Nothing To Disclose Yesterday was the end of September and the Proud Beauty Bloggers of Color prompt of the month was black & white. I should've had this post up yesterday but, let's just face it, I suck at time management and I completely forgot yesterday was the 30th.


Just gonna address the elephant in the room for a moment here. Yes my nails a re nubbins again. After a series of breaks to my left index finger and my right thumb, I got tired of constantly having to repatch them so I just decided to cut them off completely.

Okay, now back to the mani.

I started with a gradient of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls and Wet n Wild Wild Shine Black Créme--I can't stop telling you that this has been my go-to black nail polish for years! Then, because I had to break a monochromatic theme and throw in a lil bit of neon somewhere, I splattered on Dare To Wear Violetta. And to bring it home I added a layer of  Nanacoco White Witch.


Nothing To Disclose

Nothing To Disclose Hey guys, if you follow me on Instagram, you'll know that I took a mini vacation. Along the way I had a serious nail break, painted my nails in a moving vehicle, and went to American Apparel for the first time.


Later this week I'll show you what AA lacquers I purchased, but for today you'll get to see the outcome of painting my nails in the back seat of my best friends car.

I didn't have time to do the really detail oriented nail art I wanted to wear for this trip, so I simply packed a a few bottles to do my nails once I got to the intended destination.


I started out with a base color of my hands down favorite black nail polish, Wet n Wild Wild Shine Black Créme; and after that I dabbed on gLORIous 22k Gold Leaf Topcoat.

I think I did relatively well for painting my nails in the back seat of moving car if I don't say so myself.

I also did my friend's nails (at a kitchen table) for her birthday, and here are our nails at the Oklahoma State Fair.

What's the strangest place you've ever painted your nails?
Tune in. Drop out. Love polish.


Nothing To Disclose

Press Sample It's been awhile since my last installment of When Nails Imitate Art, but that doesn't mean it's been awhile since I've been inspired. 
One night I was lying in bed just surfing Instagram--Have I mentioned IG is my favorite social media site? Because it sooo is.--and I landed on the feed of Michelle Robinson, aka mister_michelle, and immediately fell in love with her work! And now here we are.


My favorite color is gold so that probably explains how and why I fell for this painting of hers.

I laid down a white base color and used acrylic paint for the black stripes and other details.

And for the gold shade you wonder? Zoya Brooklyn!

I really can't explain the joy I get attempting to recreate others' art on my nail beds. The really small shapes were the most work and I couldn't wait for it to be over. Not that I was frustrated or tried, but I was so excited to see the outcome!

Here's one more look at my nail art recreation of Michelle Robinson's Symmetrxxx #1

Zoya Brooklyn is part of the Awaken Collection retails for $8 on Zoya.com.

Hope your weekend is filled with art!
Tune in. Drop out. Love polish.
Press Sample

Press Sample | Purchased by Me
Last week I showed you two pieces from the Salon Perfect Love, Lashes & Lacquer Collection, and today I've got some nail art inspired by Loves Me Loves Me Not.

When I first got this polish, I kept thinking, "pale pink glitter, pale pink glitter, pale pink glitter..." Which eventually turned into, "pale pink font, pale pink font, pale pink font, where have I seen pale pink font?"

And then it hit me...
I remembered where I kept seeing pale pink font.
I feel like Love Me Love Me Not is meant to be a topper so it took about four coats to build the opacity you see above.



For the pale pink B and color on my index finger and thumb I mixed New York Color Polyester Pink Creme and Barielle Very Bare. And for the black base color on my middle finger I went with my go to black, Wet n Wild Wild Shine Black Creme.

Press Sample | Purchased by Me

Press Sample Okay, so I don't actually hate Valentine's Day, but someone did ask if I could put together a look that says exactly that. Time to move on with the details shall we?


You probably noticed my perfectly square nails are no more. Well yesterday I had a really bad nail break on the corner of my middle finger and decided I should try out stiletto nails. After shaping the sides I was too chicken to go all the way so, for now, I'm rocking almonds while I slowly transition into stiletto. I know, who transitions into a nail shape? Sounds pretty odd doesn't it?


For this mani I used nailuv Hardcore Rock and then glued on some silver nail spikes after I was done curing.


I even bought a matching phone case shortly after I came up with the idea and I've got to admit these nails matched with this case makes me feel like a total bad ass!

And a product porn shot done a little differently...


nailuv Hardcore Rock Gel Polish retails for $14.95 on nailuvpolish.com.

