Simple Glitz and Tear Drops with Couture Gel Polish

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Hello Loves.  I have a simple mani to show you today that I absolutely adore!  Sometimes I get carried away with the art and forget that an accent nail and a few simple studs can create a very elegant look.

I started with a base of Couture Paparazzi.  Paparazzi is a deep, slightly frosty, dark pink.  I didn't think I would love this color when I opened the bottle, but I was wrong!  It is such a classic pink!  It also was a dream to apply.  Unlike many frosty finishes, I didn't have any issues with streaking.

The accent nail is Couture Strapless Gown.  Strapless Gown is your basic sliver glitter.  I'm very happy with the application on this one.  Like most of the Couture glitters, it is quite thick so there's no fishing for glitter.  It is mostly opaque in three coats.

I topped it off with a few small round studs and these awesome teardrop studs.  I have no clue where I picked these up - they've been in my nail art stash for years.  Crazy to think I'm just now getting around to using them!

Here's another shot of the final manicure.  So simple, but sometimes simple makes the boldest statements, don't you think?

~Michelle

*The polishes featured in this post were provided by Couture Gel Nail Polish for my honest review.

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Bright and Cheerful Flowers with Gelaze

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Hello Loves!  I was in the mood for something bright and cheerful today, so I decided to revisit my current photography nemesis - Gelaze Flip Flop Fantasy.  I'm still not happy with the color accuracy on this one, but it is quite close and the final mani makes me smile!

I started with a base of Gelaze Flip Flop Fantasy.  This is a very bright, almost neon peachy-pink cream.  As noted above, this photo is not 100% color accurate, but it is as close as I can get in a light box.  It is much brighter in person.

I then sponged Gelaze Pool Party on the tips and topped the entire nail with a very thin coat of Gelaze Fairy Dust.  Sadly, the Fairy Dust blended the two colors even more and the gradient became super subtle.  I still like how it turned out, though.  I swatched Fairy Dust previously here.

Here's a swatch of Gelaze Pool Party.  Pool Party is a bright Pinkish Coral.  Sadly, this photo isn't 100% color accurate either.  These brights are nearly impossible to capture in my current setup.  This is as close as I could get it, but it is a bit more pink and much brighter in person.

I then broke out my acrylic paints again for the flowers.  I'm having a blast playing with acrylic paints and one stroke techniques.  While I still haven't mastered it, I'm tickled pink with the way these turned out.

If you have these two Gelaze colors, do these swatch photos look close to you?  I've swatched them at least a dozen times and just can't seem to get them right!

~Michelle

*This posts uses Amazon Affiliate Links.  Purchases through these links generation commissions that help fund this site.

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Thermal on Thermal with Gel II and Dance Legend

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Hello Loves.  I have a fun little mani to show you today that uses not one, but two thermal polishes!  Needless to say, with double the color change I had a little fun with this one and took a ton of photos, to the point my fingers were waterlogged by the end from forcing the color shift under my hot lights.  Details to follow as usual.

I started with a base of Gel II Reaction in Shark Bite.  I haven't shown you a Gel II polish yet, so I'll give my thoughts on application, wear and removal in a minute.  First, let me show you this gorgeous blue to purple thermal changing cream polish.  When warm, it is an awesome, bright blue.

As it cools, it starts to shift to a deep, royal purple.

When fully cold, the purple is just beautiful.  I really love the cold color in this one.  I love the blue too, but the purple!  See, stunning!  (excuse the water droplets)

So, what are my thoughts on Gel II?  I have a few of them and have worn them several times prior to starting this blog.  So I didn't do a wear test to show you, but I can certainly tell you enough to help you make an informed decision on this brand.  ;)

Gel II Color Selection:  They have a HUGE range of colors in both the regular gel line and the Reaction lines.  You can see them here.  Not to mention Gel II Rave, which is a really cool glow-in-the-dark topper.  I used Rave in this mani last Halloween.

Gel II Application:  The gel is thicker than a lot of brands, so getting a thin coat can be tricky.  I find warming the gel a bit before applying is key.  This particular color (Shark Bite) did give me a bit of shrinking at the tips on the first coat, but I haven't had that issue with any of the other colors I've personally tried.  Coverage is nice and it applies streak free.

Gel II Wear:  I couldn't be happier with the wear for Gel II.  Seriously, it wears like iron for me.  Very little if any tip wear after 2 weeks and the colors I have tried remain true as the day I applied them.

