Candy Conversation Hearts Tutorial

 The popular candy hearts image plate is back around! The first manicure I did like this (here) is well circulated on Pinterest and I often get questions on how to recreate it. So I'm visiting it again and I made sure to take pictures along the way to share with you.

Here are 2 different collage images that you can click on to enlarge and see each step, but I'll also outline it.

1. Base polish is China Glaze Agent Lavender, 2 coats.

2. Then I used the Nail Art Diva "From the Heart 1" image plate to stamp the various heart shapes. This plate is no longer available on Amazon, but here is a link to "From the Heart 2" which will give you a similar outcome. I used the following polishes: China Glaze Lemon Fizz, Spontaneous, Dance Baby, Re-fresh Mint, Color Club Get a Clue, & Essence Bad Girl.

3. As you can see it is difficult to get a solid heart to transfer. The outline is at least defined, so then I took a small nail art brush and filled in the hearts with polish.

4. I applied a coat of Seche Vite topcoat to thoroughly dry all of the layers, so that I could stamp again without smudging all of the hard work up to now.

5. Then I used Nail Art Diva Heartfelt Red to stamp the different quotes. I sort of like that the wording doesn't transfer perfectly clean.... Because the real conversation hearts are actually like that too!

6. Finished it off with a matte topcoat to give it the chalky appearance. I used Essie Matte About You.

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Recreated Pretty Polish

I simply had to recreate this look from the Nailasaurus. I thought it looked stunning! I prefer how it looks on her nails though, the accent nail of studs sits awkwardly on my nail. I think maybe my studs are too big compared to hers.

I didn't have the exact polishes she used, so I used Lime Crime Milky Ways & Essence Multidimension The One and Only. Both sized studs are from Born Pretty.

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Sunday Spam! International Edition

Been a while right?

  So today is supposed to be a challenge day but all Three of us are out of it lol. We will be back on Tuesday or at some point next week, we will definitely get back into it soon! I've had these swatches stashed away for EVER so I thought it was time to post them. All these polishes came from The Netherlands. Well all but one, which came from England. 

To see some Sunday spam continue reading!

Catrice Dirty Berry

 Dirty Berry is a beautiful dusty shade of light Lavender Purple with subtle holo lavender/holo shimmer. This polish has a fantastic, two-coat formula. This is a really popular polish and I understood why the second I put it on. This is BEAUTIFUL!!

Mavala Electric Green

 This is such an unique and beautiful shade. Electric Green is exactly that! A crazy bright, lime green with strong glowing Green shimmer. I don't have anything else like this polish in my collection. This polish has a great Two coat formula. I also love the bottle. It reminds me of old school polish bottles.

Essence Gold Fever over Nicole by O.P.I Mer-Maid for Each other (with matte top coat)

Gold Fever is a blend of micro Gold glitter accented by slightly larger Red particles. I really loved this combination and the texture of the finished matte mani.

MaxFactor Moon Dust over Zoya Monica

 Moon Dust is a dense color shifting topper. It's pretty cool, there is a dustiness to it that gives it a cool texture. This polish came from England.

Essence A Lovely Secret

 A Lovely Secret is a really pretty shade of Lilac Purple with this interesting Purple shimmer/texture and then a micro magenta flash that is barely there. I can't really describe it. I absolutely love this shade and it has a great formula. I used Two coats.

Essence Glamorous Life over Zoya Rehka

Glamorous LIfe is an awesome Berry based shimmer with great Pink flashes. When I wore it I decided to layer it over Zoya's Rehka to light up my Red base.

Essence I Want That!

 I Want That! is a great, girly shade of Pink with a subtle Pink shimmer in the creamy base. This shade has a great Two coat formula.

BeYu #147

 #147 didn't photograph quite right. This is one of those vivid neon Teal/Green/Blues. You guys know what I'm talking about right? Well anyways, this is a great shade and it has a great formula. It also make great underwear for Floam.

