Better Watch Out is a holiday collection with a twist. Cassie created a really well thought out collection inspired by the Winter Solstice and old Yuletide stories about dark creatures and sinister figures that came around if children misbehaved. I love this take on the holidays especially since I actually celebrate Yule in my home. I love how unique both the colors and the inspiration for these lacquers are.

Now for the photos? Are you ready? First up is one of my favorites (who am I kidding? I loved them all). This is Gryla.

 

Review | China Glaze | Fall 2015

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I hope I can make up a little for my long absence today with a HUGE post full of beautiful Fall China Glaze lacquers. The Great Outdoors collection has been out for a while, but if you don't already have them they are definitely worth picking up.

Fall is my favorite time of year and these colors really showcased the kinds of polish I love to wear when it starts getting cold.

First up is a beautiful polish called Sleeping Under The Stars.

 

Did you miss me?

Did you miss me?

I know I know, it has been an awfully long time. If you follow me on Instagram, you know I've been slightly more active over there, but... my blog fell to the wayside. I'm so sorry.

Life sometimes gets in the way of online life and when you're also dealing with personal issues, everything compounds. I do my best to be active here, but unfortunately sometimes my life gets to where I have to make myself the most important person. I've had some of those moments over the last few months and I had to make the decision to step away until I was able to come back.

If you've been following me for a while you know that I am not shy about the fact that I have major depression and anxiety disorder. I've been struggling with both lately and I had to make the decision that I was more important than my blog or my shop or whatever else was going on with my online life. I'm playing catch up now, but while I was away I came to an important decision.

This blog was started as somewhere I could share more about my nails and my art. It was somewhere that I could post reviews of colors I loved and post lots of photos of nail art I did. Somewhere along the way it stopped being my soapbox and became a place of stress and anxiety for me. My posts went from excited to business. I stopped doing nail art and spend countless hours painting my nails then taking it off and painting my nails then taking it off. It's gotten tiring.

Now don't get me wrong... I love polish and it is a big part of my life still. I don't mind taking a review job here and there, but it has to be a brand I love. It has to be a brand like Sweet Baby by Donna, Nvr Enuff Polish or Doctor Lacquer, where I really stand behind them and their brand. I don't want to get burnt out again, and for the most part, I'll be posting only on my Instagram. I'm going to be trying to get one post up here every other week to start, whether it is nail art or a review.

If you've gotten through all of this I commend you. I think I've been rambling for the most part. The bottom line is, I need to take a step back and not expect as much out of myself. I want this blog to be something I love again. If you have Instagram PLEASE go follow me there, because I am there much more often. (Also there are kitty photos.)

One last thing, I have a few reviews that have been mostly done for ages now, but haven't been posted. I'm going to start posting them the next couple days since they're so late, but I hope you enjoy.

Much Love,

Lex

31 Day Challenge | Green

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Day 4 of the 31 Day Challenge is Green! If you don't know what the 31 Day Nail Art Challenge is you can head over to the FAQ over at Chalkboard Nails. She does a great job explaining everything.

Also, make sure you're following along with the hashtag #31DC2015 on social media (especially Instagram) to see what everyone else is doing for the prompts.

I had the hardest time deciding on a design for green. I had about 5 ideas and I tried three of them before finally deciding to just start with a gradient and see what it inspired. It turns out that it reminded me of a background in a beautiful piece of jewelry I saw on Pinterest, so I decided to recreate something similar on my nails. I did a combo of freehand and stamping that I think captures it pretty well.

 

 I think it captures the essence of the piece very well! 

I started with a gradient using Black Luna Lacquer Cat Eyes and China Glaze The Grass Is Lime Greener. I loved this combo of greens and although it seems like my bottle of Cat Eyes doesn't really glow anymore, it couldn't be happier with how the gradient looks in the light.

31 Day Challenge | Yellow

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Day 3 of the 31 Day Challenge is Yellow! If you don't know what the 31 Day Nail Art Challenge is you can head over to the FAQ over at Chalkboard Nails. She does a great job explaining everything.

Also, make sure you're following along with the hashtag #31DC2015 on social media (especially Instagram) to see what everyone else is doing for the prompts.

Now, how about something softer for the yellow prompt? I had planned on a neon manicure for this prompt, but then I was looking through my plates and fell in love with this simple image with the triangles and I knew I needed something softer.

 

31 Day Challenge | Orange

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I'm back! I have my Orange nails for the 31 Day Challenge to share with you today. If you don't know what the 31 Day Nail Art Challenge is you can head over to the FAQ over at Chalkboard Nails. She does a great job explaining everything.

Also, make sure you're following along with the hashtag #31DC2015 on social media (especially Instagram) to see what everyone else is doing for the prompts.

