Thursday, March 31, 2016

Paint All the Nails Presents: Pastel Geometric

Press Samples

Hello! It's that time of the month again, in which the bloggers that are in my Paint All the Nails group come together and link up with nail art. Previous posts can be found under this tag. The theme for this month is Pastel Geometric. 

Ever since I reviewed Paint Box Polish's Ciao, Gelato! Collection, I have had them sitting on my desk, waiting to be used in a nail art design and I thought they would be perfect to use for this prompt. Initially I thought of possibly doing stamped decals but I haven't had luck yet with that technique so I went another route and did this stamped marble instead. If you need a tutorial of how to do that, Emily of Very Emily has an awesome video of this in her Bundle Monster Mochi Stamper review


I started out with a blank white base, using Pretty Serious Absence. Then I applied about four strips of striping tape randomly crossed on my nail. Once that was done, I took a stamper and dabbed blobs of polish and then pressed the stamper onto my nail. The colors I used are Paint Box Polish Ananas, Fragola, Fruit de Bosco, Melone, Pistacchio, and Puffo. 


I really like the final result. The colors have a muted watercolor effect and the white lines are a nice soft contrast. I did have a bit of bubbling, which annoys me to no end but otherwise, this was an easy technique, if a little time consuming. 


Make sure to click on the links below to see all the other bloggers' posts, I love how pretty and springy everyone's nails look!



Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Fair Maiden Polish Spring 2016 Pack Your Bags: Travel Adventure Collection - Swatches and Review

Provided for Review
Hi everyone! I have a new collection from Fair Maiden Polish, The Spring 2016 Pack Your Bags: Travel Adventure Collection. The concept of this collection is to capture eight “bucket list” destinations from around the world in the essence of a polish. All together, this set consists of 16 polishes, specifically 8 cremes and 8 coordinating "effects" polishes. So you will see same names with either a (C) for creme or (E) for effects. This is a photo heavy post but I thought it best to keep everything in one blog review to help make your purchasing decisions a bit easier if you needed to refer back to my post. 

The Spring 2016 Pack Your Bags: Travel Adventure Collection will be available this Friday, April 1st  at 8 pm CST in Fair Maiden Polish's shop

Pricing wise, here is that info:

Full Size Bottles: Cremes: $8.50 each, full 8 piece set discounted to $60.00 Effects: range $9 to $10 each, full 8 piece set discounted to $70.00 
Mini Size Sets: (7.5 ml): Cremes: sold as sets only, $5 a piece retail - discounted to $36.00 Effects: sold as sets only, $6 a piece retail - discounted to $42.00

Weekend promo, April 1st-April 3rd: free shipping with purchase over (US) $100, Canada & Int'l: $10 off shipping (separate code will be released) code will be announced prior to launch. For more info, follow Fair Maiden's Facebook and/or Instagram for updates, as well as their Facebook group

Fair Maiden Polish Bisous (C)
Three coats
Pastel mint creme
Such a pretty mint delight, isn't it? You will be feeling all sorts of fresh with this on. I applied two coats and had a couple of patches, so I applied a third to get complete opacity.



Fair Maiden Polish Bisous (E) 
Two coats
Pastel mint crelly with pink, purple, blue, gold and red glitter in various shapes and sizes
The glitter in the base add a playful twist to the mint. Like a pastel party on your nails!



Fair Maiden Polish Fiesta...Siesta (C) 
Two coats
Golden yellow creme
This is a bit paler in person. It's such a cheery yellow though, and will brighten your mood when you apply. Formula was a bit tricky, I found that if I didn't dab the excess polish off of my brush, it flooded my cuticles. So when you apply, use thinner coats or dab off the excess from your brush before putting it to your nail. I applied it with that method and got coverage in two coats, which for a yellow, is really nice. 



Fair Maiden Polish Fiesta...Siesta (E)
Three coats
Yellow linear holographic with a lemony bright shimmer
At first glance this comes across as a gold holo but to me, it does look more like a golden yellow color. This is on the thin side, so you will likely need three coats. 



Fair Maiden Polish Good Eye Might (C)
Two coats
Medium turquoise creme
Just shy of dusky, this cool-toned loveliness is opaque in two coats.



Fair Maiden Polish Good Eye Might (E) 
Three coats
Medium turquoise holographic with sea-green sparkle and color shifting flakes
A deliciously aquatic turquoise. Three thinly applied coats for coverage. 



Fair Maiden Polish Moon Over Morocco (C)
Two coats
Medium orchid purple creme
Luscious, that was the first thought I had after I applied this. Exactly what I think of when I imagine orchids. Great formula, with two wonderfully self-leveling coats. 



Fair Maiden Polish Moon Over Morocco (E)
Two coats
 Medium orchid purple linear holographic with various holo pigments throughout
The holo bits! Gorgeous! Simple and easy application too. 



Fair Maiden Polish Pearl of Siberia (C) 
Two coats
Taupe hued gray creme
This one looks a bit warmer and duskier in the bottle but on my nail it looked like a cooler toned color. It may be just how it looks with my skin tone though. The formula has great consistency, so two coats will get you opaque coverage.