Gel II Removal:  This is where Gel II loses a ton of points in my book.  It is designed to be a base and color combo gel, meaning it doesn't require a base gel.  My advice to you - use one anyway.  Without a separate base gel, soak off is difficult.  I would almost even call it a nightmare.  If I recall correctly, it took over 40 minutes to soak off when I tried it without a base gel.  With that said, over a separate base gel it does remove faster, though it still takes longer than my usual soak off.  Also, breaking the seal of the top coat is huge with this one.  If you don't break the seal, you could be soaking off for an hour or more.

So, how does Gel II stack up on a scale of 1-5?

Color Selection:  5 Stars

Application: 4 Stars

Wear:  5 Stars

Removal: 1 Star

Total:  3.75 Stars

Ok, so back to the mani.  I then stamped over Shark Bite with Dance Legend Thermo 172.  I didn't think to swatch the Dance Legend for you before I applied the Gel II, but I did swatch it on a stick.  The shift on this one is subtle and was very hard to catch on the stick itself.  When warm, it is a nice, shimmery silver.  When cold, it shifts to a red-toned purple.

Here's another shot with the stamping.  This one is extremely hard to capture in a picture in the warm stage, and the subtle shift is even more subtle when stamped.

So let's take a look at the fully cold version.  You can see the purple tone of the stamping much better in this one.  My thumb also started to shift back before I could take the picture.  Turns out even with a handful of ice, thermals don't like to stay cold under 4 bright lights.

The lights were making this on shift around so quickly, I was able to stick my hand in ice water and then take a photo every 2 seconds to show you the shift in action.  How fun is that?!?!

Finally, the image I used for the stamping is from Betina 04.  Excuse the scratches.  This little plate has seen a lot of love!  It is the only Betina I own, but the quality is excellent and the images stamp perfectly every time.  The etching is a little deeper than some of my other plates, but I love that as it makes it easier to stamp with polishes that turn out less opaque with shallower plates.  You can get the Betina plates here (I highly recommend Google Translate for this one). 

So, what do you think?  Is too much thermal a good thing?  Also, if you know of any other thermal polishes that work well for stamping, I would love to hear about them!  I know that several of the Dance Legend polishes work very well - better than this one!  I plan to pick up a few more later on down the road but am open to suggestions for other brands too!

~Michelle

*This post uses Ebay affiliate links.  Purchases through these links general revenue that help support this site.

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Polish for Patrick - Linkup

Hello Loves!  Today’s post is more than my usual swatches and nail art.  Much, much more.  This post is for Patrick.

You may have heard of Patrick through various polish groups online, but I’ll tell you a little about him anyway.  Patrick is a 6 year old little boy in Ohio who likes to wear nail polish.  He says that it makes him feel good.  I can certainly relate to that!  Sadly, Patrick has been bullied by his classmates for his love of polish.  He has been teased and called names.  The teasing and bullying escalated to the point that the school administration stepped in.  I wish I could tell you that his school addressed the bullies, but the administrators instead decided to take a different approach.  They told Patrick he can no longer wear polish to school.

In chatting with Patrick’s mother, I was shocked!  The notion that polish is only for girls and the fact that school would side with the bullies just blows my mind.  I know quite a few strong men who enjoy nail polish.  Heck, it's not uncommon to see painted nails and toes in the Mixed Martial Arts community.  The guy who first came to mind is a local MMA fighter and coach from The Hardcore Gym in Athens GA.   I first met Shane McNew while I was working a fight night event a few years back.  I was signing in the fighters, and in walks this fellow in a pink shirt with pink hair and pink nails.  As a nail polish lover, Shane definitely caught my attention (he’s a heck of a nice guy to boot).  He went on to win his match that night with a rear naked choke in the first round.  I dare any bully to tell Shane that nail polish is just for girls!  Check Shane out on facebook for more photos of his rocking pink nails.

Photo courtesy of Michael Looney of Dawgs Nightlife.com

Patrick’s parents started a facebook group called Polish for Patrick with the goal of showing their young son that ANYONE can wear polish, not just girls!  I have joined the group and have been absolutely moved by the outpouring of support Patrick has received.  If you agree that no child should ever be made to feel inadequate for enjoying a little polish on his nails, please join the group and show your support.

I have also created a linkup here (see the end of this post).  Please feel free to add your links and share your photos with Patrick!  He enjoys seeing polish creations of all colors and types.  If you’re not a blogger, you can still join in.  More on that in a moment.

Onto the nails.  First, my oldest son wanted to show his support and chose the color of his favorite Ninja Turtle.  Bryant is wearing Crayola Blueberry Myrtille.  He loves that it smells like blueberries.  I apologize for the blurry photos.  It is extremely difficult to get a 4 year old boy to stay still for longer than 2.5 seconds.

