Zoya PixieDust Nyx and Vespa and a PixieDust Recap

(**Press Sample**)

Hi loves and happy Friday!! 

  Today I am showing you my last PixieDust combo as well as recapping the other combinations I wore with these pretties. My final combination was a simple alternating color mani with Nyx and Vespa. Once again I was completely blown away by the wear on these polishes and how beautiful and sparkly they are.

 Zoya Nyx is a lovely Cornflower Blue texture packed with lovely Silver shimmer and glitter. This shade does best in Three easy coats. I also advice waiting a bit between coats to make sure the textured bits do not clump together. Vespa is a really delicate Sage green with that same beautiful Silver Sparkle. Both of these colors are really flattering and easy on the eyes. I wore these babies for about Five days and had very minimal chips.

 Now, Zoya has been, in a way, called out by their fans for going a little photoshop- happy with the Summer PixieDust promo pics. And I kinda get it lolol. I mean they were obviously re-touched with the cute added starry sparkles and whatnot... We know they are sparkly, faeries, there is no need to resort to over photoshopping. That would be like taking a picture of an already beautiful model and trying to shop her to make her "even prettier"... Generally it ends up taking away. So, I took a blurry pic to show just how sparkly these are. And the answer is: INTENSELY sparkly. The best part is that the sparkle seems to float over the textured surface and the "encrusted" sparkles give it this cool precious stone look. But no pic will ever do these true justice.. Just try one out. I promise, it will be LOVE at first try.

I won't go into detail about these combos since they have been previously shown. But I will go ahead and link the original post in case you have any questions. Below are London and Chyna. 

 And here are Dahlia and Godiva. 

 After trying all these, I am very giddy to try the new Summer PixieDusts. Zoya did an amazing job on these colors and the sparkly finish that they chose. I will be honest, I wanted to hate this textured trend... but I don't. I really am loving it a lot and I really like all the different takes from all the different companies. I have to say though, Zoya's are, by far, my favorite! From this group in particular I really adore Chyna, Godiva and  Vespa.
 I know I've said it a lot but the wear on these is AMAZING!!! These are also sheer enough that they can be layered over other colors, or eachother, to create really cool effects. I am really excited to see the vivid Summer shades. These are just AMAZING. They apply like a dream, they dry fast enough and are just beautiful. Textured nails have become my new weekend thing because I know they will always wear like iron and start lots of conversations :D.

 Do you have a favorite shade from this collection? And if so how did you rock your PixieDusts?

(**Press Sample**)

More about → Zoya PixieDust Nyx and Vespa and a PixieDust Recap

Updated OCC Power Plant Mani- Matte Angled French Tips

(**Some of the products featured in this post were provided for  review consideration**)

Good Morning!!

  This will be a quickie post. I feel like all I do these days is bitch about not feeling well, and I am really sorry about that. I have this "thing" where I feel like my body cannot keep up with my brain. There is SO much I want to/need to get done. I have so many ideas floating around in my brain, but I rarely have the energy to get up and DO IT. I hate it :(. I really try so hard not to dwell on my illness, but it has been wearing me down lately. I've never had these many bad weeks in a row. I know this is not permanent and I hope to be well someday soon. I will be heading to the Mayo Clinic in May so, Fingers crossed I'll come out with some more definite answers.  

 So this cool and simple look started with a base of OCC Power Plant. After a day of wearing Power Plant by itself I decided to layer Lac Attack's Hogwarts over it for some bling. I wore that for another day or so and I had some minimal tip wear going on, but was not ready to part with my mani yet... SO, I taped off some angled french tips and painted the exposed parts with Cult Nails Nevermore. To finalize my whole look and give it some edge, I added a coat of Twee & Honey This is mateness- matte top coat. 

 I'm hoping to be a little on track this week. I do have quite a lot of pictures ready to go, they are mainly makeup though. I know many of you are here for le nails, but LTHP LOOOOVES makeup too ♥. So, there might be a lot of makeup posts coming your way these coming days. Mainly because I don't have much "nail" material ready to go :(. But as I said above, I have SO many ideas, so many new things I want to try and tutorials I want to film. I just need my body to get with the program and stop rebelling against me.

