Going Nude with Pink Gellac Uncovered1 Collection

Press Sample

Hello Loves!  If you follow industry trends, you likely know that nude is in big time for fall.  Pink Gellac is right on target with their newest collection Undcovered1 which consists of 5 nudes.  I have to confess, this was a difficult collection for me to swatch.  Nudes are funny in that not all nudes look great on all skin tones.  As you'll see there are a few nudes in this collection that simply look horrible on me, but I promise they will be gorgeous on others.  :)  As always, this collection is available for purchase in the US via the Chickettes Boutique.  I failed slightly on timing with this one as Andrea is currently on vacation, but orders will ship when she returns on Sept. 1st.  They will also be available via Amazon at that time.  Enough about that, let's get to the swatches!

I'm going to start with the swatches that I feel are not a good match for my skin tone and end with my favorites.  First up is Elegant Taupe.  This deep Taupe cream appears to have purple undertones on me but is has more of a brown undertone in reality.  Application was a breeze and I found it to be opaque in two coats.

The next non-match for my skin tone is a gorgeous nude called Pure Cashmere.  Pure Cashmere is a taupe with lavender undertones, but there's more.  This polish has an amazing pink flash that I was unable to capture accurately.  The best glance at the flash is in the bottle shot.  You can see the shimmer in both photos, though.  Application was easy peasy and it is opaque in two coats.

Champagne is suitable for my skin tone, but my least favorite of the collection due to the frosty finish.  It is a beautiful polish, but I'm just not a huge fan of frosts.  This is a nude with a light pink tone.  I found it best with three coats, though you can still see brush strokes and VNL even after the third thin coat.

Vintage Nude may very well be the perfect nude for me.  This classic nude with pink undertones is flawless for my skin tone.  While it isn't a perfect match for a mannequin hand look, I like that there is a bit of contrast between my nail and my skin.  Application was smooth and I found that two coats provided just the right amount of coverage.

Finally, my favorite polish from the collection is Classic Pearl.  Classic pearl is a soft, sheer nude with pink undertones and a pink/purple pearlescent flash.  I think I'll call it nude with pizzazz.  I swatched three coats here hoping for a more dramatic effect, but I really can't tell much difference between three and two.

I ended up wearing Classic Pearl for a few days with a little stamping.  For this look, I used a soft lilac stamping polish and two images from the newest lace plate from Messy Mansion - MM56.  The final result is a little spring-ish, I think.  Definitely not the right season for the Southern US, but I've never been one to follow the seasons.  lol

What do you think of the Pink Gellac Uncovered1 Collection?  If any of these polishes grab you, you can pick them up via the Chickettes Boutique here.  Speaking of nudes, are you in love with the nude trend?  Or are you more like me and gravitate toward color?  I'm curious to know your thoughts!

~Michelle

*The Pink Gellac Gel polishes featured in this post were provided by Chickettes for my honest review.  The Messy Mansion MM56 plate used in this post was provided by Messy Mansion for my honest review (full review coming soon).  All links within this post are courtesy links and do not benefit ManicTalons.com.

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Messy Mansion Review: Paisley, Flowers and...Dinosaurs! Oh My!

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Hello Loves!  I have three new stamping plates from Messy Mansion to show you today.  These are three of the newer plates, and they are fabulous!  They arrived with the kitty plate that I showed in a nail school update not to long ago.  Messy Mansion plates are some of my favorites for many reasons:  the images are large enough for longer nails (not that mine are long right now), they are etched beautifully, and the designs are amazing!  Ready to see some plates?

The first plate I have to show you is my personal favorite of the three - MM48 aka the Paisley Plate.

The designs on this plate are amazingly intricate, but not the same old blah paisley you can find from several other brands.  They are very unique.  Needless to say, I couldn't resist a little gradient stamping using two of the images from this plate.  And yes, I went with blue, pink and purple.  Cause, well, paisley screams girly to me.  :)

I also couldn't resist snapping a picture of the plate while I was working.  Have you ever seen such a beautiful mess? 

Here's another shot of my paisley mani.  The images picked up beautifully.  I wish I had thought to grab a shot of them on the stamper, but I was in my own happy little universe, just stamping away.  I especially love the image on the ring finger!  The image slid a little on a few nails, but that's my fault.  I used Mundo de Unas stamping polishes, and I find that those need to sit on the stamper a second or two longer to avoid smudging.