Now, shall we get right into orange? I got the most exciting package in the mail Monday, it was my Uber Mat from Uber Chic Beauty!! (OMG Yay!!!) Well of course, I tried to do decals right away the first night I got it. I already had my red nails done, so I decided to try out some decals for this prompt. I failed... miserably. The decals were crunchy and thick, they wouldn't lie flat on my nails and it looked completely awful. So of course I went to my amazing friend Donna @workinggirlnails and she suggested some things. I tried again and this time I changed to a non fast-dry topcoat and I made them thinner. Success!

Wanna see? Of course you do, that is what you're here for right?

 

I had a really hard time coming up with something for orange since it isn't a color I wear a lot so I asked my girlfriend for help coming up with something. She suggested Tiger Lillies, and when I saw that I have a stamping plate with one on it I knew that would be perfect as an accent nail. 

31 Day Challenge | Red

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Am I crazy? Yes, I definitely am. I finally have some free time, so what do I do? I coerce my good friend Allison (@whimsicalicous on Instagram) to join me in killing ourselves via nail art for the next 31 days. Welcome to the 31 Day Challenge 2015!

If you don't know about the challenge, it is a 31 day nail art challenge with a different prompt for each day. You can see them below:

 

There are a bunch of ladies that do the challenge every year after finding it online ages ago and I have been trying to join in for years, but this is the first time I am completely dead set on it. If you are also doing the challenge (or it you want to, its not too late!!) and need some nail art templates, you can find challenge specific planning pages on my Downloads page! If you want more info on the challenge, please head over to Chalkboard Nails FAQ!

Today's prompt for the challenge is Red. I promised myself I would only post 1-2 photos of each manicure for this so I wouldn't have to edit tons of photos in addition to doing nail art every day, but of course this is just too pretty to only show a couple photos, that would just be silly, so you get 6 (haha)!

 

Loooooook at that red! *drools* That is, none other than Colors by Llarowe, The Mighty Red Baron, my all time favorite red polish. I need to pick up a backup bottle... or maybe two.

Nail Art | Inspired by Kirakiradoodles

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I have a special Birthday blog post for you today!

When my bestie Alix (@teoqeg) asked me to join in on a birthday collab for her partner in crime, Lynnae and I saw what her list of likes were I knew I had to do something inspired by Kirakiradoodles. I've been eyeing her instagram page for quite some time now and I've wanted to do an inspired by mani for a while.

I couldn't decide on just one design, so I went with a skittles kind of nail art for this mani. Happy Freaking Birthday Lynnae! I hope you love it!

 

 I started this nail art with a base of OPI Alpine Snow (white) on my index, middle and pinkie nails and a base of Essie Borrowed and Blue on my thumb and ring fingers. After I painted on the bases I added a fast dry topcoat to give me a smooth surface to paint on and to keep the polish under it safe in case I had to wash off any mistakes.

  

After the topcoat dried, I used a whole bunch of acrylic paints to add the designs I liked the best when going through @kirakiradoodles Instagram page. It was so hard to even choose these designs!!

 

After I was done painting, I added another layer of fast dry topcoat.

 

I love the little Golden Snitch on my thumb the best. <3 

 

Once everything was dry I finished it off with a thick coat of OPI Matte Top Coat so that it looked more like paper.

 

Overall I am sooooo super happy with these and I hope they last cause I want to wear them forever!

Lynnae, I hope your birthday is a blast and you have an awesome time with whatever you do!

For the rest of you, make sure you check out #misslynnaeturns27 on instagram to see all the other beautiful nail art for Lynnae (@misslynnae) today! And don't forget to go see all the beautiful polish Alix and Lynnae make at Nvr Enuff Polish

 

***All items in this post were purchased by me. Please see my disclosure page for more information.***

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Review & Nail Art | Chick Pick Polish Neon Pink

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So I was going to be posting the last matte in the Spring Fling line from Chick Pick Polish today, but then I realized I did the nail art for it without ever taking photos of the polish alone >.<

Instead, you are getting the first in the Chick Pick Polish neons collection. Neon Pink! Be warned, this color is BRIGHT. You should probably get your sunglasses... Ready?

 

Wow!! Neon Pink is a searing pink polish that leans more red on the nail than in the bottle.

 

I layered two coats of Neon Pink over a base of white for this look. My camera completely freaked out over this color.

 

I added some stamping and freehand nail art to this look using Born Pretty Store plate BP-10 and a black striping polish.

 

I stamped this design on with my squishy stamper and Cult Nails Nevermore and then added a matte topcoat before adding the freehand design.

 

For some reason the matte finish on this freaked out my camera even more than usual.

 

Even with the freaked out camera, I really love this look.