XO

(**Some of the products featured in this post were provided for  review consideration**)

More about → Updated OCC Power Plant Mani- Matte Angled French Tips

Zoya PixieDust Godiva and Dahlia

Good morning lovelies!! 

  I'm sorry about the gaps between postings. I seem to be on a upswing and I've been really taking advantage of this surge of "good-feeling". I actually went out this weekend and had a good time with the husband. Yesterday I was catching up on a ton of emails, doing some swatches, working on a little project I'm pretty excited about and did not get a chance to work on a Muffin Monday. 

  But anywho... last Friday I finally got a chance to wear some of my Zoya PixieDust polishes. These are Zoya's take on the textured polish trend. I've decided to wear them in pairs since they compliment each other so well. For my first go I went with Godiva(nude) and Dahlia. 

 These both have amazing formulas and they apply easily and evenly. They are both somewhat sheer, but they build up very easily. For both of these shades I used Three average coats. With these polishes it is best to wait a few minutes between coats to avoid "the lumps". Both Godiva and Dahlia have a beautiful Silver sparkle that seems to float on the surface of the texture. These are beautifully executed by Zoya and the sparkle makes them so chic. These were fully dry (on me) within 45 minutes of application.

 The texture on these is not distracting to me, and I am a picker. More good news, there was absolutely zero snagging of clothing. The wear on these was amazing, I polished my nails with them on Friday and just took them off yesterday! I had minimal chips on the corners of my nails. To remove I placed small bits of cotton soaked in acetone on each fingernail for a few minutes, then slid them off while applying some pressure. This got about 90% of the polish off and the rest came off very easily.

  I really, REALLY like these and I am so excited for the Summer Pixies!! I can't wait to try the rest of the shades in this collection. I kinda wanna try some nail art with them. Not sure how, or what yet but I'm sure they will look awesome in some nail art. There is something delicate, yet edgy about these and that makes me love them even more! 

 Have you tried the PixieDust polishes yet? What are your thoughts?

**Zoya products provided for my honest review. For more information please see my disclosure policy**

More about → Zoya PixieDust Godiva and Dahlia

Cult Nails Fetish

It's Thursday, Thursday... 

  I really wish it was Friday, fryday... Today I want to shre the amazing Cult Nails Fetish. This polish was released earlier this year for Cult Nails Second Birthday. Maria did a small release of Three colors and this edgy beauty was one of them. 

 I was so floored when I started seeing sneaks of this wax-finish Black. For the longest time I had been dying for a solid, matte- creme Black. There are a few matte Blacks out there but most have some kind of shimmer, Fetish does not shimmer. But what I really love is that Fetish is BLACK, a lovely opaque Black. I absolutely love the finish on this shade. I was worried that the intensity of the Black would not hold up as the polish dried, but it did. These were some HAWT liquid latex nails! Many matte top coats (when layered over Black) and a few matte "Blacks" will dry to a dark Graphite shade instead of true Black. Fetish is just plain sexy!  

  The best thing about this polish is that fantastic Cult Nails formula we have come to expect. This polish applied very evenly and smoothly. The application of this shade is just like that of Nevermore. If you are in a rush this is an excellent polish because it is practically opaque in one coat... And HELLO that awesome and edgy finish!! It's just so cool that it is not fully matte or fully glossy.. Just perfect! I did Two coats when I wore my Fetish. I was also very impressed with dry time on this shade. It was fully dry and solid in about 30 minutes. I did not top coat this polish because I didn't want to alter the awesome finish it dries to on its own.

  I saw a recent sneak peek of Cult Nails upcoming shades and Maria is planning a Wax- finish Barbie Pink that I am SOOOOO excited about!!! After trying Fetish.... I want a WHOLE line of colors in this finish!! I think a Teal would be AWESOME!!!

What are your thoughts on this Wax finish?