The next plate I have to show you is MM46 aka the Flowers Plate.  This one has some very unique floral images.

I decided to use the girl image in the upper left and the flowers in the center right for my mani.  I adore how it turned out with the bronze over the soft base, but it didn't photograph as well as I would have liked.  Seems I used this stamping polish in another plate review and had the same issue.  Of course, I forgot about that until I was trying to get pictures of this one.  Doh!

Here's a better shot that shows the finer details of the flowers.  The fine lines picked up with ease.

Since the light insisted on bouncing off of the girl, I took a close up shot of her.  My placement is a little off, but the detail in her face is perfect!  I added the flowers from the bottom left image to the side of the nail to balance it out.

Last but not least, I have the plate that made me the coolest Mom ever for a day!  MM47 aka the Dinosaur Plate.  This plate is loaded with dinosaur bones and outlines.  My oldest absolutely adores it (keeping in mind that he's 4 years old), and I think it's a pretty cool plate too.

I chose the fern image in the bottom left, the footprint in the top right, and the T-Rex skeleton for my mani.

The T-Rex is a little large for my current shorties, but I think he looks adorable peeking over the side of my nail.  Many of the fossil images would split nicely over two nails.  Here's a shot that has him right-side-up.  Yep, I'm racking up the mom points with this one.  :)

Which of these three plates is your favorite?  You can pick up your own at MessyMansion.com.au or via Amazon (direct Amazon links are above in each plate description).

~Michelle

*The stamping plates featured in this post were provided by Messy Mansion for my honest review.  This post uses Amazon Affiliate Links.  Purchases through these links generate commissions that help fund this site.  All other links are courtesy links and do not benefit ManicTalons.com

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The Nail School Chronicle: Weeks 18 and 19

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Hello Loves!  I apologize for the sudden absence last week, but I'm back with a two week update and a full blog schedule coming your way!  Now, let me see if I can remember everything that happened over the past two weeks.

Week 18 was the week before Easter.  Not much to write about from that week.  There was supposed to be a nail art contest on April 1st.  Note that date...April 1st...April Fools.  Yeah, Ms. Rhonda thought it would be cute to tell us to expect an Easter and April Fools themed nail art contest only to "fool" us with a pop quiz instead.  That was a sucker punch if I've ever seen one.  lol  Not going to lie...I was kind of relieved.  I've been burning the candle at both ends for so long now that I'm seriously lacking in the creativity department.

So, what else happened that week?  Well, Ms. Donna stopped by and asked me to do a polish change for her - a french polish change.  Oh, I should probably tell you that Ms. Donna is the Director of GCI.  Yeah, no pressure, right?  I'm not going to lie...if she had asked for a gel polish french I could have done some really impressive nails.  But polish?!?!?!  Do y'all have any idea how bad I suck with polish??????  You know that stuff actually dries on it's own, right?!?!?!?!?!  Yeah, so I kinda bombed on that one.  It was fun chatting with her and she's really nice, but this might be the worst french I've done in years.  *sigh*  Sorry for the blurry picture.  She's a busy lady and I was trying to snap a picture while someone else was pulling her away to handle something.

The rest of Week 18 ended in a major migraine and me missing two days of class.  Dang it, I have way too many health issues that are impacted by stress.  I always tell my mother that if she and my Daddy were dogs, they wouldn't have been allowed to breed.  Poor Mama.  I guess if you're not a dog person, that comment might not make a lot of sense...

Moving on to Easter, William's birthday, and food poisoning.  I admit, I'm a short cut mother.  My little one turned 2 last week, and we decided to combine his birthday celebration with Easter dinner.  We don't do large birthday parties for the kids - just small gatherings with family that usually include dinner and cake.  Since we were already planning to have Easter dinner with my family, we threw in a cake and called it a day.  He's two...it's not like he cared.  lol  It was a nice day.  Great to spend time with my family...until I ended up sick about an hour after dinner.  Food poisoning.  Three days worth of horrible food poisoning.  Sheesh.  I can't catch a freaking break.  I'm pretty sure it was the result of my lunch from that day and not my mother's wonderful cooking.  Thankfully Monday was a school holiday, so I only ended up missing two more days of class.  But, that put me even farther behind...which brings me to Week 19.