My husband also joined in.  Keith is wearing Couture Gel Polish Aloe Very and Turning Heads.  His middle finger has a message for Patrick that is freehanded in Mundo de Unas black.

So, what am I wearing?  I started out the week with a simple black and white mani of Gelaze White on White stamped with Mundo de Unas black and the paisley pattern from Bundle Monster BM315.

After learning about Polish for Patrick and chatting with this mother, I updated my mani with some of Patrick’s favorite polish colors – pink and orange – using the LeadLight technique from Messy Mansion.  The pink is Couture Mardi Gras and the orange is Couture Stealing the Scene.  I love how these jelly finishes work with this technique!  I don't think I've swatched Stealing the Scene yet, but I'll be sure to share a swatch pic later on.

Finally, here’s the linkup/blog hop!  First, a few details:

• Anyone is welcome to join!  If your mani photo has a URL, you can link it!
• Remember, the purpose of this linkup is to show support for Patrick and his love of polish.  Please keep all entries suitable for viewing by a young child. 
• Link as many entries as you like!  Even older designs that you feel Patrick might enjoy seeing :)  After all, this is for Patrick! 
• Have fun! 
• If you have a blog and would like to share the linkup on your post, click here for the InLinkz code!

Here are the instructions for linking up.  Thank you to Alessandra of The Sparkle Queen for these awesome instructions, for permission to use the graphic, and for helping me set up this Blog Hop/Linkup!

An InLinkz Link-up

Thank you to everyone who joins the linkup or swings by Polish for Patrick on Facebook to show your support!

~Michelle

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Quilted Twin Nails with Traditional and Gel Polish

Hello Loves!  Today I have teamed up Jessica at Be Happy and Buy Polish for a quilted twin mani!  This was a super fun challenge for me since it's not a technique that is traditionally done in gel polish.

Jessica's quilted nails turned out fabulous, don't you think?  Be sure to check out her blog post to see more of her awesome mani!

Here's another pic of mine.  It was extremely difficult to capture the texture on the quilted nails.

To create this design, I started with a base of Couture Come On Barbie! (swatched previously here) and Couture Ooh La La French (swatched here).  I then created simple dot flowers on the white nails with Come On Barbie! and added leaves in Couture Spa Day (swatched here).  That was the easy part! 

The quilted nails were a challenge, and I'm not 100% happy with how they turned out.  The top coat flattened out the texture a bit more than I like.  I started with one coat of Couture Come On Barbie!  I then added a second coat and carved the lines for the quilt with a thin detailing brush.  Once the lines were finished, I cured the layer.  I then used the detail brush to add an additional layer of gel to the squares created by the lines, being careful not to allow to gel to spill into the carved lines.  I cured again and then added a very thin layer of top coat over the entire nail.

Carving is a fun technique for adding depth and texture to a design and is much easier for me than the dreaded striping tape! There are some great tutorials on youtube for this technique, but this tutorial by Johanna Agledal using Couture gel polish is my personal favorite.  Her instructions are extremely easy to follow.

Here's my standard closeup shot. You can see the texture of the quilted nail a little better on the thumb in this one.

Are you a fan of the quilted look?

~Michelle

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Purple One Stroke Flowers

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Hello Loves!  I'm super excited to show you my first successful attempt at one stroke flowers!  I've been fighting with this technique for months now and finally figured it out.  While I certainly need more practice, I'm pretty pleased with how this mani turned out.

I started with a base of Couture French Affair.  I swatched French Affair in this post if you would like to see it on it's own.  For this mani, I only used one coat for a softer shimmer.  After top coating and removing the tacky layer, I broke out my acrylic paint set and got to work.  While I'm sure there are better acrylic paints out there, I picked up a basic 12 color set and have been happy with it so far.

I sponged pink acrylic paint on the tips first.  Then I used the white and purple for the one stroke flower petals.  The leaves are a dark green with a lighter green layered over it for highlighting since I couldn't quite figure out the one stroke leaves.  Baby steps, right?  I finished by dabbing a little black in the centers of the flowers and added a few purple dots around the edges. 

I'm so excited to have finally produced a semi-decent one stroke flower, I even took a macro shot.  It doesn't look very smooth in macro, but I'm still tickled pink.