(**CN products provided for review**)

More about → Cult Nails Fetish

Indie Mania!! Sindie POP! Lacquer- Holiday 2012 Collection

Hello and happy Friday!! 

  Today I have swatches of some beautiful polishes by indie brand Sindie Pop! When Jessica contacted me about reviewing some of her babies I jumped at the chance. I had been seeing so many of her creations and lusting after them pretty hard. There is something very playful and fun about Sindie Pop lacquers, and I just love them!

To see closeup photos of these pretties just continue reading ♥.

 A quick note: All of these swatches are shown with a top coat of Seche Vite to bring out shine and smooth out the surface. Since most of these are chunky glitters in shimmery bases they need a good top coat to smooth them out. 

Sindie POP! Mr. Duck 

 Mr.Duck is a beautiful, almost metallic, shimmering Blue base packed full of Small Gold and White hexes accented by larger Red hexes. I had never seen a glitter quite like this one. With indies we see a lot of creamy-based glitters, this was an unexpected change from that trend. I used Three thin coats of Mr. Duck for my swatch.

Sindie POP! White Gold 

 White Gold is a soft, Champagne Gold, shimmering base packed full of small Gold glitter and White hexes in varying sizes. I used Three thin coats for my swatch. This polish makes me thing of angelic things. There is something delicate and ethereal about this beauty, and that is SO my thing.

Sindie POP! A Black & White Christmas

 This was one of my faves! A B & W Christmas is a shimmering Silver base packed full of Gunmetal, Silver and Black glitter. I used Three thin coats for my swatch. Isn't this such a unique shade? I really love Sindie POP's use of shimmering bases and chunky glitters.

Sindie POP! Holo at Me! 

 Holo at Me is a saturated Black jelly base packed full of holographic dust. Sadly the Sun had already set by the time I made it around to this beauty so I couldn't get a good representation of the holographic shimmer. The formula on this pretty is great and does well in Two coats.

Sindie POP! Electric Purple 

 Electric Purple is a beautiful, light Purple shimmering base packed of Holo shimmer and Purple glitter. There is also the most beautiful Blue flash peaking from the Purple base. Electric Purple dries to a neat matte finish that is right on trend with the new Textures in polish. I used Three thin coats for my swatch.

Sindie POP! Sky Sparkle

 If I was going to get just ONE polish from Sindie POP it would be Sky Sparkle. This beauty is a light, light Blue shimmering creamy base. This polish is packed with Blue, Magenta and Silver glitters in varying sizes. I used Three thin, easy coats. I actually got to wear Sky Sparkle and I had it on my nails until it chipped off (which never happens anymore lol). One of my friends said my nails reminded him of Pop Tart icing :D.

Sindie POP Champagne Glitz over Bettina Camilla 

Champagne Glitz is a clear-based glitter bomb. The blend here is of Purple, Magenta and Gold hexes in varying sizes. For this swatch I layered over a light Purple to show the textures and range of colors. I only did one coat of glitter over my base. Champagne Glitz has a great glitter spread.

 And there you have the Holiday Collection by Sindie POP! I kinda feel like a tool for posting these so late :(:(. That said, aren't they awesome!!? I love the shimmer based glitter bombs. Do you have any Sindie POP shades? Which are your faves?

(**Sindie POP products provided for my consideration**)

 

More about → Indie Mania!! Sindie POP! Lacquer- Holiday 2012 Collection

Cirque Objet d'Art Collection Swatches: Part Two

Good morning and happy humpday!! 

  A total quick, random note: I've decided to take a hint from miss Sarah of Chalkboard Nails and created a dedictaed page for Press Releases and general beauty news. You can visit by clicking [HERE]. I have also created a tab at the top of this blog: "Press Releases" clicking on this tab will re-direct you to the press release page :D. This way those of you  interested in what is coming out don't miss out on the news. And those of you who are not don't have to worry about news cluttering up the pretty nail colors and art ♥. LTHP Press Releases is set up as a "blog" so you can subscribe as you would this one if you are interested in press releases and general beauty industry news. 