Thanks for stopping by for this Sunday Spam. I should have my challenge nails up tomorrow and be back on track by Tuesday. Thank you to Sharon and Joan for sending me these pretties!

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Quick Friday Swatches with Essence!

Happy Friday!!! 

  Today I have some quick swatches Three new Essence releases. You guys may have noticed that Essence's Colour & Go line just went though a little re-vamping. The bottles were re- designed to hold more product, the brushes were slightly rounded off, but remain flat and quite a few new colors were added to the line. I was a fan before and I am a fan still. I've still not made a trip to my Ulta to see if they have the new line available yet. I'm sure they have them and I can't wait to see some more of the new shades. 

 To see close-ups just continue reading ♥.

Essence Modern Romance

 This was such an unexpected favorite for me. Modern Romance is a pretty Peachy Pink with a very, very soft Pink shimmer. It turned out to be very flattering on my skin tone and a great color for a cake batter glitter sammi. The shimmer is more evident in the bottle than on the nail. The formula on this color requires a very patient and light hand as it could be a bit streaky. I managed to get it nice and even in Two coats but I've read  on some blogs it taking up to Three coats to even out.  

Essence Stuck on You

 This has been a favorite for many bloggers and I am no exception. Stuck on You is a classic shade of Navy creme with subtle Silver shimmer. This is a great shade for Fall. The formula on this sucker is dense. I could have done with just one coat of color, but I did Two for the photos. 

Essence Ultimate Pink

 Ultimate Pink is a really nice shade of bright... Pink :D. There is nothing particularly special about this shade but it is pretty and the formula is really nice and it does great on Two coats. This is a great color for those days when you are in a rush but want a nice looking mani as it goes on smoothly and quickly. Dry time is awesome on all of these! 

 Here is a shot of the old bottles vs. the new ones. Formula wise they are just as good as the old ones. I think the only thing that changed was the bottle, brush and some of the shades. I am still a HUGE fan of these.

That is all for today loves! I hope you guys have a wonderful weekend. Some of you have a Three day weekend right?! How great is that!! I think I'll either be heading to the beach!! I hope the weather remains as nice as it is today! 

(**Products provided for review**)

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Shimmery Skittles with Essence Polishes

Good Morning! 

  Sometimes I forget that I can wear more than one polish at once lol... See.. I was having this dilemma because my Dutch swap buddy Sharon sent me Five duo pens from Essence and I couldn't decide which one to wear first. There was also the part where I lined them all up and loved how all Ten colors looked together so I decided to go for shimmery skittles. 

 Skittle nails are such an easy way to brighten your day a little. For this I used all of the colors in my Essence Duo pens. Sharon sent some pens from the Season of Extremes Collection and the Colour3 Collection. I posted a picture of the duos below. I sponged the tips of my skittles with the corresponding shimmer to the base color.

Here are all the duo pens. The Colour3 Pen in Blue has a dupe for Nfu. OH 52 on one of the ends.

Here are al mu bases.

These were all Two easy coats of color.

That's it for today. Keeping short and sweet like my nubs :D which I will be growing out... Maybe... I can't decide.... 

Thanks for stopping by!

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Milani Jewel FX - Fuchsia

Milani recently released some new glitters in the Jewel FX line. Check your store's regular display. That's where I found these. They didn't set them out on a special display. So far I've worn this one. It was a pretty awesome glitter bomb.

This is 2 coats over Essence Dress To Party.

This is 2 coats on a swatch stick so you can see how opaque it is. Not quite on it's own unless you're willing to apply 4-5 thick glitter coats. The good news is that it spreads very easily and evenly. And Dress To Party was an almost perfect match to the color of the glitter. That perfection that falls between pink and purple. :)

 It was very blingy and eye catching!



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Chick Nail Polish Mermaid Inspired Mani

Good Morning and Happy Humpday!

  I was not in a Pink mood when I came home from work yesterday. Also, I've had this mani in my head for sometime and I felt like I had to do it NOW! I'm keeping things really short today because it is very late, I am very tired and I still need a shower... But these pics should really give you something to stare at... Mr. LTHP and I could not believe how amazing this turned out.