Week 19 kicked off half way over, but it started with a progress report.  Progress reports are issued monthly and tell us where we are and where we should be.  No biggie.  I knew I was about 80 hours behind.  But, y'all, where in the heck did the time go?  I'm 5 weeks away from my scheduled graduation date!  Sweet mother of manicures, there's no freaking way I can make up 80 hours in five weeks.  It's just not possible when Monday is the only day I can stay over due to Keith's schedule.  Crap!  It looks like I won't be graduating on schedule.  So I have a new goal - May 29th.  Two weeks late, but still not too bad.  Though 7 weeks still isn't a lot of time to get everything done.

But that's only part of my panic.  Making up the hours is going to be tight, but the credits are the biggest issue.  I think I mentioned it in the past, but GA has higher requirements than most states for Nail Technology training.  We have to get 620 hours (clock hours), but we also have to get a slew of credits.  The credits are stressing me beyond belief right now.  I've missed so much time throughout my journey and I've managed to keep from getting too awful far behind by making up hours along the way, but credits are a different story.  Some credits require live clients instead of the mannequin hand, and we don't take clients on Mondays - my only makeup day.  So, how dire is the situation?

Eh, it's not too bad...as long as you don't count those mani and pedi credits.  Yeah, my gut takes a dive every time I look at those numbers.  The acrylic sets don't bother me since I can knock those out on the hand.  Same with the fill-ins and wraps.  Advanced will happen between now and then (gel polish is considered advanced...as is nail art).  It's those mani and pedi credits!  Let's do the math...there are 28 client days between now and my new graduation goal.  I need 67 manicure credits and 41 pedicure credits.  Each mani counts for 1 credit.  Each pedi counts for 1 credit.  I'll need to average 2.5 pedicures and 1.5 manicures each day in order to make my credits by my goal.  Plus have time to finish up the rest of the credits too.  And clients are assigned by rotation through the seniors, so I might get two clients a day on average...yeah, I need a freaking miracle.  :(

And to add to my stress, we have completely reached the end of our budget.  I'm staying the course, but we're robbing Peter to pay Paul and Peter is starting to catch on.  Dang it, I WILL finish this.  I'm just not sure how I'll pull it off without having my car repossessed and an eviction notice from the mortgage company.  We should be hearing from Keith's attorney today about the settlement from his accident.  If you're the praying type, please pray that the insurance company came back with an offer we can work with.  I don't think we can make it another 30 days and it will take at least that if we have to counter. It's killing me to be this close to finished and so close to not making it at the same time.  I'm sorry to problem dump on everyone, but it's really stressing me out and taking a major toll on my health.  I know I haven't posted the link in a few weeks, but my GoFundMe is still active.  I was hoping the settlement stuff would work out in time so that I wouldn't have to share the link anymore, but yeah...let's just say things haven't gone according to plan so far.

So let's move on to happier topics, shall we?  How about "What's on Michelle's Nails Today" for $500?  I'm super loving my current mani.  Want to see it?

Ok, so I'm testing out RevelNail's New Acrylic Dip System (press sample).  It's similar to SNS nails and they launched with 65 color choices.  Pretty cool.  This is the first time I've used a dip system on my own nails, but I'm really liking it so far.  The pink is called "Michelle" and the mint green is "Clara".  I'll have a full review for you in a few weeks.  The kitties and paws are from the new Messy Mansion Kitty Plate (MM50) (press sample).  I freaking love this plate!  I completely spaced and forgot to snap a photo of the plate, so here's the preview image from Messy Mansion's site.  So many adorable kittens to choose from!  If you love cats, you NEED this plate.  Heck, even if you're a dog person like me, you still NEED this plate!  lol

Image Credit: www.messymansion.com.au

The kitties from MM50 also gave me the perfect mani for my adorable little kitty charms I picked up on Ebay.  Here's a cell phone shot that I snagged earlier today.  It shows the kitty charm a little better, I think.  Quality and color are off, though.

That's all for today.  Check back later in the week for some major swatch love!  I swatched just under 20 gel polishes this past weekend!

~Michelle

*The Acrylic Dip System featured in this post was provided by Revel Nail for my honest review.  A full review will be published at a later date.  Messy Mansion MM50 was provided by Messy Mansion for my honest review.  All product links within this post are courtesy links and do not benefit ManicTalons.com. 

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Sultry, Studded Mani with IBD Just Gel Scarlett Obsession

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Hello Loves. A few months ago, I received a package from a friend with this little beauty inside: IBD Just Gel Scarlett Obsession. This one has been on my wish list for a while, so it was a pleasant surprise! Thanks Sarah Jane!  I couldn't resist pairing it with a little bit of stamping and a few studs and crystals.

