Swatch: ELF inky purple

This is the base for my NYE nail art and I am quite excited to get it going. This is another polish courtesy of Nails for the Sake of Sanity and I noticed something right away =O

Remember Golden Rose 314? I got all excited that there was a dupe that's available for my American friends (and me, when my GS runs low). They're almost the same, with the ELF being more purple and the GS being more blurple. Both look fantastic.

As for application, I did two coats of ELF, and it was very.. inky. The brush was a bit wonky, and in low light you'd never guess there was microglitter. Sooo it's not the greatest, but here's some pictures.

I wish I'd got it in the sunlight but you can see how it glimmers. It's going to be the base for something FANTASTIC so be prepared ;) Do you guys have this one? How did you find it? I think I'll like it better if I thin it out a bit. It'll lose that tar-ink consistency. It is MUCH darker than the Golden Rose, but a good colour if you're going for darkness with a swish.

Swatch: Fingerpaints Sparkle Topcoat

Another from the Nails for the Sake of Sanity box! You know me, I can't leave a swatch alone! I pulled out one of my very first Fingerpaints from this magical box of happiness and on it went over Butter London Wallis!

Ooooh it's so deliciously subtle! It does show up quite a bit in low light though, see for yourself:

=O I have a couple other Fingerpaints in my collection now too. I am updating my Nail Polish Stash as we speak =] Tell me what you've tried this over!

Swatch: Butter London Wallis

Holy moly, guys, I have made the best nail friends EVER. Today's swatch has been brought to you by the beautiful and magnanimous Kelly of Nails for the Sake of Sanity. I went down across the border today (all the prizes have been shipped, b*tches!!) and it saved me almost $100 x_x; Oh Canada Post, get your act together... Anyway, I picked up this ENORMOUS box and of course tore into it without taking pictures =( I'm soweeeee....

Here's a sneak preview...

Zomg I can't even... I drowned in that bubble wrap! I also didn't send her half this much =( BUT, since shipping in the states is so gorram CHEAP, I may just make up a box and send her a surprise once in a while ;)

So one of the polishes hiding in that black was my first ever Butter London (and probably my last!). These things cost $21 here! I really hope Kelly didn't pay that much, or even the $14 I've seen them go for in the states.... But durnit this colour is so COOL I don't even know how to feel about it!

It's just so DYNAMIC! Of course I couldn't leave it alone, so look forward to an interesting topper in tomorrow's post!

How's that for a comeback?! =D

Swatch-ish attempted glitter gradient with Model's Own Ibiza Mix

As you may remember, my Chester's Drawers prize included TWO polishes. Though they were perfect for each other, I didn't want to double back and do another Essence I Love Bad Boys underwear again.

From yesterday: Essence Out of My Mind with an attempted reverse gradient of Model's Own Ibiza Mix

Glitter is hard to photograph! Extreme SHINE =O

This glitter had really nice spread, and the particles scattered evenly and it looks really really good (like dang!). I swiped once, and then tried to dab near the cuticle to get a gradient going. I'm not really convinced I succeeded but it looks pretty awesome, especially with how shiny it is after my Seche. =D

What's your favourite Model's Own? This is my first, and unfortunately probably last, since it's so hard to get in Canada.

Side note: Do you guys wanna see a Christmas presents post? I didn't get much nail polish (I didn't want any - I don't want people getting me doubles, or things I wouldn't like) but I did get some cool stuff and a LOT of chocolate. I've had two chocolate oranges already and I feel a little sick xP I used to be so good at self-control haha.

Feel free to tell me about your Christmas! I'd love to hear/see what you got, kay =D

Swatch: Essence Out of my Mind

Hey all! Sorry about that impromptu hiatus! The season gets busy and it's not even over yet x_x I'm going to try to get right back into it but for now I'm sorry in advance and here's a swatch!

I bought Essence Out of My Mind in a Coin when I was in Italy, fully realizing that I have WetnWild 446C and still being consumed by Essence fandom. It is a bit different, but don't be fooled into thinking you need it. It looks like a non-glitter version of Essence Choose Me! which is kiiiind of interesting.