 I started with a base of Two coats of Chick NP Raven's Egg. I sponged the tips of my nails in Chick NP All A Twitter. To give the tips some sparkle and a little something extra I lightly sponged all over the Light Blue and somewhat into the Dark Blue with Finger Paints Sparkle TC. I stamped using Red Angel plate RA-111 and Essence Be Optimistic! This light Blue is amazing for stamping! I added some gemstone accents on my Ring Finger and Thumbs. This mani goes back to one of my first layered manis. Some of you may remember [THIS]? I freaking LOVE this!!

The gemstones came from Avon and they were a gift from my lovely M-I-L Cindy. Julie from CNP!! I hope you are reading!! I love this look soo much and your lovely colors inspired the whole thing. 

Thanks for stopping by!

(**Chick NP products provided for review**)

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Spam Sunday!! Total and Utter Randomness Edition

Hi loves!!

  For this edition of Sunday Spam I have some totally random swatches. The actual plan for Spam Sundays is to have some sort of Theme but for this first one there were a few colors I needed to swatch or wanted to re- swatch. Spam Sundays are really fun to work on so I'm really happy last Sunday's Post had such a positive response. 

  So like I said, this week is going to be a little bit all over the place but I hope you guys enjoy the spam non the less :D....

To see some swatch spam just keep on readin'

 I won't be going into a whole lot of detail about these since I've covered them before but I'll do some quick blurbs.

Borghese Stellare Note

Stellare Note is an amazing Blackened Teal with a slight Purple duochrome. It is very oilslick like in color shift and really beautiful and classy. It has a mysterious quality about it. Three coats, great formula.

Essie Pretty Edgy 

Yummy grassy Green creme/jelly or as Jen calls them "crellies". This is such a refreshing color. Two effortless coats.

Finger Paints Sparkle Top Coat

I picked this up on clearance not long ago and I am SO glad I got it. This is just beautiful It is like a less dense China Glaze White Cap but with a Pink to Purple shift instead of Green to Gold. Here I have it layered over Zoya Ki. This combination is just... WOW!

O.P.I Black Onyx

Black. Creme. Perfection

Zoya Ki

One of the most beautiful duochromes ever. Purple to Green to Blue... Just awesome. Three thin coats.

China Glaze Lighthouse

Really beautiful Golden Yellow glassfleck shimmer. here I have it layered over China Glaze Midnight Kiss for an added kick of color.

American Eagle Unnamed (90 Miles to Cuba)

This is a bit more Green in person. Beautiful color, horrific formula.. Do you see all those bald spots!!? I gave up at Three coats... White base next time...

Essence Everybody's Talking About 

Beautiful Coraly- Red with some Pink tones. It's an awesome Summer shade and it makes me go MMMMM! AMAZING formula, two coats.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed this Sunday Spam!

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Essence Planet Earth Splatter Mani

Hi hello and happy Caturday!!

  Today I have a totally awesome splatter mani. I haven't really been shy about my love of Essence Color and Go polishes. I really wish that the ENTIRE Essence line was available in the states. They release some really incredible stuff in Europe... I own some of that awesomeness thanks to the lovely Deborah but I just cannot get enough of these little polishes.... So, it had been a while since I busted out my Color & Go's and I was really wanting to play with some of these because I just love these little suckers. I have a really cool mix of colors and I always want to mix them in really contrasting ways... As such :D!

  So for this mani I started with alternating bases of Lime Up! and Underwater. Then I splattered with the alternating colors using a little coffee stirrer straw thingie. I love those because I can really aim at the nail and it makes it a little less messy and a lot faster for me. How cute is this combination?! It looks like pictures of Planet Earth from Space or something. I am just over the moon with this mani! To top it all off I added a coat of INM Northern Lights.

And there you have it! I love these polishes!! They are .99 cents and they are just AMAZING. They have outstanding formulas and great brushes. I love theseee!!! Go get some!! lool!!

Happy Caturday!!

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