This mani was inspired by Kim's masterpieces at Ten Little Canvases, though it's no where near as creative as her designs!  She has inspired me so much with her stud and crystal placement manicures.

Scarlett Obsession is a gorgeous, dark, seductive red shimmer that positively glows from within. Application was quite nice. The polish is densely pigmented and is opaque in two-three coats.

I then stamped the ring finger with this incredible script image from the Messy Mansion Scriptorium Plate (MM 24) in Mundo de Unas Black.  For the center accent nail, I created the design with the small golf leaf studs and tiny round studs from In The Nail Room and an SS6 crystal from Ebay.  I added gold leaf studs to the other nails as well to tie it all together.  I'm having so much fun with these super small studs from In The Nail Room.  They're just so versatile!

Want to see a close up of the stud and crystal accent nail?  I'm really pleased with how this one turned out.  :)  Sadly, it is so shiny and blingy that it freaked out my camera.  I couldn't get a crisp shot because the camera kept trying to focus on the light reflections.

What do you think of Scarlett Obsession?  Is it your kind of color?

~Michelle

*This post uses Amazon, Ebay and In The Nail Room affiliate links.  Purchases through these links generate commissions that help fund this site.

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Peek-a-boo Lace with Messy Mansion MM44 and Couture Gel Polish

Press Sample Purchased by Me

Hello Loves!  I have another Messy Mansion plate to show you today - the Lace plate (MM44).  This plate caught my eye the first time Julia shared the design (before it was even produced), and I just knew I had to have it.  Julia offered to send it to me in my next blogger sample package, but I just couldn't wait to get my hands on it so I declined the offer and ordered it right away.  It came in the mail Saturday, and I am in love!

So, what made this plate a must have in mind?  Lace.  Glorious lace of every shape and size.  Seriously, I have been looking for a plate exactly like this since I first discovered stamping.  The detail is amazing!

Even more amazing is that every tiny line transfers beautifully.  No joke, I used 5 of the images from this plate in this manicure and every single one of them transferred on the first try without a single skip.  That is almost unheard of with such fine detail and one of the reasons I am so head over heels with Messy Mansion plates!  The quality is just outstanding.  The images used are the top left, top center, center, center right, and bottom.

Back to the mani.  I started with a base of Couture Skinny Dip.  This is my perfect nude cream.  Hello mannequin hands.

I then taped off sections of each nail with masking tape before stamping the images to prevent the black stamp from showing through the red.  The images are stamped in my go to black - Mundo de Unas.

I gave the stamps a little time to dry, then used a fine detail brush to fill in around them with two coats of Couture Fierce.  Fierce is your classic, pin-up red cream.

Finally, I finished the edges by outlining the stamped designs with a fine detail brush and Mundo de Unas Black.

I really like how this one turned out...for the most part.  I did send Julia at Messy Mansion a message on FB and suggested she include a disclaimer with the plate - something along the lines of "Warning, using this plate with black, nude and red may result in a manicure that crosses over into Dr. Frank N Furter territory from Rocky Horror Picture Show."  lol

I think it's the thumb design that screams Frank N Furter to me.  It's not quite as Rocky Horror if I omit the thumb from the shot.  I still love it either way, but I wasn't really going for the Rocky Horror vibe.  lol  But seriously, look at the detail in that lace!  Simply amazing. 

So, what do you think?  Rocky Horror or sexy peek-a-boo lace? 

~Michelle

*The Couture Polishes featured in this post were provided by Couture Gel Polish for my honest review.  All other products used, including the stamping plate, were purchased by me.

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Easter and Owls with Messy Mansion: MM36 and MM38 Review

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Hello Loves.  I have two new Messy Mansion plates to show you today: the Easter plate and the Owl plate.  I know it's a little late for Easter, but I do have a sweet little mani to show you using this plate that isn't very Eastery.  (Is that even a word?)  And the owl plate is pretty fabulous!

Let's start with the MM36, aka the Easter plate.  This plate consists of eggs and bunnies galore with a pretty amazing basket image to seal the deal.

I wanted to do a video on these, but I couldn't catch a moment when the boys were in bed to get it done, so I took photos of my first test stamps instead.  These are my very first attempts for various images on the plate.  I apologize for the glare in the upper left of each image.  I couldn't eliminate all of the reflections on the polish no matter how hard I tried.  The actual transfers in those areas are solid.