How's that for Valentine's themed nails?
Tune in. Drop out. Love polish.
Press Sample

Press Sample As of late I've been experimenting with gel polish, and yes that does include trying nail art with them.
Today, I have my very first attempt that I forgot I had saved in my memory card so why not start Mani Monday off right?
Last week I showed you some nail art using a few nailuv gel polishes and today I have yet another nail art look using three different shades from the brand.
I used Hardcore Rock (black creme), Femme Fatale (brown shimmer w/ red undertones), and Hit the Jackpot (gold glitter).

Like I mentioned in a previous gel polish post, it is an absolute must to cure between every single layer.
And I couldn't leave this mani alone without adding a leopard charm I bought on eBay.

nailuv Gel Polish retails between $8-$14.95 per 15mL on nailuvpolish.com.

With a little more effort animal print nail art is achievable with gel polish.
Tune in. Drop out. Love polish.
Press Sample

Press Sample Since Friday's mani was off-season I decided why not do another? But this time sans nautical theme. So now I'm using three shades from the China Glaze Monster's Ball Halloween 2013 collection.

Press Sample

Press Sample Okay folks, I've got my first makeup review ever! Yes, there is some nail polish involved. I promise! Let's begin shall we? Oh by the way, this post is very picture heavy.

Today I've got the October Wantable Cosmetics Box up for review. Wantable Cosmetic Boxes contain 4-5 full-sized premium makeup products for $36/month if you subscribe or $40 for a one-time purchase.

Nothing To Disclose Okay folks, time to admit that I'm pretty much one of the last people to actively try new tends in nail lacquer. Don't believe me? I just bought my first magnetic polish two months ago.


But now I'm getting beside the point. The actual point of today's post is that these are my first Zoya Pixie Dust shades! As some of you may know, Zoya usually (and by usually I mean all the time) has really good sales on they're site. But I get the majority of my Zoyas on clearance for $2.99 at Lengths! Yes, this does include the two Pixie Dust shades I'm featuring today!


I started off with a base color of China Glaze Glistening Snow. I then applied a layer of quick dry top coat and once that dried I placed some striping tape to some somewhat of a argyle pattern.

Now for the main attraction!


After my tape placement I made a gradient using just the brushes of Zoya London (grey) and Zoya Dahlia (black).


Zoya says the Pixie Dust shade are long wearing and chip resistant without the use of top coat. And I've got to agree! I was highly skeptical of this claim but even after a single day of wear it still looked like I just finished these nails! Which, for me, is highly unlikely without a top coat.



Out of the few brands of texture polish I own, the Zoya Pixie Dusts are my favorite for sure. Not too rough, but certainly not too smooth.
Ahh. Love.


Nothing To Disclose Have you jumped on the Zoya Pixie Dust train?
Tune in. Drop out. Love polish.

Press Sample The folks over at Layla—you know, the company that came out with those super strong linear holographic lacquers about a year ago—are jumping on the texture and gel like shine trends!

Let's start with Gel Effect Nail Polish shall we?
Gel Effect in a super high shine nail polish that doesn't need any curing and can be removed just like any other lacquer, with nail polish remover. I've got to say that I'm really impressed by the dry-time and when I removed it there was no staining.
By the way, it comes in 11 different shades.

Now on to Velvet Effect.
Velvet Effect is Layla's addition to the flocking powder/fuzzy nail trend. It comes in 12 shades. What I like about Layla's packaging for Velvet Effect is that you can easily shake the powder onto the nail, as opposed to picking it up out of a jar and sprinkling it on. Plus it comes with a little brush to remove any excess!

If you read this far you're probably wondering where/when/if any nail art is going to come into play.
You know I'm not gonna leave you hanging so here it is!
I started with Layla Gel Effect Red & Rich as the base and drew some squiggly lines using a black nail art pen I bought from Urban Outfitters. While the lines were still wet I applied Layla Velvet Effect Sense.

Both Gel and Velvet Effect retail for $15 each on Zappos.com.


Press Sample Have you tried any texture or gel like shine manis yet? Will you?
Tune in. Drop out. Love polish.

Ah yes, Art Dealer Chic Week continues with inspiration from the joys that are daytime television. Don't know how daytime television correlates to Art Dealer Chic Week? Tuesday Miguel preformed Adorn on Ellen. Because I was at work when it aired (and I'm the last person on earth not to have DVR) I found myself watching it on YouTube.