  SOO!!! Today I am sharing my swatches of the Second half of the Objet d'Art Collection by Cirque. You can see swatches of the first half of the collection [HERE]. I am so in love with every single polish in this portion I am sharing today. There is something about Cirque nail polishes that is just so classy, yet different and just plain beautiful.

 To see closeup swatches of these beauties just continue reading ♥.

Cirque Planet Caravan 

 Planet Caravan is a Blackened jelly base packed full of multichromatic glassflecks. The shimmer in this beauty is like burning embers and shift from Purple to Copper and Green. The formula on this beauty is easy to work with and does great in Two coats. Planet Caravan was one of my favorites from the entire collection.

Cirque Book of Shadows

 Book of Shadows is a very shimmery, Pewter foil. This shade is a little sheer but it builds up to opacity in Three coats.

Cirque for Mei Mei's Signatures Fleur est Belle

 This shade is a Mei Mei's Signatures exclusive. Fleur est Belle is a soft Pink, shimmery jelly base. Packed in the beautiful base are White and bright Gold Hexes as well as smaller light Green and Pink hexes and squares. Fleur est Belle is a real beauty. I love that even though it is quite chunky, there is something delicate, ethereal and feminine about it. The formula on this polish is a little tricky as it is so chunky. The good thing is that there is no fishing required, just slight manipulation of the pieces. I used Three thin coats for my swatch.

Cirque Cape Liz 

 Cape Liz is a muted, light Blue creme packed full of twinkling Pink, Silver and Blue glassfleck shimmer.  While this color is absolutely dreamy, the formula gave me so trouble. The issue I kept running into was some bad patchiness and dragging. I needed Four coats to get it to look even and fully opaque. At least the color payoff is worth the formula troubles.

Cirque Cypress 

 Cypress is a beautifully unique Copper holographic shade. The formula on this shade is a little sheer but buildable. I used Three thin coats for my swatch.

O.P.I Lonesome George 

  Lonesome George is an amazing Emerald Green holographic shade. I am pretty much in love with this beauty. The formula on this shade is fantastic. I used Three thin coats for full coverage.

 I have to say that I am just so impressed with Cirque's creations. I can't wait to see what else they have up their sleeves for 2013. My faves from this group would have to be Planet Caravan, Lonesome George and Fleur est Belle.

 The Objet d'Art Collection is available now from Cirque's shop as well as many other e-tailers. Do you have any favorites in this group?

(**Cirque Polishes provided for my consideration**)

More about → Cirque Objet d'Art Collection Swatches: Part Two

O.P.I Mariah Carey Collection Swatches

Good morning lovely people! 

  Today I am sharing my swatches of the O.P.I Mariah Carey Collection. This group is made up of Four "Liquid Sand" textured polishes and four "normal" shades. I've had my reservations about the liquid sand polishes from the second I heard they were coming out. I am happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised with the Liquid Sand shades and liked them even more than the four regular shades. 

 To see close up shots of the collection just continue reading ♥.

 I just wanna make a quick note on the actual texture of these polishes. They are not that gritty at all, they actually dry to a neat semi-matte finish. I am not as bothered by the texture as I thought I would be. 

O.P.I Get your Number Liquid Sand 

 Get your Number is a Blue based sand texture polish with lots of pretty prismatic Silver glitter. The glitter is less visible on the nail than it is in the bottle. This color also looks lighter on the nail that it does in the bottle. The formula on this shade is really easy to work with and spreads nicely. I only needed Two coats for full opacity.

O.P.I The Impossible  Liquid Sand 

 The Impossible is a Red based sand texture polish accented by Red Hex glitters and Red star shaped glitters. I think it's cute O.P.I named a polish after what it is like to get the stars on the nail... LOLOL.... I had a really hard time getting the TWO stars you see in my photos (and my bottle was upside-down for days!). Formula-wise this shade is very saturated and could almost be one coat.

O.P.I Stay the Night Liquid Sand 

 Stay the Night is a Black based sand texture polish accented by small Red glitter. This was the most sheer of the Four sand shades and needed Three coats. I can't say this is my favorite shade.. It reminds me a bit of scabs :-S.

