Summer Ready Swatch Spam!

(**Press Sample**)

Hello my loves! 

  Today I have some swatch-y spam for you guys. I've had these pics sitting in my folders for some time now.... So I figured, why not do a spam post?

 These shades are all kinda screaming Summer to me. What are some of your favorite Summer shades? Or do you not really follow seasonal colors? Me, I kinda wear what I want, when I want. But I do tend to gravitate to Spring and Summer shades because they are always so bright and happy. 

 All of these swatches are shown with a top coat. 

LVX Nail Color in Mynt

 Mynt by LVX is a lovely, clean Mint creme. I found the formula on this shade to be AMAZING. Normally, these types of Pastel-ish, minty greens can be a pain in the butt to apply. That was not the case with this beauty. I did Three easy coats of Mynt for my swatch. 

LVX Nail Color in Deco

 Deco is an amazing shade of Melon-y Coral creme. I knew I would love this shade the second I unpacked it! I am a sucker for these types of colors. This shade is insanely flattering and easy to wear. I used Three thin and easy coats of Deco for my swatch. 

Zoya Gaia

 Gaia, Gaia, Gaia... This color.. Ok.. So this color is BEAUTIFUL, stunning really... A Pearly, shimmering White with the most perfect Golden shimmer running though it. Bridal perfection... That said, this color has a horrid formula! I found it to be patchy and uneven.. I needed Four thin coats to get it to look even and opaque. Maybe layering it could remedy that problem, but it could also ruin that squishy effect... I suppose the color payoff is definitely worth the work I put into the application though. 

Essie Tart Deco

 Tart Deco is a vivid, hot Melon-Coral shade. This shade is a more vibrant cousin to LVX Deco. The formula on this color is a little patchy, but not problematic. I used Three thin coats for my swatch. 

Zoya Sari

 Sari is a lovely, nude Pink jelly. Colors like these are great for French manis, or just to add a healthy glow to a nakey-look. I used Three thin coats for my swatch. 

LVX Nail Color in Indigo Bleu

 Indigo Bleu is a deep Violet-Blue creme. This shade is intenesely pigmented and very easy to apply. I could have almost done with one coat. I used Two thin coats for my swatch. 

Zoya Josie and Zoya Destiny

 Zoya Josie is a beautiful Grass Green creme that applies like a dream. I used Two easy coats of Josie. For this look I did an accent in Zoya PixieDust in Destiny. Destiny is a hot Coral texture laced with strong Golden shimmer. I used Three thin coats of Destiny. 

  Any faves in this bunch? I am really in love with Gaia. I hate the formula on that color, but my gosh it is just beautiful! I also really loved Mynt and Deco by LVX. Though I must admit, this Summer has turned into the "Summer of the Textures" for me. I've been wearing Textures non-stop since they all started coming out! 

 What have you been wearing lately?

More about → Summer Ready Swatch Spam!

Essie - Master Plan

Essie Master Plan

My mom knows how to spoil me. She picks up random polishes that she gets for a good price. Some are great finds, others are fails. She managed to get this Essie for $0.30! A discount grocery store near our home buys overstock items from pharmacies and this is what happens!

Pictured is 2 coats. A light putty/taupe creme.

More about → Essie - Master Plan

Tale Spin

Were you a fan of Tale Spin? The series with characters adapted from "The Jungle Book," I chose to focus on the logo and Baloo.

 Base polish is Essie Navigate Her, all the rest of the details were done with acrylic paints.

More about → Tale Spin

Natalie's Koi Fish

These nails are inspired by this look from Natalie over at heartNAT. It's been pinned on my "nail art inspiration" board over on Pinterest for a while now. I don't have the same polishes she used, and I don't have the fancy koi fish image plate she has, but it's still pretty cool. :)

 The polishes I used were:

Base of Orly Decades of Dysfunction. Then I sponged on - L'Oreal Macaroon Me Madly, China Glaze Flirty Tankini & Passion For Petals, & Zoya Ziv.

Then 1 coat of Essie Shine of the Times for an extra "fish-scale" vibe.

Then stamped M.A.S.H 39 with Konad black

More about → Natalie's Koi Fish

Beautopia Nails Floral Copy Cat

Inspired by Beautopia nails on Tumblr. More floral nails.

I really loved these and ended wearing them for 4 days last week!

I used China Glaze Electric Beat, Dance Baby, Something Sweet, Orly Fresh, Essie Navigate Her. The black was then done with a Sinful Colors black nail art striper polish.

More about → Beautopia Nails Floral Copy Cat

Shimmer Polish - Kelly, Jovie, & Maria

Cindy was nice enough to send me some more Shimmer Polishes to swatch for you guys.

Check out Cindy's Etsy shop, website, or facebook for more information on purchasing. Or you can always email her directly with your paypal address and the colors you would like to purchase:

shimmer484(at)gmail(dot)com

 

Kelly is green with bits of gold. This is one coat over Essie Navigate Her.

 

 Jovie is a delicate pink with an opal look. 

Here I layered one coat of Jovie over China Glaze Second-hand Silk.

Maria is a gorgeous mix of blues. Here I layered 1 coat of Maria over Orly Snowcone.

Keep an eye open for more Shimmer swatches coming soon!

More about → Shimmer Polish - Kelly, Jovie, & Maria

Flakie Flip Flop Fantasy

Essie Shine of the Times over China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy

It's mesmerizing!

More about → Flakie Flip Flop Fantasy

Disney Cars - Mater

I couldn't do the movie Cars without featuring Mater! He's my favorite character from the movie!

I really like the plain nails that mimic the rusty antique metal.

 

Here's how I did it.

Paint nails with 2 coats of Essie Very Structured

Randomly sponge on Barielle Coco Bar, Zoya Dea, Essie Penny Talk, & Barielle Sweet Addiction.

Begin the outline for his eyes and mouth with black acrylic paint.

White acrylic paint.

I used a shimmery green matte polish for his eyes iris'. Then defined his back teeth with gray acrylic paint.

Add black pupils and a white shine spot, then topcoat the whole thing with Seche Vite.

More about → Disney Cars - Mater

Disney Princess French - Tiana Inspired

Here's another princess design! I painted her as her frog version self on my thumb. I hoped it would turn out better, but I should have used a different background (it's Orly Ancient Jade). 

It simply blends in too much... :(

I started with masking off my tips and painting Essie Navigate Her.

Then I stamped an image from Konad m36 with Orly Ancient Jade 

(it transferred very lightly which was my intent)

Then I took China Glaze Adore and used my smallest dotting tool to go along the french tip.

Topped it with Seche Vite topcoat.

More about → Disney Princess French - Tiana Inspired

Basketball Nails

I get a lot of different requests for nail art, and frequently sports or cheerleading has been suggested by my school age followers. So here is a basketball design. I was greatly inspired by The Daily Nail. I remember when she first posted them in 2011 and I thought it was brilliant. To leave the dots without topcoating them. It saves the texture! 

And of course a hoop & net for the accent nail.

Step by step:

Base coat only on the accent nail. 2 coats of Essie Very Structured for the others.

Apply dots of Very Structured mixed with some brown polish.

I used half of a hole reinforcement sticker to mask off my half moon and then stamped the rest with BM-209 & Konad Special White Polish.

Then remove the sticker and apply Sally Hansen Celeb City to the dividing line. Use a black nail art striper to apply the basketball lines.

More about → Basketball Nails