You can purchase the stamping plate from Born Pretty Store. Use my code AGBQ10 for 10% off your entire order. As always, Born Pretty Store provides free worldwide shipping on all orders! 

You can find this, the rest of the Neon Collection and more Chick Pick Polishes in their shop over here. Make sure to follow them on social media for news about new collections, sales and to see more swatches!

Shop | Instagram | Facebook

I hope everyone has a great evening!

 

***Chick Pick Polish Neon Pink was provided for my honest review. Born Pretty Store plate BP-10 was provided for my honest review. All other items were purchased by me. Please see my disclosure page for more information.***

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Nail Art | Gallifreyan

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In keeping with our piCture pOlish goes geeky theme, I have another geeky nail art complete with a new language stamped upon a piCture pOlish. Lets just get right into it shall we?

 

I started with a couple coats of piCture pOlish Instinct from my review post over here. I added a fast dry topcoat and let it mostly dry before moving on.

 

The polish is bright blue and my mind was already on geeky languages, so of course I reached for my Geek 05 plate again, and this time I used the Gallifreyan image.  

 

I used my squishy stamper and a deep metallic blue, Essie Aruba Blue to stamp on all 5 nails. Afterwards I added a coat of Seche Vite to seal it all in and make it shine.

 

Doooooweeeeeedoooooooo!

Essie Aruba Blue is available online in places like Amazon. 

You can purchase Instinct directly from piCture pOlish or from one of their International Stockists. Don't forget to follow on social media to keep up to date on new collections and the latest shades and swatches.

Shop | Every Day Deal | International Stockists | Facebook | Instagram

Happy Hump Day!

 

**piCture pOlish Instinct was provided for my honest review. All other tools and lacquers were purchased by me. Please see my disclosure page for more info.**

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Nail Art | Elvish Jade

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When I was swatching piCture pOlish Chillax, I loved it so much that I knew I wanted to pair it with a great glitter and do a nail art with it. I was thinking about all the glitters I have and the one that stood out to me is one of my favorite polishes of all time, Cult Nails Toxic Seaweed. Toxic Seaweed is a deep green glitter in a green jelly base with added copper flakies. The two polishes looked great together, and this is what I came up with!

 

I started with a base of Chillax on my thumb, index and middle fingers and Toxic Seaweed on my ring and pinkie. I chose a copper foil lacquer, Essie Penny, for the art and added two dots on the pinkie and ring fingers with a large dotting tool from Born Pretty Store.

 

I knew I wanted to stamp on the Chillax fingers, and my lovely girlfriend helped me choose the image plate. Of course, she chose something geeky. She loved this elvish image off of the Geek-05 Plate from MoYou London, and the pattern works really well with these earthy colors. I topped the whole look with a coat of Seche Vite to finish off the look.

 

You know where there are flakies, there must be matte topcoat, so I added a generous coat of OPI's matte topcoat to the look for the beautiful finish below.

 

I love how you can really see the copper flakies in Toxic Seaweed with the matte finish.

 

I really love this look and wore it until it started chipping.

Unfortunately Toxic Seaweed is no longer available as Cult Nails had closed its doors, however,  Essie Penny is available online in places like Amazon. 

You can purchase Chillax directly from piCture pOlish or from one of their International Stockists. Don't forget to follow on social media to keep up to date on new collections and the latest shades and swatches.

Shop | Every Day Deal | International Stockists | Facebook | Instagram

Happy Monday everyone!

 

**piCture pOlish Chillax was provided for my honest review. All other tools and lacquers were purchased by me. Please see my disclosure page for more info.**

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Nail Art | Black Fire

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It's been a while since I did any nail art just for me without an event or review or something else to go with it. When I got my package from Uber Chic Beauty last week I wanted to do some nail art right away and I've been doing stamping manicures ever since. I did a few to go with some review polishes I got, but as soon as I got a chance I did this simple stamping manicure just for me! 

 

Ooooooooh Ahhhhhhhh. >.< I absolutely love love love love how this came out. It was so easy to do and I love my new Uber Chic Beauty plates. This design was calling to me as soon as I opened the package.

 

I started out with a base of just one coat of Cult Nails Nevermore, my favorite black, which is unfortunately no longer available. Any black base will work for this, so use whichever one you prefer!

 

After my black polish dried, I used my new plate and a squishy marshmallow stamper to pick up the image and transfer it to my nail. The holo polish I used here is Color Club Cherubic, one of my all time favorite holos.

 

I added topcoat to finish the look and make everything sparkle and shine. I loved wearing this so much that I wore it for about three days (unheard of, I know.)

Have you tried out Uber Chic Beauty stamping plates? I love the ones I purchased and I am definitely going back for more when I can.