O.P.I Can't let Go Liquid Sand 

 Can't let Go is a Grape Purple sand texture polish accented by Purple hex glitters. This was the least "interesting" of the sand polishes as it did not have much going on other than the "sand" texture. I used Two coats for my swatch.

O.P.I Sprung 

Sprung is a Rosey- Copper glassfleck laced with strong Pink shimmer. This polish is the love-baby of Pros & Bronze and Warm and Fozzie. This polish is pretty sheer and does best in Three coats.

O.P.I A Butterfly Moment 

 A Butterfly Moment is a pale Peach with strong Golden shimmer. While I am glad that this shade is not frosty, I still don't really know how to feel about it. Something feels very dated and tired about this shade and I cannot put my finger on it (or it on my fingers). ABM does best in Three thin coats.

O.P.I Pink Yet Lavender over O.P.I Anti-Bleak 

Pink yet Lavender is a "base" of small lavender Prismatic glitter accented by Piggy Pink hexes suspended in a clear base. This polish is pretty but it doesn't really make much of a statement. Also Pink yet lavender???? What? ...

O.P.I Anti-Bleak

 Anti-Bleak is a doppelganger for Casino Royale of the Skyfall Collection. This shade is a classic Plummy tone with some slight Berry undertones. Nice Two coat formula, nothing special.

  Overall, I am feeling conflicted about this collection. There is such a disconnect between the liquid sands and the regular shades. I can't honestly say I am impressed with these polishes as a collection. I am going to chuck it up to the weaker shades that do not compliment each other in anyway. The liquid sands are fun and different. They are still not my favorite nail polish innovation, but I dont hate them like I thought I would. I'm interested in seeing more unique shades in this sand texture. I am interested to see what removal of the textured polishes will be like as well as the wear.

What are your thoughts on this collection? Interested in the liquid sands?

(**OPI products provided for my consideration**)

More about → O.P.I Mariah Carey Collection Swatches

Never too Old to have Icing on the Cake... Or a Makeup Stash Video

Badum Tssss- See What I did there? lolol

  Anywho, tomorrow is my 26th Birthday!! Say what? Anywho, it seemed fitting to post these B-Day Collection polishes by Aphrodite Lacquers :D! As of this very second my nails are naked and still pretty nubby, but growing out nicely. I still have not decided what kind of mani I want to rock tomorrow but it will definitely be bright and fun! I'm thinking I might be celebrating in more Aphrodite Lacquers B-day Polishes. They are just so cute and some of them match my new hair colors (pictures coming soon). 

Aphrodite Lacquers Icing on the Cake over Sation Holiday Golightly 

 Icing on the Cake is a beautiful and delicate blend of Satiny White hexes in small varying sizes suspended in a light, micro shimmery base. I really love the snowy, ethereal effect Icing on the Cake created over my soft Aqua base. The glitter spread on this polish is fantastic. This pretty topper is definitely the icing on any manicure!

Aphrodite Lacquers Never too Old 

 Never too Old is a sheer Black jelly packed full of twinkling Violet-Pink- Blue multichrome shimmer. This shade is pretty sheer on its own so I had to build it up to achieve this look. I think I used Four thin coats of Never Too Old. That said the formula is actually even and easy to work with, just sheer. I kinda actually love how it looks in the photos, it has depth. This shade could also be layered over dark colors to create cool and different effects.

  ANNNDDD many of you had been requesting that I do a video about my makeup stash. So guess what?!! Videoooo yo yo! I can't thank you guys enough for all the amazing feedback on my You Tube channel. I am so excited to get going with tutorials and the continuation of the FAQ series. Very excited!

 Also here is a random vlog update!! 

I can't believe I'm turning 26 tomorrow!! Off I go to decide what to put on my nails for my 26th Birthday... I don't feel 26... What is 26 even supposed to feel like haha?! I guess that is a good thing right? Being young at heart (and hair lol).