If you're reading this and have mastered one stroke nail art, I'm sure you're laughing at me right now.  Heck, I'm laughing at myself!  We'll all just laugh together.  I feel a little like a child who just figured out how to clap.  Such a simple accomplishment, but it completely made my day.  lol

As a side note, when using acrylic paints with gel polish, it is crucial that you wrap the tips really well with your base and top coats to fully seal the acrylic paint.  If you don't, water can penetrate the layers and turn the acrylic paint into a mushy mess.  It's a mani wrecker for sure.  I learned this lesson the hard way with my Great Pumpkin mani last Halloween.  I was heartbroken when it only lasted a few days.

Finally, here's the standard closeup. 

 
Have you mastered one stroke flowers?  Do you have any tips to share?  Can you recommend a good brush?  I feel like my brush is one of my biggest issues.

~Michelle

*This post uses Amazon Affiliate links.  Purchases through these links generate commissions that help support this blog.
 

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Lattice, Glitter and Dots - A Dreamy Combination

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Hello loves.  I absolutely love how today's mani turned out.  I can't really think of the words to describe it, so I'll let the pictures do the talking.  As usual, details to follow.

First things first, I apologize for the tip wear.  I finished this mani on Easter weekend and didn't have a chance to photograph it until a few days later.  With that said, on to the details.

I started with a base of Gelaze White on White (swatched previously here).

I then topped it with Gelish Silver Sand.  That's where things got tricky.  Sadly, when I opened the bottle to use it, the gel inside was partially cured.  I'm not sure how it happened, but I suspect the bottle is faulty.  I managed to save it just enough with gel polish thinner to use it for this manicure, but I had to toss it afterward.  Such a shame!  It's a beautiful topper and I have already ordered a replacement bottle.  Of course, in my frustration over the state of the gel, I didn't get to take a proper swatch picture.  This is one that you really need to see without the stamping obscuring the glitter, so I was really bummed that I didn't get to swatch it.  Thankfully, Andrea at Chickettes came to my rescue and agreed to let me borrow her gorgeous swatch.  :)  If you aren't already a reader of Chickettes, I strongly urge you to check it out.  Andrea's swatches are gorgeous and she has swatched the entire Gelish line to date!  Not to mention the numerous other brands she has featured.  Chickettes is a gel polish swatch mecca and her nail art is to die for.

This is Gelish Silver Sand .  It is a clear base with multiple sizes of iridescent glitters. Isn't it awesome!?!?!  It's the perfect topper for darks and lights, and I adore how it gives any polish that Indie feel.

I then stamped with Mundo de Unas Aqua using the lattice part of the image from Pueen 54.  This is one of the Buffet Series plates.  I seriously adore the style of these plates!  They are so easy to use without having to worry about stretching images or lining them up perfectly.  This has become my go-to set when I need to stamp quickly.

I decided it needed a little more color, so I then finished it off by filling in the holes in the pattern with dots of Mundo de Unas Pink.  I really couldn't be happier with the final result and received many compliments while wearing it.  My brother even grabbed my hand and asked how long it took me to paint "all those lines".  Bless his heart.  ;)

Here's the standard shot.  As you can see, the pink is a little more subtle when not side by side with the pink flowers I used for a prop in the first photo.  I think they were azaleas? 

Do you have the Pueen Buffet plates?  If so, do you love them as much as I do?

~Michelle

*This post uses Amazon Affiliate links.  Purchases through these links generate commissions that are used to support this site.

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More Fun Colors from Couture Gel Polish

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Hello Loves.  I have more Couture Gel Polish swatches to show you today.  I'm currently working on a large swatching project for Couture, so I have tons of swatches I have yet to share.  These are my favorites of the ones I have swatched most recently.  I love each of them for different reasons!

Cashmere is a medium, lilac cream.  Definitely not the color that comes to mind when I think of cashmere (I think soft grey), but beautiful none the less.  I really like the application on this one.  Like most Coutures, it is highly pigmented but applies smoothly with minimal streaking.

Mardi Gras is just awesome!  This shimmery purple toned pink has so much dimension it's almost impossible to appreciate from a photo.  The shimmer is a bit chunkier than your usual shimmer, which makes the it easily opaque in three coats despite the jelly base.

Million $ Tweet is a beautiful minty blue that is also packed with shimmer.  I didn't do a very good job of capturing it in this one though.  The highly pigmented base makes it completely opaque but tones down the shimmer a little.  If you click on the picture to view it a little larger, the shimmer is easier to see.

Sheer Beauty is an incredible coral polish with a golden shimmer and a pink shift.  This one completely surprised me!  I was expecting a sheer polish, not a shifter.  It is simply stunning in person.  It was also easy to apply without getting streaks that are so common with shifty polishes.