I hope you all have a wonderful Monday!

**All products in this post were purchased by me. Please see my disclosure page for more info.**

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Review | piCture pOlish

Provided for Review

I have some gorgeous piCture pOlish shades to share with you all. These are the other three lacquers I was sent to review along with Scandal and they do not disappoint. I'm going to start with my favorite of the three, Chillax.

 

Chillax is a beautiful jade green creme. It applied wonderfully, the formula was great. The color in photos shows a little more aqua than it actually is, so please keep that in mind. 

Picture Polish | Scandal

Provided for Review

When piCture pOlish asked me if I wanted to review some of their shades, of course I said YES! I have built up quite a little collection of piCture pOlish in the last few years between two blog fests and a few overseas swaps. I really love everything from them that I have, so I knew whatever they sent would be fabulous.

Well, I could not have been more correct and I have the first one to show you all today. Say hello to piCture pOlish Scandal!

Scandal is a deep purple toned burgundy polish with a ton of shimmer, scattered holo and just a hint of a blue/green color shift in the shimmer.

Chick Pick Polish | Blue So Fine and Let Me Violet You

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Today it is past time for more Chick Pick Polish goodness!

I've had these swatches done for a while but have been a bit behind in posting. These are from the same Spring Fling collection I reviewed here, here and here. All of these bright shades have a shimmery matte finish. It is really quite gorgeous.

First up is Blue So Fine.

Blue So Fine is a beautiful bright blue shimmer lacquer with a smooth matte finish.

Review and Nail Art | Jord Dover Series Wood Watch

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I have a very super special review AND a detailed nail art for you all today.

I have been seeing these beautiful Jord Wood Watches all over my Instagram page, and was even looking into getting one for my girlfriend for her birthday, so I was so excited when I heard from Dan at Jord and he was asking if I wanted to review one of their time pieces. Of course I said yes!

Dan asked if I would do some nail art to go with my post about the watch and well... how can I say no to nail art? I really had a lot of fun putting together this post for you all, so I hope you love it. First I'm just going to show you and talk about the watch a little bit.

I chose the Dover Series Zebrawood and Cream watch.

 

As you can see in the photo above, this beautiful timepiece came packaged just as beautifully. When I opened the package there was this great little wooden box and inside was a cute pillow with the watch around it. Even the tag on the watch with the Jord logo was made of wood, which was a great detail.

The first thing I noticed about this watch is how amazing it is to be able to see the gears moving inside. I am such a geek and I love little details like that. The majority of the band and the bezel around the face are made of Zebrawood and another darker wood. I really love the contrast between them. The face is open on both the front and the back, which is really unique and interesting.

 

When I chose the watch I wanted Jord gave me the option to size it before they shipped it. It was really easy using the tool they have on their site to print. I love how this watch sits on my wrist and will definitely be wearing it a lot.

 

I had so many ideas for nail art to go with my new Jord watch, but in the end I decided on something that really went hand and hand with just a little more bling.

 

I started out with the idea of doing something zebra print since the watch is made with Zebrawood. I looked in my collection and tried to match the base color as close as I could and ended up with OPI Love Angel Music Baby on my thumb and index fingers as the base for some acrylic paint zebra stripes. I also used this lacquer on my pinkie and hand painted the Jord logo using a chocolate brown acrylic paint.

 

 On my middle finger I started with a base of Pahlish Raggedy Man, Goodnight and then hand painted some numbers to represent the watch numbers using different shades of acrylic paint and a small brush.

I painted my ring finger with a couple coats of Ethereal Lacquer Macabre and then added a bunch of gears I had from a friend to it. I was so happy I had these watch gears to use in this mani, I think it really gave it a little something extra special.

 

I think this nail art and the Dover watch look great together! I'm so pleased with how they go hand in hand. 

Of course I couldn't help but add a coat of matte topcoat to see how that would look.

 

Bam!! I love this too!!

The matte version of this nail art is much more subtle but super super pretty and really shows off the details of the hand painted designs.

 

I also love how well this matte version matches the Dover timepiece. They look like they belong together.

 

What do you all think? Have you ever seen a wood watch before?

I am in love with this Jord Dover Zebrawood and Cream watch and I'll definitely be bookmarking the site for future use for gifts (ok and probably more for me too haha!)

You can find the entire line of Jord Wood Watches over at their website. Or you can go straight to the page with this particular watch over here! Don't forget to check out the Jord watch hashtag page to see other looks from customers and bloggers.

Thank you all for reading today! I have more for you for later in the week!

***The Jord Dover watch was provided for a previous review. All other products in this post were purchased by me. Please see my disclosure page for more information.***

Luxury Wooden Watch

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