(**Nail products provided for review**)

More about → Never too Old to have Icing on the Cake... Or a Makeup Stash Video

31 Day Challenge 2012! Day 30: Inspired by a Tutorial

Good morning and happy Friday!!

  

  Today I am catching up to Sammy!! The prompt for day 29 is to be inspired by a tutorial. I went with Sammy's very recent tutorial for her Fashion inspired nails. She was inspired by a beautiful Dior gown. The look is very simple but extremely elegant, and really depicts the inspiration perfectly. I knew I HAD to try this look the second I saw Sammy's post. I am so glad she did a tutorial, because it was the perfect excuse to give this look a whirl right MEOW!

 I used thin striping tape placed horizontally across my naked nails. I used my Cult Nails Nevermore. It is a perfect, One-coat, Black creme. After I pulled my tape strips off I waited a second for my polish to dry a bit and I top coated with Seche Vite.

 Don't forget to stop by Sam's to see her tutorial nails!

More about → 31 Day Challenge 2012! Day 30: Inspired by a Tutorial

31 Day Challenge 2012! Day 23: Inspired by a Movie

Happy Tuesday! 

  So today is a challenge day and the girls and I are all equally behind haha! Today was supposed to be "inspired by a book". We are all a day behind so I am posting my day 23 "Inspired by a Movie" nails. It took me forever to land on this look. And when it all was said and done it felt like a copout lol! I was just not feeling this challenge theme for some reason. 

 So I sat at my desk and Aphrodite Lacquers Never Too Old immediately jumped out at me. It reminded me of Toothless from the movie "How to Train your Dragon". So I went for a "Toothless" inspired look. These nails are inspired by his dark, color shifting scales. 

 For this look I started with Four coats of Aphrodite Lacquers in Never Too Old. I will have swatches of this polish soon. For the stamping I used Bundle Monster plate BM224, which is a cool reptilian looking print. The colors I used for the stamp are Nicole by O.P.I Mer-maid for Each other and Iris my Case.  I applied both colors diagonally across the stamp and scraped in the same direction for a multi-tonal stamp. I then went back and stamped over the metallic shades, using the same stamp, in Cult Nails Nevermore to give the look and extra scale-y look.

 I topped my whole look off with some Seche Vite to bring out shine and smooth the surface. I really like this look and in person the colors were much more noticeable. 

 Now to go ponder what book I will use as inspiration for the next challenge prompt. Now don't forget to stop by my challenge partners Rie and Sam's to see their looks soon! 

(**Products provided for review**)

More about → 31 Day Challenge 2012! Day 23: Inspired by a Movie

31 Day Challenge 2012! Day Eighteen: Half-Moons

Happy Caturday!! 

  And we are back on track! Today is day 18 of the challenge and that means Half Moons. These are the nails I wore to The Makeup Show last weekend and I got SO many compliments on 'em. This looks features all Cult Nails polishes and studs. 

  This look stared with Two coats of the amazing Annalicious. My camera really freaked out at this amazing shimmering shade of Tomato Red. I went for an edgy look with pointed half moons. For the pointy moons I used some scotch tape and Cult Nails Nevermore. I topped it all off with some Seche Vite then followed by Cult Nails Wicked Fast. 

 And here is the official look I wore for The Makeup Show. On my pinky is a Nail Veil by Chronicle Stones. These are a "love 'em or hate 'em" type of nail accessory. I absolutely LOVE them. They are so eye-catching and a nice touch for special occasions. I attached mine with a drop of nail glue and it held on all day long with no issues what so ever. Mine is the Pinky veil with a little dangly at the tip. I will have a post with more details about Nail Veils soon. 

  I really liked this look a whole lot and even more so that I actually got to wear it and my pinky Nail Veil. And I seriously cannot get enough of Annalicious. It is trully a spectacular color! Now don't forget to stop by my challenge partners Rie and Sam's to see their Half-moon looks for day 18!

(**Products provided for consideration**)

More about → 31 Day Challenge 2012! Day Eighteen: Half-Moons