Trend Setter is another shifty polish.  This blue frost really stands out and gets attention.  I received so many complements when I wore it I actually lost count.  This one was a bit tricky to apply and avoid streaks due to the frosty finish, but a very thin third layer always does the trick.

Finally, Who's That Girl is another awesome shifty polish.  This is a soft, coppery nude frost with a golden shimmer.   Definitely a must have if you prefer muted colors but want a little excitement too.  Like Trend Setter, it was a little tricky to apply due to the frosty finish, but the same thin 3rd coat evened everything out nicely.

Which of these gorgeous shades is your favorite? 

~Michelle

*The polishes featured in this post were provided by Couture Gel Nail Polish for my honest review.

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Romantic Stripes and Roses with IBD Just Gel Polish

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Hello Loves.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend!  I have these sweet and romantic stripes and roses to show you today using IBD Just Gel Polish.  I love the feel of this one!  This is what I was going for with my last rose mani, but I clearly missed the mark before.  This is much better and I couldn't be happier with the end result.

For this mani, I started with a base of IBD Just Gel Juliet.  Juliet is a soft, blue toned pink cream that is just fabulous.  I almost didn't want to add the art on top!

I then added stripes with IBD Just Gel Carte Blanche from the Haute Frosts collection.  I have a swatch photo of Carte Blanche here.  The stripes aren't very straight, but I don't think it matters much with the roses on top.  I forgot to snap a picture of just the stripes.  Sorry about that!

The roses are dotted blobs of IBD Just Gel All Heart with Carte Blanche accents.  All Heart is one of the first IBDs I added to my collection, and I still love it.  The dark pink base with the blue flash to the shimmer is just incredible.  So much depth!

Finally, I added the leaves with a small brush using Couture Aloe Very.  This is the only non-IBD colors in the entire manicure.  Can you believe I don't own an IBD green?  I'll have to fix that soon!  If you know of an IBD Just Gel green that is a must have, please let me know in the comments!  Here's the standard closeup of the final mani.

What do you think of this style of nail art?  It is far from original, but I just love it!  It feels so soft and girly, which is a huge plus as the mother of two boys! ;)

~Michelle

*This post uses Amazon Affiliate Links.  Purchases made through these links provide financial support for this site.

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Happy Easter Everyone!

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Hello Loves.  This is my last post before Easter, so I thought I would show you my official Easter mani for 2014.  Believe it or not, this is also my first ever skittle!  Crazy, right?

There is a lot going on with this one!  I started with a skittle base using Couture Gel Nail Polish.  The colors from left to right are Couture Spring Fling, Couture Come On Barbie!, Couture Glam Squad, Couture Big Spender, and Couture Tres Chic.  The colors are slightly off due to the art, but each of the names above will link to the previous posts with swatch pictures.  The only one I haven't shown you before is Spring Fling, but no worries.  I have a swatch to share of that one too.

Spring Fling is a beautiful bright blue cream.  It is very similar to Couture Milano but without the shimmer.  As you can see, it was the perfect color to use in my Easter skittle.

Onto the Art:  I used a small dotting tool and Couture Ooh La La French to add the dots to the thumb and middle nails.  The chevrons on the index and pinkie nails are stamped in Mundo de Unas White using the chevron image from Bundle Monster 201.

Here's another shot of the complete mani where you can see the bunny a little better. 

The bunny image is from Bundle Monster 302, and it is stamped in Mundo de Unas Pink, Pastel Yellow and Green.  I applied all three stamping polishes to parts of the image at the same time.  I then carefully scraped and the result is this cute, multi color stamp.  The green did mix into the pink just a tad at the bottom of the image, but it was easy enough to touch up with the pink and a dotting tool.  I then used a dotting tool to fill in the open flower area in the stamp with Spring Fling and Tres Chic.  The flower turned out a little wonky, but that's ok with me.  Flowers are rarely perfect in nature anyway.  ;)

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!  I'm looking forward to hunting Easter Eggs and watching my boys light up as they go through their baskets this year.  Such joy for the little ones.  This will be my youngest son's first chocolate bunny experience, and you can bet my camera and I will be ready!

If you don't celebrate, I hope you have a wonderful weekend as well!

~Michelle

*The gel polishes used in the post were supplied by Couture Gel Nail Polish for my honest review.  All other products were purchased by me.  This post uses Amazon Affiliate links.  All non-Amazon links are not affiliate links and I receive no compensation for purchases through them.

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