Anyway, have some pictures (two coats):

In low light it even has this purple-ish sheen - max fantasy fire-esque! I couldn't capture it though, sorry =(

Do you guys have any polish-fandomness? I basically see Essence and buy it. I'm getting better... except I missed those Twilight ones! I really wanted Jacob's Protection!

Let It Snow #4 Christmas!

FIRST:

Merry Christmas <3

Yesterday you saw Spirit of Wonder which looks like a blizzard or... candy. I knew I'd have to tackle a watermarble eventually and here it is. The first ever.

I used tap water, lukewarm, and for polish I used Julep January and the Windows Polish Bar teal that I got for free =P I also used some clear polish from Golden Rose to try to show the basecoat through.

First up, the importance of tape...

 Above (second picture) is my right hand, the first attempt. I first tried to use Sinful Colors Irish which did not show up AT ALL so I did January first, then went back and used the Windows polish.

After much acetone...

There was a tape mishap on my index finger but otherwise it's not THAT BAD for a first attempt right? And you kinda think of candy canes? Maybe? =D/D= Unfortunately I left my Seche at my boyfriend's house so this may not survive very long. It also bubbled. I think I wasn't fast enough with the dipping or the poking for a design. I'll remember that for next time.

(I realized later that it looks like toothpaste by the colours. OOPS xP)

Any tips for a rookie watermarbler?

Check everyone else!!

Swatch: Rainbow Honey Spirit of Wonder

Part of the new collection, Spirit of Wonder is the best of the set in my opinion. It's the most interesting, and my first white jelly! The pictures I got do not capture the depth and... pristine-ness that this polish exudes.

I'm going to be honest, this one was hard to clean up. I didn't feel satisfied AT ALL about how I got the edges to look. It's a beautiful polish, and I love the depth - it looks like a blizzard in a bottle.

What do you think? Did you get any of the new Christmas Rainbow Honeys?

Swatch: Del Sol Island Fever and Cagedbird Lacquer Your Pal, M.M.

Sorry for the lack of posts!! I've got a combo for you today, and another couple posts in the works after this. It's Christmas crunch time, and I still have nail designs I want to do!

So for today I started with Del Sol Island Fever, which is a light green that's supposed to turn dark green in the sun. Unfortunately it's winter in Vancouver which means clouds and precipitation ALL THE TIME. That means no colour change pictures for now. Dang.

I did about five coats, as this colour is very sheer but the payoff was fantastic! I was not expecting such a gorgeous iridescent colour!

 After Seche (a recent acquisition from Winners for $!8 =D)

I wish I'd gotten some sun so I could see the colour change but this is pretty fantastic on its own. I can imagine it going great over a pastel or neon green for a subtle change and in-your-face sheen in the summer for when I'd prefer not to wait out five coats.

This was the base for a new matte glitter from Cagedbird Lacquer that I nabbed on Black Friday.

I love it so much! I wish I'd seen it over the dark green sunlight colour but oh well! It was a great Christmas colour. I got one spontaneous compliment while I was out shopping ^_^

That's all for now! Since this is a late 2AM post, you'll get another one later today so that on Christmas I can post =D

I hope you guys are all ready! It's the day after tomorrowwwww~~

PS: Seche Vite stinks like a mofo. Nobody warned me! Ugh.

LIS#3 Ugly Christmas Sweater

Alright well, since I really wanted to do snowmen and I couldn't think of anything on a sweater that I wouldn't wear except snowmen, that's what we're doing =D

Starting with that Essence I Love Bad Boys and Essie Pure Pearlfection from my last post, I poked on some white acrylic paint, painted the hat and dotted the eyes and buttons with black acrylic and then gave them a little carrot nose with Essence Wake Up and arms with Joe Mocha. Ironically, my left hand turned out better than my right (AGAIN) because I found a nicer brush for it.

I may give up on flash. Trying again...

Left hand (non-dominant painted)

Except for that smudgy thumb, my left hand turned out great! I kind of like these guys, they are super cute xD

Check out everyone else's sweaters! Is it bad I would probably wear most of them?