As you can see, I got a small skip in the nose of the bunny in the upper left image.  I did a second test outside of the light box and did not get the skip, so that is a user error.  I am very pleased with the basket image and the bunny faces.  Check out those eyes!  The egg image is a bit tricky.  I was able to get a transfer that I was happy with outside of my light box, but it did take a few tries.  With that said, I find this to be the case a lot of the time with fine detail images.  Overall, I love this plate and can't wait to use it for Easter next year!

So, how about that not-so-Easter mani I mentioned?

Ok, I guess it could be an Easter mani, but it doesn't have to be!  I stamped the basket image from MM36 in Mundo de Unas White over a base of Couture Private Jet (I'll share the swatch of Private Jet at the end of the post).  I then freehanded some messy roses on the tips with Couture Oui Madame, Ooh La La French, Oh So Glam and Aloe Very (swatched previously). 

Now for MM38, aka the Owl plate.  I am more than a little excited about this one!  So many adorable little owls to choose from!

As with the Easter plate, I took a few shots of my test stamps.

I am quite pleased with the detail on this plate.  As you can see, I did get a few skips in the first image (upper left), but I'm pretty sure those are user error as they were not duplicated on every nail in one of the manicures I have to show you.

You'll notice I didn't test stamp the two owls on the limb or the trees with the bird houses.  That's because I couldn't resist using them right away!  They're just so freaking adorable!

For this mani, I started with a base of Couture Center Stage (swatched below) and stamped with Mundo de Unas black.  I did have a little bit of trouble with the solid black portion below the larger bird house from the tree image (index finger), but as you can see on the thumb it was user error.  What can I say...my stamping skills aren't perfect.  :)

When I test stamped this plate, I realized I just couldn't complete this post without showing you those sleepy little owls stamped in white over a blue base.  Would this not be perfect for a baby shower?

For this one, I used Couture Naughty-Cal for the base and stamped with Mundo de Unas White.  Please note that the base color is not accurate in the photo above.

The Owl Plate (MM38) is currently sold out on the Messy Mansion website, but check back if you want it as she restocks regularly.  Also, follow Messy Mansion on facebook to be sure you don't miss the restock!  This is a very popular plate.  :)

I know I rave about my Messy Mansion plates a lot, but they really do deserve all of the love I give them.  They are high quality, I never have to stretch an image, and Julia's designs are fabulous!  Every time I think I have acquired all of the ones I can't live without, she comes out with a new design that blows me away and gets added to my "must have" list.  While they do ship from Australia, I have found that delivery times to the U.S. are usually quite fast for international shipping.  So far I have always received my plates within 5-10 days of ordering.  The customer service is impeccable as well!

The plates I have shown you today are press samples that were provided by Messy Mansion for my honest review, but I have purchased many as well and have never had an issue with delivery or quality.  I just placed an order for two more plates last week and am anxiously awaiting their arrival.  Now if she could just find a way to get her LeadLight Lacquers out of Australia and onto my nails, I would be in Heaven!

As promised, here are the swatches for the base colors I used in the manicures above.

Couture Center Stage is a burnt orange base that is loaded with golden shimmer.  I found this one very easy to apply - no streaks and opaque in two coats.  As usual, I swatched three just to be consistent.

Couture Private Jet is a delicate grey cream.  This one did require my usual three coats to be fully opaque.  Depending on how thin you apply each layer, you may find it to be opaque in two.

Finally, Couture Naughty-cal is a muted blue cream with lavender tones.  I swatched this one before but realized when I put it on again that I failed to shake it well before the previous swatch, thus resulting in an inaccurate color representation.  The photo below is accurate to the color of the gel when the pigments are properly distributed.

What do you think of the Messy Mansion Easter and Owl plates?  Do you need them?  Are there other Messy Mansion plates you can't wait to get your hands on?  I'm eagerly awaiting delivery of the Lace plate and the Scriptorium plate right now!  They should be here within the next week and I can't wait to show them to you.  Also, check back next week for swatches of Lily Anna 09 and the Messy Mansion Pirate plate!

~Michelle

*The stamping plates featured in this post were provided by Messy Mansion for my honest review.  The gel polishes swatched in this post were provided by Couture Gel Nail Polish for my honest review.

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