Fair Maiden Polish Pearl of Siberia (E)
Three coats
Taupe hued gray linear holographic sprinkled with iridescent glitter throughout
An beautiful and unusual gray holo, I have nothing like it in my collection. The iridescent glitter gives the color a pearl-like shimmer. The color itself was a bit less opaque, so three coats for coverage.



Fair Maiden Polish Rio Carnival (C)
Two coats
Dusty coral creme
A color that I think will appeal to a lot of people because coral is so versatile to wear. The creme formula was fantastic, it self-levels well and applies easily. 



Fair Maiden Polish Rio Carnival (E)
Two coats
Dusty coral linear holographic with red gold micro flake and sparks of holo pigment throughout
I love the pop of holo sparks that you see in the polish. The holo density is a bit more subtle and application was really nice. 



Fair Maiden Polish Sakura Blossom (C)
Two coats
soft pale pink creme
This is another of the lighter toned colors that I would recommend dabbing off the excess from your brush before applying. The color is totally reminiscent of pale pink Sakura Blossoms



Fair Maiden Polish Sakura Blossom (E) 
Two coats
Soft pale pink with rose pearl sparkle and color shifting chameleon flakes
The same pale pink as before but with the flakes and shimmer that add some extra pretty. 



Fair Maiden Polish Santorini Bikini (C) 
Two coats
Azure blue creme
Blue is a color I buy multiples of, especially this rich shade of blue. This is a just teeny bit lighter than my photo shows. 



Fair Maiden Polish Santorini Bikini (E)
Two coats 
Azure blue linear holographic with blue/orange color shifting shimmer
Bold blue in holo form this time! Yum. 



Here is a freehand floral look that I did with Rio Carnival (C), Sakura Blossom (C), Moon Over Morocco (C), and Good Eye Might (C) over a white base and gold dots accents.


LINKS!

Fair Maiden Polish:

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Chaos & Crocodiles The New Neighbors Mini Collection: Swatches and Review

Provided for Review
Hey all! I am excited to share with you some new polishes from Chaos & Crocodiles. These four polishes make up her upcoming The New Neighbors Mini Collection. Also included in this release is a new item, a enamel pin of Chaos the Crocodile, the Chaos & Crocodiles mascot, .

Look for the New Neighbors Mini Collection to be released this Saturday, April 2nd in Chaos & Crocodiles shop

Specific time will TBA, so follow Chaos & Crocodiles's Facebook or Instagram for that information. You can purchase the full set of four with the pin or each polish and pin separately. 

Did you know that maker Sarey creates and designs her branding and her mascots? They are each so cute and I always keep the extras that accompany my orders. Chaos, the little crocodile, is one that is on her logo and now you will be able to carry him along with you in the form of an enamel pin that you can attach to your favorite tote, lapel or for me, it will be on my name-tag. Just a little happiness to brighten your day. The color of Chaos' heart is the same magenta that is the very appropriately named Cuddles from Chaos, shown below. 


Chaos & Crocodiles Cuddles from Chaos
Two coats
Magenta/fuchsia creme with added holographic sparkle
Sweet as can be, with a saturated pink coloring. Application was lovely, two easy coats for coverage. In the sun, the holo flame is a lower density one but it warms the color and adds some sparkle. 

(artificial light)



(direct sun light)



Chaos & Crocodiles An Alpaca with a Plan
Two coats
Pale beige soft holographic
You guys are going to laugh at me but my favorite of all four polishes is this pretty beige polish. Yes I love bold pinks, but I love just as much cool toned neutrals. And this one is wonderful. I was expecting to need three with it's lighter coloring and was pleasantly surprised that it was opaque in two coats! Like Cuddles from Chaos, the holo flame is a lower density one. 

(artificial light)



(direct sun light)



Chaos & Crocodiles Whale Karaoke 
Two coats
Teal-leaning blue with four different shimmers and holographic pigment
Gorgeous teal blue shimmer in holo form. The shimmer in the polish give it a metallic or mirrored quality that I quite like. It was a bit thicker in formula than the previous two but this was not an issue with application. 

(artificial light)



(direct sun light)



Chaos & Crocodiles Pony in a Party Hat 
Two coats
Light purple super holographic polish
You purple polish lovers will want to snag this one. The coloring is somewhat between lavender and lilac to me, regardless, it sure is pretty. It has crazy bold linear holo flame that I absolutely could not stop staring at. Application was great, two coat and you're done. 

(artificial light)



(direct sun light)



I am trying to get my nail art on more so hopefully that means more nail art in my blog reviews. We shall see how long that goes lol. When I saw An Alpaca with a Plan and Cuddles from Chaos sitting next to each other on my desk, I thought they NEEDED to be worn together. A simple dotted pattern that is super easy to pull off, with An Alpaca with a Plan as the base, and Cuddles from Chaos dotted on with my trusty dotting tool. 


LINKS!

Chaos & Crocodiles: